Treasure Box Wednesday: Luster, Shine and Glitter

Welcome, Treasure Box Wednesday friends! How's the week been treating you so far?

It was a treat for my inner-magpie this week, when a visit to the Red, White & Blue thrift store in Bellevue, PA uncovered a trio of interesting lusterware plates!
It's been some time since I've thrifted any unique lusterware, and this stack, just sitting among the glassware, was easy to take a shine to. Given the color and style of the pieces, it got me pondering those nifty thrifty questions for which I'm unlikely to ever have the answers...

Like, were these a part of a single person's collection? What did their house look like? Were they loved and displayed? And what happened that meant these beauties made their way to the thrift store?

Then I had another pleasant surprise this week, of the non-thrifting variety, that I wanted to share with you.

One of my favorite decorating magazines is Romantic Country. While it's sometimes just a tad heavy on the floral patterns for me (I'm more of a paint instead of wallpaper gal), it's always chock full of vintage goodies and soft colors. I just wish it came out more than four times a year...
So as I was leafing through it yesterday, enjoying a morning cup of coffee, I was shocked to see someone very familiar!... The internet's Good Lady o' Glitter, Rosemary Olson...

Now, I met Rosemary online some years ago when we both discovered the same decorating and crafts forums. She's a sweet lady with a terrific eye for creating magical, whimsical-style gift and decorative items, like tiaras, wedding favors and seasonal boxes.

So I just wanted to take a moment to say, "Congratulations on the lovely magazine spread, Rosemary!" I'm so happy to see you getting the recognition you well-deserve!

Shine on! (And don't forget to wash the glitter and glue off your hands before you try to frame that great photo spread. You'll stick.) :)

You can check out Rosemary's blog-- Rose's Petite Maison-- here.

Winners of the Nifty, Thrifty Gifty Giveaway

Ah, it's an exciting day here at The Thrift Shop Romantic! Why? Because today I get the pleasure of announcing the winners of the Nifty Thrifty Gifty Giveaway!

Gosh, I feel just like Bob Barker. (Except, you know, without all the sexual harassment lawsuits.)

First of all, I'd like to thank just everyone who played along! You all put quite a bit of thought into your responses, and I'm aware the game wasn't the easiest. I know prices and item availability vary across areas of the country.

But that said, you gals have "skillz"! (Well, as "skillz"-oriented as any of us inclined to use teacups and vintage tablerunners can be, anyway.) You really rose to the challenge, made some insightful, educated guesses. I found myself cheering you all on as the entry emails came in! I hope you had some fun, too.

And now, to reveal the winners and the correct answers to the puzzles.

For the first basket, entrants had to choose from six labeled items "Which Item was NOT $1 or less?"
This was of:

1.) Fairy candle holder
2.) Portrait plate
3.) Carnival glass tumbler
4.) Jadeite cup
5.) Red rose embossed lampshade
6.) Vintage pink glass bowl



The correct answer here was #6, the vintage pink glass bowl. I bought this bowl at the L&L Fleatique in Jeannette, and it cost $3. Which still is quite good, as these bowls aren't easy to find-- plus it matches some other pieces I have.

Quite a few of you chose the portrait plate which, believe it or not, was actually $1! I found that at a booth in the Riverfront Antique Mall in New Philadelphia, Ohio, and it was sitting haphazardly on the FLOOR in a stack with some other plates. I had to read the price several times before I realized the owner had actually-and-for-truly marked it as $1! As a decorative item, you just can't go wrong with that.

A few of you also suggested the red rose-embossed lampshade was more than $1-- but not only was it just one buck, it also has a matching buddy. I got them at the U.F.O. (Used Furniture Outlet) in Greensburg on one of their overflowing dollar shelves. For a gal who loves fixing up lamps, the shades were too tempting to pass up.

I had three entrants who correctly guessed that the vintage pink bowl was the sly intruder in my list of dollar items. So those three names went into the drawing for the Shabby Chic-styled gift basket-- as witnessed by one of my friends who witnessed the spectacle to ensure everything was on the level. (And yes, my friends DO think I’m nuts, but this was no better proof of it than anything else, really).

So the winner of the basket is a lady who goes by the name of “Mightycat”. Congratulations to you, O Cat of Keen Mental Power! Mightycat has already been notified of the good news and once we pin down the ol’ logistics, I’ll be shipping off her package.


