Vintage Junk in My Trunk

Upholster and Conquer

Lately I've been thinking I need a different chair at my computer work station. Something vintage and curvy and velvety. The one I am currently using is an unpadded dining room table chair. And although I have plenty of padding for the both of us, it does get uncomfortable with all the hours I put in researching, blogging, listing, and marketing the vintage.

So I just happened to give Craig's List a quick look the other day -- can you believe I've never purchased anything off Craig's List before? -- and found this beauty for sale in the next town over.

Vintage? Check.

Curvy? Check.

Velvety? Not so much.

Ok, so it looks like a mouse or an anxious cat or some other creature had its way with the cushion.

But it was two dollars! And for two dollars, maybe I can give it a makeover.

Now I've never reupholstered anything before. So this will be interesting.

I don't think it will be that difficult, and it doesn't have to be perfect. All you need is some foam, a lovely piece of fabric, and plenty of staples in your staple gun, right?

I'm betting there are plenty of youtube videos around to instruct me. Of course, if you have any tips, please feel free to advise.

Now about that truck I need for transporting purchases…

The Little Girl’s Room

I must have gotten yesterday confused with Labor Day, as I spent eight hours cleaning, decluttering, and rearranging Little Miss VJIMT's bedroom instead of enjoying a leisurely picnic somewhere. 

Most everything in this room was either discovered at a flea market or a yard sale, trashpicked, recycled, or handmade.

(I just realized the cat rug, which was a catalogue purchase over fifteen years ago, looks exactly like our less-than-a-year old feline, Stella.)

Like this $3 pink bookcase I scored just a couple of weeks ago. It replaces a bigger blue cupboard from another part of the room, that, although larger, was not working out as storage for all the treasures an almost 8-year old girl can accumulate.

Especially when her mother drags her to yard sales! Here it is holding her many art projects.

I moved the bed away from the wall a couple of feet to create this little reading nook. Luckily, she loves it! Whew.

Got this new-in-package ribbon memo board for $2 (yard sale). I am relieved she was agreeable to removing all the papers she had been taping to her wall to put here instead. Although the wall behind the entrance door is still available for that purpose.

Cute little white shelf ($1 yard sale find) filled with miscellaneous yard sale treasures.

Another art project.

A sweet Cinderella illustration, free from a friend's yard sale years ago.

When Little Miss VJIMT was born, we started collecting prints of little girls and their animals to hang in her room. Love the frame on this huge one discovered at the Bouckville show years ago.

The subject matter is pretty adorable too. Is she wiping a tear from that poor dog's eye?

This was once a plain white shelf, again a yard sale find. A couple of years ago I painted it pink and green to match her room and added some stamped flower images and buttons to hide the screws. Someone had no trouble filling it with stuff. I'm sure I have no idea where she gets that from.

This display of vintage children's clothes has been hanging here since she was an infant. I painted the clouds on the ceiling 15 years ago when it was the teenaged Mr. VJIMT's baby room.

I don't remember where we got this one. Love the cat's glare!

STELLLLLLLAAAAAAA!

This is one of the two tiny closets in her room. I've been itching to remove the door to at least one of them for a while, and was finally inspired to do it after seeing a similar treatment in a friend's home. The beads used to be in her front doorway. This closet is her hideout, complete with pillows and blankets on the floor and dress-up clothes on the back rod.

In case there was any doubt.

Another print; this St. Bernard stands guard over his sleeping mistress.

This vintage biscuit tin with glass lid holds my favorite childhood stuffed animal and roller skating doll. Fluffy was an appropriately-named squirrel, until I got ahold of a pair of scissors and gave him a fur cut. He's also missing one leg and the alternating arm. And has markered-on eyelashes.

They sit on a green bureau trashpicked by the Mister.

Mr. VJIMT found this wonderful flapper-era child's dance costume at a local antique store a long time ago, already framed in a shadow box.

I got this framed dog and cat children's book at, you guessed it, Madison-Bouckville -- way before I was a vintage blogger.

Another little white bookcase full of stuff.

This is a shot of the room looking back towards the entrance. The bedspread and sham were my only splurge, from Pottery Barn Kids when she was a baby. Mr. VJIMT made the fence bed thirteen years ago when the boy was a toddler.

Stella enjoys the crocheted afghan made by Mom-Mom Grace for our baby girl.

