And the adventure begins…

This is my first attempt at blogging. I feel like I have something interesting to say and hope that people who read this will feel the same way. If you are reading this, please let me know your thoughts and ideas. I would love to make my blogging adventure something everyone will enjoy.

Hi. My name is Jayme. I am a 40’something, married mother of four. My husband, Greg, is the love of my life and my four children are my greatest accomplishment so far. I am a real estate appraiser by trade (which gets the bills paid) but my true passion (addiction) is junking. My highs are garage sales, thrift stores, flea markets and yes, even dumpsters. I live each day for the rush of finding a jewel-in-the-rough and transforming it into something unique and amazing. My mind is consumed with ideas of “what could be”. I’m obsessed with Pinterest. Although I am not a hoarder (my husband, children and neighbors will probably disagree), but my basement and garage are filled with treasures that are near and dear to my heart. I start to have withdrawals when the small path through my garage begins to get bigger. I…must…find…more!

My first taste of junking, began a few years ago at a garage sale. I spotted a pair of cane back chairs sitting in the grass in the yard. Beautiful cane, still intact. Ugly, old, stained brown fabric probably from the 1960’s or 70’s. Although unused and unwanted by their current owners, they were perfect to me! I took the pair of them home for $5.
I immediately set to work. I lovingly sanded them down and painted the frames an antique white. I recovered the seats in a gorgeous burnt-orange and crème floral fabric that I found at my favorite discount fabric store for $6 a yard. I learned removing staples are a pain in the ass (and hands) but a necessary evil when refinishing. I made my own cording and had better luck with my glue gun. My masterpiece was finished!
Now the true test was to see if someone could love them as much as I did. I opened my Etsy store in October of 2013 and my beautiful chairs were listed for sale for $200. They sold in two weeks to a buyer in Mississippi who absolutely loved them! I was hooked!

Since then, I have refinished and sold all types of furniture and have even dabbled in my own pallet creations and making lamps out of vintage coffee and tea pots. Shout out to my hubby, who helps me with the lamps…Thank you, Greg for supporting my addiction! I love each piece I create or recreate, but a fabulously crafted chair is my weakness.

I am currently finishing a settee for an Etsy client in New Jersey. She custom ordered a cane back chair from me and wanted me to finish a settee for her. I found the settee here in Georgia and she sent me her ideas for color and her own fabric. It is almost complete and so far it is beautiful. I normally ship my furniture through Greyhound Shipping and they haven’t let me down yet. My only problem is they have weight and size limits. So, I needed to find other options for my larger pieces. A few months ago, I tried Uship and had a great experience. I found a delivery company located in Florida that make regular trips across the country. My first item arrived on time and without incident. I had found another way to ship! I contacted Dan (my new shipper) and asked him if he could take the settee to New Jersey. He informed me that he was making a trip to New York in the next few weeks and could fit in the settee. Yay! I had time to work on it and an inexpensive way to get it to my buyer. In the meantime, I sold a heavy, 3 piece coffee table set and this buyer lived 30 minutes from my client with the settee. Perfect! I contacted Dan again to ask if he could fit in the coffee tables as well. He didn’t respond, which was very unusual because I normally get an immediate response. Being it was the week of the 4th of July, I figured he was out of the country on vacation or something. Two more messages and two weeks later…nothing. I am convinced he’s either dead or in jail. I’m truly heartbroken. And in a pickle. I have charged two clients for shipping and no way to ship at the last minute. At this point, I only have one option. ROAD TRIP!! Enter my best friend and co-conspirator Tonya. She has agreed to accompany me to New Jersey to deliver my furniture. She shares my passion and addiction for junking and we plan to make this a trip to remember!

That’s it up to this point. You’re all up to date. I have to get on with the rest of my day and I’m sure if there is anyone reading this, it’s time for you to move on too. Stay tuned…I’ll be updating often!