Magpie Ethel

Estate Sale Thursday and A Roadtrip

I hit one estate sale today.  It was on Craigslist and I WAS NUMBER ONE to get in the door.  It was family run, but unfortunately the family had someone in the "antique" world come and price things...thus the prices were not as friendly as I would have hoped.

I did manage to find some goodies.  This is a quick show and tell as I need to get packed up (more on that at the end of the post).

I was the first person in the Christmas room. A couple of bottlebrush trees, candle clips, candy canes and a fun little pocket handkerchief. The pocket hankie was from a local dry cleaner and when you insert it in your pocket it says "Merry Christmas" on one side and "Happy New Year" on the flip side.I got lucky with mercury glass garland.  6 strands of it and some foil cones.

The woman that lived in the house was 95 and had gone to a memory care faculty.  She used to sew Barbie clothes so there were lots of tiny barbie things (like sunglasses...perfect for spun heads).  I also got lots of trims and tiny buttons for crafting.

I love these two ceramic horses. The trim is terry cloth with a funky pattern.

A sweet little ceramic doll and some tin molds. The doll looks like she has a wonky eye, but that is an easy fix.  Her leg looks wonky too, but that is just the way I had her on the ground.. She is really cute.

I also found lot of this and that that I tucked in that box...doll hats, baskets...tidbits that will be put to good use.

I was happy to squeak in an estate sale today as tomorrow AMY AND I ARE HITTING THE ROAD...junking our way to the Alameda flea market.  I am beside myself with excitement.

Post coming when I return, but if you follow me on Instagram you know you will see our adventure as we head down I-5.  If you aren't on Instagram this is the perfect opportunity to start and follow our trip!  Whahooo!  Time to go finish packing...

Plucky Maidens Eugene

I did the Plucky Maidens Junk Fest this past Saturday.  It was in Eugene which is about two hours south of here.  I drove down Friday (and hit that great estate sale on the way) and spent the night.  Saturday morning I had a great time putting my booth together.  That is one of my favorite parts about doing a show.

The show was in a grange hall and hence the oddball art on the wall.  I actually thought it added a fun element to my booth.  My booth was jammed packed with both vintage and crafted items. 

The show went from noon to 6 and we had a good crowd.  Lots of shoppers.  

It was fun to put together some displays like this for the 4th of July.  I got a whole bunch of aluminum tree branches the other day and they really work well to add some sparkle for that holiday.

The wood bowling pins are tiny bowling trophies. Tom added a slit in the top of each so they could be used to display a photo or a paper item. They are pretty cool.

Strawberry gals.

I had fun meeting lots of people who follow me on IG as well as those who read my blog.  I really enjoy when people stop by to say hello.



Another plucky show under my belt and a very fun day.  

Collection Challenge #253- Vintage Plastic Fruit Faces

An IG friend Brooke (@stainlessgodess) sent me one of these funny plastic kitschy veggie people awhile ago. I had never seen one before and loved the little face on it and the body made of assorted veggies.

A few months later at an estate sale I found another veggie person hanging in the kitchen.

Different, but with those same great eyelashes.

So I had two veggie people. Not officially a collection. Then this past weekend I hit that mega estate sale. I had so much in my hands at one point that I needed an empty box.  There was a box of bagged plastic veggies under one of the tables and I decided to empty it and use the box.  

As I was pulling the bags out of the box I noticed something about some of the fruit.  It had faces!

Not the same type as my other veggie people, but funny faces none the less.  

I actually had crafted with one of these heads years ago when I made one into a pumpkin head man for Halloween. (I liked it so much I kept it).  I bought about 4 bags of this plastic fruit to get all the heads that were scattered between the bags.

Definitely was surprised to add to this collection. Thank you estate sale land. 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 each Tuesday, and often the unexpected!

