BOO!

 Hellooo Out there in Blogland! I've missed you guys! I finally got my computer back today. First it went to "Dell", only to find out that the screen was cracked and the repair wouldn't be covered by warranty. So back it came, and then it had to go to someone local because that would at least be cheaper. Anyway, Ernie (Angie's cocker spaniel) won't be allowed to watch his chipmunk videos on YouTube anymore. Pretty sure that's how the screen was broken.

 

 I made this wreath last week. Everything (except the white candy container) came from Michael's. I kept going back with my coupons, so the whole thing came to about $9.00. I got the candy container for a quarter at the flea market. This funny lady at the flea market started throwing all her things into a big box marked .25! She said "I want it all gone!"  LOL

 

 Good thing I took part in Deb and Sandy's Halloween Swap, because I didn't decorate this year! Just didn't have the energy. And I have to save it for Christmas Decorating, right??? lol

 Sandy was my partner, so I knew that I would be getting some very special things. Sandy just "gets me". We have similar souls I think ;)

She sent this adorable tag, above.

 

 And her cookie cutter couldn't be cuter!

 

 Of course there were lots of other fun things, packaged in pretty little bags and ribbons.

 

And because Sandy is so good to me, she even included these amazing Christmas paper graphics.

Of course I was thrilled to see some x-mas tucked in there!

Wasn't that just the best package ever? Oh! Not shown is the candy corn. Hmmmm where could that have gone? LOL Thank you Sandy! I'm lucky that we're friends!

 

 Deb, Tammy, and I went to the "October Afternoon Warehouse Sale" a few weeks ago. And then we had a "craft session" at Deb's house the next day. Deb was such a great hostess! Among other things, she gave us this sweet handmade candy bucket! Didn't she do a great job?

 

 I found a couple Gurley candles. The Ghost in the haunted house was at Goodwill.

 

 And these two pails were there too!

So that's it for Halloween this year.

 

But this girl is not Spooky! This is Xena! She was our last foster girl. She only stayed with us for three days, but she was such a sweetie! Her owner decided that they were done using her for making puppies (after 8 years) and so they put her on Craig's List for Free. They didn't even ask where she'd be going or anything...just dropped her off and drove away.  She's now with a long term foster (we just do emergency/short stays at our house), and waiting for her forever home.

Somebody will be really lucky to have her!

 

Talk to you again real soon, now that I have my computer!!!

Erica :) 



Halloween Decorating! Better Late Than Never?

Hello there my long lost friends. :)

Well I'm not super duper late for Halloween decorating am I? I'm sure there are a few people out there that are hoping to still decorate. Well tonight I finally did it! We brought my green cupboard in from the garage yesterday (more to follow on that soon), and I had fun loading the top of it with Halloween things!

 

  The needle felted skeleton girl is by artist Kerry Howard Schmidt. All her work is so much fun, but her Halloween pieces really are the best!  And the "It's Gonna Get Cold" picture is an original vintage Texaco ad that I found at an antique store for $4. The Fire King black polka dots bowl was also $4 at Goodwill. Vintage Gurley witch and pumpkin candles.

 

 Vintage Gurley Ghost (did you know that Martha Stewart now owns the Gurley label?) and a darling Putz House turned scary by the talented Kim K!

 

 Another Kim K. creation (shadow box lower left), Skelly Pops made by me, and a vintage Empire Blow Mold Pumpkin Guy.

 

 I found the fabulous vintage Biestle jointed Pumpkin Man at the thrift store for .50! I was thrilled that day because I had stupidly sold my other one (that I had found at an Estate Sale) on EBay. I'll never let this one go! My BFF Mandy from high school gave me the darling smiling pumpkin in the front. I just love him! And I love her too! :)

 

 I can't remember if I posted about her last year or not. I'm sorry if I did! But she's really the STAR of this show. This is "Hillie Lou" made by artist Jennifer Murphy. She's a jointed, black mohair, artisan Halloween Cat. Her eyes are glass, and she wears the sweetest dress made of vintage fabrics.

I waited years and years to own one of Jennifer's pieces! I just love her! The cat...not Jennifer. ;)

 

So here's all the crazy Halloween fun! I'm trying to keep it just to this area and not spread it through the house. Though, there are things that I keep picturing that weren't in the boxes...which means there are other boxes!!!! Ahhhhhhhhh!

 

 Here's what I did with that $6 box of bittersweet that I found at the estate sale a few weeks ago.

 

Spooky?

 

 





Another Great Estate Sale!

