"Once upon a time ... this little old lady" ...

Don't you just love a story that starts with "Once Upon a Time" ?

Of course you do, because you know that it always ends with ... "they lived happily ever after" !!!

  Well, this little old lady just hates to throw stuff away and loves to re-cycle.

Several years ago, she bought this used pretty arts and craft metal sculpture of a water lily and ducks ... 
 

... she had picked up an antique, cast iron kitchen sink from her sister ... painted it a beautiful aqua blue ... set it in the ground and turned the metal sculpture into a fountain ... and made a 'frog pond' ... yes, frogs lived there ...

    
It made a beautiful screen to hide the water collection tank behind the shop ... well almost hide it.

Years passes and 'the little old lady' could no longer get down on the ground to clean and take care of the pond, so it was removed. The cast-iron sink got stored away and the beautiful water lily fountain just sat outside on that picket fence shelf and rusted away. 

 




The little old lady kept thinking she could save the water lily fountain ...

soooo... one day at the Dollar Store, she found these thin metal WELCOME signs with a sun flower attached ... (an ah-ha moment).  So she bought three Welcome signs ... 

Now, several years more passed and the rusty water lily fountain and the welcome signs just sat there.

Then the little old lady was cleaning out and getting ready for a garage sale and decided it was time to do something with the rusted-falling-apart-fountain or throw it away. 

She cleaned it up, salvaged as much as she could and cut one new lily pad from an old piece of tin ripped off the bottom of a plant container.

 

She built a water lily blossom with two of the $Store tin sunflowers. Four pedals had holes in them for the welcome signs, so she drilled holes in four more petals and hung facet cut crystals to the pedals. (plastic)

After adding the new pieces and a little paint she was ready to test her luck in getting this fountain to work. 
  
She could not put the original fountain back like it was so just used a bucket filled with water to test the fountain ... well lo and behold ...

  
it pumped water up through the blossom, falling off to the large leaf and then to the small leaf to drop back into the water do it all over again. This made the newly painted little ducks below very happy.

  
Now the little old lady still cannot get down on the ground to take care of the fountain, so this sculpture will just have to be an above ground fountain ... or just an art piece.
 

Frogs may not live there, but the the water lily fountain will 

"live happily every after" or until it goes to 'rust-heaven'.

 

Enjoy the wonders of nature ... 

Have you every heard the frogs croaking after they lay their eggs?  Almost as pretty as a birds song.  

Thanks for your visit ... I would love a comment to know you were here.

Blessings,
Audrey Z.  


Linking To:  
Ivy and Elephants What's it Wednesday

 Revisionary Life: Thrifty Life Thursday

Knick of Time ... Tuesday

Lavender Garden Cottage: cottage-style-party-








 

Pickin' the GOOD stuff

I have shown you some of the junk I have bought at the 25¢ Thrift Store Sale every Wednesday, but this is about 

"Pickin' the GOOD stuff".

 

Have your every seen something in a Thrift store that you really loved but just kept telling yourself you had no room for it?  Every time you went in, there it was, telling you to 

"take me home with you"!  

The $9.00 price tag on the casserole and $12.00 on the platter were good prices ...  but I just did not have room for any more dishes.  They were sitting on a china cabinet in the back of the Store ... then one day the store had a large table of items down one aisle marked with pink tags ... 
pink tag = $1.00. 

In the back of the store ... still sitting on the china cabinet ... this beautiful set I loved ... with PINK tags but had not been moved to the $1.00 table. I asked the clerk if they were really $1.00 even though they were not on the table ... 
YES ... 
... how could I not buy them ... space or no space?

 From an Estate Sale ... two wicker covered wine jugs ... one is aqua glass and the other one is a brown crock ... beautiful condition ... the jugs, the four drawings of patents and a few other small things were $45.00. 
I was delighted to say the least!
(you can click the picture of the drawings if you want to see a better picture. They are pretty neat.)

 Restore, Habitat for Humanity ... $5.00 each ... 
Courthouse or Lawyer/Bankers chair.  
Heavy and in very sound condition. Need just a little TLC.
Thought these might be good for the new cabin at the Ranch.

Large hand blown glass float  25¢. 

Beautiful platter ... don't remember what I paid for it but the colors are great together.

Silverplate and stoneware ... fun stuff to decorate with. 
Three Royal Copenhagen porcelain fat Robins were half-price at $7.00 each.

 A old man that sets up on the side of the street had these to offer one day. The brown bottle is in a metal frame with a handle for pouring ... maybe a liquor bottle in a bar. Large terracotta lantern, nice old wire basket; a beautiful green demijohn and a cute little hand painted chalkboard/slate. All for $50.00.

