Simple Sample

Long time, no see

2010-03-27T07:53:00.000-07:00

It's been a while! I haven't been thrifting much lately, not that I haven't tried, just that there hasn't been anything worth picking up!

I am so ready for warmer weather when people start clearing out their dark and dusty corners again and I can find some good stuff at the thrift!

Would you believe that I have gone at least four times in the last few months and come out empty handed? I know, shocking!

The last time I went in though, I found a few treasures!

I found this cute little set. I think it's supposed to be a spice set, but the little crocks are rather large, about three inches square. Sadly, I dropped it taking it out of the car and one of the little crocks broke. Dangit!

I also found this set of three copper baskets, and ten milk glass spice jars. Two of them are missing their lids, and not all of them have labels.

Vintage Gliders

2009-12-05T08:29:00.000-08:00

Have you seen this website... Vintage Gliders?

I found it through another blog and let me say, it is totally drool worthy!

I want this one...

But I also love these...

My grandparents had a set of chairs like these. One was salmon colored, the other the minty green. I would love to have a set of these as well.

If I had a load of cash to drop, this is the site I would drop in on!

A table full of sunshine

2009-12-05T08:10:00.000-08:00

I haven't been thrifting much lately, it's the down season after all, but I did pop in one day a couple of weeks ago, and while I didn't buy this sweet little table, I so badly wanted to! If there was any way my family could fit around this table, it would have come home with me.

And would you believe it was only $10??? I almost wish I had bought it, even if it sat in my garage, it would have made me happy. Well, until I had to scrape the frost off my windows because there is a table taking up my garage parking spot. If it had been red it would have come home with me, no matter what, I wouldn't care if I had to sleep on it, it would have come home with me!

Hello Again

2009-10-03T23:20:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been a while. I needed a break from blogging but I never intended to be gone for so long.

I haven't been thrifting much. What little spending money I have had has gone to fabric lately. I have three Halloween costumes to come up with after all.

Sitting in the kitchen talking to my husband the other day, I came up with the idea to put the boys' wooden play house in the middle of the front lawn and decorate it like a gingerbread house for Christmas. B loved the idea so we headed off to the thrift for some Christmas lights, which can always be found in abundance there.

Since we were there anyway....

I found a glass Log Cabin syrup bottle, which is kind of funny because we had just been talking about them over labor day. It's not the bottle I remember, after all it's not shaped like a log cabin, but it's a commemorative bottle with an Eagle emblem on the back. It's kinda pretty and it will go well in my Americana family room.

I found a blue canning jar, I don't think it's old, but I like the color.

A Milk Glass Jergens lotion bottle.

A Milk Glass pedestal bowl.

Some charming little plates.

And a size 2X mens t-shirt which I spent today turning into this pillow form. Now I just have to stuff it =0)

The Nature Library

2009-09-12T15:59:00.000-07:00

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I stumbled upon these books at my local thrift a couple of weeks ago and I snatched them right up.

The evil part of me wants to tear them apart and frame the pictures. They are STUNNING!

The practical side of me wants to try to scan just a few and frame them.

There were only four, I was REALLY hoping for a bird book, but there wasn't one much to my despair.

But I do love the four I have...

It's been a while...hasn't it?

2009-09-12T12:49:00.001-07:00

Sorry, not sure what happened to me, I have dropped into a bit of a funk and haven't really felt like being social the last little bit.

I was supposed to go out of town today to visit my sister, but just couldn't face the idea of being around lots of people today, so we decided to stay home and just hang out.

I haven't really gone to my favorite thrift much lately, but I have gone a couple times over the past month or so and bought things that I haven't shared yet, so sit back and enjoy.

I have a soft spot for these old plastic guilt frames. I like to paint them white and make them look shabby chic. I had dreams of covering a whole wall in blank, white frames, with some layered inside others. I have been collecting them for a long time and have still never done anything with them other than add each new one to the box with the old ones. I guess I should really get busy and do something with them.

I loved the basket. I see so many vintage bloggers with vintage cemetery baskets and have been looking for one for a long time. Since I can't find one, I bought this and I figure it's close. It will look cute as part of my Easter decor.

I bought these USA plates about a year ago to go in my family room. I haven't done anything with them because I haven't been able to find a plate rack that I liked, that I was willing to pay for. These were $1 each so now I can finally hang up my USA plates, and another set of cherry plates in my kitchen. It is VERY hard to find vertical plate racks with three spaces, trust me!

A cabin themed sign for PF and K's room.

A life preserver clock for PK's room that is done in a nautical theme.

A vintage tin canister, a glass candy jar with adorable aqua lid, and a cute rose plate.

I suspect at one time this was a coffee mug holder, straight from the 70's, but my plan is to paint it either shabby white, or aqua and use it to display my fragile antique Christmas ornaments that I inherited from my Great Grandmother. The blue balls are to be displayed in milk glass pedestal bowls.

A tin bucket from TJ Maxx, the original owner paid $12.99, I paid $1.00. I am going to use it to hold magazines. I also picked up these little star garland picks. Not really sure what I am going to do with them yet. Maybe use them on the patriotic themed Christmas tree we put up in the family room.

