Vintage Junk in My Trunk

The Etsy 90 Project, Listing 162 - 168

Struggling to keep these listings going! I'm almost done another 90 day challenge, and thinking of shutting it down after that -- I'm getting bored.

But then it will be July, and prime time for restocking the vintage Christmas shop. Here's to getting a second wind!

In the meantime, found this NOS box of vintage thank you cards. The cat is my favorite, of course.

Sweet vintage blue/green teapot, marked USA. Love the flower detail on the handle.

Bunch of cast iron glass ball and claw feet. I love stuff like this. Trying to think of something to make out of them. Too heavy for jewelry, too light for a bookend.

Small vintage plaster Infant of Prague statue.

Adorable tin container with bird and magnolia images on a paper label.

And talk about adorable -- instant collection of eight mismatched rooster and chicken salt and pepper shakers.

Even cuter -- McCoy dog-in-basket cookie jar (I have the matching cat in pink-basket cookie jar, because… cat!).

LISTING 162 - 168

162.      Vintage Box of Thank You Cards Cats Dogs Birds Unused

163.      Vintage Blue Green Teapot USA Flower Handle

164.      Antique Victorian Ball and Claw Cast Iron

165.      Vintage Infant of Prague Religious Plaster Statue

166.      Vintage Tin Bird Container Magnolia Aqua

167.      Vintage Chicken Rooster Salt Pepper Shaker Collection

168.      Vintage McCoy Dog Basket Cookie Jar

The Etsy 365 Project

Ahhh, a new year and some new vintage junk!

Usually we make a family junking road trip or two over the holiday break but that didn't happen this year. The children are no longer as malleable as they once were and sometimes it's just better to cut your losses and go in a different direction. Like to the movies. Or to the mall. Neither of which we did, but you get my drift.

Mr. VJIMT and I did manage to sneak off to a local antique shop once school started. We can't really call it an actual road trip since it's less than a mile away, but hey, I'm counting it. And everything was 25% off, so it even felt thrifty.

I got this sweet little shelf -- as you can see, I'm still fond of those aquas!

And more pink Shiny Brites, as we may have had a cat-in-a-tree accident or two.

Mr. VJIMt stuck with a similar theme while shopping for Christmas. He found this fabulous aqua toolbox on Etsy and stocked it with some of my favorite things.

I am moving slowly through the holiday haze and trying to figure out which of the multitudes of projects to start first. I should probably take that aluminum tree down soon. Although Stella may not be happy about it.

One venture I have begun concerns my Etsy shop. I have a basement full of inventory. And maybe a spare bedroom. And a couple of cupboards. And the trunk of my car -- did you think I was just kidding with that "vintage junk in my trunk" thing?

Anyway, it's a little daunting but I figured if I just do a little bit every day I may get through it. So my goal is to list ONE item a day. Just one. That's it. Perfectly doable, right?

So far I'm right on schedule. The item I listed last night took me an hour to research because I had a hard time figuring out the maker's mark and I started to panic at 11:45pm but I got it done.

Now what if I go nuts and have a DD Iced Mocha Coffee (no cream, just sugar) and list more than one a day? Does that count toward x number of days, or is it still just one listing? I think I'm going to be a little tough on myself (at least in the beginning) and only count it as one listing. Check back with me in August; that aspiration may change!

Besides organizing my inventory and clearing out the clutter, having more items listed should improve my Google visibility. I am normally at around 110-120 items listed, but those in the know say you should have between 300-400 for maximum exposure. Whew!

So wish me luck. Maybe you want to join me? We can form a support group!

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.

Don't Judge a Box by Its Cover

This box looks pretty non-descript. Dull even. Painted a kind of a grayish green khaki color.

Then you you open it.

And to your astonishment, that boring old wooden box…

…reveals itself to be a vintage bingo number carrying case.

With a master bingo number list screwed onto the left side.

And vintage black wooden bingo balls on the right.

And a stunning green hue on the inside.

We found this at a little shop in Salem, New Jersey earlier in the year. I've spent a lot of time researching it, and haven't found anything like it.

If you've come across something similar, maybe you can give me some idea of what it's worth? I'm thinking of listing it on ebay, and am hoping its uniqueness may set off a bidding war.

… or at least get me a B I N G O !

Ebay, Round Two

I haven't done much selling on ebay; it doesn't seem nearly as friendly (or artsy, or equitable, or trendy) to me as Etsy does. However, there are those items for which you may get a better price, in a quicker timeframe, if a bidding war ensues.

In the past sixty days, I've only listed (and sold) 4 items. Two of which you saw in my last post.

The third was this 1968 Annalee Rabbit Doll, but I'd rather not discuss it. Mainly because the Annalee line scares the bejeezus out of me.

I found this beautifully illustrated hardback on a table full of books at a small church rummage sale.

Then I found another, and another. 

I used my iphone ebay app to see how many were in the set, and how much they were selling for on ebay.

I discovered they are a Time Life series called The Enchanted World, published in the 1980s. The complete set of 21 books was selling for around $200, so I limbered up my hoisting muscles and started to stack.

