Apron Thrift Girl

my little shop

I just wanted to introduce you my Little Shop. Two nights ago at 2 a.m. I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep. I finally gave in to the fact that I wasn't going to fall asleep anytime soon so I got busy creating another blog.

I often get emails from readers wanting to purchase items from Thrift Share Monday. What I plan to do is simultaneously do my Thrift Share post while placing some items in my Little Shop until I list them on Etsy. So you all can get first dibs on anything for sale. I also plan to sell items that don't quite fit eBay, Etsy or Amazon but might interest some of you.

Little Shop will be a little shop full of wonders and vintage sweetness.

I've also created a Facebook page for my Little Shop. I plan on listing new items through the FB page so that readers will know when something is posted.

I plan on listing items that are Waldorf, Crafty, Vintage, Book & Ephemera related and so on. If there is anything that you'd like to see there please let me know.

Sadly, Typepad has stopped maintaining widgets which means the shopping cart paypal widget is not available so buying items will be a bit old school. First person to leave a comment showing interest will be contacted by me. I'll send you paypal details or my address for sending checks. Most prices will include US shipping so you won't have to worry about extra cost added to the listed price.

I'm hoping this will be a fun little shop for both my readers and for me. Again if you are looking for anything in particular to be added to the shop, just let me know in the comments.

notes from the past

My house in Aberdeen WA

I've been busy these last two weeks sorting the house and preparing for Operation ReSell in January. I need to know where all my inventory is (aka - everywhere) and how I'm going to tackle a too busy life starting January 3rd. I've finally organized most of my crafts in my office but I still have 6 boxes of crafty items in our hallway to organize and put away. Yesterday when I was going through a box I came across a journal of mine from 1995/1996. It was the year leading up to meeting Dave.

Overall it's the saddest journal ever. Every page is full of loneliness, frustration and even desperation. IT was such a dark time for me. When I read through the book it is like I am reading someone else's story, or maybe even a fictional book that I picked up at a rummage sale. I found myself rooting for the character at times and then realized with a broken heart that this was me. It's a shadow of who I am today. A person I would never, ever want to go back to.

I wrote this in Aberdeen, WA on January 9th, 1996:

"Today wasn't much better. I almost drove into someone while leaving work. Yikes. I was all pumped up with tons of energy upon returning from San Francisco yet now it's dissolving into the typical laziness of me. I didn't accomplish much this evening. I sort of cleaned off my desk, I made homemade chips, made my lunch for tomorrow; nothing that stands out and says, "this woman tried to save the world." Not that I want that but I want something so that I can go to sleep each night with something accomplished. Looking in boxes upstairs in my attic I see that my great grandmother was in the newspaper all the time for her poetry and my grandmother was in the paper for her dancing. I realize that we all have an impact on the world and some are made known more than others, but I want to be one of those. I wish to be in the media. I know that sounds silly, but so I am. I need an outlet for my talents. I need to discover this outlet in this lifetime. Every person in some way or the other has their own little shelf, filled with little books containing protectively their talents. My mother has some filled with numbers and electronics while my father has ones full of history and construction. What does mine have? Perhaps it currently has a draped sheet across it, like a house waiting for it's occupants to arrive home from vacation. It is only a matter of time I suppose. I must find the patience that I find in my strength and through my strength I must find the motivation to push myself into my hobbies. Talent doesn't usually arrive Federal Express. At least not for me."

Me in at my job at the cemetery with two of my co-workers.

The next entry was on January 20th. To me, this if the first hint and inkling of Apron Thrift Girl:

"Hello, well I haven't a novel to add to my shelf but I have two ideas that I shall attempt to pursue. The first is the most exciting. I am going to start an attic and garage cleaning service for people. I shall get a business license and everything. I'm considering the title Earthenne's Attic & Garage Cleaning Service. I intend to recycle everything, hence the name. It actually means something to do with dirt but it has the word Earth in it. I want to save stuff from going to the landfills and help people clean at the same time. I'm just starting with the idea so I'll have to get back to you on it. My other idea is to have a support group or meetings to do with the Tightwad Gazette. I've found my motivation and I have to grab the reins and steer it in it's onward direction."

