Guess what I got?

Pegboard!

Our two boys have now officially moved downstairs and as part of the remodel I get a crafting space. We still have some things to do in the boys' rooms and then we can move them in completely. As soon as they are moved in, then I can focus on my crafting space. I'm so excited. Once the pegboard went up I couldn't help but stick a few things on it. I can't wait to organize all my stuff and get to a lot of overdue projects.

I found the little pails at Target in the dollar section after seeing this idea to hang them on pegboard. They even had aqua color pails which is the color of my walls. Perfect! The white stripe on the pail is even a dry erase surface. Target is the best.

Hopefully I'll have some more photos soon. I'll also have some photos once the boys are moved in. They'll have some fun junky decor in their rooms to show off.

What would you do?

I'm posing a question to my audience. What would you do in this situation?

You're in a thrift store looking at some books on a bookcase. Next to you is another bookcase and a woman is sitting on the floor looking at the books on the bottom of that bookcase. You flip through a book laying on top of a pile of other books on your bookcase and decide to purchase it so you put it in your basket. You continue to look at the books. The woman stands up and begins looking around and then says, "Did you pick up that book?"
"Yes I did," you reply.
"I was going to buy that book," she says. Awkward pause. "I put it there while I was looking at the other books."

So.....Do you hand the book over to her or do you keep it?

 

 

I was nice and gave it to her and snidely remarked that I didn't know she was going to buy it and acted generally annoyed by her. Really, I wanted to tell her too bad, it's mine now. I got the feeling she didn't really want it until I picked it up. There's been times I've set something down, only to realize later that I really did want the item, but when I returned it was gone. You snooze you lose. Right? I think that's a basic junking/thrifting rule.

What do you think?

Where in the world

My younger son loves to go to antique stores with me. He has a few favorite things that he is always on the lookout for. One of those things is globes. Globes aren't hard to find, but the older ones are usually more than I'm willing to pay. I tell my son to be patient which is not easy for him. I know it's hard, especially when it's something you really want. However, it never fails. If you wait you will be rewarded. Usually when you're not even looking.

 

That's how we came across this gem of a globe. We found it at the annual St. Mary's carnival for a whole $5. It looks like a globe that could have been used in a classroom. The photo is not the best, but it is a really nice looking globe.

 

It's a fun globe to look at because there are many countries that have different names than they do now. I'm sure some of the borders are different as well. There are some countries in Africa that existed until 1960 so this globe had to be made in the early 60's. My son and I will have to look at it some more and see what else we can find out about the countries on this globe. It would be a good history lesson for the both of us. 

You're not selling that!

I jumped for joy when I found this Super Mario Bros thermos at a thrift store recently. This will be a quick sell on Etsy I thought to myself. My family, however, had different plans. They quickly commandeered the thermos and forbid me from selling it. I have to agree it is really cool and I don't come across many vintage Mario things. For now it belongs to my son and will go in his new room.

 

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.