A little vintage shopping therapy ...

The Big Guy left me home alone for a few hours this morning. (You'd think he'd know better, after all these years!) So, I relished in having the place to myself for awhile, and, then ...


A light bulb went off!!!!

Hmmm, I had money in my pocket and a real big thrift store right around the corner! (He doesn't like me to go there without supervision as he's trying to get rid of all that extra stuff around the house. Thus, the development of the Vintage Section in my Etsy shop.) I mean, he doesn't mind if I'm going strictly to look for supplies like ribbons and lace or the occasional brand new (with store tags) lampshade to paint. He doesn't want more figurines for the collections we already have (the ones we're NOT selling off) or "interesting" finds that I thought I couldn't live without.

So, after deep consideration (about 5 minutes of thought), I took off for an adventure. I didn't do bad. Well, not tooo bad. I only picked up a few items that were bea-u-ti-ful! All of which I think are perfect for painting and reselling. Lucky for me I had plenty of time to get them home and hide them carefully. I know. I could justify their purchase with the "they're for the shop" argument but then he might point out I already have a stock pile of "To Be Painted" pieces. (Also, lucky for me, he doesn't read this blog!)

This is what I grabbed, for a mere ten spot!!

The one in the front, to the left, is a beautiful amethyst color. (The picture just doesn't do it justice!) The small one on the right is a solid black heavy glass. (At the moment, I'm thinking either white daisies or bright red poppies on that one.) Of course, the blue ones will probably feature fish. I seem to be able to really move fish and seascapes on blue glass. I find those canning jar style pieces are very popular lately so I've always got an eye out for them.

As of today, I'm vowing to steer clear of that place until these are painted and listed in the shop. Please, wish me luck on this one! (I mean, the only way in and out of my house is to go right past their driveway!)


MARCHPHOTOADAY

I've joined the Marchphotoaday Challenge along with Mama Tink and some other bloggers. Basically, every participant posts a picture of a specific subject for each day of the month.

Today's subject is "Something You Wore":

Those are my trusty crocs, right where I kicked them off.
Gawd, I LUV those shoes!

Here's the list if you'd like to play along, too.

Do you have "Family Heirlooms"?

Most of the items in the vintage section of my shop have come from all the various nooks and crannies around the house. No buy and resell here. Nope! Just loot from all those corners of the basement. While the term "vintage" varies from site to site, Etsy (where my shop resides) defines "vintage" as items that are over 20 years old.

That means just about everything in our homes qualified as "vintage." A friend and I recently looked around my living and dining rooms and pointed out the items that had been with us for what seemed like "forever." She noted my Boston Rocker, stating she remembered that from my Mom's living room years ago. I declared "That's a 'Family Heirloom', not just vintage."

So, what separates Family Heirlooms from your run-of-the-mill vintage pieces?

I believe it's the emotions they evoke and the stories that bring about those emotions.

That Boston Rocker brings me comfort. It reminds me of that living room in Mom's house, too. It brings back fond memories of the family sitting around together watching TV. It was my Grandmother's seat of honor most evenings. She wasn't much for super soft upholstered seats and she really did like to rock when she sat. I can tell you exactly when that rocker came into our lives, too - Summer, 1965!

My sister was getting married that summer and was out shopping for furniture for their new apartment. Mom, Grandmother and I went along for the fun. (The groom really didn't want to be dragged from store to store so he left this up to her.) One of the big furniture stores near us had a wishing well just inside their main entrance and invited all who entered to fill in a little slip of paper with one particular piece they would love to win just for the "wishing." Every month, a slip of paper was selected and the winner was given their item of choice. Well, Grandmother didn't really want to participate but we forced her. She had commented on the beautiful design painted on the top of the rocker's back. (It was kind of a standard design back then!) She listed the rocker just to make all of us happy and dropped her slip in the wishing well. She wiped it out of her mind minutes later.

