by lynn krestel

so much fun!

last weekend - we had an appointment...i was really dreading it...then magically friday night i spied out an estate sale...right in the neighborhood of the other un-pleasantry!! funny how your perspective can change - well mine anyway!!

 

i am not looking for anything particular..i just enjoy picking quirky little things those 'dealers' aren't snatching up! as i spied my first treasure...it was overlooked by quite a few - but i knew i had to have it! a vintage frog! and metal! clear glass frogs are easier to come by - but metal!! and like a bed spring!! how fun!

then a bit further - i spied its cousin- a glass one - green glass! perfect to add to my tiny collection at home

honestly - in this day of re=using and recycling, frogs are actually quite practical.  they are unique and gorgeous to display - yet useful when arranging an sweet bouquet of flowers... and living in a small space, anything that is collectible and still usable - bonus!!

 

i still want one more - the metal cage-style, in green of course!!

i also rescued a sweet crazy quilt - its just perfect with tears and all!! it will hang with a couple of other quilts on an old ladder my father in law made with old barn wood.

and lastly - love this old pottery piece. the color attracted me - but as soon as i touched it - i knew i had to have it! there is a feel to the glazes used on pottery from the early 1900's. once you touch it - you know!

it is an english piece - crown devon...dated by the makers mark during the 1930's... 

they all make me smile when i note them - a bit of history, nestled in new places...

makes me even happier than a new pair of shoes....well...

: )

a book by the fire

a couple of days spent - by the fire...recouping - with a fun read! i just happened to pick up this charming book - as the tag line spoke to me 'one woman's adventure in vintage clothing'!! my mom, always thrifty and quite a collector of vintage wares had a good eye and way of displaying her collectibles... but it was my sister who really introduced me to the love of vintage store aka thrift store shopping! her mission store days - would change the way we looked at clothes and shopping - forever!!

alligators, old mink & new money by sister alison houtte and melissa houtte  - if you want an easy, enjoyable, well written book... it'll get you through the doldrums of february winter -  and gets me in the mood for tag sales and thrift store treasure hunting!!

i've included a few of my favorite finds - i wear the filigree clip on earrings on my lapel as a brooch!

(hey sis - what would you title your book about adventures in great thrift store adventures!?!)

jelly molds

a little christmas decorating... i love my little white trees - recycled - upcycled - from an old white christmas tree.

but my treasured finds - are peeking out from underneath one of these sweet trees!
glass jelly molds. i discovered them in my favorite thrifty haunt on friday - and couldn't pass them up...maybe if there had been one - but two! perfect!!

merry christmas to me!!

how many??

 

how many bags does a girl need??!! but too - how can a girl pass on a kate spade??!! jayme and i had ten minutes to kill so we dashed into a little second hand shop... i was rummaging through old scarves, she spotted this little spotted beauty! 'hey mom, a kate spade!!'

 

( do you really want to know how much i paid? ) so, now i'm feeling a little greedy..i was given a gorgeous coach bag from my sisters and daughters on my birthday and now a kate spade for summer....

i know, lucky me!!

vintage shadows...

  

i remember these shadow pictures hanging on the wall in my nannie's home way back when i was a small girl. there are actually four of them.... they were given to my mom and hung in our house, moving across the country, but there.

i have always been fascinated by them.. i believe they were simple pictures sold in five and dime stores perhaps back in the 30's(?), relatively cheap to buy, generally sold in pairs.i remember studying them - but not touching... the soft muted colors in the background, convex glass painted with shadows... the backing on each small picture is a simple paper backing with a fragile metal tab to hang.

my nan had 4, now i am lucky enough to have two while the other two hang at my aunt's...

who would have thought that woolworth's style decor would have appreciated so and become quite collectible today. they are hard to find intact and with their mate.... i've seen them selling for between $30 and $80!!

its funny to look around and wonder what will our grandchildren keep and collect - that to us seem valueless - but rich in memories!

oh i love vintage!!

the looking glass..

my tuesday vintage love has crept into wednesday this week! i decided to show you some of the mirrors i have collected over the years...i still have some to unpack, others to hang - a gorgeous one my sister refinished for me for a christmas gift this last year (oh its a beauty!!).... 

as i look at my collections...why do i collect? why am i drawn to collect what i do...? everything has greater impact when there is more. one mirror on the wall can get lost or go unnoticed, you put seven together...people look closer, and even take note of the beauty of each one and its differences.

 

... most were thrift store or yard sale treasures. a few gifts. i think my first vintage mirror was a gift from my mom and sister on my sixteenth birthday....

