Vintage Blue Hawaii

The last couple months I got off track with my blog and my Etsy Shop.  It started with a great vacation in Maui, Wailea Beach; drinking in the tiki atmosphere, and soaking up my weight in mai tais.  We did manage to tear ourselves off the beach and take one day to drive around to find some great thrift and vintage stores.  I should have planned better and brought an extra suit case - we founds lots of treasures while junk hunting.  

Paia is a great little town we found on our way home from Mama's Kitchen (yummy!).  The town was a quaint one street town packed with antique stores and an artisan / craft guild.

 After looking at all the images together I guess I was in a Blue Hawaii kind of mood!

28 piece Aqua and Gold Pyrex Coffee Service

Beautiful Teal Depression Glass Plates

Boonton Melmac set is the perfect starter set for glamping 

And a week after we returned from Hawaii, Jerry popped the question and we got engaged!!
Now....back on track


Happy Junking!!
xxoo
Kristina

Making Grandma Delight's Dill Pickle

My Grandma Delight taught my Mom to make dill pickles about 30 years ago. I've always enjoyed them and I was finally able to plan a trip to Seattle last month so I could watch and learn to make them myself.  I almost planned this trip too late; my Mom had to scour the area and local farm stands for pickling cucumbers.  She was able to track down a small amount so we could make up a batch.   

Wash your jars in the dishwasher

If you have a large amount of cucumbers to pickle, wash in the washing machine on gentle; of course don't let it go to the spin cycle.

Bring the first three ingredients to a boil

 

Fresh ingredients: pickling cucumbers, garlic & dill

While you're waiting for your brine to come to a boil stuff your jars with a sprig of dill, garlic clove, and Cucumbers - stuff as many in cucumbers in as you can fit.

In a small pan bring a couple cups of water to a boil and place your canning lids in while you are filling the jars with brine.

Be sure the cucumbers are completely covered with the brine then add a pinch of alum to each jar.  Place a hot canning lid on your jar and then secure the canning ring on each jar.

Store your pickles for three months - somewhere the room temp doesn't fluctuate too much.  

Of course be sure to enjoy a Bloody Mary & the company of your friends while making.

Enjoy!

xxoo

VandyCakes

Thrift Store Dresser Redone

Can there be too many blog postings about redoing furniture?  Nope, I don’t think so. 

This past weekend we were driving down Pacific Coast Highway on our way to check out a dresser set that we spotted on Craig’s List.  I’m not going to turn this in to a rant, because it all worked out for the best, but the set ended up selling before our appointment to view (we were the first callers).  So we turned around and drove to my favorite Salvation Army store in Huntington Beach.  As usual, our luck at this particular store was good!  We found a Mid Century dresser and nightstand set by Bassett Furniture with great lines and in good sturdy condition that we could re-do. 

Ingredients:

• Hand Sander - Optional but makes the job easier!
• Smooth Surface Sponge Roller
• Small Sponge Paint Brush
• Cheese Cloth
• Rough Sand Paper / Fine Sand Paper
• Cheese Cloth
• Kilz Oil Base White Primer
• Indoor paint - eggshell finish
• Glaze or Craft Paint for aging / distressing
• Minwax Finishing Paste

 Wipe down and lightly sand using a hand sander

My helper Winston!

Apply one coat of Kilz Oil Base Primer in White - Just a little warning....it was a warm day when I applied the primer and it did start to get thick and goupy by the time I was finishing up.  Let the primer dry overnight, sand lightly with a fine grit sand paper and wipe down with cheese cloth before painting.

I used an indoor paint in an eggshell enamel finish (Ace Hardware Brand) in the color of your choice - One Qt was plenty for this project.  

Using rough sand paper sand edges and random areas to distress

Water down glaze or brown craft paint and apply using cheese cloth or sponge paint brush.  Wipe off until you have just the amount of aging and distress wanted.

To finish apply a coat or two of Minwax Finishing Paste using cheese cloth  

We are very happy with the results!!  If you have any questions or you are interested in purchasing custom jobs please feel free to email me!  VandyCakes@gmail.com

Happy Junking!!

xxoo

Kristina

My Etsy Shop - VandyCakes

Vintage Paint by Numbers

Grouping of Dog PBN

The Paint by Number kit was introduced in the 1950’s allowing people that had never picked up a paint brush to complete a work of art (http://americanhistory.si.edu/paint/rembrandt.html). 

Some considered it another avenue of mindless conformity, but I am thankful that people took an interest. 

I love vintage Paint by Numbers and the kooky frames we find them in.  Every visit to the Long Beach Flea Market my eyes are scanning the booths in hopes of finding more.  I’ve found and purchased a few outdoors / mountain scenes, and of course passed up a gazillion cuddly kitten paintings, and creepy clowns, but my favorites are the tropical and beach scene Paint by Numbers, which continue to elude me while junk hunting.

