Showing posts with label nostalgia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nostalgia. Show all posts

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Summer Furniture project - refurbish a mid-century stool seat

 It is that time of year where the kids swim just about every day so I figured I needed a project to work on while sitting on the patio watching them.  I am in need of some accent tables, a table for under my TV, a desk for the baby or a bookshelf, so I started searching the thrift stores & yard sales.  I didn't find anything that I need, but thought that this metal chair/stool combo thing looked interesting.
To tell the truth, I have no place for this chair in my home and pretty sure that my husband will hate it but I wanted this project anyway.  I think maybe once it is finished, I will try and sell it.  After some research, I discovered that they are currently making a reproduction of this same chair!
When I found that, I panicked a little thinking, 'oh shit, I bought just a dirty stool that isn't even old!' but I took a closer look and this one is indeed, a very old version.  Also through some online comparisons I found out that it won't be super valuable once refurbished, but as long as I don't spend too much time on it, I will be able to turn a slight profit.  Obviously this business is more of a hobby than a business.


 At least I get to work in comfortable clothes!
I took it apart completely in about an hour.  I spent another 2 hours scrubbing off rust.  I like to keep most things original, so I soaked the screws overnight in a vinegar bath to get the rust off.  Today, (or maybe tomorrow) I will be working on upholstery, paint and then the real challenge.... putting it back together correctly.

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Toys from the late 70s early 80s

Last night I was looking through an old Women's Day magazine from December of 1980.  I love looking through old magazines for their ads.  They are useful in helping identify the ages of collectibles and sometimes they are just plain funny.  Last night brought a little bit of nostalgia for my childhood. This page especially.
When this magazine was published, I had just turned 5 so this page was basically all the best things in the world for me.  I had many of these toys and if I didn't personally own it, I'd played with them at friend's houses.  I remember that Woodsey family log house being one of my favorites for years and years.  I still had my Lolly doll until last November when I sold her on eBay.
Many say that this kind of nostalgia is what made the movie Toy Story so famous.  Maybe.  I know it certainly made the classic toys featured in it become popular again.
I just can't get that Woodsey family out of my head.  It makes me so sad because my mom, who was awesome by the way, saved this toy for me but sometime in the 90s her basement flooded and many of the toys were ruined.  Unfortunately my Woodsey family ended up molded and I had to throw them out.  I found this family for sale on eBay and I'm so tempted to buy it.
(Woodsey family photo credit eBay seller NEWtique Boutique)