To the Boulevard

My junior picker and I checked out the Boulevard Flea Market/Swap-n-Shop this morning. I had never been but had always wanted to go and check it out. I am working on some outdoor pieces, bird feeders, yard art and such and I thought that maybe it would be a good venue for selling them. It was not quite what I expected. I was expecting a little more flea, but it was a little more swap meet. It was kind of like a bunch of people having little garage sales. Most stuff was not priced and when I would ask, things were overpriced, closer to retail than swap meet. Plus these are items that were in need of cleaning. I don't mind getting my hands dirty for a great treasure but if I'm paying retail prices, it had better be clean.

The highlight of the morning is when mini-me found some Legos that she wanted. She asked the price and the lady said $9. Mini-me's reply? "Would you take $8?" I about fell over, I guess she has been paying attention!

It was a good recon trip, but I don't think it's a good fit for selling and not sure about shopping either. On a cooler day, it may have been a fun treasure hunt. However, this morning, with 76% humidity, it was a lot of over-priced junk. Of course, the nature of the swap meet is that it changes every week, so we may try again at the end of summer.

Have you been to the Boulevard Swap & Shop? What did you think? Tell us about your experience in the comments.

Repurposed Storage

I like to reuse jars for storage. I have a few requirements as to what jars I will use. Above all, they cannot have any lingering food odor. Pickle jars are a fantastic size and shape, but I can never get the pickle smell out of the lid, so they go to the recycling bin. My favorite jars for reuse are the pasta sauce jars that look like mason jars, I think the brand is Classico. If you purchase the sauce at Costco, the jars are nice and fat, but the regular one work, too. I also like jam jars. My second rule for reuse is that the label has to come off easily. Both Polaner jam and the Classico jars use an adhesive that comes off easily just by soaking them in hot water for a few minutes. Some jars have a date stamp on the glass, which comes off with a little rubbing alcohol.

I do not like my reuse projects to look junky. I like to look at them and forget what they once were. I did not like the assorted lid look in my studio, so I decided to paint them all the same color. I started by priming them, inside and out. My favorite primer for metal is Bullseye 1-2-3. It cost a bit more, but it is so worth it for hard-to-paint surfaces. A large spray can cost about $10 at Ace. I use generic Jenga pieces to elevate small items for painting. You can usually find them at the dollar store.

I thought about doing a cute, bright color but then decided to go with a neutral color, to put the focus on the jars' contents. I chose RustOleum's Painter's Touch in dark grey. Make sure and let each coat dry completely, which can take a while in this Kansas humidity. After the paint dried, I finished them, again inside and out, with a coat of clear gloss sealer. Again, make sure the lids are absolutely, completely dry before you put them on your jars!

All finished! I am using this batch of jars to store/display my game piece stash. Now, instead of a hodge-podge of jars, they have a sleek, uniform look.

Facebook Sale Tonight!

Here's a peek at a few of the items in the sale tonight. See you at 9!

Hello and welcome to my new blog!

I am hoping to use this page to share projects, musings, etcetera. My goal is to share before and afters, project inspiration, new shop items, as well as upcoming sales, events and classes. I welcome your comments, questions and suggestions. See you soon!