Weekend Treasure Hunt

It was a busy weekend for the Sea Witch.  Took Friday off to  be with my sista as she had trigger finger surgery for three of her fingers.  Both hands were bandaged thick like bear paws and by the time I got her back home, she was feeling no pain and flying high!  She recupes fast and already she is back on facebook typing away with her bandaged hands. On Saturday, I made a run to one of my favorite places to seek out treasure.  What a hot day.  The heat was in the 90s before 10:00 am and items on the rows of tables were already too hot to pick up.  I needed to make a quick run through these tables to see if there was anything that I wanted before the sun was really high in the sky.

An adorable little souvenir Indian doll.  Circa 1960s.

Nice Navajo rug.  Soft wool weft and warp and still has its certificate of authenticity attached.

Pretty butter yellow corner shelf that I filled with tobacciana.  Lucked into a grouping of walnut pipe racks and humidors from the 1960-70s.  They all smelled like fresh tobacco, it was a neat scent.

The amber humidor was filled with loose tobacco and smoked stogies.  LOL.

A buggy whip is always fun so I paired it up with the Hefner like smoking jacket.  Hey, love hurts.

Lovely find.  David Davidson, signed hand colored photograph.  Student of Wallace Nutting, signed by David Davidson and titled "Hearts Desire".  Original frame and bubbled glass.

A better  closeup photo. 

Turn of the century riding hat.  Brown velvet.

A terrific find.  Turn of the century carriage lamp.  These were also used with early automobiles in the 1900s.

Lovely, hand tinted photograph of Burgess shipyard in Marblehead, MA.  Dated 1881. Original frame and bubbled glass.

Pretty, cut and etched crystal compote and an ice cream parlor penny lick on top.  A penny lick is a small ice cream dish that the customer paid a penny for a little taste at local ice cream parlours.

And finally, this spectacular hand tinted, etching from 1784.  Bubbled glass and original gilt frame is from the mid 1800s.  This was a marvelous find with a value of $600-800.  With a professional cleaning it will realize that insurance value.

 Love Miz Sophie in her sassy Edwardian hat.  I adore these big, over feathered hats from the Titanic era.

Redid a few of my displays so the booth looks fresh.

Main booth is packed with lots of treasure.  Everytime I would refluff a space, a customer would come in and take something out.  NOt complaining, this is always a good problem to have.  

I was busy making necklaces out of the porcelain hands and really pleased with the way they turned out.  I was selling them as quickly as I displayed them.  Wish I had another hundred of them.

Pretty beads, brass embellishments and porcelain hands. 

It was a fun weekend of treasure hunting, jewelry making and taking care of sis.  Wish I had three more days for this kind of fun.  It's back to the corporate race tomorrow...but in 5 days, it will be the weekend again. Whoo hoo.  Blessings to you and those you love. Sea Witch

Junkin with my sista

Between my corporate job and my sista's we have been busy missing each other on the weekends.  We usually "play" on Saturday with a day of junkin, lunching and gossiping. Mind you, we live up the street from each other and we email/talk/facebook all of the time so it's not like we don't see each other. Still, baby sis and I just always have a great time together and Saturday was our day to play.  We always have stuff to give each other so while sis was getting her handbag together, I snapped this with my iPhone of seaglass in a big martini glass sis had on her dining room table.  A little of Kim Klassen's overlaying techniques and this is the artistic outcome.  I love it...looks so Key Westie to me and yes, the perfect martini for a sea witch.

First stop was Fry's...had to pick up a splitter to hook up a second monitor for my home PC.   A girl can never have too many shoes, handbags or monitors.

From there we grab a little lunch and then off to Goodwill for some junkin. Haven't been to one location in a few months and it really paid.  Along with treasure from a few other locations I came across some good finds.  

 

Nice West German lidded stein.

Neat serving utensils from a Hawaiian steamer. 1940-50s

Pretty Victorian pink transfer ware dinner plate. 1896

Three of these English transferware dinner plate with hand painted details.  Pretty scalloped edges. 1931.

Three dinner plates, Wedgwood Wellesly pattern. 1931-1957. 

