A Shelfski, known as "Putting your best side forward."

SHELFSKI: (noun) An item that is imperfect but not without some merit in use as a decorative object only, as in form without function. No, you won't find this word in Websters Dictionary nor can I say that I was creative enough to have coined the phrase; however, I did write up this proper definition.

I first heard the word from a flea market dealer while he was trying to convince me to buy a Weller vase that had a crack, albeit only a hairline crack at best. His remark needed no explanation, I immediately got the concept. With a Shelfski, the crack, chip, missing piece, paint discoloration and any other flaw, simply faces the back of the shelf. This allows me to display pedigree pieces of pottery, that I otherwise would not be able to afford such as Majolica and Roseville. I do not purchase a Shelfski with the intent of resale, but rather, personal use only.

So I decided to display a few of my favorite Shelfski pieces for Rhoda at Southern Hospitality's Today's Thrifty Treasures, Linda at Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays, Diane at A Picture is worth a 1,000 words for 2nd Time Around and Suzanne at Coloradolady's Vintage Thingies Thursday. Please be sure to join these fun ladies for their parties to see what the other guests are showcasing on their respective days.

My first piece is the cream/tan Weller Vase (next to the birds). I had been looking for this color combination for my family room and was thrilled to find the piece. It was this seller that gave me the word Shelfski. He successfully argued that the hairline crack would not be seen on the shelf under normal viewing circumstances. (In fact, it took me a moment or two to even see the crack as I was holding it.) So for $8.00 I bought it and I love it.


My dining room is rose colored and until recently, the china cabinet contained pretty-in-pink dishes and glassware. I found this lovely Roseville vase at a lawnsale for only $1.00. I was surprised to have even found it as I recognized several dealers just leaving the sale as I was walking in.

Then I turned the vase around and saw the 2 chips along the rim. But hey, Roseville for only $1.00, I knew it would be perfect for a dining room hutch Shelfski.


This Nippon teapot, a $.50 cent lawnsale find, makes a lovely vase filled with peonies fresh from the garden.

One would never know that the backside is missing a chunk along the rim, especially, when filled with the flowers.



This is a McCoy plant pot (thank you Angela at I'm Like a Little Bird for the correction) purchased at a lawnsale for $1.00. It is a hanging plant pot. You can see the holes for the chain along the top of the planter. I love the color. It is in an upstairs bedroom (I removed the plant for the photo) and no one is the wiser as to it's little flaw .......

a rather large chip located on the underside of the planter.

The two cream pitchers on the right side of the photo were both recent Goodwill finds. Since I am redoing my diningroom china cabinet to a cream/ivory palette, I thought they would be perfect. However, both had very large cracks which someone had tried to repair.

Now I will spend $.25 - $1.00 at a lawnsale for what is obviously going to be regulated as a shelfski-only decoration. I will not spend $4.99 as each was marked, for something that most would consider simply trash. I love my Goodwill stores, don't get me wrong. It is just that the employees are taught to recognize certain names as being valuable, whether it is in housewares or fashions. They are so intent on the search for names, in this case Spode, that they don't consider the condition of the item. Don't even get me started on the ridiculous prices for dishwasher-over-washed-destroyed-design-and-scratched-up-Pyrex. Realistically, these pitchers should not have been donated, much less stocked on a Goodwill shelf. After a brief talk with the Manager, the pitchers came home with me, both for $.99 cents.

The discolored brown lines identify the cracks on each piece.

I know what you are thinking, aren't these the mushroom canisters that I just showed for my "Orange you glad to find such treasures day". Well they are the same, but not the exact ones. I just found these 2 pieces at a church sale this weekend. I had sizes 2 & 3, these are sizes 1 & 4. Both for $1.00. I was very happy. What are the odds of finding mushrooms 2 weeks in a row, at 2 different places. Mushrooms are just popping up all over. (It must be all the rain we are having .... sorry, lame joke.)

I didn't realize till I got home that the smaller piece had a crack and chip. On the shelf it is fine but I think I will be using it for holding pens and paintbrushes in my craft room.

My last piece isn't a proper Shelfski in the sense that the flaw is hidden from view. It is a piece I received from my mom that I grew up with and loved. It is a sugar canister that belonged to dad's mom, my grandmother, and her mother before her. From my earliest recollections, the crack was always a part of the piece. It doesn't matter. Whenever I look upon it, I am brought back to the kitchen of my childhood, where it was warm, safe and cozy, and always smelled of something good cooking. Not just a Shelfski, this is a priceless treasure.

So the next time you are at that lawn, church, rummage, tag sale or flea market, just remember, that the occasional Shelfski is okay. Just between us friends, don't we all have a few on our shelves and in our cupboards? Come on, you can admit it.

Be sure to check out all the parties and have a great day.

Got it at Goodwill
Sherrie

Thrifty Finds & Bridal Shower Post #2

I love to organize a party. Make it one with a fun approach, a little glam and a little bling, ...... I am in Heaven. As I posted last week, I am catering an upcoming Bridal Shower for a sophisticated Bride. The theme is Breakfast at Tiffany's. Think Little Black Dress and Diamonds Chic and that is my design inspiration.


