Mitzi's Miscellany

Field Trip to Owosso, Michigan

Last weekend I toddled over to Owosso to go to an estate sale.  Owosso is an All-American town about 45 miles from Lansing.  Their website states  that Owosso is "a pleasant, unpretentious community of fewer than 20,000 people with solid midwestern values - a place where residents clearly take pride in their surroundings" .

Although almost all the leaves have fallen, the day was gorgeous with blue skies and some opportunities to snap a few photos around town on my way to the sale.

 

Why is the Owosso sign in the shape of a castle?  Well, Owosso is the home town of James Oliver Curwood, who was a very popular author and an early environmentalist ("the greatest thrill is not to kill but to let go").  He was born in 1878 and achieved the height of popularity in the 1920's, when many of his books were made into movies.  His "castle" was built in 1925, and he authored many novels sitting in the turret overlooking the Shiawassee River, although his actual residence was a few blocks away.  He died in 1929 from blood poisoning caused by a spider bite he received on a fishing trip to Florida.  So by my calculations, he only enjoyed his beautiful castle for four years. How sad!

If you have a pile of vintage books in your stash, or if you visit an antique mall, look through the books and chances are you will find something authored by Curwood. 

 

I have to share several views of the castle...

 

How would you like to write your e-mails or blog posts sitting in the turret, overlooking the river?

 

I just love the stone work, slate roof, and the cheerful yellow paint color used at Curwood Castle.  The arched doors with iron strap work remind me of Snow White's cottage:

Curwood Castle is now a museum that wasn't open when I arrived, so I couldn't take any pics of the interior.  Maybe next time!

As I continued on towards the estate sale, I had to capture a few more pics of Owosso landmarks.  I think this home has a great chippy paint Shabby Chic look to it.  This is actually called "Italianate" architecture which was popular during the Victorian era (I've taken a couple architecture classes that were fascinating, and one thing I learned is how to identify various styles of buildings).  I just love this house....

 

Although originally a private home, it is now divided into several apartments.  They seem to have plenty of room....

 

Owosso was also home to Woodard Furniture Company, which made wrought iron furniture that was sold all over the U.S.   If you have a set of vintage iron patio furniture, check for a maker's mark.  You might have a set made right here in this factory!

Here we have the Owosso Casket Company.  This company was started by Lyman Woodard before he began Woodard Furniture Company.  Lyman Woodard also owned a lumberyard between these two factories, right next to the railroad tracks.  Years ago, many furniture companies made caskets along with bedroom sets and other household furniture, and caskets were sold right out of furniture stores instead of through the funeral homes like they are today.  Makes sense, doesn't it? 

 

After soaking in some sun and the beauty of these old structures, I was almost disappointed when I finally arrived at the estate sale, which was held here:

 

It didn't take me long to find some treasures that were jam-packed into the house, garage, and barn, like a set of four shutters for $10.00.  I plan to make a folding screen with them:

 

I bought this shabby door too.  Why?  Because it is a small size and I'm planning to use it for a decoupage project.  I'm going to attach various vintage wallpaper patterns to the glass:

 

My finds from inside the house included stuff like bags of sewing notions, trims, a postage-stamp pattern quilt, baby shoes, wooden bowls, and more:

These folks collected unusual things, such as match holders and tea tiles:

 

 

Proving that one should never leave any stone unturned, I opened a cloudy baggie and found a fabulous collection of Victorian-era calling cards.  There must be over 60 of these!

The estate sale was pretty good, but I just didn't feel satisfied as I drove back into town.  Maybe I needed a snack.  Along the way was a convenience store with this appetizing ice cream cone next to a sign for Walt's Crawlers.  This reminded me of a sign my parents used to laugh about on the way to their cottage years ago.  A gas station had a sign that read "Coffee Worms Doughnuts". 

 

I passed on the worms and the ice cream, but decided to head downtown to an antique mall called "Treasures", which I had never explored before.  They have a restaurant there, where I ordered something tasty and fast, then I combed the mall for deals.

 

I found a slew of old candy and food tins, the best of which was this cocoa tin:

 

I'm really starting to love these glass flowers that were popular during the 1950's.  Some might think they're tacky, but I love the colors and the fact that they are glass, not plastic.  I was excited to pick up this three-piece set of two candle holders and a centerpiece:

 

In the basement of the antique mall there were hundreds of bottles.  I picked up quite a few that would be suitable for altered art purposes, and bought this crate to haul them home in:

 

A few more colorful tins, two beaded baskets, and a rabbit chocolate mold that was a steal at $22.00:

 

My trip to Owosso was memorable, not just because of the goodies I purchased, but because of the pictures I captured around town.  I have to admit that if it wasn't for this blog, I probably wouldn't have even taken my camera with me, let alone visited Curwood Castle.  I can see where blogging might have a side benefit of making me appreciate my surroundings a little more!

