Recycle, Repurpose, Reuse, Repeat!

Fun stuff going on here at With A Twist!  Recently, while at my other job (Nest Home & Gifts...check them out @ nesthomeandgifts.com !) I met a man named Bob who, through conversation, found he is a like-minded vintage junkie too!  How about that?  Everywhere we go we are bumping into people who really appreciate the beauty and past stories behind old treasures.  Its amazing just how much we as a society throw away and discard without even a second thought.  Well stop!!!  Next time you are cleaning out the garage, ask yourself, "What else could this be used as?"  Or better yet, "Would this be something With A Twist could repurpose?"  Most likely, we would say YES, come get it from you and thank you (and maybe even bring you your favorite caffeinated beverage!).  Win, win!

This window pane was salvaged from a home in the University District in Seattle, Washington.  I have plans for this one so stay tuned!

This charming little door is a great find from Mount Vernon, Washington.    It would make a perfect entrance  to a telephone room.  What is a telephone room you ask?  Its a brilliant idea that the Europeans have enjoyed for years!  I have a dear friend who has made a telephone room in her home.  Let me tell you there is nothing like it!  It is amazing and I hope to showcase her talent very soon!

Another blank canvas with this vintage pine door from the University District!  Possible ideas for reuse include a wet bar, coffee table, headboard, a wall piece hung behind a sofa....You'll see this again in the near future, but it will be given a new lease on life :)

So many possibilities for this beauty!  Stay tuned for this beauty as well!

We hope you have enjoyed your visit with us this week!  Thanks for stopping by!

Hugs,

Cheree and Jill

Be Your Own Kind Of Beautiful

There are people who see the world through a different filter.  Cheree and I think we fall into this category.  Our friends think we are a little crazy sometimes, but they humor us and just go along with it. I was at a cook-out over the weekend and commented on how beautiful the burn pattern was on the wood in the firepit.   My friends thought that was a little goofy, but they embraced my wierdness anyway.  When Cheree and I  are on our treasure hunting trips we see beauty where others might not--in a rusty hinge, a knothole in a piece of wood, a handmade tool, or a broken bottle.  Here's a few examples of OUR kind of beautiful!

                 The unique shape and multiple colors of rust and patina on this hinge really spoke to us.

A hand- forged bolt on a railing at George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate.

    I bought this old wooden gutter because I loved this knothole so much!

A wall in a Church in the Jamestown, Virginia Settlement .  Ugly by today's standards, but the handmade clay bricks and  handmade mortar make it beautiful to us.

Simply a cool pattern of warped wood.

Creepy to some, but gorgeous to us.  A hand-carved gravestone/crypt in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia.

Wine bottles from the collection of Thomas Jefferson at his Monticello Estate.  In person, the irridescent colors were amazing.

    A hand- forged tool at George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate.



Of course, the MOST beautiful thing in the world to Cheree and I is our family and friends. Let us know what YOU consider beautiful!


Jill and Cheree

Garage Sale Finds and New Projects!

Jill and I have been busy as ever with our families, jobs, and this biz, but manged to squeeze in a Saturday morning of garage sales!  Although we didn't find a ton this time around, we still had a blast!  Here's just a peak at what we found...



This is Riley, my new rooster.  Actually, he's my first!  He is proudly sitting upon an old bread round from Britain.  The lovely and talented lady whose house was our first stop on our garage sale outing,  just gave me the bread round!  Hopefully, you will hear more about her in our blog (possible interview in the future? hint, hint).  She is absolutely amazing!  We also snagged a pretty cool sconce from Europe, however I neglected to take a pic of that.  That will be a follow-up post!

This ole' burlap coffee sack was a great find.  I already have plans for it!  We also found a roll of plain burlap that Jill took home with her today.  She has something really cool in mind for it as well.  Stay tuned!



