Vintage Buttons On Ebay

Yes, this is one of my annual January ebay auction categories.  I am not a serious button collector -- although I do have one jar of "special buttons".  I am notorious for selling everything or anything for the right price, so although I am attracted to these buttons -- I do have a child I'm helping through college -- so they are going on the ebay auction block.

These flower pot buttons have all the bells and whistles --

bakelite,

on original card,

and cute as a button!

Sold on ebay for $46.

 

Also bakelite, and two-toned to boot.

 

Another card of bakelite tested buttons!

If forced to choose, bakelite buttons would be my favorites.

The red and green bakelite buttons sold for $20.

  

Three cards of matching mother-of-pearl buttons.

Sold on ebay for $6.

Two cards of tiny glass buttons in excellent condition.

Sold on ebay for $5.

Sweet little ribbon buttons,

picturing them on a little girls' dress.

Sold on ebay for $5.

  

Upcycled Window Chalkboard Valentine

So, in December my true love gave to me: seven old windows.  Three sold over the Christmas season and I hadn't gotten around to doing another design on one yet.  Well, my husband surprised me with one this week. 

Yeah, he used to be an art teacher.

Can you tell?

Of course I am still selling it,

but I got to enjoy it for awhile.

Antique Edwardian Blouses On Ebay

So, I mentioned in an earlier post (click here) concerning the box of vintage clothing and accessories I uncovered. Besides aprons and Victorian blouses, it also had some accessories, a lacey dress, and a little girls dress. So there are more posts to come. It actually had five Edwardian blouses in it, but only three were in good enough condition to sell on ebay.  If I was a tiny little thing I would have kept them all for myself.

The tucks and lace detailing on this one is so sweet.

These are all very sheer for such a modest era.

The lace on this blouse is handmade.

Can you imagine how long it took to create this beauty?

  Bought for $5, sold for $25.

Vintage White Aprons On Ebay

Getting ready for the St Joseph Antique Show I found a whole box of vintage apparel that I had snagged at an auction last year and put away for "later".  I guess this is later.  I am not big into aprons, personally or professionally, but there were some cute ones in there. 

Pink tatting edges and insets.

Completely assembled from vintage hankies.

My favorite of the lot,

delicate embroidery on strings and pocket.

Dripping with ribbon and lace.

Bought for $2, sold for $12.

Long and full.

Delicate with pale pink roses.

All listed on ebay this week:

Vintage Lighting On Ebay

Winter is the time when I try so hard to clear out the items I've collected through the year to sell on ebay.  the faster I can do it, the better.  So I often sell similar items together.  This week it is vintage lighting, among other things.

Vintage piano lamp that we've had forever.

Found one this year I like better, so this one moves on to a new home.

Victorian ceiling light.  Also makes outstanding candleholder.

Has fab original paint.

Porcelain sconce with gorgeous floral pattern.

Bought for $3, sold for $15.

Gooseneck lamp that needs a little TLC.

These babies are so gorgeous, I was buying them before they

were worth anything.

2012 Archives #3 -- Gabrielle Dresser Furniture Redo

This also was one of the first pieces that I documented, even though I've been rehabbing furniture for years.  And this little empire beauty (I do so love empire dressers) is pivotal because it was my first chalk painted piece!  I actually used a DIY recipe, it turned out great and I was a convert.

A little distressing to the edges.

 

I was a good girl back then and waxed the heck

out of the finished pieces.

A successful resurrection --

I called her "Gabrielle".

Bird Cage Light Upcycle

I love the look of upcycled junk made into functioning light fixtures.  I just didn't picture myself as that person.  That person who knows enough about electricity not to kill themselves in the process.  That person who knows how to assemble lighting so it doesn't fall apart after two days.  Then I started finding items that would be so cute as upcycled light fixtures. 

And now in January I have some time to mess around with a project like that. So -- I bought a swag light kit and a socket at Mendard's.  Both purchases together were about $15.  This seemed a little pricey.  For my next couple projects I'm experimenting with extension cords and a socket (about $5 total).

This vintage birdcage came without a bottom, so it was a perfect upcycling candidate.

I confess my husband did most of the work.  The top was a pain, all the little wires had to be glued in place at the top.

Maybe someday I'll do a tutorial, but we are still working out the kinks.  I have about six more projects to practice on so then  I will be kink-free.  This upcycled baby is going to be for sale at St Joseph MO Antique Show over Valentine's Weekend. 

My Vintage Peanut Butter Jar Collection

It is a meager collection.  A humble collection.  One that I may never add to.  One that is virtually worthless.  My Sessions peanut butter jar collection.

When I was growing up I was a very picky eater.  But I never snubbed a PB&J sandwich.  My thrifty mother bought huge jars of Sessions School Days peanut butter.  I practically lived off the stuff.  I don't know if it was just sold in the Midwest, but when I left for college I had to adopt other brands.  By the time I was married and settled, School Days PB was gone. 

Then I came across a huge old box of PB jars.  I made a small fortune selling most of the jars.  But I couldn't part with the School Days jars.  Only one had a label.  A few years later my dad had a small garage sale, and one of the items he was getting rid of was a large old School Days jar!  I added them to my pantry storage jars (see blog here),  and it makes me smile to see them.

