Showing posts with label vintage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vintage. Show all posts

Thrifty find: Not just another vintage typewriter

The clicking sounds of a typewriter are punctuating my days lately. Yes, I am the proud owner of the lovely typewriter you see in the photo below. At a mere six dollars at a local thrift store, the aqua-colored beauty was just too tempting for me to pass up.




To my credit, I did not wrench it free from the little girl playing with it when I first walked into the store. I waited patiently nearby, browsing the book section, and forced myself to count to five before walking over to the typewriter after she abandoned it. As I examined it, I reminded myself that I already had two other vintage typewriters at home, one a steel blue and the other a creamy white. I really should have put it back on the shelf when I realized the typewriter is far from perfect, with some minor cosmetic flaws marring some key areas.

Instead, I took it home.




Once home, I made a terrific discovery. The typewriter has a Spanish keyboard. Imagine my great delight at realizing that I can now use my typewriter to write in my native language with the ever-important ñ and all the á, é, ü, ¿ and ¡ characters that I would need to write a note in Spanish.

Oh, happy days! Further adding to my joy, my daughter has now made the typewriter her newest toy, reminding me of my days as a six-year-old playing secretary as I tapped away furiously at my pretend typewriter. My daughter uses the typewriter to play store and pretends to write letters on it, which is great practice since she will be starting kindergarten in a few months and a firm knowledge of all the letters will be important.




You will think I'm a dinosaur but I learned how to type on a typewriter and even took a final exam in one of my journalism classes in college on a typewriter.

I did some research and found out the typewriter is an Omega 30 Spanish typewriter, which seems to be relatively rare since I found only one listing for it on Ebay for a whopping $300 and none on Etsy. One of the cosmetic flaws I mentioned earlier is that the manufacturer tags are missing, which probably means I can't sell mine for $300.

It is just as well because this baby is staying home with us for a while.





As you can see, it does need a new ribbon. In case you can't read the note I typed above, it reads: "I love typewriters. A mis niños también les encanta. (My kids love them, too.)"

Now if I could just find a typewriter with a French keyboard.


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Posted by Minnie 2 comments on Friday, March 02, 2012
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My daughter's new creative corner


Even during my absence, I have continued to take photos and mentally compose posts, some of which I'm planning to share with you. Today, I would like to show you a new space my four-year-old daughter and I carved out in her room for her to write, draw and dream.

It is here where I can often find her, drawing away. The other day, she and her six-year-old brother took turns sitting at her little desk as they collaborated on a small book they created about a little boy who goes to school. She drew the illustrations and he wrote the story to go with it.


I can honestly say that this lovely corner was my daughter's idea. A few weeks ago, I was all set to rearrange furniture in her room. When I last wrote, I told you that I would be redoing my kids' rooms to reflect the fact that they are older and their interests are changing. Essentially, we are moving away from the toddler stage and into the early school years. Of course, I consulted my kids regarding paint colors, artwork, etc. but thought I knew enough about their tastes and habits to do the major planning on my own. Wrong!



On the morning of the big day of moving furniture around, I handed my daughter the book "Children's Rooms Stockholm" (Jeu de Paume). I was hoping she would find something to inspire a new arrangement in her room and keep her busy as I began taking all the furniture out of her room. Instead, she came running up to me saying, "I like this!" she said, pointing to a picture of a girl's small desk. "Can I have this?"

Hmmm, how to explain that I hadn't planned on buying any new furniture? I was momentarily stumped, wondering if The Big Reorganization of My Daughter's Room had hit a snag. Thankfully, I found a simple solution. Some of you may remember reading here about the small Ikea table/desk that I painted and decoupaged after finding it for five dollars at a thrift store. I originally placed the table in my office as a space for my four-year-old daughter to use when we were both in there, which frankly turned out to be sporadic. Thanks to my daughter's inspired suggestion, this little table has now found a new home in a corner of her room.



After seeing my daughter's new space, my son decided it was time for him to get a new desk. Stay tuned ...

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Posted by Minnie 7 comments on Thursday, February 16, 2012
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My first estate sale

I had to resist the urge to put an exclamation mark at the end of the title on this post. First of all, I was so excited that I actually got to go to an estate sale, something I'd read about only on other blogs while salivating over other people's thrifty finds. Then, finding so many lovely things at my first estate sale made it almost impossible for me to contain my excitement.




