The Vase

Sometimes I just can't help myself.  I spied this Weller pottery vase at the mall and just had to have it.   And yes, it was an impulse buy, but I have found that oftentimes, if you don't get it, it won't be there when you go back. The vase is in perfect condition, from around 1920, and I bought it as a gift to myself. I need a form of emoji here.

  The little pockets that hold the flowers, are in the back of her skirt and her colors match the white horse painting above my fireplace.  Sometimes, you just gotta go for it.

BTW ~ I have many beautiful pottery vases and dishes in my booth and cannot give them away.

Look Away

A blog friend mentioned she hasn't seen my booth at the antique mall, so better look away now if you scare easily.  Here are some pics from yesterday before I started moving things around.  It is full and thus, looks a mess.  I am basically just moving things around.  Sell a few things - add some new things.  Aye yay yay.

 I had an old floral hooked rug on the floor, but it was getting trashed so I took it out.  The antique tulip quilt and the homespun twin bed sized fabric are the only textiles left in the booth.  I've gone in several times to find them balled up on the floor.  The quilt is from the 1800's and in good condition as is the homespun.

I thought they would have flown out the door, but they've been there from day one.  The cradle did finally sell, but sat there for months.

Some booth owners paint their booths.  I am not kidding.  Yes, I would have liked another color than brown, but not going to happen.  I love the spare and styled booths, but I figure, with the rent, the 10 - 15% commission and card fees, if it isn't in there, it's not going to sell.

I've got some nice old baskets, but haven't sold a one.  Same with pottery.  I have a Clarice Cliff plate and a Wade pottery pitcher and don't think I could give them away.  In fact, I brought the Wade piece home as it is in perfect condition and they will break it.  

The most expensive things in the booth are the fairy painting and the french trumeau mirror which you can't see very well.  Pretty much, I am trying to get what I paid back, or even at a loss.  But, some things, the rarest, I'm not going to budge on.

Aye yay yay.  I've had several 25% off sales, but I didn't sell more, so I haven't had one in a couple of months.

There you have it.  Almost everything in the booth is old.  This mall is in an old supermarket and is huge.  I realize that means the money is stretched out over 300 booths, but it also gets lots of traffic.  From what I can tell, it is mostly the garage sale stuff that sells.  Like I said earlier, it is a new day in the antique biz.  I need a larger booth, but am not going to pay the higher cost.  So, it is just going to have to look junky. And, I've had many items disappear and broken.  

The only thing worse would be to have to take all of this back to the farm where there is more  waiting.  

My Favorite Things

These are a few of my favorite things.  I just love this plate.  It is very old and the bird nut I am, well it flew into my arms and into the city house.  A robin, I believe.

Then again, as you can see, I have many favorite things.  I am simply unpacking and placing things wherever.  I'll keep tweaking, then it will stay that way.  Mostly, putting things on these shelves in ivory and creams.

The old pair of snow skis are the only Christmas decorating I have done at the city house.  Simply haven't had time.  I'm back at the farm until next week while my husband hunts.  Gives me time to pack up more of my favorite things to take to the home in the city.

All Buttoned Up

My realtor just texted me and said, "it's a done deal."  I am relieved beyond words (but still want that check in my grubby little hand first.)  Now, on to my new cottage, which I am never leaving.  The farm will have to wait for another day.  I'm thinking of hiring an estate sale service.

See the above?  I have gallons of them.  One reason moving is nearly an impossibility for me.  I have too many collections, er, stuff I don't need, but love.  I'm going to try and go the minimalist route in my new cottage - and we'll see just how long that will last.  I need new furniture and there seems to be a lot of mid-century modern out there, but I am not going for the plexiglass furniture as I think it will be out by next year.  Just want it comfortable.  I have already decorated the powder room in my mind - in an Oscar de la Renta wallpaper, but it says only to the trade, so I'll have to figure that out. I want to do wood floors and have to paint over some red walls.  I may end up with a few nice lawn chairs scattered about.  Oh well.

Hip Hip Hooray!

Type buttons into the top left hand corner to see some of my buttons up close.

Small Things

It is freezing out today, so I'm stuck inside (really, after feeding the animals this morning I refuse to go outside.)  This little old doll house aquarium sits on a shelf next to my computer.  I put it atop an oak leaf to show the size.  So cute.  I have many pieces of old doll house furniture at the farm, but the doll house is at my other house in Tulsa.  Oh well. I meant well.

