Magpie Ethel

The Most Wonderful Cabinet...Just A Peek

You may remember when I went to San Francisco earlier this year that I went to a tea shoppe called "Crown and Crumpet".  I was completely smitten with these little cabinets they had filled with tiny, vintage items.  Here is a photo to jog your memory.

It was chock full of fun stuff. 

 

I wanted a similar cabinet at my house in a bad way...

We have a short wall on our upstairs landing and I asked my Dad and my husband if they could do this project, using this wall. 

They were going to put each little compartment between the studs in the wall..it would be shallow, but I was pretty sure it would work.  Luckily they agreed to it.

My dad is an engineer so he does everything with a plan.

Tom and my Dad have done quite a few projects together and it is really nice to have them work side by side. 

We did run into a couple of problems with the project.  First off, we didn't realize the wall was lathe and plaster.  It made it much more difficult to open up the space. Second, there was an good sized electrical wire that ran through one of the spaces. We did not know it was there.  We did not have power to the back of our house until an electrician was called in.  This actually was a good thing as the electrical wire would have been in the way, so we had the electrician move it to a better spot.

I didn't really help with demolition. I had the idea in my head and put in my two cents about how to do it.  I also did all the painting.


The boxes were finished off.

 
I painted the whole cabinet with a clean white color and we made shelves to fit.  I ordered glass fronted cabinets for each of the 6 little compartments.


Leaving this post as a teaser...wait until you see the finished project tomorrow!!!  I had SO much fun adding all my fun vintage items once the doors were on (which are painted pink with mismatched glass pulls). Can't wait to share....

Collection Challenge #10 - Vintage Stickers

This weeks suggestion comes from Janis. She asked to see my collection of vintage stickers and mentioned the Dennison brand.  I do have quite a few Dennison stickers, but my collection includes many other manufacturers, so I am just sharing my vintage sticker collection.

I have quite a few. I keep them in a drawer. I thought this would be a simple post, but I have hundreds of vintage stickers. I tried to share a representation of my collection and some of my favorites. Long post...big collection.

The biggest chunk of subject matter for my stickers is Christmas. If they aren't in the original package, I sort them by subject.  Candy canes, Santa, Angels, etc. etc.

Here are some of them organized.

Candy canes.

Santa (with a variety of looks and poses)

Poinsettias were an extremely popular sticker.

Christmas Greetings.

I like the original packages as much as the stickers sometimes. (note the red Christmas one has the verbiage "Happee Merree Christmas",,,love it!)

Sometimes they come in cute little cardboard boxes instead of cellophane wrappers.

You just can't do any better than a vintage graphic.

This is one of my favorite packs.  It combines the holiday and the patriotic.  I have only run across this variety once.  Note the little snowman (lower left) is saying "Cheerio"!

Random fun.

Usually when I find old stickers they are not in the original packaging, but tucked in an old box or envelope.  A hodge-podge of fun.

I do have stickers for other holidays and purposes.

Birds and flowers.

Easter.

St. Patty's Day

Harder to find Halloween.

Sometimes they come in a sheet like this with vintage wrapping paper.

Dennison Stickers also come in little books like this on a variety of subjects.

I also really like the Christmas stickers that warn you not to open or peek at your gift prior to December 25th. I probably have 40 different designs on this subject.

Sometimes they just make me laugh...like Santa with the rifle - "No hunting till Christmas" or the child dressed like the indian - "Do not attack till Christmas" A true sign of the era.

This was a fun post.  I enjoyed sorting thru my stickers. While I didn't show my whole collection, I think you got a glimpse of the depth of it. I never pass these stickers by at estate sales..altho you probably could have guessed that!

If you have a suggestion for a future "Collection Challenge", leave me a comment and finish the sentence "Show me your collection of _______".

happy day.

A Cute Little Pixie

Last week I got one of the pixie kits from the The Polka Dot Pixie.  Jenny had mentioned them on her blog and we ended up doing a trade for one of her kits.

It comes with an unpainted paper clay figure that she makes, crepe paper for the skirt, paper wings, tiny flowers, glitter and some ribbon,..I was excited to get painting and make this little pixie.

I took some creative liberty and added some of my own touches..but that is what makes things special.  I love how she turned out.

I could just see this little pixie flitting about in my garden.

Dancing among my blue hydrangeas...

Thanks for the little pixie kit Jenny and for a new project to keep me busy this past weekend.  Was a nice creative change for me!

Estate Sale Friday..The Monster Garage Sale

I hit two estate sales yesterday and they were quite, quite dismal.  I bought absolutely NOTHING.  Saturday, however was the 25th annual neighborhood garage sale for the area I live in.  135 houses participated this year and while there is an amazing amount of kids toys and clothes for sale, I did manage to find some vintage goodies.

I got two very tattered black umbrellas.  They have great handles and will be coming out as part of a Halloween display.  My friend Mitzi did a display with old umbrella frames in her booth at Stars antique mall and it was really fun...

