In our spare time, we’ve been (admittedly slowly!) working on a series of tables made from vintage suitcases. This is the first one we’ve managed to finish and put up for sale. It’s in our space at the Fargo location of F.A.R.M.

This one is in shades of vanilla and white.

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Yes, it opens! Spiffy blue satin lining, with plenty of pockets for hiding remotes etc. Pretty & practical!

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If you’d have seen the wifely lately, you’d know a bit about what we’ve been working on due the color of her hands. *wink* For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure, we’ve just made these pretty (and rather large!) quilt block boards. Each board features a red, white, and blue star quilt block. The boards are stained either red or white. Each measure board measures 29 inches square. It was the best way to salvage the quilt. Perfect for quilt lovers, fans of Americana — and, of course, just in time for the Fourth of July!

vintage-red-white-and-blue-star-quilt-blocks-and-antiques-in-fargo-moorhead

Also shown in the photo from our space at F.A.R.M.

That 8-foot long primitive industrial cart, vintage Pigeon Forge Pottery racoons, and a collection of vintage handmade, wooden Hagar The Horrible characters!

Oh, and we’ve some of these vintage quilt block boards at Su Laine’s too. You can see what they look like in our booth with other vintage red & white items. (The whole thing is so Pennsylvania Dutch looking, isn’t it?!)

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Among the other things we’ve been doing…

We were on the radio again. This time, I joined hubby on KFGO and we talked about picking during Fargo-Moorhead’s Clean-Up Week.

Sometimes we’re so busy picking, cleaning, painting, etc. that we don’t blog as much as we should. We’ll try to do better; meanwhile, keep an eye out on our Tumblr, Twitter, & Facebook Page for some quick peeks at what we’re up to and what we’ve got for sale. (Follow us too, please!)

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An incredible vintage smoking table, smoke stand, or standing humidor — still with the original copper liner! But it’s the outside the fabulous outside details which really make this a standout vintage piece. Lots of parquet, turned legs and spindle side handles, little storage spaces… A very handsome smoking parlor piece.

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vintage-smoking-stand-copper-lined-humidor

The ashtray which sits on top of the stand bears the Masonic square and compasses, with the center “G”. While the Masons ashtray was found with the table, it’s not original to the piece or was in a Freemasons lodge or Masonic member’s home. Still, a very beautiful and intriguing piece!

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It currently sits in our space at SuLaine’s antique mall, Detroit Lakes, MN. If interested, contact the shop (218-844-6830) or contact us; we will ship! For details &/or more info on other pieces shown with this vintage smoking stand: vintage double-sided metal Minnesota Farm Bureau Member sign; a vintage wooden crate used to ship books to a Professor in River Forest, Illinois, from Concordia Publishing House of St. Louis, Missouri; and antique Sweet Cuba Tobacco tin & antique antique copper cigar humidor.

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Check out the cute vintage figural kid’s desk!

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Pluto is made of wood, the legs are metal. The desktop is complete with lifting chalkboard top (so you can store chalk, etc.).

Marked Walt Disney Productions, this vintage bit of Disneyana was likely made in the 1960s.

Super cute — and in wonderful shape — this cutie is in our space at F.A.R.M. (booth #40, right next to the check out desk) at SuLaine’s. As always, email if interested. (We *do* ship!)

vintage pluto desk top for kids

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We’ve been busy, setting up and refilling so often that we’ve been remiss in telling you that we are selling at the new Fargo Antiques & Repurposed Market (F.A.R.M.). Today it is one month to the day the shop opened! It’s a great mix of true antiques, cool vintage, and unique repurposed, recycled, upcycled items.

This is just some of what we have there in our space. Or maybe we should say what we’ve had there — because things are selling fast! Our space os booth #40, which is located right next to the check-out desk. (We’re on the other side of the wall of ribbons and wrapping.)

The shop is open from noon until 6 pm today, so stop on in & see what’s there!

