Our Hopeful Home: Thrill of the Hunt # 76: Vintage Chicken Feeder, Cow & Bull Cameo Plaques and Farmhouse Sign

Thrill of the Hunt #76 gold safety pin succulent keyboard

For me, fall is the absolute best time of year for thrifting, vintage hunting and just plain junkin', for a whole host of reasons. So far, early fall has been good to me. And I'm especially excited to share a few of my latest thrifty vintage and vintage-inspired finds with you all today. Get ready for a HUGE vintage-inspired farmhouse sign (on clearance no less!), vintage-inspired cow and bull head cameos (another great buy) and a vintage galvanized chicken feeder. I've been waiting for a chicken feeder for a few years and I finally found one in my price range. Time to celebrate.

vintage chicken feeder velveet pumpkins dried hydrangeas plaid throw blanket galvanized milk box

Two of my finds are showcased together here on the hearth in our family room. I purchased the HUGE handpainted, vintage-inspired Farmhouse sign at Vintage 71 Shops in Yorkville, IL. I found the vintage chicken feeder at the twice-yearly Pecatonica, IL flea market (otherwise known as "The Pec Thing" to its loyal vendors and attendees, myself included). I had always wanted a feeder so that I could use it for seasonal vignettes. And fall is the perfect time to try it out!

vintage chicken feeder plush pumpkins dried hydrangeas farmhouse sign

The sign is 5 feet long, 14" high and 2" deep. I found it only after trekking up Vintage 71 Shop's dubious and creaky stairs to the "attic" where they keep their clearance items. I paid $35.00 for it, which is a lot for me to pay for thrifted, or even vintage-inspired, decor. But I knew I would probably never DIY a sign of this size, and it was originally $78.00. So I feel like I did get a good deal. PLUS I totally love it! The chippy aqua paint just happens to go perfectly with the color scheme in the family room. And honestly, when I get sick of seeing the word Farmhouse and want a change in color -- THEN I will DIY myself a new sign!

The chicken feeder was found early on in The Pec Thing visit. It also came with a long wooden handle that runs the entire length of the feeder which I took off for decorating purposes. But the patina is priceless. I got it for $24.00, which I thought was a fair price. I talked the seller down from $30.00. The small velvet pumpkins came from Target's Dollar Spot -- the lovely deep colored ones are from last year and the white and green ones are from this year.

plush velvet pumpkin plaid throw blanket baby boo pumpkin

I got this much larger velvet pumpkin from T.J. Maxx, and the real Baby Boo pumpkin in the aged terra cotta pot is from the grocery store.

I added in some dried hydrangea cuttings from the garden. I use them year-round in so many decorative ways. The feeder will be moved to our farmhouse kitchen table as a centerpiece.

vintage-inspired aqua wooden farmhouse sign

As you can see here, the chicken feeder isn't the only thing with a wonderful patina. This sign really does look like it's many years old and really beat-up (in a good way). Dents, dings, chippy paint and fading letters. Need I say more?

vintage chicken feeder plush pumpkins dried hydrangeas galvanized flower bucket cotton stems farmhouse sign

Here's my thrifted galvanized French flower bucket that I stenciled with my own DIY stencils. It's filled with my DIY faux farmhouse cotton stems that add a nice fall touch.

I absolutely love this pair of vintage-inspired chippy, shabby cow and bull cameo plaques. I saw them selling online for $27.00 plus shipping, so I skipped it. Later I was so thrilled to find them at a local vintage shop -- for $18.00 -- that I had to bring them home. It was a new-to-me shop that I was happy to stumble upon. Don't you just love it when that happens? I'll definitely be going back.