I wanted to account for the space of time between my last Thrift Tales post from 2021, where I was convinced I had peaked, mainly thanks to the purchase of my amazing vintage card catalog, all the way to my recent post in March of 2023. Between moving, having a baby, and the newfound challenges of motherhood, I didn’t do much thrifting during that time. But “not much” isn’t zero and a year+ is a long time. I got a few amazing things during this time that shouldn’t be overlooked.

Armchair Thrifting: Instagram Edition

I spent many a late night working on our new house and coming home to our temporary apartment to crash my giant pregnant self in the chair and zone out on Instagram. I discovered a lot of vintage resellers during that time and this series of items was born of that period. Unfortunately it was so long ago that I don’t remember the prices I paid. All were very reasonable though. I apologize for the bad pictures on some; they weren’t taken with much artistic intent back then on the tiny square of carpet I could find between moving boxes.

Vintage Flash Cards

The TV, spool, and buttons were all for my mom. The sewing machine and plant card were for me. The vehicles were intended for my son’s nursery, though I haven’t done anything with them and I’m kind of out of wall space for now. The copyright years on the vehicle ones at least ranged from the 1950’s to the ’90’s. I haven’t done anything with mine either, though I HAD to have the sewing machine as it looks so very much like my own vintage one, particularly the color.

Vintage Buttons

I bought more than just these, but this was the only picture I could find. I’ve given some to my mom who is using them in a project. I too bought them for craft projects, but haven’t decided exactly what just yet. If you look online for inspiration though, there are endless ideas for button crafts.

Crewel Embroidery Pattern

I adore this! Look at the old postage stamp on the envelope too – two and 5/8 cents! I had this idealized mental picture of me swaying in my bentwood rocker beside a sleeping baby and learning embroidery. NEWS FLASH: THAT AIN’T LIFE! Nevertheless, I’ll do it one day hopefully.

Framed Owl Emboridery

This is one of my favorite secondhand purchases. It is the only secondhand embroidery piece I’ve ever bought. I love the design of the owl and find the monochromatic color scheme hauntingly beautiful. As you can see, someone self-matted this using cardboard. I’ve since taken it out of the frame and cleaned it, though that unfortunately did not remove the staining. I’m torn on whether I should frame it with a mat or not. I have a rough-hewn wooden frame that suits it beautifully, but it’s the exact size of the piece, so there would be no room for that. Ideally I would like to have a mat, but I love the frame so much I think I’ll just use it and go without. I will update this post when I make a decision and do it either way.

Dart Homco Flowers

This style is frequently referred to as “burwood,” though that was the name of a specific company. It is plastic that was made to look like wood which was popular in the 1970’s. I’ve seen these often in a set of three, so I might be missing one here. At the time I thought they would go too perfectly with my owl above.

“Butterflies of America: 64 Color Illustrations”

What can I say besides this just a cute little old book that I liked! I always think these pocket-style guides of things in nature are neat.

. . .

Moving on, the next purchases are from other sources.

Vintage Children’s Books

I purchased these on eBay because I originally intended to do a gallery wall of vintage children’s book illustrations in my son’s nursery. Basically one thing led to another though and I didn’t end up doing that. I’m a huge fan of these old Rand McNally books though as the animal illustrations are just too adorable.

Gosh, between these and the flash cards, I’m having serious second thoughts. Maybe I should try to cram these somewhere in the nursery.

I got a few other things, that I don’t have pictures for, including an Ikea Trofast unit, some vintage wooden napkin holders for my sister, and a gorgeous antique rocking chair for my mom.

I’m sure you noticed my header image – how neat, huh!? I found that at the same place I purchased my black and teal insulators in February 2021. I picked up a clear one with a funky design. I probably won’t get any more insulators unless I find a very unique color or design though as I already have so many.

. . .

Could that really be it? Wow. I knew I hadn’t done much, but jeez. I guess I got it all, more or less. I’ll leave you with a bonus item, which I’m absolutely in love with:

Rand McNally Vintage Globe: Gift!

This past fall, we attended a harvest festival hosted by a small community. A studio there had a few vintage items out for sale and I saw this beautiful globe. I don’t know why I love old globes so much because I’m probably the most geographically challenged person you could ever meet, but I’m always drawn to them. I really liked this one and alllllllmmmmosssstttt bought it. I didn’t though and very much regretted it later when I would see this photo pop up in my gallery. Christmas rolled around and my mom presented me with a giant present to unwrap. It was the globe! She had my sister sneak back around and buy it for me. They apparently had quite the challenge doing all this on the sly, ha! It was a perfect gift – thanks Mom!

Like I always do, I’ll leave you with my “left behind” gallery. Many of my favorites here are from autumn 2022 which was my first time getting back out there after baby came and little man’s first antiquing adventure too, so lots of fun spooky finds.

Cheers!