Of Peeps and Postcards: Thrifty Easter Fun

The grey of skies and the white of snow made some Easter decor I uncovered this week at Tuesday Morning seem all the brighter and pastellier! 

What I liked in particular about these finds are they all are straight from original Victorian postcards. Like this cute pair of chicks here brandishing colored egg bouquets...

Chicks just like these were mainstays on postcards from the early 1900s, and it's just as whimsical for me to see them hatched to life in 3-D here.
I have a number of cards like this in my collection but would hesitate to display them on my front door, which gets a lot of sunlight. This way, the good ol' cards stay preserved but the look is very authentic!

You can see a few of these cards up more closely. Here children ride on Easter eggs pulled by energetic donkeys...
Here, a boy and girl stand in a garden of garland, eggs and glitter.
And my favorite, this young lady rides in the stylish Ford Yolkmobile, which sports a dual-lamb engine.
And now, after that pun, I run sheepishly away until next post!

Of Peeps and Postcards: Thrifty Easter Fun

The grey of skies and the white of snow made some Easter decor I uncovered this week at Tuesday Morning seem all the brighter and pastellier! 

What I liked in particular about these finds are they all are straight from original Victorian postcards. Like this cute pair of chicks here brandishing colored egg bouquets...

Chicks just like these were mainstays on postcards from the early 1900s, and it's just as whimsical for me to see them hatched to life in 3-D here.
I have a number of cards like this in my collection but would hesitate to display them on my front door, which gets a lot of sunlight. This way, the good ol' cards stay preserved but the look is very authentic!

You can see a few of these cards up more closely. Here children ride on Easter eggs pulled by energetic donkeys...
Here, a boy and girl stand in a garden of garland, eggs and glitter.
And my favorite, this young lady rides in the stylish Ford Yolkmobile, which sports a dual-lamb engine.
And now, after that pun, I run sheepishly away until next post!

Treasure Box Wednesday: Quacking Up With Spwing Fever

The daffodils have sprung up in the yard, and I admit-- I'm feeling a bit daffy! The fever has crept in, and I find the sunshine distracts... the warm wind whispers in my ear of antiquing roadtrips westward. But alas-- practicality wins out. Weekends await.

And I was, at least, very practical about the cost of these pretty aqua and pink placemats from Big Lots...

At $1 a piece, you can't really go wrong. I like them very much with the current diningroom theme. Just about the right shade with the McCoy planter and the glass on the mantle, I think.


Can I offer you a cup of tea?

I found another thing I thought you all might get a kick out of. Is it a Nancy Drew book?...


Nope! It's a nice lined notebook, precisely novel-sized. And look at the attention to detail with this. The inside cover is a replica of the endpapers in the original 50s book...


And then the nicely lined pages are filled with little illustrations from the novel...


I do so much writing, this just seemed like it would be really handy.

At the St. Vincent de Paul in Monroeville, I found this large Imperial Harvest centerpiece bowl in amber carnival glass...

My friend Scoobie had gotten me one for my birthday a year or so ago-- and I love it-- so I was thinking when Fall rolls around, it might be nice to have this second one. At $5, the price was right.

And so, I bet you're wondering... what's all this about quacking up?

Well, I was rooting around in one of my cabinets and I found a few of my feathered friends for Easter. How cute are these little ducklings? So realistically painted and whimsical, right now they're hanging out on my entryway lamp table, but we'll see where they turn up for the holiday.

They're there with these little ladies...


You may remember, they're the chicks I'd dubbed "the MacGuire Sisters" last year. They make me smile, too. Hey, would now be a good time to mention, I'm on Twitter?

Oh, and I found a little freebie for you folks, for this Treasure Box!...

You can download some public domain audiobooks for free-- one of which is a favorite of mine:

The humor story Right Ho, Jeeves, by PG Wodehouse. If you click here, you can download all or part of the MP3 files of this book. I actually ride around to this version on my commute sometimes.

Listen as Bertie Wooster and his brainbox of a butler, Jeeves, twist and turn in a hilariously confusing plot of angry aunts, wishy-washy chums in love, Mephistopholes costumes, Market Snodsbury Grammar School prize-givings, inebriation, and 18 mile bike rides.

