Magpie Ethel

Collection Challenge #81 - Vintage Reindeer/Deer

As the Christmas season approaches, Carol from Old Glory Cottage asked to see my collection of reindeer. As we just got our Christmas tree and I am beginning to unpack holiday bins, the timing of this challenge is perfect.

I like reindeer. I like how many varieties of vintage reindeer there are to find.

This was my most recent purchase this summer on Ebay.  They are made of particle board and about 2 feet tall.  I need to figure out a spot to display them this year.

I got this pair of whimsical plastic reindeer at different times, but they look like they belong to the same family.
I love this little plastic fellow.  He is about two inches tall and has a chenille stem attached.

Plastic very feminine looking deer. Note their long eyelashes.

A pair of celluloid reindeer.

A tiny pair of celluloid baby deer lightly sprinkled with tarnished glitter.  I believe the 5 that is marked on each of them is probably the original price tag of a nickle.

These reindeer show how fragile some of the old ones are.  Missing antlers, cracks and such show these have had a rough existence.

Frolicking deer.

Of course I had to have one made out of pipe cleaner and bump chenille. (estate sale found)

A trio of plastic reindeer.

I like how this reindeer has a more modern retro design.

A small collection of plastic Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer ornaments.

Sometimes they will have the word "Rudolph" printed on the side.

A collection of tiny celluloid reindeer that I use in crafting.

Sometimes Santa is riding one of these fellows.

I am amazed at how many varieties of these reindeer friends there are.

I also can't forget the large variety of reindeer that I collect and revamp in holiday style. There is a huge assortment of reindeer styles and poses with these fellows.

Thanks for the suggestion Carol!  Getting me geared up for some holiday decorating.  If you have an idea for a future collection challenge, leave me a comment and finish the sentence "Show me your collection of _____."

P.S. With all the holiday bustle and hustle I decided that I would not contribute to that with my Etsy shop this time around.  I listed some new items on it last night.

P.S.S. For those of you that read part one of the post One Gal's Trash did on me...you can read part two here.

happy day!

 

Two Reasons to Smile

I have two reasons to smile.  ONE is this darling squeaky Pinocchio that I found at the Plucky Maidens sale in my friend Janet's booth.

Number TWO is a super sweet post that my friend Pam from One Gal's Trash did about little old me.

Pam came over the other day and hung out with her camera in my studio. For those of you who want to see my studio thru her eyes, check out her blog.

I really like the shot of all my spun heads.

Two reasons to smile. Happy Day.

 

That Etsy Package

I was reading The Wall Street Journal last week and they had an article on how important the presentation is when sending packages.  They specifically talked about Anthropologie and Crate and Barrel, but they could have throw me in with those two as well.

The article talked about the things that some of these companies do when they package their items, colorful tissue, decorative envelopes and other personal touches.  The article talked about thrilling the customer when he or she opened the box.  I try to do the same thing.

I thought you may like to see how I make my Etsy packages fun to receive (and fun to send..the person at the mail counter always remarks on their cheerful look).

I don't have a designated mailing area.  Boxes and bubble wrap live in the garage.  The rest of my supplies reside in these two vintage hat boxes that sit by my easy chair on our upstairs landing.

I like to include something fun in each package along with the purchased item.  Sometimes it is seasonal and sometimes it is just silly.  Here are some of the things you may find in an Etsy package from me.

A personal note written on a vintage florist card, altho I may cut off the top greeting so I am not wishing you a Happy Mother's Day in October. I also may use some other type of vintage card.

You may get a wooden spoon stamped with a "THANK YOU" and tied with a vintage ribbon. Thank you stamp was estate sale found.

My Etsy holiday packages that just went out had a little tag made with a vintage sticker and a handmade tiny reflector flower all tied together with a mini candy cane.

I also love these little Moo stickers that I made that feature different things I make and have found.

I like to use bright colored tissue paper to wrap the item up in.

The outside of the package needs some color too, so I always use some fun patterned tape.

I think that people enjoy the thought I put into their Etsy orders...I know I enjoy packing them up and making them special.

Ready to go.  Off to the Post Office.  Hoping my little package brings a smile.

Thanksgiving

Wishing my blogland friends a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Vintage turkey coasters.  Estate sale found.

Gobble, gobble and happy day.

Collection Challenge #80 - Mushrooms

Heather from Heather Donohue Crafts asked to see my collection of mushrooms.  At first I did not think I had much a collection in this category, but after I looked around a bit I realized I had a few mushrooms sprouting here and there and enough to do a post.

This is my favorite all time mushroom and it also falls into the honeycomb paper category.  It lives in my living room in a corner cabinet next to a party favor swan and my collection of cream ware. The mushroom is marked Denmark.

This trio of mushrooms lives in my cabinet of curiosities.  They do sprout up everywhere.  Usually I group collections, but these mushrooms have a mind of their own and sprout up willy nilly.

This was my best estate sale find ever on mushrooms.  They are spun cotton and I found a gazillion of them.  They are marked "Made in Germany East" on the paper tag.

Napping wooden gnomes with mushrooms.

Made by a local crafter, these mushrooms add some whimsy to a plant in my living room.

