TRASH fash!

I'm starting a new trend that I'm sure it'll catch on ... TRASH FASHION!

Yes, thank you very much, I will wear that amazing blue dress from the 50s that fits if you set it out by the road when we are drive-by junking (see here). Oh, and that other one? Yes, please! 

I never complain about free. You can see (on the left) that this dress is shorter than my petticoat. It doesn't look terrible, but I'm not sure if I love the show-your-petticoat look. So I'm contemplating either cutting the petticoat or lengthening the hem of the dress - it's been hemmed by hand a good 3-4". But I'm afraid that the hemmed crease may be permanent and look funny once I take it out. What do you think??

It also looks fine without the petticoat (see below), although it is quite thin! Does anyone even own a slip anymore? Moreover, does anyone even know what they are for??

The other dress may be early 60s (see this juniors' pattern I have HERE) but either way, it's fun and unlike any dress I have.

Oh, and did I mention they were FREE!? Would you wear something you dug out of a trashpile?

a DIY square pallet wood planter

Did you notice the pretty planter on my cart makeover yesterday?

I originally wanted to mount a wood planter on the kitchen (the room with the most sun = where plants don't die) wall to save some table space, but after it was all said and done, it was too big and awkward to put on the wall. Anywhere. Boo.

Lesson learned. However, this was a big disappointment, especially how much blood, sweat and tears went into this project. Read on for that story because making this planter is actually quite simple.

How to turn this....

into THIS!

What to do: I had gathered some pallet scraps to take to my dad's house so he could help me whip up this planter really quickly. We measured it so the inside was 7-1/4" wide so the plastic insert would fit right into it. Then we ripped (cut longways) several different pieces at different widths to get a staggered (handmade and imperfect) look. Using the air compressor, we nailed up the sides. Then we cut a very thin piece of board to fit the bottom and nailed it on too. Later, I took it home and sanded it down, then stained it.

What not to do: The way to turn this project into a blood, sweat and tears project is to ignore that your dad doesn't have his blade guard on the table saw and watch in horror as he accidentally slices his finger on the blade. Yes, blood, 6 stitches and all.

Oh, and the tears were mine.

To add to the drama, he is extremely squeamish when it comes to blood, especially his own, so he's basically fainting on the floor while we try to see if his finger is gone. You can imagine all of the scary feelings running through my head as I scream for my mom to come help. All for a dumb project that didn't even turn out to go on the wall.

Oh well, it's finished. Thanks for your help and sacrifice for my silly ideas, Dad.

:-)

junk score: Cart Makeover! (and a milk paint review)

While driving to a friend's house one day, we found a large old window and this cart. Any guesses as to what this may have been? Maybe some kind of speaker or stereo? Updated: Or probably like THIS?

Luckily, the weird cut out was easily removable, and my sweet little Vanna White helped me remove all of the screws.

Once it was out, I decided to grab some of Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint in French Enamel to try out the milk paint craze. 

Here she is:

I painted on two coats of blue milk paint in the kitchen and decided that downstairs or outside is best when using any kind of paint (especially drippy milk paint). The next day I distressed it and used my Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old White (because I had it) to paint in the details. Then I distressed a little more, sanded down the whole thing with a fine sandpaper (240 grit), and waxed with dark and clear wax to antique and protect it.

While I loved the casters, one was missing and there were no easy replacements to be found online. Forty bucks on 4 vintage casters was more than I wanted to put into this baby. She has pretty legs, so I pulled the caster pins off with my trusty vice-grips and decided to leave 'er at that.

