Mum's, Pumpkins and Gourds, Oh My!

I have been eyeing the racks of mums outside my local grocery store for weeks.  I have resisted buying anything because I knew we planned a trip to the pumpkin patch where there would be untold autumn wonders.  With the trip out of the way, I finally got to indulge my fall addiction.

 Enamelware, pumpkins, a wool blanket and a rocking chair...if that just doesn't scream fall.  However, let's be real.  That blanket isn't staying there.  With the farmer harvesting the field adjacent to our land and the gale force winds that blow across our yard during fall storms, it would just be a moldly dusty mess.  For blog art's sake, we will just pretend it is always like this.

 Isn't that gourd amazing!  The pumpkin patch was full of awesome gourds and pumpkins of every shape and color.

 I love minnow buckets.  Thrift Chick tells me I have enough, so I have walked away from several during our thrifting forays.  However,  I am not sure I can hold out much longer.

Don't you just love the lacy orange pumpkin.  Again the pumpkin patch came through in spades.  Forget the grandchildren I would have gone for just the produce alone!  The green thermos thing came from an estate sale.  I uncovered it in the barn and paid $2 for it.  It is not a thermos as there is no spigot.  It is very, very heavy with ceramic insides.  Anyone know what it is?

The next time I get around to posting ( I am a realist when it comes to my blogging ability!) we will head inside for a little fall decor.

Patty

A Tradition Revived

Every fall when our kids were little, we would head out to a farm to get pumpkins.  These expeditions included hay mazes, pumpkin painting, caramel apples and other great fun.   However, as they grew older, Saturdays become about sporting events and singing performances.  With the grandbabies now mobile, I decided to revive the tradition.  Alas, the pumpkin patch we used to go to is no longer in existence.  My assistant at work suggested a place just across the state line.  So this past Saturday, we all headed out.

 Ady was not thrilled with how dirty and heavy the pumpkins were.  We had to convince that she would not find a clean one.

 Abe , on the other hand, went for the smallest and easiest.  He could not be convinced to find one that was orange.  When we went to weigh them, the clerk just laughed and said, "That one is free!"

 Climbing on pumpkins is such hard work!  

 The adults got a little competitive at the duck derby!

 This was so much better than the patch.  Everything was clean and colorful.

 My DIL loves orange and when we spied the orange lacy pumpkins we said it was if they had been grown specifically for her.

 Grandpa was just a little too big for the barrel ride, but the grandkids loved having him on the train.

 Daddy's jumping sent Ady flying.

That will scare those silly crows away!

We all agreed it was well worth the 45 minute drive.  If you are near Convoy, Ohio, stop in at Lincoln Ridge Farms.

Patty

Tea Cart Redo

Several years ago I bought a yellow cart at an estate sale (half off on Saturday so $7.)  I wasn't sure what to do with it so I stuck it on our deck and put flowers on it.  The weather took its toll on it so I stuck it in our garage where my family used it for their various projects.  From weather induced rust to spilled paint to extreme dirt, it was in pretty sad shape.

   Over this last year, I have collected some odds and ends that I have neither display room or storage room for.  It occurred to me that this cart might have a second life in it.

  After taking it apart, I set about getting rid of the rust.  Did you know you can get rid of rust by wetting aluminum foil with water and scrubbing?  I kid you not, it works like a charm.

   After a little bit of elbow grease, the legs were good as new.  Then I sanded the trays to remove the spilled paint and rust the best that I could.  Next came a coat of primer.

    I just grabbed a can of spray primer I found in the garage.  It was sans lid, but for some reason, I assumed it was white.  I was a bit dismayed to see black when I started spraying.  However, it was a good move as the primer coated everything very well and smoothed things out.

  Then it was multiple coats of red gloss spray paint.  I took the extra time to lightly sand between coats.  I usually skip this step because I am in such a big hurry.  This time, I made myself slow down.  It makes a huge difference in the final finish.  After three coats, I put it back together an started the fun step of decorating.

   The cookie cutters came from two different places.  The red ones were from that crazy garage sale where I paid $5 for a box of random things.  (You can read about that here.)  The vintage metal ones came from this junk store Thrift Chick and I love to stop in and pick.  I paid 50 cents for 6 old metal cutters.  I recently saw the same ones for $4 each!  The cow creamer is not vintage.  I got it at Tuesday Morning.  I couldn't resist because it is just so kitschy.  

I have recently gotten interested in vintage textiles.  They are pretty pricey.  These tablecloths are just things I have picked up on those half off Saturday estate sales when the real antiques have been picked the day before.  On the plus side, I haven't paid over a couple of dollars for any of them.  The yellow cracker tin is really cool.   The lid has a glass knob filled with crystals.  It was designed to keep your snacks crispy and dry.  The lid is heated in the oven until the knob turns bright blue.  It keeps everything nice and dry until it turns pink which means it is time for the oven again.  Pretty nifty huh?