Teeny tiny mushrooms.

Handmade felted and paper clay  mushrooms decorate a mobile in my studio.

Being a crafter of course I have a tin of mushroom to put to use. Note the little mushroom tag on the outside of the tin, so I can tell the contents.

Mushrooms have turned up in my crafting this holiday season.  These are little glass ones on clips that I decorated with a spun snowman. The mushrooms were estate sale found.

Mushrooms sprouting up left and right. In my head a collection must have at least three, so I definitely surpassed that mark.  Good challenge Heather.

If you have an idea for a future challenge, please leave me a comment and finish the sentence "Show me your collection of ____".  I will see what I can do.

P.S. I was going to do a collection challenge on vintage Thanksgiving since it would have been so timely...but realized I did that last year!

 

Holiday Show #2

Friday I had my second show of the holiday season. It is a show that a girlfriend and I run called Merry Marketplace and it was our ninth year for this event.

It takes place in a local community center and my favorite thing about this show is having a spot with a mantle and a fireplace to use for display.

I wish I had a big long mantle like this at home.
Picture time.

A good day and fun to see some blog readers and chit chat with neighborhood friends.  Two weeks until the next holiday sale and more crafting to do...tis the season.

Crafted Keeper

I make tons of stuff to sell.  That is the nature of what I do and I enjoy making things that other people enjoy.  Occasionally I make something that I just can't part with.

The base of this arrangement was an old vintage plastic vase that I found at an estate sale. You can see it in its previous state in this photo.  I really liked that it had handles and looked like a trophy. The vase is about 9 inches tall (the whole arrangement is about 15 inches high).

I glittered the base of the vase and it sat in my studio for a few months waiting to be finished.  I finally got around to filling it.  I used vintage picks, reflector flowers and rimmed the whole arrangement in old bottlebrush.

I had all intentions of including it in my upcoming sales.  The glitter and sparkle is telling me I better keep it. So I am.

For those friends in the Portland area, my next sale is Friday at the SMILE station in Sellwood.  (8210 SE 13th, sale hours are 11-8)

If you decide to pop by you will find me there and lots of stuff for sale, just not this little arrangement.  It is a keeper and staying with me.

Happy Day!

 

 

Collection Challenge #79 - Vintage Cookbooks

I had two gals ask about a vintage cookbook collection - Debbie and Janet.  I am a decent cook, but I don't look to vintage cookbooks for recipes and inspiration.  The charm of the old cookbooks for me is sentimental or the adorable graphics.

1958 Carnation Cookbook.  Complete with Mom cooking and Dad peering in the door smoking his pipe to see what she is whipping up. 

This is a cookbook with sentimental value.  It was given to me by my mother in law a few years into my hubby and my marriage.

I don't think she used it much, but the inscription dated 1959 makes me think it was a shower gift as she was married in 1959.

Many of my cookbooks have company tie-ins.  They were giveaways or featured products by that company.

Modern Modes in Meat Cookery was probably a giveaway from Dan's Better Meats in 1934.  It was published by the National Live Stock and Meat Board.

The Romance of Tuna was put out by White Star Brand Tuna.

Evidently it was the tuna that most Americans preferred. 

The book has an insert with 19 proven recipes with tuna such as tuna loaf and tuna croquettes. (I prefer my tuna in a sandwich).

Royal Gelatins and Puddings put out this absolutely adorable Recipe Parade cookbook.

The illustrations for this cookbook are amazing.  I love the sprinkling of characters on each page.

I have show Tummy Tingles before in a post.  This was put out in 1937 by the Wheat Flour Institute.  It has charming illustrations, poems and a few recipes.

Fairy Gingerbread with winged fairies illustrating the recipe.

This recipe book I found about ten years ago locally.  It is for the Gamma Phi Beta sorority.  It is my college sorority and I was thrilled to find a sorority related cookbook.

The inscription inside indicates that it was a produced as a fundraiser to add to the building fund for the Nu Chapter of Gamma Phi Beta.

My husband would not be very thrilled if he came home from work and found that I had prepared oysters and sweetbreads in a noodle ring.

Ads must have been sold to help with fund-raising as the last few pages feature advertising for local businesses. A fun slice of history.

This post has not inspired me to head to the kitchen.  Just a fun and silly little collection.  If you have an idea for a future collection challenge, leave me a comment and finish the sentence "Show me your collection of _____".  I will see what I can whip up.

 

Holiday Etsy

Just a reminder that my holiday Etsy will hit tonight, Nov. 14th at 5:30 p.m. (pacific time).

P.S. I have had some issues on Etsy with an item in multiple shopping carts at once.  An item is not YOURS until the transaction is complete.  If you have that item you covet in your cart, pay for it and then you can come back and shop some more if you want.  If you have multiple shipping charges, I will always reimburse. Tis the season.....

Mr. Monkey

My blogland friend Marci recently rescued a vintage squeaky monkey from the "free" pile at an estate sale.

I am so happy that she thought Mr. Monkey should join my collection of squeaky toys and sent him off to me. He made my day when I saw him smiling up at me from the box he was sent in.  Thank you Marci!