It was FREE!

I picked up this great croquet set this weekend...

And the best part was.... it was FREE!

I've picked up a LOT of free things over the past few years. You can do some amazing things with free things.


I've grabbed a lot of these.....

and made things like this......

and this.....

I found this....

and turned it into this...

I've gathered up many, many,many of these ....

and made many things (but this is probably the biggest)....

I was given bunches of these (by the high school janitor, nonetheless)......

and came up with this.....

Believe it or not, I been given 3 of these (so far)...

and I've come away with this....

and these.....

and even this....

No one wanted this....

but now it looks like this....

Picked up this (along with 2 others).....

and it became this....

Came across this....

which gave me the opportunity to make more of these....

BUT...... the BEST thing I ever got for FREE was......

In Jesus Christ, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace. Ephesains 1:7

and because of that

to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, you may know that you have eternal life. I John 5:13

Midge

Have you met Alice?

Have You Met Alice?

Does this look familiar?



Well, if it does, you've probably already stopped by Alice's blog at yesteryearsjewels. And if not, you need to get on over there and check out this and her other great posts.

Who, you might ask, is Alice? Well, Alice is a dear friend of mine, which seems funny since I've never even met her. But I've gotten to know her through JunkMartketStyle, our blogs, and Facebook. So I guess I shouldn't have been surprised to discover her the winner of my little challenge a couple weeks ago -- she KNOWS how cheap I am. The challenge: to guess the total amount spent on my trip to the Goodwill. The prize: a feature post on this blog. So here goes!

This post will be presented interview style based on Alice answers to questions I asked her. Sit back and enjoy getting to know Alice just a little bit better, then go check out her blog.

Midge: I know you live in Texas, but tell me a little more about where you live, why, how long, etc.
Alice: Very Boring. Born, raised, and always lived in Ft. Worth. Thirty-three years ago we moved to the burbs which has now become the city of Benbrook. So to sum it up -- 60 (YIKES) years!

Midge: Are you married? If so tell me a little about your husband. Do you have children/grandchildren?
Alice: My husband Darrell is from Austin, MN, home of Spam! He took me to the Museum -- WAY too much fun!! He says once he learned there were warmer places he never looked back. He has 2 children. I have 1 daughter. My/our daugher is always looking out for us. She has the most adorable son. Hunter is six. He has his own room at our house. We have lived in the same house for 33 years. Hunter calls me "Ghee" and calls Darell "Pops". In his room we have an antique four poster bed. He wanted a tent so we have clamps with a green sheet attached to the posters with an eye hook in the ceiling. We have Christmas lights around his mirror. We really enjoy him!!!!
Our oldest granddaughter, Sarah, is graduating from A & M this year (the week before the big event with Sue ). Sarah's brother, Spencer, is 16 and in high school. He got his drivers license this year -- YIKES! He is raising a pig at his school. We have 4 more grandchildren that we don't have the chance to see very much.

Midge: Besides junking, do you or did you have a job? What kind of work do/did you do?
Alice: I worked a real job for 2 years in an office. It was NOT me! In '78 my mother and I opened an antique store -- Yesteryear's Leftovers. Darrell was so supportive. In '79 we went to the Dallas Market with old quilt bears. That was a wild ride for sure. We were in every major store in NYC. We were featured in numerous magazines -- Country Living, Smithsonian, etc.
When Darrell retired he wanted me to, too. So in January of 2001 we did. I also did patterns for Butterick. That was really fun!

Midge: When you're not junking, what kinds of things would I find you doing?
Alice: Having my grandson Hunter, reading, making jewelry, blogging, painting, working at my church.

Midge: If I bumped into you in the grocery store, what would you be dressed like?
Alice: Summer -- crop jeans, flip flops, t-shirt. Winter -- jeans, sweats, tennis shoes.

Midge: What is your favorite restaurant or food?
Alice: Italian or Mexican.

Midge: Tell me about your upcoming trip to NYC?
Alice: My friend's son lives there. My friend's husband died sudenly in November so we started planning a trip. We are really going just for pleasure.