Or, if you didn't get a chance to check out Sunday's post, Some of Your Favorite Things, click here.

Guess I'd better waddle on out of here! Take care!

Treasure Box Wednesday: Quacking Up With Spwing Fever

The daffodils have sprung up in the yard, and I admit-- I'm feeling a bit daffy! The fever has crept in, and I find the sunshine distracts... the warm wind whispers in my ear of antiquing roadtrips westward. But alas-- practicality wins out. Weekends await.

And I was, at least, very practical about the cost of these pretty aqua and pink placemats from Big Lots...

At $1 a piece, you can't really go wrong. I like them very much with the current diningroom theme. Just about the right shade with the McCoy planter and the glass on the mantle, I think.


Can I offer you a cup of tea?

I found another thing I thought you all might get a kick out of. Is it a Nancy Drew book?...


Nope! It's a nice lined notebook, precisely novel-sized. And look at the attention to detail with this. The inside cover is a replica of the endpapers in the original 50s book...


And then the nicely lined pages are filled with little illustrations from the novel...


I do so much writing, this just seemed like it would be really handy.

At the St. Vincent de Paul in Monroeville, I found this large Imperial Harvest centerpiece bowl in amber carnival glass...

My friend Scoobie had gotten me one for my birthday a year or so ago-- and I love it-- so I was thinking when Fall rolls around, it might be nice to have this second one. At $5, the price was right.

And so, I bet you're wondering... what's all this about quacking up?

Well, I was rooting around in one of my cabinets and I found a few of my feathered friends for Easter. How cute are these little ducklings? So realistically painted and whimsical, right now they're hanging out on my entryway lamp table, but we'll see where they turn up for the holiday.

They're there with these little ladies...


You may remember, they're the chicks I'd dubbed "the MacGuire Sisters" last year. They make me smile, too. Hey, would now be a good time to mention, I'm on Twitter?

Oh, and I found a little freebie for you folks, for this Treasure Box!...

You can download some public domain audiobooks for free-- one of which is a favorite of mine:

The humor story Right Ho, Jeeves, by PG Wodehouse. If you click here, you can download all or part of the MP3 files of this book. I actually ride around to this version on my commute sometimes.

Listen as Bertie Wooster and his brainbox of a butler, Jeeves, twist and turn in a hilariously confusing plot of angry aunts, wishy-washy chums in love, Mephistopholes costumes, Market Snodsbury Grammar School prize-givings, inebriation, and 18 mile bike rides.

Or, if you didn't get a chance to check out Sunday's post, Some of Your Favorite Things, click here.

Guess I'd better waddle on out of here! Take care!

Treasure Box Wednesday: Cheap Chicks Choose China

I have a bit of a mixed bag to show you this Treasure Box Wednesday. Not a lot, but some nice finds nonetheless. We'll start off with the turquoise retro mugs and bowls here. These were Salvation Army Superstore finds, and I got all eight pieces-- four bowls and four mugs-- for $3.99. I believe these are either Hazel Atlas Moderntone pieces, or ones from that general time period.


I also uncovered another art pottery vase. I love how the handles on each side are intentionally different lengths. This should be excellent grouped with the McCoy and other vases I'd gotten my grubby mitts on a few weeks ago. I love these simply because they're just good design.


This pretty handkerchief was $0.99. Which is on my high end for what I like to pay for hankies (I love to get them for about $0.25-$0.49) but the vibrant, detailed peonies were too nice to pass up.


This figurine was one I picked up a few weeks ago, and I wasn't sure if I showed her to you or not. Her name is "Melanie"-- and, no, I didn't name her. Her name is written on the bottom. And she's made by Florence Ceramics of California.


The Garage Sale and Flea Market Annual (which has become a bit like my thrifting Bible) has this to say about the company:

During the forties, Florence Ward began modeling tiny ceramic children as a hobby at her home in Pasedena, California. She was so happy with the results that she expanded, hired decorators, and move into a larger building where, for two decades, she provided the lovely line of figurines, wall plaques, busts, etc., that have become so popular today. The "Florence Collection" featured authetnically detailed models of such couples as Louis XV and Madame Pompadour, Pinkie and Blue Boy, and Rhet and Scarlett. Nearly all of the Florence figures have names which are written on their bases.

