We Have a Winner!!

I'm so excited to announce the winner of my Anniversary Inspiration Giveaway!!  I'm sending out a big THANK YOU to all of my faithful friends and new friends for stopping by to enter.  Thank you all so very much for your encouraging comments and support.

The winner is....... Michelle from Petite Michelle Louise.

Congratulations Michelle!!

A big THANK YOU to everyone who entered. 

I'm heading off to beautiful Lake Tahoe tomorrow for the Labor Day weekend.  I picked up my copy of Flea Market Style yesterday and promised myself not to peek until I'm firmly planted in the sand, in a beach chair, in the shade, and in full view of the lake.  Do you think I can hold out?  I hope everyone enjoys this last long weekend of the summer.  Stay safe and have a great weekend.

Road Trip Repurposed Necklaces

I love a good road trip, so I decided to do some travelling across the country this week.  I started in California, worked my way down to Texas, up to Iowa and Wisconsin, and finally ended up in New York.  I wish!  What an adventure, but only in my dreams.    I still had fun putting these necklaces together as I imagined myself stopping at every flea market, yard sale, and antique faire from California to New York.



Do you remember these cute mini license plate key chains?  They were issued by the Disabled American Veterans (DAV)  as a fund raiser from the early 1940s through the mid 1970s.  They matched your car plates and if you lost your keys, they could be traced back to you if an honest person dropped them in a mailbox.

California

Texas 1957


Iowa 1960

Wisconsin 1942

Last stop: I Love New York 1954

There's one more necklace with a New York license plate, but I just couldn't get a good picture of it.

I'm excited to say that I've been busy with trying to get my new Etsy shop open....finally!  It's been a slow process with everything else I've been working on, but hopefully I'll have the shelves stocked and the doors open in the next couple of weeks. 

I'm linking up my Road Trip necklaces with:

 

 

Late in the Day Yard Sale Finds

Sometimes I can be out the door early with a long list of yards sales to visit and still come home empty-handed.  This was NOT the case on Friday.  It was close to noon when I stopped at an estate sale not expecting to find too much.  I was shocked to see so many goodies still unsold because their prices were so reasonable.  It was nice to be able to move through the house without a big crowd and take my time picking out a few treasures.  After the estate sale, I stopped at three other yard sales and still found some great stuff late in the day.



This is my absolute favorite find of the day.  I love the patina and plan on leaving it just the way it is.

I didn't get a good picture of that lamp in the back, but what a deal it was!  It's numbered and marked Italy on the bottom.

Lace, linens, and more linens.  The white linen napkin in the center is one of a set of twelve.

A sweet acrylic box with a tray insert.

Lace collar and more bling.  How could I pass up that necklace with thirty rhinestone beads? 

I like the chippy finish on these candle holder sconces.  Not crazy about the gold, but I'm thinking about just leaving them the way they are.  They're not a bright gold and have just the right amount of patina.

This cute little pink tray was actually a purchase I made last month....it's been hiding in my garage.  The silver tea pot and milk glass salt & pepper shakers are from a last minute stop on Friday.  You never know what you're going to find late in the day and the prices are much better!

I'm linking up my yard sale finds with:

Southern Hospitality for Today's Thrifty Treasures,
Charm Bracelet Diva for Club G.W.
Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrify Tuesday,
ColoradoLady for Vintage Thingie Thursday,
Brambleberry Cottage for Time Travel Thursday,
From My Front Porch to Yours for Treasure Hunt Thursday.

I'm a Happy Giveaway Winner

The giveaway fairy has been so good to me lately.  It's so exciting to open an email that starts out with "Congratulations."  I love it!! 

First, I was the lucky winner of Linda's giveaway at Coastal Charm.  This very generous giveaway was offered by Martha at KateCreativeSalvage.

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

I won two quarts of paint, one can of wax, a wax brush, and a clay knob and tag from Martha's Etsy shop.

I'm really looking forward to receiving my paint and attacking my first project.

Thank you so much Linda and Martha.

My next surprise email came from Tammy at Type A.  I was the lucky winner of her giveaway from UPrinting. 

 

I won a 16 x 20 rolled canvas.

I'm looking forward to browsing around over at UPrinting.  The hard part is deciding what to have printed.  Thank you so much Tammy.

 

My "Inspiration Giveaway" is open until August 30th.  If you haven't entered yet, there's still plenty of time. 

A "HOT" Transformation

I recently found a treasure trove of goodies at a remodeling yard sale over in Berkeley and posted about them here.  Parts of rusty metal thingies, small wooden architectural pieces, and some porcelain bathroom fixtures.  Oh my!  I've had so many ideas spinning around in my head, but this is the only one I've managed to transform so far.

I removed a gas valve that was attached to the hole in the top of the base.  I wonder what this was in a previous life.  The man at the yard sale found it in his basement and thought it was once part of a gas line or gas lamp.  There's no hole in the bottom of the base.  Any ideas?

