Found Object Art

This is a very common sight around the workshop of The Brambleberry Cottage—

both inside and out.

Though I attempt to keep some semblance of order—organizing our multitudes of

baskets and bins of rusty metal, chippy-paint boards, balusters and spindles, and other

assorted salvage—it does have a tendency to get out of hand

at times...especially when we are in the midst of several

projects, as is currently the case.

And the clutter begins to mount even higher when a project or two gets

stalled because some key component

seems to be missing. 

That's exactly what happened with the variety of junk you see in the first image...

that is, until we found the old, beat-up tin full of

 vintage porcelain insulators.

Once the insulators were in our possession, the creative mind of the Yankee

started whirling, and a certain prized piece of wood

 of mine became a key to one of his latest designs. 

I had found this wonderful old porch post at the flea market last year

and had stored it away in the barn for a future project.  Its layers of paint had

begun to crackle and chip away, revealing the most fantastic

weathered patina.

I was rather reluctant to relinquish my hold on this treasure...

until the Yankee convinced me that his

project was worthy of its use.

  

As soon as I consented to letting him have my pretty wood post, he went to work

welding together several salvaged parts from antique

 cast iron wood stoves.

A good scrub with a wire brush—to eliminate the loose flakes of rust—and a

few coats of our favorite spray sealant gave the rusty components

a nice rich patina.

While the Yankee was constructing his creations, I searched through a number of

bins in the barn to scout out the perfect pieces

of metal for the bases.

They had to be just the right dimensions and thickness to compliment

 the Yankee's pieces.

And this is what I came up with.  Aren't they "grate"?!   ; )

So my vintage porch post, coupled with a few rusty grater parts, some

old insulators, an old gear or two, and several antique stove parts

 became...

"found object" art.

As hard as it was to give up, I think the Yankee put my

wood post to good use!   ; )

Joining:

 SJ's Creative Bloggers' Party & Hop, Susan's Metamorphosis Monday,

Carrie's Amaze Me Monday, Just Something I Whipped Up,

Nita's Mod Mix Monday, Linda's Nifty Thrifty Tuesday,

Kristin's Tuesday's Treasures, Tammy's Anything Goes,

Mary's Share the Love Wednesday, Suzanne's Vintage Thingie Thursday,

Leigh's Thrifty Thursday, Gina's Transformation Thursday,

Becky's Under $100.00 Party, Allison's Hookin Up With HOH,

LaurieAnna's Farmhouse Friday, Debra's Vintage Inspiration Friday,

Cindy's Show and Tell Friday, Courtney's Feathered Nest Friday,

Donna's Saturday Nite Special, Meg's Everything But the Kitchen Sink

Angie's Knick of Time Tuesday

Mirror, Mirror

It has been quite a while since I shared one of our transformation

projects—months, as a matter of fact!

So...

since I'm a bit overdue, I'll show you one of the last things we transformed...

before the garden and our "destash" efforts

consumed our lives.   ; )

Have you ever wondered why we use vintage windows in our projects

so often?  Well, it could have something to do with the fact that we

 have a barn full of them.

That's the same reason we use vintage beadboard so frequently—

well, that and the fact that we love making things from

salvaged materials.

And old window frames, coupled with vintage beadboard, make such wonderful

mirrors, we never grow weary of creating them.

The pair of vintage windows that you see above were two of a group of six

that we discovered in a barn

near our farm.

When the old farmer who had been storing the windows

decided it was time to get rid of them, he knew right

where to unload them.

Since two of them had broken panes of glass and missing muntins, they became

 prime candidates for a makeover.

By eliminating what glass remained in the windows, we opened up space at the

top for beadboard embellishment.

Cutting the windows down and removing the broken muntins

created the perfect openings for mirrors

to be installed.

The Yankee and I both love cottage style, so the theme for this

 particular transformation project was a given.

Several thick coats of cottage-white paint were rolled onto

 the frames—to keep all the old chippy paint

 where it belonged.

We really like how our mirror duo turned out.  And I think

even our farmer friend would approve.

I guess being known by the neighbors as "the folks who

like junk" has its advantages.   ; )

FOOTNOTE:  The mirrors were displayed on the barn just long enough to take pictures.  No birds or other wildlife were injured during this project.  Although...I think I DID chip a nail or two in the process.

Joining Kathleen's White Wednesday, Mary's Share the Love Wednesday,

Leigh's Thrifty Thursday, Becky's 100 Ideas Under $100.00,

Stephanie's Strut Your Stuff, Debra's Vintage Inspiration Friday,

Cindy's Show & Tell Friday, Courtney's Feathered Nest Friday, 

Wendy's Frugal Friday, Donna's Saturday Nite Special,

Sommer's VIP Party, SJ's Creative Bloggers' Party, 

Susan's Metamorphosis Monday.

