What I Thrifted
Welcome to Thrift Score Thursday No. 143, today I wanted to share a special find that needed a little help to really shine, her name is “Tilly.” I found her at an estate sale filled with art and collectibles from all over the world. The estate sale vendor told us that it was the home of a professional dancer who traveled the world collecting treasures. There were quite a few treasures!
We found “Tilly” lying on a table in the garage. She was so beautiful but it was obvious that she wasn’t complete and was a little worse for wear. I figured for the bargain price of $75 I could make her lovely again.
I did a little research and found out “Tilly” is a 19th-century Italian alabaster bust. These Victorian busts range in price from several hundred to several thousand dollars depending on the sculptor and condition. Here are a couple of examples.
These listings also helped me determine what kind of base she needed to stand upright. I looked around at antique stores for something that would work but in the end, my husband decided he could make one. He has been experimenting with metal casting so all we needed was a base shape to create a mold.
It just so happened that I bought a marble pedestal to sit “Tilly” while out looking for bases. This is a segmented piece held together by a large bolt so each piece comes apart as its own section.
I realized that the uppermost section of the pedestal if flipped over, looked very similar to the bases of some of the other busts I had seen. My husband used this to create a mold before casting a new base in brass.
There Chuck is with his big fire and molten metal!
Once the new base was all polished up we added “Tilly” to her new perch. She is sitting pretty on her new brass base.
Isn’t she lovely? I think “Tilly” is now one of my favorite thrift finds yet.
Joining #ThriftScoreThursday
Before we move on to my favorite finds you guys shared this past month, Let me explain just what #ThriftScoreThursday is in case you missed out. I want you to participate! Hit up your local thrift stores, craigslist, yard sales, estate sales, side of the road, anything! Thrifty doesn’t necessarily mean from a thrift store. I want to see your good deals, wacky finds, and treasures and how you style them in your home. To do this tag your photos with #ThriftScoreThursday (any day of the week) when you post them on Instagram and I will share my favorites on the first Thursday of every month.
Don’t feel like you need to save those finds for Thursdays! Yes, features are shared here on my blog once a month and on Instagram on Thursdays, but I’ll be checking in on (and using!) the hashtag all week long. So, feel free to share it when you see/find it! And I love it when you tag your friends to play along, too!
Thrift Score Thursday Favorites
One of my Facebook followers Courtney sent me a few images of her thrifted Christmas decor along with this cute collectable shelf that looks cute full of her thrift finds year round.
Tanya from Danslelakehouse is always a star of the vintage find and somehow manages to find the perfect pieces to blend with her aqua-blue decor. These cute vintage dishes are no exception and look like a million bucks.
While we are talking vintage storage look at these Asian Pagoda Chinoiserie shelves vintissima.decor shared. I love all things Chinoiserie so these fit the bill.
There is nothing like a good thrift store makeover and Ashley from @athomewithashley did just that when she took this $25 thrift store clock and repainted it to perfectly match her decor. So cute!
I hope you enjoyed this Thrift Score Thursday and will share a few of your own before next month’s post.
Happy hunting!
Very Nice! I was watching the Guilded Age.. looks like something I’d see hanging on their walls
Ooh, I haven’t watched it yet but now I think I have to!