Jen Bowles Design

{My} Tuesday Treasure: Vintage Postcards

Yesterday (Tuesday) I found myself in downtown Scituate at a quirky little shop called The Quarterdeck. After I browsed through the impressive selection of reasonably priced starfish, I stumbled upon their huge collection of vintage postcards.  There were, literally, thousands of postcards housed in several long cardboard boxes.  They were well organized by town or region and each postcard was individually priced.  $3.  $4.  Eek, too rich for my blood.

Never one to give up on finding a bargain, I wandered around the rest of the store and came upon my prize:  two boxes of mixed-up, well-worn vintage postcards.  The price?  35¢ each or 3 for $1.  Yeeeees!

Here's a peek at my treasures from Tuesday... {click on image to enlarge & view fully, really wish I could figure out the column widths better on Typepad...}

From a local car dealership (postmarked 1957)    

I love the message on this one (postmarked December 1924)    

Can't decide which side I like more on this one  from Brünig, Switzerland (postmarked 1905)      

This one cracks me up! (unused, undated)

Love this little dude's bathing suit (unused, undated)

The handwritten script on this Greater Tampa postcard booklet is so lovely

Maybe this is what I should be using on my hair... (late 19th century advertising trading card)   

And finally, my favorite find of the day (postmarked July 1905)    

Great stories, great artwork--what's not to love about vintage postcards??

Wishing you luck on your treasure hunting!

Barn Sale

On Sunday, Bobby Law and I spent some quality time together going to a barn sale just down the street.  It was at a house that I drive by about 6 times a week and I have a total crush on the entire property (house, barn, yard).  There's no way I was passing up a chance to visit.

We met the owners and they were very welcoming.  I asked and was granted permission to take photos of the {beautiful} yard.  Unfortunately, I had my small camera with me and I felt sort of intruder-ish so they aren't the best pictures but I'm still going to share a few.  

That's their English lab Maggie resting on one of the barn's porches.

A view of the side of the house and some of the gardens.  The owner told me that they added on the whole back "wing" just a couple of years ago.  The architect did a great job, it blends seamlessly. 

In front of the very large (4 levels!) barn, there were several more planting beds with some cool found object ornaments made from rusty, old farm tools. 

Back in the side yard, a view of yet another garden by the back door.

I loved the back patio and the screen porch.  Yes, please.

Ah, flowers.

Looking into the backyard, another great garden bed.

Oh, and yes, there were things for sale.   Lots of things.  Things like a bear skin rug.  As in a real skin of a bear.  Gave me the creeps, Bobby Law wanted it for the basement.

They had a nice assortment of old crocks.  After looking at them 3 or 4 different times, I finally realized that the numbers on the crocks correspond to the number of gallons the crock holds.  I'm pretty sharp...

We were so enthusiastic about their whole homestead, we were given permission to head up into the barn.  Wow, what a lot of stuff was up there!  Critters, a bathtub, and a really nice Hoosier cabinet I was wanting to take home with me {not for sale, :-( }.  Beautiful overview of the back garden from up on the 3rd floor of the barn.

Back on the ground floor, we explored another room which did have items for sale.  Like a bobcat.   And a vintage dentist chair.  One of these items is now in our garage.  Any guesses??  All I'm gonna say is that that dentist chair is surprisingly comfortable...

My sole purchase was a grouping of galvanized metal goodness.  Two tubs, a bucket and 3 different size watering cans.  I love them and I can use them.  How perfect!  

I can hardly wait until their next sale--when I'll be bringing more cash and my good camera!

More Estate Sale Finds

I loved the thread I got at the estate sale so much that I thought it deserved it's own post.

Thread, however, was not the only treasure that came home with me.

Let's start with the kitchen themed items, shall we?

How about some Jell-o molds and tart tins?  How about an assorted lot of 19 of them??

I love all the different lines & patinas, so sculptural and authentic.   For now I have these down in my studio, waiting to be filled with small embellishments for storage or project work.  They'd also make a great addition to some sort of 3-d assemblage or sculpture.  Reminds me of the make-it-yourself magnetic gadget wall at the Jepson Art Complex in Savannah {that's my mom and one of her creations back in March}. I would love to have a wall like that in my studio somewhere...

Moving on, I couldn't leave this stainless steel juicer behind.  It's adorable and it was $1. I think it was the curled handle that put me over the edge.

When I entered the sitting room of the house the sale was at, that's where my fun really began.  I found the thread, my long-lost pal Jen, some great vintage costume jewelry and a peanut butter jar full of buttons. Even the jar itself is old. 

Funny thing is, since going to this estate sale, I've been seeing estate sale signs every weekend. Obviously, there are a lot more treasures out there waiting to come home with me.

Going out and bringing them home is my responsibility.

My duty, really...

Vintage Thread

The weekend before Thanksgiving I went to an estate sale.

It was definitely a worthwhile stop.  It was only 5 minutes from my house, I picked up some wonderful goodies and I ran into a friend I haven't seen since grad school--and found out she lives about 15 minutes away :-)

I think my favorite find of the day was this group of vintage thread.  I love the colors and the detail on the wooden spools. 

I'm not sure if I'll actually use the thread ( I was thinking I would initially) or just stack it up in my studio and drool over it.

Decisions, decisions... 

