Gathering Dust

Scrappy Jessi's Favorite Toys Party Tin Litho Tea Sets

Jessi is having a party- show your Favorite Childhood Toys.  I went down to the basement to dig out some of my Barbie dolls, games & books, but they all looked ...played with...and kind of dirty and old...which they are...

So instead, I thought I'd show my favorite childhood toys that are from someone else's childhood.

I started collecting tin litho tea sets about ten years ago- about the same time I started selling antiques. 

I don't actively look for them anymore- no more daily Ebay searches, and I've sold some of my older pieces that were actually worth something- but if I run across a set at an auction or flea market at a reasonable price- I can't resist,

It's hard to find complete sets- and I don't think I have any that have all their pieces- this one is missing the lid to the teapot.

It's called Ducky Bathtime and was made in the 1940's.  The graphics were done by Elaine Ends Hileman who also illustrated children's books.

The larger piece is a saucer- I'm really not sure what the smaller pieces were for- they are really tiny- about 1 1/2" in diameter.

Isn't she sweet?

Here's the other side of the pitcher.

These pink and black dishes are called Swanset from 1956.  I have two different sets of it- one very played with, with pink interiors on the cups...

... and one with white interiors on the cups, and in better condition.  But it's hard to find these pieces without some rust.  Little girls liked to have their tea parties, and the dishes got wet. 

It's nice to know that these 50 and 60 year old toys are still making someone smile!

Thanks for hosting a fun party, Jessi!

Added Thu Morning

If you read Karla's blog,  you know that her 50th birthday is on Monday.  We celebrate her birthday by going to the big flea market in Sparks KS and having funnel cakes. 

This is Karla's present and I think what's inside is even better.  I told her she could open it tomorrow, but she says she's going to wait....

My nieces, Claire and Aiden, both had birthdays in April, and now they are both teenagers.  It was a lot easier to buy them presents when they were little.  This year, I got them both Starbucks gift cards- and made pretty folders to put them in.

Bit 'o Knit, Bit 'o Craft, BUNCH 'o Mail

Last night I had a chance to do a bit of crafting.  Love the bright colors of the roses against the neutral backgrounds, but I'm not sure if the piece on the left is done.  I spent about an hour looking for the right color ribbon for the rose tag, and I'm still not sure if I found it.

That's the thing that can make crafting so slow- taking all that time to find one little element.  As I was trying to fall asleep last night, I was thinking about how to make collage or tag making etc etc fast and easy.  If I have a couple more sleepless nights, I think I might be able to put together a little blog tutorial- something like "Collage with One Hand Tied Behind Your Back".

When the crafting isn't going as fast as I want, I can always turn to knitting- its nice to know that if I just follow the directions and pay a minimal amount of attention, I'll probably get the results I want.  This scarf is kind of a classic- Icelandic wool, and good old wooden knitting needles. 

Of course, the darn thing will be so itchy that'll I'll probably have to PAY someone to wear it.

We've already received some finished panels for Karla & Beth's Birds & Bonnets Vintage Workshop Swap.   Scrappy Jessi  was the first person to sign up for the swap, and "test drove" the website with the images, and she was the first person to send her panels.   That girl is so generous- look at these darling hat stands she sent with her art.

They make cute tag holders, too.  Jessi is having a party on her blog on May 1- check it out!

My new blogging friend Lili and I met over a mutual love of buttons.  Lili is from the Netherlands- isn't that the great thing about blogging!?  It lets me have friends in EUROPE- I feel so worldly...

Anyway, Lili and I decided to do a swap.  I loved the graphics of her European buttons cards...

and she loved the sweet images on American button cards, so we decided to a swap. 

I just adore these, and I'm going to frame them.

Lili sent some other wonderful treasures, too- this wallpaper- I haven't seen anything like it in the US.

And these book pages in shades of ecru, ivory and cream.

These cute old labels.  I think some of this is going to have to be scanned to use in collages, because I can't stand to cut up the originals!

Now, I'm off to another auction, so I have something to blog about tomorrow!

And Then I Went to An Auction...

I thought I didn't have very much to blog about, but I didn't want my Mom to worry about me, so I started looking around for what I've been up to lately and ending up finding a lot of stuff.  This might be one of those posts where you want to grab a cup of coffee or a Diet Coke if you're planning on making it all the way to the end!

I went to an estate auction in one of the most dilapidated houses I have ever seen- and it was right in the middle of a great suburban neighborhood.  From the outside, the house looked darling, but inside- oh, bad news---holes in the walls, holes in the ceiling, stains on the walls- it was more than just neglect.  I've ventured into some pretty scary places in pursuit of "stuff", even wearing a breathing mask, but the basement in the house was a place I just couldn't go into.  I started down the steps, got about half way down and was afraid there just wasn't any safe place to walk.