  I love how it turned out.  My husband is thrilled to get all these things off the counter where they have been for way too many months.  There is just something about a vintage to cart to show off your vintage finds.

Patty

Cheap Laminate to Mid Century Glory

We saw this in a Salvation Army.  It was marked $11.  It was cheap and ugly, but Thrift Chick has a record collection that is bursting at the seams.  I saw possibilities.


First step was to replace the legs with something a little more mid century.  I removed the old legs (they were simply screwed into the base.) and purchased new ones at Lowes.  You can buy the plates and legs pretty cheaply at any home improvement store.

Then I roughed up the outside of the cabinet with my sanding block.  Since mid century aqua is one of Thrift Chick's favorite colors, I bought a sample size of aqua at Lowe's (less than $3!) and gave the outside a couple of coats.  When I finished, I noticed the handles did not stand out at all.  I made a trip back to Lowe's for replacements only to find out that these handles were not standard size.  So it was back home for plan B.  I grabbed the leftover silver paint from Thrift Chick's diy project and gave them a quick spray.

Now they pop out!  Quite a difference from the sad little cabinet at Salvo, isn't it? Start to finish it was about two hours....minus the trips to Lowe's.  A pretty easy redo.

I am guessing by Thrift Chick's reaction when I finished it that she did not see my original vision.  She must have been humoring me when she agreed that it had potential.  She is a believer now!

Patty

Thrift Chick's Apartment Part 2

You know school has started when there is a long time between posts!  Sorry for the delay in part 2 of Thrift Chick's apartment -- Patty

I realize it is a small apartment, but when you and your mother have a hard time saying no to a good deal, you just amass a lot of stuff...thanks for coming back to see the rest of my stuff!

We left off in the living area, so now we will turn to the dining room which is probably my favorite place.  It is loaded with tons of both mine and my mother's junking, thrifting and antiqueing finds.

 Let's start with that table shall we?  I got that table at the very first estate sale we attended when I was a freshman in college.  I paid a whopping $10 for it at the end of the sale.  It originally had large ugly nubby chair backs and seats, but I replaced them as soon as I was out of college and earning a paycheck.  It was probably this purchase that started me on the road of vintage home decor.  Yes that is a lot of pyrex in the back.  You can read about it here.  However since that post a month ago, my mother has acquired numerous new pieces....can you say obsessed?

 This is the other of the pair of mid century chairs we found at an estate sale for $5 several years ago. My mother made me sit in them while she kept looking so no one else would claim them...estate sales can be vicious places! That is the second pillow made from my map handkerchiefs.  The bookcase is from helping my aunt downsize...it was in her musty old basement.  A little aqua paint and it has a new life!

 My mother has a tendency to pick up old thermoses when she sees them at rock bottom prices.  She also has three different picnic baskets.  She says it is because they remind of things in her youth....things seldom seen these days.  She took her lunch to school every day in her lunchbox with its matching thermos.  Her mother would pack a thermos of kook-aid whenever they would picnic.  Personally I just think it is another obsession.

I just love aqua and red together.  I first found the red pitcher.  Then we saw the rooster glasses for a quarter each at a Goodwill.  I didn't think I needed them, but my mom insisted I would love them (and of course she was right.)  The red Pyrex hostess dish is her pride and joy.  She also has the five smaller dishes that come with it.  It will be mine when she downsizes!

This is the other side of the room.  My grandfather made the hope chest for my mom when she graduated from college.  It is one heavy sucker....it is not going anywhere so it is a part of the room.  The ugly green bar chair is part of a pair and hopefully will be a diy project soon.  I am always on the lookout for things for my wall..not sure if these will remain here or be changed.

My kitchen is a pretty ordinary kitchen...stove, microwave, refrigerator...you get the picture.  However there are two things I want to share with you.

 This awesome paper towel, wax paper holder came from this tiny junk (and I mean junk) shop my brother found.  It was marked $1.  I know....it is not even red or aqua....but there was no way I was passing up that rooster.  The enamelware utensil holder was a gift from my mom.  She has a sixth sense when it comes to finding cheap, cheap enamelware pieces that are awesome.

This is my diy project for the kitchen.  I bought letters from Hobby Lobby and sprayed them with galvanized silver paint.  So simple.

My bedroom has not changed much from how it was when I was with my parents.  In case you missed the post about its redo, you can read it here.

I have a passion, obsession, mania for vintage jewelry.  I will have to do a post about it someday.  Just know this is a mere portion of the jewelry I own.

I hope you enjoyed the tour.  I am sure by next week I will have changed or added something.  Some teachers from work want to go junking with us.

Blessings,

Thrift Chick