Love of The Hunt

Gettin' Crafty

2012-02-10T09:05:00.000-08:00

Does anyone else miss paper party invites?

You know back in the day where we didn't text,facebook, tweet, etc our invitations out to people but instead filled in the blanks for the who/where/why/when and then passed them out?

I know little kids still do this but adults, not anymore.

I am planning on having a get together soon and wanted to bring back the paper party invite for adults...BUT....I realized I never see people on a constant basis that I would want to invite to my party so sending them or giving them handmade invitations would be a fail.

So instead I figured I could at least make a crafty image to attach to my Facebook Event Notice so here is what I did:

I bought this rad Get Well card from the 40s/50s off Etsy:

The mask of the witch doctor sticks out in 3D when you fold the card at a 90 degree angle:

I color copied the images, cut and pasted them to a blank paper, printed out some altered text and did the same so I ended up with the following :

It came out pretty cool if I do say so myself!

My party is going to celebrate turning 34 AND also the breaking in of my new (to me) vintage rattan bar that is thankfully getting delivered by great friends tomorrow.

Funny because since moving to California I haven't even thought about throwing a party at any of my apartments but it seemed like a good time to do so.

Now I get to stress out for a month on the details!

Is that opportunity knocking??

2012-02-08T19:30:00.001-08:00

So when I first moved into my apartment I had just lost my job and went on unemployment and was living on a super tight budget all of a sudden. I moved in with this whack job -- who I thought was normal until I realized what people had been telling me was true and she really WAS mental--until I came home from thrifting one day to find she had moved out thus leaving me in a lurch for rent.

What I thought was a shitty situation ended up being the BEST thing that had ever happened to me because I got a brand new AWESOME roommate like a month later and she has been here for 16 months straight. Until today when she told me she got a new job (yay for her!) and was moving out (boo for me) on what we decided would be April 1.

I know she has been the best roommate of my life for many reasons but I knew it was too good to last for months longer. When she moved in I think she even agreed to just a 6 month lease so to have such a rad roomie for almost 3 times as long was pretty awesome.

Anyways when I first read her text my stomach flipped and panic set in..what was I going to do?? How was I going to afford my apartment?? Oh God I need to find a new roommmate!!!

Then I checked myself....wait...I HAVE a job...I can PAY my rent...sure it won't leave me as much play money but I can swing it AND live alone AND even better...have an extra bedroom for...

the closet space (she had the master bedroom and lots of closet space)
storage

and the best thing...

I CAN HAVE AN OFFICE!! I can set up inventory, a photography station and a shipping station and run my reselling business from that room!!!

This will allow me to quickly turn over my finds, keep things organized and make more of y income doing what I love!

Yes, I will miss my roomie but YES!! I will be able to run my business the way I have dreamed. No longer confined to tubs o' crap stacked up everywhere and trying to find space for the 1000 items I have in my inventory......I can have floor to ceiling shelves to organize it all.

So opportunity knocking I hear ya and I am letting you in!!

$1.49 score

2012-02-05T10:33:00.001-08:00

Couldn't pass up this bottle opener. I added it to my bin of impromptu gifts so someone somewhere down the line will be the new owner of this awesome corkscrew.

I Love the 80s

2012-02-04T14:02:00.000-08:00

Ok before I get to the 80s finds for today here are two not-80s scores.

I love how people collect weather houses and swiss clocks. This music box/jewelry box has that same look:
When you pull out the drawer the windmill spins around and the music box plays. I need to add a screw into the lid of the box but other than that it is pretty large and was a great purchase for only $1.99.

Added another nun to my collection. It was ironic because I met a new person in line (yes they form a line) while waiting for the thrift to open and she asked me what I resold/collected. I mentioned nuns and walked in to pluck this new in the packaging off the shelf for $1.49. She is wearing sneakers which I guess is what indicates the "Keeping Fit"mantra

NOW..Sometimes when I go thrifting my finds have a common theme. Today it seemed to be all about the 80s--and pretty much a reminder of my childhood.

Found another Strawberry Shortcake shaker. I have one already so I will group them up and sell them as a set.
I found not one... Not two...

But THREE vintage 80s My Little Ponies! All for...$0.99! Score. You have to look on the bottom of their feet for the Made in Hong Kong stamp and the date stamp but vintage MLP look classic unlike the weird cyber version ones they have come out with today.

Sprite is Rainbow Brite's pal....when you hold him (her?) by the string and pull it down he giggles/squeaks. If you know anything about Rainbow Brite you know that she and her toys are pretty hot collectibles. I used to have this doll and the green one similiar to it. I wonder if they are in my parent's attic.
Finally I was digging through all these bags of misc kids small toys when I spied for $0.69 this group of California Raisin figurines. Funny enough I remember having ALL of the same ones so being able to buy them made me happy. I think I even shouted out loud "YES!" when I uncovered the bag of them.

I found more stuff (of course) but these were the items that brought me back to being little again.

Maybe I should start a "It Came From The 80s" collection.....you know when I get a biggger apartment I might!

You Park Like An Idiot

2012-02-01T07:55:00.001-08:00

So I found these from a seller on Etsy and bought a pack of 50. They are the size of a pack of post-its and you mark off your complaint and stick it on the window of the offending car.

Well...they lasted me about 1 week and now they are all gone! Needless to say I have many opinions about people who can't park !

Ordered more today...3 packs :)

Different Direction of Thrifting

2012-01-31T07:52:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday I didn't feel like driving all the way down to my hunting grounds so I decided to drive the opposite way and go thrift at a few places I had not been to in awhile.
I counted once and I have almost 75 (that I know about) thrift stores within an hour - an hour and a half driving distance. Oh the choices!!
Found this excellent condition Winnie the Pooh Sears brand 1977 working musical mobile. Don't let the box condition fool ya....

The little foam characters are all in excellent condition --even Eeyore who is a little squished is still lovable.

They all hang from a plastic umbrella decorated with their images. The figurines spin and the umbrella stays stagnant. Can't believe no one had scooped this up!

I found a pack of 3 of these Mrs. Grossman's 1988 Sticker Keeper boxes. If you were like me and were a sticker fanatic in the 80s you can easily identify her bold, colorful imagery.

I bought this bag o' kids toys for like $0.99 because I spotted this train hiding amongst the mish mash. Its a 1962 special Easter edition of the Fisher Price toot-toot train.

I have been coming across so much Strawberry Shortcake stuff lately. I found another large carafe and this jar together on the shelf of the same store for barely any money. Ahhh another reminder of my childhood. I can remember going to Kmart with my family when I was little and getting to pick out a toy...I got The Purple Pieman. Good times!

At first when I stopped into this huge warehouse sized store I wasn't finding much. Everything on the shelves was made in China or dollar store junk. It wasn't until I decided to check the racks and racks of hanging bags of smalls (my favorite part of ANY thrift store!) that I spotted this 1988 Freddy Krueger figurine. It looks like the plastic has come apart from the blister card so the previous owner stapled it back on but overall its in excellent condition.
*SOLD*

I scanned the books and instantly spotted this 1978 copy of the Dungeons and Dragons Players Handbook. I love that old gamer handbooks were hardcover--unlike the paperbacks we have today.
Finally I picked up this never opened Dick Tracy puzzle from 1990. I hate that items from 1990-1992 are now considered "vintage" because sellers on Etsy are trying to sell junk that is made like 2 years ago. Uneducated sellers annoying the heck out of me!

I really stay away from buying to resell ANY items from 1990 and beyond just because the 90s are NOT vintage and will NEVER be vintage no matter if its 50 years from now that we are looking back. When everything is Made in China that is not the quality from the 40s and even through the 80s.

The only reason I bought this to resell was because it had great graphics and was unopened. Stupid 90s.

This weekend I think I will go back down to my hunting grounds since I havent been there for 2 weeks and see whats what. Also the Alameda Antique Festival is Sunday so I might try to see if I can find some tiki. Hope the weather continues to be nice.

Aeeeeyyyyyyyyyyy

2012-01-25T07:31:00.000-08:00

I am 33 and when I was little I thought the Fonz was super hot and the coolest guy on tv. Aeeeeeeyyyy what's not to like about the Fonz? Maybe he was what started me on my path of "greaser boy" lovin' :)

Just look at that hair, that jacket, that smile, that huge nose *swoon*

So randomly I bid and won on this MIB Happy Days Fonzie paper doll set :)

The pics are from the auction (see someone does take darker pics than me!) but you get the idea.

I think I am going to take the doll to Kinko's and make color copies on tag board and give them to people as gifts.

Who doesn't want to spend their free time dressing up a paper doll of The Fonz???

In the Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, Ti-ki Room

2012-01-24T07:47:00.000-08:00

I have never been able to find this 7" record version of the songs from The Enchanted Tiki Room out in the wild so I paid too much for it (read: it wasn't a dollar or less which is all I ever pay for a record) from a seller on Etsy so I can stop looking for it. This of course means I will find it next time I am out.

Mug Shot

2012-01-22T14:23:00.000-08:00

I don't buy these souvenir name mugs anymore when I am out thrifting but its obvious from the looks of this rack (and more that are on my shelves) that I should of refrained from buying them years ago! These are mugs from Hawaii that have the Hawaiian name above the English name that people brought back as souvenirs.

I forgot I had this MUG rack too until I just unearthed it from a pile in my bedroom.

Fills up that space on my wall nicely.

Muh Bucket

2012-01-21T14:06:00.000-08:00

I have a lot of vintage cocktail paper stuff like coasters/napkins/invites but no way to display them.

I came across this Miller High Life metal beer bucket from some bar while thifting today and figured that would make a good display for the paper stuff. Not vintage but I like it and it serves its purpose.

Bucket was $1.49

Shake it up!

2012-01-20T20:00:00.000-08:00

I moved some stuff around and had to take down the majority of my cocktail shaker collections.
I didn't realize I had amassed so many - and ALL from thirfting!
Actually I think I missed some other ones so these are just some of what I have found out and about.

Group shot
Flowers, love the pink elephant shaker and I guess I have 2 of the ones on the right(didn't know that)

Always happy to find shakers with lids AND lid caps. I do buy plenty without of them though:

These are Mr. Bartenders. I know that I brought one of the black ones back from Florida when I went home 3 years ago. It was $1.00 at a Goodwill so I thought that was worth the chance of getting it across the country

More Mr. Bartenders and others. I think one of the red ones is a smaller version to one of the tall red ones above

and more... I don't have too many sets with glasses because I won't buy them unless they are complete. Maybe I should change that line of buying....and maybe I should de-grease the glasses! Thats what happens for sitting in the kitchen area I guess!

I bet I didn't spend more than $8.00 on any one shaker with most being under $2.

An Apple A Day

2012-01-16T10:09:00.000-08:00

I picked up these funny little apple guys/gals when I was out the other day.

I love that the peeling apple has peelers for legs, the apple sauce has spoons and the eaten apple looks so dejected

The chef apple has rolling pins for legs and the female carmel apple (who I wont sell because she has a hole in her back) is rocking heels

More stuff

2012-01-14T16:28:00.000-08:00

Woke up this morning and laid in bed debating whether or not to go thrifting. I have to drive about an hour to get to my favorite hunting grounds and I was so toasty and comfy in my bed the thought of going out was not that attractive. After another 30 minute snooze I decided what the heck and ventured out. Scored a trunk full-well I have a hatchback so I guess thats a hatch full--of stuff to sell and to keep . Here are a few of my keep finds.