But, at any rate they did have cool old stuff- like the vintage hosiery box at the top of the post, filled with fine lace.  The piece above was trimmed from the hem of a dress.

And look at this pretty unfinished painting- its very much in that Gibson girl style and called "A Young Mother".  I hope I can find a frame to fit it.

Beautiful lawn dress just full of ruffles. 

Won't I look nice wearing it this summer, showing off my 18" waist <----just kidding!

Beautiful tiny hexagon mother of pearl buttons.

This lacy jacket looks prettier close-up.

Oval rhinestone buttons and beautiful embroidery.

I love these children's books from the 1920's and 1930's- the style has all deco undertones.

The Lovely Garden is on the Island of Can-be-Done.

I thought Nip Tuck was a TV show- but its really a book full of fairies.

At a DIFFERENT auction (yes, I'm a two a week auction girl), I found a few sweet treasures, too.

This little dog has seen his share of love- and I think that's what makes him so sweet.  When I bought him, the gentleman behind me said 'Beth, I think you're going to have to feed that boy some Beneful".

I found some cute vintage nut cups and I've given them each a little ballerina and some buttons and added them to my Etsy Shop.

I've also added some bits and pieces- buttons, doodads, collage groupings and plan on adding some more through out the day, so if you like that kind of thing, keep checking.

I was just amazed and awed and impressed by the pictures I saw on blog from the Round Top antique shows in Texas a few weeks ago.  I loved the subtle white, ecru and cream palettes. 

This was my inspiration for the latest group of projects I've been working on for The Vintage Workshop.  I used Photo Filtre to change images to sepia tones.  These images are from Mother and Father Day's Collections and Botanical Collections.

Before working for the The Vintage Workshop, I pretty much did all my collage by using original images, or photocopies.

I didn't realize how much variety and dimension you can bring to projects by printing and resizing.

This is sweet little shadow box that was a breeze to put together, just a cute picture, a baby spoon, some lace & buttons.

If you've stuck with me  this far in this long post- and are interested in some more project ideas- sign up for The Vintage Workshop's e-newsletter here.

Show & Tell Sunday Bring on the Bling

This Sunday's Show & Tell is being hosted by Cerri and the subject is vintage jewelry.  Most of my vintage jewelry isn't "blingy".  I have more vintage plastic jewelry like Bakelite, celluloid and thermoset than anything else.  I think this is because because sparkly jewelry is so popular and I make part of my living by hoarding  selling vintage goods and antiques, I usually end up selling my sparklies- but I do have a few favorites that I've held on too.  Like this pretty pink rhinestone parure.  Such a yummy pink color- it reminds me of a lipstick pink.

All of my sparkly jewelry fits in this one little box- and every so often (like rainy days), I pull it out and play with it.

Blue and clear stones.

A couple of pretty pieces of icey blue from the flea market in little White Cloud KS.

I don't even remember where I got this striking black glass and rhinestone necklace.

This shooting star pin was a souvenir from Second Chance Antiques in Omaha over Silver Bella weekend.

I love "creature" pins and this sparkly bird is one of my favorites.

Thanks for visiting my little collection of bling- now put on your sunglasses and check out some more jewels!

Buttons for a Rainy Day

 

I got an email from my Mom checking in on me, because  I hadn't posted in my blog for awhile.  I can go for weeks and weeks without hearing from my Mom and if I finally call her, she says "oh, I guess I since I read your blog, I feel like I talk to you all the time"

I've been a little under the weather, and busy with sign-ups for Karla and Beth's Birds and Bonnets Vintage Workshop Swap.  We're taking sign-ups through tomorrow- email me if you're interested. 

As an extra bonus, besides providing the images for the swap,  Amy at the The Vintage Workshop is going to give all swap participants a FREE download collection of their choice!

I haven't done a lot of "junking" lately, so I don't have any great finds to show you.  But as I mentioned in a previous post, I have "stashes" in drawers and cubbies all over the house, so if I'm jonesing for some junk, I can just look around the house to find some treasure I've hidden away. 

Oh my gosh, I just realized that makes me just like the alcoholic that hides bottles around the house....

At any rate, here are some buttons cards I've tucked away to enjoy on a rainy day like today.  I think these are so cute- special cards just for doctors and nurses uniforms.  The last time I went to the doctor, no one was wearing buttons, everyone had on sweats or scrubs.

This is one of my favorite button treasures- its a 1961 salesman's sample card that shows all the picture button cards that  were available wholesale that year.

