Snowflakes in July

Hey there! Long time no post.

Just haven't been getting out much. I know Summer is the season to yard sale & estate sale, but my schedule doesn't permit a whole lot of that on the weekends. I've hit a few thrifts, but for the most part they are complete busts.

But despite being broke, yesterday we got out and hit up some antique stores a ways away from our normal haunts and actually managed to score not one but TWO Snowflake Pyrex Space Saver casseroles that I didn't already have!

Neither one came with lids, unfortunately, so I used one of my others for the picture. The Charcoal one was my first find of the day, and I felt victorious to find a piece I'd been looking for in the wild for so long. And it was a reasonable $17.50, which made it feel even better.

The turquoise-on-white was found at nearly the last stop of the day. No lid for it either, and it was $15.00. Completely surprised I found two space savers I didn't have in one day for reasonable prices.

Next up, a couple of thrift finds.

These sweet baby pink dish holders were $1.49 for both!

 

The large Fire King bowl was a find from the same thrift for $5.99. It's the largest of that style Fire King bowl I've ever come across. The Glamalite glasses were actually an antique store score from the other day, but I believe they are also Fire King. I saw an original label online that touted these as insulated to keep cold or hot beverages hot or cold for twice as long, and no need for a coaster. Neat-o!

And finally, the rest of my antique store scores for the day.

These guys are for the birds! Haha. This lidless Friendship divided dish, Country Festival Corning Ware, and duck measuring cups all seem to be bird themed. And they were all bargains, too!

Two all-white teacups from the Hazel Atlas Ripple pattern I collect. And the smaller of the two Olive Medallion oval casseroles. I have the pair of them now, just not the gold version.

Hard to believe the year is halfway over already! There are still two yearly yardsales coming up late summer and fall that I look forward to hitting multiple days of, so I'm pretty much saving my pennies and dimes for them.

Hope you're finding cool treats in this hot summer weather!

Happy Thrifting!

Thrift roundup

Haven't been out thrifting much lately, though I have picked up a few things most times I've stopped in.

This yellow Pyrex Desert Dawn baker is a duplicate for me but I was not going to pass it up. Bakeware seems to be in high demand these days (and pricey!), so I'll scoop up every thrift find I can.

Felt like I'd hit the motherlode the other day at GW. This is also one of the Goodwills I suspected only sold damaged stuff in store and shipped off everything else. Well, for whatever reason, I found 3 pieces at once, all between 3-5 dollars, in nice and shiny, undamaged condition.

A ReStore find and another piece of Pyrex from GW. Couldn't believe it.

Also picked these up, a White Lace bowl for my mom and a Corningware Floral Bouquet baking sheet for myself.

And finally, my one antique store purchase, the pink lidded Kromex grease jar and salt & peppers. I need a product to shine these guys up with but all the things I've tried either don't work or carry a warning about using them on aluminum. Anyone know any tricks?


That's all my treasures for now. Hopefully I'll be dragging out my Christmas stuff any day now and feeling a little more in the Holiday spirit.

Hope you're finding thrifty treats and treasures!

Happy Thrifting!

127 yardsale - Pyrex

This was our second year checking out the deals on the 127 yard sale, but it was the first time we had the time off to do more than one day.

We headed out on Thursday, the first official day, and got absolutely poured on! Many of the vendors closed up on account of rain. But I'm glad we slogged though (my tennis shoes are still wet!), because I'm sure I wouldn't have found this beauty by Friday:

First time I've ever seen the white rimmed blue Americana. When I picked it up and saw the 10 dollar price tag I was elated.

And the ladies we bought the blue bowl from also sold me this 3-bowl Woodland set and two other bowls. That green Spring Blossom II bowl completes my set. My husband also bought a 1987 Michael Jordan cardboard standup. Thankfully the rain let up long enough for us to get it in the truck. It's rare enough these days my husband and I both find things we want, but to find them in the same sale is pretty rare.
 

More cheap Pyrex! The delphite blue completes my chip and dip set, minus the ever-lovin' bracket that is almost never with them.
 

