A Vintage Kitschmas Treasure Chest!

Posted on March 30, 2013 by Betty

My pickin’ mojo has been off lately – I’ve been kind of striking out and it’s a total bummer! So today when I managed to pack my van to the ceiling with amazing goodies I was pretty stoked to officially declare an end to my pickin’ dry spell. Check out that turquoise chair! It’s actually part of a 1950s curved modular sectional. Totally amazeballs. And that pink luggage just might end up staying with me and not go to the store.

But the REAL story of today is the Vintage Kitschmas Treasure Chest!!

I actually owe this all to the amazing Mister Crafter. When I saw the stack of old military trunks in the garage of the house we were picking, my gaze just skimmed right over them. A little while later I hear the mister’s voice coming in from the garage: ”Hey, did you even look in these trunks?”

I said “No! Is there anything in them?”

“Oh yeah.” He says. ”This one is full of vintage Christmas stuff.”

After I caught my breath and picked myself up off the floor, I dug through the first couple layers, just enough to realize that I was going home with the entire trunk. We were both super excited to get home and fully excavate the old trunk and see what was in store for us.

Here are some highlights of what we found.

Oh yeah. Vintage Putz village. Major score.

Adorable vinyl tree skirt in the original package.

GOBS of ornaments.

Cute as a button window stencils.

Never opened tinsel.

Dainty and sparkly tree icicles.

I never really know what to do with these kinds of cutouts, but this Santa, sleigh and reindeer is a total must-keep.

How adorable are these little NOEL angels? They’re not Holt Howard (although they look like they could be) but they are definitely keepers.

Once I had the box empty, this happened:

Cat is drawn to box as child is drawn to cat. This may be the saddest looking cat in a box in all of the internet. Poor Walter is a saint.

Warrenton!! Week 1 finds

Posted on March 29, 2013 by Betty

I hit up Warrenton a couple of times already this week and have a few nice little finds to show you. I didn’t come away with tons, but I did get a few things I’m really excited about.

First of all, I think I feel a new collection of these little juice glasses coming on. Aren’t they they sweetest? And GAH! One has a squirrel!! Of course that one was a no brainer. The huge hot air balloon glass had to go home with SOMEONE and my shopping pal wouldn’t buy it so I stepped up. But the squirrel glass? The other side has a FAWN. Perfection.

I also acquired another cool rusted metal planter:

This is an old cream separator, but I thought it was screaming to house succulents in my yard. At just $35 I couldn’t leave it behind.

And of course I had to get Mister Crafter a prize, just for being adorable and awesome. He was well pleased when I brought this home for him:

I thought a vintage advertising door push was just the extra pop the entrance to his office needed. And he’s all about vintage soda stuff these days (as long as it’s not Coke – too played out he says.) I’ve never heard of Golden Girl Soda, but I sure like this sign. And so did the mister! I think I scored some points.

You may know about me that it’s not a successful Warrenton shopping trip until mama gets some bakelite. Well this trip I did manage to rustle up 2 pretty great bakelite pieces:

This wood and butterscotch bakelite necklace is a great, long length and something I think I’ll wear all.the.time. And I’ve been wanting a horse pin for awhile and this one is just about perfect! I love the color and the twine bridle – it’s perfect!

Next up I have some things to show you that I didn’t buy but are definitely worth showing off!

A shopping trip with my best gal.

Posted on March 11, 2013 by Betty

Last week Little Betty and I headed a few hours out of town to hit a huge flea market I’ve had some luck at in the past. We made a few days of it so we could shop all the way there and back. Although it wasn’t that successful of a shopping trip, we sure did have fun! And by successful, I mean, I didn’t get as much as I was hoping for the shop. I found PLENTY for me. Oops.

I love driving through little country towns. Such great eye candy. We even saw a fossil!

When we got there we stayed in a super cute and friendly little bed and breakfast called Buffalo Girls Hotel. It was in a little Old West town full of ramshackle shops and restaurants. It was awesome.

The flea market, as always, was exciting and fun. So much to see!

Wouldn’t this candy display make the best toy storage in a kid’s room? I would have loved to get it for all Little Betty’s vintage Fisher Price toys.

I was confused and annoyed by this sign. So is the jewelry vintage or not?? Inappropriate use of quotation marks really gets under my skin. But Sherry was super nice to Little Betty and gave her some free jewelry just for being adorable so I decided to overlook it.

This amazing metal hot air balloon sculpture was only $5! I did not haggle. I just grabbed it gleefully and it now sits proudly beside my piano.

