Getting ready for the Vintage Bazaar!

Posted: September 12, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Fun Finds, Vintage Bazaar | Tags: , , , | 1 Comment

The Vintage Bazaar is next weekend.

Yikes!

Here’s a sneak peek of some favorite new things I’ll be bringing.

First up, a stack of 1940s hand-painted dishes made by Steubenville. The pattern is “Harvest.” I’m usually not that big a fan of orange, but OH are these gorgeous.

Wouldn't a full set of this pattern be wonderful on your Thanksgiving table?

Wouldn’t a full set of this pattern be wonderful on your Thanksgiving table?

Three vintage enamel colanders in great colors, plus interesting kitchen utensils.

IMG_6909

White, yellow, and ORANGE. I might keep that yellow one.

Want to see more? Click here!

One of my best finds of 2013

Posted: January 23, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Fun Finds | Tags: , , , | 1 Comment

Luray and I went on an epic vintage shopping trip at the end of December when I bought one of my best finds of 2013. From the outside it doesn’t look like much. A slightly battered old suitcase:

goldbondcase

I thought this was a vintage record player at first glance. Don’t judge a case by its cover

It was mostly hidden under a pile of stuff including an ugly fan. I’m sure lots of shoppers overlooked it just as I did the first time I was in the store. I thought it was a portable record player which would have been pretty cool. Nope! I nearly squealed when Luray opened it.

Yep, there’s more!

How I ruined–and revived– my Bakelite flatware handles, part 3

Posted: January 19, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Home and Garden | Tags: , , , , , , | Comments Off on How I ruined–and revived– my Bakelite flatware handles, part 3

I promised a couple more Bakelite cleaning solutions for Part 3, but I decided to stop at just one more. All the other suggestions I found involved some sort of polishing compound–Mothers PowerPlastic, jeweler’s rouge, Meguiars, Novus plastic polish (favored by Martha Stewart), recipes for homemade polishes. I simply couldn’t talk myself into buying a lot of stuff I might not ever use again.

All these solutions had one thing in common–they are all mild abrasives. And so are melamine sponge erasers.

I had a box of store brand erasers on my shelf so I gave it a try.

magicsponge

The results were fantastic. Not only does very light rubbing remove all the oxidation in a few seconds, it also removes tarnish from the metal. The spoon I tested looked nearly as good as new. I was impressed enough to keep on going and polish a dozen more.

shinyred

Really fast. Easy. Non toxic. My spoons are looking pretty good again. I think I might buff each handle with a little canola oil just to add a finishing shine.

How I ruined–and revived– my Bakelite flatware handles, part 2

Posted: January 12, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Home and Garden | Tags: , , , , , , | 1 Comment

I’m still working on the best way to restore my Bakelite flatware. Here are four more cleaning solutions.

oxidizedBakelite

409 cleaning solution is mentioned frequently in connection with Bakelite, primarily as a way to “test” if it’s the real deal. What the heck, I decided to see if it would work. Yep, there’s more!

How I ruined–and revived– my Bakelite* flatware handles, part 1

Posted: January 10, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Home and Garden | Tags: , , , , | 3 Comments

It only took a split second to ruin all of my Bakelite* handled spoons. In a moment of utter stupidity I dropped them in a sink full of hot, soapy water. And THIS is what happened. WAH!

ruinedflatware

They’re now almost entirely oxidized. Fortunately for you, my slip of sanity will work for your benefit. Because now I have to restore them. And I’m going to try most of the suggested remedies I’ve found on the web to see what really works. I’ll even try some solutions that I’ve never seen mentioned anywhere but work pretty well.

The most popular solution on the web seems to be 

Yep, there’s more!