Midge: Where else have you traveled to? If you could take a trip anywhere in the world, where would it be?
Alice: I've traveled to the Carribean (E., W., & S.), Baltic countries, South Pacific, Canada, Alaska, England, Europe (Italy, France, Luxembourg, Germany), and Mexico. I think I would like to explore New Zealand. Of course, I really want to go back to Italy and stay another 3 weeks!

Midge: Tell me about any of your favorite books, music, movies, or t.v.
Alice: Right now I am reading Susan Wiggs. I enjoy country music. I like the movies Blind Side, Sound of Music, South Pacific, and Miracle on 34th St. I also like the t.v. shows NCIS, Mentalist, and American Pickers.

And now the good stuff.....
Midge: What is your junk "specialty"?
Alice: Good question! I really enjoy the architectural pieces, can't see to get enough of them. I like making different things with them.

Midge: How long have you been junking?
Alice: Well, off and on (mostly on) 50 years.

Midge: Do you junk for yourself, or as a money-making venture?
Alice: I wish I was making money because I could buy more junk! I do sell some of my creations -- it's my jewelry that sells (some ot the time anyway). But I junk mostly for pleasure and fun with my chums.

Midge: What was your favorite junk find or purchase?
Alice: There are so many I will have to think a bit. The kitchen sink! We got it at a salvage store. It is 52" including the drain boards. And all my architectural pieces.

Midge: What was the project of yours you were most pleased with?
Alice: My red cabinet.

Midge: Do you have any junk goals for 2010?
Alice: I would like to go to Oronco Gold Days. I would really like to organize my studio. We have a 30x50 barn FULL. It would be really good to clean and organize it.

Midge: What is your favorite tool?
Alice: Well, it depends on what I am doing. My hand sander for wood. Otherwise the drill press and all my jewelry tools.

Midge: Since you've been junking, what has surprised you the most in some way?
Alice: What people will throw away, what they charge for the "Uglies/New", and how cheap the good cruddy stuff is (Yea).

Midge: What's your favorite thing about junking?
Alice: Meeting new people. That is what to me is so great about blogging and JMS!

And there you have it! I hope you enjoyed the chance to know Alice a little better as much as I did.
Midge

Totally Random Post

I just spotted a flyer that reminded me of last week Friday, so thought I'd post. During the day last Friday I mentioned to my husband that I should figure out something for dinner and head to the grocery store. He said "Oh, I forgot to tell you. One of the guys in my Bible study group is having a fundraising pasta dinner tonight. He and his wife have 2 little girls and are in the process of adopting three little boys from Ethiopia. He handed out flyers." So I said we should go, as I love pasta and I'm a softie for anything adoption related (and I'd be off the hook for making dinner!).

As I was out and about running errands I started to have second thoughts. I didn't even know these people. Chris barely knew the guy. It would probably be a lot of family and friends -- we would be out of place and look awkward. And besides, I knew that Chris didn't really want to go, he would rather just chill after a hard week of work. So when I got home I told Chris we didn't have to go. But after a few minutes, he said "No, we probably should really go. How could I look that guy in the eye each week if I ducked his fundraiser." Okay, not totally enthusiastic, but it was decided we would go.

When we got there, we were warmly greeted by THE GUY (I don't even know his name) and directed to the tables of food. We waved to one guy we happened to know who was helping in the kitchen (turns out he and the guy are best friends). Throughout the room were balloons, photos, facepainting, and maps and trivia about Ethiopia -- a real celebration feeling. There were people everywhere, many young families and lots of kids. We found a spot to park ourselves and quietly ate our meal -- we didn't recognize a soul.

AND THEN....I looked up and standing and talking to someone a little ways in front of us was my good, good friend Ann -- a big smile on her face as usual. It took a little theatrics to finally get her attention, but she spotted me and made a beeline right over. "We really don't even hardly know these people," I sheepishly told her. "We just thought we should cause the guy's in Chris' Bible study. How are you connected to this?"

(AND HERE'S THE GOOD PART!) Ann says "Oh, we don't know either of them at all. Never met them." HUH?....."In our small group, we were talking about random acts of kindness and decided not just to do them, but to do them for complete strangers. Someone in our group knew about this from their adoption support group. So here we all are." UGGG.... My friend Ann is SOOO awesome!

