Feels Like Spring!

Today, I saw a Scissortail Flycatcher fluttering overhead as I sat waiting for the light to change in the intersection. It's one of those friendlier harbingers of spring here in central Oklahoma (the unfriendly one being severe weather and tornadoes). It's hard to believe it's that time of year already!

There are other reminders of spring around here, including my flowering plum tree, which looked like a giant ball of pink flowers until about a week ago. It was the model for my hand-embroidered wall art.

 The sun is already shining brighter than it was before, but the air is still cool and crisp, especially on a rainy day like today. It's sort of like the colors in this scarf.

Can you feel that breath of fresh air just looking at this picture?









However, when the sun does come out, it seems like the whole world is adorned in shades of white, yellow, and green. Sort of like this cheery 70s Mod plaque!



As for me, I've been spring cleaning around my house these past two months, and it feels so much better! I don't know how I have managed to accumulate so much clutter, but I certainly have. It can catch up with you and overwhelm you. I'm working on being a little more "house proud."

The first step has been to declutter. I have gotten rid of tons of paper I don't need any more (magazines from years ago, old records that I needed to shred, and clippings I just don't need to save). In the process, I found that a lot of what I have lying around is connected to negative or stress-inducing memories. I'm clearing that out, too. It's almost like an emotional spring cleaning!  I didn't expect the feeling of freedom to be so instantaneous. If you feel your house pressing in around you, maybe you should try it.

The second step, coming soon, will be to update my furnishings and surroundings. It feels so good to dream! It must be spring.

Oldies but Goodies: Vintage (1800s) Edition

I've been gone a lot these past few weekends, mostly for work, but this weekend I traveled across my home state with friends to see the Honey Creek battlefield, the site of a major Civil War conflict that decided my home state's position as a Union-held territory in the war.  Most of the photos I took of the place are the "you had to be there" kind, but I had one I thought I'd share.

This was a group of Civil War reenactors who fired a cannon and marched around us into the parking lot at the dedication ceremony for the museum that is being built. I failed to get a picture of the cannon going off, but it is an experience you should have at least once in your life.

The important take-away from that place is a tangible connection to the past. I walked where soldiers stood 151 years ago and I saw where the battle lines were once drawn. It is a part of this world that we shouldn't forget.

That's what vintage collecting is all about---keeping a connection to the past.

Everything I have curated in my stores is a connection like that.  I don't have anything from the era of the Civil War (I imagine artifacts like that rarely end up in estate sales, anyway), but I have a couple that are much older than the rest. 

This rose gold stamped brooch actually did come to me from an estate sale. I picked it out because the pin back just looked old to me and the color was unusual. After consulting with some vintage jewelry experts, I now know it dates to approximately the 1880s or 1890s. I sometimes find myself wondering what dress this pin once accessorized.

This miniature dry sink may also date to the very late 1800s, but I've conservatively dated it to the 1910s or 1920s. It hearkens back to the time when there was no indoor running water and all "washing up" had to be done in a washbasin with water that had been brought indoors. Of course, this is the tiny version of a normal American dry sink. It either served as a salesman's sample or as a "mommy and me" child's toy.

I've only had one other true Victorian piece in my store, although it has since sold. If you want to know the story of the doll chamber pot, here is the link to my earlier blog post:

A Little Off-Color Humor Here...Don't Mind Me

Do you have something in your home or family that connects you to the distant past? I'd love to hear about it in the comments.

I'm Writing Just to Say Hello...

Although social letter writing has declined in recent years, it is still a special thing to dig through a pile of envelopes addressed to "current resident" and find one personally written to you!  It is still a fairly inexpensive bit of fun in a world where cheap, clean fun is a rare commodity, and there is a certain rawness and genuineness to the handwritten note that you can't find in emails and texts.

If you are thinking of taking up letter writing in 2014, I have vintage stationery you can use, covering every topic from birthdays and special congratulations to thinking of you cards and get well soon notes.

Here are some cute cards, mostly birthday themed, for the girlie girls you might know. These are from the 60s or 70s.