Estate Sale Friday. Plucky Bound Detour

I had one sale on my agenda on Friday.  I had to drive down to Eugene (about two hours south of here) to help get ready for the Plucky Maidens show on Saturday. I borrowed my Dad's truck and had it PACKED TO THE GILLS with stuff to fill my booth with.  I decided I could hit one sale that looked promising on the way down.  It was about an hour south of Portland and an easy off the freeway detour. 

I did not anticipate this happening. Where in the heck was I going to sit to drive?

It was SUCH a good sale. I spent an hour and a half digging and could have probably spent longer, but I had to get on the road.  I bought so much stuff I had it crammed in every little nook and cranny as I drove.

Picture heavy post today. A pair of plastic pumpkins (which I used as shopping baskets), a couple of turkeys and some party poppers. I haven't seen the ceramic turkey vase before so am happy to add that to my collection.

I also found a Fill a Frank...never used.  It was intended to fill a hot dog with cheese.

Fancy huh?
Another heart vase to add to my Valentine's collection. The blowmold squirrel was a great find and I have never seen one before. I think he may live in my living room.

I hit this sale about 2 hours after it opened.  The mica birds were waiting for me. The birthday candles will be added to my collection and the Valentine hearts will be crafted with.

A sweet little deer and a flocked snowman.
The little Good Morning box contains a toast brand. You heat it up over a burner and imprint the word "Good Morning" with the brand on toast. I don't think it has been used.  I bought the box of cup holders (minus the cups that would fit them) because of the yummy colors and designs.

Great ceramic pixie vase and a handmade something with funky yarn star pattern (in the background).

A pair of giant Easter eggs for crafting next year.
There was lots of oddball stuff at the sale. I got about 5 of these rubber fish earrings on the original cards. Don't worry I won't be wearing them, they are for mermaid spun head crafting.
I also did a spun head this past Easter with a giant hat.  I found more of those same style of hats.  Hurray!

This pair of styrofoam snowman dishes are new to me. I like that one still has the original sticker on the back.  It looks like they came full of candy for use as a candy dish.  
I can never pass by a vintage beach towel with a good design. This one sucked me in with the seahorse.

I am always thrilled to find this style of tinsel star. The tinsel gets a really nice aged tarnished look to it.

A pepper shaker filled with old glitter and a tiny pixie.

With the floral supplies in the house I found two of these wire frames. I think they were perhaps for flower arranging?  Blogland?  I also found two darling bird clips.

Super chenille holiday rug. Fun little school of fish. These were all wrapped up in tissue in one bag...bubbles included.

I found one more fun item.  I'll be sharing that with collection challenge on Tuesday.

What a great stop.  I did make it to Eugene finally, with a VERY full car. Hope you had a good weekend too.

 

 

Plucky Maidens Bound

I will be a vendor at the Plucky Maidens show this Saturday in Eugene.  I have a lots of vintage finds that I am ready to part with.  Kate's room has been filling up and it is time to clear it out!

I will be loading up my Dad's truck and right now I have two big piles in my living and dining room ready to be loaded.

I sure enjoy the hunt at estate sales, but I can't keep it all. I am ready to let go of some of my finds.  If you are local, the show is in Eugene on Saturday (12-6). More info here.  Come say hello!

P.S. I am super proud of my friend Pam, who runs this show. She just got a bit more press in the latest issue of Flea Market Decor...Plucky Maidens was mentioned as one of the top 25 fleas to hit in the USA.  High five to Pam!

Time to get Plucky!

Collection Challenge #253- Vintage Netting Food Covers

We had Ben's 23rd birthday party this past weekend. We had it outdoors and while the bugs were not out for the season, the party made me think of one of my favorite collections. Vintage net food covers. Very quirky and something I have only found twice. I have four.

They fold up and were intended to be used to cover food outdoors to protect it from insects.  Here they are folded up. They store easily.  I love the soft pastel colors.

I love, love the details on them. Darling tiny bump chenille trim as well as pipe cleaner insects.

chenille frogs

I thought this was a spider, but it only has six legs. The nets have a little spring mechanism that allows them to open and close.

They are marked "Made in Japan".

