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.
We found an old radio cabinet from the 70s and tore out all the stereo equipment, built shelves, added doors and granite square top. I use it as an extra credenza for my Christmas China and dishes, love love love it!
That’s a hard question I believe it is the windmill that sits on top of the boat house. Love to watch it spin in the wind
thank you to our favorite farm girls for lovin’ us and believing in us all these years!!!! xoxooo from texas! {junk gypsy co}
Might not be considered “junk”, but I have saved some of my daughter’s first artwork and will be using them to make covers for journals that I and hopefully she will use.
Wow…this is hard….my 1820 farmhouse that I saved from demo by taking to the studs jacking up and completely restoring from 2003-2009 when I moved in is completely covered in restored “junk”. Not junk to me precious and heartfelt precious art for me to love and live among…..hmm…one example the old wooden glider that I restabilized with new springs and hardware before painting and placing on the wrap around porch….I comfortably sit there now on a wonderful Sunday morning …..porch sweet porch
Apples so much you can do with them.
I love vintage tableclothes! The colors, patterns, and craftsmanship is awesome! It’s like going back in time when you put one on your table.
I’m still looking for my dream find of a Hoosier cabinet to restore
My husband picks up everything and anything he sees along the road. Sometimes it makes me crazy! As a rural mail man, he knows everyone on his route and they all give him stuff as well! Once he was given a washing machine which he fixed and sold for $100. And once we were able to give repurposed household items to a family that lost everything in a fire.
One of my favorite ‘finds’ is a bentwood rocker. Love it! And the Junk Gypsys!
I love quilts, they always gave a story. Wish I knew what they were.
I love antiquing! or Junking! I collect clear vintage china and anything crochet. My mom crochets, knits, and embroideries. I love bringing home vintage pieces I find that is similar to some she did in the 50s and 60s! One of my favorite is a turtle soap holder crochet in green and white. She also did several purple grape doilies and I am always on the lookout for these.
One of my favorite junk finds is vintage melmac dishes from the 50s. I find them at thrift stores. It’s what I search for first thing when I get to the store
went to dump limbs after a storm at our local dump & rescued a desk, stained it black and spray-painted lace over the top!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE Junk Gypsies 🙂
“JUNK”are my treasures. Love the hunt, love the visions, treasure the designs.all unique and all our Treasures
I collect anything to do with milking a cow. We have a very small Jersey cow dairy so I look for milk cans , butter molds, old dairy signs, milk bottles, etc.
I didn’t get to finish my comment, I hit a wrong key. The enamel baby bathtub from Hungary. This tub is about 36″ long and 20″ wide. The stand that it sits on is medal
painted green which has an ” x ” pattern on each end. This awesome tub holds my doll collection. It’s also waist high.
My favorite is antique clothing buttons from days gone by. They tell history, styles, and are jewelry quality with artistic overtones by the designer. The Antique Button Society is nearby me in Akron, Ohio. A fun “smalls” collectible found right in your Grandmother’s “poke” box.
Leeza Perry
Ohio New Subscriber 2016
One of them would have to be a vintage linen table cloth that I turned into a dress. It was an ivory hand crocheted. It had a few stains on it , put added such character. I wear it thinking and wondering how they came to be. Was it a family gathering at a holiday dinner or just a couple enjoying each others company. Stains tell stories. Maybe even a grandchild sharing in. Love vintage linens.
My favorite junk is just about anything. I’ve used old windows. And now I’m making angels out of junk for Christmas gifts.
My husband and I bought a piece of property with a falling down house and garage on several acres of farmland. While tearing down a back enclosed porch – I realized that the old screen door had an old metal sign that had been painted over. I cleaned the sign up – and it was an old Stroehmann’s Bread advertising sign that was given to general stores to put on their screen doors. My grandparents actually had one on the company store they owned. When we build on the land – the metal sign gets a place of honor!
my favorite find was a circa 1930’s cupboard from an old house in Maine. the shelves were replaced and the cupboard was repainted. the original door pull was in excellent condition. it fits perfectly into our farmhouse and provides needed storage space.
Treasure hunting has been one of my favorite things to do for the past 30 years. This summer one of my treasure finds was a 1930’s Little Miss Tootsietoy Breakfast set.
i then looked for a shadow box and found one that look a bit worn. The breakfast set with spoon,forks and knives fit in the box for a sweet display in my kitchen.
The best part about treasure hunting; going with my mom and daughter, now my grandchildren have joined in the fun, we are now a 4 generation party.
My Dale Evan’s Prayer Book for Children that I found at a rummage sale is my favorite
find!
I have been upcycling most of my life starting with building castles & forts from old carpets and ceramic tiles as a kid. We had a patch of trees in the middle of one of my grandpa’s fields where we would navigate the crops to play knight, cowboys & of course pirates, as this patch of trees became a fine ship when we hung rags in the branches. I have upcycled & repurposed so much stuff over the years for my own home & as gifts I’ve lost track. Currently my eldest son is getting married and his lovely fiance wants to do a upcycle wedding and reception in a turn of the century motif. We are scouring the area for flower pins for her bouquet & I just repurposed an old tray to hold gift cards. While the awesome thrift store near me is my 1st go to spot, I have made friends with a lady who owns a shop called “Lovely Home”, in Cleveland Ohio. She saves all kinds of bits & bobs & stuff she can’t sell & gives me a box of this to play with about every 2 months. I’m In heaven! Like a kid digging thru a box of presents. I have furnished my home with so many discarded treasures. Sigh. It’s great!
