Magpie Ethel

Collection Challenge #241 - Vintage Office Supplies

I did a post way back on post #13 on vintage office supplies. My collection has grown since that post and I love rummaging through the contents of a desk at an estate sale.  I especially love the old paper goods.

Vintage baggage tags slightly yellowed with age. 

I love finding boxes of old stickers. I was especially lucky at one recent estate sale as I don't think they ever used very many of the items found in their desk and most of the boxes were full.  Mailing stickers.

I love the variety of sizes and shapes with these gummed labels.

Gummed reinforcements. These old ones are much stronger than the modern day ones.
This tiny box is marked "Gummed Labels" and has a variety inside.

The boxes are half the fun.  They resemble tiny books when you look at the sides.  They are about two inches tall. Often they were sold as a set in a small cardboard box with a variety of the little boxes lined up.

I wish this box of alphabet tabs had the full alphabet.  It only has about half the alphabet tabs in the box.

I'm a sucker for key tags too. I didn't know that was what they were called until I found a box identifying them as such.
Imagine my excitement when I ran across these big bundles of them.  I really like the tiny size with the almost tarnished gray edge.

This book of labels was a favorite find.  I was super excited as I paged through it and found great label page after great label page.

These old paper pads were bought for the great graphics.

I actually use these steno pads. They are a handy size and I find them super cheap at estate sales.

Who would have thought such treasures could be found in old desk drawers?

If you have an idea for a future collection challenge, leave me a note and finish the sentence "Show me your collection of ____."  A new collection every Tuesday!

The Bin That Was The Final Straw

I don't have the best organization in one spot in my studio.  I have a cute little vintage crib turned into a daybed.  It is intended for people to sit on that visit. In reality it is a catch-all for everything. I stack stuff on the seat cushion. The crib is skirted and underneath I store lots of plastic bins. 

There are two rows of bins under the skirt and they are stacked about three high. When I want a bin I have to lift up the skirt and pull bins in and out.

Recently I was rummaging around under there and discovered I had completely missed a bin of vintage Valentine tidbits.  I have pretty much finished Valentine Day crafting. I kept thinking while I was working on Valentine's Day things that I was missing this or that, but thought perhaps I had used up my stash with crafting the previous year. NOPE. I missed a bin under the crib.

I knew it was time to figure out a different storage system in that spot. I hit a couple of antique malls looking for a cabinet and came up empty handed. I had a bee in my bonnet to find something that worked and since I wasn't coming up with something vintage, I headed to my IKEA catalog. I thought this TV stand might work for the studio. I liked that it was metal and the blue color was awesome.

Tom and I made a trip to IKEA and picked up a pair of them.

I took out the old crib. It is easy to store in my garage.

I piled up all the storage bins outside the studio that had been stored under the crib while I set up the new shelf.

Tom and I put together the two units.  I wanted to stack them on one another and it worked like a charm.  The cabinet takes up a much smaller footprint in the studio. It has just as much if not a bit more storage. It also has a flat surface on the top which is always handy.

The shelves aren't adjustable, but they perfectly hold the storage bins I had. I may switch out the bins with the turquoise handles for something vintage, but for now they work.

I like the perforated doors that slide back and forth and can hide the plastic bins. I am not a fan of plastic bins, but they are such good storage. I may add some of my vintage style flashcards to the front of each bin to pretty them up.

The IKEA saleswoman suggested we bolt the two cabinets together with L brackets. We decided to use extra strength magnets and L brackets to see how that worked rather than having to drill holes in the cabinets.

I used the magnets and L brackets on all four legs. I also used two straight brackets with magnets on two of the legs. The magnets/brackets actually work really well and it doesn't move when it jostled. Since I am the only one working in the studio I don't worry about somebody pushing into it and knocking it off.

Seriously in love with this new cabinet.  Fun to have a flat surface and decorate the top.

A much needed change.  In a roundabout way I am kinda glad I missed that bin of Valentine crafting supplies.

Happy day!

Collection Challenge #240 - Vintage Cupids

Cupids. I am putting out my Valentine decorations and am thrilled to add this pair of cupids that I got off Ebay this year.

There little light bulbs do light up and are the cutest couple. They have inspired me to share a little cupid collection today.

These are all tiny plastic baby rattles. I guess they could be angels with their tiny harps, but they live with my Valentine goodies.

Pack-O-Fun magazine, dated 1960.  Dr. Cupid.
I have quite a few cupid cutouts used for decorating.  These are about 8 inches tall and have hinged legs which I don't find often.

About 8 inches tall and cardboard with foil.

About 8 inches tall and a boy and a GIRL cupid. Note her ponytail.

I have a ton of these that were used for Valentine crafting. They are about 2 inches tall and I have some in the original cellophane. Original price of dime for 8 cupids.  

