Category: Junkin’ adventures

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Rustic repurposed cheese box storage container

After downsizing last year from a 5 bedroom, 4 1/2 bath home, into a 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath, 1920’s renovated mill house in Monroe, Georgia, we found ourselves with 20 years’ worth of stuff that we had no idea what to do with. Most of it is in storage units. Yes plural. Units. Three of them. And trying to figure out what is essential and what isn’t, was and still is, a huge challenge. I’ve had to put my organizational skills to the test and decorative storage containers have saved my sanity on more than one occasion. Cute little boxes and bins are great for hiding odds and ends that otherwise would make my little home look cluttered.

I have a tiny powder room in my hallway that has very little storage space. The sink vanity is narrow and holds hand towels and not much more.

I needed somewhere to store my toilet paper and I did not want the spare toilet paper rolls visible. While shopping at my little neighborhood grocery store, I found a stack of these wooden cheese boxes in the back by the meat department.

Low and behold they sell them for $1 and I snatched them up before the rest of the town could find out about them. This cheese box is the perfect size to hold the extra rolls of toilet paper in my little powder room. It just needs to look a little more rustic and I am going to show you how I created mine.

This project is quick and easy and can be modified to fit any decor. You can use any paint color or stain and use this stencil, a different stencil or no stencil at all. I wanted a dark stained piece, and I chose this stencil because I wanted to be able to use it in any area of the house if I decided I didn’t like it in the bathroom.

I chose a Red Mahogany wood stain for the box and a Dark Granite acrylic craft paint for the stencil.

I made the stencil with my Silhouette machine, but you can buy stencils or even hand paint the top if you wish. I lined my stencil up on the top of the box and went to work with my acrylic paint.

Once I removed the stencil, I had a little bit of hand painting to do because of the way my stencil was cut.

And now I can brag about it truly being a hand painted piece.

While I waited for the top to dry, I took my chip brush and stained the inside and outside of the bottom of the box.

These boxes soak up a lot of stain. It took almost the whole 8oz can and then took forever to dry. Once the stencil was dry, I stained the inside and outside of the top of the box.

The stain is darker than I thought and next time I would either go lighter on the stain or use a black acrylic paint on the stencil. Here is my finished piece and its new home. For now.

Follow me for more inspirational ideas on creative, upcycled storage and organization.

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Out with the old and in with the new

2016 was an exciting year! With the opening of my store, Knicknaques, and the crazy schedule of appraisals, there wasn’t much time to get to all of the projects I have on my list.  So, in 2017, I am vowing to get more custom jobs finished. 


Over the past few months, I have collected an assortment of beauties that I am calling my “Emerald” collection. Somehow I ended up with a stash of green pieces and although they’re lovely in their current condition, I always envision something better. 


I have had this green wing chair sitting in my garage for awhile and we actually use it there. Its also on my list to redo and I’m not sure what we will do without it in the garage. Yes, I do…I will find another chair to fill its place. Duh. Until then, I am going to chalk paint over the green and recover the seat. I’m thinking gray with a stenciled canvas seat…


I found this little cutie at a thrift store. I walked by it several times before decided that it would be adorable sanded down and stained and the top recovered in burlap. Here’s hoping that green paint wants to come off easily. 😬

I love, love, love this sewing chair. 💚 The green vinyl is in excellent condition, although the color is a little outdated. There are so many possibilities with this one! But then again, I may just leave it be. Hmmmm…


This ottoman is a popular size and can be used in any room. As a bench, an ottoman, a footstool or an accent piece. I have already recovered a similar one in a coffee bean sack and it turned out beautiful. I think I want to do something different with this one, I just haven’t decided what yet. 

Come back to see how they all turned out! Feel free to leave me a comment with your suggestion. I love fresh ideas!
Jayme

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The ABC’S of estate sales

Lately I have been obsessed with estate sales. Garage sales are the best, but they are few and far between in the winter here and my local thrift stores just don’t seem to appeal to my current tastes. I am still buying items to replace inventory that was sold during the Cotton Pickin’ Fair and one particular estate sale I visited this summer, fueled my fire. I spent a little more than usual, but I got some of the coolest stuff! Everything is on sale at Pickers Paradise and will be available at my next festival. Come see what I’ve found!

