Junking in Stillwater, MN

My husband and I took a day to get away recently and went over to Stillwater, MN, a quaint little town on the St. Croix River near the Twin Cities. I thought I'd share some of my junking adventure photos.

This old sawmill was converted into an antique shop.

 All the old beams and stone work is still there. I know the picture is a little fuzzy because of the lighting, but as I climbed up the stairs to the upper level, I turned and looked back from the little balcony overlooking the lower level.

Creaky old stairs and floors...

Original old windows on the building.

Other old windows on display for sale.

This was at Alfresco Casual Living.

What Would You Do Wednesday - Rake

Yesterday, I showed you what I did with my old rake heads. Now it's your turn. What would you do with it? Leave your comments and ideas below. I can't wait to see what my readers come up with for this little guy.

It's What Would You Do Wednesday!

Transformation Tuesday - Garden Rake Turned Wall Hanging

I confess, I have an addiction to rake heads. I picked up my first one for $1 at a thrift sale and brought it home to see if I could come up with something to do with it. I hung it on the wall and put some dried flowers and a few garden tools on it. Later, I would add it to one of my window art creations.

Then I bought another one at a yard sale. This time, I hung a mini quilt on it and used the top part for a picture easel.

You'd think that was enough, but no. I had to buy yet another one for $1 at a recent yard sale. I'm not even sure where I'll put it, but isn't he a cute little critter? I love how when I hung it on the cabinet to take a picture, the knobs looked like eyes.

It was kind of funny. The man at the yard sale ran after me after I bought it and said, "Ma'am, we have some handles over here that I forgot about. Would you like one for that?"d I just smiled and told him, no, I wouldn't be using the rake for that which it was intended. 

No indeed. That isn't how we Trash to Treasure transformers roll. We take stuff and turn it into something the original designer never dreamed of.

Muted Monday - Photo of the Week

Wishing I could afford this beautiful piece...

Junking in Princeton, WI - You'll Find a Treasure

In August, I spoke at a writers conference near Princeton, Wisconsin. On my way home, I stopped at several of many great trash to treasure gold mines in the town. If you've never visited, consider adding it to your summer stops next year. Every Saturday, the town becomes a big flea market and in between, the town features cute shops on the main street as well as some hidden gems up and down the side streets.

Right now, many shops are closing down for winter or at least decreasing their hours, but it's never too early to plan ahead for your trip next summer. 

At my first stop, I dropped in Huser Daddy Antiques at 800 State Road 23 & 73. The ladies working at the desk were sweet and gave me permission to take a few pictures to show my readers.

 They have an amazing array of salvage items!

 I love the frosted etched doors.

 You never know what you might find.

 The have a lot of stock outside too. I kept wandering through rooms and there was a lot of stuff!

My next stop was at Daiseye on 525 West Water Street. This was such an awesome shop! And Angela was delightful and kind enough to let me take a few pictures to show just how unique her shop items are. Most of the inventory has been made by Angela and other local artists and that's their claim to fame. The artistry in this shop is amazing.

 The shop features frames and mirrors made from old barn boards as well as from wood trim salvaged from homes.

 Some of the rusty metal objects are just plain awesome! I love these recycled tin pieces.

 Daiseye also features glassware made from recycled bottles. It's so classy!

 I loved these pieces made from ceiling tin.

 

  Daiseye also has some unique art made from retired highway signs.

 ...and some fun salvaged watering cans, oil cans, and gas cans.

 Angela made these really cool photo holders herself from rusty tin. She'll spend the winter creating art to add to next summer's stock.

My last stop in Princeton was at Kate's Closet Boutique at 524 West Water Stree. Kate has resale and consignment  merchandise and her shop is classy. 

I asked if I could take a picture of her shop door because she had such a creative handle. Don't you love how she turned this garden cultivator into a handle for the door?

 

Well, that's just the beginning of Princeton's treasures. I stopped at a few smaller shops too. I hope you'll find some time to visit. It's a little town, but so charming. I'd like to give a big thank you to the shop owners who allowed me to take pictures on my visit.

If you're looking to make a longer stay of it, check out nearby Green Lake (another charming town) and Ripon, WI too.

Muted Monday - Photo of the Week

Piano Bench Quick Fix

I'm a piano teacher and I had a vinyl covered bench that came with my Clavinova keyboard. However, It was just a little too tall, and for whatever reason, the metal legs combined with the vinyl top led to a lot of static, which led to complaints of itchiness in my students. Not to mention, it's hard to keep a straight face when their hair is standing on end during lessons.

During one of my late summer yard sale excursions, I found a piano bench for $1.

It had two small rips in the cushioned top.

So I did a quick fix with some leftover upholstery fabric from my sofa and I stapled on a new cover. While I was at it, I added a little extra foam for padding too. First, I removed the top from the bend. Then, I cut the foam to size and cut the fabric a few inches larger than the bench top.

 Then, I stapled it all around and attached it back to the bench. It's easy peasy as long as your bench top is wooden and you can put staples into it.

Here's how it looks in my studio/office where I give lessons.

Someday, I'll do something fancier and completely remove the old cover underneath. But this works for a quick fix for now. Oh, and I did one more thing to it. I nailed on those little plastic Magic sliders on the bottom of each leg so that it moves on the carpet easier. They were under $2 at the hardware store for a set of 4.

My Trash to Treasure Weekend - Plus a Yard Art Idea

I have been shamefully absent from blogging all week but I was prepping for a speaking event and just had to let something go. Oops, now I've made you feel unimportant. Really, my readers are very important. But once in a while my head begins spinning around and I have to set something aside before I go completely crazy.

I did a seminar at the retreat on Trash to Treasure decorating. 

I move around a lot when I speak...thus the strange expression on my face and the blurry hands. :-)

I showed many of the slides from my website as well as some objects from my home. I had a wonderful time with the ladies! The rest of my sessions tied into the T2T theme and I talked about the treasures of the heart. So often, we appreciate before and after pictures of T2T finds, but we don't embrace the difficulties we go through in life as hidden treasures.

This weekend, one of the ladies who attended the retreat made me a T2T yard ornament. She glued a bud vase to the bottom of a thrift store plate and added a sun plaque. The bud vase slips over a dowel for outdoor display.

Isn't that cool? Thanks Eileen for the gift! She made others too and each one was unique. Eileen says she used Goop as the glue for her creations. Just be sure to get the sports and outdoor kind.

Back to School- Friend Friday

I'ts been a while since we had a Friend Friday. It's back to school time and kids are making new friends, so let's make some new friends of our own. Some of you are off camping and enjoying the last weekend of summer. Others are enjoying a break from work. If you have some play time on the computer, why not leave a link to your blog using the Simply Linked tool below and show us your latest favorite post?

My specific requests are simple. Just one, actually. Be sure to link directly to a post, not to the home page of your blog. That means you need to open a post and copy the URL from the top of your browser page. I have to remove links that go only to your home page and not to a specific post because we can't figure out what you were trying to show us.

If you decide to create a link to my blog from your page, that's great, but I don't require it.

Happy Labor Day! Enjoy those late-summer garage sales and I hope you find some trash you can turn to treasure.