Found another fez..
Now I have two..

And they are both on the bulldog bank's head because I can't think of anywhere else to display them besides in my small fez appreciation corner

Found another large cocktail shaker with the cap....the lid is a bit banged up around the edge and in all honesty I am not crazy about the flowers but it was cheap and since I passed up A LOT of barware today bringing this home is fine I guess

1963 Last Supper puzzle. I think I will leave it in the box and stick the box on a shelf on my religious kitsch wall for now. Maybe I will get motivated at some point in the future to put it together and frame it but lets not hold our breaths.

More nuns!! These are racing nuns--as in you pull them back and they take off. HOLY SMOKES! (it actually says that on the box!)

I found two moai tissue box covers. You pull the tissues out of the moai's nose. The sand colored one I found at a Salvation Army and the grey one I found at my second favorite thrift. Now I have 4 of these tissue covers.

I foundthe large black panther thrifting 3 years ago, the black cat ashtray was from a Goodwill in Florida when i went home for Thanksgiving and I found the little black panther today from the same place where I found the big panther.

Does anyone love FRED products as much as me? If you don't know what I am talking about just Google FRED for more info. I always find FRED stuff at thrift stores and it always comes home with me. Glad to add these Cool Jewels ice cube trays to my FRED stuff.

Ok thats all the pics I took--although I found 10 times at least the amount of stuff I photographed.

Gonna go list some stuff on Etsy and take a power nap I think.

Hope everyone liked my finds :)

All you need is love

2012-01-11T10:28:00.000-08:00

Never to early to jump into the next holiday!

Russ Berrie figurine
What's a holiday with0ut paper napkins?

I love this oversized mug:

Temporary tattoos anyone?

The way to a man's heart is through cookies-duh!

Found through various thrifting adventures and for sale in (where else) my Etsy store ------->

Yes! I love to self promote!!

2012 - Let the thrifting begin!

2012-01-07T17:46:00.000-08:00

I randomly started driving today and found myself hitting up 4 thrift stores in my area that I haven't been to in a few weeks. I generally get to thrifts when they open (for the best pick of stuff, of course) but I think I did pretty good with what I found mid day.

Here are a few tiki/Hawaiian finds to tide ya over until I post some of the fun stuff I plan to resell..

Trader Vic's Book of Mexican Cooking - I never knew that Vic cooked Mexican! Seems so anti-polynesian

Hyatt Regency Waikiki mug - you would think that someone visiting Waikiki would pick a better mug as a souvenir but hey, it was $0.98 and I don't have one so why not,right?

Yet another rubber hula girl. This one is a bit creepy because she has...well..if you look she has a vagina. freaky!

I also found a bag of about 20 of these little stick pins featuring a maori design. My friends and I think that they were worn either by Air New Zealand stewardesses or given to passengers flying.

I always love finding stuff I have never found before and finding the book--even though its Mexican--was the first time I have ever found one of the Trader Vic cooking books in the wild so that made today worth it.

Tru Dat!

2012-01-06T07:46:00.000-08:00

I love this little collection!

2012-01-05T08:01:00.000-08:00

Isn't it interesting the things that grab your attention , that become part of your collections, that trigger something inside you that makes you want to find more of them?

That's how I feel about these guys. Originally I found this set of "Hawaiian" wood bobble head tribal tourist trinkets at the bottom of a box of tiki stuff I was selling for someone. (Yeah maybe I should dust them)

They look like this when and if I ever get around to dusting them (picture stolen from a fellow tiki collector who likes these guys too--and who is obviously better at picture taking)

These guys were handpainted tourist trinkets from the 1950s and although not valuable really they are kind of hard to find.

I really like these guys in the boat--I think I stole this image off an Ebay ad originally - although I would love to own it I think it went for too much money and as we all know I am thrify with the flow, yo!

I was pretty stoked to pick this guy up last night (not my photo so don't hate the fact that the pic is so dim) for pretty low flow.

Another tiki person owns these guys:

I wonder why they use black face dolls to decorate Hawaiian souvenirs??

Oooh I just found these as well...not Hawaiian but in the same style (but overpriced!)

Cheeky Cards

2012-01-04T07:57:00.000-08:00

I forgot I bought these awhile ago. I have been hunting for a "Wolf Pack" deck of cards which are all nude pin-up girls from the 50s but I can't seem to find one (yet) that is cheap enough for my taste.

I want to frame a few of these and hang them in groups in my bathroom (more photos on that idea in future posts) -- I love how cheeky these are:

This Stag deck is from the 1940s and the images remind me of the artwork on postcards sent by GIs back then to their girls back home. Even if the language is a little racier than most of those postcards I am in love with the simple style line work that makes up the cartoons :

Most people who resell these decks of cards do so by splitting them up so you can't ever buy a whole pack. I won't ever sell these -- or anymore of them I collect--they are too fabulous.

Best Finds of 2011

2012-01-03T16:09:00.000-08:00

I see where people are all listing their great finds of 2011.

I can't do that.

I thrift every week--from Jan-May I thrifted 5 days a week and then from May-December at least 2 times every week.

Do you realize how much AMAZING stuff I buy ??? And not to be a snob but the prices I pay are MUCH lower than those other bloggers post on their same finds so I guess I am a price snob.

I know I am blessed by the thrifts I get to shop at -- I know I NEVER leave a thrift without multiple bags of killer scores--and I know that this year I am going to find even better stuff than I did last year-why? Because the more I collect, the more I learn, the more time I spend in blogland the better my eye gets and the better my finds get.

2012 is going to ROCK so stay tuned!

Florida Orange Bird

2012-01-03T08:10:00.000-08:00

Did I ever mention that I am from Florida? I moved from Indiana to Florida when I was 6 and it was the only place I ever lived until I relocated to California 5 years ago.

I have to state that I did not like living in Florida--but only realized this when I no longer did. Never thought I would live anywhere else but now that I live over here I don't think I will ever live over there again.

Anyways I have fond memories of being a little kid in Florida. It was all DisneyWorld (about an hour 20 minutes away from us) and orange trees, sunshine and playing in the pool. It's funny when you are little you never think its "too hot" its just hot enough to go swimming--now I break out into a sweat if its 70 degrees and trips back home are unbearable even in the winter.

One the things I remember seeing most on car trips or at tourist stands in Orlando when I was little was the Florida Orange Bird. It was iconic--it was Disney--it was EVERYWHERE. The orange bird was on billboards, on gum packages (shaped like orange juice cartons of course), in every shop on Main Street in DisneyWorld...and I started to realize that even though I collect alot of stuff maybe the orange bird could snuggle his way into my vast display of kitch and collectibles.

I just bought this necklace from an Etsy seller for a song--will I wear it? Most likely not-then again who knows:

And I LOVE this bank I have had for awhile now. When I went to Trader Sam's

there were orange birds stuck inbetween the foliage and this little guy could be spotted high on a shelf.

I love iconic images from my childhood. It surprises me that more people don't have fond memories of this bright orange bird. I will have to ask my brother if he remembers him.

Say When

2012-01-02T12:17:00.000-08:00

I collect too much stuff! Just went through a drawer in my kitchen underneath where I have most my barware displayed and found all this....would be nice if I could think of a way to display it all--or lived in a bigger place (even though my apt is pretty big its never big enough!):

Some Vintage cocktail party invitations:
Vintage kitschy change dish (I bought this when i was thrifting in Florida--pretty much the lamest thrifts ever but I did score a handful of vintage items which took me all day):

I love pink elephant stuff like these sealed packs of party plates that say "How Dry I Am":

Group shot of the above--you can see the plates better:

I love this pack of newer napkins that I found thrifting. I always feel like thrift stores are "family friendly" so for some reason I get a kick out of seeing stuff like this (and for $0.39 of course I will buy it!)

Paper coasters new in packaging. The one with the guy on it playing the instrument says "for swingers only"..hehe

I love collecting vintage barware--cocktail shakers, rocks glasses, paper napkins, paper coasters, party invites, swizze sticks, etc..This stuff is easy to find and I seem to always find it and pick it up for pretty cheap. I tend to give away vintage kitschy bar swag with bottles of wine/booze for presents so I keep a constant rotation of this stuff it seems.

The only problem I have been running into with my vintage barware collection is I have accumulated TOO much and am running out of space. Story of my life I suppose :)

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T11:06:00.000-08:00

Happy 2012! I am so EXCITED that its a new year! It's always so nice to wake up to a fresh start and realize you get to wipe the slate clean and the 1st day of a new year is always my favorite!

I had a long, great, sometimes terrible, mostly wonderful, blessed 2011.

We all had challenges and I was not without mine but I ended 2011 better than I began it and that is what matters.

Last night I went to a tiki New Year's Eve at Trader Vic's in Palo Alto, CA and got to see the fabulous Tikiyaki Orchestra play. What was even better was I helped the band check people into the evening so I got to attend (and eat) for free! Yay! I had a fantastic night and even drank mostly soda to ensure when I drove home I didn't die :)

The lack of booze sure made getting up today a hangover free one and I am thankful for that.

I have a list of 10 resolutions that I know are all achievable and being productive everyday is on that list. The lack of a hangover has me already on the right track .

Let's hope 2012 is a fantastic year for everyone!

Here is a still from my favorite holiday movie-Holiday Inn. Nothing better than Bing Crosby crooning to "Let's Start the New Year Right" and wishing us all a Happy New Year. I second that fella!

Whoa Domino

2011-12-30T08:28:00.000-08:00

I thrift so much that I often find the same item over and over and over again. Since I am drawn toward selling smaller items many times these same items are game pieces such as dominoes.

Here are some of the varied sets that I have found - it always amazes me that people hold onto these for 40 years

Confucius Say...

2011-12-28T07:27:00.000-08:00

I bought these napkins/hankerchiefs to frame and hang in my bedroom.

The ones not pictured say :

Man who drink too much bourbon become very corny

and

Artist who draw women in summer often hot sketch

I know there are a few others that come with this set but these are fine and knowing me I am sure to come across the others at some point down the road.

Ramona, Rhonda and Rodney

2011-12-27T07:56:00.000-08:00

I think I have found these dolls about 4 times over as of today. I remember getting them when I was little at Burger King and sleeping with Rodney because he was so soft.

Nice to find them with their hang tags.
Odd they were still at the thrift all bagged up on the 26th. You would of thought someone would of picked them up long ago.

Oh well!

Everyday I'm shufflin'....

2011-12-26T18:36:00.000-08:00

Some other blogger posted a few weeks ago about how they always wanted one of these and finally scored one for (what seemed to me) some ridiculous price.

Ironically I found this guy for $1.99 at the Salvation Army today. I have it posed up on my counter and I swear that it just moved. hmm...

Day After Christmas Thrifting

2011-12-26T13:20:00.000-08:00

Ahhhhhh December 26th--how I love you as pretty much THE BEST thrifting day of my year!

Yes, I found bags, and bags, and BAGS of 1950s/1960s kitschy Christmas but that will all go on my Etsy so I do not feel like talking about it here. (By the way all that Christmas was 80% off!! and I can not believe how much of it was still waiting to be bought and taken home by me so late in the holiday season!Hello shiny brites?? what??)

