Elizabeth Holcombe ~whimsies and words~

Let It Roll!

Hello, My Friends!~~

Thank so much to ALL of you who stopped by Dime Store Chic's half off sale this weekend! I am going to let the sale roll until Monday evening around 6 p.m. EST! Remember to put the coupon code: DSCHALF in the space provided at check out.

If you have already made a purchase and decide that you would like something else to add to your order, please order and I'll refund you the difference on shipping!

I am going to concentrate on getting all orders out on Monday or Tuesday, but I do have to commit a couple of hours taking care of details at our local Subaru dealership tomorrow because of this...

We purchased a pretty red Subaru Forester today! You may or may not know that I drive a bright green 2000 VW Beetle with daisy wheels. The Beetle is still mine but as soon as our son gets his license (which is quite soon!) it will be his, sans the daisy wheels and with the original wheels, by the summer. I usually veer toward a more impractical kooky vehicle, but this time I decided that practical, sporty, and roomy would be a better option. The green that the 2012 Forester comes in is not that great, IMHO, a little too greyed out for me. The red is bright and cheerful, and I think we made a great choice with the color.

There is a lot of room and we have a cargo tray too. Lots of space for hauling great junk!

If you placed a Dime Store Chic order during the sale period, rest assured I will get it in the mail on Monday or Tuesday! And of you want to purchase more half off Dime Store Chic goods until around 6 p.m. Monday EST, please do and I'll refund you the difference in shipping! AND...New goods coming to Dime Store Chic later this week!~~~XXOO, Beth

 

DSCHALF

Hello, My Friends!~~~

From now until around 7 p.m. EST on Sunday April 29th you can get 50% off everything you buy at Dime Store Chic!

It's simple!~~~At checkout enter coupon code: DSCHALF into the space provided to get your discount! You need to use the coupon code to get your discount.

The sale runs all weekend!~~~Happy shopping and thanks for stopping by!~~~XXOO, Beth

Fifty Cents A Can and A SALE Announcement!

Hello, My Friends!~~~

I went to one estate sale today, arriving a little over 2 hours after the sale started. The sale was advertised as a "digger's delight" which on the surface can seem awesome but quite a few times I have found the digging not to be so delightful. The photos they posted weren't that enticing. I really wish these folks who advertise on EstateSales.net would take some overall photos to show if the house was packed full or sparse. I'd rather see photos of rooms than five detailed shots of the same doll.

I decided that this sale was far enough away from my house for me not to try to get there extra early to get my name on the list and then drive all the way home to wait and drive back to the sale. I decided to go late and walk on in. The sale ended up not being too bad. I found some fun goodies for Dime Store Chic and some goodies for future creations for Beth's Bagz!

Here is the house where the sale was held. I snuck a photo through my car window on the way out. I felt like I was doing covert ops. Anything for you all :)

There was a lot to dig through. I was there almost an hour. I brought my bag o' goodies to the check out dude just in time to slip behind a customer who pulled cans of food from her bag to be priced. The cashier dude obviously wasn't entrusted with the heavy-duty task of pricing canned goods as the older and harrassed looking woman running the sale rushed right over to price the canned food. "Fifty cents each" was her declaration as she looked carefully at each can as if she might find a can of Del Monte Diamonds or Old El Paso Gold Coins. I mean, really? Just give them to lady.

When it was my turn I held my bag open for the cashier dude knowing that would be a futile task, and as I predicted he called over the lady in charge. She bent down and began rifling through the contents of my bag and pulled out a few items which she gave separate prices and then a group price for the rest of the bag's comntents. The total price was reasonable and as I pulled the money from my wallet, she held one of the items I was buying over her head. She announced to her second in command, who was sitting in the corner looking deperatley like she needed a nap, and declared, "Look! This is vintage!"

I snorted out a laugh which I quickly suppressed and opened my bag for her to put my "it's vintage!" item inside.

As I walked to my car I saw a piece of paper under the wiper and immediatley thought " now how did I get a parking ticket?" But the paper was not a ticket, but a note from Sue!

Aww! I wished I had seen Sue! I bet she found lots of fun stuff for her Vintage Rescue Squad!

