Gathering Dust

A Doll Dress Garland and Estate Sale Friday

This is a doll dress garland from a class at An Affair at Downtown just about 16 months ago, and I finally FINISHED it!  The class was taught by one of my favorite fun artists Pamela Huntington.  I probably would have finished it sooner if I'd decorated the dressed with the cute supplies that Pamela gave us, but I had to go my own way, which turned out to be the long way.

I added some ribbon trimmed tulle from an old wedding dress and lace scavenged from some torn runners and a few other bits and pieces.

I think my favorite part is the neckline of this dress.  It's a picture of a baby framed in an old watch case.

Not only did I finish a project today, I went to one estate sale- just one, but it was good.  I brought home a composite baby doll, an old advertising sign for laundry detergents, a metal candy box covered in roses and four roles of old wide silk ribbons.

LOVE the label on that ribbon.  The funny metal and wood pieces below the ribbon are wooden handles from department stores.  In the old days, before the paper or plastic bag, your purchases would be boxed up and tied with string.  Then the string would slid through the metal hooks on one of these handles, making it easier to carry your packages.

Even with some scratches and imperfections, I love this candy box because it's so different- being heart shaped and metal; and the roses are so rich looking.

See you next time I finish something, or buy something blog worthy!

Saturday Morning Estate Sales- If It's Your Job...

You know, some days I really don't want to go to estate sales.  This morning I would have loved to stay home on the couch with my stitching, knitting needles and a stack of books.

Going to estate sales, or pricing items, or decorating my booth isn't exactly a hardship, but sometimes I'd rather do something else.  Then I remember what a long time antique dealer friend and mentor told me.  "I don't always like standing in line waiting for a sale to start, or cleaning & washing & pricing stuff, or toting boxes of stuff to shows or my booth, but I do it because it's my job.

I think that a lot of folks who get into buying and selling vintage items and quit  because they don't make money miss the part about it being a job.

But that topic could be a whole series of blog posts- "Mistakes Antique Dealers Make".

But I've jumped off my topic- the point of my post was I didn't really want to go to sales this morning, because there weren't any listed that sounded like they were "Can't Miss".  But I ended up surprised by the fun stuff I found.

Like the broken ear concrete bunny in the first picture.   I already had the missing ear bunny on the right, but I thought he might like a friend. 

These cute little hand painted floral shades with velvet trim.

A whole bunch of worn velvet cabinet card albums that I can make over into journals.

Metal clips from a tool bench...

...that have a hole so they can be hung on a wall and used to display pictures or cards or posters.

It was a good jewelry day, too with a lot of sparkle- blue and green

and pink, red & pearly.

These round Florentine frames have caught my eye ever since I saw a whole Christmas tree decorated with them.  They're pretty on their own, but a whole tree is really stunning.  I'm not planning on putting them on a tree, but I wouldn't be surprised if I sell them to someone who does.

So, it turned out to be a pretty good estate sale day.  I'm glad I "did my job".

Lace, Millinery, Rhinestones...

...do I have your attention?

I've stocked up my Etsy Shop with all sorts of pretties, craft supplies and fun stuff.

I'm getting new flooring in my living room and hall in August, which means moving all the furniture out of the way, so I decided I needed to destash.

I know, how can selling a little bit of lace and jewelry really make it easier to move furniture?  By itself, it can't.  It's more of a mental thing.  If I'm creating space in my overstashed craft and guest room, I'll feel like I have a chance at the moving of the furniture (and all the stuff on top of it) being a reasonable project.

One thing I wanted to mention for you Francophiles.  A few weeks ago I ran across some 1949-1950 Michelen guides to France.  They are full of maps, diagrams and drawings and I think they would be great for use in collage projects.

What Caught My Eye at the Antique Show

As always, the Old Summit Antique Show last weekend had a lot of unique and wonderful items.  I didn't buy anything, but I did some shopping with my camera.

Very old books.

I love this hooked rug featuring a dog.  Is he wearing glasses?

Cotton stems in a split basket.

Embossed paper fans with theorem painting.

Beautiful piece of architectural salvage.

Instant collection of colorful wooden tops.

Paper covered box.  I'm not sure if this is very old wallpaper, or paper that has been stenciled.

I don't know who these gentlemen are, but they made me smile!

 

Old Summit Antique Show June 13

Last weekend I spent most of my time elbow deep in paper, glue, ribbons, journals and all the other wonderful junk on the table at Birdsong 5. 

I'll have a real Birdsong post soon, but I wanted to remind all the local Kansas City folks that the Old Summit Antique Show is June 13- this Saturday.

For weeks now, I've been packing up tubs of treasures and I wanted to share a few pictures with you.

These leather books actually have a niche in the cover where the angel is.

I love old hats, but I don't think I've ever seen one like this except in pictures.  It has a Hartzfield label in it.  Hartfield's was a beloved Kansas City department store.

Brown transfer ware- a staple in country decorating.  Some of these pieces have a few "oops", so the price is right is you don't mind less than perfect.

Love the label on the inside of this boy's tool chest.  And the chest is full of all sorts of dangerous tools like saws and hammers that a child would never be allowed to play with today.

Vintage Sewing Finds

I've started "shopping" at a new kind of an auction- an on-line, but LOCAL auction.  The items are pictured on a private auction website. Typically there is a time set aside that you can go onsite to inspect the items.  The auction period is usually a week.  You can follow along like an Ebay auction, get email notifications if you're outbid, and if you win, you pick up and pay for your winnings locally.

Yesterday, I picked up my winnings from a recent auction.  The auction was full of vintage sewing goodness- a chatelaine, lots of needle keeps, vintage celluloid sewing tools, tape measures and more.  I bid on about ten lots, but only ended up winning one. 

