Magpie Ethel

Collection Challenge #224- Vintage Fish Baby Rattles

I have a thing for vintage fish.  I did a challenge the other day on my collection of vintage ceramic fish (#219).  My other favorite type of fish is my baby rattle collection. 

It is a bit peculiar that a fish was such a popular figure for a baby rattle.

This fish differs with her two tone coloring.
I have quite a school of pink fish.

This is my largest fish rattle at about 7 inches.

I get a kick out of all the happy fish faces. A happy rainbow of fish. These are definitely the type of fish I like to catch!
A short and sweet 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 _____".  A new collection swims this way each Tuesday.

Happy Day.

 

Ottoman Doily Project

I love doilies.  They are little works of handmade art. I have been collecting them for awhile now after seeing this couch at Round Top.

I knew I wanted a similar project, but not a couch.  I have been searching for an ottoman for over a year to display doilies on.  I found one while back to school shopping with Kate. It was at Target.

I liked the simple ticking and the doilies pop off of it. I just hand sewed each of them on. (It took me watching two Oregon Duck football games to complete this project).

Love how this project turned out!  The best part about the ottoman was that it was on clearance. The $15 price was much better than the original $50 one.

On a side note I found a big doily style rug at the Coburg Antique Fair a few weeks ago.  Will work perfectly in the basement as well as a nod to my doily project.

Done with my doily hunt. Cross this project off my list.  Happy Day!

Estate Sale Friday...Winding Down

It really is funny how seasonal estate sales are. Once Labor Day hits they really wind down.  These finds are from last weekend (and not shared due to my computer craziness).  This weekend I pretty much hit nothing in estate sale land.

The metal saucer/sled I spotted in the rafters of a garage and had the estate sale company haul it down for me. I think it will be re-purposed into a holiday decoration (if you follow me on Instagram you may have seen my plan for it).

The terrarium/aquarium I bought due to its unusual size. It is really long and skinny. I think it may be part of my Halloween decor this year.

A wee bit of vintage Christmas. I always grab mercury glass garland when I find it and this is a great chartreuse green color. Some angel tags, a figural Santa Christmas light and a lone bubble light round out my Christmas finds.A knee hugger and a fun little coin purse with winking eyes.

Some old party horns in original packaging and a crossword game with letter cards.  (I always buy games with letters)

Just in time for Halloween.
There was an old piece of oil cloth covering a couple of shelves at one of the estate sales.  I salvaged it due to the funny graphics.

What a crazy party...the coffee is "drunk" and the chicken is "stewed"


At least I found a few fun things.

Glad to be up and running again with the computer. I am still hobbling along on my old one and will be making the move to a new MAC soon. Hurray and happy day!

Dang!

This is a blog first. I am having computer issues and I think a new one may be in my future. Hoping to be up and running sooner than later. Stay tuned...and cross your fingers. p.s. I still have my iPad for checking blogs, emails and etsy. My blog may be silent for a few days. Dang.

Collection Challenge #223- Vintage Pet Birds With Their Bits and Bobs

I went to the Coburg Antique show last weekend and bought a celluloid songbird.  I don't know my varieties of birds..cockatoo?

This sweetie will live in my house with my collection of bird items.

First I have a cage of course. I have a stand for it as well.

Every birdcage needs a nice little perch with bells.

Birds love to play with toys.  This tiny bird is a nodder and bobs up and down when nudged.

This little perch is a favorite. I love the little birdhouse style clock.
The weight of a bird on the perch makes the little red door open and a tiny bird appears.

A vintage celluloid bird keeps a bird company.

When you have birds you need a pamphlet to help with the care. This darling girl looks like her pet parakeet is adored. Bird Gravel Song Food...how cute is that?

I saw this last weekend at the Coburg show where I bought the celluloid bird. I passed on it, but I was tempted.

This spun cotton fellow will live with my newly acquired bird. This chenille fellow is also part of my caged bird flock.

These records were a fun find years ago.

I have never listened to the records (alas, no record player) but the description on the record explains it all....Peter Parker (a real bird) is the star of the record and according to the sleeve of the album "Peter said his first words at the age of four months, after 2 1/2 months of training.  Now at five years of age, he boasts a vocabulary of 400 words!"

Peter Parker says phrases such as "I'll play bridge, If I'm dummy" or "It's absolutely Preposterous!" and "Peter is a precious little birdie - hello Boy, whadya say boy?".  According to the record you should play it several times a day when the room is quiet.  Just couldn't pass up these records at an estate sale.

This collection lives upstairs on my landing.

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 "tweet" thing I will share each week.

P.S. One of the perks of doing a challenge like this is doing a little housecleaning at the same time. Evidently bird cage cleaning is not a high priority in my house.

Estate Sale Friday...Another Weekend in Estate Sale Land

Another weekend, another round of sales.  Friday was definitely the better day.  At the first sale I hit on Friday I found absolutely NOTHING.  As I was driving to the second sale (which only sounded mediocre) I was thinking that I might actually have a dud day.

The second sale I hit was a little old lady in her yard with things scattered about.  It ended up being my best stop of the whole weekend.

From the little old lady I purchased a globe and a vintage cocktail shaker.

A lamp with a shade that is almost as big as me.  It was just to retro crazy to pass up and will head to my garage sale.

Vintage postcards. Sometimes I tuck these in my Etsy orders with a note.

My best score was a set of Lu-Ray pastel dishes.  Service for 8 including plates, 2 sizes of bowls, a platter, cups and saucers, small plates and a creamer and sugar. Score!

