THRIFT SHOP TREASURE HUNTING

It’s rather like going down the rabbit hole – this Thrift Shop treasure hunting.  One simply jumps in and the fun begins.

Sharp eyes are required to ferret out the gold from the dross.

To find the  brand-new pink linen Max Mara jacket consorting with   black polyester jacket from Le Chateau.   It’s not my size but it would look fab on my dear-to-my-heart friend Amy.   How can I go wrong at four dollars.

When you’re in the rabbit hole it is a good idea to always look up.

Way way up on the top shelves.

To find the second treasure of the day.  Three gorgeous Panama straw hats dreaming  together and ignoring the gray clouds and rain.    Magenta, red, and black hats and just one dollar each.

Panama hats are actually made in Ecuador from the pleated leaves of the toquilla straw plant.    Originally they were shipped first to the Isthmus of Panama and from there to the rest of the world.    Now you know why they call them Panama hats.       Glorified since the 19th century the Panama hat is considered the prince of straw hats,   or in this case the princess.

 

My beauties simply called out to be dolled up.  Spiffed up and tricked out to become the soigné of all Panamas.   I riffle my trunk  filled with ribbons and trims.  A red Panama will be crowned with an enormous red rose and trimmed with a little grograin ribbon.   A hat to wear on the beach at Cap Ferrat.

 

 

A black Panama speaks of Paris  and late night supper.    I trimmed it simply with Chanel inspired ribbon.   A hat for Deuville should be able to go to the beach or to  the races.

 

 

 

When a hat is pink it should speak of romance.  Of  lingering looks across a crowded room.  Of dancing on the beach  under the  stars .  Gray silk flowers the colour of moon light caress this hat of love.

 

All you have to do is follow me down the rabbit hole.   Have tea with the Mad Hatter  and dance in the moonlight.  All it takes is a Panama Hat.

A LITTLE HOUSE IN PARIS … UNE PETITE MAISON

Let me tell you a story.

I have a house in Paris.

 

The door of my little house opens onto a quiet street.

Around the corner an open-air market,

an old bookstore,

and a tiny bistro with a zinc bar.

 

 

I have a little house in Paris with a courtyard

where grinning lions spill water into a stone-gray trough.

 

 

I have a little house in Paris

with rooms leading out of one another, enfilade,

and ancient wooden floors that creak and complain when you walk on them.

 

 

Tall windows overlook the courtyard of my little house,

Tall windows where I will hang linen curtains that will float and dance with every breeze.

My house,  my little house in Paris is in my mind.

I took my thoughts of une petite maison, and put them in this room crying for a makeover.

 

I’ve peeled off the dated wallpaper design.  Now to remove the next layer.

The Good Husband repaired the damaged walls,  broken tiles and  paints the walls.

I spray paint  a shiny brass chandelier, rub a little white paint here and there to give it that old French look.  Then drill holes to hang crystals.

I took a  tacky,  gold mirror created  one fit for Madame  Pompadour.

First I painted the mirror frame with gray primer. Normally I would use gray primer spray paint but the weather turned chilly and it was too cold to use spray cans in the garage.

Then I  dry brushed white flat wall paint over the frame just catching the raised design.

The finished mirror!  I collect these rococo mirrors  at thrift shops, seldom paying more than a couple of dollars.  This one is a particularly handsome one made by Bassett Furniture.  It is well made with a mirror glass more than 1/4 inch thick.  It will go over the sink.  I plundered my collection of  mirrors and painted several more in the same manner.

Here is how I made a very French looking towel rack.

I uploaded a  vintage French advertising graphic from THE GRAPHIC FAIRY.     I made a REVERSE copy of it and took it to my local Library.  I used their toner based copier machine to make a copy.  This is the copy you glue down. No other type will work.    I cut away the excess paper from the design, then applied a thin layer of Modpodge glue over the PRINTED side of the paper.  I pressed this into place on the board painted with latex flat wall paint.  Left it to dry overnight. Then dampened the paper and GENTLY rubbed the paper away with the tips of my fingers.

