A New Look for an Old Crate

Please note:
Last week I experienced some technical difficulties with my computer and am not sure this post was distributed to everyone. Therefore, I'm sending it again to all subscribers under a different name.
The original post was called "French Wine Crate 2.0."
My apologies if you've already seen this post. If not, please enjoy.


Have you been wondering whatever happened to that rare French wine crate 

I uncovered last summer in a dusty basement at an estate sale? 

Well, here's a little hint.

You might remember my post about that wine crate.
Here's a link if you missed it.  Wine Crate Find

The crate was perfect for containing a sparkling centerpiece on the dining room table.

But you know we can never leave well enough alone, right? 

I wanted to find another way to use this beautiful crate and I found it in the kitchen.

By turning the crate on its end I was able to make some space on my kitchen island 

and now I'm using it to hold bottles of wine and cooking utensils. 

Looking at the wine crate from the side,
you can still read the beautiful French writing on the front.

This really opened up the counter space and gave me a little more elbow room.

The display makes me think of a fancy kitchen store like Sur la Table.

This stand-alone cabinet is handy for parties, baking or unloading market baskets.



Don't overlook everyday objects like these Prosecco corks
when creating a unique accessory.

Cheers, my friends!

So, what do you do with your wooden boxes and crates? Love to hear from you.

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Perfect Timing

Do you believe in perfect timing?

When you're at just the right place at just the right time?

When everything falls into place and something wonderful happens?

Well, I do.

It happened to me at an estate sale, where else?

We had checked out a recent sale, taking in the few offerings quickly, 

and were about ready to move on when an old mantel clock caught my eye.

"It's pretty banged up," the elderly man pushing a walker said.

"It's going to need a lot of work," his wife echoed.

"It's only $5," I whispered to Ron,"and I just love it." 

It looked as if it had been dropped. 

The wood trim across the top of the clock was missing and the sides were loose.

But the thing that caught my eye was the pretty hand-painted Victorian floral design 

on the front lower glass. The design is actually painted on the reverse side of the glass. 

The original top metal dial also had painted floral designs in the corners.

And, in the middle of the clock face was a peep hole into the brass gears.
I felt like I was peering into the past. 

I didn't care if it worked. I had to have it.

On the way home in the car, I cradled it on my lap,
listening to it twang every time we hit a bump in the road.

It was as if it was thanking me for taking it home.

As we drove I thought about my vintage alarm clock collection.

Something about old clocks has always spoken to me; 

maybe they're a metaphor for the passing of time and the history they've seen,
something I appreciate. 

Once home, we took a closer look at the mantel clock and were pleasantly surprised
to find all the missing parts inside the clock case, including the broken wood trim. 

I loved the brass pendulum and the two fancy keys inside.

Then we started researching the history of this clock.

And it got even more interesting.

Because the old paper labels were faded but intact inside the clock, we had a good starting point.

We saw it was a Waterbury clock and it was about 19 inches high by four inches deep. 

The case, we learned online, was rosewood with two key winds. 

By examining the details on the label, we were able to place it around 1870 -- Civil War era! 

Can you imagine what this little clock may have witnessed?

Ron was able to repair the case issues with a little glue . . .

. . . and a picture frame clamp.

I gave it a revitalizing rub with Howard Feed and Wax wood conditioner
which brought out the natural beauty of the wood, making it even more beautiful.

We are deciding whether to take it to a clock repair shop. 

I don't really care if it works (at least it's the correct time twice a day!) 

I just want all its parts and pieces put back together again.
What do you think? Fix it or leave it alone?

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French Wine Crate Find

I would have missed this beautiful French wine crate at a recent estate sale

if Ron hadn't spotted it hiding in the corner of a dark basement laundry room. 

The wood looked old and, when I saw it was from France, 

I went a little crazy and plunked down $7 for it!

I love all old crates but this one had such a warm honey tone,

fancy writing, and even wooden slots for twelve bottles inside. 

It knew it was special but couldn't begin to guess just how special it was. 

When I took it home, I looked up Chateau la Fleur Petrus and found out

it was a fancy Bordeaux wine from a vineyard near Petrus on the famous Pomerol plateau. 

The estate's original French Country chateau was built in 1782 and 

the wine traces its history to the late 1800's. 

I thought the engraving on the front was gorgeous.

I think the little critter may be a wild boar's head???

If the 1962 date is the age of the crate, it's 55 years old,

thus the mellow aged look. 

We thought it might be fun to go to our favorite wine store and buy a bottle to display in the crate. 

Are you ready for a shocker?

A very knowledgeable man there told us they didn't carry this wine because 

it was usually only available at auction and went for between $220 and $3,500 a bottle!

He said people who bought it often rented an armored truck to have it delivered.

So, I guess we'll probably just put something else in the crate. 

(Internet photo)

I wasn't sure how I would style it so I began to layer things to create a pleasant design.

I started with some white flowers in a white vase for height

then added some teal-colored bottles and mason jars for sparkle.

We'd just trimmed the crabapple tree in our back yard so I snagged some branches 

and added them to the design to fill in the gaps.

My big white Limoges platter with pale blue flowers was the perfect backdrop

for the arrangement and the crate's bottle racks worked just like a plate rail. 

