Friday, December 30, 2011

Mad Men Thrifting And A Convert

 
Mr. TP and I had a costume birthday party to attend. I wanted to go as Don and Betty Draper. Easy enough for me, cause I already had the clothing. Mr. TP wanted to go to G-dub to look for a Don Draper-esque suit and his mission turned out well! He found this blue-gray window-pane suit for $1.

He found the suit and tried it on and told me he wasn't 'sure' about it. I told him he was crazy and looked amazing in the suit.

Mr TP: (opens fitting room door) What do you think?
Me: Get it, you look hawt! And, it's only a buck.
Mr TP: Uh, I don't know about it. I guess I will get it and you can just donate it back after I have worn it.

Fast forward to the night of the party. He gets the whole ensemble together and comes out into the hall to model the outfit and says, "I like this suit, it just needs a couple of alterations and I can wear it to the office". The whole night at the party he was getting compliments and in turn telling people how he got the suit for a buck, and he couldn't believe it, blah, blah, gonna wear it to the office, Goodwill is da bomb, etc.

I think I may have converted him to a thrifter!

P.S. My outfit: Dress, yard sale $1 and Purse, estate sale $4. Heels and jewelry: my own.

Who have you converted in to a thrift shopper?

Linking up to Flea Market Finds and Apron Thrift Girl.

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Cold Weather Thrifting and Lettuce Show You A DIY Garden Update

It started to get cold here, real cold. I could only scrounge up 1 yard sale and 1 estate sale this past weekend. When I stopped at the garage sale, it was an older couple that had collected Hallmark and Barbie for ages, there were *hundreds* of Hallmark collectible ornaments for ultra cheap. I scooped many of the Disney, Coca Cola, and Year ornaments and quickly posted them in the ebay store. Also picked up some sweet old school Barbie stuff from the 90's, including the "gay" earring Ken doll that caused a Barbie uproar and the Barbie Sisters Holiday set which is in a stunning display box. A Santa Wilton cake pan also got thrown into my bag. The old couple was so sweet. It was cold and snowing outside and they had the garage heated and had cider, coffee, and cinnamon rolls. They chatted with me just enough to be friendly but not enough to distract me from my mission. The man even offered to carry my purchases to the car! Now that is what I call the perfect g-sale. Good prices, good service, and food!





Then it was on to the new Goodwill in town, the largest in the city. It was great and will now go on my list as a must visit on a frequent basis. I did think the shoes were priced awfully high though, have you all noticed this? Grabbed up some Pampered Chef, a men's dress shirt NWT, a Pendleton blazer, and a Nygard cropped knit jacket. Each clothing piece was scored for a buck!

Remember the Starbucks travel mug I posted about last time? I paid 2.99 for it and sold it as a buy it now for 24.99+ free ship (8.00) less than a week later. What a quick and easy flip! So, you can imagine that I was elated to see a Starbucks Las Vegas mug being wheeled out of the back in one of those horrible metal bins. I say horrible, because stuff has to get broken in those all the time, and probably good stuff, like vintage Pyrex :) I plucked the mug out of the cart immediately. This GW must price their mugs lower because it was 99 cents, woot! Goin' on the 'bay.

Stopped at the estate sale and scored this cool vintage industrial swivel task chair for my office. I am currently sitting in a overstuffed slipper chair that is so not ergonomically correct. I took a seat in this vintage industrial beauty and it felt like heaven! Mr. TP gave me the 'look' when he saw it in the garage. It has some torn upholstery on the arms and needs a cleaning, but I see the potential and will recover the chair. Because of the style, it will be an easy recover. New ergonomic office chair = $10 bucks.

I know ya'll have been on pins and needles to hear the DIY laundry room garden report ;) Here is a before and after photo...
Nov 29
Dec 20

Coming along nicely isn't it? We will wait for them to mature just a bit more and then thin them out and transfer them to a more appropriate container. Can't wait to have fresh salad greens and yummy Roma's. I might just have to start some sugar snap peas up in here! HA!

