Last minute projects/flea market finds!

Leevi and I said that we didn't want to buy a lot of nice things and 'adult furniture' until we were wrapping up our military career because things always get damaged in the moves BUT after coming over to Europe it was too hard to resist!  We got the big table, bench, wine cabinet, wine barrel, and antique trunk and there were quite a few little things I also wanted. 

 

A vintage dough bowl was definitely on my list but they are getting extremely hard to find since they have become extremely popular with the Americans in this area.  A friend of mine lived here 15 years ago and she said that she had never heard of them and other things were the hot item.  I perused my local antique shops without any luck...my last chance was going to be at the Spring Bazaar, but it was the weekend we were in Italy.  I asked my neighbor if she could go for me and she said that she had a dough bowl that was given to her that she didn't want!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  My jaw fell to the ground!!!!!!  It had a pretty big crack in the bottom and someone had attempted to repair it, but it definitely needed some work.  She saved me $100!!!!!!!!!  I wish I had taken a photo of the crack before Leevi repaired it, but here it is with the repair before the stain...and then after!  Since the move came so quickly after I finished it, I didn't decorate it, but it will be the centerpiece on our table for the new house and I'll change out the décor seasonally!  It's big and I love it!!!!

A fun Pinterest project I attempted was a letter rubbing onto wood.  My first attempt (the blue sign) was tooooooo easy so I tried again on the grey sign and it was super hard (definitely don't look too close!!!)  I do love them though!!!

 

Some ladies from the neighborhood and I went together on a USO bus trip to Tongeren, Belgium...it is the oldest city in Belgium (founded in 15BC!!!!!!!) and every Sunday for the past 35 years they have been hosting an antique flea market.  We got there a little late for flea market standards (they opened at 6 and we arrived after 8) but we still found some great steals!  My only regret was a cute stool that was the absolute FIRST thing I saw on the corner when we entered...we ran into someone we knew later who bought it and it was only 10 euro!!!  Lesson learned quick, but seriously, who buys the FIRST thing they see!!???  I should have at least asked the price!

 

The middle right photo is the remaining old Roman wall and the colored photo on the bottom left are old Belgian bicycle license plates!!  We were seeing them everywhere and finally stopped to ask what they were.  Each district has it's own shape and each color was for the year...most of these were from the 70's and 80's...pretty fun!  Cycling is HUGE in Belgium!!!

My 15 euro barn ladder!!!!  I stained it and I'm going to hang it on it's side in the new house and put picture frames on it like in the photo below...

 This is a little too cluttered for my liking but I'm picturing something like this! 

 Another dough bowl...super awesome 10 euro steal!!!!  I'll keep my fruit in it! 

An old milk jug for 15 euro! 

ANOTHER demijohn!!!!  I got the big green one on the left for 25 euro...I've had the clear one on the right and I also have another green one that fits into a crate.  My friend, Jewlee, has a silhouette machine and helped me made the "M" out of vinyl!  I LOVE it!!!  PRAYING it survives the move!!!!!

This is not from Tongeren but a Pinterest idea...I got the knobs from Hobby Lobby on clearance and Leevi drilled holes in a beat up pallet plank for me...we are going to hang purses and backpacks on it in the new house!  And I also made a silver one for the girls to hang their necklaces on in their room! CHEAP and CUTE!