Dime Store Chic

CRAFT SHOW: Trinkle Hall In Williamsburg, VA

Hello, My Friends!~~~

If you find yourself in historic Williamsburg, VA this weekend (December 1-2) please do stop by the Annual Trinkle Hall Craft Show on the Campus of The College of William & Mary! Admission is free and the crafters there are wonderful!~~Suzy and I will have our booth chock full of vintage and vintage-inspired holiday cheer! Just find us under our "Dime Store Christmas" sign! This is our second year at Trinkle Hall and the only craft show we do. It is such a great event as tons of visitors come to Williamsburg this coming weekend for the Grand Illuminations on Sunday night and to see the lovely lovely Colonial Williamsburg decked out in its unique holiday finest! We had a never ending stream of lovely folks in our booth both days and look forward to seeing old friends and new ones!

I have been pricing and packing and our dining room table is covered.

Some things still need to go in boxes.

Some boxes still need lids. I just hope I don't forget anything!

I will put Beth's Bagz on vacation beginning Thursday, November 29th. I will reopen Beth's Bagz on Monday, December 3rd with more goodies for you and with FREE SHIPPING on most items!

Hope to see you on-line or perhaps in Williamsburg!~~~XXOO, Beth

A MoMA Garage Sale?

Hello, My Friends!~~

We had a lovely Thanksgiving here at the river place and hope yours was wonderful too!

Last Friday we were in New York City. We took advantage of the free admission to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) on "Target Free Fridays" from 4-8 p.m. In addition to the iconic works of art there (and the collection is one of the best in the world) like this...

...Van Gogh's "Starry Night," or this...

...iconic Picasso "The Three Musicians," there was an art installation being put together for opening on Saturday. I was delighted to get a few photos for you...

Monumental Garage Sale is a performance art piece envisioned by Martha Rosler.

The artist has done several sales before this one. Is it art because it is in MoMA? Certainly it is, as performance art can take on many guises.

Please read here about this sale and view a slideshow of folks with thier purchases. It would have been fun to participate but we were otherwise occupied on Saturday when the sale opened. I was thrilled to have caught a glimpse to share with you.

I just love the fact that something I (and mso many of you) love to do (ie. buy used treasures) has found a place in the fabulous Museum of Modern Art. The show runs until November 30th.~~~XXOO, Beth

 

New York City: My Head Is Still Spinning!

Hello, My Friends!~~

We spent a whirlwind weekend in NYC! We walked ourselves silly and I really wished I had a pedometer. I took LOTS of photos and what I am including in this post is just a fraction. I will do another post or two as there are some fun things that we did that you may be interested in doing yourself.

I am starting this post off with a BANG!

We went to the top of the Empire State Building at night. The view quite literally took my breath away. It was a little breezy and chilly up there, 86 floors up! This view is facing north toward Rockefeller Center.

And facing south. The tall white building far away is Freedom Tower near the site of the World Trade Center.

OK, down to earth now...

Radio City Music Hall, home of the Rockettes!

NBC News and home of the Today Show in Rockefeller Center--we took a tour of NBC and was delighted to see the studio of Saturday Night Live, NBC Nightly News, and the Today Show.

Behind all of the scaffolding is the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree.

If you watch Project Runway you will recognize this place. And yes, when I left with my purchases I sang out, "Thank you, Mood!" I know, I'm such a tourist.

The absolutley gorgeous Chrysler Building on Lexington Avenue.

Grand Central Terminal (Station). I completely forgot to get a close up of the famous clock in the center.

Checked walking across the Brooklyn Bridge off the bucket list!

Doyers Street in the heart of Chinatown, AKA "the Bloody Angle." If you've seen the "Gangs of New York", you'll know that this narrow street was the site of many a late 19th century gang war.

The famous ball in Times Square for New Years is ready to roll in about 6 weeks!

A very emotional place to visit. This is the site at the Dakota on Fifth Ave. and 72nd Street where John Lennon was murdered on December 8, 1980.

And a very fitting memorial to John across Fifth Avenue in Central Park's Strawberry Fields.

The lovely cast iron Bow Bridge in Central Park.

The Plaza Hotel famous from the Eloise books and was where The Beatles stayed when they first came to the USA in Febriary 1964.

I have LOTS more photos. Next time I'll share Christmas time in New York (oh, the lights!) and the FOOD! Oh, yes, and there was a garage sale at MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) and I'll share that too!~~~XXOO, Beth

 

The Bucket List

Hello, My Friends!~~~

Very VERY early tomorrow morning we are taking Amtrak from Washington, DC Union Station and will arrive in New York City in time for a late breakfast at one of the famous delis. We promised our 18 year old son that we would take him to Manhattan as he has never been and really wanted to go. I was last there in 2003 and Hubby was last there for the 1964 World's Fair. So, it's been a while.

One of many things on my bucket list is to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. Weather permitting, we hope to do that on Saturday morning. Or weather not permitting. I really want to do this. I think the Brooklyn Bridge is one of the most beautiful man-mad structures on earth.

