Pictures of Thrift Store Finds

As promised, here are some pictures of the latest finds. Unfortunately while cleaning and inspecting the dragonware tea set, I discovered that one of the saucers had been repaired. So now I will sell the set with 4 cups and saucers, instead of 6, because I think that if I sold it with 5 it would seem incomplete?!

Exciting Thrift Store Finds

On Saturdays, I usually do laundry and clean the house in the morning. This Saturday, I really did not feel like it at all and when my friend Judy texted me and asked me if I wanted to go thrifing, I was happy to be able to escape my chores.
And it was a good thing I went, because I found the most beautiful teaset. It is a dragonware tea set, with a geisha lithophane on the bottom of each cup. The set has 6 cups and saucers, one tea pot, one creamer, one sugar bowl, and six luncheon plates and so far all of them seem to be in great condition.
I will give them a closer examination tomorrow, and I will also take some pictures and post them.
I also found 3 Royal Halsey tea cups in equally great condition. Pictures coming soon, too. Boosted by my success yesterday, I decided to stop by our nearest Savers today, and found 4 Otagiri goblets in the Horizon pattern, one Otagiri sugar bowl in the Mariner pattern and a porcelain cameo, depicting a couple. The front says Fragonart, and the back says "made in France, Limoges". A very nice piece, too.
In the coming weeks I will go through all my thrift store finds and start listing them in my Etsy store. I have accumulated boxes full of treasures and it is getting harder to part with them every day. If this keeps up, I will be one of the people in the television series Hoarders! I have a bunch of boxes in our bedroom, which is really not where they belong. I need to get the stuff out of the house and into my studio, which is a 500 square foot pool house. I have already partially built my office area, but then had to quit because of my arm surgery. I feel good enough to do at least some minor woodworking to at least finish the desk and shelves. I probably shouldn't, but I need to focus my energy on something other than thrifting, or we will be buried alive.
I also would like to build a 5 foot wide pantry area with wire shelves in the kitchen area, so I have a designated and larger space to cure my soaps. Let's hope my arm is up to it.
Well, enough for today. I have to get some rest, because I made myself tired with all that work I was talking about.
Like I said, pictures of my finds will be posted within the next couple days.

Honey Mint Soap

My Honey Mint soap is finally ready to sell. I will list it in my Etsy store within the next few days. I still have to take pictures, etc.

Women's Shaving Brushes

Today I finished the prototype or original for the resin shaving brush handles I am going to create. I used polymer clay and embellished the base with flowers and leaves. I was trying to create a look similar to handcarved wood or ivory. Tomorrow I will build the mold and then try and cast my very first shaving brush handle. IF it turns out the way I envisioned it, I will be able to cast handles in many different colors, based on the availability of resin colorants.
I will post a picture of the finished product soon.

Thrifting Finds

As promised here is a photo of most of the items I found while thrifing this past weekend

Starting at the front left: a bone china cup without handles. (It has undecipherable Japanese or Chinese characters as a pottery mark). Next, a cute floral design cup, made in Japan, three (3) porcelain spice jars, featuring the blue onion pattern. Even though, these don't have any pottery mark or identifying mark, they are almost certainly made in Germany, as the writing on the lids, Kümmel, Curry, Nelken (caraway, curry, cloves) is in German. I will not put these up for sale in my Etsy store, until I can find out some more info on them. Next to them, 2 vintage Trader Vics salt and pepper shakers, an Otagiri, Japan, large mug/stein featuring an embossed sea gull/ beach scene, a Royal Sealy sugar jar, featuring a pink and yellow rose design and lastly a footed, cup without handles with a pink rose and border and gold plated rim, without a pottery mark.
Most of these items will get listed in the near future in my Etsy store.

Pink Shaving Brushes

Yesterday I finally finished my first 2 pink shaving brushes. They turned out quite nicely.
The reason I started making pink brushes is that shaving items for women are very hard to find. Even though women are expected by society to shave, there are only a few products on the market, and if one can find something, it is definitely over priced. Just try googling "women's shaving brushes", or "pink shaving brushes" and you will see what I mean.
To obtain a quality razor, I always have to go into the men's shaving section, and the shaving store at the mall is definitely for men only. Men have to option to go without shaving if they feel like it, women don't have that luxury.
While in the last few years handmade women's shaving soaps have become more widely available, the other items, such as razors and brushes, etc. still have limited availability.
Because of this, I have decided to focus more on women's shaving items. In the near future I will have more colors and matching sets of cups and brushes and even razors available in my Etsy store.
Keep checking back for new products. Here is a picture of the 2 shaving brushes I just finished. They are not available in
my store yet, as I have not had the time to list them.

New Thrifting Finds

I went thrifting this weekend and found quite a few items, which I will post pictures of and write about in a future post. The one item I am really excited about is a HOBO International cognac leather purse, which is in pristine condition. The purse model is Hobo Lola in cognac leather. It retails for $158 and I found it for $2, yes, 2 dollars!!! It is exactly what I was looking for, because it is really plain, without any embellishments and it perfectly matches the color of my pair of Pappagallo woven oxford shoes. The reason I am so very excited about this is that I have a horrible time finding a purse I like, because most of them are too ornate. They have too much gold or silver, or too many tassels, etc. on them for my liking. I prefer classic, or as my daughters call it, a boring plain style, which seems very hard to find. So now I can finally retire my worn out black plain and boring Coach purse, which I have been using for years, whether it matched my outfit or not. I think the fashion police, aka my daughters, will be happy :)

Brooch Bridal Bouquet

This beautiful bouquet is handmade with silk and satin flowers and highlighted with rhinestone, glass pearl and aurora borealis glass beads. It is made by my youngest daughter, who has decided to make bridal items and sell them, so she can support herself during her last year of undergraduate architecture studies, and hopefully save enough money to pay for graduate school. Here is her Etsy Shop link: www.floweredsplendor.etsy.com
Please take the time and look at it. She will be adding more related bridal items soon.

New Soap!! Honey Mint soap made with Honey from Uppsala, Sweden.

Here are a couple of pictures of the soap I made today. It is honey mint soap, made with honey from the linden tree blooms of linden trees, that are growing in the backyard of a family friend in Uppsala, Sweden. The honey tastes sooo good, and I am sure it will be equally wonderful (just not tasty :) )in the soap. The soap will be unmolded tomorrow evening and cut into bars and then needs to cure for 3 to 4 weeks. It will be available for sale in my Etsy store in about a month, so check it out.

What's new?

Things are moving right along. I am able to use my right arm again. And even though it does not fully straighten and I am only allowed to lift very light things, I am happy to be able to type and and write and do other small things. In the meantime, while I was bored to death, I went thrifting. I found a bunch of stuff and will post pictures asap. I was also given a dining room table and chairs by a dear friend who moved away. It needs a remake and I found an example online of what I want it to look like. I also planned overhauls of the office area and the kitchen in my studio. Yep, lots of ideas and plans. That's what happens when one can't do anything and has too much time to plot. I will post pictures of my recent thrift store finds soon, and I will also document the new projects, once I start working on them. Can't wait to get started!!