Town House Homestead Tuesday

Oh what a wonderful feeling today. We have been in our new home for seven months exactly today. We'd like to say that we slowed down, but we are just beginning to unpack more boxes and the work will continue forever. 

We continued this past weekend with painting another section of the basement floor. Walls have divided it into rooms/areas that we are naming. This will be the pantry. The freezer will be placed along the back wall and shelves organized with our canning, cooking and baking supplies. It may even have a couple of chairs and a table along with a coffee pot and be a break room too.

By this weekend it should be cured enough to work in there more, but it sure looks clean and usable. 

This is the cart she painted with the microwave just set on it for now. It will be moved to the pantry when the floor is ready so she can do projects and have that cup of coffee. Still lots to do, but things are out of the garage before cold weather set in.

We have been finding the boxes with the vintage sheets and to my surprise my daughter has had a sheet in her stash that I had been stalking for months on eBay. It's the yellow one and she gave it to me to combine with my other vintage sheets and spreads. I purchased a used sheet and made two pillow cases from the better parts to go with them. I also matched some spray paint to change the colors of some wall decorations and we got those hung. We are moving along and it's beginning to feel like it's ours. I did can some butternut squash and some butternut squash soup, but pictures have not been taken. Everything is just being set in the laundry room until we can use the pantry. We did some cement repairs in the garage to seal holes and raise the floor in one corner so the door fell flat against the floor preventing critters any entry. With the holidays quickly approaching we need room to have company so getting the jobs done so we can unpack has been steady. That's what's happened this week at the new Town House Homestead. Thank you for stopping by and have a wonderful week. 

Thrift Finds

Life has been a bit busy growing the store and sewing and doing those things that we want to do. At this point there is never enough time to do what we "want" to do, but we did get out for a donation run because we are always purging and then took a quick jog through the thrift store. 

We found a vintage daisy floral sheet, a Vera scarf, a Vera napkin with the lady bug insignia, a hand embroidered linen for a future sewing project and for $1.99 we got six sets of double pointed knitting needles. Best bargain ever!

We got one canning jar, but the price was right, a bundle of mini embroidery hoops, a pair of Tiki vases, a doily, a white bowl that is not vintage or anything. It was used by florists and it fit in with a few other white pieces my daughter has collected and the final item was a vintage Pyrex baking loaf pan. Not bad for the few minutes we hunted.

Visit her at poetcharms.etsy.com

There is a sale going on at my daughter's on line store. Pleases feel free to stop by and check it out. There are many vintage items, fabric and hand made items. Hope you feel like looking. Thank you for stopping by and reading my blog. I wish everyone a wonderful week.

Thrift finds

With all the wonderful weather we had this past weekend it was very hard not to get out and enjoy it. Sunday morning at 6:45 we were up and out the door to run errands, have some breakfast and head to a couple of flea markets. 

It was a wonderful trip and the Pyrex treasures were awesome. The four red pieces were only $10. The large Cinderella bowl is in the worst shape, but the square bowl and refrigerator dish are decent and usable. The set of three green casseroles with covers we got for a steal at $16. She is going to keep these and I don't blame her. They are in pristine condition.

There were many great finds and the prices on these ranged from $.50 to $1 including the Pyrex white opal casserole bowls. The fruit print clear relish dishes are Georges Briard. We couldn't believe the deals we found.

I dickered for the box of Christmas ornaments. The box had a few missing and odd colors so I got them for $1. The vintage towels were $.50 each. They had all the dust included from 1968 and 1975 to now, but the prints were still amazing.

My daughter also found a Wilhold sewing box, a Vera scarf, a vintage flower maker dickered down to $.50 and a few Tupperware items for her lunch box and straws for a travel cup.

My younger daughter walked for a few hours through a very large neighborhood sale that went on and on and on and brought me a few treasures this past weekend. Poly-fil is always welcome and I had been looking for a first aid book to have on hand. The new old stock canning jar rims and lids will be put to use this week when I put up my chicken soup.

