Hoarding on Full Display

You remember this from a while back, right? The shelf is now finally complete! It was kind of serendipitous that we didn't install it into the booth last weekend because it needed a little bit more work. Enter Martha Stewart Stencils and a whole lotta muscle.

Again, I'm really bad at thinking to take before shots, so here's a crappy basement picture of it before everything else was painted. It is made out of two salvaged doors, scrap wood, and a couple of shelves I found at Goodwill. I painted the large door, but had to leave the rest of it to my mom and her boyfriend since we don't live close and it wouldn't fit in our car. I really love how it turned out! I definitely got questionable vibes when I decided on pink paint, but no other color ever crossed my mind. My mom didn't paint the backside of the smaller door with the swirl on it, which was a problem because it would be exposed since we don't have a corner space. It had some drips that would have looked thoughtlessly unfinished instead of intentionally shabby.

It was also really dirty because it was farm fresh. I washed it up and painted it pink to match the other door, leaving a little section of stencil in the middle with the original wood. I also painted the edges of the shelves silver and stenciled them with atomic stars to look like a 50's countertop since I couldn't get my hands on any laminate.

The next day, the door still needed another coat and some stars to match the shelves. Then a brilliant idea took over my mind and I just had to execute it. Salem North Star inspired atomic bursts. Duh! So I used the rectangles from one of the stencils to make the fatter parts of the bursts and dabbed a sponge brush to make the thin black lines. They obviously don't look as refined, but I think it still looks really awesome. After spending two days making this display look even more irresistible, I started really thinking about how I could make it work in the apartment. We have very limited space. Originally I thought about just getting rid of the couch, but it holds so many memories of my Babie Marie that it would be too heart breaking. It will also make a great studio couch for BJ once we move into a house. Then it hit me. Take it apart!

This couch weighs at least twice as much as me and it was such a pain trying to figure out how to get the bars holding both sides together unscrewed, but I did it all by myself! Not only did I take it apart, I moved it into place, AND moved the super duper heavy door from one side of the room sideways to upright where I wanted it, then put it all together!

The big door weighs a ton and it is top heavy due to the extra shelves attached around the window, and the glass, too, of course. My cats almost got crushed several times during this entire rearranging ordeal, which only added to the stress, but we got through it unscathed. BJ helped me finish securing the shelves with the hooks underneath. I didn't want to spend a bunch of time fighting to get them in only to take them apart if he hated it. Luckily, he wanted to keep the shelf at home just as much as I did. I think my hoarder tendencies might be rubbing off on him. At the very least, he's becoming a collector.

In the midst of the mayhem, I got a knock on the door from the caretaker. He asked me if I forgot a package in the stairwell between the second and third floor. Uh, no, definitely not. Reason number 472 why I hate living here. There has been mail theft here that resulted in a stolen credit card. The mailman very frequently delivers mail to the wrong apartment. I wonder how much mail I haven't received because I have the laziest, crappiest neighbors of all time. Whatever happened, I'm annoyed. I'm glad he caught it because I've been waiting for these cuties very impatiently! These babies came from an Instagram seller. I'd been drooling over them and thinking about them constantly since the second they were posted for sale, but they were a lot more than I usually spend on white cats. I really like to only spend thrift store or less on them. Probably the reason I have an overgrown collection. I have a package that has been marked delivered to me today which I've yet to receive. Ugh! I hope this one turns up, too. It's a vintage pink radio toilet paper holder. So necessary. Haha!

Anyway, here's the shelf all loaded up with vintage goodness and my little Gooseberry peeking around the corner. She's handling the new arrangement like a champ! I've got spaghetti sauce on the stove, oatmeal cookies fresh from the oven, and I'm ready for the weekend! We're hitting up an estate sale tomorrow which promises to add to my heard of cats. What are you up to this weekend? If you're handy and have access to salvage, this could be a fun weekend project!

Score Share

It was my birthday this past weekend and I've got some things to share! Above is a picture of my scores from Valentine's weekend. If you can believe it, I actually found the turquoise and red Hazel Atlas tumblers at two different stores. I picked up the friendship stack and the turquoise tumblers at Flamingos Divine Finds. We went to Urban Cottage right after and immediately spotted the red ones. After walking further into the store, we found the turquoise mugs. Instant collection! I've never seen any of these in person before and always love seeing photos of them on Instagram. I'm super stoked to have these in my own personal collection now.

