~A SWEET GATHERING...Train Case Makeover~

When you don't see me listing new things on my  A Gathering Place Website it's because I've taken special orders and those always keep me busy!  I'm always grateful for the sure-to-get biz and these days I don't hesitate to push custom orders to the top of the line! 

I finished the makeover on this sweet vintage Train Case (Gathering Case) late last week and today it's being shipped to it's new owner.  I've lost count how many Case transformations I've made over the past twenty years...I can almost do them in my sleep now.

The pink rose fabric used for the interior continues to be one of the most popular prints chosen!  This Case has a soft pink ground with hand painted pink roses!  Vintage lace trim, old ribbon and a bit a bling help to make it a keeper.  Hope the new owner loves it (thank you, G!).

Over the weekend I finished up a huge batch of Christmas Ornaments for my online shop and Etsy and eBay!  Hope to have them on sometime this evening...maybe in the morning.  Sugared with glitter I'm loving how the vintage images shine!

They started out just blocks of wood!  After a bit of work they turned out like this: 

 I don't have them photographed yet, but tomorrow I'll show you the ones made using soft white paint and vintage French images and graphics.  Soooo fun!

Hope your Monday is great!  Today is my mother's 78th birthday!  My daughter, Adrienne, and I are taking her to lunch at Mimi's so I have to scoot!  

Love to you...

~VINTAGE VICTORIA MAGAZINES and other Fanciful Finds~

SWEET FINDS FROM ALABAMA and TENNESSEE

Vintage Victoria Magazines

One of the things I love most about traveling outside of Oklahoma are the wonderful vintage finds I discover along the way.  Oklahoma is a wonderful place to thrift and our estate sales are simply fabulous.  But...visiting towns beyond our borders can be very exciting as every State and town is vastly different.  One never knows just what they may find!

 Victoria Magazine September 1989

After we left Tuscumbia, Alabama, my hubbs and I drove north to Tennessee for a visit with my sister.  Before she moved away from Oklahoma (and left me!) we junked nearly every Saturday together back when our children were still very, very small.  Honestly...between the two of us we hauled home more incredible stuff than I can even tell you.  And so began our mutual love for all things gently loved and aging...  While still in our twenties we developed a passion for hunting down antique furniture, vintage glass, fine handwork, turn-of-the century clothing and old linens...

Victoria Magazine October 1989

Those days still bring to my mind some of the sweetest (yet financially challenging) days of my life.  Being with her again reminded me just how much I've missed having her live down the street~  So long now since she waved goodbye...

 

Victoria Magazine November 1989

Today our children are all grown-up and except for one they are married and gone.  Our homes are now filled and overflowing with earthly treasures purchased during our years of thrift and tag sale shopping.

 Victoria Magazine January 1990

So...here we were again, all these years later only now it was just the two of us junking around town alone.  Tag Sale Shopping with my big sis always proves to be an over-the-top experience!  She lives in a town not far from Nashville and it is full of some of the sweetest little places I've ever seen.  While visiting several of their antique malls and downtown shoppes I found a big fat stack of vintage Victoria Magazines and my heart just skipped a beat!  I've collected them for years but am still missing several of the early issues.  Expecting to find only duplicates of what I already own I was thrilled to find several issues I was fairly certain I didn't have!

 Victoria Magazine February 1991

It's been well over a year since I stumbled upon ANY vintage Victoria Magazines...  You might remember in early March of 2009 I found a premiere issue of Victoria (that would be Spring/Summer 1987) for only fifty cents (yes...I said CENTS).

 PREMIER ISSUE of VICTORIA MAGAZINE

My heart is still a bit faint over that fabulous find because I once watched an eBay Auction for a Premier Issue of Victoria (in great condition) fetch over $150!!

 

 SOME OF MY VICTORIA MAGAZINES

Out of the ten Magazines I brought home only one was a duplicate.  And it was a Christmas issue from 1995.  Cost for each issue?  Three dollars...only five cents more than the cover price!  Not too bad!

 VINTAGE STEMWARE

At another local antique shoppe we stopped in for a visit I found twelve beautiful pieces of vintage stemware.  I fell in love with the pattern even though I have no idea what it is called!  I would be crazy-happy if anyone out there could identify either the Maker or Design for me as I'd love to add more pieces to my collection.

 ETCHED WATER GLASS

The etched design reminds me of Chantilly but I'm certain that is not what these are called.  My sister collects Chantilly so I'm certain they are not the same.

 ETCHED WINE GLASS

Cost for each piece you ask?  Less than $3.00 each! :)

SCORE!

