Happy Valentines Day!

Isn't this little pin AMAZING? I found it on Etsy after it already sold. I'd love to know what it went for!

A Math Problem and a Jackpot

What does the first sale of the year on a gorgeous Saturday plus the only estate sale in the area for 60 miles plus the fact that it's a sale of a long time dealer/collector equal? Just a little bit of chaos. Despite a rough start I still managed a haul that I'm very happy with:

A pink metal bathroom shelf, victorian box, antique rosary (resale), 1950s NOS bra (resale), lots of patterns (resale), a cheetah? pillbox hat (resale), a black and teal fascinator (resale), 1930s face power, a little black cat, an amazing burgundy leather with needlepoint compact, a white and black enamel compact, some jewelry, a 1950s clear vinyl rhinestone clutch (resale) and a black patent leather purse with lucite handle. I would have bought much more but I ran out of money!

These purses were the first thing I grabbed and set the tone after the shaky start. I adore them both but I know I would never use the clear one so it's in the shop. The black one however will live a long and happy life with me and see lots of use this summer. It has PINK lining!


These are my two other favorite finds for myself.

The patterns are pretty great and actually in decent sizes (14 through 18). One contained the original reciept from August 1, 1955. A few are cut but it appears all pieces are there. The original owner made notes on some like "perfect size but shrink material first" and "good gored skirt but make top large." I have no idea what to ask for them.

This hat (fascinator? I'm not a hat person) doesn't photograph well. It is in near mint condition with a Union tag. I will probably wait to list it until i get some better photos. The sun was going down by the time I got home.

So that was my day. If the sales this year continue this way I will be a very happy girl!

Relevancy Thursday

Etsy has started "Relevancy Thursday" search testing in which search results order items by relevancy, not recency. While it's a good idea in theory, it has seriously effected everybody's views and turned listing into a keyword spamming contest. Sellers that use accurate tags and titles are being punished. I haven't paid too much attention to the threads about it but I have seen a big decline in views and sales. I have also seen a large amount of GOOD deals on Etsy lately and so I've decided to start posting these great deals every Thursday. Grab them while you can!

Vintage 1940s Celluloid Bird Brooch $14 by retrospace

Frosted Lucite Vintage 1940s Florida Heart Pin $8 by thespectrum

Bakelite Dress Clip with Rhinestones $12 by VintageStation

Silver and White Leaf Necklace $23.99 with free shipping by AgingGracefully

Next week will be clothes!

More Painting

I finally did something I wanted to do for five years, something that would make a lot of vintage purists (and my mother) cringe: I painted my Grandparent's wooden hutch black with wall paint, painted the hardware silver and changed the knobs. The before photo makes it look much better than it really was! I always wanted to paint it but held off, mainly because it was my Grandparent's and it's a nice piece. They had it shipped over from Holland when they came to the United States in 1947. Dropping a full bowl of soup on it and my husband leaving rings from the bottom of wet glasses was the kiss of death. I'm really happy with how it turned out, it's much more "me". It's much darker in person (true black, not grey) and I think it really brings out the detailing and the leaded glass window. I know I'm endlessly complaining about people who ruin old things for "upcycling" or whatever they happen to call it and a lot of people will see this as ruining it so perhaps I'm not one to talk. I'm on this big kick of changing things so I can actually enjoy them (see the kitchen shelf post) rather than shove them aside, which is exactly what happened to this piece since it didn't really go with my other things. Now it's proudly displayed in the center of the living room, the very first thing you see when you walk in.