Repurpose Restyle Reuse DIY Upcycled Vintage Collectibles

Welcome to LilacsNDreams! Repurpose, Restyle, Reuse, DIY, Upcycled, Vintage Collectibles. At some point we all find ourselves intrigued with these things for the decor we use in our homes, remodeling our homes using some of these techniques, some of us like all of this because it is our way of surviving and making money with it, or maybe it is just because we like it. Some of us do it for pleasure, some do it as a past-time, and some do it as their business. How did you get started with this? When was it you acquired the taste, and desire for these things? Have you been doing this a long time, or is it still kind of new to you?

I have had these thoughts over time...when I have time to think to myself, and what is suppose to be my alone time during the day. For me I think mine honestly started during my childhood years. I always enjoyed working with my hands. When I was on the farm with my Grandmother I would play with the sewing machine, I would use her tube paints to make designs with towels and materials, I would go out to the old hen houses and organize things out there with windows, paints, and design some things out there. Over time my Grandmother would give me little things here, and there that involved some sort of craft. I would use it now, or put it with my things for a later time as she would tell me. 

So, I got older, things changed a little bit, and I focused more of my time with vintage collectibles. I had collection books to help me identify pieces, some things I collected myself, I was learning a little over time of how to research a few things, and then came Ebay where I eventually started to sell things. The Ebay thing was from a little help of a close friend, a little nudge from her, and she was already selling on Ebay herself, and felt it was something I would like to do. In fact, that is how LilacsNDreams evolved, and has been with me ever since during my sales, creations, and over time. 

Like many others over time I had the urge that there was more than just selling on Ebay. So, I ventured off a bit into other places like Bonanza, Artfire, Ecrater, and Etsy. During this time of searching for what I felt like I was missing I noticed how I was becoming more interested with the crafty side of things. I was in awe of seeing work done by others of what they were offering. Some of the things that were being done, and how neat some of it was too. Little bit of glue, little bit of paint, this piece could attach to that piece, and how some of the vintage collectible pieces could be brought back to life! Oh, and how neat some things were that had been created, were made from a little bit of this and that, and the possibilities were endless! So, selling on Etsy was one place that I landed that open some more doors for me since they do things just a little bit different than Ebay. 

I still love my vintage collectibles. A lot of glassware really. The creative side of me, working with my hands, seeing things differently and what they can become really sprouted during this time. It has become a passion of mine. I love seeing what others offer when I roam around the internet, visiting stores where others show their creations, seeing things in a way that others offer them from their visions, and so on.

It's something I have been slowly working my way back into doing again. I was headed that way a few years ago, and due to some circumstances a long break was taken. Once we get moved into our new home - it's a working progress, I get organized one more time, I will have more time to myself, and I truly cannot wait to get back into doing all of this again. I'm excited!

So, how did you get started yourself with repurposing, upcycling, restyling, DIY, and etc? Was it something you have always done? Was it something that you acquired over time? Also, is this something you do yourself, or maybe you find these treasures completed to bring home so that you can adore them with all of your collections. Sorry for all the questions everyone. Curiosity gets the better part of me sometimes. 

Thanks for stopping by LilacsNDreams. Hope you enjoyed the visit, and feel free to share as you wish too. Take care till the next time everyone. Toodles . . . 

       

Vintage Shoes Addiction For Women Men and Babies

Welcome to LilacsNDreams! Vintage Shoes Addiction For Women Men and Babies too. I want to show you a little bit of a vintage era of why you would buy, why you would wear, and especially the fun of seeing all things vintage too! Hopefully it will remind you a little bit of times past wearing vintage shoes. You are seeing some vintage shoes for women of course, but we must not forget the babies shoes, and we need to remember that this vintage addiction also carried over into the mens shows as well!

                                              Vintage Shoes of Times Past For Everyone

                                                         Vintage Womens Boot Shoe

                                           Vintage Baby Shoes From 1950s...Flickr

                                                 Vintage Addiction For Mens Shoes 


I hope that you had a little fun going back in time with some of the memories with vintage shoes. Today they are still a collectible for some collectors, and there are some who look for vintage clothing so that they can wear them too. Some of these vintage addictions are being reproduced in order to bring back some of our times of yesteryears. Oh, what fun! Don't you think?

Thanks for sharing some time with LilacsNDreams today, and I hope you enjoyed some of the memories from yesteryears that were shared with you here. I enjoyed your visit, and hope to see you again soon! Toodles . . . 

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 . . . 

Vintage Pyrex Collectible Bowls and Patterns Guide or Library

Welcome to LilacsNDreams! Vintage Pyrex Collectible Bowls and Patterns Guide or Library. Pyrex has been a long time collectible for many people. Many are either on the hunt for these pieces to resell them, or some are collectors who are adding to their collections too. 

I myself like looking at the collectible pieces of pyrex bowls, I have sold some myself, and I own a few pieces of these treasures too. Not as many as I would like to, but it's enough to have for show around in the kitchen. 