This trip marked the maiden voyage of our new, amazing wagon – the Radio Flyer Ultimate Comfort Wagon. It was awesome! It has 2 seats with tons of configurations – 1 seat with table w/ cup holders and crayon holders for drawing, 1 seat with huge storage area, 2 seats facing each other, 2 seats facing the same way. It’s amazing! Plus it has that huge storage bag on it, a canopy, pockets galore, and about 7 cup holders for everyone. Little Betty was totally comfy and I had lots of room for my goodies. That is, until the end when we had to take the canopy off and load poor Little Betty down with all my purchases. Anyhoo – totally recommend this wagon to other moms. And check out that amazing Indian Chief embroidery! How boss is that? The big metal thing is part of something I’m now using as a planter. More details on that in a day or so.

I mentioned I was a bit of a bad girl and spoiled myself. Here are some of my splurges. Me likey bracelets.

I also treated myself to the most amazing squirrel mugs EVER. I only kept two and sold the other two. They lasted about 7.3 seconds in the shop before they were snapped up.

Also lasting about 7.3 seconds in the shop was this super incredible wolf cowichan. I’ve never seen one with a wolf, and who doesn’t love a good cowichan anyway?

Here are a couple things I didn’t get, although I wanted to:

Oh how I coveted those McCoy rainbow canisters!! They are all perfection. But sadly they were $75. That is just not going to work for me.

Also in the category of McCoy and too expensive, yet awesome, was this:

Is it not glorious? If it had been half the price I might have been tempted. But this was at the end of the trip and after my splurges on bakelite and turquoise. I resisted.

Although the trip was not as fruitful as I had hoped, I am not too bummed, for guess what awaits me in a mere week and a half?? WARRENTON!! I shiver with anticipation at the thought of her endless tents of vintage perfection.

Recent Finds

Posted on January 13, 2013 by Betty

I’ve run into a few little gems recently I wanted to share with you. First of all, HELLO turquoise bottle brush Christmas tree! I totally heart it. And I know it’s a small thing, but I adore that dustpan. It makes me happy every time I see it hanging in the kitchen.

I’ve recently started rehabbing Little Betty’s chalet dollhouse with flooring and wallpaper, so this handpainted furniture will fit right in! Little Betty thinks the benches should go outside and I think she is absolutely right.

The estate sale where I got everything I’ve shown thus far had some amazing kid stuff, including TONS of doll clothes and shoes. It was hard to only get a few things, but I think I chose well. Those party dresses and coat/hat set are insanely awesome. Little Betty’s dolls have been hitting the party circuit ever since.

And speaking of Little Betty, she also scored these vintage Acme inlay boots. They are not in the best shape, but they fit and are wearable and generally super cool.

I think these barkcloth curtains might be the best nursery print I’ve ever seen. I’m going to hoard this fabric until someone very special gets pregnant then make the perfect baby gift out of it. Also, that Little Red Riding hood ribbon is from 1890! It’s perfect.

Lastly, I’ve been on an slowly escalating holiday celluloid kick lately, and I think it’s about to really take off. I have a few Halloween pieces and a big Santa, but when I found these Christmas pieces it became clear that I’m now going to actively search them out. They’re so beautiful and delicate and really look great grouped together. I love vintage Christmas so much. I’m about 5 degrees away from having Christmas stuff up all year.

Did you find anything good this week?

There is a small chance I might have overdone it on the crewel pillows.

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Betty

Mr. Crafter – in fact, every male who has been to our house recently – is of the opinion that I have too many pillows on the couch. But I – and in fact, every female who has been to our house recently – has agreed that it’s awfully comfy to have a lot of pillows on the couch. So you can see we have a real Mars vs. Venus situation on our hands here.

Even I acknowledge that this is probably pushing the limits of the acceptable pillow-to-couch ratio, but what’s a crewel-loving gal like me to do? Stop buying/making them? Never!

I guess my only option is to start farming them out to other parts of the house. Every room and upholstered surface at Casa Crafter shall be adorned with crewel pillows! Every wall covered with framed crewel work! (I shiver with glee at the thought!)

That’s the awesome/crazy thing about Mr. Crafter and I. Neither one of us does anything halfway. When we get obsessed with something (which happens regularly) we totally go for it. For me, bakelite! Vintage purses! Enid Collins! Squirrels! Vintage Christmas! CREWEL! For him, James Dean! Rusty signs! Vintage Matador stuff! Danish Modern furniture! Photography! There was even a whole year where he was obsessed with the color brown. It’s a miracle we’re not in the poorhouse.

