Still working!

Roger has been after me to get some more photos of the trailer remodel posted. He says we have stalkers and need to keep them happy. So, I apologize to our stalkers for my tardiness! These are pictures from the end of April. Roger has done even more work, but I haven't gotten those photos uploaded yet.

He began replacing the three vents in the roof of the Streamline. While he's installing them, he's also polishing the area around them. This is a very good way to get a sun burn. It's kind of like sunbathing with a pie tin in front of your face.

This is how he's been accessing the roof. He's also been actually on the roof which is quite scary!

The closets and shelves are painted, except for the insides.

The Pyrex Friendship pattern has been my color inspiration for the trailer. I think I nailed the colors!

Busy weekend!

It was not my original intention to attend any auctions this past weekend. However, when my Aunt Fern sent me the sale bill for an auction in Burns, I had to at least take a look. Well, the photos were too tempting, and I spent a bit of my childhood in this part of the state, so I couldn't resist driving out there. I'm glad I did. I didn't buy a lot. There were dealers there with deeper pockets than I. But, I got to see some of my favorite countryside and visit with an old friend.

I purchased a handful of these little advertising cards at the auction. Each one is two-sided and about the size of a playing card. They're amusing, especially if you have ever been to Burns. It's a tiny place! The school that I attended in the early 80s is no longer there. The bank that was there literally fell down. Parts of the movie "Mars Attacks!" were filmed there. But back in the old days it had a newspaper, a "fine City Hall", three churches, a "good catholic school", and was free from cyclones and crop failures! Not to mention that nearly all the farmers had telephones! Quite the progressive place!

I also bought this birdcage and stand. It's filthy! But absolutely fabulous! It needs a very serious hose down. I'm hoping I can get it into shape for the Red Barn Outdoor Market this coming Saturday. I also picked up a box of Christmas decorations, some wooden spinning tops, a pink aluminum canister and breadbox set, some silhouette pictures, tv trays, a toy ironing board and another vintage samsonite suitcase.

More vintage finds at Thriftasaurus!

Sunday afternoon, we went back to work on the trailer. Painting is one of my favorite parts, because the results are so dramatic. Roger won't let me paint. He's way too particular, and frankly, I don't have the steady hand that he does. I am, however, allowed to prime.

I am pretty proud of myself for picking out truly red paint. That is real red. Fire engine red! Cherry red! "Whore's lipstick" red. Thanks, Roger. That primer work on the inside is all me! The inside of the closets will be the same aqua blue as the ceiling. And, we will be putting doors back on them.

Just a reminder of what the closet looked like "before". Black is not an easy color of paint to cover up. But, I bet red won't be easy either!

If you want to see more before and during pictures of our Streamline remodel, you can check it out on Flickr. Here's the link.

Lookin' good!

The flooring is in! This was taken on the weekend. Roger finished the entire floor last night. I'm so excited that the trailer is actually starting to look like a real liveable space. While Roger was finishing the floor, I primed the inside of the closets. Painting is hard work. My arm and shoulder and killing me today! (I feel like a bit of a loser.)

I added some pops of color to the decoupaged wall. I think it makes it a little more interesting. I used some vintage children's book and magazine pages, some vintage pattern envelopes and a few colored encyclopedia pages.



Roger has been replacing bits and pieces on the outside of the trailer. Before he puts the new piece on, he polishes the surrounding area, so he doesn't have to remove them again later. So, we're getting glimpses of what the trailer will look like when it's completely polished. The future looks BRIGHT (and shiny).

Auction Burn

Finally! An outdoor farm auction full of bargains, treasures, beautiful weather and.....sunburn. When you show up at an auction wearing a long-sleeved t-shirt, a sweatshirt and a vest, sunburn isn't really on your mind. And, then you start to shed the layers, and at about 1:00 in the afternoon, you notice that sizzling sensation on your neck. I came home Saturday with a carload of treasures and burned face and neck. And it was totally worth it.

This cannister set was the highlight of my day. I'm standing next to a trailer full of garage junk, and one of the guys starts pulling these beauties out of their original, ugly, water-stained box. The original plastic was flaking off of them. My heart nearly stopped. I had no idea they were even on that wagon! That color! I've had them for four days and they still give me butterflies!

I love picnic tins. This one is in perfect condition. Definitely a no-brainer.

These little trays are collapsible, and their gridded tops make me think they were meant for being used outdoors. They're rusty, but I'm thinking a can of spray paint would fix them right up!

Not one, but TWO yellow Lustroware cookie cannisters! Perfect condition, just need a bit of cleaning.