A few weeks later, Mom happened to answer the phone while visiting my grandmother. it was the furniture store. Seems they'd been trying to let Grandmother know she'd won the most recent drawing and find out when they could deliver her new chair. She'd brushed off several prior calls by telling them she simply wasn't interested in buying furniture. What can we say? She'd never won anything before and really thought it was just some sort of sales pitch.

They soon delivered it. I think it was "Love at first sit." When she moved in with us a few years later, it became a prime seat in the living room. Years later, long after Grandmother's passing, it came to live with me when my mom moved in with my brother. It now sits in my over-crowded living room where it still remains a favorite spot to sit (and rock). I must say, I always think of Grandmother as I take a seat there - and, they ARE very GOOD thoughts.

I've considered refinishing it from time to time. The arms are actually worn to the point of showing the natural wood tone as opposed to the black lacquered finish. Parts of the design at the top are faded almost completely away. Then, I think of those "flaws" as part of the rocker's story. Most of the younger members of the family were rocked in that chair, I've read many a good book there and my friends have spent many hours sitting in it chatting with me over the years. Who would want to refinish those memories? Not I.


These days we keep an old crocheted afghan tossed over the back of the chair as it sits in front of a large curio cabinet. The afghan is there more to protect the glass front of the cabinet from the chair but we've all come to think of them as a pair. The afghan is also a family heirloom, thought not quite as old. Nothing special when it was made, it is still not much to show off but it was made by someone no longer with us and it holds a special spot in our hearts.

The good news is, the next generation has already laid claim to the chair "when we're ready to give it up." D says she wants it for "all the same reasons" I love it. It's just one of the many family heirlooms around here. (She's also put "dibs" in on quite a few other items around my house. Is it a bad sign when they start making such statements?)

So, what wonderful family heirlooms do you have lurking around your homes and what stories do they tell?

It's been a good week so far.

I finally got the rest of the first batch of vintage miniature figurines listed in the shop this week. Taking the pictures of these tiny pieces took a lot of time! I was lucky enough to make a few sales, both online and off. I've gotten some new orders, too. (Maybe one of my best non-holiday weeks of all time in terms of orders!)

'Tis the season for all things beachy and ocean-related. I've had lots of requests for my handpainted lamps and lampshades featuring fish and shells so yesterday was spent basecoating a bunch of pieces, mostly lamps. I already have a few new shades in the works. Hopefully, I'll have time to do the detail work on some of these tomorrow.

Remember the little glass canisters with the apple indentations that I bought a few weeks ago? I painted them yesterday, too. Now all they need is some cute bows around their necks. My original plan was to give them to D. for her apple-themed kitchen but I'm seriously considering listing them in the shop instead. If they're still around when I need a gift for her, maybe she'll get them then.

Poor thing! As a child she inherited all the dolls whose handpainted eyes looked a little crossed or the bear that simply didn't sell after a full season of craft shows. Now, as a grown-up, she's still a fall-back for merchandise.

Then there were some custom orders to complete, too. Since they are gifts and the recipients don't have them yet, I can't share them with you at the moment. Maybe soon. Let's just say I had fun and am very pleased with the results.

While all that paint's been drying, I've been sewing a lot of lace onto all sorts of things. Some of the lacy items should be ready to show you by tomorrow. (Most of those also have some painted details.)

On Monday night, Queen of Sienna included one of my glass paperweights in a feather themed treasury on Monday night. You can see the entire treasury here. Be sure to take time to check out Queen of Sienna's Etsy shop, too. She has a really great eclectic collection of vintage pieces.


Then, today, June over at the I Sew Cute blog, featured my "I Speak Cookie" apron on a post about baking her way through the Betty Crocker Cooky Book. Sort of makes you want to jump up and make a batch of cookies. (Or, at least, eat some cookies!)

When you get a chance, stop in and see some of the adorable pieces of resin jewelry June makes and decorates with sprinkles, glitter and love. You can see her shop here.

I think I'm going to sit back, relax and do a little reading now. I've just started reading The Girl Who Played With Fire. it's one of those books, one simply hates to put down!!

Rainy days and Saturdays...

"It was a dark and stormy night . . . "

Oh, wait - that's a different story.

