Showing posts from October, 2013

FALL JUNKERS UNITE WITH A KID'S JUNK PUMPKIN PROJECT, a pinboard and a link up!

October 29, 2013
Here at Organized Clutter, I am constantly looking for ways to decorate and repurpose with vintage finds in my home and flower gardens.   My project today is for junior junkers.  Everything is magnetic so the Jack o'Lantern's face can be changed over and over with other junk drawer items.  Obviously not for children under three, but older children may like creating new pumpkin faces and expressions with magnetic junk. With kitchen ware and utensils in steady and ready supply inexpensively at the local thrift shops, I was able to re-purpose an assortment of junk pumpkins this fall.


1972 Partridge Family Comic Books

October 27, 2013
Are you a baby boomer?  If you are, chances are you remember the Partridge Family and David Cassidy. My Aunt bought some old comics at a rummage sale recently, and three of them were Partridge Family.  This issue from Charlton Comics is dated January 1972, and the price was 20 cents.  (I was in tenth grade in 1972.)  I know I watched the show faithfully but I don't think I had any Partridge Family comics.


A Re-Purposed Breadboard Clipboard

October 27, 2013
Last April I found an old breadboard for $2 at a thrift shop  here.   I still remember the clerk saying to me at the cash register, "I wouldn't cut bread on it".  I didn't intend to cut bread on it either.  But I loved the breadboard's primitive shape and warm worn patina. At the very same thrift shop just last week, I found a baggie of old Bulldog clips for $1.  This one had a nice aged patina too.


Have You Met The Garden Charmers?

October 26, 2013
I am a member of the Garden Charmers! Meet all of us!    Follow us on Facebook:


Pinterest Inspired Clipboard Photo Wall

October 25, 2013
I saved this photo on my Pinterest boards a long time ago.  I loved the clipboards with vintage photos in their original folders. Pinterest Slowly I found three old clipboards at rummage sales, and luckily my Aunt had one to give me too, to make four. Three of them were A & W Crown clipboards. Here are my four clipboards on my kitchen table.


Thrifting and Antique Shopping

October 22, 2013
Are you familiar with a vintage dough riser? This is a vintage or antique dough riser.  I fell in love with the cover first.  It was red. (although I don't think it came that way and was painted at sometime).  It's fairly big.  Maybe too big for my small kitchen but I may use it for a kitchen utensil display.  If it is just too big for my house, I will use it outside in my garden.  I paid $19 for it. My great grandmothers may have used something like this for bread to feed their large families, but thankfully I have never had to bake that much bread.  It would hold a lot of dough.  


A Repurposed Pot Lid Snowman

October 21, 2013
The last couple days we have seen a dusting of snow already.  I haven't even put my garden bike away yet.  Really I'm not looking forward to snow, but I made another snowman today. I think I have mentioned a few times before that I go to thrift and consignment shops on my lunch hours.  I live in a small town, and there really isn't much shopping here.  We have no place to look for salvage.  I find a few things at an antique shop once in a while.  So I work with what I can find, an abundance of kitchen utensils and bakeware/cookware.  I started with three mismatched pot lids.


Zinc Jar Lid Christmas Tree Ornaments

October 18, 2013
When I go thrifting, I often see zinc jar lids for $1 each.  Hmmm... What could I make with zinc lids? I punched a hole in the middle side of the three lids with a larger nail and a hammer.  Just look at the great zinc patina of these vintage lids.


Re-purposed Cake Pan Snowman

October 17, 2013
I think that almost every woman in my small northern Minnesota town either collects snowmen now, or has collected snowmen in the past, including me .  I have purchased and/or crafted hundreds of them.  Though their heyday has past, snowmen will always be a winter and Christmas decoration here in the Northland.  My collection of snowmen is very small now.  I used to keep them out all winter, but the past few years, I have put them away with the Christmas decor. Now, I dream of spring as soon as Christmas is over.  Too bad winter lasts until at least April here (and until May 1st this year).  The older I get the less I like snow, and truth be told, the less I like men too (or at least have much less patience with them), so snowmen have lost most of their appeal with me. Then why did I make a snowman today?  Because when I saw these layer cake pans at the consignment shop, they screamed snowman.  (Just like the other cake pans screamed pumpkin to me!) There.  Don't they look


JUNKERS UNITED with a JUNK GALLERY WALL, a pin board and a link party!