This is a picture of the Colonial Mist patterned Pyrex bowl. I use to have a set of these, and at some point decided to downsize. So, I sold them. Of course I regret it now, but I will add to my collection again at some point. 

This is a picture of the Pyrex Cinderella bowl set that I do have. Very very happy with them as the coloring is great with all of them. The insides are a very shiny white milk glass coloring that look much like new yet, or show very little signs of use. 

Over the years Pyrex has made many different patterns, and had different colors with each piece that they made and distributed. There are many patterns and colors to learn with the names given to them. Along with the names you kind of like to know the years that they came out too. For information like this you can buy collectors books to have on hand that you can look things up. Another way to look for some of the information is to research online like many of us do. I would like to share a few links with you that I am aware of. With these places you can find pictures with the pattern, the name, the year for them, and when you click on some of the pictures it will open to a new page describing that particular piece to you. Again, telling you the bowl print name, the year of its distribution, and some may offer an idea of its value as well. 

Pyrex Pattern Reference

Pattern Library Pyrex

Pyrex Vintage Pattern Guide

So, if you're looking for a little bit of help with identifying a piece, maybe want to know a little bit more, or if you want to expand with some of your knowledge check on those links I have listed for you. No, I get no kind of a commission with you clicking, and it is not an affiliate link either. I just enjoy helping where I can, and sharing with others who have some of the same interests. 

Thanks so much for visiting with LilacsNDreams, and hope to see you again soon. Till the next time...Toodles!

Treasures Await, Old, Vintage, Repurposed, DIY, Plate Stand, Dish Stand

Welcome to LilacsNDreams! Treasures Await! Old, Vintage, Repurposed, DIY, Restyled Plate Stand, Dish Stand, Glass Stand, Vintage Inspired. In this posting I am sharing a few pieces that I had made from vintage plates, decorative plates, candle holders, and a compote candy dish. As you can see I used different sized plates for these stands shown. Most of them were glass while one I did use a dinner plate for the stand. 

Generally when you think of these stands you thought of them standing upright which is the normal shown way for them. Time to be a little more creative with these pieces, and believe me I had fun when I was displaying these pieces for pictures. I enjoyed showing, and giving ideas of how to use these plate stands I made for your homes. I tried to show how the pieces could be versatile for different uses. They could be used for serving, used as decor in the home, maybe used for a little organizing of things, and etc. Use them in the living room, in the kitchen, in your bathroom, or in your bedrooms too. 

Not only were these a plate stand, but they could be used with candles and some embellishments. Use them in the kitchen with some dish soap, dish rag, scrubbing pad, etc. Use in the bathroom with some rolled cloths, jewelry holder, bathroom accessories, and so forth. 

Common use was to have them standing as a serving plate stand, but since I used different items for the bases I liked to show how they could be flipped over for different uses too. With some of the plates I had used some goblets. One plate had a blue glass goblet I used. When it stood straight up I liked to put a flicker candle under the goblet, and added some flowers. If it was a holiday season I would decorate with that theme too. 

I sold a few of these pieces over at Etsy which is where I am working on getting some things listed there. Remember, I am in the process of buying a home and moving. So, I have to watch how much I am doing until we get fully moved. Earlier tonight I was working with all my policies, introductions, etc. Doing a lot of updating with things. Anyway, once we get fully settled I have thought about making up some of the plate stands again too. Would be great to have some for the upcoming holidays, given as gifts, and so on.     

                                  Clear Glass Cupcake Stand Dessert Plate Center Piece

Some pictures combined that show a few different uses for this particular plate stand that was made.

Avocado Green Relish Tray Dish Glass Stand Vintage Inspired

This avocado green relish dish stand looked like new when put together. I am selective with the pieces that I partner to make these stands. Many times they look pretty much new, and bought from the store. Something I took pride in doing. 

Cake Cupcake Stand Blue Glass Vintage Inspired

It took a little while before this plate stand came together. This happen to be an extra plate that came from a dish set. When I found the blue glass candy compote...it might have been the base of a fairy light that was missing the top to it too...I just knew before I got it home what I wanted to do with it. My biggest issue was to confirm that the colors in the blue glass would work with the blues in the rim of the dish. They were a match, and I got this together as soon as I could too. 

When I put these pieces together I took my time matching them. I make sure the pieces are clean, and dry. Then, I spend the time marking/noting where the pieces will connect. Once they are connected I use the right things for pressure to make sure they stay connected. Check on them periodically to make sure the glue did not shift pieces, and off center them. Once I was comfortable with the pieces settling the right way then they would sit to dry. This part I never rushed, and I was content when I placed them for sale knowing they had bonded properly, and would make the new owner of them happy. 

Yes, I get excited with some things. There is so much out there that we can use to be creative with. Many things that can be made/created. Part of a piece to a set, a lonely vintage piece that needs a new life, sometimes painting can help a piece along too. I like how there are no rules to do this. What you create can work for you, or maybe someone else too. It might be a copy, or mimic something else made. But, it is still a unique piece because of how you made it, what was all used to make it, etc. 

