Monday, April 4, 2011

Thrift Share Monday - April 4

More adventures in Flea Marketing!  I decided to tackle the Flea Market on a different day last week, rain will change your plans like that.  This particular Flea Market is advertised as being open Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.  I've always known that Wednesday was the original and most popular day and it's the only day I've ever gone.  Due to rain the visit got postponed until Friday.  As I approached the usually overflowing lot a feeling of dread came over me.  Most of the open air shed was empty and there was only a small spattering of cars in the parking lot (field).  Did I drive 40 minutes for this?  Gas is too expensive for that, my friends.  I put on a smile and decided to walk the booths to see if I could save the trip.  I did manage to fill a couple of bags and find some trinkets.  From the perspective of reselling the trip may have been a bust but the thrifter and antiques lover had a fun time looking!






This sewing box caught my eye and it included a handful of accessories. I'm cleaning it up and trying to figure out if any of it can still be of use to someone.


This old dictionary came from quite a varied booth, everything from old military matchbooks to potato chips.  I also picked up a few glass bottles from this lady.

I also found a few nice things from the thrift stores and even an inexpensive antique store goody this week:





Most of the above will be listed in my Etsy shop in the coming days.
P.S. I'm curious. Do any of you shop Etsy?  If so, what type of items do you look for?  I've bought soaps and shampoo regularly and I've purchased baby gifts that I LOVE.  The longer I've had my shop, the more I'm discovering.  I just bought some beautiful Easter basket sweets and I can't wait to receive them.

Cheers!

Project Simplify - Pantry

Arriving a few days behind on the Project Simplify post.  Last week's focus was the pantry and refrigerator.  Although everyone wants more storage space, I should be thankful that our home has any form of pantry, as small as it seems.  The small size demands organizing attention at least once every four months.  I used a mix of purchased containers and free re-purposed items to help with the organization.  My plan of attack was to remove items from two shelves at a time and replace items in like groups.  If I decided not to put it back in it's original spot on the shelf the item just hung out on the counter until enough "like" items joined it!
Starting at the top:


This area was an even bigger mess before!  Things tend to get randomly tossed and land where they may on the top (hard to  reach) shelves.  I added an empty Girl Scout Cookie box to contain the cups and create another shelf.  The red plastic basket holds paper napkins (many left over from birthday parties) and plastic utensils.  We don't use many paper products in our house but it is convenient to have a stash for picnics or party extras.


I've always used the wire shelf racks in my pantry and cabinets.  They are a "must have" in order to make the most of your space. As you can see, baking items are grouped together, cans and jars together. The middle shelf holds mostly drinks and vitamins.  Tea packets and Cocoa Mix are in the white Tupperware container and vitamin packets and tincture bottles are in the blue box.  The bottom shelf holds items that the children use often, cereal and snacks.  The clear modular press and lock containers are from Target.  They were a little on the expensive side but well worth it.


On the opposite side:  Baking Mixes, pasta and grains are grouped together.  The Tupperware Modular boxes hold nuts and dry salad toppings, small bags of grains,  soup or spice packets.  As I look at this photo I know that labels would help but it seems that the contents of the boxes often change so I've never committed to labels!    The bottom shelf isn't very visible but holds a box of trash bags and an under-shelf rack with zip-loc bags, foil, etc.


All good deeds are rewarded.  Well, not all, but cleaning out the pantry was rewarded with this yummy chocolate bar hiding behind the Cream of Wheat! Don't mind if I do.


What is that hideous thing above?  I know it's not pretty but is was quick, practical and free!  We re-use plastic grocery bags for trash can liners and picking up dog poop.  You do too, right? Instead of having a mass of bags falling off the shelf I cut a hole in a shoe box and can easily stuff bags in or pull them out when needed.


Gathered the random messy stack of grocery and gift bags and put them into one reusable grocery bag. Not great, but better.


These stacking recycling bins fit right under the bottom shelf.  One for paper, one for glass and plastic.  Love that you can access the bottom bin(s) through the hinged lid.  From Ikea. Yes, I know that's a random bag of dog food that needs a new home.  The opposite side of the pantry floor houses the lidded trash can.  I make myself be okay with trash in the pantry by reminding myself it's covered.  Is trash in the pantry weird? Best we can do at the moment.

This concludes the pantry tour.  Keeping it real, folks.  Don't forget to check in with Simple Mom for the latest Project: Simplify info!

Monday, March 28, 2011

Thrift Share - March 28

A rainy weekend put a damper on spring yard sales but I found a few thrifting goodies.  I've also made a commitment to allow myself to spend some money on a few higher priced items later this week (clearly not what you see below!).  I have 68 items in my shop and only 5 are priced above $20!  I'm ok with that since my goal was to start small and not lose money.  I've had a decent number of sales the past two weeks so I'm going to visit the antiques market and hopefully the flea market this week and put the money back into the shop.



Who remembers Arthur's Honey Bear?  One of my favorite books as a kid.  Surprise, a tag sale plays heavily in the plot.  Of course this is only a fraction of the books I picked up this week.  I'm having free shipping on books this month in hopes of moving more from the shop!