Now, I don't see any listing of my particular figure in this book, but because the company made Rhet and Scarlett, it makes me wonder whether this "Melanie" isn't supposed to be Melanie from "Gone with the Wind." An interesting idea, anyway.

Oh, and those cheap chicks in the title? How about THESE cheap chicks!

Don't you just love how realistic-looking they are? (And a little irritated in their expressions, as well!) They were $5 for the pair at the UFO in Greensburg. I had seen a pair like them at a Salvation Army several years ago and had passed them up, thinking I wasn't going to do any Easter decor (silly fool!). When I realized a day later I could certainly make an exception for THEM at least-- they were gone. So finding this set was really fun for me.

Well, I'm afraid that's all there is for this Treasure Box Wednesday. Check out the Sunday post if you're so inclined-- "Aprons and Hankies: Time, Ties and Trends "-- by clicking here.
And for newer folks, don't forget there's a huge archive of goodies here to dive into-- just click the triangular bullets to reveal the individual posts inside (it takes less time to load that way). There are LOTS of pictures.

Have a chirpy one! :)

Treasure Box Wednesday: Cheap Chicks Choose China

I have a bit of a mixed bag to show you this Treasure Box Wednesday. Not a lot, but some nice finds nonetheless. We'll start off with the turquoise retro mugs and bowls here. These were Salvation Army Superstore finds, and I got all eight pieces-- four bowls and four mugs-- for $3.99. I believe these are either Hazel Atlas Moderntone pieces, or ones from that general time period.


I also uncovered another art pottery vase. I love how the handles on each side are intentionally different lengths. This should be excellent grouped with the McCoy and other vases I'd gotten my grubby mitts on a few weeks ago. I love these simply because they're just good design.


This pretty handkerchief was $0.99. Which is on my high end for what I like to pay for hankies (I love to get them for about $0.25-$0.49) but the vibrant, detailed peonies were too nice to pass up.


This figurine was one I picked up a few weeks ago, and I wasn't sure if I showed her to you or not. Her name is "Melanie"-- and, no, I didn't name her. Her name is written on the bottom. And she's made by Florence Ceramics of California.


The Garage Sale and Flea Market Annual (which has become a bit like my thrifting Bible) has this to say about the company:

During the forties, Florence Ward began modeling tiny ceramic children as a hobby at her home in Pasedena, California. She was so happy with the results that she expanded, hired decorators, and move into a larger building where, for two decades, she provided the lovely line of figurines, wall plaques, busts, etc., that have become so popular today. The "Florence Collection" featured authetnically detailed models of such couples as Louis XV and Madame Pompadour, Pinkie and Blue Boy, and Rhet and Scarlett. Nearly all of the Florence figures have names which are written on their bases.

Now, I don't see any listing of my particular figure in this book, but because the company made Rhet and Scarlett, it makes me wonder whether this "Melanie" isn't supposed to be Melanie from "Gone with the Wind." An interesting idea, anyway.

Oh, and those cheap chicks in the title? How about THESE cheap chicks!

Don't you just love how realistic-looking they are? (And a little irritated in their expressions, as well!) They were $5 for the pair at the UFO in Greensburg. I had seen a pair like them at a Salvation Army several years ago and had passed them up, thinking I wasn't going to do any Easter decor (silly fool!). When I realized a day later I could certainly make an exception for THEM at least-- they were gone. So finding this set was really fun for me.

Well, I'm afraid that's all there is for this Treasure Box Wednesday. Check out the Sunday post if you're so inclined-- "Aprons and Hankies: Time, Ties and Trends "-- by clicking here.
And for newer folks, don't forget there's a huge archive of goodies here to dive into-- just click the triangular bullets to reveal the individual posts inside (it takes less time to load that way). There are LOTS of pictures.

Have a chirpy one! :)