For a chance to win a FREE copy of the new book from our favorite junkers, Junk Gypsy: Designing a Life at the Crossroads (out in October), tell me about your favorite junk find in the comments below. I’ll toss your name into a hat and draw a lucky winner sometime mid-October.
Find out why “Cowgirl is a pioneer spirit, a special American brand of courage …” (Dale Evans), then see our Cowgirl Kitsch favorites, including offerings from Junk Gypsy, in the Oct/Nov issue of MaryJanesFarm. Stay tuned for more magazine-related giveaways. If you’re not yet a subscriber to my magazine, MaryJanesFarm, you can subscribe here for $19.95/year.
My husband and I have been collecting vintage rotary dial phones. We love that most of the ones we have found actually work!
This book looks like a lot of fun as well as inspiration. I haven’t been out much lately to junktique, but I do have a favorite place when the weather gets cooler. This person has tables and tables of old dishes that just sit outside along with other stuff like machine parts etc. Actually, there is all kinds of stuff to rummage through. The last time I went, I found a nice small heavy glass baking dish with a lid in mint condition. I think I paid $1 for it and all it needed was a good soaking in hot soapy water and some Bon Ami to get the grunge off the sides. When it cools down, I will most likely head down some day and see what else I can find.
My favorite find is when our town dump used to be open to the public. I would find old doors with original knobs still intact, metal ceiling tiles, and I even found an old cast iron mailbox, my favorite
I enjoyed ‘junking’ when my family vacationed at Lamoine, ME. My favorite find
remains in my daughter’s home back in MA. I saw a copper 2-handled container. The person who was selling at her barn door, was rather taciturn. I asked her the price. She scowled and growled, “42”. I thought she meant dollars. I waited a bit. My heart was pounding, because back in the day, that price of $42 was very good. I mustered up the courage to say, “Cents?” She said, “Whadda think I mean? Yes. Forty cents.
I love the Junk Gypsies!! Their creativity is amazing. My favorite piece of junk is a handmade metal container that has a wooden disc for a plug or stopper. The patina is a rusty kind of brown, it would my guess be equivalent to 4 gallons worth of fluid. Not really functional but my husband and I both thought of our living room. And that’s exactly where it’s at, the seller has no idea of it’s history, but it was perfect for us.
One of my favorite stores had a fall clearance and I got three old spools from an old factory and a barley twist candle holder for a dollar each. MB
One of my favorite finds was a freebie. We were clearing out our Grandmother’s house to sale and when I was checking the side of the house, I saw a small handle sticking up out of a very large pile of leaves. When I lifted the handle up to find it was a push garden tiller. It’s rusty and worn, but looks great in my backyard garden.
The Junk Gypsies are so creative & inspiring! My favorite “junk” items (although they are NOT junk!) are vintage watering cans. Ahhh…love them and they remind me of my grandma!
My favorite junk find would be a recent find. An almost duplicate of our coffee table growing up. Can’t wait to do some work on it.
My first job after graduating home school was working at a local thrift store that supports a rescue mission in town. I collected so many treasures during the year that I worked there! Mostly colored Pyrex dishes and glassware, and little knick knacks:) I found a fisher price wooden mailbox toy.
One of my most favorite finds is an old dark red high chair! I spied it at a garage sale and gasped out loud but there was no tag on it. I went to ask the price and notice the mans wife had just went inside. I gasped again! I asked the man if he knew the price and he looked at it and asked me if $1 was too much to pay. I handed him my $1 bill in my trembling hands and thanked him! I turned and exhaled and fought the urge to cartwheel to my car! lol i yhink of that man everytime i walk by it and hope his wife forgave him. lol
This book looks like a fun read. I haven’t been much of junker but I did find an old crystal and wire table centerpiece that I have used for decorating for years. It needed a good cleaning when I brought it home but it works perfectly as my business card holder and I get many complements on it.
An very antique stainless steel double wash tub complete with stand on legs and drainage hose still attached (for rinsing) found abandoned in an country field while strolling through on a fine, sunny day! Somehow I managed to put it inside my truck to take home. Now sitting proudly in the garden, flowers are blooming out from inside the wash tubs. With drainage hose, it can still be useful for washing/rinsing laundry so it is a lovely treasure of the past, not junk!
I love “junking” and I’ve passed that love down to my daughter who is now married and has an apartment. My story is actually an extension of hers. She came home one night from work to find that someone put a solid wood desk by the garbage bin. Because it was so incredibly heavy she had to drag it back to her building and their apartment. But while she’s dragging, she calls me to tell me about it and to say that they also threw out a metal scroll-style twin size headboard. Of course I wanted it! So after dragging in the desk, she went back for the headboard! I’m in the process of making a bench for my shade garden with it. So happy that my daughter loves this stuff too!
