From the eight of us

Can you believe how much Ed & Alma's kids have grown?

I’d like to join Ed and Alma, Glen & Helen Nelson and Bill, Lois and David in wishing you all the very best this holiday season.

Lots of peace, love and joy to you.   xo

Wrapping up a little vintage Christmas

The short story of a handmade, vintage wallpaper-covered box and the upcycled vintage Christmas ornament inside it.

In photos. 

With minimal words.

Just because.

Thrifted. 

Hoarded.

Upcycled.

I’d like to interrupt the silence here by mentioning that I continue to be hot-glue-gun-impaired and I get around this by using Aleene’s Glass & Bead adhesive (it comes in a tube!) which doesn’t smell all that great but works like a charm when you need something shiny & slick to stick to something else that’s shiny & slick.

Carry on.

Designed.

Prepared.

Constructed.

Packed.

Gifted.

Are you ready? It’s almost here.

Before They Were Bloggers

In a desperate attempt to unearth some sort of vintage Christmas treasure at a local thrift shop, I turned to a part of the store I usually never even slow down for, let alone browse in.

It's that place where old vinyl albums and cassette tapes go to collect forever-dust: The Record Department.

And that’s where I found it.

A very rare, out-of-print album featuring an extremely collectible cover, designed by two well-known vintage crafters before they turned their talents to blogging, spun-head collecting and vintage-Christmas-ornament-locating.

My hands were shaking as I slowly turned it over in order to find the tiny, telltale evidence that this was the gem I suspected it might be.

Ah yes, there it is.

An Ethel & Oodles original.

My lucky day!

Remember when?

Do you recall how open and innocent and empty my antique mall space was the day I moved in?

Egads! (that’s me channeling my mother, by the way)

And yet, I must be doing something wrong.

Because as my mall space fills up, my house doesn’t seem to be any less full.

What’s up with that?

Don’t answer that. 

(I just returned from an estate sale. I’m starting to sense a pattern here.)

And if you’re wondering about those three dressers that were on the brink of becoming a permanent part of the scenery here, they are going, going, gone!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Memorandum

TO: Thrift Store Owners and Operators

DATE: November 27, 2012

RE: Vintage Christmas Inventory

It has come to my attention after an unannounced inspection of your shops this morning, despite the fact it is now 5 full days after Thanksgiving, many of you are not yet in compliance with the GYVCIOOTSN(P)* directive sent down from corporate.

As a courtesy, you will be allowed an additional 48 hours to bring your shop up to code prior to the next round of visitations.

Failure to do so may result in a fit and/or tears from one extremely disappointed shopper.

Please make every effort to prevent this.

With your cooperation, we can all have the very best vintage Christmas season ever.

*Get Your Vintage Christmas Inventory Out On the Shelves Now (Please)

Today's sled brought to you by the color aqua.

Last summer while I was at sleep-away summer camp at Meadowbrook Farm, two of the many treasures I found while roaming the Montana countryside were a pair of vintage sleds, slated for my vintage Christmas stockpile.

And since some time has passed since I last painted and then unpainted anything, I pointed my trusty paintbrush in the direction of Sled #1.  

(Sled #2 has already moved on to a new home although it did not escape a makeover – it received a not-shiny coat of red paint first).

I randomly mixed together some selections from what feels like my own personal paint store (HI! I collect cans of house paint! That’s perfectly normal.) and came up with an aqua-ish option.

I watered it down quite a bit and after about 15 minutes of dry-brushing and 3 tablespoons of paint later, it’s ready to be sanded.

I just did a quick all-over light sanding to soften the brush strokes and then called it good.

I heart easy projects.

And now it’s hanging out with some of its vintage Christmas buddies, waiting for snow.

Just another day at the office. And a winner!

 

 

The last few days have been spent pricing, packing, loading, hauling and unloading items for my antique mall space in preparation for what I hope will be an onslaught of holiday shoppers in the coming weeks.

Or better yet, holiday buyers.

I spent a large part of one day shuffling things from the left side of my mall space over to the right side and vice versa.

It really does work to promote sales, I promise.

 

Phase 2 will involve the addition of shiny, little Christmas doodads

 

Except for dressers, of course. 

 

Garage escapees.

Meanwhile, the team of accountants here at Into Vintage really burned the midnight oil as they tabulated the entries for the vintage ornament Christmas tree giveaway.

After much cutting up and folding of many little pieces of paper with commenter’s names on them, one name has been drawn from the hat and I’m happy to announce the winner:

 

From one Amy to another, congratulations!!

 

 

And to ALL of you: THANK YOU!

I am honored & humbled that so many of you took the time to enter -- you blew my doors right off their hinges! 

If you made the trip over here from Meadowbrook Farm, so nice to meet you!

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!  

 



Jadeite enthusiasts, please stand up.

And step forward.

I need your help, please.

The other day, while shopping for two hours (!) in a Goodwill store, the majority of that time spent having a miniature heart attack in the dish aisle, which, as we know, I have no business being in let alone loading a shopping cart full of all kinds of heart-attack-inducing dinnerware, I now have a question:

How do I tell if these plates are vintage Jadeite (or not)? They have no particular pattern and no identifying marks at all. 

That worries me.

Should I be worried?

A pretty pair of Blue Ridge Pottery plates

Another Goodwill shopper seemed to think they’re vintage and I base that solely on her reaction when she saw them in my cart and asked, “Do you know that those plates are collectible?!”

My outside voice: “Yes, I do.”

My inside voice: “Yes, I do. They’re in my cart. Stop touching them.”

The latest additions to my personal mix-&-match collection of (indestructible) vintage Japanese stoneware

She also asked me, “Do you know what they’re worth?!” (nicely, but in the do-you-have-any-idea-what-you-have-there-because-if-you-don’t-I’ll-take-them-off-your-hands-for-you way)  

Outside voice, not wanting to disappoint:  “I think so.”

Inside voice:  “No clue. Just hoping it’s more than the $2 Goodwill wants for them.”

Resale score! Bunches of Haviland Limoges

We smiled and agreed it was a very good day at Goodwill.

Inside voice: “Yes, it is.”

(Thank you for your help with my question.)