A couple of them have the original price tags which I treasure. Meier and Frank was a local company for years.
Three of the nets are the same size and would basically cover a large plate. My favorite is oversize and would cover much of a table.

Crepe paper butterfly

Gosh I love these!

I did a post on them back in 2012 when I found three of them.  Since then I have added one more, so this is not a collection that is growing very quickly.  I would love to find more.

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

No Intentions of Estate Sale Friday

I  had no intentions of hitting sales today. I looked online for sales, but nothing looked too great so I decided to pass on estate sale land. I have Ben's birthday this weekend (23!) and had plenty of errands with party prep to do.  While out on errands today I saw a sign.  SALE.  It looked like older person handwriting so I had to follow it.

I pulled up and the sale was held in the driveway and lawn. This Santa and sleigh were front and center.  I jumped out of my car SO FAST and asked the price of the Santa.  $15.  I asked the price of the reindeer.  $5.  I said I would take them both. Hurray!   The woman looked closer at the reindeer and announced it had a broken antler and I could have it for free with the Santa. Double hurray! I can easily fix the antler.

I loaded them in the car and went to finish up my errands.  I saw another sign.  ESTATE SALE.  I couldn't resist.  I followed the sign and ended up at a family run digger sale.

A good amount of bottlebrush trees (new) but I will still use them for crafting. Yellow pipe cleaners and vintage blanket binding. Pearl snap cards and a great pot holder face how to book.

I found a whole bunch of crotchet "how to" books.

Much of the stuff at the estate sale was in tubs. I opened one and it was full of scrap jewelry (the woman was a crafter).  It was fun to be the first person to sift through it all and pick out the magpie shiny stuff.  I was also the first person to open up this box. It did not have a turkey in it.

It had ten boxes of these ornaments.

They have a styrofoam base and I thought they were handmade. They have a cool starburst insert on them so I thought I would get them and take them apart for crafting.  When I got home and looked closer the boxes are marked made in Italy and there is a foil tag attached to some of the balls that says the same thing.

I won't be taking them apart after all. They are kinda cool.  

Two sales today.  Errands finally got done.  Good day.

 

Field trip To Hope's House. AKA The Queen of Paint by Numbers.

Earlier this year Amy sold some paint by numbers on Etsy. The paint by numbers were large to ship and as luck would have it the buyer turned out to be local. Amy contacted the buyer Hope, and she agreed to Amy delivering them.  When Amy delivered them, this is what she saw when Hope opened the door.

Hope is a paint by number collector.  Amy was awestruck.  Amy arranged a little field trip for me to see the collection for myself.  I am sure glad she did!

Hope buys and restores paint by numbers.  It was fascinating to hear her talk about them and I learned paint by number fact after fact.  Hope has 853 PBN (as of November). 602 hang on walls of her house and studio and 203 awaiting restoration plus 48 "extras.  

Hope has them hanging on literally every wall of her house and studio.  They are arranged by theme.  

Here are some of the PBN that are awaiting her paintbrush and restoration.

This PBN is one of the larger produced.  

  Hope saves some of the boxes and PBN kits. I, of course love them for their graphic appeal.
Hope had a bird theme going on in her bathroom.  That is where I keep my bird collection as well (except mine are ceramic).

Fun little details on some of the PBN kits. I like the center cartoon fellow who says "put on wall for all to admire".

There was a ship and seascape theme going on in an upstairs room.I had fun seeing the variety of subject matter. I had no idea on the vast multitude of themes there were.
An upstairs study has an oriental theme.  Hope's PBN are a constant hunt for her...the Japanese women were all collected separately and are a set that was produced.

This sweet little PBN made me smile.
It was hard to get shots of the magnitude of her collection. Each hall and room had them on the walls.  It wasn't overwhelming...I think I said WOW about 300 times during the tour. 

Hope was a delight to meet and a true wealth of information and history on PBN.  I will always think of Hope when I see a PBN now.  A truly fantastic collection. 