I think it's right at home in the bathroom now.  My first idea was to use it as a paper towel holder, but the iron rod wasn't tall enough and would not come out.

I sprayed three coats of matte acrylic sealer on the inside and outside. 
Love all the detail.

All five knobs were slightly different and the HOT knob was the only one that was a perfect fit on the rod....it screws right on and off.

 They were meant to be together.

It would work great for holding spools of ribbon or thread, but with that HOT knob, I think it's right at home in the bathroom.

Check out these fabulous parties I'm linking up with:
My Repurposed Life for Catch as Catch Can,
Brambleberry Cottage for Time Travel Thursday,
Pink Postcard for Transformations and Treasures,
Very Merry Vintage Style for Share the Love Wednesday,
Vintage Farmhouse for Creative Things Thursday,
Shabby Creek Cottage for Transformation Thursday,
Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday,
Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday.

It's Time for a Giveaway



GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED

I thought it was about time for a giveaway when I reached my one year blogging anniversary last month.  I published my 100th post shortly after that, and now I've reached 500 followers!!  Three big reasons to celebrate and to say "thank you" to everyone for all the inspiration you've given me over this past year.

I wanted to include some of the treasures that inspire me....

A scalloped edge milk glass jar filled with vintage mother of pearl buttons, two different pieces of vintage lace rolled up and secured with rhinestone shoe clips....

A little Chanel perfume bottle filled with pearls and decorated with vintage buttons and a rhinestone....

Two postcards wrapped with vintage lace, another piece of lace secured with an old clip on earring, and some pink floral trim wrapped on a wooden thread spool....

This is a simple, but elegant necklace I made with a vintage chandelier crystal.  It hangs from a 21"  silver plated ball chain.  I'd be more than happy to make it longer for the giveaway winner.

I was in the bookstore recently and started looking through this beautiful hardback book by Jo Packham and Jenny Doh.  Book of Inspiration, Where Women Create.  I was amazed with all the gorgeous studios featured in this book, and knew it would be a perfect addition to my giveaway.   Such an inspiration!

I wish I had drawers like these to keep all my supplies organized.

Did you notice I like mannequins?

My giveaway closes at 6:00pm PST on August 30th.  I'll use the True Random Number Generator to determine the winner and then announce the winner on August 31st.

To enter:

1)  Just leave me a comment here on this post.  

2)  If you'd like a second chance to win, I'd love to have you follow me.  Just leave a comment telling me you're a new follower or that you're already a follower.

3)  For a third chance, you can spread the word by putting my giveaway button on your sidebar, or mention it in a blog post.  You'll find the giveaway button near the top of my sidebar.

Please be sure to leave a separate comment for each thing you do:-)

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

Hugs, Betsy

Salvage Yard Fun

It was close to noon on Sunday when I felt the urge to get out and do some junkin'.  It was too late in the day for the monthly antique show in Alameda, so I decided to try my luck at the salvage yards in Berkeley.  With the promise of a good lunch, my son Scott seemed more than happy to tag along.  Just before we left, I thought I'd do a quick Craigslist check.  Sure enough, there was a Sunday only block sale that was advertising loads of vintage hardware and architectural pieces.  The salvage yard could wait until after lunch.  First stop was the block sale.

Someone else was busy going through the box of bathroom fixtures when I got there. I managed to pull these beauties out after he walked away. Thank you for leaving some for me!

I filled a big box full of architectural bits and pieces, wheels, rusty thingies, lamp parts, and the rusty old sconce that looks like a birdhouse.



Yes! They even left me some bling.

  This is enough to keep me busy for a long time.  Maybe it was a good thing we didn't get there when they first opened up.

First stop after lunch was Ohmega Salvage.  This is always a fun place, but I rarely buy anything because they're just too pricey.  

What a way to greet customers.  Look at those legs!



Rare French Guy from 1920.  $850.00.

Have you seen the September issue of Country Living?  This reminds me of the front cover.

I love this color, but not for my bathroom fixtures.  They also had sets in blue, peach, and yellow.  This lavender set could be yours for only $1800.00.

I like these.  I'm not sure why, but I really like them.

Next stop was Urban Ore.  This place is bigger and junkier than Ohmega, but much cheaper too.

When pigs fly?  You'd need a moving van just to get her home.

These were the only things I bought at Urban Ore, and one of the only places I can still find them at a reasonable price.

I'm so happy that I made this last minute decision to just drop what I was doing and go.  The weather was perfect with temperatures in the low 70's and overcast skies.  Best of all, we had a great time catching up with each other.

I'm linking up my Salvage Yard Fun with:
Charm Bracelet Diva for Club G.W.,
Very Merry Vintage Style for Share the Love Wednesday,
From My Front Porch to Yours for Treasure Hunt Thursday,
Brambleberry Cottage for Time Travel Thursday,
Colorado Lady for Vintage Thingie Thursday, and
Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday