Recent Finds

Been a while since I posted, but that doesn't mean we haven't been adding to our stash! So, many things, and I've been trying to clean up the house a bit, too. Not easy when you've got a lot of vintage treasures sitting around.

I have a cousin who is an avid garage saler and has a great eye for vintage stuff. She brings me treasures now and then. Today, she brought me this fantastic Samsonite travel case. I have never had a round one. She also gave me this avocado green Disc-Go-Case for holding all my 45s. (I don't have any 45s, other than the ones that came with the case.) I'm just thrilled because it says, "Disc-Go-Case" on the top!

My mom and I spent the morning at an auction a few weeks ago. I fell in love with this hatbox the minute I saw it. The orange, green and black masquerade graphics are so unique! I think this would make a great Halloween display case. The lid is in less than stellar condition, and I might have overpaid, but I couldn't help myself!

These salt and pepper shakers won me over with their creepy coolness. They're Humpty Dumpty twins! (Still a bit dirty, but nothing that won't clean up!)

Both of these satin aprons are from Ft. George G. Meade in Maryland. I'd never seen souvenir aprons like these before. They definitely need a good steaming, but I have high hopes for both of them!

A sweetheart pillow cover from Camp Wood, TX. I believe it World War II era.

Another pillow cover. This one is a souvenir cover from New Mexico. I liked the cowboy and Indian imagery.

And, three more souvenir pillow covers from Washington, DC, Los Angeles and New York. I think one of these will be kept for the camper. Just have to choose which one!

Camper Party!!

This week started out rough. Lil Kay was in trouble at school, he was in trouble at home. There was much yelling and plenty of tears. We were all tense and on edge. I felt like the world's worst mom. I knew we needed to turn this around. And fast.

It hit me part way through yesterday afternoon - Camper Party!! So, after work, I went to WalMart, got some supplies and picked up some Subway sandwiches. When I got home, I gathered the rest of my supplies and we headed out to the camper!

After eating our sandwiches, we covered the table with a vinyl tablecloth and broke out the crafting supplies. It's September. I figured it's a good time to start Halloween crafting. Besides, kids love glue! And ModPodge is the king of glue! (Okay, I love glue, too!)

Love the way our tissue paper covered jar pumpkins turned out! We also made some mummy jars by wrapping guaze around the jars and putting on wiggly eyes. (I didn't get pictures. Mostly, because I had to help a lot more with that project.)

Did a little reading on the bed/couch. In fact, after we put Boo to bed, Lil Kay and I snuck back out to the camper to do some homework and more reading. It's so peaceful in the camper!

And, we ended the evening with cupcakes leftover from Boo's birthday party on Sunday. And, that reminds me. I forgot to clean Lil Kay's stained face this morning. He went to school with a blue mustache and beard. Swell.

This was such a good evening. I spent time with the kids without any distractions and we had a great time. I'm very excited about this camper. I'm hoping it will become like an extra room in our house. A sanctuary of sorts. But, it needs more pillows....

Auction Highlights

Small auction on Saturday. There weren't a lot of really fantastic items, but enough to keep us interested. I spotted this orange carafe early on. The marking on the bottom is almost impossible to make out, but after some research, I found that it is a Metlox Pottery piece. I just loved the color and shape.

I can't pass up a deck of old playing cards if the graphics on them are good. Saturday, we scored an entire box full! These are all just fantastic. My favorites are the Mixies and Tree Spotter decks, but all of them have great graphics. The Go Fish deck is fish shaped with solid colored faces.

This pottery item came along with the Metlox piece, but I have no idea what it is or who made it. I love the black on orange design, and I'm always drawn to items with a fish motif.

These are the only markings on the piece. If anyone has any ideas, I would love to hear them!

We are currently working ourselves into a frenzy getting ready for the Red Barn Outdoor Market on Saturday. If you are in the south central Kansas area, you should really try to attend. I know there is a lot going on this weekend, but this event is so unique and fun!

