Kitchen wall art

A while back I found some Dick Bruna books. They were well loved and were held together by tape in many places, but I knew the pictures inside had to be framed. I spent a long time looking for some square frames, but my patience paid off when I recently found some silver frames on clearance at Target.

 

I went back and forth on what I wanted to use as a background, but in the end I used some of my favorite vintage shelf liner.  

I like how they turned out. It adds a bit of whimsy to my kitchen.

 

Another fun side note: I had these books for many months, but it wasn't until I started this project that I noticed the signature in the back of two of the books. They belonged to my kindergarten teacher! Is it possible I could have read these books all those years ago and they found their way back to me? I like to think so.

 



$20 in my pocket



Last week I unexpectedly found some time to do a little thrift store shopping. It didn't begin well as the first thrift store was rearranging which made it difficult to shop at so I left. The second thrift store didn't even appear to be open as there were no cars parked outside. It looked like a sign was posted in each window, but I didn't stop to see what it said. Instead, I went to the other side of town to one of my favorite thrift stores. I think the thrifting gods were with me that day, because my bad luck quickly turned to good. I found some great deals and I spent less than $20.

 

 



I have always wanted an old medicine cabinet, but have never found one that I really liked in my price range. I finally found this metal one. The glass on the outside is perfect and there is a cool label from Montgomery Ward in the inside. I haven't decided what I want to do with this yet. I may keep it until we redo the bathroom or I may use it my crafting area.

I've been chucking all our little kids plastic cups and getting nice glasses instead. I've been finding some nice vintage glasses that stand the test of time instead the ones sold in stores that break so easily. I found this juice glass which my daughter quickly claimed as her glass. 

Numbers and letters for some future project. 

 

 

Not sure what I'm going to do with this old receipt book either, but I'll find a project for it someday.

 And my find of the day. To think I almost didn't buy it. I tend to be very cheap while thrift store shopping and I have a pet peeve about stores jacking up prices on things they feel are collectible or antique. It is Pyrex, but I thought it was a little weird looking with the one dot on each side. I mulled it over while I walked down an aisle and then ran back for it. What was I thinking? It's Pyrex. It's red and white. Just buy the thing already! I figured if I saw it in an antique store it would be much more than I paid for it at the thrift store.

 

I'm so happy I did buy it. After I got home I did some research and found out it's a pretty sought after piece. I found conflicting info, but I do know it is the Moon Deco pattern. Mine does not have the lid, but frankly the lid is really ugly. Still, I'll keep a look out for one to complete my set. My dish is in great shape and it looks great in my kitchen. I would have been kicking myself later had I not bought it.



My finds in new homes

When I'm looking for things for my Etsy shop, really I just buy what I like. That was part of the reason for opening the shop. I have way too much stuff and some of it needs to go. Now it's fun to see something and not have to debate buying it because I'm not sure I have a place or need for it. Now I buy it because there's always room on Etsy!

 



These flashcards were my first sale. I would have loved to keep them, but really I didn't need them.

I don't really care for jewelry, but I just thought this necklace was a cool and funky piece. When I got home and inspected it further I discovered it was an Avon necklace. It ended up going to Moscow.  

I had another set of these pillowcases, but in blue. They were still in their original packages from Montgomery Ward. The person who bought both said it was exactly what she was looking for. She snatched them up within a couple of hours of posting them. 

I debated long and hard about selling these flashcards. But really, what am I going to do with a couple hundred flashcards? In the end I decided on a price I could let them go at. If they didn't sell, then I figured they were meant to be mine. I guess they were meant for someone else because they are on their way to Texas. 

 

I found this Nun's Boilproof Thread at a thrift store. I can't help but buy things with great graphics and fonts. The person who bought the thread had recently bought a Nun's Boilproof cabinet with drawers for thread. I bet that's a neat looking cabinet.