Lots of blog love to my readers. My followers are growing weekly and for that I am so thankful. Merry Christmas to all!

Monday, December 12, 2011

Got A Facelift This Weekend...And It Only Took Three Days!

The Etsy store got a major overhaul this weekend. Let me back track a bit here and explain. I started rephotographing the entire store with my new camera and DIY light box at the beginning of the week. I was taking my sweet time about it and was going to do the revamp gradually.

Well, on Friday something kind of cool happened. Another kind Etsian decided to feature one of my items in a treasury.

Normally, I am happy and very thankful to them for using my item in a treasury despite my old, dark, photography. But with this treasury feature, I was elated! Reason being, the curator of the treasury submitted it for consideration of the team over at the HGTV.com blog site. HGTV has started to do features of Etsy treasuries on their web blog. How cool would that be if this treasury were featured on the HGTV blog with my item within it! That would mean some major click through traffic and maybe some sales. I went to the HGTV blog and clicked through their link to see all of the submissions and the treasury I was featured in was on the first page!! Oh, yes, I was stoked.

Link to HGTV Inspired Design on a Dime Treasury



But then I was instantly panicked. My store had all the 'old' photos still up and looked way amateur. Ugh... I didn't want people to visit my store and have it not look the best. It was then that I embarked on the three day face lift.

I am so glad that I did it. I redid all the pics and tweaked my descriptions and tags. Please take a moment to visit and check out the new 'look' of my Etsy shop.

Check out the new look by clicking here!

In the end, the treasury I was featured in did not get chosen for the blog feature. Maybe next time. I did get several click throughs off the treasury and a few from the HGTV site, which was exciting to me! I am still so thankful that someone chose my sunny little General Electric kitchen clock for one of the HGTV treasury submissions, and it lit a fire under my tush to get the store revamped.

Here is a 'behind the scenes look' at my DIY photography studio...


 
Seeing this photo gives me a laugh. I was probably creating some crazy fire hazard with all of those daylight bulbs plugged into the flimsy extension cord and the steamer haphazardly lying on the floor. Oh, and check out the lift for the light directly in front of the dress, its a rolled up plastic chair mat. HA! Love it!

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Gee-Vahn-Chee...and more Pyrex, of the Cinderella nature!

There was only 1 yard sale posted this last week on Cragslist, wah-wah. Winter set in today with a lovely 4" snow, so it will definitely be slim pickings from now through the rest of the Winter season.
At the one and only yard sale, I picked up this fun vintage cheerleading sweater with applique in a bright orange color. It reminds me of those SNL skits for the 'Perfect Cheer'. Here's the shirt and a perfect cheer to go along with it...


 Click Here For The SNL Perfect Cheer Skit

I had read a recent article that hosiery was coming back. Ughh, what torture!! I mean tights are one thing, but hosiery that itches, runs, snags, and makes your shoes not want to stay on, what-evs! But I guess Kate Middleton has been spotted in them, so that explains it. Now, when I was at said single yard sale, I spotted 3 packs of never worn and in original packaging Givenchy hose in the colors of pink, purple, and bright red.




I remembered the hosiery article, and they were vintage, and they were Givenchy, and they were 50 cents, and they were unique colors, you get the point. Listed them on the 'bay and sold the first pair within 8 hours for $14.99. Two are still available. I currently have two people 'watching'  a pair. Not a bad, quick, little flip huh?!

Since the yard sales are donesies, I will be heavily searching the Goodwill's to satiate my thrifting desires. I had a long and expensive Wednesday dealing with a car repair, but they gave me a loaner, so I figured I would use their gas to drive around town and hit the GW's! Out of that little trip came these...


 Via Spiga patent heels


Brighton heeled sandals


Small Pyrex Cinderella  Homestead pattern bowl, brown on tan, near mint!