Check out more cool stuff at the Thriftosaurus Link Up!!

More vintage goodness at Vintage Thingie Thursday!

Auction Sampler

Great auction today! It was held in my hometown, so there were lots of familiar faces, not to mention bargains! I'm pretty excited about this huge ornate frame. I just know that this is going to be snatched up as a decorative statement piece!

I knew this was a German religious piece when I bought it, but my German is rusty at best. I broke out my German/English dictionary this evening and broke the code. It says, "Ohne Kreuz keine Krone" "Without the cross, no crown." I loved it when I bought it, and I'm becoming more fond of it all the time! I'm thinking I'll put a hefty price tag on it, and if it doesn't sell, I'll get to keep it!

More religious pictures. I love the art deco details on the Last Supper picture, and the glitteriness (I may have made up that word) of the "Jesus Never Fails" picture. (We came home with a boatload of pictures and frames, because Roger "cleaned up" the leftovers for next to nothing. These are the ones I actual had to win!)

I love vintage Halloween stuff, but I rarely get the chance to buy it. Today, I decided that I wasn't going to let a box full of it slip through my fingers. I bought a box of vintage masks and these two tin noisemakers.

This vintage wallpaper sample book caught my eye early on. It looks as though it has been used for craft projects, but there are still plenty of lovely vintage samples to drool over!

These bridal magazines are all from 1952 and 1953. I've been browsing through them this evening. The dresses are just gorgeous, and the ads are quite educational. But, I have to admit that I am especially enjoying the articles. They are sooooo 1950s!

Loved the vintage nursery decor at this auction. This set of 1960s wooden rock a bye baby images is adorable and in incredible shape.

 

This Hickory Dickory Dock growth chart has a few condition issues, but how cute is it, anyway?

There is a note written on the back of this framed print saying that it is a Swan Soap advertising picture from the 1940s.

And, if you have a nursery, you're going to need a diaper pail! I love that the label on this is still at least partially intact!

Roger is still questioning my purchase of this pink Coleman cooler. Yes, it's dented. But it's PINK! Someone will want this for a their retro camper or even as a cute planter on their deck. And if they don't, it has a home with me. The inside is pristine. I wouldn't be afraid to use it for storage.

This is just a sample of everything we brought home. I'm no longer worried about having enough stuff for our upcoming barn sales. The first one is in two weeks on September 15. Check it out here - The Red Barn Outdoor Market. And, if you miss us there, we'll be at Kansas Barn Sale on October 6.

Blue Lincoln

Anytime we go to an auction, we come home with a few items that we didn't really mean to buy, but they were part of a larger lot. Most of those items get dumped into the trash or the garage sale pile. Mr. Lincoln here was one of those items. When I pulled him out of the box, he was a brownish colored lump of metal with some kind of weird residue on him. My first impulse was to toss him in the trash box. But, inspiration struck! I told Roger to clean off the weird ick and shoot him with some spray paint!

Voila!! Blue Lincoln! And, I'm totally in love with him. For now, he's my new mascot. I'm trying to decide whether to stick him in the camper, keep him on my desk or drag him around to the barn sales this fall.

I am now convinced that sometimes, ugly can be fixed. With spray paint.

Finally, a Good Auction!!

It has been slim pickin's around here this summer. Last summer we were overwhelmed with so many great auctions. This year, they've all dried up. Kind of like our yard. We have a couple of big barn sales coming up in the next few months, so I've been getting a little worried about having enough quality stuff to fill our booths! When I saw the ads and pictures for this auction on Saturday, I was so excited!! Unfortunately, it coincided with our planned trip to Kansas City to visit Roger's family. We ended up adjusting our schedule to make it possible to do everything, however, we didn't get to stay for the full auction. This auction was so big that after they cleared a table, they refilled it! We didn't get to stay for Round 2. We still managed to come home with a vanload, though!

