My Wonderful Funky Junk Finds

The last couple of weekends have been great for finding mostly junk and some nicer vintage items.  All of it I hope to turn in to wonderful treasures of some sort.  I don't really think of any of the pieces as junk since I can see so much potential in all...well most of them.

I'll start with my most favorite.  I didn't even have to buy it.  Some of you may look at it and say "good thing!"  My husband found this while walking in the woods up north and brought it back for me:

I absolutely squealed!  And then he said "and look honey, it has metal corners and everything".  He knows exactly what I like!  I just love him.  Who needs flowers or candy?  Just give me the junk.  I have a few ideas formulating for a project for this one so it won't be long before you see a project over at Rustic Crafts.

Then there is this little guy:

It's a vintage net float.  I bought just one because I need to fiddle with it a little bit until I come up with a good idea.  The manager of the antique store said she would sell me several for a good deal if I wanted more, so we will see.
Another favorite purchase of mine is this great cafe sign:

It was located out in back of one of my favorite antique stores in Newaygo, MI.  There wasn't a price on it but that was typical of a lot of the items there and I was prepared to negotiate.  However, I was surprised when the owner started to laugh and said that it wasn't for sale because it still got used for a charity event.  She was kind of enough to sell it to us though for making a donation to the church.
We bought quite a few things from her that day so she through in these letters for free:

We had found these in the back yard of the store as well and I think she was a little surprised that we had wanted these too, based on her chuckle.  However, I love numbers in wall art.  Plus, both my husband and I were born in 64 so how cool is that?

I planning on using this old door or shutter probably just for the wood slats:

I have already decorated my office with the other items that I purchased at her store:

I think these were old jail keys.  I don't feel like I am in jail when I'm in my office but thought they looked cool hanging in there.

And, the red picket fence was a great find especially since I didn't have to do anything with it.  The color already coordinated with my office colors and it was naturally distressed.

My last purchase was this vintage sheet music:

There is so much that I will be able to do with this in various crafts!

All of this should be able to keep me busy and thinking for a while. 

Saturday Link Party

Link party start today!  Enter your links for crafts, diy decor projects, or recipes here.  This party will remain open through Wednesday.  Don't forget to vote for your favorite entrees.

New Link Party Hosted By Rustic Crafts Starting This Saturday

Starting this week saturday there will be yet another link party for you to enjoy and share your great creative projects.  I figured that saturdays would be a good day to share what you have been working so hard on all week! 

The party will take place at Rustic Crafts and will remain open for your links from saturday through wednesday.  You will have a chance to vote all week long, up until friday night, on your favorite projects.  Then, on the following saturday's party, I will feature the readers favorite along with an editor's pick.

All of the links shared should be crafts, diy projects, home decor or recipes.  The theme does not have to be rustic or shabby chic unless you want to be considered for the editor's pick.

Please help me spread the word along so that this link party can be a success and we can get lots of ideas shared. 

Thank you so much!

Inspiration From New York City Trip

I love to travel and to get inspired by the new things that I see.  When I was just in New York for a girls weekend, I particularly enjoyed seeing the architecture and design of Chelsea Market.  This is an indoor market that included a winery, bakery, basket store, etc..

I love all of the brick walls, rustic signs, and open duct work and pipes.

This just inspires me to find some kind of pipe and wrap some grapevine around it!  I love the rustic look.

These crates are fun!  I would love to find something like this to use as storage in my craft room.

The rough arches of the brick walls are so cool.  And, isn't the clock great?

I'm not quite sure what this light fixture is made from but it is quite an interesting look.

If I posted every picture, even just the ones of cool architecture, I would fill up pages and pages.  Everything I saw just kept filling my mind with inspiration for new ideas for crafts or decorating.  It really was fun to get a change of scenery, especially in such an artsy place as New York. 

We spent most of our time in either Manhattan or Brooklyn.  I really liked walking the streets of Brooklyn near Williamsburg.  Even the graffiti was fun to see (as long as it wasn't obscene).

This wall made a fun backdrop for a picture of me with my two daughters.  My daughter to the right side is the one who lives in Brooklyn. My other daughter, with the camera, has much better pictures I am sure.  So, I will probably be posting a few more when I get her pictures. 

I love the chalkboard table in my daughter's apartment.  It's an inexpensive way to put together a coffee table but the look is so fun and hip.

I may put together a table of my own in this style if I can find the right size crate!  I'm looking forward to getting back into the craft room.