With the hope something might sell

My first vintage event as a vendor is less than a month away.

Yesterday involved scrubbing some suspicious goo off of a dresser (Attention: People who sell things at yard sales -- what are you doing to your furniture?!) so today I rewarded myself by making a batch of price tags.

Much more fun than scrubbing goo.

Back in the days when I sold full-time at several antique malls, I made my price tags on my printer using little images of vintage goods.

This is when it pays to never throw anything away.

The 2011 version of those tags. A little less black than the previous ones.

I wanted to find a way to attach the tags that would leave the least amount of mess behind when the tags were removed.

And I wanted to break the chains of the grease pencil pricing cycle.

 This tape seems to be the answer.

I won a giveaway on Amy Cartwright’s blog for a cutetape gift certificate and went on a little shopping spree.

The tapes have fun motifs with just the right amount of stickiness so I don’t think a bunch of goo will be left behind when removed.

This is fabric tape – I don’t know what I’ll use it for yet but I just liked it.

 I hope I’m not counting my MacGillivray’s Warblers before they’re hatched by making these 'SOLD' tags.

Making the world a better place one glob of goo at a time. J

Sometimes they call me Sandy

Do you recall this little project, waiting patiently (or nervously) in the Garage Where Cars Can’t Park?

It's number finally came up on the to-do list. No big deal – this was going to be a one-color (white) paint job and nothing more.

But after a coat of primer, I thought it might be ‘fun’ to add a second color to give it a little interest.

And I swore on a stack of Country Living magazines that under no circumstances was I going to get anywhere near a piece of sandpaper.

Ahem.

After gently trying to sand off a tiny blob of paint, I lost all control.

There’s just something about distressing that’s so … therapeutic.

Oh, the irony.

After that, what’s the harm in a little vintage wallpaper?

It's a slippery slope.

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.

Before, during and after. With paint.

As hard as I tried not to, I ended up with a few projects on my to-do list for the upcoming vintage sale on July 30th, A Vintage Gathering, where I’ll be a NEWBIE vendor.

What can I say? I like to paint things.

And I’d like to point out that I have recently completed 3.5 items on my crafty to-do list from 2009.

I'm ON FIRE.

(Item 9 on the list regarding the de-stash of vintage fabrics may have taken just a tiny step backward this past weekend...)

This current project is also a test for a larger project I have planned for an old bookcase my newlywed parents purchased back in the 1940’s, b.c.*

somewhere deep in the bowels of the Garage Where Cars Can't Park

Yes, it’s currently painted post-it note lavender and no, I don’t want to talk about it. :-)

This rough-around-the-edges-with-stylish-metallic-gold-spray-painted-background-shadow-box came from a local thrift shop.

Primer + paint + mod podge + vintage wallpaper. And a little sanding to bring out the details.

A bit more painting and then it's put back together.

So far, so good.

Add a few vintage doodads and we’re done!

Earlier this year when I took my vintage roadtrip, I purchased a roll of that vintage wallpaper with the idea that I would line the inside of the bookcase with it.  Once the bookcase is no longer lavender, that is.

Good thing I like to paint things.

*before children

Fresh from Farm Chicks

Farm Chicks was absolute vintage madness, I tell you.

So much to see! Every seller (ok, there was one exception*) created such inspirational displays and to me the entire show felt like it had a great balance of vintage, shabby, rusty, chippy, retro, mid century, architectural, repurposed, garden, home, collections, ephemera and industrial (although I wouldn't have minded a little more vintage Christmas).

(I know. It's only June.)

 

I hit the jackpot!

Along with all the great vintage treasures were The Crowds of Vintage-Loving People. I think every other photo I took had someone’s rear end in it.

It was unavoidable. I tried.

Then I just went with it.

my traveling companion, navigator and iphone googler of roadtrip trivia

*the exception ... I don't mind a little digging!

And what did I buy?

Just a few things from Mt. Vintage Linens. 

And a bit of vintage bling from Lisa’s booth.  

Research & development 

In addition to the show, there was breakfast at Chaps with Laurie/Ethel and her mom.  Chaps is decorated like something out of a vintage dream!

Already thinking about next year!



Alex, I’ll take “Things that cost less than a gallon of gas but are bigger than a breadbox” for $3, please.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the vintage industrial look holds out long enough for me to sell these in July at A Vintage Gathering.

 If not, that’s $3 I’ll never see again.

This rolling shelf filled the entire back of my car and part of the passenger seat in front. I had to drive home with my head pressed against the driver’s side window.  

I was told the rolling shelves were used to wheel flats of tomato plants out to the garden.  I assume the chair was used for sitting.

I’m considering conducting a Craigslist experiment just to see if I can sell this and how far someone will travel for it since I live an hour’s drive from Portland, OR, home of the nearest Craigslist city.  

Meanwhile, it resides in the GWCSCP.

I have a big weekend ahead hanging out with other vintage people as I’m making my inaugural trek/roadtrip to the Pacific NW Vintage Promised Land known as Farm Chicks.

Of course, this is strictly a fact finding mission although there may be some random frivolity mixed in. And a little treasure hunting.

I even had some cards made in case I forget my name or email address.

Have a wonderful weekend!