Okay, are we ready to reveal the answers to puzzle number two? That was, "Which of these items came from a thrift store?" And I'd mentioned that there could be more than one.

This was a tough one. Here you had a choice of:

1.) Marble topped pedestal table
2.) Shabby chic style mirror
3.) Green vintage vase
4.) Vintage rose-printed vinyl dress box
5.) Antique dresser/jewelry box with still life
6.) Pair of chalkware bookends
7.) Vintage lampshade






The answer to this one was that everything came from a thrift store EXCEPT the green vintage vase. The vase came from an antiques mall which sadly no longer even exists anymore, out by Smicksburg, PA and near the Wingate Winery. I think I paid about $4 for it. But can you believe the marble-topped table, the antique dresser/jewlery box, the lampshade, the chalkware bookends, the mirror and the vinyl dress box ALL were thrifted finds in the last year or so?

I thought this was a fun idea simply because it goes to show the remarkable things it's possible to find in thrifts!

As I'd said, this was a really tough one, because as many of you thrift-savvy people rightly pointed out, virtually anything in the list could be a thrifted item. That said, we didn't have any one person who got all of the items correct. But we DID have three sharp-guessing ladies who guessed only one item incorrectly. So those entries went into the drawing.

I'm pleased to announce the winner of the second giveaway basket is “Belle-n-Lex”.

Congratulations to you, Belle, for your nifty thrifty detectivework! You have been contacted and will be receiving the second of our giveaway baskets! Woo-hoo, Belle!


And that about wraps up the first giveaway on The Thrift Shop Romantic.

Next week, in honor of the upcoming Halloween holiday, join me as we thrill and chill to some SCARY retro-recipes and some decorating HORRORS I’ve found recently in thrifted ephemera.

Until then, have a safe and happy week!

Nifty Thrifty Gifty Giveaway

Here at The Thrift Shop Romantic, I’m always blabbing about how you can find pretty, inexpensive vintage items at thrift stores. And so I found a fun way to pass some of them along to you, through the first-ever Nifty Thrifty Gifty giveaway.

Here’s how it works. There are two categories for which I will show photographs with numbered objects in them:

• In one set, the object is to guess, “Which Item in the Photos were NOT $1 or Less.”
• In the other set of photos, the object is to determine, “Which Items Came From the Thrift Store?”

Participants have two chances to participate, and can receive ONE of two different gift baskets of fully-thrifted goodies that I’ve put together.

One basket includes a cute metal bird-in-a-cage music box, two vintage figurines, a sparkly pink candle in an antique rose-printed dish, two jars of buttons, two vintage table-runners, and a white barrel-like basket...


The second basket includes: two jars of button, two tea cups and saucers, a red heart-shaped pillow, a clear apothecary style jar filled with interesting red marbles, a red trimmed sewing basket and some vintage doilies.


If only one person guesses a category entirely right, they’ll receive one of the baskets. If no one guesses a category entirely right, or if there are multiple people who guess correctly during the giveaway timeframe, then the group with the most right guesses per category will be put into a drawing. (I want this to be as fair as possible for everyone.)

No one person can win both gift baskets; I’d like to spread the thrifty glee around. (And as I am paying for postage on this-- I’m limiting this to entries from folks in the United States only. I hope you’ll understand.)

I will accept entries up until midnight on Saturday, October 13. That should give everybody enough time to participate. The winners will be posted on Monday, October 15, with that week’s update. I will contact the winners via email, so make sure when you email me, it’s from a valid email address.

Okay-- on to the two categories! First one:

Which item in these two pictures was NOT $1 or less? Note: there are two numbered photos with six items total in this category.


Contents above, as you can see--

1.) Fairy candle holder

2.) Portrait plate

3.) Carnival glass tumbler

And the last set of items in this category...

4.) Jadeite cup

5.) Red rose embossed lampshade

6.) Vintage pink glass bowl

Got that set? Ready to move on? All righty!

Now for the next category and your second chance for a giveaway basket...

Which of the items below came from a thrift store? (hint: there can be more than one). There are seven different items in this category as follows:


1.) Marble topped pedestal table (above)

Next...


2.) Shabby chic style mirror (above)

3.) Green vintage vase (above)

Next...


