RunsWithScissors

Latest Finds!

2012-01-02T20:30:00.000-05:00

I went to my favorite thrift shop today. What fun this place is! Let me show you what I found!

I'm in love with bottle brush trees and found this one is a bag mixed with other items. I really only wanted the one item but the tree next to it was neater than I had thought, so it's a keeper, too. The tree basket seems to be homemade. The basket appears to be balsam wood and then gold cording is lining the inside handle and matches the hanger. The bag cost me $1.00 so they seem worth it! The other item is a metal truck and I just love it! Again, only one dollar! It happens to be a pencil sharpener. I want to find a tiny little person to drive it.

I just loved the look of these old nail boxes! I need to do my research on them but if nothing else, they'll make an awesome display!

The hubby purchased this heart shaped bowl! It is perfect for our upcoming Valentine's Day party!

This is a plain and simple bowl by Hazel Atlas. I'm going to make a flower cluster orb for it and use vintage papers.

This is an amazing little thing! I think it's a master salt. What is great are the feet on it!

Look closely! That is a man's face! Maybe a Viking? Pssst, I only paid .50 cents for it.

Wonderful Fry custard cups!

This is the best thing yet. A souvenir cup or toothpick holder. Great gold accents with ruby dots. Souvenir of Hershey Park, PA. It's just beautiful and I only paid $2.00 for it!

Skirt measuring devices.

A metal two-sided Chinese checker board and checkers/chess board.

Slide a metal bar and you can see cups in it to store the marbles and checkers (not included). BUT, it's an older lithograph piece made by Ohio Art!

I sure wish this thrift shop was a lot closer to me!

sigh

2012-01-01T21:20:00.000-05:00

Boring party or craft challenge? Maybe a little bit of both? Not sure what happened here! Made from nothing but the snacks on the table and a Sharpie pen, came up with this styling snowman. LOLOLOL!

My friend ate the first hat I had, which set us off giggling. This is mini peppermint marshmallows and Hershey's kisses, a toothpick and the Sharpie. Pretty darn cute, huh? LOLOL! I had a square from the Chex mix on his head but my friend kept talking with a Chinese accent so I changed the hat to the Kiss. I couldn't take the accent anymore!

Um, can't wait for the Valentine's party!

Western Charmers!

2011-12-30T00:12:00.003-05:00

I saw these charms on eBay and knew immediately I wanted them and what I'd do with them!
(Click on photos to enlarge them!)

Great gumball charms, all with a western theme. I took them and turned them into these!

Above: antique copper and below, silver:

They turned out better than I expected! I'm so thrilled with them and will be listing them on Etsy shortly. Some of the charms are stage coaches, horse shoes with horse, bull, horse, bronco, boots, cowboy and gun in holster.

Rob and John, dancing the day away!

2011-12-21T11:32:00.001-05:00

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

We are old people!

2011-12-20T11:19:00.001-05:00

As you know, I'm a huge fan of flash mobs, when done legally, that is. Seems there's a new type of flash mob that is becoming very popular! Here is just one that I found!

You might want to scroll down and shut off my playlist so you can hear the music for the flash mob!

I just love it. There's seniors on oxygen, dancing away in some of the mob flashes!

Antique fun!

2011-12-10T17:23:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I spent the day with a friend and we went antiquing! We met at a new thrift shop that we both wanted to visit. This sure was an adventure! We went around to items 3 or 4 times because they just kept putting items out. This item fascinated me and at first, we couldn't figure out what it was. Yes, I know it's a snowman, but what is it's purpose?

Then it hit me, it's a plate holder! It's a heavy wire with hooks and it folds in half to store! I tried so hard to pass it by but as you can see, it came home with me in the end.

Wouldn't it be cute with snowman plates? How about this?

Your favorite ornaments, perhaps! OR:

On the front door with a wreath? Okay, enough of that.

Home decor was half price! Woohoo! I got this for only $3.00, the frame is worth that much alone!

Picnic plate holders that are chickens! They only had two.

They had container after container filled with electric Christmas candles. They were only .50 cents each so I got two for my front windows.

Now, just one more time around, quickly. LOL! And that is when I spied this cutie. I know it wasn't there the first 100 times we circled.

She drew me to her and then I realized why:

Yep, that's Holt Howard! Just an awesome piece and even more awesome at $1.00! I had every intention of selling her but guess what, I don't think so, she is mine!

After two hours in this place, we went to the second place. An antique co-op. Barely inside the door, my friend says to me, did you see this PEZ? Just thrown in a basket on top of a cabinet, she picked up one after another one to show me. You have my attention!

No WAY! Yes, way!

The home worker on the chick must have drank her lunch before painting the chicks eyes, she gave this chick one too many eyes! I love it. Go ahead and ask, what did you pay for those? I'll tell you! A total of $12.50 plus tax! Estimated value? $170.00, woohoo! It doesn't happen too often but it still happens, oh, I love the hunt!

The only other thing I got are these:

Something else that fascinated me. Vinyl coated metal hangers that fold down!

They are so interesting! You pull the sides out, fold up the hanger part and waalah, a hanger! You can pull them out to different lengths for different sized clothing!

Let's look at just one of them, above is one that is totally folded down and pushed together as small as it gets.

There is the same one fully extended. It's a shame you really can't see how awesome these are! I got four of them, red, light blue, blue and green.

It was time for lunch, we couldn't believe we were in that first shop for over two hours! No WAY! Yes, way! We ate at this really cute, old time place and had a really nice time.

Hit 3 more antique shops and this quaint 5 & 10 cent store. I found only one more item in the last antique shop:

What a work of art! :o)

It was just the perfect day!

Hawk

2011-12-05T16:20:00.000-05:00

I was lucky enough to see another hawk today. I'm really not sure what this is but I'm going to guess it is a sharp-shinned hawk. It's smaller than the ones I usually see but still quite impressive!

If anyone knows for sure what this is, please let me know!

Tree Day

2011-12-04T11:15:00.000-05:00

You know, I've always enjoyed decorating the tree! Despite getting it, putting it up, then deciding how you want it done this year, the dreaded lights that never seem to work from one year to the next. Then, stepping back and thinking, nope, that is just not going to do it, so re-arranging the hanging decorations over again.

It takes hours and hours of thinking and planning, doesn't it? After all, it's going to be up for a month, it has to look perfect! And you want it to reflect how you feel, show handmade ornaments from friends and relatives. It just has to be perfect.

Today was my day to put up the perfect tree. When I finally stepped back, I knew it was perfect and had to snap a photo.

I'm not positive, but I'm fairly sure I've done Charlie Brown proud!

Grand Jury Duty

2011-12-03T18:42:00.000-05:00

We had grand jury duty yesterday. It was another short session and I know that won't last too long! There's several cases started but the DA's are still collecting documents before coming in, so they will probably all hit us at once!

I had to laugh because there was a toaster in the break room so people could toast their bagels and I thought someone got it out of the evidence room but here the court reporter brought it in. Now there's talk about the DA Steve having an omelet station! LOLOL! We waited over 45 minutes for this session to start, it would have been a good time for omelets.

Steve had called a witness to appear that swore she'd be there but she never showed up, so a material witness subpoena will be issued for her arrest so she is forced to appear. It means, they can pick her up and put her in jail until the next session. Then, he had an officer scheduled to appear but he was really late getting to court because he went to the wrong courthouse! LOL! And he's a traffic officer. He finally got to the right place and explained how they use the Total Station to keep track of evidence at the scene of a crime. I have a new favorite word, projectile. Say it, it's neat sounding. I like it.

When Steve was done, Charlie came in to tell us about the progress of a case that went before the judge and a new one he'll be presenting. And that was the end of that session!

We have one more session this year and then have a break until Jan. Me, I'm looking forward to my HUGE paycheck! HA!

The unveiling!

2011-12-02T22:17:00.000-05:00

I've been talking about this for ages, today was the day!

I added pages to my Pez site and set them up for ecommerce! Woohoo! I now have Pez for sale on my site. Stop by and visit it here: Pez for Sale Doesn't it look pretty?

Visit the rest of the site here: ThePezt.com

I'm quite proud of my little site, it's been a long time in the works and it's coming along. Still needs work, like I just figured out how to make it so you can click on a small photo and enlarge it! LOLOL! Looks like I'll be going back through thousands of photos and fixing them.

Vintage Items for Sale

2011-11-23T17:10:00.003-05:00

Customize your own photo slideshow

Update!

2011-11-18T17:25:00.000-05:00

I did not have jury duty today, it was canceled. So, I went shopping. :o)

When I came home, I found this!

Yep, that's a sign on our new shed!

I laughed so hard! My neighbors are loads of fun!

Hawk

2011-11-13T16:03:00.001-05:00

We often get to see hawks in this area but rarely am I able to get photos. This one landed on our fence but by the time I got my camera, it had flown to a nearby bush.

This is a red tail hawk and it's amazing just how large they are!

The other day, I was lucky enough to be outside just as a blue heron flew over my head! This heron has been here for years but I wonder why it's still here in this cold weather!

New Shed!

2011-11-11T16:49:00.000-05:00

Remember this post from months ago? http://runswithscissors4.blogspot.com/2011/10/fall-harvest-day.html That post was from the day we ordered our new shed.

Since then, I wondered and bit my nails, wondering if I picked out the right colors, if they would look okay, how the shingles would look etc.

