Me Plunder

 

Above is the fruit of my hard labors this afternoon in thrift stores in town. Three hours, $20.00. Haven't a clue? Lemmie break it down fer ya:

1950's "yo yo" covered pillow. These are extremely desirable to collectors, as a "folk art" type of novelty. Very popular amongst the "Farmgirl" set. I snatched this one off the shelf so fast I'm afraid I drew attention to myself. Then I hid it as best I could under my arm before plunking down a measly $1.00 and practically sprinting from the store, stashing it behind the seat of my truck, and speeding off. It will fetch anywhere from $25 - $40. It needed some repairs.

Vintage cut work embroidery hanky; beige on white. $.25.

Tiny shillouette in a gold frame. Also a quarter.

Next Store yielded:

1950's brown snake skin pumps, $4.00 Exquisite! Too small for me though. They are for the Etsy shop.

A not so vintage black velvet hunt cap for myself. I was going to buy a new hunt cap for showing my Thoroughbreds next season and I was planning on spending $100.00 on a good one. I picked this one up for $7.00! Yay! Crossing THAT off my "to-buy-for-my-horses-and showing-and-eventing-and everything" list. Now I can apply that savings to my new tall riding boots budget. Hehehehehe

1960's - 70's brown corduroy infant boy's overalls. My mom used to put these on my brothers back in the day. $.50

Red Wool little girl's cap with black velvet ear flaps. Adorable. Though, upon closer inspection at home, I am not sure quite how vintage.....? $1.00

China plate with roses and lilacs. Made and painted in Germany. $2.00

Wooden spoon. I like wooden spoons. A quarter.

I also passed up a red plaid 1960's cape. It was amazing. I think I will go back for it. There was also a 1960's red plaid pants and shorts set with a swell top like Jackie O style, with big black buttons..... It was SO plaid though! I don't prefer plaid myself, but plaid is all the rage and vintage plaid is a good buy. I just don't usually go with trends; if I buy a lot of plaid and don't sell it and next year is is out of fashion again, I am stuck with my plaids for years until the fad comes around again.

Anyway! A typical shopping day for a hard working "vintage-ista".

Why Not?

Don't judge me for posting pictures of my cats, people. I am not a crazy person. I promise. I just happen to like cats. Really, really like cats. And I just happen to have a few really, really spectacular cats. My cats like to be around my husband and I all the time. If I am working at the computer, they are right there. Brutus prefers the printer/scanner as a napping spot. It is really funny - he won't move half the time, so if I need to copy something or scan something, I lift the lid with him on it, and he just sleeps away! Slob.

 

 

Brutus weighs 13 lbs., by the way. And yes, I confess, my "desk" is a royal mess.
My "desk" is actually a board rigged on two file cabinets.
I just haven't found the desk I want yet. Or if I have, it's a $4500.00 antique.
You see my problem?

Bloopers!!

One of my favorite parts of a movie is the blooper reel. So, going through some pictures from the past summer the other day, I realized I had a lot of blooper material. Enjoy!

 
The famous safety test of the car seat on the tractor fender for having Brendan in the hayfield;

Naomi finds out dress+horse's stall fan=not such a great idea;

And Eli, all ready to go fishing - or shooting - or both? - on Memorial day.

 



 



Eli assumes the position.


Ok, ok, let me explain. This was pretty late at night, when I get kind of silly. I had bought some new horse clippers and there was this plastic hairdresser's cape in the package. I put it on backwards like a super hero. Kevin snuck a few shots. Ha, ha, Kevin....


I don't know who is winning here - Kevin or that naughty bad donkey? (We had to rope them so they could get their shots and hooves trimmed.)


Oops. Cisco broke the water pump at the barn..... let's hide.


I am still going to take your picture, bub. No getting away from it.

Overheard this summer:

Alana: "An EGG just fell out of that chicken's BUTT!" (No kidding! So that's where they come from!)
Katie: "Here Ethan. Eat this piece of steak."
Ethan: " But, it has grass on it!"
(The steaks had been rubbed with a blend of herbs..........)

More Vintage Aprons

 

I took my husband's advice and did a little - just s little bit - of shopping for my shop today. I ran into the Salvation Army and ran out with three vintage aprons, a hat, a robe (coming later) and a couple other things not for the shop. The place was packed with stuff for once; it looked like they had cleaned out an entire estate.
This is how I get inventory for my shop - by frequenting local thrift shops, yard sales, estate sales, auctions; things like that.
It takes a long time. Sometimes I go weeks and don't find anything at all worth offering to the public. Other times I luck out and get a great stash.
I can spend a whole six hour afternoon scouring three main local thrift shops. I have to carefully consider every item before buying it. Is it in good condition? Is is desirable enough to re-sell? Can I sell it for a fair price and still make a reasonable profit? What is it's age? What is it's value as a collectible? Is it broken? Is it too worn? What about the tags; what can I ascertain from them? Can I paint it? Can I recycle it? Can I fix it? Can I......
Anyway. It does take a lot of time. But it is something I enjoy doing; I consider myself a rescuer of old things. Like picking up kittens and puppies.
This hat neeeeeeeds me! It neeeeeeds a good home! Just look at those "eyes"..... how can I resist? Poooooor hat.