Teeny cupid stickers. (that circle is a penny for size..it is so dirty that you can't tell it is a penny)

Darling cardboard Cupid die cuts that are about 4 inches tall. I found a bunch of these and kept some.  (Some are listed in my E is for Ethel Etsy shop).

I couldn't resist these hand drawn cupids from long ago mounted on tattered doilies.

The flip side of some of my holiday seals have a darling Cupid.

This book of stickers was a giveaway with potato chips in 1954.  I bought about 12 of these books at an estate sale so evidently someone was buying lots of chips to get the cute stickers.

A darling little foil cupid on an old party favor cup. I love that the name was "Lori" like mine (although I spell mine differently).

I have a collection of Valentine card boxes and many of them feature cute little cupids on the covers.

Cupids.  If you have an idea for a future challenge, leave me a comment and finish the sentence "Show me your collection of ____."  Cupid's arrow will be flying as Valentine's Day approaches.  Watch out for them!  The expression on this little boys face says it all...I don't think he is quite ready for that arrow of love.

You never know when Cupid will strike!  Happy Day!

Estate Sale Friday. A Slow Start.

I had all intentions of hitting a sale on Friday when it opened.  I got there early.  Unfortunately I wrote down the address wrong and couldn't find the sale on my phone (Craigslist).  I gave up and ran an errand instead.  When I got home I looked up the sale again and got the CORRECT address.  It was close to my house and it had only been open an hour so I ran up to check it out. 

I wss glad I did not get in with the craziness of the first wave as I am sure I would have missed this.

This old sand-bucket was tucked in the back of a toy cupboard with no price. The prices at the sale were all over the place and I had no idea what they would charge.  I held my breath as I went up to the register to ask.

$1.  Music to my ears.  The bucket is not pristine, but it is marked Ohio Art and will be great in my "someday beach house".

In addition to the bucket, I got a child's shoebox. It was $1. I collect them. This is a new to me box - Dayn-Tee...get it?

Bonus with the box is that it was full of vintage puzzle pieces. I didn't think much about the puzzle when I bought the box.  Usually vintage puzzles are missing pieces or the images aren't great. Today that was not the case.

I sat down that night to try and put the puzzle together.  There were not one, but two puzzles in that tiny shoe box.

As I was putting the puzzles together I began to hope more and more all the pieces were there as the images were really darling.  Seriously, the cutest boy ever with circus pigs?

Or how about a sweet little girl and a bird?

$2 total for estate sale land today. A very good day.

Etsy Sneak Peak

I am listing Valentine goodies tonight on Etsy.  If you follow me on IG you have seen some sneak peeks of things in the studio as I craft.

Crafting, crafting, crafting....

5:30 (pacific time) tonight on Etsy.  

Happy Day.

Valentine Cuties on Etsy

My studio is a crafting world of pink and red hearts and glitter.  I love Valentine's Day.

There will be a variety of Valentine cuties of course.

'

Lots of vintage bits and bobs given new life for the holiday.

These cuties and more will be heading to Etsy on Thursday, January 15th at 5:30 p.m. (pacific time).  What little Valentine cutie will capture your heart?

 

Collection Challenge #239 - Vintage Cherries

When I did my Collection Challenge on Vintage Hatchets, I used vintage cherries in some of my photos. I had three comments from people (Kim, Annette and Pam) asking me to share my collection of vintage cherries.  A small collection, but some fun cherry related items.

I have a soft spot for chocolate covered cherries.  They were always part of our Christmas season as my Grandfather loved them.  I have a couple of old candy boxes for them.

I really like this Cherry-A-Let candy box.  

The only reason I think this box was saved is that is was used to hold a supply of beads. I love that they did this rather than resort to a plastic bin.

These honeycomb cherries are amazing.  I found them at the Alameda flea market.

These honeycomb cherries live in my house on this swan display. I think the swans initially were intended to hold stockings after washing.  They have beaks that double as clips. This little display piece was put together when I bought it.

I have teeny tiny plastic cherries for crafting.

I love the plastic cherries that decorate this vintage lampshade. 

These fluffy vintage cherries have pipe cleaner and bump chenille stmeas and leaves.

For the record I love fresh cherries. They are one of my favorite summer fruits and Oregon grows some delicious ones.  I do not like cherry pie much.

There you go Annette, Kim and Pam...my world of cherries. If you have an idea for a future collection challenge, leave me a comment and finish the sentence "Show me your collection of ____." Something new each Tuesday.

 

 

Estate Sale Saturday. The Keys.

I went to my first estate sale after a TWO MONTH break (holiday shows and Christmas gave me little time for junking).  I was so excited to get back in the groove and the photos for the sale on Saturday looked very promising.  There was no list so I got there over and hour early to wait. And wait.

