Just sharing a few of my favorite "low color" pictures I've posted on Instagram.
Art nouveau jewelry- a lucky auction buy.
Altered postcard with a holy card and religious medal.
Pretty old book surrounded by lace and pearls.
The start of a bit of stitching- I should really see where I stashed this; and if it's done.
Many times I've mentioned that my favorite part of the week is Friday afternoon, when I get home from estate sales and get to sort through my "loot". That time is even better if I have a "mystery" box, bag or container to sort through...something I bought without seeing all of it.
Last Friday I bought two boxes to dig through. Want to look through them with me?
At first glance this button box doesn't scream "BUY ME", but since I have a thing for buttons, and I spotted quite a few white and ivory buttons, I bought it.
It DOES have a lot of white buttons, and some interesting ones to boot- like one with a rhinestone in the center, and the prettiest mother of pearl button with a scalloped edge.
Pretty metal buttons.
These glass buttons were in the little red labeled clear bottles.
Little fold up scissors marked Germany. I usually assume that anything marked Germany was made in the 1930s or earlier because I don't think they were making scissors in the 1940's in Germany, they were making war materials. After WWII, there were two Germanys, West Germany and the GDR (German Democratic Republic). Items from that time period are usually marked as West Germany or GDR.
These little dancer charms were in the box as well as this "mystery note". It reads "Aunt Aggies 1890? (first) wedding dress, I think". But I can't figure out which buttons the note refers too.
My next box lot was in this Accordion Press board Binder box. The box label reads Red Rope Industries, Brooklyn 1, New York. The address doesn't have a zip code, so I'm assuming the box is from the early 1960s, so what's inside could be interesting.
The first thing I noticed when I opened the box was this cute Simplicity pattern. The second thing I noticed was the SMELL. This box had been in a basement for awhile.
So, while taking shallow breathes, I dug in. A weaving loom...could be an interesting new project to try.
And more crafts- 1940's and 1950's craft books.
And under the craft books- old pictures with great details. I love the parasol in the middle picture and that great hat in the picture on the right.
And where is this treasure trove of a box lot? I grabbed some scented dryer sheets, slipped them in the box and put the lid back on. I sure hope that takes care of the smell!
(let's see if I remember how to do this.)
Low color finds from yesterday's estate sale hunting. A pretty floral sewing box, a pair of Florentine wall sconces and a stool that's best characteristic is its legs...which I didn't get a picture of. When you have a chance to show off good legs, you really should, but I blew it.
I'm always on the look out for spooners like the one on top of the sewing box. Pretty silverware should be displayed instead of hidden in a drawer.
This piece gets the "I've never seen that before" prize.
It's three horizontal levels of pressed tin in the shape of a Gothic cathedral. I'm guessing it was meant to be a letter holder, that's what I'm calling it.
Vintage office supplies in original boxes- yeah! I love anything Dennison, but the deco look of that Ace Gummed Reinforcement box is pretty awesome, too.
The best estate sale adventures have a bit of vintage sewing tidbits. Notice that the Kirby needle package says "War Pack". I'm guessing that's World War II.
And now I'm off to sort through today's finds.
Remember the "good old days" when I used to shop for a few hours on Fridays mornings and do a Friday evening or Saturday posts about all the good stuff I found?
(You might not remember it that way, or remember it at all- but that's how I fondly think of it!)
It seems like those big haul Fridays are farther and farther apart. This post is some pictures that I've posted on Instagram of favorite finds this summer.
Like this group of vintage watch faces in the first picture. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with them, I just know I like them. Maybe because they are a throwback to when we didn't check the time by looking at a digital read out on our phone or computer. When you look at clock hands or watch hands, you can see time moving, and you can see the time you're waiting for.
These pieces came from a big auction box lot of linens. A lot of the linens were cloth napkins and tablecloths, and I got them for a song because it seems like people just don't entertain formally at home anymore. The floral pieces are pretty, but I thought the black and white towel was interesting because of the technique was used to get that black basket weave.
A big ole stack of vintage cigar boxes. I love the graphics on these, and love to use them for craft supply storage.
This hand stitched quilt with its feed sack flowers and sweet shades of pink is a little ratty around the edges. I bought it to use in crafts, but I'm just not sure if I have the heart to take a scissors to it.
This little collection of vintage purses has to be one of my favorite finds ever. I bought them at the estate sale of a woman who collected purses. Each one had number. Some were labeled with red bordered Dennison labels. Some had a shipping tag or note inside that told where the purse had come from like "Aunt Harriet, Lindsborg, 1935".
I'm guessing that somewhere, sometime there was a master list of a hundred or more purses, all with a little description and provenance. These aren't the nicest or most interesting purses I've ever seen, but I love the idea that a person loved their collection so much that they catalogued it. That's a person after my own heart.