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We salvaged a number of vintage metal rolling carts, also known as kitchen carts, utility carts, bar carts, etc. And by “salvaging” I mean they were in atrocious conditions… Rusting, covered in funky old contact paper, missing the rolling wheels, etc., they sure were “fixer uppers” for junkers like us.

vintage bar cart with contact paper

vintage metal rolling carts before

But, after lots of elbow grease, sanding, and spray painting, look how fabulous these two look!

vintage metal three tier shelf rolling cart black

The super space-age mid-century modern design begged for some red paint to go with that fancy chrome!

vintage mid century modern three tier red rolling cart and red industrial paper towel holder

Next to the cart is an vintage industrial paper towel holder that we spiffed up to match. Because what racy red bar cart doesn’t risk some spills?

These pieces, and more, will be brought to this weekend’s Elkhorn Antique Flea Market in Wisconsin, where we expect they will go quickly!

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The opening weekend of the Elkhorn Antique Flea Market may have been rainy and not-so-nice, but we sold over half our inventory anyway! Since then, we’ve been focusing on restoring, repairing, painting, etc. of other furniture pieces in (and outside of) our shop.

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But here’s a sneak peek at some of what we’ll be bringing to the next one on June 28th… That’s this weekend!

This vintage chest or cabinet served in the workshop — where it was likely made too. Note the drop-down storage and the black metal legs.

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Also, a vintage cabinet & kitchen table we salvaged and painted a a creamy butter yellow. Each is properly distressed for a country prim home. (Mighty cute for the dining room or the porch!)

salvaged country primitive furniture creamy butter color

And this mossy green dresser got a few pale yellow stripes and a fresh coat of paint on top.

moss green dresser with pale yellow stripes fair oaks antiques

Last (for right now!) this cute little table we gave a shabby finish and a shiny lacquor seal so it stays chippy — but keeps too much paint from coming off. It also makes the red tone of the wood really pop!

shabby little vintage table fair oaks antiques

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Gosh, this week has flown by! I spent the week helping my folks, aka Antiquips, of No Egrets Antiques, with their latest estate sale.  It was a very large estate, just full of Asian art & decor — including this set of vintage Bronzeware flatware. (Yes, flatware comes in bronze!) It was amazing how much we sold! However, after five sale days, there’s still this fabulous rosewood breakfront with carved dragons and a mid-century modern secretary with plenty of display space for your mid-century modern pottery and other pieces. (The flatware chest and Bronzeware is still available too.)

After all that, this weekend is the last Elkhorn Antique Flea Market of the season! Here’s just some of the goodies we brought.

vintage and antiques dahlsad at elkhorn antique flea

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Stop by and see my parents and I in both #216. We’d love to see you!

All of this reminds me that the entire summer has flown by!

Pretty soon it will be time for the October issue of the Dolls By Diane newsletter — just what will I have in store for you to learn about dolls this Halloween?! Could it be even more creepy dolls? You’ll have to wait (and subscribe!) to see!

While the weather may be putting a damper on the flea market season, antiquing never really ends!

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While hubby and I thrill to go pickin’ for antiques in barns, there’s more than a little work involved in dealing with the not-so-nice side of “farm fresh”.

“Farm fresh” really is an oxymoron; for the reality is that these items are typically covered in all sort of “ick” — like bird and animal droppings, spider webs, and other things that make the layer (or two) of good old-fashioned dirt seem heavenly. *wink* Since I’ve just spent the past two days restoring some “farm fresh” finds (and rather spectacular ones at that — antique wooden school desk sets!), I thought it would be a good time to talk about just how to properly clean, care for, and restore antique wooden pieces.

It is important to note that when I say “restore”, I don’t mean “refinishing” these pieces. Like most collectors, we prefer to bring pieces back to life — while maintaining the patina and other signs of their former lives. Whether your antique and vintage furniture and other wooden items are covered in “farm fresh” filth or just need a little clean-up, here’s how you can gently take care of them.

