Fun Finds: 'Yellow Drawers'

I went to the antique mall last week to restock, take in more Christmas and 'fluff' the booth.  One of the other dealers there, Giselle (who shares my love the truly odd and kitschy), showed me a little chenille & pinecone gnome ornament she was buying.  (As if I need MORE vintage Christmas!)  She thought that I'd want one, too -- she was right!

Actually, she was wrong...I wanted three.   She bought three, as well and we stood at the checkout desk for a long time discussing their various merits:  they were all part of a gnome orchestra set and each had a different instrument and different colored hats, chenille legs and spun cotton feet.

The other employees were laughing at our discussion about which ones we wanted to keep and which to put back, especially at my final observation:  "I just have to keep this guy because I'm partial to his yellow drawers"!

Here are the other two guys...

 And here's old 'yellow drawers, himself" (isn't he cute?):

Fun Finds: Madame Alexander Baby Doll -- Complete!

I found this sweet Madame Alexander baby doll at the local thrift this week and couldn't pass her up!

She still has the hang-tag tied to her wrist and all of her clothes -- from her hat down to her shoes and socks are original!  She even still has a basket with millinery flowers tied to her other wrist.

Her outfit is tagged 'Precious' by Madame Alexander.  I think she's composition and she looks like she's the same age as my Effanbee Dydee baby from the mid-1950s.  Her clothes, though, look more like 1940s.

She has a sweet face and perfect eyelashes (no bare spots)!

If you read this post and know anything about this baby, please let me know!

Two Sad Truths...

Sad Truth Number 1:  The second that Halloween is over, Christmas starts showing up everywhere -- too soon!  Well, because people start shopping then, too, I made a promise to myself to really stock up my Etsy shop, so all I've done this week is work, work, work.

My goal was to get 200 items listed in my Etsy shop by November 1 (today).  I didn't make it -- but I gave it a good try and am now up to 189 items!  Hopefully, I'll hit 200 tomorrow.

Sad Truth Number 2:  Working is not as much fun as playing (or shopping)!
There were some good sales this week, but I determined that I wasn't going to buy anything new until I got lots of things listed and ready for the mall.  It was so hard not to go shopping yesterday or today...

I did buy something great last week -- these two 1950s lamps with stovepipe fiberglass shades.  They're small and would be perfect as bedside or vanity lamps.

Sunday is Dealer Day at the antique mall (when it's open to our dealers 2 hours early so we can work on our booths) and I'm planning to start bringing in a little bit of Christmas.  I think it's just wrong to push the December holiday when we're still 4 weeks away from Thanksgiving, but people start buying now to decorate later, so I'll try to make them happy!  By the way, if you live in southeast Michigan, the first Sunday of the month is a great time to shop Livingston Antique Outlet, because so many dealers have just stocked their booths!

Speaking of shopping and selling on Etsy, I think thrift shopping is contagious!  My youngest son has just opened an Etsy shop specializing in vintage records, vintage barware andall things rock & roll.  He's like me -- can't pass up a sale or a thrift shop -- but he's also a musician, and has been the go-to person for rock knowledge around our house.  So he's decided to turn his love of music and old stuff into a small business.  If you get a chance, check out OldTimeRockNRoll -- it's a good place to find old records in good condition and at good prices.  If you're looking for something in particular, let Dan know and he'll search for it for you.  Don't forget to tell him 'Mom sent you'!

That's it for today -- back to work!  Next time, I hope I'll have some more thrifty finds to share...