Well, no need to wonder anymore! Today was delivery day! I was horrified when it poured last night and wondered if he'd be able to drive a truck on the wet yard. It did sink in at a few spots, but not too bad, not huge ruts which we were worried about!

Here comes the truck down our tiny, narrow road! It arrived at 9:22 AM.

Not much room to bring it in, it's amazing how these men can drive these trucks!

This shows just how close to the house he had to get to the backyard.

Arial photos courtesy of me, standing on my toilet upstairs and hanging out my window!

Getting closer!

Now, they swing the bed of the truck around so it's facing the direction you want!

Now, they start moving the bed of the truck forward.

Okay, this is just plain scary.

Make any adjustments as to where it is to be placed. Continue to move the truck bed out as the back of the shed rests on the ground.

And there it is! They added the ramp kit to the doors and had it all set up! They actually left our house by 10:17, isn't that just amazing?

My hubby says I can have the left side of it, I'm going shopping for carpet, a sofa, light and table! Now we have to build shelving for the inside and move everything back in it from the old shed and see how much space is in it!

Landscaping around it will have to wait for next year. I will be adding two curly willow trees to each side of the door that I all ready have in large pots. I think a bench along the side and I'll probably keep it simple with a few potted plants.

Now I want to re-side the house to match the shed!

Charming!

2011-11-07T15:42:00.001-05:00

I've been searching for all kinds of vintage charms to make a bracelet. It took awhile to collect enough but here it is!

I have a few duplicates, so I might replace those if something else comes along. There's two mustard seed charms, two pink Lucite cubes and two shoes with birthstones (different stones in them).

I can't decide if I want to continue and add more charms on the other side of the chain, too.

I love the door knocker, it moves but my favorite one is Popeye!

See the old license plate? I want to find a ton of those to make another bracelet, so if you happen to have any laying around, please let me know!

Wreaths

2011-11-05T22:12:00.000-04:00

I've been wanting a new wreath for my front door for a long time! I've finally got one!

I took a straw wreath, 3" square pieces of fabric that I cut with a wavy edges and my hot glue gun. I wanted to work on this last weekend but couldn't because of the power outage! I finally got to work on it this week and this is what the finished wreath looks like.

The word IN was purchased from my friend at VintageEmbellishment on Etsy. She sells vintage marquee letters and I was fortunate enough to find this in her shop!

Then, while on the subject of wreaths, I wanted to get some letters for family members for Christmas and I purchased letters from Peppercorns2 and yes, VE and Pepper are sisters!

I was rushing to get these done before it got dark today so you aren't seeing the actual finished wreaths but you can get the idea.

I am using wonderful Sweet Huck wreaths and simply attaching the letters to the wreaths for a welcome feel to their homes.

I just love these Sweet Huck wreaths!

LOL, no, the M really isn't that off center once I got the letters wired into the wreath!

And they do look better now that they are wired in!

I have a great head start to Christmas presents! I even have one full set of cluster balls with bowls finished! Woohoo!

Grand Jury Duty

2011-11-04T16:12:00.000-04:00

It's been a long week and I'm still not caught up with everything I need to do after being without power for four days. I'm not going to complain because I know a lot of people are still without power and we were fortunate enough to have a generator and propane heater! The sound of generators has been replaced with the sound of chainsaws, for those who have to deal with downed trees and limbs.

We still had to go to court today! Luckily, it was a very short session.

As we were just getting started, my table started to vibrate. I tried to ignore it, no one else's table was vibrating, just mine! Finally, I couldn't take it anymore and asked, why is my table vibrating? LOLOLOL! Here the assistant had left her cell phone at the end of my table and she was getting a phone call. I didn't know a vibrating cell could move things that much.

We were introduced to a new case. This one with a new DA, Christine. She was the one that was with us the day of jury selection and is a super nice and very funny lady! I look forward to seeing more of her. We were basically just introduced to the new case and didn't hear too much of it since they are in the early stages of collecting evidence. We had a witness to hear but briefly and she kept going back and forth from Sargent to corporal in rank with the poor policeman and she finally said she keeps demoting and promoting the man so she's just going to call him Protector of the Universe from now on. LOL! She also forgot to swear him in, so when she did swear him in, she asked him if he's been telling the truth or he's just going to start telling the truth now that he's sworn in. :o) She's a hoot.

We had a witness from another case come in but he was so rude and obnoxious and decided he wasn't going to answer any questions, he pled the 5th. and after asking him if he was going to plead the 5th. for anything asked of him and his reply was yes, they dismissed him. At this point, an entire review of his part of the case was made and the jury decided it was time to submit it to court. In other words, an arrest warranty will be taken out for his arrest and now it is in the hands of the courts to decide if he's guilty or not. We might, in the future, hear about other participants in this case but for now, that case is off our schedule.

The third case we are hearing now was put on hold for this session, so we got to go home! It was a short one, for sure. I fear that means the next session will be very long in order to get caught up on things!

It was interesting, got to have a few conversations with a detective while we were in breaks. I found out there's an underground system in place to bring prisoners from the prison to the courthouse. Why was I interested in this? Because I feared running into a shackled prisoner that just gave testimony, while I was waiting for a ride home! And I wondered why the detectives were wearing tiny little bright green tags on their suits today. Why did this interest me? Because I'm nosy. The reason is, it shows they are carrying firearms. Now, isn't that interesting? He, also, said years ago, the bad guys caught onto this and were copying the tags and walking right into the courthouse with weapons and that they used to wear a certain color shirt to show it, too but that caught on and the bad guys were walking the streets with the same color shirts and other people could tell they were carrying weapons! sigh. I lead such a sheltered life!

Not Funny!

2011-10-29T17:13:00.000-04:00

This is what we are dealing with today!

At the beginning:

About 12:30 PM, we lost power and it was out until 5:00 PM.

I've been watching these trees:

One small branch at the front has fallen.

Now, one larger in front of the car and in back of the car has fallen.

The trees are just not used to having both leaves and snow on them at the same time. I was standing out back on my deck and you could just hear cracking and then the branches falling all around us. I never heard or saw anything like it before!

As I was watching these trees, the largest branch came cracking down in front of my eyes. Luckily, the owner of the car had moved it before this happened.

This is nuts.

More thrift shopping!

2011-10-26T18:45:00.000-04:00

A friend of mine took a day off work and we spent the day thrift shopping! My favorite thing to do! I think I was pretty shopped out from my thrifting vacation, but I still managed to find a few things!

First off, I found this paint by number for the awesome price of $3.00! Peeps, please do NOT put glass over a paint by number! Just in the time I got this one home, the paint had softened up and was sticking to the glass. I was lucky, I got the glass off and there wasn't any damage to the picture.

At the same thrift shop, I found this beauty! I had seen it before but it was always way too expensive. My patience paid off! I got this one for $5.00!!! It's a very long picture, about 32" long. There was another one there but it was $8.00 and showed damage.

This is just plain weird! LOLOL!

I'm pretty sure it's Shim's brother! Yep, I need to do some research on this one!

These are huge industrial size! Wonderful old picking shears. The note attached to it says it doesn't cut fabric too well!

This is just a really cute poodle that I just couldn't resist!

I had to laugh about this one. I found this sealed bag of items and all I could see were the large trees and two wooden pieces in it. I liked the trees, so I purchased the bag for $3.00.

I was thrilled to find even more trees inside it, the cutest small ones I've ever seen and that little piece of the couple building a snowman!

Was able to get a few more bowls for my Christmas project! The one on the left has a bee on the bottom of it, it's Higbee glass! Might not be able to part with that one. :o)

Very pretty crystal wedding compote!

Lastly, I've been looking for a blazer to wear to court. I didn't have anything nice for the Fall weather but couldn't find anything I liked with a price tag to match. Look what I found!

It's a beautiful beige color with green and maroon houndstooth. Made in USA, not a rip, tear or frayed thread on it. Seriously looks like it was never worn. What's wrong with it? It's dry clean only, but for what I paid for it, I'll get rid of it before paying to have it dry cleaned! Can you guess what I paid for it?

Pumpkins!

2011-10-22T10:45:00.001-04:00

As every one that knows me all ready knows, I don't do anything normal! This years pumpkins are keeping with my abnormal lifestyle and people want to see them, so here they are!

Blue pumpkin!

White pumpkin!

Apple pumpkin!

My somewhat normal baby pumpkins!

All of them together.

This is a T-shirt I made years ago. It's held up quite well throughout the years! At this time of the year, I tend to wear it until it stands on its own! It's cross stitched using waste canvas and if you notice, the eyes, nose and mouth are cats!

Here are a few of my favorite pumpkins from Etsy! Please click on the link below the photos to see the listings at Etsy.

LuRuUniques

This is from Mary at LuRuUniques! She sells the parts that you put into a pumpkin of your own. She says you can use the parts with one of those fake pumpkins that you can carve, so it's perfect for an indoor centerpiece at Thanksgiving!

hawthornehill

Isn't this great!!!??!!! This comes from hawthornehill and I can think of SO many things you could write on it, like KEEP OUT! LOL!

mmwolters

And this felted pumpkin made from a sweater comes from Michele at mmwolters! I can't think of a better way to re-purpose old sweaters!

Happy Halloween!

Grand Jury Duty

2011-10-21T17:50:00.000-04:00

Today went pretty quick. Things moved along nicely. It's nice when I get dropped off at the doors of the courthouse and don't have to make the hike from the parking garage! And then I arrive and the coffee is ready and waiting for me!