Tomorrow is "Black Friday", and many folks will be lining up a ridiculous hours to get some "deal" at one of the big box or department stores.  But in my world, the real "deals" are things like the rabbit chocolate mold for $22.00, the baggie full of unexpected calling cards, or the perfectly weathered set of shutters for $10.00.  So on Black Friday, I don't have to get up earlier than usual.  I hope to find a "deal" at an antique mall, flea market, eBay, or Etsy.  You too?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Mitzi

Regrettable Vintage Hairstyles and Other Photo Fun

When it comes to vintage photos, I appreciate the fact that they can provide great inspiration for craft projects such as collage art and altered art which has become so popular.  For my own purposes, I can't bring myself to draw on top of the faces to alter them or emblazon someone's portrait with negative text.  I think we should have some respect for the dead, I guess.

OK, so I won't alter old photos with negative text, but I'm not above poking fun at pictures with my snarky comments.  If you focus on something like hairstyles and accessories, you can have a little fun when you sort through a pile of cabinet photos or flip through a photo album.  Let's have a look at what I'm talking about....

This young lady's portrait begs the question:  Can photographers be sued for malpractice?

Here we have a serious case of "helmet hair":

 

This girl's hairstyle seems to be imitating Daniel Boone's coonskin cap:

 

Take a look at this couple.  I think she put his glasses on, and he has on hers.....

 

No photo album is complete without a naked baby picture!

 

Here we have a situation where the gal forgot to brush out her curls after she took out the rollers:

 

A cute pair of identical twins, both wearing the same facial expression called the "half-smile":

 

This adorable tot is sporting a fashionable coif achieved by cutting around a cereal bowl:

 

All little girls should have bows in their hair, as far as I'm concerned, but maybe this one is a bit on the large side:

Now this is better:

Too cute!

This little gal is ready for cold weather:

 

What the heck is going on here?  This hairstyle defies explanation:

I'm not poking fun at this girl.  I think she's really pulled together, and the photo mat sets off her pic in beautiful Art Deco style:

I hope you had a chuckle, or at least a half-smile while viewing these pictures.  Have a great weekend everyone! 

Mitzi

Welcome to Mitzi's Collectibles Blog!

Recently I've noticed an increase in readership of my little blog, so I'd like to extend a warm welcome to newcomers and thank my older friends for spending some of their time in my little corner of the blogosphere.  I have found that I really love blogging.  It's given me an opportunity to share my enthusiasm for antiques and collectibles and crafting with vintage finds.  And I have tons of enthusiasm!

It was just about one year ago that I read a blog for the first time.  It was Heather Bullard's fabulous blog.  I guess I started at the top!  Right then the wheels began turning in my mind, and I thought maybe someday I would be able to start something of my own.  I started bookmarking my favorite blogs and reading them regularly, realizing that there are many bloggers out there with similar interests as me.

I love color, like the jewel hues in this stained glass window that's been in our family many years:

 
When I started writing my first posts back in February 2009, I wanted to offer readers my own unique perspective as an antique dealer, collector, and crafter.  My ultimate goal is to help bridge the gap that I feel exists between "old school" antique dealers and young whippersnappers that are just getting involved in collecting or selling.  In my blog category labeled "101 Series" I strive to pass on a little knowledge about some of my favorite antique categories.  I purposely keep it short and easy to digest.  I started my "Field Trips" category, where I visit antique malls, auctions, and flea markets, and hopefully pass on helpful information regarding "the hunt".  Once one acquires enough vintage supplies, the next logical step is to create something fabulous, so I created my "Mitzi's Craft Projects" category.

When it comes to antiques, I can even match this guy's enthusiasm:

 

 
I grew up around antiques.  Lots of them.  My parents collected antiques and decorated our home with them, eventually starting a small antiques shop attached to our house when I was growing up in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan.  Later, they started a successful gift shop downtown, where we eventually moved (we lived upstairs in an old store building built around 1900).  When my parents decided to relocate to a warmer climate, their new store focused on women's clothing along with gifts.  I accompanied them on buying trips to Atlanta, Miami, and Dallas and learned a lot about retail.  Even though they have retired, my mom still has space at a local antique mall.  She's a true entrepreneur.  I've been selling antiques for about 10 years at two antique malls here in Michigan, on eBay, and Etsy, and love it so much that I know it will be a lifelong occupation.  No question.  I learn something new every day, and never run out of curiosity.

