Repurposing : Vintage Double Cola Cups

The Mercantile has some adorable little Vintage Double Cola cups in stock. Being a cola nut myself, I wanted to incorporate these cups into a cola and mint themed luncheon.  It was another easy peasy repurposed project.

Small seed starter pots fit perfectly into the Double Cola cups.  This will help keep the cups sturdy, especially after watering.

Place a small rock in the bottom of each pot and fill with potting soil.

You can plant anything in your little pots.  I chose to plant little sprigs of mint from my own garden.

Add your guests names to popsicle sticks or plant markers and place the pots inside the Double Cola cups.  So sweet!

Wouldn't these be  great place cards for a luncheon of your favorite fish on the grill, a melon and mint salad and Coke-jitos?!  Absolutely!

- betsy

Repurposing : Chippy Old Trim Turned Coaster

Old architectural elements are beautiful to look at, even in their original peeling and chippy form.  The JBS Mercantile has a supply of old window trim pieces, each beautifully chippy in their own right.  I have one piece at home and am now wishing for more.

I'm always in the need of coasters and many coasters you buy in stores are just not pretty to look at.  I turned my piece of window trim into a one-of-a-kind coaster.  It's a simple 2 minute project that anyone can do and the reason it takes any time at all is to protect the surface the coaster will be resting on.  Otherwise, you can use the trim piece as is.

Each trim piece has its own character.  What would you use your pieces for?

The one I had was "perfectly chippy" with gorgeous layers of blue paint revealing themselves here and there under the final white coat.

The underside of my piece had old nail ends peeking through and this was the only reason I had to do something to protect my surfaces.

I cut squares of protective felt from the hardware store to cover the nails and I was ready to use my coaster.

What a lovely and unique coaster to have on display.  How beautiful it would look to have four of these on my table!  Beautiful and functional!

Just a cute little .gif showing some of the ways I've been using my coaster!

Find your own chippy old trim here!

-betsy

Repurposing: Victorian Fireplace Tiles

The Mercantile Flea Market has Victorian Fireplace Tiles on sale.  At only $1.99 each, these tiles can be reused and repurposed for a variety of things. 

These would make a great foundation for a mixed media or altered art piece.  You could also adhere your favorite clear stamp onto the back side of the tile so it's ready to go and looks quite special on your desk.

Betsy glued a paper clip onto the back of her tile, clipped a photo to it, and wrote on the tile with a dry-erase marker.   The dry-erase marker will easily wipe off with a cloth and you're ready to inscribe another caption for another photo.

What a great gift for a parent's desk at work ...

This is a display you can change over and over again.

You can find our Victorian Fireplace Tiles here and watch our Flea Market as in 2 days you'll find more mid-month additions to the store!

Repurposing: "Between the Acts" Vintage Cigar Tins

We have a supply of "Between the Acts Little Cigar Tins" in the Mercantile.  These were originally smoked between the acts of a play.  Today, these tins can be repurposed to hold small supplies,  notes, and photos.  With such an endearing title on the front of the tin, you can use them to highlight an event such as a play, dance, or other performance.

I used the title on the tin as inspiration to hold photos of my niece's recital.  Most of the photo were taken between the acts!

This was done quite simply by adhering my photos onto a folded piece of cardstock that was cut to fit.

Why not be inspired by your own Between the Acts Vintage Tins?  You can find them at the JBS Mercantile here: Vintage Between the Acts Little Cigar Tins

- betsy

Repurposing: Vintage Thread Cones

Have you seen the vintage thread cones new to our Flea Market?

These cones were used in factories to wind thread around. They can be repurposed today using supplies you already have in your stash into decorated cones or tussie mussies. A wire, string, or ribbon is attached to the wide part of the cone so the tussie mussie can be hung on display.  The cone can be filled with flowers, candy, or small gifts.

Jenni created these tussie mussies for Easter one year, decorating a thread cone with patterned paper and sheet music and further embellishing with labels and German foil rabbits.  Aren't these a wonderful vintage spin on the usual Easter basket?

With Valentine's Day also just around the corner, the thread cones would look beautiful dressed up in pink, red, and white.  We found these pieces of inspiration from two of our creative friends:

{from Briana Johnson}

{from Keisha Campbell}

Want to create your own lovely tussie mussies? You can find the thread cones to repurpose right here in our Flea Market!

- betsy