Ok, I better slow my jets or I'll be carrying on, and bore some of you. Thanks so much for visiting with LilacsNDreams everyone! I enjoy your visits, and hope to see you dropping by again. Take care till the next time everyone. Toodles.....

   

Repurpose Restyle Refresh DIY Picture Frames

Welcome to LilacsNDreams! Repurpose Restyle Refresh DIY Farmhouse Picture Frames. Now, this is a project that you can have fun with, be creative, and depending what you all do the cost is low with it too. Cost might be low, but it can also give that wow effect when others see it in your home too. 

So many things you can do with picture frames, and I am sharing just a few ideas with you. Keep in mind there is so much more that you can with them. You can use some old frames you have sitting around. They don't always have to match for some of your projects you create. Find picture frames in thrift stores, garage sales, craft stores, and don't forget to look at your Dollar Tree stores too. Depending on the creation you are making you can leave the frames as is, maybe paint them, cover them in paper, glue them, nail them together, and you got the idea. Many home decor ideas for around the home, for any room in the home, maybe given as a gift to someone too. 


                                         DO IT YOURSELF TIERED TRAYS

                                               From:        What Treasures Await



                                       REPURPOSED FARMHOUSE FRAMES

                                            From:      Raggedy Bits    




                                                       REPURPOSED FRAMES

                                             From:     Kim@coastalstardecor.com


There is sooo much more out there to see with how picture frames are used. If you would like to get more ideas I would google repurposed picture frames, and I would also check out pinterest too. 

This is one project I have supplies at home to work with, I know what my first project is going to be, the weather has been great! Unfortunately, I have to put things on hold for a couple of months. I am disappointed because I had plans for some creations, but I am also excited and staying busy too. My husband got a new job. He drives truck, and his new boss is about 2 1/2 hrs from where we live. Which is fine, but we have been talking about a move for a while, and things have been happening that we will be moving soon. House we are buying will be available then. Soooo, instead of having fun with crafting, repurposing, thrift store shopping, garage sales, and etc. I am packing, and hopefully downsizing a few things as I go along with this. Area will be different. I've scoped a little bit of it out, found some thrift stores, dollar tree, and the city is about an hour away with a Goodwill Outlet store, and I am sure other things to get into as well. This should be a good change, and definitely better for me to work on projects, my site, and to get going online more like I have been planning on. 

Till then I intend to keep coming to my site here, and posting different things for you all to visit, view, and read. I will also stick a note in here, and there about how we are progressing with our move, and when I will be shut down for a bit for the move, and to get things all hooked up again. 

Thank you as always for visiting with LilacsNDreams! Hope you enjoyed the visit, and I hope to see you again soon. Till the next time....Toodles!

                                                

Repurpose Handmade DIY Garden Glass Art

 Hello, and Welcome to LilacsNDreams! Repurposed Handmade DIY Garden Glass Art. Last week I had covered kind of crafting with lamps into solar yard lights. This week I'm going to show you a few more things that are so creative, and so cute as well. For those who are looking for ideas to add to their gardens, or outside decorating I hope this helps you a little bit. Best of all I hope it helps many get their creative ideas working to create the next thing you are looking for. 

For the items that I will be sharing below in just a bit the materials used were used pieces that could be found from your own home, from thrift stores, garage sales, and etc. Some pieces used are maybe some vintage collectibles you have that might have some minor damage that you wish to use for the outside too. The glues that you use you need to make sure that it is workable for outside. You might have to also prepare some of the pieces just a little bit to better assist in the glue bonding, and holding too. 

                                                                Ironing Board Lady

                                              

Take a closer look at the picture, and visit the link this originated from (click the picture title). Is this not adorable? How cute, and how creative too!


                                                               Glass Bird Feeder

  

This is something that is also adorable to make. This piece shows all glass being used which is great. But, there is so much more that we can think about, and consider too. For instance using maybe a saucer, and the cup with it. Another idea could be done with a tea pot too. The possibilities are endless when you are creating. 

Glass Bird Bath

  

Here again you are shown a glass bird bath that is made from different pieces of glass that has been put together to make this adorable piece. They used green glass with everything. I see a glass bowl, 2 glass vases, and at the bottom a glass plate. I have also seen bird baths made with table lamps. Remove all the hardware, paint it, some were glass bases, and then add a glass bowl to the top of that. Interesting ideas don't you think?

Glass Garden Art

This beautiful adorable glass garden art piece does come from Etsy, but looks like it has sold that it is not fully available. I love these pieces myself. You can put different glass plates together to make the different layers of the flower. The center you can be creative with by using a round piece of glass, or whatever material you find to work. Some of these are set in pictures holders for show, and some are attached to different kinds of poles/stands to sit outside for decoration too.

One of the best places for you to look to get more ideas of what others have created is to visit with Pinterest. That is a very big place, with many many things that others enjoy sharing their finds on the internet too. 

Thanks so much for visiting LilacsNDreams, and I hope to see you again soon. Always free to leave a comment, and share things with everyone here that visits. Take care, and have a happy holiday! Be safe everyone!