The Holy Grail :: Hand-tooled Leather

I had to take an unplanned trip home to Michigan this week, which unfortunately disrupted my craft fair prep schedule. But on the bright side, I got to visit my favorite Antique Mall - right off 94 in Coloma, MI. 

And I found my holy grail:

I love hand-tooled leather purses and always look for them when thrifting, but have never found one in usable condition. I was hoping to find a shoulder bag, but this clutch was in such pristine condition, with a lovely $20 price tag, I could not pass it up. It will be perfect for all the summer weddings - it's big enough to hold camera, phone, keys, lip products, etc. 

I also picked up a few vintage buttons. I love using these in my sewing projects. 

A word about Antique Malls - I usually find that they are overpriced, and not for the faint of heart. They can be huge and overwhelming, but if you're willing to sift through the piles, you can find something great!

Pyrex find!

A few weeks ago I met up with my friend, Susan, to do some knitting. Instead of actually knitting, we ended up eating cupcakes and shopping. That counts as knitting, right? .... 

As we were perusing some fancy antique stores, Susan excitedly cried out, "Katie! I read your blog, and... they have Pyrex here, and I think it's your pattern!"

Sure enough, stashed down on a junky shelf in the back of the store was this:

A nice addition to the collection! And an excellent example of a good friend. 

recent vintage finds

I haven't had a ton of time to thrift lately, but I did want to share a few fun finds from the past few months.

First, the prettiest vintage sheet you-ever-did-see:

Second, when I went home to my parents' house for my cousin's wedding in February, my dad insisted I look through some of the stuff in their basement. I found this groovy hanging lamp, perfect for illuminating my favorite crafting spot:

And finally, some Pyrex. I've dabbled in collecting Pyrex in the past, but never really got INTO it. Well, watch out, because this gold butterfly pattern is awesome:

I was gifted the casserole dish, and found the butter dish on ebay and the shakers on etsy (here). All in great condition and all in frequent use in our home!

Second Hand Gift!

We received a package from Chris' family last week, and inside we found this:

Can you tell what it is? How 'bout now:

It's a vintage covered wagon lamp! It is totally amazing. Chris was the one who opened the package, and when he showed it to me later, I could not believe that it was real. You turn it on and off by the stick part in the front, and it's my favorite color! My 8-year-old self would have totally died over something like this. I was crazy for all things Laura Ingalls Wilder and anything prairie. I mean - I had a bonnet.

I wish I had a picture of me in a bonnet to show you right now.

Instead I'll show you the terrible failure that was the photoshoot for this vest:

Yes, the vest is supposed to be for me, and yes, that was the best picture...

a few thrifty treasures

One of the best things about vacationing in a small town in southwestern Michigan is the profusion of "Antique Stores." I put that in quotes because, honestly, some of these places are just small, overpriced junk shops. 

However, I was able to find this beauty:

Right before I left for vacation, some friends and I went to eat at Sticky Rice (some of the best Thai food in Chicago), and walked by a huge garage sale. Turns out this guy sells stuff on ebay, but just had too much and needed to clear out some room in his garage, which was packed to the gills. There was a big crate of colored glass, one of my favorite things to collect.

He sold me this glass milk pitcher and sugar bowl for $4 each, while telling me they were worth $30 each. Hrm... not so sure...

my success at the Vintage Bazaar

Yesterday I attended the Vintage Bazaar. It was hot, it was crowded, but I still came away with some great stuff. And a chocolate chip scone (not pictured, unfortunately).

found at Vintage Goodies

This may sound silly - but I've been looking for a cute vintage napkin holder for awhile now. Something that can sit on my table all the time, so I don't have a messy pile of napkins hanging out. 

The lighting was pretty bad at the VB, so when I spotted the Vintage Goodies booth full of kitchen wares lit by clip lights, I followed the light and found the napkin holder of my dreams!

found at Vintage Goodies

... and was talked into the matching canisters. They were a set! How could I split them up?!

found at Ord-Red

I have been obsessed with paint-by-numbers lately, and our bathroom is sort of Our Lady of Guadalupe - themed, so when I saw this paint-by-number of Our Lady, I knew I had to have it! I bought it from Ord-Red as soon as I walked in the door, and got many compliments as I carried it around. She is now happy in her new home next to the alpaca. 

