Magpie Ethel

In the Spirit of Halloween Week

To get myself psyched up for the trick-or-treaters that will be ringing my doorbell on Friday evening, I decided to do a post about my favorite costumes of the past.  My kids have never gone for the store bought costumes.  They always come to me with some idea and I try my best to conjure something up.  They are both in high school now and too old to trick or treat.  I am done with my years of costume making.  Thought I would share a few classics for some Halloween fun.  (I had to scan old photos, so please bear with the quality)

The Bookworm.  My daughter wore this costume twice and changed the title of the book on the box to represent her favorite book of the moment.  On the back we printed her favorite quotes about reading.

My son Ben loves Rubik's Cubes. He collects them, can solve them and wanted to be one for Halloween.

The snail.  The snail shell was made out of dryer venting.  I love the glittery googly eyes and long snail eyelashes.

 

The spirit of Halloween.  Ben wasn't totally into dressing up, but loved the staff made out of plastic pumpkins.  I just drilled holes in the bottoms and threaded them thru a piece of PVC pipe.  I like how the pumpkins have different expressions.  We put a couple of glow sticks in a few of them to glow as we trick or treated. 

Kate as the mosquito.  I got the frame for the wings at an estate sale and covered them in black netting.  The legs I made from pipe insulation (I think that is what it is called)

The eyes were made from drains attached to a the frame of a pair of plastic glasses.  The proboscis (stinger) was made from something I picked up at the hardware store.  How many little girls want to be a mosquito for Halloween?

Thanks for watching the parade of Halloween costumes past...and just an FYI, I still have a bookworm head, the mosquito costume and the snail costume living in my attic.  They may get put to use again someday!

Oh, and I read some sad news on a blog today called Earths Angels.  My all time favorite magazine, Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion is stopping publication with the next issue.  I love that magazine!  It was always full of unique artists homes and great craft inspiration.  I have saved every issue since the first one and it is one of the magazines that I often read thru past issues.  Totally bummed me out!

The Name of the Game was Patience

Today I hit an estate sale that truly was a game of patience.  The newspaper advertised a "60 year collection of Christmas". The sale started at 9 a.m. and I arrived a few minutes early.  There were card tables set up outside and one other buyer was there.  There were a few Christmas items on the table, but nothing substantial.  I picked up a few things and after speaking to the elderly gentleman running the sale he informed us that his wife was slowly going thru her Christmas things and would be bringing them out.  I decided to wait, and wait I did.  About every ten minutes the 82 year old woman would hand a small box to her middle age son and he would bring it out.  The other buyer and I would rummage thru the box.  Then we would again wait.  And wait. Soon anther small box of vintage Christmas would come out of the house.  It continued like that until about an hour had passed and the elderly woman declared she "was done sorting thru her things for the day." (mind you this sale was advertised to go on until 4 p.m.).  I can't complain because I did get some okay things.  Worth an hour of my time I think.

Some old tarnished garland, a BUNCH of holiday doo-dads, 2 boxes or ornaments (there I go again!) a couple of reindeer, a cute chalk-ware gal, a light-up tree topper with original box, a handpainted glass lidded container and a cool bottle brush decoration.

Definition of holiday doo-dads - bells, picks, old snowman, vintage glass garland, tiny ornaments....you know doo-dads!

A few chips, but such a pretty face.

A cute little celluloid lamb with original paint.

 

Fun shiny brite balls - stripes, indents, shapes.

 

Funky bottlebrush wall decoration. Even the glittered balls are made of bottlebrush. 

My friend Kim from Camp Whimsy is having a fun little giveaway with great goodies.  Go leave a comment and join in the fun!

My daughter Kate turns 15 tomorrow!  Time to get ready for the family party and 25 guests!

The Holiday Insanity Continues

Today I gathered all the Christmas light reflectors that I had collected for my crafts.  It is not quite as over the top crazy as my collection of Christmas ornaments, but they are harder to find.  Love how they sparkle and can see why I titled my blog Magpie Ethel.  I am definitely a human magpie!

Will share what sparkly treats I make with them soon.

Just a FYI if you aren't familiar with vintage Christmas reflectors.  Christmas reflectors are usually made from aluminum or metal and come in an assortment of sizes, shapes and colors.  They were made to attach to your strand of Christmas lights on your tree and add a bit more holiday magic to the tree as they reflected the Christmas tree lights.  Super cool!

A Little Housekeeping and Self Confession

First off I need to thank my buddy Pam from One Gal's Trash for a great stash of goodies.  Pam and I meet about once a month over an awesome bowl of oatmeal at a local restaurant called "Gravy" to catch up with one another.  The past visit I got fun stuff from her...what a nice surprise.

