Treasure Box Wednesday: Thrifting Christmas

Last weekend my buddy Scoobie and I finally had a chance to enjoy a make-shift post-Christmas Christmas, as our schedules aligned, the general holiday hubbub had died down, and we were recovering from eggnog coma and whatnot.

This meant Christmas gift exchange, and Scoobie kindly allowed me to share with you some photos of a few thrifted gifts I gave her.

She's not adverse to pre-owned items, particularly when it's in her Western kitschy theme...

A few items included a flour canister with a Native American transfer on it.... (She says she'll use this in her kitchen)...

A number of souvenir foil-inserted coasters from Arizona, featuring colorful mesas...

And a painted cactus napkin holder. You can see the last two items a little better here, in my pre-gifting glamor shot. :)
She also let me share with you a thoughtful gift my friend (and more recently, Scoobie's mutual friend) Josette sent her. Josette has this eerily wonderful knack for paying close attention to what folks collect and gifting the perfectly dead-on item...
This Remington cowboy themed decanter will be great in Scoobie's Western bottle collection.

Can I get a "Yeee-haw"?

Galloping off into the New Year...
--Jenn

Treasure Box Wednesday: Thanks to Thoughtful Folks

Though winter weather is still keeping me from some serious thrifting, I'm still not feeling unappreciative-- in fact, I have quite a few things to be happy about. Like the nice folks I know who've thought of me around the holidays in such kind ways.

I thought you all might enjoy seeing a few of the exciting things I'd been sent by family, friends I've known for years, and those I've made online.

Like this fun array of items from Holland, thanks to Tracey, of Tiddlywinks...


How often does a person get a care package from the Netherlands? (If you're not Dutch, that is!) I had the best time opening this and seeing the unique items. The tricky part was to remember to take pictures of it before I started taste testing!

Tracey was extra-lovely, too, in telling me just what these products translated to be. Like the "Dubbel Spekken"...


Which she tells me translates to mean "bacon." But in fact they're long, flat marshmallows! Quite yummy-- though Tracey mentions that they don't quite roast up like traditional marshmallows. Perhaps experimentation is in order!


Here you'll see a lovely little Delft style pill box there in the upper corner, as well as this very minty and extremely square Mentos gum-- quite different from the Mentos we have here. And then these excellent little melt-in-your-mouth chocolates (I've been pacing myself on these), which are called "Koetjes Reep," which Tracey tells us means, "Cow's Bar."

Well, if the cow's want them back, I think they will have to fight me for them. The cows can just get their own. :)


Now these "Kruid Noten" are kind of addictive. They're delicious little crunchy ginger-snap type cookies, only about the size of a dime each. Tracey indicates that it basically translates to "spice nuts," and I can see why, given the crunch and flavor.

And how cool is this?...


Stickers from Holland's football team (soccer for us in the U.S.). Orange is their team color as the royal family's name there is "Oranje." And the writing on the stickers themselves root Holland on with "Go, Holland, Go!" And "We Love Orange!"

Thanks to Tracey, too, for the nifty translations. I would have been sunk without them! I'm currently preparing a package of American goodies to send to her. I've already got my Steelers item picked out, and am just filling a few things in-- I'll show you the items once I get the package safely in her hands! (I don't want to ruin her surprise.)

I thought today would also be a nice time to show you all some things I received for Christmas. Like this gorgeous green Carnival Glass style pitcher from my Dad (no, he didn't carry this on the plane, thankfully-- it weighs a ton!)...


Some sweet cottagey-looking teacups from a friend's mother...


And this amazing pink McCoy planter from my friend Josette...


I feel pretty lucky I have people like this who are so thoughtful to care what I'm interested in.

Anyway, that about does it for this Treasure Box Wednesday.

• If you missed Sunday's post and feel you might want to decorate with 40 onions and impress guests at your next party (or just laugh a lot), click here.

Otherwise, I hope to see you for Sunday's post! Take care and keep warm.

Treasure Box Wednesday: A Short Holiday Wrap-Up

We've talked a lot about holiday decorating lately, so tonight, I thought we'd gab about gifting. As you know, I'm a big supporter of finding great gifts at thrift stores. It supports reuse, it's cost-effective, and best of all, you can find amazing, unique items.

But really, you have to know your recipients when you do this. I'm fortunate to have friends and family who understand that just because something was pre-owned, doesn't make that item any less wonderful, or my gifting intentions any less sincere. So I understand, thrifted gifts may not be for everyone.

Today, however, I thought I'd share with you a little overview of some of the gifts I'd thrifted this season. Fortunately, those who will be receiving these goodies, are not online this week. (HA-HA.) So I can tell you folks in real-time about the fun finds-- while the recipients can still enjoy the surprises of the season.