I had a few 'grails' in mind to add to my collection, one of which is Hazel Atlas pink ripple, in practically any piece. I did find a single bowl and also a solid white one. Trying to hunt down the pink piece by piece reminds me of just how lucky I was to pretty much an entire set of turquoise all at once.

The turquoise Pyrex pieces are pretty much all the turquoise I saw along the way. They were not super cheap, but not terribly priced, either. The pink and green Vitrock pieces are duplicates for me but they were also cheap and cheerful roadside finds.

All of these items except the Corning Ware were all super cheap bundle price deals, probably a quarter apiece, I'd say.  I was happy to find a Spring Blossom soup plate - wish there had been two! And the Heather Corningware is one of the only times I've ever seen that pattern or shape. It was a thrift store find along the way, and my husband found records for 10 cents apiece there as well, so we were glad we made the detour.

I have lots more finds for another post. And I'm exhausted!

Hope you're finding thrifty treats and treasures.

Happy Thrifting!

200th post

This is my 200th post :-)  And later this summer will be my 5th year blogaversary. I've updated pretty sporadically but it's been neat having a record of when I've bought what - assuming I remembered to blog it in the first place.

I've all but stopped shopping and thrifting lately. Life swings up sometimes and just derails the fun. But I did get to go out once last week and found something pretty cool! So I'm happy.

This was my one thrift find. I had no idea they made this Medallion pattern on a pie plate. I thought when I first saw it that it was the Blue Cornflower pattern I've passed up a few times before. 

Hubs and I hit up several more thrift stores and a couple of antique stores, but bought nothing else. I commented that I thought I was going to go home pretty much empty handed today. But at the last place we stopped I found these:

Several years ago, I bought 3 of these bowls online and I've been missing the smallest one ever since. This set was complete - pricey, but way less than ebay, so I went for it. This is one of those Pyrex sets I'd buy in triplicate or worse as long as the price was something I could live with.

Hope you're finding nifty treats and treasures!

Happy Thrifting!

Depression Glass thrift store finds

Not much new to report on the thrifting front. I've been staying away from antique stores, saving up my nickels and dimes for an anniversary shopping trip if all goes well we'll take about 3 weeks from now.

I did however find these two pieces of Depression glass, two different thrifts on two different days, and they both came home with me.

This sweet little pink creamer is Hazel Atlas Florentine #1 - an entertwining Poppy pattern hard for me to photograph. Apparently this is the smooth top version. But there is a ruffled top version that looks like the same ruffles on the Ripple (Crinoline) dinnerware also made by Hazel Atlas.

Can you see the Ballerina, or Dancing Girl? I was trying to get a picture of this detail - which is practically impossible with the lighting in my house and my out of date camera. I haven't measured the plate but I'm sure it's in the range of either a small dinner plate or luncheon sized. This pattern is Cameo by Hocking Glass (which became Anchor Hocking a few years after production of this pattern ceased.)

I only rarely come across Depression Glass at the thrifts, but what I have found I really do like. My entire collection, save one piece, has all come from thrift stores or auctions for super-thrifty prices. But despite not having much experience with Depression Glass, I really enjoy reading the several different books I have and trying to learn to recognize the patterns on site. I correctly identified these pieces from memory - I was proud of myself :-)

Finally, a Corning Ware handle for 99 cents. I find these every once in a while, but never in the original package, so I thought that was neat.

I also bought a vintage metal stool that I hope to repaint soon. A future project I hope to document here!

Hope your thrifting/junkin/antiquing has been more productive than mine :-)

Happy Thrifting!

Thrift Roundup

Not a whole lot in the way of thrift store finds the last few weeks. Today was a complete bust all except a gift I received from my favorite antique store owner, which I'm saving for its own post :-)

 Pyrex lids & cradles are always good - especially refrigerator dish lids!

These two sweet little pieces of MacBeth-Evans depression glass were .49 cents a piece. The saucer is American Sweetheart (the white shade is called Monax), and I actually had a teacup without a saucer at home. All of my Depression Glass - what I have of it - all came from thrift stores or auction and has been a much slower-growing collection than say..... Pyrex and practically every other thing that Corning ever made.