I buy a lot of books at this store, they have their $.50 books 3/$1.00. I almost always let the boys pick out books when we are there. They also have B's Sci Fi books at 3/$1.00.

But my books are $1.00...what's up with that???

I also picked up some great things for my classroom. The Reader Rabbit set (Front) is missing two books, but I can live with that. The Care Bear Phonics set is cute and fun and I think the little girls especially will really like it. Tickets for rewards, and a Word Yahtzee game that can come in handy.

Well, that's it for today, hope you have all been having a great summer, I am so sad to see fall nearly here. I'm just not ready for it to get cold.

My Husband Rocks

2009-08-25T09:59:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I didn't realize that I had never come back and posted my surprise from B. I got wrapped up in making Christmas quilt blocks for a swap and let the rest of my life slide for a bit.

But, quilt blocks are done now and can be seen on my other block "Keep Me In Stitches"

In the meantime, we went to a thrift shop a couple weeks ago and they had an antique typwriter in a glass case, I had been wanting one for a long time. I had visions of a little typewriter sitting on my end table with little sheets of pretty stationary threaded through and fun little messages typed out. But I had never found a typewriter that was what I was looking for until that day.

B said there was no way he was getting it, we couldn't afford it blah blah blah so I VERY reluctantly left it behind, and we went home.

I had a dinner with some friends that evening and when I came home he said he had a surprise for me. I figured he had gotten me one of my favorite sugar cookies to make up for the disappointment of not getting the typewriter, but when he said open your eyes, there it was, my sweet adorable little typewriter.

He said the minute he saw it, he wanted to surprise me with it, but I made him feel so guilty for him making me leave it behind he figured he better not draw out the surprise for too long LOL.

The minute I left for my dinner he threw the boys in the car and rushed to the shop hoping they would still be open when he got there. He got there just minutes before they closed.

Yay for cute little type writers!

Broken Things and Gumball Machines

2009-08-14T09:31:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time I had an apothecary jar that sat on a shelf in my sewing room. I used it to display pretty spools of vintage thread that I had purchased at my favorite thrift store.

Unfortunately, a couple of weeks ago, B knocked it from the shelf while moving something and it shattered into a million little pieces.

I was so sad, I loved my little jar full of pretty threads.

Then inspiration struck. The gumball machine was sitting on my cutting table in my fabric room and it occured to me that it would look SO CUTE with vintage threads in it. I was so anxious to try my idea out that I didn't even take time to clean it.

Isn't it lovely? I adore it. Now I have to take it back apart, clean it, then put it all back together again. It looks kinda empty, I think I need more thread =0)

Thrifted Finds 8-11-09

2009-08-13T20:52:00.000-07:00

Another trip to my favorite thrift, another couple dollars spent.

Found this fabulous vintage cannister and waste bin set. The waste bin has a little bit of rust around the bottom and one small dent, the cannisters are in mint condition, they have never even been used, they still have all their packaging materials, and the sticker from "Grand Central". Talk about a blast from the past! My mother worked for Grand Central when I was a little girl.

An apple peeler, which will come in handy when making our favorite apple crisp this fall with apples from my mother's tree.

A fun holiday sign that was still in it's celophane packaging. Why would someone not want to keep this darling little sign? Sometimes I wonder why people give away the things I find at the thrift. I can't imagine someone not loving them as much as I do, but I am glad they chose to send them away, so I can have them =0)

Some pretty frames with glass for some special projects I'm planning.

And one more thing that I can't show you because it's for someone special. And no, it's not for...

Although I do have something special, for me, to show you, but it deserves a post all it's own. Check back soon.

Thrifted Finds 08-05-09

2009-08-07T10:28:00.000-07:00

B had to run some errands around town the other day that happened to take me past the less desirable location of my favorite thrift, and since we were there anyway....

I found a cute gumball machine to add to B's collection for $1.50

A Rachell Ashwell Shabby Chic sheet, and a vintage pillow case. I love the fabric on the vintage pillow case so much, I searched desperately for a sheet in the same print, but there wasn't one. I love the aqua and pink.

Another cute rose china plate, I don't know what I am going to do with all these, I have ten times more than I need to do my collage wall, but I keep buying them, it's an addiction.

I bought this letter tray thinking it would look great on my desk containing all those loose papers I always seem to have floating around, but to my dismay, this letter tray is not big enough to actually hold a letter. How annoying!

The pink jewelry stand was a dark walnut color when I bought it, but I gave it a quick scrub, prime coat, and coat of pink paint and it's cute as can be.

And while I didn't pick up these little yellow ceramic canisters at the thrift, I am including them anyway because they were such a great deal. I picked them up off the clearance shelf at Tai Pan Trading Company for $.83 for the set (Including tax!). They stand about 7" tall and will look cute in my bathroom holding cotton balls and q-tips.

Thrifted Finds 08-04-09

2009-08-04T22:03:00.001-07:00

Hello All, how is your week going?