Here are just a few of the delightful (to me) finds I picked up today for 50% off their original cheap as heck prices:

Trio of adorable ceramic nun figurines made in Japan. Looks like I need to clean up their label residue around their white cloaks

But they fit right into the $5.00 60's shadow box I got at an Elks Club sale sitting among the rest of my nun collection (all thrifted of course!):
Found a few tiki/Hawaiiana things which was a nice change since its been so dry lately.

Two packs of sealed tourist playing cards, glass 2 face goblet from Mama's Fish House (not vintage just new to me) and a CoCo Joe I didn't have:

I stuck him up on my shelf to hang with some other lava pieces I have snagged from the thrifts:

I always seem to find Accoutrements stuff and came across this NIP plastic novelty cocktail shaker. I figured it will make a good gift in the future

Or I can just keep it on display with this OTHER shaker I found WITH the lid and the cap(!) in excellent condition :

I shoved it up on the shelf with more of my thrifted cockail collection. Oh and that plastic doll---well its from the 60s and I want to sell it but for some reason he likes to hang out in that glass so I have left him.

Can you spot the pink flamingo to the right of the doll?? I had a pair I got from someone on Etsy for like $10 (silly people!) , sold 1 that arrived broken :( so decided to keep that one since I have always wanted to collect pink flamingos but never have. Hmm...I actually remember seeing a few other flamingo figurines in a box somewhere--wait I will be right back!

Ok nevermind...they are all bubble wrapped and I am not in the mood to destroy my packing job!

Aren't these gnomes so cute all chillin' up the shelf?I just found the stuffed gnome at the thrifts and I also found the shelf:

I actually have two of those shelves and was thinking maybe I could use the second one to start collecting and displaying deer after finding this little gal today:
Isn't she sweet? She is a salt missing her pepper (or maybe a pepper missing her salt???) that needed to come home with me. I have found and resold many adorable deer over the past years...perhaps she will stick around awhile.

At this one thrift where I NEVER look at any of the pictures I took a gamble and flipped through family portraits, badly done needlepoints, pictures of landmarks and found yet another vintage paint by number! This will be my 16 find of PBNs. Too bad it was just a single and not the set. (most pbns were part of a pair) We shall see how long it takes for me to resell this:
My last find I want to show is this unassuming plastic box:
That when opened becomes like snazy version of a swiss army knife. Had to have it!
I found TONS of other stuff but these are some I took pics of. Maybe I will get around to taking more photos after my mid-day nap.

Man I love days off!

Christmas 2011

2011-12-25T20:27:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve went from great to horrible but ended fantastically. Thankfully the nonsense I had to deal with yesterday did not affect me spending Christmas Day 2011 EXACTLY like I wanted...I slept in, went to the gym,

Then went and had chicken and waffles at the diner by my house (seriously it IS the breakfast of champions!)
(this is an old pic of my breakfast because the one I took didn't come out but I promise it looked identical!)

Swung by Walgreens to buy some hair dye (don't you feel bad for retail folks who even getting time and a half pay have to work Christmas Day?? I do so I was extra nice) came home,

Called and texted with family and friends--had to thank my mom for the huge amount of gifts she sent me including a great pair of knee high boots and gift cards galore,

Watched

SAVE THE NECK FOR ME, CLARK!

Black and white version, baby!

Dyed my weave, then started to purge out some junk to take to donate to the thrifts tomorrow and got to finally hang up some of the stuff that has been taking up space all over everywhere.

Like this set of 50s knick knack shelves that I bought for $5.00 for the pair. I finally hung them up in my kitchen and filled them with a mish mash stuff -- mostly s&ps:

I really like how this display perked up a pretty dull wall and made me realize that I really have no business buying ANYMORE S&P shakers!

Tomorrow I have the day off (yay!) and it seriously is going be THE BEST THRIFTING DAY OF MANKIND because most of the thrifts I go to have the entire store half off. Screw the mall--I will make a killing off everything I find tomorrow.

Hope everyone had a great holiday!

doh!

2011-12-23T08:42:00.001-08:00

I was flipping through old efiles of my selling thru the past years assessing how things have been going in 2011 and where I want things to go in 2012 when I came across this picture:

and remembered this was one of my biggest DOH! sales.

Holt Howard EXTREMELY rare string holder ...I think I sold it for $7.00!

Given that was 3 years ago before I really knew much about HH but still...WHAT THE HECK WAS I DRINKING??????!?!??!

A few of my favorite (sold) finds

2011-12-22T07:44:00.000-08:00

The nature of thrifting is you find amazing sh*t. The nature of making money off thrifting is that you have to sell some of the amazing sh*t to make room for more amazing sh*t.

Here is some of my favorite things I bought and resold that I wish (sometimes) I would of kept.

He-Man puzzle......man I LOVED He-Man and She-Ra so much when I was a kid. I had the He-Man dolls that when they got punched in the chest their chest panel flipped so it looked all caved in. Man those were awesome!

The person that bought this gave it to her brother for Christmas--he loved it.

Canisters are something I only buy ...well...ok I buy them when I find them and they aren't covered in 70s mushrooms or tons of rust.
I found these at this magical Salvation Army that has been a haven for cheap, amazing finds over the past few years.
I remember finding the flour complete but there was no lid to the coffee. I searched every shelf until I found the lid under the shoe racks (well, duh, where else would I expect to find it??).
I was sad to see these sell because I have never seen anymore like them.
I hope their new owner enjoys them (and maybe even has the rest of the set)

Time to time I buy bags of cookbooks with the hopes of finding cocktail books or Hawaiian recipe books. When I unearthed this Mary Poppins Baking Book I knew I should of kept it and treasured it. But I sold it . *sigh* My only regret is I didn't scan all the recipes like "Fidelity Fiduciary One-Layer Fudge Cake" better so I could read and make them. I am sure to find it again one day.

I hope the new owner was able to master the art of baking those scones shown below. Yumm..scones.

I believe The Big Lebowski is the #1 movie of all time. Not ET. If you agree with me then by all means behold your eyes on this Time Magazine Man of the Year mirror featured in the movie.

My question is this...WHY DID I EVER SELL THIS?!?!??!?!? If anyone in blog land comes across one of these let me know and I will buy it from you in a heartbeat.

Oh Time Magazine Man of the Year mirror...you are my greatest loss to date :(

Finally when I found this set I bought it because it was complete (and like $2.00) I didn't really think it was something I would ever keep. Can you tell what it is?

The tray on the left is for soap, the cup holds your brushes and then the snail on the right holds your toothbrushes! Cute..and totally 70s.

If I only had an extra bathroom to decorate it would of rocked this set. I imagine the new owner had kids and this was in their bathroom. How sweet would that be?

Big, Fat, Hairy, Orange Cat

2011-12-21T13:06:00.000-08:00

Nunsense

2011-12-21T06:23:00.000-08:00

I love religious kitsch--you know Jesus nightlights(have 4), Mary toast imprinters (have 3 ), Last Supper paint by numbers (have 2), etc...I am not sure why I love this stuff but just like everything else it always ends up coming home with me when I am out and about and I have successfully covered 1 wall in my apartment with bad religious artwork and kitschy Jesus knick-knacks.

Somewhere along the way I also started to come across cheap (like $5 or less) nun figurines that struck me as too sweet to leave behind and they have become a collection as well.

Here are a few pictures I snapped today of the pieces I just got over the last 2 weeks.

This gal was in the boutique (a.k.a. the overpriced) section of the thrift store marked down from $4.99 she was only $1.49. Once I saw her tag I knew she had to come home with me:

awww how cheeky!
This pair was bought from the same thrift store the following weekend for $2.99 for the set. I love them. They are only about 4 inches high and you can't see it but they also have gold accents. (yes..I really DO need a new camera!!)
Totally non-nun finds but still fun nonetheless were this pair. At first when I saw them at the same ghetto thrift I bought the SHAG print from all I could see were their heads behind some glasses and I seriously thought they were blow up doll figurines! lol

Once I pulled them out from their dusty dungeon and saw that they were choir singers with broken/reglued necks for $3.99 (half price to $1.99) for the set they came home with me.

They are marked JAPAN (as is everything in this post) and I love them right down to thei faux diamond buttons...don't you?

Signs, signs everywhere there's signs...

2011-12-20T11:43:00.001-08:00

A few that I have sold and have listed still for sale..all thrifted of course :)

Crafty Plan

2011-12-20T11:19:00.000-08:00

I bought one of these:

Because I found a bag of about 16 of the same face at the thrift store and want to make some of these as gifts (future gifts-too close to Christmas) and need to see how they were put together.

Also I think it will look awesome in my bathroom.

Mugging It Up

2011-12-20T08:04:00.000-08:00

Coffee mugs are such an easy gift to give and appropriate for a wide range of occasions. This holiday I gave 3 of the people I work for mugs I found that were appropriate for them and extremely well received.

I counted all the mugs I have yet to list and its up near 20 (!).

Here is a sampling of some of the mugs I have sold in the past just for the heck of it:

Trio of Awesome Tiki Scores - Muntiki, SHAG, Trader Vic's

2011-12-20T07:10:00.000-08:00

I first started to collect tiki because I thrifted all the time (still do!) and it seemed to be everywhere. I figured if I was buying something for $0.59 that people would eventually pay $150 for it seemed to be a great investment.

Then the investment turned into an obsession and my bookcase of mugs and misc Hawaiiana has taken over my whole apartment. This is NOT a bad thing--it just makes it near impossible to display new stuff to my hoard or to deem something special enough to give it space of its own.

Due to the fact that I only buy from thrifts (I think my # of non-thrift mugs is up to 10 and those include one offs from artist friends) I don't drop the large amount of cash most collectors do on new "hot" collectibles.

Brands like Tiki Farm and Muntiki don't fit into my thrift store budget unless I can hit the Tiki Farm warehouse sale (as my friend Bill and I did when we went to Tiki Oasis this year) or I can score a Muntiki for $10 or less. Which is exactly what happened when someone posted one for sale and I snatched it up. Behold the Muntiki El Bastardo:

The last one I had of these (a black one) I found and flipped selling for almost $90. Gonna have to really work at keeping this guy...but he is pretty cool looking.

Another artist whose work I love but will NEVER pay hundreds of dollars for is SHAG - and if you don't know who he is by now then you MUST of been living under a rock! I have friends who plop down $200-$600 everytime he comes out with a new Tiki themed serigraph. I even have friends who own SHAG original paintings and keep them in their bathroom(they go for thousands btw) so his artwork has been and continues to be a hot piece of tiki collecting.

SHAG also has done amazing collabs with Disney on their anniversary celebration, Haunted Mansion rides and of course The Enchanted Tiki Room . These pieces sell out quicker then you can even say the words Enchanted Tiki Room so imagine my happy surprise when I found this BRAND NEW STILL IN THE WRAPPER Enchanted Tiki Room print at the thrift store marked $1.99 half price for only ONE FREAKING DOLLAR!!

That was a totally awesome and unexpected score at this super dirty thrift store that I rarely find anything at. Sometimes you just have to look for the sake of looking and I am glad I did! I want to get this guy framed by this amazing company in SoCal called FrameFetish-they handcut mats to fit the style of picture and all of their framing jobs are so amazing that I promised myself if I ever got a SHAG print it needed to be framed by them.

