Starting a collection – Blue and White ceramics

Thrift stores provide an abundance of items that allow you to start a collection at little cost. All of these pieces were found within a two week span, the most expensive at $6 and the least expensive at $1, if found on 50% off day at the GW Boutique.

This is the largest piece and the most expensive (ha ha) at $6. It measures 16" tall and is one of my favourites.



Plates in all sizes are usually a buck or two. My hope is to find enough to create an organic wall display someday.



I found a set a five pieces with the same pattern, originally from Pier1. I thought it was a little unusual that there were two canisters, one with a mismatched lid, a bowl, a soap dish and a bathroom cup all in one set; not sure why you would have matching items in your kitchen AND bathroom.




There are some vases, plant pots and other pieces that were  few dollars each, but nothing too special. They will serve as filler pieces in the future. What I need are some bigger pieces, like large urns, an umbrella stand and I would love to find a pair of ceramic garden stools.

 
For less than 40 dollars, it’s a good beginning. A trip into Chinatown in Toronto is planned for the spring. Until then, I keep my eyes open when I troll the isles of thrift stores.

The ceiling that nearly killed me

I am not exaggerating when I say that I will never, as long as I live, scrape popcorn off a ceiling. It was a disaster from the minute I started, but once you start you CANNOT GO BACK! It did not remove easily as my darling friend told me it would, the ceiling ending up being gouged, ripped and some parts didn’t come off at all.

 

Now what the heck was I going to do with this mess? I got a quote to have it skim coated and it was way out of my budget. Then I remembered about bead board wall paper. A perfect solution, nope, but I’m going to make it work.

I am quite sure I have have spent at least 10 solid hours of work on this crap. I wanted to cry when I was taking the popcorn off and my arms were burning. I wanted to cry when I put the wallpaper up (have you ever wallpapered a ceiling? Don’t do it).  And then, I decided that I was going to tackle crown moulding. Major failure. Wasted money, wasted time, frustration, anger and feeling like a failure.

So I am now stuck, because I don’t have the money to hire someone to install the crown moulding for me.  I am just going to move on and start the painting, if I can ever decide on a colour. I have gone through several paint samples, a ton of paint chips and still am no closer to a decision.

I did do something that made a nice difference, the one bright spot to two entire weeks of hard work; I put up an electric fireplace (albeit a tiny one, but hey, I’m working with a tiny budget).

 

Before

After

 

That is all I have to show for my hard work. C’est la vie.