~MY 100 YEAR OLD CHIPPY WHITE ANTIQUE WATER PUMP!~

~SWEET ESTATE SALE FIND~

On Saturday morning my Mr. AGPMan and I headed out the door extra early so we could get to a local estate sale before the crowds settled in.  We were #14 and #15 in line and we were so excited for the doors to open!  Well...the sale turned out to be a total DUD so we quickly headed south into OKCity to visit another sale.  This one had already been underway for an hour by the time we got there!  I'm so happy to say this one was just as good as the one we visited a couple of weeks ago and that one seriously rocked!!!!   I couldn't believe the treasures we found...some for us and some for my website and local booth... 

~AT HELEN KELLER'S WATER PUMP - 2010~

All that said...by the time we loaded everything up, hauled it home and found a place to temporarily store it all (aka: GAW-RAJ) we were beat!!!  Finding room was a bit of a challenge as our kitchen remodel is STILL underway (which also includes a new downstairs full bath and laundry room).  All the supplies and fixtures are being housed in our garage.  Our SUV and car don't even know what it's like to be sheltered from the Oklahoma storms anymore! BAH!

~FABULOUS MAPLE DRESSER w/MIRROR~

Anyway...showing you just a couple of pics of what we snagged.  I'll share more when the makeovers are done....

~2 DIE 4 FRENCH WRITING DESK - SECRETARY~

My favorite find of the day was the 100 year old (plus) antique water-pump you see at the top.  It was already painted WHITE and it's chippy-wonderful!  It's either going in the flowerbed you see OR in our backyard.  I don't want the thing stolen even though someone would probably need a CRANE to haul it away!

 

~VINTAGE LACE - $1 PER CARD~

(WHAT????)

Finding it reminded me of the fabulous trip my hubby and I took to Tuscumbia, Alabama in 2010.  We stopped to see the birthplace of Helen Keller and just had to have a picture taken at her water-pump!

Love the maple dresser (hmmm...black like Pottery Barn or WHITE!  We'll see!) and that French Desk is darling.  Not sure WHAT was goin' on with the paint job tho.... 

And the lace?  Just speechless.  This is just a SMALL sampling of what I brought home.  Destined for life beyond those cards...

~GORGEOUS DRIED HYDRANGEAS~

Now...one last thing to tell you...

See the pretty dried Hydrangeas?  Well while my Mr. AGPMan was loading up the heavy stuff I noticed a large Hydrangea Bush in the front yard that was covered with spent blooms.  Well...there were at least 100 naturally dried flowers/heads that were soon going to be completely worthless if they weren't clipped off and given some TLC.

 ~CREAMS-WHITES-TAUPES-BROWNS~

I just couldn't have that...so I marched myself slithered right back inside the house and boldly sheepishly asked if I could dead-head the bush.  They all just looked at me like I was  slightly disturbed or something and then said sure...'just don't dig up the plant'.  (Like MOI would do such a thing!)

Every drawer in the maple dresser was filled with dried hydrangea blooms and I can't wait to play around with them!

I have a super-busy week ahead of me.  After only a few weeks of being in my brand-new-booth space I'm moving it to a larger site in the Market at the end of the month!

Sooooo......

  I need to get to work on filling her up!

(More about this soon!) 

Hope your Monday is happy and blessed.

Love to you...  

~TIME WILL TELL...TRANSFORMING OLD CLOCKS~

 Some exciting changes are coming to my Booth/Space at SERENDIPITY MARKET in Edmond, Oklahoma!  As soon as I can I'll be sharing with you more about where my little shoppe is headed...can't wait to show you pics and to tell you what's new!!!  I'll just say for now a WINDOW of opportunity has come my way and I just can't pass it up!

Now...see the clocks at the top?

Tick-Tock!  Tick-Tock!

Don't you just love clocks???

 

I think they look pretty sweet dressed all in white...

Well...take a look below at what they looked like when I found them...

I actually liked the one on the left...but it had a couple of nasty scratches so WHITE PAINT TO THE RESUCE....

This pink, yellow, green and blue clock was sweet and whimsical...but I like it much better now that she's transformed!

I almost passed on this one...but once she was painted she actually turned out to be pretty sweet!

Tag Sale Shopping tomorrow!  Two fabulous estate sales are slated to begin in the wee hours of the morning and I'm too excited to speak!

Hope your weekend is fabulous...

Love to you~

~A LITTLE HUMAN KINDNESS on GOOD FRIDAY~

 Just a quick Post today to wish you blessings and love this GOOD FRIDAY...  May your day be full of love, reflection and peace.