Most estate sales in my area are typically held on weekends, when I'm usually out on family outings, but the stars finally aligned and I found myself sans kids early one Sunday morning. Off I went to an estate sale that I'd read about in my local Craigslist.

The home was small and the main rooms had been cleaned out almost entirely by other bargain hunters on the previous two days of the estate sale. Undaunted, I began inspecting every nook and cranny. I was amply rewarded when I found dozens of crochet hangers in a closet, even more so when the seller promised to give me "a good deal" if I took a bunch of them. I collected 30 of them and practically hugged everyone around me when I was told the price would be three dollars for all of them. (OK, I am again resisting the urge to put an exclamation mark after this last sentence.)




Even at thrift stores, these "granny chic" crochet hangers usually go for at least a dollar each. I don't crochet so I have no idea how long it would take to make one of these, but I do appreciate the thought and care that went into creating these, especially with those adorable pom poms.

This brings me to my next point, which is that I first had to get past the uncomfortable feeling I had rummaging through the belongings of someone who had only recently been alive to enjoy them. I finally reasoned with myself that I would love for my things to continue to be appreciated after I've passed on and my kids have had their pick. Also, I do believe that even the smallest utilitarian item can find a new home, thus preventing further adding to our landfills.




I might have mentioned before that I have a fondness for vintage office supplies so I had fun picking out a few items for my office. I fell for those small gummed labels shown above and have been using them to label files and other things around my home.




I also found a Pyrex lab glass and an unlabeled little box full of envelopes, each containing one or two dozen silver little letters. I can think of so many uses for these uniquely shaped letters, which came with a small bottle of adhesive. By the way, the striped black-and-white paper you see in the photos is part of a large roll of vintage gift wrapping paper, one of a handful I bought.




I also picked out a roll decorated with blue birds and bird cages. Both of these were quite hefty rolls and I do have projects in mind for them. As you can see, I also added to my dictionary collection and found a few other odds and ends. The wheeled magazine rack you see below was was part of the Craigslist ad, which prompted me to pick this particular estate sale. I had low expectations of finding it on the third (and 50 percent off) day of the sale, but I did and was able to take it home for $17.50.




In all, I spent about $30 for all the things I've shown you here and a few others. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I have been thrifting far less and found that an estate sale offers a more focused way of thrift and vintage shopping since most estate sellers offer preview photos of the goods they are selling.





Have you been to an estate sale? I do love the randomness of thrift stores but was so happy to finally hit an estate sale, one where I found so many things that I love.

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Posted by Minnie 7 comments on Thursday, April 28, 2011
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Thrift find: vintage sewing goodies

It is so true that some of the best thrift store finds require digging through a lot of junk. This was the case with my latest discovery at a thrift store, where I had to paw through several dozen clear (and grimy) plastic baggies hanging on a large wall at a warehouse-size thrift store. I'm happy to say that I think my four dollars were well spent, with a wide range of vintage sewing goodies to show for my efforts.




There is something about seeing colorful threads on wooden spools that sets my heart aflutter. The dozen wooden spools might have been reason enough for me to shell out four dollars, but I found enough sewing goodies in that plastic baggie to fill an entire sewing case.




I found several packets of bias tape, buttons, zippers, needles, and many other sewing notions, many of them still unopened. As I laid out everything on my floor, I had fun imagining the woman who used and collected all the sewing goodies that were in front of me.




Did she sew for fun? Or because she needed to do so? It reminded me of the days when so many more people sewed as a matter of necessity. Undoubtedly, some also enjoyed the sheer pleasure of creating something. This is definitely the attraction for me, imagining the multitude of possibilities that come with acquiring so many different sewing goodies.




Some of you may remember I wrote here about acquiring a vintage sewing machine. Honestly, I can't believe it's been almost a year since I boldly announced on this blog that I was taking up sewing after I found that machine at a thrift shop. I'd planned an update with a full photo post showcasing my first creation, but, sadly, there has been no first creation yet. It took me a few months of working with my mom, an accomplished seamstress, to figure out solutions to some mechanical problems with the machine. My mom has given me a couple lessons, but I need to set aside some time to figure out my new machine. My main problem seems to be with figuring out how to keep the machine properly threaded. Seems simple enough, but I'm completely confused with so many loops on my vintage machine. Each time I sit down to sew, I sew for a minute or two, then somehow manage to get the thread undone or tangle it all up. Then, I have to wait for my mom to visit again, which she does once or twice a month, to get started again.




