Magpie Ethel

Hope You Are Having A Boo-tiful Monday!

My Monday has been full of orange and black.  Spiders and witches invaded the studio this weekend and I have been one crafty gal.  My Halloween stuff will be listed tormorrow on Etsy at 9 a.m.(pacific time)  Let me share....

Skeletons, black cats, witches and Halloween gals in polka dot skirts.

This is my candy corn gal.

Scaredy Cat

Spooky Skeletons (love the glo-tye ribbon base)

Witches

And some different Halloween fun as well....

Halloween Award Ribbons

A decked out owl ready for the holiday with his own party hat.

Tussie Mussie style ornaments created with vintage flair and doo-dads.

A well loved vintage big bad wolf!

Fun flags created with newspaper from 1936 - yellowed with age for that spooky look.

If you are interested in some of these Halloween items check into my Etsy store Tuesday morning - all these items and MORE will be listed.

Hope you had a boo-tiful day!

Would You Be Fooled?

At the estate sale last week I got a big huge bag of fake plastic flowers.  I usually pass on this type of stuff, but this had some neat flowers that I could deconstruct and use parts of for crafting.

The bag of flowers also had alot of fake fruit in it, including these peanuts.  Now, I don't often do flower arrangements that feature peanuts.  They just struck me funny.

The original tags on the peanuts and flowers also made me chuckle.

"Quality so real...it even fools the bees"  So...do you think the bees would fall for these fake beauties?  Nahhh, I don't think they will either.

Estate Sale Friday...I'm Smiling!

Today I was signed up for one sale that advertised the basement as a "diggers heaven".  I was number #19 on the list and the sale didn't start till 11 a.m.  I had time to kill before hand so I decided to hit a church sale.  I am so glad I did!

I got there about ten minutes before it officially started and people were already shopping.  I was out of my car like a mad woman and picked up the two vintage tablecloths first.

Over 70 spools of ribbon that I will use for bases on my little gals (great graphics on most of the spools). A couple of vintage children's books.

3 old Christmas bibs ready to be embroidered. One has already been started.

A tree topper, a canasta set, some old gold ornaments, 3 bridge tally pads, one silly honeycomb snowman, some old wooden heads and a line to hold Christmas cards in the original packaging.

An old wooden recipe box and a great old tin for Air Bons mints.

A selection of old games.  My favorites are the "Anagrams" and the game called "Dig".  This is the reason I like them so much.

Love the vintage letters of "Anagram" and the letters from "Dig" in the photo below.

I happily smiled thru the sale as I filled my box...love this vintage puzzle.

Did you notice all the plug in Christmas candle lights...I transform them and sell them at my sales at Christmas. I scored on this big box of them.

The "diggers heaven" sale that I was so excited about turned out to be the opposite of heaven.  Luckily I got in the door quickly, but only left with ONE item.  This old glass battery container.  It was only $1 and it cleaned up really nicely.  It is good sized - about nine inches wide and about 7 inches tall, with that great detailed edge.  

The church sale was definitely more heavenly than that basement!  A pretty good day, and I'm still smiling. 

Collecting Runs in the Family

If you have been reading my blog for awhile it has surely dawned on you by now that I love to collect.  My husband and kids have their own collections as well.  My teen daughter collects typical kid stuff.  She used to collect Beanie Babies and then moved on to those "Live strong" style rubber bracelets when they were popular.  She is the trendy collector.  However, her one big collection is those old fashioned Archie comic books.

I grew up reading Archie.  I loved them.  My kids read them now.  I didn't' save any from my childhood to pass on to the kids.  Those they have collected have been bought second hand or from the grocery store.  Did you know a Archie Double Digest comic now costs $3.89!!!  (why we buy them used if we can find them)  Kate has over 600 of them in her collection and she keeps reading them every day.  She rotates thru them to keep them a fresher read.  It is a great collection.

Speaking of Archie.  I was dismayed the other day to read that Archie was going to propose to Veronica.  What in the heck?  Does he not realize that Betty is the gal for him?

How can it be?  My daughter can't wait to get her hands on this issue coming out soon....to add to her collection.

The photo of Kate with her Archie collection was taken by Meg Williams - an awesome highschool student who has been doing some photo shoots at our house recently for a class.

Flip that Ho-Hum Cabinet

Remember that metal cabinet that I got this past weekend full of craft goodies?

Nice, heavy duty cabinet.  I decided to use it in the studio and gussy it up...spray paint style

I removed all the plastic drawers and set up a little paint area in the backyard.

I used this type of spray paint.  I had a can and it covers really well and is a great color.  I did two light coats and had great results.

After.  I love the new color.  It now houses all my beads and little things. 

I had this scrapbook paper that I loved the images on.  They weren't exactly the correct size for the drawer inserts, but I used them anyhow.  I also used another scrapbook paper with a smaller print, as well as just some plain cardboard.  I didn't' want it all matchy-matchy. I also didn't want to just label all the drawers with their contents - I can see what is in each one.