The first case started out and we got to see police chase videos from the police car dash cams. It's really different when you feel like you are actually sitting there in the car and seeing things for real! I had to laugh at the detectives, they brought evidence from the crime along with them, most of it has been stored away for a year now. But they had a time getting some items opened up! Then, once we saw everything, the DA asked them to leave the room while we discussed things and gave the DA some questions we'd like answered, so there they were, trying to shove everything back into the bags as quickly as they could and get it all back into the box.

I'm not positive, but I think I have a little crush on the next DA! He has a great sense of humor and is always in a good mood. He starts out by thanking us for being there (do we have a choice?) and today he says, it's going to be a long day, he has 12 witnesses so he's thinking about 6 or 7 o'clock. You could just hear moans and groans from the jurors at that point and he says, just kidding! It's government employee payday so I want to get out of here in 15 mins.! LOLOL! Since he's getting paid today, he should treat us to lunch and he said we could even super size it but we have to order from the dollar menu. He really was in a hurry! We got out of there about 1 PM!

The security guards are getting to know us and are a lot of fun. They try to guess if I'll set off the machine or not and I told them I'm onto their tricks and getting better! I'm 5 for 5 now (not setting off the machine) and they root for me! LOL! I think it's time for me to slip a Pez dispenser into my purse for them to see as my purse goes through the x-ray machine. I'm thinking of a smiley face dispenser and making a speech bubble that says something on it like Hi Guys! Or I see you! I have to give this some thought. My luck, the day I plan this out, they will be on vacation and I'll get a stick in the mud security guard! Wouldn't that be embarrassing?

We are also getting to know the other jurors and I'm pleased to say, #1 cranky dude actually came in and smiled and said good morning! Wow! I almost fainted. The "I am so beautiful and into myself" dude lost his parking ticket! LOLOL! That was fun to watch. But a few minutes later, another juror came in and said he found a parking ticket in the elevator. Darn. Then, there's the one that I roll my eyes over. Every time she opens her mouth, I cringe and roll my eyes. I had to be really careful today because one juror was missing and that put me closer to her. I don't know how to stop it! I don't really think it would be acceptable behavior if I covered my ears and went, la, la, la, I'm not listening, really loud. But it's tempting. Her questions make me think she watches way too much Law & Order and I get the feeling she takes notes while watching.

That's all folks, have a great weekend! My next session will be Nov. 4th.

Thrifting Finds!

2011-10-20T16:13:00.001-04:00

I have just a few more things to share.

Check out this awesome chicken feeder! I just see so many uses for this in a home. Think centerpiece of a table with acorns in it, autumn display of mums in it and well, Martha Stewart I'm not, but I bet you could think of many more uses for it. It screams primitive farmhouse!

This is another Brumberger file storage. But, this one has a twist to it!

It's a front loader and I just love how it latches shut.

The little film making dude on the front.

I actually found 4 more flower frogs but the first three's photo was too bad to show you, so here is just one holding the buttons I found!

Aren't they just the cutest? Glass baby face buttons!

Last year, I started making a charm bracelet for myself, using only vintage items. I have no rules for it, just anything that will fit and I like them. LOL! I took some earrings apart for it and have a few other items but it just wasn't moving along as fast as I want it to. I found a few more items for it, I'm especially fond of the Popeye charm!!! And I only paid $2.00 for it so that made it even better. And a ship in a bottle, how fun! And yes, I found a plastic troll doll.

I try really hard to stay away from any more jewelry but as you can see, I just can't stay away.

The owl in the back is by Avon and is glow in the dark! Plastic palm tree, set of two bees, two birds on a branch, clear acrylic with violet, clown pin, bugs, Bakelite buckle, awesome flower parasol and some funky red leaf earrings.

I got some super sales, like the owl pin was half price!

That's it for this trip! See something you'd like to have? Let me know and we'll work out a deal!

Have a great weekend!

VintageStation

More Finds!

2011-10-19T21:27:00.000-04:00

More of my finds from my weekend spree!

This is a wonderful posting tray from the late 1940's!

I've started to collect assorted bowls to use for Christmas gifts.

I'm going to use them with the ball clusters I'll make.

It will be fun to match up the clusters with the bowls and people!

This washed up really nice! A piece of opalescent glass for only $4.00!

I had to laugh at this, I thought it said DOH! It's the initials DH with a space in it.

A metal stamp caddy.

I love this paper! It folds over the edge of a shelf.

The colors are just wonderful on it.

More mini bowling pin trophies!

Beautiful Gourmet Pyrex casserole. It was a promotional piece from the 60's.

This is a Delphite blue with fired on white and a pattern in gold.

One more day of finds, so stayed tuned!

RWS

Shopping Spree!

2011-10-18T21:12:00.000-04:00

I just returned from a long weekend of antique shopping. My all time favorite thing to do! Now I get to organize, clean and see exactly what I bought! LOL! Believe it or not, I love washing up the glassware and making it look pretty! Seeing it sparkle again excites me! :o)

I didn't do well at all with the paint by numbers this time. In fact, I only came home with two pieces. Above is an unopened kit of the Norman Rockwell clown. $1.00 at a thrift shop!

This is yet another desk caddy! The only reason I purchased this one was because it was only $3.00!

This is a fun item! A flower fashioner that has a hard rubber suction cup on the bottom of it!

I'm not even sure the suction cup would work anymore, but it's still a neat piece!

I found some more knitting needles! I love the two toned ones. Some of the plastic ones are bent, but I still love them.

Okay, I sure hope someone proves my hubby wrong on this one! Yes, I purchased a caulking gun! It's just a cool looking, primitive, chippy thing I couldn't pass by. He says no one would want it and I'm crazy. sigh.

Got this really pretty bowl for .75 cents! I'm wondering what the "ribbon" is or if I should even call it ribbon. It's cloth and must have some special purpose but I don't know what that would be! For .25 cents each roll, I couldn't resist it.

Ice tongs! There's that blue again!

This is a bag of blocks that I use with perforated paper and they stack on each other or beside each other to form pictures. I can't wait to make some more of these!

I love the color of this one! Samsonite train case.

These are lab dippers. They are open on the bottoms, you put microscope slides down into the ridges and then they'd dip them into stains.

That's it for today but I have more to come, so stay tuned!

RwS

What's It? - UPDATE

2011-10-17T19:44:00.001-04:00

Found this items while out antique shopping this weekend and can't find any information about it online.

This is what I know, it's called a posting tray (it says so on the label)!

The silver handle you see is like a trigger, depress it and you can move the front part back and forth.

It's Made in England.

The arms on the sides can be pulled out for larger space.

And the arms fold down.

My very first thought was that it could have been used in old gas stations to hold customer work orders and now I'm wondering if it could have been used in an old hotel to hold room bills. Anyone have any ideas?

My friend from VintageEmbellishment found the patent number online, it's from 1947 and is listed as a loose sheet holder! Thank you so much!

Vintage Make Over - Rotary Phone

2011-10-08T21:45:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago, I came across this vintage rotary phone. It was in terrible shape but I was up for a challenge!

Yuck! Let's get started.

Armed with my disinfecting wipes and my Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, I started with the hand piece. And I always have a container of Q-tips around!

Before: very dirty!

After: looks like new!

Face piece:

Ew!

After

Now onto the worse part, the cord

Before: totally gross!

After: looks great!

Now it looks usable again!

Jury Duty

2011-10-07T22:16:00.000-04:00

Well, I did much better at pulling into the parking garage today! I just needed to square up my car and I can reach the ticket now. One word of advice, don't pull into a parking garage with your sunglasses on, you can't see!

Did all the right things walking to the courthouse, but I had two, count em, two bums approach me. First one told me this sob story about how he needed a few bucks to get a bus to take him home, the second one would not let me alone. I kept walking without looking at him but he ran right after me, he wanted 50 cents. sigh. Thing is, I saw the first bum when I left for the day and he didn't look like he wanted to go home anymore. I wonder if I'll see him the next time I go!

I didn't have a table partner today. Things got moved around again. Maybe they just did not want Dixie and I sitting together because we talk too much!

We had one case we could cross off the list! A man was arrested in a double murder case, so we don't have to worry about investigating that one but they went ahead and added another case. Geez. LOL!

I'm getting to know the other jurors. I like to pretend I know what they do for a living. And I like to give them names. Like one is #1 Mr. Cranky Dude. He's never happy so I've made it my mission to make him talk and I'll faint if he ever smiles. He runs for the elevator and gets upset if people keep coming, he's in a hurry and has places to go! Um, excuse me, but didn't he know he had jury duty and there's never telling how long we are going to be there, so why does he have plans?

I like most of these people. Most. But there's always one in the crowd. One just plain gets on my nerves. I must stop rolling my eyes up into my head when words come out of her mouth. I'm either going to get caught doing that or they will get stuck up in my head someday. But seriously, it's really important to know when a witness was de-friended on Facebook? Really??? Okay, whatever. If she'd stop asking so many stupid questions, we'd get out of there a lot earlier!

I love the one DA we have! He's always in a good mood! Unlike the other one that was out of sorts today. But he asked if we needed anything and one juror said he'd like a toaster in the break room so we could toast our bagels! The DA said they probably have one down in the property room that they confiscated from somewhere, he'd see what he can do!

We have one case where there are so many people involved, it's difficult to keep track of everyone. I whispered to Christina that we need some type of "family tree" type thing to help us out with the who's who! Today, the DA said he's in the process of making up a chart because Christina thought it would be a good idea to see who is who. Um. I shot her a look and said Family Tree??? And she smiled and nodded. I'm onto her!