But first, I wanted to share with you a truly crazy, creative and beautiful gift my friend Kitty made for me this year. Kitty is known for her sense of humor and crafty side, and has, in the past, come up with rather wacky and extremely thoughtful Christmas gifts for me. And this year was one I thought would make you all smile, as well; Kitty made me a Thrift Shop Romantic logo needlework sampler!


Here is a close-up of the detailed stitching... She did the curliques, lamp fringe, and all!


I am not handy with a needle myself, but I do know the intricacy and time that goes into a piece like this. Plus, she made her own template from a print-out from my web site header and chose the specific (and eerily accurate!) colors. It's a little hard to see in this photo, but she even went to the trouble to make the background have the same textured feel of the pale green damask graphic.

The last little nuance to the piece was in choosing the frame. Kitty's personal taste runs much more streamlined and silver than mine, so it is a big credit to her talent at gifting that she chose such a burnished, old-fashioned-feel frame for my decor.

I was speechless when I opened it, and I'll be hanging it in the just-right spot in my home.

Most of all, I feel lucky to have friends who care so much.

Speaking of excellent friends, another bud-- the infamous housemate, Scoobie-- will be receiving a couple of thrifted gifts this season, too. (She's away for the holidays now, so I can tell you all about it!) You all saw her French blue Christmas decor the other day, so you may understand why these handpainted plates leapt out at me...


I was particularly surprised to find a set of four! I also found this beautiful transferware and hand-detailed luster plate from Germany.


I think it's fairly old, and she'll be happy with it. Lastly, in the house she doesn't yet have (she's planned a lot for it, it's going to be astounding someday), she hopes to have a bit of an Old West/Victorian theme. So I thought, what 1800s saloon would be complete without a nifty mirrored beer sign?...


At the very least, I thought it will give her a good chuckle.

Now, what Victorian home wouldn't be right without a big, yellow robot Transformer?...


Um, yeah: I know. But still-- he works! He's "Foot-stomping Action Bumblebee," they tell me. And he makes one heckuva lot of racket (particularly when I was driving him from the thrift store to home! Every stop light there seemed to be an explosion). But a young Transformers collector on my list will be one totally happy dude.

Other thrifted purchases over the season for gifts include a huge milk glass collection (including punch bowl set!), comics, collectible dolls, character glassses, a wide range of books, and a number of Garfield collectibles. How fun is that?

Lastly, there are two thrifted finds this week I thought I'd show you. Like these paintings?-- "Pshaw!"....


Or rather "P. Shaw." The artist. But as you can see, the artist took liberties with his/her signatures on the watercolors. A great find at just $1 a piece.

And then there was Scoobie's early 1900s rocking chair coup. This was at the St. Vincent de Paul in Monroeville for around $40. It will need some reupholstery, but it isn't a difficult piece do redo...

And just look at that gorgeous tiger oak!

Anyway, that's all for this week's Treasure Box. I hope those celebrating holidays right now have a happy one, and I wish good tidings to everyone in general this season. Thank you all for reading and for being a part of it!

Creating Great Gift Baskets from Thrift Store Goodies

You might think gifts courtesy of your local thrift store sound like a poor-- and even tacky-- solution to gift-giving occasions. But in fact, with a bit of planning ahead, some well-chosen items, and knowing your recipient's interests, it's possible to pull together lovely, unique gifts that are as meaningful as they are economical.

Like this housewarming gift.


Shirley, a fellow blogger (you can visit her blog, Proof Positivity here), recently had the good news that Habitat for Humanity would be constructing her a home of her very own, removing her family from the challenging and unsafe conditions they're currently living in. Shirley has always managed to look on the bright side of things, in spite of the significant obstacles put in her path. And it's the overall good nature and stick-with-itness she displays every day that inspired me to send her a little token of support and encouragement.

It all started by knowing Shirley's favorite color was blue-- and this cheery bluebird plate, found at the Salvation Army thrift store.


I liked the idea of a blue-bird of happiness theme-- something to signify this being the start to better days ahead for Shirley and her children. And the rest of the items seemed to fall into line from there. Like these happy bluebird drinking glasses...

A glass "art" bluebird to catch the sun... Some new, incredibly-soft dishtowels and dishcloths... A teacup, printed with delicate blue flowers... And all of it, to fit in a large blue vintage-style mixing bowl.

The real trick of assembling the basket was in not expecting to find all the right items in one day of thrifting. But for regular thrifters, making this sort of time is not only easy, it's a joy!

I've spoken in the past about the pieces of grape-patterned milk glass I've been accumulating for a family friend who'd wanted to supplement her collection.


