Rusty Rave Monday - Lovely Latent Ladder

 During the weekend my daughters and I braved the 50% off day at Goodwill...This is something I try to avoid, and rarely do, because it is so crazy on those shopping days!  (I would rather just go on a regular day, and use the 20% off coupon that you can get online!)  But, those girls, they talked me into it...

(For some reason, it seems that I always get LUCKY with some item, no matter when I pop in there.)

In any event, for several months I have been trying to find an old ladder for my living room, and have looked on Craigslist, and e-Bay.  But to no avail, either I couldn't find anything, or they were just really overpriced!

Well, just look what I found!!!  It's a perfect specimen, and was marked $7.99 @ 50% off, so I got this fabulous well-used, wonderfully blemished and rickety old thing for $4 bucks!  Woo hoo!  To good to be true...ohmygosh...it will just be amazing once I do a little make-over!

I will be going out of town for a week to celebrate my husband's big 5-0, but check back to see the reveal in a couple of weeks.  I will also be posting it on Pinterest!

Happy fall y'all!

Rusty Rave Monday - Awesome Aquisitions to Historic Heirlooms

My ever evolving Garden Room.  I love green and white with a touch of lavender...

M has always been a very important letter in my life...First and foremost, it stands for Margaret!  ...Also, Mom, MacCabe (my maiden name),  Merry and, M & M's!  When I saw this metal letter I was thrilled, and it was the perfect color, as well!

I'm all about "birdy" things!  (Eggs, nests, houses, etc., etc.)

Little shelf displays are everywhere in my decor...couldn't resist that little green plaque.

A fabulous framed metal grate!

I have been looking for a vintage christening dress for a long time and finally happened upon this perfect little gem.

The fabric is a very sheer, lightweight cotton with exceptional hand stitching and embroidery.

 

Aren't these darling sleeves.

I have never seen a lamp like this...it is so sensationally shabby, and has just the right color of green peeking through the white.

Fantastic base, right?!

Antique aqua bottles...what more can I say?

 

Plum Perfect Friday - Crafted Characters or Significant Signs

 

 

I was inspired, by the following BHG photo, to make this vintage looking sign, so I went to our local Safeway to check the dumpster area for an old pallet.

The perfectly wonderful, shabby pallet.

 

An example of what my piece looked like before I painted it.  (Forgot to get a picture.)

 

 

 

After sanding the coat of paint.

I followed this easy tutorial from Homespun Happenings and printed my letters, then colored the back of the sheet of paper with charcoal pencils.

 

Traced them onto the board,

 

then began outlining,

 

and filling in the letters with a paint pen.

SO EASY...

 

...that I'm gonna make more!

 

After more sanding to shabby up the letters.

It only took a few hours to make!

 

Here is another one I whipped up last week for our house in Canada.  This one was made with vinyl lettering...still easy, but not near as CHEAP!

Have I ever written that I get a thrill from getting a bargain?   See ya next time...

Rusty Rave Monday - Winning Walls

For the ON-GOING transformation of my current redecorating, I just "go shopping" in my home, and use items that I already have.  (I do that A LOT!)  The shelf was moved from my bedroom and I gathered together some of my silver creamers and vintage linens.  Added a collection of white buttons, and an old paperback bundle.  The silver tray is a family heirloom that was my mother's.

This is a vintage wedding portrait of my mother.  I sandwiched it between two pieces of glass in order to view the damaged corners and show the age of the photograph.  (She would be pleased!)

Another family wall in the hallway...it makes the thermostat control almost disappear, or at least, look like an additional element in the collage!

Love, love, speckled eggs...found more images from The Graphics Fairy...printed them up, painted some old frames and viola!

Off to do another project...so see ya next time!

Rusty Rave Monday - Silver & Salvage

It thrills me to find wonderful items and not have to pay very much for them. Following are some of my most recent "Fabulous Finds.

I love the colors, and unexpectedly beautiful things that are found in nature, and am so fond of incorporating those little details in my decor.  On a recent weekend excursion to a town not far from our home, I ran across this authentic looking nest for only $12!  Such a steal...I couldn't even buy the elements to make it for that so I was pretty excited!

I was in Texas the beginning of June to visit my son and his family and we, of course, went antiquing (my son and his wife are both into it).  SERIOUSLY...vintage and thrift stores in Texas are so awesome!  I couldn't resist these little olive/pickle forks, and small silver bowl.  I saw the idea to use old pattern pieces as filler in a couple of the stores we went to and just love the look. 

My current table display that I, kind of, threw together...this will definitely evolve!

I obtained some more cool items to add to my bookshelf "dish display", it now feels complete and I am finally happy with it.

The gravy boat is my most favorite recent find and was $3 at a little store outside of Houston.  It was owned by a nice old gentlemen named, "Bob" who preferred taking checks!  Wow!  (He told me, "you can just make it out to 'Bob'...they know me down at the bank"!)  So cool.

This is SO old and I love how the gold trim is perfectly worn...impeccable shabbiness!

The tag on this small milk pitcher said it was a "barn find", I love the profile, beading and exquisite patina!

This was my favorite little pitcher until the "barn find", now it's definitely a very close second for many of the same reasons.

Another item from "Bobs Antiques", he sold this to me for $1 because of the flaw on the left.  (That was one of the things that I liked about it!)  I have been on the lookout for black transferware dishes and couldn't believe my good fortune...I had seen a plate similar to this at an antique store in my area for over $35 bucks!  Once again my thrill from a "good deal"!

A cute little old jar that just made me happy, I like to think about the history behind the object...

Hope you're stumbling upon some "fabulous finds" of your own,