Collections

I guess it's time for me to bend over and show my backside and a few of the many things I've been keeping tucked away.  I'm not proud of it and I'm really not a hoarder.  Really.  These are all leftovers from my days of selling antiques; stuff too nice to donate to Goodwill or sell in a garage sale (the cheapest people I have ever met in my life). So, it sits in my garages and barns.  My houses are full too, though I really don't do any primitives in my houses.  I just like them, though my collections run the gamut from sterling silver to folk art and fine art. This beautiful bowl is about 14" across the top.  Someone said they made them in graduated sizes that fit inside each other.  

And who needs an old egg crate?

I keep old canning jars and milk bottles in this cabinet.

I have two of these - tall and shorter.  I don't know what people do with these, but I like old windows.  It also has a large carved thingy with a finial that goes above doors (pediment).

This was on the counter of an old general store.  Mud daubers and spiders live in it now.

This hanging kitchen cabinet is photographed upside down, but you get the gist.

The top half of an old stepback hutch; the first primitive I ever bought.  It weighs a ton.

Well, there you have it.  I'd love to have an estate sale, but since I live so far from everyone, I don't think I'd get many takers.  It is overwhelming.  My kids don't want any of it - they either don't have room or it's not their taste.  They have told me to please don't leave all this for them to have to do something with.  I think I need to catalog everything.  I don't want them selling my Native American collection of totem poles for $10. when one of them is worth over a thousand (and I bought it for $10.00). I wish I'd never bought all this stuff, but it sure was fun looking for it - kind of like hunting for Easter eggs.

Button Up

I've been collecting buttons for many years.  Some are glass, bone, bakelite; many with beautiful designs and jewels embedded. Some are huge and some are tiny baby clothes buttons. Usually they come in glass jars with pieces of costume jewelry, hair combs, thimbles and buckles included.  So what does one do with gallons of buttons?  I don't know.  

Here are some of my favorites.  The clear bunch of cherries, an art deco era piano keys button and my fav, this large 60's button with little velvet flowers encased.

Small Things

Why am I enamored with small things, like this teeny flatware?  Or, a stack of these old penny candy bags used in a general store from long ago. Perhaps I like miniaturized things because they are easier to find space for, you know,not bigger than a breadbasket. I have finally reached the stage in life that I never believed I'd reach.  I believe I need to purge my environs; take Mies Van der Rohes' (Bauhaus aesthetic) advice that  "less is more".   Sometimes I think I would like to build a modern house, get rid of everything and start anew with a few classic, good pieces. Young women take heed [this bit of advice] save your money!  You don't need most of the stuff you gather for the next few decades.  It will begin to suffocate you; worry you, weigh you down until you finally reach the age where you don't care about it at all anymore and by then you will have accumulated houses full, barns full, etc.  I don't know everything, but I do know this young ladies and gentlemen.  Save your hard earned money!  I would have been a multi-millionaire by now had someone told me this way back when...  

Chairy And Her Footy Stool

Have you seen the new Chanel bags with patchwork and bric a brac? Kind of like Chairy and her footy stool.

I just love this chair and stool. I saw it at the Tulsa Flea Market years ago and fell in love with it. While some of the patches are upholstery fabric, some of them are from old suits. We bought a house in Tulsa a few years back so we could see more of our girls and grandchildren. Plus, my husband works in Tulsa a couple of days a week. In this house, I try to furnish it with everything old as it was built in the 1930's. Chairy and her footy stool just make me smile.

Antique Heaven

I have finally found Eldorado; was invited to the home which embodies the epitome of collecting and displaying treasures. My friend had been telling about her mother's home and collections for years. Sue has been collecting the world over for decades and I must say I covet everything she owns. From beautifully patinated early American furniture to early baskets, samplers, clocks and Quimper pottery, and did I say early American samplers? Ooooh!

Every nook and cranny has a beautiful arrangement; a tableau to linger over. More baskets, a dog lamp and a beautiful old oil painting of a girl.

Old wooden bowls full of chocolate molds and butter molds, so many in fact, many are packed away.

A main theme in her collections are animals. Dogs, cats, cows, horses, chickens are but a few, but repeated all over the house.

Sue collects majolica and has different displays in different areas of the house, not to mention cupboards full of it.

This is the smallest cobbler's table I have ever seen. I thought it must be a salesman's sample. The tole ware trays show up throughout the house.


I was just getting going, my head swimming and eyes glazing over when I ran out of camera space. Just like that. It has never happened to me before. I could not believe it as I was just getting started. Luckily, my Maggie, Sue's daughter, used her iphone camera so as soon as I get the pics and figure out how to load them on my blog, you're in for a treat. Till later...

PSST!

Did you ever want to peek in a drawer? I'm always scrounging through drawers in old houses in my dreams. Don't know what that means, but this drawer is full of old locks, thimbles, dog tags, buttons, marbles and the velvet bag is very old. It has a lock of red hair inside it as a remembrance.

