Party Finds

I dashed out for a quick thrift run today and accidentally spent three hours in one store. Oops. I wish I could say that hardly ever happens. But the truth is, I get especially hung up on the books and today there were lots of wonderful children's books and it takes time to comb through the racks. I found some real gems, which I will share with you in a later post.

What I will share now are the fantastic props and supplies I found that I will use for some upcoming family birthday parties. I found this General Store sign, which I couldn't resist even though I already have a homemade version. This one I will probably age a little bit to make it look older, but it is much cooler than mine. It will be used in my younger daughter's pioneer party someday.

When I was purchasing this piece, the young cashier asked me if I was buying it because I owned a general store. No, I said, half wondering if he were for real. He looked up at me equally puzzled until I offered up that it was for a party. "Oh," he nodded, "a speak-easy party, like in The Great Gatsby." Uh, no, I laughed, telling him it was for a Laura Ingalls inspired pioneer birthday party. He wisely ceased the small talk after that. In retrospect, I guess I should be flattered that he thought I'm so cool as to be having a speak-easy party!

Anyway, our second pioneer party is at least a year off, and for now I am working diligently on plans for my daughter's woodland fairy party, which will be held next month. I found this autumnal floral ball to hang from a tree branch.

I also found two green apple plates, which I will use with a little cup to serve sliced apples and caramel dip at the party. Maybe one plate will hold red apples and the other green?

One of the activities I have planned for the fairy party is having the kids make fairy gardens that they can take home. I have begun collecting little natural objects like seed pods, twigs, and acorns so they will have a large supply of materials to choose from when constructing their gardens. It is amazing what kinds of structures can be made from such simple materials and a little string and glue. I love seeing what a child's imagination can come up with and for the most part, I discourage adult interference. But I lost my breath when I saw this beautiful tower that will be perfect in our more permanent fairy garden. It is made from wood so technically it is all natural and won't offend the fairies. And it will provide much needed sturdiness--so much of what we create in our fairy gardens just can't fight off the elements but this little structure should be able to withstand a New England winter.

And then there is this pirate flag. I am sure that in the next couple of years, we will be having another Pirate Party, probably for my little boy. This flag definitely out-classes the plastic Oriental Trading number that I had flying from our playhouse for our first pirate party. And only 99 cents!

Last week, I organized my party supply closet so I am off now to slip these things into their proper storage spots. Love that I am finally getting my party supplies organized--it's a wonderful feeling! Linking my finds up to Sir Thrift a Lot, who is celebrating his one year anniversary this month!

Thrifty Little House on the Prairie Party

Earlier this week, I gave you a glimpse of my daughter's recent Little House on the Prairie party. I had a ball putting the party together, challenging myself to make like a pioneer and scavenge, re-purpose and borrow as much as I could. The end result, I hope, was a party that celebrated creativity and resourcefulness--two traits that Laura Ingalls and her family embraced out of necessity, and traits that I try to encourage in my own children. It also didn't hurt that the vintage and borrowed goods loaned a very authentic feel to the party. Following is a resource list, organized by activity, that demonstrates how thrifted items can be used to create magical special events:

PIONEER DRESS UP

vintage prairie-style clothing and accessories, including sunbonnets, aprons, skirts, and blouses (all thrifted except for the bonnets my daughters wore, which were originally purchased on etsy for Halloween costumes and a couple of the aprons, which belonged to my grandmother)

WASHING DAY

wash tub and doll clothes (thrifted), wash board (consignment store), drying rack (already owned), miniature wooden clothes pins (already owned)

SEWING LESSON

large-eye needles (borrowed from younger daughter's preschool), pre-printed cotton napkins (thrifted gift from friend), embroidery floss (already had but easily thrifted), vintage embroidery hoops (thrifted and already had)

CANDLESTICK PAINTING

wooden candlesticks (thrifted--I think I got a giant bag of these for 50 cents!), acrylic paints (already had), paintbrushes (already had), mason jar for water (thrifted), vintage muffin pans to hold paint (thrifted), vintage bark bowl to hold candlesticks (thrifted), vintage pottery bowl for paint water (thrifted)

PEG DOLLS

assortment of wooden doll bodies (already had, originally purchased from Casey's Wood Products), assortment of trims, laces, fabrics, and ribbons (already had and thrifted), small bottles of Aleene's craft glue (the best glue for fabric crafts, in my opinion), vintage pipe cleaners (thrifted), acorn caps (collected in the woods last fall), crate to hold scraps (saved from box of clementines), pedestal stand to hold scraps (thrifted), vintage gelatin molds to hold peg dolls (thrifted and inherited from my grandmother), calico table covering (thrifted)

