This past weekend, while John was away on his Bachelor Party outing with friends, I took a little “me time” to do what girls quite possibly do best: Shop. I bought a couple more things for the wedding and also a few more pieces to add to my spring wardrobe (both of which I will explain in later posts). But I also made sure to squeeze in a little time to go thrifting. My mission? Brass animals.
As mentioned in Monday’s post, I am looking forward to arranging a little shelf/art display in our master bedroom. I even made this (awful, oh-so-terrible, yet gets-the-point-across) mock-up for you in Photoshop to illustrate my plan:
We are going to set up the new leaning shelf against the wall in our bedroom and then stack pairs of the prints on either side. Once all the nailing, hammering and drilling is all said and done, I get to focus on styling those rows and rows of lovely open shelves…To carry the new gold tones of the frames throughout, I plan on adding a few brass figurines to the display – Namely brass animals. Of course, I’ll also add some books, vessels and boxes (ala Emily Henderson).
Since most of my brass menagerie is taking up residence in other rooms of the house, I needed to add to the brood. Main stop – Estate Specialist downtown. While there, I came across two new additions to our golden collection, all for only $6.30. Thrift store SCORE!
First up, we have Mrs. Golden Duck (or is she a goose? Any bird experts out there?). She came a little worse for wear, but I still love her. She’s sculptural and feminine and just the right size (about 7 or 8 inches in length and 2 or 3 inches high, although don’t quote me on that since I am terrible with estimations).
When I say she’s “a little worse for wear,” you may have already noticed the piece missing from her tail feathers. There’s a pretty sizable chunk broken off and, since I don’t have the piece, there’s really no way to fix it. I’m hoping a new coat of paint will mask the issue.
Speaking of paint, when I took off the sticker price tag, a bit of what I thought was a solid gold finish came off with it revealing a red undercoat. Looks like I’ll need to give the entire surface a brass-colored facelift – Nothing a good can of spray paint can’t fix.
I also picked up this little guy – He’s more of a palm-sized brass friend, but I love imagining him sitting at the corner of a framed photo or on top of a stack of books. He is the real deal when it comes to brass figurines – Heavy, solid finish and oh-so shiny.
I love the hammered texture along his back – Reminds me of a raw sculpture only half complete. He is also a great reminder of my little sister, who adores elephants. If I remember correctly, she told me once that elephants with their trunks raised are a sign of good luck – We can all use a little mystical luck in our lives, so I’m happy to snag a bit for myself through this trunk-happy brass elephant.
Authentic too! Check out his “Made in India” sticker.
While I don’t have photos of them set up quite yet, I hope to have something to show you after our honeymoon. I am putting myself on project withdrawal for the next week and a half as we wind down to wedding day. But don’t worry – I’ve got plenty to share until we head off on our week-long vacay, and I’ve lined up some great guest posters to keep you guys occupied with tips, tricks and suggestions to maintain and beautify your home. Stay tuned!!