Step One to a successful estate sale trip is to research your sale. Estatesales.net and many of the estate sale companies post dates, times, maps and more importantly pictures of future sales. You will run across the same companies running these sales and there is a learning curve to figuring out which companies run sales with the type of things you are looking for and also how they price their items. I search estate sales within a 50 mile radius of my home. I generally stay within 20 but will travel further if the sale looks good. I go through all the pictures and pick the ones that have the items that look the most interesting. My obsession is vintage-mostly mid century. If I come across a sale with modern decor or all antiques, I generally skip them.  

Step Two,  get there early on the first day and have a plan. I’ve been third in line at opening and missed out on some items I had my eye on, because I wasn’t the first in the door and I stopped at the entryway instead of going directly to the room I needed to be in. If you’re looking for vintage Pyrex, go straight to the kitchen. Don’t get sidetracked by the pretty silver mid century lamps in the foyer. FOCUS people! Sorry, I still want to kick myself.

Step Three, know your estate sale company and stick to your budget. Know before hand if you are going to pay the marked price or get a better price by haggling- I mean bargaining. This comes from experience of going to multiple sales by the same company. Some will not budge on prices the first day. Some will take whatever they can get. Some have their stuff priced so high, that you want to turn around and walk back out without seeing everything. Most sales are 3 days, which are generally Thursday, Friday and Saturday. If you go the first day you will get the best stuff first. You may pay more for it, but its first come, first serve. Usually the last day is marked 50% off or more, but most of the good stuff is gone by that point. I went to a sale by one of my favorite companies and had my eye on 3 vintage photography light stands. Two were $30 and one was $45. I bought several things on the first day but passed on the light stands. I thought about those lights every minute until I went back on the last day. They were still there and I got all three of them for $45. I use them to spotlight my booths when lighting is low and I love that I got them for a great price!  

Step Four, never go alone. Especially if you deal in larger items (like me). If it’s a good sale and the house is large, bring at least 2 people. I’ve gone to an estate sale alone and found myself in a basement with no one to help me carry out a credenza, a chair and a picture frame. I ended up paying someone to help me, because I was unwilling to leave my purchases there and come back. I have had my purchases resold after I left and came back to pick them up. So, try to take everything with you.  

Step Five, try to bring cash. Cash talks when hounding- I mean bargaining and most companies will charge a fee to use a credit card. Always get a receipt and take your items with you. Some estate sales are run by the family and will only take cash. These are my favorite types of sales. They aren’t run by a company and aren’t out to get the highest price. The family just needs to get everything moved and aren’t as concerned about price as much as getting it all out. 

My final tip is on harassing- I mean bargaining. Make a pile. The more you have, the better the deal. The first one to name a price usually loses. Be the first to ask what is the lowest price they will accept and don’t be the first to say what you are willing to pay. I didn’t follow this advice at my last estate sale and gave a price of $75 for my pile of goodies, while the man was adding it all up. Thank goodness he didn’t hear me and asked if I would do $50 for everything. Hmmmm, ummmmm, well, OK! 

Those are my basics and just my opinions. I would love to hear your ideas, tips and tricks too. Thanks for following me and look for my next post. I have some exciting things coming up and will keep you updated!

Jayme

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Peaches To The Beaches 

A yard sale from Perry, GA to Brunswick, GA? Ummm..yes, please. Friday the 13th, Saturday the 14th of March and over 200 miles of garage sales! Tonya and I set out for Perry on the 12th so we can get a head start in the morning. We have very few requirements for sleeping quarters on our little adventures. Our trip to New Jersey was budget minded and we have since found we love dinky little motels. As long as they have a front porch and chairs we can bring outside, we are happy. We make a little fun drink and sit outside playing on our iPads. So what if repairs are needed while you are there. We’ve got it covered. Macgyver ain’t got nothing on us! A safety pin will fix a broken toilet! 