Loving the details!!

~~~~~

As for the milk paint, I had watched tutorials and read online about mixing the paint (you purchase it in powdered form because it is perishable), its consistency, coverage, etc. I still wasn't exactly prepared to have little clumps all over my piece. The color wasn't uniform, especially as I brushed through the clumps, which I didn't mind for this piece, but is good to know if I would want a completely smooth, uniform color on another piece. (In that case, I would use an immersion blender.) However, the clumps and colors worked because I wanted to distress it. I also left out the bonding agent (1) because it was $12 more to spend and (2) because I wanted to see how this piece would distress/chip. The photo above is the chippiest she got - as every piece is unpredictable - and I chipped off all of the little clumps too. I'm not sure I like milk paint as well as chalk paint (which I loved from the start!), but I'll give it a go on a few other pieces and let you know.
**And do I really need to add that I wasn't compensated for this post? I just wanted to try milk paint out. On my own dolla'.

shop update! {June '13)

I haven't done a whole lot with the shop so far this year. If I come across something, obviously I grab it up quick (!) but I haven't been selling as fast due to doubled international postage prices (boo). Not to mention, it's just slower in the summer.

Which doesn't hurt my feelings too much because there's been other important things going on like a wedding and home projects and gearing up for the Market!

I snagged the first four at an estate sale and the last one my awesome finder friend scored. 

The last ones were thrift store finds - they had a bunch more but were so expensive! "Expensive" meaning resale wouldn't be worth it. Oh well. Here's what I did find.

Find these cute little pieces in the shop HERE!

harvesting: strawberries!

I've harvested a little bit from my garden -- 2 bunches of fresh dill, 1 parsley and 1 cilantro to dry. And we finally have strawberries this year!! Mmm. First picking yielded 12 rubies and the next day was 10. A couple days later 13! Not bad for my tiny little patch.

I celebrated this garden victory with a little strawberry shortcake (with real hand-whipped cream) - YUM!

Montessori learning activity: "Does it sink or float?"

I've gathered a bunch of Montessori ideas from the books I've ready and here is our latest experiment.

Gather a bunch of different items that won't be ruined by water, a dishpan (or bucket!) of water and a towel. Then ask, "Does it sink or float?"

Ha! Even the dog was interested. (In the water, that is.) Ladybug didn't quite catch on completely, but it introduced a new concept and we'll bring it out again later.

happy *DAD* day!

Father's day was spent pretty low-key at our house.

It included silly glasses...

... sweet girls

... burgers, ice cream, Skype dates and lots of love.

Happy Father's day to all the special dads in my life!! We love you SO much.

Junking (!)

This past weekend, my favorite picker friend and I (with her husband for some brawn and an extra vehicle) scouted the "big garbage pick up" neighborhoods north of us.

IT WAS CRAZY. The area was literally crawling with trucks and trailers and vehicles piled so high with junk that you wouldn't believe! Some had a method to their madness (metal scrappers), others not so much.

I came away with a few things.

Most of it is wood for the Market, but I'll probably retop and repaint the sewing cabinet (I just need to choose an idea!) and sell it on CL.

Aren't the skis great?? They need a good hosing down, but my dad learned to ski on a pair very similar to these in the 60s!!

At the same pile I found the skis I also found two amazing dresses from the 50s! Yes, friends, trash pile fashion. That's how I roll. Will feature these as soon as they are spiffed up.

Cheers!

we visited: geographical center of the US

The geographical center of the continental United States is in the good old state of Kansas. In the middle of wheat fields and blue skies.

Jeremy has mentioned wanting to visit, so when we found out that it was 1/2 hour away from the wedding location, we decided that it was the perfect time.

We weren't expecting much so we weren't disappointed.  :-)

But this was something on Jeremy's mental "bucket list" that we actually accomplished so that made it exciting. Hooray!

wedding gift: DIY hand-painted established sign

I love these established signs. (Sorry if you don't!) See my other one HERE.I like them because they are classic and personal - plus, handpainting them really makes them special.

I spent quite a while deciding on colors, design, etc. and finally came up with this. (The camera caught some of the nuances of the brush strokes in these photos, but the color is really solid and nice.)

The photo above shows the original finish. I sanded, stained, drew, painted, then sealed the above. The wood grain and color is really pretty.

I had some issues with the paint pen (note to self: don't waste time/effort on a paint pen) splattering all over. I thought it was ruined, but had some encouragement to try to fix it. So I re-sanded spots, re-stained them with a paintbrush, brushed up the blue and then crisped up the over-letters with the pen again. And it worked!!

So, there you have it! Another great wedding gift.

*more* thrifted vintage dresses (winter)

And for the cooler season dresses I found...

A $2 petticoat I couldn't pass up. I just resized it Sunday night. Can't wait to show it off under one of my dresses this fall/winter!

*****

I've been on the hunt for a plaid skirt and this one was too beautiful to pass up at a recent estate sale. I also can't wait to wear this one! It's been tempting me from my closet...

********

This dress has me a little stumped (also from the estate sale). Do you think it's 50s? Later? Earlier? I'm just not quite sure, but I'm sort of in love.

It has a small spot on the bodice that I didn't notice until I got it home, but here's to hoping my miracle spot remover will take care of it in a flash.

********

And finally, my 50s housewife dress. It may be a wool blend (it's warm!) and pretty conservative, but I want to dress it up with some fun accessories and maybe the above petticoat!

Thanks for sharing in my fashion joy!!

P.S. I've also decided against the boots for now, and I've splurged on a pair of vintage inspired Chelsea Crew oxfords for my fall and winter dresses. Here's a stock photo of them.

photo source