Giveaway Reminder and Shopping Portland 1. Rejuvination -

Just a reminder - if you haven't entered the KGSalvataggio giveaway on my last post yet click here for details. The odds of winning are very good at the moment!
Now, Portland.

The first shop that Kirsten and I visited was Rejuvination and it knocked my socks off!  The front part of the large store is filled with refurbished or upcycled industrial furnishings and lighting.

Do you see what the top of this table is?  An expandable painter's scaffolding board.

The legs on this old dental cabinet are swoon-worth.

If you like these giant light bulbs, you're in luck.  I have some and will bring them along to Junk Jubilee in Des Moines. (Junk Jubilee starts just a week from today!)

The back part of Rejuvination is loaded with salvaged items.

I was so in love with this cabinet that I forgot to see what was for sale in all those drawers.

She was beat up but hadn't lost her dignity!

There were one-of-a-kind finds...

...and gazillions of other things.

When I travel and shop, I usually come back to Wisconsin with a new appreciation of what is available to us here in the Midwest.  Prices at Rejuvination were many times higher than what I sell my items for. (If you'd like an example of that, come see my basket full of door knobs at the Waterloo (WI) Antiques Mall.  What I sell for $5-10, are $10-70 in Portland.)

This little beauty is one thing that I did consider purchasing, in spite of the price tag.  You rotate the handle to select a letter:

...and it punches it onto paper.  You all know how much I love letters!  This was great. If you find yourself in Portland, don't miss Rejuvination!

I'm linking up with Debra at Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday - you are going to find much to love at this linky party!

We Have a Winner!

Wow - what a day!  Haven't had a moment to sit down until now. Thanks to everyone who entered the Fleabag Giveaway.  Your entries were numbered in the order they came in...if you qualified for two or more entries you were assigned two or more numbers.  Random.org determined the winning number. I was going to take cute pics and show you all this but you'll just have to take my word for that - I'm pooped! 
  :)
Now let's have a little drum rolllllllllllllllll.   Congratulations to you Linda at Coastal Charm - you win the Fleabag!  (Please email me at cobblecreek at wi.rr. dot com with your contact info and shipping address so a Fleabag can fly to you.)

By A Child's Hand ....and Giveaway Ends Tonight!

You never know what may turn up at an auction.  I was casually hanging out while furniture was being sold on Saturday.  There was an old tea crate sitting on a table; I hadn't looked inside.  Just as it was being sold, someone lifted the lid briefly and I caught a glimpse of calico.  I shot my card up and won the old box.

 Imagine how thrilled I was to discover that the box was packed with over 100 quilt blocks.  Some were pieced on pages of the 1910 Chicago Tribune.

The crate dates from the same era, so I imagine that the blocks were done in that time frame and tucked away, never to be assembled.

 My favorite blocks are small...

...and imperfect.

The corners don't line up. (Not even close!)

Look at those sweet stitches!  Big stitches, little stitches, crooked lines.  Obviously stitched by a child's hand.

 Can you imagine the concentration on her little face as she tried to line up the patches?   These little blocks are what I call "heart-grabbers".   Simple little bits of history that tell a story.  (I'm sharing a few of these little blocks in my etsy shop.)  Have you ever made an "accidental" purchase that turned out to be a heart-grabber?

Now...a little reminder!  Entries for our Fleabag giveaway end tonight... click here for details! 

Time for A Fleabag Giveaway!

We've just returned from a short vacation and can't wait to jump back into the fray.  In just three weeks we'll be arriving in Minnesota, ready to set-up for Junk Bonanza.  See us on the Junk Bonanza blog today.  There's a whole lotta work to be done here.  (Did you know that etsy will have a display at Junk Bonanza?  We're excited that two of our favorite selling venues have teamed up,  all for the love of vintage!)   But I digress....we're here to announce a giveaway!

 We're giving away a Great American Fleabag! The winner will choose from a selection of bags, and yes, international entrants are welcome.

It's simple to enter...just leave a comment on this post, telling how you'd use a fleabag.

A comment gets you one entry.

 IF you were a blog or facebook follower on or before August 23rd, mention it in your comment to get two entries. If you were following both the blog and the facebook page on or before August 23rd, you get three entries.  (Giveaways are often designed to attract new followers, but we think that those of you who've been loyal followers should have a little extra opportunity to win.)

Entries close at 11:59 p.m., August 30th.  We'll draw a winner and post the next day!

  Good luck to all!

UPDATE:  Note to self. Stop blogging in the middle of the night - you might forget something important!  Get one additional entry if you post a link to this post on your Facebook page, blog or Twitter. Leave a comment for each that you do!

