Magpie Ethel

Estate Sale Friday/Saturday

I hit two sales yesterday and a couple today after they had been open a few hours. I certainly didn't have a jackpot day, but enough for a post!

The two file cabinet drawers came from a sale today. I am always carrying on about organizing and these will be put to use in my studio.

An old candy container Santa

Some smaller ornaments and old glass garland beads.  And yes, a few more spun heads...snowmen, Uncle Sam, Santa and a skeleton.

A couple of boxes of old foil stickers.

I love to craft with vintage craft supplies if I can and I like this "Magic Foil -  that can be stretched out to three times its normal width".  I know i will find a use for it.

 

That is it. I'm in a good mood and got my estate sale fix. Off to fill those file cabinet drawers in my studio....

Road Trip Help

This October my mom and I are doing a little junking road trip.  My parents are driving to Ames, Iowa for my dad's high school reunion. They are then driving to Kansas City (where they used to live) and my dad will fly home. I will be flying out and driving home with my mom.  We have no route at this point. We want to hit good shops, auctions, eats, places of interest and anything else you may suggest. We have the potential to hit these states (depending on what looks interesting) - Kansas, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Idaho, Washington and then home to Oregon. I know in Kansas I want to hit Nell Hill's and Curious Sofa. I want to eat a little frozen custard at Sheridan's.  This is one of those once in a lifetime trips and I want to do it right.  Leave me a comment with any suggestions you may have pertaining to those states I mentioned.  We will be doing this trip in mid October, so if you know of any flea markets to hit let me know as well.  BOMBARD ME WITH IDEAS...make this the best road trip ever!

Collection Challenge #14 - Wooden Figures

Every once in awhile I find a little wooden figure like the little buggy I found last Friday.

I was asked to share the rest of my collection of these sweet wooden figures. I don't know alot of history on them. Some of mine have labels on the bottom - "original Erzebirge - made in German Democratic Republic". Most of them are unmarked.

The Erzibirge is a region on Germany that is famous for making these figures as well as nutcrackers.  This type of figure has been in production for 200 years. Mine have all been estate sale finds, but I love the detail and whimsy they have. Some have seen better days or are missing a part...so it is a collection of misfits as well. There are different manufacturers for these type of figures, but they all originate in the same area of Germany.

I display mine on a three tiered metal shelf.

I am just going to let the images do the talking on this post.

Ebay has over 400 listing for this type of figure...they are still in production and popular.  I like the vintage ones that I find at a cheaper price....a happy little family to collect.

That wraps up challenge #14. If you have a suggestion for a future challenge, finish the sentence "show me your collection of _____", and I'll see what I can do.

Estate Sale Friday....What Else Was In My Basket

In addition to the big box of ribbon I got yesterday at the estate sale, I had some other goodies in my basket.

These were hiding in the box of ribbon.  Old floral stickers and gift tags.

A couple of boxes of tiny vintage ornaments, a great old jar, a tin of silver tinsel glitter,
I love these old thimbles with advertising on them.  The old shell is a match holder and engraved from Long Beach, Washington.

Vintage safety pins.  I really have issues with items that are in original packaging and old graphics...must have them.

Box of old Easter egg dye packets and a box of birthday candles.

This was one of my favorite finds.  This little wooden gal is tiny...and will join a collection of these wooden figures.

A great old basket, vintage tea towel and some Easter picks.

Trail Drive card game - good cowboy graphics.

This gal will get a holiday makeover.

 

I like these old necklaces made out of glass garland. This is the third one I have found. 

It is a bit different than my other two, as it includes jingle bells.

And last but not least, a unused potholder featuring Mr. Reddy Kilowatt.

In the original packaging with the directions for use inside.

Decent finds. Decent day.

Estate Sale Friday - Tying One On

I hit a couple of decent sales today. Will share on my next post.  As I was taking items out of my car today it occurred to me how lucky I am to find so many cardboard spools of vintage ribbon. I know you must have noticed them mentioned in my estate sale posts.  Perhaps you thought I had hoarding issue with ribbon.  I use them as the base for my spun head gals as I think it gives them a pop of color and I love the old graphics.  See for yourself...

 

How can you go wrong with this little guy?

I love this spool that says "Wonderful Day"  It then mentions all the occasions that you use ribbon for!


This woman also had so good taste in ribbon beyond your usual solid shades.


Some still in their original plastic sleeves...unopened.

I love these little ribbon bundles with their foil fasteners.

More to come tomorrow...Got all wrapped up in the vintage ribbon today!

Makes Me Happy

I just got this cute little glass vase at the local antique store.  I certainly did not need another vase, but was smitten with the "Flowers" label on it.

A quick trip to my cutting garden on the side of my house.  It is a bit wild, but I love how many fresh flowers I have to cut. You can't see the dahlias as they are a  bit further down.

A quick snip and I have the perfect arrangement.

How can you not smile when this is on your kitchen windowsill?