I will list my new finds next week in Dime Store Chic, BUT until then I want you all to be the first to know of a weekend SALE in Dime Store Chic! Everything in Dime Store Chic will be 50% OFF! You do need to enter the following code at check out to get your discount: DSCHALF. If you don't enter the special code you won't get the half off discount. The sale will begin tomorrow, around 6 a.m. EST Friday, April 27th and ending around 7 p.m. EST Sunday, April 29th.

This sale will only be announced on this blog and my Yahoo groups list! If you want to spread the word you are welcome to do so!

Have fun! And thanks for stopping by!~~~XXOO, beth

 

Whimsies for Tuesday

Hello, My Friends!~~

Recently I found some of the cutest vintage coloring books! They provided inspiration for a new batch of coloring book totes. Here are a couple...

Happy Times!

Let's Color---with Hansel and Gretel!

And I found some cute vintage goodies that just had to be honored on a whimsical and over-the-top (of course!) pin cushions!

A pair of wedding love birds!

And a cute elf in a fairy ring of vintage spoun cotton German mushrooms!

These new creations and more are now available in Beth's Bagz etsy shop! Thannks for stopping by!~~~XXOO, Beth

Vintage-itis

Hello, My Friends!~~

On Friday I went to a yard sale advertised on Craigslist. My Spideysense should have been on high alert that this sale was going to be a complete bust due to the language used in the ad. The sale promised "vintage" metal trucks, "vintage" postcards, and many more "vintage" household items. The fact that the author of this ad used the word "vintage" at least three times should have told me that this sale would not be for me.

I was right. Let me explain. In my past experience most of the yard sales and family run estate sales that use the word "vintage" in their ads, use the word as justification to hike the prices of the "vintage" items to the stratosphere. I have no problem using the word as an additional descriptor, it can be very helpful. But I don't choose to use the word to justify asking a price that is easily four times higher than one would charge at an antique mall or after an ebay bidding war.

At this yard sale, let me repeat, this Friday sale was advertised as a "yard sale", I about passed out when I saw the prices of the "vintage" items. The trucks, which I later researched on ebay and found the top bids ended around $40, had $96 price stickers on them. I picked up a cute storybook which was in very well-loved condtion and dropped it after seeing the $25 price tag. This book was from the 1940's or 50's and in very rough shape. $25? Maybe a dollar would have been more reasonable.

I turned to leave the yard sale, catching a glimpse of a package of bows from Family Dollar with the original dollar price tag, but with a yard sale price sticker of $2. Sheesh! Before I could slip quietly away, the man running the sale asked, "leaving so soon?"

I said "yes," that "there is nothing I can afford." I really didn't mean to let those words slip out. The man, who was an older gentleman, and quite nice said, "we can bargain." I thanked him but said we are too far apart in our prices. He wouldn't let me go, and asked me what I was interested in. I gave in and pointed out the $25 storybook. He asked what I would like to pay, and I told him honestly given the condition of the book that I would like to pay a dollar. Of course I knew he wouldn't sell it for that and I started back down the driveway. His wife with hair the color of old snow squawked from the end of the row of tables, "that book is vintage!"

I told her that I understood and tried to make a polite get away. Her husband said, "I can do $20 on it." Before I could say "no thanks" the wife shouted, "$25! It IS vintage!"

I waved and walked briskly to my car, mumbling "good luck" under my breath.

I snapped this photo through my car window so you can see that this was a yard sale...

The people you see aren't customers, but the people running the sale.

Well, call me cheap if you want, but I really think a yard sale is not an antique mall. Maybe I'm wrong.

But you all know what the bottom line is for folks like me (and maybe you) who look for reasonably priced vintage (yes, I said "vintage") goods to offer on-line at a modest price to like minded folks who appreciate them as much as I do!~~~Let's hope vintage-itis doesn't spread too much!~~~XXOO, Beth

 

Booked!

Hello, My Friends!~~

This afternoon in the rain (finally!) I visited a humongous thrift store about five minutes from my house. I try to visit this place once a week but lately have been going once every two weeks. This store, the size of a Wal-Mart, has bargain Mondays and Thursdays but I went on Wednesday because I like the idea of shopping without a crazy bargain day crowd.

This thrift store has an odd flea market feel when you first enter it. There are these small booths with all sorts of crazy, mostly made in China, stuff from booty shorts to fuzzy Dora the Explorer throw blankets. But past this warren of small retail spots, the building opens up into a massively huge thrift shop.

