Juggler - A Circus Act or Recipe for Disaster

An update on the leather bag in my last post (the one that hadn't sold yet and I was kind of hoping didn't because I wanted to keep it for myself) - it sold too. Which is good for my etsy shop's bottom line, but not for my wardrobe.

So today I will box that up,


along with a divided vintage Melmac bowl that also sold the other day, and head to the post office.

Then home to put on the domestic goddess hat and clean my house and catch up on the laundry.

Because tomorrow I have my second day on my new job and a half-off sale at the Salvation Army for some new merchandise for the shop.

And I really want to get two submissions out to agents of my last manuscript, still can't quite give up on my pursuit for publication.

And my youngest has a food drive for Boy Scouts on Saturday, so up early to drive around the neighborhood scoring canned corn.

And my oldest needs to be run back and forth for set crew all week and weekend because the play starts Saturday afternoon....
Can you hear the circus music in the background as all the balls are juggled in the air, or is that just me?

Ah well, nothing more than most people do anymore with jobs and kids. I'll just keep smiling like the clown...no, wait...not the clown. Clowns kind of creep me out. More like the lady on the high-wire as she smiles brightly while walking carefully across the abyss.

You know what? Its all good, I just remembered I love the circus.

Broken Bindings

I am not going to talk about my vintage stuff, my teenage sons or my writing (lack of) career today.

Not even going to show you any weird stuff I found on the thrift store shelves (even though I saw a ceramic angel this week with huge nipples - but the picture didn't come out very well, so no one would believe anyway how disturbing it was to see an angelic little cherub with giant headlights).

After a snowy pre-Halloween weekend where I was grounded from all yard saling, I'm going to write instead about my second shop on etsy.com that I opened a little over a month ago, Broken Bindings.

After a slow start I was losing all hope that any of my handmade jewelry from old children's books, atlases and dictionaries would sell, and then five pieces went in the last few weeks - and that just makes me happy.

This Sacred pendant made with a piece of antique dictionary was the one to break the ice. Felt like a spiritual blessing of the shop as its first sale.

 The next two sales to leave my worktable, made their way to the same customer. One is made from an old reading primer, See Pat Go, and a silver vintage Sarah Coventry bracelet.

The other is this fun set of a ring and earrings made from an old Lets Go to the Circus children's book. These are both some of my favorites that were sitting unnoticed in my other shop for quite awhile, so I was extra happy to see them make their way out into the word. 

I almost kept this one for myself, but decided to put it in the shop as well, and glad I did as it sold next. A little Yoga and Yogi definitions from an old dictionary, now a necklace.

And last (hopefully just for now) is a piece of vintage atlas of Key West I put under a glass cabochon and mounted on a silver-toned pendant setting with little flowers around it. Kind of wanted to keep this one for myself too, but I was a good shopkeeper and sold it to a lovely lady in Alabama.

My sales in Broken Bindings are not near those in my vintage shop Found Things, but there are only 17 pieces in total for sale (vs. 250 in the vintage shop) and it has just started so doesn't have the same exposure, but I'm good with that. Just enjoy making these pieces from old paper and hope someone else will enjoy wearing them...although certainly an added bonus to make a little extra money doing something I enjoy so much.

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.

Roaming the Countryside

A cool Saturday morning dawned with me rolling out of bed into my jeans and a sweatshirt, and then heading out to meet the other blond at the end of my driveway. She picked me up in her van which was filled with not only her mother, but daughter, daughter's boyfriend and her two sisters - that's a die-hard picker family! I love it!

We were a little bleary-eyed at the early hour, and not completely clear or organized in which direction to head...its been a long winter and now that yard sales, church fundraisers and neighborhood sales are popping up, we're so excited we want to head in three different directions at once.

But we focused and steered the van eastwards to a church sale in Brogue, PA. We didn't have high hopes as it was the second day of the sale and that usually means the best stuff is gone, but we decided to give it a shot. We were right about the picking - I found one serving dish and that was it -- but it was totally worth it anyway for the beautiful drive and one of the best apple pies (handmade by one of the church ladies) that I've ever had for our breakfast, along with a fresh brewed cup of coffee.

Next was a fundraiser sale back in York where there were a few more little bits of this and that to find. Picked up a necklace I later altered with a cabachon I made from a children's book illustration.

And then came the main object of our day out, we went to the 14th Anniversary sale at our local Salvation Army where everything in the store was 50% off. Mecca was reached, the van emptied and we all scattered to find our favorite areas of the store. I was particularly happy with a set of bar glasses and a set of china I found.