Finally to round out the trifecta of awesome tiki scores I bid and won from Ebay a lot of napkin samples used to sell napkins to bars back in the 60s. In the ad there were no pictures of tiki napkins but seeing as how you never know I won and received the box at work.

Flipping through the napkins I was pleasantly surprised to find the last two napkins of the box were tiki! One was from a long defunct tiki restaurant called The Tiki Broiler and the other from Trader Vic's International Marketplace. Realize neither of these napkins have ever been seen before and so the Trader Vic's one especially is HIGHLY collectible. Even if it does have a stamp at the top the image is crisp and clear.

So there you have it. Three amazing scores (well amazing to me and to many other tiki hunters) admist the buying and selling of vintage Christmas.

Tomorrow I will have to post more of my awesome non-tiki finds as of late so stay tuned.

The Gurleys and more vintage Kitsch-mas

2011-12-19T09:50:00.001-08:00

So here are some of the Gurleys that came out of that bag on Saturday. There were also 2 angels and 2 snowmen that somehow I forgot to take pics of so maybe I will get around to that today.

Anyways here we go..remember it was all $0.50 :)

8 choir boys and girls

3 Rudolphs

Not bad if you ask me! Only 1 candle was broken (a reindeer) so if you consider 15 candles for $0.50--seriously best Gurley score ever!

Also picked up some more vintage Kitchmas...I think I need to buy a cabinet to house this stuff in and NOT sell it because I love it so. Man--if I only had a house!

This angel used to be on a base that most likely rotated. If I kept her I would remove the cardboard insert and mechanics and keep her hollow to place on top of my tree. Hmm...maybe I should keep her...

I love, love, LOVE Made in Japan dolls like all these. Something so sweet and innocent about their faces:

You can almost hear them singing carols strolling around a Dickens Village (well maybe...its been a long weekend so I may just be hearing things!)

Next post will focus on some not so Christmas-y finds. There have been TONS by the way!

So This Is What You Can Get For 50 Cents

2011-12-17T17:03:00.000-08:00

Did you know that this is the best time of year to score vintage Christmas for like no money at thrift stores?

Don't believe me?

How about this BAG O' GURLEY CANDLES (!) that were $0.99 originally marked down HALF PRICE???

I will have to take a pic tomorrow of what all is inside (too dark now) but yes!!

I also got a few bags of Made In Japan ornaments/angels/pinecone elves.....for around the same prices.

I LOVE THRIFTING!!

Thrifted Christmas...again..

2011-12-12T07:43:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I question myself on whether or not I should start hoarding all the vintage Christmas swag I find because I may regret reselling it all later. Than I quickly tell myself how I do not even have room for all the stuff I resell AND collect so NO-I most definantly can NOT collect vintage Christmas.

These I found at one store that I went to on Saturday morning:

1950s packs of invitations

1980s packs of large paper napkins (seriously I find wayyyyy too many packs of napkins and feel compelled to buy them all) Vintage Made in Japan (my favorite words) Disney Productions ceramic napkin rings:

AND even though there are only 2 posted here I found 10 of these bagged santas. If they do not sell I am going to try to craft up some of them to sell NEXT year. I bet I can find inspiration on all the blogs I read.

This isn't even all the rest of my Christmas finds. I really need to get everything listed tonight in hopes of getting rid of it before the holiday. I am priority shipping everything for no additional charge in hopes people will buy, buy, buy. My sales have been awesome but when you have boxes and boxes of stuff stacked up you wish people would buy 5 and 6 things at once so you had less stuff and more room (well I guess for more stuff).

Christmas Thrifting

2011-12-06T15:51:00.000-08:00

Ramping up into my busy holiday reselling time means a trip to the thrift store..needless to say I filled my car (like 40 bags FULL of stuff) and had the best time this past Saturday.

Some of this has already sold, some stuff is still up for sale in my Etsy shop (see side bar if you wanna) and don't even get me started about the 3 FULL tubs of stuff that still needs to be listed. I have lots to do this week!

Ambassador invites are my favorite!

Napkins and tablecloth :

Trifecta of ornament hangers all made in Japan:

Knee huggers...one day I may regret reselling all the elves I find but until then I say flip it!

This just sold...as I was contemplating keeping it...

These just sold too. I know people buy my napkins and then resell them one at a time and make a pretty good profit but I dont care--i am not patient enough for all that

I most likely wont be thrifting until the day after Christmas (oh god that day is AMAZING!!) but its ok for me until then. I have so much to list still--at least 300 items--so it will be like rethrifting going through all my bins.

The best part of thrifting is I managed to buy ALL my Christmas presents for everyone on my list pretty much brand new at the thrift store. I even bought for about 20 of my coworkers and upon adding just those presents up I spent less than $20 on them total!

SO stoked for the holidays!! I hope I have many more sales before the new year.

Cha-ching!

BOYCOTT BLACK FRIDAY!

2011-11-20T10:25:00.000-08:00

I want to encourage everyone to BOYCOTT BLACK FRIDAY and instead support Shop Small Business Saturday November 26. As a small business owner (online) I want everyone to remember that its the Mom and Pop type shops that have direct effect on our economy. Get your hair did at a salon, choose to grab coffee at an independet roaster, sit down for dinner at a family restaurant and not a chain, shop somewhere besides the mall or Target/Wal Mart. It really is important to remember that our most powerful tool in changing this economy is our holiday dollars. SHOP SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY ! and be in on some positive change!

Pyrex

2011-11-16T08:31:00.001-08:00

Believe it or not unlike most vintage collectors Pyrex does nothing for me. The only fond memories I have of pyrex are eating air popped popcorn out of the large yellow mixing bowl with my mom when I was a kid.

I do come across Pyrex at every thrift every time I go out hunting. I only buy stuff that is under $5.00 (usually $1.49 is the magic number) or that is new to me. I also only buy this stuff with the intention of reselling.

I am sure if I had a house I would have a glass display case where I would keep Pyrex on display===but honestly I really can't collect anything else at this point!

Here are some of the Pyrex I have found/resold/have currently for sale:

This was a good set. I remember the woman who bought this complained that the top of the butter dish didn't "fit" the bottom. Too bad I bought the set together new in the box at a thrift store. Stupid woman.

I have only come across this pattern one time. It took me an hour to get all the glue residue off this from wear the thrift store had wrapped the entire thing together with packing tape. Silly people

This is one piece of the two part set I found. The other is the larger blue bowl with white trim. Need to photograph it and put it up for sale. Currently its sitting on my floor holding a bunch of jars of vintage glitter I found. Good grief!

I realize that in posting pictures one thing is certain..I NEED A NEW CAMERA! lol

I wish I had local friends who were Pyrex nuts and I could just sell directlty to them without having to ship this stuff. Pyrex is durable but man is it heavy thus making it a pain (and expensive) to ship.

The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year...

2011-11-15T08:44:00.000-08:00

I love, love, LOVE Christmas! If its not the carols on the radio or watching Christmas classics on tv or seeing all the decorations then its shopping for the perfect present or baking up cookies to share with my friends.

I know its not even Thanksgiving yet but I do not care. With all the time I spend thrifting I have FINISHED my Christmas shopping! I managed to buy quirky, fun, brand new gifts for mere pennies that I know my friends will love and I have found enough wrapping paper/Christmas cards and other fun do dads to make each package unique and awesome in itself.

I have also found a ton of stuff to resell! I never really bought and sold vintage Christmas but once I started looking for it that is when I realized that its EVERYWHERE. Inbetween the Made In China boxes of standard ornaments I am coming upon Shiny Brites and garland and Made in Japan kitschy decorations that I would of otherwised passed over.

Here are some of my recent finds (for sale now in my Etsy store..lol)

Shiny Brites:
I love this Commodore stocking. I found 3 of them mint in their bags--love the look of Made in Japan decorations like this:

Mr and Mrs Claus getting it on (SOLD!)

Really cool West Germany garland:

When I find my vintage aluminum tree I will need a topper like this:
(SOLD!)

Or maybe this. I had the same one on my tree when I was a little girl. Awww the memories!

Another style of the oversized felt stocking:

Angel hair is really finely spun glass. You are supposed to decorate your tree and then pull the angel hair over the top of it like a spider web. If this does not sell and I DO find an aluminum tree I will have to try the angel hair out.

Last of my knee hugger elves...singing carols and playing instruments:
(SOLD!)

I have lots more I still need to list in my store. Trying to commit to getting 10 items up a night.

I love reading through blogs and seeing people show off their vintage decorations...maybe one day I will keep some of what I find and be able to display it as well.

My LIfe = Hot Mess

2011-11-14T10:00:00.000-08:00

I talked myself into going thrifting on Saturday instead of to the gym. I guess I should of chosen gym THEN thrifting because I went to get gas at 7:40am and realized that after I was done pumping that I had locked my keys in my car :( Uh..I do not have AAA so being the 33 year old that I am I did the only rational thing I could think of - I called my Dad. WHO LIVES IN FLORIDA btw. He did a good job of calming me down and had some good advice (since he wouldn't be able to come help me of course). I ended up walking 20 minutes home--got ahold of my landlady, got into my apartment, got my spare car key (thank god i had the forethought to hang this by the front door!) and walked 20 minutes back to my car. Of course this was a huge pain in my Saturday morning plans (I like to get to the thrift before it opens) but I guess it paid off. I found more cool stuff than I expected to AND completed my Christmas shopping. $80 and a packed car later I came home and started listing online. Because this is my busy selling season since many people who are in snowstorms don't want to leave their homes to go shopping I do well with my store all the way up until the New Year. I now try to list the new items I bring into my apartment the day I get them in the door so here are some that I found and have gotten online. I only listed 40 items (I tried to hit 100) so I have work to do after I get home from work tonight. Hope it pays off!

I have recently started dabbling in the jewerly cases at the thrifts. Couldn't pass up this brooch:
I agree with this plaque 100%. If it doesn't sell by Christmas week I am going to give it to my coworker.
(SOLD)

I have sold this girl doll about 4 times over-usually with the gingerbread man that accompanies her:

Paint by numbers were something I thought the thrift stores knee were collectible...guess they missed this one (SOLD!)

(SOLD)

What's up Cabbage Patch kids singing their own version of Christmas carols?? Crazy 80s!

Items like these make me wish I collected Christmas stuff. This kitchy holiday wall art rules:

I found about 10 NIP paper tablecloths. I swear between that and party invites I could man my own vintage party planning company

I have never been into butterflies--proud that I do not even have a butterfly tattoo--but these large wall hangings would look cool...on someone else's wall! (SOLD!)

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-01T09:46:00.000-07:00

For the first time in almost 3 years I am going home to visit and my trip falls over the week of Thanksgiving! I am so excited. I have not seen my friends/family for so long and even with my Mom coming to visit last Summer I still feel like I haven't seen her in years either.

When I think of Thanksgiving I think of all the great food my mom makes and when i think of visits home i think of all the great restaurants I get to eat at - food that I can only find and enjoy in Florida.

Needless to say I am very excited that it is November and I have this trip to look forward to.

Here are some old and new Thanksgiving themed finds that I happen to have listed in my shop so this post has some pics :)

Want To Know A Secret?

2011-10-28T08:18:00.000-07:00

I hate owls. Not the animal but just the fact that everytime I go thrifting its "owl-mania" and its the one thing I could never collect.

