Was at the Antique Society antique mall yesterday afternoon down here in Sebastopol, CA, and this is a multi-dealer mall that I have been coming to since moving to Sonoma County about a year ago. It is not uncommon for shoppers to have dealer’s contacted with questions or to negotiate on pricing. Well today, there were a couple of items in a booth that I have had my eye for the last year and had some questions about the items as well as I wanted to make the dealer an offer on several of the items that I have seen for the last year. I talked to the dealer manning the floor, she took up front to talk to the manager and all I got was “NO”. They refused to contact the dealer. They told me the dealer was 80 years old and didn’t want to be bothered. I came back with the fact that I was interested in multiples of her items and had questions and wanted to make an offer on these items that have been in her booth for over a year now but they refused, refused to call the dealer. Mean while, a group of young ladies standing in the line next to me just got a terrific deal on some furniture as they were able to talk directly to the dealer of another booth. I was really bummed. I mean, if a dealer has items for over a year in their space, wouldn’t they be interested in hearing from a buyer that was interested in many of their items? How can the mall stand in the way of that?

Are you a dealer? Do you have a booth in a antique mall? I would love to hear your thoughts on this? If you have items for over a year in your space, would you want a call from a interested buyer??

I found a neat project for beading a vintage purse.  You can get all the details and instructions HERE

Materials and Tools:

seed beads
nylon thread
wooden loom
satin or other good-quality fabric for lining
beading needle
scissors

Steps:

1. String the loom with nylon thread.

2. Create beaded fabric by stringing the beads onto the loom with the nylon thread.

3. Cut the beaded fabric off the loom, tie off the loose strings and sew the fabric onto the fabric purse lining.

4. Fold the purse over onto itself to create the shape of the purse, and sew the sides shut.

5. Make a strap of any length on the loom, using the same technique used to make the beaded fabric.

6. Sew the strap onto the purse.

Gorgeous weekend here in wine country California and we were out buzzing around running errands and it was while at the local drugstore that I walk past the magazine rack quickly scanning covers and titles when I spot one I had not seen before called “Romantic Prairie Style” premiere issue, and immediately my mind makes the connection that this is a new publication by Fifi O’neil from Romantic Country magazine. I recall Fifi had a recent book out titled ‘Romantic Prairie Style’ but was quite surprised that she was able to start an entire magazine on Romantic Prairie Style.  I purchased the magazine and later that afternoon when at home I was excited to look it over as I wasn’t familiar with what “prairie” style actually is.

If you are familiar with Fifi O’neil’s photo styling then you will be pleased to know that Romantic Prairie Style magazine holds up the standard of beautiful styling and high quality photos. The magazine takes you through the homes and lives of various people (just like Romantic Country magazine) and as I turn the pages, I begin to understand that ‘prairie’ style is actually a mindset where one lives minimally but still comfortably. My summary of what prairie style is, is this “Shabby Chic meets Little House on The Prairie”.   You can also say it is ‘Shabby Chic meets Pioneer Woman’.

So, what exactly is “Shabby Chic meets Little House on The Prairie” or ‘Shabby Chic meets Pioneer Woman’, well let me tell you:  Most everything has that old peeling chipped Mylanta color or ‘toothpaste’ green appearance mixed in with some enamel ware pitchers, dishes., and drying bouquets of picked prairie flowers.

I liked that the magazine did cover a section on ‘Prairie” collectibles and the ‘Prairie Pantry’. My favorite home that is featured is a former horse barn/stable that was converted into a 3,000sqft home done exceptionally well with gorgeous details and furnishings giving off a very exclusive, high-end rustic lodge feel. Gorgeous!!

In a future post I will cover Pioneer Spirit, Traditional Prairie, Romantic Prairie, Vintage Prairie and Elegant Prairie. Yep, I had no idea there were so many classifications to “Prairie” styleJ

Have any of you read the new Romantic Prairie Style magazine? What do you think about? I would love to hear from you.   

With even more changes effecting Sellers coming to eBay, I did find a section on the eBay website I didn’t know about before called “eBay Stories” and there are some good and motivating stories there from ‘regular sellers’ that are featured. I thought this was a pretty good article as there are still lots of folks that haven’t heard of Pinterest nor are “pinners’ so this article here for using Pinterest & eBay will explain a lot. I do also suppose it could apply to Etsy

Some new cuties to share!! The past few weeks I have been coming across some really great items and in down here in California the weather has ben amazing (we will have a heat wave this weekend and up to 90 degrees) so that means lots of sales on weekends. I stopped at a couple sales late this afternoon and thought for sure there would be ‘nothing good’ left but to my surprise I found these vintage 1950s pink poodle sugar and creamer set that was most likely made by Napco or Lefton. I am a sucker for anything poodle related and the fact that these are pink couldn’t have been more meant-to-be for me!! The next and final stop I made was to a going-out-of-business thrift shop sale and it turns out the shop lost its lease. I didn’t see much on the racks or shelves but behind the register was a small cabinet and I could see it had some bathing beauty figures that I nearly missed as someone from the staff had a large framed poster leaning on the cabinet (I guess other shoppers didn’t notice the cabinet)  so to my good fortune I was able to score 3 vintage German bathing beauties; two are boxes with the figurines on top and I think at some point they must have had umbrellas as the way their hands are formed it looks like an umbrella should be held. The on figure is lovely and really nice quality and she is well decorated as her face if very detailed and she has a headband along with a playfully puppy dog. I am really excited about my finds today!!