The metal basket/cart was my best find. The basket is removable and the cart folds up for storage.

You can't have an estate sale Friday without Christmas goodies.

Vintage playing cards and an old shoe wall pocket.

A stack of numbers and an old Easter tin.


Some old children's books including these...

Just in time for the Fourth of July.

A bingo set with great bingo cards.

Not too bad for a couple of hours of garage saling.  I even managed to come home by 11 and drag some items out of my garage to sell (which I did).  Twas a good day...found some treasures and my garage has more room now!

More Red, White and Blue

I was futzing around a bit today with some more holiday decorations and thought I should share.

I got this great little wagon set last year at an antique shop.  This is the first year i have decorated with it, so it took me some time to figure out exactly how to use it.

I stuck some old pint size milk bottles in the open wagon.

I thought about fresh flowers, but after wandering around my studio, decided to use some vintage Christmas picks that reminded me of fireworks.  They are mercury glass picks, but have been embellished further (manufactured like this - made in Japan)

I stuck them in the milk bottles and added some of my reflector flowers that I make for color.  It does remind me of a sparkly fireworks display!

I added my Uncle Sam statue (not vintage).

This little vignette is living on my china hutch in the dining room.


I think I will share a little more Fourth of July as well.  The giant pink wooden star I got at Farm Chicks last year.  I plug it in at night and it has tiny white lights that cast a patriotic shadow in the living room.

My front window display with some patriotic honeycomb balls.

Over my fireplace I have a little niche which is sometimes hard to decorate.  This year I put my collection of red, white and blue safety pin baskets and some flags in the little nook.  I also added my festive horn that I embellished and added a new vintage tin as a pedestal for it.

Not quite done with all the decorating...still a bit more futzing, so have a bit more to share on a later post.

Happy Day!

Collection Challenge #9 - Clocks, Watches and Sundials

Barbara from Ooodles and Ooodles suggested the topic for this week's challenge.  This is not a collection I actively seek out, but none the less came thru with some in this theme.

Three vintage alarm clocks.

I grabbed this jar from my studio as I knew it contained my stash of crafting timepieces.

Here are my watches to use for future craft projects.

And here are my pocket watches from the same jar.

These are my two favorite crafting watches ...just need to get a project going with them. I must be partial to the blue on them.

This is one of my favorite re-purposed clocks.  I got it off Etsy last year.  The clock face was removed and an old photo inserted.  A little girl with a couple of chickens...hand colored and a jewel here and there.

No sundials. Just a short and sweet collection of watches, pocket watches and small clocks.

And altho this collection does not fall under the vintage category...I do collect watches. I swap them out daily according to what I am wearing.  Colorful and happy...a great way to keep track of the time!  I am one of those people who is naked without a watch on!

So that is my collection of time related items.  Remember each Tuesday is a Collection Challenge.  If you have a suggestion for a future post, just leave me a comment and finish the sentence, "Show me your collection of _______".  Will see what I can do!

Happy Day...I think I will be on time for everything today!

Sharing My Happy Studio...Where Bloggers Create Party!

Today I am participating in My Desert Cottage's "Where Bloggers Create". Karen has invited bloggers to share their creative spaces and has links from her blog to participating blogs. I thought it sounded like fun and a great way to share my studio.

First off my studio is attached to my garage and totally separate from my house.  It is mine...and only mine.  I can do whatever I want in there and it is truly a spot that makes me happy.  I can make a mess and close the door and not have to tidy it up.

I love to haunt estate sales and I would say 90% of what is in my studio is vintage. (except glue sticks, tape and some other misc!).  I craft primarily with vintage items, so I stockpile things when I find them.  For me, more is more! On my business card I refer to myself as a vintage crafter. Lets step inside the studio...this is a long post...be ready for a colorful ride!

I told you there was a bit of color and craziness....

As you can see, I do not do the minimalistic look.  I do not do the pale white and cream look.  My studio is all about color and whimsy and fun.

I hate to admit it but the entire studio walls are ringed with vintage cabinets that I have picked up here and there. This tiny room is PACKED. This cabinet is my favorite and was traded with a neighbor.

This cabinet stores a huge collection of vintage playing cards, satin covered balls and a drawer full of cupcake wrappers.

 

I craft year round for holidays primarily and sell on Etsy.  Christmas is my true love and I do shows locally during the holidays.

I love to organize in old jars and often add a vintage water decal to the outside.

I like vintage puzzles and anything with a vintage graphic.

I have about 8 vintage suitcases labeled with their contents.


Love affair with old tins..floral or with fun designs.




This is a another great cabinet that I got this past year at an estate sale.


Sometimes I label the drawers to their contents...this one sports old crepe paper and has a vintage label.

A drawer full of vintage letters...Anagrams, the game "Dig", Scrabble...I never met an old letter I didn't like!

Old glitter and vintage colored straw raffia (in a rainbow of colors).

This is my worktable.  The pink legs are original and I added the galvanized metal top. That is a vintage zig zag machine attached to the side.

