Mid-century Sweetness!

Last week I drove to many sales and found all frogs, until the very end.  I had worked through the entire list of ones from the paper and craigslist and found almost nothing, but was making my way to the mall to fluff my booth.  At the end, I passed one pretty close to the mall and it turned out to be a prince!

The family was selling many items from their mom, who had passed away about 3 years ago.  She must have been a lover of mid-century or just a lady who couldn't throw anything away, because they had some very nice stuff.

Odds & ends -- Melmac, chartreuse china, bakelite handled pickle forks

Some cool 1960s ivy painted glasses and a tiny pitcher

A covered casserole with great decoration

A very unusual tall triangle lucite pitcher -- with a handle at the bottom and turquoise & yellow plaid side.  

A kitty cookie jar -- no maker's mark or identifier

I showed this to you yesterday, but it deserves a second mention in the mid-century sweetness post because it's so totally sweet:  a dark turquoise beverage set with hand-blown stir stick & 4 little glasses.  There's no maker's mark, but the shape of the pitcher and handle placement is so much like Blendo that I think it must be West Virginia Glass.

Here are the day's best mid-century finds -- a Metlox Poppytrail Swordfish vase (art pottery designed and signed by Romanelli) and 2 Poppytrail spiral candleholders.  They're so fine!  The only flaw is a VERY tiny flea bite on the end of the swordfish's nose (bill? sword? -- whatever it's called).  I just love these!

Another great find was this glass ceiling light cover with cowboys on bucking broncos.  It's also in near-mint condition with no color loss.  It had hung in the seller's brother's bedroom the whole time they were growing up, was taken down and immediately packed away.  Lucky for me!

Hidden Treasures

I mentioned in my last post that I've been working hard straightening up the basement.  I've found many things that I'd just forgotten I'd bought (or remembered and couldn't find).  Hmmm...one step closer to being a hoarder!   

I thought I'd share some of the things I've found (along with a few little items I've bought in the past few weeks of not-shopping)  -- a few of them have gone to the booth and others have made their way to Etsy, but here are a few.

These two mid-century glass trays are very cool

I don't know what pattern this is, but the covered casserole is pretty neat

I can't remember if I shared these or not -- they're sweet little sherry glasses (very mid-century)

Eight West Virginia Glass Blendo glasses

Two Dillon's grocery store glasses -- I have to research these, as I've never heard of Dillon's.  It's probably a Detroit-area store from back in the day.

This owl is so cute!  It's pretty big (about 12-18" high) and all the 'feathers' are made of vintage fabric.  It matches all my yo-yo things -- quilt, pillows and yo-yo dolls

Fun & Snowy Friday Thrifting

It's been a long time since I've gone estate sale shopping on a Friday and I've really missed it!  There were a few today that looked okay but not really exciting -- they were in Lansing (about 45 minutes away), so it was a long drive if they turned out to be frogs.  We got 1-2" of snow overnight (which is nothing), but Lansing got 3-6" and the bulk of it was coming down exactly when I would be driving over.  I almost decided to stay home and work on listing Etsy items, but the thrill of the hunt was just too much to resist!  Even though I saw several cars in ditches and people were going slow, I pressed on.  I was really glad I had the Kitschy Vintage van, because it handled the snow much better than my little hybrid does.

Because of the snow and slower traffic, I got to the first sale right after it started.  It turned out to be pretty good.  The prices were fair and the ladies running it were really nice.  They even had breakfast snacks and coffee on the front porch for the people waiting before it started (how's that for hospitality)!  I got a few things that I'd seen in the pictures and hoped would still be there.

I decided to go to the Lansing thrift stores while I was over there, but was disappointed -- the Volunteers of America didn't look like a store, so I didn't go in.  The St. Vincent de Paul had burned down before Christmas, so I went to the new location, but it wasn't open yet.  I couldn't find the third one that came up on my GPS, so I went on to my next stop, which was in Holt, a small town south of Lansing.

The roads were even worse down there -- completely untouched -- and I wasn't sure if I'd be able to find the sale, because it was a Craigslist sale.  It turned out to be a real PRINCE, though!  It was super-organized and everything had a price on it (that's a real bonus).  Even though it was the first day, the dealer was willing to deal and I got some great stuff.  I was happy to sign up for their email list because I'd love to go to more of his sales.

Here are the treasures I found:

A cake carrier and assorted kitchen stuff

A box of jars for $2 -- including a glass & zinc lidded canning jar, a blue Ball jar and a few half-gallon canning jars

A brown redware teapot, recipe box (with recipes), Blendo glasses and some assorted china pieces

Some old snapshots, an 8x10 lucite frame (complete with smiling couple), some shakers & figurines and a BIG cement frog

Art lesson books (I used to love these as a kid), a child's Christmas carol music book and a scrapbook from the 1960s

A complete set of 1958 My Book House books -- I love these and have the older, 1930s edition, so I'll sell these

Blow mold lightpost lights.  These were completely filthy and falling apart, but thankfully had all the electrical parts and they work!  They're not hard to rewire, but it's much nicer if you don't have to.

I got home in plenty of time to clean and sort through all my stuff!  I'm really glad I braved the elements and went out today.  How was your shopping this week?

Wonderful Wednesday Thrift Trip

I always make sure that I make it to the local Salvation Army on Wednesdays because Wednesday is senior discount day (yes, I know it's hard to believe, but I really do qualify for that 25% off).

Some days there's not much there, but yesterday was a great thrift day and I got some wonderful things:

A pretty 1958 tin with a plastic lid, decorated with spring flowers

Two mirrored vanity trays - one with glass bar decoration and one with a lucite frame

Two swanky swigs - daffodils & irises
I think I have to keep these!

The great buy of the day: a grass green retro salad bowl set
It's the same type as the yellow glass pitcher I got several weeks ago.
I've done some research and found out that it's called 'Blendo' and was made in the 1950s by the West Virginia Specialty Glass Company in Weston, WV

See? Some days it pays to get old!