I wound up finding 19 books in mint condition (some still in their original packaging) and full of fabulous illustrations.

This set wound up being the fourth ebay item I sold last month, netting me $100 plus shipping (I purchased them for $15). Maybe I should sell on ebay more often!

Vintage Wedding Cake Toppers

Have you seen the latest blog post from Flea Market Style magazine? A lovely compilation of vintage wedding cake toppers is featured today.

But to take a page from Vintage Rescue Squad Sue’s fun series, I'm Way Ahead of Ya! 

This was my first Etsy sale -- purchased by the effervescent Tamarah of Shabby Vintage Junk, who featured it on her blog the other day.

I have a whole wedding section devoted to them in my Etsy shop. These two have also sold:

But I still have some left –– this heart-framed one:

And this ribboned-arch one:

And this one dated 1949:

I also still have a couple more to list -- in particular, this whole wedding party set that I've been dragging my (cold?) feet on.

And although I think it's a spectacular set, Emily’s (I Like Collecting) collection is by far the most amazing I've seen! She was definitely way ahead of this trend!

Not-So-Hidden Treasuries

Do you make treasuries on Etsy? Treasury is Etsy's ever-changing, member-curated shopping gallery, where you create and share lists of items. If your list is beautiful and diverse enough, it may be featured on Etsy's home page.

If you're featured on the home page, thousands of potential buyers will see your shop's name and the featured items. Even if it doesn't get to the front page, it still reaches many other people who might never have seen your shop -- including those shops whom you've featured. What an effective and free marketing tool!

Some of the treasuries are fun and clever; some are gorgeous and organized by color. There are only a few rules to follow -- you can't feature any of your own items, and you can't feature more than one shop. It's a good idea to pick a relevant theme or one Etsy has tagged as "hot".

As a member of the Etsy Vintage Team, I made this treasury yesterday:

You Are So Not My Type -- A vintage look at what you don't want to hear on Valentine's Day

This treasury list is embedded right in my blog, so if you want to check out any of the items, just click on the image and it will link you right to the Etsy store with that item. You can get your own Etsy treasury HTML generator free here from the very techno savvy and generous-with-his-knowledge Martin at Whale Shark Websites.

Love is in the Air

These icy, snowy days make for some good Etsy listing time. These delicate cards (found in my shop here) date from the early 1900s, most of them manufactured by Whitney Made in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Did you notice the boat is heart-shaped? (edit -- two below sold!)

These are intricately die-cut and 3-dimensional. The lacy part stands up and there are more embellishments layered on top. (This heart-shaped one below has sold!)

This one is marked Germany and is a standing pop-up. Love the sweet red honeycomb at the bottom. (edit -- sold!)

Odds and Ends

I don't know how it got to be 10 days since my last post, but here it is. I guess I didn't have anything to say. And I still don't have anything to say, 10 days later, but I'm going to post anyway!

November yard sale-less days means no new finds for you to see, but I have plenty of old old stuff you haven't seen yet. So I guess that's what I'll be posting during the long cold days of winter. When I'm not putting it up on Etsy for sale, that is. Which is what I've been doing these last 10 days.

So far I have 90 items listed, most of them vintage holiday. I think I may have put them up a little too early (started listing in September) but I didn't want to get caught in the holiday rush. I'm finding the Christmas things are just starting to sell, so at least I'll know that for next year. Even though I started early, I still have a bunch more holiday stuff to list.

Spent the entire weekend sorting/purging Sophia's toys to make space in the family room for the reworked apothecary. I think we've figured out a good place for it. Also found room for the repainted bookcase.

Looks good, huh? But here's what I had to go through to get to there…

Ack! Avert your eyes! I don't know what's going to happen when Santa visits in 6 short weeks.

I did manage to find a small church thrift store sale this weekend, where I bought these retro German lucite candle holders. Definitely not my style, but I thought they were cool and someone would appreciate them.

What else, what else? Here's another (skinny) cubby piece we've had in a corner for years…

Got tired of the brown, so now it's white and shabby.

The yard sale list looks short again this weekend, but I just spotted a church rummage sale that starts Friday night. Hope that will make my next post a bit more interesting!

Tasty Yard Sale Finds

Sometimes Saturday Yard Sale Day turns into Saturday Farmers’ Market Day due to a complete dearth of good yard sales. And also because what I thought was a good yard sale listed in the paper today turned out to be NEXT week’s good yard sale, not this week’s (why advertise so far ahead of time?). 

So I found myself around the corner from the local Farmers’ Market. No vintage finds today. Just tasty ones.

Spent the rest of the day loading up my Etsy shop with Christmas wares. I still have lots of (holiday) stuff to go through, but I feel like I'm making a little headway. Although I'm pretty sick of looking at elves and santas at this point, and it's barely September! 

Stop by during these next couple of weeks if you're looking for some vintage holiday to add to your collection. Remember all the Christmas stuff I found this spring -- especially at this sale? And this one? It will all be listed soon!