I aspire to have a beautiful collection of tropical PBN and group them like Retro Renovations has done above.

The number of Tropical PBN's are limited on Etsy; below are few beauties that I found including links below.

 

 

1.  Paint by Numbers Vintage Hawaiian Island Scene by RRGS

2.  Vintage 1950s Gauguin inspired Polynesian Paint by Number by PinkysOfSaratoga

3.  Paint by Numbers Parrots by PrancingGoat

4.  Boat Beached for Repairs Paint by Number by MysticLily

5. Tropical Scene Paint by Numbers by StudioLicious

6. Tropical Scene with Canoe Paint by Numbers by StudioLicious

Painted Canvas Headboard - Union Jack Flag

We recently saw a project on Pinterest that used a fabric covered canvas as a headboard.  I’ve been trying my hardest to not just pin what I love on my Pinterest boards, but to actually make some of the projects.  The perfect opportunity came up with Ani’s 17^th Birthday this passed weekend.  She is “the number ONE fan” of One Direction, a cute boy band out of the UK.  Ani will be decking out her dorm at UCLA with all things One Direction & the Union Jack flag. 

We used an extra heavy Canvas since this is going to be used as a headboard & taped it off using painters tape.  Note, the wide lines of the criss-cross tape are opposites...I almost messed this part up.

Of course our English Bulldog Winston oversaw the whole project! 

Here it is almost done.  I did some additional distressing and painted the white lines of the Union Jack with a pearlized white. 

Happy Junking!

xxoo

Kristina

Chalkware Don'ts

Last week An came down to stay with us for a couple days after her freshman orientation for UCLA (yay!).  After recovering and sleeping it all off, she was up early Friday and ready for her first estate sale adventure.  It was fun to have a pair of young eyes with an interest in a different vintage era; her interest is in late 60's mod, flower power. We walked away with a great haul of Brusche Bauer pottery, Floracal pottery, and a few wall hanging pieces!

Typically the majority of my junk haul is pottery & kitchenware so when I get home from an estate sale I almost always run a sink of soapy water and drop everything in for a bath.  Unfortunately, this is where the bad news comes in....Annie had picked out some really cute Chalkware flower basket wall hangings.  I didn't know what Chalkware was and dropped them in the water too!  Note to self....don’t ever submerse Chalkware in water again.  I was so heart broken when I took them out of the water and noticed that the paint had peeled away in a couple spots.  This is when I started to Google the marking on the flower baskets and discovered Chalkware is exactly what it sounds like – is a plaster or gypsum!

How to Clean Source

1. Don't make the same mistake I did.  Do not submerse in water!
2. Dust on a regular basis
3. Wipe with a clean cloth – barely damp!!

To dry them out I put them in the oven at a super low heat and left in for an hour at a time.  I'm happy to report they are now dry, but as you can see from the picture above, not in the pristine condition they were originally.

Happy Junking!

xxoo

Kristina

aka VandyCakes

Here are a few other Chalkware beauties I spotted on Etsy & the links below

 

  

1.    BorahStyle - Vintage apple chalkware string holder

2.  SemellebesCottage - Silvestri Kitschy Chalkware Chinese Couple Lamps 

3.  TuggysVintage - Vintage Chalkware Blessed Virgin Mary Statue

4.    GardnerVintage - Vintage Miller Studio Chalkware Kissing Fish

5.      FlyingDollar - Chalkware Fish with Top Hat Vintage Wall Decor

Addicted to Mid Century Vintage

An introduction to me and my pursuit of vintage....I promise not to always be so wordy!!


It's all my Mom's fault! My Mother has always had a love of vintage pieces; I'd say pottery was her biggest weakness. Growing up I have to admit I hated being dragged from garage sale to garage sale and all the local thrift stores. It was pure torture. Now, I can't get enough!

In 2011 I started thinking seriously about what I want to be when I grow up and came to the natural conclusion of turning my love of mid century vintage in to a little more than a hobby. After being a long time fan of Etsy, I opened my shop in January of 2012.  

I love the process and excitement of going "junk hunting" in order to fill my shop with inventory. I'm sure if you love vintage, you too can remember each piece, where you purchased it, who you were with, and what you were doing that day. And I'm sure like me, there are pieces you still think about and wish you hadn't let that one "get away"! There is always a sense of awe when I go to an Estate Sale; often times the homes are like time capsules that captures the details of the families life, hobbies, and loves (yes, I'm a bit of a softy and get teary once in awhile too). 

In my day to day "real" job I work on regional specialty business marketing for a global sneaker company, and no that N on the shoe does not stand for Nike.  While doing a presentation on Social Media Best Practices I did a bit of research on blogging and discovered I was missing the boat; I decided I needed to grab that Mai Tai and jump on board!

Bon Voyage & Happy Junking!!
xxoo
Kristina