Time seems to drag on while I'm there. It sure is a long time for me to sit still! When we are there close to lunch time and we still have a way to go, they always ask if we want to take an hour for lunch or do we want to plow through and go home early. Majority always votes we plow through and go home earlier but early for a day like today is still 2:30 or so!

Until next time!

Stuff!

2011-10-06T16:10:00.000-04:00

I had to go out today. Had to. I've been feeling so housebound lately, the weather has kept me from going out too much. I want to go shopping! And while the weather is nice, I better get out or the next thing I know, it will be snowing.

I stopped at one thrift shop and found a huge bag of coin wrappers. I decided to get them because if you ask for them at the bank these days, you are lucky if they hand you five wrappers! Best part, they were only .97 cents.

It seemed to be a porcelain day, for some reason! Check this out!

What is it? Got me, I guess it's a letter holder. Do you know?

Now, not sure why but I had to have these. LOLOL!

Yes, they are porcelain toilet paper holders! One is an almond color and the other one is an off white color. One is marked USA and the second one isn't marked at all.

I continued onto another shop and I kid you not, look what I found at this one!

It's a beautiful pale green toilet paper holder! Who says you have to use it for tp? I vote you buy it from me and use it as a candy dish. The wheels are mine, you can't have those.

Have a shop, a booth in an antique mall? Why not use these for business card holders? They really are neat! What uses can you think of?

And finally, the last stop, I found this awesome casserole!

I know, it's not too exciting when you see it at this angle, but let's look closer!

And even closer:

It's olives!!! A Pyrex divided casserole. The outside is a fired on greenish/yellow color with the olives on the lid. It's called Verde Olives by Pyrex and I'm lovin' it!

Vintage Pyrex

2011-10-04T17:20:00.000-04:00

I haven't been out doing too much in the way of antique shopping but I had lunch today with my Mom so while I was in a different area, I decided to stop at this one thrift shop.

They really didn't have much but I did find this neat casserole!

It's a promotional piece from the 1960's and apparently there isn't much of it around

It's called Gourmet. It nice and big, 2 1/2 quart! It's missing the lid but I think that can be replaced, the pattern and condition are more important, I think! It's in great shape, doesn't even look like it was ever used. One small surface scratch inside but I think that is from someone putting something inside it, perhaps for storing it.

I almost put it back several times but I'm glad I didn't!

Storewide Sale!

2011-10-03T11:18:00.000-04:00

*** Inventory Reduction Sale! From now through Oct. 10 (midnight, Etsy time), every single item in shop on sale for 20% off! Shipping is excluded. Discount will be refunded to your PayPal account.

Even items previously marked down are included in this sale, so take advantage of these terrific prices! Remember, Christmas is just around the corner, so shop early! ***

Click on logo to go directly to my shop!

Fall Harvest Day!

2011-10-01T17:03:00.000-04:00

We have been shopping for a new shed when a neighbor gave us a flyer for Fall Harvest Days at Green Acres Outdoor Living: (click on logo to visit their website)

It was an Amish event with an Amish BBQ, free coffee and donuts, free ice cream, an Amish bake sale, buggy rides for $3.00 and they had a fire truck there for the BBQ, I suppose, but the two firemen would show kids the firetruck and gave them little plastic fire hats, it was so cute!

This place was one of those WOW places! More than just outdoor furniture and stuff like that, they also had indoor furniture made by the Amish that was so beautiful.

We walked all around, looked at every shed, talked to salespeople and then went to the BBQ. It was a full meal of chicken, roll, macaroni salad, applesauce, chips and a drink, all for a whopping price of $5.00!! OMG, it was so good. People were coming just for the BBQ!

And yes, we got ourselves a shed. This should be fun, having this thing brought in here. I'll be glad when this is over and done with! It is made to your order, we got a light gray siding A-frame with dark gray trim and shutters and charcoal shingles. I've decided I want to live in it and he can store his lawn mower in the house!

Isn't it cute!?

Another new flower cluster ball

2011-09-27T15:22:00.001-04:00

I've been making these and having a ball!

This one was made from vintage catalog pages.

Made from scrapbook paper.

A group of them! I can't make up my mind if I like the small one with that many pins in it.

These are all made from scrapbook paper and I love them all together but two of them went to another home.

I'm making these to fill up small bowls and a large compote I have. They can also be used in cups, sugar bowls or other items you have around the house!

Small, medium and large sizes.

This scrapbook paper turns into this ball:

My friend over at VintageEmbellishment suggested I do these in red and green for Christmas! I think that is a wonderful idea and will get on it when I restock!

New flower clusters

2011-09-26T16:16:00.000-04:00

I learned how to make these flowers and like doing them but when I'd see others make them, I noticed they had more folds inside each petal!

I found some directions to make them with more folds, but just couldn't get it. Even the hubby tried and couldn't get what they were saying. I decided I was going to learn it, come hell or high water!

Here is the old ones:

It's nice, I like it but I just had to know how they did the other ones!

Here is a new one:

See the difference in the petals? With the old ones, you don't need glue until you start gluing all the petals together, you tuck the paper in but with the new ones, you do need glue for each petal.

What do you think? New or old?

Amazing!

2011-09-25T15:15:00.000-04:00

Take a look at this amazing flower! It's called a Toad Lily!

Grand Jury Stuff

2011-09-23T12:52:00.000-04:00

Well, where do I start?

My hubby wasn't home to run me over to the courthouse, so it's the first time I had to drive myself. I was okay with this because let's face it, in the two years I will be going for this, he can't always be home!

Driving over to the parking garage was a piece of cake!! Woohoo! BUT, when you turn into the garage, you don't have the opportunity to swing out and pull straight into the garage, therefore, I couldn't get close enough to the ticket machine to reach it! I had to put my car in park, unfasten my seat belt, OPEN my door and push the button for a ticket! GRRRR! It's a bear being small! I was so lucky no one was behind me! I got my parking space and off I go. *sigh* I had no idea where I exited the parking garage, so I had no idea where I was going. But, I made it look like I knew! Okay, so I had to stop someone and ask them how to get to the courthouse. When I exited the garage, I should have made a right but I made a left. Can YOU say no sense of direction? It's quite easy if you go right and not left but for today, I had a hike to get there! LOL!

I made sure not to drink so much coffee this morning. Just enough to open my eyes to drive! After all, they have coffee there for us when we get there. OMG, what?? The coffee isn't here yet? *sigh* Luckily it arrived in time to grab some before sitting down.

Now, I was pretty much promised my seat by the door but I get inside and I'm moved over one seat. How can this be? I can't take this! While no one was looking, I moved the chair next to me over so we weren't so close to each other! LOLOL, I had the chair straddling the foot on the table, how annoying can that be? No one noticed what I had done, so it's okay, right?

Who is my new table neighbor? (Names may be changed to protect the innocent) David, but he goes by Dixie. LOLOLOL! Okay. He's a talker. Don't get him started. We are in BIG trouble, him and me together! He works for a box company. They make boxes for Just Born (you know, those people who make marshmallow Peeps) and Hatfield Packing (you know, those people who kill pigs and make hot dogs). He's also a big fan of hot rods and the NHRA. He likes drag racing. He's lost 45 pounds by cutting out bread and starches. Anything else you want to know?

So, I stand by my chair for a while, allowing others that get there late to get by me and I notice the man's parking ticket beside me. We put them on the table so they can be validated. I asked him, where did you park that your ticket is different than mine? He starts laughing and turns his ticket to the other side, NOW it matches mine! LOL! I said I didn't have enough coffee yet this morning and he says "it shows! Sit down and drink your coffee." Ten minutes later, we are still laughing about this and he says he won't tell anyone. He's a very nice man but quiet. Poor man, sitting next to me. But he actually stayed after with me and explained to me what he does for a living and it was very interesting!!! He tests water. :o) I had a very good banana nut muffin from the break room. This might not be a good idea in the future. That made me burp. I can see it now, Juror #31 is on the record for a belch.

We hear from a witness and discuss the case. Another witness was supposed to show up but didn't (she's in a heap of trouble) and the second case we were to discuss, the detective was sick, so we got to leave early!! Woohoo!

My hike back to the parking garage wasn't as bad except I had to walk in the rain. I was so happy it didn't seem as long as the walk towards the court house was BUT, I took the elevator to the second level of the garage and couldn't find my car! I walked around and knew I was going in the wrong direction since the next level was outside and not uncover and I definitely left my car undercover. Um. Can you say no sense of direction? I was actually really starting to get worried, I couldn't find my car! Thinking back, I should have set off the alarm and followed the noise of that (would police come running?) but I didn't. I guess I could have just hit the lock button until I found it. I was never so happy to see my car! I am learning more and more, each time we have a session! Maybe there will come a day that I'll have nothing to write about!

Another Ellen Hidden Camera!

2011-09-22T05:00:00.001-04:00

video platform video management video solutions video player

Another Ellen Hidden Camera!

2011-09-21T05:00:00.001-04:00

video platform video management video solutions video player

Schweddy Balls

2011-09-20T08:34:00.000-04:00

Have you heard? Ben and Jerry's has a new ice cream flavor coming out called Schweddy Balls named after a very funny skit from Saturday Night Live with Alec Baldwin! You can watch the video here:

I can't wait to taste this one!

Another Ellen Hidden Camera!

2011-09-18T05:00:00.001-04:00

My Pretty Pony? LOLOL!

