Gathering Dust

Etsy Shop Update- Selling Still Gives Me A Thrill

I like to set goals- I don't always meet them, but I if set a goal, and make it "official", either by writing it down or fixing it in my head, I accomplish a lot more than if I just have some vague ideas about doing "stuff".  Writing it down makes me accountable to myself.

But enough Oprahsizing- this weekend I said my goal was to get the total number of items in my Etsy shops- Gathering Dust and SugarPinkMoon up to 100. 

When I started yesterday, I had a total of 30.  Now I have a total of 70- but along the way people are BUYING things, so the count goes down.  Geez....

Ok,you know I'm kidding.  I LOVE it when you buy things from me.  Even though I've been selling antiques for almost 14 years, I still get a thrill when someone wants to buy something I picked out.

When I got my first booth at the antique mall, my rent was $250 a month, and I had a 6 mos lease.  I remember talking it over with my husband, and realizing that I was committing myself to spending $1500.

But I really wanted to try it, so we decided I should risk the $1500. I moved in and went back the next day and realized that I had sold two pieces that I had brought in on the first day - for a total of $18. I was SO THRILLED.  I remember thinking "Now, the most I can lose is $1482"- always the accountant with the financial statement running through my head.

So, I haven't quite met my goal yet- but I still have a few hours.  In the meantime, here's a look at some of what I have listed so far- including a bunch of funky plastic stuff- buttons, jewelry, even a clothespin. 

I'm going to take a listing break and read some of Tina Fey's book BossyPants.  Tina is my new hero ever since I started watching 30 Rock a few months ago.  I relate to Liz Lemon because she wears clothes with food on them and sometimes has lettuce in her hair, and sometimes, I do too.

Take a Stitch Tuesday and French General Necklace

In December I posted about Take a Stitch Tueday, a stitch along project that would feature a new embroidery stitch every week.  The challenge is to learn the stitch, or if you already know it, take it a step further. 

I played catch up this week and did the first three weeks.

Wk 1: The fly stitch - along with some cross stitches and straight stitches.

Wk 2: The blanket stitch- along with some straight stitches, cross stitches and French knots.

Wk 3: You guessed it- the Feather Stitch.

My sampler is very simple compared to the work of some stitchers- there are some really incredible pieces of art.  You can visit their work by clicking the links in the comments of this post, or see some highlights here and here.

And now, on to the French General necklace.  When I posted the first picture of what I had put together, I thought it might be kind of a running joke- every week I'd be showing another set of three beads linked together.

The joke was on me-last Tuesday, Karla showed me an easy way to make the little links. Yesterday, I started playing with my necklace, and I couldn't put it down.  I finished, and even wore it to work today- and NOTHING fell off or came apart. 

It was so much fun, I might try to string a few more beads together.

Etsy Shop Update

 
Been doing a little bit of that spring cleaning- not too much, I'm really not much of a housekeeper- but I have done some destashing by adding new items to my Etsy shops.  The picture above has some of my favoriet antiques- French books, a transferware butter pat and a cavier spoon- all things no home should be without.  You can find them here.

 
I've had a collection of vintage tin noisemakers for a long time- I used to keep them in a big ironstone bowl on a trunk I used as a coffee table.  Kids loved to play with them when they came to visit.  Their parents, maybe not so much...

Eventually I moved the bowl to another room.... 

 My favorite is the dancing butterflies in the upper right corner.

 
We've got sparkly jewelry, and some jewelry lots that are missing a stone or have some other little problem but would be great for projects or to be remade into a new "old" piece.

 
The flower pin and earring set is very springy- and I love the simplicity of the bar pin with the cross, anchor and heart. 
You can find jewelry and noisemakers here.  Thanks for taking the time to look!

What's on the Bookshelf? Reference Books for the Antique Dealer

 
 
Do you keep all your books in one place, or have them scattered through out the house?  I have bookshelves or bookcases in every room in the house.  Decorating books are in the guest room, craft books are in the craft room, recent fiction is in the living room, the bedroom has overflow books from the living room because I seem to be able to buy books faster than read them...and this cabinet in the front hall has (mostly) my antique reference books.

 
I've been selling on and off on Ebay for twelve years, and some of these books have been invaluable in telling me just exactly what I have- identifying glassware and flatware patterns or finding the name or maker of tableware.

 
 
But some of my books have been good for more than just reference, they have great pictures and I enjoy just browsing through them.

Antique And Collectible Buttons  by Debra Wisniewski has pictures of thousands of buttons.  In all my hours of sorting hundreds of pounds of buttons, I don't think I've ever run across a button that isn't in this book.

 
 And the book has pictures of so many great buttons that I'd love to find.  Like this set of pink ladies accessories...

 
...cheery yellow and orange Dutch set

 

Another book that I can look through over and over again is Costume Jewelry (DK Collector's Guides) by Judith Miller.