Gay Head Martha's Vineyard vintage collectors measuring cup. Side note, if you Google Gay Head to do some research on a newly acquired find, you will get some interesting hits!


Wilton Barbie Cake Pan  


Starbucks Mug for Travel


Dana Buchman blouse in a beautiful shade of blue


Hallmark Keepsake Ornament with Santa and Reindeer on a motorcycle 1997, lights up too!

As you might be able to tell (or not) I am working on my photography skills and trying to use my DIY light box I posted about last time. Still need better lighting, but the photo editor helps slightly.

Oh, and I took the plunge after reading  a post from Jessica of We Sell On Ebay about the Pros and Cons of an ebay store. I had been thinking of opening one and was hesitant that I would be locked in to some agreement, or lose my listings or feedback if I decided to stop the store. Jessica was kind enough to answer my questions and I thought there was little drawback ($15.99) to trying a store for a month, so I took the plunge! Now VintageDreamsNE is not only an Etsy store but also and Ebay store. Thanks to my friends in the blogosphere and my readers, friends, and family for being so supportive of my new ventures!

Want a fun, new blog to follow? Canine Thespian! She too loves Pyrex and was just featured on the Pyrex Collective! She also makes crocheted animals which are adorable. I couldn't help but identify with her Pyrex love, her new blog, and I enjoyed her writing style. So, show some blog love, and give her a visit and a follow!!

Linking up with Her Library Adventures: Flea Market Finds...
and Apron Thrift Girl: Thrift Share Monday

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

We're DIY'ers 'Round Here

Wow, these last few weeks have just flown by! I have been focusing on gearing up the shops for the post Thanksgiving rush. I worked on my keywords and tagging on Etsy and used the Etsy on Sale site to do my mass changes. If you have an Etsy shop and haven't used the Etsy on Sale site, give it a try. It is super easy to make mass tagging changes and to start/stop store sales. They charge a nominal fee and you can try your first few changes for free! Check it out here....Etsy on Sale website. Full disclosure, if you click through the link and sign up for a free test drive, I do get credits in my account, but Etsy on Sale has no idea who I am. Um, wow, I just said Etsy 6 times in that paragraph. Too bad they aren't paying me for the mentions!

I have been playing with my new camera and am still pretty confused on the majority of the settings. It is a Sony a55. A friend of mine made her own photo studio in her home and I was looking to do this on a smaller scale using a photo booth or light box type of set up. I could buy one on ebay with lighting for about the 40 dollar range. But being the thrifty person I am, I decided to try the DIY photo box first. You can find tutorials for this via a Google or Etsy blog search. Or you can link to one of my follower's blogs, Six Balloons, where she shares her DIY light box.

This is what I've come up with...so far:



I spent just over a buck for 2 pieces of white poster board (1 size cut for a horizontal fit and 1 size cut for a vertical fit), the rest, a plastic storage bin and sewing interfacing, I had. The *possible* Sonneman lamp is coming in handy, as well as some other vintage lighting fixtures from around the house. I have tested it out and I can see an improvement but I need brighter lights. Next time I am at the Goodwill I will pick up some of those clamp lamp things and put in some 90 watt lights. That should do the trick! Oh, and if you are liking the vintage Early American Pyrex in the light box, you can see more photos here in my shop.

Mr. TP worked on his own DIY project this past weekend...


A garden in our laundry room! I picked up this old school grow light at the same yard sale I found the lovely Herman Miller chair duo, and now it's being put to work. We are trying lettuce and Roma tomatoes. I'll keep ya'll updated on the progress.

No thrifting this past weekend, total bummer. But, I did step into a mall for the first time in at least 4 months! I took advantage of the Old Navy pay $10 get a $20 voucher Groupon X 2 and ended up with 2 new sweaters and 2 new shirts for just under $24 bucks!

Hopefully I will be able to rustle up an Estate or Yard Sale this weekend so I have some fun new stuff to show off next time :)

Thanks for taking a moment to visit my blog!