Back to Etsy

Back in 2008, I was working part-time and looking for a way to make a little extra cash and also feed my creative side. I stumbled upon Etsy and set up shop. Back then I had to explain to people what Etsy was and no, I didn't mean Ebay. It's Etsy. I loved selling my homemade items, but when I went back to work full time, I closed my shop. I had always hoped to get back to Etsy. I also wanted to have another shop filled with vintage items. A few months ago I did both. I re-opened my shop, gave it a new name and started selling vintage. Maybe someday I'll get back to selling handmade items again, but for now selling vintage items is a lot easier. And I'm loving it. I also love that I have an excuse to thrift store shop more often and buy things I wouldn't normally buy because I don't have a place for the item. Check out my Etsy shop at: http://www.etsy.com/shop/junkism.

I was going to share some of my favorite things I have sold so far, but I'm having some trouble uploading photos tonight. Hopefully, I can get that fixed and share them soon. I was going to post the neat flashcards that were my first sale, the funky necklace that went to Moscow and a recent item that sold within hours of posting it.

It's been fun having an Etsy shop again, but selling vintage is a bit different from selling handmade items. Now I'm looking forward to summer so I can get out to some rummage sales and find some more things for my shop.

Recent finds

I've been taking pictures of some of my finds lately, but I'm just getting around to posting them. I'll tell you, I am happy October is over with. It's bad when you think the holiday season is going to be slow compared to the last month.

 

I mentioned in an earlier post that the Habitat for Humanity ReStore is a must stop in Moorhead. I found this lovely lock there. I haven't found a place for it yet, but I will. 

I really don't know what I'm going to do with all this gift wrap ribbon, but I love it. It's one of those things that I had to have even though I don't know why. The day I do need it though, I'll be happy I have it.  

I also found these roller skate wheels at the ReStore. They'll go among all our sports stuff. 

I know I don't need any more wrapping paper, but I couldn't help it. Look how lovely that paper is! I just love the poodle one. 

This was a happy find while I popped into a thrift store recently to waste some time. I don't mind that the label is torn. Gives it some character.

The box is loaded with flashcards. The cards are bent up as I'm sure they got a lot of use. There are some really fun ones. I had to take out the one that said "wart" and put it among my Halloween witch stuff. 

I found this golf scorecard holder this weekend while getting a little me time before the whole deer hunting season kicks in. This is another find to go with all our sports stuff. It's also perfect for holding a picture.

A Mad Hatter Tea Party

For my daughter's 5th birthday party, we had a Mad Hatter party. She had a tea party the birthday before, but around her birthday I discovered Everything Alice. I knew we had to do an Alice in Wonderland themed party the next year. Really, I think I just wanted an excuse to visit more thrift stores for "party supplies".

I had a lot of things left from the year before, but I added a lot more to fit this theme. I found some great heart shaped plates at Target on clearance after Valentines Day.

 





 

 Another great thing about a tea party is you can put out lots of sweets like cupcakes and brownies. We also had tea sandwiches and deli roll ups.

 

For this cake stand I decoupaged some scrapbook paper underneath. I also added some flags in some of the treats with Alice in Wonderland quotes on them.

Another great clearance find was these monogrammed plates and napkins I found at Hobby Lobby.

  

I was pleasantly surprised to find these "Poker Chip" chips at Dollar Tree. It might be hard to tell in the picture, but these chips are in the shape of hearts, spade, diamonds and clubs.

 

Of course, the white rabbit had to be represented by a clock.

 

It was fun collecting all the mismatched cups and saucers.

The flower napkin rings are new, but of course I did not pay full price for them. They were found at a thrift store too. The napkins were actually hankies.

The kids dressed up formally for the tea party. Since it was a Mad Hatter tea party they dressed funny. Here my son has two ties and two jackets on. My other son had three ties on his back.

Pheasant Opener

Any other hunting widows out there? Yup, it's the opener for pheasants this weekend, which means I'm left alone with the kids.

 

This photo is from a group of slides I bought on a whim at an antique store in Rapid City, SD last fall. I had some of the slides converted to a CD. I'm not sure what I'll do with them yet, but there are some fun images. My husband really likes the guns in this picture, but I can't repeat anything he just told me. He might as well been speaking Spanish.