Flowers on Sunday and My Adventure on Saturday

I wasn’t wild about any of the flowers at the Farmers’ Market today, although I did buy two bunches of colourful zinnias. But my eye was caught by some gorgeous purple and green cabbages. They were laid out on an old farm table and were just lovely in the early morning light. On Saturday, I went on a yard sale treasure hunt with Jill Rosen, a Baltimore Sun reporter, and Kim Hairston, a Sun photographer. Naturally, Saturday was slated to be the hottest day of the year, and even though we got a very early start – we met at 7:45 – it was already very hot.

Jill’s assignment was to find treasures at yard sales for less than $20 and see how they could be either re-purposed or refurbished to get a new look.

Our first stop proved to be a treasure trove, and we actually returned there at the end of our tour so that Kim could take additional pictures. Here, she’s shooting my way-cool Ice-o-mat ice crusher, exactly like the one we had in our pantry as children. We spotted this owl lamp and kept coming back to it to talk about what we could do to it, and how Kim could best shoot it. My suggestion was  numerous coats of white paint to make a blanc de chine treasure, and then getting a new lampshade to replace the rather worn burlap one. Here’s a little how-to for creating your own blanc de chine objet d’art. Our only remaining question was what to do with its eyes.

Next up, we spotted this mid-century modern chair and ottoman. Although it was covered in fur from an aged yeti, at least someone had the foresight to add a pillow from the right era. Stylistically, it could be easily improved by the right fabric and a little scrub of the wood. And, it was only $20.

Here are a few of the other treasures I found:

Peacock pin from Swoboda. Marked on the reverse, and listed on the successor company to Swoboda for $75.

These are either huge salt cellars or teeeeeny tiny bathtubs. I am guessing that they’re for condiments at a formal dinner. They are only two inches tall, and two and a half inches wide. They have great little paw feet on them.

Some old decorated tea tins, of the variety which I love.

Here’s what I didn’t buy:

A broccoli-shaped cookie jar. Not the slightest bit appealing.

Another piggy bank. Just because I live in Pigtown, I don’t need any more pig items. Ok? The article detailing our adventures in yard sale treasure hunting will be published on Saturday, July 31st. I will be sure to link it!  Thanks so much to Jill and Kim for a fun morning!