So what about you? Have you been involved in any random acts of kindness? I'd love it if you'd share. And I know we can often be hesitant to talk about things we've done. So here's the deal, feel free to phrase it as "I have this FRIEND who....". Chances are you really DO have an awesome friend like I do, so we won't know the difference. And you even have permission to embellish with any fun details you wish (my husband says the key to believable lies is in the details you add -- WAIT! how does he know so much about good lying, hmmm.....).

So, anyway, I have this friend who....

Midge

Tool School Tuesday -- Sawzall

I decided it was time to resume Tool School Tuesday. And what better way than with one of my favorite tools -- the reciprocating saw, sometimes referred to as a tiger or saber saw, but usually just called the sawzall. And it's called THAT because that is exactly what is does, it SAWS ALL! That's why I love it! And it's very easy to handle. You hug it using two hands with your right hand in the back operating the trigger and your left hand holding the front -- kind of like holding a rifle (I imagine). This gives you a lot of control, and the weight is distributed (unlike the heavy saws hanging at the end of your arm.) It also gives you a lot more safety as your hands are holding the barrel and don't go near the blade.
The reason it's official name is the reciprocating saw is because that's how the blade works, it reciprocates (back and forth) instead of going around like many saws. It's kinda like the action of cutting bread, actually that's EXACTLY what it's like -- a glorified electric carving knife. Because of this it can accommodate a long narrow blade that can bend and curve somewhat. This lets you get into many places you normally can't with your basic arsenal of saws.
The blades are also VERY easy to change, something that I can't say about other saws (okay, I confess, I don't even know how to change other saw blades, I always have my husband do it, OUCH!, that hurt to say). So you could be cutting some wood and then easily switch blades and cut some metal. The sawzall can easily handle both. Chances are you probably won't run out and buy one of these as it is a bit pricey and you probably will have little opportunity to use it. It is used mainly in remodeling work for demolition and that's how I came to get and use ours. But it does come in handy on occasions when you just can't do the job the commonplace ways. And it's so fun! It is powerful and it can bounce around the piece you're cutting up (especially if the piece is smaller like paneling), so don't plan on precision work with it. But those times you can use it, you sure are glad you have it.
Now go have some fun with your power tools!

Midge

Just a little hint on when you might use this (and what I might be posting soon), the other day I was dismantling a piano. Some sections needed to come apart and I couldn't get to certain places with a conventional saw or, for instance, as I cut the back away from the front I didn't want to use a circular saw. It was already a little dicey with a lot of reaching so I pulled out the sawzall instead -- viola! It cut easily, with a decent cut, and not at all scary. OOOO, I love the sawzall!

Hey, A Bird's Gotta Live Too

Okay, you got me! These aren't new pictures. Some of you might recognize these unique birdhouses that I made last year. But I think I'm ready to make some more. I definitely have birds on the brain right now (does that make me a bird-brain? maybe I should say even MORE of a bird-brain). Like most of you, I am beyond anxious for spring. The snow here is melting, the sun is shining and every morning I wake up to the sound of more and more birds singing. So I say "Bring it on!" or "The Bird's the Word" or "WOO HOO" or........

"Look at the birds of the air, they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? .......So do no worry, saying,"What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?"..... But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:26-33

Have a great day,

Midge

And for a new car (or something like that) the right price is.....

Sorry if I'm responsible for you not getting a good night's sleep. I'm sure you've been tossing and turning waiting for the answer to my last post.

So...The Grand total was.....$6.00, which makes Alice the winner of the new car, I mean the winner of a special "Alice" blog post next week.

The crazy thing is that was all based on their standard, everyday prices -- no special sales, free stuff or anything funny like that.

Here's the breakdown:


GLASSWARE old system: 10 cents a piece (I would have paid .50), New system: 10 cents per pound, I had 4 pounds so 8 cents for each of my 5 glass pieces

SEPARATELY PRICED ITEMS old and new system, a few items get priced separately and are tagged and set aside -- that was the case with the chair ($1.00) and the log holder ($1.00).

EVERYTHING ELSE old system: 50 cents each, new system: 30 cents each!

Yes, everything else (12 items) cost me just .30 each including that super cool bird cage -- THIRTY CENTS!

For a grand total of just $6.00.