Lovely, worn ironstone creamer.  Likely qualifies as an antique.  Holds about 1 1/2 cups comfortably. As much coffee as I consume this large creamer is perfect.  I really love it, probably a keeper.  Marked USA on the bottom.


I'll be cleaning this tray and bowl using Selena's olive oil and salt method.  It worked perfectly for some others I have in the shop.


I know...totally not my style.  These are actually very sweet vintage cross stitch pieces when seen in person (or with better photos).  People get sweet and kinda kitschy during Easter so I thought I would put them in the shop for super cheap-o.  Maybe different frames would give them some new life?



And in unrelated news:  My kids have tried and enjoyed felting.  The above tiny felting pack sells at our Hobby Lobby for $2.50 (or $3?) and I purchased it for $0.49.  Handy.  There is also a Star Wars birthday party in my future so I was very happy to grab 18 sticker packs for $1.80.

Thanks for stopping by, come visit the etsy shop if you are so inclined.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Breakfast Nook and Kid Art

Today we'll just pretend that I'm not a Project Simplify flunkie and focus on something I've actually completed, Yea!  I've turned our breakfast nook into a little gallery for the kids' artwork.  It's a grouping of mostly abstract painting with some crayon and collage thrown into the mix.



 The black frames unify the different artwork which I think is helpful since there isn't really a color scheme going on.  The breakfast nook or kitchen is often a fairly casual space in a home.  It seems like a logical place to display kids' artwork.  It's displayed and obviously valued by the family but doesn't overtake the decor if you prefer to have a formal living room free of kiddie stuff.



Most of these frames were purchased at IKEA or Target fairly inexpensively.  I've also posted previously about thrift store frames.  They are cheap, abundant and easily freshened up with spray paint.  


This piece above is hung in a hallway.


This robot graces a kid's room corner.  It's hung a little lower than normal so little people don't have to crane their necks to enjoy it.

Although I'm not very good at tossing artwork, framing a couple of pieces each year makes it easier to let  some of the drawings and paintings make their way to the recycle center.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Thrift Share - March 21

The thrifting was light this week.  Most of the week was spent taking care of sick children.  I hopefully checked craigslist Sunday morning but in our neck of the woods estate sales, and even yard sales, usually wrap up by Saturday afternoon.  My treasures from  two 5 minute resale shop stops:


This gorgeous milk glass dish was is in wonderful condition. Still smooth and shiny and came with a twin!  I think this would traditionally be used for relish maybe?  I envision them holding some wonderful collection.  How beautiful would these be filled with chandelier crystals or vintage thread?



I love this key ring.  I initially thought it was all brass but then found a little scrap on the middle ring.  The middle ring is likely zinc with brass plating.  Does that mean the large ring is plating also? I suppose so...cool nonetheless.


This little carafe has been waiting for me. I saw it three weeks ago at our "upscale" resale and for some reason passed it up.  It is delicate and beautiful, I snatched it up when I found it still on the shelf Thursday.

As always,  a few of my treasures will be in the Etsy shop. 

Thanks for stopping over (from ATG, I assume).  I can't wait to see your thrifting scores.

Generations

Do you have cherished possessions passed down from your grandfather or maybe your great-great grandmother?  How do feel about the things that are fragile and delicate?

My mother-in-law invited me to go along one afternoon as she was cleaning out some things from her mother's house.  I knew that she wanted us to take a very old set of china which belonged to my husband's great-grandmother and I left with a bookshelf, books, and a few other small trinkets as well.

The shelf and books were put to use right away but the china remained packed in our basement for several months.  It's intended for my son, who's middle name belongs to the great-grandmother and the china bears that initial.  I've recently decided that this is a better place for it:


Yes, I'm a little worried that one of the dishes will be broken.  Surprisingly there is a perfect set of six place settings even after all these years.  Isn't part of the reason for keeping things from relatives to think about and remember them?  Because we have a few of these passed down things around the house, we tend to talk about their past owners and others in our family.  It reminds use to share memories with our children who didn't have the chance to know the great-grandmother or the uncle who passed away.


These sweet little birds sit in front of my "wedding" china.  One of the kids wanted to help me display things in this cabinet and he gently held the little birds and of course asked, "Where did these come from?"  They may well be broken before my children reach adulthood but at least they have served a purpose.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Houston, We Have a Problem

So...Simple Mom's "hot spot" for the Spring Challenge Project: Simplify was the paper pile.   "The" paper pile implies one paper pile.  People have one? I have multiple paper piles, stashed everywhere.  Stashed in the storage closet because I had to clean up quickly.  Stashed in a paper bag because my paper basket was over flowing.  Stashed under my bed because I brought a pile in from the car and didn't have time to deal with it...

This is not a five day task for me!  Since the project was announced 6 days ago I've made decent progress. It will be another 3 or 4 days before I'm willing to post "after" pictures.  Here are a few pictures of the train wreck as it was on March 14:



Above:  A Stack spread out of the dining room table for sorting


Another stack shamefully hidden in the basement storage closet


Yet another stack.  Once in the bottom of my closet, now stashed in location #2 awaiting judgement


A fab file cabinet.  Full of paper...clearly more paper than one household needs to keep.

Oh boy...