Thrift Hoard: Bigs and smalls

Mostly big. Remember bread boxes? Do people still have those? They should. Look at this one I picked up ;ast week at the yard sales:

Guess what? Photographing super reflective objects like that is very difficult. Remember that time a guy got naked and then shot a few pictures of a shiny teapot or something and then listed said teapot on ebay, thus sharing a reflection of his junk with all the bidders? Then, that was a trend called reflecto-porn? (I just Googled it. The internets remember.)
Sorry, I don't have any of that here. Just some bad pics of this awesome breadbox.

 There it from the front! Blending right into its background! Can you see the cute little details? Nope, me neither! Of course, I'm pretty pleased with how nice this looks in real life. It had quite a bit of rust, which I managed to remove with baking soda and steel wool. I'm going to list it, when I can build a big ass light box, I guess. 

One of the first sales I hit up that morning was probably really full of good stuff. Had I shown up before 10 AM, I probably could've seen it. Eh, I'm not a very competitive yard saler. I like to show up late when the people are giving stuff away. This guy still had plenty of cool things, and almost everything was $1.

This adorable deer planter is from Lane and Co., those folks who made TV lamps. This one's from 1959. I don't haggle over a buck...
I'm sorry, that joke has no business even trying. That's clearly a doe. I got him listed here: deer planter on Etsy Hey, look at this one I got at that sale!

I love how it's shaped like a log, but it's neon green. It's by Gilner; know what that means? It means that it probably once had an elf or something adorable attached to it. See that spot where a fake little plant stands? It was just a glue spot when I brought it home. I don't have any sweet little elves laying about, so the little tree will have to do.

Beautiful ceramic aqua ash tray! Isn't it glorious? Thing still had ashes in it, when I found it. (That panther is just prowling around, he's not for sale.) The ash tray isn't either. Someone bought it the same night I listed it. Nice knowing you, ashy.
Hey, how about these coffee mugs?

They're from an old local hardware store, which is apparently still operating in my city. Who know? I freakin' love old milk glass advertising mugs. Ya like how I posed them next to my rusty tool box? If you like that matching set of mugs, wait there's more!

I'll also throw in this old-timey mug! Also from a local-ish business. Here...my mugs on Etsy
I saved the best for last.

This is probably my favorite find of the week. I priced it as such, too. I have this little lamp...mid mod, tan, bowling pin shape...it's cute as hell, just needs a shade. I walked into a thrift, closing my eyes until I got to the lampshade area. "Just look at the shades, dummy, you don't need any more stuff," I thought, in a self-berating tone. Then I saw this thing. It was a large, ceramic lamp, high up on a shelf. From a distance, I thought it was priced much higher, so I got double thrift euphoria when I saw it's actual price (my secret.) I ran and grabbed a carriage to gently place it in, lest my bumbling hands lose their grip on my way to the register. At this time, I bumped into another thrifter/reseller. We once worked retail together. years back.
"Nice mod lamp," she said.
"Why thank you!" I replied all thankful that I got there when I did. "Yeah, and you wish you had it!" I thought to myself, whilst flashing my most villainous smile. I get a little possessive with my precious scores. For all I know, it's a hideous lamp and I have terrible taste. Let's take a close look:

I love lamp! It's got a fancy-ass shade by Stiffel, too. Read about that, here: Mid century lamp on Etsy.

This is another thing that I'm in love with. Yes, it's sad that I love an inanimate object. Fine, I will marry it. It's an original batik, made and signed by a local artist in 1981. Lily of the valley batik, in a sweet professional frame with an artist's signature. The color combo makes me swoon. WTF is a batik? I cut and pasted a paragraph from Wikipedia on my listing: Lily of the Valley batik on Etsy.
One last thing. You know when you're in a thrift store, browsing a bit through the toys for some reason, and you spot a little bag of something? Look closer...

Ooh, it's a $0.99 bag of something! What are these? Little houses? Oh...my...god...

It's a little wooden wonderland! And it's fracking adorable! That's just a preview, here's more:

12 little houses! They're like an inch and a half tall. So damned cute, I could slap someone.

Ooh, made in Germany. More pictures!

One more?

I've got them all photographed and counted, I'm just not entirely sure what to do with them yet.
Here's my "big announcement" lol. I need a different shop for which to sell clothing. I scored some really good shit in the dresses and whatnot department, but I've suspended listings until I figure out how to push those wares.
For months, I've been saying that I'll start listing on ebay. I guess now's the time. Should I try and sell my vintage clothing by opening a second, more femme branded Etsy shop? Or try and sell everything on ebay? I have to start work at summer school tomorrow. Goodnight.
Linking up at Sir Thrift A Lot and a living space.

