Magpie Ethel

Estate Sale Sunday. A Break at the Coast.

I did not hit any estate sales on Friday or Saturday this week. Saturday I had a garage sale.

It went really well. Amy brought over stuff as well as my Mom. We sold tons.  I had lots of blog readers and IG people come by which was really fun.  The only downside is that it was HOT.  Portland has been on a hot streak (and we don't really get weather in the 90s).  I HATE HOT WEATHER.  Amy invited me to go junking on Sunday with her at the beach.  She enticed me with promise of cooler weather and estate sales.  I went.

Sunday was such a good day.  We hit rain on the way to the Oregon coast. The high at the coast was about 65 (and at home in the 90s). We hit good estate sales.

We hit one estate sale in Seaside and a few north of there.  It was the second day of the Seaside sale and there was not much in the house.  Amy was done shopping and waiting in the garage for me.  As I came out of the house into the attached garage I noticed some steps that went up to an attic space.  The fellow running the sale said I could head up there. You had to hurdle yourself into this funny little attic.  Once I got in there was a big box in one corner that did not look like it had been opened. It was full of VINTAGE CHRISTMAS.  It was almost like it had been planted there to make my day.

Glass garland and lots of tiny ornaments.  A couple of jar lids for my collection.

A pair of Tavern candle snowman in the original box. I believe they are skating?  I also scored a great pixie.
A christmas topper and an unused tube of plastic rubber. Who saves this stuff?

In the giant box of Christmas there was a bunch of papers and Christmas cards. I didn't sort through that stuff till I got home. The old school photo packets are awesome.  Dated around 1961, you could buy the contents of the envelopes for $2.  Crazy cheap if you have paid for school photos recently.
There was also an assortment of Christmas photo cards. I love the variety of messages printed with the photos.  The chenille rug in the background was a total score. It was in front of the washer and still in use. Amy pointed it out. It was filthy, but it came clean. It was a fifty cent bargain.

Always great to find one of these treat trees. I have quite a few of them now and they come in a ton of different styles.
How funny is this Santa standing on the edge of an ashtray. I think his look is one of disapproval.
Cat club ribbons, a box full of jewelry scraps and tiny doll shoes.
Darling Santa!


Two old recipe boxes.  I enjoy going through the recipes and chuckling over the wacky things people used to prepare.

A ceramic fish and a fishbowl for my someday beach house. This is my fourth fishbowl, so that is officially a collection. A couple of vintage games.  I think my pot o'gold was found at the estate sale in the attic!

I was pretty much on a junking high after this first estate sale.  Amy and I drove north on the coast and hit a couple of more sales. One of the sales was out in the country and had us digging in swamps and barns.  (If you follow me or Amy on IG you could see the play by play of that junking adventure).

A perfect day of junking with Amy.  A really good day. Now I just wish the weather would cool down.

Collection Challenge #261 - Vintage Mermaids

I was asked by a blog reader and IG follower, Linda, if I had a collection of vintage mermaids.  I have a small collection as I really don't come across them often. With that vintage beach house dream of mine though, they certainly are something I hope to put to use someday.

I found this pair of mermaids last year at the Plucky Maidens show.  They are darling.

I found this mermaid the other day.  I think it was intended as a aquarium decoration.  I have had the mermaid sign for quite some time.
I am always happy to find a mermaid image as I craft with color copies of them sometimes. Again, I don't run across that mermaid often though.

I found this one in the basement of a digger sale the other day.
Last but not least a song sheet with a song called "Mermaid".

A small 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 each Tuesday.

A mermaid reminder that my crafted mermaids will be heading to Etsy tonight at 5:30 p.m. (pacific time)

Splish, splash and happy day!

 

The Etsy Ocean...MERMAIDS!

Mermaids will be heading to Etsy on Tuesday, June 30th at 5:30 p.m. (pacific time).

Lots of little mermaids.