I really only work on half the table as the other half is full of crafting clutter.

 

This cabinet was originally red and got a nice turquoise blue paint job.  It houses beads, sequins and such.


Earlier I mentioned stockpiling vintage supplies when I find them. Like glassine straws.

or drawers of vintage glitter.

or baskets of old cardboard ribbon spools.

I do use plastic bins. They just stack easy and store things well.  These are labeled with vintage style flashcards labels that I made.


I prefer the graphics of old cigar boxes over plastic bins, but they aren't large enough for some crafting supplies.

Part of a larger collection of vintage wrapping paper.

Vintage pipe cleaner arranged by color.

If you have read my blog for awhile, you know I can never find enough spun heads...more, more!

I like to make things like this with the heads I collect.

A collection of vintage wire and glass garland bells in assorted sizes hang from the ceiling.




Thanks for visiting my happy studio.  Come back anytime!










 

Estate Sale Friday...Helping Out

Today my estate sales took a little twist as I HELPED with a sale.  It was fun to walk in the door prior to the sale and not have to wait outside with the crowd.  I still saw all my regular estate sale friends and was interesting to be on the other side of the fence.

I STILL managed to hit one sale prior to my shift and another after my shift was over. Nothing amazing..but enough to make me happy.  Was definitely a Christmas themed day for me.

I found tons of ornaments and lots of the small ones that I like the best, reindeer, glass garland, bells, a couple of honeycomb Easter eggs, a gumdrop tree and a snow-globe Santa.

My best find was a large bag of Christmas reflectors.  I am always happy to find them and have quite a big stash.  These tickled me as there were two unused bundles that had a vintage foil label that I had never encountered before (usually they are loose or in a box).

The foil tag is awesome..shaped like a Christmas bulb and advertises the 8 for 29 cent price. Holy cow, I wish I would find them for that price!

Happy Day...have a good weekend!

Ordinary Red, White and Blue

I love my holiday decorations and am getting my red, white and blue out in full force.  A lot of what I use to decorate with is often not your standard holiday decor.

I got these two old barber shop bottles the other day.  I liked their graphic appeal and the red, white and blue color scheme.

From my stash I chose a roll of vintage labels in red and a old tin toy fife that had good holiday graphics.

This little sailor man was an estate sale find a few years ago.  I hot glued the little guy to a blue tin jar lid and added a couple of small silk flags.

I knew I would need a little height for this guy so I got out a couple of vintage blocks.  I still am keeping with the same patriotic color scheme.

I decided to use this silver pedestal piece to display it all on. (the pedestal is new...I think it was purchased at Sur La Table).

Step one...I added the barber shop bottles with a couple of fresh cut daisies from the yard.  I elevated one of the bottles on the roll of vintage labels.

Added the little guy and the fife.

Decided to throw a dome over the sailor and added a vintage flag in a stand next to the vignette.

And I am done! This is the display on my coffee table in the living room.  A couple of the components are definitely fourth of july, but the rest just have a common red, white and blue theme.  I think it is a charming little scene.

Time to go do a little more decorating...happy day!

Collection Challenge #8 - Pottery

Elma has been a loyal reader of my blog for quite some time. She has asked me on more than one occasion to share my pottery collection and how I display it.  Today is the day Elma!

I don't actively set out to collect any type of pottery.  I collect it if the price, color and shape are right. I don't mind small chips either. I have all makers, McCoy, Hull, no maker and Haeger ,  I like to display it according to color.

GREENS and BLUES

This is all displayed on a small shelf above my kitchen door. For the most part they are all fairly petite in size.

YELLOWS

My collection of yellow is kept in a built in cabinet in my kitchen.

PINK

Pink is one of my favorite colors, but I probably have the smallest collection of it. I scatter it among my birds in the bathroom.

I also have some green pottery in my bathroom above the shower area...again birds are scattered alongside.

CREAM and IVORY

I have a cabinet in my living room that houses all the ivory pieces.

FLORAL

These three pieces of Hull are some of my best finds (top shelf). The small vase was my grandmothers.  The two larger pieces are in fantastic condition and I got them from one of the best estate sales I have ever been to..EVER.

TURQUOISE

My turquoise pottery resides in my bathroom with my collection of beaded flowers.

FLOWERPOT STYLE

I bend my color rule here and just group them all together.  They are all Easter egg like colors and they are displayed on a shelf outside my bedroom.

I also have used some pottery pieces in some unusual places.  This is a wall pocket that I display on the frame of a mirror.


This is the shot of my very full china cabinets that houses even more vases and pottery pieces (plus my china, wedding figure collection, glass punch bowls etc.). As you can see they are quite full

So Elma, I hope that answers your pottery question.  I don't just display my vases and pots,but also put them to use...especially in the summer months with fresh flowers.

Remember every Tuesday is collection challenge. If you want to see if I have a particular collection, just finished the sentence "Show my your collection of ______". I'll see what I can do.