Magpie Ethel

Crazy Weekend

I am striking out left and right with estate sales lately as they wind down for the winter. Friday I went to one that looked promising only to find a sign on the door saying that it had been postponed!!!!

Saturday morning I had about an hour free before I headed out to my son's cross country meet.  There was a sale nearby...unfortunately I hit it about 5 minutes after the door opened and two dealers had beat me to the Christmas goodies.  I still found these tho, so wasn't a complete dud.

A scrabble game, a cute little elf holiday salt or pepper shaker, a November Birthday angel, an adorable little donkey planter and two little angels dated 1958 on the bases.  Oh yea, I spent $3.25 on it all.

I then spent a glorious fall day out in the country near Yamhill, Oregon.  My 16 year old son ran in a 5k called "The Trask Mountain Assault".  A crazy race with river crossings, mud pits, steep hills and water pits. Oh, and did I mention MUD?  A crazy amount of mud.

Before the race

I told you it is a crazy amount of mud.  And the kids love it.  Oh, to be young again.

Have a great evening.

 

I've Been Busy

I have been busy crafting in the workshop getting ready for holiday sales.  Thought I would share my latest creations.

Pink holiday happiness in a old glass glittered pink sleigh.  I love this little angel figure surrounded by all the pink doo-dads.  How can she not just make you smile?

Or this little glittered sleigh with a winking Santa figure and one of his reindeer friends.  Surrounded by vintage bling, a Christmas corsage and old candy canes.  Whimsical and just plain holiday happiness.

Hey, did you realize Christmas is 3 months from TODAY!  Happy crafting.

Good Old Fashioned Bump Chenille

True confession time here.  I CANNOT pass vintage bump chenille by at an estate sale.  I buy it whenever I find it.  You can still buy it new, but the old stuff came by the yard and has a wonderful feel and color to it that can't be matched by the new stuff.  Totally cool stuff..but what does one do with it?  Today I will be showing you how to create your own bump chenille flowers.

The above is bump chenille.  Vintage on the left, new on the right.  Basically a pipe cleaner with some bumps to it.  The new stuff is usually easily available (Michaels) but only comes in 12 inch lengths (or at least all that I have found).

These are some flowers I made from bump chenille that I whipped up this afternoon.  They are super simple to make.

 

Basically two "bumps" create one petal of the flower.  Bend your pipe cleaner to form each petal.  New pipe cleaner is used in the top photo (so I had to use three pipe cleaners as there are only four "bumps" per pipe cleaner)  The flower below is made from vintage material so I have a continuous piece to work with.  I did leave an extra little "bump" to work into the stem.

Then I get some stamens (Michaels has these too - floral dept) and wire them together at the center.  These stamens are the center of your flower.  Leave a wire tail to work into pipe cleaners when you attach them.

This is my stamen collection.  I collect alot of vintage ones but also pick up new ones if they are interesting. (Yes, another obsessive craft collection..quit shaking your head in disbelief!)

After you wire your stamens together put them in the center of your flower. and gather the ends of each petal.  If you are using the newer shorter pipe cleaners just gather each segment and pinch together.  Don't worry if the petals aren't perfect looking as you can rearrange them after wiring.

 

See how i wired the end of each "petal" together and the stamens come down through the middle.  Your wiring does not have to be pretty as it gets covered with floral tape.  I also pointed the extra "bump" down away from the flower and wired that in as well.

I then insert a stem (I use green covered floral wire) into the wired base of your flower and then wrap it all with floral tape.  The floral tape is a bit tacky so you can press it together and form it a bit.  I wrap it quite a few times for security and to tidy it up.

These are some flowers that are all done.  I used different stamens on each. The center flower is from new bump chenille and the outer ones are vintage chenille.  Pretty simple project once you get the hang of it.  I love how they look in the old plastic pumpkin in an earlier photo.

Oh, and if you were wondering it I was exaggerating about my obsession to buy vintage bump chenille when I see it...

Happy Crafting.

(Latest Typepad lament.  Why oh why can I center some photos and not others!  GRRRR)

 

 

Drum Roll Please....

