Treasure Box Wednesday: A Million Happy Finds on Route 30

Okay, maybe a million happy finds is a SLIGHT exaggeration. But a trip down Route 30, with my thrifting buddy Scoobie and her awesome brother Jose, well, between the three of us, there was one overflowing trunk of treasure by the end of our travels!

It all started at the Goodwill Outlet Store in North Versailles and on to the Good Samaritan thrift store across the highway. Between the two places I came away with these fun finds...

The bag at left is for the 50th anniversary of Maurice Sendak/Where the Wild Things Are. He died quite recently, so it was surprising to find this useful tote celebrating his work.

Also at the Goodwill,  I got this adorable Disney Alice in Wonderland photo frame. Regular readers know my fondness for the book, and that I have a quietly Alice-themed kitchen. So I was quite excited about this find...

At the Good Samaritan, I couldn't resist this large old photo of a boy and girl by the seaside. Very dramatic and delightfully sappy... It's in an old frame already-- though not it's original one-- so I think instead of the weird matting that doesn't fit well around it, I'll just mount it on a decorative acid-free paper backing in the frame it came in. (Apologies the photo is blurry. My regular camera has died and I'm using my phone camera.)

At the Goodwill in Irwin, I was reunited with an old friend. I knew this fellow as "Zippy Monkey," and he's a toy like one my aunt had. I think he's from the '60s-- I still need to look him up. I have fond memories, though, of cuddling up this monkey when visiting at my grandmother's house as a wee lass. And at a price of $5, I couldn't part with the cheerful chimp. 

At that same Goodwill, I got the tiny purple teacup shown center below, and I figure I'll also show you the porcelain lady figurine (she's actually a box) that I'd found at the Monroeville Goodwill a couple of weeks ago. I thought she was a nice addition to my curio cabinet.

At Graham's Antique Mall, I happened upon this Swift Peanut Butter glass of the Cowardly Lion. You might recall I've found a few different ones of this series recently, but didn't have the Lion.

And then would you believe on the way back, the very, very last stop on our journey, a Salvation Army thrift store we almost didn't stop at because we were all so tired, I uncovered the remaining treasures of the post. 

My favorite being this beautiful Hull vase in pastels for just $9.99-- with no cracks, chips or anything!

I snagged this pretty lusterware bowl with violets transfered on it...

This purple luster teacup (I love stuff in this style...)

And lastly, two transferware plates dating from the early 1900s (these will hang on my wall)...

So it was a huge, huge day in the world of thrifty finds last Saturday. I admit, I needed Sunday to recover from the thrill of it all!

Sending you all good vibes for fun finds this week, if that's what you're into. And I will talk to you next week, depending on what excitement the next few days hold. Take care!

--Jenn

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PS- I just learned the monkey's real name is "Mr. Bim." "Zippy" was apparently a very similar monkey in red overalls, based on a live monkey who had his own TV show. I'm now not sure whether my aunt had a real Zippy, or a Mr. Bim who everyone just called Zippy. 

This monkey business has gotten complex! :) You can see both on the page of this vintage toy shop: http://www.timewarptoys.com/toptoys.htm

Treasure Box Tuesday: Roses, Glasses and Goodies

It's been a crazy few weeks for me. I've had to put in many extra hours at work for projects, as well as taking care of cat with a respiratory infection (Harry's doing better, happily) and so many other things, would you believe I didn't realize how many weeks it had been since I posted? (?!)

I hear the brain is the first thing to go.

So the thrifted and fleamarket finds I'll show you today are a collection of a bunch of weeks put together. All the items have found their right spot in my house. This was a Victorian transferware bowl I found at the Goodwill in Irwin a while back. 

 I loved the colors-- perfect for the curio cabinet in my diningroom!

At the L&L Fleatique on Route 30, I got this marvelous Hull vase with a waterlily on it. I love the soft pastels and matte finish.

 This sits on top of the aforementioned curio, next to THIS transferware vase from Austria...

I got that at Junk for Joy in Jeannette, PA. Love it! It's quite tall, too, so it makes a nice statement.