The monkey used to have more hair. It is Victorian and moves. The green frog is a snapper toy and there are the various war toys and covered wagons. Some, still in their original packaging: I am always surprised no child played with them. The silver zeppelin lies beside the skull of an egret with a shotgun pellet lodged in it.

There is this and that... an old hygrometer?

Here are some old books and ephemera, namely concert tickets from the seventies to Joni Mitchell and the Rolling Stones and Madonna in the 80's. Look at the oldest wallet I've ever seen. I'll have to open it and show you what's inside at a later date. Now wasn't that fun?

MOCCASINS

Of all the antiques and collectibles I've bought and sold over the years, the Native American ones are the only things I never parted with. I don't know why. I guess maybe because of the historical factor and the fact that there are finite numbers of the old stuff. I have stacks of books covering Native Americana and I'm embarrassed to say, its been too long since I have read them because I can't remember anything about these moccasins. The bead work designs, the beads themselves, colors of beads, style of moccasins, what the moccasins are made of and stitches etc. are all ways to discern the area and tribe they came from. The top ones are women's moccasins. Believe it or not, the women made all the clothes and yet, menswear and children's clothing are worth the most. The top moccasins are from the Arapaho tribe.

The rest of the moccasins are either children's or baby moccasins. They also are all Plains tribes.

Though older, early moccasins wouldn't have used colored leather. They did use natural dyes and dyed porcupine quill work was used by the tribes in the Northeastern U.S.

The bottoms of these are made of parfleche (brain tanned deer hide) and are sinew sewn. Moccasins from the northeastern U.S. were made from moose hide and smell smoky from the tanning process.

These baby mocs were from Kansas and are older (early 20th century) and made for the souvenir trade. If the moccasins were beaded all over (on the bottoms too) they were burial moccasins.

More Collectibles

Thought I'd show you around part of my bedroom. Those of you who collect any and everything, you know who you are, might like looking at these pics. On the right hand side of the pic, I have some miniature mounted animal heads - better than the real ones anyway. I used to look for these at shows and flea markets. Don't have a clue why. They were usually sold in gift shops at the National Parks etc., probably from the 40's and 50's. Some of them were metal and some were plaster or a mix of both.

This and the following pic are larger. I even have one that is about 12" and is metal, on a coat rack.

These are antique beads (not the spider web) that I draped on an old chandelier.

When I remodeled my bedroom, I put in slate floors. They are beautiful and have blues and oranges and grays. I have even found many fossils of plants embedded in them. The tiles are room temperature and very comfortable. I don't know if it is because the room is on the south side of the house or not. On the other side of the house, I have ceramic tile and it is cold! The rest of the house has wood floors which are very comfortable. My husband likes carpet, but little by little, I've replaced all the flooring and no carpet. If you have pets, or have ever seen under the carpet that has been around for years, you would never have carpet again. At least, I won't.
Just thought you might like a look. Next time, I'll open the cabinets.

What's This For?

This is how bad I am. Collectors will understand. Others will suggest I see a therapist. I did not need this. I was at the flea market and a lady from Missouri had this atop her table - sort of like a frame around her junk, er stuff. As you can see it is somewhat old from the dentil carvings across the top in the first pic. The two sides swing out. The only thing I can think of using it for is to fence around a Christmas tree. All you fellow collectors and decorators, give me ideas on what to do with this. It is very solid and too large to shove into some corner. I don't want to keep it outside in these parts and I wondered if I should paint it cream. Now here is the bad part. I got this because I thought it would be a great display piece and I don't even do shows anymore! By the way, the lady I bought this from used to own the blacksmith shop by Zapp Hall, for those of you who frequent Warrenton.

MEOWWW

Here are some of my cat collectibles. This is a carnival prize from the 40's perhaps. They were made from plaster of paris and lifesized. Isn't he a cutie?

These little guys are a lamp base. I guess I missed the shade.

Kitten planter anyone?

Here's another version of the carnival win. It is even older than the larger one above. The tiny kitten is Japanese from the 50's.

Now this kitten is just too cute. Its smile makes me smile.


I love this print. It looks like a watercolor. I used to have a gray tabby named Fraidy.

This kitty is made of cement and is a doorstop though it is perched high above us.


Here is another carnival kitty; it is large and plaster, but this one has glass eyes. I do love cats!

I want to tell my regular bloggy friends I have tried lately to leave comments on posts and have on occasion been unable to. There is something wrong with the word loading. I reported it though I don't know that it got to anyone, but if you have had the same problem it might be worth it to report it too. Love you guys.