A Goddess, Seattle and a Lamp

Just a quick catch up on some things that have been going on in my etsy shop this week...

I sold a statuette of the goddess Kwan Yin (that I completely wanted to keep for myself but was a good little etsy shop owner and put up for sale instead - and someone bought it, damn!) I found her a few months ago at a church sale hidden behind a pile of Tupperware.So glad I did and that she is on her way to Texas to be appreciated again.

And a lovely lady in Portland bought this pendant I made with a piece of vintage atlas of the great city of Seattle. I've never been there but I want to go really, really bad. Although, I love rainy days so much, I'm a little scared that if I did go I'd never come back.

 And this mid century Tensor desk lamp was one of the coolest things in my shop and will be leaving via Priority mail tomorrow for...wait for it...Brooklyn, New York. Yes, currently the coolest place in the known universe. Wish I could tag along with the lamp.

   But it might be a little awkward, I'm not that cool.

Another Coach bag...Love it!

It was only the last week when I was out at a thrift store with the other blond and her mom, Lee, that I complimented Lee on the beautiful leather purse she was carrying. She always has the cutest bags. And, of course, she had found it at a thrift store for only a few dollars. I told her I was jealous as I never seemed to find very nice leather purses when I'm out poking around.

Well, the goddess of vintage leather bags must have heard me because it was the same day I found the two bags I mentioned in my last two blogs and I just found this Coach bag in perfect condition at the Salvation Army early Black Friday sale.

Oh, how I do love a nice bag...and shoes, but that's a whole-nother fetish.

This one looks like it might go to a buyer in Australia, and I'm going to keep my eye out for more at the thrift stores.I know I'll find one that will have to be ripped from my cold, dead hands before I put it for sale in my etsy shop, but so far I'm happy to send them out in the world and make a little profit to boot.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone and happy thrift storing! I'm going to a sale at a thrift store on Black Friday, can't wait!

Ahhhh...its the Carrot People

This was once a normal couple that lived down the street from me and then they went on Weight Watchers and found out carrots were zero points and ate so many they turned into Carrot People.

Sorry, feeling a little silly today. And hungry...I'm on Weight Watchers too.

Can't wait for not one, but two retirement village sales tomorrow bright and early. Hoping they will distract me from wanting to eat Ring Dings instead of carrots.

No offense Carrot People.

Here they come...weird Santas

When I was at the post office on Friday the postman - who, after sending 500 mailings over the last 15-months, I've gotten to know pretty well -- was teasing me about Christmas coming in only 60-s0me more days. Ahhh!

But he was a little late in freaking me out about how close we are getting to the holidays, the thrift stores are way ahead of him. Everywhere I look now there's snowmen, reindeer and, of course, so many, many incarnations of old Saint Nick.

Some are cute. Some are kitschy. Some are even regal.

And some are just weird, or even a little gross. This rubbery santa in the bathtub caught my eye first because it looked like Santa was an amputee - and you don't see that everyday. Then I realized his arm was just bent behind him holding a towel stretched between his two arms, which moved back and forth if you hit a button on the bottom.

Plus, he's naked. I don't need to think about the big guy naked.
The actual gross part comes when you take a closer look to find rolls in his belly made of dirty-rubber that move too when its turned on. Eww.

And its not just Kris Kringle who lands on the shelves. His wife is there too.
In all the Christmas stories Mrs. Claus is portrayed as super-nice and friendly. Baking cookies for the elves and feeding Santa a big Christmas Eve meal because "Nobody likes a skinny Santa." So what's with the angry, librarian-looking-over-her-glasses incarnation of Mrs. Kringle here? She needs some gingerbread and cider, I think. Right away.

But not all the old Christmas decorations are bad. I picked up these cute, vintage, Homco angels and I'm happy to put them in my etsy.com shop.
They remind me of my father-in-law. Every year I ask him what he wants for Christmas, and every year he answers, "A blond, a brunette and a red-head."

I should give him these. Probably not what he meant, though.

More pretty

In my last blog I gave a little taste of some of the more...unusual...things that turn up on the thrift store shelves that sometimes make me pause and think, Oh, my. Someone actually bought that on purpose, at some point, and put it in their home for decoration, or...holy crap...gave it to someone as a gift.

Today at another thrift store I was struck with the same thought, and here's why...

