Garage Sale Treasures

Summer and Fall are all a part of the Garage Sale Season around Ohio and perhaps in your area as well. Someone else’s trash might just be your treasure. Besides some good buys for the collectors in the family—baseball cards, teacups, thimbles, etc., there are also the gems that just might get a crafter’s pulse beating faster.

A few years back, I found an old lamp discarded literally on a trash heap. On a dare from my son and daughter-in-law, I picked it up took it home and fixed it up. It took a little doing but when I couldn’t clean up what I thought was bronze, I got some gold paint and gave it a couple of coats. We found a lampshade that fit into the glass bowl top that held the light bulb and replaced the cord. It didn’t look half bad if I say so myself.

There are lots of things that can be made into lamps with a lamp kit from the do-it-yourself stores or hardware stores. A stack of books, an old cowboy boot, a piece of pottery. Use a little imagination and for a few dollars, you can put together a very original and clever lamp to give as a gift this Christmas—as long as you don’t fall in love with it yourself.

Here’s a couple of links to help you get started:

Lamp making kits.

How to make a lamp.