Magpie Ethel

Piles and Piles and Piles

I don't live in a big house. I take advantage of all the storage and it is packed to the gills.  My daughter came home from college a month ago... she has a big pile of dorm stuff.  It is a corner of the basement.  My son gets home tomorrow from college...he was in an apartment this year.  That will be another pile of stuff to find a spot for this summer.

I actually had to get a big pile of stuff out of his room.  That pile was garage sale stuff that migrated to the living room. I am getting ready to do our big neighborhood garage sale in a week.  That pile has now been priced and prepped.

As you can see, despite the piles I still got the 4th of July decorations out. (another post on those when my living room is pile free).

Piles and piles of stuff.

It is driving me bananas.  One week and the living room pile will be gone. (Eastmoreland garage sale is the 22nd, 8-5 if you live in town. Over 100 houses will be participating) I can live with the other two piles for the summer since the trade-off is having my kids home.  Love those kids and the piles they bring with them..excited to have them home for a few months!

 

 

A Few Stragglers in The Holiday Parade

A few holiday stragglers made it to the Etsy patriotic parade.

A pair of holiday fireworks are ready to explode in the sky.

A bunch of marching cuties fresh from the estate sale last weekend. 

Listed on Etsy now.

Fun red, white and blue.

Collection Challenge #160 - Vintage Beach Towels

A rather quirky collection this week. I found another beach towel to add my collection this past weekend.  I now have 5 so up and over the required 3 to make a collection. Time to share.

I started collecting these towels because the graphics were so silly. I think someday some of them may be framed or made into some funky pillows for my (someday) beach house.  I always look through the linen closet at estate sales in search for these.

This is the one I found last week. It was wadded up in the storage area in the basement.

This was one of the first ones I picked up. It would make a good outdoor pillow or outdoor furniture cover.

It is very faded, but the sailor used to have some beige for his face and hands and held directional flags.

More on the sailor theme.

With a shapely sailor gal.

I think this towel dates to the 1960s with the reference to the LBJ Clean up Program message on the trash can.
Time to disco at the beach! (Again, I believe the towel is from the 1960s)
Dancing in the sand doing the monkey and the frug. (I think these dance steps were just before my time).
A silly, make you smile collection today. If you have an idea for a future collection challenge, leave me a comment and finish the sentence "Show me your collection of ___."

You never know what groovy things I have to share!

 

 

Estate Sale Land, Four Days In A Row

I am feeling pretty lucky as I hit sales four days in a row this weekend. Thursday and Friday have already been featured in posts. I was not planning on hitting sales on Saturday.  I ran to Target, but on the way home there was a sale.  I had to stop.

A pumpkin blowmold, vintage Christmas and a few styrofoam trees for crafting.It is always good to find Christmas, especially mercury glass picks and glass garland.

On Sunday I decided to hit the hoarder doll house sale (from Friday) again for half price. I had signed up on the list for Sunday when I left on Friday so I was number three to get in today.

Let me tell you there was lots of shrieking from the remaining dolls when I walked in the door.  Quite a few still need a new home.

I could not leave them behind.

They gave me that look.

Naked men and boys even shouted at me this time!

I also grabbed some vintage doll shoes.

The kewpie (minus arms) will live in my cabinet of curiosities. The little cat with the guitar looks to be singing him a tune of his rescue.  I also got some toy silverware.

I don't remember the last time I got lucky in estate sale land four days in a row.  What a weekend!

Hurray and happy day!

Estate Sale Friday

I hit three sales on Friday.  For once there was not a dud amongst them.

This is going to sound REALLY silly but I am totally smitten with these saw horses. I have a thing for galvanized metal and I love these. The legs fold up and tuck inside. They were in the original box that was sent to a fellow named Merv in 1977 (postmarked).  Merv, they have now gone to a good home.

