Old vintage classic car in lot in Ocala Florida

In and around Ocala, Florida there are  

 many old vintage cars driving around. Once a year these cars are showcased to vintage car enthusiasts.  

here is one great car 

Travel USA campaign part III

This is part three of my stimulus idea for small town rural America to start a Travel USA campaign in the spirit of the "made in America series".   Manufacturing jobs are slowly coming back to America but not fast enough and unfortunately not in all of the original products created here.  

America is becoming more of a service oriented business society, meaning that many jobs are being created in industries that can't be sent abroad such as restaurants, shops, car repair and health care.  Many of these jobs are low paying because of the supply of out of work Americans. 

Americans need to create their own small businesses, the creation of independent business owners opening in their towns is what is needed to create economic growth.  There has to be less bureaucracy for small business owners and inventors to create, apply for patents and manufacture their own new products for job creation in America.  

Immigration reform is one way this economy can be repaired, many of the immigrants already in the US are working in an under ground economy, and are  not paying taxes.  These 11 million illegal immigrants are contributing to the US economy in their purchase of goods, housing and payment of utilities; many have children born in the US that have become dreamers, college educated citizens and current college students that have never known any other home than the US.  These dreamers can not come out of the shadow for fear of deportation.   The anti immigrant crowd in America does not realize that by doing nothing, these 11 million are being granted amnesty now; they can't come out of the shadows like all Americans but they can still continue to work,  and live in America in these underground local economies.  The more delay if fixing broken immigration system; the more opportunity for illegal immigration to continue to grow and the less opportunity to protect the border. 



These are some issues that could repair our US economy if these issues were resolved.  Mean while, Americans have to create their own opportunities since a broken Congress will not do anything to fix our problems domestically and internationally.  Boehner was seen on you tube playing with a mechanical monkey and this is what the House speaker of Congress does with his vacation time.  Congress took a five week vacation and came back on September 6th, they are slated to remain in Washington DC for another two weeks and than they go again on vacation until the after the election 0f 2014.  These folks get paid over 174,000 and take more vacation than the President, you wouldn't know according Fox news.  



Because of Congress inaction, local towns need to create their own jobs by opening small unique business that will attract from all over the US or other countries.   On MSNBC on  a Sunday show called your small business there was a woman who opened her small business quilting and teaching classes, she began holding you tube classes and she attracted so many visitors to her town seeking her instruction in quilting that the main street of the town started to open a hotel, restaurants, shops in order  to accommodate the influx of tourists from the US and around the world.  The town before her business was deserted in Michigan, and she single handedly brought back the town economy just by one unique business playing on You tube and creating huge fan base for her product and her individual teaching style of quilting.  The show is always on Sunday mornings at 7:30 in the mornings, the show has a site with episodes of the show and great tips for small business growth geared towards small rural towns at https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/openforum/yourbusinesstv/ . 



Some ideas for a small business niche are



a mobile hair stylist that brings the salon to home bound clients,

mobile upholstery service that recovers small furniture

lawn service that includes vegetable/flower bed weeding

scrap metal collector that brings unwanted appliances and all metals to recyclers

an estate sales coordinator that performs the estate sales for the client

a cleaning service that performs house foreclosure cleanings where residents leave lots of garbage.

an errand personal shopper for the homebound or elderly

a companion that drives elderly or disabled  to medical appointments

up cycling old furniture to create new pieces an example an old dresser chest could become a new bathroom vanity.

Create personalized customized crafts such as wood doll houses, miniatures, embroidery and hand crafts

Make a family recipe into a food product and sell at local bakeries or flea markets

Wash windows and screens for homes

power wash homes and sheds

become a blogger for a local business in area

Become a social media advertising guru, if you know how to drive traffic to local business sites.

Local food grocery  delivery service



These are a few ideas on unique  opportunities that are considered niche jobs.   There are options for small towns to find a method of creating jobs without the aid of government or state.   Only an idea, and an amazing You tube video to get your startup going.

Recycle linen blind slats into a fullsize head board cover

how to create a linen blind headboard cover




I made a headboard cover from clean linen vertical blind slats. These blind slats were from windows that were sill length. These blind slats are being used directly over the old wooden head board to create a beautiful contemporary cover.




