Weekend Finds

There were quite a few garage sales on Friday, and I did pretty well. First is this vintage tablecloth. I know it's pretty wrinkled, but I just wanted to throw it on the table and see if I liked it. Oh no, guess what? I like it! Add it to the hundred others I have. I'm supposed to be selling these on Ebay, but every time I buy one, it's my new favorite. It was only 50 cents, and....meet my new favorite!
This old etched mirror is gorgeous! I desperately want to hang this on the wall, but there is no hanger, only felt on the back. Any suggestions? I wish they made an industrial strength plate hanger!

That huge trellis was found curbside. I love when it's also garbage day when we're out garage saling! My friend Nancy is fearless, so she jumped out and got it for me. I really should bring my camera on garage sale day, because it's always an adventure! We always get lost in the part of town where we found the trellis, and there's just no excuse for it, because I've lived here for 14 years, and she's lived here even longer! Lots of fun!

I hit the vintage Santa jackpot at one sale! Do you like my fancy backdrop for this picture? It's my microwave! I spare no expense for you all! Love the old blowmold Santa, and I've started collecting those cups. But....

one of the little cups is stuck inside the big one! I tried and tried to get it out, and now I'm just afraid it will break and I'll cut myself. What do I do? Do I have to lube up Santa with some Vaseline or olive oil?! Help!

I love this bowl. I'm calling it my Atomic Bowl! It's shaped like things from the 50s I think, that were called Atomic. It says Bolero Therm-O-Ware on the bottom. Looove iiittt!!

Another "Mother" picture, and Wuthering Heights and Sense and Sensability, two books that were on my "must have" list.

And finally, a vintage pink sewing basket. This will be going on Ebay. My goodness, it better! My husband always asks me, when I come home from garage saling, keeping or selling? And lately it's been keeping every time! If you would like to see more thrifty treasures, hop on over to Southern Hospitality.

One last thing. Coloradolady is having a great giveaway to celebrate her blog anniversary. Go check it out, and her blog!

Vintage Thingies Thursday!!

YaY! It's Vintage Thingies Thursday! Our lovely hostess is Coloradolady, so pop on over there if you would like to see other bloggers' thingies! I forgot until a few minutes ago what day it is, so I scrambled to find something vintage to share. All I could come up with are some of my favorite things that are inside my secretary/hutch. They're silly, but it's all I got! I have had this poodle jewelry holder since I was a little girl. Her poofy hair is kinda dingy looking, from years of dust accumulating in it. I don't know how I can safely clean her, so she remains grungy!


I don't know how old these clocks are. One says West Germany on it, and the other two say Japan. I think they're cute, but when I look at them, all I can think of is the apple-green one that got away. Alas, someone grabbed it before I could. We all probably have a story like that!
These little bike-riding gals are very precious to me. They belonged to my Grandma, and they sat on her desk for a million years. They've been broken and glued together a few times, because my boy cousins couldn't keep their hands off pretty things without breaking them! Do I sound bitter? I'm really not! But I love these girls so much that I keep them imprisoned behind glass to keep them safe, so that I can pass them on to my daughter. Do you have something precious that no one can touch?

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: A Couple Projects and Destruction On The Porch!

I finally got my teacup birdfeeder chandelier hanging up, and I know, I've broken a big blogging rule: take before pictures! What should have been a very simple project was a royal pain. First, I had it hanging in the kitchen while I worked on it. I had it hanging from a cabinet knob, and the wire that was holding it wasn't secure enough (whose fault was that?) and it came crashing down. I had to glue one of the cups back together, as it was in alot of pieces. Also we were all bumping our heads on it! Everyone is glad it's out of the kitchen!
This is the before shot of a plantstand that I built. Again, I should have shown the before shot of the box, because I DID build that! It isn't a windowbox already made. I'm sorry, I'm just so proud of myself, because I think they were the straightest lines I have ever cut, or probably ever will, and the sides all fit together perfectly. That doesn't happen too often for me!

This is what it looked like for a few years, until I decided to decorate in a much more cottage look. Notice the picket fence flag I made. I forgot to show that a few days ago. Anyway, as I said, I like this look....

but I LOVE this look better! I just need someone to teach me how to age and distress it. When I try, I just make things look dirty!

This is a wicker chair that I found on the curb last fall, and I knew what I wanted to do with it right away this summer. I hope you are able to see the crystal beads coming out of the watering can. It's supposed to look like water is pouring out!

These are just some cheap letters from Michaels. I wanted to make something to hang on my mirror, something very simple, no frills.

Couldn't be simpler, and the letters are light enough so that I don't have to worry about them busting the apothecary jars below.

Now for the bad and ugly. My husband came home from work, and the second he walked in the door, he said "What happened?". This is what happened. The squirrels had ripped apart all the cute pillows and the cushion I had made for the bench on the back porch. They looked like this before, and I was so proud of them! I had sewn them all by hand because my sewing machine is broke. A few minutes later my husband caught one chewing on the flannel-backed tablecloth on the patio table! What is going on with these squirrels! I've never had this happen before. We think that maybe they are getting ready to have babies, and are shoring up their nests. Very disappointed, but so glad I didn't put that old red, white and blue quilt on the porch swing, like I wanted to!