I found a 1958, 23.5 x 31 inch acrylic on canvas painting of a stream flowing into a high mountain lake with snowy, jagged peaks above. It was laying in a jumble of frames and prints on the bottom shelf in a thrift store. There is one slight tear in the canvas which is almost unnoticeable. The artist is “OKRENO”.
What I like best about this find is the peacefulness of the scene and memories of special moments spent in the Sierras with family and friends.
It may seem small, but I was once exploring in an abandoned house out in the middle of nowhere and found a milk bottle from 1910 that was from a dairy in my hometown. the dairy is no longer there, as I live in one of those Dying Towns but finding it reminded me of how big my town once was and it set me off on a path to help make my community wonderful (instead of just moving or ignoring it). Yup. A milk bottle found in an old house changed my world!
My find was a book that my mom’s mom read to her as a child called “Little Brown Bear”.
Old windows/frames from the farm I grew up on…
My favorite thing is actually something my daughter found for me, it’s Edith Bunkers Cookbook. Love it along with pictures there are stories in it. I display it on a easel in my kitchen.
My bestest find was an old picture of Yellowstone Falls at a yard sale that I bought for $1.00. I actually bought it for the lovely antique frame. However, upon further inspection, I realized that the photo inside was something special. It looked like someone had hand tinted the photo to give it that modern colored photo look. I did some research. What I had found was a early print of a William Henry Jackson photo that was sold to tourists during the early days of Yellowstone National Park. I sold it on Ebay for $150 and took $75 to lady that I bought it from at the yard sale. She was thrilled and so was I. Here is the link to see what the photo looked like: http://todaysdocument.tumblr.com/post/18550399843/yellowstone-falls-yellowstone-national-park
I lied…that is an Ansel Adams Print
Here is the correct link:
https://www.nps.gov/features/yell/slidefile/history/jacksonphotos/Images/09580.jpg
Very cool!!!!! Lucky you.
My favorite junk find is a cabinet from a butlers pantry. Only $20!
When my high dollar coffee maker quit after only 3 years I went hunting for something reliable. Came home with a vintage glass Pyrex stovetop percolator for $7. Still using it!
Think the gypsies would approve? 🙂
One of my many favorite finds, is a cylindrical Scotch cooler, just like the one we always took camping when I was a kid.
Oh yes! I have two of those, including the matching Scotch bag!
Don’t know if it would be junk but my favorite “find” was a pair of peep-toe high heels that I loved so much I still hope to find another pair. Thing is, I dislike thrift stores. My mother dragged me around to every flea market, thrift store and junk shop she saw and I disliked them with passion. The day after I had my wisdom teeth pulled she dragged me to yet another. Still being shaky from anesthetic, I plopped myself down on a bench in the shoe department. Right in front of me sat the most beautiful fawn colored high heels in perfect 1940s fashion. Shocked that they fit and were only 50 cents, I got them. Turned out they were real leather Saks 5th Ave shoes! Most comfy shoes I’ve ever had. I got so many complements and wore them until they could not be worn anymore. Like those thrift stores, junk shops and antiques now!
Found an old waffle iron. Cleaned it up and plug it in with fingers crossed. It worked and still works. Love it. I’m always picking up old items. Found many old cast iron skillets and griddles. Love cast iron.
I love finding new purpose for old items. My son was set to take an old microwave cart to the dump, but I rescued it just in time. I sanded it, painted it off-white, added pretty knobs to the lower doors and it now sits in my sewing room holding lots of supplies. The top serves as a bookshelf and a place to show off my button collection!
So I’m not sure if this counts as a “junk” find, but I was recently perusing through an everything-your-crafting-repurposing-heart-could-possibly-desire-for kind of store and saw a super cute idea! Take your old silver trays (perfabably the round ones) and turn them into chic chalk boards!!! Get some chalk paint and paint the inside just below the rim/edge then punch two holes in the top about an inch apart and string your favorite color of yarn/ribbon/thread through the holes and Volia! you now have your very own chic chalk board. Now I know what to do with some of our silver trays! 😉
Not sure I would consider them junk but I have inherited all the family doilies from my Grandmother and my Husband’s Grandmother. Love using them all over the house especially for the holidays.
I repurposed an old leaded glass window as a cool decoration in my home. We love it!
My husband and I found a large spool that holds some sort of cable….used 2×6 pieces of wood which he cut at angles to form an octagon shape top. I sanded and painted and we have used this as a porch table for many years!
Claw foot tub out of a house bring demolished. Was from the maids quarters. Inspired a whole new bathroom where the only thing brand new is the toilet. The rest is finds.
My favorite vintage find is my 1973 Shasta Camper. The fun part is I’m refurbishing it and turning it into a traveling boutique that sells handmade & vintage & upcycled “goods”! 1973 is the year I was born, I’m naming it Betty Jean after my Aunt who raised me who recently passed away, and she LOVED Shasta Daisies! It just ALL fell into place! I adore Mary Jane’s Farm!! ❤️
My favorite junk find is an old enamel top canning table with an attached stool that swivels out for use
My favorite most useful find was 3 perfect cast iron skillets..they had been wall decor, and had only a light layer of rust on them. $2 each. 2 of them were Griswolds..all of them cleaned up beautifully and are used daily in my kitchen!
