Doorknobs - All Cleaned Up!

I wish I had taken the "before" photo. After simmering these paint-covered doorknobs and faceplates for a couple of hours in water, baking soda and a little dishwashing dtgt., and allowing them to sit until cool, most of the paint just peeled right off!

A Valentine Monologue

OK ... It's never too early for a reminder ... giving chocolate candy is not the only way to show that you heart someone. Aunt Samantha has unique Valentines in her trunk to share.

What to do with the cutest mermaid bottle ever? Make sand art of course ... this bottle was made by Avon in the 1970s and filled with Skin So Soft. I picked it up at an auction and filled it with blue & white sand and coarse silver glitter.

Welcome to the Trunk

I am a chronic junker ... as dreadfully hip and trendy as that sounds ... I just love digging through cast-offs for treasures. The depository for this "interesting" junk is my shop in Sugar Grove, NC called Aunt Samantha's Trunk ... where stuff gets cleaned, rehabbed and often repurposed. The theory is that I sell my junk to other folks who also see the beauty in such cool old stuff. Sometimes I get creative with my junk ... glue, paint and thread are often involved. But is it art? Quien sabe! So this blog is where I am sharing some of my favorite images ... of finds and projects as well as flora, fauna, fungi and the occasional human here in NC's Blue Ridge Mountains. Let me know what you think.