Oh, SO Funny!

2011-09-16T16:25:00.000-04:00

video platform video management video solutions video player

Random Shot

2011-09-12T16:05:00.002-04:00

This beauty is a water lily in my pond!

Finds!

2011-09-11T15:58:00.000-04:00

This is LONG overdue, I found just a few items over a week ago and am just getting around to taking photos!

First, is this wonderful George Briard plate:

Wonderful pair of rhinestone clip-on earrings:

Love this shelf liner in gold!

And this great chef note paper holder! I don't have it shown but there's a place for a pencil, too.

And, I have another vintage makeover item to share but that will come later!

Grand Jury Duty - First Day!

2011-09-09T17:49:00.001-04:00

Today was my first day of grand jury duty. I felt like it was the first day of school!

You have to go through security each time you leave the courthouse and come back in. If you go outside to make a phone call, you have to pass through security again.

We started out by calling the session to order and had a grand jury seminar showing the importance of the grand jury and how we are POWER!! I absolutely love how these people have a great sense of humor, for example, throughout the seminar, there was a power point presentation shown on the overhead projector so we could follow along with what was being said. Every once in a while, you'd see photos that just made you laugh, like one of Roger Clemens with the caption that reads "I will tell the truth, really" (he was on trial for lying to Congress). Or the photo of a ham sandwich and we were told it really isn't true that all DA's can indict a ham sandwich. References to Law and Order TV show and 12 Angry Men.

This is what it looks like inside the room where we will be meeting for the next 2 years:

About half way through the seminar, we had to stop that and actually moved onto our first case. We heard evidence from detectives, a witness and saw pictures. This will be an on-going case that we will be investigating, so I can't tell you anything about the case itself. It's all TOP SECRET! So, don't ask.

When we finished up with that part, we went back to the seminar and wrapped that up. It was really informative and nothing like you see on TV. :o)

Then, we heard a second case and the attorney questioned a police officer about the case. We were asked to hold our questions about this one until we meet again.

We were there for a total of 5 hours today. You have to remember, we are an investigative grand jury, not one that gets to yell "guilty" or things like that, we are helping the attorneys get enough evidence to move forward to present to the court. We all ready have 6 cases to work on. It's all a very interesting process.

We got our official notebooks and pens, which are taken from us after each session and double locked in a closet located somewhere in the courthouse. Then they magically appear again for our next session. At the end of our time with the grand jury, each notebook and all it contains are shredded.

So, until we meet again!

Random Shot

2011-09-01T16:09:00.000-04:00

Fiesta

Small DIY

2011-08-31T17:55:00.000-04:00

I like to take vinyl sticky back tiles and put them into my cabinets!! I do it in bathroom cabinets and my kitchen cabinets. Now, I had done it to the cabinets in the kitchen when we first moved into this house, but then we remodeled the kitchen and I just never got around to doing these and it's been years and years since we got the new cabinets!

I decided it's time.

All you need is the tiles of your choice, a heavy duty scissor (or razor blade such as a box cutter), a pencil and ruler:

Start out by cleaning the shelf, washing it and making sure it is dried.

Remember to measure twice and cut once. :o) Stick them on in there and waalah, you have a more cheery, clean look. Items move much nicer on the tiles and any spills clean up so much easier!

Slap them on in there, it takes very little time to do one shelf and you can do as many as you want. You can do just the bottom shelf or all of them, whatever you decide.

You can see how much lighter it looks inside the cabinet and it's easier to see the items, too!

Under my kitchen sink:

Easy, peasy!

Random Shot

2011-08-30T15:38:00.002-04:00

Random Shot

2011-08-29T20:00:00.000-04:00

It's over!

2011-08-28T20:29:00.000-04:00

Thank goodness the storm has gone through and is finally over! We had high winds, lots of rain and downed trees and power outages but we made it!

Hurricane Irene

2011-08-27T17:22:00.000-04:00

Just not sure what is going to happen and it's making me crazy. The wait is horrible. I think it won't be too bad in my area and I also think about those that are in the direct path of the storm.

We have been going from bright sunshine to darkness and rain all day. Every time it starts to get dark, I think, here we go but then it passes. If this is all we are in for, that would be great. But we are prepared for worse. We are stocked up with food and bottled water, removed anything small from the deck and tied down the furniture. We even got ourselves a generator, so we are set.

It's really strange, you go outside and there's not one bird singing, no sign of any birds out there! It's eerily quiet outside. Like the calm before the storm!

Thinking of all those in the storms path! Check in with me, my friends!

Random Shot

2011-08-26T16:59:00.002-04:00

Random Shot

2011-08-25T17:01:00.002-04:00

Vintage Make Over - Plastic Dishes!

2011-08-24T19:38:00.000-04:00

I purchased some melmac/melamine dishes last week that I loved the pattern on. They had some scratches which dirt had accumulated in and even with washing them with dish detergent and hot water, the scratches still showed.

Some of them were really bad! So I set off to fix them!

First, I sprayed them with Clorox anywhere spray and left it sit for a few minutes.

Wiped that off and you could all ready see a difference, this loosens up the dirt and just makes you feel better knowing you disinfected!

Next, I got out my trusty, can't live without them, Mr. Clean Original Magic Eraser!

Scrubbed the plates with this and guess what?

Take a look at the difference! Also, don't forget the backs of the plates, they are often embossed with information and dirt can get in there, too!

Use the same method as above and waalah!

Wash them one more time in soap and water to remove any cleaning agents.

My dishes are sparkling again and totally safe to use! I don't want to sell them anymore!

Our Pez Display A.Q.

2011-08-23T16:58:00.000-04:00

Well, today was supposed to be a day for another vintage makeover, but due to the events of the day, that post will have to wait!

As many of you must know by now, there was a 5.9 earthquake in Virginia. It was felt as far North as MA. I was at home when it hit us. Strangest thing ever! I thought it was really strong winds until I realized it wasn't windy outside! Our house was shaking, I thought twice our TV set was going over and it lasted a full 30 seconds or more! I ran outside, as did other neighbors and we all looked at each other and went "what the hell was that"? LOLOL! One finally said, I'm pretty sure that was an earthquake! She was indeed correct.

Here is our Pez dispenser display:

Now let's look closer after the quake hit. Yes, friends on the West coast, most people would put something sticky on the bottom of them, but what do we know on the East coast about earthquakes? And go ahead, Cathy and John, laugh all you want!

It is strange, it only took out certain dispensers! Shelf number 2 and 4 got hit the hardest.

Shelf four, an entire row was taken out!

I'm pretty sure Woodstock took this opportunity to take out Kermit.

So, how was your day?

Random photo

2011-08-22T08:07:00.000-04:00

These are my utensil crocks.

Random photo

2011-08-21T18:53:00.001-04:00

You know, there is NO reason for me not to blog daily. Well, actually, there is, I just plain forget. I've decided on days I don't have a post for the blog, I'd take a random photo and post it here.

Today's post is of an oil can I found at a flea market and just fell in love with the fact it could be hung on the wall! Yes, small things excite me. Here, have a look:

I actually have another vintage makeover post but I didn't want to seem like I worked really hard this weekend, so it will wait for a few days!

Make over!

2011-08-20T05:00:00.003-04:00

I know you've been waiting all night to read this post. :o)

Today I'm sharing another make over with you. Just a little something I learned and want to pass it on!

I purchased this paint by number at the antique mall yesterday.

It was really cheap so I thought it was a perfect opportunity to try something out. If it doesn't work, I'm not out much, if it does work, that's great.

I'd like you to look at the white clouds:

This is filthy!

I work a little magic and now let's look at it again!

Not bad, huh?

What is the secret?

Baby wipes! Yep, baby wipes! I get the alcohol-free ones.

Now not only does the salty old sea dude look great, but he smells good too!

Today's finds

2011-08-19T16:18:00.001-04:00

I went to an antique mall today and really took time to look through each and every booth! It was fun and relaxing. I did see a lot that I passed on but a few items I couldn't resist!

First, of course, PBN items!

I just happened to "heart" a set of these trays on Etsy last night and here they are at the antique mall! Best part is I only paid $5.00 for them! And a PBN old salty sea man.

I know nothing about door knobs but this one was too neat to pass up!

I can see removing the back part of the knob and using this for a towel hanger in a very shabby chic cottage!

That is all I got at the antique mall but I made a second stop and look what I found!

Horrible photo but you can see how many I got!

What an awesome retro pattern! Look at it close up:

It's plastic! By Texas Ware! Now I have to do research to see if I can find the name of it!

Last, my all time favorite pattern:

This is Temporama by Canonsburg Pottery

How lucky is this day? A meat platter!

I LOVE how it says "this pattern is hermetically sealed under glaze" on the back. I just plain like saying hermetically!

Stay tuned! Tomorrow I'm going to be posting another make over! See you then!

New stuff

2011-08-18T15:59:00.000-04:00

I went on a tiny shopping spree the other day, I just couldn't help myself.

I found some cute items and things I couldn't live without. Of course, I could have but didn't want to.

I got these two buttons for my collection:

I thought they were too cute!

Next are these laundry pins, have no idea why I wanted these but they remind me of the days spent at the public swimming pool when you needed to use a locker.

I'm thinking I'll use one for those annoying shopping reward cards we have to have just to run to the drugstore these days. Any other suggestions out there?

Next is the bestest! Meet Woody:

This is a wooden artist form that is jointed just about everywhere!

He can hold things for me.