Best junk find ever to me was also a family surprise; quite a few years ago we went to my husbands grandpas old homestead. The old house was still there; the windows were gone and it sat long empty in the middle of a cow pasture but once upon a time Paps yard. As we looked around I noticed someone had shoveled a pile of “stuff” into the middle of the floor. So I decided to go through the pile, as any junker worth their salt would do, it was mostly old newspapers, magazines, and ads all addressed to either his grandpa or grandma. That in itself was a treat to me! But at the very bottom lay an old tattered and torn quilt that once belonged to them. So I shook it out and although it was a mess, I brought it home and began taking pieces of it that could be saved. I have since saved a piece for each child and grandchild. The house has since been torn down but the photographs and memories of the day I found that quilt live on.
My favorite junk find were some old dishes with the same pattern as my grandmothers!
HELLO Mary Jane, Boy tha’ts a tough one my favorite Junk is all of it ! lol My sweet hubbie bought me for xmas one year a victorian couch & chair , all the wood is spoon caved an very unique.. The find was the matching coffee table that went with the two pieces at a totally different junk shop ! I had been driving by this place for a few wks an it was out front an I never had the time to stop , I was gone one wkend an came home to find it in the livingroom ! Again my sweet hubbie had brought it home for me..The weird thing is I never told him about it an he found out it was the actual coffee table that was with the couch & chair !!! Now that’s a find I’d say…
there is nothing better than taking old and making something creative, useful with it.
I know my birds love their new tea cup feeders this season. I love them. taking odd cups/saucers and garden(medal) stem stands, strong glue and voila a new dinner place for the birds. I put them throughout the same areas that I had feed so the birds will see them. They now feast away daily. I know this winter those feeders being at the great height for me will be best for all of us during the cold months which I know will be just around the corner. I hope I would be able to win this wonderful book for other great ideas in those great finds that people don’t want that we crafters, creators could create!
What a great book. Winnie Jackson
I work part time at an auction, so I get lots of good deals for cheap…I collect cloches, or bell jars, so those would be my favorites. anything for the garden though.
I want this book i have all of MaryJanes books. I love old things old furniture and sewing i restore furniture . love love love this.
I found an old wooden chair that someone was throwing out because it had a huge crack in the seat. I used it in a corner of my garden to hold a potted plant. It looks great.
While drifting down the Rogue River and fishing with my dad years and years ago, we pulled ashore to stretch our legs. High up on the bank something was catching the evening light and partially protruding from the sand. My dad carefully climbed up, did some gentle excavating and discovered a fully intact blue Ball mason jar with a zinc lid. It’s been proudly displayed in every home I’ve had and I love the sweet memories of that Fall fishing trip with my dad that come with it.
So similar our stories, rather the “find”. I was horseback riding up a trail near our home with my mother in law and youngest daughter… I, too, saw something sticking out of the ground on the hillside embankment… A blue bottle… Which we have displayed everywhere we have lived. Still has the dirt it it. I’ve never washed it out. They still tell me I have an “eagle eye” out on our adventures. Love your find and family adventure!
I have lots of junk finds, I love going to flee markets, yard sales and thrift shops. One of my latest finds was a rooster & chicken, sugar & creamer, salt & pepper containers, so cute.
my favorite junk find was a rooster lamp…..needed a little TLC and rewiring but once i did that, use it on my kitchen counter as a nightlight!
My favorite junk find was miniature creamer and sugar bowl that is green depression glass at a thrift store
Any junk find is my favorite ! Right now is old picture frames that I put my own spin on and pictures in to hang on the outside of my chicken coop.
One of my favorite finds was a handwoven wool tapestry with lovely colors. I got it to cut up to make Christmas stockings and thankfully realized it was hand loomed before I totally ruined it.
Oh my where do I start? I see the beauty in everything! My latest project was with a stained glass windows, barn wood and old cabinet doors. I made a beautiful cabinet that will be great for storin my vinyl albums and some collectibles
My favorite junk find would have to be any random old wood laying around my sister’s farm. Treasure hunting we call it: I use the old wood pieces to make picture frames and string art. My newest project is using an old scrabble board I found and creating a crossword family tree with scrabble letters, then I am going to nail to old wood so my mom can hang it, it is her christmas gift.
My mama and I found an old wooden wash stand in an abandoned, falling down house. The back of the stand was gone and one of the doors had rotted, but we dragged it home, refinished it and had the door replaced. It isn’t perfect, but it looks great in my living room.
My favorite find is an old bench with a shelf underneath. It was my first find and I have been using it for years.
My favorite junk find is an old egg basket that I use to hold my current and past issues of Mary Janes Farm.