I started early this year, thrifting interesting and useful pieces as I spied them at appropriate prices. In the end, I'll likely place them in colorful tissue paper within a large Rubbermaid tub, so the packaging will be just as functional as the dishes inside.

I'm making a list of the pieces I've found, so by the time Christmas rolls around, there will be a full set for at least 4. You can see here, I'm well on the way-- with four goblets, four snack sets with cups, a platter, two centerpiece bowls, a vase, candlesticks, cream and sugar servers, several saucers and sundae dishes and a few other odd pieces.

Another little gift collection is being assembled following the theme of author Frances Hodgson Burnett. The recipient collects dolls, and this little porcelain lady from the Red White and Blue thrift store looked very much like the character Mary from The Secret Garden. Assembled with a copy of the films "The Secret Garden" and "A Little Princess" and a book featuring the same tales, this-- and with, perhaps, some seeds, garden gloves and a trowel, will make a nice basket.


Another friend has, for some reason, become enamored with the character Hello Kitty. And given Kitty's recent big resurgence, this has empowered some very good Kitty-related gifting.


These post-Christmas sale Christmas ornaments were snapped up and put away for future gifting...


And this whimsical Hello Kitty printed purse will not only act as great built-in packaging for the ornament gift, but will likely give my friend a laugh.


For baby showers, there are a number of clever containers you can find at thrift stores and fill with brand new baby items. For a friend who was planning a Peter Rabbit theme for her child's room, I had fun repurposing Easter items into funny bunny decor...


I filled a metal basket made of bright orange "carrots" with fresh new cotton swabs. And the little ceramic rabbit below is a clever cotton ball dispenser!


The items were delivered to my friend in a small pine toy chest, which I woodburnt and painted with the Peter Rabbit theme. (You can read all about how that was done here.)


Lastly, the thrift store is ideal for delicate, one-of-a-kind vintage items.


The two pretty rhinestone covered boxes below contain vintage clip earrings in pink and blue. The luster cup reads "To a Friend," And the blue Rachel Ashwell Shabby Chic book is a photo album that came from Goodwill. Even the packing material is a pretty vintage sheet, washed and cut to line the box. (You can read about that basket here.)

So whether you have sports nuts on your list, friends who adore vintage, fans of a particular cartoon character, or just someone you want to send some well-wishes, thrift stores can be terrific ways of pulling together smart, useful and even stylish gift baskets.

The only limit, really, is your imagination and a little time.

• Missed last Wednesday's post on Crazy Hats, Cool Grapes and Crystal Settings? click here.

• Missed Sunday's post where we went antiquing north of Pittsburgh? Join us here!

Treasure Box Wednesday: Shellfish and Not Sho Shellfish

If you put your ear to this shell, you can hear it say how cheap it was. "Baaaargain...." it whispers. "Baaaaaargain."

And this weekend certainly was good for those. In addition to several pieces of Pyrex shared with you earlier this week in the Pyrexia post (click here for that one), I found one gift for someone, and a number of goodies for me, too.

But first, let me say, on a sunny summer day, when everyone else was tanning themselves at the community pool, or riding down The Three Rivers in a boat, what was this pasty red-head doing? I was hitting the thrift stores and taking the road less travelled!

Why, if thrifting were like driving on the Autobahn, this weekend's shopping would have been Varvegneugen. The aisles were clear, and something happened which has never happened in this history of my going to the Red White and Blue on Route 51-- I got a parking space out front! (Normally I have to drive down an alley, over a bridge, and up an incline just to find a spot.) It was amazing.

But enough of that. On to the good stuff! So let's talk gifts. How about another dolly for my family friend?

This little gal reminds me of the character Mary from "A Secret Garden." And I'm thinking if I can find a nice copy of that book, and some flower seeds, it would make a really nice gift basket.

Speaking of books, there were a couple of those, as well. My shopping buddy on this adventure, Scoobie, well, she's a book-a-holic. Virtually any thrift, and she comes away with a stack of good reads. And this time, she found two for me, too, that thoughtful gal did! One from my friend P.G. Wodehouse, and one by Alice Hoffman.


Also uncovered was this great stack of eight old sandwich plates, and 2 platters, all in a thistle-purple color.


These seem to be from around the early 1900s (judging by their style, similar to the whiteware calendar and portrait plates I collect.) But I had no idea they made ones like this as dinnerware. So this was a fun find.

And speaking of fun, I came across one more World War II souvenir pillowcover. Another from the U.S. Army, devoted to "Sister." This one I think will work nicely in to my red-and-green living room.


And lastly, I'd wanted to share with you this cute little vintage bear planter. I don't know that he's necessarily of value -- other than to me, because I thought he was charming...


It was one of those things I just knew I'd feel bad about if I left it there in the store. And at a couple of bucks, the price really was right.