We started that Saturday morning at an estate sale. We got there an hour and 45 minutes early because people have started lining up crazy early lately which is very disappointing. I chose this particular sale specifically for some Red Owl glasses. We decided to get just one. While trying to look at some canisters in the kitchen. The shelf they were setting on was broken and there was absolutely no way the people running the sale didn't know that. The canisters came falling down onto the countertop FILLED WITH GLASS and my coveted Red Owl glass broke. Someone had picked up the two remaining by this point so the whole sale was a bust for me. I'd found a pink crinoline dessert bowl at Urban Cottage that we didn't buy on Friday. Since the estate sales didn't work out for us, we decided to go back and get it. Not only was it still there, but a turquoise cup had been added! (We found a large set of turquoise crinoline plates this weekend, but they were crazy out of our price range.) There was a sale going on at Lady Lucille Mobile Boutique and I had to stop in. I found the best dress ever. Pink + turquoise + cats= perfect! I wanted to wear it on my birthday, but it was -25 with windchill, so that didn't happen at all. BJ gave me a cute little box filled with cat stationary items. Valentine's Day was a success!

My mom came up for my birthday weekend. Originally, we were going to install the new shelving into the antique booth, but there was some kind of convention going on in downtown Hopkins and we didn't want to bother shoppers. For now it is taking up too much space in the apartment and I'm trying to find a way to fit it in here because I'm jealous of my booth for having such a cute display! More on that later. Since we were in Hopkins anyway, we went to the Antique Mall where I found a Butterprint 472 and a Hazel Atlas pink elephant glass. We also bought an ale ad with Lucille Ball circa "My Favorite Husband," but it didn't make it into the bag home, so hopefully it's still there!

 On Saturday, we went to get our hair cut at The Hive in NE Minneapolis. Since we were in the area, we ran over to Crafty Planet which of course tempted me with all the cute fabric. I ended up leaving with a cat themed fabric that also had mushrooms and turquoise vintage inspired mugs. It was made for me! The ladies there were very kind and helped me figure out just how much fabric I needed in order to recover a dressing chair I found at Arc's a while back. So I've got that checked off my to-do list and just need to get to the actual project. They didn't have the X fabric I've used on my other two chairs, but I found something else with the same color palette that kind of looks like Pyrex/Orla Kiely stems. Speaking of, BJ got me the pink stems water bottle I've been wanting, since we couldn't get Pyrex stems. My mom gave me the reverse primary set and some Forest Fancies. Since Pyrex has now moved into the living room, I'm not quite sure where all of this will be going >_< (The incessant howling guy next door make me think moving would be the best idea.) The Reeses Oreos are from my sister, who wasn't able to visit, but obviously knows the way to my heart. 

The best part of the weekend was our visit to Animal Ark thrift store. I've been wanting to go there for the longest time and decided to make the trip for my birthday thrifting adventure. I relieved them of several cat tchotchkes. It was really hard to choose, but since all of the money goes to help animals it was easy to bring home more of them! It is a wonderful little thrift store with great deals. If you're in the Minneapolis/St Paul area, please go support this wonderful organization!

This week I'll being working on getting some projects crossed off my list. For now I think I'll go join this lady in a snuggle session.

A Little Pyrex Love

After my cleaning spree the other day, I finished up a quick little project that I'd started the night before. We ran over to Michaels to get more red spray paint because I ran out while painting the Cosco cart. In typical Michaels fashion, there was not a soul to be found on the floor and only one or two cashiers with a mile long line and the spray paint cabinet was actually locked. I decided instead to get all the components to a different project. After getting home, I decided that it was for the best because spray painting inside without opening the windows isn't the greatest idea to be had.

The letters were $1.49 each, the heart was .29, and the wooden Love was $1.25 or so. They had a 30% off your entire regular priced purchase for that night only and I still had money on my gift card from Christmas! The sign was 6.99 and I had BJ use the 40% off coupon in a separate purchase to get that. I had all the paints I needed at home (barely) to bring my vision to life.

First, I had to sand the letters because there were a lot of splinters coming off of them. Then I painted everything and let it all dry overnight. I have no patience when it comes to waiting to finish projects when there is paint drying involved so I chose to go to sleep to get my mind off of it. Of course then I had a long day of cleaning ahead of me. I used E600 glue to attach everything to the sign after marking the place where I wanted them with pencil. I hung this on the soffit in the dining room/kitchen.