I screwed on coat hooks that I gave a French finish the same as the chandelier.  Voila!

My little French bathroom comes to life.

 

My French bathroom is complete.

A PARIS INSPIRED WEDDING GIFT

Our eldest grand-daughter is getting married in six days.    Two more sleeps and we fly to Toronto.   This will be an intimate fairy tale wedding in the romantic surroundings of a winery in Prince Edward County.

We wanted to give the perfect wedding gift.  Younger sister AJ was in charge.   She said “Cait and Angus would like you to make them something”.

A few years ago Cait celebrated am important birthday in Paris.  I had my theme.  In anticipation of the wedding I had found one dozen gorgeous Irish linen napkins at an antique store.    This is what  I made to hold these beauties.

This is how I did it.

I gave this Thrift shop find a coat of gray water based primer, then a coat of water base white flat paint.  When the white paint was dry I rubbed the tray with sandpaper to give it a distressed look.

I went to THE GRAPHIC FAIRY  downloaded the graphic with reverse letters because although I am using Mod Podge I am not decoupaging the letters on to the tray.

This is  how you put those letters on to the tray.  You copy your graphic on a toner based copying machine.  You will find toner based copying machines at libraries, some grocery and drug stores.   It appears they are a little old-fashioned for Staples.

I cut around the letters to eliminate as much of the surrounding paper as possible.  I brushed  the Mod Podge generously over the graphic and then put it FACE DOWN on the white tray.  I rubbed the paper gently to ensure the letters were sticking to the surface.  Then I sat it aside for a good 12 hours.  Over night is a good idea.  You won’t be tempted to peek.

The next morning I dampened the paper and gently started rubbing it away with my fingers.  This is when you’ll appreciate cutting away the excess white background.

Finished.  A few of the letters aren’t perfect, but it’s OK because this is supposed to look a little worn.

After you’ve wiped away the paper rubbings, and let the tray dry finish it with a light coat of wax.  Leave on for a few minutes then buff it up.  Presto.  You’re done.

This tray is just part of Angus and Cait’s Paris theme wedding gift.    In my next posting I will spill the beans on the rest of the gift.  Meanwhile I’m off to my almost second Home in Toronto.

OF CABBAGES AND KINGS ….

“The time has come” the walrus said,

“To talk of many things:

Of shoes

and ships

and sealing wax

of cabbages and kings”  …

- Lewis Carroll

Thrift Shop and Flea Market shopping is rather like tumbling into Alice in Wonderland.  You may come away with Chanel shoes, a ship in a bottle or in my case  CABBAGES.

It was the color of the glaze that caught my eye.  A luscious, luxurious, garden green.

The green was partly buried in a basket of odds and ends of crockery.

It beckoned from across the shop.

“Whatever it is, I’ll buy it.  Just for the colour,” I thought.

Wonder of wonders.  Not only was it a magnificent shade of green, it was a bowl, plate and lid in the shape of a cabbage. I collect china and crockery in the shapes of fruit, flowers and vegetables.  I turned the cabbage leaf plate over and read the inscription “Holland Mold”.   The price for the three-piece set $2.00.

Later I researched Holland Mold on the Internet.  It was an American company founded in l946 by Frank Hollender, an Austrian immigrant who learned mold making in his native land.  His company produced Holland Mold pottery for arts and crafts people to glaze and fire for themselves.  Every piece of Holland Mold is not only vintage “but one of a kind”.

I found many photographs  on the Internet of this particular mold but none was as  beautiful painted and glazed.  The heyday for Holland Molds was in the 1970′s.  The average price for the cabbage bowls was around $40.00 for the two pieces.  My cabbage has the plate as well.  It was half -price- day when  I found my cabbage set .  It cost $l.00

“And why the sea is boiling hot

And whether pigs have wings.”

-Lewis Carroll  l872

Now I just have to find a flying pig.