But in my defense, how am I supposed to pass up an amazing piece of crewel? They are so charming, and the great ones are getting so hard to find these days. I have no willpower.

In other news of my shameless obsessions, I couldn’t resist splurging on one last after Christmas sale item:

It was 75% off! It had to be done. I can’t decide if I’ll put it in Little Betty’s room next year or not – I kinda like it right there. But please notice the absence of other Christmas decorations. I finally broke down and put them away.

Anyone else have borderline clinical obsessions like me?

Today was a good day.

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Betty

Today I headed out of town at the crack of dawn with Little Betty and a girlfriend to hit some promising looking estate sales. While the estate sales did not live up to expectations they did turn over some great smalls, and the extended thrifting expedition afterwards saved the day!

First of all, you know how they say you will get back what you put out into the universe? Well I think the universe has been reading my blog because CREWEL! And lots of it! Plus some other needlework pieces.

I think my favorite is the pink flowers behind glass. I can’t wait to create a big crewel display at the shop! I already have a few really great pieces there. Those two little pillows were picked out by Little Betty. She is always scouting things for her baby dolls and apparently they can never have too many pillows. Santa clearly approves of my selections.

Little Betty scored a whole lot more than those tiny pillows today though. Feast your eyes on this booty:

She already has a wool hunting jacket, but this one was too cute to pass up! Plus it’s a size too big so hopefully it will fit after she outgrows the other one. And how about that blanket? It will be perfect on her bed during the cold nights we’ve been having here. It’s wool like a Hudson Bay blanket, and I’m am over the moon for that white and pink. She’s too young for those little embroidery kits still, but they’ll be super fun in a year or so. They’re so adorable I’m considering hanging them on the wall as art.

We’re not big liquor drinkers around these parts but I could not resist these shot glasses because next Christmas when my visiting family decides to tear though a bottle of bourbon like they did this year, I’ll be prepared to serve them in style!

Cute right??

Now, I know Christmas is over. Really I do. And I’m ok with it! I’m actually wanting to take the decorations down but Little Betty and Mr. Crafter are resisting. I swear! But do you think I can resist after Christmas sales? I think you know the answer.

I am head over heels for the little Santa town in a hurricane glass thingie. Like, I love it bigtime. The partridge in a pear tree glass is part of a 12 glass set – one for each day of Christmas, each one different. I was too lazy to unwrap them all to show you though. You’ll just have to trust me that they’re awesome. And I’ve been super wanting one of those Build-It-Yourself Santa decorations! Whee!

But my FAVORITE find of the day?

13 Christmas, handmade, felt napkin rings, each one different and kitsch-tastic! All the necessary elements are present here – elves, Santa, reindeer, angels, sleighs, stockings… I am so excited to use these for every Christmas dinner for like, ever.

Have you been taking advantage of after Christmas sales? And am I the last one with decorations still up?

Another Gemma find!

Posted on November 15, 2012 by Betty

You may recall earlier in the year when I ran across 2 Gemma Taccogna papier mache sculptures in a thrift store to my unending glee. I had been drooling over her work online and wishing for some of my own but unwilling to drop multiple hundreds of dollars on one of her pieces. Since then I have loved admiring my 2 Gemmas on the fireplace mantle. Well folks, you can officially call me a collector because now there are 3.

Isn’t she breathtaking?? She was discovered in the vintage store across the street from mine (yes, the very same one where Mr. Crafter found the Black Forest coffee and end tables last week!) and she was only a few dollars more than I paid for the other Gemma head! I still can’t believe my good luck.

I was almost 100% positive it was one of hers even before I anxiously flipped her over. She’s just too iconic of an example of a Gemma Taccogna. And the colors – sweet mother – the colors are perfect for my house! Seriously, I should go buy a lottery ticket. I’m on a roll.

This piece is a vase – and it’s huge! Over a foot tall. The condition is great considering it’s a 50 year old piece of papier mache. Just some minor flaking around the edges and crazing on her face.

She looks like she’s always been on my mantle. The other head is a Mayan artifact replica we got on our honeymoon made by a man who looked just like a Mexican Johnny Cash. He had spent is career restoring Mayan artifacts for museums and in his retirement made authentic looking replicas in a small hut we just happened upon in the middle of nowhere. Although he’s not papier mache I think he fits in nicely with the girls. It’s not creepy at all to have a posse of disembodied heads staring at you from above the fireplace, right?

