Everybody do the Friday Dance!  (Kind of a cross between the Hokey Pokey and Gangnam Style.)

You know what fleaChic is all about on Fridays.  That's right - Before & After Projects. 

Today's post is a smorgasbord of miscellaneous interesting transformations and they all have something in common.  See if you can guess.

Anyone Can Decorate

Seriously, only $1?!

Cast your eyes on this whimsical vintage kitchen cart:

Link

Sometimes you just need a single chair

for a desk or to fill a corner:

Before                                                     After

Link

My Dream

So cute!

Lisa's Creative Designs

Isn't that flamingo adorable?

It's hard to imagine that this lot of

mismatched chairs had potential:

 Link

Such a charming idea - the same paint, the same

fabric but each chair has a distinct personality.

Would you have walked right past these chairs?

Oh, my, what an amazing transformation:

Quinn Cooper

Stunning, aren't they?

A humble little cabinet was simply sanded and painted:

Link

An Art Deco desk was silently screaming for a makeover:

Refunk My Junk

Love the new drawer pulls.

Speaking of drawers . . . . . 

Design Sponge

A skeletal frame was welded together out

of scrap metal to make a unique drawer unit.

Sandi at A Cottage Muse turned an antique cast iron

oven door into a beautiful architectural accent piece:

A Cottage Muse

Who says a stool has to be boring?

The Red Thread

This antique buffet had significant laminate damage:

Paint and decoupaged maps beautifully cover the damage:

Link

Today's last metamorphosis is a beauty:

Petticoat Junktion

A black stain added a touch of sophistication to this vintage treasure.

Well, have you figured out what every one

of today's projects have in common?

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That's right - each piece was purchased at a flea market!

So get out there this weekend and look for a project.

I LOVE old magazines.  They're a fascinating glimpse into the past and it's amazing to see how much things have changed over the years.

Let's take a peek into the March, 1962, issue of Ladies' Home Journal.  

How adorable is this little tyke?  It's hard
to believe that he's now 52 years old.

The cover story featured essentials for the modern baby:

  Infant car seats hadn't yet been invented so babies
and toddlers in cars were basically unprotected.

How adorable (and unsafe!) is that vintage stroller

Like today's LHJ, past issues had something of interest for everyone - fashion, decor, recipes, health articles, and human interest stories.  And, of course, advertisements.

I'm not surprised that Layer-Pak vegetables didn't stay
in business.  This isn't a very appetizing gelatin salad.

 Vitamins use to be sold in cute little glass bottles that
could be used to hold spices and other small things.

 How cool is this Frigidaire stove that pushes
back under the oven unit when not in use?

Magnavox marketed a complete entertainment
center - television, stereo and radio.

 I haven't seen Stanback aspirin in years.
I wonder if they're still manufactured.

 Sego was one of the first liquid diet drinks on the market.
Their television slogan was, "Sego, it's great for your ego!"

 I don't remember My-T-Fine pudding
but the souffle looks delicious.

 What do you think this beautifully elegant woman is selling?
Modess - women's personal hygiene products.

Forget naturally, free-flowing hair.  Styles back in the
early '60s were teased, stiff, and lacquered with hair spray.

Whenever I see vintage photographs of interior
design I wonder what the rooms look like today.

Parents "back then" had a sense of humor
and appreciated a funny comic sketch: 

Caption:  "All right, let's get rolling
with that nine-o'clock tantrum!"

Old magazines aren't just entertaining, they make unique and special gifts.  If you run across a vintage edition that was published the month and year that someone you know was born, buy it and give it to them as a gift.  It will definitely become a conversation piece that they will enjoy for many years.

Climb in and fasten your seat belt.  We're flying over to London and

taking a quick tour of the Victoria and Albert Museum.  Road trip!

Often called the V&A, the Victoria and Albert Museum holds the world's largest collection of decorative arts.  Founded in 1852 by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, the V&A covers over 12 acres, consists of 145 galleries, and houses over 4.5 million objects spanning 5,000 years of art.  That's a lot of stuff.

There is a category for every type of collectible from around the world:  jewelry, clothing, painting, porcelain, glass, toys, furnishings - the list seems endless.  There's even an extensive collection of  antique and historic cloth fragments with pieces dating back several thousand years.

The red silk remnant, right, was found near the Limes Watchtower in China and dates back to 200 BC.



Though unappetizing today, porcelain animal head
soup tureens were popular in the mid-18th Century.

This boar's head was imported from China by the
Dutch East India Company between 1760-1770. 

Silversmith Sir Edward Thomason is credited with manufacturing
these bottle tickets, the precursor to the decanter labels.  ca 1830-1831

 Lady's shoe, ca 1720, left; lady's boot, ca 1850, right

Man's boot, ca 1845, left;  woman's boot, ca 1865, right

Little boy's leather shoes, ca 1850

This 16th century German-made brooch was
donated to the museum by Dame Joan Evans.

It's hard to imagine that tea was a luxury that only the wealthy could afford.  This tea caddy was made in Guangzhou, China, and imported to England in 1790.

A teapoy was actually an occasional table used for storing tea.  Carved from mahogany, this teapoy was made between 1825 - 1830.

The perforated neck of this vase identifies it as a scent jar.  Usually placed on a mantle, the vessel was filled with potpourri and it served as an air freshener. ca 1826

Child's christening cap, jacket and collar, Belgium lace, ca 1650

Designed to resemble a six-sided Gothic tower, this pierced silver verge head was made in Valencia, Spain, in the mid-16th Century.  Attached to the top of a rod, it was carried by a verger, a church official, during high ceremonies.

Found in the ruins of the Kirkstall Abbey, Yorkshire, by John Dixon in 1829, this fragment of an ivory chess piece has been dated to 1140 AD.

Lady Clementina Hawarden, South Kensington, 1862

The 17th-century hand-embroidered woman's waistcoat was worn in the portrait of Margaret Layton, ca 1610.  In the painting, Margaret Layton wears the waistcoat with an Italian needle lace collar and cuffs over a black velvet gown.

Egyptian made 19th Century silver filigree earrings

These late 19th Century learning blocks were manufactured in the United States by the J.A. Crandall Company.

A rare lot of German-made doll clothes
and a pair of wood dolls, ca 1830



I don't know about you but today's brief glimpse of a few of the treasures housed at the Victoria and Albert Museum leaves me wanting to see more.  Imagine the luxury of living in London and having the opportunity to browse through the amazing collections at your leisure.  The V&A just got penciled in on my bucket list.