He can walk.

He can swim.

He can do the macarena.

And he can channel Vanna White!

I think I need a few more of these, they sure are fun!

Letters!

2011-08-17T19:58:00.002-04:00

Court Session

2011-08-15T07:30:00.002-04:00

I feel like I'm getting ready for my first day of school! Received my official notice of where to report and all the information I need to get started.

Our first session is Sept. 9th. at 9:30 AM. I have to wonder how I'll ever sit still very long, it's not something I usually do (sit still, that is). This should be interesting!

Here is a photo of the old courthouse:

Old and new side by side:

Newest portion of the courthouse:

I believe I'll be in the old section of the courthouse and guess what? I get to ride the elevator! Woohoo! I know, such small things excite me, I'm a cheap date!

If you don't know what this is all about, you can read my original post and get caught up:
http://runswithscissors4.blogspot.com/search?q=grand+jury

Lucky Luggage!

2011-08-13T17:24:00.000-04:00

This is another item I found yesterday but it was in a great need of a makeover!

Just look at this beauty! Samsonite Streamlite in the Hawaiian Blue color!

It actually has silver sparkles throughout the color!

Now, let's take a look at it closely!

It's filthy dirty but I could see the potential in it!

(Before)

Armed with my trusty Mr. Clean Original Magic Eraser and Nev-R Dull, I got started on it.

(After)

(Before)

(After)

Even the top was so dirty, it didn't have a chance at a good home!

(Before)

(After)

Take a look at it now!

It's cleaned inside and out and looks awesome now! I don't clean it to the point it looks brand new, it's not and I don't want it to look that way. I stay away from the threads used for stitching as I don't want them to get wet, so there is some dirt still on the piping.

Best part? It only cost $3.15 including tax. I don't think anyone wanted to touch the filth! I'm sure happy I did. LOL!

Thrift Finds!

2011-08-12T20:16:00.000-04:00

Went out today and came home with a few items. I did show some restraint and put a few items back!

Here are my finds for the day:

An enameled daisy pin! I just love it.

Can you guess what these are? I had to bin dive to get these!

Does this photo help you guess what they are?

Okay, they are inflatable hangers! Seem perfect for travel! The prints on them are just lovely!

Take a look at this! What a great retro item this is!

Can't you just see this with a cheese ball on it? And just look at the amount of crackers you can put on it!

And yes, I found a vintage Uncle Wiggily game. I only want it for the game pieces and cards, they make awesome tags!

Tags, once I'm done with them!

Cute little cross stitch item:

Some picnic plate holders.

And, here's a good one! My hubby isn't too thrilled with this one:

LOLOL, yep, another Tupperware chip n' dip, now I can have another bird feeder! The hubby isn't happy he has to do some work. :o) You can see the first one here: http://runswithscissors4.blogspot.com/2011/08/thrift-find-fun.html

I have one more item but will share that with you all tomorrow! Stay tuned!

More good luck!

2011-08-10T11:37:00.000-04:00

Some times, my luck scares me! Do you know what I mean?

A week or so ago, I was searching online to identify a paint by number I had seen. I came across something in the museum I had never seen before and immediately said to myself, I MUST have that!

I figured it would be ages until I found one but I just LOVE the hunt and a hunt with purpose! Imagine my surprise when the next day, I went to eBay to look around and of course, my search took me to vintage paint by numbers. There it was! I was shocked and couldn't believe my eyes!

What was it? Take a look:

Is it a Shrinky Dink? Is it a paint by number? It's BOTH!!! A shrinking paint by number! Amazingly, it is still sealed in the box! Was Craft Master a head of their times?

It was sold in a hardware store for $4.47 and I guess it didn't sell, so it was marked down to $3.33!

This one is called Still Lifes. You paint by numbers on the big sized pictures on special material. Shrink to perfection and achieve the texture and blending of fine professional art (taken right from the box).

A division of General Mills Fun Group, Inc. Who knew?

Here is one picture included in box.

Box even includes 2 quality pre-cut professional artist's framing mats! LOLOL! They look like colored burlap to me.

Now, I am just itching to rip into this box and see what is inside it, but I must resist! You know what that means, right? I must find a second one so I can open it!

Flower Frogs!

2011-08-08T12:00:00.001-04:00

Awesome new flower frogs!

Both listing in my Zibbet shop!

(click on logo to visit shop!)

First two are cage style. The smaller one is marked Dazey.

The second one is a hairpin style and is marked Blue Ribbon.

New Pez!

2011-08-07T11:24:00.000-04:00

I got some pretty cool dispensers this weekend!

The first one is the Boston Red Sox mascot.

Second one is the Geico Gecko!

The third one is the Food Lion Truck

And my favorite one, Chuck E. Cheese!

For more details and photos, visit my Pez website: ThePezt

Paint by Numbers

2011-08-03T17:24:00.000-04:00

It's been a good week for paint by numbers! Thought I'd share them with you.

These just arrived today. I haven't been able to come up with names for them!

Along with those came these. They are called Baby Pandas:

Look at the mouth on the one on the right, they forgot to paint the black accents!

Earlier this week, I received these:

These are from the Circus Clown Series. Clown Capers (left) and Clown Prince (right). These came boxed as a set of three, two small sizes (shown) and a larger size:

Clown Concert! I love that I got the complete set, that isn't always easy to do. These are from 1958 and oil colors.

Laughing Pig (looks like a bear to me but it's called a pig)

Dancing Horse

Hungry Giraffe and once again, I got the set! These are from 1956 and are also oils.

I love the clowns and circus paint by numbers! If I was forced to pick only one category to collect, it would be clowns but I really hope that doesn't happen! LOLOL!

Thrift Find Fun!

2011-08-01T19:59:00.000-04:00

Several weeks ago, I found this Tupperware chip n' dip at a thrift shop for a dollar:

It wasn't in the best of condition, it is missing the lid to the center part and it had white spots on it. Eventually, I did get the white spots off of it, so it wasn't too bad. I took photos to list it in one of my shops but just never would list it for some reason.

Fast forward a few weeks and this idea flew into my head! I need to make a trip to Home Depot!

Before I could get there, I visited another thrift shop and woohoo, I found what I wanted!!!

A table leg and it was priced $1.99, can't beat that at Home Depot!

So, paint it up and coat it with some polyurethane and now look at it!

Isn't it pretty? Now attach the chip n' dip to the top of it and take a look:

My outdoor birdie friends now have a classy looking bird feeder!

I love it! The hubby will connect a walkway block to the bottom of it so it will be free standing and I can move it around. The center does pop off so I can easily clean it! I hope the birds love it as much as I do and for the price I spent on it, if they don't like it, I can get rid of it. :o)

RWS

Vintage Rocks!

2011-07-31T20:28:00.002-04:00

Finds!

2011-07-30T08:37:00.000-04:00

First, I must show you what arrived in the mail yesterday from a friend!

Isn't it beautiful? It's called New England Harbor and it's hard to tell it's a paint by number but it is! It is so nicely done and even the frame is wonderful!

I went out thrifting yesterday but didn't have much luck. The first place I stopped, I got a table leg:

Shipping Woes!

2011-07-27T18:47:00.001-04:00

When I ship items to customers, I like to pack them the way I'd want them packed if they were being shipped to me. Some times, I wonder about other people. Here is a prime example of poor shipping policies.

I found these paint by numbers online:

I wanted these for several reasons. First, the dog looks SO much like the first dog my hubby and I got together. Second, the cats are the second in a series that I have the first one. I'm thinking, this is win, win.

After waiting over 2 weeks, they finally arrive. Imagine my surprise when this is what I got:

Yes, they were thrown into a padded envelope! Who puts two paintings in a padded envelope, without any other type of protection? Let's look closer.

Apparently, they seller tried to ship them for $2.82 after charging me $10.00 for shipping. Then, they were opened for inspection:

At least, I'm assuming this is the order of business. They were then returned to the sender for more postage:

Now, it's been resealed with scotch tape, more postage added, a bunch of priority mail stickers stuck to the bag and it's been stamped with a huge stamp that it was inspected. It came as no surprise to me the condition they arrived.

The cats doesn't look too bad, but look closer:

The nails in two places were pushed through the painting and the painting is creased.

But look at the one I wanted the most:

Large tear in painting.

And large creases:

It's beyond repair.

The "gentleman" has a return policy but they state the buyer must pay for return postage, this was unacceptable to me. I email him and explain what happened and how bad the paintings are and requested a refund in full. His answer to me was "Did this happen in the mail"?

Excuse me? I was so dumbfounded by this, it took me minutes to recover. I wrote back and said, "Did you put them into the padded envelope ripped, creased and damaged"? No response. Nothing.

I waited and emailed again, asking him what he intended to do about this. Again, no response.

So, I open up an incident report and finally got a response from him. Problem is, he's rude and lying through his teeth. He tells me he was slow in responding due to the fact that he was answering questions because of the incident report I opened and went on to tell me how wonderful his feedback is and I never should have opened the report. NOW, he says he will issue a refund however, he transferred all the money out of his PayPal account and now I have to wait for him to transfer money BACK into his account. After waiting another 5 days, PayPal informed me they issued the refund. From day one after opening the incident report, PayPal informed me they would be the ones investigating the problem and if it's not resolved within 7 days of opening the report, they would automatically issue a refund, so that made me feel better.

I can't even look at these, it makes me sick to think how badly this was handled. I hope some day to get the dog out of the envelope and maybe I can do some repairs to it from the back and get it looking good enough to hang on my wall.

