Treasured uncovered

I love my Pottery Barn and Ballard Designs catalogs. I don't actually buy anything from them, never have. I just flip through them about 25 times for inspiration. No really. While looking through them the other day I realized wow, I really do have alot of the items in these catalogs. Some coincidence and some I just straight up copy because I'm cheap like that. I would love to be able to purchase things out of these catalogs, but you know what I think it is more gratifying searching and waiting and laboring over something that is really a treasure once you finish it or find it.

Take this Ballard Designs bulletin board for instance, theirs is $299 for the largest one...

I have wanted one for a really long time until I finally scored the perfect frame at a garage sale for $10, went to Home Depot for a piece of quarter inch plywood, which happened to come in the size I needed so I didn't have to cut it. I purchased spray adhesive and a roll of cork from Michaels and whalla!

And then I spotted this wood caddy in the Ballard Designs catalog and said I have one like that!

Theirs is $49...

Mine was $4 at a garage sale and I use it for magazines in the [ahem] restroom.


And I bought a cookbook holder just like this one the other day at Marshalls, mine was $9.99 and theirs is $39.

And hey, the lamp base below looks alot like the ones I got at a garage sale a couple weeks ago for $2 each,

and this is $79 at Ballard Designs....

But the best one has got to be this one, remember our new kitchen set that a kind stranger gave to us!

Ballard's is $1907. without the end armchairs! HOLY TOLEDO!

The moral of the story is keep your eyes open, you never know what you might find!

What is it worth?

I was sitting at my mom's house the other day flipping thru her Country Living magazine. I screamed when I saw the following picture...

...because here is what it said next to the picture "What is it worth? PAINTED IRON URNS
This early-20th-century Campagna-style urn is made of iron and is valued at $750 a pair, says appraiser Helaine Fendelman."

Well butter my biscuits, guess what I happen to have a pair of?

You can see why I was so excited! Mine are identical to the one in their picture!! You wouldn't believe where I got these urns- Dale's Feed Store, yeah I don't know pretty weird but they sell a bunch of wrought iron rusty things like this outside. When I told my husband he said "Well call that appraiser lady and find out where we can sell these things for $750!" haha. I happen to really like them and am not quite ready to part with them yet.

Before and After Buffet

My sweet husband went last Sunday and picked up this buffet for me on Craigslist. I need to send him more often because he talked her down $10. He told her he didn't even want it - HA! I knew it would look perfect with our kitchen set once I refinished it.

Had some work to do on the crossbar because her dog chewed it.

No problem, I took my measurements to Home Depot and had them cut 1x2 pieces to fit so I wouldn't have to cut them. Glued and screwed them in place, did a mild sanding on the whole piece, painted it a cream color that I got from the OOPS paint at Home Depot for $5. Finally I distressed it by rubbing on and wiping off dark stain, sanding the edges in a couple spots then applied stain to those spots and that's it!

Its still missing a couple knobs. I'm not sure if I want to replace them all or just the missing ones on the doors.

My new $2 lamps seem to fit right in!

What do you think?

Vino Bag

When my sister was in town we went to Pottery Barn. I spotted this awesome burlap wine bag on display way up on a shelf. Tracked down a salesperson to get one for me. Of course it was the last one left and it had no pricetag. After looking it up found out the price was $10. I know not alot, but sorry - not worth the money. Especially when I knew I could make it. So the lovely salesperson was nice enough to hold the bag for me to make sure I got every detail so I could make my own (she was actually thinking that was a great idea!). I guess I should have looked at the picture again before I made mine. I didn't realize the letters were going diagonally. oh well. I like mine just the same. My sister already has her order in for one too. Want one?

And Whalaa! ---- I purchased some burlap from Hobby Lobby and stencils, which I needed for another project anyway, some black paint and used some twine I already had and braided it to use in place of their braided cording (which I could not find easily).

Fabulous Find

I had a very short but prosperous treasure hunt yesterday! I was actually helping a friend try to find a record player/stereo/buffet - you know the ones, your grandma probably had one, they are about 4 feet long and about 2 feet off the ground. Well I found one at a garage sale, she was looking for one, I called her, she wasn't sure about it. So away I went - without it. The guy told me he would be there the next day (which he wasn't) and from then on my friend wanted it - couldn't stop thinking about it type thing. We had both been to the neighborhood numerous times since and she actually found it today ~ the ONE ~ for $10 off!!! but in the meantime I found some treasures. One of them included this freebie!

I would like to turn the top of this "armoire" into one of these creations that this girl here creates on a regular basis! Now granted my piece is not as fabulous as hers, but it will do for free, now I just have to find a base....

This is mine....


And this is the top of hers...



And this is the base....


Drumroll....................

Now that's what I'm talkin about! I can do that! I think I will do that!

Crown and Crumpet

I think if I actually saw this place in real life I would think that I died and went to heaven! This is the Crown and Crumpet tea salon in San Francisco. I have never been to San Francisco but when I do I'm headed here....

(photos via Crownandcrumpet.com and beautifulthingstoshare.blogspot.com)

I am a huntress...

I am a huntress, just not the kind of huntress my husband would like me to be, haha. Today was a good treasure hunting day, except for the fact it is still 90 degrees here, the amount of garage, rummage and estate sales should be picking up soon! Our first finds were in Sun City West. I got this old wooden paper sorter (I think) for 50 cents that was falling apart....




they happened to have some upholstery tacks for 5 cents that I could use to repair it! and a cute old bottle with a cork lid I think they threw in for free....



then I spotted this charming box with a lid that comes off, love the tassle and the metal bird on top, this was $5...



then I immediately fell in love with this Santa print which I didn't even really look at until I got home. I was just going to frame the front of it....



this is the inside.....isn't that the coolest!! and there were 2 of them so I could still frame the front and then frame the inside separately. I think I paid $1 for both...

Then I gasped when I saw this darling little paperback CAKE (cook)book. I just love the green color. I have no idea what I'm going to do with it, but it needed to come home with me, especially for 50 cents....

then at the last garage sale I picked up this planter for $2...

and this basket for $2...

and this awesome set of ceramic canisters that look like wood with lids that come off for $5 for the set, I'm thinking of painting them, what do you think?...

I forgot to tell you last week about this cool box that I picked up for $2. I don't know why everything is $2?!....

closeup of the stamp on the lid...

and the neat leather straps...

upside-down on the side of the box...

and my friend and I found these old Bingo cards at Not Too Shabby - cool store!

oh and have I told you lately that I'm really into old sheet music... and every time I look at this Gypsy Love Song one I think of these gals. Do you think they would want it?

oh and I'm also swooning over this album cover I found at one of my favorite Sun City thrift stores called Pennywise. I want to frame it like I did another one I found there. I'll show that one to you later. Think outside the box ladies or...... think OF a box. LOL.

Happy hunting!

p.s. do you guys like to know how much I pay for treasures. I know I am always dying to know what people pay for their finds so I just assumed you guys did too!