I never did get this business off the ground in Aberdeen Washington. Two months and 10 days later I met Dave in Chicago and my life changed forever. A year later to the date I married him at our first of two weddings.

When I arrived in England as a young bride I was still lost but lost in a different culture and country. If I thought I was eccentric and creative in the states I was pretty much crazy to the English. I did find myself obsessed with DIY TV though and a show called Change That. TV designers would take a piece of furniture that an audience member would bring them and they would change it into something better. Basic RePurposing.

It's funny to reflect back on the small things that made me who I am today. I began ATG 10 years after I wrote the journal entry about cleaning attics & garages. I didn't know at that point that rummaging through attics and garages would become my work and passion in life. My personal highlight of this week (besides the children on Christmas morning) wasn't the gifts under the tree but the surprise estate sale that I went to yesterday.

My ReSelling job is kind of odd and hard to describe to people sometimes. It's doesn't necessarily hold a fancy title but I love my work. I love finding treasures in dusty boxes, I love recycling people's unwanted items, I love repurposing things and I love the high of finding a hidden gem like sterling or gold.

I keep wanting to be a designer, artist, writer, actress and a million other things that interest me (currently I want to learn French and figure out how to do encaustics) but at the end of the day my skills and passion have to do with Thrifting. Even when I try to veer away from it and pretend I'm an artist, I always fall back on ReSelling because I love it and I can make money at it. To me, it simply comes naturally.

The point of this post is hopefully to inspire you to really try to understand your passions and find what you are good at. Uncover that passion and see if you can find a business or work that feeds your soul. I imagine if the internet was in full swing in 1996 like it is today I would not have struggled so much. The day I discovered blogs that mentioned thrifting was the day I started Apron Thrift Girl. I'd even guess it was probably not even an hour later that I signed up to Typepad and named my blog. It was through my blog that I really made ReSelling my career and passion. Thrifting does feed my soul and while it's not the job that I ever imagined having, it's what I'm excited about every day of my life. I hope that you too can find something that motivates you each morning. Life is too short to miss something as important as passion in our lives.

Where is your passion and how can you make 2011 the year for making it your life?

Merry Christmas

Thank you so much for a fabulous 2010.

It's been an incredible year here at ATG. I'm so grateful for all of my readers, friends and of course the amazing Thrift Shares that have occurred during the last part of the year.

Merry Thrifty Christmas

xoxo

Selena Cate

What Pattern is This?

Well I stayed one day away.....how am I doing?

Thank you so much for all of your supportive comments. If I'm slow in replying it's because Keiran seems to be struggling with the idea if two weeks off of school. He won't leave my side, bless him.

I do have a challenge for you. I can't find the name of this Mikasa stainless flatware pattern?

Can you help? The first person who names it in the comments will receive a box of vintage goodies from me.

And for a ReSelling tip, having the name of this pattern will increase my chances of selling this set for a higher final bid price. Flatware can be frustrating because many sets do not have a pattern name.

Thanks for your help and good luck.

Preparing for the New Year

I've decided to take the next week off and spend it with my family, get away from the computer (for the most part) and head out to the garage for some purging and prepare for 2011.

We've had a bit of bad news (money wise) last week and my priority next year is going to be bringing in a lot more money. Right now my book selling basically funds the work that I do on my blog. As I've mentioned before, my blog is basically what I do for free. But with our instant need of me earning more money per month (between $2,000 & $4000) my focus has to switch to ReSelling. This doesn't mean that I'll close down ATG but I have to take a small step backwards. Spending 5-10 hours a week dedicated to it without financial return just doesn't make sense right now.

Every time we hear discouraging news I do panic at first but then I remember that I know how to live frugally and this encourages me to keep my chin up. I've already written up lots of plans about cutting costs starting now but really starting January 1st. Vintage cheese & yummy snacks will get us through the next week as we try to keep a positive outlook on life.

My most important goal is to fill a savings account for next year's tuition for the children's Waldorf education. That to me is my top priority. Even if that means living in a shed without tivo. (gulp) We may even cut back on some organic foods during the next few months/year in order to meet that goal. I'll share more of this with you in January.