Thrift Finds!

2011-07-16T07:26:00.000-04:00

Went out thrifting yesterday and found a few items.

This is a picnic caddy by Karoff, very interesting piece!

I fully expands and has compartments for all kinds of items! I think it would be awesome to use as a sewing caddy by the sewing machine or to keep jewelry in on a dresser and even to use with artist supplies!

It opens all the way and is about 30" long when fully opened. It's wood with brass accents. I have this listed in my Etsy shop: PICNIC CADDY

Also found a wonderful set of Vera Neumann pillowcases! So bright and cheery to wake up to in the AM.

I really don't think these were ever used. I think they are straight out of a package!

Are they beautiful? They can be found here: PILLOWCASES

A rack to hold your rolls of kitchen wrap, aluminum foil, wax paper etc.

How I miss the good old days when you could find things in such wonderful colors!

And this Tupperware chip n' dip! It is missing the lid but still awesome!

This is huge! I can't imagine all the crackers you'd have to use for this, but you could use it for veggies and even lunch meats.

More Vintage!

2011-07-14T20:29:00.002-04:00

Atomic Vintage!

2011-07-13T21:16:00.001-04:00

A Short Story by RWS

2011-07-09T08:09:00.004-04:00

Well, a few months back, I got the dreaded summons to report for jury duty. I guess there's people out there that like to do this sort of thing, but not me! I wear nothing but blue jeans, so no nice clothes to wear, I'm not fond about driving into center city without a bullet proof car and not fond of sitting in an old stuffy room for hours and hours. Not fond of trying to find a parking space, even in the lot for jurors so I would arrive so early just to get a space, it wasn't funny.

I knew it was coming, every time I appeared, I got closer and closer to being selected. So, it came as no surprise to me when I called the night before to see if I was required to report, that my panel did indeed have to report.

So, I dig through my clothes and find one pair of dress pants that I thought was suitable. I try them on and yep, barely fit me anymore, it's time for a diet for sure. I lay down on my bed and goody! I can button the button now! Whew. I got all my clothes ready for the next day and I'm all set.

Luckily, the hubby was home and offered to take me over and pick me up! Yippee, that makes things a bit easier on me. I get dressed, laying down to button my pants and made sure my purse was cleaned out of anything I couldn't get through security. Lucky again, I remembered my itty bitty teeny tiny Swiss Army knife is in my purse, that didn't make it the last time I went through security, so leave it at home this time! LOL! Can you image how that looked in x-ray? But, it really is small, I could do more damage with the Bic pen laying in the bottom of my purse, seriously!

We drive over there and oh my, things have changed!! There's now a big, beautiful parking garage! Good to know. Wow, there's no longer a 5 mile hike to get to the door! Think about the old days when these places were built, you go up a few steps, walk a block, more steps, another block just to get to the front door. Now it was built down close to the sidewalk, enclosed lobby and covered walkways, woohoo!

So, I go to security, lay my purse down and the man says "Do you have anything in your pockets?" I was about to say NO but realized that would be a lie, so I said "Yes, a Lifesaver" LOLOL, I couldn't tell a lie.

I have to report to the first floor, room 131. I get into the elevator, now I couldn't use the ones off to the side, I had to use the neat ones in the center of the lobby, I get inside and the doors shut, I push the button for #1 and the doors open again! LOLOL, I take it I'm all ready on the first floor? I was thinking I was on the ground floor. I acted like it was fun and got back out, hoping no one was looking.

I find the jury check in room and sit down. It's now a beautiful, large room with four TV sets, a table filled with magazines, many more chairs and even vending machines right in the room! Woohoo! And the bathrooms are much closer, you used to have five minutes to run 8 miles to the rest rooms! You must get there early to get a seat, it fills up quickly. Of course, I decide I better quick run to the bathroom. Off I go, get into the bathroom stall, sit down and OMG it hits me, how am I going to button my pants? OMG! Whew, lucky for me, they stretched a bit and I was able to button them without laying on the bathroom floor.

Run back and I lost my seat but got a better one. Now, why do they know they invited 120 people but only have about 110 chairs? Miss Gayle, the jury organizer gets started and tells us this is exciting! It's something very different and she is sure we'll enjoy it. Then, she informs us, we are all moving upstairs and will get started in about 35 minutes. We can all go do whatever but report back upstairs, yea, I get to ride the elevator and actually move this time! She says we'll only be there about 90 minutes, that's good news and they give everyone an excuse paper for those who need it for their employers and they don't tell them what time you arrived or what time you leave, so enjoy the rest of the day once you leave! LOL!

I decide to run outside and call my hubby so he knows I won't be there all day long. Yep, once again, have to go through security and the one man goes to me "welcome back!" I thought that was so nice but then it occurred to me he probably saw me riding the elevator the first time and wondered if I had any brains.

Onto upstairs, they call your name and give us cards, two of them, a small one and a large one with a number on them. We file in as we are called and sit in an actual courtroom, okay, what is going on? And hey, the mayor is here and I mean, he was summoned to serve! Tee hee. I'm in the very last row, number 112. Once everyone was seated, we were told this was very interesting because it is for GRAND JURY, an investigative grand jury. sigh. They explain that we would serve about 18 months to 2 years. Yep, you are reading that correctly. And they ask if there is anyone who has an employer that wouldn't go for this and gave everyone 10 minutes to go out of the courtroom and call their employers. Once everyone was seated again, they started at the first row and asked anyone if there were any objections with their employers to hold up their big card with their number on it. The district attorney read off any numbers raised up and at the end, they discussed things and read off every one of those numbers and told them they could leave. WHAT? I could have held my card up and with no questions asked, gotten out of there? Who knew? A little while later, I asked the people around me, what happened to the mayor? He had a hard ship and got to leave! Maybe his boss wouldn't pay him for the time served.

Now, you hold up the large card if you have any questions. Easy, right? One gentleman just couldn't get the hang of this concept, needless to say, he was allowed to go. Next, they ask if this type of commitment would be a hard ship on anyone. One lady told us all about her surgery, she's feeling much better now, but what if she has a re-occurrence? It was her two L1 and L2 vertebrae that got injured so sometimes she has to stop for a bit, like when she was walking across the Giant grocery store parking lot, she had to stop and rest. The next question was great! This young man asks if he can volunteer! LOLOL! The judge said, sadly, no, this is by lottery only.

Now, I must say, the people all throughout the courthouse were so nice! Except for Mitch, he was kinda stuffy. But the district attorney had a great sense of humor as did the judge! It made things so much nicer.

We are finally down to about 66 people and we need 23 permanent jurors and 12 alternates. They take all the remaining small numbered cards and start the lottery. How? They put all the cards in a trash can and shook them up! LOLOL! The judge wants to get one of those large drums with a handle that flips them over and over and she can draw from the basket.

The first one picked, it's a man and as he is walking down the aisle, he says, do I get a prize? The judge threw her hands in the air and went YEA! Too funny. Yippee! The man who wanted to volunteer got picked! Whew, permanent ones are all picked and I'm not one of them! Onto the alternates. Sigh, with only 5 more to go, my number is picked. I'm now an alternate juror on the grand jury. How long do we serve? 18 to 24 months. The good thing is, they really are trying to make it as pleasant as they can, we will only be meeting on every other Friday starting in Sept. and we get to sleep late, don't need to arrive until 9:30 AM. If you need to miss a session, it is okay, you will get a transcript of the session to read so you can keep up. They really don't think we'll be there passed lunchtime either, it goes pretty quick. There might be times where we have to change times but it doesn't happen too often. If a storm is coming, they will cancel the session. And our new best friend is Christine, she mans the phones and you can call her anytime with concerns or questions. Now, it's time to pick a foreman, the judge says she thinks the man that wanted to volunteer could be a foreman, would he accept it? Yep! So cool. The last business for the day was to be assigned our juror numbers, they are given out in the order we are now sitting, which is in the order of how the lottery numbers were called. As Christine went along to each person, the district attorney stayed to talk and answer questions. The newly appointed foreman had a lot of questions and you could just see he was determined to do a good job! She was over heard telling him that we really will have (looks around to see who is nearby) and I shouldn't use this word, she says, but we will have Fun! And coffee, bagels and stuff and the first day we arrive, we will find notebooks with our names on them and a pen so we can take notes but they take them back each day, this is all top secret, you know! (Their words, everything is top secret! Even the phone numbers we are given in case we need to contact them, top secret).

So, it's my turn to ask questions, I asked my first question and then said "Now that we have been chosen for this, does that mean we have a lifetime exemption for jury duty from now on?" That got everyone laughing including the DA, then she scratched her head and said, well, I can pretty much guarantee you won't be called while serving on the grand jury. But she thinks she needs to make this suggestion. LOL!

What is an investigative grand jury? We will be helping to investigate crimes! We will assist the DA, we can ask to see witnesses, transcripts and just about anything we want. As an alternate, I can participate in everything except an official voting. If there's something that needs to be voted on between us, like if someone wants to talk to a witness, we can vote to see if the majority thinks it is something we should do but I won't be able to vote when it comes time to decide if there's enough evidence to go to court. I'm thinking of yelling ROAD TRIP every once in a while and suggesting we visit a crime scene :o)

Yes, I will get paid but the joke of the day was, don't spend it all in one place! This from the judge and DA. It will be $9.00 for the first 3 sessions, mileage and free parking (don't forget the coffee and bagels) then $25.00 for each session after that. They take some time off for holidays, most of Dec. and then vacation during the Summer. There might be times we have to stay longer but then again, there's times where we might only be there a few hours. We could be working on more than one case at a time, too. It's criminal court, so it's anything from fraud to murder, we just won't know until the time comes.

