Monday, March 7, 2011

My Goodies!!

A few weeks ago, Mr. Inspiring and I took a road trip to St. Louis (that's when I got my fantastic deal on my doors).  We stopped by an architectural salvage store while we were in town.  The store happened to be located in the old Dad's Rootbeer building.  It was really cool, and I loved  *LOVED* looking at everything.  But, I'll admit I was an Architectural Salvage virgin.............   I had NO IDEA how expensive some of that stuff can be!!   

I found The Coolest door knob.  well............. ok............. YOU might not think it's the coolest, but since our last name begins with "W", it earned a pretty high coolness rating from me.


Let me just say that our visit to this store was a real learning experience.  We got there about 11 am.  The guy running the place was already drinking (actually, he smelled like he never stopped from the night before.....)  Mr. Inspiring and I are planning on building a house in the next couple of years (give or take) and when I saw these doorknobs (8 - 10 of them in a box), the wheels started spinning.  How cool would it be to have one of these on every door??  So I asked how much............. His answer?    $25.......... EACH!!  So I told the guy I was willing to purchase the whole box, so what kind of deal can he give me?......... His answer??           $25..... each.............  He said, "I'm not in a hurry to sell them.  They been sittin' there for 25 years and they can sit there 25 more........"   Life lesson learned that day!!  Never negotiate with a drunk!!!   But I HAD to get one....  And the box it's leaning on???  He had a boat load of them - all over.  I got the one that DIDN'T say Dad's Rootbeer.......  I figure I can go back and get one of those, but this one was the only different one I found.  $10 each.  Please don't tell me I got ripped off........ I've never had access to one of them before!!!

I also bought 2 cast iron architectural stars.  The big one is the one I used as my pattern for the stars on my drop cloth curtains.  I think they were $10 each, too.



Now, my little partial project reveal!!  I have had my Ritz Soda box sitting on my dining room table for a few weeks now and it looked lonely (I was still trying to decide how I wanted to decorate it).  Since I love candles and glass (particularly Ball jars) I decided to decorate some candles and put them in the soda box. 

I put the first candle in my big Ball jar.  The inside bottom of the jar is NOT flat, and the bottom of my candle is NOT flat, so when I put the candle in the jar, the candle kept tipping over.  I got some sand today and filled the jar about 1/3 full and put the candle back in.  I had some natural colored burlap, so I cut a strip to fit around the jar, and pulled three horizontal fibers from the top and bottom to 'fray' the edges.  I sprayed the back of the burlap with super tacky adhesive and wrapped it around the jar.  I used the selvaged edge in the back to overlap the cut edge and help it look finished.  I put a couple of holes in my rusty star and used rusty wire wrapped around the candle twice to hold the star on.   I think it turned out pretty cute!!








For my next candle(s), I used a wide mouth pint jar and filled it about half way with sand.  I pushed 4 taper candles down in the sand.  I might take 2 out, I'm still deciding.  I wrapped jute twine around the jar, and then tied a piece of shimmery off-white ribbon over the jute. 





 And for my last candle, I just wrapped a piece of ribbon around the middle and secured it with a scrapbooking thingy (VERY technical term) that looks like an old button.  I put a little sand in a vintage martini glass (I guess that's what kind it is) and then put the candle in the sand.   Here's how it turned out.





I so love that button thingy........ but dang, the camera so picked up the glue.  Funny - you can't see it in person!!

Like I said, I want to put them in the soda box, but it needs more........... something.  So I'm in the process of getting crafty with a drop cloth, again, and I want to throw some flowers in the mix..........  Hopefully I'll be able to show you the finished project this weekend.  In the meantime, this is what it looks like so far.





I want to figure out something to sit in the bottom, under the candles to lift them up a little.  I like this so far, tho........... 

Which candle is your favorite?

Have a great week!!

Hugs ~~ Suz

I'm linking up to these parties!!

Tip Junkie handmade projects





Iron Violet Designs



Photobucket




Show and Tell Green





My Repurposed Life






16 comments:

  1. I LOVE the doorknob! What an amazing find!!!
    Your candles are darling...love them all!
    -emily
    www.nestnestingnested.blogspot.com

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  2. Thanks, Emily! They were soo easy!! I'm glad you stopped by! Have a great week!!

    Hugs ~~ Suz

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  3. Yes indeedy I think the door knob is very cute and cool! Love your vignette too, great job on the candles. Thanks for joining my newbie party. Have fun!~

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  4. That doorknob is amazing! I love the candles, too. I love how you took something plain and made it just fantastic!

    I found you through Not Just a Housewife. I'm loving the rustic-ness and simplicity of your style. I'm a new follower!

    Kelly

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  5. Happy to have stumbled upon your blog via NJAH and glad to be a new follower. What great finds! The store owner sounded interesting too :) I am featuring you as my New Neighbor on the Blog, please drop by and see...

    Drop by The Tattered Tag

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  6. Debbie - I love your weekly linky party - - of course I joined again this week!! Thank you for hosting the party!!

    Kelly - Thanks so much for following! Your comments are so sweet!!

    Christina - I did drop by and I saw!! Thank you so much for thinking my blog was worthy of your feature!! And thanks for following, too!!

    Have a great rest of the week, Ladies!! I love all of your blogs!!

    Hugs ~~ Suz

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  7. Loved the candles! Thanks for sharing!

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  8. You got some great buys, I've always been a little surprised by how much the items can costs, shame he wouldn't do you a deal on the door knobs.

    The soda crate is perfectly put together, love it!

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  9. To tell you the truth...I think that was a good price for that doorknob. Around these parts it probably would have been a lot more. I love the "W" on it. And yes those old farts are hard to deal with. He should of given you a deal so he could buy more booze!
    Love the candles. 8>)

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  10. Thank you, Elizabeth, for stopping by! I love visitors!

    Amanda, I'm wondering what would happen if I stopped by there during the week? I wonder if he'd be sober and would work with me better then??

    Pattie - that was a good price? wow........... Maybe I should go back and talk to him again???

    Thank you all for stopping by and leaving comments! I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

    Hugs ~~ Suz

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  11. Man, that must of been one professional drunk. With a regular drunk, you would have been able to bargain him down to almost nothing! ;)

    That's one terrific doorknob! The thing with unique pieces like that is they're hard to find. So don't feel like you over paid (which I don't think you did) because you got a one of the kind piece.

    Hey, I have a girlfriend that lives in Washington. Are you any where near there?

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  12. That doorknob is GREAT and my name doesn't even begin with a W :) You have some great finds! Thanks so much for linking up to Thrilling Thursday @ Paisley Passions. I hope you stop by again soon :)

    ~Lori @ Paisley Passions

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  13. Hi Suz! I'm your newest follower! It looks like we're kind of neighbors...I'm live in Southeast Nebraska. Love all your projects and can't wait to see more!

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  14. I love that doorknob too! Love your candles and how you embellished them. If you'd like to link this post up to my prim party, you're more than welcome to.

    Cheers,
    Tracy http://allthumbscrafts.blogspot.com/

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  15. You had me at "W", my last name also starts with a W and I am always looking for ways to incorporate it into our home. I love that door knob! Found you at the Newbie Party, I'm your newest follower.

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  16. How about some vintage books to add height?
    My favorite candle is the one in the glass, that's so cute!
    gail

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