Magpie Ethel

Estate Sale Finds

I had a very busy weekend.  It left me little time for estate sale land, but I did manage to squeeze in two.  I was rewarded for squeezing those two in!

An assortment of vintage cards from the 1940s and some old Christmas candle clips. My collection of cards is getting out of hand so I have decided tonight (while I watch The Amazing Race finale) I am going to sort them into categories. A box of Bingo and a cute little plastic duck shovel. I got 9 strands of mercury glass garland very late on the last day of a sale for half price.  I was surprised to find it still waiting for me.  The little polka dot elves were too cute not to bring home. I have two already, so these will be Etsy bound. They are marked West Germany.

A box of vintage cards, some strawberry glasses and a bunch of child's hankies. The graphics on the hankies beg me to buy them.

A bunch of old foiled Happy Birthday bands.

A sweet little heart shaped ring box.

My score of the weekend was an assortment of vintage decals (all found in one bag).
Frolicking sheep and sweet violets. All of these decals are small...about the size of a quarter.
Quarter size cuteness. These veggie people are a bit odd.

These characters are the sweetest of the bunch!

Vintage geraniums and roses with bows.

Another successful weekend in estate sale land!
Happy Day!

Ta-da....The Bathroom

The bathroom is pretty much finished. The contractor is done with all his work.  I am still decorating and fluffing. I don't want to just toss anything in willy-nilly so am waiting for the right things to come along (thus the empty wall spaces).  Those touches will come with time.

I am really pleased with how it came out.  I added lots of vintage charm.  I got to use vintage fabrics from my stash.   I added some quirky things.  I made it my own.

The windows, center mirror and wall light are original and one of the only things that were kept.

The rug is vintage.  The tile is a perfect vintage look for our 1940s Tudor house.  The shower curtain (with the cute little ruffle) is from Daniel Dry Goods on Etsy.

I got to use the bid box metal clothes hamper prize.  With my kids away at college I did not need this as a clothes hamper.  I decided it should hold extra toilet paper.

The vinyl fabric that was on the hamper previously was EXTREMELY faded and tattered in spots. While it would have been fun to save, I decided to recover the hamper in one of my favorite vintage fabrics from my stash.

I used a second favorite fabric from my stash to make a pair of valances for the windows.

I really, really love the old powdered soap dispensers that I had fashioned into light sconces. (A local company, GKA Lighting did this for me.) I purchase one soap dispenser at Farm Chicks. I got one off Ebay. The light shades are from Schoolhouse Electric. The mirror was from a local antique store.

The sconces are on dimmers.  I really like that I did that, they look great at night.I had some reservations about going with a pedestal sink and losing the storage and counter space. I got one with a wide deck and there is still plenty of room. I purchase the sink online from Signature Hardware. You can see my enamel heater that I brought home from Texas on the floor.  I like that it adds some funkiness to the room (it does not function).

I went with old school looking bath and sink fixtures.  The subway tile wainscoting with gray grout is perfect.

I love the toilet (Toto brand).  The metal trash bin I got last weekend at the estate sale fits perfectly beside it.

I bought a overhead light fixture from Lowes that was a plain cream colored fabric. I used some vintage fabric from my stash and spray mounted it on.  It is a super pop of color at the ceiling.

I have a big ceramic bird collection that lived in this bathroom prior to the remodel.  I wanted to display them here again. Before they were scattered about on various shelves.  I bought some glass bathroom shelves at IKEA and love them all grouped together.

They look happy here don't they?

I repeated the idea of the glass with a glass countertop that I had cut to protect the top of my cabinet.

I used my glass towel rods from my stash.  I also got to use some vintage towels that I love.  The one with the crotchet trim is a "do not use" towel. Please use the pink one. 

Vintage towel on glass rod.

I love my old knobs.  I found them in the original packaging.

I also don't care if things don't match exactly. I have the knobs above on one cabinet. These old glass knobs are on the cabinet under the window.

For a small bathroom this is a long post!  Am looking forward to adding those last few special details as I find them.

So glad it is done and could not be happier!

My New Shelf

I found this awesome shelf at that great estate sale last weekend. You can see it on the ground here.  It has two arms that you screw into the ceiling.  I got it the second day of the sale. It was originally $2 and since It was half price day, I got it for $1.

I was not sure what I was going to do with it when I got it.  I liked that it was unusual and metal. I found a spot for it to hang in my studio from the ceiling. It is hard to get a photo of, but you can see it attached to the ceiling behind my stork.

I have mentioned before that I never have enough storage space.  I was quick to fill this. I kept the weight minimal since it hung from the ceiling (it was screwed into studs though).

I placed an old game board down on one side to give me a large flat surface over the metal slats.