The coffee table set of my dreams! (Oh yeah, and a new couch too)

Posted on November 3, 2012 by Betty

So, one of the great benefits of being a vintage dealer for a living is that I can trade out furniture and we’ve been doing a lot of that lately. Today I’m going to show you what is happening in our living room. First, we got our first ever real adult couch! Meaning, non vintage, brand-new, costing more than our mortgage. Although we loved the other set, especially that peacock blue color, we found we really needed more seating space in this room, and thought a proper sectional would fit the bill perfectly. Thanks to Thrive Furniture and their Taylor L shaped sectional we got something we feel fits into our vintage home perfectly and gives us the space and comfort we wanted. Plus, their Lucky Turquoise color was almost the same color as our old set! Now our living room is such a cozy nest, perfect for curling up in front of the fireplace and watching movies.

But the real story of today is the totally amaze-balls coffee table set we picked up today. Mr. Crafter went to the vintage store across the street from mine while I was restocking and spied something he knew I’d love. He dragged me over there and it was ours in less than 10 minutes. I’ve never seen anything like it – it’s 2 coffee tables and 2 end tables with German Black Forest carved scenes under glass, just like my Alpine Chalet collection! It’s super hard to photograph because of the glass, so excuse the terrible pictures and try to see past the glare to the amazing beauty of these pieces.

This is the round coffee table. There is a string underneath that if you pull it plays a song and the water wheel turns. That part needs a little work – I’m hoping my local clock shop can get it working correctly.

This is the rectangular coffee table. It’s hard to appreciate the depth and intricacy because of the glare unfortunately.

Then there are 2 bi-level end tables too. Aren’t they amazing? Seriously, I’ve never seen anything like them. I love them so much. Yes, they are kitschy as heck, but that’s totally my bag! We’ll never have a stereotypically perfect mid century home, but being surrounded by crewel pillows, Alpine chalets, and Mr. Crafter’s found art pieces makes me indescribably happy and comfortable. And that’s what home is supposed to feel like, right?

Exhibit 976 why Mr. Crafter is the best husband ever

Posted on October 27, 2012 by Betty

I know I’ve been talking a lot about how awesome Mr. Crafter is these days, and I would totally tone it down if he would quit doing awesome things but he has done something so incredible that I just knew you would want to know about it.

Some of you long time readers may remember a post I made about a year and a half ago about seeing the best vintage lamp ever in a shop in Chicago that was not for sale. It broke my heart, and you can see why:

Yes, friends, that is a 1950s squirrel lamp with fiberglass shade. It is the mothership of vintage lamps. The pinnacle of lighting greatness. The holy grail of 1950s functional art. I have never stopped talking about it, and bless his precious soul, Mr. Crafter has been listening. Ever since then every time Mr. Crafter has gone to Chicago, he’s made a visit to the shop and tried to talk the owner into selling it to him. She loves the lamp as much as I do and could not be persuaded. Believe me, Mr. Crafter has exceptional acquiring and persuading skills. His whole career revolves around getting impossible things to happen. This lady was not budging. So the other day I squealed like a 14 year old girl when I got this picture texted to me:

I love this man. Seriously, this is probably the sweetest thing he’s ever done for me. I am giddy with love for my new lamp and my thoughtful husband!

Doesn’t it look like it’s always been in my house? I feel that it’s finally come home where it belongs. I made sure to put it right by our couch and TV so that I can maximize my time gazing at it adoringly.

Is it not the most perfect lamp in all the land? Have you ever seen anything so beautiful in vintage home decor? And most importantly, how in the heck is Mr. Crafter ever going to top this one?

A little bit of vintage Kitschmas goodness…

Posted on October 17, 2012 by Betty

You know I can never resist vintage Christmas doo dads. I love me some vintage Christmas, whatever time of year it is. And this week I ran into a few gems I just had to show you.

I’ve been on the lookout for one of these little Christmas trees for a long time. But they always seem to be about $100! Re-donk-ulous. So when I found this little beauty for $22 I knew my search was over.

I’m also just mad for the framed ice skater painting. I love it SO much. Not exactly Kitschmas, but it’s going to go perfect in Little Betty’s room with all her framed vintage silhouettes and ballerina pictures.

How great is this elf? I just love her. Not sure how exactly she’s going to fit into my Kitschmas display but never you fear she will be prominent.

And how about this pine cone elf, santa, and snowman? Aren’t they just the sweetest? And I’m proud to say they were only $4-$6 each! Unheard of, as many of you probably know.

I’m getting so excited for Christmas already!

Betty Crafter

Category Archives: finds