Pretty creamy color.

Larger then a dinner plate, this decorative element is as light as a feather so it can be hung inside or out.

Neat pair of "Mayan" look pair of vases.  Celtan, California pottery. 1960s

Lovely muted shades of wool on this modern Navajo rug. 

Marvelous find at $3.93.

Everyone woman needs a sassy, red hat.

These were in my house.  I finally came across a bucket bench in faded seafoam and now these can move on to another's home.  I adore antique bucket benchs and actually had these stacked 5 high. I have two more that I will eventually move on to the booth.  The bottom bench still retains its original milk paint and has octagonal legs.  The small one at the top is the cutest and no more then 10 inches by 8 inches by 6 inches.

The Navajo rug looks pretty with the three lanterns.

How clever is this?  This is why I adore Queen of Hearts. So many clever decorating ideas.  This designer rolled up sheet music and filled candelabras and scones with faux candles.  I love this idea.

Fell in love with this spectacular high Victorian baby carriage.  If I had the money, I would have bought it.  Have no clue what I would do with it other than I just like it.  LOL

And one final treasure find that is now sitting in my sista's kitchen until she tires of it and then returns it to me to sell. Yea, that happens often. Sis loves to redecorate and she will see something that I have found and then asks if she could live with it a while. 

This cutie only had 3,000 made and books at about $195.00.  Who knew?  I paid $10.51 so no complaints from me.  It may be a while, though, before sis gives it back.  When you open the top of her bottle, little "Jeannie is sitting inside" guarding the cookies.

It is too cute for words and looks great in her kitchen...for now.

It was a lovely day with sis and as we ended the day with a side trip to a favorite haunt, we noticed this sign and had to take a picture. Again, it was an iPhone shot so I added an overlay technique of Kim Klassen's to clean up the shadows and give it a more painterly look.  We never did get dive bombed by the overprotective mother bird, but it sure would have been fun to watch.

Thanks for swimming over to my blog and saying hello.  I appreciate hearing from you.  Blessings to you and those you love.  Sea Witch

Weekend finds & bagels.

It's hot hot hot in Atlanta with temps in the high 90's most of the holiday weekend.  Thankfully, we had a few storms come in later in the day to cool us off for an hour or two.

Early morning sky was a great lavender color as I grabbed the dog and went for a bagel run.  I picked up a few Six Cheese bagels for my honey, fried up some Taylor Pork Roll slices, add peppers, onions to an omelet and then top with a slice of melted Swiss cheese.  Added all of that to the Six Cheese bagel and you have breakfast heaven as my honey calls it.   Einstein Bagels also has "doggy bagels" and Kota adores them. He knows the route and loses his mind until I come out with the doggy bagel in my hand.

It's his weekend treat.

Following breakfast, I went treasure hunting early Saturday morning and found some interesting pieces and along with items from past treasure hunts, I was able to fill in some of the empty spaces in my booths.

Sold most of the free standing china heads so I brought the rest in.  Have a few odd ones left and have Halloween plans for those.

 Since the heads did so well, it was time to bring in all of the hands and leg pieces that I also have.

How sweet it this little, Prussian handpainted lidded sugar bowl. Lovely, soft white cabbage roses on both sides.  Circa 1900s.

Talk about a find...this lovely Royal Munich hand painted biscuit/cracker jar.  In excellent condition with pretty gold lustre trim.   Book value $98.00...purchase price $6.00. 

Pretty heart pillow constructed from antique quilt.  Shabby cottage at its best.

Another lovely find. American Brilliant, cut crystal and very  heavy medium size floral vase.  This baby has marvelous color and light and is typical of the Victorian vases that graced so many tables.

Jackpot...a set of six, count'um six Bakelite Scottie napkin holders.  Picked these up for $18.00...book value about $95 each.

My antique treadle sewing machine sold so I had to bring in another piece of furniture.  On a trip to Clarkesville, I found this lovely secretary's desk at a local shop. Needed lots of TLC but it was worth it.  I love the rich Tiger's Oak patina and brass locks on the pair of drawers with original key.  Inside, Court Justice I. Homer Stuben's letterhead and envelopes from the 1920-30s.  Desk is 1900s.