In other news, I was asked if there was an email list for updates on any new Pyrex designs on Spoonflower so I created one. You can sign up on the right hand side of the screen on the non-mobile version of this blog or on my Facebook page: P.MaGeebs. I expect to have some new ones coming soon! :) While you're at it, go ahead and follow my blog and my Instagram where I post discounts on my Society6 shop and other equally awesome things.

Cosco Cart Makeover

Last post I told you about how my mom's boyfriend let BJ and I take home his old dirty Cosco cart. I didn't have a picture of it because it was still in the car. BJ isn't usually one to take initiative to brings things in from the car, which is why it basically looks like a garbage pit... To my surprise he walked in the door with it right as I was finishing my last post without even being asked! As you can see, it was incredibly filthy. I used an entire spray bottle of vinegar cleaning it. I haven't been able to get the rust spots off the legs yet, but did manage to get the first coat of spray paint on it!

After cleaning it off a couple times, I had to get the rust off. There was a lot more than I had expected hidden under the layers of grime. Very surprisingly, a baking soda paste took off quite a bit of it! I really don't understand why people moved away from the miracles of baking soda and vinegar. I swear by it for all sorts of cleaning. I sanded down the rest of the rust spots with medium then fine grit sandpaper. I gave it a good cleaning after that was done and wrapped the legs in paper and painter's tape while any dampness air dried.

I'm in a third floor apartment in Minnesota in the winter, so my only good option to spray paint it right away was in the bathroom. I lined as much of it as I could with a drop cloth plastic sheet, taping it to the walls to cover. I'm really glad that I thought to pull back the shower curtain because the bathtub was pink by the time I ran out of paint. It will all very easy to clean off though and nothing was ruined! The fan in the bathroom didn't ventilate the apartment quite enough so the second coat is going to have to wait until it is warm enough outside to open the windows and door. I had no idea that the temperature dropped below zero again whilst starting this project >_< 

This is what it looks like with only one coat of paint. My dear little Annabelle must have walked on the bottom shelf when it was still wet because she walked into the living room with pink paws. She sure hated me for giving her feet a good scrub and her toe hair is still pink!

Since it will be a while until I can paint it again, I decided to give it a new home and load it up! I'm so happy that I found a place for my beautiful crinoline dishes and can finally display a proper stack! (Pink gooseberry is my first complete cinderella set.) I obviously left the paper and tape on the legs because that took forever and I don't want to do it twice. This project resulted in a lot of cleaning. I had to find a new place for the previous shelf which meant I had to move things around. I decided to put it in the bedroom to hold the excess of movies and books I had on the floor, but that meant moving my fern. I hate ferns. I stand by that. Those things are so messy and will drop leaves even just looking at it! Now I have to clean up the drop cloth and give the tile a good mop and clean the bathroom again after washing out all the dirty rags. While I'm at it, I might as well just clean the whole apartment. When I'm finally done cleaning, I'm going to treat myself with a fun little project that I started last night and make a macaroni and cheez pizza for dinner! Too bad the cats won't do any chores so I can just skip to the good part...

Junk Drunk in Southwest Minnesota

BJ and I went down to my mom's house this past weekend to work on the new shelving for our antique booth. I'm terrible at thinking of taking a before shot, so here's an in progress. I also painted a copper toned "sink" planter which I didn't take a picture of... :/ I spray painted the "fixtures" silver and the basin a light turquoise color so it would look like a fun colored mid century sink. My mom's boyfriend is a carpenter and is generously doing the building. I painted this entire door in the time it took BJ to paint a quarter of a shelf so he clearly is not enthusiastic about doing handy/crafty projects.

Just to give you a little picture of what will be happening here, I'm going to have a shelf above the door which has a rod that I'll use to hang curtains. I'm making them out of my Pyrex designed fabric of course! There will also be a shelf under the door to look like a window sill. I found both shelves at two different Goodwill stores without knowing the measurements of the door/window and they fit perfectly! I'm really happy with it so far and can't wait to see the finished results in a couple of weeks when my mom brings it up!

You know I don't go anywhere without a thrift trip planned. Full disclosure, BJ and I were going to try to hit an estate sale before leaving on Saturday morning. We got there about and hour and fifteen minutes early thinking we'd have a really good place in line, even went ready to be the first people to hand out pre-numbers. Holy bejeezus were we wrong! We got numbers 28 and 29. I was going there for a $5 jadeite pitcher and possibly a primary set to resell if it were a good price. I just didn't think it would be worth getting down to Redwood later and possibly leave empty handed anyway. We decided to skip it. I think it paid off because we did our usual junking route. I always forget how far away Lake Benton is from Redwood and it feels longer when you've already been driving for 2 hours. Bleh. It was so so worth it! I went there with the express purpose of getting the pink crinoline dishes I passed on this past summer. We went down last time we visited before Christmas, but they weren't open when they were supposed to be. How these amazing dishes could still be there is beyond me, but we got a good deal on them and I don't regret getting them because my honey hole dried up.