 
Besides having beautiful pictures and a great index of maker's marks, this book has helped me to have a better "jewelry vocabulary".  Instead of describing a pin as "curvy with shiny green things", I can say "C-scroll pin with green lava stones and aurora borealis crystal rhinestones set in silver-plated metal".

It's also helped me identify smaller genres of jewelry collecting like

 
...creature pins.  Yep, there are people who collect fish, seahorse, bee and spider pins.

 
If you read my blog often, you probably know I have a soft spot for old children's books.  Collector's Guide to Children's Books, 1850-1950: Identification & Values, Vol. 2  by Diane McClure Jones has charming pictures.

 

Along the same lines, another book I can page through and enjoy over and over is a Collector's Encyclopedia of Children's Dishes. an Illustrated Value Guide  by Margaret and Kenn Whitmyer.

 
This book covers a long time span- from 1800's china and pressed glass child's tea sets to toy dishes I remember playing with.

 
One of my favorites from this book is this brown transferware set called "Girls with Pets" -it combines so many of my favorite things- children's dishes, brown transferware and dogs.

 
Does anyone else remember playing with these aluminum dishes?  I think I had the cookie cutters and the muffin tin- and the pie plate until my Mom turned it into the dog's water dish.

For me,  these books are kind of like the old Sears Christmas catalog that I'd go through over and over,  making lists of what I wanted. These are just four of my favorite "browsing" books.  I guess with the amount of time I spend looking at antique guides, it's not surprising the bedroom has overflow books that I've not gotten around to reading.  I'm just too busy "armchair junking". 

Lace and Coffee

 
I've been playing with lace, doilies and coffee again.  I used to knit a little before I went to bed, but I've switched to lace, needle and thread.

And then in the morning, everything gets dunked in the breakfast coffee- AFTER we've had our cups.

 
I was making what I called "ditty" bags- little drawstring bags, but I went "big" and added some lace to a tote bag, too.

 
Would anyone be interested in a tutorial on how to make these bags?  They seem easy to me, but I was reading a blog today about tutorials. It mentioned that projects, techniques and tips that seem obvious to me might be completely new to someone else.

 
Another piece that got the coffee treatment is this tiny (3" square) art quilt, that reminds me of a cameo.

All of these pieces are available in my Etsy shop Gathering Dust.

I've added some new things to my SugarPinkMoon shop, too.

One of my favorites is this Sears Wallpaper sample book.

 

It has over 80 pages of different wallpaper samples- and a lot of them are the pretty florals.

 
There are some odd papers, too - like leafy jungle prints, faux paneling and boring textures, but most are pretty and the perfect size for craft projects- about 7" x 9".

 
And of course, I listed some sparkle.

 
And now, I'm off to stitch a little bit more before bed.

Low Color Crafts for Christmas

 
I'm still in love with burlap, tea stain and tattered lace in "low colors"- my Christmas crafts don't have any of the traditional red and green- or even my old favorite silver and blue.

 
Today is Christmas craft day at  Karla's, and we're doing an ornament exchange.  I couldn't decide between the ribbon and tattered lace skirted angel in the first picture or this:

 
...two girls happily celebrating the chill with fur wraps.  I've dipped this wall hanging in tea and coffee so many times at different stages in the process of making it that I think it would work as a tea bag itself in an emergency.

 
 
I can't decide between the two of them, so I think I'll bring both. 

One thing I won't be bringing is sugared pecans.  I made them this morning to go on top of a salad- mixed greens,  pecans, craisens, feta cheese and a raspberry vinaigrette.  Unfortunately, I packed the hot sugared nuts in my box to go to Karla's and found out that dogs really like the smell of nuts- and don't mind eating them out of a Baggie.  Our salad is going to have to get its crunch from croutons...

 
By the way, I've added some estate sale jewelry to my Etsy Shop- SugarPinkMoon.

The "H" Word, Vintage Plastic Jewelry & an Ed & Fred Giveaway

 
 
When you buy and sell vintage, unless you're a lot more organized than I am, you're walking a fine line between "having a nice selection of backstock" and being the "H" word- a hoarder.

Sometimes, when commercials for the TV show Hoarders come on, my husband gives me the side eye- he doesn't SAY anything, but I still feel the urge to defend myself.  My response is "I'm not a hoarder, I'm willing to sell anything for the right price".

 
BUT, I was rearranging some things in the bedroom and realized there are some things I'm not quite willing to give up-  like my vintage plastic jewelry collection.  It's kind of cheesy dime store jewelry from the 40s & 50's, but it just makes me smile- I mean, look at the little round headed bird pin- are you smiling yet?

 
And a green plastic cameo- what would you wear with this?  What kind of dress or jacket could you pin this to that would make your ensemble look even better?  I think it's a hoot.

 

My collection of plastic jewelry does extend to some non dime store pieces- a few of my favorites are this carved dress clip in a color that's called apple juice, a red carved dress clip and a carved moon in a marbled green.