Monday was a day out too. After an appointment we went to a Goodwill store just because it was on the way home. The finds were awesome. There is a set of Strawberry Shortcake sheets that will be used for cutter fabric, a Pyrex oval cover, an angel figurine that was made in France and matches a statue of Mary we already had, made by the same artist and I got very excited to find a new Tupperware strainer that I knew I could resell at a decent profit. Then the find of all finds was the Catherine Holm enamel bowl. I turned my head and said to myself I know that pattern and with a good football toss I took it off the shelf and passed it to my daughter the great teacher. It was priced at $1.99 and it was going home with us. After checking out and getting to the car she immediately researched to find that this enamel bowl was rare and one was listed on Etsy for $245 dollars and they were selling on eBay for no less that $87 auction price. However, this is a keeper for her. I'm glad because it washed up nicely and matches her green Pyrex collection. So, that's what our weekend thrift finds yielded and all I can say is WOW! It was a great.

Thrift finds

January and February have been busier than usual thrift months. We've been on a quest to find canning jars and when we have we've either purchased them or followed them according to tag colors and sale dates. 50% off is always better. We've been lucky enough that they've been on the shelf still when we go back as much as a week later. That to me is the universe saying they were meant to be ours.

It seems that more have been available in January than in past months and we've wondered if it's because everyone was donating at the end of the year to get taxable donations. These are more that we added to our stash and we've found all sizes. The two aqua Mikasa bowls were an extra because they match my daughter's set she has been building.

Another Saturday stop yielded us four dozen more jars including a brand new case of old stock eight ounce jars with lids. Again it was a nice variety of sizes.

Living in a small townhouse apartment doesn't actually give you a lot of room for storage, but my daughter used a target gift card she received for Christmas and bought a shelf that fit in an empty corner. It was perfect for all the jars, crock pot and some of her collectible Pyrex. She made the curtain from a vintage "thrifted" sheet to match her color scheme for the dining area. She says she has enough to add a border to a table cloth she wants to make. I have a good supply of jars to keep me going for a while and yes, I've already used some.

There were other thrift finds too. Candle making supplies, Wilton silicon molds for her soaps and lotions, books on herbs and aromatherapy, double pointed knitting needles, Popsicle molds, fabric, vintage sheets, Vera scarfs and a vintage roll of whimsical kitchen wall paper.

Books had taken a way back seat for the two of us. We both enjoy reading and we had resorted to using the library because storage space for books was scarce. However we have rekindled our love of owning a few good books and started picking up those we can use or read and move on, but some will stay on the shelves here. My younger daughter took me to a book sale and I came home with only 10 books because I was quite choosy. I also have a difficult time carrying heavy items so I limited my selections. My favorite find has been the American Woman Cook Book from the Culinary Arts Institute that was printed in 1938. Found at Good Will for $3.98, but purchase at 50% off. It is a complete encyclopedia for the time. I am enjoying it so much, but I haven't tried any recipes yet.

This cutie is a hand made ceramic. The painting was so wonderfully done and yes he was a thrift store find. His face just spoke to my daughter and his color pallet matched her decor so home he came and sits lovingly on her shelf. I think this may be the first in a new collection of Gnomes.

I say that because of this. She has a vintage shelf with collected and thrift store Angels and several other thrifted collections around the townhouse. The wooden Angels on the bottom are hanging from the shelf and the sign says "Angels Gather Here". Yes they do and it's so wonderful to have simple "small" collections to brighten up our home. 

Findings.

Okay I will admit that I am slowing down with the thrift shopping, garage sales and flea markets. I know, they're just getting started. Not that I wouldn't go out every day, but I've been trying to do too much. I think I'm way too domestic. Baking bread, growing herbs, yard work, (yes even in an apartment/townhouse), keeping up with friends and family and some where in there trying to have a little personal sewing time. We have been finding plenty.

