A couple of restorations in progress

I havent posted any restorations since the bathroom shelf, so I thought to lighten the mood around here after my rant posts, I would show off two purse restorations in progress.

When I first acquired this white vintage wicker purse, it was nasty. It really shouldve gone to the dump. The lining was trashed and stained, the hardware was rusted, the paint job was faded. But underneath that mess, the structure was still sound and the price was good ($5) so I thought i would give it a chance. First thing I did was get that lining out. I tried to salvage it but some of the stains are just too set. Eventually I will use it as a pattern to put a new lining in.

Lots of cleaning and getting the rust out was next, then priming and painting. Keeping it white was out of the question. There was too much damage to the white paint. I primed it and gave it a glossy black coat. It still needs a lining and painting some of the hardware back to gold, but its a marked improvement, and will be a good addition to my collection.

Before:

 

After:

I have a tendency to rescue the things from the thrift shop that need love and nobody else is going to buy. Case in point, this purse. I'm pretty sure a kid sat or stepped on it, with its concave top. That concave top actually works for me! I wanted to turn it into a carmen miranda purse, and with the dip in the center, it creates a perfect spot for the fruit to sit without sitting so high.

Before:

After:

So there you have it! I still want to add a little more to the top in terms of some greenery of some sort. but its got a new life!