 

my favorites are ones with beveled edges - i also love the few i rescued from an old church building closet... they have the heaviest wood framing, beveled edges too....

 

so i'll sign off today with this from through the looking glass:

'if you don't know where you are going, any road will take you there.' lewis carroll

a vase

 

2004. june. friday morning. can't remember the exact date. i had about an hour before my girls were out of school. early dismissal. so i drove across town to an estate sale. i had dabbled a bit in ebay selling, but was by no means an expert!! the sale was scheduled for noon start - but you know how dealers and collectors always come early... so i thought i'd wait in my car till i saw a little action.... didn't take long!!

i saw the vase first thing. picked it up. thought it looked interesting. but also kind of ugly. put it down. was a great sale. i got an early edition twister game, large blown glass bottles. assorted small knick knacks. then back to the beginning sat the vase. i picked it up. again. somehow i knew. it was special. the colors were vivid. it was well marked. morrisware. stoke on trent. even numbered.

i asked the homeowner about it. it was her aunts. she didn't want it. i paid full price. $3.00. put it in the trunk with my other buys. finished my errands. picked up the girls. and home. everything in the trunk was unloaded onto the kitchen table, and there sat. waiting to be cleaned, sorted, put away. and there sat the vase. all day. all evening.

late that friday night, i checked ebay. searched for morrisware. just about fell off of my chair when i saw an almost exact copy of my vase (only slightly different colors) for sale. bidding price already at $500. and it still had one day to go. i started jumping, screaming, running in circles. bolted for the table, and gingerly picked up the vase and placed in on the highest shelf in the house. with strict orders to all not to touch the vase!!

of course most little treasures we find at estate sales and auctions are undervalued. going for a quarter. waiting to be showcased in a better venue for a better price. this one was my find of the century!! in my infinite wisdom i listed it on ebay for 10 days - not the usual 5 or 3 but 10. and those may have been the longest ten days of my life!! the bidding war ensued and after a flurry of activity at the end, our beautiful vase was headed to a collector on the other side of the ocean for a profit of almost $1500.

my reputation soared among friends and family. everyone wanted to go hunting with me. they teased that i had to do it again!! i wish i could say i had picked it up knowledgeably and skillfully. but no, it was a blessing. a fortuitous moment when God smiled down on me and i was in the right place at the right time!! our tidy little profit payed for our family to travel home and spend three wonderful weeks in the arms of our family. little did i know it would be the last days i would spend with my mom on this earth!

so as yard sale season once again begins. and i set my alarm for that ungodly early hour. i know what drives me out. to hunt. to scour. and scrounge. it is that vase. making me once again a believer that out there is treasure. and sometimes i get to be the pirate!!

i can't quit....

 

i can't quit on these vintage necklaces!! this one came from florida from an estate sale. it has quite hefty, these crystals are large in comparison to most old necklaces... you can definitely see the age on these beads...the yellow of age - but to me, thats the beauty! (hey, i'm forty(one) - i'm working hard to see the beauty of age!!)

i bought this for the bicone crystals - for my spring dragonflies... but i don't know if i'm going to be able to take this beauty apart! it is so luxurious just as it is...hmmm any thought??! i have a couple of weddings to attend this summer - it would be perfect!! with just a simple scoop neckline...

the only problem with getting my hands on such a find - i only want more!!

stay tuned - i'm sure i'll have more to share in the future!!!

  

the chicky!

i like to share some of my favorite vintage things on tuesday. today its a chicky pin.

   

chubby and sweet - this little chicky just makes me smile!! her round little body is a glass bubble. her little eye is also glass. and i love the bit of sparkle on her tail - see the rhinestones.

i want my jewelry to have classic wear-ability - and some whimsy. don't know if i'm there yet - but its where i want to be!!

  

with purpose

my tuesday vintage love are these sweet egg cups. i snatched them up at a tag sale - i absolutely love the retro design and colors. they have a bit of crazing which also adds to their charm.

when i originally purchased them - probably about 20 altogether - i used them to store some of my vintage buttons and crystals. some held candles. some were gifts.

two years ago, on a march break trip to new york city my sister and brother in law took us to a french bakery/cafe - sadly, i can't remember the name : (   

 the soft boiled eggs, rustic bread, berry jam and marmalade shared at a communal table in the center of a warm yeasty room - a bit of heaven that cold winter morning.

we have re-created that simple breakfast many times since, needless to say, the beads and buttons dumped, and these well loved vessels are once again placed with purpose on a weekend brunch table!!