A Few "New" Old Things

Yes, I know it's been a while, but it is summer after all and I'm trying to pack as much as possible into every single day. Here in New England, the summer season is blissful but insanely short and already I find myself teetering on the brink of an anxiety attack just thinking about the winter ahead. It truly feels like we just put away our parkas.

And I've been busy with a few big things. Mainly trying to set up an Etsy shop to share some of the many lovely treasures I dig up but probably don't need to continue hoarding. Let me confess right off the bat that I had no idea how involved such an undertaking would be! At least to do it legally, that is. So, while I am definitely a lot closer to fulfilling that goal, I am not quite there yet. And truthfully, it may not happen until the kids get settled into the new school year. And that is OKAY.

Anyway, I've thrifted a few times but not with any regularity and I've been lazy about writing full blown blog posts about what I've uncovered. If you are interested in seeing some of my finds from this summer, you can follow me on Facebook--Anne's Pocket Finds. I do try to post pictures there more regularly, so definitely take a peek, but here is just a taste of what I've found in the last couple of months:

A vintage drafting table, in excellent structural condition. I spotted this table after picking my daughter up at camp, it was sitting out on the curb nearby. Unfortunately, I had parked far away due to a road repaving project and was not able to carry the table to my car, although I certainly considered trying for a few minutes (much to my daughter and her friend's utter embarrassment!). Lucky for me, it was still sitting there the next morning, and a nice gentleman helped me load it up. I was so happy, and even happier when I got home and researched my find. These tables go for a lot of money! However, like most of my favorite finds, this is not for sale. I already know just where it will go once I'm finished sprucing it up.

Of course, I'm still collecting vintage cookie cutters whenever I see them!

This Oxford stoneware water pitcher is a nice addition to my small but growing collection of this pattern. I love the lid!

And here is another of my very favorite finds from this summer. A group of Russel Wright American Modern dish ware, in chartreuse. My mother owned a set of Russel Wright Iroquois china in blue, and also the American Modern pitcher in chartreuse. I remember hating it so much when I was a child, I thought it was soooo ugly. But, of course now I love it. My sister has the pitcher now and I am lucky enough to have been given the Iroquois dishes. I use them just as my mother did, on Christmas Eve, Easter, and Thanksgiving.

So there is a small sampling of some of the highlights from my summer hauls. But one of my most favorite acquisitions is not a "find" but rather a lovely and generous gift.

Just the other day, a friend sent me a box full of the most beautiful vintage sewing trims and threads! And not only that, she enclosed a letter with the stories behind the trimmings. In the 1920s and '30s, her great-grandmother ran a little store out of her parlor selling fine linen, fabric, lace, trims, buttons and more. The vintage notions that she shared with me were left from that time.

She also sent along pictures of some of the quilts her great-grandmother had sewn and the stories behind them. And best of all, she sent them to me to actually use with my children! Normally, I hoard treasures this beautiful and pristine, so getting encouragement to use these in projects and not just tuck them away for that mythical rainy day is so wonderful. The only problem will be getting up the courage to make the first cut--even my daughter said, "Mom, it is going to be hard to use these up. They are so pretty!"

But use them up, we will. In fact, we have a couple of projects in mind already. And while snipping and stitching, we will think of "Baba" and her wonderful sewing shop. I think she'd like knowing that a new generation of young girls will enjoy sewing with her beautiful trimmings.

A few good finds...

Here are a few miscellaneous things I've collected over the last few times I've been out in thriftland--sadly, I've not been out much lately so my haul may seem a bit skimpy. Must rectify soon!

Anyway, here is a little treasure that I found in the knick-knack aisle of my favorite thrift. I almost didn't open it. It was taped up and dirty...even after I've cleaned it up, as shown below, it doesn't look too exciting.

But inside, ah! I am a sucker for vintage sewing implements and this is so sweet. The cap of the needle box is a silver thimble.

Another one of my favorite scores is this vintage Fisher Price toaster oven toy. This one still has its label on the front and is in pristine condition, with a working light and all! Love this find.

This enamel tray is the most beautiful shade of pale pink.

And I can never resist bulk bags of craft supplies! I have no idea what I will do with these disks (mushroom tops? doll sized whoopie pies?) but I do know that whatever I come up with, I will be happy to have a big bowl full of them!

I do have a possibly brilliant idea for what to do with these spools below--but you will have to wait for the big reveal!

I must admit I didn't even know what I was buying when I scooped up these vintage paper party baskets in a grab bag of goodies. But I love them! They remind me so much of one of my favorite children's books:  A Birthday for Frances.

 And finally, one last treasure to share: vintage gift wrap!! And not just some, but loads of it!! Be still my heart.

 Linking up to Sir Thrift a Lot.

American Girl Playset: The Thrift Version

My girls are absolutely bananas about American Girl dolls and all the endless accessories and clothing you can buy to outfit your doll and her world. I shudder to think how much money we have spent at this store over the last three years! But it is wholesome and imaginative play and I would much rather have my kids playing with dolls than many other things that they could be interested in. However, all the little purchases of an outfit here and a playset there add up and it is time to draw the line: no more American Girl purchases except for very special occasions, like birthdays and Christmas.

I expected disappointment from my girls, but I underestimated them. Instead of pouting about not getting more stuff, they decided to use their creativity and resourcefulness and make some stuff of their own. They borrowed my laptop, logged onto my Pinterest account and began to peruse the many wonderful DIY American Girl ideas and tutorials that exist in blogland.