Here's a close-up of the doctor buttons.

I've never seen the "Romper Set" button card on the right side of this picture....but if I do, I'll show you the button money!

This is another of my favorite cards.  It's just sweet.

And here are some more "realistics".  These were part of the collection of a Kansas farm wife that I've mentioned before.  They used pipe cleaners or telephone wire to hold the buttons to cards.

So Mom, this post is for you- and for Leota (my mother in law), too; because I know you check my blog everyday and miss me when I don't post.  Thanks for reading!

A Swap Announcement- You are Cordially Invited to...

Karla & Beth's Birds & Bonnets Vintage Workshop Swap

To introduce its beautiful and versatile new printable wallpaper collection,  The Vintage Workshop   is teaming up with  Karla and me to host a swap. 

Here's what we're up to:

Decorate both sides of four 4” x 5 1/2”    panels using at least one image or background from The Vintage Workshop collections on each panel.

After you sign up for the swap, we’ll send you a link and log on to a website where you can download, resize, digitally collage and print the images you’d like to use.

You can make your panels all the same or each one different.

You can use more than one image per panel, and you can use other collage materials, too.  In other words, feel free to use your own accents, buttons, and trims to compliment the images we’ll send you.  All digital collage is great, too.  Or you can work digitally and embellish copies.  Just about anything goes, as long as you use at least one of the Vintage Workshop images or backgrounds from the website we've set up.

Send your panels to us, and we’ll take all the swappers creations and assemble into one of a kind screens.  You’ll get a fun piece of art back- a screen with panels made by four different swapping artists.

We’ll  be photographing the finished screens for The Vintage Workshop, so please be aware that by participating in the swap, you are agreeing to let The Vintage Workshop use your panels on its website or in future publications.

 

The Details

The Images- The images for the swap will be available for download at a website whose address we will give you after you sign up.   You will need to size and print the images you select to use to make your panels. 

 

The Panels- 4” x 5 ½”, made of something in weight similar to chipboard or bookboard.  The cardboard back of a tablet works great for this.  Whatever you use, it has to be substantial enough that it can stand up as part of a screen, but thin enough to be hole punched.

Sign Up Date- Sign up by emailing Beth, using the email link on the upper left side of her blog.  The deadline to sign up is April 18.  After you sign up, I'll send you an email with instructions on how to access the images.

Receive by Date – We’ll need to RECEIVE your panels by May 19. 

Cost- The cost for a padded envelope, mailing and materials is $5.  The $5 needs to be included with your panels.

What You’ll Get

A unique four panel screens, with each panel made by a different player.   We’ll mail the screens by Jun 1.  The screen below is the style of screen you'll receive.

AND, we'll have prizes provided by The Vintage Workshop!

All swap players will be entered in a drawing for gift certificates for downloads from The Vintage Workshop, and these cool clutch purses.  Karla and I each decorated one using Vintage Workshop images printed on their fabric paper and decorated with hot fix crystals.

My purse will include the black gloves and pearls- because they just seem like they belong together.

You can see Karla's here.

I've pretty much been a "print on cardstock" kind of girl, but these specialty papers  are really fun.

If you're interested in joining the swap, please email me using the link at the top of the page in the left column and feel free to add the bluebird swap button to your blog roll.  Look forward to hearing from you!!

Pillows, Pretties and Progress

A few weeks ago I complained about how expensive pillow cases are, much less pillow shams.  Betty- She Sews Pretty came to my rescue.  I sent her three vintage tablecloths and she made me these darling shams- and she managed to combine all three tablecloths into them.

I wanted to pay her, but she said she'd rather have some kind of craft project.  So I'm working on a wallpaper scrapbook for her.

Prettiest wallpaper backgrounds and the prettiest images I could find.  It's kind of an "interactive" book.  There will be images that can be taken out and used somewhere else, and there will be spots where Betty can add favorite pictures.

Many of the wallpaper backgrounds in Betty's book are available through The Vintage Workshop, and will be available free to players in the swap  Karla and I announce tomorrow.  Please check back tomorrow for all the details, we'd love for you to join us! 

A few weeks ago, I showed the start of a purse I was knitting, with plans to felt.  I knitted my last stitch a few days ago and put the purse in the washing machine to felt.

I was pretty happy with how it turned out- this is my third try on making a felted purse and this is one I'll use!  Now that's PROGRESS!

Trunk Junque

Heather Pretty Petals  Junque in My Trunk swap had swappers "fill a small box with yummy vintage flea market things"  and "gift wrap the box in a super fabulous and pretty way". 