I like that you can see stuff from two sides of the shelf.
On Tuesday's collection challenge I mentioned I found a spot to display my little tin tea cups.  I hung them from old child's hangers and hung them from the rack.

The hangers had cutouts in them so it was easy to use Christmas ornament hangers to hang the tea cups. The cutouts helped keep the cups from sliding towards one another.

More storage!  One Dollar!  Dang cute! Vintage! Unique!  Happy Day!

(And a great husband who promptly hung it without complaining.)

 

Etsy Reminder

A little reminder that my hodgepodge of Etsy items will be online tonight at 5:30 p.m. (pacific time). 

Collection Challenge #154 - Vintage Tin Children's Tea Cups

You may remember that part of my haul from the Round Top show was some vintage tin children's tea cups.  I had some prior to my trip, but found quite a few more while in Texas.

This is my first and most special cup. It was in the toy basket at my grandparent's house when I was a kid. When my grandfather passed away, I made sure I snagged this little gem of a cup.

I am a sucker for the graphics on these tiny cups.  I also like how battered some of them look from years of pretend tea parties.  I love their miniature size.

This one has a tiny shoe embossed on the side.  Other than the shoe, it is a pretty simple cup.

The center cup above, has a Red Riding Hood graphic hidden on the bottom.

These cups are a teeny bit bigger.

These little cups all have an different shape to them. Sweet, sweet designs...the little cat with her hat.

Silhouettes.

Charming with a capital "C" when it comes to the graphics.

The majority of my collection are made by Ohio Art. They are all marked on the bottom with the logo.
A few of these cups have lived in my Curiosity Cabinet for awhile.

After my Round Top haul I needed to find a place to display my new ones. That spot will be included in my post tomorrow.

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

Sometimes I just have the cutest things to share....

Crafting Thinking Cap

I know sometimes when I post my estate sale finds you may wonder why I buy some of the stuff that I do.  Often I have no idea what I am going to do with something..but then my crafting thinking cap goes into high gear. 

Case in point. I bought these old collars awhile ago. I thought I could come up with something to make with them.

I started picking up vintage clip on bow ties at estate sales.

I really like being able to display things in unusual ways or with a bit of whimsy. With that in mind, I crafted this little collar display stand.

It adds some silliness to an ordinary item and elevates it to new display heights!

 

New life to some ordinary objects (the vintage newspaper on the circle dates to 1936.)

This little dandy bow-tie stand will be on Etsy tomorrow (April 30th 5:30 p.m. pacific time) along with a few other dapper pedestals.

 

Etsy Hodgepodge

I have finally gotten my crafting vibe going after my Texas trip and my bathroom remodel.  It is nice to be back in the studio and making some new friends.

No specific crafing holiday (excpet a few Mother's Day goodies)...just whatever strikes my crafting fancy.

This hodgepodge group and more will be listed on Etsy on  Tuesday, April 30th at 5:30 p.m. (pacific time).

Happy day!

Estate Sale Saturday, Round Two

Sometimes when I hit a really good sale I can't get it out of my head and need to hit it again.  The sale that I hit yesterday was a two day sale so today was the last day.  Usually items under $50 go half price on the last day.  Since it was a digger sale with multiple layers of stuff and nooks and closets in the house, I decided to shop it again.  I was glad I did round two.

Yes, I bought a snow shovel on a 75 degree day.  It has good green paint on the scooper part.  I also found a Christmas stocking, a standing fold up clothes rack and an awesome metal ceiling shelf (which will hopefully end up in the studio).

A second paint pail (bought one yesterday), a bunch of seam binding and some metal garden edging.I bought this trio of old soda bottles ...Fresca, Squirt and Wink.  I was excited about the crisp green and yellow graphics and thought they would look sweet as vases with daisies.  The trio is currently on my kitchen windowsill. An old unused first aid kit in original box. This little wooden boat had to come home with me as I have the perfect little project for it.

A galvanized oil can and a yellow ceramic duck. An old box of drinking straws, some glass refrigerator containers and an aluminum cup.
Sweet flower design on aluminum cup makes it impossible to pass up. (plus it was a nickle)

I was in one of the basement pantry areas and was digging around and uncovered a whole sleeve of more of these paint containers. The smiling paint brush called my name to buy them.A bag of clothespins, some old tins (great graphics) and a sock darner. I had to pick up these Handy Long Jon tongs. They were manufactured by the Handy Things Mfg. company. Those hot dogs!

I bought up a whole box of Dixie cups that featured a series called Know Your Americans with patriotic facts on one side. I also picked up another box of dixie cups because of the great color and patterns.  You can shake your head now and know that I have gone off the Dixie cup deep end!