This week’s treasures are very unique. We were antiquing in grand old bank that had been converted into a antiques shop complete with marble flooring and ornate ceiling and the vault area was just as decorated and found these lovely little treasures. The Art Deco bathing beauty is gorgeous and she has so much incredible detailing. The fact that she retains her original mohair wig and is decorated with pale blue stockings makes her that much more unique. We found the fun Min-Century Eames Era Holt Howard Cozy Kittens ashtray that actually squeaks/meows when the black nob is pushed. Also, the little vintage Sea Horse perfume bottle is so sweet. The stopper is very detailed and ornate. I just love all these little treasures. Please visit us Crazy4Me Ebay

The hot collectible these days are the Starbucks City Coffee Mugs. The first City collection was introduced in 1995 and was the ‘Icon Series’ followed by the ‘Collage Series’ and then the ‘Skyline Series’. Now there is the jumbo-sized ‘City Mugs Series’.

My research as of the writing of this article discovered a auction back in 2010 where a rare 1994 Starbucks City Mug Minneapolis St. Paul, sold for $1,500. It is also rumored that one sold prior for $2,000. In 2004 a woman paid upwards of $1,000 for one of the Starbucks City mugs. In 2009 eBay auction a 1994 New Orleans 20 oz. mug that displayed a Bourbon Street sign sold for over $528.00 and in another auction another mug of the same city sold for over $800! As of the writing of this article, there is a 1994 New Orleans Starbucks City Mug on eBay for $645.00.

The first version of the Starbucks Coffee Istanbul mug is pretty rare and hard to find and is really neat as it has a depiction of the Evil Eye on the mug and the Evil Eye is a common symbol amongst the countries in the Middle East and Mediterranean. There is an Istanbul mug on eBay right now for $499.00! Starbucks Barcelona 1994 Series Prototype City Mug on eBay for $499.00. This particular Barcelona mug is rare and collectible because it was a prototype at only 14oz. rather than the typical 16oz. and the bottom of this mug is blank.

Another collectible mug right now is the Starbucks City Mug – Lisboa/Lisbon Portugal and on eBay it is currently $499 and has bids, wonder how high it will go!

If you have been collecting the Starbucks City Mugs your collection at auction can net you some amazingly high dollars! Right now on eBay there is a listing for ‘48 Starbucks Skyline Series City Mugs Made in 2000’ and the current price is $10,000 and includes all these mugs: Alaska, Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Calgary w/ inscription, Canada, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Headquarters, Honolulu, Houston, Indianapolis, Lake Tahoe, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, Montreal, Napa Valley, New Orleans, New York w/ large logo, Niagara Falls, Palm Springs, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pike Place Market w/ inscription, Pittsburgh, Portland, Raleigh, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco w/ large logo, Seattle w/ sea plane, St. Louis, St. Paul, Tampa, Toronto w/ & w/out inscription, Vancouver w/ inscription, Victoria w/ inscription, Washington D.C.

In short, your Starbucks mugs can worth a lot of money so don’t throw them out or get rid of them. Do a little research to determine the value and keep them safe from damage and stains. You could be collecting your way to Big Bucks!!

Pics from:

http://purplehazenz.tripod.com/
http://www.mymetrophoto.com/archives/3806
http://custommugs.pro/starbucks-city-mug-collection/
http://starbuckscitymugs.wordpress.com/
http://chickyjava.blogspot.com/2011/01/starbucks-mugs-from-around-world.html

Usually my posts here are related to vintage, antique and collectibles but today I came across these fun and different ideas for the usual coloring of Easter eggs. These Easter eggs are based on  the wildly popular Angry Birds game (the Angry Birds game is super cool on the iPad) and the much loved Super Mario Bros. So, get your families together and start making these Angry Birds Easter Eggs and Super MarioBros. Easter Eggs as Easter is nearly here!!

Some fun weekend finds to share. After the huge disappointment of not winning the biggest Megamillions lotto jackpot last night, the only way to get my spirits up was some antique shopping.  It has been raining for over a week here in lovely Sonoma County wine country California so not much competition out this morning at a local estate sale and we were able to score over 5 great finds!! We found  2 vintage embroidered bluebird kitchen towels “Friday” and “Saturday”, the remaining 5 days of the week were no where to be found but I just thought these two were so sweet. I also found an adorable vintage table runner with an embroidered puppy dog popping out of a box. I also stumbled upon a old English Majolica plate that has amazing colors along with a pair of vintage Norcrest bluebird salt and pepper shakers with rhinestone eyes and a pair of vintage Christmas Cowboy Western Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus shakers…I have actually been searching for a pair for my own collection for a long time and am really thrilled to have come across these!!

You an always visit us at Crazy4me Ebay and Crazy4Me Etsy.

I am seeing more and more kitchen tins and related collectibles these days and many are so colorful and have so much nostalgia and charm. Displaying vintage kitchen tins can be grouped by types of tins like spices or coffee or grouped by colors like red and yellow. These vintage tins are generally easy to find at your local antique shop and flea markets and collectibles fairs. Remember, check that the paper labels are intact, boxes still retain their forms and that many items may still contain the original contents. These vintage tins are sure to brighten your kitchen!!