A mini collection

My very first collecting bug started with miniature bottles. I was on vacation in Pennsylvania to visit my grandmother, and we went into an antique shop. Scattered about I found some colorful, miniature bottles. I thought they were the coolest, cutest things I had ever seen! Plus they would be easy to pack up to bring home! I bought 4 or 5 of them... and so the addiction began.

25 years later, my collection has grown and I have put them on display in my guest powder room. I used an old type tray hung on the wall... a great way to display small items.

My most recent finds have been at Denver Gypsy Boys Estate Sales. Usually I just find one random mini bottle, but recently I found a grouping of a few Ruby Red mini bottles. I snatched 'em up. (Don't even get me started on my Ruby Red collection!)

Many 19th century manufactures created miniature samples of their goods in order to promote their product. Miniature bottles would commonly contain alcohol, medicine, bitters, and soda. They came in all shapes including fish, horseshoes, liberty bells, ball and claw, and barrels. Part of the fun of this easy collection is finding new shapes in new colors.

Because of all the colorful options, they also look beautiful displayed on a window sill. Miniature bottles are small, affordable (I pay anywhere from 1.00 - 7.00 per bottle), and easy to display.

Do you have a mini bottle collection? Email me photos and I will post them on the blog!

Upcycled Tool box

Old Wood Tool Carrier for 5$ at Gypsy Sale

Hello! Welcome to my first blog! Today's project involves upcycling... taking something old, and reusing it for a new purpose. I was lucky enough to grab this old wood tool carrier at this weekend's Gypsy Sale. It was a steal at only 5.00. It may look like junk to some, but I love anything with old, pealing paint!

The red handle goes great with my red and blue color scheme in my laundry room, so I thought it would be great for storage. But then I had a brilliant idea (insert my immitation of Dr. Evil with pinky in mouth here). I was going to turn this into a place to hang dry my clothes! ...Something I was seriously lacking in my laundry room.

First... I picked the wall I wanted to mount it on, then I used a stud finder to mark off the stud location with blue tape. This way I would be confident that this piece would be secured to the wall nicely and could hold some weight.

Blue tape marks stud location

I then precariously held the tool carrier above my head and screwed it to the wall into the center stud. My husband sometimes has an anxiety attack if something is hung on the wall unlevel or off center, but since I am pretty sure my husband has no idea we even have a laundry room... I felt safe just eyeballing it.

I put two screws through each stud... this puppy is up there for good.

Next, the decorating step! I lined the back with contact paper (I stupidly did this after I hung it to the wall.... something I do not recommend). Then I hung up my vintage yarn covered hangers.... from a Gypsy Boys Sale of course!!! I also decorated the top with some antique items my grandmother gave me, including a Pepsi Bottle detergent sprinkler my grandfather made when he worked at a bottling plant that made Pepsi bottles. I also added an over sized hook with my vintage clothespin bags. (Yes, you guessed it, another Gypsy Boys Estate Sale purchase!)

This is the finished project! I couldn't be more pleased. It's functional, it's a display piece, and it's upcycled vintage! Next time you are at one of our estate sales... try thinking outside the box for things you can reuse and repurpose!

Thanks for visiting! Feel free to email me with your upcycled projects and I may feature it in an upcoming blog.