Although not as big and exciting as last time, these finds were still great - I can't wait for the next Vintage Bazaar!

Tuesday - Shoesday

This weekend I got a chance to do some thrifting with my former roomie, Melissa. This was after a lovely meal at Olive Garden. I know, you probably think that Olive Garden is less than extraordinary. But let me tell you this - when there are no Olive Gardens within Chicago city limits, you get excited to drive to Lincolnwood and have all-you-can-eat salad and breadsticks.

On with the shoes!

Sir Thomas More (the bunny) loves shoes!

I snapped up the leather pair right away. They still had the tag on! But I almost walked by the blue pair - it was Melissa who pointed them out. Vintage blue suede heeled oxfords?! Yes please!

Thrift Store Treasures

Lately, I've been seeing a lot of fun stuff with paint-by-number. Elise has a really lovely collection she posted on her blog, and check out this awesome project on Design*Sponge. If I could paint in my apartment, you'd bet I'd have a scenic paint-by-number wall.

Last night, while I was supposed to be exercising (oops), my friend Gwen and I went thrifting. And I came away with this:

I found it at Surplus of Options. You should really visit if you are in Chicago. It is on Lincoln right across from Trader Joe's. It looks pretty small, but they have a huge back room with furniture and home decorations, and that was where I found this, on the very back wall.

Now the only question is:
Should it be flanked with ballerinas?
Or large-eyed circus children?

Thrift Store Find!

I found this little guy a few weeks ago:

I loved the image, and immediately recognized vintage milk glass. The back says this:

!!! What?! It is so random, so funny, so cryptic! After I got it home, I did a quick search on the interwebs. It turns out this was a promotional product manufactured by a company called "Federal" for different corporations in the 50's. I even found a yellow one! I cannot imagine what the motivation for giving these out would be. Rewards for the worst idea? The "baddest guy?" Either way, there are a lot of them out there, so keep your eyes peeled, and maybe you too could own your own "I had a bad idea" mug.

Craigslist Finds

My boyfriend and I moved into our apartment just over two months ago. We both lived with other roommates before that, and had very little furniture to call our own. No table, no couch, cheap dressers, etc. It was a dire situation.

I turned to the Craigslist.

First find: In December we found this gorgeous "credenza," which we use as a dresser in our bedroom.

Ok, it's a bit small. But I had to have it. It is really beautiful. Definitely the highest quality of all our new furnitures.

After that, I was on the look out for a similar piece to serve as an entertainment center to set the tv on. I didn't really find anything I liked until we stumbled across this unique cabinet:

It's a cabinet for holding records! Inside there are two shelves with wires to stand up your records. We put dvd's in there. Modern times, you know. I really like this piece because it is a little bit smaller. Our apartment is big for us, but it is still only a one-bedroom. Small things make more sense.

Chris needed a new desk, as his old desk had died a pathetic death as only a cheap particle board desk could do. It literally just pulled apart.

After searching many places online (Target, Ikea) and scouring the CL ads, this baby popped up. Happy Birthday, Chris!

Last, but not least, the sofa.

I search for a good long time for this one. I considered buying an "expensive" couch from a store. Did you know that couches are really expensive?! But then, about a week ago, I found this: vintage, brocade, gold, with wood accents! It's really much more gold than the picture shows, which means it is my favorite color. I am planning on doing the room in gold and grey, a current color combo obsession. Also, we bought this for $150. It was so cheap because the springs were all popped out underneath. The woman we bought it from explained how to fix it, and Chris did so! So far it is holding up...

One thing I have to say about all these purchases: buying from Craigslist has treated us really well. Not only is it good for the environment (reusing!), but there are some really cool, quirky things out there. On top of that, the people are genuinely interesting and interested in you! Of these four pieces, two were bought from independent furniture businesses, one from an artist working in a garage, and one from a professional furniture maker. All these people were very kind and fair. Many of them gave me first dibs (because I had responded first), even when offered more money! All-in-all, I would reccomend the Craigslist.