Longest Yard Sale Encores

Hi everyone,

I have gotten started giving some of my purchases from the Longest Yard Sale their encore creation.  The first item to get a make over was one of the large picture frames.

This frame became this chic bulletin board.

Next was this silver plated tray:

Here it is before:

Here it is all blinged out and ready for my Etsy store.

I also bought this sweet little tray at a church on the LYS route:

And now, she's all dressed up and will be on Etsy soon.

So this is the first of the LYS haul to get an encore. What do you think?  Of course there's more to come.

Office Redo

In my last post about the Longest Yard Sale I mentioned that I would be using some of those items for a friend's office.  This is one of my dearest friend's , we are godmothers to each others children, etc. The kind of friend who knows all my "bad stuff" but still loves me anyway.  Well, on a recent visit I had a chance to tour the campus where she is an IT professor. Upon entering her office I realized it needed a little more umph.  So, I have been collecting and searching for just the right pieces for  her desk and decided to make her a bulletin board as well.  If you have followed me, watched my color choices you know I love silver and glam. If this had been her home office I would have gone heavier on the glam, but alas, I had to control myself.

Let's take a look at what I put together for her.  First, for her desk top, no plastic or wire mesh containers. No, instead I chose vintage silver plated , glass, and crystal pieces. All of the pieces were given an encore and a new purpose.

First , I found this cute silver plated leaf to hold clips and whatever.  Not sure what it's orginal purpose was. I love the vintage biscuit tray to hold scrissors, letter openers, etc.  I didn't want too much silver on the desk ( too much time spent cleaning) so I found two vintage fountain glasses on one of my monthly trips to Scotts Antique Market. They are great for pens, pencils or even a ruler.
A late addition was the crystal candy dish.   It started out as a crystal bowl and candlestick holder. Fused together they add an additional level for your eye to focus on.


The last part of this redo is the bulletin board. If you remember, I showed you 2 frames that I bought at the LYS. First I primed this frame and then spray painted it silver.

I covered a piece of foam board with cork and then used some cotton canvas left over from my dropcloth slipcover, ( I know, I didn't show you that yet) to create the bulletin board.  The frame was a little plain even with silver paint so I added silver bead trim along the inner edge of the frame.  Still not enough punch to it, soooo. I used hot glue to create a design in each of the four corners of the frame, then spray painted over this to get a cool raised design. This was perfect.  I couldn't give her just plain push pins so I glued rhinestone S's to push pins. I also stenciled a silver S in the lower right corner.

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So what do you think? I love it and wish I could see her face when she opens her boxes

More from The Longest Yard Sale - My Haul of goodies!

I'm back... This time I want to share with you the items that I bought during my trip up the Longest Yard Sale.  I only had a couple of things that I really wanted to find while shopping, I really wanted to stay open to whatever there was to see.  I had prepared myself for serious yard saling by reading a couple of  popular books. I bought read and yes reread I Brake For Yard Sales by Sara London. I also read Rediscovered Treasures by Ellen Dyrop. Then there were a number of magazines available, including Flea Market Decor and Flea Market Style. I have to admit that some of the tips in these books really did help me get better prices.  I'm a talker anyway, so talking and chatting with the sellers came easy for me.  I'm sure that helped me get the price that I did on my chair.  I also made sure I had a stack of small bills, mostly ones I would suggest carrying a few larger bills if you know you may be out for big ticket items, cause I don't know about you, but I don't think about a credit card on the side of the road or the middle of a field..  And I definitely wasn't afaid to ask for their "best price"  I even taught my daughter how to haggle, gently!   So here's what I bought.

This chair caught my eye from the road and I had to see it up close.  Yes, she needs some TLC, but don't you just love the shape. I have to do some repairs on a couple of legs and then new upholstery, but can't you just picture her all dressed up with someplace to go!  There were a couple of ladies standing in the wings as I negotiated my price, luckily I won!

These are almost identical to mini silverplated trays that I sold on my Etsy shop ( after I embellished and cleaned them of course). I couldn't pass them up. I have an entirely new idea for these, check the shop soon.

Of course I am always on the look out for unusal silverplated trays. More mirrors to come from these babies.

These crystal candlesticks were super cheap and I don't have any exactly like these, so that made them keepers. More finials coming your way.

This is my stash of rhinestone jewerely that I bought. I plan to bling out some of my silverplated mirror trays. Again, check the Etsy store soon.

I wasn't sure about these two peices but I got them from my brother in Al so that made them keepers, at least for a while. I found them on ebay so, I may put them in my vintage shop.

A sweet little old lady in TN sold me this vintage mirror for $5.00. And her son carried it for a block to put it in my car! Not sure if I'm going to leave it as a mirror or remove the mirror and just use the frame for something else. Stay tuned!

I definitely plan to remove this fabric and get some ribbon from May Arts and create a dream of a shade for a little girl's room.  My new neice just might get this. This was from a little consignment shop along the route.  Don't overlook those. but alas my daughter drew the line at letting me go into a Goodwill store in Dunlap, TN.

And of course my 2 bowls for the stand mixer, a challenger right at the start of the sale but, score ! $5

What is this you ask? This is a pile of 18 white t-shirts I spent $3.00 for them.  I have been planning on having my daughter make a t-shirt rug for her room and this was a great find. I saw one on Pinterest and can't wait to  try it. Since my shirts are 6X shirts and some are long sleeved I think I'll have enough fabric. Now to start cutting 1"x4" strips. Whew!

