Toy Box to Treasure Box - Reinvention

 Long time followers know how I love an old box to reinvent ...  this vintage toy box, shown to the left was pretty rough when I bought it.  The hinges had broken through, and the lid was missing a large section of the top ply of the plywood that made up the top.

My husband made me a new top and moved the hinges to make them sturdy, then I took over and painted it white with a nice satin finish paint, that I prefer to chalk paint.

 After the white paint was applied I masked off stripes and applied blue paint.

 After removing the tape from the stripes, I masked off the top and used Hazel and Ruby masking stencils to spell out treasures on the lid.  I thought it could be used as a hope chest, toy chest or a memory box, and the world 'treasures' would apply to any of these uses.

I added polka dots to finish the top, after removing the masking.  I liked it, but it was so pristine looking, I thought it sort of lost the character of its age, so ...

 I first distressed it with sand paper, then I waxed it with clear paste wax, inside and out, and last of all I used dark paste wax to age it.  I like the sheen and smooth finish you get with the paste wax, and the character the distressing and staining added back to the piece.

 We had added French Provincial handles, and I like how they looked painted, then sanded, then stained, as well.

Of course, the interior needed polka dots as well ... now this fine treasure box just needs to be adopted by a new home ... I am listing it as my offering today on Reclaimologists and Other Crafty Chicks on facebook, so perhaps it will have a new home soon.

Thanks for stopping by to watch me do a little reinvention!!

Flea Market Booths That Will Make You Drool.

 Let the flea season begin .... I am in heaven, last Saturday I got my introduction to 2014 junking at one of my favorite flea markets, Fleattitude, held at a wonderful historic building in Pleasant Grove ... to start is Jenn's booth, one of  Fleattitude's talented founders!

 Next in line is the booth hosted by Reclaimologist and Other Crafty Chick founder, Shannon ... Adore this banner!!

Then onto my favorite booths anywhere, Two Pits of a Pear .... and guess what?  They are headed to Farm Chicks in June!  They are amazing, I almost wish I wasn't going to Canton's First Monday Trade Days the first of June so I could go see their amazing booth, well, almost .... after all Canton is, well, First Monday Trade Days, the oldest continuous flea market in the United States, after all.

Then a couple more pictures back in Jenn's booth again.

 Of course, talented Christine of Vintage Yardsale Utah was there ... she's planning a women's retreat, please take note of her button on my side bar .... so much talents and so many wonderful projects!!

 Funny story, I put together pyrex bowl sets to sell at Treasures .... saw this stack, but noticed the $12 on the top bowl ... too much when you are putting together a set, but loved how the three equal sized bowls looked together ....

I later saw the happy new owner of the set, and told her I had thought of  buying them myself ... that's when she said she'd had to buy all three, but didn't really want the red one.  When I asked why she'd had to buy all three she said they were priced as a set at, $12 .... really?   Oops ... but at least I am the proud new owner of the red bowl.  :-)

 Another happy purchase was these tall cupboard doors from a historic bungalow ... can you say 'love at first site' ... I bought a set of 11 .... now what to do with them.  They are five feet tall and 18 inches wide.

 Met this couple in the parking lot on the way out ... the pyrex bowl full of antlers just made me laugh ... weren't they good sports to let a stranger snap their picture?  I thought so too, such camaraderie in junking!

Speaking of which, thanks to my cute friend Wendy for coming along to make the junking all that much more fun!!  She is such a doll!! Thanks friend!

White and Wood Antique Mall Display,

This past week I got to redo my favorite display area at Treasures North ...

Since I am definitely going through my white phase ... I decided there was nothing else that would be as much fun.

I love this yard stick shelf that Kole of Treasures fame, put together ... I thought it was perfect for my white and wood display!

Another clock, of course ...

... and if that is not enough white to suit you, stay tuned, because I am moving and redoing my white booth at Treasures South, and will be sharing all its fine whiteness some time next week.  I even got the new spot painted today too ... ah yes, what is it about white that is so satisfying? 

Bountiful Blues and Ryan too!

Just wanted to wish my nephew Ryan a happy birthday and share a few pics of his birthday party since I got to help out a bit.  Above is the poster I made for him to use on his FB invites ...

 Of course if I am involved with a party of any kind there is going to be a pennant banner, here is my offering.

Because I was going to be out of town on the day of the party I had to delegate the making of the cake.  My daughter Ashley, who is actually the same age as Ryan, did the honors.  As a former cake decorator and Bakery manager, she was the obvious choice!

... and while I am attending Wicked in Boise with my daughter Brittany and her family, the party is pulsing in my home town, Bountiful, Utah ... would have been lovely to have attended both events ... wish someone could come up with a DVR for that.

Ryan is shown here with two of his smallest guests ... I adore this young man ... he is a brilliant religious and political theorist, and is always astounding me with his thought processes!!  I love you Ryan!

Ryan hired the Baker Street Blues Band to play at the party, which gave us the party theme ... Blue!  

 The Band gifts Ryan a tie dyed t-shirt so that he can match their outfits!

 ... loved this pic of the cake with the band behind!!  Thanks anonymous picture taker, nice staging.

... and here are a few of the gang who attended ... Looks like everyone had a blast!  Happy Birthday Ryan.

Better than Restoration Hardware!

 We had a lovely weekend in Idaho with the northern grands, celebrating Easter and attending a touring broadway company's rendition of my favorite play, Wicked... (Which was amazing of course)

On the way home we gave a ride to the relative of one of my daughter's Brittany's friends, who needed a ride from Boise to Salt Lake ...

Luckily for us, she is staying with a very talented brother-in-law, who was willing to share the renovations on his historic down town SLC home ....

It was amazingly and greenly renovated, with many repurposed items for a great industrial look.

 Love the corrugated steel as a shower surround ...

 and the factory caged lights above the sink.

 The entertainment is the unburied foundation stone, and historic cement.

The vintage typewriter shows of a back drop of 100 year old cement.

The table was purchased as a table, but they flipped the top over so they could use the unfinished side ...

The fridge has colored fiberglass sheeting attached with double sided tape ... such an awesome look!

 A European antique buffet and hutch were placed behind the bed as a head board.  Love it!!

 The floor of the master bedroom and the hall leading to it are made of bleacher boards that were planed down, and then screwed directly onto the cement basement floor.  They left small gaps between and use a vacuum to clean the floor ... its beautiful!  The entire house is nothing short of amazing.  I loved every inch, even though it is the antithesis of my own home,  I was charmed.