And appears exhausted from all the activity.

Country Living -- 50 Things in 50 States

I was recently contacted by Country Living Magazine to submit an entry for their “50 Things to Do in 50 States” online feature.

Various bloggers were asked to share their state's hidden gems -- places you should not miss while visiting. Now, of course, the Jersey shores (not Jersey Shore!) would be the first thing to come to my mind. Only they're not very vintage-y, unless you count the National Historic Landmark that is the entire seashore town of Cape May and its collection of Victorian homes.

My submission was the Columbus Farmer’s Market in Columbus, NJ. I blogged about it here, here and here. Yes, there are a lot of tube sock and tshirt vendors (a big reason I was loathe to frequent it for so many years), but there are also multitudes of fresh produce stands loaded with Garden State goods, and, with a little digging, tons of vintage treasures. 

Especially holiday vintage treasures.

And jeweled vintage treasures.

Check out the “50 Things to Do in 50 States” feature and maybe add a new adventure to your summer travels!

Kitties, Owls, and Doll Houses

Ahh, another Saturday full of yard sales. It's the most wonderful time of the year!

We found this skinny table close by first thing in the morning.

Love the aqua color, and the details on the apron.

We also got this cute little wicker child's rocking chair. The color is faded in this brightly lit photo, but it's a very pretty blueish green.

We went a little further out of our way for the next sale, because the Craig's List ad said "ALL VINTAGE!". You don't have to tell me twice!

When we got there, the woman was still pulling things out of her garage. My car was already full (I know; I need to get a truck) but we somehow managed to fit this huge old doll house.

We still have the yellow one from Clover Market, so I guess now we're collecting them!

The view from the back -- each room is sectioned off and has a different flooring.

I start talking to the seller and she says "You like vintage? Come here!"

And proceeds to lead us into her house to see the (mostly) paper ephemera vintage stuff that is piled up in her dining room, waiting to be taken outside for the sale.

Which I got to sort through first!

Here's what I found: a great paper doll collection from the 1950s.

Lots of outfits, all in fabulous, almost-new condition.

Some sewing paraphernalia, like this needle sewing card. I couldn't resist the cat graphics.

Or the Art-Deco look of this one.

How about this vintage owl wood box purse?

I'm not really an owl person, but they sell well on Etsy. I think this one was made from a kit sold to emulate the original (and considerably more expensive) Annie Laurie designs popular at shops like Saks Fifth Avenue in the 1960s.

That's it for today!

Holy Cow? No, Mad Cow!

I told you in my last post that the previous week had been yard-sale free due to a family commitment. Little Miss VJIMT made her First Communion in the early morning, so no shopping for me.

I couldn't resist showing you this hilarious photo of my darling little angel:

A friend was turning 50, and as a surprise we were requested to text him a photo near the "holy cows" that lined his yard. I thought a "holy communion" next to a "holy cow" would be a hoot.

Little did I know that a cranky girl in a sweet dress and veil would be even funnier.

Here she's a little happier and more angelic. And photographed much better by my talented friend SueB. You can find her website here.

1 Chippy Chair, 2 Vintage Saints, and $3 Price Tags

There were so many yards sales on Saturday that I didn't know where to look first. We were unable to go to any sales last week due to a family commitment, so I was a little anxious.

We started at 8 and finished at noon. Well, sort of finished, since I took a ten-minute lunch and potty break and then went back out. It was kind of too late at that point and people were packing up so just pure desperation on my part. I never want Saturday mornings to end!

We got some good stuff, but it was just nice to be out on a sunny day and have so many things to look at! There was another nearby town-wide again this week as well.

We spotted this chair, and even though we have lots of chippy chairs, we got this one too. Love the top rail and spindles on this one.

I spied this chippy pink bureau out of the corner of my eye as I was driving and pulled the car over really quick. When I saw it was priced at $3, I slammed my hand down on it and exclaimed "Sold!".

Mr. VJIMT claims I am collecting bookcases, but we are renovating our basement and subsequently reorganizing Little Miss VJIMT's bedroom, so I think they'll all come in handy. Plus it was $3. And pink.

This was the rest of our stash.

Nice cream suitcase with teal trim and lining.

Not as good as the aqua one I found last year, but still sweet.

This fabulous altar statue of Saints Rita and Therese was a little more than I wanted to pay, but still a great deal and definitely resellable. 