A 16x24" oak frame for $2 bucks. The possibilities are endless.

These 2- 22"x24" wood frames were also $2 each.  The one on the left has already been primed and is ready for a coat of silver paint and more. Then it's headed to N.C. to a certain college professor as a new bulletin board for her office.  I'll be sure to show you the finished product.


Well, that's it. Can't wait to get started on some of these projects and more. I got some great ideas for my May Arts projects too.  Don't forget to check out their blog May Arts where I will  be contributing as a Cameo Ribbonista. 

I Planned, I Drove, I Shopped, and Yes!! I Survived!!

There are somethings in life that you just have to do for yourself to really "get it". No matter what I had read or heard about The Longest Yard Sale ( aka  Route 127 Sale) nothing prepared me for the actual experience.  This was the 25th year of the sale which runs from Gadsden, Al to Addison, Mi., that's over 600 miles. Don't even ask me how I lived 50+ years in Michigan and never heard of this sale until last year.!! Armed with maps of the Gadsden, Al to Crossville, TN leg of the sale, a cooler of cold water and snacks, my trusty road dog (no, not my dog Trey) My daughter Cassie, off we went.  We left Lawrenceville on Thursday morning in search of treasures and adventure.



No excess baggage allowed!

Having read online that many small cities in Alabama planned to participate in the 127 Connect which was billed as an additional 100 miles of yard sales along Hwy 77 leading you right into Gadsden, Al I decided to check it out.  It really didn't take me to much out of my way and my brother who lives in Munford, Al was planning to participate. Not a good decision!! Word hadn't gotten out to the vendors ( or at least not on Thursday morning) there were only 3 vendors from Munford to Gadsden, Al.  Said hello to big brother and off we went. 


1st Stop Outside Noccalula Falls, Gadsden AL

Arriving at Noccalula Falls State Park in Gadsden, we hit pay dirt. My first taste of buying at the Longest Yard Sale (LYS) was interesting.  I found a vendor with both of the bowls I needed for my vintage Sunbeam mixer. A great price at $5 for both!! Long story short, I had to fend off another shopper who was trying to buy the bowls even though I had my hand on them. I was calling back home to make sure of the model number before I bought them. Luckily there is honor among sellers and buyers and my seller would not take the money out of her hand.  Wow, I knew then I'd better pull up my big girl pants for this sale!! It had all the making of a grand adventure.

                                       

Here she is complete with her new bowls!!



We met a lot of really interesting people and saw some interesting things!! At the Falls we met a couple from FL who had their bichon along with them. Made us miss Trey all the more. When we ran into them again hours later, they had bought a $5 stroller " to keep the sun off of her". I completely understood, after all she was wearing a fur coat in 97 degree heat. Here's Cassie in her stroller:

She wasn't the only dog we saw along the route:





Lucy actually had 2 chairs!!










Here are some of my favorite pics from the trip.

That last line was major, especially drinking  so much H2O to beat the heat.

From the back of the"clean restroom " line. Only a 20 minute wait, so worth it.

Cute is out the window, 30 minutes after you start shopping in 90+ heat.

 Lots of rustic finds and rusty signs!!

I saw lots of these vintage Coke vending machines along the route.

Not everything for sale was straight out of the basement. There were also lots of creative, handmade crafts for sale.

In TN, heading N.  Bet they still found more to buy before reaching Ohio!

Great way to get inventory for your antique store.

You have to bring your patience and safety skills. Some adults made you want to hold their hands crossing the road!!

This sweet lady has to have one of the better organized garages I've ever seen. Shelved by color, chandeliers hung from rafters( working), & linens on a separate table. Great shopping.

Some sales were on farms where the owners had rented out spaces. Some of these had porta potties and food vendors complete with electrical hookups and off road parking.

As we continued to stop during our first day I quickly realized if we didn't stop shopping, we wouldn't make it to Chattanooga before dark. So, we passed up a lot of sales and hit Chattanooga by early evening. After chatting with four ladies who were having breakfast at our hotel the next morning, we hit the road again. They even told us a short cut to take to Signal Mtn, Tn that saved us time and gas. Thanks!!

With storms moving our way, it was one fogging ride up Signal Mtn. It seriously challenged your driving skills. Don't worry Detroit, I did you proud.

These were sporting my favorite color. Hard to past them up, but I did.

Loved these window insets.

Beautiful, simple very well made benches.

Some body's garage is just a little bit cleaner. Now there's room for "new" stuff.

 Vintage all the way!!

The fog didn't stop us REAL SHOPPERS!!

Not everyone was an early bird. OK you know who gets the worm. Driving by with money in our pockets!

There was a wonderful bonus to this trip. It was the last weekend before my daughter starts her senior year of high school and this trip gave us some quality time together. She didn't even whine about the heat!  OK, a little, but no more than I did, it was HOT.  Travelling through TN we rode through the Chickumuga Battlefield which is actually in Ft. Oglethrophe, GA., just shy of the TN border. She thought it was so cool to see all the monuments that we had to take pics.

    Monuments galore at the Chicumuga Battlefield  a National Park in Ft. Oglethrophe, GA.