Vintage Collectibles Repurposed Upcycled Recycled DIY Handmade Treasures

Vintage Collectibles Repurposed Upcycled Recycled DIY Handmade Treasures with LilacsNDreams. Welcome Everyone!

Spring is in the air and I feel it with the great weather we’ve been having. Ready to open the windows for some fresh air in the house. Do some painting, cutting, gluing, creating, crafting, and treasure hunting for some vintage collectibles along with treasures to repurpose too. So ready to get out of this winter slump blues with the gloomy weather. I love spring time with everything fresh, new, growing, and the air full of life.

This past week was quite a hectic week. Ever have one of those yourselves? Almost everyday was an appointment, something scheduled, and really no free time for anything else. I apologize for not having some craft to share with you, or even a vintage collectible that was found while thrifting. Hopefully this week will be more productive with it being open for anything. Try to get some crafting done along with a little more downsizing of things. I need to add some things into my Shoppe at Etsy as well.

Time is getting closer for our son to be home, and done with the military. So, a few preparations need to be made for that too. Organizing, little more downsizing, and getting house ready for his stay too.

I wish you all a great week with all you do in your crafting, repurposing, and treasure hunting for some vintage collectibles along with found pieces to craft with too.

Thank You for visiting with LilacsNDreams! See you again soon.

Repurpose Upcycle Reclaim Restyle Handmade Preparations

Repurpose Upcycle Reclaim Restyle Handmade Crafting Preparations For Creations

Welcome to LilacsNDreams everyone! Hope everyone is doing well with the weather for the areas you live in. We have had some hot, and humid days. Sadly, others are still dealing with all the horrid flooding that they had. I worry about winter for those effected by this. 

I have really been off with my crafting that I had planned to be working on. I have a couple of things I need to finish, and many more I need to work with. Sadly, in some ways the weather has effected me with some of this processing. Having issues with our AC unit was a big issue. Our wonderful Family Reunion which I, and others enjoyed very much occupied some of my time since I was one of the hosts for this event. 

With some of the humidity we have had it has made it hard for me to do even some light painting. I did some touch up spray painting on a couple of iron candle holders. I bought them as is with a flat paint on them, and I wanted to add a little gloss to them to better blend with plates that will be added to them. I figured this little bit should be ok to do. I miscalculated as it has taken them quite a while to fully dry properly, and not have some of that sticky feel to it. Disappointing, but I feel more comfortable that they settle right before I craft with them, and something happens to them.

It might be hot and humid out, but I still find different pieces to bring home to work with when I can. Growing inventory a little bit before winter is one way of looking at it. Many times I will find pieces that work together right away when I’m thrifting, I find pieces that I see possibilities with, sometimes I find a piece that I know will work with another one I am considering that is already at home, and sometimes I get pieces that I want to unite that do not look well together as anticipated. Not to worry because at some point pieces do become united,  and sometimes it’s much better than when I first visualized it. 

I enjoy making cake cupcake plates which have many uses besides food too. I am also anxious to be making some things for Christmas too. I so wanted to do things for Christmas in July, but due to circumstances I was not able to.  I feel Christmas is not just for one day a year. It’s more like a season of festivities that is special, is enjoyed, and is celebrated by many people. Because of this many people will shop all year long for Christmas items that are for gift giving, and for decor to adorn there homes with. 

Below is a picture of a few more pieces I had gotten the other day, and a couple pieces that I already had at home. Before I work with anything I gently hand wash, and air dry everything. If there are any flaws with the pieces I am able to better see them after cleaning them, and can note it as well. 

I am passionate about , and believe in second chances for treasures that are found. Vintage, Reclaimed, Handcrafted, Loved, and Found again. Better to repurpose things, than to throw them, and leave them to be forgotten. 

Thanks so much for visiting with LilacsNDreams!  Welcome anytime, and hope to see you again soon. 

Thrifting Junking Searching Preparing For Resale

Thrifting Junking Searching and Preparing For Resale. Welcome to LilacsNDreams! Gonna cover something simple today. I hope it will be helpful, and will give you a little something to think about as well. 

We spend time with thrifting, junking, estate sales, second hand stores, garage sales, and actually anywhere that we can think of to find the next treasure for our homes, or our stores. When we do these special treasure hunts we take pride in the search, have fun with it, and are always anxious to get back home with all the goodies we have found for the day too. So, once we get them home what is is that we all do with these new finds? All of us have our own way of doing things that we have found to work for us. The biggest decision is do we keep it, or do we sell it? 

Once I get all of the treasures home that I have found for the day I am no longer tired. I am excited to unwrap items, set them out to view closer, take inventory, make notes, and etc. I do the best I can to keep record of things that will help with decisions that should be made later about pieces too. For now I have a simple form I use that I will record the item found, price I paid for it, is it a resale as is or will I be repurposing altering it in some way. I like to make notes of any flaws that I see with the pieces as well. Then note the overall condition of the piece that I have found. 

Once I get this part done I might take a break...something to revive myself to continue doing a few more things with the treasures found. Once I have done all the notes, documenting of things, and what I feel is necessary to complete with all the items I then start preparing for cleaning of the items. Yes, everything that I find I will do some kind of a cleaning with it. Nothing harsh, but a gentle clean to better show the beauty of all the things I have found. Once I have done this I can see if maybe there are more visible flaws to note, and I can better decide if I will sell the piece as is, or if I will repurpose it in some way. The urge is always strong to want to keep things found, and I have to remind myself that I do not have the room to house these wonderful treasures for myself. I hopefully can make someone else happy with offering things that I have found, and that they may take pleasures with their finds too. 

After completing these few steps the research will generally be done with all the pieces you have found. Researching for the value of vintage collectibles, searching to see if others are selling the same items and making notes of their prices along with successes of sold pieces, you are learning a little more about the treasures found with all of your researches. Another assistance to consider with your searches is to use collectors books that better describe items, their age, their value with their conditions, and some of the history for it too. 

I know that doing these few steps I have shared with you does not seem like much of a procedure. Yes, it can be time consuming doing some of this. I enjoy doing this as I better learn and familiarize myself with the pieces. I feel I can better connect with them by viewing them in a different way from their purchase, and that I can better assist my customers as well too. 

Hope you found your visit to be helpful, maybe consider a few things not thought of before, and remember it's always good to hear suggestions from you visiting as well. Thanks for visiting with LilacsNDreams! See you again soon. Toodles . . .