The pretty oil lamp on the desk is electrified. Now I just have to find a chimney that will fit it.

Pretty little Victorian print called Angels of Prayer.  Original shabby frame with bubble glass and wood backing.

Large globe from the 1960s.  Great coloring and the paper globe is in excellent condition.  I am always attracted to globes...must be my love of travel and history.

Crazy about this bottle brush wreath in aqua blue.  Can this be more 1950s?  I may have to keep it as it is very Sea Witchy to me.

I adore the Cupid's series of prints from the Victorian era. this lovely cupid "Awake" is hand colored and in the original tin frame.  A honer marine harmonica that plays clear, a neat Carnival Glass commemorative bell produced for the American Carnival Glass Association 1975, a  milk glass plate and a heavy silverplated serving dish.

What's up with all of the pink and purple fabric?  Well it must be time for a birthday princess gown for Kit Kat.  She put in "another" order for a princess gown with lots of sparkles so I'm back sewing with princess colors and will begin designing this over the next few days.  I need to come  up with some interesting head gear for her instead of the usual crowns.  Something she can manage but still be a princess.  So I'm off to do some sketching until the idea comes together.  Wishing everyone a wonderful week.  Sea Witch

Before and After

It was a lovely Mother's day weekend and I hope all mother's out there had a good one as well.  I had a little treasure run on Saturday and found another table to redo.  So, Saturday afternoon I was busy refinishing two tables.

 Picked up this ugly brown table full of scratches and dents at Goodwill for $9.00.  Removed the glass from the top and then sanded the wood.

Gave it 4 coats of white paint and decided that I just didn't like the old caned matt under the glass so I punched it out.  LOL.  Followed the white paint with a burnt umber wash and then a final steel wool and the table is done.

Not too shabby for a shabby or cottage look.  I also like the open glass top so you can see into the bottom.  Perfect for a pretty plant or arrangement, favorite photos or whatever you like to display.

Table two.  Nifty 50's table was a bright pale yellow with little brown spots and lovely "real" gold leaf trim.  I sanded it down but kept the gold leaf.  Painted this white as well and used the burnt umber wash again.

I love the way this second table turned out as well. Perfect for an impromptu tea party.  The original gold leaf really shows up nicer with the white finish too.

Some of the treasures I found on my early Saturday run.  

 A marvelous Maley, England transferware mug honoring Poor Richard (Ben Franklin) and his words of wisdom.  Circa 1930s.

A cool planter pipe, perfect for the Tobacciana collector and of course, the delightful Shawnee corn mixing bowl.  Both from the 1940s.

Purchased this a few months back and finally obtained a replacement part for the swivel.  It works fantastic and I love the rich, patina shine the cherry seat has obtained from all of those musical bottoms sitting on it.

I am crazy about silhouettes.  These are signed and dated 1929 and are of a lovely woman named Nedaye, Asheville, North Carolina, 1929.    Don't you just love the Depression era clothing and pearls and sweet bobbed hair?

I found these wooden blocks with neat words for a party on them.  From "cocktails" to "shower" and "save the date" and other party words and connectors, these are fun to mix and match.  I have them marked three blocks for $1.00.  These would be fun to pair up with scrabble tiles. 

Darling little Nippon lidded creamer.  Lovely hand painted daisies with gold lustre trim.  Another cast iron, Victorian frame.  I will put an old cabinet card in that one two and take the two in next week.  You know how I love Quad Plated items, and this Victorian condiment carrier (missing the condiment bottles) is perfect as a cupcake server or fill it with votives or tea lights for a pretty patio light.

It was a lovely weekend and my honey had grilled steaks and camp potatoes for dinner one evening.  I did a little last minute grocery shopping and I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw a 6-pack of Kalik beer at my local Krogers.  Kalik is the beer of the Bahamas and seeing the bottles brought back so many wonderful memories of when we had our little sailboat their.  When my honey saw these cold, bad boys he grinned like a Cheshire cat. 

It's true, it's the little things that make life a joy.  Wishing you joy and blessings to you and those you love.  Sea Witch