I think I'm going to have to plan trips to the Goodwill back into my rotation.
Midge

P.S. Thanks for playing along.

"Blog People -- COME ON DOWN!! It's time to play the Price is Right!"

I haven't been junk shopping in a LONG time. Mostly because right now I have too much stuff. But yesterday I had a junk itch that I just had to scratch and I'm so glad I did.

For several years, every Friday I would visit my favorite Goodwill outlet, the area warehouse service center where all junk (good and much bad) goes to die. The prices were great, but so was the chaos -- but I loved to go. About a year ago, they changed buildings and the pricing system and it no longer seemed worth my time, so I stopped going. And then that itch yesterday....so I thought I'd give it another try. Good thing I did! Apparently they've changed the system again and it's even better than the "old days".

SO...I'm issusing a little challenge to see who can guess how much I spent at the Goodwill yesterday (before tax)!

Here are all my treasures, in no particular order.



I believe this is a log holder of some sort, made of quite heavy metal. I don't like the finish or details, but that can be dealt with -- love the base.

Your basic cutely shaped lampshade -- a staple for any junker.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Do I really need another suitcase? (maybe, I think my count has fallen below 80). But the price was SO right.

A bag of wooden acorns and pears, ummm, sure. But I knew it's one of those things that if I didn't grab it, I'd think of a use as soon as I got home and would be kicking myself.

Looks like a little Goldilocks chair. Cute as can be. Slight damage on front corner of thatching but other than that in great shape.

Nothing too exciting here, but again, for the price I couldn't pass it up -- it's pretty good size rustic basket.

Yes, a pair of scissors -- but the good kind! It will be put to good use at one of my workshops.

Ahhh, yes. The REAL prize of the day. Totally cool birdcage. Quite large as you could see (could it become the world's biggest cloche?). It's wire and painted white and just a little rusty.

The handle on top IS plastic but wouldn't be for long.

Wooden folk art chicken. It needs a little doctoring in the beak and tail areas.

So weird! I had just been thinking to myself "Wouldn't it be cool if I found a hamster wheel" and soon after, there one was! Why would I want a hamster wheel? Check out Amy's post at her blog, All Things Home, and you'll know why.

I don't know. I saw metal -- I grabbed. They might just be angel wings in the future.

Metal box -- nuff said.

Vintage potty chair. Sweeeet! (I think.)

I'm assuming it's some sort of breakfast tray or laptop desk. Hey, you can't go wrong with white wicker, some things never go out of style.

And lastly, some glassware. I don't think I need to tell you the possibilities here.

So what do you think? Do you want to play along and guess how much I paid for my pile?

I'll leave a few days for replies and then announce the grand total. Whoever comes CLOSEST (you can go over) will be declared the winner! And what does the winner get? Well not much, afterall I'm very cheap (hint, hint), but I will plan something fun on my blog for the winner.

Slight hint: The total amount could be paid with just bills or quarters.

Have fun! And maybe I'll do more junking games in the future. (And maybe someday I'll do a REAL giveaway. Yeah, right, maybe.)

Midge

The "Yeahs", "Yas", "Yays" Have It!

First of all, let me just say that in no way do I consider this as imparting blog advice to anyone -- I'm very green (no pun intended) in the blog department and am in learning mode. But I did want to share a bit of an education I received this morning (thank you Google!).

I happen to approach the world of junking with a very open mind. BUT, when it comes to anything I write, I'm a bit more anal. So just as another disclaimer, know that this post isn't directed towards anything or anyone I have read. Quite the opposite! I'm not even able to pass judgment on this area because I'm never quite sure of the correct usage of words like: yeah, yay, yea, ya, etc. And I'm not looking to pass judgment, but I do want to use these words in my writing and I've always avoided them for fear of using the wrong word. SO...

Here's what I've learned:

Yeah -- another way of saying "yes" as in "YEAH, Baby!!! I'll go on a junking adventure with you to that scary salvage yard run by that old crazy guy!"

Yea -- also another way of saying "yes" especially in voting situations as in "Who loves Junk? Yeas: everyone Nays: 0"

Yah -- also a form of "yes", but the kind with tone as in "Yah. Yah. Yah. I know I've got a lot of junk. What???? Are you jealous or something?"

