The Star Mill Antique Store and its Stories

 Lucky me ... I have always wanted to check out all the nooks and crannies at a local antique store which is located in a historic mill.

 

This past week I got the chance to do just that at the Haunted Mill Event sponsored by Shannon at Lucky Red Hen and Angie at The American Homemaker!

Boy do those girls know how to throw a party!!

The event started with some browsing through the booths set up by local antique and collectible dealers, and yes, there were some great deals.

 

Next Daniel Copper, shown above, the owner of the Star Mill Antique Shop told the wonderful history of the mill, including the fact that it burned down twice ... and was rebuilt.

 Of course the mention of ghosts is always fun this time of year ... such as the story of the little girl who wandered off down some stairs when her mother was shopping at the mill, who, when called back by her mother said "But I was going with the lady" ... another child turned and left the back room of the mill, saying to her mother that the apparently empty room had "too many people in it." 

 After the talk we got to wander all over the property, including the historic home of the miller, and several spaces that are normally closed to the public. 

I did find a lot of treasures to take home, as usual ... what fun!

 

It was especially fun seeing all the large gears, funnels, wheels, and cranks of the mill machinery, as Daniel had told us that when he was researching the mill, he was told by experts at the Smithsonian that it was one of only 10 complete 1800's mills still in existence, and the only one west of the Mississippi.

 Here is my friend Christine, who manages the Utah Vintage Yard Sale site, she had some fun spooky Halloween décor for me to add to my dining room mantel. 

 To the left is one of the food trucks where we got lunch ... mine was an ABC grilled cheese (Apple, Bacon and Cheddar)  Yummy!!

My friend LaVern and I both had a great time ... note my van behind us in front of the mill, all ready for me to load the amazing antique door turned huge wall mirror that we stopped off and dropped at the Treasures Antiques on the way home. 

 

 Yes, a good time was had by all!

Expanding My White Booth at Treasures Antiques

My love affair with white continues, this week I moved my white booth from a half size booth to a full size ...

 and loved every minute of it. ....

I was surprised how fast it filled up ... now I am back to creatively squeezing in more white deliciousness.

 

And here is my vintage bunting sign ... again.

 The sweet tall screened cupboard was a find on Reclaimologists and Other Crafty Chicks on Face Book!  Such talented ladies with such great stuff ...

 

Thanks for dropping by to share the white!

A Junquer's Happy Place

 Oh yes, more 'junquing' and I am in my happy place, especially since my chum Wendy was able to go too. (the blonde)

We are at Jennine's Barn Sale in Riverton, her first in several years!

  And, yes, we made out very well! thank you.

 The cupboard above is amazing, eh?  And of course the Lemonade door that visited flea.o.logy a couple of weeks ago.  This time I was able to get a full length picture, no idea what I would do with it, but I love it never the less.

 More goodness ....

 ... and more.

 

Love the interior color of this 1920's cupboard. Wouldn't it look awesome filled with white ironstone?

 Junque anyone?  Or how about a great old wing back chair with its original blue roses?

 ... and of course rusty has finally come into its own!

 Above is Jennine's new 'shoppe' sign ... love it!

And of course there were goodies too, not the kind you buy and decorate with, the kind you eat and chug!

How cute is her sign?  Made from tea dyed napkins with letters stenciled in place ... the old tub is perfect, don't you think?

 

Thanks for coming along and sharing the fun with Wendy and me ... we hit a couple of estate sales later, and ran into Denise of Two Ole Crows and a Coot at the barn sale too ... we will be visiting her store soon.

DIY Making Fake Enamelware

 About a month ago I was working at the antique mall and saw an adorable reproduction French enameled bathing pitcher ... it had a checker board band around it and I was smitten ....



That started my mind peculating, and I thought it would be great to use black and white enamel ware on the tops of my cupboards when I redo my kitchen in black and white ... a project that is still in the planning process.  I know, as an antique dealer, that old enamelware can be pricey, especially the pitchers, tea pots and coffee pots that I thought would look best.

I then found the small enameled pitcher above and it was  a steal, so I bought the tall bathing pitcher (not a steal) and the small jug and looked for an in between piece ... that's when I saw the aluminum coffee pot above ... and thought "Perfect size, love the shape, very cheap ... ah if only it were enamelware ...

 

Now for a little history, enamelware was made by dipping tin pots and pans into heavy enamel (oil base) paint.  Then after drying, it was baked. 

 

Spray paint is also oil based enamel ... though I did find that even with a clear coat on top of the white it was not shiny enough to look like enamelware.  That's when I remembered my secret weapon ... 'Hi Shine' ... it worked like a charm. I then used a foam paint brush and painted the trim on the rolled edges that are usually painted on enamelware.

 Sadly the cute aluminum tea pot I found at a garage sale .... for a dollar, with the same intent, had a painting accident ... and will have to be stripped and redone ... a project for after flea.o.logy.

 

So here is the completed grouping.  See how the coffee pot is the perfect size?  I love it and am now on the hunt for old aluminum forms, which are ALWAYS MUCH CHEAPER, but have the same utilitarian shapes as the slightly earlier enamelware.

 

And did you notice that I christened it a chocolate pot? (Ala Graphics Fairy) I want black pops, but don't want to be too matchy matchy to the checkerboard pattern ...

Oh and then, while still in the enameling mood, I looked around and spotted these abused, but not very old, tin buckets with paper patterns glued on.  (I bought a stack of 12 of them for $4 at a yard sale of course)  After some soaking and scrubbing, I gave the one above the same treatment.  I found the label form on Graphics Fairy too ... then moved it to my Paint program and 'typed' in a flower name ... it reminds me so much of the gummed labels my mom used to type on and label EVERYTHING with ... that it makes me smile!

Thanks for coming along ... if you love enamelware, maybe you will be making some fakes yourself?  What do you think?

Reinventing an Antique Photo Album

 

 

Today I wanted to share a bit of reinventing that resulted in the salvage of an antique celluloid covered photo album.  The album came to me with the cover in tact, but the binding of the album and the pages were pretty tattered.  I actually used the pages as picture matting, and tucked the album cover away.

 

This is what it looked like.

Fortunately I noticed that the album cover was just the right size to cover a smaller size collapsible file I also had on hand.  By covering a piece of cardboard for a new spine, and then bending (Scoring first with a straight edge and a razor blade) the card board sections that remained from the back of the original binding, and then gluing the new decorative spine in place.

Last of all, I glued the album covers to the outside covers of the collapsible file.

I now plan to used the fancified file to store family mementos.  Thanks for stopping by.