I don't claim to be a floral designer

but I think it makes a pretty Spring centerpiece.

I can just imagine this crate in the winter,

filled with big pine cones, some tall candles and a bottle of wine or 

stacked with old books, an ironstone pitcher and some vintage linens in the summer. 

Definitely, one of my favorite finds!

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A Field of Dreams

I love books.

I could spend hours, maybe even days, in our local library.

It's big enough to have a decent selection, yet small enough to know where everything is.

Our 500,000+ square foot downtown library is amazing. The architecture alone is spectacular. 

But it's so big, it can be a bit overwhelming.

However, our little neighborhood library, the Eugene Field branch, is just right. 

Kind of like the three bears' story. 

Just right.

I love to read and usually check out three or four books every couple of weeks.  

I always select an extra book or two in case I don't really like a book once I get into it. 

There are too many books I want to read to wade through those I don't love.

I've been going to my local library for years and never paid much attention to the name
-- the Eugene Field Library. Until a day not long ago when I was at an estate sale.

Always on the lookout for old books with beautiful covers, 

I spotted a thin faded-cream volume with daisies on the cover. 

Upon picking it up, I was pleasantly surprised that "Brilliants" was written 

by none other than my very own Eugene Field.

It was in poor condition, its pages loose and likely to escape at any moment. 

So I clutched it tightly and took it home with me.

Then I decided to find out more about my library's namesake. 

Do you ever wonder who these people are that public buildings and streets are named for?

I found out Mr. Field had lived in my neighborhood for two years in the 1880s as the editor of the local newspaper, the Denver Tribune. He was most well known as an author of children's poetry.

Interestingly, his father, Roswell Field, represented Dred Scot 

when the slave sued for his freedom in 1853. 

Although he was unsuccessful in his fight,
his case was instrumental in eventually abolishing slavery. Fascinating.

While in Denver, Eugene Field lived in a sweet little cottage
which was later saved and moved in 1930 to our local Washington Park
thanks to Margaret "Molly" Brown's foresight and means. (She's always surprising me.)

It served as a small branch library and now houses the non-profit organization, The Park People.

Next to the little house is a wonderful often-photographed statue called "Wynken' Blynken' and Nod," portraying Field's most famous children's bedtime poem, originally titled "Dutch Lullaby."

The story is about three children who fall asleep dreaming of sailing

among the stars in a boat that's a wooden shoe.

This lovely bronze illustrating the poem was donated to the Eugene Field library.

My little Eugene Field book is now tied securely together with twine 

and holds a special place on my mantel, an appropriate nod to a man who loved books.

"Wynken, Blynken and Nod one night

Sailed off in a wooden shoe

Sailed on a river of crystal light,

into a sea of dew . . . "

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French Country Cottage

French Country: Old Sconces, New Look

I've been watching for two old sconces for my bathroom for a long time.
They were all too new, too gaudy, too expensive.
But then I found just what I was looking for at an estate sale.

I wanted something with turn-of-the-century character and style 

but small enough to work in my tiny bathroom.
So, take a look . . . aren't these just gorgeous?

They are in need of re-wiring and re-connecting and replacing bits and pieces, 

but, oh, they captured my heart at first glance. 

And only $20 for the pair!

The thing that really caught my eye was the charming profile of the woman in the center. 

So delicate and pretty.

The jolly man in the plaid shirt who sold them to me told me they were "very very old."  

He said "she" wouldn't have let him sell them.
I assume he was referring to his wife who had probably passed.

Then, he proudly showed me his gazillion bird houses and feeders. 

I so enjoyed talking with this elderly man with the twinkle in his eye.
It's one of the reasons I love these sales so much.

Here you can see where someone slopped paint along the edges.

I'm definitely no expert but I think these sconces might have
a little Venetian or French-inspired influence. At least, I hope so. 

I'm guessing they're from the early 20th century, judging from the design and the old wiring.
Ron plans to rewire the sconces and tighten up the creaky joints
before hanging them in the bathroom.

PLAN B
Well my friends, things don't always turn out the way you think they're going to.
When Ron got into the project, he discovered the arms of the sconces had been badly broken, probably dropped, and soldered back together.
This effectively closed off the channels for the wiring. Permanently.
Sometimes Humpty Dumpty just can't be put back together again.

So, on to Plan B.
Ron squeezed JB Weld into the wobbly joints. When this epoxy is dry, it's rock solid.
He says it's the next best thing to actual welding. It actually glues metal together.

Removing old paint splatters with Zip Strip,
then toning down the shine with matte medium tidied them up nicely.
A big thank you to Ron for all his hard work restoring these sconces.
Like most renovations, it took a lot longer than we'd thought.

Once they were put back together, we mounted them on the living room fireplace wall . . .

and put battery-operated candles in them.

They may not be the bathroom sconces I thought they'd be
but it's good to be flexible when dealing with old things that don't cooperate, don't you think?
Hey, I'm talking about the sconces here people!

And here's the final result. 

I'm still totally in love with them, maybe even more.

And they look right at home in my old house. 

I have searched on-line but haven't been able to find anything similar to these
to learn more about them.
They're quite heavy, probably cast iron.
If you know anything about this type of sconce, I would love to hear from you.

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