Farm Rescue

I'd like to show you one of my favorite pieces that I have in my home. It's an old Fairbanks grain elevator scale that came from my parents' farm. When my dad decided it was time for the leaning, sagging elevator to come down, my mom was savvy enough to see that there were some windows and possibly a few other treasures that could be salvaged. When I spotted this scale mechanism, full of oily, rusty old chains and nails and bolts, the memories of playing in that grain elevator as a child came flooding back! When I mentioned to my dad that I wanted this piece out before the building came down, he gave me what we refer to in our family as the "Buff look" which was his way of saying "Are you nuts? Not gonna happen!" He couldn't quite see the potential in it that I did, nor was he too interested in wrestling it out of it's spot...guess it weighs a few pounds. I was thrilled when he finally conceded (and discovered that the heavy iron scale mechanism could be removed) until I got a good look at how seriously saturated it was with old machine oil! Not one to shy away from getting my hands dirty, I took to it with some Dawn dishsoap and a steel brush and gently removed as much of the "antique" oil as I could. I think I did a pretty good job! You can see the distress marks and even some old carvings in the wood, which really lends to its character. I found the old church arch piece in an antique store and it fits nicely on top. Below the scale, I store my music cd's, which you don't really see until you're close up to it...and a really cute old wheel just for fun!

It's definately one of the most primitive pieces in my home, and I wondered if it would fit with the decor, since my house is a newer construction. I decided that I would find a spot for it regardless and it now sits in my kitchen. And....my dad was pretty impressed with how it looks as well. It pays to trust a junker's vision....thanks Dad!

Hookin' up to FJI's SNS here.

A Junk Fest treasure found!

Hey, how CUTE is this?! The other night as I was looking through my old pictures, I got to thinking...I wonder what ever happened to that adorable wine labeled drawer I sold at Junk Fest a couple years ago? And, more importantly, why the heck didn't I take a picture of it?

As good luck would have it, at a recent Culinary Club dinner it dawned on me that maybe one of the other club members had bought it. After some discussion she verified that yes, she had purchased it! I made a quick stop to her beautiful, cozy home and just sighed with delight when seeing the cute drawer again! (Yes, I've been down this road before and sound like a broken record, but: WHY did I sell it?) Then, even more fun was seeing it sitting on top of the cute wine crate sold the same year. Even though I just recently posted the wine crate, I knew I wanted to show all you junk lovers just how great it looks in her home. Plus, how adorable are the two pieces stacked on each other - HELLO - great idea! She's an awesome decorator with wonderful taste (wink, wink) and I am so delighted she is enjoying her Junk Fest purchases!

To Junk or Not To Junk...

That is the question. Who am I kidding...that's really not a question at all! Of course TO JUNK is the only answer.

Unless we hurry and do as Cassie suggests in the previous post , problem is junking is a wee bit scant here in the heart of ND during this thing we call winter. (it's like constipation...nothing moves fast right now) We don't have tons and tons of shops around the corner like some of our lucky blog friends do. We're into rip-your-jeans, get-your-hands-dirty, spiders-in-your-hair, dig-reach-stoop-bend-push-pull, good-old-grimy, go-where-no-man-has-gone-before, then get-a-tetanus-shot type junking. To our dismay, that's all pretty much buried in snow right now. Heck, even our workshops our piled high with snowbanks. We'd have to be dropped in with a helicopter just to get to our stash.


So, what do we do to bide the time? Blog, of course. But for Cassie and myself one of the next best obsessions is quilting. Quilting kind of goes hand and hand with good junk....start with a pile and end up with something beautiful! This last weekend Cassie and I joined my sisters and a good friend for a weekend getaway quilting retreat. How could you go wrong with that! With meals prepared for us, a quilt shop set up in the corner, and chocolate a-plenty what more could a girl ask for? Duh, a massage therapist! We had that too. :)

It was great! We wore our slippers all day...stayed up late (yes, that's A.M. on the clock, and we really thought we should stay up a bit longer)





















The cold winter view was great from the warm side of the window!


But it's just not all fun and games here. Sometimes we have to think real hard (like my sis in the pic).





And we use some real dangerous tools, but thank goodness, because if we need assistance, Cassie can call out on her fancy "grid" phone!

The hard work, the laughter, the late nights, the chocolate, the massage therapy....it all pays off, because we all come home with some great quilts! They look great in our houses, make wonderful gifts, and of course, look fabulous draped on a marvelous piece of junk!

Junk Fever!

This is how I feel (and look!) right about this time every year. Here in North Dakota, winter seems to last for about 10 months, and the other two we battle mosquitos! You've heard of "cabin fever?" Well, I have "Junk Fever" and I need to get to a yard sale, auction sale, salvage yard, junk store....ANYPLACE where there's no snow and good rusty, chippy (and cheap!) junk!
Anyone with me?

MIA....Have you seen this boy?

Last seen in the early morning hours of 9/23/06, sitting in a fishing boat eagerly awaiting JunkFest shoppers. "Sambo" was wearing chippy red pants, a dirty yellow shirt, no shoes and a painted on smile. While Sambo never spoke much, he was our rock. As our mascot, he pointed the way for those out-of-towners looking for great junk treasures. His disappearance remains an unsolved mystery. Unfortunately, computerized images showing what he might look like today indicate that he probably has not aged in appearance; however, our fears are concrete: that his life has been shattered, crumbled beyond recognition. If you have any information regarding the where-abouts of our beloved friend, please contact local law enforcement or call 1-800-SAVE-SAMBO. Won't you please help bring Sambo back to JunkFest?

