Sunday, April 27, 2008

90 New Auctions & 16 New Etsy Listings - *whew*

I've been listing like a madwoman this week! We have set a new goal of at least 90 new eBay auctions a week, in hopes of actually, you know, making a living and stuff. And I am trying to add new Etsy items 3 or 4 days a week at least, since search results and category pages are both sorted by newly listed...

Here's just a sampling of what is up right now:

I found a huge set of 1950's Harker White Cap dishes, all of which are currently up at auction. They are really nice, and neutral - which makes them perfect for mixing and matching with other more graphic patterns.

I also listed almost 30 of these awesome vintage Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazine issues from the 1960's - the cover art is amazing, and there are a lot of big name authors in them - Isaac Asimov especially.

I also dug up all the Crazy Daisy stuff I could find - which turned out to be quite a bit! Above is the Gemco cream and sugar set, and I have some Corelle serving bowls and platters, and some Pyrex mugs! I also pulled some of the Butterfly Gold out of the store as part of my Spring Cleaning sale...

Check out this Pyrex mixing bowl set in the Homestead pattern! They are in great condition too, very hard to part with! ;)

Of course there is way more goodness than this, if I tried to talk about everything I would be here all night! Click on over to take a look around...

I'm going to let an Etsy mini do all the work for me to show you the new things there:

Etsy
Buy VINTAGE
vintagegoodness

A Fire-King Nature's Bounty casserole dish, a Corning Medallion casserole dish, a Fire-King shaker, some fun glasses, a few planters (Shawnee, Hull, Haeger), a couple ashtrays (California Pottery and Treasure Craft), and the Ransburg canister set I showed you a while back!

*whew*

I told you I've been busy! The one thing I didn't get done this week was going out to the sales - there weren't any that made me feel like I just HAD to go, you know? And I certainly have plenty of stuff waiting to be listed to keep me busy... wish me luck on us hitting our target again this coming week - I think we are gonna need it! ;)

Friday, April 25, 2008

Featured Collectible - Vintage Ouija Boards

Can you believe this?!? A Ouija board from 1944 - gorgeous colors and graphics, and in pretty damn good condition for being 64 years old! I've wanted a vintage Ouija board for years, and never found one - until last weekend.

I almost kept it - I figured out where I would display it and everything - talk about a perfect example of re-seller angst, worse than the curtains I wrote about a while back... Practicality won out again though, and it is currently at auction on eBay.

Of course I got sucked into looking at the other vintage boards that are up for sale - there are some awesome ones! Here is the one I had when I was younger, I don't know how many hours my friends and I spent on it... I don't think I want to know, really...

From eBay seller 5RL Online Auction Company - 1972 Parker Brothers Ouija Board:

I wish I still had mine, but it is long gone... luckily this version isn't too hard to find at a reasonable price it seems, plus a couple of years ago I thrifted this for a quarter:

A Ouija board mouse pad! I was too excited when I found it, I have to admit. I've used it ever since, and luckily there are several available on eBay so I will be able to replace it when it wears out... gotta love eBay!

Of course the older boards are a lot more rare, but there is a pretty big variety - I was kind of shocked to find out that there are boards dating back to the 1890's! I found a great site called The Museum of Talking Boards that has a ton of information about the history of Ouija boards and a great gallery of almost a hundred board versions - the one I found is included!

There is one other board that is for sale right now that I just love and have to show you before I go:

From eBay seller M and J's Collectibles - a Haskelite Mystic Tray:

I know most have you have probably run across vintage Haskelite wood serving trays on your thrifting travels, but I never would have thought there was a Ouija board version! And what's even cooler is that the witch from Snow White is in the lower left hand corner!:

I'm tempted to bid... must... resist...



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Thursday, April 24, 2008

Springfield Antiques Show & Flea Market - Country Home Antiquing Festival

I got the latest issue of Country Home magazine (my favorite, and it is an awesome issue!) and saw a full page ad for the Country Home Antiquing Festival. It is taking place at the Springfield Antiques Show & Flea Market May 16-18 at the Clark County fairgrounds in Springfield, Ohio - according to MapQuest, only a 45 mile drive from my house!

Should I go? I want to go, of course. I've heard about the Springfield show but have never gone, and what a better time to go than now, when my favorite Country Home peoples are going to be there - including Sue Whitney, who is doing a couple of book signings.

