Timeless Treasures: January 2013

Monday, January 28, 2013

What is it? What is it Worth? Coppy-Cat Scale

One of my favorite magazines ... Country Living

This April 2012 publication shows a 1940 Jiffy-Way Egg Scale. I just happen to have one so I thought I would do a copy-cat of their article.

I am using vintage glass eggs ... keep in mind that these eggs are hollow and come in several sizes.

The small egg does not even move the scale ... well, maybe just a little.

The scale moves to medium with the large egg.

Can you imagine sitting for hours placing eggs on that scale just to see if they are small, medium, large or extra large?

My hairdresser was telling me about an old white hen she had that was really big ... every day she came to the nest by the window and laid an egg ... and would cackle like crazy. Every day she laid one egg and every egg had two yokes and was huge, almost as big as a duck egg. I think that would weigh in as an XX-LARGE.

Well, this morning when I was fixing eggs for my breakfast ... I thought ... just for fun ... I would weigh them. I only had three eggs and all looked pretty much the same size.

(no ... I did not eat three eggs)

I placed them in my little gray enamel berry bucket on top the glass eggs and created this vignette. This real egg on the scale showed small.

This one was a medium.

The one that felt heavier, weighed in at

large/extra large.

How could this be when all looked the same size?

Here is the answer ...

one yoke was quite a bit larger.

Now, I am sure this has really made your day.

Country Living vignette

Then there is mine ... I do have small egg baskets, but forgot were I packed them away.

The one in CountryLiving has a patent date of 1940/1941.
Added note:
CountryLiving says it is worth $100.00.

Mine has a Pat.Pen. (patent pending) which might make it older.

Just a fun vintage kitchen gadget.

Hope you enjoy this post ...

Linking to:
Free Pretty Things for you.

Homemaker On a Dime

Debbiedoo's Copy-Cat Party

Kathe with an E

Knick of Time Tuesday

Wow Us Wednesday

Monday, January 14, 2013

Victorian Porch Posts, Bannister and please don't be mad

Normally I can go junkin' ... buy something and stash it someplace until I restore or put it to use ... without Mr. Z. even knowing it ... but this thing I bought ... well, no way was I gonna even move it by myself ... Ouch ... I was not thinking.

I went to Find's Resale Wednesday Sale and bought a Victorian architectural bannister and post piece. Luckily I had taken the pickup ... but maybe NOT, for had I NOT had the pickup, I would NOT have bought it. Lot of NOT's there.

It was BIG ... it was HEAVY ... but just what I wanted on the front porch. Reasonable too ... $125.00 for a piece that is about 6' x 8' with three posts and some bannister pieces. Vintage posts alone range from $60.00 to $100.00.

The guys loaded it on top of the pickup bed because it was too wide and too long to go inside the bed. With seeing them struggle to load the piece; I was beginning to have buyers remorse ... for how in the world would we ... (two olden people) be able to handle that piece? I even tried to sell it to an Antique dealer there ... no luck.
Well, I would just have to work something out.

I got in the truck to go home and face the music ... BUT ... nothing ... just a click ... the truck would not start. Well, by this time I was really sweating, because I knew I was in trouble. Oh my gosh, I had to call Mr. Z. to come to my aid. Confessing to what I had done and said "come help me, but please don't be mad at me and make a scene in front of everybody". He came; did not say a word about what I bought even when I asked him to check to see if I had it tied down good enough. He got me started and off we went to Wall-Mart to buy a new battery.

Unloading and installing was much easier than expected.

We backed the truck up to the porch so we would not have to carry the piece very far. I got up in the bed of the truck, lifted up one end and let it slide off to the ground. We leaned it up against the truck, removed a few screws and made two pieces out of it which we could lift.

It took a couple days and a little bit of effort but we got it installed.

I will need to paint it when it gets warmer.

It makes a nice screen for the front side and offers me some privacy when I am out there. I feel like I have a little room at that end of the porch with the end enclosed with three vintage metal porch columns and a plastic rain curtain.
(done long ago)
We hung Christmas lights inside the porch this year and it looked real pretty.

I also plan to get some matching chairs and a nice outdoor rug. Grandma Susie's old wooden rocker will finally be restored and will remain on the porch.

Hopefully some of these stacked tables/benches will be sold when we have our annual garage sale in June but all stacked up, they make a nice display area.

This mirror was left over from our last garage sale so I painted it white; made this chandy out of two different lamp pieces and hung in it front of the mirror. It is beautiful and I will add more prisms.

As you can see ... it was November when we installed it. We, or at least, I am enjoying it.

Thanks for stopping by.

Your comments make me smile.

Blessings and Happy New Year.

Audrey Z.

Linking to:

Cowgirl Up

Linsey with The Farmhouse Porch

Anita with Cedar Hill Ranch

Amanda with The Ivy Cottage Blog

Samantha with Crafty Texas Girls

Funky Junk Interiors

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Winter Mantel and 2012 Mantels in review

Winter Mantel 2012 and Mantels review of 2012

After I take down my Christmas mantel decorations, I like to continue with a Winter mantel, but have been know to leave my Christmas Mantel up until February. (not this year!!)

Winter Mantel

I love this special vintage picture, titled "Making Cider", and enjoy displaying it during the winter, otherwise it is stored in a closet.

The color of the frame and the picture itself, goes well with my collection of copper which is also a favorite for a winter-time display.

I laid a pine garland with small pinecones on the mantel as a base for the arrangement. That, and centering the picture, limited the space to set up large pieces of copper, so most of them remain in the shelves next to the fireplace. The vintage watercolor above the shelf also picks up the copper and turquoise colors.

The copper deer weather vein fragment with the wonderful turquoise verdigris tarnish, sets the color scheme. The small clock next to the deer also has verdigris tarnish. The re-purposed jade color lamp (seen here) and the two vintage pottery vases also carry forth this color.

At first I had my favorite copper candle holder on the stack of books, but decided I needed more light, so replaced it with this porch light re-do ...
but left the natural shed antler horns. The faux greenery in the large copper bucket anchor that end. This started out to be copper and turquoise mantel but ended up with a mix of colors and natural elements.

This side of the hearth is decorated with a big wicker market basket with faux dried hydrangeas; a brown crock vase that has copper tones; old checker board, also with copper tones in the finish; old house column; clock and cement statue.

What a variety !!!

On the other side, hangs this wonderful painting done by my childhood neighbor that I found just recently. Did not even know she was an artist.

Large copper tub....

When our fireplace was wood burning (now propane) ... we used the large copper tub to hold our wood. Looked great and held a good load of wood. Purchased at a garage sale for $5.00 many years ago.