Sunday, November 27, 2011

Cyber Monday Etsy Sale 10% off at Vintage Dreams!

My Cyber Monday sale starts at 1pm CST today. Be sure to stop by my Etsy store, Vintage Dreams, for some vintage gift shopping or a little treat for yourself...Cheers!

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

ETSY Shop Black Friday Sale!

Hey there ya'll! I hope every single one of you are about to embark on a Turkey day calorie fest complete with family and friends!

After (or before) the madness and a nap from ingesting that turkey chemical, stop by my ETSY shop, Vintage Dreams, and enjoy 10% off any purchase. The markdowns will automatically show when you arrive at the shop. The sale will actually start at 11p.m. CST tonight for all you night owls.

If you haven't visited the shop, I have a mix of vintage from the 50's, 60's, and 70's that includes kitchen items (Pyrex, Descoware, Foley), vintage Aladdin Thermos, magnificent purses and clothing, and other vintagey goodness.

My plan for the Holiday is to eat at Mr. TP's bff's mother's home for breakfast, then walk down the street to his parents house for lunch. Dinner will be at my aunties.

OK, I have to go starve myself before the gluttony commences! Bye...

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Bye Bye Hunk O Junk!

If you have been reading my blog lately, you have probably heard me lament about how much I dislike my current point and shoot, hunk o junk camera. With the blog, my etsy business, and my ebay business, it was time to graduate to a big girl business camera! Plus, I can take much better pictures of my dog...Here is his blog debut picture....isn't my little boo boo sweet. Love him!

For the camera, I ended up with a sweet Sony DSLR. It has so many cool functions that the sales dude showed me at the camera shop, that I can't even remember how to do them. Thankfully, they will have a 2 hour class I can take to teach me all about my new DSLR. Problem is, the class is not till January. Guess I will have to read the manual, ACK!

Ok, enough dog and camera gushing, let's get on with it...

I went to zero, yes, 0, sales this week. I can't even believe I just typed that! Part of the reason was that we were out of town on Saturday.

This is what I was doing on Saturday night...ladies, pay attention! I attended a friend's bodybuilding competition in Davenport, Iowa. Our friend Shawn, a USMC veteran, dietetics major, and all around good guy, was competing in his first ever competition. Here he is!



It was such a quick trip, otherwise I would have totally strolled through some of the thrift shops. Make a note pickers, downtown Davenport, Iowa is a thrifting haven! I saw soooo many cute little second hand shops. I vow to make more time for thrift shopping on our next trip.

Back in the hometown, Craigslist was pretty much a bust as far as sales went. But, I did go to Goodwill for myself and ended up with a pair of Charlotte Russe and Ann Taylor Loft jeans and a black cable knit chunky Liz Claiborne sweater all for less than 10 bucks, woot!

Here is an item I acquired a few weeks back that I hadn't posted on but definitely deserves a spot on the blog, a beautiful Papal Edition Bible from the 1950's.



The page edges are all gold tone and the illustrations are absolutely incredible. I acquired this at an estate sale and I cannot believe the family would sell such an amazing example of the Word. I have it on ebay and hope a collector of religious pieces will find this beauty.

In my last post, yeah, I know, it's been a few weeks...I promised a cool Mad Men-esque item:


Here it is. A chromed-out shiny ball ashtray stand! Totally mid-century and atomic. What a fantastic addition to any man cave or basement bar...hello gift idea! Yep, it'll be in my etsy store in time for the weekend shopping rush.
 
Will any of you be going out for Black Friday or purchasing online for Cyber Monday? Feel free to comment with any hot deals you have heard of.

I will probably stay at home. I'll be manning the e-shops over a cup of hot coffee with the doggie keeping my feet warm.

 Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone :)

Linking up with Homemaker on a Dime's Creative Blog Hop, stop by and check it out!