I did some fun new crafting this year too in the mermaid department with tiny Kewpie dolls.

Dang cute.

Hope to see you on the Etsy beach on Tuesday!

Garage Sale Day Fast Approaching

Shut your eyes and imagine this driveway full of vintage finds and goodies.  This Saturday I will be taking part in my annual neighborhood garage sale.  It is the same weekend each year and I believe this year there are over 140 houses participating.  My week has been spent prepping and pricing...ready to purge!  This year Amy will be bringing over goodies as well! My Mom will have some stuff as they face downsizing next year.  We will also have a few things left from my Aunt's estate sale. 

(I am lucky my driveway is so long as we can fit table after table down one side.  I already have a few things waaayyyyy back at the end ready to go for the sale)

Wish me luck.  Eastmoreland neighborhood sale if you are local.  Starts at 8, Saturday the 27th (some houses do Sunday as well, I don't).  It is also supposed to be 103 THAT DAY AND HOPING I DON'T MELT.  (My driveway has some shade all day...phew!)

off to price...happy day!

Collection Challenge #260 - Vintage Poker Chip Boxes

This is a collection that has resulted entirely from my crafting supplies. I use poker chips quite often and always grab them at estate sales if the price is right  (I prefer the plastic kind).  I craft with the chips and then evidently I save the boxes. 

I like how many different designs there are for such a simple thing. I think it is funny that most of the boxes say they are UNBREAKABLE...poker doesn't seem like a game where it gets really rough and tumble.

I am sure I threw boxes out as well. Love them all grouped together.

Pretty straight forward collection today.  Graphic oriented for sure. 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 week.

P.S. For the poker record.  I have never played a game of poker.  I have never been to Las Vegas. I have never been to a casino.  I am not much of a gambler.

Estate Sale Friday and Saturday. Lots of This and That.

I hit 3 sales on Friday and a couple on Saturday. None of them were amazing, but I found a few things at each sale that gave me a pretty decent weekend haul.

How can you go wrong with a giant Santa head?  I don't have this one and how fun to add this giant fellow to my holiday collection?

A pair of cute twin bedspreads in a fun juvenile print and a chalkware flower wall piece.  I will add the chalkware to my collection.

I never get tired of vintage children's party invites.  I will add these to my collection that I posted about here and here.

I was lucky with a little bag of old valentine stuff...paper napkins and some sweet plastic hearts which are perfect for spun head crafting.

I got three big store size rolls of vintage wrapping paper.


I don't often find blue haired angels.

I always gravitate towards littles. A little duck for Easter, a ceramic Easter planter, a couple of ceramic animals and a Halloween paper cat.
Cardboard sheep.  Baaaaa

A super pink lamp and a couple of Easter records. Those graphics on the record sleeves just speak to me.
Some Easter cardboard cutouts in the original packaging.

The Undersea Garden plate was too quirky not to grab (someday beach house) and the holly leaves will be for crafting).

A deer planter and an old milk booklet. Dehen is a old local company that makes cheerleader outfits, letterman jackets and other uniforms.  I found these two old cheerleader skirts in patriotic colors and couldn't resist. They are old store stock, never used.  I love the part of Portland history as well.

Old hooked pieces.  The fish will go to my someday beach house and be made into a pillow or cover a footstool.
One rubber duck to add to the collection.

It was a good weekend of junk.


Happy Day.




 

 

Collection Challenge #259 - Vintage Wedding, Part II

I did a post on vintage wedding on challenge #53. That was 4 years ago and my collection has grown a bit since then. In the past couple of weeks I have found vintage wedding on four different occasions. It is time to do an updated post.

These are all chalkware or plaster couples. The one on the right I just found this past weekend. It is dated 1941 on the bottom.

A bride and groom Tavern candle in the original box.
This couple is ceramic.
I got this pair last weekend at that great estate sale. I got it the last day for half price. I have never seen a shelf sitter couple like this.

