Magpie Ethel

Collection Challenge #94 - Vintage Hats

I have had a couple of people ask if I collect vintage hats.  Hats fly out the door at estate sales and I don't usually seek them out.  However, I still have ended up with a few.

I don't wear them. I do not have a good head for hats.

I love the detailing on the brown hat, almost like smocking.

I went thru my stash of vintage newspaper from 1936, a time when hats were quite popular.

Of course in addition to these traditional hats, I have some that fit the quirky list.

Estate sale found years ago.  I can only imagine the man that used to wear a hat like this.  My son Ben used to wear this hat when he was in first grade or so...I love that about him.

This hat was belonged to my Grandfather on my mother's side. From the Al Kader Shriners organization.

A friend gave me this vintage Fourth of July hat along with the costume that went with it.  She fished it out of a dumpster and thought of me. You can read more about it here.

This hat was my husband's grandfathers. (beer with one grandfather and shriners with the other?!)

This hat was estate sale found. It is handmade and is a little rosebud. It was part of a costume for a child for Portland's annual Rose Festival parade. I wish I had a photo of the child in the costume with the hat on her head!

I also had to toss in some fun party hats.

A big box of unused crepe paper hats.

For not being a hat person, I certainly can find a few for a post! If you have an idea for a future post, leave me a comment and finish the senence "Show me your collection of _____".

Happy Day.

Tufted Snowball

You may remember the other day where I shared my newly painted dining room table and talked about the snowball effect with painting it, as one project led to another and on and on.  I showed some old chairs that I had stashed away and had newly put them into service. I also talked about how I REALLY wanted to find a settee to use at the table.  I have found the final snowball and it is tufted.

I have been trolling estate sales, Craig's list and antique shops for the past six months with no luck.  I finally found a love-seat listed on Craig's list in the Seattle area (three hours north of here.) I liked the look of it in the photo, so my mom and I road-tripped north to check it out.

I LIKED IT!

It had the tufted back that I wanted.  I like the small scale of it and the upholstery was in great shape.  It looks perfect at my table.  I only wish it did not have the little arms as I have to pull the table out when we use it, but that isn't a big deal.

Great vintage detail in the construction and wood accents.  Comfy to sit on as well.

The fabric works well with my decor. I may have a cushion made to sit on with a combination patchwork of a couple of fabrics to funk it up a bit. (another project..another snowball!)

So glad to finally have found the final snowball in the dining room.  Makes  me smile every time I walk into the room!

Happy Day!

Estate Sale Friday...Waiting for Spring

Estate sales seem to be a seasonal thing. The winter months are dismal for sales and I am ready for them to start up with the spring flowers that are just starting to bloom in my yard...mini daffodils, camellias and snowdrops.

One estate sale sprang onto my radar today. Slim pickings, but managed a couple of finds.  A dish with a great turquoise interior, a deck of cards with a shell/flower design and an assortment of vintage tally cards.

My favorite tally cards are these with turkeys.  I don't often find Thanksgiving/turkey cards, so these are great!

How often do you find cute turkeys, puppies and hearts all on one card?

Come on spring! Come on estate sale season! I am more than ready....

 

Three and Six and My Curiousity Cabinet

I bought these two pin back numbers a few months ago at a sale.  They are pin back buttons and not sure of their original use. I had never seen anything like them before and bought them.

I finally figured out a project to do with them.  I decided that my cabinet of curiosities needed numbered doors and these were dandy for that job.

I needed numbers one thru six.  I found the TWO at the Alameda flea market.  I bought the FIVE in Astoria, Oregon at an antique store. I found a FOUR and a ONE in my stash, but hope to find something a bit more exciting in the future.

I added the numbers to my cabinet doors.  It has been awhile since I showed my cabinet and I add items to it often...it is one of my favorite things.

DOOR ONE

A hodge podge of quirky, unusual finds.

A pair of vintage ornaments with tiny scenes inside...I love how I can display treasures like this year round in a safe spot.

Door TWO.

The perfect spot to display an old Magic Slate as a backdrop for other treasures.


The elephant was my grandmothers.  I added old paper parasols.

Door THREE

Hey!  It is me in the cabinet...
Where else can a tiny lone doll roller skate live?

Door FOUR

Door FIVE

Door SIX

I LOVE this cabinet and it is so much fun to add new treasures to.  It is fun to have a quirky spot to display all my vintage finds. My dad and my husband built this cabinet.  If you missed those posts, you can read about it here or here.

