I have not been as good showing my thrifting and auction finds on this blog, but I am still out there looking for treasures. I am still listing and selling my finds in my ItsStillLife Etsy Shop. If you want to keep up with what I am listing, just check out my ItsStillLife Facebook Page and follow. I will be posting my listings on my page.
The Sprite Boy Coca Cola Clock is my latest listing.
Keep on junkin’.
I was able to spend a couple of days with my Mom this past weekend going to garage sales and a two-day auction. Just had to show you one of the items I was able to purchase…this Copper arrowhead tray, Pontiac Chief of the Sixes. It was a promotional piece. There is a little tarnish by his head, but overall a cool piece.
I continue to list items as fast as I can. I now have 200 items listed. A new milestone for me.
What is your latest cool find?
I haven’t written about any of my junking finds lately. I have been to some garage sales and a couple of auction sales, but not nearly as many as usual. I have been working hard this month getting my shop restocked with awesome junk after doing almost nothing with it from late March through early June. Here are a few items.
This green metal toolbox is one of my favorites. Love the color. It is in very good condition and could be used for so many different storage options.
Not only metal toolboxes, but wood, handled toolboxes are items I always pick up. Love the blue color on this one.
Finding a few different train cases as well. This blue train case is perfect for storage. I have a black Samsonite one that I have to get listed soon.
I used to find a lot of drawers from old sewing machines. I don’t come across them nearly as often, but I do pick them up when I can. This one is a typical design for a sewing machine drawer. However I have another one with a great pull knob also listed.
I have found some fun and funky hats. I love the color of this bright pink puff hat.
Or this orange cloche hat. I have quite a few hats listed. Fall will be coming when wearing hats will be easier than in this hot weather.
I have also listed many different vintage aprons. From this crocheted apron.
To this embroidered fruit basket apron.
To full aprons like this funky flower full apron. Right now I have listed over 25 vintage aprons.
Even though I have not been writing about my junking or my Etsy shop, that is still apart of my life. Still enjoying it. Life is good.
Does anyone remember the 1970s craze of painted pasta characters wall art? I remember having a couple of characters in our house, not sure what the characters were though. I wish I had a photo.
I recently found this macaroni or pasta duck. I can’t seem to find what this was called. I am sure it was a 1970s trend. Anyone else remember it? Any information would be helpful.
Recently I have added some tableware to my shop, specifically cups and sugar bowl and creamer sets that are melamine. As I was listing them, I wasn’t sure if the plastic for these products was called melmac or melamine. This is important because at Etsy we list keywords for which we think someone might search.
I learned that melamine is the type of material used to make these dishes and melmac is the brand name. Since where I live every one seems to know it as melmac, I listed both keywords.
Above is a cup from the Lenox Ware coffee cup set I listed.
This sugar bowl and creamer is also a Lenox Ware set. Love the handles on these, but really the handles on all of these dishes are gorgeous.
Look at the mod sugar and cream set here. The handle is sleep and angular.
I also added Thermo Serv. Look at this coffee cup set that is white with green base and silver removable handles.
These Thermo Serve Gold and Black with Gold Removable Handles are retro late 60’s, early 70’s.
The retro cups were usually 6-8 ounces. That was back before the TV show, Friends. Remember the gang sitting in the coffee shop drinking out of ginormous cups. It started a trend, and we all started drinking from large cups that hold 12-16 or more ounces. To me these have such awesome lines. I am hopeful that there are people out there that want to go back to gorgeous lines in their dinnerware.
I have more Melamine dishes to list. Like these brown coffee cups.
This mod sugar bowl.
Or these saucers. My shop is a little slow right now. Just not putting the time into listing. The boys’ basketball and swimming seasons have about 4-5 weeks left. Then life will change again. However, I am enjoying the season and not looking forward to it being over.
Do you remember melamine or melmac dishes, cups and other dinnerware?
In my last post I mentioned I had listed and sold a vintage men’s hat in the same day. Let me tell you about the other hats that I have been listing.
Recently my sister saw an ad for 10 vintage hats on her local online sales sight. She called me to find out if it wanted them. Of course I want them, like a child wants a cookie. I have always enjoyed vintage hats, however, last summer I wasn’t finding any. I was so thrilled that my “no hat” streak was over.
I am still working on listing those hats, but look at this fun pink hat. I love the wide brim. It would be a perfect Easter hat.
This turban netting hat is funky with its sequence decals. It is a light bluish purple, but I really have struggled getting the color right. I am concerned that might cause a problem for selling it.
Speaking about funky. Look at this velour green hat with orange and yellow feathers. Oh the days of wearing feathers in the hats. I love seeing those old photos. I am willing to bet that feathers will make a come back some day. After all if neon and stretch pants can come back, anything can.
I really don’t know what this type of hair band or hat is called. However, this black velvet petal hat could be a fun, addition to a dress up event.
This off white puff hat would again make a great Easter hat. It could use a dry cleaning. I have stated that in the listing. Do you ever list dirty items? I do, but I really try hard to describe the flaws or stains and show photos.
Finally there was a second men’s hat in the lot of hats. This black fedora with Red Feather is so stylish. It says, look at this gentleman. I really hope some nice man purchases it.
I still have a few more to list. I am thrilled to have fresh vintage hats in my shop. I have a few that I listed early last year that haven’t sold, but they are just waiting for the right person to find them.
Do you own or sell vintage hats?
This fall I saw these glasses at a garage sale. I had no idea what they were, but I just had a feeling…they were heavy, gold and no fading. The glasses had to be something special.
