St Joseph MO Druggist Bottle

 Yes, this was actually another bonus item from the on-line auction

last summer.

Buried in a box of goodies that I won.

 Collectors love these local bottles,

because they were manufactured in very limited quantities.

 This one appears to have been dug up

(that is how so many of these bottles are found.)

Other than a tiny fleabite around the outside edge of the opening,

this one is none the worse for wear.

Finally going on ebay Saturday.

Finally, Junking Weather

It has been a long winter here in the midwest.

People are desperate for some junking --

yard sales, auctions, flea markets.

This was the first good yard sale weekend,

the nicer days have seem to elude weekends up until now.

So my husband and I spent Saturday morning at a small

town city=wide sale. I am a sucker for old bottles,

and we found a sale that had plenty of them.

I got these four concrete beauties.

They are really the genre I am supposed to be looking for.

Outdoor stuff.

But I get sidetracked so easily!

This was my best purchase.

I got three of these oak drafting stools for $20.

They need a little cleaning,

but they are my rain makers.

And as my husband says:

"You have to make some money!"

(Later sold set for $400 on Facebook Marketplace!)

Upcycled Halloween Bling Bottles, Part II 2016

After doing a batch of bottles for Halloween,

(click here to see that post)

and thinking I'd gotten off easy with the number of bottles --

I discovered a second box of bottles set aside for Halloween decorating.

I pulled out little trinkets and some vintage

jewelry bits to adorn some of these.

And then I had the bright idea to cut out vintage

photographs of people to make them looked "trapped"

in the bottles.

Imagine my surprise when I unpacked some of last year's

bottles -- to find that I had that same epiphany last year!

Sometimes old age is such a blessing.

It allows you to forget the bad, and rediscover the good.

Halloween Poison Apothecary Bottles 2016

Some years I have accumulated many cheap antique apothecary bottles for this project.  And this year...not so many.  That gave me the opportunity to go slow, and enjoy the decorating.

Here is Group A.  Most of these bottles were "dug" (from the ground)

so I didn't have to do anything to age them.

The labels include some from Dollar Tree,

some from Michael's, and some free on-line labels.

Not all the bottles had corks, but that doesn't bother me.

The one at left I attached a broken old doll head to the top.

And after this photo I put a slightly damaged chandelier crystal

upside down in the top of the Eye of Newt bottle.

Group B.  Then almost all of them get a little 3-D bling.

Anything from plastic creepy crawler to old jewelry.

Love the dolly arm stopper on the Frog's Blood bottle.

To see some of my apothecary bottles from a different year,

click HERE

 

These were somewhat more generic bottles that I

whipped up after finding a stash of keys.

More to come...

Vintage Patriotic Purchases

Here is my brief homage to Independence Day.  R,W&B are not my favorite color combination (treason?) but I always pick up a few things around this time of year to decorate my booth.

And I really stay away from cutesy, craftsy items --

but this chicken was completed handcrafted and cost me a whole buck.

My husband's find.

Cute with little flags on a July Fourth table.

A patriotic project that I finished a few weeks ago,

click here to see that post.

My "book bundles" to sell this month and a

cute book with vintage flag stickers.

 

My fave patriotic find:

seven small 48 star flags,

they sold for $29 on ebay.

Vibrant tablecloth going on ebay.

Saturday's Vintage Finds 10.10.15

My husband and I had a quick and thorough junking morning last Saturday. 

Paid $1, sold for $8.

First we hit a couple garage sales, which produced a couple of boxes of Christmas ornaments including these.

Then we went to a Tiny Town Saturday morning auction.  Which produced 100 vintage battery oil bottles, all of which had been "dug".  If you are not familiar with the term, it meant I had to hand wash each and every little bottle.

Sold 5 for $27.

But they turned out well.

We also snagged several jars of buttons,

Sold for $12 on ebay.

and a circa 1900 piano book with 12 full-page illustrations.

Past Altered Halloween Projects

I'm basically done working on this year's Halloween items to sell.   Here are some items I made in past years:

I made several black rose bouquets.

Some of the roses came from Dollar Tree.

Some were silk or plastic roses that I spraypainted my favorite flat black.

A little white spiderwebbing over the top.

I like the little skeletons hanging off the vases.

These were the first altered bottles I made.

These were the first altered crow projects.

Thank goodness for Dollar Tree.

Vintage Hair Tonic Bottles Altered Into Halloween Apothecary Jars

My husband snagged about 16 hair tonic bottles from a flea market on 8.16.14.  Only six had their original labels  and stoppers.  The other ten had a great shape, but really no value.  Just in time for Halloween.  Last year I altered about 100 bottles, so I thought ten should be a snap.  The only thing...some of them were discolored on the inside.  So, what about my go-to flat black spraypaint?

 

Last year I used free printable apothecary labels off the internet.  It was kind of a pain cutting and attaching. 

I found corks and some great adhesive backed apothecary labels at Michael's.  The labels were transparent, so the flat black paint wouldn't work. 

I tried spraypaint that makes glass look frosted.  Better...

Maybe some gray spraypaint over top.  Nice, but kind of flat color.  How about a light spray of flat black paint on three sides to age them up a bit.  Bingo.

I really like the final result.

Family Junking Expedition To Fur & Feather Flea Market 8.16.14

My son was home from California last weekend.  Perfect opportunity for a family junking expedition to a local flea market.  Everyone was loaded with small bills.  We hit the flea market early and scattered fast. 

My husband went one direction.  My husband is a freelancer.  Even if I tell him what to look for, he has his own ideas.  He turned up with a super cute orange watering can (no photo, and I sold it the same day.)  He also corralled a galvanized gas can; a box of vintage hair tonic bottles and...

Humboldt, Nebraska bricks.

My son and I went the other way.  He was great for heavy lifting and doesn't get sidetracked by all the great junk. But there were other distractions --  a wide variety of fuzzy and feathered animals, not to mention yummy food vendors.  There were not as many "junk" vendors as in the spring, and the rainy forecast had scared away many people. 

Son and I scored a garden gate, screen door, washtub (sold same day too), two sleds, porch lights, license plates, concrete duck.  Still a ton of fun.

St Joseph MO Blob Top Bottle

I've been in love with vintage bottles forever.  While planting tulip bulbs in our back yard my husband came across a batch of circa 1900 bottles.  Not surprising since we live in an 1895 Victorian home.  Those bottles are still displayed in my kitchen.  

But dozens of cool bottles have come and gone since.  This one I purchased last summer, and meant to take to the St Joseph antique show but forgot it in my kitchen window.  So now I am trying to sell it on ebay. I absolutely love the color.

Update:  I bought the bottle for $1 and sold it for $41 on ebay.