The company was great, the pickin' good and the apple pie yummy...a very good Saturday morning indeed.

twoblondsandavan.blogspot.com

Dolphins and Mice and Pigs...oh, my

After a great weekend that included both a retirement village and church sale, this week has been a quiet one on the picking front.

It has been a fairly good in my etsy shop - sold a set of milk glass goblets, a vintage wall clock going to Australia and a set of 1960's Pan Am Airline's toys -- but I was only able to get to one thrift store quickly yesterday and that was a bust, left empty handed.

But for your amusement, I will share with you some of the wild life I noticed on the shelves, animals of all shapes and sizes. Weirdly, species seem to cluster together on the shelves.

Sharks and Dolphins frolicking together in harmony.

The wonky-eyed guy in the middle is my favorite of this gaggle of mice.Peach and brown piggies with flowers...awww.
So why spend hundred of dollars to take your family to Sea World or the Zoo when you can browse your local thrift store shelves for free?!

The People of the Thrift Store Shelves

I have had a few blog entries highlighting the weird ceramic rabbits that seem to multiply on the thrift store shelves - I just have to, they're everywhere.

But on my last outing to the shops, I took note of how many strange little humanoid figures were adorning the shelves.


This one above caught my attention as there is a lamb around his or her (not sure) shoulders which usually implies a good and gentle being like a shepard...but this one was painted all red and devil-like...it is confusing me.
















I'm not sure if its the prominent nostrils, blond hair with black eye-brows (does she dye her hair already? So young) or that her hand is big white blob that disturbs me more.


Somebody bring this kid in from the cold, he's getting horrible frost-bite on his nose, cheeks and lips. Makes you want to light that candle he's holding just to warm him up.


















Love the hairdo on this guy, at least I think it's a guy, but he's wearing a dress - there is no judgment on the Thrift Store shelves.

So many weird little dudes at the second hand shop...well, someone has to keep the demented rabbits company.

The 70's Rule

After I used my curling iron to make two perfect rolls of hair to be feathered away from my face, I slipped on my clogs, kissed my Davie Jones poster and went outside to jump on my banana-seat bike and meet my friends at the 7-11.



Sorry, channeling my childhood in the 70's. They might be slightly fashion impaired years, but they are still good memories of a simpler life and a time when people were challenging old ways of thinking, and doing it in killer hip-huggers (my father's personal favorite part of the 70's).



It is this nostalgia that has people not much older than I was when the 70's were upon us, now buying little pieces of that time to decorate their homes and themselves.
















I have a lot of fun searching yard sales and thrift stores for little bits of the past, my past, that make me smile and I know will make someone else smile too.

The pictures in today's blog are items from the 70's I have recently sold in my etsy.com shop.

New Appreciation for and Old Art

I never thought much about embroidery before. It was something my grandmother had done occasionally, a few framed pieces from an antique store hung in my aunt's house, and I would see them from time to time at yard sales...just things around.

Lately, I have started to notice them more, not all, but a few nice pieces, and they are really quite pretty. The one above was part of a set of two matching framed embroidery that caught my eye at a sale at a retirement home. I liked them so much I almost hung them in my bedroom instead of putting them in my etsy shop...but I was good and added them to my inventory, and sold them fairly quickly.

A few weeks ago I came across this one at a Thrift store and thought it was so cute. Love the color and the little blue bird.
And this one I bought at a Salvation Army this week.

I think I'm going to need an embroidered bird intervention.

My Office

I had to laugh yesterday as I poked around one of my favorite thrift stores while I talked to my husband on the cellphone, he was speaking to me from his nice office in a glass and marble building...I was not. I was moving dusty nick nacks around on a metal shelf and avoiding tripping over a Formica-topped table and plaid covered couch.

I, too, once had a nice office - back before the dinosaurs, and two little baby boys -- it had a door and a window and everything. I reminisced on this as I looked around, and I had to smile at the strange twists and turns in life, choices made, some made for you, priorities changing, and for me, my journey at the moment bringing me to places where people discard the debris of their lives. I sort through it to see if there is anything someone else might like to have; quite a different vocation from the one I had envisioned for myself all those years ago sitting at my desk and looking out my office window.

Yet, this is not a tale of woe. I am actually excited when I wake up in the morning and think how I can arrange my day to fit in a trip to a thrift store, yard sale or auction. Or plan a few hours to photograph whatever I found the day before and add it to my etsy shop.

So for now, this is my office....

Out with the Old, In with the Old

Whew! The holiday's are winding down. I spent yesterday going through my storage area and craft room where I keep the items I find for my etsy shop and do my jewelry making.