The photo isn't even doing justice to the matching girl and guy with the livestock, their outfits are florescent orange. The cow to the right looks friendly though, more so than the spray-tanned blond with the holes in her skirt.She looks a little pissy, her bow is probably too tight.

Although today there were some things on the shelves that reminded me of why I do look for - and often find -- some more desirable old thingies.

This 1950's tea pot made in Japan was on the thrift store shelf at 10:00AM this morning, in my etsy shop at 12:45 and sold to someone in North Carolina by 1:00...now that's how I like it!

And this mid century magazine rack may be hard to part with, looks so cool next to my husband's favorite chair (which also came from an estate sale - just an irrelevant fun-fact).

 I do get a kick out of wading through the weirdness at the thrift stores and estate sales to unearth the cooler old collectibles and atomic ranch decor. Sometimes I'm not sure which I like better.

Oh yeah...its the cooler stuff.

Pretty, pretty, pretty

This is going to be a very short blog.

I was at the local Salvation Army today and noticed the following collection of items on the shelf.

I just want you to look at them and realize that each one was at one time purchased - or given as a gift -- knowingly, willingly and probably with excitement.
P.S. Yes, that is a multicolored ceramic monkey on the left.

Enough said.

Quirky

Quirky...love that word...quirky.

One of those words that if you say it over and over again, it starts to sound weirder and weirder...or quirkier.

I have been called "quirky" myself, actually. I've been called much worse, so I don't mind.
And maybe that's why I have some odd little things in my etsy shop.

Here's some highlights.Who doesn't need a snake charmer bank from the 70's? I certainly do.
And Book Worm bookends. Everyone needs a set of these.


I'm not even sure why I grabbed this funky little dish off the thrift store shelf, but she appealed to me.

I even like to make quirky jewelry. Put these little crows from a vintage "Four and Twenty Black Birds" children's book under a glass cabochon, and then mounted it to an old metal brooch I found at an estate sale.

Can't wait to find the next weird...I mean quirky...thing.

St. Pauls and a New Shop

It was a busy weekend for me in the etsy world. I did make a few sales, but it was more about trying to find some fresh merchandise for Found Things, my vintage on-line shop. September was busy getting kids back to school and fall sports...blah, blah, blah...long and short, it was not so great a month in sales and I had to take a hard look at my stock.

Conclusion. A little shabby.

Luckily, the best cure for adding new, and good quality, merchandise to the old etsy shop is a church sale...and there were two this weekend (my hands still fly to my mouth as I think of this, so exciting). Yes, I am that pathetically simple that even the thought of a church fundraiser, filled with little old church lady things for sale, makes me bounce in my seat.
Even more luckily for me, Linda (aka: the other blond), her mom Lee and even her daughter Emily - who was visiting from Philadelphia -- are also like minded, or simple minded, whatever, so I was in good company bright and early on Saturday morning as we made our way to St. Pauls in York and filled our bags with goodies.

The first thing I spotted was this beautiful porcelain figure of Kwan Yin, goddess of mercy and goodness - she rocks.
She is standing, holding a tall lotus blossom while her robes are blowing in the wind. The base is decorated with water, waves and more lotus flower blossoms. She is also known as Guanyin and Quan Yin. I may have trouble parting with her.

On the other end of the spectrum of cool was this exercise video from the 80's that made me giggle. I think my mom might have worked-out to this in our living room in front of the console TV when I was a teenager, and I think I might have laughed at her...in fact I'm certain I did. Of course I was probably snorting through my braces, ponytail on top of my head and striped leg-warmers pulled up too high, so I'm sure she was laughing right back at me.


In addition to hunting down old stuff, I love making pendants, rings and bracelets with bits and pieces of vintage jewelry, mixed with old illustrations, dictionary pages and atlases.

My Jewelry felt like it was getting lost in the vintage items in my etsy shop, so I decided to open a second shop just for the jewelry called Broken Bindings...

http://www.etsy.com/shop/heathermosko1?ref=si_shop

This is a piece I just made using an old dictionary - the word "Divination" under a glass cabochon. Hoping it will appeal to people during the Halloween Season.
So here's hoping October is a more profitable one than September with some lucky goddesses and a fresh etsy shop...fingers crossed.