But because EVERYONE else does I purchase the cute ones and sell them online. I guess this goes against my "Buy and sell what you love" theory but if it makes someone ELSE happy I guess I can include such items into my thrifting.

I am a little owl'd out though.

Owl bank -- hes really cute....and still for sale:

his notepad reminds me of something I would of owned when I was 10.....

These mugs are signed on the bottom but I don't think they look that homemade in real life. Great mugs though..

Notecards

Playing cards (you got to see how many boxes of playing cards I thrift. It will be a loooooong post!)

Another bank

Craft kits--70s much?

and even office desk accesories

Owl Mania !

It's My Party...

2011-10-27T10:28:00.001-07:00

I find alot of paper party items from the 50s thru the 80s as well.

I always keep an eye out for party invitations with cool graphics and I am amazed when I find multiple packs in the same style.

How cool would it be to have a round display with all these in them?

Yeah..maybe when I get a bigger place to live!

In a Flash...card

2011-10-27T10:13:00.000-07:00

I was trying to organize some of my stuff the other day (note the word "trying") when it dawned on me how many boxes of flashcards I find thrifting. I only buy those that were made in the 80s or earlier and lately I have been scoring with 50s and 60s cards. Heres some I have listed and sold:

Cal-i-for-niaaaaaa RAISIN!

2011-10-26T13:47:00.001-07:00

I found both of these fantastic California Raisin items at the same thrift about a month apart. Which means that there is some household out there that is slowly breaking away from holding onto their raisin collection and I will most likely end up owning it all. I used to have a bunch of the figurines when I was in middle school--yeah because I was a big of a crap collector then as I am now I admit!--but never saw this oversized wind sock or inflatable 3 1/2' blow up raisin before. Score!
(SOLD!)

Quite Puzzlin'

2011-10-26T08:21:00.000-07:00

Here are some more puzzles that I found on Saturday. I think I managed to get the best ones listed already. I wish I had kids (no I dont but I do for decorating purposes) because I would hang some of these up as instant artwork for their walls:

Peter Pan (NIP) and Disney Favorites:
Mickey Mouse:
Really cool mint/never un-puzzled (is that a word?) Map of the US from the 60s:
I LOVED this book when I was younger and I was stoked to see a puzzle of the cover:
Wuzzles--1980s called and wants their cartoons back!

Things I Found Thrifting On Saturday 10/22

2011-10-25T13:15:00.001-07:00

I went thrifting for like 6 hours Saturday. I found about 27 grocery bags of stuff. Which means I have all this stuff piled up with nowhere to store it. Story of my life. I did manage to list 50 items in my Etsy store--most of it from the new haul. Considering I am finished Christmas shopping (thanks to all the thrifting), I won't be able to thrift for the next 2 weekends and I only planned on keeping 2 of the 27 bags of stuff I did pretty good!

Here are some things I bought and now you can buy them too (if you want. if you don't I don't care I am just telling ya!)

Fisher Price Hickory Dickory Dock Clock. Still works. I love FP stuff and seem to be finding lots lately.

I found like 12 of these type of frame tray puzzles all bagged up for one price which was pretty awesome considering all 12 were vintage.

Who doesn't dig those crazy Cabbage Patch Kids? (well I don't anymore..I did when I was 9)
This was a find slid between a bunch of vintage stationary (which I also bought) on the bottom shelf of one of my new favorite thrift stores. Go Miss Piggy! The pen still works too which is a bonus.
Kokeshi. I am not sure if these are as popular of a collectible as they once were. I have a few in my Etsy store that have tons of "likes" but no one has bought. Still she was super cheap and in excellent condition so I couldn't leave her behind.
What's better than bears working out? Bears working out on your morning coffee mug.
Found a pair of these sweet nun wall pocket/planters. I am keeping one for my religious collection so would like to sell her sister. Get it--her SISTER? lol..I kill me.
Funny story. I have wanted one of these ashtrays FOREVER and I don't even smoke. You put your cigarette in the bottom and smoke comes out its mouth. Maybe I will light up just to try it out. Then again..maybe I can use my imagination.

I really look forward to the day when I have one room full of shelving to organize all this stuff in. Until then I will suffer with the piles and piles around my apt and hope for some quick sales!

Halloween 2011

2011-10-14T12:11:00.000-07:00

So after tossing around a few ideas for my costume this year I have decided to combine the following things into my awesome 2011 Halloween costume...see if you can guess what I am going to be.....

Can you figure it out??
I am going to be .....

Minus the orange hair of course :)

I need to find the tie and some burger printed fabric this weekend and I will be all set.

I can't wait to dress up!

The BEST $1.98 I have ever spent!

2011-10-12T12:09:00.000-07:00

You ever have a less than stellar day and decide that a trip to the thrift is in order?
even though its rush hour?
and its raining?
and its taking you 45 minutes to drive 10min?

and once you get to the thrift you wander aisle after aisle not finding anything too amazing?
so you check out the bagged stationary and see a little hamster looking back at you?
you figure..what the hell..its only $1.98 so you buy it and then when you get home you find 8 AMAZING greeting cards with envelopes that contain the following images:

yeah...that never happened to me neither :)

This is Halloween.....

2011-10-05T08:55:00.000-07:00

I love October for many reasons--the weather turns cooler (California "cooler" is MUCH better than Florida "cooler" for sure!), its the start of the holiday season and it has my favorite holiday smack dab at the end of it : Halloween. I LOVE Halloween. Last year I was able to rock 2 costumes for events I went to and this year is shaping up to be a multiple costume year as well.

I have sold alot of vintage Halloween over the past couple of year mostly on Ebay. Paper plates and napkins with colorful Halloween graphics of years gone by always bring in good money. Its one of those things i would love to collect if I could but honestly I feel that way about most EVERYTHING I find multples of (its the apartment living that pairs down my collections dang it!). Right now I have a few things for sale on Etsy with Halloween in mind. Some I may have shown before but heck here they are again.

I seem to find great paper tablecloths shoved among the newer Halloween swag at thrift stores:

These Norcross invitations are rare to find and I was happy to grab them up :

Another great printed tablecloth:

Love this honeycomb cat from Amscan..he looks so pissed!:

These two are my favorite tablecloths...I am surprised that no one has picked them up yet:

I have a few other things up for sale and really need to post the rest that I have piled up on my table at home. Esp because if this stuff remains AFTER Halloween I may just find room to collect it after all!

Come Fly With Me

2011-10-04T12:48:00.000-07:00

I was able to see the premiere of the new sitcom "Pan Am" streamed online and thought it to be pretty good. I wasn't a fan of the whole "spy" storyline they have concocted but it's a great look at how flying used to be so swanky and who doesn't love the Pan Am logo. Also I am a sucker for any "vintage" sitcom...Mad Men, Homefront (which is old but so good) and Pan Am. I would of watched The Playboy Club as well had I known it had started--and if it hadn't gotten cancelled. Anyways...

I had forgotten I had found (and listed on Etsy) this great package of stewardess pantyhose awhile ago while I was out thrifting.

I wish I knew the story of the woman who owned them before they came to me.

Tennis Anyone?

2011-10-03T07:54:00.000-07:00

Found this awesome set this weekend while out thrifting. Mint in box tennis themed barware set.

It is for sale in my Etsy shop only because I really don't have room for it...but I guess it would be ok if it didn't sell :)

**UPDATE**

It sold. Damn..should of priced it higher!

Un-viking

2011-10-02T17:17:00.000-07:00

Well I found another of those wood dolls..but I don't think he is a viking :)

Puzzle me this...

2011-10-02T11:07:00.000-07:00

I buy alot of puzzles to resell which means I spend alot of time putting them together to make sure all the pieces are there. I recently came across this rather fabulous puzzle from the 50s/60s of surfers that I plan to put together, mount and then frame.

Problem is older puzzles like these have very few locking pieces, instead the pieces kind of push together. Needless to say it is quite hard...harder still that I am doing it on my coffee table and my cat keeps laying on it destroying my work.

I hope to get it done this week (if I don't go bonkers first).Pretty cool artwork for $0.69.

NapGrins

2011-10-01T21:34:00.000-07:00

I bought some of these about 8 months ago off Etsy so imagine my surprise when I was digging through overpacked shelves at Salvation Army today and saw this box:
There is not 24 inside (more like 10) but they are all mint and each one has a kitschy saying and a 3D element (plastic water bottle, hair flower, mirror, etc) glued to them:

This one has a plastic bottle - in case you couldn't tell.

If you think about it they are pretty impractical but still cool nonetheless..esp for $1.99.

Goes to show you never know what you will find jammed in among the Dollar Store statues and 1970s address books

Another bar shot...

2011-09-21T16:25:00.001-07:00

Another Reason to HELLA Love Oakland!

2011-09-20T08:03:00.001-07:00

I love my city..even more as of yesterday when a little movie star by the name of Brad Pitt stopped by to attend a premiere of Moneyball-a money about the Oakland A's--exactly 1 building next to my office.

It was rad to see him in town!

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/09/19/SPH31L3F5K.DTL

Last Piece of the Puzzle

2011-09-18T19:57:00.000-07:00

My living room furniture is vintage 4 strand rattan , my patio furniture is vintage rattan, my coffee table is rattan and my end table is rattan. The only thing missing from my happy abode was a vintage rattan bar. Until today....

Pretty rad, huh?

My friend told me about a listing in Sacramento (about 1.5 hours from me) and my other friend and his wife picked the bar up and are storing it for me until he drives my way with it (he has a truck-i do not) - awesome friends I have!

Needless to say I AM STOKED!!

Boomerang shape AND bamboo is SUPER rare to find and even rarer to find for so cheap! I know I am going to enjoy this bar for years to come!

Its a party..

2011-09-16T20:54:00.000-07:00

I find alot of paper party goods while thrifting...mostly napkins, old party invitations and of course paper tablecloths. I never pass on any of them which means stockpiled away are stacks and stacks of this stuff just waiting to be sold and in some cases listed. I am always amazed at how old some of this stuff is--I can't believe people save tablecloths from the 50s thru the 80s. Just goes to show you never know what you will find on thrifting adventures!

I wish I had the space to collect vintage Halloween because I find it so often..such great graphics:
one on the left is vinyl but still a cool find...

I have found alot of misc holidays over the last few months as well as cartoon themes:

I have over 50 paper tablecloths NIP stored away..these are from just 1 side of the drawer. :)

Royale with cheese

2011-09-15T10:14:00.001-07:00

Uh yeah so these are pretty much the coolest cupcakes I have ever seen.

Skills = this baker has them!

Mork from Ork

2011-09-12T08:12:00.000-07:00

Looks its a 1979 Mork & Mindy scrapbook:

Including the uncut pages in the middle that let you make a Mork paperdoll:

Snazzy!

Didn't I JUST Buy You?

2011-09-11T11:13:00.000-07:00

Often times...since I thrift so much...I come across the same item multiple times. Depending on what it is I will buy it if I want to keep it OR if I know it sells well and I can flip it.

Well last weekend I found this decanter:

and look what I found this weekend (on the right):

Guess I started a new collection!

New Fixation

2011-09-09T10:42:00.000-07:00

I admit I can get fixated on collecting a genre of stuff pretty easily. I think its because I know I have the type of thrift mojo that makes it easy for me to think about something then find it while out hunting for other stuff. Tiki doesn't count..I can walk into any thrift store and find tiki--seriously. I am talking more like "Man I really want to find some syroco sconces" then two days later I do. Or "Ya know I haven't added a new cocktail shaker to my collection in awhile" and then I find 2 of them for like $1.00 each while out and about.