Before the doors opened at 10 the woman who was running the sale came to the door and announced that she had LOST her house keys while setting up for the sale. She had no idea where they were but asked those of us in line to look for two keys and a small plastic square key-chain. She offered 10% off our purchase if we found the keys.  Keep in mind this was a digger sale with lots of stuff.  Attic, basement, main floor and outbuilding. She had no idea where they were.

I was at the sale for two hours digging.  It was wonderful after my holiday break.

One of the first things in my bag was a lifetime supply of Swistraw.  I use this for crating.  I usually find a bundle or two here or there.  I found over 200 bundles and carted it for two hours with me through the house.  

There was a big pile of pie plates and I rummaged through them to see if there were any that would work for my collection. There were.

A pair of heart shaped cake pans and a bunch of birthday candle holders and misc.

A handy knot tying chart from the 1960s.

I liked the knitting book. It will end up on Etsy. It is like a comic book inside. The Heinz apple sauce jar will hold odds and ends in the studio. The Tommee Tippee cup was just cute.

There was lots of stuff to dig through.  So much this and that...old ribbon spools, mercury glass garland, a chalk box (I did not have), pipe cleaners, rulers...etc., etc.

As I was standing in line to check out these vintage tiny holiday coloring books found their way to my basket.

A cute puppy picture.
Vintage recipe books. The fabric in the background is the backing for a big quilt I found.

The quilt that I found reminds me of old school outdoors. These are all flannels and look like old sleeping bag fabrics.  I love the mix of plaids and checks too.

The family had saved a whole slew of calendars from various years.  Love the one with the kids in Halloween costumes.

The Superior Marking Outfit are old inking pads and have never been used and have awesome graphics and are made of tin. I found a whole slew of needle books in the original cellophane wrappers.

I found an old wallpaper book that had gems like this.

Love the assortment of florals.
There was a big outbuilding workshop at this sale. The man was a woodworker and made lots of wood figures and birdhouses.  I thought this little outdoor lamb stake was sweet and it will probably live in my window box outside my studio.

It was a good sale.  I came home with a trunk full of goodies.  The KEY?  So I spent about two hours going through the house digging. I wasn't really looking for the key, but it was in the back of my mind. I made three rounds through each room.  When I was in the basement there was a plastic bucket of clothespins hanging from a clothesline. I couldn't see in it very well so I tipped the bucket to see what sort of clothespins were in the bucket...THERE WERE THE KEYS!!!  It was like finding the golden ticket at an estate sale.  When I presented the keys at the cash register I was a hero and got my 10% off my order.  


A very lucky start to estate sale season.

Collection Challenge #238 - Vintage Children's Menus

Small collection today. Children's menus.  I have 4, so that is over the magic number of 3, that makes a collection.  There is something about the darling graphics, the interesting food choices (with their cheap prices) that makes these appealing to me.

This menu is from Yellowstone and is dated 1950.

It is funny to see what is served to children back then.  This is only the breakfast menu, but I don't ever remember seeing pureed prunes or apricots when my kids used to order off a kids menu.  

This menu is from the Grand Canyon.  Dated 1948.

Creamed chicken in a mashed potato nest. Pureed spinach.  Strained Tomatoes.  So much different than the modern day children's menus with their hamburgers, chicken fingers, fries etc.  This one does not even offer french fries which seem a given on any current children's menu.
This children's menu if from a local department store called Lipman's.

Choice of soup for a dime.  Buttermilk for a dime.  A milk shake for 20 cents.  Tomato and bacon sandwich for thirty five cents. My, how prices have changed. 

This menu is from the Farmer Boy Restaurant in Santa Barbara, CA.  Cute litte nod to nursery rhymes with the graphics. This restaurant would warm your baby bottle for free. I think I would order the Little Miss Muffet selection if i was a kid.  Roast turkey, potatoes, milk, hot roll and butter for 75 cents.  Making me hungry.

I love when a restaurant has crayons and coloring to entertain a kid while they wait for their meal.  The flip side of this menu does just that.

My little collection was all found locally.  I did a search on Ebay for "children's menus" and there are some darling ones out there. Still more to hunt down!

If you have an idea for a future collection challenge, leave me a comment and finish the sentence "Show me your collection of ____." A different collection each Tuesday!

Young at Heart Birthday

I so love vintage birthday cards.  Especially those that were intended for children.

These came with pin back buttons that you wore on your birthday.

I love that some proudly declared the age of the birthday child.

How could you not love a card that had a birthday message that included a smiling elephant with an ice cream cone?

A swinging birthday cake of cuteness.

A flowery dog with birthday wishes.

Why the reason for sharing these darling cards?  It is my birthday!  Happy Birthday to me! 

Past birthday posts are here, here, here, here, here, here and here...I have been celebrating with my blogland friends for awhile now!

Happy Birthday to me!