I really don't like blog posts that start with "Sorry I been away from my blog" or "Gee, it's been a long time since I've posted"...but both are true statements for me, so I'm easing back into blogging with a simple post.
Just some random phone pictures from restocking visits to my antique booth so far this summer.
One of my favorite large washbowl style pitchers. An aesthetic design in shades of pink. It sold quickly. On the other hand, the pink planter in the background has been in my booth for over a year.
A display of blue and brown.
Something I always like to see...anywhere...a big bowl of lace full of texture and colors. I'm not sure about paper mache apples.
A bowl of swirly burlap trim, with a sweet little book tucked in the back.
At estate sales, I'm always on the look out for sets of books. Besides being beautiful like this good trimmed set from Thackeray, you can stack them to add some height and variety to displays.
I've had the set of three circa 2000 books by Dickens at my booth forever. I know they aren't as pretty as good trimmed hardcovers, but doesn't anyone read the classics anymore? Oh well, I guess they're good for displaying bookends.
Simple vignette. My favorite things- the marbled paper background harvested from some books that were falling apart and those little white berries in the creamer.
About a year and half ago I made my first ever trip to Ikea. I came home a changed person. Well changed at least as to how I viewed my house. I wanted to clear out the clutter and go for a clean pared down look. I've made a lot of progress, but at my house, nothing ever gets done quickly.
Back in this post from Feb 2015, I showed the Ikea "dinette" that was my starting point.
I remember that it took a lot of work to get that picture. I had to clear lots of "stuff" off the table- magazines, keys, gloves, hats, change, vet bills and invoices from car repairs.
I thought- I've got to get a system, a place to hide all that stuff.
So, back to Ikea. Two sets of shelving cubbies (against the wall) with baskets and bins was going to solve my problem.
I thought it would work, but I don't think we've quite perfected the system.
But, back to my original question. I was planning on putting open shelving above the black cubbies but got overwhelmed when faced with all the options at Ikea. That's why things take a long time at my house.
The tall brown shelves on top of the cubbies is a leftover from college days. It's three Gallo wine crates nailed together. It had been in the basement and I was going to take it to my booth at the antique mall, thinking it made a good display area.
It was leaning against the table and Karla saw it and asked "Oh is that the shelf you got for your kitchen?". I said "No, it's a piece of junk I'm taking to my booth." She said "But wouldn't it work?"
We put it up there, and I foofed it a little bit.
Dear husband isn't sure he likes it, I'm not sure I like it. But I think that might be because we associate it with "couch from the curb" and milk crate table style college furniture.
So, what do you think?
Does it make my butt look big, or my kitchen look like a frat house?
It's been so long since I've done a blog post that I'd forgotten my password to log in to Typepad. I don't have a big bundle of exciting projects or great antiquing finds to share with you. My time has been spent in that giant pit that accountants call "year-end".
Because I haven't been going to many estate sales and auctions, I've been searching my basement and craft room for goodies to stock my booth. This morning I found these Valentine candy boxes that I wisely bought sometime last summer.
Luckily, I have some people looking out for me to help me scratch my antiquing itch. "Other Karla's" mom sent a box of sewing notions for me to dig through.
My favorite is this Red Owl needle book. Does anyone else remember the Red Owl grocery stores?
I've been re-reading the Harry Potter books. Actually, I'm only re-reading the first two; I haven't read the rest of the series. Dear husband has read all of the Harry Potter books more than once and will spend the weekend glued to the TV whenever he finds a Harry Potter movie marathon, so there must be something there worth looking into.
Santa always used to bring me coloring books in my Christmas stocking; this year my Mom and Dad gave me this coloring book.
What I like about this book is besides coloring, it also encourages you to do some doodling and drawing. See the message in the bottom pot on the right - "Fill these pots with plants & flowers."
My shoulder has recovered from "knitting injury" and I've been working on a light weight afghan that should be done in time for spring naps.
Spending more time at my "big girl job" has made me less "task oriented" about my free time. I've never been obsessive about finishing projects, but having less free time makes me want to have more fun in the free time I do have. So if I get an idea that cutting up a bunch of felt and stitching on it sounds like fun, no matter how many other unfinished projects I have; that's what I might do.
This is what my craft table in the living room looks like- a big variety of projects- coloring books, stitching, journals, book making and knitting stuff on the shelf underneath. I always have plenty of projects (and supplies) at hand, and I'm having fun working on whatever makes me happy.
So, my next blog post might be full of finished projects, or it might be another mish mash of starts and projects in process.
I've written before about "junk desperation"- the feeling that comes when I go for a long stretch without a really good junking day.