We found a vintage McCoy palm leaf and berry vase/planter. I think this would be lovely with a foliage plant and maybe a pink flamingo pick in it. Just saying. We never pass up composition books. Great for organization. The vintage popcorn bowls always sell as do the danish fish trivets.

This week we chose an old sewing machine drawer. We've done many home decorating crafts with these, but this one we'll leave to someone else. This is my favorite up cycled project using a sewing machine drawer. It is mounted on the wall of our townhouse.

We were fortunate enough to fine two NIP 18 inch pillow forms. The price was too good to be true and there wasn't any way they were staying behind.

Also not left behind was this "yummy" piece of hand printed in Sweden fabric. It has some small rust stains, but it is such a good size piece that it didn't make the choice to take it hard.

Other linens and fabric included a double Noah's Ark sheet, a twin size retro floral sheet and a beautiful piece of lilac print purple and green yard good.

This vintage pastel floral sheet is a keeper. It will go in the collection. The Vera scarf is a good find, but the hem is raveling and will probably be used in a sewing project and the patriotic fabric was purchased for a dear friend who is collecting her own stash. 

So, that's what's new this week. Thank you for stopping by and checking things out. I wish everyone a safe and wonderful week.

Linking to: We Call It Junkin

What else was in that trunk?

Well as you saw in last weeks blog post that the trunk was quite full, but it didn't reveal the treasures. We haven't gone out thrifting this week because we've been busy cleaning sorting and listing our finds. We believe that the universe is leading us in a direction and we don't mind at all. Fabric is something we love and enjoy. Finding it opens doors to all sorts of sewing projects. We do keep some of the fabric we find, but lately we've been listing it on the stores to supplement our income. Last week we found so many differnt fabrics and here I am to share them with you.

This is two bundles of what is called PUL fabric. Short for polyurethane laminated fabric which is used for diaper making, snack bags, mittens and microwavable potato pouches along with many other waterproof projects.

These are bundles of cotton interlock fabric advertised for diaper making, more PUL fabric and baby flannel prints. So many fun prints and colors. Just fell in love with them.

This is everything from cotton yard goods, cuff ribbing, and cotton interlock.

To break things up a bit there were these two bright red fish shot glasses.

This is what we found for linens. Vintage sheets are just so much fun, but let me tell you that there is almost six yards of army green corduroy. This we will keep to blend with other fabrics for bags.

 There was dress fabric. This is a polyester crepe type fabric in an off white shade.

This black fabric is Posh fabric which is used for lingerie or slip dresses. All of this has been listed on poetcharms.etsy.com and the sales are starting to come in. This has been an awesome week, but I think the motivation came from the fun prints and different kinds of fabric. I would love to keep it all, but that's just not possible. I've had many creative moments this week, but just had to hope it gets loved by others. 

2014 is off to a great start.

It seems that this first week of 2014 has flown by already. We've been out thrifting once so far because we've been trying to "finish" a few projects that got put on hold because we became ill during the holidays. May have been the flu, but we're getting better. Some of the items we found were different for us.

The first different item was a toy wagon. A small pull toy that may have stored blocks but for $3.99 it has great up cycle potential and you can't even purchase the casters or wood for that price. Then there were two "nalgene" water bottles. To purchase new would be well over $10 each and these were only $1.99 each. I'm constantly loosing my good water bottles, although I do have Cuppow lids, but these were 32 ounce size so they quickly went into the cart. After looking twice at them I realized that one was an emergency preparedness kit and the other was a heat stress kit. Now, I don't know how old these are, but I will open them and check the expiration dates on the items enclosed and dispose of them if needed. I guess the items enclosed was a bonus. Checking on line these kits are not sold so it was probably a promotional item. Bandages can go in my first aid kit easily. Continuing on

we found a NIP Care Bear Cousins twin size sheet set. A fun find was a vintage wooden made in Holland puzzle and then of course two made in Japan coffee mugs. And then there were linens.

Bright orange floral pillow cases, vintage fruit print table clothes and pink and orange floral sheets. These are the fun things because we just love fabric.