It's dated 1923 on the back and weighs a ton!

Some pink Shiny Brites, the altar of which I worship.

Tennis racket.

Red glass bowl ($3), for a friend who collects.

Pink and white cowboy boots for Little Miss VJIMT! Yee ha!

My final stop (the second time out) was a church book sale. I saw this giant box of sheet music and asked if they would take $3 for the whole thing. Which they did. Guess that was my lucky number this week!

Those Freakin' Firkins

We have had these firkins in our house for a good twenty years. I love the colors, but Mr. VJIMT thinks they're too "country" and has been wanting to sell them for a long time (even though he was the original purchaser). I think they have plenty of love left to give, and I'm ready for them to have new homes as well.

This big blue one (about 10 inches high and a little bigger than 10 inches wide at the base) was used at the bottom of the stack and even served as the base for a small artificial Christmas tree for many years.

It sold last week to one of my faithful readers (who also works for an estate sale company) who saw it on my blog wiht the Clover Market photos and asked about its availability.

My son was a little glum that it would no longer be part of our family, and I'm pretty sure he's one of only a handful of teenagers who knows what a "firkin" is. And who would be sad about not having it around anymore!

The green one in the middle is about 5 inches high and a little more than 7 inches at the base.

The color is more accurate in the photo below.

The small blue one is also about 5 inches high but only about 5 inches wide at the base.

I'm hoping this shot gets chosen by Vintage Rescue Squad Sue for her annual calendar.

Last week I found this big pink one at a yard sale. It's about 12 inches high and 13 wide at the base. And did I mention PINK?

I will be listing all these in my Etsy shop, but as always my readers get first dibs. Email me or leave a comment here if you're interested.

Now I Really Feel Vintage

I picked this up at the town-wide yard sale thinking it would make a good family fun night activity.

Little Miss VJIMT took one look at the graphics on the box and exclaimed “that is soooo nineties!”

Yeah, um, “nineties”.

Things I Love #1: Cool Chippy Doors

I so wanted to buy this cool chippy door we spied at a yard sale this weekend. 

Of course, if I bought every cool chippy door I've spied at a yard sale, the walls of our house would be lined entirely of cool, chippy doors.

Hmmm.

See more cool, chippy doors I've pinned here.

A Little Flower, A Little Camera, and a Little Weird

There was another (neighboring) town-wide yard sale on Saturday. Now, you know I'm not that big a fan of the town-wide, although we found some good stuff at ours last weekend. But normally, it's just an explosion of baby clothes and plastic kid toys. Which I've had my fill of, thank you very much.

So out of all the loot pictured above, the only thing I got from the 200+ sales was this cute little doll. I'm not normally a doll person, especially one that's not chipped and creepy, but she was so sweet I couldn't resist. The dress pattern and colors may have swayed me a bit too.

There was an estate sale in another neighboring town that I saved for last because I didn't want to wait in a line while all the other sales were going on. It was one of those scary sales where you are a little hesitant about going in for fear of being found dismembered in the basement.

Fortunately, I believe my iphone can be used as a weapon and forged ahead. More fortunately, I heard lots of female voices in an adjoining room and felt better.

Then I found St. Therese (the Little Flower) and felt even more secure. Finally, a real -- albeit chalkware -- weapon!

And these guys, for good measure.

Oh, and him. Because you can never be heavily-armed enough.

This Ansco Panda camera functions better as a collectible than as a weapon.

We did hit one other yard sale that was not part of the town-wide. This woman was practically giving things away until I put the bakelite poker chip container in my pile and she told me it was $75.

I quickly removed it from my pile.

Instead I got this Keebler fruit cake tin; love this color!

And this shell of a white metal car.

And this turkey planter, intended for my old pal Regina who collects them.

And whoa, what's been lurking behind all those photos? A HUGE, pink (!) firkin! I am supposed to be selling these; instead they keep finding me. I had three with me at Clover Market last month, and actually sold the big blue one to a very nice non-local customer who saw the photos here on my blog. So if anyone wants this pink one, leave me a comment or email me!

And finally, the weirdest find of the day -- this ceramic novelty dog tv lamp manufactured by the Hankscraft Company of Wisconsin in the 1950s, complete with giant red bulb in its mouth. It works, and is headed to Etsy!