Vintage Picnic Basket and a Lovely Gift

Hello Everyone!  I’m still bringing things into the house from the garage that I have been picking up at antique shops and flea markets over the last few weeks.  One of my treasures that I was lucky enough to purchase at a flea market in Pennsylvania was this picnic basket.

   I probably would have passed this picnic basket up because I have a few of them already.  But what caught my eye was that it was insulated.  

   The asking price on the tag was $40 but I only paid $25 for it and I didn’t even have to negotiate the price! 

I think that poor old man must have thought I was going to be his only sale that day because I started to walk away and he said to me “I’ll make you a deal”.  And a deal he did….he sold it to me for $25!

Not only was I lucky enough to purchase this vintage picnic basket at a reasonable price, but I was also a lucky winner of this beautifully handcrafted ruffled French red ticking tea towel.   

  Needless to say, I was surprised when Linda at White Weathered Hutch emailed me to let me know that I was the winner of her lovely giveaway.  

Thank you Linda…..I love it!      

I think it looks beautiful with my vintage picnic basket.

As always, thanks for stopping by and hope you all have a wonderful week. 

Gail

This post has been linked up with:

Coastal Charms for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

A Stroll Thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday

Knick of Time for Vintage Style Link Party

Savvy Southern Style for WOW Us Wednesday

Vintage Kitchen Stool

While I was running errands the other day, I just happened to stop at one of my favorite places to shop (an antique mall that has approximately 170 antique dealers).  And look at what I bought. 

   Yep…an aqua kitchen stool!  Look at the sweet little decal on the back of the stool.

As much as I liked the aqua color and that sweet little decal…it just was not going to work in my kitchen. 

So out to the garage it went for some paint.  I’m happy to say the new color now works in the kitchen. 

My first thought was to paint it green but I played it safe and painted it white.  I stenciled my favorite number on the back of the stool.

I’m still thinking that maybe a green would look nice…..umm don’t be surprised if this vintage kitchen stool makes another appearance. 

As always, thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Gail

Linking this post to:

Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday

French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday

At The Picket Fence for Inspiration Friday

2805 for Potpourri Party

Wrapped Soap

When Debbie at Confessions of a Plate Addict shared with us a CUTE and inexpensive way to dress up extra soap for a guest bathroom, I wasted no time….I just had to make some for mine! 

She wrapped her soap in Kraft paper as I did but I added a vintage lamb graphic to mine that I found on-line. I created an aged look on my wrapped soap using distress ink and then tied with jute twine. 

And while I was at it, I even made a towel using the same vintage lamb graphic. 

Thank you Debbie for your inspiration.  This definitely is a cute and inexpensive way to dress up those extra bars of soap. 

As always, thanks for stopping by and leaving such sweet comments.  They always make my day! 

Gail

Linking this post to the following parties:

Savvy Southern Style for WOW Us Wednesday

DIY by Design for Sizzle into Summer

Vintage Candle Mold

Since returning from our family beach vacation this past weekend, I’m having a hard time getting motivated to do anything!  And this heat wave isn’t helping either.  I did however, clean the house today and tweaked a few things as I went along. 

A few weeks ago, while heading down to see our daughter in North Carolina, Charlie and I stopped at a few antique shops along the way.  One of the things I bought was this vintage candle mold. 

I couldn’t believe the price I paid for it…..$40!  When we were antique shopping in Pennsylvania they were asking $70 and up for them. 

While at the beach last week, I found a few pieces of coral reef that had washed up on the shore.   

It had a terrible smell so when I got home I soaked it in bleach for 24 hours and then sun dried them.

I’m looking forward to the much needed rain and cooler temperatures they are calling for this weekend.  Maybe then I’ll be more motivated to get started on some of the projects that are just waiting in the garage. 

As always, thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a wonderful day. 

Gail

Gel Stain on Two Arm Chairs and a Bloggy Break

Hello Everyone! 

When we built the farmhouse table for the kitchen, I decided to paint four of the cane back chairs white.  You can read about that here. 

 

I was however, undecided on whether or not to paint the matching two arm chairs white or possibly stain them a darker stain.

I have never really cared for the stain that was on the chairs to begin with and my intent was when I purchased them to either paint or re-stain them.  They had too much of an orange tone for my liking.

When Kathy at Creative Home Expression posted about using a Gel Stain product on two different furniture make-overs, I opted to give it a try on the two arm chairs.   You can read all about Kathy’s beautiful make-overs here and here.    

I  ordered the General Finishes Antique Walnut Gel Stain from Amazon and when it arrived I went to work. 

Check out the “Before and After”.

                 Before

After

 

What a difference, wouldn’t you say!   I did very little prep work before I applied the gel stain.  I lightly sanded the chairs before I applied the gel stain because I wanted to make sure that it would adhere to the chairs.   And of course I lightly sanded after because I wanted more of a distressed look to the chairs. 

General Finishes does have a website that offers helpful tips on how to use the gel stain.  In my opinion, it was easy to work with and I would definitely use it again.

Now if only it would COOL down just a tad bit so that I could work on making a cabinet using these doors.

I’ll be taking a little bloggy break but should be back sometime next week.   Enjoy your week and stay COOL! 

Gail

Piddling Around in the Kitchen with Vintage Finds

Hello Everyone! 

With temperatures in the triple digits this weekend, I spent most of my time piddling around doing little odds and ends inside.  One of the places I piddled around in was the kitchen.  I  placed some of the vintage things that I bought on my birthday weekend getaway to Pennsylvania a few weeks ago.

The vintage postage scale you see on the shelving was a purchase. It’s small and fits perfectly on this shelving in the kitchen. 

  I love the patina on this old postage scale!

I have had some luck lately finding a variety of wooden boards.  On our Pennsylvania trip, I found a slaw board that I placed on the wall to the left and a…... 

….pig cutting board.  

I have the pig cutting board stacked in with other wooden boards on my kitchen entry way table.  

This vintage basket on wheels was love at first sight except for the price!

   The vendor at this antique mall in Pennsylvania was asking $95 for it and the sales ticket said FIRM! 

Needless to say, on our first trip to this mall, I didn’t purchase it.  I left it behind and thought about it all night.  I asked Charlie the next morning if we could go back and see if they would/could lower the price and guess what….they did!  They took 10% off!   Still a little more than I wanted to pay but it was better than paying the asking price.    

Just look at the wheels on this basket!  

I placed it beside the entry way table in the kitchen for now.

I still have a few more things to show you that I bought on that trip.   I just need to “piddle” around a little more with them. 

As always, thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a safe and wonderful 4th of July! 

Gail  

Linking this post to the following linky parties

The Farmhouse Porch for Cowgirl Up!

A Stroll Thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday

Knick of Time for Vintage Style Link Party

Savvy Southern Style for WOW Us Wednesday

Primp for Primp Your Stuff Wednesday

Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration