Recycling the One Dollar Foot Stool

Hello again and Happy New Year!  I hope your holidays were happy and the new year brings you peace and joy.  We all need a little more of that, don't we?

As many of you know I make it a habit to not look back as we begin a new year.  

That being said, I must confess I DID take a tiny peek at my posts from last year.

Why, you ask?

To see what posts were loved the most, of course!

So what were they? .......... My recycle/upcycle posts.  If you search  'recycle/upcycle' you'll find them. 

You also were pretty enthusiastic about my This & That posts where I inevitably shared my estate/yard sale finds.

For those 2 reason, let me share this sweet little footstool recycle and then share some treasures I found over the past couple of weeks.

This post may contain affiliate links.

It was late in the day last summer when I saw a yard sale sign and turned onto the street 'just to see what they had left'.  I spied this pretty little needlepoint footstool.

No one wanted it?  For a dollar?  Do you see that beautiful needlepoint work?

I handed the man a dollar, scooped it up, and put it in my car.

It did need a little TLC.

The finish was worn and it actually was pretty dirty.  Time to take it apart!

Off came the trim and the green tacks... 

 ...to reveal more (not so pretty) tacks to remove...

...along with the base.

All of the tacks and screws were saved for reuse.  Since the needlepoint was wool, it (along with the trim) was washed in cool water.

Did I mention it was pretty dirty?

The foam and cotton covering was in great shape (no smell or stains), so I just wiped them down and set them aside.

The wood got a good sanding.

Honestly, it didn't take much sanding to get it down to bare wood.

Soon it was ready for some red mahogany stain.

The wood was sealed with some spray lacquer and then it was time to reassemble.

The base (with the foam) was reattached.

The tacks were reused to attach the (now clean) needlepoint.

Even with hand-washing, the needlepoint edges became frayed so I did a little trimming.

Much better!

The decorative trim was reattached using the original tacks.

Good as new!

Ready to be of service for tired feet!

I absolutely love this recycle since the only 'new' thing I needed was some stain and lacquer.   Once it was washed, the needlepoint was absolutely gorgeous.  I still can't believe no one wanted it for a dollar.

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Moving on to my second promise for this post, are you ready for my latest finds?  

Since it's too cold for yard sales, I always peruse Marketplace and it did not disappoint over the last 2 weeks!  

I'd had my eye on this pretty vase for several weeks but the price was more than I wanted to spend.  

I watched the price drop little by little until one morning I saw it drop to $5.  I immediately messaged the seller to learn that it was scheduled for pick-up that day😔, BUT she said she'd message me if the person was a 'no-show'.  

Yeah right, not for that pretty little thing.  

I went about my day and didn't give it a thought, until there was a 'ping' on my phone that evening.  No one showed up and it was mine if I still wanted it! 

WHEN DOES THAT EVER HAPPEN?

The next morning I went to the seller's house and picked it up.  It's very heavy and after a Google search, I'm quite confident saying it's Murano glass.  

Needless to say, I'm pretty pleased with my $5 purchase!

Now for the best part.  I got home and decided to give Marketplace a quick check before making lunch.  The same seller put up this lot of glass for $7.  Remember my Glass Bowl Christmas Tree?  Yes, I want to make more and I may have a few more ideas floating around this brain of mine!

My husband, aka The Enabler said, "Grab your coat!".  I quickly messaged her and she said the box would be outside waiting for me.  Thankfully, she's only about 10 minutes away.

After some lunch, I washed everything and realized that a few of the pieces are crystal - two of the small bowls in front and the pitcher in the back.  

However, my all-time favorite piece in this lot is this beautiful oil lamp.

Yes, it needs a glass chimney and I'm sure I'll find one in my travels.  

And so it begins.  A new year that will be full of recycle/upcycle posts for you to enjoy, with some 'This & That' thrown in for fun. 

I hope you'll join me for all the adventures!