Prim Talk Radio Show February 20, 2009

Good morning Prim Talk Listeners. I am your host Sherol Jones. Today is Friday February 20th.

On today’s show I will give you some tips on how to rust tin and also how to age your fabric. Prim Talk Radio is having a friendship contest. Later in the show I will give you all the details of the friendship contest. I also will share some tips for collecting stoneware.
Rusting Tin

for "light" rusting:

1. Pour APPLE CIDER (Must be APPLE CIDER) vinegar into an all-metal cookie sheet with sides. DO NOT use Teflon coated, enamelware, glass or plastic containers.
2. Immerse tin into APPLE CIDER vinegar making sure the piece of tin is completely covered. Leave the tin in the vinegar for approximately 20-30 minutes. IT WILL NOT RUST IN THE PAN OF VINEGAR.
3. Lift tin out of the vinegar and stand up on edge to dry. (Be sure to protect drying surface). DO NOT WIPE VINEGAR OFF. The tin will rust as it is air drying. The rusting could take 30 min. to 3-4 hours depending on the humidity in your area. The longer you air dry, the more rusty it looks. When tin is completely dry, it will turn a copper color with uneven streaks and swirls.


For heavy rusting:

This must be done in a well-ventilated area or outdoors. Use an all-metal cookie sheet with sides. DO NOT use Teflon-coated, enamelware, glass or plastic containers.

1. Measure 2 cups of CLOROX or any household bleach and pour into a metal cookie sheet with sides. Add l cup of APPLE CIDER vinegar and mix thoroughly.
2. Immerse tin into solution. Tin has to be completely covered. It will start rusting immediately in the solution. It takes approx. 2-3 min.
3. Lift out of solution and stand on edge to dry. It will become very rusty. Let air dry completely for approx. 1-3 hours or overnight. When it is completely dry, wipe some of the rust off with a dry cloth...this is optional.


Fake Rust

we’ve all discovered it is almost impossible to rust galvanized metal. So here's a recipe for "fake rust".

Very lightly spritz with rustoleum "Rusty Metal Primer V7769" (this is a neat brown-red color), then lightly sprinkle on some craft silicon sand (this can be kept in an old salt shaker), then very lightly spritz with the Rustoleum again. Wipe off excess sand, and seal with a matte spray. It is important to keep a light hand here so that some of the metal can peek through.

Rusting Galvanized Tin

Use muratic acid to take the galvanizing off of the tin. Clean the tin with water and spray or dip it in apple cider vinegar and set it outside to rust. It should rust overnight. Spray more vinegar on it for more rust to form. The I tried this on new watering cans and it worked well. Make sure you do this outside due to the nasty smell.

Aging Fabric

Here are three ways to ageing fabric or doilies with tea or coffee.

Put twice as much coffee grounds as you usually do in your coffeemaker and brew up some coffee. Then put the coffee in another container and add the fabric or doilies.
Put 10 tea bags in about a quart of boiling water. Let them steep. When it looks dark, add the fabric or doilies
you can also sprinkle coffee crystals on the doily after it is dyed and it will add additional staining.
Another way is using hair dye to make fabric with polyester in it look tea-dyed. I haven’t tried that, but I have some fabric that is going to get tested! Other ideas were how to make grunge candles and how to dry fruit for potpourri or decorative uses. The list goes on and on.