 It might seem like I'm always going to sales but I think this was only my 4th sale this year. Maybe 5th??? Something  like that. We are fortunate to have tons of sales around the Twin Cities, but I tend to be very picky about the ones I go to. This is because things have become so competitive that I really don't enjoy it.

 

There is this group of about 10 men (dealers) who go to every good sale. And I've always heard rumors about people selling numbers etc, but today I actually saw it happen! The car on the right side of the pic had two guys in it. And I watched them get out, each holding a number, but then one of them shoves a third number in his back pocket! Soooo bad! Then the guy in the denim meets up with them and hands over cash for the number! It made me so mad! I just had to get out of my car and say something to them. Yep, I really did! I said "Did you make some good money for that stolen number"?  Of course they totally denied it. I was number 24, which means if greedy guys like that didn't take extra numbers I probably would have been under number 20 and could have gotten into the house in the first wave! I told myself That's It! No more estate sales!

I'm not gonna compete with these men who get there at 11:00pm the night before! Yes, that's when they started arriving for this one. BUT.................

 

 then I got into the house, and it was packed! And I reminded myself that many people don't want the vintage holiday stuff that I like, like these little Gurley pumpkin candles.

 

I've been wanting real bittersweet but this big box of "faux" stuff looks pretty good I think.

 

 There was an ice cream bucket full of vintage crafting stuff, like this.

 

 And all of this!

 

 A concrete rabbit planter for $2.00!

 

 The pictures didn't show vintage Christmas but I had a feeling that there would be some in the basement. Sure enough! The Santa on the left is a jam jar and the one on the right

 is a Holt Howard bell!

 

 Three medium sized bottle brush wreaths and a cute corsage!

 

 Here's a helpful tip: When you need to know the price of a bunch of "junk" like this, always ask the nearest teenage boy that's working the sale. He will likely look at you like you're crazy and say something like "Ummm .50 for all??" Sounds good to  me!

 

 I wonder if I dare open this German one to fix his berry nose.

 

 This one on the bottom is probably now my oldest piece.

 

 He's a cutie!

 

 A felt tree skirt and 16 kitschy Santa's.  

 

 I think I will keep this Wilendur tablecloth as I seem to have sold all of mine to you guys! lol

A chalk ware chick, and duck, and an egg cup from Japan.

 

Easter Fun! :)

 

 Ha! These are handmade candle rings. But I'll take them apart and use the parts.

OK, are you ready for the BEST IN SHOW?????????

 

 Ta-Da! In the basement I found this antique goose feather Christmas tree! It's about 4ft tall, and has it's original Montgomery Ward's box!

 

Immediately one of the men came and asked if he could buy it from me. I said no of course. I will love and cherish it! I feel so lucky that it's mine.

I did a little research and found out that real goose feather trees like this were imported from Germany to Montgomery Wards beginning in the 1930's. I've only seen them in the pictures of Martha Stewart's magazine. Though I'm sure some of you have one. I'd love to know!

OK, I just have to tell you that these are quite valuable. My cost? $6.00!

So maybe I'm still in the game!

 

I bought some other things but they will be in my Market Monday!

On Monday the 23th at 5pm central time!

 

Hope you're having a great week my friends!

Erica :)

 

I'm linking up with Junkin-Joe's at The Cottage Market for the first time. I always have so much fun looking at everyone's junk, I thought it was about time that I join in!

 

 

 

 

A Few Little Thrifty Finds

 I've been trying not to accumulate things. It's not as much fun as accumulating things, but oh well! When I do buy something I try to make sure it's something that I'll be selling eventually. Isn't this elf planter from Japan so cute? Found at the Goodwill, it will get a holiday makeover!

 And when I spotted this Blue Willow sugar bowl without a lid I immediately pictured it as a pot for a vintage bottle brush tree!

 

 Ok, I said I TRY not to accumulate things. Sometimes I fail! Haa! This vintage candy box will go into my Halloween display this year!

 

 This Mint tin was only .50 at the thrift. And then I found a bunch of little ornaments at Annie's!

 

 And these were at Annie's too. I'm a little obsessed with these for my vintage holiday art. But have you noticed how expensive these are online? It's insane!

 

 I don't have or collect any vintage photographs but when I saw this girl with her dog...She just spoke to me I guess. Her boots are super cute too!

 

 Why do sellers think Ball jars are so valuable lately? It's odd to me because it's not like they're hard to find. In fact they are everywhere! These were $3 each (at the little thrift) and they don't even have their lids! I'm putting them in a wooden tote with 3 spaces to hold flowers, and I finally got sick of waiting to find them for less.