Here are my two sidekicks, Chauncey and Cheswick (it's very hard to photograph two dogs at once.  One of them always blinks!).  Every blogger needs at least one animal companion, in my opinion, even it it's only a goldfish.

Now back to the blog....once I had the basic focus of my blog defined, and the structure put into place with my three categories, I began writing, and writing, and here I am today!  I never would have guessed that so many post topics would come to mind.  I'm like a runaway train when it comes to writing.  Not everything gets published, and right now I have about 50 half-finished posts in draft form waiting for more information or photos that will complement them.

I like to reminisce about the 1970's and muse about important topics, like what ever happened to William Katt?

Today you might be visiting because my craft project involving decoupage wallpaper mirrors was featured on the Mod Podge Rocks blog, an awesome blog created by Amy Anderson .  I want to thank Amy for this great opportunity to snag some new readers, and hopefully some new friends.  So whatever way you ended up here, I invite you to put on your Snuggie, grab a cup of coffee or tea, and enjoy yourself!

Here's a list of things I like right now:

Garlands

Feathers

Mother of Pearl Buttons

Flapper Girls

Cameos

Vintage Wallpaper

Burlap and Felt

Money Plant and Dried Bittersweet

Old graphics and Advertising

Antique Chocolate Molds

One of my recent craft projects is simply wrapping old bottles and vases with scraps of an old lace table cloth, securing on the bottom with E-6000, and adding some buttons and a bit of jute string around the top:

In my world, anything can become jewelry.  Take these pressed wood children's puzzle pieces, for example:

I'm big on re-purposing vintage finds.  These orphaned saucers were long ago separated from their cups.  Now they make cute "frames" for old baby photos.  Mod Podge was used for this project too!

I've glued old earrings and buttons to magnets.  Estate sales are a great source for old costume jewelry:

 

I like to wrap old books with sheet music and add dupioni silk ribbon and vintage millinery blossoms:

Not all of my projects have been successes.  These spray painted watering cans didn't sell.  Maybe they're too bright?

Well, that's all I have for today, folks.  Be sure to check my archives for older posts, as long as you're here.  And come back again, you're welcome any time!

 

The Flipside of Cabinet Cards

Everyone is familiar with cabinet cards, the stiff standby of so many mixed media artists and source of "instant relatives" that add vintage charm to many a vignette.  I find old pictures endlessly fascinating, from the people's clothing, the hairstyles, the photographer's props in the background, and my curiosity about the individuals in the pictures.  As if that wasn't enough, I also appreciate the flipside of many of the cabinet cards, because the photography studios of the era often included a fancy background for their advertising.

According to Wikipedia, cabinet cards were first introduced in 1866 and adopted by studios for portraiture until their peak of popularity in the 1880's.  By the 1890's there was increasing demand for outdoor and candid photos to include in scrapbooks, and the popularity of the cabinet card declined. 

My blogland friend Cathe Holden recently published a post where she used cabinet cards in a unique way.  She made a fabric transfer of them  and sewed a handy caddy to drape over a chair arm that would hold remotes, reading glasses, and other stuff that needs a place to land.  She instructed readers how to produce a transfer of them and I would like to defer to her instructions here .

Using Cathe's post for inspiration, I decided to provide my blog readers with a source of several cabinet card backs for use in collage crafts or fabric transfers. Here are six of my favorites:

 

 

 

For those of you who are interested in more free graphics, try The Graphics Fairy, a website that is dedicated to free vintage images. 

Gotta Love Those Wacky Ad Men!

I have so much stuff socked away in every available nook and cranny that I literally can't start cleaning without getting sidetracked by something fantastic.  I'm about one box lot away from being featured on "Hoarders", that show on A&E that profiles folks with compulsive hoarding disorder.  My guess is that most antique dealers have hoarding tendencies, but here I go getting all serious....

As I was attempting to straighten up my craft room, a stack of magazines caught my attention and derailed my plans to tidy up.  I absolutely love looking at old advertising, whether it be printed in papers or magazines, in store displays, or as part of packaging.  There seems to be renewed interest in advertising, especially with the popularity of "Mad Men", another  A&E creation, featuring the sociopathic leading man Don Draper.  Why, we always thought men in that line of work were buffoonish clowns like Darren Stephens (Bewitched reference) or nervous suck-ups like Larry Tate (Bewitched again).  Here's a pic of what started this whole post:

More pleasure per puff, more puffs per pack!  This ad for Camels states that "scientists have found out in their research laboratories that slow-burning cigarettes are extra mild, extra cool, and fragrant".  Oh really? We all know that cigarette ads were famous for false health claims and other sources of mis-information.  But what about candy?  Let's check out this Baby Ruth candy box from the 1920's:

The packaging suggests that "Candy" is good to "Slice and Serve for All Occasions", kind of like a salami, I suppose, and that "Candy is Delicious Food", "Have Some Every Day!"