I found a few things in the half off room in the basement including an old Thermos I'm thinking of turning into a lamp and a vintage coffee can with a little league baseball theme for BJ. The only good full priced things I found were the turquoise atomic burst glass and a red bakelite handled cake breaker. My mom had gone to the shop next door and I asked her if there was anything good and she told me no. Oh. My. God. She was very wrong! I found a set of 4 Federal Glass pink atomic burst glasses, another Frost Garland 023 Pyrex promotional (no lid), and a Pyrex baby bottle! 

On the way home, we decided to stop at the two antique stores in Gibbon. I found a really cute vintage hat at the first one. At the farm fresh giant junk shop I picked up this cute turquoise Glasbake honey spread crock. He gave us a deal on everything which made it free! We also picked up a big BBQ tray for keeps, a gold atomic burst lid that I believe goes to a Fire King Dish, but have no idea which, a tea bag plate, and a green vintage kitchen scale that still works!

While picking through my mom's boyfriend's place for wood for the shelf project, I spotted an old Cosco cart that has an electrical strip on it. I was just looking at these on Craigslist and knew it would be a long time before I could afford the crazy prices on them. He gave it to us! Normally I really like to keep old things as is, but this cart is an avocado green that really doesn't go with my kitchen, so I'll be picking up a can of red spray paint for it soon.

This is my updated hutch after adding the pink crinoline and new Glasbake crock. I'm armed with sandpaper and am getting ready to start refinishing some wood. Check back soon!

Gossip Bench Recovered

I decided to recover the gossip bench last week on the sunny day that we had. You have to seize those opportunities in the winter so that you can good pictures, you know? I haven't had a chance to get to the refinishing of the wood. It's also pretty shaky after decades of gossiping, so that will have to be addressed as well. In the meantime, here's the quick little facelift it got that made a big impact.

I started by taking out the menagerie of staples, thumb tacks (why?), and upholstery tacks holding the fabric down. It surprisingly only took about 15 minutes. I put all of the things I pulled out into a 501 so that I wouldn't have to search for them in the carpet later.

The padding in the seat was a really loose cotton. I didn't have the foresight to think of replacing the padding, so I didn't have any on hand. There wasn't really anything wrong with it other than it's a little gross to think about how many people have sat on it and all of that... The old material was really gross.

I think I originally bought a half yard of this outdoor fabric to recover my sewing chair. I had enough left over to recover this seat as well. It is a really wide fabric! This seat had a few tricky notched corners that allow it to set inside the bench without much movement. Whoever previously recovered it didn't screw the seat back onto the frame. I haven't done so yet either because I still have to refinish the wood, which looks pretty rough up close.

Not only did I have enough fabric to recover the seat, there was also enough left over to make a little pillow. Zero waste, every scrap of this fabric was used! BJ was worried that with a dark gray fabric, Annabelle's hair would really stick out and I'd have to clean it all the time. Since I used an outdoor fabric, it is very easy to wipe off! There you have it, part one of the gossip bench re-do done!

Tonight I'm off to Menards to pick up some paint for our booth shelving. We're going down to my mom's house to make it with the help of her carpenter friend so it should be as amazing as I've been dreaming it will be!

P.S. I just can't stop picking up furniture. There is a dressing chair setting next to me that will probably get the same fabric treatment because I'm really in love with the design and it will look great with the chairs coloring. That means a visit to Crafty Planet is in order, and that can be dangerous!

Artist Promotion

FREE worldwide shipping in my Society6 shop only through this link. Promotion expires February 8, 2015 at Midnight Pacific Time. *Free Shipping offer excludes Framed Art Prints, Stretched Canvases, Wall Clocks and Rugs.

I've added a handful of new designs lately so go check it out!

All Moved In

We are all moved into our space at Auntie M's. (911 Mainstreet Hopkins, MN 55343) If you're looking for us, we're in the basement: keep straight at the bottom of the stairs and it's the first booth on the right in the back little room- vendor MB4.

The dish racks and little shelves are for display purposes only, sorry! :/