 

 

 

After making stops at the shops, I make one last stop and pick up camera batteries. The Titanium, or the lithium ones. The camera must be fed.
Such a hard job. But, someones got to do it. Tee hee.

Madly, Insanely, Crazy in Love!!!!!!!!

 

I have been adding to my Etsy Favorites on my shop page the past few days. Basically, it is a collection of all my favorite items and sellers from all over Etsy. Click onto my shop and click on the "favorites" link there. It will show you all of the items I heart!

Today I found my newest internet love, The Honeycomb. Oh - my - goodness. The hair pieces she has made me swoon! Especially her "woodland collection." All I could think was if only I had known - this would have been perfect for my wedding. Oh well. That was almost 2 years ago. :) The designs are sooooo romantic. Her pictures are soooooo romantic. I am completely in LOVE.

 

This dress is another fave I found somewhere recently. Now I cannot even remember where. What a delicious 1950's doosey. It is scrumptious black lace over a beige "shell". The bow I could do without, but the dress? I could just wear it every day for the rest of my life and be happy. Except in cold weather. Then I'd need a matching velvet coat or fur or something. Awwwww, shucks! :)

 

So jump on over to my Etsy and check out my favorite sellers and items! Most of the stuff in my favorites is pretty inexpensive, as well! Perfect for Christmas gifts.
Now, let me get back to gazing at the stuff on The Honeycomb........
*sigh*............ PS - in case you are disturbed but this, I am also madly inlove with my husband, also. Just to clarify. :)

Shop News Flash

 

(This is a postcard from my antique postcards collection. My earliest is from 1903. This one is a few years later; around 1915 or so; right on the edge of the roaring 20's; but still somewhat Victorian. I will tell more about my vast postcards collection later.)

Since opening my Esty shop three weeks ago I have made 13 sales - when last I checked. Of course I would have liked to be sold out by now but that didn't happen......
I have made a little money at this and am totally excited about it. This morning I slept in and when I got up my Husband met me in the hall as I was stumbling around getting some tea.

He'd been checking our emails.

"You sold two more things," he said.

"No friggin' way," I said.

Then I glanced in at my Pay Pal account.

Indeed I had sold two more things; a hat - which are my most popular items - and one of my (cheaper) beaded handbags. (I have some pricey ones; consigning for my friend Ann.)

"You know what this means?" I ask him.

"No, what?"

"My photos are eye catching enough to drag people in!" (Terrible isn't it? Taking photos purposefully to lure people in to spend hard earned money in hard economic times)

"You're right," he said.

Then he drops this delightful bomb:

"You need to go shopping and buy some more stuff for your shop this week, don't you?"

*Evil Grin*

Happy *GASP* Halloween!

I was not raised to observe Halloween. I have never been trick or treating. But that's ok! ALL my life, I have had the most fun dressing up as different things. And even in my adulthood I have continued to love dressing up in costumes and being silly on occasion! Hooray!
I've dressed up Colonial, Antebellum, Victorian, 1940's, 1950's, 1960's, 1970's, 1980's - oh, wait. I lived through those dark ages of fashion that was the 80's.... that wasn't dressing up, that was the real thing - never mind. Even though, I was just a child, and had NO CONTROL over that.....)
As an adult, I have loved dressing up as different people, and I think that Halloween is a great excuse for adults to dress up and act goofy without any remorse about it later.
This year is a little depressing, as I haven't had to dress up as anything. I confess I am extremely disappointed. So to console myself in my grief on this day without a costume, I have been looking at all the photos of my costumes throughout the years and laughing heartily. There are so many good ones; I wish I could share them all, but I picked out a few of my faves to post.

Last year, Kevin and I attended a local Fall Fundraiser as Ellie May and Jeb Clampett. Kevin even wore fake teeth. What a hoot!

 

The year before we were married, the theme for the Fundraiser was Pirates! So, my sister Naomi and I dove into out closets, found a few frilly shirts, and went for it. I wore my Dad's black velvet knee breeches from his Colonial costume, and my brother's waistcoat from his colonial outfit. A Victorian choker, tights, heels, and a ribbon in my hair and poof! I was "Elizabeth Swann"! (Pirates of the Caribbean.)

 

This was not for Halloween, but one of my BFFs Susi and I celebrated our 21st B-Day together, as our respective B-Days are one month apart. She was a respectable Jane Austen lady, and I? I went barefooted to my 21st B-day party as Galadriel from the Lord of the Rings. Mom made the dress, and I love it. The sleeves!

 

 

Wait a second! Hold on! Where did this one come from?! How embarrassing. This is my niece Abi and I in Darth Vader masks watching Star Wars two summers ago at my parent's! What the.............. :)

Another one of my all time favorites was when my sister (Naomi) and I made black robes and dressed as Ring Wraiths on Halloween. We costumed our horses as well, and rode all over the town. Passers by had no clue who we were! We created quite the stir in the town. People still talk about it. Let me tell you, there is nothing like galloping around on a horse in flowing black robes, silently creeping about the little village of Milton, stopping traffic......

Well this is really making me sad! Makes me want to go dig out my Ring Wraith robes and go for a gallop.

Onward to Thanksgiving and Christmas!! Yay!!