Let's see what wild claims are made on the flip side of the box:

Wow, all three candy bars are enriched with Dextrose, the sugar our bodies use directly for energy!  The Curtiss Candy Co. helpfully suggests that we should eat one of these big bars any time our muscles send out that tired or more-energy signal.  That means I would be eating about four a day....

Speaking of vigor, a hot topic in the early to mid-twentieth century, let's see what claims Ex Lax was making in 1940 in their little "movie", "The Taming of Tommy the Terrible":

 In case the Ex Lax ad is hard to read, let me summarize it by noting that Tommy the Terrible won't take his medicine, but when Mom gives him the chocolate flavored Ex Lax, he states "Gee whiz mom, that was a cinch to take!  It tastes like swell chocolate!"  Then later, after Ex Lax has worked it's magic,  both Tommy and Mommy look ultra-excited.  Tommy exclaims 'Whoopee!  That Ex Lax made me feel fine!"  Oh brother.....

One thing I've learned from perusing old advertising is that people have always been preoccupied with their digestive health.  If we think this Ex Lax ad is comical, maybe twenty or thirty years from now people will be amused by Dannon's Activia and similar products.

Another age-old obsession is the teenager and his or her pimples.  Here's an ad for Zemo, something that must not have worked very well or there wouldn't be any need for Proactive.....

 

Zemo is "So clean, dainty, yet EFFECTIVE".  Isn't "dainty" a strange way to describe ointment?

Next, the following circa 1940 ad for coffee really tickled my funny bone.  Let's have a look:

Well, I have noticed that circus performers drink a lot of coffee!  I also have to agree that Coffee Cheers You Up!  Gee, I wonder what other healthy habits we could adopt from circus performers and carnival folk? 

I could go on and on with these Mad Men creations, but I still need to clean up around here.  So I'll end this post with this pic of Elsie the Cow, one of my favorite advertising characters.  I just love how happy she looks on this mug.  And she's so light on her feet!  Maybe she just drank some coffee....

American Folk Art, Updated

Folk art can be a loosely used term referring to items made by self-taught artists, as opposed to people trained in the finer arts and handicrafts.  When I think of folk art, visions of yo-yo quilts, carved doo-dads like walking sticks, and decorated bird houses come to mind. 

This one-of-a-kind folk art frame is on sale at the Antiques Market of Williamston:

Now I've started collecting two things that may or may not be considered folk-arty enough to have examples in the Smithsonian Institute, but I'm predicting that maybe in the future these two art forms will get the recognition they deserve.  I've recently started a collection of little baskets made from beads threaded onto safety pins.  You've probably seen these before:

We used to laugh at these little baskets, thinking that they were the epitome of tackiness, almost as tacky as the hats made from crocheted cut up Budweiser cans.  And what complements these baskets better than sequin covered styrofoam fruit, another craft that's received it's share of snickers?

 

I piled my fruit into a milk glass urn, and along with my little baskets I think I've got a head start on holiday sparkle!

 

Check out this amazing pair of slacks made for a man using scraps of fabric.  This is truly a one-of-a-kind creation, probably made during the depression by a talented housewife for her husband: 

 

I'm sure this wasn't easy to do.  The craftsmanship of these pants is amazing!

Here's another example of obscure folk art.  Crocheted hangers.  Who has time to do something like this anymore?  I like the one below that's purple and green.  I think the maker of these hangers was just trying to use up leftover yarn, which is admirable:

Do you have any quirky collections of under-appreciated "folk art"?  I'd love to see some of your examples!

Forrest Gump Was Right

Today I attended a fun auction that was brimming with holiday collectibles.  That's specifically why I went, to replenish my supply of Christmas goodies to sell at the antique malls.  As soon as Halloween is over, I start getting my Christmas collectibles ready to sell, and each year I wish I had a better selection, because in my experience you just can't go wrong with holiday collectibles.  And because the hope of finding a treasure trove of old Christmas goodies at a garage sale has pretty much been extinguished, I acquire most of my holiday stuff by battling it out at auctions.

The auction today was cataloged, meaning that each item or group of items was assigned a number, and the auction progressed through the lots in numerical order.  Very different than many auctions I attend, where there are mounds of box lots getting shuffled around and mixed into one another.  Today's auction was organized and civilized, put on by Americana Auctions.  Glen Rairigh, the auctioneer, rips through the catalog with amazing speed, so you have to be on your toes or you'll miss something good!

