Queen of Hearts

The old Queen of Hearts antique mall on Canton highway closed a few months ago, and they just renovated and moved into a new space on Sandy Plains Road. They opened to the public today, and I was there before 10:00 this morning. I snapped a few shots of their new interior - it is very nice, an improvement over their old location. Most of the vendors seem to be taking greater care in their arrangements, using updated ideas and more eye-catching vignettes. 

This bright yellow display is in the front window. It sure is eye-catching!

Also near the front, I spied this glassless arched window up on a high ledge. I didn't see a price on it, and it is up too high to reach. It would be so cute over a mantel. My mantel. 

A gorgeous shade of turquoise, painted on a little cabinet. Nice for a night stand, don't you think?

I love dried hydrangeas, and this booth was full of them. They have retained their color so well. Mine never look that vibrant once they are dry. The bundles were $10 each; I didn't check the prices on the wreaths.

 

Beautiful china teacups - only $12.50 each! It was sooo tempting...

The thin silver trees caught my eye in this booth. Not that I really need any. They are $12 each; not bad.

Vintage picnics! Love! Especially in a vignette of red. Isn't it charming?

This elegant dining set caught my eye too. Beautifully shaped chairs, and the china and crystal are lovely too. I could do without the plastic though, lol. I didn't check prices here.

Note to self: I could so make this. Just roll pages outward, and they stay right there. Use an old hardback book.

More chalk paint, I think. This little cabinet is in gray, and the decorative carvings add so much to the charm of it. I could see this next to a sofa or next to the bed. Priced at $105.

Vintage Paris. Of course I love it! (We lived there.) Paris in black and white is even better! The pillows look stenciled, which is simple to do.

 

For the blue and white fans in the family, a whole cabinet of it. Lots to choose from here. I saw a cup and saucer priced at $14 or $15.

Rustic and vintage in the garden. I liked how well the theme carried through this display.

I have seen trays like this on Pinterest - this one is very nice. Old rulers and yardsticks cut to fit the bottom of this basket. The tag said $10 - not bad.

One of my favorite pieces today was this painted desk and stool - green with hand-painted florals. Just beautiful! This one is priced at $249.

Love the paint on this table. Cream and light green, it looks like chalk paint, on an old farm table. It would certainly fit well in my house, but I do love my own dark-stained and white farm table. I didn't see a price tag on this table.

Back near the front is a whole booth of Annie Sloan chalk paint. This is the first time I have seen Annie Sloan for sale in person. I may just have to try some now that it's so convenient here.

So there is a brief glimpse of the new store. Stop in if you have a chance. I will definitely be back often, especially since I live so close (I could walk).

A Fine Day for Garage Sales

Yesterday was beautiful: warm but not hot, a slight breeze, and lots of sun. It was a perfect day for garage saling and Heather was as anxious as I was to go out. We made a huge circle through our part of town and found plenty of sales to keep us busy.

Heather scored some pricy Tupperware containers from a dealer, as well as some lovely vintage things.

I nabbed stuff from the mundane to the fun:

 A car booster for the grands, $2.

 Toys for the playroom, $2. The doll was free.

Lacy vintage fun. A floral handkerchief, 75c; a rectangular doily, 25c; and a round lace tablecloth, $5.

The lace things need a long soak in Oxyclean and then they will be much whiter, rather than ecru.

Thriftiness Goodies

Friday was my weekly garage saling date with Heather. We didn't find a lot this week, probably because we didn't find a lot of garage sales. I guess it's too hot for most people now. Here are the lovlies I found:

At one garage sale I found:
2 rotary cutters with a bunch of spare blades, $5
A beautiful hand crocheted throw, $7

At an estate sale I found:
A round antique linen tablecloth with a wide lace border, $8

That was it for this week.

New-Again Table

 Before

Our old kitchen table from last century was really begging for an update. A blonde top and dark green legs are really not the thing to be wearing these days, that's for sure. Now that all the kids have escaped to their own homes, I decided the time was ripe for a re-do.

I grabbed the palm sander and went to work in the kitchen. Some minutes later I realized that was a big "oops!" I had laid a fine layer of sanding dust all over everything in the entire kitchen and family room. I even found a dusting on the windows! So, after the massive clean-up, I had The Professor help me drag the table to the patio, where I could sand to my heart's content.

The top down to bare wood, the next step was the fun part. At least I think it's fun. I love to stain bare wood and watch it turn a deep brown as it brings out the beauty and various tones of the wood. 

Some time elapsed while I took a week to get ready for our garage sale, and then get our home back to normal after the sale. Finally I found a free day yesterday to prime and paint the legs and apron on the table. I had The Professor help me flip it upside down on the kitchen floor and I got to work with a brush.

Three coats of primer...

Two layers of white paint...

 After

Turned right side up again, and LOVELY!

A few days later I spent all my garage sale earnings on a few white Ikea chairs. We can't sit on mismatched chairs now, can we? We really like these chairs with the padded seats. Some day I will recover the pads with a fabric that coordinates better with my kitchen and family room colors, but for now it works for me.