Part 2 of my 101st post: It is nautical time

Let's keep this short. One year ago...June, 2013. I stopped on my way home from school and picked up the sweetest little dress that was too big. It was all silky and blue and featured a print of little rope knots. I think I just pointed a phone (no flash) at my mirror for this one:

Yup. That's how I tried to capture the "before" shot, one year ago. Luckily, I have more. I thought my best option for one of my very first refashions was to lose the sleeves and take up the shoulders.

So, uh, that's what the top looked like. You can kinda make out the knots. See that gold thing, just at the neck? That's a shiny anchor button. At this point, I didn't own a sewing machine, just borrowed the one at my parents' house. I think I decided to unbutton the top, fold it under and call it a day. I even tried to use my camera's self timer for the first time!

Nailed it

Well, now that I've practiced my sewing skills, and almost mastered the ability to point and click a camera, maybe I can do better! 

Once I pulled it from my refash stash, I came up with something that might help. I could take in the elastic waist. 

Look! I'm doing it! I'm pulling out old elastic and putting in a new one which I will pull tighter! Like a freakin' sewing whiz or something. 

About that camera pointing technique...My bedroom has practically zero natural light when the air conditioner's in the window! And it's a very shiny fabric! Those are just some pins in the new neckline. And look what I did with that button:

It's a DIY belt I made from a piece of rope. I just measured the rope around my waist (x2) and tied knots at both ends. Then, I sewed the button on. That knot fits just around the button, holding the belt on. It's "knot" functional, just decorative. Closer...

See? Kinda cute? Well, I actually thought the dress looked better without a belt. Maybe I'll sew another anchor button in the middle. 

All right, I finished my dress! Only thing left to do is wear it! Yup, my vintage size 4 silk dress...

Wait for it...

How unhappy do I look? Do I look like someone with a too tight dress? Oh, this is embarrassing. It's now a little sleeveless jacket thing! I even put on that huge anchor necklace from the old pics. ENJOY >: ( 

I actually really like this. Also, screw you cake. Screw you, donuts. 

I'm so tired right now.

 Attempt to show detail of the print.

100th--er, 101st post! It's nautical time again

I can't believe I stuck with this blogging thing long enough to have 100 posts. That's so unlike me. It's summer again, and the weather is nice, people are swimming, whatever, etc. It is now socially acceptable for non sailors such as myself to wear anchors and boat themed crap. It is nautical time again.
This post is a two for one! First, I'm showing you this dress:

Another from the $0.50 rack at Outfitters. I wasn't feeling a refashion at the time, (months ago) so I put it on the dress form to sell on Etsy. I took a few pictures and said, "ugh, no."

Look at those sleeves. And look at how the front of the bodice appears to be independent from the rest of the dress. What's that for? I couldn't sell that to polygamist cult member.

I mean no disrespect to their plights...just their clothes.

Left crumpled in a pile of other things I wasn't sure about, it suddenly seemed appealing to me as the temperatures rose. It was long and loose for hiding legs, but lightweight for keeping cool. Perhaps I could un-modest it?

First, I just chopped the hell out of it. Goodbye, huge sleeves; goodbye neckline. My inspiration came from one of my most favorite refashions, this paisley 80s from New Dress A Day:

My dress is nothing like this. Not even close. I don't even know why...anyway, I digress. After taking all that material off. I pinned and sewed the raw edges. I guess I didn't photograph that part. I actually had to do it a couple times, forgetting how terribly petite I can be.

Next, I had to take in the sides of the top. See how much? That's a big-ass dress. I usually pin it down the side like and then try it on, before marking that line and then repinning and finally sewing. It's amazing that I ever finish anything. Everything takes so long.

Do you see the problem that I'm seeing? Look at those side flaps, all sticking out like that. I will sew them down. Also, what's missing? My plan was to un-modest this dress, yet my cleavage is no where to be seen. As I sewed down the sides, I realized how very easy it was. "What is this? Is this chambray?" I asked myself, thinking that very question would be a great silly title for this post. My mom said it was "oxford" or something. Where was I? Oh, I probably should've let it be, but my inspiration dress had a v neck. So, I unbuttoned and folded under.
I figured my next step would be to add straps. I wanted something navy blue and stretchy.

Yes! It's a big, thick shoelace or something. It's some kind of rope. That came in one of the free bags of sewing supplies that a seamstress gifted me. I've got a lot of that.

I sewed it in place in back and then tried it on to determine where they should be attached in front. Once that boring shit was out of the way, I needed some sort of signifier to show everyone that this isn't a regular pale blue dress. No sir, this is a nautical dress. What symbol should I use?

Anchors away, jerks! (I'm sorry. No one's a jerk.) As you see, I've got several appliques from my precious stash to choose from. Spoiler alert: I went with the gold one. After ironing it on, the packaging recommended sewing it in place for more permanent hold. I actually used $2 from my Jo-ann gift card to buy gold thread. Haven't used it yet. Oh, I should mention that I have 6 silver anchor buttons that I scavenged from a $0.50  skirt that I bought just for that purpose. They were bigger than the button holes. Enlarge button holes? Back in the stash you go, little anchors!
Just when I think I'm done, I try it on again. The length is weird. I like it just below the knee, but nowhere near the ankle! I groaned at the thought of having to measure, pin, iron and sew the whole hem.