The items needed are the following;




A stapler, and used old vertical linen fabric blind slats. The size of the blind slats used in this project was from a 57 inches x 63 inch length window. These linen vertical blind slats were folded; about twenty were used for a full size head board. The first step is to prepare the vertical blinds, the ends of both blind slats have metal pieces that have to be removed. The only object remaining should be the linen blinds; take one end of one blind and staple the two ends together to make a long length blind. Create eight long blinds for the horizontal length of rectangular head board




The first long blind piece should be placed around the head board with the two ends meeting , staple the two ends of the blind together behind the headboard. The second long blind should be placed around the head board directly under the first blind and the two ends should be stapled together horizontally.




The next step is to take another blind and place it vertically over the head board creating a basket weave by placing one end of the blind in between the two horizontal blind slats, continue to weave the remaining length and secure with safety pins. Continue to add a blind slat next to the first vertical slat and weave the blind in between the two and continue the fill the top of head board. There should be 16 linen blind slats vertically and two long blind slats horizontally. once all blind slats are secured and tight; staple them securely




The next step is to take a long blind slat and create a horizontal third row and to weave it into the vertical slats than secure it with a safety pin. Continue to do the same with the last row; there should be four rows.




This headboard cover is designed to be temporary; it is a contemporary way to reuse linen vertical blinds in a creative inventive way awhile covering an old wood head board that has seen better days.

　

Collecting vintage jewelry as a hobby

I love finding old vintage antique jewelry at estate sales, yard sales and on eBay.  When shopping online for vintage jewelry it is best to shop from reputable well known websites such as Ruby Lane, Tias,  Tocadero, and shop goodwill.  Vintage jewelry from different era's are really old gems, many pieces are intricate with the art nouveau period, and art deco era from 1920s to 1940s.  Design is very streamlined, bold and geometric in design. 

There are many different periods of jewelry designs in history, a lot of times the jewelry will tell its age because of the design and the wear on it.   Beware of fakes on the market from China;  it is better to shop on well known online antique shops, not the auction sites.

On auction sites there is a small risk of jewelry being reproductions; if purchasing for only private collection it would be risky but okay.  If you are purchasing vintage jewelry as a reseller than the jewelry should be verified as original piece regardless of price.  

Here are some photos of some of my pieces, I really don't spend a lot of money on these pieces but it makes feel good saving a piece of unique vintage jewelry history.



Chinese blessing charm http://www.savingshouse.blogspot.com

1920s scarab earrings http://www.savingshouse.blogspot.com

1933 worlds fair ring   http://www.savingshouse.blogspot.com

1940s era delft jewelry lot   www.savingshouse.blogspot.com

tiny delft ring really cute,  http://www.savingshouse.blogspot.com

1940's era travel gift Cuban wood pin  http://www.savingshouse.blogspot.com

Reproduction cameo pieces and 1970s era pin/pendent tiger pin.  Http://www.savingshouse.blogspot.com

Jelly Belly Spider Pin, starfish pin, vintage clip earrings http://www.savingshouse.blogspot.com

1960s Parrot pin  http://www.savingshouse.blogspot.com

Silver claddaugh friendship ring  http://www.savingshouse.blogspot.com

 

DIY Disaster Painting furniture

In today's current economy, many Americans are finding ways to save money and help the environment by recycling and up cycling vintage furniture and other items.  

There are many websites, magazines and cable TV shows that teach people to decorate using vintage furniture pieces.  Many of these resources teach how to paint furniture, change hardware and even create a totally different furniture piece from the original intended use of furniture.  An example would be TV armoires; these TV cabinets are no longer used because of Plasma TV's that could be hung on walls.  

These TV cabinets are being up cycled for other uses; some have been converted into craft centers, home office center, linen cabinets, even into wardrobe/ guest room closet.  This is a creative way to reuse good quality furniture that no longer is used as a TV armoire. 

Although, these articles and shows make furniture painting look easy; there are disasters that occur when furniture piece is not prepped properly for painting.

Many furniture pieces have a sealer or shiny finish on the furniture piece.  Most furniture pieces need to be sanded until the shiny finish is off; some furniture pieces need to be primed before being painted.   An example; furniture with a lacquer finish need to be primed and should be painted with a similar lacquer finish paint. Chalk paint is used as a preferred medium for furniture because there is no priming needed and can be sealed with soft wax.  I found amazing video painting on furniture with chalk paint.