This set has a lot more variety of messages, including "thinking of you" type cards. They aren't officially marked as such, but they definitely are inspired by the Holly Hobbie art style of the 70s and 80s. Find them here.

For the more grownup recipients, here are some backyard bird cards you might enjoy.

 The bird portrayed on this set of block print cards is a North American Loon, and these cards are blank inside, so you can figure out what you want to say with them. These are hand-printed cards by famous artist Gwen Frostic. They are still wrapped up in their original packaging, with matching envelopes.

Write home to wish Mama a happy birthday with this set of 5 floral birthday cards from the 50s, 60s, and early 70s. They would also make a pretty cool shadow box display.

Finally, if you're really interested in letter writing the old-fashioned way, I have a cool set of 50s/60s era bamboo dip pens you can use. Just buy an inexpensive pot of ink at your local craft store and dip away. It's fun!



I have quite a few sets of vintage stationery not represented here, but you can find them by following the links throughout this post!

Bonus:  

Here is an interesting link from the Smithsonian National Postal Museum about the history of letter writing in the United States.

Vintage Haul at the End of October

I recently thumbed through my unlisted vintage merchandise, and realized that I needed a little variety for the next few months...so I went vintage shopping!

Here is a preview of my "haul." I don't usually post things like this. Between working 3 jobs and finding boxes to ship things in, I can sometimes seem tediously slow about getting things listed and available to customers (sorry). However, if you see something in this post that you really, really want for Christmas, go ahead and lay on the pressure. The squeakiest wheel gets the grease around here.

I decided to break from my pattern and share with you today, because I think I found some pretty awesome things. I hope you'll agree!

Here's pretty much the whole "take" for the past two weeks. There were a couple of other things I had to leave out because they wouldn't fit in the photo or they had already been listed, but I'll share them at the end of the post.

The eras range pretty wildly here, from the turn of the century to the 80s, but I tend to gravitate toward things that predate the 80s.

The most intriguing thing is the little dry sink on the left side of the picture. Early research indicates that it is a salesman's sample or child-sized piece of furniture. It has a working drawer and a large compartment in the bottom behind the two doors, with a swivel latch to keep it closed. The knobs are made of milk glass. I think it may be the oldest thing I brought home. Specimens like it seem to date to the turn of the century or maybe the 20s. I think I've seen something like this on Antiques Roadshow before.

The other piece of furniture you see is a small house-shaped curio shelf. I have sold two other curio shelves over the years, including one really large house-shaped shelf. They are popular for the miniature collectors especially, since the slots could almost serve as "rooms" to display tiny furniture and dolls. Of course, you don't have to limit yourself to that if you have another collection you'd like to display.  I think this is probably from the 80s. I filled it with the jewelry I picked up recently.

There were two "looper looms" from the 60s or 70s that I bought just for the nostalgia of the things. Everything from the packaging to the instructions is super retro and might bring back some childhood memories. I owned a later version of these when I was young, but mine was all plastic and the hook broke (these have metal parts).

Last weekend, I picked up a couple of beautiful teacups from a lady whose mother had collected them for years. I haven't done enough research yet to be able to estimate age yet. They have labels, though, and that will help me learn more about them. I should be able to list them soon.

The plate next to them is a souvenir plate from Germany, showing a map of the Rhineland. I don't know much about that one either, but it seems to be Bavarian, based on the china markings on the back.

I'm sure you've noticed the large numbers of unused vintage cards on the table. These all came from one old stationery box I picked up. It was like opening a time capsule; the cards on the top came from the 70s, and as I removed the layers, I got down to several that look like they came from the 40s and 50s. Some had not even been folded in half yet, like the 50s-era Christmas cards in this photo.

I also found a clear plastic sewing box (shown in the back), several small pieces of 70s-80s jewelry, and two men's skinny ties from the 50s. One of the ties is embroidered with pine trees and parachutes. There must be a story there! The other tie is a sharp looking red and black geometric number. There was also a 70s-era Berrie figurine and a large Christmas metal platter with a 60s/early 70s Santa and Mrs. Claus that I just had to bring it home! Sorry, I forgot to get closeups of some of these.