It was a gray and dreary morning and really didn't get better throughout the day. I had the day to myself and I had plans. I try not to do damp and dreary. I find it depressing. I don't like getting wet and my plans called for a lot of outdoor and in-and-out type errands. I really wasn't feeling it.

I decided to regroup, rethink and stay in. Heck, I didn't even get dressed 'til noon!


What I did do was take a couple hundred pics of more of that vintage stock I need to get listed in the shop. I'm getting better with the camera but it still doesn't come easy and it does take me lots of shots to come up with five good (or, at least, "acceptable") ones to post. Now, all I have to do is get my descriptions together and spend the time typing them in to the site. I try not to list all at once in order to spread my exposure out over a longer time but I do draft the copy and have it ready with the list of the pics I want to use. It all takes time.




I finished painting a shirt I was working on for The Big Guy. I've told you before he's an a-fish-ionado (Get it?) of tropical fish and fish of all sorts. He loves when I do cartoon style fishies in my work. He's also a bass player. So I combined both and made him a bass-playing blue fish (I think he's got "da blues!") He likes it!

I added some new painted items to the shop. I still have quite a few other new pieces to add this week but I'll do a few each day.


I've recently painted a few more lampshades and looked forward to getting them in the shop but, all but one of these new ones sold before I could even list them. (That's a "good thing"!) Now, I've got to get out there and locate some more bargain shades to work with.






I also added some of the new Spring potholders to the shop. Everybody can use a bright spot of color in the kitchen, can't they? Oh yeah, they make great gifts. Everybody has a kitchen. They usually come with the house!









I spent the rest of the day sewing lace on all sorts of things!! Can't wait to finish them up and post them to show you what I did with all those trims and such.

It was a full day and I am exhausted!!

A class on glass!!!

Y'all may recall, a while back, I decided to feature a "Vintage" section in my Etsy shop along with my handpainted work.


It was a spur of the moment thing and I grabbed a few "oldies but goodies" from a shelf in the basement and popped them on there. (Yep, Mr. Peanut was one of them!) Lo and behold, some began to sell!! (Folks WANTED my junk! Er, I mean "beloved treasures".)


So, The Big Guy got excited and began to dig out other treasures we've had packed away. Among them was a collection of glass paperweights. These had been collected by a family member who is no longer with us and had been packed away in a box since the mid-80s. All were purchased prior to 1974. They were definitely "vintage."

Problem was - neither of us knew enough about these things. We knew they are collectible but what to look for to determine value was a learning experience for both of us. Thank goodness for the internet!

Wow!! Who'd have thunk! There was a lot to learn just to be able to speak the language of the paperweight collector enough so we could properly market these.

Which brings us to the question, "What's this "we", Kemosabi?" This is the most interested The Big Guy has become in my business since it's inception. I think its got to be a plus. His role in this? He dug them out of storage. He knew when they'd been collected and the geographic area most of them came from and had a rough idea of their original values. I even got him doing a little online research. He's more a "hands-on" guy. He can design and create a program (and does) to run industrial equipment but true research is something he has little experience with. I think he may even have enjoyed this! (Don't let him know I noticed.)

It was my job to put all the information to good use.

A weight's value is in its workmanship, design, rarity and condition and can range from a few dollars to a quarter-mill !!! Visible flaws like bubbles, striations and scratches effect the value. There's a big difference between production flaws and external flaws. Maker's marks are vital to identifying a piece. Many paperweights made between the '40s and the 70's did not have permanent maker's marks and were only marked with a stick on label. (Most of these have been removed or fallen off through the years.) Those that are unmarked need to be identified by style, shape, color, weight, and design. There are, literally, hundreds of marks out there on those that do have signature marks.

Speaking of styles - there are a number of very definitive styles and most designers favor a specific style. Styles include: millefiori, lampwork, sulfide, swirl and crown (among others). Sizes run from the average to miniature and magnums. It's enough to make your head spin!!