Why am I even debating? Money and time, of course. From a practical standpoint my Friday would be better spent hitting the sales around here shopping for inventory, instead of wandering around an antiques show with no guarantee that I will find anything cheap enough for resale. What I can guarantee is that I will find about a hundred things I want to buy for myself, which will either leave me broke or depressed because I didn't buy them!

But - I could take my camera, and blog about it for all of you who can't be there in person, which would be really fun. And who knows, I could find a couple of gems at good prices. I can write off the trip if I buy something to sell, at least...

What do you all think? Should I go?

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Etsy - Vintage Meet & Greet Tonight!

Every Thursday evening around 7pm there is a forum thread on Etsy devoted to vintage - it's always a fun time! It's kind of like chat with show and tell. ;) I'll post the link to the thread here once it is started - hope to see you there!

Update, 9:00pm - Oops! I got sucked into listing on eBay and watching My Name Is Earl. The thread is 36 pages long already! Looks like people are still posting though, us vintage geeks are nothing if not chatty... Here is the link...

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Vintage Hair in Under 5 Minutes

I stumbled across this video and was amazed! I had always wondered how women in the 40's got their hair to roll up, here's the answer - sponge rolls and bobby pins! Who knew...

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Vintage Decorating - 1961 - Part 1

Remember my Better Homes and Gardens 1961 Decorating Book score? I've spent the last few weeks reading it, and let me tell you, there is a lot to talk about!

The whole book reminds me of my Grandma Hazel, who I was very close to when I was growing up. The main style of her house was definitely from this era, and it was super comfortable. I think she is the reason I had such a strong reaction reading this book - it feels like home to me!

Most of it is just really great on a pure vintage style (and yes, kitsch!) level. I hope I can give you all a good overall idea about what the trends were, but of course the best thing you can do is find a copy of this book! It's awesome, you won't regret it - I promise!

Of course one of the main styles is Contemporary, which has that much loved sleek mid-century modern vibe. It rarely feels sterile though, there are almost always homier elements mixed in - like this room, sporting a wall of wood paneling and lots of wood furniture and plants.

Natural elements dominate a lot of the book, actually. Wood furniture and paneling, stone and brick wall treatments, green plants (with or without flowers), fruit as a decorative accessory... you get the idea.

Here is another Contemporary room - look at that primary color scheme! No fear of color in this book, that's for sure. And again with the plant on the table - the coffee table!

This is a great example of a stone wall fireplace, and I love the blue and brown color scheme which seems to have been a popular one. I also love that round coffee table with the high edges - but again the plant right in the middle of it! Where are we supposed to put our snacks?!?

Here's a room with an Asian influence, which seems like it was a popular match for the contemporary style. Also notice that gray is the dominant color - gray was all over the book, used as a neutral and paired with a wide variety of colors. I was kind of surprised by it, but the more I see it the more I love it!

Another popular style covered in the book pulls elements from Classical sources like Rome and Greece. I saw this expressed more often in accessories and artwork than overall rooms, except for this amazing bedroom. Look at those stools at the end of the bed!

The ceiling paper is interesting too, ceilings were considered a part of the room design and were fair game for all kinds of colors and treatments.

Here is a great example of a large classical art piece in what they call a Traditional room. Traditional style is full of detailed furniture, antiques, and floral patterns. It creates a comfortable, make yourself at home vibe. This is the style my grandma had, it makes me want to curl up under an afghan and read Little Golden Books!

Here is a Traditional bedroom that shows a total lack of fear in both color and pattern. Green and orange together? Sure! Florals and plaid? Why not! It also stretches a bit on the accessories - porch lights as wall sconces, cast iron trivets above the bed, and a chicken on the dresser?

Wallpaper was a must have, and plaid was a popular pattern. I like how they kept the plaid below the chair rail in the bedroom above, unlike this gem of a room:

Yowza, that's a whole lotta plaid. With a gigantic turkey over the bed to boot... Americana type accessories were popular for Traditional style rooms, especially animals - horses, eagles, chickens like we saw above, and apparently Turkeys, too!