Finally, I found three intriguing works of art I thought my customers might like (or at least I found them interesting). One is a galleried print of a pink flower, with a limited edition number and the artist's signature on the front and on the back. It looks a bit like a linocut to me, but it would have to be made from four different blocks that had been inked separately and fitted together like puzzle pieces. I though the colors and textures were simple but striking, so I picked it up. It may or may not be vintage (it depends on what I'm able to find out about it).

The other two are a really rocker-looking heart shaped set of prints, which seem to almost move as you look at them, due to some funny tricks with the color registration (how the colors line up). They are both four-color prints, and they have completely illegible artist signatures. They seem to be inspired by the work of Andy Warhol, but I don't think he made them (the signature does not match what I was able to find online). I have not removed them from the frames to figure out what kind of prints they are. If you recognize these artists, I'd love to hear from you!

Well, I've spent enough time bragging about my "haul," so I'm going to sign off and go find some boxes. :)

What piqued your interest the most? What would you like to see listed first?  Of course, what can you tell me about the things I have here?  I'd love to hear from you!

Not Too Spooky!

Hey everyone! Long time, no see, right? I've been really busy stocking the shops and training for my new part-time job, but I thought that I should spend some time today updating you about what is going on at Candy Apple Crafts these days.

Since fall is technically here (it doesn't feel much like it, though), I've been trying to get as much fall and winter themed vintage up in the shops as I possibly can. This is a good time to start shopping for the holidays, and preparing for the cold months.

Etsy has the best selection of Halloween themed items in my vintage collection. I have a children's animal costume pattern (for a very young child) from the 70s. It's itty-bitty, which means the finished costume would be absolutely adorable!  I also have a rather spooky piece of medical equipment from the 1910s, designed to frighten away your nasal drip problem. It is still in the box, for display only, and probably was never used.  I also have a set of ceramic owl face macrame beads (you can use them with crochet or on a stuffed toy, I'm sure), and a few other things. I hope you'll stop by!

I also took the time to make a couple of not-so-spooky Halloween monster figurines. These will probably end up being "one offs," which means one-of-a-kind items. The first is a furry-toed monster pigeon. This idea came from a random search that came in to my Etsy store, under the keywords, "Furry-toed monster." I decided I would make something for anyone else who came to my store looking for that. So, eventually, it turned into this clawed and scaled monster pigeon....don't ask me why. 

Basically, this is just me letting my imagination and my crafting scissors go wild! Don't worry. The claws look sharp, but they are very flexible plastic.

This furry-toed monster figurine can stand up on its own, but I'm pretty sure it would not hold up under rough child's play.

So, after I had so much fun making that one, I decided to make something a little more in keeping with the retro monster movies theme.  You all know how much I enjoy retro things!  Since I don't take myself too seriously around here, I chose to reference the movie that makes fun of monster movies--Attack of the Killer Tomatoes!

Mine looks rather convincingly like a tomato on the back (and I'm pretty proud of myself for that), but it has a comically menacing expression on its face. It's all cartoon and no bite!

Mine is only an unofficial movie reference, since we all know the real Killer Tomatoes wear better disguises! You can disarm mine by playing the worst pop music you can think of.

To the person who just got my movie reference, you get 20 points. High five!

If you have any questions or special requests for this time of year, now is the best time to ask! Leave a comment and I will respond right away.

Spring Cleaning...More for Shoppers

It's that time of year again, when people take stock of what they want to accomplish during the summer months, and declutter, reorganize, and redecorate their spaces.

I've been going through my vintage stock and my craft room and making a lot of plans for some changes in my stores--the first being a plan to dramatically increase my inventory in all of my stores by the end of the summer.

I was recently inspired by an article someone sent me to read, that spoke of turning loose of craft supplies that I'm not using, so that someone else can enjoy them.  I'm one of those people who tries a lot of different kinds of crafts, but sometimes gives up on them after I've bought the supplies.  Yeah, I bet a lot of people are thinking, "I must be that kind of person, too."  Not a problem! Now you know you're normal, right?

