Estate Sale Sunday

 Yesterday I worked on The Farm for hours and got the weeds knocked down so it is ready for the barrier cloth, which The Husband started on today.  Oh.My.Gosh. I went through two jugs of Gatorade and it was SO hot.  I cannot believe this weather in May.  Thankfully it is raining tonight because we sure need it.  Today was a play day and I headed out to the second day of an estate sale to see what was left.  I was rewarded. Check out those old Alka Seltzer bottles with their perfectly Tiffany blue tops!

 LOVE that huge tin with the lattice and roses.  It was a holder for those embroidery paint pens that were popular in the '70s.  It has roses, enough said! Plus a new needle book that I didn't have.

 Pins ( call me crazy) but there are a few very cool hat pins mixed in.  The poke sacks included a few things I wasn't interested in but it was half-price day and sometimes you have to kiss a few frogs....

 Lady bugs and bumble bees, who could resist those??  The scoop says "Farmers Elevator Adams" on the handle.  The Hostess Embossing Set is missing the dip pen but I love the little bottles and they are full.

 They had stacks of old sheet music so I gleaned out the ones with neat graphics because that is the part I like.  Those little fairies dancing on the toadstool are too cute.

 Oops, there are those pins again the a jar for buttons and some random meal stuff that seemed like it would be fun to make something out of one of these days when I get around to some assemblage - lol!

I hope your Mother's Day was a happy one.  My younger son brought me a pretty hanging basket so I'll snap a picture when the rain stops.  The Farm is so close to done, can't wait!!

Saturday Junk and Garden "Proofing"

 We are having gorgeous Summer-like weather this weekend but I took time out to hit one estate sale before I got busy in the yard yesterday.  This sale had tons of guy stuff.  That fellow must have tried on every hobby he could think of and who knows, maybe sewing was one of them.

 A little pile of buttons and a batch of thimbles.  I especially like the advertising ones. This lot included Watkins, Sacramento Bee and New System Laundry. There was also an interesting one with a built-in thread cutter on the side.  You can click the pictures bigger and see it about center.  This is my third darning egg so it's official.

 Lots of vintage seam binding.  There was more iron-on hiding in the lot than I realized and I don't usually buy that kind but who knows, maybe one of these days I'll actually sew something - haha!  Nice little lot of vintage millinery fruits.

 Three new needle cards for my collection.  The bottom one is badly damaged but the one at the top made up for it.  It is brand new in the original glassine envelope.

 Two hankies for me and a big stack of plain white ones with tatted edges that will make their way to Etsy once I do that wash/rinse/repeat thingie.

The Husband has been "proofing" the garden.  The marigold are to keep the moths off the cabbages and the wire is to keep the cats from digging up the seeds and leaving little surprises it their place.
Lots done in the yard this weekend and next post will be my trip to Vintage Cottage Home vintage flea this morning.

Got Dirt?

 I do!  The soil for the new garden plot was delivered this morning and the husband worked all day to get the trellis for the peas put up and the vegetable starts planted.  It was cool and a little drizzly so a great day for planting.  All we have left now is the barrier cloth and bark on the ground around the sides - and hopefully lots of fresh veggies to eat!

 I got out to one estate sale and was able to pick up a few fun things.  It was a paper kind of day.

 A full box of vintage cocktail napkins.  I love that they have instructions!  These will be headed to my Etsy.

 Two 1952 crochet books of doll patterns.  I'm sure someone will have some fun with these.

 An unopened pack of Dennison baggage tags, a 1948 instruction book for making flowers with Dennison crepe paper and an instruction book for tin can crafts.  I always wondered how they made those stars and little chairs.

I also got a stack of sewing patterns and four 1960s copies of Family Circle magazine.  I love looking through the ads in those old magazines!
Must go back out and watch the garden grown now.  8+)

Weekend Loot

 No big scores this weekend but I did get a few things and had fun looking.  These pictures are "pre-washed" so don't click them bigger - LOL!  I was very happy to find a gaggle of little glass bottles.  The ones with the red tops are going to be used to corral tiny things in the trays I have been sorting.  I was thinking I would repaint the tops to match the sorted colors but when I washed them the red paint came off!  The plain metal lids will be perfect.

 More glass bottles, old wallpaper, rayon seam binding and another satin box for the tray project.  Love that blue dresser scarf.  That will be headed to my bedroom.