2012 Archives #2 -- Delila Dresser Furniture Redo

Another relic from the 2012 archives -- click here to see 2012 Dresser #1.  This one I do not have a "before" photo of.  I am very surprised I even thought to get an "after".  Last week our desktop computer bit the dust -- I had over 50 pieces of furniture that I had "resurrected", named and documented on that computer.  Sadly, even the Nerd Herd couldn't retrieve the info.  Sigh.  So this is one of the few I have a history of.

 

Purchased at a garage sale for $15.

Two coats of Valspar "Dining Room Gold".

Again, pre-chalk paint conversion.

I loved that light gold color.

I rag rubbed a medium stain on top of the dried paint,

and then immediately wiped it off.

That helped give the color just a little dimension.

This resurrected dresser I called "Delilla".

Organizing Bits & Bobs In The Pantry

As I mentioned a week or so ago, I am repainting my pantry -- click here to see.  My house is 120 years old.  I am not a stickler for authentic, age-appropriate furniture and décor -- but I certainly like a vintage vibe at the very least.  And it has to be functional.

For instance, I don't try to hide my new washer and dryer.  But in the past I've used the three shelves above them to display vintage items -- the first few years it was lunchboxes. I would use the lunchboxes for storage, but I could never remember what I had stashed in them.  I'm too old and practical for that kind of thing now.

Two of the shelves I've turned into totally practical and functional shelves for bits and bobs.  All of the jars are clear (or just light aqua) so that I can easily view the contents.  It is amazing how much time and money can be saved when you can instantly see what you have.  I resisted the urge to label the jars because I sometimes trade a jar out to sell it and replace it with another one.

On the shelf above that I have kind of a vintage laundry theme going on.  I can't reach it without a ladder, so that is going to be kind of a permanent (and dusty) exhibit.

My husband and I visited Niagara Falls many years ago and I thought this area was perfect to throw in some vintage Niagara Falls items.

My favorite item on the shelf:  a tiny whisk broom with a whimsical face painted on.

I stuck it in a wire flower frog so that it would stand upright.

Selling Vintage Feedsacks

Vintage feedsack (also flour, sugar, cornmeal, seed, beans, rice, fertilizer sacks)  printed fabric is such a great memorial to a time when nothing was wasted.  Couldn't we learn so much from the industrious women who painstakingly chose, cut and sewed the cotton fabric into everyday clothing for their families?  Like the quilt, there is something very courageous and creative about taking everyday items and turning them into useful works of art.

Thank goodness for the man (or woman) who first realized these frugal ladies needed colorful prints on their cotton feedsacks.  It may have been a marketing ploy, but it benefitted a lot of families and gave the ladies something shop for in tight times.  Feedsacks helped clothe families from before the Depression until after WWII.

This is my favorite feedsack that I am putting on ebay.

Can't you just see some little girl wearing a dress made of this?

 

January is when I sell the nicer feedsacks that I have found.

January Is eBay Listing Time

I've been selling antiques / junk for long enough that I have a certain pattern of selling to my year.  In January my focus is on selling items on ebay.  Bits and bobs that I have accumulated for that purpose over the last 10 months. 

This week and next week I will be listing jewelry.  I already sold all the really cheapo stuff, or used it in projects.  Any pieces I thought were really great were immediately sold on ebay.

So this is the middle of the road, pretty-to-look-at pieces. (Weiss on the right.)

This is probably the money maker.

Sterling puffed heart charm bracelet, it would make a perfect Valentine's gift.

Sold on ebay for $71.

2012 Archives #1 -- Fleecy Dresser Furniture Redo

Now I am including this and the next two posts so that I can get rid of some of these old photos I had on my computer files.  In 2012 I finally started documenting the furniture that I worked on -- writing descriptions, prices, and what repairs or rehab I did on them.  A few of them I was even smart enough to take photos of:

I paid $10 for this baby at a garage sale.

I painted it with two coats of a fleecy ivory paint.

(Pre-my conversion to chalkpaint).

Then did some distressing.

I kept all the original hardware except for adding

drop pulls to the top narrow drawer.

This was also before I started naming the furniture that I had worked on.

Repainting My 120 Year Old Pantry

My winter house project has been to slap another coat of paint on pantry which is located just off my kitchen.  The project is about half over. Our house is turning 120 years old in 2015, so I like to honor the original intent of the house / builder whenever possible.

I painted the walls this off-white approx. 25 years ago.  Good color choice!  It has been through a lot of wear-and-tear since, and was due for another coat.  25 years ago I was painting over a bright orangish peach, so this is much easier.  The top row of hooks were original to the 1895 house, we added the bottom row 25 years ago so that our little guys could hang their own coats.

I created this stencil a quarter-century ago, based on a decorative wood design on our stairway.  I feel like it has stood the test of time as well.

One of the rooms upstairs has these same hooks all along one wall.  Since there were no closets, we figure it was the "dressing room".

 

The pantry pine floor I painted in a lighter green, with a darker green drybrushed over the top.  I dripped some light gold paint on top for kicks.  Amazing how it hides dirt.