And speaking of Pyrex:

The turquoise-on-white version of Butterprint has been coming my way as of late. These I found at one of my favorite antique stores for 6 & 8 dollars, respectively. In my neck of the woods, that's what I consider yesteryears prices. I'll happily buy duplicates for those prices!

Now this Fire King bowl was another story. A little pricey for me, but still better than ebay. Plus I needed it for my stripes set. All I need now is the largest bowl - the one with the pink band- and I'll have the whole Stripes range set. 

And finally, this Corning Ware pattern is called Fresh Cut. It's not one I see every day. I probably shouldn't have bought these, but I get enamored with less-common patterns, especially in cheerful colors.

Hope you're finding thrifty treats and treasures!

Happy Thrifting!

Birthday shopping

We didn't get to go out last weekend for my birthday, so we rescheduled to yesterday. Low and behold, I found some more pieces to my Snowflake Blue Corelle set I've been building lately. This is the 1 quart bowl, 2 quart bowl and the oval platter (it doesn't look very oval in the picture, but it is). I also picked up the oval platter in Butterfly Gold for my mom's set.

These were pretty cheap - and one of the more unusual Corning Ware patterns I don't see often. This is the green version of Medallion. There is also a blue version. Corellecorner.com calls these Shell Oil promotional pieces. These and Country Festival are the patterns I'm actually collecting, though I've also managed to amass a stock of Wildflower I don't know if I'm keeping or not. I already collect enough Pyrex to run Corning Ware out of the kitchen, trouble is, I like them both. I just need a bigger kitchen!

These were my Pyrex finds for the day:

I love the vivid orange Daisy 403 bowl. And the best thing about it is it finishes my set!

The larger-sized pressed flowers casserole also finishes something of a set as well. Again, according to Corellecorner.com, these casseroles were the first pieces of promotional Pyrex that featured a pattern.

And these were my two biggest SQUEEEEEEE's for the day:

I have this set plus spares already, but it took me YEARS to complete that very first set. Plus I paid a good bit for that last piece because it was the last one I needed. So now I find the whole set at once, with lids, for what I think is a fantastic price - $29.75 (35 minus a 15% discount). No way I was going to leave without them.

And speaking of Pink Gooseberry, I've been actively searching for this pattern in particular and buying anything I find even remotely reasonably priced because it's the other pattern besides Butterfly Gold that my mom really loves. I've bought nearly everything I can get my hands on, in triplicate - one for me, one for mom, and when I find it again, a spare for either of us.

That said, yesterday, I could have come out of my shoes at the prices I saw. I saw more Pink Gooseberry in a single store than I've seen the whole time I've collected, and other than my surprisingly cheap complete fridgie set I just bought, the prices were NUTSY BUGGO. A greatest hits of Pyrex prices I saw was a set of Pink Gooseberry Cinderella bowls for $175, two different sets for $199 each, and get this one - a Daisy divided dish for 99 dollars.

I also saw some fair prices on pieces I kind of hated to leave behind, but that's not unusual either. All in all, I really didn't see anything uncommon. And though I got some great deals, I still feel like if I'm ever going to have a Starburst or a Rooster space saver or Pink Butterprint someone is going to have to deliver it to my doorstep. Pyrex prices are definitely in a state of flux right now. Some dealers seem to be pricing it the same as years past and some seem to think they're going to get rich off of it.

And one final SQEEE:

My second piece of Cathrineholm! And I found it at Goodwill for 2.99!!

It has a touch of damage on the handle, but is in good condition. I love it, I love Cathrineholm, I just can't do the online prices. But I'll very happily treasure the rare and few pieces I find afforably.

That's all for my belated Birthday treasures.

Wishing all you Moms out there a wonderful Mother's Day. Moms make the world go round!

Happy Thrifting!

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!

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!

Long time no see

It seems like ages since my last post. I came down with a bad flu that lasted for two weeks. My husband started coming down with it just as I was getting better. So we just haven't gotten out and about much. Here's my odds and ends from yesterday.