MEMORY GAME

small rag doll (already had but originally thrifted), vintage ring (received as a gift from friend), tea cup and saucer (thrifted), glass bottle with cork (thrifted), metal jacks (thrifted), small silver trophy cup (re-purposed Christmas ornament from my collection), image of a young Laura Ingalls (found online), large Indian head penny (already had, was mine as a child), vintage silver tray (thrifted), twig pencils (purchased at HomeGoods), handmade paper (thrifted)

DINNER TIME

small metal pails (purchased from dollar bin at Target--I had originally wanted to use tin pails that I thrifted, but ended up needing more than I had so decided to purchase new for this party and save the thrifted ones for my younger daughter's version of this party), food (thrifted--just kidding! all fresh food, each pail held an apple, bag of pretzels and a turkey sandwich), gingham pail liners (Target dollar bin), picnic cloths (canvas drop cloths, already had)

BIRTHDAY CAKE

vintage candles (thrifted, they were the hard to find skinny candles that fit the vintage candle holders I love), vintage floral candle holders (thrifted), vintage plates (thrifted), silver cake knife and dessert server (thrifted), cake stand (from my collection), vintage cake decorating press (thrifted brand new in box)

GENERAL STORE

wooden nickels (already had wooden disks, used paint we already had and then glued on pictures of my daughter taken at Old Sturbridge Village, hand painted "5 cents" on each one and then coated with Mod Podge), General Store sign (re-painted and re-purposed sign that was originally used at daughter's Mermaid party), props, including vintage mail cubby, vintage tin kitchen canisters, baskets, wooden boxes and crates, tin milk jug, and tin wall decorations (thrifted and borrowed from around the house), vintage picture frames (thrifted), small wicker baskets (thrifted), wooden rulers (purchased from Casey's Wood Products), wooden slates (also from Casey's), slate pencils (thrifted chalk), glass apothecary jar candy holder (borrowed from my house), tin coffee pot to hold candy sticks (borrowed from play house, originally thrifted), candy bags (already had in kitchen stash), metal scoops (thrifted), candy (purchased new, of course!), raffia (thrifted), and sewing kits (new Ball canning jars, thrifted aida cloth, new quilt pins, thrifted vintage safety pins, wooden thimbles purchased at Casey's, needles from my own stash, homemade directions and pattern for stitching top of jar, vintage buttons from my own mostly thrifted collection, and thrifted Pottery Barn labels)

Pulling together a party from vintage goods is so much fun I can hardly stand it! And lest you worry that I bought a bunch of stuff just for one afternoon, I can reassure you that most of these things will be used again for future parties, find a home (or return to their home) in the dress up bin, or be re-purposed into something completely new. This party also created very little trash (just the food wrappings really) and was super easy to set up and clean up. And most importantly of all, my little girl was beaming with joy. Next up, a vintage baseball party to celebrate my son's big day--stay tuned! In the meantime, I'm linking this up to the party at Elizabeth & Co.

Little House on the Prairie Birthday

One of my greatest joys as a mother is planning my children's annual birthday celebrations. The birthday child and I decide on a theme several months in advance, and then the brainstorming and collecting begins. For my daughter's 8th birthday, she and I settled upon a Little House on the Prairie theme. I will freely confess that I planted this idea in her head a couple of years ago, when she rejected it, but over time she came to think that it was a great idea and I was delighted when she chose it as her theme this year.
 
Most of the guests embraced the pioneer theme and arrived in old-fashioned clothing, with aprons and bonnets and smocking. So cute and creative! After a quick group photo (very proud--this was the first year I actually remembered to take one!), I divided the 15 girls into two groups, simply to make things more manageable. Half of the girls began at the "Washing Day" activity.

When is the last time you thought doing the laundry was fun? Let me tell you, these girls had a blast using an old wash tub and washboard and scrubbing vintage doll clothes before hanging them up to line dry using old wooden clothes pins. I've never seen clothes get so clean, and with such joy! The parents all joked that I missed the boat--I should have put out my real laundry for the girls to wash!

The other group learned to do counted cross-stitch, using vintage embroidery hoops and some pre-printed linens that had the cross-stitch pattern marked on it. This activity took a little time to get the hang of, and some of the girls expressed frustration that it was too difficult, but their frustration soon turned to triumph as they mastered the stitches.

You could see their little X'es becoming more even as they went along, giggling over their dropped needles (I recommend not doing this activity in the grass--talk about finding needles in a haystack!) and knotted threads.