Anyways my newest obsession is with vtge Norwegian/viking wooden figurines. There is something about them that I really like so now I can feel the obsession setting in. Of course I did just find my first one after not even looking for them in the wild:

But he was only $1.49.

I found these others on Etsy and although they are cute there is no way in the world that I would ever pay their average price of $40...I can't imagine they are that rare even if they are made with teak wood and bits of animal fur.

They are cute though. I want a whole shelf of these guys hanging out amongst my tiki decor.

I betcha I find at least one of these figurines this weekend...I can feel it.

Clowning Around

2011-09-08T07:56:00.000-07:00

Got to love an Estate Sale that advertises the following : The sale will be a nice mixture of old artwork (an entire collection of clown oil-paintings done in prisons all over California and Nevada) by inmates some of whom are or were incarcerated for life...

Sleep well kids!

Thrift Scores I Am Keeping (and actually posting pics of!)

2011-09-03T16:01:00.000-07:00

So I have a feeling its going to be a while before I get around posting about the rest of Oasis. The problem is you spend weeks prepping for Oasis, then you are there and party for 4 days , then you spend days talking about what happened during Oasis with all your friends then you dont want to talk about it for awhile because you are bummed you aren't still there. I think thats where I am at right now. *sigh* Anyways I decided that for part of my 3 day weekend I would drive back to my hunting grounds and do some thrifting. I haven't updated my Etsy store in over a month but I still found lots of new stock (maybe this will motivate me) but today I will post some of the stuff I found for me that I am keeping . (and yes there is tiki)

I want a whole village of these Norweigian viking guys but alas this is the very first one I have ever found. $0.79 :

Thank you for not smoking small made in japan ceramic placecard . $0.69:

Set of pulp book magnets. I find these sets alot. One day I will take a pic of my fridge to show just how many I have found. $1.99 NIP *(These sets sell for $10.99 usually)

Ugly Doll card game. I am going to use the cards for a craft project . $0.69:

I love this Made in Japan ceramic Mexican stereotype booze carafe. The cactus top comes off to hold your tequila (I assume). It was $5.00 but the clerk at Goodwill gave it to me for $1.50 after stating "The prices here are too high". Love it!

Pretty weird find but I had to get it...its a brand new purse shaped like a goldfish bowl! $0.99:

and one of the tiki mugs I found for $2.00 (half price from $4.00) a Stockton Islander Hula Girl mug. These were so rare for me to find and now I find them everywhere. I am not complaining!

SO all in all I found a few keepers and bags of stuff to resell.

Maybe I will get some listed by Monday. And maybe I will get listed the bags of stuff I found before I went to Oasis by Monday too. And then again maybe that wont happen.

Tiki Oasis 2011 : South of the Border

2011-08-29T12:51:00.001-07:00

Oh Tiki Oasis…how I spend weeks planning for you…party my butt off for 4 days..then spend weeks recovering from the good times we shared.

2011 Tiki Oasis had the South of the Border theme. To ensure we represented it well my traveling companion and fellow Tiki collector friend Bill and I had a mascot : Pocket Pedro the Mini Mexican :

And we also had theme mugs for the weekend :

I can’t believe no one thought to create mugs like ours for the TO. I swear if we had stock in these we could of sold at least 75 sets because everyone stopped to take pics and to ask us where we got them. Needless to say they were a perfect match to a weekend of sombreros and fake moustaches.

Since this event spanned 4 days I think I will do my update in 4 separate posts: Thursday Night Oasis kicks off Thursday night at The Bali Hai which is a historic restaurant located on Shelter Island. This night is meant to be a meet and greet type of evening where you can drink, dine, pick up your wristbands and watch whatever band is playing for the evening. It’s a super casual but fun event and although I love attending I have to say for the past 2 years I have drank too many Mr. Bali Hais and blacked out..missing both the bands and Marina the fire dancing Mermaid I did manage to take a few pics of the evening though…

Me with Mr. Bali Hai – the iconic statue that greets you at the entrance of the restaurant. Too bad you can’t see it in this picture but Mr. Bali Hai was COVERED in ants—icko. Notice Pedro came to dinner with us as well. Bill catching Pedro stealing my drink:

Proof we ate something (although I am not sure what it all was). I did this last year-take a pic of the food we ate that night but I don’t remember what that was either. Oh well…maybe its better I don’t recall since The Bali Hai isn’t cheap!

This year’s event at Bali Hai was MUCH less attended then was last years. I am not sure the reason (economy maybe??) but I did not have to wait in line for drinks at all. I am not complaining but in many ways it was the lack of people that those who were there were talking about the most. Last year it was really hard to get around and the drink lines were looooong. I guess we shouldn’t of been complaining but what else is there to do when you are boozing it up??

Tiki Joe’s Ocean played and although the band features 2 of my favorite musicians – Squid on drums and Marty Lush (of Tikiyaki) on vocals and keyboard (?) I have to admit I did not pay any attention to them playing. In fact I didn’t even realize they WERE playing until their show was done. Sigh I swear maybe next year I will wait to drink AFTER the show is over so I can remember who I saw and how they sounded.

I ended up leaving far too early for my taste since both Bill and my other roomie Natalie wanted to jet. Even though I had to be up for my volunteer shift at 9am the next day (if you volunteer you attend Oasis for free with a basic armband) I could of stayed out much later. The shuttle took like 40 minutes to show up to take us back to the host hotel..good grief! And by the time we got back I crashed out cold. Maybe waking up at 3am , driving 7+ hours and then drinking non stop for the rest of the day really did have an effect on me!

Tomorrow : The Official beginning to 3 days of blacking out –er..partying!

A Taste of Oasis 2011

2011-08-26T14:27:00.000-07:00

Going to post all about Tiki Oasis 2011 as soon as my computer is fixed but until then here is a great shot of a happy Buzzy . me and his "holy grail" CoCo Joe piece that I gave him over the weekend.

Man..I got a big head! lol

My Favorite Pieces

2011-07-28T15:18:00.000-07:00

With all my recent rearranging I finally got 2 of my shelves worked out to display (most) of my favorite pieces :

:)

Hula Anyone?

2011-07-28T09:02:00.001-07:00

After rearranging all my tiki crap and pairing down my collection (a.k.a. getting rid of all the junk) I was left with this shelf of hula dolls.

I resell all the vintage chalkware ones I find so the only vintage pieces on here are vinyl dolls and most the nodders are new. I think unless its vintage I can stop buying these guys now...one shelf is enough :)

Why do I even try to deny the tiki???

2011-07-25T13:09:00.000-07:00

Seriously..I am going to rename this blog : LOOK I FOUND MORE TIKI!

I really and truly find other things BESIDES tiki when I am hunting but it just seems I take more pics of the mugs then I do anything else. I think because I post my finds on Tiki Central (well I did) and on my Facebook that its just easy to write an entry about them here too.

Anyways I had a MAJOR score off Craigslist over the weekend. I ended up picking up a few boxes of tiki from an ex-Tiki Central member who was pairing down her collection. I am keeping some...trading some..and selling the rest hopefully at The Forbidden Island parking lot sale again this September.

Few of the choice shots:

The Prospector mug and set of shakers from Sparks, Nevada:

Tiki Farm's long retired toothbrush holder and soap dish (!!!):

CoCo Joe's pieces I did not have including the tiki carver near the bottom (my friend Buzzy who is a carver in San Diego collects JUST lava pieces and the tiki carver is his "holy grail" so of course its now his)
:

And of course no score would be considered "major" without the ever present Stockton Islander finds :

Coconut mugs and 3 face buckets:

A lidless Smiley mug and a couple more common Islanders:

YES!!! A 3 tiki bowl and the bug eyed Islander (both of which I do not have):

Needless to say these pics don't even show HALF of what I picked up but at least you get an idea..it was an AWESOME score!

Independent Mug Maker

2011-07-18T13:59:00.000-07:00

When I picked up the Tiki Farm tiki stuff (below) I asked the seller if he had anymore tiki for sale. He ended up actually making tiki mugs himself so I walked away with these 2 cool mugs that he had made using a combination of a mold and hand building. I am trying to get him to post some of his mugs and tiki coins/coasters on Tiki Central because he really is talented.

I love the robot feel of these

Tiki Farm Tiki

2011-07-15T13:52:00.000-07:00

"Found" these on Craigslist and picking them up tomorrow. Easy peasy tiki.

Looking Forward to a night "Off the Grid"

2011-07-08T08:45:00.000-07:00

For those of you who have never been to San Francisco let me let you in on a little secret :

San Fran's premier food destination is its food trucks.

Yes, those fabulous meals on wheels hocking everything from cupcakes to pork buns to fish tacos and thai chicken kabobs. Most food trucks keep their Facebook pages updated with their kamakazee like whereabouts but weekly you can attend events such as "OFF THE GRID" where up to 30 trucks gather in a huge circle and you can literally eat your way through multiple trucks at once.

Tonight my ex-boss (odd I know) and I are checking out the event that is going on at the Fort Mason Center in the Marina District of SF.

This is kind of what it looks like when there are about half as many trucks out as there will be tonight:

See that festive truck right up front:

That is the Chairman Bao Bun Truck....authentic steamed Chinese buns filled with yummy fillings. They are one of the most popular trucks in the city.

I love their truck and I have heard the line for the Bao truck can take an hour to get through!

In addition to the trucks and food tents there are beer vendors and usually a band playing to complete the night.

I brought my camera so I hope to take plenty of pics and I am bringing my appetite so I am fully looking forward to tonight'd eat-fest :)

Menehuenes

2011-07-07T12:49:00.000-07:00

Whenever I find one of these figurines for cheap I always pick it up.

They are ceramic menehuenes and I got turned onto them a few years ago when I saw them as part of a fellow tiki collector’s extensive collection.

They are not “rare” but hard to find these days.

I am pretty happy to have just added this one to my collection.

Ho Hum

2011-07-07T09:53:00.000-07:00

So Etsy sucks. I literally spent 3 days /14 emails/6 online chat conversations trying to get them to remove the feedback but alas it did not happen.

*sigh*

I am so over selling venues that don't take the side of the seller and help ensure that sellers are able to sell without lying/manipulative buyers affecting them and their stores. Ebay is a huge culprit of this and I am sad to see Etsy is going down that same path. Oh well.

I did (of course) go thrifting last weekend in an effort to cheer myself up and I did (of course) find a ton of cool stuff. Much of which is sitting on my coffee table waiting to STILL be photographed...what can I say I am a procrastinator :o/

I found these personalized wrapping papers at the same thrift where I found the other ones I posted on here. I sold the MOM paper this week so I figure sell one find a replacement:

I also found yet another thing on my "ON THE HUNT FOR" list - a horseshoe. Except when I got home I was just a smidge too short to reach above my door jam to hang it so I listed it on Etsy instead. If it doesn't sell in the next few weeks I will just keep it--you know once I find the motivation to hang it that is.

I also had this great idea to cover one wall in my apartment with kitch wood signs...uh...yeah..that idea is one that was dismissed as soon as I had it. I should keep this sign however as it is pretty appropriate at most times:

New Day, New Gripe

2011-06-29T10:16:00.001-07:00

Today’s gripe – dishonest Etsy buyers.

