Fun finds at the antique shop

Before leaving Texas, I made a quick run to the local antique shop and happened to find a few great items in booths that were being cleared out. Lucky me!
I'm a fan of painted metal bins, shelves, etc. so I naturally snatched up this storage basket. Maybe I'll spray paint it one day in a color more vibrant than off white.
I found this lovely, ratty quilt, too. The color in the fabric still looks great and the quilt is in good enough condition to use as a throw blanket, table cover, decorative hanging or something. At least if you don't mind the old rustic look. I think it works so well because the combination of colors is so sweet.
I'll save the other finds for another day.
Happy 4th of July!

Red and blue, I still love you

I was directed to a lovely blog yesterday and found yet another person, or several if you read the comments, enamored by the red and blue (light blue/turquoise/teal) color combo. I have been a member of this admiring group for some time and after reading that post was prompted to capture a sample of my red and blue on camera.
Thanks again, Jess, for the pretty banner.

Bingo cage

My mom recently got this old bingo cage. I love it. It didn't come with the original bingo balls, but she filled it with part of my dad's old marble collection. Probably a lot more interesting to look at than the bingo balls would have been.

Vintage Needle Books

Aren't these great? Vintage needle books from the 40s and 50s, I think. I have no idea what I'm going to do with them, but I love the images. My small collection consists of these 5 books (one set above is a front/back). Here is a short article about a collector featured in Country Living with 150+ needle books. They are such cute pieces to use as decorating accents, for framing or for paper projects and can often be found for under $5.00 (ranging in price, of course, from $3-$100). If you're interested in finding some for yourself, check antique markets, Americana Resources, or the long list on ebay.

Twenty-nine cent treasures

You can't go wrong with vintage children's books. Really, you can use them for anything and they're often very affordable. My friend Mandi gave me the one pictured above, so I can't say if it was still 29 cents (see price at top right corner of cover), but I bet it was close. The book pictured below cost me $1.00. At those prices, I find them very hard to pass up.
So, how to use them? How about...birth announcements (I've done this 3 times-once with the little drummer boy above), party invitations, gift tags, decoupage projects, collage art, scrapbooking, framing (I framed two pages from the ABC book below), reading (!), decorating, and the list goes on. For many of these purposes you'd want to scan the images first and then play with the newly printed pages instead of destroying a great old book that you could use again.



And here's a site for downloading entire vintage children's books: The Rosetta Project.

Repurposing

One decorating practice I tend to use frequently in my home (honestly, before I ever read it as an actual piece of decorating advice!), is to "repurpose" vintage objects....Take old objects and use them for a new purpose. These are just a few simple examples. Casserole dish for book display, magazine rack for aprons/linens storage, truck for book display, vase for flatware, and refrigerator crispers for sewing supplies. We also use a breadbox for office supplies, metal vegetable bin for entryway shelving, egg basket for produce, and I was once working on turning a red metal baby crib into couch seating. That one hasn't panned out yet, but someday.

"Canoe" Be My Valentine?

I love vintage valentines. My favorite (of this small collection) is the googly-eyed girl. Her arm, eyes and hair ribbon move up and down when you wiggle the tab on the back. Here are the sentimental messages from a few of these cards:

Please don't turn sour on me, Valentine...Don't "churn" know I'm yours?
Come "clean" Valentine...Say you'll be mine.
My "sails" are set, the water is fine...Don't "duck the issue"...Be my Valentine!
Valentine, don't be so hard-boiled...Come out of your shell!
I'd be "upset" if you said no..."Canoe" be my Valentine?
and my favorite message-
I'm your Valentine. To test me, wear this badge-and then arrest me.
(that one apparently came with a tear-off badge to wear over a button)

Hope I can be so clever on my cards this year!