Trippin' through the Salvation Army

I have to admit that lunch time at work is quite boring! I am not too keen on taking an entire hour to eat lunch, so most of the time I stay in and work! But recently, I got a tip about a certain store in the neighborhood that always had great treasures so I took a trip over there! When I walked in I was surprised to see a line of people, waiting to pay for their purchases, that led out into the street: They were having a SALE! Everything was 50% off and I had a blast. 

I had an idea in my head and so I set out to look for unusual china, porcelain, crystal, or silver containers. Although, they had nice pieces...the best thing I found was a tea pot...

this tea pot!!

Before: Gently Tarnished

After: Super shiny and absolutely beautiful

After a quick text message to a few friends and family asking for home-cleaning tips to polish my new treasure, I was delighted to put some elbow grease into it and get the job done. To polish this piece I was told ketchup or soap suds or toothpaste would work along with a soft polishing cloth. I tried a small spot underneath with warm soap suds and it stained immediately...this was not Sterling Silver, rather Silver-plated or the suds would have worked. Then I dabbed a dot of ketchup and rubbed hard... although it started to polish...it stunk. My end-project wouldn't be pretty if it smelled like ketchup, so I went to the bathroom and got out old faithful: Crest toothpaste and a soft microfiber cloth and started cleaning and polishing. Result: A picture is really worth a 1000 words and it says it all! 

Treasure Find Value: $20.00   On sale at 50% off: $10.00  Emotional attachment: Priceless

Stay tuned...I'll be posting other recent finds and my recycled/re-purposed end project for this and other treasures tomorrow after work. Tonight...I'm dancing!

Good night!