Remember the Old Lady and the Shoe spun head family/display that I got in Texas? I thought this would be perfect to set up the little scene on. It is.When I got home from the sale today I hunted down this little patriotic sailor fellow that I had in my stash.  He now will live with the little boat that I found today.  I think I may add a flag.
I am glad I took the time to do round two of this sale.  It was fun to do some more digging and extra nice that things were half off.

I sure do love estate sale land.

Estate Sale Friday. The Waiting Game Is Over.

I have been waiting and waiting for a good sale. The season is finally beginning to pick  up in estate sale land and today was a doozie of a sale.  I was not expecting much from the sale, so this was an unexpected thrill. I was number 22 in the door this morning and this was my haul.  Lots of quirky stuff.

A good sized bottle brush tree, a Shiny Brite box (with graphics I have not come across before), some vintage Christmas napkins and a couple of ribbon spools.
A large tower of vintage tins.  I found four of the tins with the black/roses design.

I grabbed a box of old vintage greeting cards and was happy to find a nice assortment inside. Vintage birthday plates and a metal trash bin.  I saw this trash bin in the sale pictures online and hoped to buy it. It will live in my newly remodeled bathroom.

A bunch of old (in original packaging) paper cups and quite a few boxes of plastic old style forks. I love the holiday graphics on the cups. There was not a ton of vintage Christmas. I did score about 6 strands of vintage glass garland.  I also got some small ornaments including figural ones and a bunch of old bells.

I like this homemade clothespin basket.  A person can also not pass by pipe cleaners when they come in a polka dot paper sleeve.

Vintage candy tin.

A silly pigtailed doll, empty card box, a mix-n-measure paint pot and a couple of waxed containers. An old Electric Jack Straws game.  It has a pair of tweezers and you pull a straw out without hitting the sides. If  you hit the sides a light goes off and a buzzer sounds. This reminds me of the modern day Operation game.

Birthday candle holders and a trio of great plaid scotch tape containers.
That great trash bin I mentioned earlier and 5 good sized rolls of vintage wallpaper.  Two have not been opened.   You can see one of the patterns spread out in front.A nice big black metal can with floral design and some old cardboard paint pails. Super smiling paint brush on the containers.

Great graphics and colors on this tin that once held lemon custard ice cream base.
An assortment of old wooden forks and spoons. I like the Hawaiian colors in those spoon packets in the upper left.

Floral pillow protectors in original packaging. Silliest purchase of the day were these plastic containers.  I could not pass them by with those amazing colors. The lids are in the dixie cup box.
Some assorted ephemera. The kindergarten packet in the center is from Portland Public schools in 1950.  The National Home Budget is from 1932. The expense book is partially  used. The monthly income for this person was $245.31. Their expenses were $229.19.  The categories are interesting...butcher -fish/baker-groceries/meals outside/fares and lunches.

Yellowstone packet from 1939. 3 meals and lodging at Old Faithful Inn at $7 per person per day, 2 people per room with meals would run you $13.

An old unused Keyword game.  The letters are still wrapped in plastic. Note how they spelled something out with the letters. 1953.
Little Red School house game. 1952.

It still has the playing pieces and letters as well as the directions. The questions that were asked in the game made you think!

What a fun day in estate sale land!  So nice to have a sale where I found a ton. I had my basket, a huge canvas bag and those two large containers that I had stashed under the sold table. I made my purchases while the line was short and ran my goodies out to the car.  I then grabbed another empty basket and bag from my car and went in to shop some more.  Love a sale like this!

happy day!

 

 

Medicine Cabinet Redo...All Because of A Lid

I have the cutest medicine cabinet in our upstairs bathroom.  It was put in by a previous owner and the door is a window that originally came from our house.  It is more for show than utility with those glass doors. The little containers from Collection Challenge #153 do a good job of hiding supplies and adding a cuteness factor.

This is the cabinet BEFORE I flipped it. 

It is cute, but I wanted to tidy it up and add a bit more color.  BEFORE.

AFTER.  I painted the rear wall a sunny yellow with some paint I had leftover in my paint stash.

Each of the wooden shelves are covered in fabric to add some color. I recovered one of them, but left the fabric the same on the other. A cute container for my q-tips.

The gal with the daisy holds tweezers and nail clippers.

The silliest thing that I added was an old Fuller toothbrush holder.  It was intended to hold toothbrushes in a tidy row. Modern toothbrushes are too fat for the holder.  I have had it around forever and tacked it to the wall and then added some beaded flowers that I had in my stash. 

Crazy how a tiny lid can snowball me into a cabinet redo.  I am glad that it did.
p.s. The lid?  If you read collection challenge #153 you will see how I found a lid in Round Top but no container.  It made me take a look at this cabinet and realize it needed a new look.  That lid made me do it...now I just need to hunt down a container.