I was pretty happy with the goodies I found to put in the box for my partner Valarie.  I looked Valarie's flickr pictures and knew we liked the same things!

Buttons, bows, crystals, rhinestone earrings.

Darling little baby announcement, paper parasols- and a funky pink sewing wheel (?)- I think its for tracing patterns- I'm not sure, but I thought it was CUTE!

I used an old jewelry box for my "trunk" and filled the top with little things, and I squeezed in a few trims and pretties.  One of my favorite pieces of "junk" was the little tin tea cup at the top of the post.  But when it came to packing my trunk, I couldn't quite get it to fit- so it just got wrapped along side of the trunk.

I thought these were kind of fun, too- vintage swizzle sticks- wouldn't your ice tea (or martini)  taste better this summer if you were using one of these to stir?

My trunk wasn't too elaborate- the jewelry box was pretty sweet on its own, so I just added a chocolate brown ribbon and some millinery flowers.  Hope you enjoy, Valarie!

What a Doll!

I would never consider myself a doll collector, but when Lori at Faerie Window declared this doll day- I started to look around and realized I do have a handful dolls scattered throughout my house.

This pretty pink half girl is a pillow doll- maybe she was meant to be a pin cushion?

These are some more half dolls- most are from Germany  and were meant to be made into pincushions or pillow dolls ...

..or clothes brushes. 

Even though the doll on the left looks very deco, and the doll on the right looks 18th century, I think they're still friends!

I have one of those tall narrow composition bookcases in my craft room, right across from my work table.  I like to "play with my stuff" and make little vignettes.  This one has another pincushion doll- she lost her head at one time- and it was repaired with some ugly glue, but I still love her.

I think this is a Nancy Ann Storybook doll- but I don't know what her story is....

 

And like a lot of people, I share a weird fascination with doll parts. 

These are some I got an auction this weekend.

This little doll has all his arms and legs- but they need to be reattached- they are just sitting loose in their sockets.

This doll came in the same box with the doll parts - it has a huge hole in the back of its head, and scars across the face, but it has a certain dignity that I appreciate.

One more auction find-these little mismatched Victorian child's boots.  They were in a box lot with some baseball mitts.  The lot went for more than I wanted to pay- I guess ball gloves are more valuable that I realized.  But I asked the gentleman that bought the lot if he wanted to sell the boots- so I gave his $4 for the pair.

Thanks Lori for hosting a fun party!

Playing with the Big Girls- Show and Tell Sunday-Vintage Millinery Flowers

Last Sunday, Analise invited us to "Show Me Your Buttons".  It was so much fun that she and Cerri have started Show and Tell Sundays- a weekly party to show off the collection of the week.

This week the topic is millinery flowers.  I feel a little out of place in this one- I just started collecting flowers a few months ago after seeing Karla's growing collection of flowers.

The four flowers above are actually pins- wouldn't they look awesome pinned to your lapel- I especially love the deep pink velvet rose.

These are some handmade silk flowers I got from the estate of a amateur hat maker- they're made of that nice silky old wide ribbon, and could probably use a little steaming up to fluff them.

This is my favorite vintage hat- actually, I do believe it's my ONLY vintage hat that isn't straw.  I bought it several years ago, not because I collected hats, just  because I loved the colors and velvet leaves.  I've had it displayed in my living room, perched on the frame of a Victorian shadow box.

I wish I could have two of these hats- one to keep and one to USE- you know, pull the flowers off- but I have trouble taking apart old things that aren't broken to use the parts- even though I know the parts are sometimes worth more than the whole.

I also suffer from the "Is the project worthy?" syndrome.  I'd love to add this fabric flower to this collage shadow box- but I just don't know if the project "deserves" it.

I keep my flowers in this wallpaper covered box- I was thinking how much prettier it would be to store my flowers in a glass jar.

I looked at the tall apothecary jars at Hobby Lobby- they were $50- can you believe it?  $50 for a NEW jar at Hobby Lobby- you could get a wonderful old cut glass compote or general store jar or REAL apothecary jar for less than that.  I know- not everyone has time to shop for the real thing- or even wants it- but I'm saving my $50 for something else.

...like an ice bucket full of yarn.  I made one estate sale trip this morning, and it was the home of knitter with a YS(yarn stash) that made me weak at the knees.  It was half price day, so the I got wonderful designer yarns for $.75 a skein- and an ice bucket for $4.

Twenty one skeins of wools, mohairs and angoras- just in time for spring!   

And look what came in the mail- this charming cookbook from Jeanne.  It's so pretty- and I think the first thing I'm going to make is Goose Soup- it doesn't have goose in it, it has artichokes- I love artichokes, and I'm always looking for new ways to use them.