Thrifting treasures

I have had incredible luck at yard sales in the past few weeks.  The first Saturday in May is a huge community wide yard sale in Wernersville.  I have gone for years and always have found some great things. 

All the silver flatware in the avocado tray was $5.  The hand held vac was $5 and I got the box of attachments at another house for $3.  Perfect for vacuuming the carpet on my staircase!  The silver gravy boat had never been out of the box.  Mine for just $1.  The silver plates and other silver plated flatware totalled roughly $8.  Not too shabby!  I polished all of the flatware in the tray and discovered that it is a complete service for 8 (including seafood forks and parfait spoons) and all the serving pieces.  I went on line to do a little research and found several sets for sale.  The lowest asking price was ... drum roll please ... $279!  

This Saturday was the community yard sale in my parent's neighborhood.  I only have photos of the "big score" items

I have been wanting a trunk for the longest time.  This one was filthy and had been stored in a barn.  The canvas (over wood) was in pretty good shape and all the brasses are intact.  The leather straps were in pieces on the front and back and leather handles were missing.  In an antique shop, I would have expected to pay anywhere between $65 and $100.  I took it home for just $15!  Whoo hoo!!

This sweet mahogany table was in rough shape but I was thrilled with the $5 price tag.  I have already primed and applied two coats of Heirloom White paint to the table.  I need to do a light sanding, one more coat of paint and then a coat of poly and she will move into the living room.

Here is the truck after I scrubbed, rubbed and re-hydrated the wood strapping a bit.  I don't want it perfect.  I want it to have a bit of beat up charm.  I love it in my living room.

Hope you got out there and found some treasures for yourself!  I am linking up to Rhoda's blog!

Surprise!

Finally, a post from me!  I am starting to work on projects since it is warm enough to do things outside.  There is little I can do during the winter since I keep the house so cold paint takes FOREVER to dry!

Here is one project that I recently completed. 

I had white cotton cafe’ style curtains with window blinds in my bedroom.  I have had sleep issues for months and finally figured out that the amount of light coming into my room at night was a factor.  Out in blog land, everyone is using painter’s canvas drop cloths for curtain, slipcover and upholstery fabric.  I thought – what the heck?!  - and purchased 2-9’x12’ packages.  I washed them twice, rinsed with fabric softener and threw them in the dryer.  They came out soft and very workable.  I cut 1 panel down the length for each window and only had to do minimal hemming.  I am making a quilt for my bed and have a lot of extra fabric for shams, borders, bed skirt, etc.  I had originally planned to make drapes with the Chocolat fabric (Moda 3 Sisters) but just used some for the valences and I made a couple of matching shams.  I was very pleased working with the canvas fabric and would do it again in a heartbeat!  As a side note – because of the positioning of my bed there was no way to get a better shot of the curtains.  They go to the floor and because I have such high ceilings, I took advantage of that and positioned the valances as close to the ceiling as I could reach. 

Today is the huge yard sale in Wernersville so I am off in search of treasures.  Hope you have a great day!!