I'm linking to Met Monday at BNOTP

Holiday Weekend Deals

I got some great grocery deals today, combining sales or BOGO and coupons. This is what I snagged:

Mueller's pasta, BOGO and 55c/2 coupons: 52c each box
Dial soap pumps, $1 each and 35c coupons doubled: 30c each
Chinet plates 72 ct, BOGO: $3.20
Kraft shredded cheese, $2 each and 55c coupons: $1.45 each pkg
Reynolds Wrap non stick foil: $2.99 and 75c coupon: $2.24
Al Fresco sausages, $5.49 (regular price), $1/2 store Q and $1 mfr Qs: $3.99 each
Coleslaw BOGO: 65C

The Chinet plates are for our three away-from-home picnics this weekend; the cheese is for the freezer; the pasta is for hot-day salads; and I'm glad to finally get a good deal on non-stick foil. I've been wanting to try it.

Senior Discount Days at the Thrift

I hit Goodwill this morning, not knowing that Tuesday is Senior Discount Day - 25% off for those 55 and older. Happily, I qualify now. What did I find? A few fun goodies:

A cute doll chair that I plan to paint because I don't go for words on my furniture or walls ($1).

A 3-piece Pyrex refrigerator set, looks new ($4).

A separate Pyrex bowl missing the lid, but I can order one online. ($1.50).

A large, black wire basket ($1.50)

A bag of 1,000 price tags that we can use for our garage sales (79c) 

A vintage baby book, never written in (79c)

A decorating book that I plan to cut up ($1).

A few days ago I also found a couple of things at a garage sale:

A cell phone clip-on case (10c)

A biography of Juliette Gordon Low (10c)

The final item in the photo is hard to see. Look on the far right side, the pile of beige things. Those are nine 12" square ceramic tiles. I picked them up, FREE, on my walk this morning. I had noticed a house in another neighborhood that often has junk piled around the mailbox, apparently awaiting the trash truck. But these tiles looked great to me. On my way home, the resident was in his garage. I got bold and asked if they were out for trash. He said yes. I asked if I could have the tiles, and he was happy to give them to me. He said he puts the stuff out for people to take if they want it. He told me he buys foreclosures and cleans them up and he finds all kinds of things. So I hope to find more goodies at his mailbox in the future.

May Thriftiness

I wasn't able to go garage saling very many weekends in May, and when I did get out, I didn't find all that much that I needed. But I did find a few things.

I found a beautiful, very heavy, silverplate pitcher in an upscale neighborhood ($5). My thought was that it would make a nice vase for the table in the church narthex. But maybe I'll keep it for myself.

Another day I found an old poetry book for children (50c), an antique shoe button hook ($3), and a box of vintage china angel bells from the 1950's at the very latest ($1). The bells are supposed to be a set of 10, but there are only eight bells and a little red gnome off to the side. I will add him to our Swedish collection.

I also picked up a pizza stone for David ($1) and I think that completes David's kitchen.

Not-So-Great Garage Sales Today

I drove and drove the major streets today, looking for garage sale signs. The few I saw ended up being for Saturday sales; I hate it when sellers put their signs out the day before! 

Why no signs on such a beautiful, spring day?

Finally I saw a sign for a real sale, and it turned out to be a neighborhood sale. This was more like it. But I was sad to see that most sellers were way overpriced. That is, until I found one lady, up a very steep driveway, with wonderful things spread across her tables: vintage sewing and needlework supplies priced deep in the basement. My kind of sale!

The 1949 Singer Sewing Book ($4) has lovely, vintage drawings in it. The 1974 Nostalgia Crafts Book ($1) also has great drawings - reproduced from early 20th century publications. The booklet is something I read about years ago and have been looking for ever since: instructions for 100 embroidery stitches. The original price was 29c; I paid $1 for it today. 

The hankies (50c) have sweet little girls on them. 

The spoons ($1 each) are silverplate. I bought them for two little boys who fight over the one iced tea spoon at home; they call this type of spoon a "long spoon", and they think it's for eating ordinary food.

Group Garage Saling

On Friday, a group of us met early to go to a large neighborhood yard sale. This is an annual event held on the same weekend each April. We have come to look forward to it - there are wonderful bargains for everyone. I drove my van so we could all ride together, and still have room to stow our finds in the back.

Joyce found lots of decor items. Amber found end tables and lamps and lots of small items for her kids. Heather also found kid items and a few decor pieces.

I found some things for David's new apartment, a few kitchen items for myself, and some grandchild things:

For David, I found a muffin tin ($2), a cutlery tray (25c), a new glass loaf pan ($1), and a new measuring tape ($3).

For the grandchildren (present and future) I found a set of child-size pans ($2), an abacus ($4), a booster seat ($4), and a like-new porta-crib ($18), shown in the fist photo. The toys will be welcomed in the new playroom when we get that finished.

For myself, I found a Complete Flower Fairies book ($2), a paint roller, (50c), a package of paper doilies (25c), a heavy-duty bundt pan ($1), a little glass pitcher (10c), and two pieces of brushed nickel bathroom hardware ($2 and $4) for the redecorated master bath. The Professor even has the hardware mostly all hung now!

It was a fun day!

I'm linking up to Rhoda's Thrifty Treasures party.