{posted a few more details shots on my flickr photostream}

Treasure Hunting

Last Friday I beat the crowd and took myself to an advertised "Vintage Yard Sale".  I've just started to notice more yard sales around here starting on Fridays and I must say, I like the trend.  It's much easier to make a trip when the kids are in school than on a Saturday morning (when anything can happen to derail/change your plans).

The sale itself was in a lovely part of Hull (a small, seaside town) that I don't think I've ever been to called Sunset Point.  I've been going to Hull for 35 years and even lived there for a bit after college, but had never been down into this area.  It was a beautiful, sunny fall day and I managed to snap a few pictures as I drove along the residential streets.  Great water views and some charming houses.   Loved the pergola on the front of that one house...

The sale itself was inside and very well organized.  I was the only person there so I browsed at leisure. I ended up spending $10 of my hard earned dollars (I'm working cleaning out my dad's basement and house...) on some fun treasures. 

I've been searching for an iron runner sled to use as a winter decoration on our farmer's porch ~ check!  I also scooped up a bunch of vintage sheet music, a delightful tea towel embroidered with birds and flowers and some handwritten (and amusing) postcards from the 1930s. 

After the sale, I headed to my dad's to work which happened to include a trip to the dump with his big, white work van.  I couldn't resist the little wooden stove.  I totally want to rehab it--though I'm not sure if I know anyone small enough to enjoy it anymore (*sniff, sniff*).  No matter, it was free and I'm sure I can figure out someone to give it to (or maybe donate to a school fundraiser or a preschool...).  I also picked up a random desk drawer at the swap pile.  The label holder caught my eye immediately and I need more studio storage for my spools of ribbon.  

I mean really, don't we all? ;-)

Before & After: Patio Bench

Last summer, my mom bought me a bench at a nearby auction she attended.

Cost: $5

Admire the stenciling, the faded, smelly fabric, and the boring white paint.

Of course I used it as-is for all of last summer. I plopped it right in the garage and used it as a 'beach bench'--a place to put our towels and beach bags in between trips.

Finally this spring I started the bench makeover.

First, I ripped everything off of it--the fabric, the stuffing, the old glue, the rusty springs.    It took a while, and there were staples and old nails aplenty that had to be pulled out with heavy duty tools--like pliers.

Next I sanded and painted the wooden frame.  Two coats.

And then it sat on the patio for...2 1/2 months(?!) while I tried to figure out how to rebuild the seat and upholster a cushion or two.  Finally one Sunday morning, I went into the garage, go out some plywood, some screws and a few power tools and started cutting, drilling and gluing.  While my work is most certainly an embarrassment to woodworkers everywhere, it's fine for my patio.  I painted the new parts and then let it sit again.

We had out of town company this past weekend.  Just the motivation I needed to finally make the cushions and finish the bench.  Again, not my finest work with the sewing machine, but it works for me.

Introducing, our new patio bench: 

I love the colors, blue and green are my favorite--which is pretty evident once you walk around my house...

The bench is comfortable and people can sit on it without it falling apart (so far, so good).  Because I bought outdoor foam cushions and outdoor fabric it cost a bit more than regular materials.  I'd say my total cost was about $50. 

And it makes me smile every time I come to the door. 

Definitely worth it.

Flea Market Makeover

I made a quick trip to the Rotary flea market this past weekend.
It was alternately rainy and misty which definitely kept shoppers and vendors at home.
On the upside, that made it much easier and quicker to browse.
I spent $16 in all and I'm already using 3 of my treasures including a new inspiration board I made for my office.

This piece started out as a wooden mirror frame that I purchased for $2.  The man I bought it from said it was brand new but the mirror had broken and he'd never had a chance to use it.
Naturally, I scooped it right up.
It's actually upside down but I like the idea of the ledge at the bottom.  I painted it and used batting and fabric that I had in my studio to cover the lauan insert.  I moved the hardware and hung it on the wall. 
The white clip rod was purchased from the same seller, I got 2 of them for 50 cents. Also sitting on the ledge, my new vintage metal floral frog--total score!     

We've got 2 different contractors here this week working on exterior home improvement projects.  I've been feeling a bit scattered and distracted so it was nice to actually finish something (besides a load of laundry).

My Golden Dictionary

What's not to love about the dump swap pile?
Behold, another treasure:

It's copyrighted 1944 and I love the illustrations.  The definitions/sentences are pretty funny.  I also love the scalloped alphabet graphic, it's on the edge of every page.  Wonderful collage fodder here--if I can bear to cut it up.
I suppose there's always color copying!

A few commands

Of course Daisy is a bit too young (7 weeks) now, but soon we'll have to start teaching her some basic commands.
Such as:


And most importantly...

Perhaps we won't be teaching her these exact commands, but these are the ones I was able to spell with the vintage movie marquee letters I got for $1 each at the flea market on Sunday.  Just an excuse to show them off   ; )
And if there had been letters to spell 'cuddle', I surely would've gotten them too.

Swap Pile Swag

Another treasure from the swap pile: a well-loved Radio Flyer wagon cart. 
Perfect for holding beach rocks by our back door.  

As I was taking these pictures I noticed that the faux green grass door mat from the previous owners has seen better days.  I'll be keeping my eye out for this Smith & Hawken Bird door mat next time I'm at Target.