October 15, 2013
Welcome to Organized Clutter, and welcome to Junkers' United first round up!   I jumped at the opportunity to join this team of talented DIY women, including our fearless leader, Funky Junk Donna. If you are new here, I call my blog, Organized Clutter, because my hobby is hunting for vintage bargains, and using them as home decor.  To manage all of my collections, I need to be organized.


An Organized Clutter 2013 Fall/Halloween Decorating & Crafting Round Up with Friends!

October 12, 2013
I started my fall projects in August this year.   2013 will go down in blog history as the year of the "junk pumpkins", cake pan pumpkins, jello mold pumpkins, gear pumpkin, bicycle wheel pumpkin, a chef pumpkin, and a bun warmer pumpkin.   Let's look back at 22 posts featuring fall or Halloween projects or decor: 1.   In this post, I re-purpose a  vintage bun warmer as a pumpkin. 2.   My potting sink was a great spot to set up my  Chef Junk Boyardee. 3.   This project was inspired by a  vintage fall paint-by-number. 4.   I thought that  funnels looked a lot like fall cornucopias  in this coke crate vignette. 5.   The potting sink got a new look with  old lanterns with pumpkins and a berry sieve with Indian corn. 6.   Old plastic Burwood owl plaques get spray painted as   Halloween decor . 7.   Another  fall crate vignette. 8.   A re-purposed  gear junk pumpkin . 9.   The first of the   cake pan junk pumpkins. 10. This  fall door swag  was cinch to make wi


How I Made A Pumpkin Into Chef Junk Boyardee

October 09, 2013
Here are the items that I used to make a junk pumpkin chef:  a cloth dish towel, a pumpkin, a bucket, the top of a milk can, a white gourd, twigs, washers, nuts and an unknown metal part.  (maybe some sort of wrench)


Vintage Bun Warmer Re-purposed As A Pumpkin

October 09, 2013
I have had my eye on this vintage Westbend bun warmer for a couple weeks now.  Every time I went in the consignment shop I asked myself, "Should I buy it?  Should I make it into a pumpkin?".   It was $4. I thought the shape was perfect, and I finally bought it this week. The top knob came off completely with a screwdriver, but I was a little disappointed that when the side knobs came off, I was left with two metal bars on each side that didn't come off.  Now what?   I thought since I had already had $4 into it that I may as well try painting it.  I spray painted the top and bottom with the side knobs with an orange shade of Rustoleum spray paint.  I painted the knob with green spray paint.


Funnels Re-Purposed as Fall Cornucopias

October 06, 2013
Do these look like cornucopias to you?  They do to me.


Easy Fall Vintage Junk Decorating

October 05, 2013
A shopping trip to my local thrifting and consignment shops this week produced the ingredients to this easy, vintage junk vignette recipe . Ingredient number one was this vintage fall paint by number scene for $6.  I loved its vibrant color.


The Christmas Decorating Archives

October 01, 2013
I started blogging in early December, 2011. I really and truly thought that I was ready.  (But I look back now and shudder).  The photo quality, the photo quantity (sometimes one photo per post), and sometimes even the idea needed a little tweaking. Here are photos from my very first Christmas as a blogger:  (be nice, I was a blogging virgin !) Here is my mantel with oil lamps and teacups and a pine swag.  


Three Dollar Halloween Decor

October 01, 2013
It's October 1st today, and I just finished a Halloween project! My project started with the purchase of these 1977 Burwood owl plaques that I purchased thrifting for $3.  They are 3d molded or formed plastic, and this type of plaques and the owls too were popular back in the 1970's. I really liked the orange and black eyes. I thought they would give the owls a Halloween look.