So, that's what was inside the Treasure Box. I found a couple of other things, but they are Top Secret at the moment, because they're going into a basket for an online friend who reads the blog. I promise I'll come clean on that later, though. I just don't want to ruin the surprise.

Click here if you missed out on the mania o' Pyrex from Sunday.

And, for everyone else-- thrift happy!

Treasure Box Wednesday: Thrifting that Packs a Punch

So the Great Milk Glass Gift Basket o' 2008 has found its piece de resistance... The excellent punch bowl set as shown above. There are 12 cups total (just two pictured above) and it came with all of the cup clips, as well. I found this at the Good Samaritan Thrift Store in North Versailles.

I do believe this is going to be a HUGE hit with the lady who will be receiving it, because she missed out on one such punch bowl not long ago-- and was kicking herself for not acting sooner. So I think this'll be big... BIG!

(Boy, do I LOVE gifting!!)

I also found one other gift: two Charlie Brown Welch's jelly glasses for my friend's brother who collects them.


He loves Snoopy-- I mean, it's hard NOT to like that multi-faceted beagle-- and I know he doesn't have these, so I feel I'm batting two-for-two this week in terms of gift thrifting.

Now for me, I found two pieces of McCoy-style pottery...

THIS one, this is perfect. Not a nick, a scratch, anything on it. It came from the Salvation Army thrift store. I love the streamlined art deco-nouveau feel to it...


And I also found this Haeger vase, reminiscent of a smooth seashell. It came from the Good Samaritan...


Lastly in the Treasure Box this week, we have a couple of pretty hankies...


And a really thoughtful bunch of goodies from England, which were sent to me by the owners of TheThriftShopper, Bud and Cookie, who know my appreciation of things from the U.K.. Thanks a bunch, dear people!

• So if you missed Sunday's post on the fun that was the Regent Square Neighborhood Yard Sale, click here.

• And for those in the Western Pennsylvania area, I've updated my Antique Shops list with new information for LeMix-- They've now opened their basement level. Click here for that.

Have a great rest of your week, friends, and I will see you in the general Sunday viscinity!

Treasure Box Wednesday: Moppets and Wabbits and Warthogs, Oh My!

It was a mixed bag o' thrifting this week. I've been noticing that everybody and their grandmother seems to be at the thrifts lately. (Okay, well, not MY grandmother; she's no longer alive, so the surprise of THAT would be more than I could take.) But busy. Very busy at the thrifts.

As a result, I think things have looked a bit picked over.

HOWEVER, this didn't prevent me from finding some really fun things. Mostly, this week I have some cool gifts to show you.

The little sweetheart above is one of them. This porcelain doll came from the Red, White and Blue on Route 51, and I just loved her ornery expression. The moppet will go to a family friend for either Mother's Day, or Christmas-- I'm not sure which yet. The good lady collects dolls (same lady who received a pair of li'l gals LAST Christmas) and I know the wee lass will be going to a good home.

Here she is decked out in all her finery.


For myself, I found a couple of sets of nice vintage-look sheets. The Shabby Chic-styled guest room just cried out for these. And hey, at just $4.00 a set, it's pretty easy to give the guest room what it wants.



I also found the cute retro-printed purse...


But lastly, I found a few presents for my friend Scoobie's brother for his birthday. He's a good kid, and he's totally embraced the idea of thrifting. So I think he'll be tickled with these collectible juice glasses containing favs of his, Taz and Bugs Bunny. (I don't believe he has these particular ones in his collection yet, but he has a lot of character glasses.)


To complement this, he'll also receive a face only a mother could love... a mother WARTHOG, that is!

This potentially life-sized (if he were alive) Pumba from The Lion King still had his tags from the Warner Store. What is it about boys, that a flatulent warthog is just hysterical to them?

Of course, I admit I'm also going to really miss Pumba-- I've had fun putting him in various unexpected places around the house and startling my housemate. Pumba in the bathroom by the pedestal sink... Pumba in the hallway... Pumba at the front door...

Good times!

The challenge, I think, will be, how precisely to WRAP a warthog... Ah, well, I'll figure it out! Wish me luck.

Anyway, on Sunday, I hope to have something exciting for you. Simon and Schuster had asked me if I was interested in taking a look at a craft book they've just put out. So we'll be reviewing that and I think seeing, in particular, how these ideas might be applied for thrifty decorating. (Note, this is not any kind of paid review, or anything-- it's only my own little opinion. Just thought it might be fun and a little different!)

• Oh-- and did you miss Sunday's post on "Of Buds and Blogging Buddies"? Just click here.

• If you'd missed the previous Treasure Box Wednesday, on "The Real McCoy," click here.

Here's hoping the tax man went easy on you this year, my friends! See you soon.