One of the most difficult jobs was checking out the markings on those that had them. Marks are generally stamped or etched into the bottom of the weight although a few also have signature marks embedded in the base of the design itself inside the paperweight. There are a variety of sites online to help with this. The one I found most useful and easiest to use was this one .

There is one that I seemed to identify but still have a few doubts about, It's on the flat bottom of two of the weights we have. It's a stamped mark of a sailing ship. Since it was really difficult to focus on against the multi-colored background in the glass, I took a rubbing of it. I thought it was a ship (or multiple ships) or it could possibly have been little houses on a hillside. (O.K., use your imagination!)

We thought most of these pieces came from West Virginia (which at one time had 62 glass factories!!) So, we concentrated on marks from that region. We found a really similar ship mark from Gentile Glass in Star City, WV and I got excited but I just couldn't confidently say they were close enough. I finally went on a paperweight forum online with my rubbing and asked. I was told by experienced collectors this is a mark once used by the Mayflower Glass Company. The current mark of the Mayflower Art Glass Company in England is a a slightly different (but similar) ship. It is not unusual for companies to change their marks every so often or even to use multiple maker's marks denoting different craftsmen within the company. There has also been some discussion of this mark indicating an American company by that name. I have been unable to document this but included it in the information in my shop listing. I'm still just not comfortable making this assumption. (If anyone reading this has more information concerning this mark, I'd love to hear from you.)

It's taken weeks (interrupted by a vacation!) to do the research and determine what we have but I've finally worked my way through it and listed the last one yesterday!!! Thankfully, we've already sold a few, too, which makes all this effort seem a bit more worthwhile. I think The Big Guy was worried we'd both get so wrapped up in these and fall in love with them, refusing to let go. Gotta admit, I was tempted!!!

So, finally, we've come to the day that I've listed the last one in the shop with as much information as I've been able to gather. please stop by and check them out. They're really beautiful!!! Most are on the 3rd and 4th pages of the shop (or just click on these pictures to get there). I'm going to relax for a few days and then move on to the next storage box.

Have a great weekend, y'all!!

Where did all this STUFF come from?

About two weeks ago, I decided to start decluttering. We're trying to put a better spin on it though. We've decided to tell folks, "We're beginning to consolidate as we anticipate downsizing in the foreseeable future."


More precisely, between the two of us, we've been putting "stuff" in this house for over 35 years. As with most folks, more has come in than has ever gone out. It's one of the down points of staying in one place too long. No one has ever forced us to thin it out. At least when you move frequently, you have to go through all that accumulated stuff once in a while.

Actually, it seemed easy enough. I needed something from a shelf in the basement and had to move several things that were in front of what I wanted. As I moved them, it dawned on me that the only time I even looked at these things was when I needed to get something from that shelf. I really am not appreciating them. They're just sitting there - year in, year out. I brought all three of those items with me when I moved in. All three have sat on an out-of-the-way shelf for well more than a decade (or two). I came to the conclusion that someone else might love them more, now.

As they really are collectible items, I thought it should be easy enough to simply list them in my Etsy shop as Etsy allows the sale of handmade items, supplies and VINTAGE pieces. Etsy defines "vintage" as at least 20 years old. These things definitely qualified there. I took a few minutes and photographed them, scribbled down a description, determined a value and posted them in a new "Vintage" section in my shop.

I made the mistake of mentioning this at dinner. The Big Guy embraced the idea with open arms and proceeded to point out all kinds of merchandise we could sell just to clean it out of our house.

Check out all the vintage items that have been packed away in one small cabinet for over 25 years, never seeing the light of day in that time! Most are actually bonafide collectibles, too. In order to list these things in the shop, I need to research each one as to it's origin, manufacturer, etc. (These were not mine to begin with so I'm learning about each as I go along.) This has been no easy quick task. It is quite tedious and time consuming. And, then...

There's the challenge of getting each item photographed. Glassware and miniature items are quite difficult to get good shots of. It has been a learning experience all 'round for me. Believe me, I'm still learning in this area.

At least I HOPE I am learning as my photography skills NEED improvement - LOTS of improvement. For now, I tell folks I really need a better camera!)