A hodge podge of finds from the last week or so

This little ivory Fire King shaker is the only thing I came home with from an exhausting auction (that's usually pretty hit-or-miss for us anyway). Still, it's always a bummer when you stick it out to the end, just to have someone with deep pockets buy up the bargain boxes before anyone else gets a chance.

I'm about 99% sure this should have had a tulip lid, but you never know. I've never heard of Fire King shakers turning up as Kraft mustard containers before. It's likely a marriage someone threw together. The shaker top is a very standard size, and is typically interchangeable between a variety of glassware items from this same period, from commercial containers, like mustard, to other manufacturer's shakers & syrup dispensers, such as Gemco or Federal Housewares.

Next up, my two thrift store finds. My husband (who is lame and will not blog about his goodies) was the clear winner of thrift scores, having bought a record number of records. Forty five 45's to be precise. He keeps telling me he's going to sell this one or that one, I'll believe it when I see it. He's a big KISS fan, he scored a picture disc that seems to be going for about what he paid for the entire lot, so I'm happy for him.

Too good to be true, I found another piece of Pyrex in the same thrift, same exact spot I found my last piece! Again, more than I wanted to pay, but who can resist a sunny orange Daisy refrigerator dish? :-)

In another thrift, I found this uncommon Wheat pattern. I love petite pans anyway, so I'm always happy to find an unusual one. I had to get out my Pyrex wheat 023 to take a picture of them together. That's when I realized the images were reversed.

And finally, despite the horrible weather yesterday - bitter cold and spitting snow- I needed an antique store fix. And I'm glad I did! Friendship, Daisy & Butterprint all in the same day. Such cheerful colors on a cold grey day.

The Friendship oval casserole came with a plain lid. I sure would like one of the decorated lids to replace it with sometime. I'm halfway kicking myself for passing up an overpriced DWD version of this lid from GW about a million years ago. I wouldn't buy it and neither would anyone else, so it stayed for-ev-er and finally disappeared. Now, of course, I would have used it as a placeholder. Oh well. I'll find one some day.

The daisy casserole didn't have a lid at all. Luckily, I had a gorgeous one waiting in my lid stash. I love decorated opal lids. They are just so cheerful. I wish all my Pyrex finds were such happy colors.

And finally, a Butterprint fridgie that I so don't really need, but so couldn't resist for $5.99. I've mentioned this several times here, so forgive the repetion, but my husband says I "have a sickness for Butterprint".

Hope the weather is friendlier where you are. Stay warm, stay safe & stay thrifty!

Happy Thrifting!

Thrift roundup

This Butterfly Gold Pyrex casserole is the first piece of Pyrex I've come across at a thrift in while now. Coming across it was a pleasant surprise, especially since it wasn't in a normal glassware area. I suspect someone picked it up and decided against it later. My only disappointment was the 6.99 price tag. More than I wanted to pay, but still, it was a piece I wanted and didn't have, so I had to get it.

This Fire King piece sparked a mystery that I'm going to post about later when I take some more pictures. Stay tuned!

(I'm sure you are positively on the edge of your seats about it, lol ;-)

Yay! Snowflake Blue Corelle. I was just saying here the other day that I'd love to build a set of this pattern. It's not a lot, but it's a start! I'm pretty pleased this little grouping included the hook-handle cream & sugar (no lid though). I sure wish this pattern had nice Pyrex teacups to go with it, but alas those weren't made for some reason (and if I'm wrong about that, send me a link to them, pretty please). The only two styles I'm certain were made were these hook-handled teacups and C-handled teacups in Centura - which is not microwaveable - that's my complaint against it.

I started off absolutely hating these hook-handled Corelle mugs, but I've changed my mind about them. They are microwaveable - which beats Centura, in my book. And they just feel comfortable to drink from. I've been on a hot tea kick since flu season, so these guys will see lots of use!

Oh these kittens. Me and the kitchy wall art! I couldn't pass up these little shadow cats at 99 cents apiece!

Nor could I pass up these pups. They haven't even had a bath yet, but I had to include them in this post. They were just too sweet at a mere 49 cents a piece.

REPRODUCTION Tulips on Jadite batter bowl. NEW GLASS.

And finally, I picked this up at a neighboring antique store. This piece is Brand new Reproduction Jadite. Normally, I'd call this a "Fantasy piece" because it's a configuration that never existed in vintage, but this style batter bowl DOES exist in MARKED Fire King Jadeite. It was just never, to my knowledge, available with a decal of ANY pattern, much less the well-known Tulip pattern.