I'd love to make ATG a successful sustainable blog but I just haven't been able to do that yet. I don't think I approach enough businesses about sponsorship opportunities. If any of you have ideas on who I should approach for sponsored ads or how to make ATG bring in some funds, I'd love to hear about it. I think what has partially stopped me is picking up the telephone to make calls or even writing a sponsorship letter.

This morning a close friend of mine who is also a bookseller suggested I do some work in social media; creating blogs, setting up Facebook business pages and twitter accounts for businesses. A year ago January I was planning to do that with a couple other women but in the end it didn't work out. I must say that I love creating blogs. Maybe more than writing and working on them. Lol. A couple weeks ago ATG and life was really stressing me out so I took my mind off it and created this hobby blog. I wanted to write posts & take photos of things that I truly love without worrying about stats, comments or potential money. So maybe I can create a job that involves what I love. I love taking photos, creating banners and coming up new fabulous names for businesses and blogs. What do you think?

Regardless of where Dave & I are at with the financial challenges in front of us, I've still had the most incredible year. I wouldn't change a thing and as I've said many times I feel so completely at home in California. I'd rather be in the warm sun crying in my coffee than in the cold wondering where the sun went for the year.

Christmas is going to be odd for us this year. For the first time since Cerys was born we are going to be on our own. My parents and my brother's family are getting together in Seattle. My other brother and family is staying home in Virginia. We were planning to fly/drive up there but in the end we decided to save the money and stay home. Thankfully my parents are flying down for Cerys' 11th birthday in January otherwise I'm not sure how I would get through the holidays. Sigh.

I may pop in for little posts because I do tend to go through withdrawals. January 3rd I'll start up Thrift Share Mondays again and try to figure out how to balance everything once again.

Have an incredible Christmas and Holiday season and I'll be back officially on the 3rd of January. For anyone with advice or thoughts about what I've mentioned above, I'd love to hear them.

xoxo

Selena Cate

Make Share - Beeswax Ornaments

Beeswax Ornaments - Just poured into their mold.

Last Friday I went to the Legacy Craft Thrift Store. It was their once a month 50% off sale where nearly all of the store is half off. I found four of these ornament molds for 25¢ each. (sale price 12.5¢ each) I was planning to give edible gifts to the children's teachers but when I saw these molds I decided to give some handmade ornaments as well.

Cooling Ornaments

I melted some of my (thrifted) beeswax into a special pot designed for candle making (also thrifted). You can see the melting process here. The children chopped up the beeswax block and placed it in the pot. I poured the hot beeswax into the molds.

Collection of Ornaments

I have never used molds like this and discovered that as soon as they are cool the ornaments should be removed. When I waited too long a couple wings broke, which was sort of okay since I just placed them back in the pot to melt again.

After they were removed I placed a darning needle under a flame and poked a hole through the top of each ornament. I used some vintage tinsel thread to hang the ornaments on the tree.

Ornament on Tree

I added some German Glass Glitter to one mold set. The children didn't like it as much but I thought it added a nice twist. They were relatively easy to make and the children really look forward to giving the ornaments to their teachers this week for Christmas gifts.

Have you been crafting and want to take part in Make Share? It's very similar to Thrift Share where I begin a post with sharing something that I made and you all get to finish the post by linking up and sharing what you have made. There's a few guidelines -

• at least one item used in your project should to be 2nd hand.
• Please link to your Craft Project post.
• Link your Make Share post back to ATG.
• Post a Make Share item that you made on your blog or website.
• Link to your individual post on the item that you made using inlinkz below.
• If you participate with Make Share regularly, I'd love it if you'd add this button to your side bar

Thrift Share Monday - House of Shoes

Fluveg Opperetto Shoes $3

A few times a year there is that one special Thrifting experience that stays with you forever. This happened to me last Friday when I waited in line to get into a "packed" house Estate Sale. The estate sale company never sends photos with their emails about the upcoming sale. I was expecting a sale with vintage clothing and goods. I was hoping for some older dishes to add to my Etsy store. What a surprise when I walked in and discovered the house was packed with relatively new designer everything!

