Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Crafty Thrift Finds

Yesterday I found a new town to thrift in.  Three glorious, bigger than I'm used to stores.  Just twenty short miles to a fresh wonderland of vintage stuff.  My heart almost stopped in each of the three stores I visited when faced with something I'd never seen before, and just HAD to have.  Usually I don't find many craft supplies, but yesterday I got lucky.  They were mostly vintage, some new, but all made me happy.  Here are just a few of the finds that warmed my heart.


Four crepe rolls in spring colors, new old stock box of corsage pins, two boxes of NOS chenille stems, two rolls of  ribbon, and my favorite:


Two vintage plastic flower candle rings.  I don't know what it is about these, but I adore the colors, the textures, the possibilities... and the price was completely painless- both for a quarter.



Close up of one of the ribbon rolls, also new old stock.  The pattern name on the spool is "Chickadee".   Love it.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Little Girl Vintage

I recently found some things that any little girl (with old fashioned taste) would like to have in her room.  Since my little one is a boy, ALL boy, I can't use these little treasures, so off to Etsy they went.


This poem is titled "If" by J. P. McEvoy and was written in 1924.  It has a great self esteem message for girls:

If you can hear the whispering about you,
And never yield to deal in whispers, too;
If you can bravely smile when loved ones doubt you,
And never doubt, in turn, what loved ones do;

If you can keep a sweet and gentle spirit
In spite of fame or fortune, rank or place,
And though you win your goal or only near it,
Can win with poise and lose with equal grace;

If you can meet with Unbelief, believing,
And hallow in your heart a simple Creed,
If you can meet Deception, undeceiving,
And learn to look to God for all you need;

If you can be what girls should be to mothers:
Chums in joy and comrades in distress,
And be unto others as you'd have the others
Be unto you - No more, and yet no less;

If you can keep within your heart the power
To say that firm, unconquerable "No";
If you can brave a present shadowed hour,
Rather than yield to build a future woe;

If you can love, yet not let loving master,
But keep yourself within your own self's clasp,
And not let dreaming lead you to disaster,
Nor pity's fascination loose your grasp;

If you can lock your heart on confidences,
Nor ever needlessly in turn confide;
If you can put behind you all pretenses
Of mock humility or foolosh pride:

If you can keep the simple, homely virtue
Of walking right with God - then have no fear
That anything in all the world can hurt you-
And - which is more - you'll be a Woman, dear.




This little Holly Hobbie friendship plate is so cute, just four inches across.

I loved Holly Hobbie when I was a little girl.  I had a metal lunchbox with her on each side in two different designs.  The edge was blue and white gingham.  I wish I knew where it was!

Have a wonderful weekend friends!

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Upcoming Vintage Valentine Card Party



Valentine's Day is only a month away, and Joan at Anything Goes Here is looking for fantastic bloggers to participate in her Vintage Valentine Card Party on Sunday, February 14.  Joan is absolutely the best Hostess for vintage parties- her Vintage Christmas Monday party was awesome.  Click on the button at the top right to visit her blog and get the details.  Or, just make a note to visit Anything Goes Here on Valentine's Day to see wonderful vintage Valentine cards and read the great stories that go with them!

Monday, January 11, 2010

Vintage Kitchen

I have a lot of things that I rescued from my Great Aunt's farmhouse in southern Georgia.  On my last trip my Mom and I found some interesting little kitchen items. 

The first thing I found was a card with mending patches on it.  The brand name is "E-Z-MEND-RS"  and the purpose was to patch holes in metal enamel pots and pans.  The little wrench was missing, but there were three "patches" still attached to the card.


The patent date of Nov. 12, 1938 is printed on the back.


The next item was my favorite.  The Gadget-Master Spiral Slicer  from Popeil Bros. in Chicago.  It's basically a blade with a hole for your finger and a screw to attach to the fruit or vegetable you want sliced.





The instructions read "When vegetable is completely sliced, attach both ends to gather with a toothpick for a rosette effect." 

Can't you just see a cucumber ring garnishing a platter at a bridal shower in 1942?  I haven't tried it yet, but I'll post the results when I do!

Friday, January 8, 2010

Thinking Warm

Today in my little piece of NC, the high temperature is 31 degrees.  Ouch!  So in keeping with the travel theme that launched when I found some souvenirs from Paris and New Orleans, we're headed south to sunny Florida!  At least when I look at my fun Florida souvenirs on the sideboard, I can think about being warm. 




The milk glass platter holds my Pyrex juice decanter, some yummy blood oranges, and an owl salt shaker I thrifted a few months ago.  Owls don't necessarily have anything to do with Florida, I just love the combination of turquoise and orange.



My Grandparents bought the Florida plate when they were living in Tampa.  The glass belonged to my husband's Grandma Sue.



I love these vintage postcards and thankfully Grandmom was a saver.  Here's hoping my sunny display brought you some temporary warmth.



Happy Friday!

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

C'est Si Bon

Happy New Year Everyone!

It's been so cold here the past few days with no signs of letting up.  Of course this is NC cold, so I know I'm a wimp by most of your standards!  Since I haven't seen much sun lately, I thought I would brighten up things in my living room- my private, girly living room.  My boys have their own space.  After packing up all the Christmas stuff, I came across a set of coasters I bought in Paris when I was in high school.  Our French Club took a two week tour of England and France, and it what great!  Of course, that was in 1988, so some of the details are a tad fuzzy.  Either way, these coasters always make me happy, so I thought I would do a little travel theme decorating focused on Paris and New Orleans.



My Great Grandmother's trunk and lamp-  two of my favorite possessions. 



 The New Orleans souvenir cup and saucer came from a trip my Grandparents took to visit friends there.



 One of the coasters on a plate I packed up from Grandmom's china cabinet.  I don't know the pattern name, but thought it was pretty.



 The little bird was some new old stock stuff that I found this summer. He's perched in one of Grandmom's many Anchor Hocking Medallion dishes.