Flea Market Finds November

Here are the goodies I found at the first November Flea Market (There is another one tomorrow!  Two in one month!)

 

 

The little Schilling Jar, below, is probably my favorite "little" thing.  I just love the graphics, and the way the letters in the word "Decors" are spaced a few up, a few down, and it's little blue lid is so cute!

 

 

Here is the back side of the bottle.  I'm not sure of a year, but I'm thinking 60s or 70s.  Some on Etsy say 1950s.  But here's the cherry on top of the sundae...I paid WAY less than what they are asking on ETSY. I guess that's just the beauty of the flea!

 

 

Now for something completely different (you wouldn't want to put this stuff on a cake).

I couldn't pass up the cute little Vaseline jar.  I really like the dark blue of the lid, and even though it doesn't have its original label, I still love it!  And the Band-Aid box is probably the oldest I've ever seen!  They will live with my other medicine cabinet collectables.

 

 

The purse (below) was an AWESOME find.  It's diffidently 1960s and has a Naturalizer label on the inside. I love that's it's red, white and blue.  Now if I only had a red or blue dress to wear with it!

 

 

The large, daisy pin was also purchased at the same booth.  It matches the little daisy earrings I'd bought in Fargo, this last summer!  The beads I also had from before.

 

 

This was a terrific flea and there are more photos to come, so stay tuned!  Until another time, have a happy vintage day!

 

Turkey Cookies

Last week, Husband asked if I'd like to participate in a cookie swap.  The girls at his work invited me, and seeing as how I'd never done one before, I decided to give it a try.

This cute little image from Vandylee Vintage Shop on Etsy.  She has many CUTE vintage cookbooks for sale.

While browsing Pinterest awhile back, I had stumbled across these cute, frosted, turkey cookies.  They used a 7 petal flower cookie cutter (or maybe it was an actually turkey cutter), and as luck would have it, I had a 6 petal, flower shaped cookie cutter, which would work perfectly!

Below are the ones I found on Pinterest.

They have fancy polka dots on their feathers, but I decided to keep mine plain.

So here are the step-by-step pictures of the turkey cookies.
I used a royal icing recipe that contains meringue powder.

 

 

 

 

 

The pans above contained the best, Grade A turkeys.  I saved another dozen or so, off to the side.  These were the lesser quality, Grade B and C Turkeys that had tiny mistakes in them (bubbles in the frosting, not enough frosting for adequate cover, etc). 

 

When husband came home Monday evening, he brought 5 dozen of the cookies the other girls had made!  What fun!  There are pumpkin ones, chocolate fudge ones, Nutella cookies and even pretzels with almond bark and Hershey kisses pressed onto them, and peanut butter blossoms, which are a family favorite. They are all SO YUMMY!

 

 

No, I'm not going to eat the ALL.  In fact, we've already given a few away.  Plus, they will be a nice addition to the Thanksgiving meal we will be having on Thursday.

 

That's all for today.  Until another time, have a happy baking day!

 

 

Vintage Paint Box

This vintage paint box is one that I bought at a flea market in Medina MN a couple of years ago, while on vacation.  I stumbled across it the other day, while looking for something else and realized I don't think I've ever done a post about it. 

 

 

The paints are made in Germany.  The paint tray is removable and looks like this on the back.

 

 

 

I think it would be fun to have a little paint box collection.  I'll keep my eyes open at local shops and flea markets.

 

That's all for today.  Until another time, have a happy, creative day!

 

Decorative Indian Corn Craft

A few weeks ago I picked up a decorative Indian corn at the grocery store.  I got to thinking it would be fun to do an Indian Corn craft with the kids.  This is what we ended up doing.

 

I cut "fall colored" tissue papers into squares.  We didn't have any brown so I watercolor painted a bit of white tissue paper and let it dry.  Next year I will let the older kids watercolor their own sheets of white tissue paper to get a "marbled" effect, much like the real kernels of corn.

 

 

 

We placed the eraser part of a pencil in the center of a piece of tissue and gently twisted the tissue.  Then dipped the tissue in glue and placed it on our corn cut-outs.

 

 

These are the beautiful corns that we made.

For the leaves, we took a large sheet of cream colored construction paper, spritzed it with water, crumpled it up, then laid it flat to dry.  After it was dried, we then cut out corn leaves and glued them to the back of our corns.

The kids had fun with the different colors of tissue paper!

 

That's all for today, until next time have a happy, crafty day!

Good Books, a Blanket, and a Cat

Every year, at about this time, I get the urge to read.  And not just one book, oh no, I go to the library and check out several.

My favorite genre of books, to accompany me into the fall season, are usually books based upon nostalgia.....the good old days.

The books that follow are just a few of my favorites.

 

 

I really enjoy Bob Artley's books full of childhood stories and the illustrations that accompany them.

This particular one, about the country school he attended, is one of my favorites.  It's filled with stories of walking to and from school and school programs such as the ever so exciting Christmas program.  There are stories about the noon hour, with lunchboxes full of homemade bread and butter and playground games. 

 

Looking at this book always reminds me a bit of the country schoolhouses I've gotten to visit in various museums.  It also reminds me of this diorama, in the Buffalo Trails Museum of Epping.  The diorama was made by local artist and former museum curator, Elmer Halverson.  It shows the classroom and teacher's quarters in the back.  I wish I knew the name of this school and if it was the country school Mr. Halverson attended as a child.