I have been selling on Etsy for 4 years and rarely come across people who are dishonest but believe me they are out there.

Case in point:

This is Brian Gugliuzza. He lives in Brooklyn, NY.
This is from his Facebook page found HERE

And this is the item he bought from me on June 18th (a Saturday):

Here is part of what my shipping policy states on my Etsy store. This policy has been up since the day I signed up to sell many years ago :

"I ship by the Saturday following having received your cleared payment. Because my work schedule varies I will try to send it out sooner, but that is the farthest out it will take."

If you look at a June 2011 calendar and read my shipping policy this means that:

Buy an item on June 18 - a Saturday then your item will ship no later than June 25th the FOLLOWING Saturday.

This morning I woke up to the following email in my Yahoo inbox :

Hi Ms. Karsin,
please note I have not received any info on the shipping status of the mug i purchased from you 2 weeks ago.
thank you,
brian Gugliuzza

(Keep in mind that isn't even my last name but I digresss)

I had to login to my Etsy account and scroll through all my sales to figure out what purchase this email was regarding. When I figured it out I replied with the following:

Hello,

It may be easier for you to send sellers messages on Etsy so they can respond to you
quicker.
On my store policy it states I only ship on the Saturday following your purchase due to my work schedule
You bought the mug on June 18 -- which is not exactly 2 weeks ago--and it was shipped as stated on the 25th which was the Saturday following.
I am assuming mailing time takes at least 5-7 days considering --as stated in my
store--I live in Northern California.

Your tracking number is 03102 0100 0025 8913 133 through the USPS

Most sellers wont generally send you a tracking number unless you ask for it.
Please be sure to keep in mind the sellers shipping policy and the area they
live in so you can calculate accordingly.
With the above tracking you should be able to get updates on your item.
Thanks

His reply :

Your attitute is off putting -- keep your fucking mug and sned me my money back!

This is where I believe he illustrates the concept of not understanding how making a purchase online works.

My reply :

Whoa crazy person. Sorry, no can do.

Now..wouldn't you know it...he left me the following NEGATIVE feedback for an item he has NOT recieved yet (check the tracking number on USPS.com--delivery date is expected as July 2):

Seller does not ship itmes until over a week after it is paid for. Mug arrived chipped and dirty. Seller is rude in email correspondences.

His Etsy account..which will soon be deleted by Etsy support I am pretty positive can be found HERE
So I reported him to Etsy and am waiting for them to remove the negative INVALID feedback.

*sigh*

So much effort to deal with the small amount of shitty people in this world.

BTW..I received an email back from the seller of the book who made all these excuses about not being able to ship media mail, having to charge for gas and time it takes to drive to the post office, having to buy packing materials, etc...by the time I read her whole reply I was so annoyed I asked her to please cancel my order and refund me my payment stating that she can do so and not pay to relist.

*Double sigh*

Maybe its just an off Etsy week

Shipping Gripe

2011-06-28T13:36:00.001-07:00

I really do love Etsy – mainly because you tend to find uninformed sellers selling items for WAAAAY less than they are worth thus making me giddy with “SCORE!” happiness.

However…what I don’t love are those same uninformed sellers charging RIDICULOUS shipping prices because they have no clue how to ship efficiently.

Now I know the difference between charging a little more for shipping so you don’t end up paying out of pocket and charging too much because you are …well …dumb.

Case in point.

Media mail. Media mail (for you folks who are not aware) allows you to send books (and other items) for much less than say parcel post. It’s a great way to send lots of books or even one book and pay next to nothing to do so.

I found this book on Etsy:

1968 Trader Vic’s Pacific Island Cookbook for a really low price. A really low price with $6.00 shipping! Uh..what? I emailed the seller that it should only cost with delivery confirmation $2.00 to ship media mail but of course they did not get back to me so I bought it anyways. It would be nice if they refund me the difference (I asked) but if they don’t I guess I got a good deal on it and I have never seen it before but really..its kind of annoying when people don’t understand how the mail works. It is their listing so they can charge what they want but in the long run better shipping prices equal repeat customers.

Well that’s my thought process anyways!

I Love Lucy Inspired

2011-06-24T08:10:00.000-07:00

Rarely do I buy clothing off of Etsy just because I am so tall and curvy I would rather not chance getting something and not being able to fit into it. Of course I wasn't really listening to common sense when I bought this the other day. I actually think it WILL fit me but it does look a tad "I Love LUcy". I think with a red belt and red heels it would spruce things up a bit.

Mother Dear

2011-06-23T10:08:00.000-07:00

I never went away to college, never lived more than 30 minutes away from my parents and never really thought that I would end up in California living so far away from my best friend – my mom.

I am coming up to my 5 year anniversary of living in California and I still can say that at times its very difficult being so far home no matter how much I feel at “home” here.
When things are not going my way out here I don’t have my mom to hug, when I have good news I don’t have my mom to go grab a celebratory lunch with and when I have a weekend free she is not here to sneak off to the movies together or to go shopping with.

Sure I visit home when I can and she was able to (finally) visit me out here last Summer but in reality 3000 miles between us can be a real suckfest and the reality of being here and not there is also a downer.

I had a good dose of this reality recently when my family had to deal with some heavy medical issues facing my mother. Although everything turned out excellent (thank the good lord) all the feelings of being too far away and “What the hell am I doing out here?!?!” came flooding back and I did the only thing that makes me feel better – I went thrifting :)

Now I have always said that when I think about something I want enough I will find it thrifting the next time I am out shopping. I must have been thinking about my mom a lot because I found this wrapping paper—1 set with MOM written in repeating design and 1 set with JUDY (my mom’s name) written in repeating design.

I have them for sale in my shop but if a holiday rolls around where I can send her a gift I am using them instead.

In a Festive Mood

2011-06-22T11:00:00.000-07:00

Even though I have amazing rattan furniture , tiki décor galore and enough vintage barware to serve dozens of cocktails at the same time I rarely entertain at my place. Part of the reason may be that my apartment is so crammed full of stock for my reselling business that having a party/people over is just not in the cards right now.

Still..that doesn’t stop me from obtaining items that will ensure that once people do come over I will be able to properly entertain and create a festive mood.

For my large patio I somehow have now amassed the following sets of blow mold/vintage light strings. All in working order I know they will set a festive mood when I finally get them all up.

These lights I traded with my good friend/tiki collector master Duane at the tiki sale we sold at last year :

These I bought from an Etsy seller a year ago (never used em yet) :

And these I just bought from a different Etsy seller last week and am waiting for them to arrive.
I really don't like the lantern ones but I love the blow mold cylinders so I bought them to get what I wanted. I will most likely resell the lantern ones if I don't decide to use them:

Plans for the future

2011-06-22T08:12:00.000-07:00

I wish I was better about taking pics of all my thrift finds and posting them the day of but by the time I get home I am usually pretty tired to do so. I have started forcing myself to try and list my haul within 24 hours of thrifting it but if you saw my mess of an apartment you would understand why this too is not so feasible.

When my roomie moves out (whenever she wants-its no rush) I am converting the extra bedroom into a stockroom and ideally it will become a wonderous land of organization.

Here's hoping!

Two of the things I found and listed just sold a day later:

I love this kitschy Wallace Berrie sign that was still wrapped in plastic:

And there is this thrift I go to where they seem to really get in a lot of dice and bag them in groups for mere pennies. I made a pretty large profit on these:

I could have gotten even more for the dice but I am very much a "turn and burn" type seller. Get it in, get it listed, get it gone.

When I have that extra room I plan on lining one wall with shelves as well as setting up both a photo area and a shipping area so I can turn things quicker. Also it will help to stay organized and to see what I have stockwise.

Will be nice!

"B" is for Barbie

2011-06-20T08:16:00.001-07:00

Like most little girls I loved my Barbies. Of course near the end of my Barbie romance like most little-growing-up-to-be-not-so-little-girls I eventually chopped their hair and used permanent marker to tattoo their bodies but there was that window of time there when Barbie was THE thing. I remember this cetain outfit I always dressed her in..glitter halter top, white satin cigarette pants, glitter heels and a silver jacket. Yes, Barbie was a hot piece of fashion plastic!

I also had one of those Grandmothers who loved to make things for her grandkids and this included handmade crocheted Barbie clothes. I still have a case full of them and although I will never have a little girl to pass them down to (no really I won't) I will treasure them always.

That's why when I found this book thrifting this weekend I had to buy it. I wonder if my Grandmother used this or one similiar to construct my handmade Barbie wardrobe.

Why does Barbie spend so much time at the beach anyways??

I love that this book has His and Hers outfits..Ken looks so ready to frolic in a winter wonderland:

Just check out the pom pom on her hat:

Fun Way To Start Your Day

2011-06-19T21:40:00.001-07:00

What a good way to start someone's day or to make someone lunch with a special touch.

I found this pair of bread/toast inprinters yesterday at my favorite thrift. I already have the same set so this is for sale in my Etsy store.

Love the whole idea:

MINE!!

2011-06-18T21:05:00.000-07:00

Today my friend and I met up at 7:30am and drove the hour and a half to my old thrifting grounds for an EPIC day of thrifting. When I go thrifting I hit as many stores as possible. Today we hit 7--we could of hit more --but hunger and fatigue ended up working against us near the end. Regardless I found LOTS to resell and even a few great things to keep for me. The day that started at 7:30 ended at 8pm so needless to say I am BEAT!

I think I have stated before that Penny is an expert when it comes to clothes thrifting while I am an expert on all the junk that I resell and collect. Today I got tiki -lots actually which was great--and clothes (thanks to Pen) and a few gems.

First a teaser....

Thats what a day of thrifting looks like in my world :)
Now one of my favorite finds of the day and a $2.98 score!
I found the kangaroo last year in San Fran thrifting so I knew immediately what the pelican was when I saw it shoved back on the shelf today at thrift number 4:

He's also a men's desk caddy! His mouth holds your stuff. Cute, huh?

I see this pelican for sale for $30+ all the time at antique faires so for $3.00 it was MINE!

Hehe Ain't that the truth!

2011-06-16T08:23:00.001-07:00

Oh Yeah..Score of the day!

2011-06-15T09:42:00.000-07:00

Don’t you love when you put something on your list of things to find and you end up finding it for super cheap?

Well as a skilled thrifter (well I am!) I am VERY cheap when it comes to collecting the vintage / kitschy stuff I love. Most of the time I pick stuff up for less than $1.00 so I tend to turn up my nose when price tags go higher.

I am the same way on Etsy. I tend to search for the same items daily and only swoop and buy stuff up when I know it’s for a far better deal than I could ever find for myself.

I just crossed this item off my list (and its been on there awhile I assure you) – a lucite initial pin of the letter “L” for Liz.

I used to be obsessed with “L” sweaters like Laverne used to wear on Happy Days

So I got it in my head that a pin would be more versatile. I wanted a lucite one because it would go with everything but could never find one for less than $30.00. $30!! Hell to the no people—that’s 3 thrift stores worth of scores for me! I knew like anything else I desire that if I have patience I will find it and find it for an amazingly great price.

I got lucky and scored this pin for $10.50 INCLUDING shipping. I can not wait to receive it and plan to wear it often. Hooray for me!!

