Pickin Treasures: Christmas Decor & Vintage Textiles

I receive weekly estate sale emails from estatesales.net

If you enjoy estate sale shopping and are not currently on their email list, I suggest you try them.

They are set-up throughout the USA.

This week I received my estatesales.net listings and there were a ton of them!  Since I no longer resale, I try to rationalize my hunt...Do I have a couple of extra dollars for treasures... is there anything I really need...NO!  Somedays the desire to just go 'treasure pickin' consumes me and the hunt is on. 

Rarely do I look for large pieces, I mainly hunt for unique decor & gifts as well as items for my mixed-media artwork.  I have a hard time saying "NO" to holiday items and vintage textiles!

Here are the treasures I picked this week

 A beautifully weathered-patina small child's sled...perfect for a Christmas tablescape!

Christmas tidbits 

 Deep basket shining full of vintage Christmas ornaments.   

 An adorable vintage deer Christmas centerpiece

  Vintage dove ornaments with spun cotton around their wings, one vintage glass bird ornament and a vintage, quirky bird caroler than really needs some loving.

 Beautiful vintage textiles & Celluloid!

 My plans for the wonderfully aged pieces of Celluloid are to someday use the round-scalloped orphaned box lid as a frame/base for something special; the cylinder

will hold a mini Christmas tree this year and the square box will house trinkets in my studio.

 

Last but not least...precious vintage, handmade needle holders.  

I love this time of the year as the cooler days of Autumn arrive!  It is my FAVORITE season!

 Even though my days of resale are over, I continue this time of the year to go on my 'pickin' and Girls Rule road trips.  This coming weekend Julie & I will be hitting Fabulous Finds on Highway 99 , 230+ miles of garage sales & flea markets through the Flint Hills of Kansas.  So excited!

Estate Sale Treasures

It's been a really harsh Winter and treasure hunting has been limited.  Last Thursday morning's temp of 33 degrees was almost a heatwave.  It brought out lots of dealers and pickers hoping to find treasures.

I was #32 in line with about 30 more people behind me... and I was an hour early!

9 am came, the front door open and the Estate Sale was on!

This house was packed.  I asked where the buttons were and was told in a room, where they weren't.  However, this room had lots of beautiful odds & ends of of vintage fabrics and trims.  So, I shopped it first and slowly found my way to the basement where the buttons apparently 'had' been.  They were picked over and only a few remained; however, I am delighted with the ones I found.

Here are my finds for the day

 

1860-1880s Black Glass dress trim; Stamped steel buckle -late 19th century

(Top) 1930-40s Green glass button w/paint; Late 19th c. Pearl sash buckle;

Group of Cut Steel tri-tinted OME Steel Cup buttons 19th c.

(Bottom) White glass button w/painted grape design 1880s; Horn with inlaid abalone and silver (missing some inlay) late 19th c.; Victorian glass ear of corn;

group of Shell carved buttons, probably late 19th c.

Horseshoe trim: Celluloid with black glass OME, late 19th c.

Art Deco Design under Glass buckle with original fabric still attached 

Individual buttons are different designs/techniques of Celluloid buttons.

Matching pair are Celluloid Bubble Top buttons.  The other two are Tight Top Celluloid buttons.

  Some of the jewelry pieces had missing stones, but I have salvaged stones to repair them.

One of my first jobs was a PBX telephone operator... I love this Valentine!

Close up cuteness

 The artwork in this book is so adorable!

A few cabinet cards 

and photos

 Oodles of unusual tin molds

 This precious porcelain ballerina pivots (dances)

Wonderful vintage textiles

There's something about small treasures that tug at my heart...take me home.

Good Pickin' Day

Last Friday was a great pickin' day... I spent it with my longtime friend Kim.  We headed South to shop various stores in Belton, Greenwood and Lee's Summit, MO.

My friends know by now that if they are hanging out with me, I will be snapping photos. 

Here are a couple photos of Kim shopping at Stacks Depot in Belton, MO.  They were in the midst of Christmas decorating for their Holiday Open House that begins tonight.  Beautiful, but I didn't not take any of those photos as they were working on it.

I adore Kim's sweater wrap & scarf!

(covet fits better than adore...smile)

We made lunch reservations at the Country Keepsakes Tearoom in Greenwood, MO

Fabulous quiche, soup and desserts!!

My pickin' finds from the day

Tomorrow I'll be at the West Bottoms shops in Kansas City.  Will I see you there?