I also got a couple Fire King plates (on the right).

I hit this sale since the woman advertised craft supplies.  I was super happy to find vintage bump chenille in the original packaging. 14 packs of it.

I hit a couple more sales after the little old lady sale. I found tidbits at those sales.  A great owl cookie jar perfect for Halloween. The fishing book is for a fishing crazy nephew...I will tuck it on his Christmas gift this year.

A couple of cabinets and a crusty outdoor owl.

I do not have a fish. Yet I could not resist aquarium gravel in original packaging in bright yellow.

Last but not least this adorable wood duck.  She is about 18 inches tall and is made in Western Germany. This is her Instagram photo.

Not bad. Not bad at all. Another weekend in estate sale land.

Collection Challenge #222- Vintage Chenille Bugs

When Crystal from Vintage by Crystal visited last summer she took special notice of a tiny chenille bug I had on my studio windowsill.  Since her visit I keep finding more of these tiny chenille creatures tucked in some of the oddball sacks of vintage I buy.  I now have a collection of chenille bugs.

I wonder if the category of chenille bugs applies to this official definition.

The proper identification is an entomologist, which is a person that studies insects. However, if you want to be very technical, a person that collects actual bugs, which are a type (or class) of insect, that person is called a hemipterologist.

Lets visit the yard today. A ladybug rests in my garden amongst the tomatoes.

I am not sure of the exact classification of this bug.  This is the fellow that Crystal admired in my studio.

I know that snails aren't really bugs, but it fits in with the chenille collection.  Notice how jagged the edges of my dahlia are...I think this snail has been snacking on them.

This praying mantis is trying to camouflage himself in with my hydrangeas.
This time of year I can't walk through my yard without running into a spider in a spiderweb..they are everywhere.

Chenille frog hopping around the yard.  (again, not exactly a bug).

You may wonder where all these critters live when not munching or crawling about in my backyard. At Farm Chicks this year I bought a critter catcher. At the time I had no idea what I was going to do with it.

It is the perfect spot to display my chenille bugs.

If you have an idea for a future collection challenge, leave me a comment and finish the sentence "Show me your collection of _____."

Magpie Ethel the Entomologist today. 

 

 

Etsy Halloween

Just a reminder that Halloween Etsy is tonight.

Lots of spooky folks are headed that way.

You don't know whooooo will show up for some spooky fun.
5:30 p.m. (pacific time) on Etsy.  I promise nothing too scary!

Estate Sale Friday...A Matter of Timing

I hit two estate sales yesterday and a church sale.  Sale #1 started at 10 a.m.  I knew it was a small house and they were only letting 15 or 18 people in and I wanted to be in with the first wave.

7:45 a.m. Sale #1 - Arrived at, and prepared to sit and wait for a 10 a.m. opening.  This company has no list so you just sit and wait.

8:30 Estate company decides to hand out numbers!! This let me leave and still have my spot in line.  Hightailed it to sale 15 blocks away.

9:00 Sale #2 starts and am #25 to get in. Great sale and great prices.

Watching the clock while I shop...don't want to miss sale #1

9:30 Finish shopping and pay for purchases.  Since sale #1 is so close I have time to run into Burger King to use their potty (dang morning coffee consumption).

9:48 Back to sale #1 to line up with my #9 ticket to get in. 

10:00  Doors open.  Sale not as great as I hoped, so shop for 20 minutes, pay for a few items and then head BACK to sale #2 to shop a bit more.

Luckily these two sales were super close in proximity and my morning timing worked like a charm.

Concrete deer (sale #2)

I found this old car creeper on my return to sale #2.  I liked the old school graphics and the B@K logo.  (Ben and Kate..my kids). It has a broken spot on the bottom, but I thought a mirror could fit there and it could be hung on a wall...or I could do a side table. Thinking cap on.

A few Santa friends. The two in the back I have never seen before and are made of Styrofoam (sale #1).

A lone putz house (sale #1). A pair of Holt Howard santa mugs from 1967. This is a design I don't have. I also found two strands of glass garland and some straw brooms that I wish I had found earlier for Halloween crafting.
A blue pig bank for my collection. This one actually came out cheaper than I thought, as when I got home I realized it had 26 cents inside (applied to my purchase price).
Some old baby toys.
A spun head Mr. and Mrs. Clause and an old child's shoe box. An old enamel paper towel holder. I like that this ties into my sconces in the bathroom and I think I will hang it in there.

A pair of party horns (sale #1)
Misc doo-dads. The whisks are brooms for crafting witches.  I have a huge stash of the tape tins.

I love this little celluloid flower pot (sale #1). It will go in my cabinet of curiosities.

As I was driving back home I passed a sign for a church sale. I was rewarded with a couple dish drainers and some pretty floral plates and bowls.

The church sale also had this great old lettering kit. I asked a worker the price and when she told me she added that she would get a Sharpie to write in on the box.  I told her I really liked the graphics and could remember the price to tell them at the register!

Last but not least a vintage toy gun holster. I sometimes joke that I use my glue gun so much that I need a holster for it. Now I have one. I think I need to add a little bling to it though. Now I just need to work on a quick draw!

A good day in estate sale land. Hope you found some treasures this weekend too!

A heads up that my Halloween treats will be listed on Etsy on Monday, Sept 8th at 5:30 p.m. (pacific time).

I have been busy in the studio.

Spun head devils...stay on their good side!

Owls flew onto my studio table a bunch this season.

An assortment of holiday this and thats.

Lots of Halloween friends.

Hope to see you there. Happy day and happy weekend!