When I told my mom I was frustrated about all this, she told me about her days taking sewing classes and the years she spent practicing her craft. I recall vividly when I was growing up how my mom used to create clothes, drapes and so many other things for us out of her machine, the many hours my sister and I would spend at the fabric store with her looking through boxes of patterns and fabrics, and listening to the comforting whirring sounds of my mom's machine while she worked.




Patience and dedication seem to be the name of the game when it comes to sewing. For starters, I vow to be a little more patient in trying to figure out the threading mechanism, perhaps practice threading the machine until I know it by heart. Soon, I hope to have a simple finished pillow to show you for my sewing efforts.

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Posted by Minnie 4 comments on Thursday, December 30, 2010
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Vintage frames repurposed into jewelry holders

Oh, the infinite possibilities that exist with just a little imagination and some spray paint. For years, I needed a new, more visible way to display my jewelry, then the solution became quite clear a few weeks ago when I suddenly found myself with several vintage frames.

I am thrilled with the result because, for the price of less than five dollars, I now have new jewelry holders.


Remember those old frames that I wrote about a few weeks ago after I created a new reading nook for my kids? I had bought vintage artwork at thrift stores and switched the frames to more modern ones, leaving me with several unattractive frames.


I am embarrassed to say that my collection of jewelry had been languishing in a plastic bag (!!!) on a shelf in my closet for several years. I've always enjoyed changing my jewelry on a daily basis, happily collecting mostly silver pieces throughout my travels and storing them in a small standing cabinet in my closet. Unfortunately, I put most of my jewelry away when my youngest started grabbing my earrings with all his might while I was wearing them. Ouch! To make matters worse, he began rummaging through my jewelry drawers, so I put my jewelry away in a plastic bag, expecting to find a solution. But then I became pregnant with my daughter and, before I knew it, four years had passed.

Then, I saw something while hanging out with a girlfriend at a Los Angeles boutique recently.


The jewelry display struck me for its simplicity. Now here was something that I could replicate easily, but the best part is that my jewelry would be out of reach of my kids yet visible so I could quickly choose at-a-glance what to wear even during harried mornings.


The stars must have aligned because right about that time I found a large bag of yarn at the thrift store on sale for 50 percent for a grand total of two dollars. I decided to paint the frames for a little more bling, especially since I already had the paint out while working on another project.


For a cleaner look, I also decided to use thumbtacks on the back rather than wrapping the yarn around the frame.


For now, I've only put my earrings on these jewelry holders, but may add different types of jewelry later.


I think my husband often wonders why I have a bunch of "junk" in the garage, but most everything has found a home inside after a little repurposing magic.

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Posted by Minnie 11 comments on Tuesday, November 09, 2010
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The loveseat that dreams are made of

as soon as i saw you
i knew



i wanted you
your luscious pink fabric
and plush cushions
tempting me

"come sit
and i'll tell you my secrets.
i'll tell you
about my adventures
and sweet embraces

i am
after all
the vintage loveseat
of your dreams."

yes, i know
except
for the $1,500 price tag
despite
being on Craiglist


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Posted by Minnie 6 comments on Wednesday, October 27, 2010
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Organizing with colorful vintage finds

OK, so I went a little crazy last night on Etsy. No, I'm not talking about charging up the credit cards or dipping into the mortgage money! I finally created my own treasury after seeing a few on other blogs. I "shopped" for colorful vintage finds since I'm finding lately that I need to be better organized. I figured, what better way to cure the organizational blues than by looking for fun vintage supplies?























































Man, I had no idea making those treasuries were so fun. I spent quite a bit of time pondering my choices, often pulling a few out when I found other, more exciting items. My budget is honestly quite tight right now so I will likely hold off on buying any of these off Etsy, but I can certainly dream of finding any of these items during my thrifting jaunts. I would really be so happy if I found a red Mega Man (maybe because my husband has red hair?).

The truth is that I can put all of these colorful vintage wares to good use. Are any of these any that you could see yourself using? Find the treasury with all the yummy links here.

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Posted by Minnie 8 comments on Wednesday, September 29, 2010
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