A close cousin of the Traditional style is Colonial, and this is a great example. I don't think early Americans would have had a turquoise wall above a fancy tiled fireplace, but the silhouettes and samplers on the wall lend that Colonial vibe, especially with the wood paneling and traditional furniture.

Here is a Colonial room, but with that early 60's twist. It's got the traditional wood table, shutters on the windows, and silhouettes on the wall - but then there is that huge green and white snowflake wallpaper and a big red chair (with the horse accessory on the side table, of course).

It's this kind of thing that just made me fall in love with this book - color combinations and patterns that we would never think of using now, creative layouts that mix different styles and eras, kitschy accessories... And I've only scratched the surface, I have a few more posts to do before I am done with this gem of a book!

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Tuesday, April 8, 2008

A small thrift scores sampler...

I had a great weekend out at the sales, the one that I posted the ad for was a good one indeed, and there was another good one going on as well! Thank god for Spring. I bought a ton of stuff, but forgot to take photos before I checked everything in and stored it away on the incoming inventory shelves... So I pulled out a few goodies just to give you an idea! (click the photos to see the larger versions...)

Goodies from the first sale... On a side note, it was a sale given by my favorite sale lady Holly, who saw me across the room and yelled - "Mitzi! We watched your radio auction end, good job!" I was surprised that they had watched it, Holly knows I sell online but her husband didn't, and he was the one running the sale where I got the Gilligan's Island radio.

Did I mention it sold for $506? To a guy in Australia who thanked me for putting it on eBay...

Holly's husband did say something about never speaking to me again, but I don't think he really meant it. ;)

Anyway... back to the scores...

I'm in love with the gigantic ceramic squirrel. He would be so cute in someone's flower garden, or bathroom counter, or... well, anywhere really! The pink bowl is Pyrex, I had never seen that shape before, does anyone know if it is a casserole dish, or a mixing bowl, or what? It has a lid, so I am leaning toward casserole...

The green floral dish is Pyrex also, a quick trip over to Pyrex Love says it is called Golden Honeysuckle.

I finally found a great old fan! It weighs about 400 pounds, but how awesome is it?!? I haven't tried to plug it in yet, I'm afraid it won't work and I'll be crushed. Beyond belief.

*sigh* Can't I just keep it?

I couldn't pass up this vintage GE iron, it looks like it was never used and it's always a bonus to find something in its original box. I'm not big on ironing, so testing this to see if it works could end up being a big comedy of errors.

Photos cannot capture the total awesomeness of this ashtray. It has an over the top swoopy shape, and those colors are just to die for.

I've never bought hats to list before, but these two were just too cool to leave behind! Here they are close up:

It's like carpet! If this one fit me I would totally keep it, but my head is huge and no hat ever fits it. I tell myself its the price I pay for being extra smart. ;)

This one is all fuzzy and soft, and has the cutest little polka dot feather accent - too stylish!

Before I go I want to apologize for my lack of posts, I have so many I want to write but I never can find the time! I am almost ready to start scanning in my early 60's Better Homes and Gardens decorating books, I've read through them completely and there is so much I want to talk about! Maybe if all goes well I can get started before the end of the week. I have a couple Featured Collectible ideas also, so hopefully those will be up in the near future too...

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Spring Cleaning Sale!

I am having a spring cleaning sale on eBay - lots of the stuff that has been sitting in my store since last summer is now at auction, starting at 99 cents! Several things I put a buy it now price of $9.95 on also, in hopes I can get it out of here! My basement is full, and I need room now that sale season is here again!

Click to shop! :)

My stomach is in knots...

... from the excitement! Check out the ad for a sale I am going to tomorrow morning:

"We thought this was a small sale but NOOOOO! Every nook and cranny of this house is filled with amazing items including lots of beyond cool 1950's items. Tons of fabulous costume jewelry, 14k gold and sterling. Grandmother clock, coo-coo clock, solid cherry dresser, cedar chest, 2 full beds, dressers, couch, tables and more. Cut glass, Fenton, Prussia, Blenko, Royal Doulton figurines, Toby, Chintz, sterling flatware and great vintage kitchen items. Vintage linens, purses, Clothes, shoes, holiday items and loads of fun, funky, retro knick-knacks. We've been digging through this house for several days and are still finding new treasures every day."

All I can say is - I'm glad I have some money left over after I paid my taxes!!