One of the treasures I found last Saturday during my estate sale hunt was an amazing little songbook from the 1940's.  I'm not 100% sure of the publishing time as the hymnal is undated.  It's a precious little thing and I enjoyed flipping through it and reading the words of some long forgotten songs.  Still, given the style and the aging paper of the songbook I'm guessing a bit on it's age. 

On page eighty-two I found a song written by Charles H. Gabriel...a well-known hymn writer and music editor of the time.  The song's lyrics are as timely today as they were almost 100 years ago.  It was penned in 1920...

A LITTLE HUMAN KINDNESS

"By making someone happy as we pass along life's way,

We bring a bit of heaven to the longest, darkest day;

The world is full of shadows, full of sorrow, grief and woe,

And snares are set before us ev'rywhere we go.

So many weary pilgrims toiling onward up the height,

Are longing for a friendly word, ere falls the shades of night;

O lend a hand to help them, haste to speak a word of cheer,

And gloomy clouds will brighten when the day is drear.

Keep all the hope-fires lighted by the torch of love divine;

As beacons thro' earth's darkest valleys ever let them shine.

Somewhere beyond the sunset, in a land supremely blest,

We'll find that human kindness paved the way to rest."

~~*~~

Beautiful, isn't it?  I just LOVE old music, songbooks and hymns.  They all make my heart SING!

 

Yesterday I finished and listed another pillow fashioned with some of the vintage lace finds discovered at the same estate sale from last weekend.  I used that AMAZING vintage Drawn-Work for the front pocket on the pillow.  Here's a picture of how it came out.  The pillow sold right away and I hope my sweet buyer, Miss M, will be very happy!  

Blessings to you today!

Love to you...

 

~GET OUT OF YOUR FUNK and SPIFF UP YOUR JUNK~

Our latest transformations!

On my last Post I shared with you some of the great vintage lace and linen finds I snagged recently at a local estate sale (from your comments you were as excited about my haul as well!).  Today I'm going to give you a peek at a few more things we've found during our junkin' & slummin' hunts and also catch you up on some of the makeovers that are just about finished.  Above are the first three Pillow/Sachets made from the lace I showed you on Saturday!

 Isn't this a neat cubby?  This one I purchased on-line and I just love it!  I've had them before but they are very, very hard to find.  Even when you do track one down they are usually priced sky-high.  I believe they hail from the 1970's...maybe as far back as the 1950's.  Not sure.  I haven't given this one a repaint as of yet, but here's a photo of one I painted about a year ago.  It sits in our largest bath and holds soaps, washcloths, etc.

 

LOVE IT!  To make painting these beauties a bit easier I almost always remove the back (most often put on with small nails).  It's easier to get into the slots.  After it's painted and dry then it's lightly sanded for a neat distressed finish!

 My Mr. AGPMan couldn't believe I brought this old (and handmade) recipe/salt box home.  It was probably made in shop-class or something like that.  The lid is attached with handmade dowels.  Love that!  Anyway...here she is after a coat of my favorite soft-white paint and a bit of gentle sanding. 

A wooden wreath applique was added to the front and dark wax was added to bring out the detail!

 

Remember this box from last week?  I almost painted roses on it, but locally (and online) white rules right now.  So...skipped the hand painted florals and added a large wood applique.

Totally transformed with just a wee bit of paint, new brackets and wood accents!

 I don't have a before picture of this fabulous solid wood paper organizer so you'll have to use your imagination.  Found this at our local thrift store and fell in love with it because of it's size.  It's extra deep and large...  Perfect for holding transfer patterns in my studio!  If I decide to sell it I think it would be charming in a bath holding rolled up wash cloths, soaps, etc.

Love the chippy paint!

 Remember Bombay & Company?  They were in lots of Malls in the 80's and 90's and sold tons of cheap MDF Board glazed with a cherry-wood finish.  I had the stuff all over my home back in 1992 and couldn't live without it.  Well...a couple of weeks ago I found this wonderful writing lap-desk at one of our local thrifts.  Problem was it was $8.  WHAT?  I thought that was really HIGH and almost passed on it.  But then my hubster told me everything with a blue tag was 50% off.  So...home it came!

This one was a bit more difficult to makeover!  The finish was highly polished and since the piece is fake wood I didn't want to get to vigorous with my sanding.  I opted to use a de-glazer (liquid sand) and then rough the inside and outside with some hand sanding as well.  Primed, painted and then sanded the outside with my orbital sander (DeWalt).  This one IS going to have roses painted on the top...

