Tell me Tuesday...

Well, the weekend didn't go as planned. Hubby was sick, so no winery tours. I did get to do something different that was just as good if not better. I went to my "favorite" antique shop and spent a couple of hours browsing (and a little spending too). We have a lot of antiques malls here, but my favorite is a place called "Treasure Aisles". They have the coolest old stuff there! I wanted to show what I found there over the weekend.

Isn't this the cutest 3 tiered wire basket?! The paint is a cream color and it very worn. I am tossing all kinds of ideas around in my head on what I would like to display in it. I wonder where this piece has been and what it was being used for by the prior owners. I have definitely been drawn to the shabby chic look lately.

Here is a pic of an ornate looking piece that I picked up at the antique shop. It is very heavy (wrought iron) painted in a cream color with chips in the paint and some little rust spots. I am assuming that it is a candle holder and if it isn't, well...it is now. I have to find the perfect candles to put in this piece. I just love the old look of it and the fact that it is very heavy too.

Speaking of shabby chic...I found these really cute linen panels on sale at Michael's Crafts. They have a strip of see-through white chiffon type of material at the bottom with little pink flowers embroidered on with pale blue thread. My problem was how to hang them since they were already the perfect length, but did not have any loops or top sewn to go on a curtain rod. I wanted to keep in the shabby chic look so I decided to improvise. I got silver binder clips and 2 inch paper rings from the office supply store and made my own curtain clips. I love how they turned out and they really go well on the window in my art studio.

Over the past year, I have been collecting some old door knobs that were salvaged from very old buildings and homes. I have always wanted to do some kind of wall art to show them off. I finally starting taking the knobs out and putting them together to display. Here are some pics of the things I am working on using the old door knobs.
This was an unfinished wooden shelf that I added small plaques to in different shapes. I painted the shelf and attached different door knobs that were metal and marble to the little plaques. I decided not to touch up the knobs at all and left them chipped and scratched.

I also framed 2 of the door knobs in their original door handle plates with a couple of skeleton keys. The frame was an unfinished wood shadow-box that I painted. I am trying to get these pieces to coordinate so that I can put them in a grouping on my livingroom wall.


I also found this really cool old padlock on ebay with a working key and decided to add it to my wall grouping. I framed it in a small shadow box frame with glass covering it. I mounted the lock and the door knobs on decorative papers in the background.



Well, that is enough show and tell for today. I love to hear about fantastic finds in antique malls and vintage shops, so let me hear about your wonderful vintage adventures!