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Seasons Are A Changin'

We saw our first snow this past week! The snow was that 'pretty' kind of snow that had big, fluffy flakes, and only stuck to the grass. The sales listings on Craigslist are starting to dwindle here with the cold weather setting in. Funny thing is, it seems the fewer sales, the better the vintage stuff I find, and the better the prices are. I will put on my 13-year-old LL Bean campus parka and knock-off Uggs and head out into the cold for that!

First stop was an estate sale of an old couple who is done living in the country and are ready to move into the big city. They had a gigantic shed with a few fun pieces of vintage goodness. I didn't make it the first day, and judging by the stuff stuff that was in the sold and to be picked up pile, I probably missed out on some choice items. Bummer, but there is always another sale...
Second stop was in an uppity neighborhood and the prices reflected this. For goodness sakes people! If I wanted Goodwill prices, I would go there! G-sale prices y'all, g-sale, gosh!
Final stop wasn't listed on Craigslist but you couldn't miss the signs luring you off the main road.

Ok, so here's what I picked up...


My first piece of vintage Denby, isn't it beautiful? The pattern is called Midnight. Kinda want to keep them (I found a pair) for myself, but do I really need another coffee/tea cup? No. Ok, it will be in my Etsy shop...


What is this you ask? A vintage bun warmer! Just in time for the Holidays. Like it? It would make a great retro hostess gift or would be great to use at Thanksgiving/Christmas time. Find it at Vintage Dreams.


A vintage Singer buttonholer...what a weird word. This thing is still in the box and barely used, in the shop.


Vintage silk Christmas ornaments, bell shaped.


Lilly of California sweater, vintage, never worn. Absolutely beautiful craftsmanship on this sweater.
 



And the steal of the day? This vintage Dymo label maker. It is heavy duty metal and comes with a boat load of label strips in all different colors.

Next post will include a cool Mad Men-ish type item that could easily fit in on the set!

Linking up with Her Library Adventures: Flea Market Finds...check it out to see other fun, thrifted finds.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Hot and Cold

The yard sale season is cooling down, but hopefully that means Holdiay sales will be heating up in my shops! Not many sales to speak of this weekend, but of course, I still managed to find a few good items.
One of the sales I stopped at was that of a collector, so he knew what he had and the prices reflected this. But I still managed to wheel and deal on this Seth Thomas Speed Read flip clock. I think this is going to be my first refinishing project since it is such a small piece. Looks like the previous owner used the top of this clock to set his drinking glasses on thus leaving a lovely ring, ugh... This clock definitely has a cool factor, check it out...

Mr. Thrifty Picker came along with me to a sale that advertised itself as having numerous tools, new and old. I found this cool retro GE wall clock and he found a heavy duty old tire jack. Mr. TP can change a tire faster than anyone I have ever known and loves to stop and help change stranded motorists tires on the side of the road. But he always says the jacks that come with cars are hunks of junk and has been wanting a better one. Well, he picked up this gem for 10 bucks!


I scored some vintage clothing for myself this weekend These are my first two pieces of vintage clothing that I am keeping for myself. The first is a vintage Halston maroon shirt. My first piece, and it's a Halston! I die... It came with the cool skirt, but there is no way I am fitting into it, so that one will go in the vintage Etsy shop here shortly.



The second piece is this fantastic drop waist dress, it is in mint condition. I picked it up at a yard sale and asked the lady if it was hers. She said she had picked it up at an estate sale years ago intending to wear it and she never did. She sold it to me for $1, yes, really a buck! I wasn't intending to wear it either, it was going to go in the shop. But when I photographed it at home I thought it might fit and would be fun to try on. And, it fit. And, I fell in love with it. It is a nice warm fall, winter-type dress and I can't wait to have an excuse to wear it! This dress is so nicely structured that it won't even require the wearing of Spanx, woot! Ladies, I know you are feelin' me on that one! Mr. T P even likes it, whaaa?!?

