The vintage Pyrex casserole-with-see-through-stand-and-warming-basket-in-mint-condition-shaped hole in my head.

For someone who rides the junkin’ rails on a nearly daily basis, I completely managed to miss the train to Pyrexville.  

I realize many of you Pyrex People have been bringing home mixing bowls and refrigerator sets for eons but for those of us just waking up to the Pyrex experience (HelloMyNameIsAmy), I feel as though in the last year or so, there has been a sudden EXPLOSION of Pyrex collecting, hoarding, sharing and selling.

Or does everyone feel like that when they're the last one to catch on?

Gina has vintage Pyrex junk in her trunk.

Melissa sells her Pyrex finds on eBay.

Then there are the Two (Pyrex Crazy) Thrifting Sisters. A google image search of them is Pyrex-crazy indeed!

Click the photo to go to Pyrex Collective I

And there’s not just one or even two Pyrex Collectives – there are three of them! With links to even more Pyrex-loving types pyrexing their hearts out.

Click the photo to go to Pyrex Collective II

and you guessed it, click the photo to go to Pyrex Collective III

And me?

I’ve taken one lonely photo of other people’s Pyrex, because I liked the display, not because I have a clue about anything Pyrex.

On Instagram, this is my #1 hearted photo -- it outhearted any Vintage Christmas photo I’ve posted so far -- who knew?! I mean, you probably knew but I DID NOT KNOW. About the w i d e s p r e a d love of Pyrex.

In an effort to signal my late entry into the Great Pyrex Awareness of the 21^st Century, I’ve started a Pyrex (and more) collection of my own, safely contained on a Pinterest board where it won’t take up space at home, be washed in a dishwasher or get chipped or broken.

Pyrex poster is from etsy shop Pocono Modern 

Live and learn.  SO much to learn.  Now hoping to find a Pyrex for Beginners support group.

Magic goop and wacky cake

If I’ve learned one thing from all of you, it’s that when it comes to collecting, there’s something for everyone. 

Or someone for every thing.

And with that philosophy in mind, occasionally some of those things come home with me from yard sales.

Things not all that long ago I might have passed by.

Exhibit A.  This jumbled box of hundreds of recipes.

At first I thought I would just send them off to my etsy shop but as I started to photograph them for the shop listing, I got caught up in the story they told.

A story involving decades of foods that were once fashionable in the kitchen or at least were in style according to the chef who was in charge of this collection.

What event was this little menu for? I don’t know what Under-the-Sea-Salad is but anyone who serves two kinds of bread AND cake and ice cream is okay with me.

A scribbled recipe for Magic Modeling Goop on the envelope for a sympathy card –  could this be the original Play-Doh formula?

And my favorite of them all, the double secret and highly coveted ingredient list for Wacky Cake.  :-)



Where I grant one of you a wish come true

You may recognize this photo from my last post where I was definitely not discussing the regrettable lack of judgment that locked me in its grip one evening years ago, long enough for me to make a very unfortunate decision regarding paint color for this bookcase and then, sadly, to act on it.

As happens from time to time, an alert reader will be so kind as to look right past the embarrassing situation on display only to inquire about that thing in the corner of the frame of the photo.

In this case, that reader was Betsy of My Salvaged Treasures who politely asked not once but twice, “What the heck is the thing with the drawers?!”

Or something like that. J

This one’s for you, Betsy.

click to enlarge

That thing is another rusty metal piece I found half a block away at a neighbor’s yard sale. Junky man-cave-workshop-assorted-bolts storage one minute ... glamorous vintage industrial the next!

Many of the drawers were filled with these tiny light bulbs -- hundreds of them. And I did what I always do when I don’t know what to do with something.  I put them in my etsy shop.

Tomorrow morning I head out to this week’s yard sales, hoping for more of the same luck I had last week, some of which included this:

It feels like a minor miracle that a souvenir map vintage tablecloth can still be found for a quarter

 And this:

 Fingers are crossed in hopes of finding a little vintage Christmas this weekend.

Hope you find some great junk too.

And now we will resume our regularly scheduled programming

Since I last chatted with you…

My very old computer suddenly decided it was All Done.

Even if I was not.

While waiting and waiting and waiting for its replacement to arrive (“… blah blah important computer-ish part on back order blah blah blah …”), the following is some of what was accomplished:

Re-wired four lamps.

 

Made that sofa slipcover at last! (from Ikea curtain panels) The ottoman is next in line which will be a breeze compared to the sofa.

Completely rearranged the Doily Factory and its roommate, the Etsy Inventory Storage Facility, the contents of which were co-mingling in a dangerous way with the summer Vintage Market things-to-sell-stash.

Sent many boxes of miscellaneous to the local Senior Center thrift shop.  While unsettling to come across my former stuff on their store shelves, so far I have successfully avoided the horror of accidentally re-purchasing something I donated.