Congrats to Twinkle (also known as Heidi) who won my 100th post giveaway.  Your mailbox will soon be full of fun from me!  I SO enjoyed reading what 100 items people would have brought to kindergarten.  You readers are very clever gals!  You would have definitely given my 100 pancakes a run for their money! 

Have a great weekend.  Off to watch my son run in a cross country meet tomorrow at the beach...complete with sand dunes and mud pits!

100 Pancakes and My 100th Post Giveaway

Wow 100 posts! (actually 104) I can't believe I have posted that many times!  I have really enjoyed meeting new people and connecting with others in a way I never expected.  So in honor of my 100th post I believe a giveaway is in order!

But first...a true life story honoring the number 100!

When I was in kindergarten we lived in a teeny tiny town called Montesano, Washington.  I used to walk a couple of miles to school each day. We were busy learning our numbers and our teacher had assigned us to bring in 100 of something.  I have always liked the quirky and oddball...so I brought in 100 pancakes!

 

My mom and I made them together...they looked so fun all stacked up tidy on a cookie sheet.  I was so proud of my 100 pancakes!  No one else had 100 pancakes, only me!  My classmates were impressed by the teetering stacks!  As I strolled home that afternoon giddy with the success of my day I ate cold pancakes.  One after another, happy as a five year old can be! (I did not eat them all either!)

So in honor of my 100th post I promise NOT to give away 100 pancakes...but these goodies.

 

 

Let me describe this incredible prize! 

A tiny floral tin tray in honor of my tray collection in my studio.

A Gurley brand vintage angel candle - an Estate Sale Friday find.

A wonderful pink Christmas corsage (I like to wear them during the holidays).

One of the flags that I make and sell bearing the greeting "Merry Christmas".  The newspaper is from 1936.  I stick these flags in cupcakes, attach to a bottle of wine as a gift etc etc.  Endless possibilities.

5 vintage bookplates with great graphic of some friends in a rowboat

2 old floral handkerchiefs.

Adorable little figure I created using one of my found heads.  She is perched on an chair created from an old tin mold and a toy plate.  One of a kind and sure to bring a smile as she sits on your windowsill or shelf.

Some shiny vintage holiday doo-dads in honor of the magpie in me.

One of my Halloween cones I make.  Perfect to add to your haunted Halloween decor!

The rules for the giveaway are these:  Please leave a comment telling me what you would bring 100 of if your were in my kindergarten class.  Since I haven't a clue about the number generator that is talked about on giveaways I will have one of my kids draw a name out of a hat on Thursday evening...winner will be posted on Friday.  Throw your name in the comment jar...you may get lucky! 

And also please note my new and improved banner.  My sister in law created it for me.  Totally perfect timing to gussy up my blog for my 100th post!

And don't worry about those 100 pancakes I cooked up for the photo going to waste...fortunately I have a 16 year old son!

A Tweet Etsy Message From This Little Magpie

  

I finally did it!!!!!  It has been on my list of New Year's Resolutions and I did it!  I now have an Etsy shop!  Visit me here at Magpie Ethel.  Even better, while I was listing this afternoon I had my first sale!  I have lots more to list, but have listed a bunch of my Halloween Goodies.

 

  

   

Keep checking in...I've been a busy gal in the workshop. Happy Sunday!

P.S. Isn't the bird with the crown the cutest little guy?  I got him at an awesome candy store in Milwaukie called Milwaukie Popcorn and Candyland.  Not only do they carry tons of sweets, but the store is pure eye candy! (10621 SE Main Street, Milwaukie, Or 97222)

 

Awards and Tags

Recently I received an award from Jodi of Simply This, That and the Other.  She awarded me the "I love your blog" honor.  I really enjoy doing my blog so is nice to know that people "get" what I post about and enjoy it.  Thanks so much Jodi.

Pam from One Gals Trash tagged me with this doozy.  Share 7 random things about me. Hmmmmm...here we go.

   

1.Speaking of seven I like odd numbers.  I prefer to get out of bed when the last digit on my alarm clock is odd...weird huh?