 Well, that's all for now. Hope ya'll have a great week :)

Linking up to Her Library Adventures, Flea Market Finds...and Apron Thrift Girls, Thrift Share Monday.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Holiday Gift Giving, Vintage Style

Hey all! I have been filling my Etsy store up for the Holidays and have many gift-worthy vintage items available. My latest addition is the 3 vintage purses I posted about last week, they are finally up! I would be eternally grateful if you re-tweeted or passed along my blog or Etsy shop info to anyone you know who loves vintage. Thanks so much for your support and kind comments.
Rachael :)

Monday, October 24, 2011

Dress Form Success

I finally got myself a dress form! Enough with laying out my garments to photo them for my Etsy or ebay biz! I'm gettin' down right fancy, except for my hunk of junk camera, that will be the next update hopefully.
Now that I have this dress form, which reminds me, what shall I name her? Comments section is open for suggestions! Ok, now that I have this dress form, I can really show off some of the fun garments I have found while thrifting. Here are a few that I will match up with the Mad Men character it would best suit. 
Specimen number 1...
A lovely midnight blue-black knee length dress with a pencil type skirt, blousey top, and 3/4 sleeves. A criss cross neckline. Um, I could totally see a skinny Joan in this with her ri-donk-ulous bosom accentuated in this frock!

Next up is this Tiffany blue and white winter dress coat. Look at the faux mother of pearl buttons and pretty pattern. A Betty Draper wardrobe must! Interestingly enough, the label says 'Sears Fashions', didn't know they had a 'fashion' line.

Check out this mustard colored sack dress. The color is saturated and stunning! It has a little tie belt that cinches in the waist and a high and modest neckline. Yep, this dress is definitely for Peggy.

If you would like to see more photos of these fun frocks, you can visit my Etsy store Vintage Dreams.

Don't forget to leave names for the dress form... :)

Today I am linking up with Apron Thrift Girl's Thrift Share Monday, Her Library Adventures: Flea Market Finds, and Homemaker on a Dime's Blog Hop.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Estate Hoppin'

The estates were good to me this weekend. Need I say more...

Of course I have more to say, heck, I am a blogger! So, the above label was found on this lovely Herman Miller wheeled side table, a bit industrial looking, so I'm guessing contract HM. Um...yeah...5 bucks...bam!
Here's how it went down. There were 2 estate sales in the older part of town where I lived during college. This area consisted of old mansions, amazing bungalows, and brick apartments. But, you go a few blocks in the wrong direction and you are practically in the ghetto. I knew by the addresses of these two homes that they were in the bungalow/mansion part. When I got to the bungalow I realized that it wasn't a professionally run sale, yet surprisingly organized. The resident of the home was elderly and had moved to Texas and her neighbors were running the show and the prices were super low, prime example being the HM table. I was looking high and low, and was actually down on the floor when I saw the classic HM look on this beautiful four legged creature followed the legs upward and, OMG, it was a little rolling side table (tucked under an ugly garage sale folding buffet table). I was already underneath it and looking up, so the HM logo was right there in my face, shining in all of its glory.



This little bistro set came home with me too, an addition that I had been searching for to add to our front patio, $10. Usually I am not down with the scrolly, vine look, but the hairpin-like legs added a nice masculine-feminine balance to the set.

Check out these super vintage purses. I think the woman who owned these previous must have been a stylin' chicky...these will be on my etsy shop, Vintage Dreams. The first one is a fun mossy gray and green color. I especially love the one with the initial on the front. I know you can't tell by the pic, but the last one is gigantic!


















A Pyrex update: I am now the proud owner of my first Pyrex fridgie! This one will permanently reside in my kitchen and is holding sugar for my morning coffee. Cannot wait to find more colors...

What a cool condiment dish (I think)...yep, to etsy it will go!
Thanks for stopping by today, and happy Monday!


Today I am linking up with Homemaker on a Dime's Blog Hop , Apron Thrift Girl's Thrift Share Monday, and Her Library Adventures: Flea Market Finds ,check them out!