(three simple flowers...yellow dahlias, daisies and gooseneck loosestrife. I love the loosestrife although it is rather invasive.  It is a great cut flower though.)

Vintage Vacation Swap

Jenny from Everyday is a Holiday organized a vintage holiday swap to celebrate the summer. The specifications of the swap were to swap an assortment of items including handmade, crafting, sweets and vintage...all with a vintage holiday theme.

My swap partner was Natalea from Kandeland...and what fun her package was!  There is nothing better than getting a box in the mail that you have no idea what is inside. Everything was wonderfully wrapped and it was fun to pull out package after package.

This is what delightful things I got...all with a vintage vacation twist.

Glitter in watery blue colors. A vintage flashcard, postcard and photo. Scrap booking paper, bakers twine and other goodies.


An awesome handmade scrapbook for my summer memories.   She also sent a coconut sucker from a local candy company...coconut is one of my favorite flavors and it is in my mouth as I type!

 

I love the variety of pages and embellishments that Nat used in her scrapbook - super clever!

Great retro ice cream sign and a little bucket she made with shells. She even found some rubber stamps with a vacation theme!


Salt water taffy and a little beach themed ATC.

The cutest little vintage book about a little boy, Toby, and his little flight bag.
 

Great stuff Natalea, thanks so much for the trade!

And in case you want to see what I sent...here we go.

Vintage buttons for crafting. I tucked some of them in an old vintage film tin.

I thought a vintage vacation road-trip was in order and what better way to kill the time in the car then with a travel themed card game? Also included a pair of vintage sunglasses.

A little spun head gal ready for a holiday. Suitcase at her feet.  Map and camera in hand.
 

Old fashioned candy in yummy colors from my favorite local candy store.
 

A prize ribbon embellished with a vintage photo and maps.
 

Old playing cards with a shell design.


Totally a fun swap to play along with and a fun new friend as a partner!

Collection Challenge #13 - Vintage Office Supplies

A long time blog reader suggested office supplies.  This was a fun post as I just gathered totally random things that fell under the office category...I have some oddball items (what a surprise) to share.

We will begin with the simple stapler in a great retro color.

 

Boxes of paper fasteners.  I like to buy old office supplies at estate sales as they are usually cheap and I like the graphics on the old boxes. I also end up using what I buy.


L-O-V-E these old map tacks for marking spots on a map.  They are teeny tiny and the top of each has a different pattern or color.

 

Who can go wrong with a box of old carbon paper and a couple of old boxes of Dennison key tags?

I like old rulers that have the name of a business.

I am not sure why I have so many thumbtacks.  Not sure at all.   The colors are great tho.

 Letter openers from the Fuller Brush company. They come in a rainbow of colors.

They each sport the logo - look just below his feet on the brown one.

 

A box of pencils in a yummy color. Actually I believe these are golf pencils, but a pencil is an office item regardless of size.

 

I seem to be finding these photo corners at quite a few sales this year.  First it was one envelope of them and now I have about a dozen or so.  I really don't need this many photo mounting corners.

But I am attracted to this little guy on the envelope for some crazy reason.
 

Colored pencils in boxes.  Again a sucker for the different graphics.

 

Old spiral bound notebooks.


And lastly part of the fun of old office supplies is the quirky boxes you can pick up for storage.

That is what I could dig up in the office supply department. If you have a suggestion for a future post, just leave me a comment and finish the sentence "Show me your collection of _____."  I'll see what I can do.


 

The Girls of Summer

Every summer I make a few spun head gals inspired by the warm weather and fun activities.

 
Just celebrating the summer sun.

And of course the summer season makes me think of the beach. A pair of mermaids has come out to play.

Sure to bring a smile to a summer day.  These gals will all be showing up on Etsy, Monday, July 19th at 6 p.m. (pacific time).

Estate Sale Roadtrip

At the crack of dawn I had to drive my daughter a couple of hours away to the coast for camp.  I checked Craigslist before I left to see if there were sales I could hit on the way home (the sign of a true estate sale fiend).  I hit two and while the first one was a complete waste of time, the second made up for it. It was the SECOND DAY of the sale and I still did quite well!

I have been called a spun head magnet and today those magnetic powers were very, very powerful.  A mother-load of heads.

Colorful beads for my sequin trees.I especially love the raspberry shaped ones.

 

A tiny forest of old bottlebrush trees.

I have collected/crafted with vintage Christmas for a long time and have never seen these little glittered cardboard reindeer.
 
 

A bunch of vintage Christmas including some glass garland, a couple of spun heads and two Christmas corsages.

A bunch of beaded handmade flowers.

 

A nice old bingo set.

A couple of small candy tins. The one on the right with the girl on the horse is marked "Horner" on the back. 

A couple of cutter tablecloths in super vibrant colors.


And last but not least, one of my favorite finds. Vintage pincushions in mint, unused condition.

5 handmade pincushions with great old fabrics. I can't imagine how much work went into making them. I think I am just going to display them in a bowl.

What a great day for a road trip...and a good excuse to hit an estate sale!