Halloween is Coming...yay

You wouldn't know it to look at me..housewife, 43, driving the car pool to football practice...but inside beats the heart of the Queen of the Damned Vampires from the Underworld Werewolf Coven..in other words, I LOVE HALLOWEEN!

It probably stems from Halloween being my first taste of freedom. When I was little my father and our neighbor would follow far behind us, sipping beers (this wasn't frowned upon in 1975) and letting us run ahead to ring doorbells. We felt like we were big kids out there on our own - although secretly happy to catch a glimpse of moonlight reflecting off the Bud cans in the distance.

When I was eleven my parents released the reins completely on Halloween and my friends and I were allowed to go out in the neighborhood on our own unsupervised...at night...dressed up...scoring Reeses Peanut Butter cups...in the dark and everything...it was the coolest thing EVER. None of this was frowned upon in 1975 either in case you were thinking of calling child protective services.

So when October 31st approaches, I get that old giddy feeling and my jewelry-making takes a decided turn to the spooky. I already enjoy making steam punk pieces, so it doesn't take much to push a little more over to the dark side

Here are some pieces I made the other night and put in my etsy shop.
This is a vintage necklace and pendant I found at a yard sale, but it once held a plastic cabochon with a smiley-faced-sun picture...not anymore...bwaahaaa...I ripped out that smiley face and replaced it with an illustration of a cobweb from an old children's fairy tale book and sealed it with resin. Hoping this will make some little witch very happy.

I got a little spooky-Steam Punk with this piece made from a vintage chain and adorned with a crystal from an antique chandelier (picked up at an estate sale last summer). Also with a pendant made using an illustration from an old Four and Twenty Black-Birds book.


This one isn't really macabre, but has an old, mysterious feel. I cut out the word "sacred" from an antique dictionary and put it behind glass. The clear sealant gave it an even darker, more aged look than it had originally. Perfect gift for your secret society friends.

I am just a little sad this year that the boys might be officially too old to go out trick-or-treating. But maybe not, they may surprise me. They also like the freedom of running around with their friends in the dark without parental supervision. Although I never walked behind them with a beer in my hand...some spiked cider or a Cosmo in a coffee-cup maybe...but not beer.

The Ugly Step-Sisters of the Salvation Army

Friday was one of those combining errands with poking through thrift store kinda days. It makes my chores a little more fun when I know I can do some picking too.

So the other blond, her mom and I headed towards Baltimore to Trader Joe's and then the Salvation Army for a quick look around. Unfortunately, the shelves were dissapointing, as far as hunting for merchandise for my etsy shop went...but for bringing you a little strange, much better.
Found these lovely ladies next to each other on a shelf and the image of Cinderella's ugly step-sisters popped in my head.

The dark-haired girl on the left might need an appointment at the salon for a good eye-brow waxing.

And her friend must have once starred as the creepy girl in a B-rated horror movie.

Oh, the things people once had decorating their homes.

I Could Build a Robot

Stuff seems to come in clumps for me. One week I'll find five jewelry boxes, and then not another for months.

The next week I'll find half-a-dozen pieces of extra-pretty Pyrex. After that, nada, not one kitschy bowl for ages.


Its the same with electronics.
Clocks, radios and cameras were everywhere I looked last weekend as I poked around some yard sales.
This is a flip-number clock...do you remember these from the late 70's and early 80's? My parents had one next to their bed. I remember staring at the numbers on Christmas morning, willing them to flip down from 5:59 to 6:00...I wasn't allowed to go out to open presents until 6:00. It took forEver for the stupid numbers to flip!
And this radio looks just like the one my husband's grandfather kept on a shelf in the kitchen to listen to baseball games while he read the paper.

Just love this old Polaroid camera that I found with the original case and paperwork, another great piece of nostalgia, and mid-century design. Makes me want to "shake it like a Polaroid pic-tcha."

Not sure why I'm suddenly finding all these cool old electronics, but I have to wonder if the universe is trying to tell me something. Like I'm suppose to build a robot...or listen to the radio while taking pictures in a timely manner.

I wonder what the next group of things will be.

What is that?

Sometimes I find an item at a yard sale or on a thrift store shelf that I really just don't know what it is, or what its trying to be, or why anyone thought it was a good idea to make it at all...this would be one of those times.
Linda actually found this little beauty and - although it frighted her a little - she held it up for me to photograph thinking it would be a fun item for the blog.

