Sunday, May 26, 2013

Organizing My Stash

I spent a couple of days sorting and organizing my stash of buttons and spools. This gave me some ideas for future projects. Plus I found some hidden stashes of spools that I forgot I had.

I found some unique spools so I decided to display them on the old cash register drawer/shelf.


Detailed photos.


Saturday, May 25, 2013

Saturday Morning Dilemma

I've noticed that I often face a dilemma on which sale to attend first on a Saturday morning {although this is a better dilemma than not having any sales at all}. The choices are between going to the second day of a great sounding estate sale or the first day of a good sounding garage sale. So I have finally come up with a formula on how to pick the best sale. I call it the "Eeny Meeny Miney Go" formula. In other words, there are no two weekend choices that are ever alike so you just pick somewhere to start and have fun.

Today I chose to start with a good sounding garage/estate sale. I got an amazing deal on some small Shiny Brite ornaments and two very large old ornaments.
The large ornament on the left is hand-painted and 6 1/2" long. The one on the right has three indents.

Next I went to a second-day estate sale. There wasn't an early crowd so I spoke to one of the people working the sale and heard that there was still a lot of items to be sold. This is where I need to note that what one person might consider a lot of items might not actually be items you are interested in buying.

I did find a few treasures.
The birds on the tomato are carved wooden pushpin made in Sweden. The two birds in front are spun cotton with wings and tails made of bits of pine cones or wood.
I have a nice collection of science beakers now so I bought one more. And this old photo was very sweet so I added it to my stash.
The last thing I found was a handful of hankies. I already have several that are in shades of red, blue and green so I added these into the collection. The hankie in back was interesting because the image is of spools, ribbons and sewing pins and is "signed" Sally Victor.

So the lesson learned today was that going to the second day of a great sounding estate sale wasn't the best idea. Either go on the first day and get the best selection but pay full price or go on the last day and get the best price but less selection. Going on the middle day just means less selection and full prices.

Hope everyone had a great day of thrifting. And if you have any ideas on how you choose which sale to attend first then please share with a comment below.

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Sometimes Even the Nicest People Can Fool You

We had a really fun day of thrifting. The morning started off a little disappointing but we found a lot of treasures at the second sale. We were an hour early for this second sale and had to stand around waiting. There was no crowd and ten minutes before the sale was to open a man arrived who should have been third in line behind us. He was very nice and chatted with us but later I realized that he had slowly worked his way to be standing in front of the gate the moment the sale opened. He didn't even pretend to be polite and let me {first in line} get by him. Luckily he was looking for something that I couldn't have cared less about. And he seemed like such a nice man...

Anyway, we found tons of treasures and I didn't let the not-so-nice man bother me a bit. I especially love these vintage cake toppers. They are so sweet!
I found a cool retro Blendo pitcher and tumblers in lime green. These are both trendy and retro at the same time. The ombre look is trendy and yet these are mid century modern barware. The photo doesn't show the bright lime green color well.
We found a Hall Pottery Ball Pitcher and Goebel ceramic Wren figurine. Goebel is the same company that makes the Hummel figurines.
A nice framed butterfly collection.
Lots of old glassware including a milk glass vase and several refrigerator dishes {Arcoroc and Fire King, Sapphire Blue, Philbe pattern}
I also found a lot of old glass bottles. These are two old English seltzer bottles that are really heavy glass. The other bottles have an interesting shared history as I discovered with more research.
I discovered that all of the old smaller bottles were from a town called Price, Utah. There was even an old 1941 calendar from the same town. Below is a photo of the collection
Detail of a half-pint milk bottle from Price's Dairy with a four digit phone number embossed on the bottle.
 Two bottles were for "Dr. Price's Delicious Flavoring Extracts"
 The taller bottle is from Price Bottling and Ice Cream Company.
 And the 1941 calendar with working thermometer is from Price's Market.
I had a lot of fun looking up the history of Price, Utah. I didn't even realize that they were all from the same town until I began photographing them.