NEW NOTE:  I JUST FOUND MY STEMWARE AT REPLACEMENTS.COM AND THE NAME OF THE PATTERN TIFFIN/FRANCISCAN LOVE LACE (ETCHED)/JUNE NIGHT!!!  THE TALL GOBLETS RETAIL FOR $45.99 (each) AND THE WATER GOBLETS RETAIL FOR $23.99 (each) AND THE LOW SHERBETS (WHICH THEY DON'T HAVE) RETAIL FOR $19.99 (each)!!!
WHOOT! WHOOT! WHOOT!
THANK YOU, MARIE @ COTTAGEPINKPERFECTION, FOR SENDING ME TO THE RIGHT PLACE.  FOUND THEM ON PAGE 15 UNDER STEMWARE!  
YEAH FOR ME!!!!

 VINTAGE TRAIN CASES

Now...if you've followed my work for very long (especially since my eBay days) then you know I refashion and re-purpose vintage Train Cases.  I'm always on the hunt for them and I was happy to find one in an antique mall while shopping in Alabama.  My sister gifted me with the one on the left.  She found it at her neighborhood Goodwill for $3.99.  WHAT?  NO WAY!  I've NEVER paid that little for a train case!  Especially for one made of wood!  SISTER-SCORE!  Whoot!  Whoot!

LOVELY OLD FIND

I'm pretty picky about the Cases I buy as I've learned through trial and error over the years they were not all created equal.  Some are cardboard and some are made of wood.  I will never again knowingly make over a Case made of pressed paper.

FEATURED IN ROMANTIC HOMES MAGAZINE

Back in 2006 Romantic Homes Magazine featured several of my hand painted Train Cases (that I call Gathering Cases TM) in the September issue.  What an honor!

ALL PAINTED UP

I'm currently working on two new Cases and hope to have them on my A Gathering Place Website sometime late next week!

 LOVELY VINTAGE LIQUEUR

Earlier this year I found the sweet Carafe you see on the left.  Another amazing little find from Tennessee was the aging Liqueur on the right.  Generally they bring many bucks but since I'm a bargain hunter I'm always on the lookout for great deals!

SWEET PRESSED GLASS

I snagged this little sweetie for $12.50.  Original price was $58.  It had been marked down three times when I found it...couldn't pass it up!

 And there you have it!  Just a few of the 'tickle me pink' deals I found on my trip out east!

Hope your weekend is wonderful.  I've been working on several new pillows and painted pretties for my website and so I hope you'll stop by soon and see what's new!

My little vacation is over and so I'm back to the grind the JOY of creating!

Blessings for a beautiful day!

Love to you...

~VINTAGE TRAIN CASE - Transformed Into a Work of Art~

~HAND PAINTED TRAIN CASE~

Special Order for Cheryl

Happy Monday, Sweet Peeps! I hope this beautiful Fall Day has found you well! The year is certainly moving right along, isn't it?

~SWEET NAME TAG~

Old Skeleton Key, too!

Over the past few years I don't recall ever being as busy as I am now! Not just in the business sense, mind you. Just BUSY in general! Typical stuff for my Mr. AGPMan and I! House renovation, family get-together time (lots of celebrations during the last half of the year), Christmas and Holiday shopping (we start early), selling hand painted and hand sewn pretties in my new Booth and online, and of COURSE, Blogging! I actually consider my busy schedule to be a good thing as the economy has hit all all pretty hard. I've never been one to turn down work because socking away money for a rainy days sure isn't as easy as it once was.

~LINED w/ a SWEET MARY ROSE COTTON~
Vintage Lace, Ribbon & Rhinestone Accents

Over the past several weeks I've taken three special orders for refurbished "Gathering Cases" (Train Cases). I've decided to share with you the one you see above as it came to me because of BLOGGING! Made for a very special lady named Cheryl, I finished this Case about 10 days ago. But~ because of the gloomy Oklahoma weather it was in no hurry to cure!!! Today it was packed up and will soon be on it's way Canada! I'm so excited for my sweet blogging friend to get this truly special Case. Cheryl doesn't have a Blog as far as I know...she just FOLLOWS them!

~SIGNED & DATED ON THE BOTTOM~

Cheryl chose one of my very favorite Mary Rose Cottons for the lining of her Gathering Case (tm). She chose a crisp white exterior and hand painted pink roses from Yours Truly! :)

~GUTTED & PRIMED~
Ready for Her Transformation

Thought I'd include a photo of the Case after I finished priming it! I only use Vintage Cases that are MADE OF WOOD! Truly they are the best of the best!

Here's a little tip for all of you who are planning a Train Case Makeover for someone you love...

Before base painting your Train Case, remove all the old and yucky lining and start FRESH! Prime (PRIME! PRIME! PRIME!) with a bonding Primer (Remember...I told you about ZINSSER!!!!!!). Be careful when using latex paints that have added thickeners!!! I just discovered (ugh...the hard way) that SOMETIMES these paint additives will react with the rubber trim and cause the Case to remain tacky and/or sticky. Skip using Behr Paint AND KRYLON Spray Paint on your Train Cases! They will both leave you disappointed with the results.

Thank you for stopping by today!

Blessings to you as your creative juices continue to flow...Rebecca