Magpie Ethel

Collection Challenge #257- Vintage Child's Toolbox

I have had three vintage child's toolboxes FOREVER as decoration in Ben's room.

I was attracted to the graphics of course and they made for a cute decoration in his little boy room.  Ben is 23 now and I am done decorating his room. (He has graduated from college, works in engineering, but lives at home and is saving money right now). I was planing on getting rid of his three little toolboxes as he could care less about them.

Then I found a fourth.

Now I wonder how many more little metal tool boxes are out there for me to find. Did you notice they are all pretty much boy oriented?  I think I will hold onto these a bit longer...4 is more of a collection than 3.

If you have an idea for a future collection leave me a comment and finish the sentence "Show me your collection of ____".  I never seem to know what will show up from week to week.

Junking With Mom....Good Luck Charm

Friday I did not have a plan to hit any sales. I did not see anything that looked enticing and my Mom and I decided to head down to Amity, Oregon to clean and tend the family graves for Memorial Day.

The only junking I KNEW I would be getting was meeting up with a dealer that sold me some pixies a couple of weeks ago.  When I bought the pixies from her, she said those magic words "I have more at home".  Friday I met up with her and got the rest of her stash.

Beyond that I wasn't expecting any junk. I was wrong. First my Mom and I passed an old concrete yard.

I did a u-turn and stopped.  I ended up getting a bunch of old concrete. Luckily we were driving my Dad's truck, so loading it up was not a problem.

I love this crusty old swan with the tiny swan beside it.

I got the large pink mushroom to join my little kewpie friend.

I was shopping out of a "graveyard" section so most of the items I bought had some damage. The dings on the deer's ears did not bother me.

I really liked the larger goose and could't leave his little goose friend behind.

I got a giant frog.

I got a concrete poodle which will head to my garage sale. I hemmed and hawed over getting this bunny, but am glad that I did. I love the little flower detail on the head and am going to paint it pink and let the paint weather with age. She also is wearing an apron and there is a little bow at the back.
See the little flowers detail?

These are both plastic, but they came from the concrete place.  The mushroom was $3!  The sheep is a blow mold and dated 1989.

I go on and on about my "someday beach house" and these will go live there.

The concrete adventure was super.  My Mom and I had a great time.  We decided to hit one antique mall before we went to tidy up the graves.  I usually find an item or two at this particular mall, but this trip was an exception.

I added to the pixie count for the day.

My deer radar was on.

It was a good day for junking.

I think my Mom ended up being a good luck charm for junk.

My Mom and I are headed to Farm Chicks in a couple of weeks, and I hope her good luck charm for junking continues.  Thanks for a super day Mom...you are the best!

 

Spring Etsy Reminder

Just a reminder that I have an assortment of goodies heading to Etsy.

How fun are these little elf cupcake picks?

Tiny pigs with crowns.

I think my crafting has gone in every which way.

Always a few spun heads in the mix. Etsy, Wednesday, May 20th 5:15 p.m. (pacific time)
Lots more headed that way as well..hope to see you there.

Collection Challenge #256- Vintage State Puzzles and Games

I have a thing for vintage graphics (that does not come as a surprise to long time blog readers).  For awhile now I pick up state puzzles or games.  I have a fun little assortment.

Milton Bradley made this vintage USA puzzle. On the reverse side was a map of the world. 2 puzzles in one!

I started to do the puzzle, but it made me realize I need to really brush up on state placement. It did not help that the puzzle I started was not complete. (Do not comment on where my states are placed in this photo..I know they are WAY OUT OF WACK...I was just laying them out to count them)

Milton Bradley also used the same puzzle design for this game.

The game board is essentially the same design as the puzzle...minus cutting out the states into pieces. 

Another old USA puzzle. I really like this design quite a bit. Whitman Company manufactured this.

Quite often at estate sales I find a lone game board.  That was the case with this board.  I have no idea what the game was.  It does not include Alaska or Hawaii, so I am thinking it predates 1959.

It is quite striking with the black and white design.

This game board was another estate sale find where I just found the board. I am assuming this game was called "Products and Resources". That does not sound like a very exciting concept for a game.

When I gather a few more USA maps and boards I thought it may be fun to do a little wall collage of them.

The hunt is still on.  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.

p.s. I am going to go brush up on my state placement and put that puzzle together.