Super easy afternoon project. I gave that plain jane cabinet a new stylish look and am more organized than ever.  Really happy with the finished piece.

Better Forgotten Crafts

I often find handmade things at estate sales that inspire me or give me some creative spark to reinvent something.  This was NOT the case this weekend when I discovered this gem in a bag of craft stuff. I won't be making these, but just had to share.

 

The flashbulb ornament.  Some of you probably won't remember flash bulbs - but those that do will chuckle over this craft.

The flashbulb has been taken apart and in the place of each bulb, cotton and a tiny vintage scene has been lovingly placed.

A different scene on each of the four sides of the bulb. A string attached to the top to hang it from the tree.  I often see old flashbulbs at estate sales and pass them by...I'm still gonna pass them by...this is just the goofiest ornament. 

Would you hang one on your tree?

Thumbs Up...Way Up!

Hit an estate sale this morning.I mentioned it yesterday on my post that I was #38 to get in. (people were commenting back that they would cross their fingers for me...it worked!)  Here I am in a pair of vintage glasses that I got at the sale - I gave the sale a thumbs up.

This sale had a lot of craft stuff...plus some other goodies.

Old faux candles made with foil leaves and mercury glass.  Surprise, surprise I have a collection of these - so was thrilled to get the bag of them for $1.  Also some red ornament package tie-ons.

I'm a sucker for old paper honeycomb things. Here is a pair of wonderful rose centerpieces (one still in the original package).

I can't pass old tiny ornaments by - especially if they are in their original box. This lot was a total of 60 cents.

EGADS! A whole bag of birthday.  Some of the candle boxes I don't even have in my collection!!!  I also like the candle holders on the right.

I love all the birds.  I find it amusing that the cowboy and indian candle holders are in pastel colors!

A whole bunch of sequins and pearls.  I like the handful of small metal rulers that were from an old tailor's shop nearby.

A metal cabinet full of craft supplies.  I didn't see it initially under the table.  A woman who saw the basket I was carrying was full of craft stuff pointed it out to me.  Thank goodness!!! The minute I saw the drawer marked heads, I was read to fork out the $8!

Hallelujah!  Heads!

A chalk-ware dog wearing a beret.  A duck for my collection. A turquoise pottery piece full of vintage trim and such.

I have been on a lucky streak with my ribbon spools lately.

Tons of buttons.  Tons.  Some on the original cards.

I like the tops of these tins...but the sides were even better.

Cute graphics huh?

I am usually not a sucker for plastic flowers.  These were in a box of stuff I got.  I can use parts of them and I like their original dime price tag.

As you can see there were hodgepodge bags of just misc. stuff (most of this was in one bag).  This is what I kept. Some went straight to the garbage and some to Goodwill.  I spent over an hour in my backyard sorting.  I was in heaven.

This little guy was tucked in with a bag of craft stuff.  His body is plastic and he still has the original candy inside.  Anyone have any insight about him for me?

So thank you everyone who kept their fingers crossed and sent me positive thoughts.  IT WORKED!  Thank you, thank you...was a happy day!

Estate Sale Friday

Today I hit 6 sales and 2 garage sales.  It was dismal. Everything was either really overpriced at the sales or it was all stuff that wasn't my thing.

I didn't spend a dime! Good for my wallet, but I was ready for some treasures. I am #38 on a list for a sale tomorrow...hope my luck changes...cross your fingers.

Can't Sleep

I fall asleep about 11 p.m. and if I have alot on my mind I wake up about 2 a.m. and lay there for at least a couple of hours...my mind whirling with all the things I need to do or crafts I need to make.

Last night I lay there for over two hours...I thought up four new blog posts.  I would love it if I could figure out a way to just switch off my brain..stop thinking about things and fall asleep. A nice deep sleep. ZZZZZZ

If I had such a switch, of course it would have to have a cute vintage switch-plate.

Maybe something like this would help!  Hope I have sweet dreams tonight.

Monday, Quiet Monday

For the FIRST time this summer my two kids are both in camps.  Ben is at a cross country camp at Silver Falls with his high school until Wednesday.  Kate is taking both driver's ed and a volleyball camp this week.  I am enjoying my quiet house.

I did manage to hit a couple of sales this weekend after helping out with one of Friday.

I got this small vintage suitcase - almost a weekend size.  It is only 17 inches wide and tiny cute! Destined for studio storage.

 

The metal vintage label says Portland, Oregon. Evidently it never traveled too far from home. 

 

This was my best find.  Silly,  satin colored STRIPED balls in ORANGE.  What a great find to put to use for my upcoming Halloween gals.  I was thrilled!  I also found a bunch of silver and gold vintage leaves in their original packaging. Good Stuff.

 

 

I'm off to embellish some Christmas trees in the studio.  Hope you have a wonderful Monday.