After the furniture piece is painted; allow for two days to dry; then use a sealer to protect paint finish.   If painting furniture pieces for outdoor use; make sure the proper outdoor paint is used for the elements outside.  

Sometimes the best way to learn is trial by error; learning what works and what doesn't is the best method to learn and fix vintage furniture. 

Amazing video on using chalk paint for furniture

Start a Travel USA small town campaign

Congress is failing the American public; the tea party conservatives have control over John Boehner who is one of the worst House leaders in the history of Congress.  When the leader allows a loud minority control his actions, by allowing what would be brought to the floor to vote.; it demonstrates how ineffective a leader he is.   The job as a leader of the House is to allow legislation on the floor to allow members of both parties to vote, Boehner will not place Immigration reform on the floor because he knows that east and west coast republicans will vote for the bill.  By not allowing the vote, he is keeping these Republicans from voting on this bill, and the Democrats from ultimately passing the House. 

President Obama has taken actions on his own because republicans are determined not to pass any legislation to sabotage President Obama's agenda and weaken the US economy.  By Congress obstructing the President, the GOP has slowed down the economy; but hasn't succeeded in destroying it.  President Obama managed to pass tax increases and now after a decade of tax cuts; the US economy is slowly creating jobs about 9 million in the past six years; and the US deficit is dropping for the first time in over a decade.  President Obama has not been given credit for this by the media or the public; instead the media tends to allow the GOP criticism, false scandals to cloud Obama during his Presidency.  

With the inaction of Congress and the economy still not as robust as it could be if it weren't for all of the obstruction by the GOP; American towns should consider creating their own stimulus.

ABC started the made in America campaign about three years ago, since then Americans have shopped specifically for American made products creating new jobs in America.

What if small towns in America started a "travel our small town campaign" to attract Americans to spend their vacation dollars in America instead of foreign countries.  There are methods for small towns that may not have tourist attractions to attract Americans to visit their towns by creating tourist events such as art fairs, unique annual events created specific to that town.  An example is Roswell, Arizona where UFO enthusiasts have come to visit because of the story of UFO parts being found in a farm. Americans were told that the parts were from a weather balloon; many conspiracy theorists believe that it was a real UFO that crashed because of individual stories from citizens in Roswell area .

Another idea would be for neighboring small towns to pull resources together to form travel packages where tourists can visit each town where visitors can stay at these towns for a set number of days.   Local businesses could offer discounts as incentives for visitors to shop, and spend in local economy. 

There are many free methods for local towns to advertise their events or local travel deals; such as twitter, face book, You tube, other social media.   Press releases are free and is a great way to get media attention if press release is very news worthy.  Many media outlets and journalists use Press releases to find news to write about and report . 

American towns should give themselves a stimulus, because as long as Congress has obstructionists interested in power and politics and not the good of the country; Americans are on their own. 


Side note:  House republicans refuse to pass VA bill unless there are offsets to pay for VA Hospital reform.  Funny, when Congress sent Americans to fight in two unpaid wars, they didn't ask for offsets back then. 

GOP House demands offsets for VA reform bill

How to organize home with reused items

There are creative ways to save money by using items around the home intended for other uses and recycling them for a new purpose.

Shower hooks could be hung on the closet clothing hanging rod to hang purses, scarves or belts. 



 The empty cardboard toilet paper holders can be reused to hold and store unused electrical cords and label the outside of the cardboard. 



  The cardboard cylinder tubes used in wrapping paper rolls could be reused by cutting them into 4- 5 inch sizes to reuse as wrapping paper holders. By slipping the cardboard over the wrapping paper on both ends to keep paper from opening from storage.

   Reuse old ice cube trays to organize jewelry in drawers.

  

 Reuse old checks boxes to organize a desk drawer to store clips, rubber bands, odds and ends. I use it to organize my junk drawer and it works well. 

 Use a small magazine rack as a pot lid holder on the inside of a cabinet door. 

  Some of these ideas were from the Simple Dollar Blog. 

 I love that blog.