 Love the frame on this old picture.  But...it's warped so it's going to need some work!  But...the detailing is GREAT and it will be fabulous once it's made into a chalkboard.  The print is heavily yellowed from nicotine and faded so for me it's just trash...can't be fixed! :(

Here's a close-up.  Once it's finished I promise to show more pics!

This clock had geese stenciled on the front so it probably hailed from the late 80's or early 90's.  The clock mechanism worked great so it was perfect for a repaint! 

 Now...I love this old cabinet above!  It's made of knotty pine and my guess is that it hails from the 60's.  Not sure.  Just know it hung on the wall in the estate sale house for at least 30 years.  It's going to be fabulous made over...  Can't wait to get started!

Also snagged this sweet and scrolly what-not shelf!  All the glue joints were popped so it's currently being clamped and glued!  Promise to show you both transformations as soon as they are done!

Today I'm working in my studio on new product for my website.  The pillows you see above will be uploaded this evening and a few more as well.  I'm so happy to be back doing what I love.

Hope your Tuesday is wonderful!  Now...resist the temptation to watch IN SESSION or CNN's coverage of that horrific murder trial and go CREATE something fabulous instead!  Then come back and share it with us all!  Let the inspiration live on!

Love to you...

~MY VINTAGE LACE HAUL~

 

 Golly-Gee...can't believe I've gone almost an entire week without posting anything here on Blogger!!!!  Wowzers...what is happening to me?!!!

 

 Could it BE that my wee little BLOGGIE has taken second third fourth fifth sixth place in my life???  Yes...I think it has!  

(Things change I suppose!)

I've been busy with my new booth at Serendipity Market (what FUN I say!) and working behind the scenes on new product for my A Gathering Place website.  Don't give up on me...I promise I'm not abandoning it.

Thank you so much to those of you who have written about my hands!  They are doing great by the way...I'm thinking I'm about 80% healed.  Almost 90 days since double hand surgery and I'm excited to share that some of the residual numbness in my middle finger/right hand is slowly (FINALLY) going away.

 

I'm MORE than grateful.  Thank you, God!

Now...I must share my HUGE find of the day.  Despite the crummy weather here in Oklahoma (we need rain so I'm trying to be NICE) my Mr. AGPMan and I were up at the wink-of-the-sun in order to get in line/to get a number/in order to be the first ones in the door at a local estate sale!  

 Pure dedication to the cause, I say! 

The curtains (a couple photos up) were actually four panels (84" long) and were priced at $8.00 for all...  They included about 10 yards of extra lace, too!

Anyway...I signed up online to follow a particular Estate Sale Company and so I had a few preview pictures of some of what was being offered.

  I spied a bunch of vintage lace and linens and I know from experience you MUST get to a sale early if you even have a prayer of snagging the best finds!

Well..snag I did!

Almost everything!

I left only crumbs heavily stained/new lace things for those who overslept.

 You snooze...

 You loooooze!  (Sorry!)

 Or in this case...you get the circa 1980 polyester green tablecloth made in China.

(At least it was new and still in the package!)

I'm sharing LOTS of pictures for you so you can swoon with me. 

Simply magnificent trims, runner, curtain, dollies, napkins, collars, etc. were found at this ONE SALE!

 

 It's hard to pick a favorite...but I must say this gorgeous French Net Lace Runner (a matching pair) was an over-the-top score.  I nearly fell over from being drunk with joy on this wonderful deal!

 I'm blissfully happy right now!  Forgive me for being snarkeee!  Sometimes I just can't help myself!

 Tucked in the mix was this 1940's bridal garter...love the ombre ribbon and rose!

 

 Lots of gently used linen napkins (great for sachets come Mother's Day) were priced $1.00 per dozen.  WHAT?

 

 The piece above is an absolutely mahhhh-vah-lous example of drawn-work.  This will surely be a pocket on a pillow!

Tons of dollies were priced $4 for the lot.  I snagged a few bags like this one!

Because I use vintage lace and trim in my work I'm always on the hunt to discover and track down more.  Even though handwork has made a huge comeback over the past few years the beautiful old stuff made long ago by loving, hard-working hands is dwindling away.  Once it's gone it's gone.  I can't even imagine the hours that went into fashioning each lovely old piece.  I know in my heart when these women pass on and their estates are liquidated it will be challenging to discover more.  Today I'm so grateful I'm able to truly benefit from all their talented work.

Hope your Saturday was as incredible as mine. 

Love to you...