Yard-saled with mixed results. A few small victories here and there but no Big Scores lately.

Hosted a birthday celebration.  (Did not paint the white sideboard. Yet.)

{ this flag pillow is a mini version of last year's jumbo size flag pillow }

Some sewing.

Computer situation is resolved at last. So glad to be back!

The post that starts out odd and just keeps going

Today was one of those days where I stopped what I was doing just long enough to notice how weird it was.

There was an endless line of little vintage folks waiting to get their picture taken for my etsy shop.

I felt like the school photographer.

Here comes Mrs. Peep's class.

Followed by Mr. Gurley's group for their class portrait.

I can only imagine what the yearbook might look like.

In unrelated and hopefully less odd news, I brought home this little piece of furniture that was tagged a 'barber's cabinet.'

Er - maybe it's from back when barbers performed surgery because there are all kinds of unidentified 'stuff' splashed on the outside of it.

Yeah, I know.

Ew.

Thankfully, it's coming clean without too much effort. I heart rubber gloves.

Just wondering what this drawer might have been used for? I have several terrible ideas but I'm going to call it the 'barber's hair bin' for now so I can sleep at night.

Sweet dreams.

Small Talk

As you may recall, late last year I bared my soul and revealed that I don't own a glue gun.

It turns out I do. I just can't remember why. I must have bought it years ago for some specific project and then never used it again. It resurfaced recently while I was 'organizing.'

My comprehensive organizational efforts eventually dwindled down to more of a micro-organization in which I managed to incorporate a little sewing + hot gluing project too.

This photo is unrelated to this post but I found these little hand-painted shell pansy cards yesterday while out thrifting and this seemed as good a time as any to share.

For someone who sews, I am sorely lacking in the pincushion department and that can get downright hazardous as I use some very large and somewhat dull needles for my etsy shop packaging. I'm constantly dropping them and they quietly roll away, biding their time until they decide to reappear somewhere ... unexpected.

(I always look before sitting down in the Doily Factory.)

Now those needles have a home of their own. I made the world's tiniest pincushion (tutorial here), added a teeny vintage mother-of-pearl button and hot-glued the whole thing to a vintage spool of thread.

Hope 2011 is going smoothly for you so far. 

a vintage Christmas giveaway

Merry Vintage Christmas!

As my way of saying thank you for not dozing off during and therefore enabling my year round vintage Christmas ramblings, I've put together a little vintage Christmas giveaway.

(And just for fun, let's keep score for how many times I say 'vintage Christmas' in this post.)

This giveaway includes vintage Christmas things I've found while out roaming the Oregon countryside, vintage Christmas things I've made in the Doily Factory and ... some sweet vintage Christmas goodies from one of my favorite vintage crafters, Magpie Ethel*!

Now onto the giveaway...

A collection of vintage Christmas decorations including that tall glittered Thanksgiving reindeer and his snazzy cousin (a Magpie Ethel creation) who's sporting a stylish over-the-head wreath with coordinating green-glitter antlers and standing near one of Magpie Ethel's hand-dyed bottle brush trees in aqua. 

 

There's also a sweet vintage Gurley Christmas tree candle and two tiny bottle brush trees on vintage wooden spools wearing red plaid scarves -- made by me in the Doily Factory.

Maybe you can use a few last minute stocking stuffers so there's a pretty vintage poinsettia hankie along with a trio of pocket-sized tissue holders and two pairs of lavender sachets I've made from a vintage embroidered runner and vintage Christmas fabric.

To help get all that gift-wrapping done there's vintage Christmas wrapping paper and little gummed vintage Christmas labels along with a handy instruction booklet for 'beautiful gift packages' from Dennison, circa 1949...

 And these charming gift tag badges from Magpie Ethel.

So the kitchen won't feel neglected, here are a couple of vintage Christmas tablecloth towels to help with the dishes, also from my Doily Factory.

And finally, a little something for around the house.

This holiday pillow handmade by me using a bit of my very favorite vintage Christmas tablecloth of all time.

If you'd like to be entered to win this giveaway, just leave a comment by midnight PST, Sunday, December 12th. I'll draw a winner on Monday morning. This giveaway is open to anyone, anywhere and please make sure there's a way I can contact you via email if you win. :-) 

Thanks again for coming by -- you're the best! Happy Holidays!

*If you haven't met Laurie/Magpie Ethel yet, you can check out her fabulous blog to learn more about what she makes and collects (all of it is *amazing*) or browse through her etsy shop to see her charming & whimsical creations. And if you're in the Portland, OR area this weekend, you can see her and her vintage crafts in person at Crafty Wonderland! (if it isn't snowing, I'll be there shopping!)

Vintage Christmas score: 14? Do I count the time I used it in this sentence? :-)