There are rows and rows of household goods, clothes, linens, furniture, electronics, and kitchenware. There is a corner area with a glass counter for "special" goods and jewelry. Today I saw a creepy nun doll behind teh counter with a $19.95 price tag. I walked on.

I have been going to this thrift store for over 5 years now and have yet to figure out why they price the way they do. Anything that remotely looks vintage and is ceramic gets a too-high-even-for-an-antique-store price even if it has a chip or missing piece. I mean $6.96 for a ballerina figurine with a missing foot? C'mon! That tiny dancer, I'm sorry to say, is probably destined for the trash.

When I arrive at this mammoth temple to cast offs, the first thing I do is head to the toy section. Sometimes I find a reasonably priced vintage game or toy, but not often. Then I slip into the office supply section--BTW, this store does a good job of organizing their items into sections--searching for anything that would be of use in mailing goods. After that I cruise the store, zigzagging the aisles, looking up and down as this store prefers to bundle small goods into plastic bags that they hang from orderly hooks. These require careful scrutiny and sometimes I get a bag of assorted goods only because I want one thing in the bag. When I am looking around I usually see this same woman there lazily pushing her cart up and down the aisles with this contant look of disgust on her face. I have a secret nickname for her: "Prunella." I really believe Prunella lives there. Maybe she sleeps under the racks of used bed linens.

I avoid the clothing area because I don't know squat about clothes and have no desire to resell them. As you may or may not know, my niche are things that may have been originally sold in a Woolworths!

Today I spent most of my time in the book section, particularly in the children's books, and found several sweet vintage titles with the cutest illustrations! The children's books are resonably priced at this thrift store which means I can offer them in Dime Store Chic for a reasonable price!

I found this 1944 book right away and tucked it into my basket...

The illustrations are some of the cutest I have ever seen! Even a boy being chased by bats looks cute!

And I found this fun vintage Little Golden Book...

I love these numbers with faces, arms, and legs!

I found other cute books too and this lovely vintage Ohio Art tin recipe box in plaid...

And these Congress vintage pansy playing cards...

A nice way to spend a small part of rainy day. All of my finds are fresh in Dime Store Chic as of 7 p.m. EST tonight!~~~XXOO, Beth

Not Letting Go!

Hello, My Friends!~~~

There are no photos for this post, only words---you're not going to believe this estate sale experience, but I promise every word of it is true!

Recently I went to an estate sale advertised on Craigslist that was in the back of beyond in Western Maryland. The advertisment promised stuff in the yard and in the house: "vintage, books, full household, priced to sell!" Of course I got there when the sale started. Hubby and me were the first ones there and were greeted by the ladies running the sale: a mother and daughter. Grandmother (who had been 103) had passed away a while ago and the house needed to be emptied for sale. Cool! I was happy to help them in my own little way.

There was nothing in the yard of interest so I went into the house after the daughter eagerly told me that there was lots of stuff in there and for me to look around, "please find what you like", and I would get a good deal on what I wanted to buy.

I encountered a house that looked like people still lived there. The kitchen was in full swing with teen-age children fixing breakfast and a teen-ager lounging cucooned in a NY Yankees blanket on the couch watching Cartoon Network. I had to ask the daughter, who was the mother of these teen agers, "are you sure I can go in?" "Oh, yes!" was her reply.

I headed for a corner bedroom which had boxes of goodies. I rummaged through the boxes finding a few goodies and then turned my attention to a very dusty closet. I saw some bags high on the shelf and used a coat hanger to pull them down. I found some more goodies in the bags and tucked them into the bag I brought to the sale. The daughter came into the room and smiled making a comment about my bag saying "you came prepared!" I asked her a few questions about her dearly departed loved one, as I am genuinely interested to learn about the person who led a life in this dwelling and who had such nice things that I am willing to buy.

After a few more minutes downstairs, I headed upstairs to a walk-in attic which was piled high with boxes. Now, let me stop here and say that other than my dear Hubby, I was the only one shopping at this sale. How lucky! I felt like Frank and Mike from "American Pickers" as I was going through fresh goods with an invitation from the family. My elation was short-lived. From down below I heard a fight.