The bright yellow sheet set can make any wind chill factor feel better. The pink, white and black fabric are home made cafe curtains with rings and could fancy up any vintage kitchen and who can pass up indoor, outdoor fabric for the right price. Well that's what we found on our first trip of the new year. We were happy. Really can't wait to see what some of the fabric and vintage sheets become. Happy New Year everyone. Stop by the stores and see what's new. I'll be stopping by to visit you too.

A few thrift finds this week.

 

Vintage items found this week.

 

 

It's not that there are so few items to be found out there because if I had the room to store things I could make this a booming business. I think this will come in time, but for today taking one moment at a time is the best I can do. First find was a leather purse handle. It's 24 inches long and although it's not vintage it will make a beautiful addition to any home made purse. My first vintage find were these waxed paper stencils used with window wax to decorate for the holidays. Admitting that I used  these, ages me and age is a number not my life. I have a lot of living left to do.

 

 

Then there was this lovely set of Wamsutta rainbow and clouds sheets. These seem to sell quickly on etsy. There was also this lovely 1950's Vera scarf.  It has her famous lady bug trademark on it. The camera will not do it justice. It is dark purple and pink not the blue that the camera is picking up. I have some friends that will be helping me get better pictures so that it can be listed.
That's about all for today. I have some growing and marketing to get done, but I wanted to get this post done and stay up with everyone. I hope everyone has a wonderful week and I'll be watching my blogs list to see what everyone else is up to.

Visit poetcharms.etsy.com to see all her new listings including some of the above items.



Letting it be.

The turmoil in my life seems to be fading into the sunset since I decided to just let it be and go with the flow. I'm finding time to take a break and get out some just for me. This week I got a surprise visit from my younger daughter and we went out for a good cup of free coffee and visited a local department store to just look. I saw some things I want but nothing I really need.

 

Earlier in the week I had done some thrifting and just found so many wonderful items. Of course there were linens and fabric. I found NIP double size pink sheets. One fitted and one flat. Unfortunately I had to take them out of the package because they appeared soiled and needed washing. They are perfect for the fabric squares I need to match other fabric I am using for sewing and selling projects. There was a vintage piece of Hollie Hobbie fabric and a bright yard of yellow and green fabric.

 

I found a Precious Moments Friends mug, two Pyrex Cinderella Early American pattern bowls, a vintage Pyrex coffee carafe with candle stand, and a lovely vintage set of green enamelware. The pool ball shot glass was added to a set of five I already had listed. This is one third of what I found. These items are listed on butterflyplace.storenvy.com. I have also added inventory to butterflyplace.etsy.com. I will be sharing more throughout the week so stay tuned. I have been so blessed in my full time venture as an on line reseller.

 

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I love my thrifting job.

I have had so much fun thrifting this week. Many, many great finds. As you can see there was Pyrex.

 

 

 

 

This darling Italian espresso/tea set with a tiny teapot and plates with stand. Straw hot pads that are selling nicely on eBay. A vintage owl wall hanging that may have been a DIY kit, and yes a NIP 100% cotton sheet plus other fabric. My favorite for this one stop was the aqua planter.

 

 

This will be an addition to a vintage macrame hanger in my daughter's apartment. It was so perfect and now all it needs is a plant.

 

 

On my second adventure I had just as wonderful a time and more great luck finding future store merchandise.

 

 

This trip netted more Pyrex, even some refrigerator covers and more.

 

 

 

There was Fire King and Sarah Coventry.

 

 

 

 

Bright colored demitasse cups and pool ball shot glasses.

 

 

 

Yes there were more sheets for the fabric stash and a Holly Hobbie blue girl mug. Some items I'll list on eBay. It was a wonderful week thrifting, and if I wasn't busy enough shopping and listing these items on my on line stores butterflyplace.etsy.com and butterflyplace.storenvy.com , I also managed to whip up a large batch of Chili Relish.

 

 

It's all done in time for me to enjoy my Easter Sunday and relaxing. Happy Easter everyone.

 

 

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