We would like to thank one of our sponsor’s Tori from stencilmein.com where you can find a large selection of unique stencils from simpler times gone by. From vast selections of colonial and vintage stencils. Stencil me in is dedicated to providing a wide selection of unique and original designs that are simply filled with old world charm. Check out Tori’s site at www.stencilmein.com
Tips for Collecting Stoneware:
-From Colonial times through the mid-1900s, American potters formed heavy utilitarian vessels from stoneware such as crocks, jugs and bowls.
- Some of the most popular stoneware with collectors was produced by Red Wing, and these pieces usually have a mark that does look like a single red wing.
- Stoneware signed by the maker or decorated with cobalt blue designs are almost always more valuable than plain pieces.
- New utilitarian stoneware has been made, although much of it was not designed to fool collectors in the reproduction sense. These are new production pieces, and they look new. Take care when purchasing a piece represented as old if warning signals tell you that it looks new.
Stoneware’s Utilitarian Past
From Colonial times through the mid-1900s, American potters formed heavy utilitarian vessels from stoneware. These useful items helped hearty cooks and farmers with everything from pickling vegetables to churning butter and transporting all types of goods from farm to market.
While some large companies were established by the late 1800s, many early potteries producing stoneware employed only one or two farmers making wares in their “off” season. They usually set up shop where clay, water and wood needed for production were readily available. These homespun potters made an abundance of jugs, crocks, churns, bowls, and pitchers along with other utilitarian wares such as chamber pots in more limited quantities.
Just because they weren’t booming enterprises doesn’t mean they were producing inferior wares, however. Many of them became very skilled at producing stoneware, and their craftsmanship is thoroughly appreciated by today’s collectors.
The Primitive Collecting Craze
In the 1970s, when primitive antiques were at their peak of popularity, many pieces of stoneware found their way from storage spots in old barns to flea market stalls around the country. Collectors went absolutely crazy for the clunky shapes ranging from individual sized jugs to enormous covered crocks.
So many were snapped up and used to decorate homes with a country look, they aren't seen all that much today. Persistent collectors find a way to own crockery, however, and they have favorites, too.
The Popularity of Red Wing
Pieces manufactured by Red Wing, actually marked with a red colored wing on most items, likely hold the top spot right now when it comes to stoneware collecting. These items were manufactured between 1901 and 1947, according to the Wing Tips Web site.
Made more with the usefulness of the item in mind rather than decorative value, these stoneware pieces look rather plain when compared with other types of fired and glazed pottery. Most Red Wing crocks have a number on the front, ranging from two to 60, noting the size. Many were originally purchased with matching lids.
Finding a Red Wing crock these days with the matching lid in the appropriate size can actually double the value of the piece. For instance, 40-60 gallon Red Wing jars can sell from $350-750 with the corresponding lid going for just as much in good condition.
Folks interested in learning more about Red Wing crockery should take a look at a few of the many books on the topic. Two available from Collector Books are Red Wing Stoneware by Dan and Gail DePasquale and Larry Peterson. Another is Red Wing Collectibles by the same trio. Even if you don't plan to collect these interesting items, you may remember some of the contents if you spent time on a farm when you were young.
Other Popular, Valuable Stoneware Styles
Other popular types of crockery, with some being much older than Red Wing's wares, feature cobalt blue decorations. These designs can range from fairly simple curlicue artwork to elaborately painted birds and other motifs, first done by hand and later stenciled on by clever craftsmen. These are also very popular with folks looking to add to stoneware collections. Having the mark of the maker seems to add some value to the pieces, too. Look for names such as Norton, John Bell and numerous others on crockery pieces when assessing their value. Stoneware produced by regional potters, such as the Myer family of Texas, can also hold more value than unidentified items.
Take note of other types of decorations and colors as well. Adding some variation through the molding process also allowed later manufacturers to decorate their wares in a different way. By designing an embossed image to the mold, an impressed decoration and a manufacturer's mark could be added to pieces over and over again. Any unusual detailing adds value to stoneware, in most instances.
Values of Uncommon, and Common, Stoneware
As a veteran collector might suspect, a browsing of online auctions reveals that the more elaborately decorated and hand done pieces tend to get higher bids. Sometimes varied colors will appeal to collector’s more than plain pieces, since finding cream and green or brown and yellow items provides more of a challenge than the run-of-the-mill brown or beige crockery. And the Red Wing and cobalt decorated pieces mentioned above still bring good prices in the secondary marketplace.
Don't discount your plain items as having absolutely no value though. Even the most common brown and white jugs sell in the $20-40 range today, depending on the size. And if you're looking for a super bargain, hunt down a plain unmarked butter crock in the $10 range. They look great sitting near a kitchen stove filled with wooden utensils.


Prim Talk Radio’s friendship contest.
So all you listeners out there write in to Prim Talk Radio and tell us about your special friend. Tell us why they are so special to you. We will pick one winner and tell your story on our radio show and also display your story on our web site. The winner will win a handmade rabbit name Rhonda which is donated by Darshea Primitives. You can see the picture of Rhonda the Rabbit on our contest page at www.primtalkradio.com click on the contest button.



Prim Talk Radio is hiring staff members who would like to share any primitive patterns, tips, tricks or anything else you think you can offer to our show. If you become a staff member you will receive a 125 x 125 banner on our front page plus you will get exposure for your website. If you are interested in becoming a staff member please email me and I will give you all the requirements. I also wanted to mention that when a search is done on prim talk radio through google or yahoo our web site is the first search that comes up. That is because we have been around for several years and have many followers. Not to mention we receive new friends all the time who listen to our show. Stop by check us out and send us an email just to say hi.



Make sure you stop by our website and sign up for our newsletter. You could be the winner of one free month advertising spot on our home page.

As I promised I have another Marketplace to tell you about and it is www.honeycreekmarket.com
Where You will find an assortment of unique and distinctive prim and country crafts. Their Market Directory is full of handmade as well as hand painted gifts, and creative home decor.
They have a variety of choices for advertising. Their reasonable prices help everyone advertise. And their goal: Help you increase business growth. Check them out at www.honeycreekmarket.com



Here at Prim Talk Radio we have lowered our front page advertising. For $3.00 a month you can get your 125x125 banner placed on our front page. Remember advertising is a good way to promote your web site.

Don’t forget to check out our Partner’s website. www.penneylayne.com They have it all. Pre-made web sets, custom web sites, web site templates, DIY site Hosting, Zen websites with Zen shopping carts, graphics, logos, banners and much more. And soon they will be offering customers there own shopping malls. If you already have a web site you can advertise with a small banner on their front page for only $2.00 a month. What a way to go for low cost advertising. Check it out at www.penneylayne.com.
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You can find all these tips tricks, crafts and recipes on our website at www.primtalkradio.com

Feel free to email us with any questions, or suggestions that you feel would help us improve our show. We welcome all our listeners input.

Until next week
Blessings to everyone