 

Leprechaun Approved

Even the leprechaun from the Lucky Charms box approved of his little spun head friend...

Just a reminder that these lucky green friends will appear on Etsy tonight at 5:30 p.m. (Pacific time, Wed, Feb 22nd)

Such a cute little lucky charm!

Happy day!

Collection Challenge #93 - Vintage Stationary and Boxes

Polly asked to see my collection of vintage stationary.  I do collect old stationary and pick it up if the price is right.  I am also totally smitten with the old boxes that the stationary came in and have an even bigger collection of those than the stationary...just the cute empty boxes.

I love these little cards where you could insert a little sentiment to match the occasion... Best Wishes, Happy Birthday, Thinking of You etc.

Boxed birthday cards in cute rosey box.

Vintage cards and stationary often have the cutest little graphics on the back of the card as well.

Vintage ballerinas.

My sister in law gave me this adorable box of vintage storybook characters.

Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood and Little Bo Peep.

And now onto those beloved boxes. I like them in crazy stacks.

These are all empty.  You can't match those vintage graphics in their appeal!



I love the clues I find as to why the boxes were saved long after the stationary or cards were used.  This box was marked "Hair Curlers" and still held them when I bought the box.

This box was recycled to hold Bingo cards as written on the side.

Some of my empty card and stationary holiday boxes. I have more stashed in another location, but did not get them out for this post.

An assortment of more boxes.

Fun stuff..thanks for the suggestion Polly.  If you have an idea for a future collection challenge, leave me a comment and finish the sentence "show me your collection of ___."  Always adding ideas to my list!

Cheerio and Happy Day!

 

 

 

Green Jig

Lots of St. Patty's day friends are headed to Etsy this Wednesday.

A parade of green holiday fun dancing an Irish jig.

They will make their appearance on Wed, Feb 22nd at 5:30 p.m. (pacific time).

Defnitely some good Irish fun!

I Have Been Spun

One thing I love about blogland is the friends that I have made. I have done trades with my friend Crystal and also made a wedding topper for her wedding this past summer.

When I got home from San Francisco I had an unexpected box waiting for me.

I had been spun.

That is my face!

I let out a huge shriek when I realized her little creation was me...and then I just laughed and laughed.

I love the striped pink stockings and other details. I am styling....

Being spun made my day..I feel like I have some sort of new super power!  Thanks Crystal!

Collection Challenge #92 - Card Holders

This weeks challenge is a result of finding that nifty Christmas card holder this past weekend at an estate sale.  I added it to my card holder collection and that made three. Three is the magic number for a collection to start!  I also thought the post would be timely with all those Valentine cards that have been floating about today!

If you missed my post on Friday, here is the card holder I found.

original box.

I displayed my cards a bit differently than illustrated, but I like how they look.

Vintage card Christmas card holder in the shape of a tree.  Comes apart for easy storage. Estate sale found a few years ago.

This Christmas card holder is all one piece and just slides open to form the tree. Estate sale found.

Adorned with Valentine cards.

Original package Christmas card clothesline with tiny clothespin style clips.

In addition to the vintage ones above, I have a couple of newer vintage style card holders.

This is a chip clip design holder. I got it a few years ago at Target when they carried a Flea Market line of decor.

Smith and Hawken wire card wreath purchased quite a few years ago. This is great to display seasonal vintage cards. I also display some of my Christmas corsage collection on it during the holidays.

A fun collection of card holders.  I hope that you receive LOTS of Valentines today and find a fun way to display them! Happy Valentine's Day!

If you have an idea for a future collection challenge, leave me a comment and finish the sentence "show me your collection of ___."  Who knows what collection #93 will bring!

Vintage Metal Baking Hearts

For the past year I have been collecting the vintage metal baking cake pans shaped like hearts when I see them at estate sales. I also got a couple from Etsy or other shows.

I knew I wanted to use them in Valentine decorating, but collected them with no purpose in mind.

Then I had an idea.  Most of the pans had holes at the top so I tied fishing line from the holes for hanging.  For the couple that did not have a hole, I pounded one thru with a nail.

All but one of my pans were metal, so I could use a magnet.  I had some glittery letters that spelled out LOVE.  I hot glued a magnet to the back of them.

I had an empty space above my dining room window and hung the pans there and added the letters.

A super easy and inexpensive project.  I liked the variety of heart shapes with the pans.  I had one that I bought from a antique show that came with a cute little Valentine and thought that was a sweet touch.

Easy peasy Valentine decorating!  Start collecting those baking pans...