Mother and daughter were arguing over what was available for sale. Apparently Mother (an older woman of about 75) had not gone through everything in the house. The daughter was telling her that she was the one who wanted to have the estate sale. And on and on. I couldn't keep my mind on looking in boxes because at that moment I felt like an intruder. Hubby came into the attic, eyes wide, and said that more shoppers had come but were all looking outside as the mother told them not to go into the house as they would eventually bring stuff out and it would take them 2 days and maybe the following weekend.

I abandoned the attic and went downstairs only to encounter the daughter who was having a nervous breakdown. I ended up giving her a hug, telling her that clearly as far as her mother was concerned this estate sale was premature. After a few minutes I told her that I found a few things and would I be allowed to buy them. She said "of course," as we stepped outside.

I set my bag on a picnic table and her mother raced over to see what I found. She looked at every single thing, telling incredibly long stories about each item and setting a few items aside saying they were not for sale. This set her daughter over the edge who stuffed everything into my bag, even the goods that her mother said weren't for sale, and gave me a price. I looked nervously at her mother who had just wandered off shaking her head. I have never felt so awkward in all of my life.

Instead of any more conversation, I paid what the daughter asked, bid her "good luck" and headed down the driveway while hearing the mother quote an outrageous price on a Pyrex casserole dish ("that's $30 because it's vintage, you know!") to another shopper.

I have been to a lot of estate sales but never had an experience like that one. I liked what I bought at the sale but it clearly wasn't worth the wack-a-doodle experience!

XXOO, Beth

A New Attitude

Hello, My Friends!~~~

Life can change either with a bang or a whisper. For me a certain change has come about as a whisper. This weekend as I headed to a third estate sale I realized that, yes, I am to a degree...a picker. Now, my friends, Sue and Suzy would most likely tell me "duh, yeah, you're a picker" and roll their eyes at my revelation. But until recently I have thought of myself as primarily a crafter who sells vintage goodies as secondary to the crafting. Lately the selling vintage goodies has consumed more time than my crafting time. I LOVE both of these choice I have made in my life and embrace them fully and completely. And I have some projects on the work table that I am excited to finish!

Yet, the hunting for vintage goodies to offer you and to use in my crafting world has taken up a lot of time. I am not complaining. I love the hunt. Don't you? The thrill of finding a bag of vintage fabric scraps or a box of vintage birthday cake candle holders or a box of wonderful small vintage Christmas bits n' bobs is as intoxicating to me as the thickest slice of chocolate cake!

All of this in mind I decided to bring a new attitude to my blog. I have experienced many interesting experiences in my "picking" career and I am anxious to share them with you in editorial detail. This is nothing new to blogland and I eagerly read those blogs that intimatley describe their thrifting, flea market, yard sale, and estate slae experiences. I will offer my own voice to the junker's fray. There are fun, strange, horrifying, and downright exhilirating stories for me to share with you. I hope you like them.

I will, of course, blog about other experiences as I have done for the past 5 years. I thank you all for stopping by and letting me share a piece of my little life with you.

Right after this post, I will share a tale of a recent estate sale experience that to me was jaw dropping...in an odd way. You'll see what I mean :)~~~XXOO, Beth

Fun Estate Sale Saturday!

Hello, My Friends!~~~

This morning I hit a wonderful estate sale run by the nicest family. I filled up three bags with fun goods all destined for Dime Store Chic! There are so many wonderful vintage finds and I look forward to offering them to you. It will take me a while to get them photographed and listed, but I hope you like what I found for you today. It is so much fun to hunt for treasures for you!

Here is an overview of the treasures I found:

It may be hard to tell what I found because of the layers of goodies on the table, but all will be listed in Dime Store Chic beginning this evening and hopefully all listed by the end of this week! Thank you all so much for stopping by Dime Store Chic. I am so thrilled that you like my offerings! You all rock!

Have a wonderful rest of your weekend and a very Happy Easter!~~XXOO, Beth

Dog Days

Hello, My Friends!~~~

I have just listed a whole herd of pin cushions with all sorts of cute doggies in Beth's Bagz!

One that I am particularly excited to show you is this one...

I found this sweet excelsior stuffed doggie at an estate sale last year. He was missing an ear, both eyes, and his tongue. I just knew I had to "fluff" him up and give him a new purpose. I hope you like this sweet pup and the other canines in Beth's Bagz today!~~~XXOO, Beth