Listen up people, this is some serious fun.

Isn't it true, really? That life should be all about having fun? We don't think so, we know so! Today's blog takes a peek back at some of our fun junkin' times. It's no secret we search high and low for junk. Fortunately for us, many people want to get rid of their old stuff. We are thrilled when they call and they are thrilled to have us haul it all away to junk heaven. In reality, it's simply just "search and rescue". This photo shows the smiling faces of Cassie, Missy and Andrea. (Lynette was snappin' the photo). The huge smile on Missy's face is because she drew "first choice" of junk that day and knew the cow was hers. Cassie is actually about to knock the cow out of Missy's hand with the lamp, cause she wanted it even more. We're not sure why Andrea's hairdo looks like 70's rocker, Peter Frampton, but perhaps it's because on this particular day it was over 90 degrees. This is tough work, people!

Thanks, Cassie. Andrea has always wanted a lampshade hat, especially one that matches her sweat stained shirt. Oh, and Lynette wants the lamp.Another day, another junk haul. Here we are in Missy's barn, dividing up the loot from a sweet farming couple. Thank you, God, for people like them. We are so glad their grown children thought it was all a bunch of...well, crap. Guess what? It wasn't!

Another photo opportunity...the four of us splitting up more junk out at Cassie's place. Pretty darn big smiles for such a chilly day, but a junk girl's gotta do, what a junk girl's gotta do!

Here we are in the back of Cassie's trailer...loaded to the max! We took a jaunt to Minnesota last fall and it was well worth the trip. Ever heard of male bonding? That's peanuts compared to junk girl bonding...it's a MUST DO.

Here's our loyal and faithful driver, Cassie. What would we do without her big city driving ability? She's the woman! And let's not forget her 500' trailer! No kidding, it's awesome too! We're pretty sure Lynette could handle driving in the big city also, but Missy and Andrea admit...they are major wimps!

Okay, people. We are having fun. Some serious fun.

When the fish go belly up...an Ode to Valentine's Day

Cupid's holiday will soon be here, and girls....we need to be ready! Hang on to those fish bowls after Nemo finds his way home, 'cause they make great vases! Mine happens to fit nicely in this chippy black iron plant stand that I found at a fabulous flea market in Colorado.

Vintage tins, such as this Cracker Jack tin make great vases as well, but you'll need to insert a liner or smaller vase inside since most aren't water-tight.

My favorite option is a vintage sterling silver trophy. Whether it's newly polished or left to tarnish, the mix of sterling silver with fresh flowers is so romantic!

Which is your favorite?

To WINE or not to WHINE?

Yes, this winter really stinks up here in Central North Dakota. The weather is all everyone seems to be talking about and yes, WHINING about. On my drive home from work, it actually got me to thinking about another kind of whine…oh yes, baby, the much better kind spelled W-I-N-E…it always cheers me up!

As some of you blog readers know, Lynette and I started out together as junking partners-in-crime before Junk Fest was “founded” by her, me, Cassie and Missy. Lynette previously blogged on this site about a fabulous wine cart we created together, both LOVED and ultimately sold. Damn, why did we sell it? It was truly a “one-of-a-kind”. Yeah, there have been things sold we do regret. Especially alot of of our wine creations. Shown here are a few other wine items sold at Junk Fest…just call it looking back at a few wine memories...



Here's an awesome wine cork frame created by Lynette a couple years ago. That's a wine label in the middle.





This piece, believe it or not, was an old dilapidated dresser ready for the wood pile. Missy transformed it into a wine cabinet...amazing save, huh?!



Yes, wine items are a hot ticket at our annual Junk Fest sales...and that's NOTHING to whine about! Cheers!

Wine, candles, and thingamabobs...

Who said you can't hang a chandelier over a basket of potatoes? I thinks I can! And I did!

I have this cutsie metal cart in my kitchen that serves as my "wine central". Complete with a minnow bucket that chills the wine nicely when filled with snow, (no lack of snow here right now) a wood tray turned chalkboard, a rusty pulley (there for no reason other than I love rusty stuff), a wood toolbox turned wine glass caddy, and some thingamabobs.

You know, THINGAMABOBS. Those cute little vintage receipt holders that you could poke your eye out with. Two of the thingamabobs are holding wine charms, and the third is holding a copy of a cherished photo. I've added wine corks to the tops of course, so I don't poke my eye out!

Under the metal cart is a rusty metal basket that works perfect for potatoes and onions.

On a recent trip to a Grand Forks antique store I found the neatest candle chandelier...and I don't care if it's replica or genuine....cause it's CUTE! Hung it with an old metal bracket, added some votives (what I had on hand), and viola! There's just nothing like "junking" up a house!!

Linked to:
Domestically Speaking-Power of Paint

Junk Girl Jewels

Every junk girl knows that the gettin' of good junk isn't just about the haul....it's also about looking good while gettin' the haul! Thanks to Tamra Kriedman, one of our flea market vendors at last year's JunkFest sale, we can look good all the time in this great Junk Girl fused silver bracelet that she custom made. You can find more of Tamra's work here, or at JunkFest '09...or just flag down one of your favorite JunkFest girls for a closer look!