Quick Trip to Salvation Army

On the Wednesday before Christmas, I made a super-quick trip to the Salvation Army, just to see what was new. I found a real treasure trove of thrift!

All Christmas items were 75% off and I found lots of older holiday items plus a few other vintage deals:

An oh-so-beautiful, handmade ceramics cookie plate
A red sputnik ornament (free, because it has no hooked end)
A large boot candle
A singleton candle salt shaker (Lefton-like)
3 packages of wired tinsel - I'm thinking of lots of projects...
2 Tin 1960s trays
Mirro cookie press + bin of cutters -- $1.99!

Knitting needles & knitting gauge
Presto pressure cooker user's manual from 1946
I *love* this picture at the back of the book (it's worth the whole thing)!
The kitchen here is the National Pressure Cooker Company's 'cheerful, modern' kitchen --

Here's the caption:
Closeups of the 'cheerful, modern' kitchen

Popcorn!

A while ago, I got a bee in my bonnet to get a vintage popcorn popper (and use it, of course). What fun is it to have old stuff if you don't use it?

Well, we had our first old-school popcorn (no bag, no microwave) this past week and it was pretty good, too. It would have been better if I hadn't put in too much popcorn -- there were lots of unpopped kernels. Next time I'll follow the directions -- and, yes, there really were directions!

Am I the only one out there using vintage small appliances?

First Etsy Sale!

I posted my first two items in my Etsy shop last night and one of them sold before I could even get the other one up! That told me that I'd absolutely priced my item too low. It's okay, though -- it was a good learning experience and now my 'opening night jitters' are behind me. It's odd to be so intimidated by all the great things I see on Etsy, because I've sold so much on Ebay.

I also didn't charge enough for shipping. Rather than allowing the buyer to calculate the exact shipping cost from my location to theirs, Etsy forces the seller to charge a set amount. That can be a real bargain to a buyer in California if I only charge enough to send it Ohio, but if the buyer's in Ohio and I charge enough to send the item to California, that's not fair either! I wish Etsy had a 'calculate shipping' option like Ebay's -- it's SO much better all around!

I worked it out by offering to refund any overage in shipping that comes to more than $1. As a Christian, I can't allow people to pay more than it costs and that system seems fair to me.

I'll keep you all posted on how the sales are going. . .

Opening the Shop Soon!

I spent most of the day photographing, wrapping and boxing up items for Ebay and my Etsy shop. I had so much fun going to estate sales and flea markets with my friend Bargain Hunter all summer, but all the treasures I found have to go somewhere. One of my son's friends, when he came to our house, walked down the basement steps and said, "Wow! This looks like an episode from 'Hoarders -- Buried Alive'!" Personally, I think he was exaggerating, but nonetheless, I got the message.

A Capri Cream & Sugar Set

A light blue Lu Ray Creamer

It's HARD to get rid of things! I always have a hard time at sales buying things I don't particularly like but know will sell well, so most of what I buy, I'd love to keep. These are just a few of the items I'll be listing soon -- you'll be able to actually SEE something when you click on the link to my Etsy shop!

A Holt Howard Cat Salt & Pepper Set

Shafford Black Cat Redware Cookie Jar
Tin Strawberry Tray

I'm getting into the selling spirit, though and have been reading lots of great blogs about how to display, how to photograph and how to wrap items for my shop. I have to admit that it's really intimidating -- there are some truly creative and interesting people out there in the blogosphere and on Etsy! I don't think I'll ever be one of them, but my creative muse has been awakened.

First things first -- the hoarder's pile must go. Then I can start making some things I've had on the drawing board from the vintage fabric, findings & buttons I've been collecting. I think these days 'they' (whoever 'they' are) call a person's second career the 'encore' job. Well, maybe this is my encore -- an it should be a fun adventure!

DC - Last Roadtrip Before Winter

Two weeks ago, we took a long weekend roadtrip to visit young Jim in DC. We had a great time, got to see his house & hang out with him -- even saw the Tigers play the Orioles at Camden Yards (a first time there for all 3 of us).

Here's a slideshow of pics from our trip:

Old Stuff - New to Me!

When I went to Traverse City, I had lots of fun digging through old stuff and found a few treasures:

At the Granary Antiques in Beulah, I got this wonderful children's table with chicks painted on it. This table combines so many of my favorite things -- it's red, it's for children and it has chicks on it. If anything I find is red, has polka dots or chicks on it, I'm drawn like a moth to a flame! It's just the right size, too, to go with the old Sunday School chairs I already have. It's just waiting for that visiting child (Lily or Gus) or grandchild-yet-to-be to have the perfect coloring project or tea party!

Also at the Granary, I got the Ladybug book about England's churches & cathedrals (I know, no one would like that book but me...but I think it's great!)

At Black Horse Antiques in Beulah, I got the 'Garden Adventures in Winter' and an' H' (for Hen) child's block. In Traverse City, I got the 'More Rupert Adventures' book and the TOTALLY cool postcard of Queen Elizabeth, Princess Anne & the corgis came from the Elk Rapids Antique Warehouse. I find that I just can't have too much QE2!