A couple of old Halloween decorations. (Pam knows I am a sucker for any decoration with paper honeycomb...like the haystack). A vintage valentine - with another honeycomb on it, a beautiful parrot for my bird collection in the bathroom (bird addiction post) and a funny bobbling parakeet that will keep your living bird company (lower right corner, pink and blue). 

I don't have a living bird, so it will join my collection of old bird items and keep my vintage fake bird company.

Secondly I want to thank Annabelle from 1938 Elm Street for awarding me this award.  Totally sweet...

And now for the self confession.  I have a t.v. out in my studio to keep me company.  I don't necessarily watch it, but like the background sound of voices etc.  However, I usually have Ellen on in the afternoon and whenever she breaks into dance at the beginning of her show - that is my cue.  I put down my glue gun and break into dance with her.  Alone. in my studio.  If a neighbor were to come looking for me I would be mighty embarrassed.  Do other people break into solo dancing with Ellen?  Also be aware of the fact that I really have little rhythm, but hey, it makes me happy.

A Quick Estate Sale Friday

I only had about an hour on Friday to hit sales before my Mom and I did a quick road-trip up to Seattle.  One hour equaled two sales that were close in proximity and not too bad of a haul.

Two big yellowy orange honeycomb balls, 2 boxes of Christmas ornaments (if you saw previous post you are questioning why in the heck I need more...I can't answer that question either..creature of habit I guess!), an old lap blanket, turquoise mercury glass garland, a old scrapbook FULL of vintage 1957 cards, vintage cardboard angels, a silvery wreath that I have big plans for and a wonderful slipcover for a couch and chair - unused.

The scrapbook full of vintage greeting cards - all occasion to boot.  The fabric is an old sofa and chair cover (unused, still has tags).  I LOVE the print on the fabric and will probably use it for the material as the chances of finding a sofa and chair to fit it are quite slim.

Glass garland, cute little vintage angels and a Carmen Miranda style hat.

Shiny Brites and the lap blanket.  The lap blanket is a great softly worn fabric.  Silvery wreath in the background.

A very productive hour of sales!

Then my mom and I hit the road to Seattle for a little shopping and to visit an Aunt up there.  Quick trip, but did manage to hit a new favorite shop for me.

I had read about the shop in a couple of blogs and we sought it out.  Holy Cow, this is a shop that had my name all over it.  Glitter, flowers, birds, total eye candy.  I didn't take pictures inside...but if you live in the Seattle area, this is a must see! 8811 Roosevelt Way NE, Seattle 98115

Off on a walk with hubby on this sunny, Sunday afternoon...rain predicted tomorrow.

Lurking in My Attic - Christmas Ornament Insanity

During the holiday season I do a lot of craft shows and one of the items I make are Christmas wreaths made from vintage ornaments.  I have made these wreaths for a number of years and they are a popular items at my sales.

The one drawback of making these wreaths is collecting all the ornaments. I need a ton of ornaments. I pick them up all year long at estate sales and put them in a certain spot in my attic.  In the fall when I am about to begin wreath production I pull them all out.  I then realize I have an addiction problem.

This is my stash that I pulled from the attic this fall.  I know, go ahead - shake your head in disbelief.  It is a heckofa lot of ornaments.  I realize I have issues passing by a box of vintage bling (for the right price).

But this is what I can turn those loose ornaments into.

I really like the wreaths packed with a lot of ornaments in assorted sizes.  I also like to use a few unusual ones on each wreath for a little personality.

Box after box of Shiny Brights. (Plus I can't throw the boxes away.  I save the boxes and use the cardboard with those great graphics for other craft projects.)

Can't resist the type clustered together with vintage leaves.

The boxes of tiny ornaments are hardest for me to find.

Great ones with a happy greeting.

The ones that have unusual shapes.

Figural ornaments nestled in old tissue.

These are my favorite.  I have an entire little tree decorated with these.  Tiny ones that have silver netting surrounding them.

An array of shades of turquoise neat and tidy in original boxes.

Crazy huh?  Now it is time to get into production mode....off to the studio.

Estate Sale Saturday This Weekend Too!

Saturday morning found me bright and early dropping off my daughter for a volleyball tournament.  I had free time after the drop off and had signed up for a promising sale the day before..number 32 on the list and ended up getting in the door right away.

And voila, here are my finds...

A couple of vintage boxes with adorable graphics (for my personal collection), great green sugar container (it even came with old caked on sugar - blech!), a couple of tiny metal floral frogs and two unopened packs of place cards.

A couple of handmade chicken wire bells, some vintage yellow millinery, old greeting cards and a flower catalog from 1958,

This insert was inside the catalog. It is BIG with beautiful bright flower graphics!