I'll catch you on the flipside. I hope to get in some decent shopping in some of the out of the way places. Of course Tinsel Trading is on the list of shops to visit! Talk to you later!~~~XXOO, Beth

Estate Sale Adventures: Between The Lines

Hello, My Friends!~~~

I hit a couple of estate sales this past weekend. The ads were on our local estatesales.net listings. Some had photos and some did not, but ALL did not mention that the houses were packed to the gills with lots of good stuff!

OK, if they did perhaps more folks would have come, and maybe I wouyld have missed out on some goodies, but is full houses there is plenty for everyone.

The first sale I visited was in a sweet Arlington house by a stream park.

Because the ladies running the sale were all over the house in addition to the many customers, I couldn't get any stealthy interior photos for you. But what I should mention is that you need to read between the lines at the estate sale ads posted by the sellers. The ad for this sale lauded the many "Victorian" pieces of furniture in the home and little else. Yes, there was a lot of antique furniture but so much more. What lured me to the sale was the fact that the Victorian furniture indicated a person of taste but also the pieces could have been inherited as well as other things that were not mentioned but could possibly be for sale. Multi-generations of stuff is always a good thing. Also I knew that the neighborhood had older houses mixed in with McMansions, so a quick Google Street View told me the house of the sale was from the 50's or early 60's. A McMansion may not have yielded the myriad of goods I encountered.

The sale did not disappoint. The basement was jammed full of cool vintage things. I spent most of my time there as the main level was dedicated to the advertised Victorian furniture.

The next sale was across town in a 50's-60's house.

The ad said the house was full. While this time (actually, anytime ) of year, I look for vintage Christmas, the ad mentioned "classy Christmas decor." That is not an inticement for one looking for vintage Christmas, as "classy" does not imply the cool, kitsch, Dime Store holiday goodies I and so many love. However, the fact that the house was older (via another Google Street View) made me think that some of the older Christmas items may be tucked in among the "classy" Christmas offerings. When I arrived at the house, I saw a big dumpster in the driveway. Always a good sign of a full house of goods!

I visited the garage first but didn't find anything of interest except for this interesting according travelling bar set:

It was worn and broken in places, but I thought it was cool. I didn't buy it, just took a photo.

Here is the room full of "classy Christmas." As I had thought mostly newer stuff from Macy's, TJ Maxx, etc, there were a few dime store goodies to be found at the bottom of boxes. I emerged with a few vintage holiday corsages and two adorable knee-hugger elves.

So, read between the lines, and let your Spidey-sense guide you to the right sale. There are usually quite a few each week here in the Washington, DC area, so picking and choosing can initiate some Sherlock Holmes style investigation to pick the right one to visit.

Thanks for stopping by!~~~XXOO, Beth

 

Dime Store Plastic Holiday FUN!

Hello, My Friends!~~~

I have gathered several wonderful vintage dime store plastic candy containers this year and recently re-purposed them into over-the-top holiday fun! I just love vintage dime store plastic, don't you?

A jolly snowman with his pipe and a lushly decorated bottle brush tree in his sack!

Super happy Santa in his sleigh holding a tiny vintage bottle brush tree and carrying a decorated bottle tree too!

And Santa on skis carying lots of kitschy dime store delights!

All and MORE in Beth's Bagz!~~~XXOO, Beth

 

Better Photos

Hello, My Friends!~~

Today I was talking to Suzy (which I do pretty much every day!) and she said the photos of the Christmas pennant banners I made just didn't do them justice. I had to agree. These banners are a fairly new part of the Beth's Bagz repetoire and with their over-the-top embellishment fit right in. In fact, they are most likely my favorite creations this year. On the heels of Suzy's advice, I took different photos. It isn't super easy to photograph anything as wide and thin as the banners. Those of you who make cute pennant banners and photograph them certainly know what I mean!

Here are some of the new photos...

Bunching the banners and putting each pennant tip to tip seems like a good plan.

Even with five pennants, it seems to work.

 

And close ups are nice too as these pennant have lots of ebellishments around each glittery letter.

Tinsel, cotton bird and mercury glass beads.

Lots to look at. Hopefully these are better photos, but every photo I take seems like a work in progress ready to be edited again and again. Banners are here. Have a wonderful day!~~~XXOO, Beth

Wreathed and Bannered

Hello, My Friends!~~~

Lots of over-the-top Christmas wreaths now in Beth's Bagz!

Crazy kitsch!

Santas all over! And more!

Banners too!

Noel in glitter!

Be merry!~~~And more! If you have a minute visit Beth's Bagz! Thanks SO much!~~~XXOO, Beth

 

Saturday Christmas Crazy!

Hello, My Friends!~~

On Saturday, November 3rd, I will add 5 new Christmas wreaths, 3 FUN holiday banners, and 3 coloring book cover totes to Beth's Bagz etsy shop! Lots of vintage sparkle and shine, over-the-top and kitchy fun! I hope you agree!

Lots of elves too! If all goes as planned, I'll be listng the new holiday goodies tomorrow evening around 6 p.m. EST. And in advance, thanks for stopping by!~~XXOO, Beth