Dime Store Chic

Scotty-mania!

Hello, My Friends!~~

I have just listed a big batch of new one-of-a-kind goodies in Beth's Bagz etsy shop!

There is a Scotty dog theme. I actually didn't set out to do a Scotty dog theme for some of the goods, it just evolved that way.

Scotty on wheels pin cushion.

Scotty corsage.

Red plaster Scotty Christmas decoration/pin cushion.

Doggie Christmas card tote (see the Scotty in the corner?).

Oh, and remember the wooden cuties from the previous blog post? Here is what I did with a few of them...

Pink maiden pin cushion.

Adorable couple pin cushion.

All in Beth's Bagz today!~~~XXOO, Beth

Wooden Cuties

Hello, My Friends!~~~

On Friday I went to an estate sale in the cute-as-pie section of Alexandria, VA known as Del Ray. The house was from the 1910's or early 20's and had been the rsidence for 73 years of a dear 95 year old lady who had recently moved to Charlottesville. I arrived at the sale mid-morning and pretty much had the hosue to myself. I had the pleasure of speaking to the lady's granddaughter and the lady who had puchase the sweet house. The house, like one I had visited the day before, has great "bones" and the most darling front porch.

I filled two bags with vintage treasures, and most of them came from the triangular-shaped dusty ancient attic. I had so much fun up there and came away covered in dust and cobwebs. I have listed most of my finds in Dime Store Chic and a few I am using in future creations.

Here are my favorite finds:

Just look at these painted wooden cuties! I love their wee pear-shaped faces. The little pink lady in the bonnet is my favorite. They were in a very worn box stuffed into the back of a drawer in a piece of funiture in the attic. I'm not sure where they were made but I'm thinking Spain.

I can't wait to start crafting with them, but right now we are remodeling our basement bathroom and I have to go paint.~~XXOO, Beth

Rocket Man

Hello, My Friends!~~

I was nine years old and watching a static-filled black and white TV at our family's vacation home when history was made. Neil Armstrong stepped onto the lunar surface, the first human being to do so. Watching that grainy image that July night, all of us on Earth held our breath, widened our eyes, and took that first step with him. He was a pioneer, an explorer with courageous tenacity in league with Columbus, Magellan, Earhart, Cousteau, Gagarin, Shephard, Ride, among others. He was a childhood hero of mine. He was a hero to many although I have read that title wasn't one he subscribed too.

Here's to you, Commander Armstrong. Pioneer and American hero. Rest in peace.

Estate Sale Adventures: Shop At Your Own Risk!

Hello, My Friends!~~~

Thursday I went an estate sale advertised in big red letters :"Shop at your own risk!"

That "threat" tempted me and of course I ventured out. Wouldn't you?

The house was small and quite decrepit on the outside and the same on the inside. I loved the "bones" of the little circa 1920's house and hoped that it would be restored as the similar homes on the street and not torn down and some hideous McMansion tossed up in its place.

For an estate sale shopper, however, the pickings were numerous and the promise of advertised digging was very very true. Each tiny room held a jumble of goods the family left behind and you had to surrender your dignity and just plow through the detris in hopes of finding vintage treasure. There was no air conditioning and the phrase "sweat equity" certianly came to mind and body.

Many of the first in line shoppers quickly abandoned the house, but I soldiered on shopping at my own risk becuase that is what I do. And those of you who do, certainly will understand. After about an hour, I resurfaced from the dig-fest with two bags heavy with treasures and paid the harrassed looking lady sitting by the front door. The price was right and I scampered away thrilled at the prospect of air conditioning in my car.

Here is a taste of what I found for Dime Store Chic and you may find these goods listed there now!

Scrolly leafy metal wall decoration.

Pretty vintage cottom trim--and lots more trims!

Crochet books and lots of other great vintage crafting/sewing books!

So as you can see, I will happily "shop at my own risk" for my etsy shop! In fact I'll pretty much shop anywhere, except where there could be snakes. I really hate snakes.~~~XXOO, Beth

 

Shine in The Studio

Hello, My Friends!~~~

There is a lot of shine in the studio these days!

Pink angelic shine...

Santa shine...

Birdie shine...