I've decided this sounds really interesting and I'm going to make the best of it! Can you imagine me sitting still for hours? And actually paying attention? I have the attention span of a flea!

That's my short story! Starting in Sept. I can let you know how the process works! See if you think it's interesting too.

Hope I answered all your questions!

Have a great weekend,

ilyhole

Woohoo!

2011-07-08T15:21:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, a box appeared on my doorstep! I got a surprise from my friend, Jennie at SoSoVintage! What could it be? My mind was racing and I was trying to figure out what she would send me as I was ripping into the box. Look at what it was!!!!!

Complete with the SoSoRosey touch she is so famous for! A vintage paint by number kit!

How much fun is this?

I love having some paperwork on PBN's, they are a great research tool and this box was packed with them!

Comes with a palette! LOLOL! Yep, that thing holding the paints is your palette!

A brush rest! And don't you just love those crusty, old paints?

This is one canvas that was not original to the kit, but was in this box.

I guess these were included in case you can't read the numbers on the canvas itself? I'm really not sure and will look into this. The one above this is NOT for the kit included in the box, shows one large picture and two small ones, one of those is the canvas included.

These are all of ships! I guess the people used this box to store all their PBN sheets!

And this one is for the kit in the box, called Inspiration Point and it shows a lighthouse!

We laughed so hard at this. Inside the box was a larger brochure showing kits that were available at this time. Read what it says! And here is the title of this kit:

I've done some research on this kit. It's a British version and due to the fact it has canvas instead of cardboard, I date it to the late 50's and possibly early 60's.

Thank you so much, my dear friend, Jennie! You've made my year!

Treasures!

2011-07-04T21:49:00.001-04:00

Treat!

2011-07-02T08:03:00.000-04:00

This is a Summer treat for us, year after year! I don't know why, this is a residential area but I suspect we get to see it when it flies from one pond to another one.

It really is quite the sight to see! It's amazing to see it fly, the wing span is unreal! What is it? It's a Blue Heron!

Patriotic Vintage!

2011-07-01T16:51:00.002-04:00

Vintage Browns

2011-06-25T19:36:00.001-04:00

Shops awaiting their first sale!

2011-06-24T20:47:00.001-04:00

Paper!

2011-06-22T20:25:00.001-04:00

Books!

2011-06-21T20:37:00.001-04:00

Give Peas A Chance!

2011-06-14T19:49:00.001-04:00

Sienna treasury!

2011-06-13T20:27:00.000-04:00

Update!

2011-06-10T21:54:00.000-04:00

Back in March, I posted to the ACJ blog this post: http://acollectivejournal.blogspot.com/2011/03/whats-it.html

It's time to update! Look what I've found since then.

How cute are these?? A friend sent me the one on the right!!!! Don't I have the best friends?

But wait, there's more!!!!!

I found the pink poodle I wanted! Woohoo!

Yep, every single one of them are eyeglass holders!

circus!

2011-06-10T20:38:00.001-04:00

Found!

2011-05-28T16:03:00.001-04:00

I really don't pay too much attention to clothing, but this caught my eye! It was only $3.50 so what the heck. When I got to the register, I found out it was on sale and it was only $1.75!! It's a wonderful camp shirt that really isn't my color but I thought I'd cope, why not?

When I got home and really looked at it, it has a Tori Richard tag on it and one of the older tags. I don't think it's ever been worn. I looked up Tori Richard and found out these shirts don't sell new for under $75.00! This one is 100% cotton and very soft. It's a keeper!

A red Bakelite handled spatula.

These are fun! A boatload of children's cooking and baking pieces! The coffee pot has Little Bo Peep on it.

Isn't it too cute?

More items in the lot.

Cookie sheets, rolling pins and a mixer.

A scoop, strainer and cookie cutters!

Also, found a primitive enameled butter cutter, retro plastic letter holder, Tupperware flower organizer and a boatload of jewelry! I've started listing the jewelry in my Etsy shop, you can look at it here: www.VintageStation.etsy.com

Have a great weekend!

RWS

Vintage Finds Continued . . .

2011-05-27T17:05:00.001-04:00

I love old glass! Filled with imperfections. This used to hold an ink bottle but I think it can be used for so many other things, like paperclips, rings, jewelry of all types etc. It has some great old bubbles and a straw mark in it. Um, might have to keep it.

This definitely is mine, all mine! A perfect example of EAPG. It is sun purpled, which some people prefer to stay away from, but not me, I love it even more. I might even use this for its intended purpose, spoons!

A Bakelite handled strainer spoon and table doily, found some nice linens in the new shop!

These look almost like a child did them! Maybe a first cross stitch project.

I love this set! They aren't dirty, you are just seeing shadows.

Another metal file box. I guess I'm collecting these! I found it at my first stop for only $3.00 and it came in handy on this trip! I filled it to the top with smalls.

I found this at a flea market. It's a glass baseball that I'm pretty sure used to hold candy.

The tag on it says "Souvenir of Atlantic City" and the base has a slot so you can use it as a bank now.

Some fun, funky things I picked up at a few antique shops. The cat and mouse letter holder is a howl! Another single bowling trophy, I seem to find a lot of these in this area of the state! And lastly, a Bakelite handled corn stripper.

Stay tuned for more!

Vintage Finds!

2011-05-26T19:50:00.000-04:00

Of course, I'm going to start out with my favorite things! Paint by numbers.

I think I showed a great deal of restraint this time but some I just couldn't resist! I found the one above in a thrift shop for $5.00!

These I found at a flea market for $5.00.

These I found at an antique shop and actually walked away from them. I never saw ones as small as the two roses. I went back to my hotel room and researched them, thinking someone might have drawn them and painted them to match the larger one. I found them listed at the museum, so I went back the next day and purchased them!

At the same antique shop, I found these old pads of receipts from the 50's. I love these! They are three parts, the next two pages are yellow and pink. These will make awesome tags!

Close up of them:

Strange photo, I should have used a different towel! LOL! These are awesome shoe stretchers with chippy bluish green paint:

I love this shelf liner I found, just wish I had a use for it! So retro looking:

Here's the shelf liner close up:

and

At the same thrift shop I found the paint by number of the lake and deer, I found these vases.

This is a beautiful thrift shop, not too big but very nice. It's run by a church group and kept so nice and clean!

Another new place I found to shop is a place called a ReNuZit shop. This one just opened in November and I'm so glad I stopped in. It's huge, two stories and they keep it very clean. It's so much fun, they organize everything by sections in rooms. Like you'll go into the bedroom and find linens etc. In another room is clothing, another room is kitchen and on and on! I've been there when they come out with a bucket of water and start cleaning glassware and dishes, not to mention the shelves. Oh, they even have a Christmas room!

I found these Ball jars with the most awesome retro lids:

Take a closer look!

They are just short and stout jars and the pattern on them is called Quilted. I just love them!

That's it for today but I have tons more! Stop by tomorrow to see what else I found.

Pigs

2011-05-23T20:36:00.001-04:00

Vintage Rocks!

2011-05-18T20:30:00.001-04:00

Duck, Duck, Goose

2011-05-17T21:41:00.002-04:00

Kissing Etsy Arse

2011-05-16T16:16:00.001-04:00

Snarky!

2011-05-15T16:15:00.000-04:00

Word of the day

2011-05-14T22:26:00.000-04:00

Nothing!

2011-05-13T18:10:00.001-04:00

Crazy

2011-05-13T17:44:00.001-04:00

Trash

2011-05-11T20:23:00.000-04:00

RunsWithScissors

Latest Finds!

**sigh**

Western Charmers!

Rob and John, dancing the day away!

We are old people!

Antique fun!

Hawk

Tree Day

Grand Jury Duty

The unveiling!

Vintage Items for Sale

Update!

Hawk

New Shed!

Charming!

Wreaths

Grand Jury Duty

Not Funny!

More thrift shopping!

Pumpkins!

Grand Jury Duty

Thrifting Finds!

More Finds!

Shopping Spree!

What's It? - UPDATE

Vintage Make Over - Rotary Phone

Jury Duty

Stuff!

Vintage Pyrex

Storewide Sale!

Fall Harvest Day!

Another new flower cluster ball

New flower clusters

Amazing!

Grand Jury Stuff

More Ellen Hidden Camera Videos

Another Ellen Hidden Camera!

Another Ellen Hidden Camera!

Schweddy Balls

Another Ellen Hidden Camera!

More Ellen Hidden Camera Videos

Oh, SO Funny!

Random Shot

Finds!

Grand Jury Duty - First Day!

Random Shot

Small DIY

Random Shot

Random Shot

It's over!

Hurricane Irene

Random Shot

Random Shot

Vintage Make Over - Plastic Dishes!

Our Pez Display A.Q.

Random photo

Random photo

Make over!

Today's finds

New stuff

Letters!

Court Session

Lucky Luggage!

Thrift Finds!

More good luck!

Flower Frogs!

New Pez!

Paint by Numbers

Thrift Find Fun!

Vintage Rocks!

Finds!

Shipping Woes!

Thrift Finds!

More Vintage!

Atomic Vintage!

A Short Story by RWS

Woohoo!

Treasures!

Treat!

sigh