First, I need to show a little update from that post. As you recall, I displayed a few repurposed band boxes that I will be using on the buffet table for height and visual interest. I was not 100% satisfied with the silver box with black tassel, so changed it out by adding this silver ribbon and bit of bling (bought at Goodwill for $.99 cents.) I like it much better this way.


Next, I was going to post about the party favors and menu cards that I am creating; however, a trip to Goodwill on Saturday morning changed all that. There in the housewares department were these Mercury Glass candlestick holders for $1.99 each. Their shape invoked the 1960's, perfect for Holly's apartment in Breakfast at Tiffany's. Now I was planning on using a few of my silver candlestick holders, but not all from my collection. Most of my silver is better suited for a Victorian High Tea. These were absolutely perfect for the look I am going for and I bought them all.


One of the ladies at the store told me that these were brand new from QVC. She had just opened them up from the original boxes. It seemed that these and other items had been stored in a horse trailer owned by the brother of the woman that apparently buys a lot from QVC. Now that it is spring, the trailer was needed for horses and not candlestick holders and he had warned her to move her stuff or loose it. (Ouch, that had to have hurt. I wonder if she knows her things are missing yet?)

I followed up my trip to Goodwill with a foray into Michaels. I wasn't really looking for anything but wanted to use last week's 40% coupon. They had a sale in the floral department and that is where I found these beauties ..... black Gerber daisies. I normally do not use silk flowers, much less black ones, but could not pass these up for only $1.00 each for the large and $.75 for the small.

I removed the flowers from their stems and they fit perfectly in the candle holders. How fun is that?

I think they will be gorgeous in a line down the center of the buffet table. What do you think?

Today I have decided to link up with Southern Hospitality for Today's Thrifty Finds. (Click here to check out other fun finds). Normally when I think thrifty I only think of a vintage find; however, I am just ecstatic, dare I say giddy over both of my weekend thrifty finds. Thanks for letting me have fun showing you.

I also want to say a big thank you to all the nice ladies that left such sweet comments about my daughter's birthday. They were very touching and greatly appreciated. In case you were wondering about the Mother & Daughter photo, yes she looks just like her father. Thank goodness she got his nose, but at least my hair.

Have a great day.
Sherrie

Wait till you see my table!

It all started with one Goodwill find this summer, an amber glass and sterling silver cake pedestal. That became the start of what will be my Thanksgiving tablescape. Then I found votive candle holders, glasses, large bowls and salt and pepper shakers....all amber glass and all for pennies. You've got to love church rummage sales! I have already posted some of those finds. Yesterday, I stopped at Hannaford Grocery Store just as they were putting out a display of 75% off sale items. For only a quarter a piece....I got this silverware with the amber "plastic" handles....but the look of glass is there. Also on sale were these gold dishtowels for only $.35 cents each, so I got a dozen to use as extra large dinner napkins for my Thanksgiving dinner. I totally scored. When I went back to the store just a few hours later, the display was emptied. Later last night, I was relaxing with a copy of the new Better Homes & Gardens mag and I see a large advertisement for Wal-mart showcasing a table done in "Amber" glass. Who knew that my table will be such a trend setter.....I'm that good. Oh by the way, the set of 3 candle holders were from Christmas Tree shop on sale all three for only a dollar. Now that I have the bones of my tablescape in place, guess I had better start thinking about the menu.

Family Room Redo

This summer, my daughter experienced a road trip to Maryland from Maine. Just because I am the mom and the fact that my daughter had never driven further than Boston....I really couldn't relax the whole week my daughter was away. So of course that meant I needed a project to keep my mind from worry. The family room had been the first room done when we moved into the house in 1993, it was time for a change. I wish I had the before pictures of the room, but think green and harvest gold stripped wallpaper, heavy wooden cornices over the windows, heavy drapes, and dark harvest gold paint on all the woodwork. My house was built in 1853 and the first owner, a judge, had used the room as a study. That is where I took my decorating cue from, making it again look like a "studious" study. The floor to ceiling shelves were laden with books, antiques, my pottery collection....way too much stuff. I decided for a complete change, the paper came off, walls and ceiling were patched and painted as was the woodwork. If that wasn't change enough, the shelves got decluttered and replaced with some new fun collectibles. Here is a look at how it turned out.

Ilove the lamps. The one on the Eastlake piece is from the 50's. It was so dingy when I found it, I didn't even know it was cream color. The lampshade is a .50 cent lawnsale find. The other lamp, an early 50's find, is a table and lamp combo that makes a perfect end table. I got that at a church sale for $8.00. Actually, the whole room was done in less than a week and for real cheap. The ceiling paint was a simple flat paint, cheaper than ceiling paint, the wall paint was an "oops" paint from the local hardware store, the woodwork paint I already had. The drapes I made from a $1.00 a yard fabric.....I couldn't have bought 4 pre-made 93 inch panels for any less. The large pillow was also $1.00 a yard fabric and the trim was a total of .75 cents. It matched perfectly. The little pillow was actually covered in a different fabric and when I went to redo, got a nice suprise that the original pillow underneath (a lawnsale find for .50 cents) was already a perfect match. I just added some of the trim to make it coordinate even more.

The room went from a dark, heavy, and over stuffed room to light, bright, clean and crisp. The first thing my daughter asked when she returned home....."didn't sleep much did you mom."