Finally got around to researching them. They are Culver 22K gold high ball glasses in the Green Diamond Valencia pattern. They are selling well online. I got mine listed the other day. I think they would be beautiful on a formal Christmas table. We will see if they sell.
I sometimes doubt my “gut”. Most of the time when I go with a gut feeling, it usually pays off. Not always, but I think I am going to go with it from now on. I don’t have a smartphone, so can’t look things up while I am out and about. Sometimes it just wouldn’t be possible even if I had one. I just think that I have been doing this for almost 2 years now. I have been learning, and I should just go with my intuition.
So do you go with your intuition?
Are owls still popular? This owl latch hook wall hanging is so 70s. It is in excellent condition. I can see it on paneled walls in a basement.
Normally I don’t pick up stuffed items, but this handmade owl is adorable. Vintage 80s.
Found another gold magazine rack. This one is flat. At first I thought it was a fireplace log holder, but it is too small to hold more than 2 logs. The magazine racks I have listed aren’t selling as fast as some have. I think the Mod looking ones sell faster than the regular gold ones.
This Spuds Mackenzie beer mug is from the 80s when Spuds was popular in the Bud Light commercials. Remember him partying with bikini clad girls?
I hope to get a group of 9 vintage greeting cards listed soon. I love the graphics. It reminds me of when my sister and I used to play with my Mom and Dad’s wedding cards. We played store and favorites. They gave us hours of imaginative fun.
I sold a Mary Had a Little Lamb Hardboard Wall Hanging a while back, so I decided to list Winnie the Pooh.
And Mickey Mouse too. I think either would be adorable in a nursery or a child’s playroom.
What about a few holiday items…this Tom and Jerry bowl and cup set is so awesome. I sold a similar cups last year.
These vintage Coca Cola ornaments are so cute. Not sure how popular Coke products around the holidays are, but I am a Coke fan…not that I have had a Coke in over two or so months now.
Finally I think these toy musical scale bells are fabulous. The colors are wonderful and the musical scale sounds are great. Think these would be fun to have around for children during Christmas season.
I am sort of getting into the Christmas spirit. Ok, yes, Thanksgiving is still almost 4 weeks away, but last night Big M and I went to Mass and then out for dinner. The boys stayed home to hand out candy. We then stopped at Menards for items for a house project. All of their trees are displayed. Our artificial tree is from 1990. We bought it for $79 from Kmart when we were first married. Its pines leaves are really falling out, so we need a new one. However, we want one that has colored lights on them; no more tangled lights. Most of the trees have white lights. Finally this year we are seeing colored lights on a few trees. We spent about 45 minutes looking at trees, and still couldn’t decide on one. I hope to do more tree shopping in the next few weeks, so we have one for Thanksgiving weekend when we put it up. No, I am not wanting Christmas to be here, just starting to thing about a tree and Christmas shopping. I have purchased a couple of things on Etsy already for gifts.
Have you started making your Christmas gift and to-do lists?
I haven’t shown my thrifty finds lately. Here goes…this awesome cast iron, red milking stool. Loved it. Listed it and it sold within a few days of listing. There would be so many uses for it. It also would work in a vignette. I was thinking if it hadn’t sold, I would have used it for Christmas décor.
Another red item…I found another Coca Cola crate. Just got it listed. These usually don’t stick around for long.
Look at this adorable wood, riding horse. It is so cute. I love the chippy wood, the red and green paint….hmmm, maybe I can use this in my Christmas décor.
This minnow bucket with its green font logo is wonderful. Love the aged galvanized metal.
This green ironing board I just listed, but I am trying to decide about it. I have been thinking about a memo board in my den. This would work, just hang and add magnets.
With the 50th anniversary of John F Kennedy’s assassination I finally listed these two Memorial booklets that honored him at the time. Very cool history. I really enjoyed going through them.
Another awesome train case. I have sold almost 10 of these things. They usually sell within 30 days of listing them. There are so many uses for them. This one is in very good condition, so I expect it to go quickly.
Amber pitchers are slow movers, but they do sell. It is so late 70s and early 80s. This one has a great shape and love the flower on the side.
I have sold a couple of planters and have found there is a market out there for them. Not sure if the brown drip glaze is very popular. Guess I will see if this McCoy donkey planter will sell.
I am selling these beer mugs that are from the Schmidt Beer Collectors Series. These are the first 2 through 5. I wish I had found the 1st one, but if someone wants a quick collection, this would be a great way to start.
There is no mark on these footed glasses that have game birds on them, so I don’t know the brand, but they are in awesome condition. Because Big M is into hunting I like to display glasses like these. Right now I have pheasant glasses on display.
Finally, I listed a couple of globes. This one is my favorite ever. I love the metal ring stand. It is a Replogle True to Life Globe from the late 1980s.
So what are you finding in your thrifting adventures?
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One of the items I purchased on Sunday was this John Deere cast iron implement seat. I spent quite a bit for it; more than I am usually willing to spend, but I know this seat, in this good of condition is very hard to find. Since I spent so much money on it, I went ahead and got it listed on Sunday after I got home.
This one I was so tempted to keep. My Dad was a John Deere man. I don’t remember him using anything else besides John Deere tractors on the farm. I had a couple of offers on it immediately, but I didn’t want to go down. I figured if it didn’t sell, I would keep it. It was meant to be. Guess not, it just sold. The good news is that it will be going to a soon to be opened John Deere museum in the South. Another example of something going where it is supposed to be. Gotta love that.
It's Still Life 