After switching places so everyone could try both activities, it was time to move on. One group worked on painting small wooden candlesticks while the other group made peg dolls out of calico scraps, lace, ribbon and acorn caps for hats. The finished products were adorable, with little ladies wearing lace bonnets and aprons, babies dressed in gowns, and men in hats and ties.

After the girls had completed both of these crafts, we moved onto our picnic cloths to play a quick game of Memory before eating. A silver tray held eight vintage items and the girls had a couple of minutes to study the tray as I explained what each item was. Then the tray was covered with a calico cloth to hide all the objects.

Each girl then received a piece of handmade paper and a twig pencil, and was instructed to write down all the items they remembered being on the tray. This activity really stumped the girls but they seemed to relish the challenge.

By now, the girls had worked up quite an appetite, so the next activity was dinner time! Each child had a light meal tucked into a small tin pail. The girls happily ate their dinners on the picnic cloths before assembling on the patio for singing Happy Birthday to the birthday girl and eating homemade cake. One girl totally made my whole afternoon by taking an enormous bite and then loudly exclaiming, "Whoever made this cake is AWESOME!"

After cake, the girls each had an opportunity to shop for party favors at the General Store. I had arranged an array of old-fashioned goods among some vintage props, and the girls were each given an allowance of three wooden nickels to spend in the store. These nickels were extra special, for instead of a buffalo head, they featured an image of my daughter's face, framed by her pioneer bonnet.

My daughter played the role of shop keeper, and guided her guests through the store, helping them to select their goods. Each child received the following favors to take home:

a small slate and slate pencil (I taught my daughter to use that language instead of simply saying chalk! Details matter to me, what can I say?),

a personalized sewing kit that I had made out of a Ball canning jar, containing interesting vintage buttons, a needle and a wooden spool of thread, colorful quilt pins, a couple of vintage safety pins, wooden thimble, and directions for stitching their initial on the pincushion top of the jar,

and a small bag of candy sticks. I was touched by the number of children who politely asked if they could have an extra for their sibling at home. At least that's what they told me!

Each child was also able to choose one other item, either a small wicker basket, a vintage picture frame, or a wooden ruler.

I loved every moment of this party; it was so much fun for me and the kids. A lot of planning went into it but it was worth it because it ran smoothly and effortlessly. Of course, I could never have pulled it off without help and there are many who contributed to its success. My daughter helped with brainstorming and practical chores like painting and gluing the wooden nickels, and friends pitched in to help supervise activities and took some beautiful pictures of the party. My husband kept the adults in attendance fed and watered, and also helped set up for the event. Even with the help, though, I practically collapsed into bed after it was over and woke up the next morning with a splitting headache! Still, I'd do it all again in a heartbeat. And in fact, I probably will do it again, when my younger daughter is just a little older. I do enjoy a good recycled party!

And speaking of recycling, tomorrow I will post more about how I used nearly all thrifted and repurposed goods to craft this magical party for some very sweet little girls. Hopefully, I can inspire you to do the same!

Spring Rummage Sale Finds

Man, oh man, am I ever glad spring is here! Not only did my mood improve overnight once the first bulbs poked through the ground (I swear I have Seasonal Affective Disorder), but it is finally rummage sale season again. Actually, now that I think about it, maybe it is the lack of rummage sales that cause me to suffer from the blues and not the dreary New England weather...

This morning, although the urge to sleep in was strong, I forced myself out of bed and started out in the direction of a church rummage sale in a nearby town. I arrived a couple of minutes before the sale was scheduled to begin, and as is usually the case, I was greeted by a line of people waiting to enter. The sale was well organized, and had clearly been curated so there was no junk to paw through, only nicer things. Of course, the prices reflected that! There was a large section of furniture, and I saw right away that I had not brought nearly enough cash. I had to bypass that room entirely, which is a shame, because I saw a perfect little coffee table that would have completed my sitting room design. Lesson learned! Always take a check, just in case.

In the main room, though, I made up for it. First off, I found this well constructed book holder. I plan to turn it into a cookbook/iPad holder; the drawer will be handy for holding the miscellaneous recipe cards that are always floating around my kitchen.

The cookbook holder idea was inspired by this post over at Elizabeth & Co. that highlighted this breadboard tablet holder. I originally was hoping to find an old breadboard today, and I actually did find a brand new one, but it was too small and not quite the right shape. So when I spotted the book holder for a good price, I decided that although it wouldn't be the same look as the tablet holder, it would actually work better for my kitchen and my cooking habits (I use my iPad and cookbooks equally). I can't wait to dress it up with a couple of coats of paint and put it to work in my kitchen.

Then, I found this beautiful set of red vintage enameled trays. There are four, and the finish is chipping in a couple of corners on one, but otherwise they are lovely. I doubt I will use all four anyway, so I may re-donate the chipped one and keep the others.