This darling couple is mounted on a base with the arch and all the flowers. Dang sweet.
These are all modern.  The couple on the left is one of those toys where you push the bottom up and they dance about. The other couple I bought as I really thought they were sweet.  So often wedding figures are not super attractive..this pair looked so elegant and handsome.

Last year at an estate sale I got a bunch of glasses that were for months. I keep the June glass in my wedding cabinet.

These wedding couples are both less than an inch high.

I always have a soft spot for old spun head bride and groom picks.
This little couple have spun cotton heads and pipe cleaner bodies.

This bride is adorable. I love her pipe cleaner dress. I found her solo and I really wish I knew what her groom looked like.

I just found this couple the other day and they are a favorite.  
Their faces are tiny (smaller than a marble) and the details are super.  Look at her eyelashes.

This little ceramic couple was found at Goodwill years ago.

This bridesmaid bouquet was found at Alameda and I display it in my cabinet with my wedding friends.

I am still over the moon with these crepe paper figures found at Farm Chicks.  The cutest bride and groom and bridesmaids...DARLING. I found the wood bead gal on the left a few years ago. She had no groom.  The couple on the right I found a couple of weeks ago. She came with a purple cape which I wasn't thrilled with, so I added the veil and she became a bride.  Two brides...one groom....hmmmm.

I made this spun head couple years ago and they live in my wedding cabinet.

I also have a few wedding mica birds that fly about in my wedding cabinet.

All my wedding friends live in a built-in cabinet in my dining room. They are tucked in with some of my dishes and such. (the leaded glass door is open for the photo)

A fun collection to share in the month of June when so many weddings take place. Tom and I just had our 26th anniversary earlier this month.

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

Fun to share these figures as they walk down the collection challenge aisle!

Estate Sale Friday. #127 in Line

It was an unusual sale in estate sale land this weekend. The sale was advertised and was the estate of husband and wife collectors of celluloid toys, dexterity puzzles, candy containers, and tools. The photos looked wonderful.  The sale was family run and you emailed to get yourself on the list. I emailed on Tuesday and was emailed back with #127!

The email said the house was large and there were multiple cashiers.  I decided I would get there and line up with rest of the crowd at 9.  Lucky for me THERE WERE TONS OF NO-SHOWS.  I think people were put off by the high numbers they were emailed. I ended up being about 50 back in line. I got in really quickly after the doors opened.

There were lots of dealers that grabbed some really great stuff. I still managed to find quite a bit that made me really happy. Vintage Christmas is always exciting.

There were lots of candy containers. I was the first person at two big cardboard boxes of them.  I had fun digging and was rewarded with Easter.There were also lots of Halloween candy containers in those boxes.
My best find in the boxes of candy containers was this Valentine Rosen cowboy.  It was $2 and was a score.


I got all the nodders in this post on the last day at half price.

I usually don't gravitate towards clowns..but these chubby cheeks got me.

I got a couple of new wedding couples. The chalkware couple on the right is dated 1941.  Did you notice that cute little container of mending tape too?

The original box for this white Christmas tree is battered, but the tree looks complete and came with the original directions and tags.

I don't come across turtle food often.

A pair of walker ducks and some Dennison turkey stickers. My other favorite find was this celluloid cowboy.  He had no arms, but he is wearing a PINK cowboy hat.

I could NOT RESIST HIS CUTE FACE. He will live in my cabinet of curiosities.

I display vintage sailors with my Fourth of July stuff and could not resist this pair.  Their life ring is named the "S.S. Shore leave"!

These are all various celluloid scraps. I will use them for crafting. I also got a fun old dexterity puzzle with a swan image. 

Ribbon spools for craftng.  Resin flowers and a towel bar in the original box. The towel bar is a clamp on style which I had not seen before.
It was a good weekend in estate sale land. I hit three sales total, but the majority of my finds came from one sale. I hit that first sale on the third day when things went half price (and was #6 to get in the door that time).