I got a tattered cardboard black Halloween cat.  He is sitting on a great metal tool box/tackle box from Sears (see first photo). I also got a box of rubber heels. Yep, rubber heals. Not much use for the heels (although they are in super condition) but I wanted the box for Halloween decorating. A pixie.
The lid of this tin was wide open when I walked by, so I almost did not look at the top of it. I was glad I bothered to glance at it.

The contents were a total bonus. I can always, always use new paint brushes.

I got sucked into pawing through a bin of jewels..it was so glittery and shiny...must have been that magpie in me.

This birdcage pin was a favorite.  I also love this pair of celluloid lovebirds.

I have said it over and over that vintage graphics are the best.  The pigtails on this little girl are crazy cute. 
One of the sales I went to was a hoarder house with tons of dolls.  I was happy to get a bunch of old doll shoes.

I also heard lots of shouting from the dolls to bring them home and give them a holiday flip. These girls shouted the loudest.

They certainly look determined to come home with me.

A fun morning in estate sale land. 

Happy day!

Estate Sale ....A Good Sign.

I have a thing about assessing signs for sales. Estate sale companies often have big and fancy ones with their logos. I prefer the ones that you can tell are written by an older individual in old fashioned or crooked handwriting. These are usually sales run by families or older folks who have good old stuff.  I will do a u-turn if I see a sign like that.

When I pulled up to an estate sale on Thurday near my house the sign was written in an older person's handwriting.  It was a family run sale and I spent two hours digging!

An old fashioned webbing lawn chair in red, a childs sleigh, four wire baskets (two of which are turquoise in color) and a beat up old ice chest.

The ice chest came home with me since it had a galvanized metal insert and would be good for drinks at a party.

A vintage beach towel with groovy cat graphics.

I spent some time digging in the closet under the stairs at the house and was rewarded with Christmas.
My very favorite ornament I found was this google eye snowman. The figural Santa light was a close second.

A bunch of old stock paper grocery bags (for my shows), a Boraxo soap container and some old plastic daisies for crafting.  A merry go round themed tv tray, some mercury glass picks, spun heads figures and a few boxes of small Christmas ornaments.
A stack of state plates, a few Christmas candles and a Christmas corsage. I don't usually buy state plates but these were fun designs and will either be garage sale or Etsy bound.

An enamel pot with red rim and some vintage millinery fruit.

Vintage craft supplies. A folding ruler, some bump chenille poinsettias, silvery bells, NOEL ceramic angel figures and a bunch of old Kerr canning jars.

Satin sprigs of roses and some old forget-me-not flowers. A few more Kerr jelly jars with red lids, a metal coffee pot, a glass flower frog, a ceramic bird figure and a ceramic bird bath with bird. Not a bad sale on a Thursday.  That estate sale sign was a happy sight to see when I pulled up...it was my kind of sale.

p.s. Had good luck today (Friday)..post coming soon!

Farm Chicks 2013, My Finds

Fun finds at Farm Chicks!  A child size suitcase with little girl graphic, a metal trash can and a galvanized blade from a windmill. The suitcase will be used for studio storage.  The windmill blade will find a spot in my yard.I was happy to find the little metal trash can.  Here in Portland, Oregon we have a composting program for kitchen scraps. The city provided plastic compost buckets are UGLY.  I will use the trash can for our compost (I use a biodegradable bag to line it).  The can also has a metal pullout liner and a foot opener pedal so it is perfect.

There was very little vintage Christmas at the show so I was pleased to find this old cardboard fireplace. I have one similar to it, so this one may end up at one of my Christmas sales. A vintage deer and the tiniest ear warmers for a child. I need to find a bust for the ear warmers to decorate. A few spun heads and some old Rexall drug signage.
A nifty child size toy washer.

Hello, said the celluloid head. A Farm Chicks mug and tote. A long metal drawer that will be re-purposed as a display frame.  Right now it holds one of my best finds - an assortment of Irwin toy dead stock from the 1930s-50s.  They will be great for some Easter fun!