This is the very first vintage tablecloth I've ever found at a thrift store. I think it's actually long enough to fit my table! It was $2.99. It would have been perfect for Thanksgiving, but I didn't cook this year (thankfully), so it's alright. Maybe next year :-)

I already have these Richard Simmons cookbooks, but they were a dollar, so I picked them up as spares. The Farewell to Fat book is not a diet/weight-loss cookbook, but more of a how-to make a variety of foods, from appetizers to main course, that are healthier lifestyle choices. I've made two recipes from this book - the first is called "Puff the Magic Meal" (I'm not kidding about the title), and "Campfire Soup" - both of which were quite tasty and I'd make again. Next recipe I'm eyeing is "Angel Eggs", and lower-everything alternative to Deviled Eggs.

Next up, can you guess which one of these is *NOT* vintage? Why, the lovely red dot tumblers that I just bought at the DOLLAR TREE of all places! They are marked with a Made in Mexico sticker, but washed off, reveals the Libbey mark (a stylized cursive "L").

Run, don't walk, to your nearest Dollar Tree and check these out. They also had snowflake glasses that would look darling with snowflake Pyrex, and Holly Berry glasses. I think these are all fantastic alternatives for folks who are hunting authentic-look and feel glasses in vintage styles, but don't want to pay the vintage prices for them - especially if you are wanting a whole set.  Let me know if you go hunting these glasses down and see other patterns or colors!

The turquoise boomerang glass was a single I picked up for 49 cents at the same thrift. I have a pink one just like it. Maybe a decade from now I'll have stumbled into the whole set, lol!

And finally, it was Corningware day, even though I didn't actually score a single piece of it. These are all accessories, but I think they are neat. This is an electromatic skillet. I haven't even washed it yet, much less tried it out, but I think it's pretty cool. I'll probably try to make eggs or something simple in it - assuming it still works, of course. The cradle above it is for the same size piece.

And my prize for the day was a totally mint in box petite pan handle. I love petite pans. They are my favorite Corning Ware piece. I can't see using these small pieces on the stove, but I think it's just ridiculously adorable that they even made a handle for it at all. The most practical use I can think of for it would be as a butter warmer.

Glad to be back on my feet again. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Happy Thrifting!

Long time no thrift

I just realized that every picture I've posted here relates to beverages. Unintentional themed thrifting!

First up, I love these polka dot glasses. There were just the 3 of them, but you never know when you'll find the odd matching piece. I love colorful dotted drinking glasses. I have a thing for them and anything striped. Good ways to bring in color that can also can be paired with different sets of dishes for maximum versatility.

I tend to like that more than patterned drinking glasses. That is, until I find a pattern like this one:

These little sweethearts are part of the Strawberry Sunday pattern in Corning Ware and Corelle. I have a single Strawberry Sunday casserole that I previously thrifted. This is one of those patterns I'd love to find more of.

These were all thrifted, except the turquoise vintage Fiesta mug on the left. I picked it up for 5 dollars at an antique store. Check out the lenticular winky eyes on the puppy mug!  That's 49 cents worth of fun if I've ever seen it :-)

Help my soul, I can't hardly force myself to call this pattern Spring Blossom Green. In my heart, it will always be "Crazy Daisy", cause it makes me a little nuts that I keep collecting it!

And I've somehow gone from absolutely loathing the open-handle cups to really liking them. No idea why. I have two of them already, and they've become one of my favorite go-to afternoon teacups. After ignoring them for years, I think I want them in all or most the patterns they came in.

Finally, these Corning Ware coffee percs were fairly cheap. The Blue Cornflower is a 6 cup. It was rode hard and put up wet, meaning I need to find a good guide for cleaning up the inside of this pot.

The black trefoil pattern is a new one to me. It's a simple, rather delicate design that I think I've seen only once before, and I'm probably going to keep it just for the novelty of it.

Both of these percs were involved in recalls in the 1970's due to hazard that the body could become separated from the metal top & handle. I've never tried one of these out because of this issue. I'd really like to find one of the models were the body and spout are all one piece with the band and handle fastened around the neck of it.

All in all, good thrifting day. Only saw one sad piece of dishwashed Pyrex (that I didn't buy). And of course they wanted a fortune for it. Boooo. Hissssssss. Other Negative Noises...................... Haha.

Hope you are finding awesome goodies!

Happy Thrifting!