This is the kind of sale where you truly want to have funds in your business account so that you don't have to hold back on your purchases.

Here's a small list of what I bought:

• 27 pairs of shoes ($3 each)
• Henckels Knife Set ($12)
• Villaware Panini Maker ($15)
• 5 Designer Sunglasses including Chanel ($ 3 each)
• Lots of stocking stuffers for the children
• Mikasa Dish Set (see below)
• Mikasa Flatware Set $12
• New with Tags Anthro dress priced $115 (paid $8)

Destroy Boots - Keeping

This is about the only pair that I'm keeping. The shoes were just incredible. I wouldn't consider myself a shoe person but these shoes were amazing. When I researched some of them when I got home I could not believe the closed listing price for some of these. I think my top find was a pair of Chie Mihara's that sold on eBay in used condition for $239. I found 3 pairs of Fluevog Operetta Malibran shoes as well. The trouble is that they are ALL my size. Sigh.

The hardest thing about this sale though was the fact that so many of the items seemed to have been purchased from a younger woman. Or maybe an older woman with the most fabulous, expensive taste. I didn't ask but there was a heaviness in the house and quite a few people came in teary who knew the woman. At the end of the day the items were meant to be sold and purchased but I did have empathy and gratefulness throughout my time in the home. It is a very difficult thing about buying from estate sales.

Funny enough I really needed this sale. It was probably the last really good sale before January and these shoes are going to help fill the book inventory void that I have experienced lately. Of course it does mean that I have to deal with eBay, something I'm not looking forward to. at. all. But I did just make Power Seller (not sure how really with not listing lately) so maybe that will motivate me.

Mikasa - Parisian Scenes

They were produced between 1999-2007 and were designed by Susan Steinberg.

I picked up a large set of dinner plates, salad plates, cups, saucers, S&P, creamer & sugar, a huge serving bowl, a medium serving bowl, coffee dispenser and large platter for $120. I had purchased it with full intentions to sell it but I must tell you that since arriving home I've fallen in love with it. The question is whether I need it, should I sell it or should I keep it. Or maybe it will be my Christmas present this year. I'd certainly prefer this than most things purchased new in the store. I swear "the keep or not to keep" is the hardest thing about being a ReSeller.

Blue & Italian Tiny Vase

Saturday morning there was another fabulous sale, this time a house full of vintage and Mid Century Modern.

Two owls - heading to Etsy

Ben Seibel Bowls - Swoon

My friend Jeanie just emailed me last week to tell me that she had found some Ben Seibel dishes. When I read it of course I felt a wee stab of jealousy. I adore Ben more than anything and realized that I haven't found any of his dishes since this fab find in 2009. Sometimes just thinking about finding something helps me find it within the week. These bowls will be added to my collection.

Napkin Set - heading to Etsy

Bag of Vintage Green Ornaments $1 for a large bag

Basket of vintage mixed colors ornaments

Vintage Mercury Glass Beads

Shara, who recently moved to Arizona turned me on to Mercury Glass beads. These were in the garage with the other Christmas ornaments. The pink are my favorite. I may be hanging those up on my aluminum Christmas tree.

Did you thrift this weekend? The year is coming to a close and the sales are definitely winding up for the year in our area. I'm crossing my fingers that there will be at least a few sales next weekend.

Make Share - Crafting Deer

  Buck (before) purchased from estate sale for $3

Has the Deer craze got a hold of you yet? Every direction I turn this Christmas I am seeing deer and antlers. And I must confess I am starting to feel drawn to them. Head over heels. I'm so utterly gullible. Even Martha has joined the trend with her Woodland Park Collection. Last Friday I purchased the little bronze buck at an estate sale. After bringing him home my resistance to the deer craze was hopeless. I was hooked and headed to the craft room.

Buck (After)

Cathe Holden turned me onto Sterling Silver Spray Paint after I saw this photo of hers. Now I'm spraying everything that isn't nailed down.