At the Fleatique Too in Ligonier, my shopping buddy Scoobie spied these two Wizard of Oz drinking glasses...

I had gotten one from Junk for Joy a while back, of Dorothy, and these belong to one of three different sets put out by Swift Peanut Butter in the 50s and 60s. They look really cute in my kitchen and match the colors of my Fiestaware.

My favorite piece of the past few weeks has been this Roseville console bowl. It was a price I could actually afford because someone had glued a styrofoam flower frog in the center of it to hold their centerpieces...

I had an inkling that antique glue might not be too hard to get off there without damaging the bowl. And with some careful tugging, some very hot soaking water and a little Palmolive, the whole thing came out bit by bit. Suddenly a good buy had turned great!

Lastly, but probably less excitingly, I picked up a whole bunch of file folders and hanging folders in pinks, purples and aquas. This was from the Goodwill Outlet, where tons of them were just tossed in the bins.

So, that's it for today's Treasure Box. We have our neighborhood yard sale this weekend, so I hope to have some fun finds to share with you next week, too!

Happy hunting!

Roses, Pinks and Prying Paws

This past week was an unexpectedly productive thrifting week, and I wasn't even trying. Needing a break at work one day, I happened to the Salvation Army thrift store at lunch and came upon my favorite items of the week-- some lady's hand-painted and transferware plate collection.

As you can see above, I chose three which never left their original plate hangers and got hung on my own wall in record time.

Here's a close up of one of my favorites. I love the soft gradated background...

This one reminds me of a plate I have displayed in my china cabinet. The greens and pinks are perfect for my diningroom...

And lastly, this little gold rimmed number appears to have some hand-painted details...

There must have been about 20 different plates there of various styles-- some in jewel tones, some in less dynamic rose prints. I've been wondering whether these two chocolate/coffee cups might not have been from the same home...

And last, I found a giant pink-lidded Tupperware storage container to help keep prying paws out of the kibble. (You can see one perpetrator there.) Earlier in the week I had MELTED most of my pink Tupperware in an accident so dumb, I had to write a humor piece about it. You can share in my horror by clicking here.

And that's it from me for now! Take care, friends, and I hope you have a great rest of your week.

Pretty Maids in a Row: American and Austrian Transferware

Longtime readers of The Thrift Shop Romantic have seen rooms in my small Victorian house evolve, collections amass, and tablescapes and mantles get facelifts. But I don't believe I've ever given any of you a full-fledged peek into the built-in china cabinet in my living room!

It's the place I safely display a lot of my American whiteware pottery from the East Liverpool, Ohio area, as well as its sister transferware pottery from Austria.
Much of the pottery is from the early 1900s, and I've gotten pieces over time at garage sales, flea markets, antique malls and-- yes, absolutely-- even thrift stores!

What I love about it is its rich warm tones, unique, often organic shapes, and the sheer quantity of blossoms.
So much of it coordinates so well with other pieces, making for a case that "more might very well be more"...

I'm always amazed where I find some of these pieces. The central plate, for instance, and rose-hued portrait vase on its left both came from the Salvation Army thrift store!...Now I know they're not everyone's taste. Some might find them gaudy or too ornate for today's streamlined lifestyles. But that's a-okay. It would be really boring if we all liked the same things. And anyway, it may very well be because it's not trendy right now that I was able to get portrait plates like the one on the far left for a single dollar...

This row of pretty plates at the back were also thrift store finds...
They didn't come with the teacups up front-- those were birthday presents from one of my friends-- but my, how they match!

Anyway, that closes the door on this little peek into the cabinet....
I hope you all have a bright and colorful week ahead of you.

Treasure Box Wednesday: Easy Being Green

Sometimes friends and I hit the thrifts and antique malls and come away with a trunkload of treasures. And other times-- like recently-- the goodies are few and far between. But that doesn't mean the finds we did uncover were any less appreciated... Or, in the case of this week, green.

Not "green" as in environmental either (though buying resale isn't a bad idea for that). Just green.

