Wish Granted!

Just as I was hoping that there would be more sales soon, there were three decent-looking ones this morning!  I should have gone to my packaging supplier to get more styrofoam peanuts & bubble wrap, but went shopping instead.  None of the sales were close together, so I used a lot of gas (and covered about 100 miles round trip!), but it was fun hunting.  They were in the opposite direction from the supplier, so that errand will have to wait for another day.

I got a fair amount of stuff for not much money -- always the big bonus of yard sales and family-run estate sales!

The Cootie game is from 1949 and had the bonus of enough pieces to make 4-6 more cootie bugs + the pieces from an old-school Mr. Potato Head (the kind the you poke into a real potato)  Doesn't the burger look like a McDonald's ad burger?  It's a 1950s patty press  -- the attention to detail they used to put into inexpensive items always amazes me.

 The star of this sale was the Pyrex Friendship divided dish with painted lid.  Everything else paled in comparison.

They practically gave me this wooden plant stand.  I think it will make cool booth display until it sells.

I don't know what sales tomorrow will bring, but I might just stay home and work on booth & Etsy prep -- we'll have to see if the temptation of finding a bargain is too much to resist!

Mystery Stetson China Pattern - 1957

When I first began selling at the antique mall, I bought lots of odd place settings of china: dinner plates, cups and saucers, creamers and sugar bowls.  I thought that people would buy them -- after all, both Martha AND Flea Market Finds had said on television and in print that mismatched china was cool!  If they said it, it must be true, right?   Not so...most people don't want one or two plates unless they need that particular pattern.  Mismatched china IS cool, but people don't buy it!

So, I've been hunting and gathering in my junk inventory in the basement -- looking for all the odd bits and pieces of china that I've bought over the past 4 years.  We're planning a road trip to Florida and I'm planning to make a side trip to Replacements and sell them most of it.  What they don't want, I'll sell in a bargain basket at the mall or donate away.

I found several serving bowls in this mystery pattern.

It's clearly backstamped Stetson and is dated 1957.  I think it's pretty cool -- especially for spring entertaining!  I'm crazy about research, though, and a real perfectionist when it comes to identification and I can't find the pattern anywhere.  It's driving me crazy!  It's not on Replacements or any of the other china websites and a picture of it doesn't even come up in a general Google image search.  I searched Marcrest, too, because they distributed a lot of Stetson china.

Do any of you know the pattern name?  Was it distributed by a company other than Stetson or Marcrest?  If I can't find it, I'm going to have to resign myself to not knowing, but I hate an unsolved puzzle.

Have a great week, everyone!  (And, oh by the way, if you need any odds-and-ends dinnerware, just let me know -- I've got you covered!)

2 Crazy Days of Shopping - Day One: Maumee Antique Mall

Last Friday, my friend Bargain Hunter and I went out for a little 'retail therapy'.  We had planned to go to the M-15 garage sale (about 46 miles of garage sales), but decided to skip it because it was so chilly and rainy.  Since it didn't officially start until the next day (Saturday), we thought the early-bird sellers might just decide to wait and hope that the weather improved.  

Instead, we went to Maumee Antiques near Toledo, which has quickly become one of my absolute favorite malls!  It's in an old grocery store so it's really big and most of the booths are very well staged with lots of interesting stuff.  They even have shopping carts, which is good, since they don't have many (or any) floor walkers.  

I found some great things, with a definite mid-century vibe...

Napco bobble-head cat with two kittens

Holt Howard Santa from 1963 and a boy birthday angel (always hard to find)

Spaghetti poodle planter in near-mint condition

I think clowns are creepy, but I always like these homemade yo-yo clowns with the celluloid faces.  This little guy is only about 7" high.  The large apple bowl is fired-on Flamingo Pink & in perfect condition.

1951 Dolly Toy wall hangings -- Little Boy Blue

I thought I'd put this planter on my front porch, but now I think it will end up in the booth

I loved this teal and basketweave train case!  

The mirror's gone and the seller has added this floral paper panel.  My friend Bargain Hunter likes it, but I think the panel has got to go -- how do you vote?

I loved this showboat musical jewelry box from 1965!  Do you think it's cool or tacky?

It plays 'Way Down Upon the Swanee River'

Six Vera Neumann napkins and a garden tote -- plus a wonderful little news brochure from 1950

Mr. KV says the news magazine, called Quick, was like the ipad of the 50s, because of its caption:  "Get Quick at your newstand each Thursday and carry it in your pocket or your purse...and read it wherever you are"  We could just imagine a bus or restaurant full of 1950s people all reading their Quicks, the way people are all busy on their phones now!

After all those fun finds, you might think I wouldn't want to shop any more.  NOT SO!  We were all geared up and ready to go to the Antiques Flea Market at Davisburg the next day.  That's the next post, though.  

Have a great evening, everyone!

Hooked on Vintage Christmas

Reality check:  Christmas was over 41 days ago.  Around here, though, it seems that Christmas never really goes away! 

Every year my aunt gives me money at Christmas, which she tells me has to be spent just for me -- not on the house or for things for the family.  I think about getting clothes, shoes or make-up, but that never happens.  The money gets spent at antique malls, estate sales and flea markets and, more often than not, on vintage Christmas.

