Trash To Treasure Tuesday -- One Thing Leads To Another (Part I)

This is my trash can.




This is my trash can after a long, hard day of me running around like the Mad Hatter in training.



Look familiar to any other bloggers out there??? Yep, thought so! Sometimes you just feel the burning need to dive head first into the nearest container of goodness. And no, I didn't polish off both containers of ice cream all by my lonesome. Only the chocolate one. Mr. Magpie helped himself to the black walnut. You want to know what else? It was really, really good! And there's no need for you to feel deprived because I ate enough for you, too! ;-)

Now that that's settled, I'll move right along to the business at hand. My friend Diane at A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words is hosting another wonderful Trash to Treasure Tuesday. Please be sure to check out her blog for links to all sorts of treasures. You can even join in the fun if you wish. The more the merrier! :-) Here's a link to Diane's blog... http://diane1876.blogspot.com/2008/11/trash-to-treasure-new-use-for-old.html#links



Unlike my last week's Trash to Treasure offering, a free trash pick pilfered by the fastidious Mr. Magpie himself, this little treasure was not free. But it was less than $5. Let's try $4 which I think is a good price for something this high on my own personal Richter Scale of Cuteness. This definitely qualified as a shiny object for this little magpie, and one man's junk was definitely my treasure. :-)

This first shot is taken on fabric I got from the Scottish Weaver and a Scottish gentleman named Peter who has got to be the nicest Scotsman alive. The fabric is in the McLeod tartan for any Scottish buffs out there. I thought my plaid pillow made a nice backdrop for these little school children. When we were little, my mother always dressed us in plaid in the fall.



I found that little piece at one of the local antique malls. This particular mall has several booths with great deals on what in dealer jargon is referred to as "smalls." This small just jumped right off the shelf and into my hand. I simply had no other choice but to take it home with me. You know how that goes. ;-)

And for all of you crafty folks out there, I took several pictures of my find in case you want to make something similar. Up next, I have it displayed on a simple blue and white cotton check (had to slip some blue in there somewhere). While I'm not that talented with crafts, I can certainly appreciate it when someone else is. To that end, the front is covered in blackboard paint to which is adhered these six school children, six buttons, and something that says "remember." Then the red number six appears to be stenciled on there. I love the wooden rulers around the side of the piece.



And here's a shot of the back.



I tried to get a good shot of how the rulers were joined on the sides, but Mr. Magpie wasn't here to assist. So, the blurry camera shot was the best I could do trying to hold the piece and photograph it, too.



Now, here's a shot of the little chalkboard displayed on a piece of fabric I got from the shop of a local designer. He was getting rid of some of his remnants, this piece was actually a sample, and it was marked $1.00. Considering that this is a high end fabric by Clarence House, I felt like I scored well on that. The fabric is cotton and is made in France. The name of the pattern is Nemours, and the color is rouge or red, if my pigeon French serves me correctly. ;-)



So for about five dollars, I got a cute little artsy-craftsy piece and a nice fabric remnant that's both suitable for upholstery and from a fine fabric house. I felt like it was a good shopping day, and it didn't break the bank. I still have some pennies left in my piggy bank for another fun excursion.

One thing's for certain, that fabric can't just hang around all day as a back drop for my blog pictures. It seems that one little thing always leads to another just as this Trash to Treasure Tuesday leads to the next. Stay tuned to see where my little fabric remnant is headed next. And thanks for stopping by! I look forward to visiting your nest soon. :-)

Quintessentially yours,


Mrs. Magpie (Sheila)

Trash to Treasure Tuesday!

I'm joining Diane at A Picture's Worth A Thousand Words in her blog's very own Trash to Treasure Tuesday feature. My treasure's picture and its history are posted below. If you'd like to see the other treasures or post your own, you can get to Diane's blog by clicking on this link:

http://diane1876.blogspot.com/

For my Trash to Treasure find last week (which Diane kindly posted for me since I didn't have a blog running), I had a photograph of some wooden fishing lures my husband found in the attic of a tiny Victorian cottage we bought to save from the wrecking ball. I'm not sure of their age, but several fishing buffs have offered to take them off of our hands. ;-)

That same wonderful husband (who, by the way, hates to shop) found this next Trash to Treasure item as well. This time he was going for a jog, and low and behold, a former neighbor across the street (the kind of neighbor who even vacuums her grass!) had put two Adirondack chairs out on the curb with the trash. One chair had a tiny bit of rot on the arm, and the other had a tiny bit on the back from being out in the elements and having water drip on them (I think from a canopy). Other than that, they were in great shape. Their small blemishes = an easy-peasy fix with some wood putty. So, my hubby walked back in the house, and told me about them. I said, "Hurry quick or someone will have them in their car!" He got one back inside, and then as he lifted the other from the curb, he saw a woman stop her car and look back longingly. As sorry as I felt for her, I was ecstatic that we got these because we really needed them for a porch.

We have enjoyed these chairs for years, and they've been painted both a dark green for a previous beach cottage, and now they are painted sort of a custom historic color that's not quite Benjamin Moore's Hale Navy (but close) that was approved for our current place before we bought it. They sit upstairs on a back balcony and are one of the most comfortable spots in the house. It's a great place for morning coffee. Our guests love them and the spot. That plant stand in the photo appeared there out of who knows where and ended up who knows where. ;-)

I'm very proud of these babies. New ones are about $100 apiece at Home Goods (I think that's where I last saw one, a cute red one), and they could have been more. That's why I felt like these were a good day's haul from the curb! So without further ado, I'd like to present my Trash to Treasure find for this week:

His and Hers Adirondack Chairs

Quintessentially yours,

Mrs. Magpie (Sheila)