Tawny Emperor Butterfly on Cantaloupe

Hey folks.  Just thought I would post a quick pic of a visitor I had the other day.  I put some mushy cantaloupe out a couple of weeks ago and had a winged visitor.  Probably had more but this is the only one I saw.  It's a Tawny Emperor Butterfly.  First time I've documented one in the yard with photos so far.  If you like butterflies, search my site here on the lefthand sidebar for "butterflies" to see whatelse I've posted in the past on them.

Repurposed Parking Meter Potted Plant

Hey folks!  Sorry for the absence lately.  Been busy working on projects and getting Shreveport Salvage off the ground with my business partners.

But here's one of my latest projects.  It took a good two months to figure out what the heck I was going to do with my surplus of decommissioned parking meters.  When the idea finally struck, it took off like wildfire.  My next roadblock was figuring what to use for the "stalk" of the plant.  After a visit to Lowe's rummaging through the electrical and plumbing section, I found the perfect piece of flexible copper tubing.  

After a good bit of modifying on the parking meter sides and lots of cutting and soldering, everything came together nicely. 

The bulb in the center was a vintage silverplate flower vase.  I used an old copper pan for the flower bottom and used silverplate forks as the added support structures on the outside of the flower.

The leaves were cut out of vintage silverplate serving platters that already had the perfect vein design for a leaf.  

There's a lot of support structure inside to hold up this 35" tall beast.  And the support structure, I added some course sand and rocks to weight down the whole piece so it wouldn't have the option of tilting or leaning over.

This plant is now in the front entrance of the Shreveport Downtown Development Authority in Downtown Shreveport.  Go see it if you're in the neighborhood!

Repurposed Vintage Carnival Gameboard Multiple Hole Cornhole Board

Hey folks!  I had a blast turning this vintage carnival board into a multiple-hole cornhole board game.

I've made a couple previous to this that had stars on them but this one didn't so I decided to take a different route.  I thought it would be cool to have a standard 6" hole and then a 5" and 4" to really build up the challenge and competition.  I hand-painted the rings around the holes and painted the numbers to keep score with.  

The bottom fold-out legs and the red board framing around the bottom is made from more of the vintage carnival wood pieces.   The board comes with 12 FREE bean bags!  Check it out!

Check it out at Timeline Antiques & Collectibles Mall in Shreveport (HERE).  Or in my Etsy shop very soon.  Shipping might be fairly expensive given the size and weight.  But feel free to contact me to make arrangments for pickup.  Stay tuned!

Repurposed Airport Runway Light Box Bookcase

Hey friends.  Got another recent project that has been on the back burners for a while.  The difference with this one is I knew what I've wanted to do to it since day one!  The local airport was doing away with these outdated runway boxes and I got word that many were headed to the dump for scrap value.  I had to step in!  Haha.

The light box was built like a tank.  After finally getting the initial bolts off, I could see what I was dealing with inside.  It was a lot more work at that point.  There was a fair amount of wires and lots of gunk from years of use.  Not to mention years of sun-baked bird poop on the outside.  Don't worry -- it's completely gone now!

The first step was a very thorough visit with the power washer and magic eraser.  And then some more elbow grease after that.  I took the back acrylic panel out and reinstalled the front panel into the back slot to allow room for the custom shelves.  

I made custom shelves and distressed them and lastlly added some vintage yardsticks across the front for more character. 

I left the original markings on the top to give the history of the cool structure.

This bad boy is ready for years of use and enjoyment.  It can be seen at Timeline Antiques in Shreveport, LA or in my Etsy shop for purchase.

Measurements:  57" tall; 27" wide; 10" deep.

Repurposed / Upcycled Silverplate & Brass Mystery!

Hey folks!  I posted the title as a mystery because I wanted the "name" of this piece to be determined by the future owner.  At a quick glance you can probably think of at least a couple of uses for this creation.  I can think of about 5, but I'm not telling!  Sometimes it's best not to define a creation as not to interfere with the purpose someone else might give a piece.   

So here it is!  What do you think it could be used for?  Scroll down to see an ADDED SURPRISE!....

THE TOP SPINS!!!!!

https://youtu.be/2czii3_BoQc

See this creation in person at The Agora Borealis in Shreveport, LA (HERE) or in my Etsy shop (HERE)!