Look at the treasures I've found so far this year:

I found this little sweetie at my 'home' antique mall, Livingston Antique Outlet.  He's a mid-century Santa, made in Japan.  I think he's going to stay up all year long in my china cabinet, because he's just so cute!  I'm always so impressed by the effort and attention to detail that these old decorations had.  Even though they were considered cheap little items, they're really complex. 

Look at his sweet spun cotton face

The detail on the packages is remarkable.  Look at the little pipe-cleaner candy cane on the package and the 'extras' in the chimney next to the bottle brush tree

Santa even has extra gifts in the net bag on his back

These Gurley tapers are from our mall, too.  I've got a ridiculous amount large collection of Gurley and Tavern candles, but I've never seen tapers before.  Again, there's great attention to detail -- Santa's boots are painted black that there are paint dot decorations up and down the tapers. 

Gurley Santa taper candles

The foil candle holders were in a booth near the one where the candles were -- with their original box.  All of it - candles and holders - were in close to mint condition

The holders cost 39 cents back in the day

Who wouldn't love to have a pair of dancing Santas lighting their Christmas dinner table?

I think I showed you this cool tinsel tree already, but I wanted to share it again.   I found that in Allen, Michigan on a trip with my junking buddy Bargain Hunter.  In fact, I almost left without it and she talked me into going back for it -- good thing, too, or I'd have been driving back down to Allen (almost 2 hours away) the next day!

A year ago my sister-in-law sent me a picture of some handpainted mirror ornaments that came to her from her grandmother's decorations.  She asked if I ever see them and would I watch for some more -- in fact, I'd never even heard of them. 

They're called Mirrorettes and were sold in packages of 6 or more back in the 1950s.  I started watching for them at sales (I've never found any) and on Ebay, where they sell for a lot and are usually in poor condition.   I won't pay the ridiculously high prices they usually go for, but finally managed to get these six -- all in good condition for a more reasonable price.  My sister-in-law and I will split the set, so now I'll have a few.

They have different picture on the back.  They're actually two separate handpainted mirrors glued together back-to-back

Here's what they looked like in their package

Credit to an Ebay listing for this picture -- this isn't my set

Etsy Every Day Project - Week 1 Recap

Well, I did it! I listed (at least) one item on Etsy every day for the past week...one down and fifty-one to go (I don't think I'll say that again -- it sounds REALLY overwhelming)!  Two days of being snowed in didn't hurt -- we got close to 20" of snow.  Check out Mr. Snowman (he's about 3 feet tall):

Here are the items that made it in this week:

Day #1 - Texasware 118 Bowl

Day #2 - Thousand Islands New York Postcard Folder

Day #3 - 1950s Child's Mittens with Duck Faces

Day #4 - 1950s Child's Gloves with dogs jumping through hoops

Day #5 - Buffalo New York Souvenir Pennant

Day #6 - Wear Ever copper-lidded casserole

Day #7 - very large Washington Zoo souvenir pennant

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...

Greenmead Fall Flea Market

I was able to go to one of my favorite events last week -- Greenmead Antiques Flea Market in Livonia, Michigan.  It only happens two Sundays a year and it's a don't-miss opportunity to find some great stuff.

A beautiful, sunny day!

I always get there early (by 9:30, at least, for the 10:00 start).  At $2 admission, it's a bargain!

I've usually filled my granny cart and also had some large items to go back to pick up.  This time, though, I filled my granny cart, made a trip to the car to empty it, went back and filled it again and then STILL had big items to pick up.  Three trips to the car -- WOW!

Here are some of the neat things that I found:

Two old bed-spring pieces.  I'm going to mount these to the wall and hang things off of them.

Felt Christmas tree skirt -- it needs a tiny bit of mending

The green breadbox is pretty shabby, but I liked the polka dots.  The chalkware kitty bank is shabby, too/  I couldn't believe I found a red Pyrex 401 bowl in great condition!   The black salt & pepper are pretty cool, too.  

Do you see the pink Pyrex fridgie?  SO excited about that one!  My son and his wife have already claimed the 1970s giant glasses -- I knew someone would love those...

I know I don't need any more Christmas tins, but Santa (who you can hardly see) is very friendly looking.  And I can NEVER resist souvenir pennants or cameras!  Can you see the mid-century Coronet thermos jug -- it's so cool!

Franciscan Desert Rose salt & pepper, Christmas aprons & more dish towels

Love these tablecloths (the songbirds are a dish towel).  I got the rooster & hen cloth for $1 because it's so stained.  I'll see if lots of soaking will work on it...

I wish I knew who manufactured the big soup mug with the lid.  It's ringed like Bauer, but I don't think it is Bauer.

I just had to have these funky corn dishes.  They're hard plastic (celluloid?) and very thin -- I think they're popcorn dishes

This is a Westinghouse roaster base or cabinet.  I think it would look cool set up as a bar

Lots of storage room for bottles & glasses inside

The suitcase is a project piece.  It's been completely stripped inside, so I get to line it!  

Here is one of my favorite things from Greenmead... I bought it to sell (and still might), but I love it so much that I'm tempted to keep it:

This is a pretty big picture -- maybe 18x24.  It's a 40s or 50s photo of a girl blowing bubbles and she just looks so joyful

 And the BIG STAR is this globe -- it's a Repogle game globe from the 1960s.  I was very excited to find it and when I asked the vendor if he could take any less for it, he dropped it by a lot.  I was doing the happy dance away as fast as I could, before he changed his mind.

 If you live near southeast Michigan, try to go to Greenmead sometime...you won't be disappointed!