 But seriously, folks; this type of material is just so easy to work with. I pretty much just snapped my fingers and it was done. Now, I just need a suh-weeet belt to really finish this.

Oops, bad picture quality. I've got so many belts! Pardon my boast, but look at the selection of navy blue belts I'm choosing from. I'm not even showing off the red and white striped with vinyl anchor in the middle. May I draw your attention those these?

Wow, it's a ship's wheel buckle! And that belt has adorable white and yellow anchors!
Just when I think I can't get any lamer...I take time out of my blog post to brag about my thrift store belt collection. Most of them didn't work, as the waistline was kinda high (how I do) for this dress. Without any further ado...

The wind blown look! Aiming a fan at your face may cause squinting.

What can I say...photo effects are fun to use. How do we feel about the dress? Not perfect. I probably shouldn't have messed with the top there. Also, there's an unfortunate button gap. Happens every time.

Oh my god, is this post still going? I said it was going to be a two for one, but I think it's gonna be a two-part deal. It's too long.

Whacha gonna do with all that junk?

Oh cool, those are lyrics from "My Humps," which was a hit song from the Black eyed Peas in 2005! How current of me.
So, nothing gets junk in one's trunk faster than yard sale season. I just returned from a trip and now I'm eating lunch, so I'm not about to photograph my loot at the moment. Sit back with me and cool off, as I present my haul from my last yard sale run.
One of the first places I hit up was one held at a church whose "yard sale" sign I had driven by all week. Right away, I spotted these:

 Well, they didn't look just like that, when I saw them, but pretty close. Look at that little hat box thing!

It's in mint condish! It was so easy to stack them up and list them on Etsy! 4 piece blue luggage set
And what's that cute little item posing alongside the hatbox?

It's an old timey camera! It's got retro charm, who cares if it works? How would I even find out if it works, go out and buy old timey film? Then try and load it up? Nah, it's a knick knack. Totally worth the two bucks. I also found this:

And this little menagerie:

I just love that Asian guy reading on an ox. Lovely. I don't know about the rest of those things. I'll probably include them when I list some little shelves or printing trays. In the mean time, they can clutter up my life alongside these guys:

Oh hai! I didn't actually get them at the church sale. These pandas just loved the camera, so I wanted to include their photo. I should list them on cute factor.
Moving on, I continued up the street, on a high from my luggage score. I grabbed some of those old silky souvenir pillowcases. The seller had a bunch and I picked out three, all were from various Army bases. I wish I could show you how cool they were before I tried rinsing the dust off with some cool water:

Really? How did I not see that coming? The lettering came off in sand-like crumbles. Except for that yellow one, which remained Army strong. That green with blue on the back still looks cool, even without its 3D-ness. But that maroon one?

(Salutes) I shall now play Taps on my trumpet. Godspeed, soldier. (Tosses pillowcase into scrap pile.)
Anyway, I had only been to three sales, and was sweating profusely. I hit up one more, just to ensure that I'd be adequately drenched in perspiration. That's where I found this:

Hallelujah. Isn't it a beauty? One big-ass (4 feet long) black velvet painting! Oh, pardon me. Let me turn it around for you.

That's what it looks like, after my dad refurbished the frame by restapling and hammering nails back in place. And here's what it looks like in my Etsy shop: Awesome black velvet wall hanging.
In thrift store finds this week, I scored a few things.

 

It's by Parisian Ware and it's made in Germany, so says the markings. I absolutely loved this set of plates and crap. As you may have guessed "plates and crap' are not exactly my area of expertise, but they were half off their original price. Still,  I left them behind, but took a picture.

 I found a plate on Ebay going for $11, so the next day i went back and rounded up what pieces I could find from this set, thinking it could get me a little profit and if I think it's beautiful, surely someone else will. 

I was a little concerned when I got to the china aisle, because I could only find three cups. That would not do. I looked through the mugs and the other cups/glasses section. Before leaving, the rogue teacup suddenly appeared amongst the mugs, as if it was there the whole time! Because it probably was.

It wasn't a huge gamble because they were such a good deal. This is just one of those things I'm never sure how to price. I feel a little weird having them in my shop because it's not the usual thing for me to list. Here's my full listing, if anyone wants a peek: Vintage black and yellow flower table ware on Etsy
I actually have more items to show off, but whaddya know, I just sold that luggage set. I'm gonna catch some zzz's so I can get to the post office early tomorrow. Don't want to wait until noon like last week and be in a long line again.
Linking up at Sir Thrift A Lot and then I'm gonna find some other places to link to that might be helpful with my plates and crap.