I bought this piece, knowing full well it was a repro, but it's one of the rare times that a repro has really spoken to me. I think it's a nice, useable piece, and I plan on collecting the other pieces that have been reproduced in the style of the original Fire King Tulips pattern. These reproduction pieces include a splash-proof mixing bowl (only the one size that I'm aware of), the splash-proof style grease jar & shaker set (silver lids on these guys), and a measuring cup that I believe is a knock-off of an original Hazel Atlas shape (I may be wrong about that - Anchor Hocking, Hazel Atlas, Jeannette and other companies produced some very similarly shaped measuring cups, it can be hard to tell them apart).

Hope you're finding fabulous treasures!

Happy Thrifting!

A few thrift store finds

Yesterday was one of those days I spotted something cool well before I got to it - this adorable unmarked Bartlett-Collins red clown cookie jar!

I have a few other BC cookie jars, but none this size or this pattern. This one is just a touch smaller than my flower power style ones. All but one of mine were thrift store finds. I think the floral ones gained some attention from being background decor on the set of Rachael Ray's 30 minute meals (The BC cookie jars sit on top of her refrigerator).

Yesterday, I found enough stuff that I had to ask the hub to go grab a cart. My hands were full of precious glassware. (Excuses, excuses, right? lol)

Which brings me to the question: When you thrift, do you get a cart when you first walk in or do you just head straight for you areas of interest?

Personally, I feel like having a cart just slows me down. In some thrift stores it's hard enough to get through the aisles with nothing but just yourself. Plus, there's many times I leave completely empty-handed, or with just a small handful. No need for a cart.

It's also a huge pet peeve of mine that there are aisle hogs who can somehow stretch themselves and their carts to completely monopolize a section half the length of a football field. They are the same folks who also feel the need to flip over and inspect every single item on the shelf.

In polite company, I call these people "Plate Flippers", meaning, they don't really know what they are looking for except for things that look to them like they are worth money. They are looking for names, marks, anything that will slap them up-side the head with a brand name they think they can take to the bank.

But I digress. Here's the rest of the lovely loot:

This neat stripe pitcher, happily, was just 2 dollars, and my husband found this cute Hints from Heloise 3 book set for just 99 cents.

The crazy daisy Spring Blossom Pyrex shaker is a single, but I believe I have an odd number of these anyway, so all's well that ends well.

Hope you are finding nifty treats and treasures!

Happy Thrifting!

Second thrifting trip of the new year

I was happy to pick up these 3 Cronin Tulip pieces, 7 dollars for the three. I collect this pattern, but haven't added a new piece in some time.

Next up, just a small hodge-podge of housewares. Nothing too rare or exciting, but all things I collect. The Corning Ware coffee perk is my first electric. Haven't tried it yet, but it was in lovely condition, so I bit the bullet and bought it.

I also found two Spring Blossom Corelle plates, two Fiesta mugs in discontinued P86 Rose & Persimmon. And also somewhat coffee related, two metal heat diffusers. These guys would be used with Pyrex Flameware or other glass cookware, allowing it to sit on the coils of an electric stove. 

And finally, a blast from the past. Lisa Frank! I hate to say it, but if this hadn't been kittens, I probably wouldn't have picked it up. (or unicorns. Or..or....okay, I probably would have picked it up no matter what was on it, lol!)

I can't tell a whits difference between current Lisa Frank stuff and 'vintage', so I really don't know how old this is. And I can't find one like it to compare. But I bought it to use. ( I like to load up a couple of coolers of drinks and snacks to keep me and the hubs powered up through our epic all-day antique shopping trips we take every few months or so. :-)

Lisa Frank inevitably reminds me Trapper Keepers. And have you seen how much 1980's Trapper Keepers are going for these days? Gah! In all my thrifting, I've never come across a single one. I'd collect the crap out of vintage Trapper Keepers if given the opportunity. Haha.

Anyways, that's my second thrift haul of this new year :-)

Hope you're finding great stuff!

Happy Thrifting!

More pretties - a recap of what I failed to post in 2013

These lovelies are marked Brookmark melamine mixing bowls. I am assuming they are the largest size - approximately 5 quarts would be my guess. They were a local splurge, 10 dollars each. The pink was coming home with me no matter what, but I hemmed and hawed a bit over the blue/beige. In the end, I just couldn't pass them up. It's rare that I see a confetti bowl for less than 30 dollars or so.

This is literally every melamine mixing bowl I own - both new and vintage. The bottom and top bowls are new Zak! designs I picked up pretty cheaply at Tuesday Morning. I believe this color is called Bluebell and that it's being discontinued. The large bowl is insanely large. I think it's 7 quarts? You can buy a 4 piece set and nest it inside this bowl. (I tested this theory out in a JC Penney the other day, lol). Going up from there are my two new vintage Brookpark. Then 3 in a row are Rachael Ray garbage bowls in orange, Fennel, and red. An unmarked beige-y one is hiding above the red RR, then a marked pink-ish Texas Ware bowl I scored for 99 cents at GW, and finally on top is a lidded Zak bowl. I like the addition of the new style melamine with the older vintage bowls. They add a lot of color that either didn't exist originally or is otherwise rare/pricey in the original vintage.