Yay! -- it's rhymes with hay and means "Hooray!", "Woo Hoo!", "Awesome!", or "SuperDuper!" as in "You finished your replica of the Eiffel tower made from t.p. rolls and chicken wire! Yay!"

Ya -- another word for "you", "you guys", "yuns" (learned that from my brief time in Pittsburgh), and "y'all" as in "What are ya gonna do with all that JUNK?"

I don't know if I'm the only one who struggles with this, but maybe some of you found it helpful. I know I, for one, am now going to be generously sprinkling the "yeahs" and the "yays" with full confidence.

NOW, as for -ly, to/too, and your/you're -- don't get me started. THAT conversion could get pretty ugly.

Midge

Start a Revolution -- an Industrial One!

So not only am I feeling industrious -- I'm feeling INDUSTRIAL! So much so that it's time for me to start a revolution. We all know that America already had an industrial revolution back in ...., right after ....., around the time of...., well maybe we don't all know. But it certainly was a long time ago. So we're long overdue for another one. This one is going to be more of the home decor variety. And, yes, you caught me, I can't really start it because it's already been going on -- just not exactly where I live. But I'm definitely on board. And I'm going to do my part to let my corner of the world know that METAL ROCKS!

I'm starting things off with this dining table.

I saw a listing on Craigslist's free section for 3 55-gallon barrels. I picked up the barrels and a new customer to boot! However, one of the barrels was a little defective, so I started with that one.

I knew it would be a table base and had to determine if I wanted it standard or bar height. Since the good ones already were bar height, the decision was easy -- this would be my standard height table. It just needed a little help from my cut off wheel.

The 36" round piece of glass I had on hand from someone who had given it to me. The glass really should be a bit bigger, so I am on the lookout for a replacement.

I haven't made any decisions on seating yet, but in my stash I found 2 rusty bar stool bottoms that might be put to work.

I also found this chain with hooks. The yellow color and rust perfectly match the table (and the next piece you'll see). I'm not sure exactly what I'll do with it yet, but probably suspend it over the table with something hanging from it.

The table all by itself would look out of place, even in a hip industrial loft type setting. But pair it up with this next piece and it takes on a life of its own.

This tank cage I've had for a few years. I bought it at an auction for $5.00. I always planned to use it as a bench, kind of foot locker style. But once I saw the yellow of those barrels, I started thinking about it and knew it would be perfect standing up as a cabinet. I knew I definitely wanted it to have cool industrial casters so I added them (I should have taken a closeup -- they are very cool).

I decided a wine cabinet would be the way to go since wine is very hip right now. But it could really house whatever. (Personally, since I'm pretty much a teetotaller, it would probably be filled with Diet Pepsi but I'm not sure if that is quite as cool. )

The glass was basically free since I bought a pile of glass shelves at an auction for $1.00 (for the pile) a few years ago. The shelves are held up by bolts. There are a few metal bands on the sides and back of the box. There were a few holes and I just put the bolts through and tightened them with nuts and the glass rests right on them.

The section for the wine bottles uses pieces of rebar that I cut down to size just a little wider than the cabinet. The ends rest inside the "diamonds". I was going to cut notches to keep them from shifting, but found I didn't have to. The ridges on the rebar keep them in place naturally.

This last piece is probably my favorite. And I think that's because it's something I acutally could use in my own house. (Don't you hate when you're secretly hoping not to sell things!) It's still very industrial and contemporary, but it could also work in many settings.

It started with this frame that I bought -- I don't even remember when, but I'm sure only paid $5.00 or less.

I decided to use more of the glass again. But I had to figure out how. Finally decided to cut it to size that would mount underneath. To keep it up, I did the bolt through the hole trick again. They barely show, but even if they did it would work because I used rusty bolts.

So let the Revolution begin! (or should I say continue) I'm excited! All those metal thing-a-ma-thigs I've been squirreling away for just the right time can finally come out of hiding. I'll keep you posted.

Midge

I'm linking this up to TRANSFORMATION THURSDAYS over at the Shabby Chic Cottage.

I'm also linking it to SATURDAY NITE SPECIAL #16 over at Funky Junk Interiors.

Be sure to go over to both of those great blogs and check out all the cool projects. Peace.