And here is where the thrift comes in. If you've been reading along for any length of time, you know that I always comb the arts and crafts sections of thrift shops for supplies. My cabinet contains beautiful ribbons, trims, laces, vintage pipe cleaners, wood pieces, paints, fabrics, threads, and so much more. Additionally, I save little things that I think might be useful for making things, like bottle caps and lids of various sizes, and weird plastic and foam pieces that come in packaging. I know it sounds like I might be a hoarder, but I promise you I am talking about a baggie full of these things, not boxes and boxes full! My daughters had a ball pulling out some of my things and brainstorming what they could use them for--my older daughter exclaimed that her head was exploding with ideas!

Here is the couch (inspired by this tutorial found on the AG Doll Play blog) that my older daughter made with fabric from my stash, an empty clementine crate, and trim that I thrifted.

I just promised I wasn't a hoarder but I freely confess that in the past, I've had a hard time actually using some of my vintage notions. It is only recently that I have learned to let go and enjoy using all the little beauties that I've so carefully collected over the years.

And here are a pair of doll slippers she made, also inspired by something she saw online (possibly this).

Any Janie and Jack fans out there? If so, I'm sure you'll recognize the little ribbons that used to come on every tag--well, of course I couldn't throw those away!

And I've saved the best for last. We all fell head over heels in love with the art studio also pictured on the AG Doll Play blog, which is packed full of the most creative ideas for making things for the dolls.

We copied the same structure (scored foam core covered with scrapbooking paper, in this case leftover AG paper from another project) for the walls, as well as the "Art Studio" banner and string of artwork.  My daughter enjoyed making the art. If you look closely, you will see that the middle painting was awarded a blue ribbon! (This is another idea borrowed from the original model, although that version utilized the "Best in Show" blue ribbon from the AG dog show set, and we couldn't find ours. We made do by gluing together several thrifted vintage blue foil Christmas stars and some ribbon--I think it is almost as nice!)

The art stand was also thrifted; it was originally a recipe stand and I paid around 10 cents for it. The trash can (don't you love the trash piling up inside the receptacle? My daughter thought we needed to be very realistic!) is a pencil holder from the dollar store. The trim on the walls, as well as the cording on both garlands were both thrifted vintage sewing notions. The poster on the wall behind the stand is actually a ticket stub from a small doll museum in Paris that I kept as a souvenir of my visit. The little ceramic cat was painted years ago by my daughter at a party.

On top of the pretty blue art cabinet (a box leftover from a Melissa & Doug craft) is the Best in Show trophy from the AG Dog Show set, a repurposed cap holding paintbrushes, and a few jars holding art supplies. The tall glass container in the back is holding a homemade colored pencil made from a toothpick--more are in the process of being made.

 

On the cabinet shelves are a stack of vintage Paris images that will be used by the dolls for inspiration--these came from a wall calendar my sister gave me a few years ago. The bowl of thrifted wooden apples came from our doll house, as did the little vintage house, also thrifted.

The drawing table is made from two thrifted candleholders (for table legs), scrapbook paper and more thrifted trim. I believe the flowers are also from the Dog Show set, and my daughter made the pencil and still life.

All in all, this playset cost about $2 to make. All I purchased for this was the foam core backdrop and the trash can. Everything else came out of our craft cabinet or our doll play collection. And we had such a fun time making it! Thank you to the super-creative folks behind the AG Doll Play blog for these wonderful ideas. We are now working on our second playset--one we thought of all by ourselves!!--photos to come soon.

Vintage Sewing Notions

When I am treasure hunting, there are certain things I always look for. Vintage china and glassware, of course. Children's books and toys. Christmas decorations. And Fisher-Price Little People and accessories. But I also always take a moment to comb through the craft supply section in hopes that some vintage treasures are lurking in the bins of dollar store acrylic yarns and half-used bottles of glitter glue.

Over the weekend, I found some lovely sewing and crafting notions and I can't wait to show them off. These beautiful vintage ribbons were hiding in a bag of gaudy modern Christmas ribbons. The ribbons themselves are simply lovely but the old spools add so much character. I might keep these on permanent display rather than use them up.

I also found several small bags of vintage trims, including some cool textured rayon rick-rack . I especially love the blue and white floral trim.

Then, at another store, I came across this cute vintage embroidery kit for my daughter to practice stitching on, new bamboo knitting needles, and some vintage buttons.

These precious little ribbon bows and tiny vintage millinery flowers made me smile. My girls and I will use these in our crafting work, possibly on some things we are creating for our dollhouse.

I can always use a little help refining my seamstress skill set, so I picked up this vintage sewing guide.

Since I need something to house all my little finds, this tabletop cabinet came home with me. A very sincere thank you to my friend who sawed the decorative heart trim off the top of this cabinet to simplify it and make it more my style. I'm pretty much in love with the little ceramic knobs.

I've enjoyed having the opportunity to go through my collection of vintage trims and laces as I fill this little cabinet up. It will be helpful to have vintage inspiration right at my fingertips the next time I'm working on a project. So much nicer than my old plastic Rubbermaid containers! I had so much fun checking out everyone else's weekend thrift finds last week after linking up to Sir Thrift a Lot, so I'm doing it again. Good luck out in thriftland this week, all!