Anyway, once I've bought the supplies, I feel guilty about quitting. I end up hanging on to them, when I could be making another crafter happy instead. In order to keep good stuff from languishing any longer, I've gathered some of it up and I've started listing it, today. It seemed like a good time, since people will likely be thinking ahead to "Christmas in July" craft bazaar sales and craft shows during the summer, and they might even be stocking up for projects for the holidays.  If you do those sorts of things, stop by. I've already got a bit of crochet and embroidery stock available in my Etsy store.

Taking stock of my craft supplies caused me to rediscover my jewelry making supplies, and I've made several pieces of jewelry this week.  I'm listing what I've made on Artfire.  Hope you'll take a look.  It's a small selection, so far, but I am adding more to the store as I go.

Reorganizing my craft area made me think about how many other great vintage things I have, but have not listed yet.  Recent customers have told me how they had combed the internet for days until they finally discovered what I had. It is time to make those treasures available to all of you! I've listed vintage glass and pottery, and even some cool home decor like this music box, which plays the "Laura" theme song from Dr. Zhivago while the flowers rotate under the glass dome. If you are looking for something specifically, I hope you'll let me know. The worst I could tell you is "no, I don't have it."  I won't be mean about it.

So, do you have the spring cleaning bug this time of year? If so, please share tips. I'd love to read them!

A One-Eyed, One-Horned, Flying Purple People Eater

I've been trying to step up my game when it comes to pom pom creatures and the like.  A couple of days ago, Mom started humming the Sheb Wooley tune about a Purple People Eater, and she suggested I make the creature.  I polled my facebook audience, who gave me the green light, and this is what I came up with!

 Here he is, in progress. You can see some washers on my worktable. I had to glue some inside the feet to keep him from falling over.  The holes in his clarinet like horn are drawn with paint, and I decided to put them on both sides of the horn, so you can see them from the back as well. After all, it's an alien!

You can also see uncut felt which I used in the project, a failed purple horn (the white shows up much better in my opinion), and just over my hand there is a messed-up poodle on the table, which I keep there to cheer me on, I suppose. :)

Don't worry. According to this song, the purple people eater is just here to play music on tv.  He only eats purple people, anyway, so I'm pretty sure you are safe!

I only made the one purple people eater (or at least my best representation of the song lyrics), and I put him here, in my Etsy shop.  You can go there to see more pictures of him, if you'd like!

 Meanwhile, here's the original artist, singing the song to a puppet (I can't see the puppet very well, though), way back in 1958.

Enjoy the 50s nostalgia!

Walrus Says Hello

I got overtaken by life events and my other work this past month, and forgot all about updating this blog.  So sorry about that!

In the meantime, I've dreamed up several new furry creatures, but only one has been listed, so far--the lime green walrus. Think I should make him available in other colors? Someone also suggested I make a top hat version.

I've been fitting my crafting exploits into the evenings, in front of the television, but I'm rearranging my schedule, now, to see if I can improve things. It's not good to neglect my customers!

Over the past month, I've been listing lots of scarves in a wide variety of colors.  Some have been dry-clean only, but I've tried to include easy-care scarves that can be hand or machine washed, as well.  Today I listed a decorative metal tin that was made in Germany, in the Cold War era (it is marked "Made in West Germany").

If you are shopping for Father's Day, stop by either store and see what I've got.  If you are looking for something in particular, let me know. I would be happy to help in any way I can, either by listing the thing you need (if I have it), or by pointing you in the direction of someone I know who sells it.

So, for a parting question, what's your favorite memory of time spent with your dad? Leave me a story in the comments section!

Pinterest and Procrastination

Well, I've been busy around here and thought I'd drop in for an update. I just mailed my first vintage scarf to France, and I'm thinking about opening up a few more things for France, such as my poodles.

