Apron Thrift Girl

Mod Sonoma Shop Update

There's a new Mod Sonoma update post if you are curious about what's new in the shop.

You can find it here: Mod Sonoma

I hope that you are having a fabulous Thrifting weekend.

xoxo Selena

Buttons for Sale - SOLD

These are from my own personal collection. They lost their home as I needed the vintage set of drawers that they were living in for another project that I'll share with you very soon. I figure it is time to sell them as I continue to downsize my collections.

I was planning to sell them next fall at the Waldorf Winter Faire but I thought I'd offer them here first in case anyone is interested. I'm asking $25 (SOLD) for all of them plus shipping. I was planning to sell them for $3 each at the Faire so it does include a small discount. If they are light enough to go by airmail (US) I'll ship them for free.

A facebook reader has claimed them. Thank you!

Craft Books SOLD

Craft books for sale

Handmade Hellos
Handmade Soirees
Vintage Style - Cath Kidston (small tear on cover)
Dozens of ways to repurpose a pillowcase
Pretty little pincushions

$30 for all (plus shipping) SOLD Thanks!

Vintage Quilt - SOLD

Vintage quilt for sale. It needs some small repairs but is in overall good condition. Most of it appears hand sewn with some machine stitches on the hem. Looks the perfect size for a double bed. Some light stains.

Asking $25 plus shipping. First one to reply with a commitment to buy. Thanks so much. The Quilt is now sold. Thank you for your interest!

Shop Update - Vintage Ephemera

Ephemera is such a funny word. What it means is basically stuff to do with paper. Dictionary.com says it is to do with short lived paper items such as tickets, notices and pamphlets. They also explain how to pronounce it if you click on the volume button next to the word. It took me forever to pronounce it correctly. Although even when I do many people have never heard of the word and just look at me strangely. It sounds more like something I've contracted than something I collect. Wikipedia tells us that Ephemera is "transitory written and printed matter not intended to be retained or preserved." Which makes sense since my favorite ephemera items are probably things that normal people would have thrown away.

The John Johnson collection of Ephemera is over 1 million pieces and is at the Bodleian Library in Oxford. Johnson considered ephemera to be ""Everything which would ordinarily go into the waste paper basket after use, everything printed which is not actually a book …" 

I have a growing collection of paper bits. I adore paper, love the smell of it and especially love the feel of vintage paper between my fingers. My favorite kind of thrifting adventures include old houses full of boxes of paper that I can sort through and buy.

 

I have put together some Ephemera collections and have added them to my Etsy shop. I have put together 8 packets of hand picked items that I hope you will adore. I have packaged these up in cellophane sleeves and ATG labels in case you wish to give these away for holiday gifts. 

Every pack is different although most of these are on the same theme. Many include a handwritten letter from 1931, a vintage post card, vintage bingo cards and such.

I have a few more collections to add today as well as a some packs of vintage Christmas cards. I can't believe it is already the end of October and Christmas is just two months away. A Northern California Autumn is so deceiving after experiencing 6 years near Seattle. It was 75 degrees this week. At the end of October! How can that be so? This would normally be August weather and certainly not nearly November. And yet I have so much to do. Gifts to make, Gifts to buy (hopefully all on Etsy this year) and gifts to thrift.

La Befana

I'm off to the La Befana Craft Bazaar which starts at 1pm today. I'll be there all day if you want to stop on by. I will also be there tomorrow from 12pm-6pm. It's my first craft fair that I've taken part in and I'm a little nervous. I can handle a yard sale any day but a craft sale with things that I have made or placed together feels a little different. At least if I don't have any sales I can add everything to my Etsy store. I'm a little behind. I basically started preparing on Monday only to be slowed down by Dave catching the flu. the children and I have been eating raw garlic and taking Vitamin C all week. So far so good. Here's a sneak peak of what I plan to sell.

Nest Planners & vintage felt squares
  More planners. I found some Amy Butler papers that I hadn't seen before. I have about 6 of these for sale today and tomorrow.

Vintage children's books.

Vintage book illustrations. I hope to see you there.

Thriftly yours,
~Apron Thrift Girl

back to my nest

With the weather turning chilly here in the pacific northwest, it's really a time to start nesting for winter. I feel it this year more than any other year that I have been here. I find that I naturally start longing for a stocked pantry, stocked freezer and that I want to head back into the kitchen to start cooking. I can't get the craving for pumpkin bread out of my mind. The summer is always the same for us. We get by on simple, refreshing meals. I don't cook a lot in the summer and I don't ever plan any weekly menus. We eat lots of salads, vegetables from the garden and sometimes even a few slices of cold ham. I love this simple way of life that leaves us lots of time for unexpected adventures and walks to the beach.

Now that autumn has arrived and the days are shorter I feel this longing to organize and prepare for the very long winter ahead. While our winters are not filled with snow or freezing weather, the gray and cooling temperatures can last all the way until May with a few teasing days of warmth in between.

Last week I found myself combing the grocery store shelves and buying things on sale. When I find something on sale like my favorite tortilla chips I don't just buy a couple. I buy ten bags which may last us until spring. I buy so many because the sale price is half the cost of their usual price.  With food going up by $1-$2 per items that's a nice savings. Plus these tortilla chips taste incredible with freshly made guacamole. Cerys has started making her own version with far too much lemon juice and salt and I admit that it taste heavenly.

Last week when I wanted to do some random brain storming. You know the kind where you sit in a bay window with a notebook and write down anything that comes to you? I went do do this but I found the notebook I had wasn't good enough for my thoughts. I had to have the right paper and pen otherwise my thoughts would focus on the pen which is silly. I went into my craft room to look for another notebook among my far too large collection of notebooks since I can't resist paper and found my old  organizer planner. I started making these for myself, then for friends and when I did home organizing I would give them to my new clients. I hadn't used mine in months and with lots of guilt, I dusted it off and opened up to the first page. I felt a charge of excitement when I saw all of this organization waiting to happen. I'm one who gets happy when I am making lists, charting out goals and using a monthly calendar. I get a satisfied glow as I get my thoughts down on paper instead of trying to remember all 800 of them in my already clogged memory.

These last two weeks besides filling out my own nest planner I have been making up planners for my Etsy shop. They are not just boring planners but full of color, my little apron girl with her bird, and lots of blank lines to write down your to-do-list, to plan your weekly menus, your grocery list, your shopping list, your friend's contact details and of course your notes list. When I created this planner I wanted it to be a place where you could write anything down which later could be organize into your rolodex or address book. It's supposed to take the place of the zillion notes fluttering around your home. When I print off a postal label on my zebra printer I have the sticker label which I apply to my parcel and I have a piece of plastic sheet that the label stuck to. Lately because I can't find my office notepad, I have been writing notes on these. First of all I can't believe they take pen ink but second of all what a silly thing to write notes on. These are slippery so I keep losing them and then I get them mixed in with ones I should have thrown away. Of course if I knew where Cerys took my rubbish basket I wouldn't have the problem of these even being on my desk. So I need this planner more then anything. I need a safe place to write down everything.

I've also been working on some festive Hallowe'en (my dad taught me to write Hallowe'en like this during 8th grade, the only school year I was taught at home....I can't seem to break out of the habit of adding the apostrophe to the middle of the word although I'm not the only one) aprons for you. I wanted to make an apron for Rachel's swap but I couldn't stop at one. There are five of these waiting in the shop for you. This is my favorite

With aprons, my nest planner and a soon to be filled pantry, I feel that I am somewhat ready for this next season ahead. How are you preparing for fall & winter?