Next up, a couple of Christmas presents from the hubs. I failed to get a picture of this Fiesta measuring set before I unfastened the million little twisties they attached them to the box with. It reminded me of when I'd get a new doll for Christmas, couldn't wait to play with it, but it had seven hundred different twisty things holding it to the package. I love, love, love the spatulas, I really needed them too. I like the measuring cups and spoons, but they remind me of kids play keys! They are even the same colors. I like a lot of the new Fiesta accessories, I just have a few complaints about them. One is that they are going overboard on the Roy G. Biv and two, they've gotten a lot of props lately for being Made in the USA, tv shoutouts, magazine articles, etc. So what do they do but unleash a wave of stuff made overseas. Of course, if I'm buying it, I'm also a part of the problem, you know? But damn it, Jim, I really nnneeeeeeeeedddded those spatulas.... ;-)

And finally, my husband bought me the Sandalwood 470 casserole set for Christmas. Pyrex for Christmas! That's a first in this house. He also bought me two Horizon Blue mixing bowls that he let me open early!

Sandalwood Complete!

Officially, this is the complete line of Sandalwood. Just 7 little pieces. But special magical faerie people also own sets of refrigerator dishes and a butter dish. These were not regular production items. It's also a mystery to me why there wasn't a 480 set along with the 470's. There probably is, but only the high dollar Pyrex Pirates have it. I'll consider my Sandalwood collection complete when I have the striped mixing bowl set completed. These, along with the Berries 024 are all the pieces I know for sure to be this special Sandalwood color. There's an oval casserole called Spices that may be this same shade, but I've never seen it to tell for sure. It may be closer to the light caramel shade from Woodland.

Anyway, I love Sandalwood, and I'm touched that this is what my husband picked out for me. I think he remembered a trip we took when I bought the middle sized casserole and dropped it in the antique store parking lot - to this day, the only piece of Pyrex I've ever broken. I was so disappointed. He's so sweet to have bought me a replacement. I love it, and him, too. (hearts)

Anyways, I'm finally starting to get caught up to 2014!

Hope you're finding fabulousities & fantasticals in this bright new year.

Happy Thrifting!

Way to start out the New Year!

I was so happy yesterday. I could not believe the great things I was finding at one little Goodwill. And on half-off day, no less!

I only have two pictures. My camera batteries need replaced and I keep forgetting about it. So forgive the even-worse-than-usual quality photos I did manage to take.

First up, these dishes were all taped together in a stack, marked 3.99, and they qualified for the half-off.  (They've started excluding the current week's color from half-off sales.)

I looked right over them until something in my brain connected the dots that these are actually unmarked Fiesta from 1970's. The dinner plates are the only marked pieces. They say Casualstone by Coventry, and Made in USA. Here's some more information from a Homer Laughlin book.

I found so much stuff. I was just so excited! I found a few more vintage items I didn't get to photograph, and just general cool stuff I don't blog about. For instance, I got a pair of polka dot Converse for 4 dollars, a pair of jeans, Harry Potter Clue, a couple of books, my husband found a couple of things, and we walked out spending less than 25 bucks. It was a New Years miracle! :-)

But the craziest score of all is something I very nearly overlooked altogether.



Yes, that's pink Kromex. Again! And the crazy, crazysauce thing about it is, I was missing the tea canister, and the sugar canister from my 8 dollar antique store set is cracked, right down between the u and the g.

And the bad thing is, I didn't see them! They were pushed right up against the wall, with something else in front of them on the shelf. I started to walk out of that area, when I noticed there were two silverware tubs on the bottom shelf that I might want to rifle through. So I walked back over. Bent down, I was face to face with pink Kromex. I couldn't believe I found them, and I couldn't believe I very nearly didn't! Ack!!!!

And I about died when I saw the prices. Sugar canister, 99 cents, tea canister, 59 cents. Really?!! I couldn't even begin to tell you the last time I bought anything *ANYTHING* good at this GW for 59 cents. It reminds me of when I first began going to thrift stores on a regular basis. The days when I used to pass on perfectly good pieces of Pyrex, Corelle, and all the other stuff that I now crave with the bloodlust of total crazy-person.

The sugar canister doesn't have even a scrap of black left on the lettering. It looks like it never even had it to begin with. These guys are a little more rough around the edges than my antique store set. And since my camera is dead (at least for now), I can't get a proper family portrait of them all reunited. Hopefully, next time I post, I can take a picture of them all together. And I believe I'll take advice from Farm Girl Pink and fill in the lettering with a Sharpie (or nick one of the hubs Prismacolors).

What a way to start the New Year!!!

Hope you are finding fantastic treasures!

Happy Thrifting!