A sunflower... a child... a sun-child?

Is it surprised, angry? Doing a jig?

My etsy shop is running a little low on super-cool things, and this angry sun-child is not going to help me turn my inventory around. Yard sale season is coming to a close and I am going to turn my attention to auctions.

I will miss the yard sales, but I'm hoping to find a better quality of items at the auctions, although I'm sure the strange and odd-looking things will be lurking in the boxes there too.

Lifting the Doldrums

Fall is upon us and the spontaneous, and occasionally lazy, days of summer have been replaced with a rigid schedule of 7:00AM bus pick-up, football practice, soccer practice,Boy Scout events,Sunday school and back-to-school nights - and anything else the universe can throw our way.

Is it June yet?

And I have decided to make my way back into the working world so that we may continue to feed two always-hungry teenage boys and somehow, someday (someway) pay for them to go to college. So my once flexible daily schedule will also soon be handed over to a boss (hopefully a benevolent boss). I can sympathize with the boys as they hang their heads over their cereal bowls and moan while hoisting their overstuffed backpacks onto their shoulders.

This change in schedule, and life in general, has put me in a bit of a funk - the "doldrums" seems a fitting word. This is not a place I like to be, so to give myself a little lift, I headed to my favorite thrift store yesterday with the other blond and her mom. What we found put a smile back on my face. Most of the merchandise was 50% off as the store tries to clear space on the shelves for fresh items for Christmas.

Yay.

Linda and I had the most fun at the counter where they keep items that are a little more valuable; there you have to ask an attendant if you want to see the merchandise. I have bought several pieces from this area of the store in the past, they are usually still reasonably priced. But there are other things that were just a little too rich for my blood.

Until 50% off day. That made several things just the right price.

I've had my eye on this PA Dutch teapot for ages, it was the first thing I pointed to on the shelf.
Linda directed the attendant's attention to a great 70's picnic basket/ice chest and quickly put that in her cart.Just as I was about to leave, I spotted these two stainless and enamel Reed and Barton bowls on the counter and quickly stashed them in my basket like a kid in a candy store (who's just found out half the candy is free).
So as more meetings, structure, dinners crammed in on the run and becoming a responsible adult all loom, yesterday was still a day to run amok in my favorite candy - I mean, thrift- store.

Doldrums, what doldrums.

Buxton, Mele and Farrington...oh, my

I have always had a little thing for pretty jewelry boxes since I was a kid. The top of my dresser was a collection of trinket boxes I bought every time I went somewhere, a heart-shaped one made of pink stone from Florida was my personal favorite.

My collection started young, my first jewelry box looked something like this one shaped like a cottage that's currently in my etsy.com shop.

And apparently I am not alone in my obsession because leather-like jewelry boxes, particularly those made by Farrington, Buxton and Mele, have been good sellers.My most recent sale was the first men's jewelry box I've come across. I bought this at a retirement community fundraiser, it was from the 70's but was in such great condition it looked like it was brand new.
This little leather travel case in red I bought at a thrift shop and is now enjoying world travel...lucky jewelry case.



I bought this pink Farrington box at an auction filled with costume jewelry. It was actually the first thing I ever bought at auction and I paid more than I had originally wanted (the lady next to me was bidding too and I just couldn't let her win - mine...mine...mine).
The jewelry inside was the best part about this box. Here are some of the fun novelty earrings I found inside and sold as part of a collection.



I think this Lady Buxton was the most elegant and largest of all the jewelry boxes I've had in my shop.My theory is that people enjoy these vintage boxes because they just make you feel like a pretty, pretty princess...or that could just be me.

Props

Last March I was so excited when an antique metal tool-box I had in my etsy shop was purchased by the props department of the show CSI.

See my past "Stage Mom" blog ...
http://twoblondsandavan.blogspot.com/2011/03/im-ready-for-my-close-up.html

And a few days ago some cute little canning jars were bought by a prop manager with an intriguing email address that has me thinking they may be heading to the set of Mad Men.Just think, these were all things that were basically discarded at a donation center for a thrift store or one step away at a garage sale - just about in the old dumpster -- then the next thing you know, they are being used on a Hollywood set of a big-time show. A twist of fate for a vintage thingy.

