My Vintage Soul

Week 3: Screen Gems and Assorted Stuff

Rain, rain go away. I want to pick today.

I probably said that almost every day last week but to no avail. The bad luck and the bad weather continued for week three of Spring Cleanup.

But there were a few bright spots.

The high point was finding yet another screen that might serve as the frame for Amy's Christmas bulb tree.

To recap:

 

In week one, I found this screen door, which is going to take a lot of work, to, well, make it work.

 

But right after I had posted about week two, I found screen no. 2. Much better. Its bigger than screen no. 1, plus there's that scalloped edge that I absolutely adore. And best of all, it's pretty much good to go and doesn't need a lot of TLC.

But what could be better than one practically perfect scalloped edge screen?

How about -- wait for it -- two of them?

 

Actually screen no. 3 is the glass version of screen no. 2. This frame is in better shape than screen no. 2 but getting that glass out might be tricky. Hopefully, it won't require a trip to the emergency room.

Other assorted finds (note the wet deck serving as a backdrop):

 

Oak doll bed. Needs a screw on the frame and a good washing. Probably something I'll add to the next garage sale.

 

Popeye pinball game. Mr. VS, helpful as ever, was quick to point out the obvious: The pinball game ball is missing its lever, springs and balls. But, I tried to tell him as he rolled his eyes, it still has great graphics. Into the Etsy shop, it will eventually go.

 

 

Finally, this suitcase, which, yeah, I know, is a real fixer-upper. I'm seeing it re-glued, with twill tape trimming those rough edges, and decoupaged to protect the paper finish. But I may have to hide it from you-know-who, so it doesn't end up being tossed away during our cleanup week. 

P.S. The winner of last week's giveaway is Eddie M. Congrats. I didn't find anything small enough and mail-able enough for this week but I'm hoping to make up for it next week.

Week 2: Slim and Soggy Pickings But Still a Giveaway!

 

Every week during Spring Cleanup, I pray for good luck and good weather. Week two didn't bring much of either. 

 

For starters, the week was cold and rainy, so finding good stuff that wasn't wet or had been wet was a challenge. Plus, the only day that brought any extended sunshine was Friday and I was out of town on Friday. So this week, the pickings were slim and were mostly smalls.

 

And I'll only briefly mention that I stumbled upon a set of dentures, which I didn't bring home. No pictures because the ewwww factor was way too high.

 

For this week's giveaway, we have -- just in time for the summer barbecue season -- a vintage Simplicty pattern for grilling aprons and mitts. Now I don't know if all the pattern pieces are there but the graphics are cute in a Ken and Barbie kid of way. There are also two party favors in their original W.T. Grant packaging and some type of tin cup with yellow plastic handles. I'll also toss in the 25th anniversary cake topper, which I found the week before but it was in the area for this week's pickup.

And to answer a couple of questions about the Week 1 haul: Yes, those power tools really do work but the reciprocating saw needs a new blade. And, yes, I'm still working at cleaning that silver and will proudly post the "after" shots.

If you want to be eligible to win this week's fabulous finds, leave a comment before midnight Friday. This winner of the "birdcage," Ironstone sugar bowl and little rose cup is Dawn of The Gahan Girls.

 

The One That Got Away

As happy as I am with what I found during week one of Spring Cleanup, I do have one big regret.

Actually, it's a six-foot tall and who-know-how-many-pounds regret.

 

Meet the One that Got Away. I think it's a sorting station made of metal. Unfortunately, I came upon it two minutes too late, so it was not to be mine.

It was in front of a fire station, the same fire station I had passed 20 minutes earlier with nothing in front of it. But now, there it was with a pickup truck parked next to it, and a man and a woman were getting ready to load it onto their truck. ¶

Quickly, I ran to my car to get a picture of the one that got away. They looked at me like I was nuts. But guess what? I think selling a piece like this for scrap is nuts too.

Maybe I should have offered them something for it but they weren't open to negotiations. To them, it was just one more piece on top of their pile. I'm not even sure what the going rate for scrap metal is, and even if they had sold it to me, there was no way that it would have fit into the back of a Subaru Forester. So, there I would have been, trying to fend off the next group of pickers from taking my newly purchased find. 

Which brings up something that will probably be a post of its very own in the next few weeks -- and that's just how competive picking has become and how tough it is to find anything decent that is metal.

 

But there was a consolation prize. I found this oak Mission-style cabinet door yesterday. It's not old but it deserved to rescued, so I did. Now I just have to figure out what to do with it.

Suggestions?

P.S. There's still plenty of time to enter the giveaway in the previous post. Leave a comment and you're in.  

 

 

Week 1: A Silver Lining and a Giveaway

My expectations were pretty low for the first week of Spring Cleanup. The designated area, which is a little bit of a haul from my house, is very rural and I presumed that the picking would be quite sparse. In fact, for those reasons, it's the one area of my town that I've picked the least in years past.

That, however, is changing from now on.

 

The first finds were small: an Ironstone sugar bowl (minus a lid but charming nonetheless) and a cute cup decorated with delicate red roses. Completing the white vignette is a small birdcage, which is actually a decorative plant holder.

After that, things got bigger. Actually, a lot bigger.

 

I had been searching for an over-sized chippy window screen to make my version of Amy's Christmas tree, and I drove by this old screen door twice before I stopped, finally giving into that voice that said "grab it now or kick yourself later." (See Rule No. 2 of the Picking Primer.)

 

If I don't find anything better over the next few weeks, meaning the perfect-sized window screen, I can cut the door down and sand off the black paint to reveal what looks like Barbara's favorite shade of green.

  

And, if I'm really ambitious, I can add some pleated aluminum edging (another find) to frame the screen. I'm not sure what I'll do what that little metal No. 2 but I picked it up as well.