 This is the Sunday stuff.  Another jewelry box (like I need that), apothecary jars and a new hammered aluminum piece for my collection.  That box on the left is filled with Spanish vocabulary cards.

I pulled one out at random to see what they looked like and the deal was sealed.

Last Weekend's Treasures

 Talk about screeching in just under the wire!  I'm just barely getting last weekend's goodies posted before a new weekend is upon us.  Very, very slammed at the big girl job this week so it screamed by and unlikely I will get out for any junking this weekend.  Last weekend was one estate sale and enough goodies to keep me busy for a while. 

 At least you get to see these all cleaned up instead of my usual pig-pile on the table!  You know I collect aluminum "baskets".  I usually just stick to those to keep the collection under control but I couldn't resist this little crumb set.  I haven't decided if it is headed for Etsy or if I'll keep it for myself.

 I love the vintage graphics on the cover of this little scrapbook.  It is marked 1947 and even has a few photos inside it.  It includes templates that you could trace onto the back of the pictures and then cut them into shapes. Very early scrapbooking!

This is a close-up of the cover on the 1965 Shell Craft booklet.  We got a new macro lens for the camera so this was my first try to see just how close I could get it to focus.  Close enough that you can see the age on the paper - LOL!  Not everything should get a close-up shot!

I Bought Myself A Whole Bunch Of Washing And Ironing

 Yesterday was mostly work and little play so I made it my business to get out to at least one estate sale today.  This package of vintage wrapping paper cracked me up - "from your friendly Social Counselor"!  I was wondering why your counselor would give you a pack of wrapping paper then I realized it must been some sort of home-party like Tupperware - DOH!  I didn't buy those little chairs today but they matched so perfectly that I had to add them to the picture.

 So why can't I be hopelessly enamoured with something that goes in the dishwasher?  Or at least permanent press?  I was thrilled to find all these hankies and crochet and tatted trims at a reasonable price but oh.my.goodness. the washing and ironing in my future. 

 I did find a new lace-edge milk glass plate to add to my personal collection.  I haven't found one I don't have in several years and then I have found two since Spring.  I actually left it behind because the area where I have them hung up is full.  I drove about 10 blocks down the street and thought how dumb was that.  For $2.50 I can't let it sit around until I find a spot??  Sometimes I'm a dork and this is one that would have haunted me for sure.  I would love to show this collection sometime but haven't figured out a way to photograph them.  They are hung way up near the ceiling in my kitchen.

Lots of vintage hankies.  I start off soaking in regular laundry soap with Oxy added.  I do buy things with stains and attempt to rescue them.  Sometimes I resort to bleach or even Stain Bully.  Better living through chemistry - unless you're a vintage linen.  Once in a while I make an "instant cutter".  What do the rest of you use and where do you buy it?

 I got two sweet little baby jackets and a baby bonnet.  I am NOT going to attempt washing that bonnet.  It is gorgeous and looks just perfect the way it is.  Click the second picture bigger to get a closer look.  So much sweet detail!

 Vintage crochet and tatted trims.  One of my Grandmothers tatted.  I wonder if anyone still does.

A pair of appliques and a closer look at some of the hankies.  They had a LOT to look through and I was there at least an hour.  When I came out I looked at the clock in my car and thought, wow, was I really in there for two hours??  Estate sale time warp.  Then I remembered I haven't set the time back in my car yet.  Have to figure out how to do that.  {sign}

Estate Sale Bits and Pieces

Sometimes the picking is big and other times the picking is one little bit and piece at a time. These are the treasures from the the two sales I hit last weekend.
LOVE these appliques and rhinestone studded millinery leaves. They remind me of the things the talented Lori Oles uses in her work. These are going to be SO fun to build Inspiration Kits around for my Etsy store - assuming I can bear to part with them. Maybe I better hold on to just a few - LOL!

I did not get the bowls at the sales. I was just using them while I was sorting the beads. That bowl on the right is filled with all kinds of plastic beads that will go into the Granddaughter's bead box. The one on the left is filled with big wooden beads that made me think of colorful bowl of fruit.

I think this was a woman by my own heart. A crafter and seamstress who accumulated such pretty things. It always amazes me how you get a "sense" of a woman from what she collects and leaves behind. I wonder what people will think about MY stash someday - LOL! I can hear it now... I wonder what she was planning to do with all these straight pins and scrabble tile holders....