It took me five-hours but I sorted through the items on my shelves and weeded out the things that had been sitting for awhile and didn't seem to be selling, they went to Goodwill (which ironically may have been where I got them).

My craft supplies and table were cleaned and organized, which even inspired me to make a few new pieces.

It was nice standing back when I was done and looking at my nice neat shelves, but it was also fun looking over some of the things I had recently found at a thrift store and hadn't had a chance to clean up and put in the shop yet. Like this set of Fire King mixing bowls with hand-painted roosters.
And I love these little owl salt-n-pepper shakers too...can't help it, so cute!
So it is 2011 and time for a fresh start - I am a sucker for the start of a new year -- and I got rid of some old stuff, and then made room for some new, old stuff.

Vintage Jingle

Jingle bells,
Jingle bells,
Jingle all the way,
Should I get my cousin Pam
some perfume or a tray
hey!



Jingle bells,
Batman smells,
Robin laid an egg
A coffee pot for Bobby,
And maybe one for Meg
Hey!


A day or two ago,
I thought I'd take a ride,
To the local thrift shop,
to find something for Clide.

I thought a new bread box,
or maybe a pair of socks,
But would he rather have a towel,
or maybe a ceramic owl?
Hey


jingle bells
jingle bells...

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

With all the holiday running around, I was only able to get to a few thrift stores this week, but I did find a few interesting things.

I thought I'd give a quick, down and dirty view of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly from this weeks picking...

The Good
A set of eleven atomic ranch dessert plates, love them.

The Bad
A ceramic figure of two rabbits...one has fake eyelashes (what is it with weird bunnies at the Salvation Army?)

And the Ugly
This is a lamp made with a piece of plastic and a dented old root beer can...really, you can just throw stuff out, you don't need to bring every treasure to the thrift store.

A Pause...for Clause

Since opening my shop on etsy.com in July, it is rare for me to go more than a day or two without poking my head in a thrift store or tracking down a garage sale, but I have found myself thoroughly distracted lately by the holidays.

Plus, there are no more yard sales listed in the paper (too cold) and the Thrift stores are filled mostly with Christmas decorations (see the pictures of the strange 50% off Santa doing a split and the weird, scrunchy-faced one - they are hitting the bottom of the barrel at this point), so I have had my first moment to pause since starting my search for vintage things to sell online. Up until now, I've been so focused on hunting down stuff for the shop - it's rare that my kids don't come home from school to find me surrounded by vintage bedspreads, Pyrex bowls, old blenders -- so it feels weird not to be adding to my inventory.

But what I have discovered lately, to my surprise, is that all this hunting and picking over the last four months has allowed me to stock up the etsy shop enough that I can take a moment and still have a decent amount of sales, even if its been awhile since I added anything new.

Of course, that said, my plan is to get the house decorated, finish the shopping and bake the cookies so I can get back out there in the world to find the things people don't want anymore to sell it to the people that do...and you know there's going to be a lot of attics and closets cleaned out after the holidays to get rid of the old and make room for the new. Yay!

Count Your Pennies

Sometimes you look at the pennies that pile up at the bottom of your purse or the cup holder in your car, you wonder what the heck good are they? What will you do with them. Today I found out.

Linda and I started out bright and early this morning for the Salvation Army, they were having their early "Black Friday" sale, everything in the store was 1/2 off...you know we were there when they opened the doors. But as you would expect, so were about a hundred other people. In the end, I didn't find anything too notable, but we did come across these two lamps that stopped both Linda and I in our tracks, startled at the sheer size and realism of these luminaries...
...both are ceramic and several feet high, and I don't know which makes me smile more, the boy in blue or the two squirrels fighting over a nut.

We'd planned on just going to this sale and then home, but since neither of us found any great treasures, we just couldn't turn back right away. Then I remembered a church thrift store about 15 minutes away I hadn't shown Linda yet, so we headed there. And I'm glad we did. I found this beautiful chenille spread - oh, how I love a pretty chenille spread.

Still not completely depleted of the urge to pick through stuff - although depleted of any more cash -- we stopped at a little shop crammed full of goodies on the way home. Neither Linda or I had ever been there before, but my Aunt Joan had been telling me to stop there for years, but it had been closed whenever I went by...not today.

Today it was open and we found lots of great things - a new spot to explore, yay! When I came across a tin bread box I just had to have it to put in my etsy shop, so I brought it up the the counter and whipped out my debit card, everybody takes those now...apparently, that's not so. Not wanting to leave empty handed, Linda was kind enough to empty her pockets and add it to the meager pile of coins in mine. As the woman behind the counter watched, we scooped the piles of pennies at the bottom of our bags and came up with the exact amount we needed.