Double sided to boot!

The two chicken wire bells that I bought were added to this little collection.  They hang year round below my ceiling fan out in my studio.

This red one is my favorite.  It is BIG.  About 15 inches tall and really embellished with old glass balls and big red sequins.  I love this collection and I don't find the bells too often.

Happy day!

Good Finds, Bad News

Estate sale Friday wasn't too bad today.  I hit a couple and although it certainly didn't have me shouting "JACKPOT" and jumping up and down,I at least did not leave empty handed.

Rolls of ribbon,bump chenille, Christmas, a turquoise vase, buttons and other goodies.

I have some crafting plans for these old electric candles...I have been picking them up whenever I find them. The small turquoise bells are really unusual.  I have never seen anything like them in all my years of vintage Christmas, they are almost like a spun cotton.  I love the color and I'm keeping those.

An old paper church (marked made in Japan on base), a vintage angel, a priest and some sparkling Christmas.

 

I'm a sucker for anything with a handwritten note.  Inside the box is a bunch of fringed handmade crepe paper garland.

 

 

These are my favorite find.  Map tacks.  For pinpointing where you have been on a map.  I love how they are have different heads to differentiate different destinations or trips.  They are teeny tiny.

 

Santa mugs.  I collect them. The ones with the jeweled eyes always look a bit creepy to me, but still a good find.

Now for the bad news...my favorite thrift store in nearby downtown Milwaukie is closing. It is one of those places run by little old ladies with things marked for a quarter or a dollar.  I usually find at least one treasure every time I pop in.  Evidently the building is being remodeled and they won't be able to afford the new increase in rent.  They have been unable to find another location at their current rate.  Anyhow, I found these goodies.

Happy New Year Paper Signs, quite a few boxes of small Christmas ornaments as well as some larger loose ones.  And a bunch of new vintage style Easter.

A gift shop in Salem had donated a bunch ot items.  A lot of Bethany Lowe still new in package.  Granted they are Easter items, but I'll put them to good use when the time comes.  9 packages of glittery easter eggs...about 45 per package...thats a ton of eggs!

Not to shabby of a Friday!

More Halloween - Plus a Lampshade How To!

Snapped a few more photos of Halloween decor.

I love this little display.  I made the witch on the left with the yellow base from a vintage spun head (similar ones on my Etsy).  I picked up the photo display at Stars Antique Mall.  My friend Paula has a space there and I love how she put it all together on the photo stand...spelling out the word BOO with vintage letter cards and embellishing the photos with witch hats or devil horns.  Very clever!

I made this Halloween lampshade last year.  It was a fairly easy project.

I had an old wire lampshade frame.  I cut strips of old vintage newspaper (I like that it had that yellow patina of age) and I used a paper mache paste and adhered them to the frame.  I attached one end of the paper to the wire frame and pulled it taut...then attached the other end to another part of the wire.  I wish I could show the work in progress, but it was fairly easy, just working one strip at a time, side by side, one after another.

After the shade was dry I added some an old crepe paper trim in a rusty red shade.  I sewed the ruffled trim similar to this tutorial on The Misadventures of Mama and Jack.  The only thing I did differently is sew down the center instead of along the edge.  I used about a 2 inch strip of vintage crepe paper and the ruffle is created as you push the crepe paper thru the machine.  It is pretty cool.

Then I cut out black bats out of construction paper and pasted them on the inside of the shade. I like how they light up at night and look so spooky!

Television Time Equals Busy Time

I am so loving that some of my fall shows are starting back up. My favorites are The Amazing Race, Survivor, CSI, Desperate Housewives and America's Next Top Model. Alot of these I watch with my teen daughter Kate so it is good bonding time too.  When I watch television tho, I am INCAPABLE of sitting and doing nothing.  I must have a magazine or a project to keep me busy.

This is my latest t.v. watching project.  Vintage style embellished sequin trees.

So crazy simple.  So time consuming.  So sparkling cute. I start with a foam tree form (tree on right is example).  Using Styrofoam spray paint I paint the form green.  I use special Styrofoam paint like Design Master florist paint (available at Michaels) since regular spray paint often eats away at the foam.  Then I just sit down and start pinning sequins or beads to the tree.  I also pour a small amount of Elmer's glue in a little container and dip the end of the pin in AFTER I have the sequins on.  This helps the pin to stay in the foam.

I like to use a variety of pins, sequin shapes and colors and beads.  some pins have big heads and are corsage style pins. Most of what supplies I use I have picked up at estate sales.

This is how I set up my camp.  I just sit on the floor with my bling spread out and pin away.  Mindless, tedious craft work, but the results are such a happy, sparkly thing!