I made a prototype the other day. It looked kinda like a snake that had swallowed a bunch of softballs. It was supposed to be a bookworm, lol. I gave up on it and haven't made myself get back in the saddle this week. I'm tagging this post "philosophy of crafting" because I think that is my philosophy in practice: Try really hard, give up for awhile, and try really hard again.

The shops don't always show a lot of new activity where the public can see it, but I do check them constantly and do a lot of tweaking behind the scenes. For instance, you might not have noticed yet, but I've been brightening a lot of old pictures and adding watermarks to try to increase my advertising through Google images. It appears that image searches are driving a lot of traffic to my Artfire shop right now. For instance, I fixed up this picture of "Leaf o'Gold" dishes from Taylor Smith and Taylor (they're from the 50s).

I also spend my days writing a novel; blogging (unfortunately not enough on this blog); visiting with others, including my dog; enjoying the pretty flowers in my yard; and cooking.  Yup, it's boring stuff for a blog post, but that's my life.

Oh, and I'm also wasting plenty of time on Pinterest now. Are you? If you are, just look up my store name to find my Pinterest boards. I've been posting a lot of vintage inspiration there, such as travel posters and nostalgia from the 30s, 40s, and 50s.  You might like it!

Well, that's enough for now. I'm off to check the photos I took earlier so I can get five new vintage scarves ready for listing. Hope you love them!

The Pom Pom Menagerie Contest

I realize I haven't been back here in awhile, so I thought I'd pop in and say hello.  To update you, the package described in the last post arrived safe and sound, and as far as I know, with no signs of an elephant having roughed it up.

Speaking of elephants, I want to introduce you to my latest creation, a purple elephant! She is made with dark purple pom poms, felt, and a lot of magical secrets.  Hey, an artist has to keep some mystery in her work, you know. ;)

I hope you love her.  Here is the link so you can check out other pictures of this one, and read the description in detail.  If you'd like to see it in other colors, please comment on this post with color suggestions, or send me a convo through the Etsy messaging system!

Your suggestions are always taken seriously, even if you are asking for a Woolly Mammoth (which I can totally make!).

Speaking of suggestions, I posed this question on my Facebook fanpage yesterday, but in case you missed it, I'm also asking it here:
What kind of animal would you like me to make next?

So far, I've made every color of poodle, including a lime green one which would be good for decorating for St. Patrick's Day (coming up soon, folks), white mice in Victorian outfits, and a red spotted mushroom. Okay, that last one wasn't an animal, but it sure is trendy!  As the list demonstrates, I tend to work mostly in pom poms and felt.

I've given it some thought, and decided to make this fun. Let's make it a contest!

• If you've got a suggestion, please like my Facebook page and leave me a comment.  If I use your suggestion, I will message you for your address, and mail it to you.
• You can also enter by following me on Twitter, and tweeting your ideas by tagging @CandyApplCrafts and #MenagerieContest. I will check to see if you are following me before making a selection.
• Entries in the comments section here on the blog will not be counted. Entries by email will also not be counted.
• This contest only runs until 10 p.m. US Central Time, March 3, 2012. Get your suggestions in before the deadline to be considered.  After I get all the entries, I will sort through them and make a selection.
• The winning idea will be announced on March 10, 2012. I will make the project and announce it here on my blog, and on Facebook and Twitter as well.
• Only one entry per day on Facebook and Twitter.  You can make one entry on each of these two platforms in one day, but two or more entries in one day on either site will disqualify you. I don't want to get in trouble with either social media site for spamming.
• If the winner does not contact me with his or her address by March 13, that winner will be disqualified. I will then select another idea, make it, and announce a new winner by March 17, 2012.
• If no one makes a suggestion, I will be sad, but I'll get over it. If only one person makes a suggestion, that person will win by default.
• No purchase is necessary to win. Buying from me is certainly welcome, but it will not increase your chances of winning this contest.

I'm looking forward to hearing from you!

Funny Thing Happened at the Post Office Today

Earlier today, I got the notification that I had sold this vintage knitting bag. (Sorry, folks, this was the last one I had).

So, my normal practice when listing big, hard-to-package items like this is to hold them back until I find a box that will fit them nicely, in case I have to ship them out right away.

