Showing posts with label antique. Show all posts
Showing posts with label antique. Show all posts

Monday, March 18, 2013

Antique Treasures

Antiquing is one of those things mama and I love to go do together. 
We share a love for old furniture, china, glass bottles, and all of the old treasures you can find in random antique shops.

Yesterday afternoon we hit the mother-load of antiquing. In Monroe there is a huge antique mall that is in an old factory building, and the building itself is cool enough for me. We wandered through that place forever.. it really makes me wish I had a big house and an unlimited supply of money to decorate with. ;)

In one of the last booth areas we got to, we came across a box full of old photographs. I can't tell you how much we enjoyed looking through all of these pictures.

 

Some of them had notes scribbled on the back to family members, or descriptions of who is in the picture and where they were. Maybe it's because my parents are photographers, but I could spend hours looking at old photographs.



A picture captures so many things. The clothing, the facial expressions, the surroundings.. it's neat to see how different things used to be.

We came across an old black and white photograph of a girl in her nursing uniform with a note scribbled on the back, "to grandma, with love." It makes you really think about the person in the photograph, where is she now? How did this picture end up at an antique store? It makes me sad that someone can purchase these sweet photographs of someone's loved ones for only $2.

I feel like you can't put a price on pictures.. I cherish all of the photographs my family has taken over the years. For the memories they hold, and the joy that is captured in our faces. It's wonderful to travel back to those moments in time as you look through old pictures.

A box of photographs in the midst of a giant antique store could so easily be overlooked.. but I'm thankful that it caught mine and mama's eyes. We appreciated those photos and the scenes documented in each one of them, and it gives me a new appreciation for the history that the photographs we take each day preserve for us and our family.

“What i like about photographs is that they capture a moment that’s gone forever, impossible to reproduce.” 
― Karl Lagerfeld

Thursday, February 23, 2012

How to Make a Mantel into a Headboard

As most of you know,
I undertook a big project over the summer when deciding what to do for a headboard in my room. I wanted to do something different, and finally decided upon turning a fireplace mantel into a headboard after finding this amazing crackled yellow mantle in a local antique shop. 


After scouring the internet for how-to's of mantle/headboard crafting.. we discovered there are hardly any tutorials. So I thought, why not share how we made mine!

First, we sealed the mantle with some polycrylic from Ace Hardware. I used a semi-gloss so it had a slightly glossy finish.. but go for matte if that's your style. ;) I painted two coats to make sure it was gooooood and covered.


Next, have a piece of plywood cut to fit inside the "fireplace" opening of the mantle. With a few inches overlap so that you can actually attach it to the mantle. We did about two inches on each side. 

I upholstered this piece of wood, and attached buttons for the "puckers." So measure out where you want the puckers to be on the back side of the plywood. I did 3 along the top, 2 in the middle, and 3 along the bottom.



We used upholstery thread, you can find it at JoAnn fabrics or Hobby Lobby, and it's strong enough to do the job.

Next, drill holes in the back according to your measurements so you have a spot to thread the needle through to your button.

Then, take a 1-inch thick roll of foam and cut it to fit the "fireplace" insert of your mantle. Using spray adhesive, attach it to the plywood. (Remember not to attach it to the "overlap" areas of the plywood.)


After using adhesive to attach the foam, stretch your fabric over the foam and using a staple gun.. attach it to the plywood.


Using your upholstery needles and thread, thread through the holes you drilled to attach your buttons. Pull TIGHT in order to create the "pucker" look.



A view of the back:


Then attach the insert to your mantle... with antique mantles you don't always know what you might find... so it can be tricky!


And boom!


We then attached it to a basic Queen bed frame with some ghetto-rigged nonsense. We got some brackets.. lumber... screws... bolts... and the good Lord knows what else, but it's sturdy and it WORKS. 
and it loooooks like....

I need to take more recent pictures, because I've added to the trinkets along the top since this was taken.
 I love having a unique headboard, and it makes it so much more special that I antique'd and crafted it up to make it what it is. 

So get out there and make a project! I love seeing DIY tutorials!

Monday, August 15, 2011

Welcome to My Room!

Now that I've finally managed to snap some pictures I thought I'd share my room with you!
It was a project to complete, but I'm absolutely in love with it all! We spent the entire summer yard sale-ing, antique'ing, and figuring out how to assemble a fireplace into a headboard.. and I'm ready to show it to you!

As I gain more funds I plan to add to it! I'm going to try to find some decorative plates to hang above it.. all shapes and sizes.. but this will do for now!


My pillows are from Pier One.. and I love how colorful my room is. It just makes me so happy every time I walk in. :)


I still need to get some flowers for some of my jars and vases..


and my antique dresser: 


If you missed my other post, I got the knobs from Hobby Lobby to add a pop of color: 

So that's basically my crib! ;) I'll share more apartment pictures as we complete the rooms.. we're still waiting on some more furniture for the living room! And I'm waiting for the desk I ordered to come in for my room.. so there will definitely be more pictures! My classes started today so pray for me this week! ;) 

Happy Monday friends!

Friday, August 5, 2011

Move in!!

I love moving in to a new place, and getting everything in order..
but I really hate the process of carrying furniture in.
Add the heat of August, and it's really not fun.
So pardon how rough I look.. but I have to post a few pictures of the move in yesterday!

Gosh, moving a mattress is so awkward! 

We got to the apartment around 9:30 so we could beat the heat.. and luckily we managed to get all of the big stuff unloaded while it was still relatively cool outside.

I didn't take a TON of pictures, because I want to wait and post them when I get everything the way I want it. However, I did take some of the dresser I got.

I got a beat up dresser at an antique store for a really great price. I loved the mirror on it, but it needed something to make it look more fun. So we went to Hobby Lobby and got a bunch of mismatched, fun knobs... and voila!


it really spruced it up into a fun piece of furniture!


Once I get more done I'll take better pictures! We were just worn out yesterday! and in the meantime, I'm dealing with cable and internet installation appointments... I'm about to pull my hair out! 

Hope you all have a wonderful Friday! TGIF!!!!

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Antique'ing

This weekend my grandparents came to visit with us...
Yesterday we went to Madison, GA and some small towns around there to go shopping and antique'ing. 


We found a few treasures, but a lot of WEIRD stuff..
like this BEAUTIFUL lamp.. those eyes wouldn't freak me out at all!
then we went in this other store FULL of creepy dolls. I mean wall to wall dolls lined up... and the eerie lighting didn't help. It felt like a scary movie.

 
 Eeeeeek!!!

However, I did find this adorable gold jacket with matching mini dress.
It's from the 1960s and it was an extra-small, so sadly it didn't fit.  :( I was devastated.  

the dress was sleeveless
My camera's phone doesn't do it justice.. I promise it was cute.

So now I'm dying to go to some vintage thrift stores!!!
Have any of y'all found any treasures  vintage thrifting?