If you go to enough auctions, the auctioneers start to know your taste. Saturday's auctioneer is of the opinion that I like the "ugly stuff". Like these beauties! There was a display case full of costume jewelry, a pocket watch, that sort of thing. The bidding was for choice item. I let them first several rounds go, because the bidding was high for the more desireable pieces. Finally, I was the only bidder at $1. The auctioneer looked at me and said, "You want that green one, don't you?" I said, "Can I have the matching earrings, too?"

This is probably my second favorite find from Saturday's auction, and they were free!! This partial box of Kordite Freze Boxes was in a big box full of vintage kitchen utensils. I was bidding, but I'm cheap and the box went for a decent price. I approached the winning bidder and asked if I could buy the boxes from her for a dollar. She told me I could have them! I love the cute graphics and colors.

More vintage goodies at Thriftasaurus!

Progress

Progress on the crafting trailer was halted for a couple of weeks thanks to Winter Storm Q. We couldn't get to the trailer without tromping through a foot of snow. The kids ending up having 4 snow days. A 6 day weekend! That's pretty much unheard of in Kansas.

Before the snowstorm hit, I did get a start on a big project. We're creating a reading nook in the back end of the trailer, and I wanted to do a special treatment to the wall and ceiling back there. I love looking at the fabric in vintage patchwork quilts. Real patchwork quilts. The kind that weren't all matchy-matchy, because they used whatever scraps were laying around to make them. I thought I'd create something similar on my walls using old book pages. Roger reminded me that I had a set of 1974 Wold Book Encyclopedias in storage. I think we paid 50 cents for them at an auction last summer. Perfect decoupage material!

I razored out a bunch of encyclopedia pages and got to work with my sponge brush and Mod Podge.

I started at one edge and followed the curve of the wall up to the center of the ceiling. Then I went to the other side of the trailer and did the same until they met.

Here's what I had at the end of the first day. You can see that there were a number of odd textures and patches and holes that needed to be covered. The thing I love about this treatment is that it really hides all those flaws.

Finally got in there about a week ago and was able to finish it up. I am absolutely thrilled with how this turned out. I was afraid it might be too stripey or too messy or too something, but it's perfect. However, I do still plan to add a few spots of color to it.

These are a few of my options. I'm picturing them randomly placed over the black and white pages to add little pops of vintage color.

Roger managed to get a little painting done, too. The ceiling and front wall are now this pretty shade of aqua. I love this color. I hate picking paint, because all you get to see is that little tiny square of color, and I can't ever imagine it enlarged onto an entire wall. When picking this one, I controlled my usual impulse to go too dark, and I'm very happy with the results.

Wiring is the next step. Our completely awesome, sort of retired electrician has been helping us out. I'm excited, because once all that boring wiring is done, the walls start going up. And then I'll feel like I'm really seeing results!

Progress

Roger has been busy, and I am impatiently waiting for the day when it's all done. It's hard work waiting for the "boring" stuff to be done, so that I can do the "fun" stuff. But, I'm glad I have a husband who is handy and smart and thinks about the details. The first step was ripping out all the stuff we didn't want.

The weird sitting area at the front is gone. We will be putting a built in desk at that end. Right now, there is a folding table to hold Roger's tools and supplies.

We removed the standing shelves and the shelves over the "kitchen" area. The only original overhead bins we left are at the back.

Now, we have a crumpled mess of aluminum behind our house. I think Roger is hanging on to them in case he needs to patch anything.

After some research, we became less worried about removing things and took out the back wall that originally divided the bathroom from the rest of the trailer. Roger will be putting up a new wall back there to create the reading nook.

Found a rotten spot in the back. It would appear that at sometime in its history, the trailer was in an accident. The rear driver's side is quite beat up, and that was causing moisture to seep in and rot the floor.

It's been patched and replaced, so now it looks like it did before we found the hole!

Our first wall is framed! Progress at last! The plan is to build walls in front of the original aluminum walls so that we can run wiring without having to open the original walls and then re-rivet them back into place. We'll also be able to add an additional layer of insulation.

One more thing! We bought an electric fireplace to go in this spot. Hurray for sales at Lowes! This is the model we chose. Now, we need to find a window air conditioning unit so I'll be set for year round crafting!

Three's a Collection

I didn't set out to collect toy toasters. I don't think anyone sets out to collect toy toasters; it just happens. One day, I was at the flea market and saw the toaster with the rooster. Plaid is fun and roosters are fun. I brought it home and it sat in my kitchen for about a year.

A few weeks ago, I spotted the blue toaster at the same flea market. It's in crazy good shape and such a great color. It had to come home with me.

Today, Roger was restocking our booth at the antique mall and saw the red toaster in a display. Red is my color, you know, so he brought it home, too.

And, that, my friends, is how you start a collection.

See more thrifty finds at Young Heart's weekly link-up!