These very early, maybe late 1800's, tin barn lanterns may be worth $100.00/$150.00 each on eBay.
I plan to put vintage stain glass in the two that has the missing glass.
Don't fall off your chair seeing what I paid for them.
75% off regular price ... unbelievable !!!

Another week, I bought these faces from the same old peddler on the side of the street for $5.00 each. Not my style but thought they could be of some value. He said he had them for twenty-five years. Still doing research on them. 

Can you help in identifying these clay pieces? 

Backs ...

Hope you enjoyed seeing these treasures ...

Some will be sold on eBay ...

Some already given to our daughter ...

Some for our annual Community Garage Sale in June.

Thanks,

Audrey Z.

Linking to:

Knick of Time Tuesday #138

The Dedicated House: Make it Pretty Monday

Revisionary Thrifty Life Thursday

I get my "Junking Fix" every Wednesday

Every Wednesday is the day I get my 'junking fix' when Fabulous Finds Thrift Store has a junkers delight 
Twenty-Five Cent Sale in the warehouse and parking lot. 

Just stuff they don't want to put in the shop.
 

This sweet 36" square, hand embroidered linen cloth is perfect and only a couple tiny brown spots. I have it soaking and it will good as new. It was 25¢.

The vintage ironstone casserole has a few small chips around the top and lid, but still a nice display piece. 25¢.

 The blue splatter ware enamel pitcher has a couple small chips on the bottom. The 18" platter is perfect. $12.00 each purchased inside the store after the sale. The pitcher retails for $29.95 and I am sure the platter would be the same. My daughter and I both collect this enamelware. It is not vintage. 

My daughter entertains large groups at the Ranch and always needs sweet-tea glasses ... 
bought eleven at 25¢ each. $2.75. Nice stem.



Just had to see if wine looked pretty and tasted good in this glass ... yep, it sure did.

This pressed glass piece is a punch bowl base/stand and can be used for a vase. 25¢

 Each item here was 25¢ (excluding plant, but pot was thrifted)

The unusual pan (once cleaned) will likely be a mounted to a pedestal. A real bird nest will fit in the faux bird nest. Can always use a garden tool and the sweet once silver plated pitcher had a bent lip, but is very soft metal and easily bent back in place. 

 

 These four vintage wooden lamps were purchased for the wood parts to be used to build pedestals/stands. They were $1.50 each and the piece laying down was 25¢.

 

Some  exceptions on the price but for the most part ... 
25¢ per item.

Five gallon metal can with three table legs was $1.00 or 25¢ each. Looks like a paint and antiquing job from the 1960/1970.

 

Would love to take you shopping with me sometime.

Blessings,

Linking to: 
Knick of Time Tuesday

Revisionary Life ... Thrifty Thursday

Collecting Ironstone.

Should I have been excited to find a white china platter for $3.00 ? 

 ... well, when it completes my ironstone platter stack, I guess I should. 

   To make this stack complete, I needed the fourth plate. It is Homer Laughlin Best China and fills in nicely with the old white ironstone.

Not that I need any more ironstone ... 

I have been collecting ironstone forever and have quite a collection. 

Evidently, I have not sold any of it. 

I have some displayed on my Welch Hutch in the entry ...
mainly platters and pitchers with a few bowls thrown in.

Oops ... I did not even take time to stage it ... this is real life, just as it is. 

And then ... in the dining room on our combination table-shelf is some of our red and white ironstone/china along with some very old pieces. 

 This is an interesting piece of furniture in that I can adjust the shelves to be straight up and down or slanted in different degrees, forward or back and it folds out or up to make a three feet by five feet dining table.                                                 Patent June 6, 1893. The Combination Table Co. Bryan, O.

Right now, I have the shelves in a stair-step-slant with the bottom shelf to the front. Shelves are 12" wide. It is oak.

I hate to tell you this ... but there are more pieces sitting here and there and maybe some in storage.

And ... a question ???????? 

Well, I did just because Royal Ironstone China by Alfred Meakin is my favorite ironstone. 

Thanks for staying with me on this long post. Hope you enjoyed seeing a bunch of ironstone all in one place.

Blessings.

Linking To: 

Frugal Crafty Home Blog Hop

 Fabulously Creative Friday Linky Party

The Thrifty Groove-Thrifty Things Friday

Revisionary Life: Thrifty Life Thursday

Ivy & Elephants What's It Wednesday

Coastal Charm Nifty Thrifty Tuesday #211

Angie's Knick of Time Tuesday Vintage Inspiration Party