I am constantly putting more items into my store so please Follow my store if you see anything that you would like.

I hope everyone had a great thrifting weekend.

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Awesome Stress-Free Pre-Mother's Day Thrifting

Somehow the stars aligned to create a totally stress-free day of thrifting yesterday. The first garage sale opened early so I was in and out and on to the next sale. I found a few nice pieces and then off to the third sale just two blocks away. There were only a few people waiting to enter the estate sale so there was no rush and this is where the picking got good.

My favorite find was a large amount of vintage mercury glass ornaments. Most of these are on stems so they can be easily used for crafting.
I filled an 18" tall box with these ornaments. Included were a few hanging ornaments that are really old {two have a written date of 1915 on them} seen below hanging on the right. There is a pink fish, Christmas heart, bell and house among the oldest ornaments.
Two figural glass ornaments of Santa with a cardboard broom and a woman with an apron. I am not sure of their age.
Flocked image of a little boy and toys on this vintage ornament.
Two glass teapot ornaments. Their spouts are extremely delicate.
This is the 18" tall box filled with ornaments. The box is for an old 4 gallon Mason jar that I wish I found at the sale.
I also found these deer candle holders. The metal one is by Deptartment 56 and the two ceramic ones are by Fitz and Floyd. 
I found these metal first aid boxes and thought they could be used for a red, white and blue display or for handy storage.
The seller told me that this was Italian glass but it is actually a Blenko Compote dish. The color is Tangerine and so pretty.
I found this plaid blanket in its original bag and bought it thinking that if it was an inexpensive blend then I would use it for a craft project. Only when I was preparing to photograph it did I find the label that said it is pure virgin wool from New Zealand.
I love old toys and was excited to find an old litho print metal toy boat that was made in the USA and a Dinky Toys Police Car. The British Guard can is much newer but I thought Dear Handyman would enjoy this. 

I hope everyone had a wonderful stress-free day of thrifting. As always, I will try to get more items into my store as soon as possible. Please stop by and check it out.

Happy Mother's Day to all of the Moms out there. 

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Designers Craft Connection - May Blog Hop

Welcome to the Designers Craft Connection Blog Hop for the month of May. The theme this month is Handmade Wishes. I chose to do a project that would showcase items that were handmade by others a long time ago. As always, almost all of the supplies used are thrifted.

I often find beautiful crocheted doilies at estate sales. I know these pieces take a lot of time to make so I  imagine that they hold many dreams and hopes within their intricately woven threads. I used several to create a wreath in celebration of the women who crafted these lacy pieces. This is my Mother's Day offering of handmade wishes to honor their handiwork.
I began with a wreath form and cut strips of burlap and wrapped it around the form. 
Next, I draped handmade doilies over the wreath while trying to vary the many shades of creamy white. I added lots of layers, including vintage {machine made} lace embellishments to creates  texture.
Next I draped several strands of faux pearls.
Then added handfuls of rhinestone jewelry to add sparkle. I love how this is dripping with lace, pearls and rhinestones.
My handmade wish is to honor everyone who patiently makes things by hand for the enjoyment of future generations.

Please use the DCC blog hop button on the right to view more awesome project created by a very talented group of crafters.

I am honored to be featured at:

This is linked to:
504 MainBeyond the Picket Fence, Chic on a Shoestring DecoratingCoastal Charm, Common GroundDIY Home Sweet Home, Elizabeth & Co, Faith, Grace, Crafts, French Country CottageFrom My Front Porch to YoursHey What's for Dinner Mom?, Lamberts LatelyMaking the World Cuter, My Repurposed Life, My Romantic HomeMy Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Pieced PastimesSavvy Southern StyleSew Can Do, Sew Much Ado, Simply DesigningSomewhat SimpleSugar Bee Crafts, The 36th Avenue, The Colorado Lady, The Shabby NestThe Thrifty GrooveThe Thrifty HomeThe Trendy Treehouse and Twin Dragonfly Designs
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