  
We started the morning in a little bit of a fog and kinda chilly but quickly warmed up with some coffe and the excitement of our first stops. I was looking for a low dresser to use as a tv stand in my living room and things to sell in the Antiques Capitol of Georgia Festival that was coming up in the next few weeks. It was slow and go for awhile but by lunch I had managed to fill up the bed of the trunk, including my little dresser that I found for $10!  (It’s buried under the tarp, but more on my dresser makeover later.)

After lunch in McRae, the yard sale sites became fewer and fewer. We did come across a big field where many different people had set up tables and decided to stop. I scored a saddle I had been wanting for a long time and even the ditch with water couldn’t stop me from getting it to the truck.

   

 We made it to Brunswick and stayed on beautiful Jekyll Island for the night. We got up the next morning and saw all the neat things Jekyll Island has to offer. Like this beautiful beach with giant driftwood trees and old plantation style homes with art exhibits. 

   
    
    
 The yard sales weren’t as good as the day before so we went back to the motel and hung out on the porch. HAPPY!

All in all it was a great experience and we had a blast! Looking forward to August when we get to do the Longest Yard sale.   Stay tuned! 😉

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Just another rainy Thursday

I spent the morning whipping up another appraisal report. It’s been raining for 40 days and 40 nights and I’m in serious need of some sunlight. I met with a friend for lunch and after catching up decided to hit some of my favorite thrift stores in Covington, GA and hopefully brighten my day.

Ever since my sister-in-law, Pam and I went to the Country Living Fair in October I have been on the prowl for chenille. Not just any chenille, vintage chenille. The old kind, all one color with old designs and the furry little Pom Pom ball trim. I don’t know why, exactly, except that it’s pretty. And hard to find. Pam told me about a certain LARGE chain thrift store that you can shop online. After checking it out (it’s an auction site) I found a few listings for vintage chenille bedspreads. I put a bid on one for $6.99, just to see what happens. The bid ended 01/14/2015 at 5:30 PT and I set a reminder on my phone. I was the highest bidder…until 5:29 PT when magically another bidder came out of the blue and beat me by $1.00. REALLY?! Enough with that site. Especially after I found out shipping would be another $12.00. I’ll find my own chenille.

Back to my thrifting trip…on my way to Covington, through rain drops and fog, I spotted an estate sale sign. Oooooo yay! It was in an old house built in the 20’s or 30’s (which was also for sale) and it was full of fun, unique things. Most of it was too expensive for my budget but I went through each and every room. I had my eye on some antique picture frames in one of the bedrooms when out of the corner of my wandering eye was a chenille bedspread!

All white with a beautiful white design and tiny white Pom Pom trim all around. I didn’t even haggle the $15 price tag. It was nicer than the one I lost on the auction site. It was also cheaper and better yet…

IMG_9585

I had it in my hot little hands. Love-love-love it! I don’t know what I’m going to do with it yet but you can bet it will look pretty draped across my bed for now. Or a chair. Or a sofa…

I found 2 large boxes of vintage items at one of my thrift stores and only paid $25. I think I’ll list a few items on my Etsy site and display them in my booth for all to admire. Check out my Etsy site at www.etsy.com/shop/Knicknaques and my Instagram at Knicknaques to see all my latest goodies!

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Delivery adventure complete!

Day one. Settee, check. Coffee tables, check. Luggage, check. Vodka and Crown, check. Two excited girls on the road, check! Tonya and I set out to get as far as we could on our way up to New Jersey. Somewhere in Virginia we decided to push all the way to Atlantic City. It wasn’t exactly on the way or part of the original route, but something we really wanted to see and it was only 2 hours (or so my GPS said) from my first delivery. 16 hours later, we made it to Atlantic City.  We stayed in a comped suite at Harrah’s, thanks to Tonya’s Total Reward points. Atlantic City was everything we thought it would be and we can’t wait to go back and stay. But, we had a mission and had to get up and going the next day.