Deer on Christmas Mantel

Felt Deer

I found a silhouette of a deer in a magazine, enlarged it on my printer and used it for the felt deer and paper deer project. I reversed it on the felt deer so that it would be the same but facing a different direction. 

It was the first time that I had felted on burlap. It was so different than working on a wool base but I actually found it quite easy. The burlap was a thrifted napkin 25¢, the embroidery hoop was 25¢ from the Legacy Thrift Store and the wool was a gift from Dave for my birthday.

     Paper Deer Silhoette on Canvas

My last deer project was using the same silhouette and tracing around it on a bit of text from a damaged book that I use for various projects. I was planning to paint the canvas (50¢ yard sale) but couldn't locate my paints anywhere.  I found a bit of scrapbook paper and used that for the background instead.

I did all three crafts in one day and it probably took me an hour and thirty minutes to complete them all. My head is spinning with other Deer craft ideas. Do you have any to share or suggest?

Have you been crafting and want to take part in Make Share? It's very similar to Thrift Share where I begin a post with sharing something that I made and you all get to finish the post by linking up and sharing what you have made. There's a few guidelines -

• at least one item used in your project should to be 2nd hand.
• Link your Make Share post back to ATG.
• Post a Make Share item that you made on your blog or website.
• Link to your individual post on the item that you made using inlinkz below.
• If you participate with Make Share regularly, I'd love it if you'd add this button to your side bar

Thrift TV - Let's Brainstorm

My head is spinning with so many TV shows focusing on our favorite topic: Thrifting.

Yes, they do have different names like American Pickers and Auction Hunters but it all comes down to the same idea. Someone has/buys something and sells it for a profit. It's not much different than ATG. I offer advice on how to buy, sell & collect. I just don't get paid their salaries. Well....yet. 

Mike, Frank, Ton, Allen, you & me all share this incredible passion for thrifting, treasure hunting and for some of us; making money by selling what we find.

Why though are so many of these shows focused on MEN and not women? Why do you think this is? Do the producers not think that we can be on our knees in a dirty basement rummaging through boxes? Do they not think we are clever enough to bring a bag with a flashlight, scissors, pepper spray, jeweler's loupe and cash? 

Of course most of here would probably be more interested in a show that focused on women. Not that I don't mind watching Allen or Mike do their thing. I would just like a balance. And okay I confess to be a little tired of enamel signs & oil cans.

Let's do some brainstorming for our Perfect Thrift TV show. The one that should star at least 2 females. Get creative and crazy with your answers. That's the beauty of dreaming.

Would it take place in Thrift Stores?

Would it focus on Collecting as well as Value of items?

Would it focus on going to Estate Sales?

Would it show the bad thrift purchases along with the best?

Would it take place all over the country or in a specific area?

What are your ideas? I'd love to hear them.

Disclaimer: obviously if you truly want your idea to happen, don't share it here but instead create a pitch to make your show a possibility. If you do share your idea here, any of us might be inspired by it. It might even become a feature at ATG!

Now Casting - Flea Market TV Series

Do you dream about being on a tv show to do with Thrifting? Are you a newbie to selling? I've been asked to post this wonderful opportunity from a casting producer for a new TV series about Flea Markets.

Good Luck! xoxo Selena

Star in a Flea Market TV Series!
 
You may never have considered a flea market as the key to your financial stability, or as a way to really raise some good money for your school, church, or organization -- but what if you could make some money on your attic treasures and star on TV at the same time?
 
KPI is a New York-based production company aiming to start a reality television series for a major cable network, starring families and individuals who have treasures locked away in the unknown rooms of their homes and garages.  No matter which coast or state in between you live on, you could join the cast of this show if you've got something interesting to sell!
 
If you're chosen, a real expert in flea market merchandise will come appraise your items and help you "separate your treasure from the trash," according to their press release.  Shooting of the show takes place over 3-4 days right at your doorstep as well as at local flea markets; the next few months (December through March) is when filming is scheduled to happen.
 
Want to be considered as part of the cast?  Email Cara Weissman at cweissman@kpitv.com, describe what you want to sell, how you got it, why you are selling it, where you live and where you would spend the money you would make on the show. Thanks!