In case any other prop managers are looking for items for their sets, I have a few suggestions from my shop...




twoblondsandavan.blogspot.com

Please don't put me on "Hoarders"

In the far, back corner of my basement is a room that was once called my "craft room." It held a computer, antique drafting table, sewing machine and old cabinets containing various arts and crafts supplies for the kids and I. A place we could go and create and then leave if we were in the middle of something without having to clean up, so we could continue on with our creating.

Now, not so much.

When I started the etsy.com shop I decided this area would be a good place to store my merchandise - the boys are not into doing "crafts" with mom anymore and I was taking a break from writing so I wasn't visiting that computer as much either -- and at first, I kept everything fairly tidy and organized.

Now, not so much.

This summer has been a whirlwind and I have been running in and out of this backroom either grabbing something that needs to be shipped or throwing in a pile of stuff I just bought at a yard sale. There is no more order, only chaos.

This highlights a pitfall to this business, the ever-present possibility that you will make the transition from someone who is finding "merchandise" to sell, to someone who is a hoarder. I do not like a lot of clutter around me. That is not to say - as anyone who has entered my house will attest to -- I'm not a clean-freak, nor am I a minimalist with one Eames lounger in the middle of the floor and a white canvas on a white wall...I have some stuff around.

But there is, for me, an acceptable level of stuff. I have crossed that level and am at the threshold of freaking out and throwing everything away. I know if I just spend a day in the basement sorting, organizing and cleaning, my instincts to throw it all away (or just burn the house down) will calm. I just have to find that day.

That will probably come on August 30th...the day the boys return to school. Which will probably be a good day to distract myself from the fact my oldest "baby" will be going to high school and taking another big step in his size 12 Converse towards adulthood.

I do want to get rid of the clutter. And we are all ready for school to start. A clean, uncluttered, quiet house is coming...of course, there will have to be some chaos, just keep life interesting.

400

Last night I had my 400th sale in my etsy.com shop...holy cow, I really didn't think when I started out that I'd see that number in the "sales" space.

I opened my "shop" on etsy July 8th of last year and my hope was to have at least 365 sales by July 8th of this year. A random goal, I know, but I like goals (and lists, but that's another thing) and it seemed like a clear-cut way to say "Hey, maybe I'm doing OK at this selling vintage things on-line thing if I can make a sale-a-day."

So I am excited that I passed that goal and now wonder what my sales number will be at the one-year mark.

The actual 400th sale was...ta daA Regal coffee maker from the 70's. Who would have thought this was going to be the big seller?

If I have learned anything over this last year, it is that I'm often wrong about what I think will sell quickly and what will linger in my "shop" for months without a buyer, or maybe won't sell at all.

I bought the Regal coffee maker at a Salvation Army last week, and although I thought it would probably sell eventually, I didn't think it would go before some other vintage appliances I've had for sale for months like this Stainless Steel blender...Why was the "Autumn Gold" coffee maker a quicker sale than the stainless steel blender? A mystery that I think I will still be pondering at my (fingers crossed) 800th sale.

So International

Along with selling old stuff that appeals to people who like to buy old stuff in my etsy.com shop, I also make and sell jewelry (also made from old stuff) as well.

My favorite way to make jewelry is to re-purpose old pendants and necklaces, and create cabochons by cutting out pieces of old (damaged beyond repair) children's book illustrations or maps and atlases.

The last three pieces I sold were made by placing text from vintage books under glass cabochons and mounting them in findings from another etsy.com seller who sells jewelry-making supplies. This "go" ring is a favorite of mine and I'm very happy it is headed to a buyer in the mid-west.I enjoy creating jewelry from items that were once discarded and I really get a kick out of it when someone likes these creations enough to spend their hard-earned cash to buy them. And I get a double-kick out of it when it is someone from another country - I don't know why, just makes me feel all international and cool and stuff.

These two necklaces were just sent off to their new home in Nice, France.

And these two pendants I made from re-purposing vintage jewelry pieces and illustrations from an old "Four And Twenty Black Birds" children's book wended their way to Greece.And this brooch is currently adorning the lapel of someone's coat on the Isle of Kent in the UK.Now if I could just figure out how to package myself up and mail myself along with my jewelry to these wonderful places, I'd really be excited!