Like my favorite item of the day, this terrific chenille bedspread...
As you can see, it's already washed up and on the bed in my spare room. No rips or holes, chenille spreads like this always remind me a bit of a fondant cake with icing. Just makes me happy to look at it!

Then there was this cute little green McCoy planter from the Fleatique in Ligonier...
I hadn't seen this particular style before, and as the price was right, I snapped it up. These are a great way to both display a collection and showcase some true greenery.

I found this interesting aqua pottery candlestick holder at the Good Samaritan Thrift Store, keeping the green-toned theme....

But, then I kinda blew it with this wholly non-green transferware shaving mug and brush...
But at just $2.99 for the both of them, I didn't end up shelling out a lot of green for it, anyway. (Ha, see how we tied that green theme in there?...

Hey, it's 5am for me, and I'm just caffeinated, so I'm grateful for what minor brainpower I get... )

So, that's our Treasure Box for this week!

• If you missed Sunday's post where readers have kindly shared their tales of collecting and thrifting, click here.

There are some fascinating folks who visit, and I think we can learn a lot from each other. Once again, I'd like to thank everyone for their time and their personal stories! I've really enjoyed reading what you're interested in.

Treasure Box Wednesday: Victorian Beauties

Normally when you think of the area around Miami, you might think of big pastel-painted hotels in classic art deco or mid-century modern styling. But this year, my treasure-hunting in south Florida and its Keys led to some far-from-streamlined Victorian and Edwardian finds.

I'll start with this little Victorian hand-painted and transfer decorated vase. It has some issues...

A chip at the top and a crack extending from that. But it was cheap. Really cheap. Particularly for its quality. And when I first laid eyes on it-- prior to the damage assessment-- it actually made me gasp.

As a gal who enjoys "more is more," the raised decorations... the colors... the detail... This was for me!

The back had a different, complementary decoration to it...
Down in the Florida Keys, then, I went with my father on his weekly yard-saling activities. Expert garage saler that he is, he found a nice glass tabletop for $2. He's always finding interesting nautical items that make fun tables, so that will be handy for him.

And then I spied the most wonderful box of sheet music...

Oh, it was a big box. A Christmas storage tub, really. And it was filled with turn-of-the-1900 to the 30s sheet music.

My heart skipped a beat or two. To be themic, it possibly did a samba or a cha-cha. And I set about ruffling through it to pick out some favorites and see what they might cost...

As I was pulling out these paper gems of art-- ones that reminded me so much of my Victorian postcard collection-- I heard my dad talking to the owner.

"So how much is the sheet music?" Dad had spied, over my shoulder, a few pieces from World War I he had his eye on, and he was keen to know what they would set him back...

"For the whole box?" asked the owner.

"Well, I don't know," said Dad-- not quite expecting that question as part of the negotiation dance.

"$20 for all of it," said the owner. And, well, you can just bet Dad had his money out faster than you can say "Irving Berlin." As the money changed hands, that's when Dad became the proud owner of over 230 individual pieces of turn-of-the-century sheet music! We know because, later, still in awe, he counted.

Since then, I've been teasing him that certainly I hoped the owner knew Dad was with me, or else technically some random guy had just swept in and bought what I was looking at out from under me! :)

Anyway, that "random guy" allowed me to pick out the pieces I'd wanted from the giant stack, so I have the lovelies you see here today, and a few others.
This one below I was excited about because I know of this art by recently reading novelist Martha Grimes' Belle Ruin. There, the main character, young Emma, encounters an old magazine with art containing a "Fadeaway Girl"...


You can see in this closeup, how the girl's dress blends right into the background with no lines?...That's a Fadeaway Girl! I just never imagined getting to see one for myself!

This lady looks like a Christmas card just waiting to happen. Look at that fir-trimmed hat!...

The piece of music below was the only completely floral one. It looks like a lot of the greeting postcards from the same time period...
Harkening to the tropics, I even have one which nods to the 30s passion for Cuba...
And while the sheet music promises, "I'll See You in Cuba," I rather hope I'll see you Sunday, for The Thrift Shop Romantic's next post.

Bon Voyage!