Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Firkin Makeovers and A Few Finds

Yard sale and flea market season has arrived and I so enjoy finding new/old things for my home. There is something about the 'thrill of the hunt'.

This was a yard sale find from a local guy that had it marked at $25. I picked it up and he told me he would take less for it, as he was tired of bringing it back and forth from his house. He then offered it to me for $5, so I gladly accepted his offer.

The label is a winter skating scene and I ended up leaving it on there as it has a nice aged look to it.


I found this firkin at a local flea market. It was filled with cotton lace and old thread spools. The painted tulips had to go.

You may remember this smaller firkin/cookie jar from a previous post. I had been wanting to give it a makeover, as it has the brass bands and they needed to be toned down.

This is the completed makeover of the 3 Firkins. The bottom firkin is the one with the label and the top is the 'Tulip' firkin (acetone removed the tulips nicely). These were both very simple makeovers, as all I did was give them a cleaning followed by a coat of Minwax Dark Walnut Stain and a nice buffing. It really brought out the lovely age of the wood. The middle firkin is the cookie jar style with the brass bands - I gave the whole bucket a coat of blue paint, sanded in some distressing and finished with a coat of Minwax Dark Walnut Stain and a buffing.

This lovely 3 drawer wall box was a find from a local flea market. After a quick cleaning and a coat of Minwax Dark Walnut Stain it was ready for a new home.

I hung it in my bedroom with a nice square headed rusty nail. It's pretty heavy and I needed to make sure that it was nailed into a stud.

This lovely old working scale came from the same flea market. I just love the face of the scale combined with the black metal.

And lastly, this vintage pantry box - once again, found at the same flea market. The inside is stamped 'Manufactured by Gage & Co. Henniker, NH'.

I now have it displayed on my jelly cupboard with some of my other treasures.

Hope you are able to make some great 'finds' this summer too.

Until next time ~ Suzanne.

21 comments:

  1. Beautiful finds. I have never been a good yardsaler. Thanks for sharing... gives me incentive to hunt.

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  2. Suzanne,
    I miss New Hampshire and all of the bargains I was able to find when we lived there.
    You have done a great job with the firkins. The Henniker Pantry Box is my favorite.

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  3. Oh Suzanne you have some fantastic treasurers here. I would love to have been on your hunt with you. I'm never that lucky when I am out.
    Thanks for sharing.
    AMY

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  4. You found some lovely things.I love the photo of the firkins on the floor.The wood on wood looks brilliant.You really have made everything look wonderful Suzanne.Well done you!

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  5. Great finds! We never seem to have firkins up here in Canada. At least none that I can afford! Garage sale season just started up here and I'm so looking forward to it!

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  6. Love those firkins! I wish I could find some of those around here!! You did an awesome job on them!
    Brenda

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  7. OMG.....$5.00 for that firkin???!!! What a great deal!! You really found some great treasures1 Must have been your lucky day.

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  8. Wonderful finds! I need to find a flea market like that one!
    Kim

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  9. Great makeovers, the firkins are fantastic!

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  10. Wow,I love them all-such great finds and all beautifully displayed!
    Blessings, Shazy x

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  11. YOU REALLY HIT THE JACKPOT. ALL THE NEW DO'S LOOK AMAZING! I AM WORKING ON A FIRKIN/COOKIE JAR NOW - SOON TO BE POSTED I HOPE. YOUR'S IS REALL PRETTY.

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  12. Wow, did you find some neat stuff. I love the pantry box the best, but the firkins look amazing. Great job. Thanks for sharing.
    ~Melissa~

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  13. WOOW, you did it great! Awesome finds, love your firkins.

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  14. Great finds, Suzanne.

    Can I come shopping with you, please?

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  15. Awesome..Lovin the 3 drawer wall box..It is amazing what you can find out there..Great finds..

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  16. What a lot of nice finds and you have done a wondeerful job on them along with placing thenm so primly.... Lovely..
    Blessings..
    Faye / Primitive Lace
    / The Blessed Hearth

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  17. Hi Suzanne,
    I stopped by because we have followed each other by way of my blog The Greentiques Solution. I would like now to personally invite you to join me at my new blog called Tools Are For Women Too! http://toolsareforwomentoo.blogspot.com/ Right now I have a giveaway going on, a link party planned for Monday, a Link Party Directory where bloggers can list their parties, and just a lot of great stuff. Please stop by if you can. Rory

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  18. Awesome finds. I love the firkins but that measure ~ what a treasure. Good for you.
    Have a great week.
    Pam

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  19. Very nice Firkins. $5 can't beat that. Can you tell me what Firkins were originally used for?

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  20. Great deal on the firkin! I really love the makeover you've done on the three of them. They make a perfect stack. Very nice indeed!

    Your other goodies are awesome! I've been out and about a little, not as much as I've wanted to. I see what I'm missing out on! Hehe! This is my weekend to go though so I'm really excited about that!

    I love your display with the pantry box! That's a neat idea. It's like it just belongs there.

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  21. Your Firkin boxes are wonderful and have never seen these before. You do restore them so beautifully.

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