repurposing secondhand treasures {and a quick tutorial}

I had a few vintage finds that I picked up over the last month or so... and I've slowly been giving them new life around the house. There's just something about repurposing old for new... making something functional again... a small treasure that was used generations ago... and making it work for your present day life.

Here is what I started with... a few goodies from 2 separate vintage shopping trips (trip 1, trip 2). A small brass bud vase, a pair of tiny victorian-esque pictures, a neat woven basket, an apothecary jar, and a sweet little mirror....

So far everything but those little victorian ladies have found a new home... The apothecary jar got a little makeover (quick tutorial at the bottom of this post) and is now the proud holder of cotton balls in the bathroom...

The small little brass vase got a coat of white paint (but needs one more, I think) and is doing it's job well. And the little gold mirror is close by... both also in the bathroom. I love the bohemian feel of that mirror.

And do you remember that awesome wooden cash drawer I found at an antique fair over a year ago?!? (see item #6 from this post) Well, it's found a lovely new spot in the bathroom too!!

And finally, the cool woven basket is tucked nicely under our bookshelf. It's lovingly holding our favorite photo albums and scrapbooks...

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Want a quick tutorial on that apothecary jar makeover?? It takes all of 5 minutes...

I loved the apothecary jar as is... but I wanted to add a bit of whimsy to it. And since it cost me all of $2.50, I didn't feel too bad experimenting with it.

So I found a cool pack of rub-on number designs I had in my scrapbook stash. This set is by 7 Gypsies. After carefully examining my choices, I knew I wanted to go with either the "15" or "No 12" on my apothecary jar.

I decided to go with the "No 12" design. I made an executive decision on the placement and used a popsicle stick to rub the design in place.

And tah-dah! There you have it... easy-peasy!

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I have lots of fun visitors arriving today... lots of exciting stuff planned over the next 5 days... maybe even some antique shopping... can't wait!

Happy Wednesday!!