2, I moved a ton as a kid.  I never lived in a spot longer than three years.  (No, my dad was not military but worked for an international construction company) I have lived in Utah, Washington, Alaska, California, Oregon and South Africa.  When I lived in South Africa it was from 7th thru 10th grade and I went to an all girls boarding school for part of the time there.  We would get hit at school for missing spelling words etc.

3.I have had the exciting experience of being published in a couple of magazines.  I was in the March 2006 issue of Country Sampler Decorating Ideas...they featured my studio and it was on the cover as well as an 8 page spread.  I was also in the February 2007 issue of Better Homes and Gardens.  They did a feature on my tray collection in my studio.  This is why I have the covers of these magazines in my sidebar.  It was a really fun experience.

4. I have never dyed my hair or permed it.

5. I like routine.  A lot.  I eat the same thing for breakfast everyday.  Kashi cereal, a banana (must be the perfect yellow/green) and coffee.  I only drink coffee in the a.m.  I have a diet Dr. Pepper with lunch and I only drink milk at dinner.  I drink water throughout the day.  I always grocery shop on Mondays.  I vacuum my car every other week.  The list goes on and on...

6.  I love the color pink and my bedroom is pink.  It is okay with my husband. 

7. I really like the band Oingo Boingo. In the 90's when I worked downtown I saw the lead singer Danny Elfman.  I asked him for an autograph on the only piece of paper I had - my brown paper lunch sack.  I am so cool.  I also saw the band in concert numerous times.  Once (when I was in high school) I was right at the stage and held onto his leg for quite awhile.  He finally looked down at me and kinda shook his leg...I guess I had held on long enough and I let go.

Thanks for checking in....happy Thursday to you all.

Friday Was a Dud, But Sunday Was Another Story

If you read my Friday post you saw that Friday was dismal for my estate sale finds.  Sunday was another story.  Not really estate sale finds, but my friend Lynne and I headed down to Coburg, Oregon for a big antique show.  It was an awesome day.  She picked me up at 4:45 (although, that was too early to be awesome). We were in Coburg before 7 a.m.  The show in Coburg advertises 350 vendors and is in an outdoor park in the center of town. It is always the Sunday after Labor Day and is was wonderful this year.

 

Not all that is pictured did I get at Coburg. My friend Lynne (who has a spot at Monticello antique mall) brought me a huge box of goodies. At Coburg I got the vintage bark cloth - 5 yards destined for curtains for my living room.  The tiny doll size vanity, a squeaky Santa, a reindeer and some Christmas package tie ons.  Oh, and a cute deck of cat playing cards.

 

I stopped by my friend Lisa's booth from A Thing for Roses.  She had a surprise gift for me of some vintage wrapping paper.  Great graphics.  Thanks Lisa and great to see you!

 

Some great metal vintage curtain tie backs.  They are for my kitchen wall. See my April 23rd post for what I do with them.

 

The cute little vanity and glitter are from Coburg.  Lynne gave me the great bells, glittered mushrooms and the yards and yards of old garland.

 

Lynne's box of goodies included a box of old red birds and some vintage small Christmas ornaments.  I got the box of Christmas tie ons - (to the left of the birds) and the great squeaky Santa at Coburg.  I already have another squeaky Santa, but couldn't let this one go.  I love the SC on his belt buckle for Santa Clause.

Lynne also gave this great vintage chicken scene.  I think someone took a glitter pen and hand drew the chicken wire design so it is three dimensional.  It is too cute...I need to find a place to hang it.  Maybe display it near my vintage ceramic chicken collection.

Was a glorious, sunny, treasure filled day.  Came home exhausted and was in bed by 7:30!  Not as young as I used to be!

Nie Family Auction...

This morning I am encouraging people to stop by Today's Creative Blog to participate in an auction for the Nielsen family.  Christian and Stephanie were in a plane crash and have a long load to recovery. They have four small children. You can read more about them at Today's Creative Blog.  Kim of TGB has organized an auction to help the family.  I am encouraging you to keep the family in your prayers and go check out the auction. 