A few minutes later, my friend Nancy brought over these beautiful flowers, so that made me feel alot better! Nancy is a floral designer, and these flowers were just going to be thrown out, because they're past their prime and couldn't be sold. I love when that happens!

Well, today is a big yardwork day. It's Mr. Old Glory's day off, so of course I put the poor man to work! He will be mulching for me, and cutting our lawn and my mother's. He has to do the heavy stuff around here, because I've got a bum hip. I'm so lucky to be married to him, and next month it will be 20 years! Geez! Where did the time go? Well, I'm off to play in the dirt. Hope you get to too!

Thrifty Finds

There was only one garage sale in town, an unadvertised special, two blocks away. I didn't find anything that made me all giddy, but that's ok. Not every sale can be a winner, otherwise my house would be overflowing! Here's what I got: Some vintage BLING.

Do you like my fancy backdrop? It's a paper napkin! This next item is vintage perfume samples....

that are in glass vials. It looks like drugs, doesn't it?! You're supposed to snap the end off and rub it on your wrist. I would love to know what White Lilac and Shocking and Evening In Paris smell like, but call me crazy, I don't want to risk slicing my fingers open to do it! Then rubbing that jagged edge on? I don't think so!

I've seen the infomercials for the Dean Martin Roasts so many times, and I've been really tempted to pick up the phone and order, but at $1 a piece, I like these better! I love all the old comedians on here, like Lucy, Bob Hope, Phyllis Diller, and George Burns. Those were the good old days! Oh gosh, I just sounded so old! I can't wait to watch these.

Last but not least, an old Brachs candy jar, for 10 cents, and an old Santa mug, made in Japan, for 25 cents. I've got three so far, so it's officially a collection! I hope you found a few treasures this weekend, amid all the celebrating! It you would like to see more thrifty finds, head over to Southern Hospitality.

The Story of Old Glory

I found this history of the flag at that estate sale last week, and of course I had to have it! I thought that showing this to you all would be the perfect way to explain why I chose "Old Glory Cottage" for the name of my blog. You see, I've had a fascination with the American flag, or Old Glory, since I was little. My dad was a WWII veteran, and on the 4th of July, he would put the flag up in the morning, and then take it down before it got dark. That is the protocol for displaying the flag. Or you are supposed to have a light shining on it, to illuminate it in the dark. Well I didn't know any of that when I was a kid! All I know is that was the one and only time I ever saw our flag every year, and I remember actually crying when it came time to take it down again!
That was the start of my love for our flag. This is a small part of my collection of Old Glory. One of these flags is a 48-star flag, which I was so excited to find at a garage sale! According to the timeline above, we were a 48 state nation from 1912 until 1958, when Alaska and Hawaii became states. "Therefore, on July 4, 1960, in accordance with the Flag Act of 1818, our present flag came into being, bearing 50 bright stars on a brilliant blue field." LONG MAY IT WAVE!!
Have a safe and happy 4th of July, and I hope you are flying Old Glory today!

Vintage Thingies Thursday or What's So Special About Friday?

If you would like to see other bloggers' thingies, pop over to Coloradolady's blog. I got this cutting board at an antique store , and I think it's so cute, but I would like to know what is so special about Friday gardening?! I'm out there every day, pulling weeds, watering, praying, sweating, swearing, getting bit by mosquitoes. So I ask you, what is so special about Friday gardening??
Well, if this is what you see while gardening, on any given Friday, then I guess Friday Gardening is pretty special!

You need to click on the one below, to enlarge it. It's a dragonfly.

Sam & Libby

Just a few pictures of some of the Uncle Sams and Lady Libertys that I have. These, below, I made about 10 years ago, out of landscape timbers. I used sphagnum moss for Libby's hair, and I can see that the birds have again picked some off and have given her a bald spot! This happens every year, so I don't know why I'm surprised. I just didn't think it would happen minutes after we put her on the porch! Sam has a crack running through his face, so he will need a little cosmetic surgery before I put him away until next year!

I made two of these big Sams a few years ago, and they just about did me in! I gave the other one to my sister. She decorates in the Americana style, so he is on her porch year-round. He is over 5' tall, and the light in his bag lights up at night. You can click on any picture to enlarge it. I used potato sacks for the bag. I found a picture of him in Country Sampler magazine, and I liked him so much that two of my friends also made him at the same time. Note to self: Make sure you've got the right jigsaw blades before you try something like this again!

I made this goofy pair out of the paint stirrer sticks that you get when you buy a can of paint, and popsicle sticks for the arms!

I didn't make this lady liberty, but I love how she is very plain, until you look at her sparkly crown! Well, I finally got all the lights up for the 4th. I've got a reputation to uphold! I decorate for every holiday, and although I don't do as much as I used to, I always try to make the house look cute, and as I'm looking down my block, I see no decorations at all, but most importantly I do see two flags. Do you decorate your house for every holiday? Are you the only one on your block who does? Please share!