Spring Skipping to Etsy

Spring brings a mishmash of spun head crafting to Etsy.  No holidays lurk on the horizon, so my mind turns to whatever tickles my fancy.

Summer fruit is in season. Apple gal.

Birthdays are always on the horizon.

Nothing says spring and summer more than flowers in my yard.

Crafting with vintage doo-dads so lots of one of kind items.

Fun spring and quirky things heading to Etsy this Wednesday, May 20th at 5:15 p.m. (pacific time).

Estate Sale Saturday...Making up For Friday

I hit a couple of sales on Friday which were duds.  I had one sale that looked promising on Saturday.  I was hoping that one sale would give me my junking fix for the weekend.  I got there an hour early and waited in line.

I got my fix. My favorite find was this old garden cart. I have a green one in my garden that is similar, but I am going to swap it out for this rusty blue fellow.  I have lots of blue in my yard and this one will be perfect.

Teeny sailboats inside shell frames. They are marked Japan on the bottom. 

An enamel bin, tiny ornaments and assorted Christmas, bingo cards (in turquoise) and glitter.

This old cake decoration sprinkle jar was full of glitter...I like the label.

A couple of old pipe tobacco tins.

This corsage making kit box is awesome. I also found all that old type in the wood Velveeta cheese box.

I rummaged through the linen closet at the estate sale. I found this old pillowcase with Little Red Riding Hood.
I also found a set of nursery rhymed themed sheets that were too cute not to buy.

These just made me laugh when I saw them. They will be Etsy bound.

At the check out table my goodies were packed into two brown paper grocery bags. When I got home and was unpacking them I noticed the bags.

The Disco Mart bag made me laugh. That store used to be near my grandfather's house and as kids, my brother and sister and I would walk up to it to spend our pennies and quarters. It has been gone for probably 40 years.  The Fred Meyer bag  has also been around awhile..it has the dates 1922-1972 printed on it. Fred Meyer is still in business, and evidently this bag was saved and tucked away.  Such a nice touch to have my vintage finds bagged into these old grocery sacks.

Hope you found some finds this weekend.

Alameda Road Trip...The Finds

I found some fun stuff on our recent road trip.  These finds are from a combination of estate sales, shops and the Alameda Flea Market.  Started junking on Friday...ended on Monday...4 days of junking.

I really do gravitate towards smaller items. I was looking everywhere for the vintage doll heads, so was happy to find a stack of about 20 at Alameda.  The wallpaper border is from the bin of them on yesterdays post (kicking myself for not buying more).  The mica birds and the millinery fruit were also found at Alameda.

A pair of devil flashlights that actually still work. I was lucky with reflectors. The bunny was in the free box.
I like the green of the old optical box. It holds little tissues to clean your glasses.
I was happy to find so many bunnies.  The two pose dolls sit on pincushions with tape measures attached. Spun head snowman and a polka dot chenille horse. When I was in Alameda a few years ago I found a bunch of honeycomb chicks.  On this trip it was honeycomb reindeer.

I found the sweetest child size pink plastic piano at a yard sale. The little pixie was Alameda found.
I did find some elves. I debated about the elf in the bright orange shoe, but figured I could make him a groovy elf with my crafting.
My dear count for the weekend was 15.
Hsts off to a pair of Easter candles.
Ceramic animals were plentiful.
The teeny snail family are a favorite.
At one shop I found quite a few curtain tie back tacks.
I found some great water decals as well as an enamel tin. The decals are already listed on Etsy.

Fourth of July crafting goodies. (thank you Elk Horn Vintage Supply and Claire's Cupboard)A set of cotton black faced minstrels. I could not leave them behind.
An assortment of clay faced Santas. I have not seen those in the pastel colors before.

I did find spun heads. Bride and groom spun heads. The tiny wedding topper with celluloid face bride and groom was one of my favorite finds...at $4!

This vintage paper tablecloth was in the free box at a sale.

I did find a vintage swim cap.  This one is nifty as it has a raffia style layer to it.

I also found a super pair of vintage glasses in a free bin.  

Fun find and good company.  Nothing like a good road trip...I thank my lucky stars for my junking buddy Amy...she makes every road trip an adventure.

Alameda Road Trip

Amy and I recently road tripped down to the Alameda Flea Market near San Francisco. I think this is the seventh time I have hit the show and the third or fourth time with Amy.  It is my idea of a good vacation.  No sandy beaches and frou frou drinks...give me a good junking adventure.