The woman was still sorting our change as I walked out with the bread box under my arm.

Silly Rabbit...

It was a slow day in the pursuit of vintage stuff for my etsy.com shop. I did make it to a Salvation Army who was having a 1/2-off day, but I got there too late and there wasn't anything left on the shelves of interest to me.

I did sell two items from my shop and updated some listings that were about to expire...bookkeeping, packing, but nothing too terribly exciting.

I did, however, notice at the Salvation Army that there were several weird looking rabbits on the shelves - why this particular Thrift Store attracts them, I do not know (maybe they multiply there at night)...but here's two...

Poking Around on a Monday

My primary focus today was packing up seven items to be shipped to customers, some laundry and run an errand or two...and while I was out, I had to pass a Salvation Army store anyway, so...

I ended up poking around and finding a few nice things to put in my etsy shop, I also found a little bit of strange. I noticed these busts of children and was first struck with the thought that they looked like they would have come off the set of a Steven King movie about children in an attic. Then I looked at them a little closer and cracked up right in the middle of the store...the boy is playing an instrument and the girl is holding her ears and looking tortured. I found them both funny and creepy.

But luckily for me there was more there today than just weird statues of children.
I found a great danish modern gravy boat in stainless steel and a vintage Haeger vase.


The laundry only got half done, but I got to put a few more things in my shop - the laundry will be there tomorrow, and the next day, and the...

A Little Bit of Strange

Today was a bookkeeping and home cleaning day, so I didn't get out in the world to search for cool stuff, but I do have a picture of a shelf from the last time I was at a Salvation Army near Baltimore and I thought I'd share that today. Haven't shown anything too weird lately, this ought to fix that...


Anyone looking for Lassie head book ends? Doll in the middle is a little freaky too.

Auction Day

For the last eleven-years, since I moved to south-eastern PA, one of my favorite things to do is go to a local auction house with my Aunt Joan. There is a small kitchen there and we usually get a bowl of soup or a sandwich, and then we walk around and poke through the tables stacked with pictures, boxes of pots and pans, costume jewelry - you name it, it's probably been through the auction house.

I love listening to the cadence of the auctioneer as he rattles on at a hundred-miles-an-hour, always scanning the room and upping the bid with each raise of a finger or nod of a head from the audience sitting in folding chairs in front of him. It's at these moments that I get completely paranoid that my nose is going to itch and I'll have to scratch it, and then the auctioneer will think I just bid on something - probably something really expensive or really horrible, or both.

Although I enjoy observing all this, I am a big chicken about making a bid myself. There is an entirely different language going on in that room, so while I like being on the outside taking it all in -- I'm actually intimidated as heck about jumping in myself.

But, now that the weather is turning colder and soon there won't be yard sales and church sales to plunder, I am going to have to put on my big girl panties (one of my husband's favorite expressions when he thinks I need to suck it up), grab my piece of paper with the number on it and raise my hand when something I want to bid on turns up. I just have to hope I understand the auctioneer enough to bid on the right thing and not pay three times what I thought.

So stay tuned, in a few weeks they will have another auction and I am determined to register for a number and pay complete attention to what the auctioneer is saying, and I will raise my hand high...or scratch my nose and end up with a $200 used-Flowbee, one or the other.

Beginnings, Endings, Beginnings

I feel like finding vintage things for my etsy shop is part of a cycle. The things I hunt down were once new, treasured, then became "old" and unwanted, tucked away in the corner of the garage or attic, and then years later are taken out again to either have a little sticker with ".25" stuck to them or put in a box for Salvation Army. But then they are rediscovered, bought again by someone who treasures or collects that exact vintage thing-a-ma-bob.

On this rainy, gray Monday, I finished putting together a cover letter, synopsis and manuscript for a publisher. This is the last manuscript I finished and one of the last publishers I plan on approaching for awhile, so in some ways I'm feeling like I'm in a cycle myself. Putting aside what I have been pursuing for the last several years to explore new things, but I still have hope someday I'll rediscover my passion when the time is right.

So on my way home from the post office, I stopped at the local Goodwill just to poke around. In addition to finding some great old enameled refrigerator tins (just put them up in the etsy shop)I also found - I hesitate to say "strange thing" because I think it's great - not Monopoly, but...




The game was sealed so I couldn't peak in, but reading the side it looks like it was a fund raiser for a Temple in Baltimore.