Thursday, June 7, 2012

Tole Tray Love

OK.....
Enough about Amy and her @#$ shop.
Let's get back to 
MY STUFF!!!!


I had a bare area above my living room bookshelf that just
demanded
to be filled with something eye catching and countryesque....
I've always loved tole trays.
They're pretty!!!
And they aren't a @#$load of money!!!
So, I mined my fabulous secret resource (ebay) and created
 an instant collection!!!!!


I started with the horse on top of the bookcase.
This was an antique I had bought
Years and years and years and years
ago from a store in Essex MA.
It was so old and full of wood rot that one of the legs fell off.
So when I moved into my condo, and had a 
place to put it.....
I had to bring it to my special antique hospital in my basement workshop.
I glued and clamped 
and glued and clamped
 and glued and clamped
 etc. etc. etc.
till it was somewhat stable, and could stand on
ITS OWN FOUR FEET!!!!!
Then I found the yellow tray.
love love love
The nice lady that sold it to me, was selling a pair of trays, and I only wanted this one.
She gave me a really good price, because it had that large round watermark and she thought that made it looked damaged.
Ha!
I love damaged @#$!!!!!


At this point I wanted to bring some of the blue and green tones up onto the wall.
I used the yellow because I didn't want everything to be 
too matchy!!!
Ya know what I mean?????


Now, campers......
It's easy to find one of something, but when you (meaning me) want to do pairs......
suddenly, you can't find 
anything
 that matches!!!
I had first bought this guy.....
Really like the color.
Wanted another.
couldn't find one!!!
So, I bought one in the same shape in a stronger fresher blue and glazed it to tone it down and adjust the color to resemble the one I already had.
(I think I am @#$ brilliant. Yes I do!!!!)


Then I decided I wanted to change the next trays to a more rectilinear
shape.
I lucked out and found this guy.
The right size, shape and color!!!!!
Well, you know that ain't gonna  happen again!!!
So I relaxed my exacting standards, because, after all, it's 
MY HOUSE
and I don't have a client to screech at me that it isn't 
perfect!
So I settled for the same shape in a darker green.


 All in all, I love this collection.
Sometimes I just walk into the living room to look at it.
And I realize, that if the darker green tray had been the same color as the other rectangular one, the wall would have been less interesting.
And that's not me 
justifying the final look either, 
so there.


BUT BEFORE I GO!!!!!
Kelly at Eclectically Vintage is doing a feature on me this Saturday,
 'cuz she is a woman of taste and culture!!!!!


Latah, Gatah
Partying at:
Funky Junk's Saturday Nite Special<br><br><br><b>Join us every Friday...</b>it's OVerflowingSunday's Best Buttonits so very cheriDIY project Parade linky party buttoni should be mopping the floorButton

27 comments:

Sandy said...

I love the wall and especially that it is balanced! I've been hanging trays too but they aren't as cute as yours because I'm not a hot shot designer! LOL! Love your blog Betsy!

Janette - The2Seasons said...

Thanks for reminding me to always check ebay. Your finds are perfect for the spot.

Unknown said...

Looks really good. Kudos to u for saving a leg! :)

MONICA LIVAS said...

I really really LOVE your style Betsy!

Anonymous said...

Oh, you're good and that's a wonderful collection of trays. You're so excellent in all you do, you swear a lot and I think you're a hoot! I think I've said that before! :)
Be a sweetie,
Shelia ;)

Amy Chalmers said...

Oh I LOVED this wall when I saw it!!! I am a tole tray lover too...I just bought a small tole tray table this morning and you can see it Sunday at the workshop! Laughed my head off at the start of this post!!

Janet said...

Yup and I collect the trays too. Still struggling to find a wall that is perfect for them :)

Robin said...

Much more interesting this way! Great way to fill up that space and draw the eye upward. This room just oozes charm!

Robin
Robin Flies South

Brenda Pruitt said...

I love tole trays! I wish I could find some reasonably priced ones. Yours are beautiful!
Brenda

AndeM1 said...

So pretty....I found one great tray on ebay....and 2 little ones that were tip trays? (or so I was told).......so pretty can't wait to see more!

Kim @ Savvy Southern Style said...

I just love that horse up there surrounded by those trays. I think that is just pure perfection.

mariondee-designs said...

Hi Betsy, well apart from being such a great designer/decorator ... you are a real crack up!!! (Aussie translation = just hilarious) Not only do I learn a thing or two about decorating, you also make me laugh! You say it as you see it.. I like that.... take care, Maryann

Heather said...

I just came home from a thrift store where I bought...a tole tray! The cashier thanked me for buying it so she wasn't tempted to get it herself. Now I have to decide where to put it. Thanks for the great ideas.

nancy said...

B
Yes, you are brilliant !

Cheryl said...

I have tole trays, and crumb butlers, and cake carriers and love them!

Shirley@Housepitality Designs said...

I love tole trays too....Bought my very first one back in the 80's for practically nothing..just loved the colors...and for me at that time was great inexpensive art!....Yours look fantastic over the bookcase!

Katie @ Wildwood Creek said...

Love your beautiful collection of tole trays!

Vickie H. said...

You did a wonderful job!!! You are magic!!!

Eclectically Vintage said...

Taste & culture - I'll take that!

And love your collection - and that you wander into the room to stare at it (glad I'm not the only lost soul who does that)!

Kelly

Joi said...

Love your trays, Betsy, and also your built-in bookshelf they are arranged over!

SLR said...

loved the first #@$%*! line(s) of your post! i always laugh at how much you "swear" in your posts!!
love your trays...i'm a big fan of the tole. i can't get enough of your living room, it's just brilliant.

Marsha said...

Love, love, love your blog (I mean, your trays). You are so talented and funny, to boot. If I only have time to read one blog, it is always yours. Whomever it was that encouraged you to start blogging, needs to be congratulated. (I know, blah, blah, blah.)

gme said...

Love, love your tole trays. So glad you did this post. I have a collection of different trays that I love but recently had been kind of under the impression that they were out of fashion. You have given me a new appreciation for them and now I will have my trays proudly displayed until I die!

Bonnie Schulte said...

I laugh..but not at you. Brilliant, you are!!!!!

Terri~terrileeauthor said...

I LOVE IT TOO!!! Great job. I have always loved tole trays. They are timeless and you can work them into many design styles. Don't you love it, when you LOVE your home and you just want to keep walking into a room to 'see' it????Ahhhhhh

Be Colorful Coastal said...

Love your writing style. :D Makes me smile. The trays were a great find but I am crushing on the horse. :D
Thanks for sharing this week on Becolorful
p

chateau chic said...

Your beautiful tole trays look so good on that wall. Love the colors you chose.
Mary Alice

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...