Amy and I junk the whole way down and back (we left on Friday). We hit lots of thrifts and antique shops. We both agreed that the pickings are not what they used to be on the road.  We both found fun stuff, but not in the quantity or with the prices that were in the good old days.  We did hit some yard sales and estate sales which were good to us with junking finds.  I did not take photos of the road trip itself..although I did document it on IG as we travelled and junked.

The Alameda Flea Market if massive. There are usually around 800 vendors. Amy and I arrived at 6:30 a.m. for early buying and it was chilly and cloudy.  I always bundle up for the early morning shopping at this event as it always takes awhile to warm up.  Amy and I went our different directions and started shopping.

I love the booths that have things in quantity.  Hats anyone?

Wallpaper in quantity.  I am kicking myself for not buying more of these. 

I did not want the rings, only the boxes.  They were display only. Drats.

The variety of dealers varies greatly.  Some are professionals and have beautiful displays.  Other vendors just come and throw it all out on a table or on tarps they toss on the ground. I liked this stack of bed trays.

I am not sure if this fellow sold this hot air balloon basket.  You see just about everything for sale.

I am not sure why I didn't grab one of these fellows after revisiting my photos.  They are darling. They do need a good cleaning.This entire booth was full of vintage French hair clips and accessories.  It was fun to dig through and she had them all arranged by color...very eye catching.

It was another great shopping day with Amy at Alameda. We shopped for about 7 hours and then hit the road and headed home.  I found some fun goodies at the show.  I didn't find anything to do a happy dance about, but I did fill my shopping cart.

A good day indeed.  Post coming soon on Alameda/road trip finds.

You can find more of my past Alameda Road trip on my sidebar...see Alameda Flea Market link

 

Collection Challenge #255- Vintage Drinking Straws

Way back when on challenge #17 I did a post on vintage straws and swizzle sticks. Almost five years have passed since that post and I have collected some fun vintage drinking straws. I found one box last week which made me think I should update and share this collection again.

I collect straws primarily because of the graphics on the boxes. I do craft with them, but the boxes are what I am really attracted to.

Flip side where you cut the clown or monkey out to slip over the top of your straw while you drink.  What fun!

Mother Goose drinking straws in three different designs.
Flip side.

The charm of these old boxes just is over the top. Here you can open the door to the cupboard with a cutout door.  

Mother Goose straws but in a later version.

Flip side.

Mickey Mouse Cellophane style straws were quite the fad and Glassip was a popular brand.

Glassip straws were also quite popular for crafting.

Every once in awhile in estate sale land I will run across something made out of straws.  

\ Flip side with darling silhouettes.


These flex-straws have that bendable feature to them. I loved these growing up.
One of these boxes advertised bubble gum inside. Sure enough, when I fish around I can find the bubble gum straw. I won't be chewing that.

I have a thing for swans, so I really like these Swan brand straws.

Clowns seem to be a popular straw motif. This is another box that doubled as an activity.  You could cutout the backside and when you added a straw you could make an airplane!

Carnival straws
Flip side. This was another activity box where you could cut out animals on the box.

Most of the boxes above are for home use and have smaller quantities...50 or 100. Sometimes I find the super sized boxes.

We also have straws intended for use in the home bar.

Sometimes I find straws that are a bit different, like these fun straws with animals attached.

Fun stuff.  If you have an idea for a future collection challenge leave me a comment and finish the sentence "show me your collection of ____".  

Another week, another collection!

 

Mollie Makes...Makes Me Famous

It is always a thrill to see yourself in print.  The latest issue of Mollie Makes has a little spread on my birdie collection.

A couple of months ago Mollie Makes contacted me after seeing one of my Pinterest photos of my bird collection. They had also seen a photo of some vintage deer on my IG account. They asked if I could swap the collection spots out and do some photos with the birds on the shelf where the deer were displayed.  It is a cute little vintage shelf and it has some darling wallpaper from England as a background. I was happy to oblige and do the switcheroo.

It is always a bit nerve wracking to wait for a magazine to hit the news stands.  Mollie Makes is A UK magazine but available here as well...usually at Barnes and Noble.  I actually had a IG friend (who lives in the UK) contact me about a month ago after getting her issue. She sent me a screen shot of the article which only made me more eager to see it in person.

Anyhoo, it is out and on the newsstands. I am thrilled. Thank you Mollie Makes for making my day!

Definitely a Happy Day!