Well, apparently during the Christmas season I forgot this practice for one item. One item!  It was enough to create a domino effect, though. I ended up having to steal the box this knitting basket had been sitting in, so I could ship that other thing. That left me without a box for this beauty.

So when I got the notification, I looked around my huge box stash to find one.  Mind you, I have a stockpile of giant boxes that hundreds of bored children could lovingly transform into playhouses, box cars, boats, and airplanes.  Out of this huge pile, I managed to find one I'd purchased at a local box store, which happened to be called a "mirror box."

For those who have never dealt with those, you should know it's a narrow, vertical box with giant black billboard lettering on the sides that says "Fragile. Glass. This End Up."  In my haste, since the post office was closing in 15 minutes, I packed the box and ran out the door without using my trusty sharpie to scratch through these markings.

Now, this haste wouldn't have been necessary if it was any regular sized-box, but this was a huge one.  Most post offices have a drop-off bin near the post office boxes that is accessible even when the check out counter is not.  However, there is frequently some person who tries to shove a box that is too big into this bin, and jams the door shut.  If you've ever used this bin, you may know what I mean. I sure hope you aren't the person who keeps jamming it shut.  If you are, please stop.

Anyway, I didn't want to be the drop-bin-jammer-person today, so I had to get it there, fast, and turn it over to the postal workers at the check out counter.  So, picture me driving down the road (obeying all the traffic laws, mind you) with a giant "Fragile, Glass" box sitting in the seat next to me like a grouchy passenger, and you know what rush hour traffic was like for me today.

I got to the post office and fumbled my way into the inside office, through two glass doors that are not automatic. Ahead of me in the line was a lady mailing preserved bones, as her double armload of small boxes, and child-sized plastic shipping bin proudly stated.  Animal or human?  I was afraid to ask. Just another weird tidbit there...

My box already had postage on it, so all I had to do was drop it off.

And....drop it I did!

I bet I gave everyone in the line a minor heart attack. I was reaching to hand my giant box to the clerk, the massive black lettering screaming to everyone, "I'm fragile! Look at me!" when the lower corner caught on the desk and knocked it out of my hands. It fell and bounced several times (by the way, sustaining no damage whatsoever, since I pack with 2 inches of padding around the item on all sides so an elephant can step on it without leaving a dent), and I think I could have heard a pin drop in that crowded room.

"No, it's not glass! NOT FRAGILE. It's okay. That's just something marked on the box," I told the clerk loudly so everyone could hear.  After another awkward second, talking resumed again in the line.  I walked out of that post office laughing at myself, and decided I should share it with you.

It's rough, shipping these huge packages, huh?  I'm sure it isn't rough getting them. I'm confident my customer is going to be happy to receive this brightly-colored beauty in the mail, and that's why I'm in the business.

What's your weirdest post office moment in recent memory? Leave me a comment telling all about it. I'd love to hear from you!

Announcing: Room to Create Sale

JcPenny's recently announced that they are tired of sending out circulars and running constant coupon sales, so they have decided to lower their baseline price on everything in their stores and have done with it.  Taking a page from their book, I'm having a vintage sale in my stores, but there won't be any coupon codes to enter or anything like that.

Why am I doing this? Frankly, my house is not a warehouse, and it's getting a little crowded in here. I need some room to create. I need some more storage space.  My pom pom collection is multiplying like Star Trek tribbles.  Yeah.  All of that.

On Etsy, vintage prices have already been significantly reduced.  On Artfire, expect the rollout to be more gradual, since I have 243 items (as of writing this) to adjust, and that is taking awhile.