I donated one of my jewelry boxes.

It is a vintage jewelry box decoupaged with old floral themed images.  There is vintage sheet music with the title "Buttercups."  Some of the floral images are from the backs of old playing cards.  Other images are from vintage books or greeting cards.  It is embellished with vintage glitter.  One of a kind and sure to bring a smile to your face.  The interior has also been re-felted.

Have a great week.  Remember how fortunate you are in your life and keep the Nie family in your hearts and prayers.

 

Estate Sale Dud Day

 

I go to estate sales virtually every weekend if they are out there.  It is not always as glamorous as it seems and I hit tons of duds before I hit a good one.  I pay my dues.  Today I only hit DUDS.

Okay, I still found a couple of things. But nothing amazing.

 

I got two canisters of unopened talcum powder.  I like that the tins are metal and that they have good graphics.  I have been collecting old tins to cut apart and use in a future project.  I like the pink color and they were only a quarter apiece. The box is an empty stationary box that was in a "Free" box.  Who doesn't smile when they hear the word "Cheerio"? There are also cute little phrases by the flowers...get well, best wishes etc.  That is all I got.  5 estate sales and a couple of hours of my time.

Jodi from Simply This, That and the Other left me a comment yesterday about sharing my tips and tricks of the trade for estate sales as she usually only ventures to garage sales.  Here is what I have learned in my ten plus years of estate sale haunting.

I hit estate sales because I like old, vintage stuff.  I don't hit garage sales usually unless the sign on the telephone pole is written in old person handwriting.  An estate sale is when a person has passed away or has gone to a retirement home etc. and they are selling the ESTATE.  It is my pet peeve when a garage sale is advertised as an estate sale...I am usually wasting my time.

I wake up and get out the newspaper and figure out my route.  I circle all the good sales and note their starting times.  Here in Portland, Oregon we also have a website with estate sales so I usually start checking that out on Wed or Thurs.  Sometimes there are pictures of the sales on the website and I can figure out if what they are selling looks appealing to me.  If there is a REALLY good sale advertised I may run by early and see if there is a LIST.  In Portland, alot of the sales run by companies have lists and they let you in according to your number on the list.  Sometimes they will only let the first 25 in and if you are number 26 you have to endure  an agonizing wait while the people in the door are already getting the good stuff.  It can be very competitive!!!

I usually get in the car after dropping my kids at school and start out.I really like to use a GPS.  Even tho I have lived in Portland for 20 plus years, I still get lost.  This makes my route quicker and I don't have to stop to follow a map.  I start out early...the early bird gets the worm!

This is what I always have in my car to bring to a sale with me.

 

I have two baskets in the trunk of my car.  I bring one in.  If I fill it up and go to a second sale I don't bother unloading the first basket in my car...I take the second.  Time is always of the essence at sales.

Both baskets have zippered pockets. I bring a pen, tape measure, sold stickers (if I buy a piece of furniture or something...although I rarely use them) and a flashlight.  I use the flashlight alot in old dingy basements....you never know what has been tucked away.  Other shoppers always comment on how clever I am to bring a flashlight!  I also have gloves if I have to wait in line outside on a nippy morning.

I usually make a quick tour of the house and then come back and poke thru whatever looked interesting.  Sometimes I can be in an out of a sale in 5 minutes and sometimes I will be there for three hours sorting thru stuff.  It just depends on what is there to look at.

If you see me at a sale I am chatty while waiting for the sale to open.  Once I am thru the door I have put on my "estate sale blinders" and I can only focus on all the goodies.  My friends make fun of me because I almost lose the ability to speak as I am so intent on the hunt.

In the estate sale world I hit A TON of duds. Dud, Dud, Dud.  But then you hit a good one and it is worth it.  I am literally giddy with excitement and almost get a high like a "runner's high".  I know, I know, it is a sad life I lead.

So I guess my biggest tip would be to persevere on the hunt as well as starting out early.  Sunday is often 1/2 price day on items under $50 and sometimes you can get good bargains then as well.  Alot of it really just boils down to pure luck too.

And luck was not with me today....