Oh, and not shine, but vintage doggie cute...

 

All freshly listed in Beth's Bagz today!~~~XXOO, Beth

 

Estate Sale Adventures: Whammy Ka-blammy!

Hello, My Friends!~~~

This morning I headed down the road to an estate sale advertised only on Craigslist. It was a small unassumming ad, but intriquing. When I pulled up I saw no other cars except for one in the driveway. The screen door to the house was locked. I arrived 20 minutes before the sale was to start but this very nice lady came to the door and let me in. I had the sale to myself for about 25 minutes! I spent most of the time in the basement where there were boxes and boxes of vintage Christmas ornaments. I filled two large boxes with the ornament boxes and paid for them, leoaded them into my car, and then went back into the house. By this time a couple of other shoppers had arrived.

I ventured upstairs where there was a lot of furniture. In one closet I found a stack of vintage plastic models and a walkie talkie set. I grinned when I saw the walkie talkies as I remembered a Brian Regan routine about what military mind gave them that silly name. It goes a little like this: "Well, I am in the field with this communication device and I'm walking and talking. I'll call it the 'walkie talkie' and this thing with a trigger in my holster, I'll call it my 'whammy ka-blammy'." Well, it sort of went like that. But of you want to see the talented Mr. Regan doing this routine, here is the You Tube

So as I was smiling at the walkie talkies I took the stack of models down from the shelf.

This is what they were:

So instead of the walkie talkies, I got four boxes of "whammy ka-blammies". This is not the usual thing I would get at an estate sale, but Hubby likes old firearms and I thought he might like these. The price was very right and I brought them home. And Hubby said they were nice (never been built and all the parts there), but he didn't think he would build them. So I put them on ebay because sometimes I don't think my etsy shop is the best place for an item for one reason or the other.

So I had a wonderful time at the little Craigslist ad estate sale and brought home a ton of vintage Christmas and a pile of "whammy ka-blammy".~~~XXOO, Beth

More Ribbon and 18

Hello, My Friends!~~~

If you need ribbon and lots of it for pennies (or less!) a yard, hop on over to Ribbon-o-Rama! I just stocked my ribbon etsy shop with lots of lovely ribbons for you! This may be the last time I stock up as my source is drying up--wah! So get them while you can!

Lovely cherry reds!

Pumpkin orange and MUCH MUCH more!

On another note, today is our son's 18th birthday! He was born on August 16th when he should have been born on October 26th. That's 2-1/2 months early! He was what the docs called a "micro-preemie" as his weight at birth was 2 lbs. 1 oz. He stayed in the hospital until early October, no problems, all he had to do was grow. We brought him home when he weighed 4-1/2 pounds, and to us he was huge as he had doubled his weight! Here is the photo the hospital took of him the day before he came home:

This cute little dinosaur suit is the first clothes I bought him. I actually saved that suit too!~~Today our son is 18, graduated from high school this June, and ready to go to college next week! Oh wow!~~~XXOO, Beth

Yard Crawl Loot

Hello, My Friends!~~~

Here are a couple of photos of the loot I found along the Route 11 Yard Crawl.

And from another angle...

Not a massive but instead a very thoughtful bounty. I purchased goods to use in crafting as well as carefully selected vintage goods to put in Dime Store Chic. In fact I have started listing goods there and will continue to do so for the next couple of days. Here are a few recently listed vintage goodies:

A very vintage brass and wood folding ruler!

New in box vintage plasterware owl toothbrush holder!

Four awesome vintage metal film reels in metal canisters!

And hundreds of yards of vintage Christmas red pearlized cotton embroidery/crochet threads!

Much more to come!~~~XXOO, Beth

 

Hot and Sunny Yard Crawl Day

Hello, My Friends!~~~

We left the house at 5:10 a.m. this morning and headed due south-west to New Market, VA to start the beginning of the annual Route 11 yard crawl. This is out third year going and it didn't disappoint. I didn't buy a whole lot this year but what I did buy I adore and the price was right--very right!

Here are a few scenes along the route. I confess I didn't get many pictures as we kept leaping in and out of the car, the weather was hot and sunny, and all I could focus on was shopping and getting back into the air conditioned car.