P.S. It's White Wednesday - check it out!

Check Out These Great Giveaways

There are some great giveaways happening now in blog land. Our sassy Aussie friend, Tamarah, of
Shabby Vintage Junk and the creative Gina from Vintage Junk In My Trunk have teamed up to offer a zillion great prizes. 

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 It was a hoot getting acquainted with Tamarah at Junk Bonanza. My favorite thing that I've learned from her is the term "hard rubbish", which sounds like a bad thing but could really be a good thing!  I haven't yet had the privilege of meeting Gina "in person", but love her blog, and besides, an item in her cute header came from my etsy shop.  I know for certain that she has impeccable taste!

Cynthia from Beatnheart is also having a giveaway.  I met Cynthia at Elkhorn last year and learned that we are  "state switchers".  She's a native of Wisconsin, living in California and I'm a California native living in Wisconsin.  (Cynthia has the better end of that deal this month...brrrrrrrr!)


Check 'em all out...and good luck to us all!

Great American Grain Sack Giveaway

It's time for a good ol' fashioned American junker giveaway!  It seems that the whole world is enamored of those expensive French grain sacks. I've got nothing against them, except that they cost un bras et une jambe, (pardon my French).  And, I love America and American made products.

Earlier this year, hundreds of American feed, seed and flour sacks found their way into my possession. I've been selling them on eBay, etsy and at shows in Wisconsin, Illinois & Minnesota. Hundreds of them have gone to new  homes.  I only wish that I could see how they've all been used.

Made of heavy cotton, most measure about 20" x 40".  Because they are seamless, there is a whole lot of fabric to work with.  They are perfect for pillows, upholstery, table runners, window treatments, totes, sachets.... You can incorporate the logo or ignore it.  (You can even stencil them with your favorite French motif!)

These are freshly-laundered authentic American "farm-used" grain, seed & flour sacks that are 60-80 years old. There are minor imperfections or small stains or marks on most of them; the imperfections are a part of the character and history of the sack.

We're giving away the three sacks pictured above. You could win one! 
1.  For one entry, leave a comment on this post.  (It's not required, but we'd love to know how you'd use it if you have one of the winning entries.)
2.  For a second entry link to this post on your blog and note that in your comment.
3.  For a third entry Tweet a link to this post to your followers, and note that in your comment.

Anyone can enter, (even non-U.S. peeps), but you need to use an ID, (entries from 'anonymous' will not be accepted).

The three winners will be picked using a random number generator.  The first winner drawn will receive the Fulton sack.  The second winner will receive the Bemis Seamless and the third winner will receive the Bemis Seamless 2 1/2 Bushels with the stripes.  On Monday, November 1st, we'll announce the winners who will then have until Friday, November 5th to contact us with their shipping info.

Spread the word and get your entry in!

We're linking ups with Faded Charm for White Wednesday... be sure to check out all the beautiful whiteness featured there!

Marquee A B C - Letter Love

Letters. I love letters. Not love letters, but alphabet letters. Tiny typeset letters, initial brooches, Scrabble tiles,and letters from outdoor signs. There's something pleasing about rummaging through a random pile of letters and finding just what you are looking for.

Perfect for decorating, letters make an easy statement. Spell out your family name on the mantle. Gift a friend with their initial. Hang words that have special meaning to you like " faith", " beach", or "love" above your doorways. A stairway wall is the perfect place to hang your family's initials. The possibilities are limited only by your creativity.

Recently I was fortunate enough to acquire the letters from the marquee of the old Esquire Theatre in Milwaukee. The Esquire was on Wisconsin Ave in downtown Milwaukee from 1947-1981. It was torn down to make room for the Reuss Federal Building. Fortunately someone had the foresight to rescue the marquee letters and store them away in the loft of an old garage. Here they sat for the past twenty-eight years, neatly stacked under the eaves. With my van loaded down I brought them home and cleaned them up.

Made of cast aluminum, they are 10" tall. There are two colors; a solid beachy-blue, and two-tone with a seaside aqua outlined in that same beachy-blue. I can't wait to pull out the two-tone letters S E A and hang them near my assemblage of fishing floats & sea shells. We have plenty of letters to share and will be offering some of them online and at shows in the coming weeks.

If you are an avowed letter-lover, subscribe to our blog, (see the link at top right), and in the comments section describe your favorite way to re-purpose old letters. Tell us what state or province you're in. On Sept. 28 th, one person in the U.S. or Canada will be randomly selected to receive the letter of their choice;  we'll ship it to them as a gift from us!