Now, for two very important things shoppers might want to know:

• Please note that I have small, lightweight items marked with free (to the US) or very reduced (to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK) secondary shipping.  This is the shipping charged for the second thing if you buy two.  I wish it were possible to note on the items themselves that for many of them, I could probably manage to fit three or more of such items in the same package without raising the shipping price more than a penny or two. Maybe not at all (weight-metered mail is silly this way).  However, if you bought 3 or more, the checkout process on the site would probably automatically overcharge you on shipping. If you'd like to buy an armload of something, please contact me and I can bundle the items and get you an accurate (not an estimated) shipping price. If the order is big enough, I might even give you an extra discount on the items, just to say thank you. You might be amazed about how much I can save you this way.
• All shipping prices reflect US postal service rates, plus about $0.60 for the cost of the box and the packing around your items, and a few drops of gasoline that get used up to take your box to the post office.  If you think they are too high, please, please write your Congressman or the Postmaster General and beg on behalf of online retailers for something about this to change.

If you read this blog and decide to buy from me, I will throw a small party in your honor. Unfortunately, you won't be able to personally attend. ;)  I can promise you that I will dance and sing your package all the way to the post office for you, and when you get it and open it, I hope you will start dancing and singing for joy as well.

Thank you, as always, for being a fan of CandyAppleCrafts and Sweet Old Things!  Please visit again soon.

Vintage Has History: The Story of a Painting

Some time ago, I picked up a small vintage painting from a thrift store.  It was another one of those things that peaks my curiosity.  I always wonder what the object is and where it has traveled before I found it.  This one had one of the more unusual histories.  It was a tiny vintage painting--not a print.  The piece was hand-painted on a piece of recycled wood or particle board, and mounted by hand into a tiny vintage frame.  It bore a tantalizingly obscure signature, "Tootie," and a date, '74.

The subject matter was also intriguing.  There was a crude little footbridge with a wooded backdrop.  The scene appeared to be fall, yet many of the trees were green and visibly pointed.  Where could this place possibly be?  I imagined that if it was a setting in Oklahoma, it had to be in far southeastern Oklahoma, where there are more tall and pointed evergreen trees.

Well, boy was I wrong!  I listed this picture and months later, it sold to a lady in a state far away.  Then, a couple of days later, I received an email from my buyer, sharing with me a hint of the amazing story behind this little painting!

It turns out that "Tootie" was actually her grandmother, and this painting was created in Washington state, where her grandmother lived and worked.  Although her grandmother always signed her work "Tootie," her real name was Maxine Ardis (Hodney) Tarabochia.  She was a painter and a pen and ink artist.  The buyer had seen only a few of her grandmother's pieces, because her mother had moved several states away early in life, but now she is trying to collect her grandmother's work again.

That's where I come in.  Who knew that the little painting I brought home from a vintage store in central Oklahoma had traveled all the way from Washington!  Pretty cool, huh?  My guess is that this painting was donated from the estate of a local art collector.  It is possible that some family members didn't realize what they had.

I am glad that I went with my instincts and optimized the description for those searching for that artist specifically.  My buyer has been combing the internet for this work, so I'm sure she was able to find me in a Google or other search engine query.

One parting question, as requested by my buyer.  If you own any pieces signed "Tootie" and would be willing to part with them, please contact me and I can pass your information on to her.  Thanks!

Vintage TV Shows, Part 3 Sanford and Son

Lamont and Fred (image http://epguides.com/SanfordandSon/)

One of my local television networks recently started broadcasting reruns of the television show Sanford and Son.  In case you have never seen the show, it is about an old man and his son, Fred and Lamont Sanford, and their vintage/ junk selling business.  The main stage set, the living room, is loaded with vintage goodies of all eras, and the subject matter really hits home with me.

I sell vintage, and I see the charm of it.  Like the show illustrates, even vintage selling is hard work, but old things have beauty and value.  That seems to be reflected in the relationship of father and son in the show.  Besides that, I think it's hilarious!

I am addicted to watching Sanford and Son now.  From the "name that vintage prop" game that I tend to play when watching the show (for instance, recognizing LuRay dishes in one scene or California pottery in another), to the extreme situations the characters find themselves in, I am soaking this up.

In honor of the show, I finally put together a collection on Artfire of things that reminded me of the television series.  If you are a fan of the show, or just like vintage selling, laugh with me!

Sanford and Sons, A Tribute Collection. ...

Curated By: CandyAppleCra...

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