The Buddy System

By now, you know my barns are stuffed with STUFF.

My Yankee jokes that our little farm has become a Cline's starter kit.

Now for those of you who are new to the Brambleberry Cottage...

this IS NOT my farm.  It's Cline's Antiques and Collectibles—

 and salvage yard!

Thank goodness, my situation is not nearly as bad as THAT;

but, believe me, it's bad enough!!! 

So...

the Yankee and I decided it was time to start "unstuffing" the barns—

before someone nominated us to be candidates for

 the TV show Hoarders.  ; )

I contacted a blogging buddy of mine, Tammy @ HOME FOR 6, to see if she was

interested in taking a look at the goods that had been culled from the barns,

thus far.

She was eager to oblige and ended up with quite a load of treasures

 from our "destash."

She even did a post about some of her fabulous finds from the Brambleberry Cottage.

And since Tammy does a show a couple of times a year,

it was a great way for her to increase her inventory,

before the next show.

This piece was very hard to let go of, because the Yankee and I had already invested so much

 time and energy in the transformation process.  Basically, when we first acquired it,

 it was just another nondescript,

vintage mirror frame...

that is, BEFORE its beautification.

We found it in one of Cline's barns, looking like this.

Then it came to reside in one of our barns—remaining the same way...

for quite a long while.

Even after the transformation evolved to the point you see it above, it sat around the

 cottage for a very long time unfinished.  The Yankee and I just could not come

to an agreement

as to how it should be completed...

so it was time to just SAY GOODBYE...

 to it, not each other.   ; )

Having a totally fresh perspective on the piece...

Tammy was able to put her creative finishing touches on it, in no time at all, 

and sell it at her spring show.

So, how's that for the buddy system?

Joining Susan's Metamorphosis Monday, Roeshel's The DIY Project Parade,

Nita's Mod Mix Monday, Kathleen's White Wednesday, and

Meg's Everything But the Kitchen Sink.

Time Travel Thursday #34 - A Table Chandy From Flea-Market Finds

"We all have our time machines. Some take us back, they're called memories.

Some take us forward, they're called dreams

~Jeremy Irons~

Welcome to the 34th Time Travel Thursday linky party at The Brambleberry Cottage!

Are you ready to share your fondest memories, grandest dreams,

and most creative projects? Great!

The Yankee visited Texas in 2008, a month after

Hurricane Ike devastated the area.

While there, he decided to browse through some of the thrift stores and flea markets—

hoping to score a few fabulous finds.  He purchased this lamp for

a song because of the damage it incurred from the storm.

Unfortunately, it has been sitting in the barn untouched—along with numerous

other trash-to-treasure projects—while

we've been waiting for inspiration hit.

And, of course, while he was away, I was out searching for my own treasure.

I was delighted to discover this vintage chandelier—a mere $5.00—

at one of our local Habitat for Humanity stores.  Alas, it sat untouched for some time,

awaiting its own future transformation and debut.

During one of our many brainstorming sessions we discussed

the plethora of projects in need of our attention and decided to pull some of the miscellaneous pieces out of the barns—to see if

they could tell us what they wanted to be when they grew up.   ; )

We also toyed with the idea of using vintage silver plate

in some of our designs.

Years ago, I found a group of 1930s New England patterned forks and spoons—

in yet another thrift store—and had tucked them away for a future project. 

I retrieved them from storage and had the Yankee

cut the handles off a handful of them and

drill small holes in the ends.

We disassembled the lamp and chandelier and sprayed both with our

favorite Rust-Oleum paint color—Oil Rubbed Bronze.

Once the paint dried, I distressed the metal with sandpaper,

to bring out some of the ornate detail in the pieces.

We decided to marry the vintage chandelier to the lamp and the two became one. 

Then I "prettied it up" with some vintage crystals and

the revamped—and polished—silver plate.

I liked the somewhat offbeat vibe created by blending

the crystals and the silver pieces.

Note the highlights on the metal where I distressed the surface with sandpaper.

If you look at the first and second lamps—of the Yankee's design—

and compare them to my designs, back here and above, you'll understand the

dilemma I face in attempting to create a home where the rustic and

the refined, the prissy and the primitive live happily together.

But I'm quite thankful to report, those four lamps do not

all reside here at the cottage.

Our son greatly appreciates the artistic value of his dad's designs,

so he was gifted the two rusty metal lamps.

Our daughter fell in love with the table chandy, and as soon as I tweak

a few of the details—change out the gold wires for silver—

she will be gifted that one.

Whew!  That was a close call.

Had I been forced to keep all of those lamps together, in this tiny little cottage, 

I assure you the words "and they lived happily ever after" would not

have been my words of choice!   ; )

IF YOU LINK TO THE PARTY, PLEASE BE SURE TO LINK BACK TO THE BRAMBLEBERRY COTTAGE ON YOUR BLOG.