Route 11 in the Shennandoah valley is a Virginia Byway--so lovely.

Here is one of many clusters of sellers along the 45 miles of yard sales. The tall sign in the background with a flag reads "Yard Crawl". Many of the vendors we met were willing to bargain. Everything was usually priced to sell. Once in a while we ran into that odd ball seller who thought his or her stuff was golden and with prices to match. Most vendors were very reasonable.

Here is a Civil War soldiers cemetary in Mt. Jackson. It was one of several very old cemetaries along the route.

This church cemetary even  had the remains of a Revolutionary War soldier...

Daniel Gray was his name and he fought for American independance.

Even though this picture doesn't really show it, the yard crawl was quite crowded this year. Lots of cars creeping along and lots of people flowing among vendors.

I don't know why I took this picture. But most of the route was a lot more conjested than this. Pulling off the road was sometomes a challenge. In fact this driver pulled a little too far off the road...

No joke. This guy just rolled down into the ditch. No one was hurt. But what a scene.

So, I am pretty tired this evening. Somewhat sunburnt on my forehead and nose--I didn't have brains enough to wear a hat or sun screen. I'll leave you with this trunk shot of our purchases.

And, yes, that is a bag full of a dozen ears of bi-color sweet corn--yummy and only $4.~~~Soon I'll be listing some of these wonderful vintage goodies in Dime Store Chic!~~~XXOO, Beth

Getting Ready for the BIG ONE

Hello, My Friends!~~

Tomorrow is the BIG ONE!

What in the heck am I talking about? Well, tomorrow is my Super Bowl, and I can't wait! Tomorrow is the day of the Route 11 Yard Crawl! It is basically 45 miles of yard sales and flea markets along Route 11 in Virginis's gorgeous Shennandoah Valley.

This will mark year three that I have gone. Hubby always goes with me. He drives. And I play wingman looking for sales that intice us to pull over and explore. Last year our 16 year-old son actually went with us. He is planning on going this year. His goal is to find vintage video games and game systems as well as action figures and other "nerdy" paraphenalia. He turns 18 on August 16th and goes to college on August 22nd. Hubby likes tools, especially dangerous looking tools. And anything Civil War related. And I'm just looking for anything I think is cool vintage and worthy of offering to you in Dime Store Chic as well as goodies to use in creations for Beth's Bagz. The Route 11 Yard Crawl doesn't disappoint!

Here is what we are taking for our big day out~~oh, yeah, and we're leaving at 5 a.m. to get there by sunrise, which is the "official" start time~~...

...Money, a lot of one dollars as well as small bills, and, for me, a handy small zippered travel purse (I have had this for years and it is a grea travel purse)...

...Snacks and drinks, including a famliy favorite Cheez-Its, homemade Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Zucchini (!) cookies, and several tea, lemonade, and sparkling water beverages. We're packing a color full of these!...

...And we're making sandwiches using yummy dinner rolls I bought at the farmer's market on Thursday. Small smadwiches like these are easy to consume on the fly, and believe me, I fly out of the car at every promising stop!...

...And we need lots of reusable grocery bags, because it is easier to grab an empty one at a stop, fill it with treasures, put it the back of the car and do it all over again at the next stop....

...Of course not every stop proves to be a treasure trove, but we usually come home with a lot of goodies! We have t-shirts too! Here's mine from the 2011 Yard Crawl...

...And here is Hubby's t-shirt from the 2010 Yard Crawl...

...They're not too matching because we don't want to look like dweebs like the folks in this show who wear matching shirts. And this year we will be taking my brand new car on the Yard Crawl...

...It is raining all day today and maybe a little in the morning, so I'm debating on whether we should put in the nifty all-weather rubber mats and do our best to keep the interior mud free. Our son loves the backseat as the seats recline and he can snooze on the way to the Yard Crawl. I am glad he is going as it is nearly impossible to get him out of bed before 10 a.m. in the summer and he is growing up way too fast!~~~So I'll take my camera and hopefully remember in my shopping frenzy to take some pictures for you. But if you live anywhere near the Yard Crawl, and you love flea markets and yard sales, then this is for you. Make the effort to go. You'll be very glad you did!~~~See you after!~~~XXOO, Beth