Take Time for Lemonade: Pickin'

Sunday, April 29, 2012

The Skate Estate

Wow. It's been quite a while. Sorry! I was extremely busy with Speech and my play and didn't have ANY time for crafting. Plus, it wasn't garage sale season. BUT (sound the trumpets)... JUNK SEASON IS UPON US! I am so pumped about the treasures that I will find this summer.

On Thursday, I randomly drove past a sign for an Estate Sale. I like Estate Sales because of their personal nature; I really feel like I become friends with a person after rummaging through their life's treasures. Well, this Estate Sale was HUGE. This home was jam-packed with vintage goodies. Although most of the antiques were too expensive for moi (I prefer cheap junk), I did find some fun items to take home.

Heck, I had fun just looking through the fascinating display at this house. Turns out the man who used to live there was a 1933 graduate of the University of Illinois (I got to look through his old school bag - amazing!). So, needless to say, I felt an immediate connection and got some good vibes all around. The woman who lived there must have liked to cook - there were so many fun cook books, kitchen gadgets, and other cooking-ware. I fell in love with a robin's egg blue melamine dish set for $10, but couldn't figure out why I had to have it. Still having regrets about this. At least I have my Great-Grandma's melamine popcorn bowl! Love.

Anyway, here are some cool little items that I gathered...

Vintage (1965 - 1967) Teen and Co-Ed Magazines (25c each)

I really got a kick out of these. I haven't read through all of them yet, but it's such a hoot. I guess you can say I'm getting a glimpse of what my mom's youth was like. I'm having a dilemma though - should I keep these as they are, or use the awesome images for crafting? Maybe half and half? Choices, choices.

Either way - you have to see some of the wonderful advertisements and articles inside...

Dotty has pimple problems

Miss Teenage America says "Drive Safely"

67 is YOU

Make These Your Loveliest Years

Where the super STARS are

Marriage or Education? Choose Wisely.

So. Much. Fun. I can't wait to read them. Am I a nerd or do vintage magazines excite you, too? Don't answer that. In addition to these beauties, I also found a few vintage books...

Your Figure, Ladies! (Haha)

1001 How-To Ideas - 25c
(it's falling apart - definitely will use for craft pictures!)

I also found some old sheet music. Some of it is REALLY old (like 1905), and some of it is from the 60's. Either way, I thought the covers were pretty, and some of the titles were grand, too.

Vintage Sheet Music (20c each)

We'll Have a Jubilee in my Old Kentucky Home!

Interestingly, some of these larger music books are selling for around $10 on eBay. I only paid 50 cents a piece! Holler. But who am I kidding? I'm not going to sell them. Hey Illini - like the old copy of William Tell? Hi Ho! Chair. I also found some other music-themed items, like these old piano rolls.

Piano Rolls - $1.00

I adore the Christmas art on the one. Little carolers. No one makes nice packaging anymore. I intend to use it somehow in this year's Christmas decor. Along with this...

Vintage Tree Icicles - 50c

What you are now about to see is the most random assortment of vintage treasure EVER. I shall proceed, but let me begin by saying that I have no idea why I bought this first item. Actually, I'm already having regrets about it. It is an old turkey baster. Someone tell me why I bought this.

Vintage Baster - 25c

Vintage Leather Baby Shoe - 25c

Vintage Napkin Dispenser - $1.00

...and it's my favorite color green! With rust!
I think I want to make a photo frame out of that bad boy.

Random Jar Lid - FREE! I don't know why, but I liked it.
What can I say? I am drawn to rust and vintage text.

Vintage Hi-Jack Coasters - $1.00

Um, why did these become extinct? These are GENIUS!
I am so using them. It's like a coaster and drink-marker in one!
Come on people, get excited!

Vintage Baby Roller Skate - $1.00

I love my little baby skate. It brings me joy.

So I bet you're probably wondering,
"Wow. That WAS a random assortment of nonsense.
I wonder what the heck she plans on DOING with it!"

Well, my friends, I don't know. I suppose each item will find a forever home. Until then, I am open to suggestions. I have already found a spot for BOTH pieces of footwear, though...

Baby roller skate, keeping the frames company

Little baby shoe, amongst other treasures

Let's just say that this Estate Sale got me pumped about the summer ahead. It's sure to be full of junk treasures, and as such, I'm sure to be full of happiness.

Take Time for Lemonade,

Kris

Sunday, September 25, 2011

The Paradise Post

My mom finally realized her life dream this summer - she got a pool. We had an amazing summer of pool parties, chilling with friends and family, and having cook-outs by the water. It was a blast! Since my mom is the master entertainer, I decided to give her a gift that she could use for her pool parties. For her birthday this year, I made her an outdoor chalkboard for posting weather forecasts, menu items, and other pool-related announcements.

I started off with a chalkboard. I found it at (you guessed it!) a garage sale. Old and dingy...but just you wait.

Chalkboard - 50 cents

I taped the entire chalkboard surface to prep for painting. Next, I had to remove the old stickers and gunk. If you've never used Goo Gone before, you should! It works wonders I tell you!

Obviously, this bad boy needed some color! I decided on Caribbean blue, naturally. I love spray paint! WOO HOOOO!!!

I bought some wooden letters to make a title for the chalkboard. I wanted them to match the board perfectly, so I decided to spray paint these, too. Besides, I LOVE SPRAY PAINT. Of course, the perfect surface for painting is an old picture cardboard with the garage sale tag still attached.

Before

Caribbean Blue!

Let's play Scrabble. How many words can you find?

Alright! The chalkboard is blue. Now, we need a fresh coat of chalkboard paint. I started off with a paintbrush, but ended up using a roller for better results. Chalkboard paint is peculiar - it looks like navy blue when it's wet.

Ahhh, what a difference a fresh coat of paint makes!

Good as new.

Now for the fun part...decorating! First, I used a piece of scrap wood for the sign. I garbage picked this a while back...I just KNEW I could use it for something!

Wood - FREE!

I went back and forth about whether or not I would paint it. Eventually, I decided that I liked the look of the original wood finish.

The Paradise Post - gotta love alliteration. English nerds unite!

GLITTER!

If you know my mom, you know she LOVES GLITTER. I also re-painted a wooden shape to match the blue theme of the chalkboard. I've never seen a blue palm tree, but I like the thought of it! The original (shown above) was green. SO not as cool.

Next, I decided to make the eraser much prettier by Mod-Podging some scrapbook paper to it. I also had my loving husband drill a hole into it and attach a hook so that I could hang it from a string. I have yet to gain my confidence with power tools. After it was dry, I added some bling bling! Come on now - everything looks better with bling.

Eraser - $2.00 (from craft store)

Pretty Eraser

The rest of the supplies are from garage sales (DUH)! I bought the net, anchor, and starfish (plus two more starfish) all for $1.00, and got the little bucket free from my sister's old dorm room. Random, I know. The string for the eraser was also from a garage sale. I purchased a whole spool of it for a quarter. Heck yeah!