Dance baby, dance!

 I picked these chalkware plaques up a few weeks ago.  They had some paint loss and scratches to the paint but I love the black and white ovals, as well as, the texture of the figures.  I always struggle with how much to restore.  I don't want them to look new but rather to keep some of their vintage charm.  I decided to leave the cream/white as is-just cleaned up.




Here they are all cleaned up with the black and aqua repainted.  I love the Valspar testers that Lowe's sells!  They will mix any color and they are only like $2 each.  The only drawback is the testers only come in a satin finish.  If you need a semi or high gloss then you need to get at least a quart.

The plaques are marked " '60 Modern Art Co" on the edge.  They also have a stamp on the back that is very difficult to read.  I can make out " Cory _____sted  _____ Art Co. Milwaukee, 12. Wis."

I am very happy with the end result!

'Til we meet again,
Ms. Adventure

Wowsa, Wednesday happens every week!

Okay, okay.  I know it seems like I may have a problem but I swear it's under control.  It certainly makes me happy to find my little treasures and let's face it, there are certainly worse things I could be doing.

I couldn't help myself and made the trip back out to the middle of nowhere last Wednesday.  I had spied a few things that I would like on my previous trip so Daddy-o and I headed out.  I figure life is short, why not shell out a little cash.  You can't take it with you, right?

A cute little set of chalkware wall hangings.

I picked up this set of wall hangings with the intention of repairing the damage to the musical notes.  On closer inspection, I don't think this is a set at all.  The finish on the notes seems to be different than on the "Harp".  The central portion is marked "1952 Gary Art Studio".  There are no markings on any of the other pieces.

 The musical notes had several cracks in the neck and were fairly unstable.

I first used superglue in the cracks followed by spackle.  Once the spackle was dry I sanded the repair smooth.  A nice coat of paint and voila!

I chose to touch up the figures as well.  The color had been sprayed on and was pretty sloppy.  I left the faces of the figures untouched because I liked the rosy cheeks. 

I think they look darling!  The colors really pop, yet the faces retain their cherubic quality.  I love the crispness of the gold paint.  I tried several varieties but found that model paint worked the best.

A few other purchases...

Gold slip ons and a vintage barkcloth clutch.  The best $1.50 I've spent in a long time!

A great Sputnik light fixture. The finish is in rough condition but she is so lovely when illuminated that I just could not pass her up. 

'Til we meet again,
Ms. Adventure

Wild Wednesday adventure!

So I decided to take the day off of work.  I have been desperately trying to cut down on the amount of time I spend at my job.  My plan for today was to get my oil changed, clean my car, get equipment ready for a beekeeping class I am doing tomorrow, go to the bank, etc, etc... 

Well, while waiting to get my oil changed I realized it was indeed Wednesday, a fact I knew but had not had the "Aha!  It's Wednesday!"  moment yet.  What's so special about Wednesday you ask?  My friend Samantha (read her blog here) and I have been trying to go to this antique store in the middle of nowhere all winter.  Their winter hours are Wednesday 11a-1p.  Hello, two hours in the middle of the week??  Needless to say, when I realized it was Wednesday it was 10:40am and I just had to start my trek.  The store is about 40 minutes from where I was.  I immediately texted Samantha.  She texted back something about working.  What?!  So I did what any good friend would do.  I went without her.

The store is not heated and actually occupies two buildings, the old bank and an old 7-Up distributor.  The town it is in most likely has a population somewhere around 400-700 people.  I didn't find too much in the old bank so I headed next door to the soda garage. 

I spotted what would become Daddy-O's birthday gift.  Even though his birthday isn't until June, I just had to buy it.

Daddy -O has always wanted a floor globe.  This one is fantastic with its smart mid century design.  It lights up too!  Bonus!  Because as I will fully admit, I have a lamp addiction.  The only major flaw is a crack that runs through Africa.  My plan is to try to glue it from the inside to stabilize it.  I may try to apply some touch up paint to the exterior to minimize the crack.  It's really only noticeable when the light is on.

   The soda garage is two floors, so after careful inspection of the items on the lower level, I headed upstairs.  There were no lights in the garage but many windows including a large (6ftX5ft) opening in the side wall that has no glass.  It is literally open to the elements!  The upper floor is somewhat "L" shaped.  When I came around the corner and nearly fell over.  This is what I saw...

The proprietor of the store was right behind me and I think I did a very good job of containing my enthusiasm.  I said flatly, "Wow.  Those are big AND purple".  He immediately dropped the price by 30%.  He said he was told by the dealer he got them from that they would be "hot" in Chicago.  Well, the upper peninsula of Michigan is a long way from Chicago and they have been sitting there for what sounds like several years.  In an unheated garage, unprotected, 20 feet from the  outside world.

The lamps were made by Reglor in 1953.

I just brought them home and plugged them in.  I haven't cleaned them yet.  Boy are they dusty!  They are very large measuring 35" from base to finial.  The shades measure 22.5" at their widest point.

There is a small chip in the bottom of the male lamp and two small areas of paint loss.  The female lamp has a small hole under her left arm.  The dark purple paint on the faces is cracking and needs repainting.  The shades have some small spots on the underside but otherwise are in fantastic condition. 

I hope I can do as nice a job as Hepcat.  He has restored some fabulous finds and is kind enough to detail his work in his blog.  Thanks Hepcat!