In the past, junking desperation has led me to drive to distant cities (Topeka, Kansas or Grain Valley, Missouri; you know- really off the grid) to search for goodies to resell. Often, I've ended up disappointed because I don't find anything I want, or anything I want at a reasonable price. Not only do I come home empty handed, but I'm frustrated about wasting an afternoon that could have been spent crafting or reading or watching Law and Order re-runs.
Junking desperation has also led me to estate sales that are too far away, too expensive, or just too boring- new stuff, dollar store stuff, Beanie Baby and Nascar collections- stuff that someone will want, just not right for me.
I usually can tell by reading the ad if a sale will be the kind I want to go to, but junking desperation can lead to wishful thinking.
But last weekend, I wasn't going to ride that wagon again. I have a craft room and a guest room full of stuff- stuff that I can sell.
Some people may say I'm a hoarder. But I think a hoarder is someone who can't get rid of things. I'm more than willing to sell just about anything, I just don't have the time or energy to sort and price everything.
It's much easier to buy an entire box of jewelry or a jar of buttons than it is to organize them to sell.
While I browsed my craft room, treating it like my own personal estate sale, with the bonus of everything being priced at $0, I brought my camera along.
Some things in my craft room aren't for sale- like my shadow box of "B" pins. The only people that would really want them would be another Beth, or maybe Betty or Barbara.
But I've got a plenty of things I bought with the idea of re-selling, but I never got around to pricing them. Eventually they were put in my craft room, to get them out of the way, or with the idea that I'd use them in some future project.
But looking around, if I get my organizing skills in gear, I should have no problem with restocking my booth, with the added advantage of clearing out some space in my own house.
So the question is- what do I start with? Buttons, jewelry, paper, postcards?
Earlier in the week I went to my booth at the antique mall to get ready for today's Holiday Open House. Our weather has been so mild, it seems too early for the holidays, but usually the open house is one of the highest sale days of the year.
This indented mercury glass garland is one of the more unusual pieces that has passed through my hands. I had two, but one sold the day after I put it out.
A closer look at the garland- in a Goofus glass bowl.
A gold and silver tablescape. The compote on the right is full of German candle clips. Can you imagine a tree peppered with these clips with lit candles? Beautiful, until a fire starts!
Not necessarily Christmas, but I like these vanity pretties.
When I finished stocking my own booth, I took a tour with my camera to get a look at the decor in other booths.
Santa on a snowball! I've never seen this before- it's big- probably 15" tall.
Santas all in a row.
This incredible platter and cover is $1650. That's more than I pay for my turkey!
One of my favorite displays. This grouping of silver plate and mercury glass beads from Pat Brewster's booth.
Another favorite- Gail Tritten always has great displays. Who couldn't love a silver tree with so many pretty vintage ornaments?
One last picture- this isn't specifically Christmas, but I love it. A Florentine desk- an actual full size piece of Florentine furniture. I also love that perpetual calendar on the upper left side of the desk.
Hope this gives you some inspiration for your holiday decorating.
Did you notice I said SATURDAY estate sales? .
My reason for not going to Friday estate sales: Many estate sales are now starting on Thursday. Sometimes companies will run Friday at 25% off, but not all. I don't think I've ever gone to the second day of three day estate sale and bought something if the price wasn't reduced. Think about it, Friday is just full price left overs from Thursday.
So I waited until Saturday when everything was half price. What did I get? Two composition dolls. The one on the left I bought just for the head- she has no arms or legs, and shortly after I took this picture I beheaded her.
I know, that really freaks some people out, but she has a very pretty face. The carriage is something I bought earlier in the summer. I haven't had a lot of luck in selling full size doll furniture, but I thought the silver blue color of this would make a pretty display at the holidays. Fill it with greenery, pine cones and some silver, pink and blue ornaments. I think it would be so cute next to a Christmas tree.
Vintage office supplies including a cute old Webster's composition book and a first aid kit. The blue box is for a typewriter ribbon. Unfortunately, the masking tape price tag was slapped right over the pretty lady's face. When I pulled it off, some of her curls came with it.
The office supplies are atop one of those great old vertical file folders that reads "LETTERS" and still has it's little leather tab to pull it from the shelf.
Love this shabby vignette. The candlestick is a little chippy, and has a little bit of rust and verdi gras. It's sitting on a dresser mirror with cherubs for handles.
This Florentine tray and filigree frame fit in nicely with the candlestick. The leather piece with pink and gold accents is actually a leather book cover.
Speaking of books, I got this huge heavy book with beautiful floral plates.
If I cut the book apart and sold the plates separately I could probably get $1 a piece for them- for a total of $200. If I sell the book, I'll probably price it at $10. I hate the idea of taking a perfectly good book apart. What would you do?