4.) Vintage rose-printed vinyl dress box (above)

5.) Antique dresser box/jewelry box with still life (above)


Next...

6.) A set of chalkware bookends

And last in this category...


7.) Vintage lampshade

So just to sum up, to enter, simply send me an email (click here to go to the Say Hi page) with the following two categories and your choices for each:

--Which item was NOT $1 or less? Choice of:
1.) Fairy candle holder
2.) Portrait plate
3.) Carnival glass tumbler
4.) Jadeite cup
5.) Red rose embossed lampshade
6.) Vintage pink glass bowl


--Which of these items came from a thrift store? (there can be more than one) Choice of:
1.) Marble topped pedestal table
2.) Shabby chic style mirror
3.) Green vintage vase
4.) Vintage rose-printed vinyl dress box
5.) Antique dresser/jewelry box with still life
6.) Pair of chalkware bookends
7.) Vintage lampshade

When you email me, please list the category and then list either the item name(s) or the associated number for each.

Hope you have fun with it! And, remember, the results of the giveaway will be revealed on Monday, October 15, 2007.

Next week? We’ll take a field trip to East Liverpool and Columbiana, Ohio for antiquing adventures. I hope you’ll choose to ride along!

Bloggy Birthday Thanks

Well, The Thrift Shop Romantic is officially one year old. (Sniff! wiping a tear away). They grow up so fast, don’t they? Pretty soon it will want the keys to the car.


But this has been a truly AMAZING year, for which I owe you all my most sincere thanks. You’re undoubtedly aware by now I kid around a lot, but I also try to be up-front--

So I wanted to make sure I expressed how much I’ve appreciated your choosing to spend some of your valuable time here... For sharing your great stories and ideas... For your kind emails and encouragement... For your inside scoops on new thrifty adventures... And for putting up with my yammering once a week for a whole darned year.

Heck, I have family members who aren’t up to that! :-)

Because of this blog, I’ve experienced the fabulous, ornery sense of humor of the ladies who do trash-to-treasure projects. They’ve helped me realize that though pride and grace while curb-shopping might be an art, curb-shopping misadventures are their own masterpieces.


I’ve also gotten a chance to be a part of activities on the BlogCatalog forum, where my fellow bloggers have been insightful, inclusive, and have always been willing to share their online experiences. (Thanks so much, gang!)

I’ve been fortunate enough to break the third wall, so to speak, by exchanging goody packages in tangible decorating swaps with my lovely online Cottage Living forum friends. They’re some of the sweetest, most down-to-earth people you’d ever want to meet. It’s no wonder photos of their homes are so inviting.

I’ve enjoyed the camaraderie and creativity of so many of my fellow crafters who have unhesitatingly shared their expertise and wit, and who have welcomed me into their discussions... One kind lady had actually contacted me specifically to participate more regularly in a certain forum-- and to be honest, I’d thought for a while that surely she must have had me confused with someone else! (Finding out I was mistaken was just a little bit awe-inspiring.) The strong sense of community of these crafters is amazing. It’s definitely not gone unappreciated.

And I’ve learned so much from other thrifters on TheThriftShopper.com, who are as cheap and obsessive about thrifting as I am...

And I mean that in the best possible way!


In an age where the instant and semi-anonymous nature of the Web tends to make the Internet take on a Wild West “Anything Goes” mentality, I feel extremely fortunate to have had the enriching, positive experiences such as the ones mentioned above.

So in the coming year, I hope to bring the same to you.

Like new decorating ideas, and interesting collectibles...

We’ll share crafting successes-- and failures (if for nothing else but learning and a laugh!)...
I hope to take you on more “Field Trips” to new places for cheap ‘tiquing...

And I have a little CONTEST I’ll be unleashing next week with real-and-for true PRIZES, just to mix things up a bit. (I hope you’ll come back to join in on that!!)...

As always, I’d LOVE to hear any suggestions for features you’d like to see or ways to improve the site. Or if there are any shops or blogs you believe should be included in the Resources section that merit a look-see.

I would like to thank you again for making this such a marvelous, memorable year. There’s no real way to express what it’s meant to me, but I hope this week’s blog has given you some sense of it.

Now-- have a nice big piece of virtual birthday cake! It’s calorie-free!