I came across an old arch window, dirty and full of chippy paint goodness! I have it hanging in my living room and love it.
I have been waiting for an interesting way to display my flame-less candles and found an old rusted dome topped bird cage at a yard sale. It was very “illuminating”.
I found a very cool antique or vintage love seat that with a little bit of work looked great in my dining room. Some of those old pieces have so much character. Totally unlike the uniform cookie-cutter pieces you have today.
My favorite Junk find was at a local thrift store- I found a set of 4- Bright Yellow, Hand painted Vintage Ransburg Cannisters 😍 All 4 for $20!! They are glorious!!
Found a gold clutch at a flea market in Iowa. Got home and realized it was a Judith Leiber!
I don’t really junktique. I’d like to be inspired.
I love anything old. I’m constantly looking for cast iron pots and pans. I recently found an old pop corn pot. I love it.
Clothes, clothes and more clothes.
vintage Kerr beverage glasses, and the dessert cups including the covers, so happy with my flea market finds!
My favorite find is an old Singer sewing machine base that my husband built a wood top for (we spray painted the base) and turned into a gorgeous desk for me.
My favorite find is a small red rocking chair with a green seat. I still have that rocker and now my grandbabies sit in it and fight over who gets to sit in it. Farm girl sister #6969
While attending a rummage sale in New England some years ago I picked up a cute little ceramic container for $1. Turns out it’s a Holt Howard Instant Coffee Pixie – in perfect condition – with a book value of $100+!
There was an old chrome and leather couch in my dad’s waiting room when I was growing up. He was a dentist and his office was on Main Street above Schultz Brothers dime store.
When my dad retired in the 1970’s the couch had been moved to the back room where he sat and smoked Pall Malks and read the Wall Street Journal between patients.
My mother asked who wanted the couch. None of us did. Being loathe to throw anything away, she stored it in the space under one of our seasonal cottages at the lake.
That’s where I found it about 10 years ago, when I suddenly realized it was “vintage”. I made my poor husband haul it out to refurbish it.
Mice had made their homes inside the couch in the intervening years. He ended up having to take the cushions to a shop that specialized in car and boat reupholstering. The staff there took pictures of the insides of the cushions because they had never seen a mouse infestation as bad as this. They had to make entirely new cushions.
But the chrome frame was in great shape after my husband polished it. He made new wooden arm rests for the sides.
Today the couch is a work of art and I consider it the best “find” of my life!
Thanks Dad!!!!!!!
Favorite junk find, hmmmm. Desk found out by the dumpster in apartment complex
My favorite junk find was an old rake head that I cleaned up and will use as a place to hang my aprons!
My favorite junk find is an old step back cupboard that belonged to my great grandmother. My grandma had it in her shed and was using it to store flowerpots. It was very dilapidated and one of the drawer bottoms was falling out, but my handy husband fixed the drawer and removed the layers of ugly paint and now it is a focal point in my sun room. We call it the Grandma White cupboard, and I will never get rid of it.
My favorite junk find is an old cast iron skillet that belonged to my husband’s grandmother. My mother in law was going to sell it at a garage sale. I saw it and asked if I could have it.
I just found a beautiful old wooden Table that folds up. I’m assuming it’s a sewing table because along one of the long ends it has a ruler painted one! It’s about the size of 2 TV trays put together and a beautiful color!
My greatest find was an old antique steamer trunk with exquisite metal trim! So comforting and useful for quilt storage!!!
I am always picking up things in the parking lot, run over wires, one earring, colorful glass. It is always another piece for making something unique and fun. My favorite find was a yellow butter dish at a junk store (it was all wrapped up in tape)
I am a second hand girl in a consumerism world. No matter where I go in life my to do is to visit local thrift stores and yard sales. When we visited Australia the high point of the visit was to go to what they called “the op shop”. Oh what fun!! unfortunately most of what I saw had to stay but I did buy a few beautiful wooden crochet hooks to tuck into my luggage for my return home.
My favorite is a kerosine hurricane lamp.
My favorite junking find is the pair of yellow metal chairs I have on my back porch. I got them for $5 each! I have seen similar chairs for $75+. Mine are huge and roomy. I haven’t done anything to them but blow the dust off and throw a pillowed cushion on them. I love sitting out there and having my morning coffee while my chickens hunt for bugs!
I have found some wonderful items over the years. Architectural posts and old fountains cherub .old metal plant tables,and more. Been a junker for years.I actually use the stuff I have found or bought.i,ll never get tired of the search for Junk Treasure.
My favorite junk find was and old farm house table covered in layers upon layers of old paint. I stripped all the paint off in huge glops and then stained the wood. I left all the scratches and holes. It’s is now my dining table for everyday use!