 

 

 

 

I also really enjoy the book Memories of a Farm Kitchen, also by Bob Artley. 

 

  

 Another book I'm fond of this time of year is Good Old Days On The Farm.

 

 

This book is also FULL of stories written by people who grew up on farms during the first half of the 20th century.  There are stories for all seasons including ones about the summer kitchen, feather beds, picking apples in the fall, Thanksgiving (which is my favorite) and Christmas celebrations.

And speaking of Christmas celebrations, I also LOVE Bob Arley's Country Christmas As Remembered by a Former Kid    This book is extra special because it was purchased at one of our favorite, locally owned bookstores, Books on Broadway. 

Above is my favorite two-page spread of an old fashioned Christmas happening at a grandparent's home, possibly a farm house.  It's amazing to me, when I tour some of these older homes in museums, how small the spaces are.  Everyone crammed into the living room or around the table, inside these not so very big houses.  Now a days, I hear people talk about how much space they need to entertain.  People did just fine back in the day with the space they had.

 

This book is full of wonderful drawings and paintings of Christmas parties at school, trips to the general store, and wintertime kitchens and chores.

 

So those are just a few of the books I've been pouring over this October and November.  Books about family, friends and the simple things in life.  They help me to remember what is important and they help me to be thankful for the things that I have.

 

That's all for today.  Until another time, grab a cozy blanket, book and comfy chair and happy reading!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Halloween Candy Trading Tutorial

I've posted this video before, but it's just too funny not to share again.

The narrator talks really fast, and though I'm a fan of Necco Wafers, it's still funny.

 

 That's all for today!  We hope you all have a Happy Halloween!

 

Ebroidered Hen Dish Towel Finished

Finally!  Henrietta the Hen is finished!  I went through a stage where I didn't do any vintage embroidery.  But now that I've had my little break, and depending upon how busy life gets around here, I'll might pick the needle back up in November.

 

 

 

 

I used a light orange and dark orange on her feet to give them a little bit of texture.

She originally had eggs in her basket, but I changed them to freshly picked strawberries.  I thought it odd that she would be taking her offspring to the market to sell them.  I don't know, maybe she just really needed the money (to pay off her hat and umbrella debt)?  Then again, maybe she was just taking her eggs out for a stroll.  That's a little better.  Either way I thought it strange, so POOF! they magically became strawberries instead.  No discussion needed about strawberries.

 

 

I used an artiste brand variegated brown for the hen's body.  

 

That's all for today.   I hope to get to more stitching soon, but things are crazy-busy around here, so we'll see.  Until another time, have a happy, stitching day!

Debbie Liquid Soap

One of the treasures I found at the October flea market was this 1959 can of Debbie Dish Soap! After a lot of digging, I have come up empty on any information about this stuff.  No vintage Ads, no ebay entries, nothing.  So that's kind of a bummer.

 

The lid is cracked and the very tippy-top of the lid comes off, but I don't mind.  However, the stuff inside, (yes, there is stuff inside...make your best icky face here) it smells HORRIBLE!!  It smells like a cross between a powerful disinfectant and some kind of rocket fuel the Jetsons might use.

 

 

I hated to do it, but I put a piece of scotch tape over the top of the lid to keep it from slipping off and infecting us all like some kind of bio-hazard.  I don't think the tape will hurt the lid.

 

 

After I gently wiped the can with a damp cloth, I placed it with its other detergent friends in the laundry room.

 

 

 It's Just a fun little can, with cute graphics and liquid inside that will burn your nose hairs clean off when sniffed.  Ah yes, life is good for this vintage gal.

Until another time, have a happy, vintage day!

 

 





Vintage Farm Scene Curtains

If I am ever able to buy my little "small town cottage", I would have to hang these curtains either in the living or dining room.  These are found on Etsy. 

 

 

They are so fun to look at!  I'd name all of the cows walking down the road.  All of the people would have names as well.

 

You are probably wondering why on earth I would choose such a pattern for vintage curtains.

The answer is simple.  My Great Grandparents had these curtains in their home.  I saw them in a photo and wondered if any still existed.  Apparently they do.  I probably wouldn't decorate MY house with them (I don't think Darling Husband would go for that), but I would decorate my little 1940s cottage-house that I've been dreaming about in my head!

 This is my Great-Grandpa Bill.  He and my Great-Grandma Grace passed away long before I was born.  I'm sure they would've been fun people to know.

 

That's all for today.  Until another time, have a happy, vintage day!

 

 



Blackwork Acorn Project Finished!

Yea!  I finished a project!

Yes, the Blackwork Acorn Project is finished.  I spent quite a bit of time on this one and it was fun!

I have no idea what I'm going to do with it.  I've thought about framing it or making it a bookmark, but I'm just not sure.

 

 

 

 

Here is the finished project.

 

 

I do wish I had used bigger acorns in the corners (I don't know what I was thinking!)

 

That's all for today.  Until another time, have a happy stitching day!

Blackwork Acorn Project

The latest Blackwork project I've been working on is a larger sized medallion that has oak leaves and acorns in it. I found the pattern on Pinterest and thought I'd mess around with it a little bit.

 

 

Here, the center medallion is completed.

 

 

Below, I am practicing the Holbein stitch.  It's getting easier.

 

 

And this is what I've accomplished so far!

 

 

I'm really having fun with this design and it's quite an easy design to stitch.

 

That's all for today.  Until another time, have a happy stitching day!