Hope also had a studio out back which she had decorated with even more PBN.  Her talents run beyond her PBN restoration and collecting.  Her studio would be a whole other post.


Thank you so much Hope for this amazing visit and tour. Thank you Amy for arranging yet another field trip for me. (and no permission slip required like in elementary school)

 

Collection Challenge #252- Vintage Toy Watches

I did a post on watches and clocks on challenge #9. (That was in 2010...yikes, how time flies!)  Today I am sharing my collection of toy watches.  I collect these primarily for crafting.  I was putting some new finds in my watch bin the other day and realized how many I had and thought it would be fun to share.

I don't think many kids wear watches anymore, but they seem to be quite the popular toy way back when. I wear a watch everyday. It drives me crazy if I forget to put one on.

These watches are lenticular or "wink" when you twist them back and forth.

I have quite the assortment of this style.  The bands are almost paper like and rather fragile.

These watches have a tiny giraffe or fish featured on the clock face. I am not sure what those animals have to do with telling time. They are marked Japan. I like that toy watches look like grown up versions. Sometimes the faces are rather fancy.

This watch on the original card is sweet.

The toy watch with the hands that REALLY move.  I think the 15 written in pencil on the card, was perhaps the original price of the watch.

Most of these watches have been collected with the intention of crafting New Years spun heads. These tiny watches work well for that.

This toy watch face was crafted with by a local crafter. The watch is vintage plastic and the crafter added the tiny plaid band. I wear it.

Watches are so named as a reminder — if you don't watch carefully what you do with your time, it will slip away from you. ~Drew Sirtors

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 Friday/Saturday...Two by Two

I hit two sales on Friday and two sales on Saturday.  It was a good weekend for junk.

A ceramic head choir boy, a ceramic deer, ceramic owl and a sweet doll. A pair of deer antlers.

I think she will head to the studio for a little Magpie Ethel touch. At the estate sale my friend Tom had this box in his arms. He was a total sweetie and passed it off to me since he knows I collect vintage swim caps. Love the graphics on this one.

Even that little logo on the left with the fish jumping out of the water charms me so.A couple of flags and an old Christmas candy box.
A whole bunch of white honeycomb bells (which will join and insane amount I already have) and a fun handmade netting heart. 100 tiny dolls. Evidently these were advertised as "Buy 100 dolls" in the back of magazines and such.   One of my IG followers said she ordered them when she was a kid and was disappointed when they came with the tiny size (she was expecting 100 good sized dolls).
A teeny bit of Christmas and some darling ceramic figures.
Red anagram letters and a few red salt and pepper shakers.

I am not a drinker, so these shot glasses will be headed to Plucky Maidens junk fest.  I will be a vendor there in a couple of weeks.
This deer sampler will be headed to Plucky Maidens as well.

I may have lost my Plucky mind when I picked up this kitschy lamp. Handmade and funky...so headed to Plucky as well.

One of the sales that I hit this weekend was on Friday night.  I was NUMBER one to get into that sale.  The woman was a hoarder and had an insane amount of picture frames.  She also had some fun shelves.

Another vintage shoe box for my collection (28 now). I also could not pass up the vintage shoe polish..those boxes have the cutest graphics on them.

Chenille loops for potholder crafting. I remember making these as a kid with a special loom.  These two colors are super...I would even just pop them in a jar just for that pop of vintage awesome color.
This is the first foil Easter basket I have ever found. The Easter grass was from a different sale. I asked the woman how much the grass was and she gave it to me. Evidently she does not know the virtues of vintage Easter grass.

At the Saturday estate sale I found a bunch of old wrapping paper scraps. The woman used to make small gift bags from the scraps.  There were some gems. One of my favorite finds.  Vintage concrete mushrooms and frogs. $10 for the mushroom and $5 for the pair of frogs. (mushroom in front and two bright green frogs.  The other mushrooms and frogs have been collected from other sales.)

A pretty good weekend in estate sale land. I hope you found some treasures too.