Day two. Loved Atlantic City, New Jersey…not a fan of New Jersey drivers, or the toll roads. Trying to stay on budget, I decided I was going to beat the toll roads and find an alternate route that wasn’t going to break the bank. My GPS said 2 hours to Montvale which was where I needed to drop off the coffee tables. It said only 2 1/2 hours when I told it to avoid the toll roads. Save $15 and add 30 minutes? Sounded good to me. Long story short, it still took 4 hours and about half way there, we were back on the toll road. New Jersey 1, me 0. After delivering the coffee tables, I set route for Livingston to drop off the settee. GPS said 30 minutes and at this point I didn’t care if it was toll roads or not. GPS doesn’t understand New Jersey traffic either and an hour and a half later we were there. New Jersey 2, me 0. Both clients loved their furniture and we got some good information about possibly getting in to see New York City the next day. We headed back into the truck and talked about what we wanted to do next. Going into the city meant staying two nights in a very expensive part of New Jersey and the cost of getting in and eating once we got there. I disliked the thought of being so close to New York and not being able to see the city, but Tonya (and my budget) kept telling me no. We got back on the road and drove as fast and as far as we could from New Jersey. New Jersey 2, me 1.

Day three. Woke up in the Pocono Mountains. I’m from the state of Washington and I know a mountain when I see it. I’ve always heard about how people love the Pocono Mountains and that it’s a great place to visit. It is a beautiful place but people, those aren’t mountains!  They are large hills with trees. Ok, now that we have that out-of-the-way.  We decided to take it slow and try to see as many flea markets, thrift stores and antique malls as we could. Apparently we weren’t far enough away from New Jersey and New York. They are very proud of their antiques in the Pocono mountains and we couldn’t afford those prices. Back in the truck and back on the road.  We went through Hershey, Pennsylvania and threw some money at the Hollywood casino. Back in the truck and back on the road. We stopped for the night in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Day four. We got up early and found some really neat thrift stores and some really great buys. Finally! A place we can settle down and find some deals!  I scored a beautiful leather suitcase, a vintage percolator (because one can never have too many percolators), the grooviest pair of retro hanging lamps and Tonya found an old lamp she just couldn’t live without.

Lamps in TruckLeather Suitcase

Sophia (at Sophia’s Thrift Store) gave us the number of a friend of hers that would let us go junkin’ in his barns. She advised us to carry a big stick. Jimmie is a hillbilly and likes pretty girls. She also told us not to tell his wife that Sophia sent us. Uh I think we’ll move on?

We contemplated making it all the way home, but decided there was a big flea market we wanted to see near Roanoke, Virginia.  We stopped near Roanoke at a Howard Johnson that was advertised as being voted the nicest motel near the Appalachian Trail. It went on to say they had breathtaking views and an award-winning full breakfast buffet. We saved a lot of money on that room, but needless to say I kept my gun on me at all times and slept with it under my pillow, on my rock hard bed. I was able to fall right asleep and then I woke up in a panic at 4 am. Did I lock the truck? Did Tonya do her nightly bed bug check? Did we deadbolt the door? Unbelievably, I did forget to lock the truck (don’t worry, everything was still there) and Tonya had taken care of everything else. Whew!  Our breakfast the next morning was powdered eggs, cereal and fruit. Hardly award-winning.  Oh and this was our breathtaking  view-

Appalachian Trail Pic

The Poconos were more breathtaking than that!

Day five. We still have 400 miles to get home and the truck is only half full. Might as well hit a couple more flea markets. Happy’s Flea Market in Roanoke made us truly Happy. I found an old metal baby bed and some antique egg beaters. Now, if any of you have ever wanted antique egg beaters, you would know they are ridiculously expensive. They go anywhere from $9 to $25. I made it a mission (and a joke) that I was going to find them for a dollar- if it’s the last thing I do. I  actually found them at Happy’s for $3 and the nice lady gave me two of them for $5.

Egg Beaters

Success! Not exactly a dollar but close enough.

We went on to find an old baby stroller, a floor lamp, a vintage metal top table and a VERY large picture frame.  NOW the truck is full. Did that stop us from that last flea market? No. Leave it to Tonya to find an old metal cabinet that she HAD to have. She talked the very nice old man down to $35. He started at $50. Yay! And after a little unpacking and rearranging, we were on our way again.

We made it home, safe and sound and now my garage looks like an episode of Hoarders. Time to get busy, create some masterpieces and sell some treasures. Stayed tuned to find out what happens with all the goodies we collected…

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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. IMG_6326[1]
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! IMG_6395[1]
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!