Just thought I would drop in and share my recent finds...

A painted rose, china plate. It has little cut outs on the sides. I bought one very similar to this a couple years ago, but it's green, you can see it if you scroll down and see the collection of plates I have accumulated and want to hang, collage style, on my bedroom wall.

Also this sweet pressed glass plate, I plan to make a little cake plate out of it.

I picked up this red berry wreath for $1.97, and then on the way out stumbled upon this table cloth. It's in pretty bad shape, it has many stains and one good sized hole, but that is ok because I plan to cut it up anyway.

I have been looking for one of these for YEARS, and I have never found one, I have always been jealous of the girls who seem to find one every weekend. It was $2.99. I can't wait to cut it up and make a quilt out of it.

Did you notice, it has cherries *Sigh*

08-01-09 Sailboat Saturday

2009-08-01T08:55:00.000-07:00

My husband has always wanted one of those giant wooden sailboats. I'm not really sure why. So when I stumbled across this little treasure at my favorite thrift a couple weeks ago, I grabbed it. It was clear up on a top shelf, I almost couldn't reach it, and at the time it was a jumble of strings, and sails, and dowels. It had no price tag, but I hoped they would give me a price I could live with because I really didn't want to leave it behind. This will look so great on top of PK's computer desk in his bedroom!

How much you ask? Are you sitting down? Because these things are in the hundreds brand new, and I am really glad this one was all taken apart because they gave it to me for a mere $5.00.

Yesterday we were out and about again and I had to go clear across town to the upholstery fabric store. Since it was right next door to Savers (thrift) and my poor PK was about to wet his pants, and the fabric store didn't have a public restroom, we went in. And of course I can't go in without looking around...

I stumbled upon another ship. Two in one month, pretty amazing. This one was $14.99 though and I wasn't going to buy it (because I'm cheap) but B really wanted it, so it came home with us. I have no clue where this one is going to go, since I am out of decorating space in PK's bedroom.

Thrifted Finds 7-28-09

2009-07-30T07:54:00.000-07:00

Not much to be found today sadly.

I did find this fun house Christmas decoration for $1.50, it is covered in fiber optic lights. I can't decide if I want to put it in my sewing room (Since it's the perfect colors and whimsical) or save it for the Christmas decor. We plugged it in to make sure the lights work, the do, and thankfully the little obnoxious digital music box part is broken!

They had three of these plates for $1 each, but I only brought home one of them.

Sadly those are my only treasures for today.

Thrifted finds 07-18-09

2009-07-22T11:52:00.000-07:00

Another recent trip to my favorite thrift. I picked up these two vintage sheets. The yellow stripe on is in perfect condition, I would be surprised if it has ever been used. It still feels all stiff and starchy.

A Kate Spade purse (for $2) and a vintage reproduction ice cream tin sign.

More floral china plates, and a couple of little frames.

I especially love this one...

Dishes and a Chandelier

2009-07-18T08:54:00.000-07:00

Over the last year or so I have been collecting vintage floral china to make a collage of plates over my headboard. These are the dishes I have collected so far...

Even though I think my dish layout is fairly complete, I still can't seem to leave pretty dishes behind. I picked up these two dishes for $1 for the platter and $.50 for the floral plate. Not sure what I'm going to do with them yet.

I found this black velveteen chandelier for $10. My husband thinks it's hideous, I think it's beautiful, I think I am going to hang it in my sewing room, at least that way he won't have to look at it. The little green basket has little votive cup rings in it, I think it would look pretty with flower vases in it as well, maybe some of my milk glass vase collection, that way if they get broken, they are easily replaced. And last but not least, a little gaudy gold frame, I can't leave these alone either, if I find one, I have to buy it.

The grey thing in the back of this picture is a piece of bead board with a piece of metal attatched to make a magnet board. I am going to paint it white, then distress it a little, or maybe paint it red and put it in my sewing room, or red would work in the family room or the kitchen or or or, I will just shut up now LOL anyway it was $.50

The little carousel picture frame was $2. I have wanted one for a long time, I may put pictures of the boys in it and take it to school. It will look cute in my classroom.

The red thing is a document stand. My mom has one in her sewing room, she uses it to prop up her quilting patterns while she sews, I thought it was a great idea and just happened to stumble upon this red one (the perfect color of course) the day after I decided I needed one. How is that for providence?

And another barn star, yep, another of those things I can't seem to leave behind, I have so many barn stars, I think there is one in every room of my house, but that's ok because they make me happy. I think I will paint this one and put it on the porch. I also got a cute tin patriotic sign for the porch and just now realized I forgot to take a picture, so look for that in a future post.

Just a note, I have decorators ADD and tend to change my decor frequently. As I do this, I will list things for sale here on my blog and you can buy them by leaving me a comment. So watch for "SALE" posts and see if there is anything listed that speaks to you.
Have a great day, and happy thrifting!

Welcome

2009-07-18T08:43:00.000-07:00

Hello and welcome to my new blog!

I decided I needed a place to post about my thrifted finds and treasures. I hope you enjoy.