This holiday themed auction is an annual event for Americana Auctions, and I've attended it for the last three years, alongside a group of auction-goers that belong to an organization called Golden Glow of Christmas Past.  They are a pretty tight group of serious collectors, so I had some stiff competition.  It wasn't a cakewalk, let me tell you!

What I really wanted to focus on was tree ornaments.  Well, that's not what I ended up with.  All I can say is that I hope people are into candles, because I got quite a few at reasonable prices.  Do you remember these old candles that most families had for their holiday decorations?  I know we had a few when we were growing up.  We got them out year after year, never actually burning them, but using them for decor.

The snowman below left appears to have been made entirely of yellow snow.  Maybe that explains his glum expression.  The snowman on the right seems much happier:

 

Here's a happy Santa and one of his reindeer in their hollowed out tree candle:

These two Santas are sleeping on the job, probably because that cardboard fire they're sitting by is so warm:

I purchased a pine forest to complement my wax figures.  Many of these candles were made by Gurley, who produced decorative holiday candles in huge numbers.  Emkay was another big candle manufacturer in the U.S.

 

Besides candles, I acquired these two Santa dolls.  They have cloth faces, which I like much better than the molded plastic faces that you often see on plush Santas.  I think the puppy little Billy got for Christmas used poor Santa as a chew toy, by the looks of his coat trim (L): 

 

Although I was looking to buy holiday items, some other great stuff was offered at the auction.  I was the high bidder for this grouping of hat pins in the hat pin holder.  I paid $145 for the whole shebang, which isn't chicken feed but I think once I price these out individually, I'll come out ahead:

 

 

The best item I acquired at this auction was this Victorian-era Noah's Ark play set.  Toys such as this were called "Sunday Toys" years ago, because typically children were not allowed to play with their toys on Sunday unless the toy had a religious theme.  Noah's ark was a popular Sunday toy, but as you can imagine not many have survived over 100 years with all the little pieces intact. 

 

The roof lifts off and there are numerous cardboard cutout animals, two of each, of course!

I love the monkeys:

Even the ends of the ark had cool graphics:

 

There was one girl and one boy mixed in with the animals:

 

I love the graphics on this old paper covered cardboard.  The colors are still really rich after all of these years.  I'm so delighted that I found this great Sunday play set!

So I went to the auction intending to buy tree ornaments, and I came back with a yellow snowman, a forest of candles, a bouquet of hatpins, and a Noah's ark.  Forrest Gump was right:  Life is like a box of chocolates.  You never know what you're going to get!

Here's What I'm Working On This Month

I love decoupage, and I'm always searching for ways to use all of the great vintage images I run across in my treasure hunting.  Besides framing old and brittle images behind glass, there aren't many other ways to showcase beautiful graphics and images from the past.  That's where decoupage can come to the rescue. I'm not advocating Mod Podging rare or valuable paper ephemera, but by copying old paper items you want to showcase and decoupaging them, you have an opportunity to enjoy these special treasures in a unique way.

Lately my favorite decoupage project involves applying selected images to vintage clay poker chips.  The newer plastic poker chips with the ridges around the edges don't work for this project, but the older chips referred to as "clay" chips work well because they are smooth.  After gathering the chips and the images I want to use, I use my handy little circle cutting tool to cut just the right size circle from my images.

I have also found vintage wallpaper to work really well in this application.  I love the feel of the vintage wallpaper, the kind that's not pre-pasted.  It's great to work with.  I use Mod Podge to affix the image to the poker chip, and to protect the entire piece I use several coats on the front of each pendant.

When I purchased an old child's alphabet book, I knew right away the letters would make great little pendants, like the one below:

These images were from an 1800's ladies' fashion print, showing some unique hats:

I love making these, and have put most of the examples you see in this post in my Etsy shop.  I'm selling each pendant. including a ball chain, for $12.  I think that's quite reasonable for a very unique piece of jewelry.  If someone wants more than one of a particular style, that's no problem, because I can reproduce the original images to meet any request!

If you are interested in these pendants, shoot me an e-mail at mitziscollectibles@comcast.net and we can put together a custom order.  I'd love to create some pendants for you!

I've also found a new way to appreciate buttons, something I have oodles of.  The rings pictured below are simply buttons affixed to adjustable ring blanks.  I think they're fun and playful.  There are many other ways to incorporate buttons into jewelry, and I'm going to stay busy this winter with all sorts of button projects.