In the picture below, the swanky swig with an elephant on one side and a chicken & duck on the other is just like one we had when I as little. I remember getting jelly or jam or spread cheese in those little glasses and then getting to keep them as juice glasses.

The Mackinac Bridge glass is one of the souvenir glasses that I've begun collecting. There was an article about them in Country Living, so they must be the new new thing -- I just like to get ones from places I've been to. I added another tea towel (this one with red morning glories) to the many tea towels I have -- though I use them all! The Fiesta mixing bowl is more in keeping with what my friend Bargain Hunter looks for, but it was in such nice condition I couldn't resist it. It may end up on eBay yet...

When we got back into town, I went to the Royal Oak parking garage flea market and got the find of the week! This wonderful retro lamp was just waiting to go into my living room! It's aqua (to match my sofa) and has a green-flecked rice paper shade and great gold atomic trim on it. Isn't it fantastic?

While I was there, 2 other people tried to buy it, but it was already MINE! Now I need to find another retro lamp, because this one puts my other regular lamp to shame...

Happy Hens

I don't collect chickens, but I tend to pick up interesting vintage chicken items.  I spent the remainder of my Christmas money (thanks, Aunt Gene!) on this gem -- a large square chicken  tablecloth.   I especially like the hens on their nests in the corners and the circle of eggs around the center.

Then there's this little hen toy -- when you turn the crank it makes a sound like a hen clucking.  It drives Turner crazy, which is a bonus to an otherwise cool old toy!

Happy hens make a happy coop!

Fun Stuff from the Memphis Trip

We just got back from a long weekend 'mini-vacation' to visit our dear friends Mark & Kally in Memphis (more pictures and *hopefully* a video will follow later). We had a GREAT time and went through every state possible in a direct trip there and back: Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio and (thanks, Kally, for the 6-mile round trip so that I could say I'd been there) Mississippi.

We visited a few antique shops on the way down, mostly in Indiana and Illinois. Thanks to my friend 'treasure seeker', I've gotten in the habit of taking my camera along and snapping a picture of the shops. I really liked Markle Antique Mall in Markle, Indiana and got a few things there.
I got to put the lessons I learned about 'boopie' glasses and candlewick from 'treasure seeker' to use at this booth.
My favorite Illinois antique mall was Rend Lake Antique Mall outside of Benton, Illinois -- it was great. That's where I got the tumbler and Kitchen Parade cloth below.

The booth in this picture was my favorite one & displayed really well!

Then I got to go to Kally's favorite shop, Sheffield Antique Mall in Collierville & we had a wonderful time (as we always do when we're together). There's no treasure you can buy that's as precious as a true friend!

Here are the treasures I came home with (and I don't think I even spent as much as Jim's one round of golf!)

An orange chenille rug decorated with big, bright pom-poms
A 'Kitchen Parade' small tablecloth or large towel
A vintage dishtowel decorated with vegetables
A wire holder for my swanky swigsA tumbler from a feed store that says
'Egg Atoms' for 'Mountains of Eggs'
(the hen is shown on an egg mountain to prove that it's real)
A barkcloth pillow cover large enough for one of my old metal lawn chairs
When I got home, I went back to Livingston Antiques and got a little yo-yo man that I'd had my eye on and was afraid might be gone. He's really a clown, but since he doesn't have a scary face, I don't have to be afraid of him!

Now, with my new austerity program, I have to get rid of as many things as I brought into the house +1 more. We'll see how THAT goes!

A Freebie Treasure

My friend Kathy, whose mother is down-sizing her home, offered to let me have anything I wanted from the give-away stuff. I got this wonderful item! Kathy and her brother really laughed at how excited I was about it -- they just don't know a treasure when they see it.

Now all I need is a little bird to go in it. . .

Vote on my Retro Fabric!

I went antiquing with my friend Kim last weekend and got this great 'mid-century' barkcloth. Kim later described it in her blog as 'funky retro fabric' and implied that it really wasn't as cool as I though it was.

So...you get to vote, faithful readers! Here's a picture of the fabric and a poll (in the left panel) -- you make the call, cool or not cool!

The Living Room's Done!

After a couple of weeks of what feels like non-stop work (and shopping and returns), the living room is finally *almost* completed! With Charlie & Sarah arriving tomorrow, Sarah's mom & stepdad coming on Tuesday and the Gilmore clan coming on Sunday, we REALLY felt the pressure to get it finished this weekend. I felt like I was on 'Design Star' and I could hear people shouting "just 15 more minutes. . ." as we hurried to get the last drop cloth put away and the last picture or pillow in place.

Anyway, I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out (although it still feels like someone else's room). Here are some pics:

Arnold Ziffel

The year of the pig (and the cute little pic I chose) made me think of one of my favorite pigs, Arnold Ziffel! Here he is, for all of you who remember him and, especially for those of you who don't.