And my homely (read dog-chewed) screen door doesn't look quite as homely when it's used as the backdrop to my next two finds: A couple of Syroco pieces that would be really gorgeous painted using Karla's terrific no-sand painting treatment. Hey, there's another project that I don't have time to do.

 

Finally, the picking gods saved the best for last. Near the end of my journey, I turned up something that's a first in all my years of Spring Cleanup:

 

A variety of pieces of silver or probably silver plate, which were in a big pile of junk near an old barn.

 

There were these assorted trays and what I think is a champagne bucket. The large oval tray is marked John Wanamaker, as in Wanamaker's department store.¶

 

The tea/coffee service is circa 1910, according to a Google search. It's marked Cheltenham and Co., Sheffield, England, and I think Art Deco-ish handles could be bakelite.

Of course it needs a really good cleaning. I'm thinking of trying a method that uses hot water, aluminum foil, baking soda and salt. Has anyone done that before? Let me know how it worked for you.

So, to sum it up: 2011 Spring Cleanup is off to a stellar start and I'm one happy picker. Maybe next week I'll find a fancy vintage tablecloth and service for 12 just in time for Easter dinner.

Now for the giveaway. Leave a comment before midnight Friday and you will be eligible to win the bird cage, sugar bowl and rose cup. And, somewhere around here, in the mountains of stuff that I once called a basement, I think I have a little plate that matches the cup and I'll include that as well.

 

P.S. I nearly forgot another pick and yet another rule for the Picking Primer, which is this: Never pass up power tools. An unexpected gift for the husband is a reminder that driving around with a bunch of junk in your car every spring isn't a complete waste of time and gasoline.

 

A Picking Primer

  
 

Allow me to introduce myself: My name is Linda, and I'm a picker. (And no, that's not a portrait of me on top of that pile of trash).

If I see something at the curb that calls my name, you can bet that I'll try to drag it home. That instinct goes into overdrive in the spring, particularly in my little corner of Central New York. Although my husband probably thinks otherwise, I'm fortunate enough to live in a town where there is sanctioned trash-picking, otherwise known as Spring Cleanup.

 

Spring Cleanup is a six-week long event during which residents can toss almost anything to the curb. Well, not everything. Here are the no-no's (and I quote from the official cleanup notice): "We cannot pick up the following hazardous items: tires, batteries, gas tanks, barrels of any kind, propane tanks, tree stumps, freezers, refrigerators, toxic containers, medical supplies or waste, lawn chemicals, asbestos, shingles, pipe wrap, air conditioners, microwaves, TVs, concrete, computers and any other building materials of any kind from your home."

So I guess you're out of luck if you're looking for a barrel of toxic medical waste inside an asbestos-lined refrigerator.

 

Over the years I've come across just about everything else, including everything pictured in this post, as well as three upright pianos, lots of artifical Christmas trees and wreaths, numerous toilets (always leave those behind), a vintage dress form, kitchen cabinets, etc.

 

So on the eve of 2011's Spring Cleanup, I present my picking primer:

1. Pick early and often.* The picture frame and the anniversary cake topper above illustrate this point. I found both last night in an area that isn't up for pickup for two more weeks. Although the designated pickup day is Monday of each week, stuff starts to appear during the preceding week and often before that.

* With gasoline pushing $4 a gallon around here, I may have to redefine "often,"  particularly when the designated area isn't that close to my home, as it is for this first week.

2. If I don't grab it, someone else will. This means that I've learned to go with my initial impulse. If I have regrets about a pick later, I can always put it out at the curb during my cleanup week. And some other picker always takes it.

3. Avoid upholstery because it's rarely worth the time and trouble of trying to rehabilitate someone else's stinky old furniture. And, yes, I have learned that from experience too.

  

4. Try to use my imagination. Something that looks like a ratty old lampshade can be repurposed to be a photo display rack a la Pottery Barn. In fact, I had better take another look at the Pottery Barn catalog before I head out.

5. Never drive by storage containers without taking a second look. I always pick up those plastic drawer units, which fit really well under a dorm room bed. Better to get them free than pay $10 each for them at Walmart.

Finally, I'm prepared to break all these rules because every year Spring Cleanup is, as Forest Gump's mama might say, like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get.

Ready to roll? I am. Actually, I've been ready for a year now. Let's go picking.  

 

P.S. If there is good stuff, I share the wealth with a giveaway every week. Check back with me early next week to see what's up for grabs.

 

By the Numbers

 

I went to 2 sales this weekend. The first 1, well, it was a dud. Or at least it was by the time that I got there 2 hours or so in.

 

The second sale was a little better because I found at least 5 things worth buying and I got to catch up a little with Barb, who was also there. And that made me smile. And, yes, maybe it was a weird smile just like this.

In addition to these numbered tiles from a game called RummyTyle, there was 1 Scrabble game.

 

 

1 set of Tupperware salt and pepper shakers (or is that 2 shakers?) still in their original bag. 

 

1 box of Shiny Brites, 12 ornaments. Not the prettiest, I know, but they're just what you need if you're making an ornament wreath and need to fill in here and there.

And finally, the best deal.

 

3 vintage Christmas stockings that I'm sure held many treasures for Sheri, Carmen and Suzy. Carmen, by the way, must have been the favorite child because his stocking was different from his sisters and there was a lot more gold glitter flourishing under his name.

So to even things out, I removed the gold glitter, which as luck would have it, peeled right off.

And speaking of numbers, the countdown is on for the Annual Spring Cleanup. It starts in 7 days although it's more like 5 or 6 because that's when castoffs will hit the curb.

But much more about that in my next post.