Enough talk! Here are my pictures. Forgive the quality, I was in a hurry and taking them at night in my house, so some of the color seems a bit "yellow".

Top opening breadbox with a cute strawberry pattern, copper colored aluminum pitcher and an Alphabet Soup Game.

I completely missed the game. Roger snapped it up. Not only is the can adorable, it was full of little red plastic letters! I love letters!

New old stock spats! I'm thinking these will be perfect for someone who is into cosplay or steampunk.

A pair of swanky swigs. One of our local glassware experts was at the auction. He knows everything about glassware! I picked up the one with the kitties and he handed me the other one. He told me how they used to come filled with various spreads. They're super-cute! I can certainly see how they would be fun to collect.

Another breadbox! This one opens in the front and actually has a little shelf inside. This was one of the items that I saw in the auction listing that I knew I had to have!

This Holt Howard cigarette holder caught my eye! I had to smile at the idea of this hanging in a housewife's kitchen to keep her cigarettes handy!

I believe that these are intended as a pair of bud vases. Wouldn't those birds look pretty surrounded by posies?

My very first pieces of Blendo. (Actually, my second. I bought a pair of salt and pepper shakers at the same auction that morning.) There was actually a fair amount of blendo at this sale.

I nearly missed out on this set. I saw the breadbox with the goofy "Handyman" sticker on it and just thought, "Nah!" Roger saw it later and told me to open it up. All four cannisters were stashed inside!

I find that I am a sucker for these vintage figures, especially dogs. I don't even especially like dogs.

But, how can I say no to that face?

Technically, this was one of Roger's purchases, because I was out at our van feeding, changing and threatening the children. ("Do not come inside unless it's an emergency.") I'm thankful he managed to snag this Anchor Hocking chip and dip set. And, I'm very grateful to the lady who pointed out its original box under one of the tables!
This isn't even close to all the stuff we bought! There was an entire trailer of salt and pepper shakers. I always swear I'm not going to buy anymore, but they are so darn cute! And, these were going fairly cheap. I also found about four pieces of Pyrex. I'm not kidding, it was killing me to leave that auction before it was done. So many things left behind....

Retro Camper Re-Do

Earlier this spring we bought a 1960 Fan camper. Remodeling your own retro camper is all the rage these days, right? And, Roger and I love a good remodel/redecorate project! The camper we bought was actually in very good shape. It had already been remodeled once, so it had a nice big air conditioner and good cabinets. However, it also had carpet on the floor, goofy curtains and ugly cushions.

 Last week, we were both on "vacation" from work, so we spent a lot of time working on the camper. I'm pretty stinkin' pleased with the results!

This is our dinette. As you can tell, we removed the carpet and put down some fun black and white tile. Easy to sweep clean. It's the same tile we used for our booth at Paramount Antique Mall. We used a retro chrome and linoleum table that we bought for the dinette table. The rest of the table is being used in our booth, too! My mom and I spent an entire afternoon working on the curtains. I still need to finish the tie-backs. I did the cushions by myself. I'm so proud of those cushions. They are far from perfect, but I didn't have to pay anyone else to do them, and they even have zippers!

I wanted to put sliding curtains on the overhead storage unit above the bed both to hide whatever mess we make up there and to keep things inside during hauling. I had intended to make them fairly tight, but after making the curtains on the windows too tight, I overcompensated and made them too long. But, I'm considering it a happy accident, because now I have this cute little valance looking thing over the bed!

The kitchen we were given to work with was really nice! The countertops aren't bad, the stove top is nice and there's a decent fridge and sink. We did paint the weird floral panelling and put up a cute curtain. You can't tell from these pictures, but the red curtains are all red and white houndstooth. I am so in love with this fabric!

Yesterday, I was all alone in the camper for a few minutes. It was so cool and quiet and cute. I said to myself, "I hereby declare this to be my sanctuary!" I'm imagining one evening a week all to myself in my little camper. Roger is not convinced....