I'm sure that keeping a handful, or maybe a jewelry box, full of silly pins that I'll probably never wear doesn't make a hoarder...

 
I'm NOT going to hoard any of Ed & Fred's scrapbook- I decided to take it apart before it fell apart.  In the back I found some really pretty old Valentines.  I put together a selection of cards to give away- just leave a comment anywhere on my blog between now and Sun Nov 28 and you'll be entered.

If you want to see some more of Ed & Fred's cards & Valentines, I've listed some in my Etsy shop.

Something Spencerian This Way Comes

These three things have nothing to do with each other...but I do like to make lists.

 
1.  While I was going through "my stash" to sort and price for the Bottoms Up antique show the first weekend in Nov, I ran across a German book FULL of beautiful images, handwriting and Spencerian script. 

 
It's a little bit scary, because I have no idea where the book came from- only that I think its really special, and I can't imagine that I didn't know I had it.

Anyway, I scanned a couple images that I thought were interesting- you can right click on them to open in a new window and then save them to your computer and use them as you wish- I think a little pillow might be nice.

 
2.  One thing I love about fall is the apples- so many different kinds- all good, unless of course, you're Snow White- and you bit the poison apple.

(That's my great niece Grace- she has a bit of a flair for the dramatic- and this picture just cracked me up.)

3.  I've added a few things to my Etsy shop SugarPinkMoon...

JEWELRY

Books & Foreign Playing Cards

 

and these really ornate but cute lampshades.

 

Come Craft with Me- It's too Hot to Do Much Else

 
 
If you live anywhere south of the Canadian border, you probably don't  need to hear another complaint about how hot it is- but it's so hot that it seems like estate sales (along with my lawn) have shrunk down to nothing.

 
I did find this pretty satin lingerie bag this morning, It made a great background for some of the jewelry I found at an auction earlier this week. All of it is in my Etsy shop SugarPinkMoon.

Since it has been so hot, I've been hunkering down in my craft room.  These are book covers I made for a wallpaper book.  

 
I cut some pretty floral wallpaper to use as pages for the book, but then thought, maybe the new owner of this book would like to use the wallpaper for a different project, so I left the book unassembled, and added some pretty ribbons and calling cards.

It's in my Etsy shop, too.

If you're looking for a fast and fun craft project - check out Karla's Dorothy Tag Book Swap. (That's Dorothy as in The Wizard of Oz) Just make six tags- they can be the same or different.  Send them to Karla, and she'll send you back a tag book - with six different tags, and a cover handmade by Karla.  It's always fun to get an original piece of art in the mail.  If you've wanted to join a swap, but not been quite sure, this is a great place to start- "newbies" are welcome- and Karla has provided lots of images on her blog.  The deadline isn't until the middle of Sep, so you've got lots of time to make your tags- so go sign up right now while you're thinking about it.

 I started my tags with a plan to make Dorothy style dresses, complete with hand embroidered white pinafores.

But then I saw this image on Karla's blog- and it reminded me of someone.
 
So I started another set of tags:

Because Toto reminds me just a little bit of my Button.

 

Recycled Linen Collage and Sewing Projects

Years of going to auctions and involuntarily raising my bid card everytime I hear the words "Box Lot" have left me with scads of vintage linens and fabric.  I usually pull out the best pieces from a lot, sell those and pack up the rest in Rubbermaid tubs.

A lot of the pieces that get stashed have some flaw- stains, holes, but still show a lot of workmanship and have salvagable areas.  Like this piece- it was a dresser scarf with a hole in the middle- but I loved the simple cross stitched silhouette.  After staring at the dresser scarf for a long time, I decided to use my meager sewing skills to make something. 

I cut the runner in half, trimmed out the hole and made the two pieces the same size, put the right sides together and folded the silhoutte to be on the outside and sewed three sides.  

After adding some lace to the edges, I made a  fabric flower from some faded toile and then lined the bag with the toile.  My lack of sewing skills would make me the first person voted off Project Runway, but I wasn't unhappy with the finished piece.  I like to use tote bags to keep my knitting projects sorted out and right now this is holding bits of cotton yarn that I'm using to knit washclothes.  And I was so happy to be able to "salvage" this runner.

Another recycled project was this wall hanging that has a sweet but well worn and slightly stained baby slip. I definitely got inspiration for this from Lisa of Tarnished and Tattered. 

 
I added a handwritten recipe and drawing that was printed on fabric, some buttons, twill tape that I stamped on, and added some decorative stitching and finished with crepe paper ruffles on the top and bottom.

 
Unlike my recycled tote bag, this is held together with glue, so I'm comfortable selling it - It's in my etsy shop.

I have several more WIPs (works in process) from my stash - I'm having fun trying to be creative in recycling these pretty old pieces.

I've been cleaning out my jewelry box lots, too- and added these to my SugarPinkMoon Etsy shop.