Happy week to you!

 

Farm Chicks 2015...The Loot

Farm Chicks was good to me.  I never seem to buy big things like pieces of furniture (my house is so full), but gravitate towards littles.  These treasures were found at the show and also junking while driving to and from the Farm Chicks.

How could I not buy the cutest little nut cups ever?  These squirrels are darling and I love the fringe detail.

I think this is the luckiest I have ever been at Farm Chicks with spun head finds.  The little graduation heads are tiny and love the eyelashes. Deer frolicked into my path.

A tiny beaded couple. A super Haeger vase in a great pink color. It is currently on my dining room table full of hydrangeas from my yard.

Lots of littles for crafting. One of my favorite finds.  EGADS..this would have made that swoon worthy post I did last week.  A crepe paper bride and groom and 3 bridesmaids. 
Look at those curls.

A cute little duck candy tin and a pie plate for my collection.
Another crazy find was this #7.  It was a grocery aisle sign.  My lucky numbers are 7 or 3.
A doll for crafting and a bunch of chenille storks.
A pair of sunflower wall pockets and a Farm Chicks shopping bag. 
A swim cap for my collection. This one has little fish frolicking about on it.

Here I am!  I am not sure what this mirror was originally from. It has a white enamel back and sides. I have a couple of funky enamel framed mirrors that I will display together someday...I need a couple more. I wear vintage clothes occasionally and could not pass up this sweater.  Love the colors and the sprinkling of flowers.
Some fun vintage curtain fabric.  Note the darling deer and the rabbit skipping rope.
The last two items are for my "someday beach house". I could not resist this little seafood cocktail set in the original box.

Adorable little shell shaped plates.
This last find is one of my favorites.  I was in a booth and saw this box. GIANT INFLATED TOY?
Then I saw this on the side.
The seahorse was inside and neatly folded. I don't think it had ever been used. I  bought it and when I got it home I blew it up.
What a fun show and fun finds!  Until next year Farm Chicks...

 

 

 

Farm Chicks 2015

Once again my Mom and I made our annual trip to Farm Chicks.  This was our ninth year hitting the show and once again it did not disappoint.  The show is full of vintage stuff, but it is much more than that too...it is a time when I see friends and it feels like a party and reunion of sorts each year. 

There is always a long line waiting to get in. Once the doors open it moves quickly.  This year I stood in line with my Mom and Erica (Pyrex Sister).  Each year when you walk in the door Serena (the woman behind Farm Chicks) has a great display to greet shoppers. We always wonder what she will come up with. This year this tree house fit into her camping theme. It was darling.

The show was really crowded when it opened.  In some spots it was hard to navigate there were so many people. The booths were full of eye candy as usual.  The show is held in the fairgrounds so the ceilings are high and vendors can really go up with their displays.

Great vendor with the funnest chairs covered in a mix of fabrics.
This booth had the market on oversized letters.

It was fun to see the mix of so many things.  
 

Very clever display with the chalkboard and the frames drawn on it for emphasis. This was a coin operated horse that this little girl was actually riding.

The linen/tablecloth booth is huge and has piles of tablecloths, quilts etc. Amy always hits it.  When I walked by it after opening it was a flurry of women rummaging through the piles.

My Mom and I usually take a lunch break and leave the show.  We shop Spokane a bit and eat lunch.  When we returned later in the afternoon the crowds had dispersed..the linen booth was much tamer.

We shopped the show from 9 a.m. till about 5. We left for a bit, but my Mom and I really hit the show hard.

I really loved the CAKE WALK sign. When I was a kid I would win every cake walk i entered.

I was tickled that this plastic hen and chicks was being sold with the original box.  I love stuff like this that is saved.

Such a great show.  So fun to see friends and meet blogland and IG folks (hello Syd and Emilie..hope I got that right).  So fun.  Until next year.

Post coming hopefully tomorrow my finds. I found some REALLY great stuff!