Vintage Jane and Yard Sales 11:38 am
I am back on the Vintage Jane blog today in order to share my recent experience shopping for treasures in a former sculptor’s mansion. Check out http://youresojane.blogspot.com/2012/05/bust-move.html for the full story.
So don’t just stand there, bust a move!
Mattie Windsor and Yard Sales 6:17 pm
It doesn’t get much better than a Saturday morning in the spring. My day started with a run at 6am followed by a yard sale extravaganza. My early morning shopping escapade included touring the mansion of a former sculptor and discovering several treasures. I brought home a little something for everybody and even managed to score a few projects to work on for Vintage Jane.
Around 10am, Mattie Windsor and I headed to the inaugural farmer’s market in Old Salem (http://www.oldsalem.org/farmersmarket). We sampled everything from strawberry jam to scrapes to white chocolate made with truffles to sweet potato liver pâté. But the best part of my morning was watching Mattie Windsor befriend Maya, a three week old pig.
Painting Projects and Sewing Projects and Yard Sales 6:29 pm
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I am a very lucky lady! I have my very own ”woman cave” a.k.a. sewing room. I am free to spread out, make a mess, and leave everything out so I can pick up right back up exactly where I left off. Jed gave me free reign to decorate this extra bedroom with one exception – no pink paint. No worries, I chose “Let it Rain” by Benjamin Moore to recover the off-white walls. It is a lovely shade of greenish blue that Jed put best when he said, “it looks like you.” Ironically, I painted the only pre-existing neutral room in our home a bright color. (In typical fashion, I forgot to take before pictures until the painting was well under way. Please refer to Stool Pigeon for additional before photos.)We inherited the black cupboard from the previous owners. The interior shelves made it the ideal solution for storing my shoes due to the lack of closet space in our home. I loved the pressed tin on the door but decided that the black exterior was a little too overbearing for my taste. Funny enough, the previous owners left us a treasure trove of paint in our basement including the very same off-white that I had just painted over on the walls. Even though I was not crazy about the off-white as a wall color, it looks perfect on the cabinet.
We hung a homemade shelf constructed out of painted plywood and vintage iron brackets . I bought the brackets from a yard sale a few years ago and spray painted them black. The shelf was formerly the other half of the pair in Mattie Windsor’s Richmond nursery, and its mate is now hanging in her new room (Purple People Eater).
Other additions to the room include an old drafting table that I found on etsy.com, a pressed tin panel purchased at a country auction, and a homemade corkboard. I even included a little school desk for Mattie Windsor that we discovered under an inch of dust in our attic. It too had been left behind by the previous homeowners. Last but not least, I included the settee that kicked off this blog with Ready, Settee, Go! I even made a groovy new lumbar pillow for it using several small scraps of complimentary fabric. My hope is that Jed will occasionally come and relax with me in my woman cave.
Sewing Projects and Yard Sales 8:42 pm
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When Jed and I first toured our new home during an open house in the early spring, we both had a good feeling as soon as we stepped through the door. We have always shared an inclination to the charm of older homes and instantly gravitated to the ornate fireplaces and built-in bar. The house itself had many other great attributes such as a spacious dining room, high ceilings, four bedrooms, and a grand stairwell; but it was the giant claw foot bathtub in the upstairs bathroom that sealed the deal for me. I have always longed for a claw foot tub so it was love at first sight.Since we moved in May, we have made very few changes to our master bathroom. We chose to keep the celery green paint and wainscoting on the walls. We added a few touches of mercury glass in the form of votives along the wall and new hardware on the cabinets. We still have not decided on just the right shower curtain and have elected to use clear liners for now. Instead of a shower curtain, I did make a simple panel for the window out of a vintage table cloth. I stumbled upon the table cloth at a yard sale over the summer and was able to bring it home for a mere $5. The result provides us with just the right amount of privacy but still allows for plenty of natural sunlight.
Yard Sales 9:01 pm
I am always referencing my yard sale finds in my posts. I thought I would take this opportunity to show off a few more of my recent purchases that required no sewing, upholstering, or painting.
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Sewing Projects and Yard Sales 7:31 pm
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Occasionally a girl needs a break from her paintbrush and roller. I find that pillows are an instant gratification project that is both affordable and easy. I also recently retired my vintage Singer sewing machine and traded it in for a fancy new model. Consequently, I am pretty much looking for any excuse to sew.
Over the last month, I have made several pillows. Four of the pillows are for the beds in our guest room and are made out of a various floral fabric pieces that I picked up at yard sales. The pillows are inspired by the new floral bed skirts that I also purchased at a yard sale and custom hemmed for our beds.
In order to unite a couple of our common spaces, I made a pillow for the foyer to compliment the cowhide rug in the living room. This cow print fabric was a $1 remnant from 1502 Fabrics and could not have been more perfect.
My most recent pillow was also made from a remnant from 1502 Fabrics and provides the perfect splash of color to our upstairs hallway.
Sewing Projects and Yard Sales 9:29 pm
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I came upon this iron couch frame at a yard sale in West Salem last month. It was love at first sight . . . even down to the coat of pink paint. After forking over $15, I somehow managed to cram it into my car and carry it home.
Immediately, I knew that I must make cushions and pillows to custom fit this exquisite frame. My first inspiration came in the form of a multi-color Trina Turk outdoor fabric that I stumbled upon a couple weeks later at a fabric outlet in Burlington. I used this fabric as a jumping off point and to create the two large throw pillows. From there, I decided to make the four box cushions out of a beige Sunbrella fabric that I ordered on-line. As luck would have it, I scored another ridiculous deal on an orange geometric Trina Turk fabric at 1502 Fabrics here in Winston-Salem. I bought this small remnant for $1 and had more than enough to sew the two small throw pillows. Finally, I finished the back of each of the pillows with a complimentary pink outdoor fabric that was also purchased on-line.
Now we have an outdoor spot that encourages lounging during the autumn days ahead.
Yard Sales 10:13 am
I totally scored last weekend when I found this gigantic American flag in a handmade frame at a yard sale. I simply had to have it, and the $5 price tag made it a no-brainer. Luckily, Jed loved it just as much as I did, and we promptly hung the flag utilizing the picture molding in our dining room. We placed it within close proximity to the ceiling to ensure that everyone who sees it will feel compelled to look up and pledge their allegiance.
The Hurts and Yard Sales 7:38 am
It is time for annual bulky item pick up! This is the time of year that the City of Winston-Salem actually encourages you to leave out all of your large unwanted junk to be magically whisked away. For me, it is an opportunity to participate in what I like to call “curb rescue.” Amongst the tattered wicker chairs, three-legged tables, and broken TVs, I am always sure to find a few diamonds in the rough.
Last Saturday, I used my early morning run around our neighborhood as a scouting expedition. Once I returned home, I hopped in my car to do my own curb collection. This year I managed to find a blue and white ceramic flower pot as well as a small white side table to put out on our sleeping porch. Later in the afternoon, Jed and I spotted my favorite treasure of the day, a rustic-looking child’s chair that is remarkably sturdy. Obviously, it has already been to good use.
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