As you can see, these old children’s school desk sets looked like they came out of a barn.

farm fresh dirty antique school desks

To remove the first layer of “crud”, you’ll want to “power wash” with the lawn hose. Stand a few feet away, and let the water spray away the cobwebs, leaves, dirt, clumps of bird poo, etc. Turn the piece over, so that you can get beneath it. This will remove a lot of the surface dirt, as well as stuff that’s hiding in nooks, crannies, and crevices.

antique wooden school desks

Unfortunately, that’s the easiest part. There’s lots more to do yet. And there’s nothing left to do but do it! *wink*

While the piece is still wet, fill a bucket with warm water, add some Murphy’s Oil Soap, and scrub with a rag. While the manufacturer does not recommend using Murphy’s Oil Soap on unfinished or unsealed wood (and with these old pieces, lots of the original finishes have been stripped or have just plain worn away), we’ve never had any problems. As with anything, test a small area first — especially if you have a painted piece of furniture, or one with decals.

At this point, you’ve probably got a bucket full of mud — and furniture that still isn’t clean. So you’ll need another bucket full of clean warm water and Murphy Oil Soap. Only this time, you’ll want to use one of those cleaning sponges with a non-scratching scrubby-side. (For projects like these, we recycle all the sponges which have been spent cleaning around the house.) Use the sponge to scrub off more stubborn dirt, going with the grain of the wood.

Now, you’ll want to let the pieces dry to be better able to evaluate them. (Plus, your arms will want the rest!)

Once completely dried, we discovered that these desks had been used as tables for painting projects — or at least to hold one of the paint cans, for there was a giant ring of paint and several large splashes of paint too. (Likely lead-based too.) So we had to make a choice and we opted to lightly sand away the offensive paint stains. Then it was one more wash with another bucket of diluted Murphy’s Oil Soap; this time using the soft side of the sponge to go with the wood grain.

After the desks and chairs had completely dried again, we were left with what nearly looked like bone-dry, but spotted, wood that had been left in the desert. Once again, we had to make a choice. While we do adore the charms of worn wood, this was too-worn looking; so we opted to liven it up a bit. But just a bit. While oil can darken or even blacken stained wood, we felt oil was better than wax in this particular case. (With finer pieces, you’ll probably want to use a paste wax. And if you have a lot of different types of antiques you want to treat, Renaissance Wax Polish can be used on lots of other surfaces. And, again, always test in a small, inconspicuous area first.) In the case of these antique school desks, we applied Old English Lemon Oil. Twice. The first coat was rubbed in, left overnight, then another coat was rubbed in the next day. This was the final result:

oiled antique school desks chairs

I think they turned-out quite lovely; even if I do say so myself!

I just love the patina on the one desk with the fancier (older) iron legs — complete with whatever remains of the green stain used and, most charming of all, the old carvings former students had made in the desk top.

names carved into antique wooden school desk

And this is how they look in the “back to school” window display at Antiques On Broadway, here in Fargo:

antique wooden school desks window fargo antiques on broadway

Now let’s talk about taking care of your antique furniture.

Beware the orange oil cleaners, especially for every day use. We can tell you from painful personal experience that those cleaners stripped the finish clear off an antique five-leg table in less than a year. For every day cleaning, use a damp towel with a mild soap — and, with a soft clean cloth, buff dry thoroughly. Wax or oil only when the shine has really left, which is likely once or twice a year.

 

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More photos of great things we just brought in for sale at Exit 55 Antiques in Fergus Falls, MN, that I just love. The feature of this little set-up is the antique child’s chair. Details on the chair can be found here. Other special pieces include the antique doily holder, a ceramic black poodle bank, a smokey-colored glass decanter, a floral tin, catalog or salesman’s cards for Italian lamps, and those theatre pieces from a production of The Nerd. As always, if interested in anything shown here you can contact us here; call me, Deanna, directly at (701) 306-6145; or call the shop directly at (218) 998-3088. And keep an eye on our Facebook page for more photos of our antiques and collectibles.

antique child's chair and pieces

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