Memorable Memories: Vintage Up-cycle Project #1

Many things change when you go from being single to married, and then married with children.  Mostly it's what you used spend doing with your free time, or lack thereof.  "Back in the day", one of my favorite single & summer free-time activities was hopping from estate sale to estate sale, hitting up Cleveland's wonderful antique shops and the occasional flea market in search of vintage finds. My first introduction to vintage came from my Grandma and my love of her jewelry. I can remember going to antique shows with my her, while I was still in high school, searching out vintage pins and bracelets. That initial love blossomed and grew when I  discovered the classic movies of the '40s and '50s.  Is there anything better than listening to Kate and Spencer, or Rosalind and Cary, banter and bicker in intelligent vocal foreplay? To this day, I prefer the classic B&Ws, both in TV and cinema, to almost anything made today!

I began (and continue) to collect vintage kitchen ware and bar ware.  There is nothing more classic than the designs and patterning of vintage bar ware.  I searched high and low at the endless estate sales found in and around my neighborhood of southeastern Cleveland suburbs.  The elderly of these neighborhoods saved EVERYTHING and kept it in impeccable condition.  It was like a treasure hunt for me! I amassed quite a collection in the few years I traveled around with my mom.  Soon, my vintage interests expanded to include linens, bedroom decor, beauty products and refurbishing furniture. Typically, I would go on a "sale-ing" trip with a specific focus.  But that doesn't mean I didn't find or buy other things, but it helped keep me on the right track and not get overwhelmed with the amount of stuff you could buy!   Like most things vintage, you can find your desired item in a WIDE range of price points. I set a budget and stuck to it.  One summer, I was keeping an eye out for affordable and interesting compacts.  I found three and turned one into a fun way to hold a happy memory!  Here's my FIRST vintage up-cycle project:  a vintage compact picture holder!

I took the brass compact, the smallest of the three, I had purchased that summer.  It was the easiest to convert into the compact picture holder. It was a great size for purse/make-up bag functionality, and it had a perfect shape for a small sized picture. Usually when you find a vintage compact, it will have some powder left in it! Crazy, right?  It is very easy to remove.  Just carefully scrape it out with the end of a pair of scissors, or you can use a wet paper towel to clean up any residue that remains. Find a picture that will fit the appropriate size of the powder side of the compact.  I traced the outer edge of the compact on the back of my chosen picture, making sure to center the picture in the open compact spot.  I cut the picture just a little bit smaller than the traced circle, added a dot of  "Tacky Glue" to the back and pushed it in to the open picture spot.  Voila! A unique way to keep an extra special photo close to you!

So this, the summer of 2012, seems prime time for me to get back in to the "sale-ing" game. Sweet Pea and Monkey are old enough, and manageable enough, to be able to hit a few sales each week AND tackle a huge flea market about 45 mins away.  I'm on the hunt for a set of old TV trays for one of my favorite vintage up-cycle projects.  I've already refinished a set that is housed in our upstairs living room. I'd like to share this project with you as I refinish a set for our downstairs family room/WOman cave ;) Praying to the shopping gods that I can find a set!!!

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