 

And more of these. I say "these" because if you know what they are called please let me know! Tinsel package decorations? I don't know. But these were online for an "ok" price. I can't wait to use them in corsages and on Snowmen and Santa's!

 

I'll be working on my new green cupboard tomorrow. Right now it's still out in the garage. But today I went to Home Depot and bought everything I need to clean it up and make it shine! I can't wait to get it into the house and set up my Halloween things. I'll be sure to show you as soon as I'm done.

I still want to give you a "tour" of our place but there are some decorating issues that I can't seem to solve. If I don't get them figured out soon I'll be enlisting your help!

Hope you have a great week my friends!

Erica :)

 

 



Gifts, A Thrift Find, and Swap Details!!!

 Hi Friends! I hope you all had a great weekend! I've got lots to share this week...

Last year I sold one of these vintage Beistle jointed Pumpkins on EBay for $45.00. I'd sort of been regretting it ever since because he's just so darn cool! Look, he takes up the entire chair! Well, the other day I walked into the thrift store and there he was again! And he was only .50!!!! Yes, fifty cents!  He's in great shape, and this time he has a forever home with me!

 OK, this is soooo over due! I owe a HUGE thank you to Kim of "Musings From Kim K."! I was the luckiest girl ever, and won her Halloween Giveaway! Can you believe that she sent this much stuff? And so much of it is hand-made!

 HEX! Look at what she did with a scrabble tile holder!

 And "Putz" houses aren't just for winter! Kim made a spooky version!

 A handmade shadowbox becomes a cute little scene with ghosts and bats! And Kim included chunky floating candles with spiders!

Wellie immediately put the package ties that Kim included into her hair. Soooo naughty!

Kim we can't thank you enough for the package you sent! It was overflowing with Halloween Magic! And it was extra special this year because we (me and Wellie) are living with Mom and Dad, and can't do our usual decorating!

 Another sweet girl (and fellow Minnesotan) sent me a package full of the best paper-crafting supplies ever!

Tammy of "Tammy's In Love" has become a dear friend since I began blogging.

In the package were numerous paper items to cut up and create, and even a few vintage trick-or-treat bags! My favorite thing though was this book "Brighter Days Are On the Way". It's just so perfect for what I've been going through (with my surgery and being confined to the house), and Tammy knew it!

Thank You Tammy! :)

Speaking of DEER friends (haha), these cuties showed up the other day from my dear friend

 Jill of "A Little Bit Of Everything". The two of us often send little things back and forth. And Jill knows that I have a weakness for vintage animals! Thank you Jill! :)

I have to show you another thing from the thrift store. A few weeks ago I found these vintage rolls of Dennison streamers for .25 each. I figured that it was meant to be that the only two colors were orange and black! I think I should make a cute decoration using the witch that Tammy sent. 

OK...LETS TALK ABOUT THE PUTZ HOUSE SWAP!

Have any of you had luck finding your cardboard houses? I have to admit that I found mine last year at JoAnn's and just assumed that they would have them again this year. I've seen the little ones at Michael's for the past few x-mas', so I didn't think we would have a problem. Well this weekend I went to both places and came up empty handed. The good thing though was that neither JoAnn's or Michael's had even half of their x-mas stuff out. Most shelves were still filled with Halloween. So I'm hoping that these stores DO have the houses, and will be putting them on the shelves within a couple days.

**We don't have Hobby Lobby here in MN, so that's why I'm not mentioning it. However one of the gals said that she ordered her houses online through HL.

**FYI There are a few sellers on Etsy who sell "cardboard houses" under supplies. You can check them out too. I'd love to support them of course, but it's difficult when the ones at the craft store are only $1-$3.00. It's totally up to you though if you want to send ONE large house, TWO medium, or even THREE of the tiny ones. Make what you can find.

Here are you swap partners!

Dorothy ( Hens Rule ).....Chris ( A Little Creation )

Lynn ( Life On The Wienee Ranch )..... Tresa ( Speedy Lady )

Shirley ( Zetta's Aprons ).....Deb ( Garage Sale Gal )

Erica (GEV).....Kim ( Musings from Kim K. )

Debby ( Cozy Blanket ).....( Little Susie Homemaker )

Renee (My Vintage Mending ).....Chris (Perfectly Printed )

The links should work for you to get a hold of your partners for contact info, but please let me know if you have any problems and I can get address' for you. Will you also do me a favor and send me a quick email to let me know when you have sent your partner her package? I was hoping we could have them shipped no later than Nov. 15th.

OK, have fun and let me know if you can't find the cardboard houses! :)

Erica