An old push card with super red, white and blue colors.  I liked the names that it had on each push dot. 

If I was in baby mode I would use the names on this card for baby naming. There are some old fashioned classics...Agnes, Belle, Bernice, Blanche, Blossom, ETHEL, Daisy. (I am not in baby mode)

I did not get a ton at the show. It was interesting to see what was for sale though. It is also crazy to see some of the things people buy!  I will be sporting my Farm Chicks t-shirt with this darling graphic. Already looking forward to 2014!

 

Patriotic Fun

A quick reminder that my patriotic friends will be listed on Etsy tonight.

Lots of Red, White and Blue (double click on photo for close up)!

5:30 (pacific time) Wednesday, June 5th. The patriotic parade begins.

Collection Challenge #159 - Vintage Tin Toys For Future Homemakers

This weeks challenge is due to one of my finds from Farm Chicks.  A vintage child's washing machine.

There is something about these tin toys that calls to me. I love the small size and the chippy paint.  This washer will join some friends. 

Time for the child size workday to begin.  Cooking up some fun in the kitchen.  One very chippy pink toy stove.

It lives outside during the summer with a flock of ceramic birds.

A second stove.

With cute graphics.  Kingston Little Lady Ranges.

It's cooking days are over, so I just use it for a quirky display in the studio.

A few tin dishes in a great old child size dish drainer.

Rounding out the kitchen would be an old tin refrigerator....Sunny Suzy.

Complete with a well stocked fridge.

It lives in my studio too, and provides some eye candy and storage.

A tin high chair provides some height and charm out in the studio. I love the blue color.

A vintage tin play stroller.  The pink color and chippy wheels are super charming.  I am still finding a place for this gem.
In case one needs to make a phone call or two.

I certainly could outfit a little house for that future homemaker.  I think I just need a tin bed or crib...

If you have an idea for a future challenge leave me a note and finish the sentence "Show me your collection of ____."  Always something to share.

 

Farm Chicks 2013, The Show.

This is the seventh year that I have gone to the Farm Chicks show with my Mom. Once again it did not disappoint and it was a gloriously fun weekend.  It is held at the fairgrounds in Spokane, Washington and I always get giddy when I see the sign on the silo each year!

This year it was sunny while waiting in line! We got there two hours early for a 9 a.m. opening.  The line went waaaayyy back and then zigged to the left.  It was long!  I knew that Erica and her friend Rachel from Pyrex Thrifting Sisters were coming this year.   We had been emailing and texting back and forth about the event.  She and I pulled into the parking lot at EXACTLY the same time so we got to stand in line together and visit. (Let me also add that I ran into her almost a comical amount during the course of the weekend...at breakfast, at a farm stand on the drive home etc. etc.)

I had my entry bracelet and was ready to go once the doors opened.
Serena always does a fun display when you walk in the door.  I look forward to it every year.  This year she had an old car with a vintage foraged woodsy look.

Lots of moss and antlers.  Old wooden crates with great graphics. The Farm Chicks always have fun stuff for sale.  Coffee mugs, t-shirts, bumper stickers, books etc.

The show did not disappoint in eye candy displays.  I always love the displays with fresh plants or flowers.

Like a touch of patriotism with the Fourth of July around the corner.

This collection wants me to collect vintage crochet hangers.

One vendor had chair after chair upholstered in a mix of great fabrics.

Davy, Davy Crockett!

If I needed a set of doors I would have bought this set from an old grocery store with great graphics across the bottom.  I do not need doors.

Here is one of my Erica sightings during the show.  Digging through a huge pile of linens (she is smiling and has one on her arm). She did not know I was watching her...heh, heh, heh!

A bar made from an old car.

We hit it again on Sunday. We went to my favorite breakfast spot Chaps for the best oatmeal (saw Erica here too).

New entry bracelet for Sunday with another fun saying.

My mom and I shopped a bit more since some dealers had restocked.  Finds coming later this week in another post.  What a great weekend!