Time Travel Thursday #23 - Diamond in the Rough

"We all have our time machines. Some take us back, they're called memories.
Some take us forward, they're called dreams."
~Jeremy Irons~

Welcome to the 23rd Time Travel Thursday linky party at the Brambleberry Cottage.

Are you ready to share your fondest memories, grandest dreams,

and most creative projects?

OK, here we go!

During one of our many junkin' jaunts—back in the 90s—the Yankee
and I stumbled upon a wonderful stash of antique stained-glass church
windows and empty sashes.

They were just too fabulous to pass up...
so we promptly bought
the entire lot!   ; )

One of the empty sashes was a large diamond-shaped piece—

probably a connector piece for two of the large windows—similar to the one 

surrounding the purple glass, in the image above.

We were never quite sure what to do with that particular architectural detail.

So it sat aimlessly in storage for years, with no particular destiny

 or purpose in sight, until...

we pulled all those wonderful beaded boards out of the old Victorian a few years ago.

I know I've told you many times before, but it's true, that bounty of vintage

beadboard has been the key that has unlocked the door

to numerous stalled projects.

For our little diamond in the rough, it was just a matter of

selecting the perfect board color from the pieces

 stored in the barn.

We were delighted with the results of our first project using those

salvaged boards—three fantastic wooden boxes—and decided

one of those colors would be just right for this piece.

After a bit of deliberation, we agreed that pink would be the perfect pairing

 for this pretty project.   ; )

Of course, no project is complete without the embellishments that make it unique—

like a stunning spindle part...

and a shimmering vintage glass doorknob.

And with the addition of a little ornate appliqué for the top...

and the bottom...

our once pleasant-but-plain window frame became a gorgeous...

one-of-a-kind...

sweet, sleek, shabby chic mirror.

It might have taken a few years for this diamond to shine,

but it sure sparkles now!   ; )

Linking to Leigh's Thrifty Thursday, Suzanne's Vintage Thingie Thursday,

Gina's Transformation Thursday, Cindy's Show and Tell Friday,

Betty Bee's Buzz, Brag, and Bee Happy Friday,

Jane's Frugalicious Friday, Meg's Everything But the Kitchen Sink, 

Laura's Saturday is Crafty Day, Bev's Pink Saturday, 

and Susan's Metamorphosis Monday.

Time Travel Thursday #7 - Vintage Window Transformation

"We all have our time machines. Some take us back, they're called memories.
Some take us forward, they're called dreams."
~Jeremy Irons~



Welcome to the seventh Time Travel Thursday linky party at the Brambleberry Cottage!
Are you ready to share your fondest memories, grandest dreams,
and most creative projects? Great!

Then let's do it!
 
Last night...

I took you through the steps I used to prepare an old window

for the latest cottage project.

Now tell the truth!

Have you grown weary of seeing this familiar scene? 

I sure hope not...because it will probably be quite some time before I

tire of using all that wonderful old beadboard we salvaged.

Of course, prior to the transformation, all the boards and the

window frame required a thorough cleaning, a few days of sun drying, 

and a good coat of Deft—to seal in

all that wonderful chippiness.

As I was laying out the configuration of the boards for the frame,

the Yankee asked if I had considered using metal anywhere in my design. 

I had not...but thought it was a great idea.

So...

out came some of our rusty, crusty vintage ceiling tins. 

We agreed that the larger rusted tin would add the best contrast

to the other materials being used.

We had found this antique leather pulley belt at our favorite junkin' spot

and had put it aside, not knowing when,

or how, we would use it. 

My brilliant Yankee came up with the perfect way

to incorporate it into my project.

The boards were cut and glued to the frame.  The corners of the ceiling tin

were cut and nailed in with decorative copper nails.  And the mirror

 was set in the special place created for it when

the muntins were rearranged. 

After the leather belt was scrubbed, rinsed, and thoroughly dried by the sun,

it was given a good coat of paste wax.  Strips of it were cut to frame in the

mirror.  Once again, the decorative copper nails came into play

 to attach the belt to the frame.

Then, more decorative nails were used to secure the part of the

pulley belt that encased the entire outside of the frame.

I love how this eighty-year-old window was

transformed into a one-of-a-kind mirror. 

How's that for a custom update?

I'll be linking this terrific transformation to Gina's Transformation Thursday,

Suzanne's Vintage Thingie Thursday, Leigh's Thrifty Thursday, 

Becky's 100 Ideas Under $100.00, Allison's Hooking Up with HOH,

Carolyn's Make it Yours Day, Jane's Frugalicious Friday,

Susan's Metamorphosis Monday, and Rory's Tools Are For Women Too!