I carefully scanned the housewares tables for any of my china or glass patterns, and found this Oxford stoneware pitcher.

The teapot in this photo belonged to my mother. I see this pattern fairly often at antique markets but have never bought another piece because the prices are usually too high to justify. This pitcher was marked only $3 so I snapped it up. It is in perfect condition and cleaned up beautifully.

I also found these two English transferware cups, which I picked up for my friend who collects Johnson Brothers. Although they were unmarked, I thought at first they might be Johnson Brothers. Sadly, a quick google search later, I don't think they actually are, but my friend still likes them, so into a care package they shall go.

There were some great finds in the sale's art section, but again, the prices for most of the items exceeded what I had brought along in cash so I was unable to battle it out for any of the goodies. I did find this frame, which admittedly is not vintage, but will look gorgeous with a family picture we had taken at a Gothic-inspired church a couple of years ago.

And then I found a number of items that I will be using at my daughter's upcoming Pioneer Party. Little baskets, leather pouches, and old-fashioned scoops will be put to use as props or given out as favors. I don't want to give away too many details before the party, but one of my favorite planned features is going to be a country general store, where guests can select and purchase (not for real money, of course!) their own party favors! I have had way too much fun collecting both the props to set the scene and the little trinkets for the children to buy.

And to wrap things up, I found several treasures in the toy section, too. This paper boat-making kit makes tiny boats that really float and was unopened.

And this set of vintage dominoes was only a dollar, so I figured it couldn't be complete, but when I got home and opened it up, every piece was accounted for. And they are very cool! My children can't wait to play with them.

Finally, I picked up a small shoebox filled with vintage around-the-world dolls. Some are ornaments, some are figurines, and some are just the right size for my kids to play with in their dollhouse.

All in all, a great sale on a beautiful spring day! In and out in under two hours, with plenty of time left to enjoy the rest of this gorgeous weekend with family and friends.

Hard Habit to Break

Yes, I know I said I probably wouldn't venture out into thriftland again until after Christmas, but you didn't really believe that, did you? I wasn't even planning to hit the aisles today but after our cookie decorating party at the preschool wrapped up early, I figured why not? It was either that or run far less interesting errands, so it was an easy choice. As usual, I was glad to have made the trip.

I really couldn't believe that there were still Christmas decorations to be found, but indeed there were. I spied these vintage glass ornaments in a bag of miscellaneous Christmas decor and of course, I had to snatch them up. They are a little "well-loved," but I love the striped ones and the pinecone ornaments are something that I had yet to come by.

 
I also found a set of four tin pails that will work perfectly for my daughter's upcoming Pioneer birthday party. I've been picking up these small pails whenever I see them, because I plan to serve the party guests their lunches in them, all wrapped up in a bandana. Once the lunch is finished, they can place their other miscellaneous party favors inside and take the pail home as a souvenir. I hope its cute--as you can see, I'm far too excited about this party and all its details than I should ever admit.

Have you ever bought something in a thrift just because you couldn't bear to leave it behind? I have no need for these vintage Strawberry Shortcake sneakers, no need whatsoever! I wasn't even into Strawberry Shortcake as a child, her popularity peaked after I was just a little too old to care. So I can't even blame nostalgia. But these sneakers are precious, in excellent condition, and just had to come home with me. Maybe I will try to resell them sometime. In the meantime, I justified it by saying that they were very inexpensive and they are very, very small and won't take up much room in my closet. Just don't tell my husband! You must agree, though, they are pretty cute, right?

I also found a bag of taper candles in blues and pinks, which are absolutely perfect for this little Advent project that I wanted to do this year but didn't because I didn't have the candles. So I will put that on my Christmas to-do list for next year, and if it turns out, will share it with you then. In addition, to appease the troops and buy myself some more time to browse, I brought home a huge tub of toys. The large pirate ship nestled in the tub is what originally caught my eye, but I also spied some Playmobil toys in it. When we brought it home and opened it up, there was the pirate ship of course, but also almost the complete Playmobil Flora shop and greenhouse and parts of the Victorian house and fence. (Not to mention several Transformers and some Lego.) My kids have been occupied all afternoon, its wonderful! After initially resisting buying any Playmobil for my crew because the thought of all those tiny little parts getting loose in the house gave me great pause, I am so glad I relented. My kids love it and so do I. It is great for imaginative play and for the most part, the pieces are kept together and cared for. Not a bad buy for $10.

All in all, a productive and fun morning excursion. Now, off to hide the baby sneakers before my husband comes home from work...