The great thing about owning a business that recycles/upcycles/re-purposes junk (for lack of a better word!), is that everyone can help scout out raw materials.  For example, awhile back my dad came across some beautiful old barn wood over in Island County.  It was perfectly weathered and thank goodness he thought of his favorite daughter's thriving business (haha, running family joke there-Love ya sis!) and snatched it up for me!  Jill and I have waited and wondered just how we would use this piece.  Here's what we came up with...

This would be perfect in a garden or indoors in a kitchen nook.  Notice the arrow shape. You can point the way to your own Parisian escape!

The other projects we are wrapping up with are upstairs (fondly known as Studio B) and will be unveiled very soon.  Until then, go out and find some garage sales!  They're a ton of fun and you just never know what you'll find!

Hugs,

Cheree and Jill





Upcycling Beyond Seattle

Last week I returned from a "sister weekend" in Phoenix, Arizona with a very weak suntan but a greater appreciation of the word "culture".  Vintage items, of course, are simply a preservation of past cultures. My first thoughts during the drive to the hotel were about the bland landscape (minus a few cactii), the heat and the monotone way in which people decorate. Everything seems built around rock and clay.  Seattle is abounding in green and blue (and a lot of grey), so to see beige houses against beige lanscape was a shocker.

What I didn't appreciate that day was the reason why things are the way they are.  Native Americans know from wisdom passed down through many generations that the heat is abated with certain colors, that clay is abundant and regenerative and an easy material to work, and that Turqoise is a spark of  beautiful color against a parched background. So those things work into a very specific culture that is recognizable around the world as "Southwest". 

I had no intent to seek out vintage treasures in Arizona.  I hoped to enjoy some very modern conveniences like a pool chair, a beach towel, and a really cool grotto style pool. Not to mention some very nice looking bar boys!  But, as I stumbled upon some cool things I wished that my business partner, Cheree, could have been there to check it out with me. 

Wagon wheels upcycled into chairs!  I love the irony that a wheel, who's main purpose in life was to "Go" is now repurposed into a funtion of "Sit, Wait, Rest". Old Town Scottsdale.

Arizona license plates get a new life as purses.

My dressing room had a garbage can lid as a chair!

My favorite find--though not truly vintage, the basement bar had a "Speak Easy" feel to it with a stone-lined  stairwell and dark atmosphere.

Always keep your eyes open...you never know what you will find!

Jill and Cheree



We Have A Winner!!!!

We gained some wonderful new friends and followers on Facebook through the on-line giveaway.  And, if you'd like to see who was the lucky winner of With A Twist products and a ton of other cool stuff...click below:
http://jonigirvanphotography.wordpress.com/2011/05/07/giveaway-winners/

Have a fabulous week!
Cheree and Jill

On-Line Giveaway!

We are sooooo excited to be a part of a wonderful on-line giveaway featuring vendors from all around the Northwest.  This giveaway is put on by a very talented photographer, Joni Girvan (thanks Joni!).  Click on the link below to find out details and spread the word to your friends and family!!!!

 http://jonigirvanphotography.wordpress.com/2011/04/27/joni-girvan-photography-purple-hippo-photos-fabulous-mothers-day-giveaway/

Good luck and happy Wednesday!

Cheree and Jill

Warning Signs That You Are A Vintage Junkie

1.  Your kids are casing the neighborhood for old fences and "free stuff".

This sign was a barn in it's first life



2.  You are excited by the color grey


3.  You identify yourself as "Vintage" at the first sign of wrinkles. (No picture necessary)

4.  Your family is worried that you will sneak out in the middle of the night to steal barn wood from the Buffalo Barn on 134th Street.  (What? It's just Sitting there)



It's so tempting!

5.  You beg your friends for their broken rake and shovel handles

6.  You are willing to pay money for someone else's garbage.



Yes, we paid for this.  Stay tuned to see what we make out of it.  You will be amazed!


7.  Your heart skips a beat when you see something rusty.



We love the years of rust and old paint on this beautiful backplate!


8.  A "Girls Day Out" includes Dumpster Diving.

9.  You actually think vintage items are speaking to you.  And they are.