Curiosities & Artifacts

Working on a new project, photos coming soon.

Desk Ideas

I'll have to clean it out first, but this lovely little secretaries desk sits right across from my computer table in my studio!  It won't replace my office desk, but will give me a place to put important stuff that I use on a daily basis in my studio.  Speaking of my office it's in sad need of cleaning, ever since I moved the computer out of there I haven't been spending any time in there, which I need to resolve and soon.

Antique Inspiration

Porch Clean Up

We spent some time cleaning the front porch this afternoon and now it looks pretty nice, well as nice as a 105 year old porch can look.  John hung my cupboard out there, an old primitive I've had hanging out, and then we put a table under it so now I have a potting table and a place to put pots.  I planted some smaller pots with marigolds, will have to purchase more marigold seeds, and will plant some petunia's tomorrow.  Pictures coming soon.

Vintage Rayon Seam Binding

Madder Root Dyed Vintage Lace and Trims

Vintage lace and trims I picked up at a yard sale this summer, some are antiques. Everything has been scoured by washing twice in hot water - to get rid of the smell, then boiled with soda ash for two hours. The items were then mordanted with alum and soaked for two days in the alum vat, I then dyed everything with Madder Root Extract I left them to soak in the madder root vat for two days. The brighter yellow items are made of nylon hence the color.

Awning

Kitchen Sink!!!!

Let the kitchen remodel begin! We picked up a 40 year old sink today that had never been installed, what are the odds of that happening??? The sink is 20 x 42 inches with 9 inch deep bowls. I can fit my largest canner inside a bowl - I've waited years for this to happen. Anyway porcelain on cast iron, for a total cost of $75!!! Btw it's an American Standard Sink - see other post with pictures of sink bottom etc.

As soon as I find the windows for the new sink wall, we can gut the kitchen, do the wall repairs (we're replacing a door that is no longer used) etc., I will have a brand new to me kitchen! Everything, well except for the structural elements, has been salvaged, re-purposed or is vintage.

All American Canner

A very old All American Canner, it's a 915

Vintage Bling

A peak of some goodies to come!

An overwhelming knot of trims!

Somewhat sortred!

Vintage type writer ribbon tin that held sewing pins.

Life is strange sometimes. I picked up a box of vintage bling yesterday at one of the shops I frequent. Typically I do not use gold anything in my work because I simply do not purchase anything gold, so I don't have enough to complete any one project - well until now that is.

As I went through the box I discovered that the box of trims once belonged to woman that once lived in my house! Just like the piano that keeps coming back to live here, after being sold multiple times, so has this box of trims! In the box I also found crystals from my chandelier that is missing and has been since dh moved here in 1991.

Yes life is strange sometimes.

China Roses

Pretty roses painted on a fluted porcelain bowl

Vintage Buttons

Non Slip Jars

These were in the bags of jars that dh's co-worker gave him, they are WAY cool!

Have You Any Canning Jars???

Yes sir, yes sir, seven bags full! And two boxes to spare as well.

Antique Coffee Grinder

Here's another view of the coffee grinder.

Antique Coffee Grinder

A view of my antique coffee grinder, this would be suitable for grinding grain in, if you can figure out how to get it apart!