Oh Hello June--er..mid June!

2011-06-15T08:08:00.001-07:00

So I have been M.I.A. because last month I started what has turned out to be my dream job!

oh and I lost my camera.

BUT I found my camera AND have some epic thrifting finds to post but will do that this weekend.

The weather has finally turned wonderful in Oakland so I also am not at home as much as I usually am.

WIll post some great scores later--hope everyone is fine and dandy!

Vent Fix

2011-05-13T10:33:00.000-07:00

I hate looking at this vent in my living room. It serves no purpose because my central heat/air is pretty unpredictable so I never use it. Instead I decided to hide it after finding this little 2 shelf unit at a thrift for $2.99 :

Vintage Mexican Circle Skirts

2011-05-11T12:16:00.000-07:00

This year's Tiki Oasis theme is "South of the Border" so I am hell bent on adding some vintage mexican sequined circle skirts into my wardrobe so I can deck out in style come August. Only one small problem is I am one big person. No really..I am almost 6'1" and curvy as all get out. Small waist but flared hips does not work when it comes to a circle skirt sadly. So I have two plans of attack :

1. Cardio twice a week and weight training 3 times a week for the next two months (which has already slimmed me down)

AND

2. Roping Penny into making me a few bright festive skirts for the event since after all she is an awesome seamstress and can pretty much make anything you want given enough time in her busy schedule to make it

I have made a few great scores lately on NEW mexican style sequined skirts from the thrift stores but I still am going to try to get into an aunthentic one by the time August hits. Also I have been finding some great tropical printed sheets that Penny can use to make into skirts (told ya she was talented) and she also has a LOAD of sequined skirts I could borrow that come August I should be able to easilly fit into as long as my workouts continue so I have a few options...its just that when I want something I am never happy until I get it!

Since I want to wait until I lose more weight I guess I can only browse online until August gets closer so here is some eye candy I pulled off of Etsy today:

Oh and if you have never heard of Tiki Oasis you can check the site out HERE . Its pretty much like Viva Las Vegas for tiki obsessed people that is held every August in San Diego for 4 days. Last year was the first year I went and I plan never to miss one again because I had so much fun.

Highs and Lows

2011-05-10T21:42:00.000-07:00

I received pretty horrible news on Friday that ended with a positive outcome (for now) on Monday.

To celebrate I leave you with the Made in Japan booze hounds :)

For the love of Tiki Bob - again

2011-05-04T17:11:00.000-07:00

So I have posted numerous times about my love of tiki and more importantly my love of one of the most iconic tiki images of all time Tiki Bob. Tiki Bob's was a cocktail tiki lounge located in San Francisco and has been long defunct. You can still see the iconic Tiki Bob column outside the bar but it has been painted over numerous times and is no longer the brown and white iconic image.

I am not sure why I love this guy so much. Maybe its because he has that devilish smile..or because TB stuff is VERY rare and VERY valuable so finding something from this place out thrifting is going to be a good score but whatever it is my love of Bob has started to grow out of control. As in...

I have 4 mugs that all look like this:

Salt and pepper shakers :

Napkin :

My friends have made spin off of Tiki Bob such as :

Java Bob - by my friend Ernie (aka Grog)

Pink Tiki Bob shot glass - by Ernie

Square Bob velvet painting based off his Square Bob mug (that I also own)- by my friend MP

Happy Bastard "Bling" which is a mixture of a Suffering Bastard mug and a Tiki Bob Mug - also by MP

Plush Bob - by my friend Eric October (aka tobunga)

and so on and so on! I know I am a "tad" Bob crazy :)

So needless to say that I am super stoked to add this SUPER rare item into my Tiki Bob collection...a Tiki Bob paper drink coaster that matches my napkin!!!

This score has to be the best one for me so far in my years of tiki collecting and needless to say I am super stoked on the find!

Etsy Purchase Love

2011-04-30T11:50:00.002-07:00

I make good money selling on Etsy but even better than that sometimes is when I come across one of a kind fun items that are priced low enough for me to justify their purchase. This item caught my eye and is now making its way to my house :)

Upscale Carnival Food in San Fran - Straw

2011-04-22T12:46:00.000-07:00

My friend Penny and I had been planning to check out this new restaurant in the Hayes Valley area of San Francisco since her birthday in February and finally it worked out that we did. I missed taking pics of the front of the building but got some great shots inside. We had heard that there was always a long line to get in so we got there before it opened and were surprised to see no one waiting with us. In fact we ate pretty much alone in the place for the hour we were there...not like we were complaining however :)

The restaurant is small with maybe only 20 seats tops so I can see why if they are busy a line forms to get in. They are also open for brunch on the weekends and after reading about the fact they serve Jenga french toast (!) I plan on going back to check it out sometime too.

Best part of the interior was the fabulous authentic tilt-o-whirl window seat: Love this mason jar chandelier:

The menus are bound in vintage children's books:

Look how excited I am ! (and yes I know I need to dye my hair!)

The decor was not as over the top as you would think but I did like these nice vintage signs:

Speaking of fun foods here's Penny getting ready to grub on the sweet potato tater tots with blackberry bbq sauce.

Pros: the taste and bbq sauce were excellent

Cons: the portion is small so even though it was perfect for both of us to share so we didn't burst at the seems, you may want to get your own order. They are worth it!

For the main courses we both had something different. Mine was the chicken and waffle sandwhich with cheese and raspberry perserves. I had the perserves on the side (good choice since it is a very strong flavor) and ate the pieces of chicken seperate from the waffles which I guess wasn't too different then most CandW meals I have.

Pros: This is my favorite food so you can't go wrong.

Cons : Get the perserves on the side for sure. Also the chicken is made up of nugget sized pieces which were a bit dry. With a little tweaking I think this dish could be more successful and more "wow" worthy.

I did eat the whole plateful so that tells ya something!

I originally wanted to order what Penny ordered because nowhere do I know of outside the Ren Faire can you get jumbo turkey legs to eat so Straw is doing it right having this on the menu.

I can't recall what the stuffing was made of but it was hands down better than any stuffing I have ever had EVER. This was a winner for sure!

Pros: Great entree

Cons : I should of ordered it!

You can't go to a carnival and not eat sweets so we saved room for dessert (well Penny took home leftovers--I can always do dessert!) and she ordered the peanut butter/chocolate/candied bacon dish (can't remember the exact name).

Pros: bacon on the side (since i don't eat pork), the peanut butter was whiped and yummy and I loved the hard chocolate shell underneath. Plus the carmel sauce and powdered sugar was a great addition.

Con: it needed something like a cake or croissant because it was kind of like eating peanut butter cup pudding. Good but could be great with a tweaking

I got - what else-the funnel cake neopolitan which was funnel cake pieces with strawberry/vanilla/chocolate dipping sauces. The vanilla was the best but we ate the whole thing so the only Con would have to be that we should of ordered two!

Finally our bill was brought in a painted wood box with a pic of a sideshow attraction on it:

All in all Straw was a great place to check out and with some tweaks could even get better

Needless to say when you can order funnel cake AND jumbo turkey legs on a menu I will for sure be checking it out!

Atomic Style 50s Display Shelves by DSK Designs

2011-04-19T18:32:00.001-07:00

One of my fellow tikiphiles is one hell of a craftsman and has his own Etsy shop showcasing not only vintage finds but his handmade designs as well.

He makes some amazing lamps as well as googie signs but his somewhat newest creations are these atomic 50s inspired display shleves:

They sell for $50.00 for a set plus shipping. He has limited supply for the colors so if you want them go here to get them.

Thrift Therapy 101

2011-04-19T17:01:00.001-07:00

Today I hit my old thrifting grounds and came back home with an overstuffed trunk. I found bags of stuff to list on Etsy which is great because I needed to get inspired to fill my store. I go through cycles of listing and I have not been in the mood to do so for a few weeks. Today's finds definatly have lit the fire under me which is good because I have made lots of sale over the past 2-3 weeks and need to get some new stuff in the store.

Here are a few bags of goodies...(seriously such a great sight!)

That hold all of this goodness...vtge invitations, stationary, wall hangings, dream pets, glassware, kitchen knick knacks, fashcards, ashtrays, iron on transfers, deadstock holiday cut out decor, etc...(I always love spreading my haul out on the floor so I can dig through it all)

I make alot of money off all the "small" stuff that the employees at thrifts don't realize can turn a good profit thus it sells for cheap-o (usually less than $1). I spend most my time browsing the walls they have with hooks filled with plastic bags full of smalls and generally come away with a crap ton of great stuff. Its amazing how much of this stuff turns up in my thrift stores....can you imagine holding on to prepacked invitations or sealed bags of napkins for 50+ years?? So random!

The above pictures are about 1/4 of my haul today. Out of everything I found I am only keeping 10 or so items. That pretty good because it means I am focusing more on what I can resell then I am on weird shit I can keep.

I did find tiki today :) But instead of focusing on that boring crap here are 2 finds that I am keeping just because of how rad they are.

First is the best wine opener/bottle opener I have ever come across. For $0.99 at good old Salvation Army I couldn't leave him behind. I like how he even has a "paper" under his arm :

And next is this odd metal sign that I plan on hanging up in my bathroom. I don't know what it says but I like how the photo illustrates that men should pee sitting down--not standing up. Freaking awesome!

Here's a little closer look:

I had a great day but to say I am pooped is an understatement. Time for a power nap and then its off to listing I go. To see what I found be sure to check in on my Etsy store sometime over the next 2-3 days. I hope to have listed at least what is above in the pics this week.

A little thing called Tiki Karma

2011-04-10T22:49:00.000-07:00

Ya know I should I change the title of this blog to "Love of the Hunt of Tiki Crap" because that is all I ever talk about it seems. I find so much cool stuff thrifting that if you came to my apartment it would take you all day to look through everything I have on display and stockpiled away for reselling. Maybe one day I will be motivated to talk more about that until then suffer with me through the posting of my addiction.

Anyways last week was a super stressful tough week for me full of a lot of uncertainty and 3 nights of no sleep. There may have been some crying fits thrown in there as well but I plead the 5th!

To cope with what was looking like a tight money situation (the root of my meltdown) I did what any sane semi-hoarder would do and listed bunch of stuff on Ebay that I didn't mind parting with. I made (so far) about $400 so hooray my plan worked!

Still for sale is a swag lamp I bought at last year's Oasis and never have even hung and also (sadly) the rare Tonga Room salt and pepper shakers that I was so excited to find. I now don't need the money from that auction but I won't pull the auction down mainly because what the hell...maybe I will find them again.

Anyways after actually unloading some clutter the Tiki Gods must have appreciated my ability to let go and gave me a big heaping of good karma by letting me find these:

To say these mugs are super rare is an understatement. They go for upwards of $300 a piece because not many of them are floating around out there. The restaurant just happens to be one of my favorite Tiki Bars - The Islander -- and whenever I come across Islander mugs I am always happy as a clam because they are good finds. These are among the best finds of my entire collection.

Here is what the bar/restaurant looked like in all its glory and just for fun I have included a link from Tiki Central all about the Islander from the beginning of its superior tiki run to the end.

http://www.tikiroom.com/tikicentral/bb/viewtopic.php?mode=viewtopic&topic=15550&forum=1&start=60

Needless to say today's score was unexpected and one of my best finds of 2011 and made all the stress from last week worth it.