...But I'm very happy with the lot I won.  It has a lot of items that you just don't see very often.  I know a lot of you enjoy vintage sewing tools, so I thought I'd show you what I got.

The rounded edge needle keeps above were giveaways from Prudential Insurance.  The needles slide into the side of the piece.  You can see a few needles sticking out of the bottom left of the needle keep on the right.

This is another needle keep from Germany and a cute Bluebird button card.

The back of the needle keep is quite worn, but you can tell it had great graphics.

This needle keep is actually an envelope.  Do you see the little ribbon at the bottom?

Pull it out, and there are your needles in the little black envelopes.

The lot had a few non-sewing items, like this jointed porcelain doll.

I was excited about this "small cube" of toliet pins.  In ten or so years of collecting vintage sewing, this is only the third cube I've seen.

Here's a better look at the more sides of the cube.  Again, made in Germany.

Oh, wouldn't you love to go back in time and look through a well stocked turn of the century sewing box?  Of course, I'd want to come back and use my own electric sewing machine, my rotary cutter, my Ott light- but just a peek would be nice.

 

It's My Favorite Time of the Week!

My favorite time of the week just ended.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, my favorite time is Friday right after I get home from estate sales and get to play with what I bought.  I only went to one sale today, but it was a good one, that's all it takes.

I'm a sucker for celluloid boxes like the one in the first picture, even with a few cracks and bruises.

I shop for vintage Christmas year round. I was thrilled to find these mercury glass garland strands- the little beads are indented!

This little wooden choir is marked Made in Spain but I don't know anything else about them, but I thought they were cute, and both the garland and the angels look sweet in the pink velvet jewelry box.

The blue book is a 1940's sewing book.  The first chapter takes up about half the book and is called "How to Sew a Straight Seam". 

I guess that's a good place to start.  If you're feeling a little more ambitious and would like to wipe up a Mother's Day surprise, you could make these Mother-Daughter aprons.

Have you noticed how BIG magazines used to be?  Even when I was a teenanger, Seventeen magazine was oversized  like 12" x 14".   The tapestry covered book is actually a years worth of 1893 Ladies Home Journal and the pages measure 11" x 16".  That's a hard size to hold to read.

I love looking at the fashion and the ads.

The sale had a few vintage homemade needlebooks.

The needlebook on the left is a little bonnet.

A cute picture, a little guy doing a salute in his sailor suit while riding his bike- and the frame is interesting, too.  It has some Dutch looking motifs like windmills.

The sale had a little bit of everything, including vintage office supplies- Dennison labels, a big metal clip, a box of stencils and a perpetual calendar.

Only 6 days and 21 hours until my next favorite time of the week!

A Fine Flea

The conditions on Thursday were PERFECT for a flea market. Temps in the 70's, no wind, low humidity- and dry grass to walk on.

When I drove by the fields to the parking area and saw big trailers and lots of scattered piles of rusty junk, I was excited.

Piles of junk might not be picturesque, but for a junker they usually mean there's digging ahead, and the possibility of treasures to be found.

I didn't buy any pedal cars, roof vents or bikes.

This date tin from Sniff Gardens in Indio, California made me smile.

I swooned over this pink satin hat with velvet flowers, but its price ($22),made beyond my hat budget. A lot of things were priced over my budget for resale, but with some digging, I managed to bring home a good size box of treasures.

I love this pair of heavy duty ornate brass candleholders.  The celluloid box in front of them has the sweetest roses scattered around it.

Look at the details of this 1920's graduation picture.

I love her dress, her watch, her pretty floral waist corsage and those shoes!  Oh, those shoes with their double button closure. 

I don't usually buy single pictures, I'm more of a "buy a box lot" kind of girl, but the details on this one made me have to take it home.

Old office portfolio, filigree frames and a box filled with...

...wooden spools with the labels still on them!

This celluloid box isn't pretty like most, but it's unusual.  I don't think I've ever seen one with a buck and the celluloid is molded to look a like a faux wood finish.

Vintage tins- a combination of typewriter ribbon tins and make up tins.

These deco style typewriter tins are my favorites.

I might actually have brought home more stuff to resell if I'd stayed in town and gone to estate sales, but sometimes it's just nice to hit the open road because you just don't know what you might find.

Estate Sale Friday

It's been a long time since I've done an "estate sale Friday" post.  Around here, it seems like estate sales are all over the calendar.  On almost any day of the week there is some kind of sale going on.  I've missed being able to spend Thursday night making a plan and a map to hopefully get a carload of junk on Friday morning.

The last two Fridays were an exception.  Leave the house at 8:30, and by 11:00 I've had a smile on my face and trunk of junk.

Yesterday was full of fun and a little bit kitschy finds, like this little bisque fishing couple on a teeny tiny metal lawn chair.

Here they are again with some other bisque friends that I'd never seen before.  The jolly lady on the left has a moveable skirt, and the gent on the right has a knodder head.

How cute is this pin cushion, pretty pink topped with a poodle holding a pearl.

This is an English tin with a Cinderella theme.

Each side has a picture of part of the story.

One last 'non-kitschy' find- this old confirmation photo- girls on one side in white, boys on the other in black.

Egg Plates From Harper's Monthly ca 1898

Game Birds

Did you think I meant plates shaped like eggs?  Nope, I'm talking about some pretty images I found in an estate sale book.

The book is a leather bound collection of Harper's magazines from 1897-1898.

I love the look of the book, but I hate the "leather dust" it leaves on ANYTHING they touch.

The egg images are so spring-ish, I thought I'd share them with you.  If you'd like to use them just click on the image and it will open in larger window and you can right click and pick "Save Image As" to save it to your computer.

Water Birds

Birds of Prey

Song Birds