Valentine’s Day Table

Posted on February 14, 2013 by tammylovesdishes

Yes, this is my Valentine’s Day table this year.

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I created some little Valentines inspired by a pin on Pinterest. My dining room table looked like Cupid exploded.

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I hadn’t crafted in so long that most of my glue had dried up. I bought some new ModPodge but ended up using a nifty little craft glue stick I had in my stash instead.

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These treats were added to the Valentines once they were all dolled up in their Valentines’ bling.

Here are some proto-types. I created only one with the ribbon handle. I quickly realized the pipe cleaner (or whatever these things are now called) handle would be easier and could be shaped into a heart.

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I added a Happy Valentine’s Day tag. Here they are packaged up for delivery on the big day.

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So while this is not quite the traditional Valentine’s Day tablescape that one would expect, it was what our Valentine’s Day table looked like at Tammy Loves Dishes.

I hope you enjoyed your Valentine’s Day.

Tammy

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It’s a New Year!

Posted on January 21, 2013 by tammylovesdishes

It’s a new year and with it a new chance to make needed changes and bring joy to others.

One crazy day at work I went to my mailbox and what did I see peeking out at me but this:

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I was tickled to pieces to see these vintage green Whitehall Indiana Glass glasses my sweet friend ‘S’ gifted to me for my collection. I was glad there was no one in the mailroom at the time because I think I squealed out loud! These sure brought joy to my day.

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I know that warm weather is just around the corner (yay!) and yard sales will begin again. Since attending yard sales is an activity I enjoy with my husband, we will be sure to attend quite a few of those sales. Our little dog, Mitty, will join us this year as well. (We lost her litter-mate brother, Scamp, to cancer in November.)

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To prepare, we are beginning to make some changes in our collections. We have many, many years’ worth of “stuff” since we are both stuff savers. This year we plan to sort through our “stuff” and keep just what we still love. We want to have less clutter, less stress and less debt this year. I hope by minimizing our “stuff” we will be able to meet those wants and enjoy those items that mean the most to us.

I have been trying to limit my thrift shop visits in the last few months. However, I just couldn’t let the first month of the year go by without stopping by the thrift down the street from the office. I was happy to find some fun things, like two blue and white snack sets from The English Tea Collection by Andrea by Sadek. Each set was $1.00.

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And when I saw this blue and white checked Scottie I could not pass him by.

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Yes, he did have his ears bobbed. Truthfully, I didn’t even notice this until my husband mentioned it to me. This little guy is marked Japan on his belly, but other than that I don’t know anything about him. Even with bobbed ears, I think $1.40 was a good buy for him.

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These silver-plated beauties have a few flaws that I hope will polish out. If not, at $3.55 and $4.55 I can certainly find uses for them. My addiction to Pinterest should help me with that.

I also found a few Christmas items which will be used in future craft projects inspired by Creative Breathing‘s blog and a Winnie The Pooh, Baby’s First Christmas boxed ornament which I hope to list for sale.

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This year I will probably share with you some of the “stuff” we choose to release during the year. I’m not setting any specific number goals, although I have been inspired by the blog, 365 Less Things.

I hope your year will be filled with changes you desire and much joy.

I hope to visit the following parties, and hope you will too, at Knick of Time’s Knick of Time Tuesday, Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays at Coastal Charm,  Thrifty Things Friday at The Thrifty Groove, and The Penny Worthy Project at Hey, What’s for Dinner Mom?

Tammy

Posted in Dishes, Garage Sales, Hallmark, Scotties, Silver, Tablescaping, Tea Set, Thrifting, Uncategorized, Vintage, Yard Sales | Tagged , , , , , | 9 Comments

Merry Christmas 2012!

Posted on December 24, 2012 by tammylovesdishes

Wishing those of you who celebrate Christmas a very Merry Christmas!

This year we are having a very simple Christmas celebration with a retro-themed table.

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I used a white tablecloth found at a yard sale underneath the vintage Christmas tablecloth which was my grandmother’s. I also used my grandmother’s flatware.

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I used green charger plates (purchased on sale after Christmas one year at Walmart) and layered red Temptations Polka Dot dinner plates next. Topping the dish stack is a holly-shaped salad/dessert plate which was a thrift store find.

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Yard sale treasures abound in this holiday tablescape. The Radko Christmas tree cookie jar was a yard sale find. It looks at home in the center of the setting. I have also used water goblets from a large set of glassware I found at a yard sale.

Vintage Poinsettia Napkin Rings

Vintage metal poinsettia napkin rings are used on sweet red napkins – yard sale and thrift buys respectively.

Here is a close up of the detail on the vintage tablecloth.

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This little Santa and Angel belong to my daughter. I love unwrapping this precious reminder of Christmas each year.

DSCF6933May you and your family enjoy a loving holiday, creating memories which will make you smile for years to come.

Tammy

Posted in Dishes, Garage Sales, Santa, Silver, Tablescaping, Thrifting, Uncategorized, Vintage, Yard Sales | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Be Thankful

Posted on November 23, 2012 by tammylovesdishes

The American tradition of Thanksgiving is one of our finest. Gathering with friends and family, sharing family traditions, and remembering to be thankful for the many blessings we have available to us in our wonderful country are all part of this day.

This year’s celebration was a smaller version than many previous years. Our table was set in blue, brown and white with accents of orange.

The plates and chargers were both yard sale finds. We really took a wild ride to end up at the site of the yard sale where I found these plates. I almost passed them up as the price was over my per-plate budget. This was one time when walking away from the seller caused her to reduce her price. I was delighted as I really do love these plates!

The pumpkin tureen and individual pumpkin bowls are Temptations pieces from QVC. The larger tureen sits on platter from the former Southern Living at Home collection. The squirrel candle holders were a find at the local hospital ladies’ board rummage sale.

This plate stand holds our dessert plates on which we enjoyed homemade pecan pie. The stand is also from the former Southern Living at Home collection. The little cream pitcher is a thrift store find. Beneath the stand are a few squirrels who joined their candle-holding friends to keep watch on the setting.

Also joining the table was this lone turkey salt/pepper shaker.

I hope you, too, can take time to consider the blessings in your life and be thankful.

If you have time, I hope you will visit the parties at Her Library Adventures, Knick of Time’s Knick of Time Tuesday, Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays at Coastal Charm, Today’s Thrifty Treasures at Southern Hospitality, The Thrifty Groove, and The Penny Worthy Project at Hey, What’s for Dinner Mom?

Tammy

 

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Memories on Milbourn Lane

Posted on October 14, 2012 by tammylovesdishes

When you have a very limited time to spend checking out the day’s yard sales, you really hope to make it to one that hits the high notes. We were fortunate to find this one great yard sale recently.

After a very unsuccessful morning, our last stop was at a sale I had seen advertised on my way home from work one evening. The next evening a For Sale sign went up on the house so I figured it would be a pretty good sale. By the time we arrived, everything was half off,  words pleasing to my frugal ears.

I spotted these retro dishes under a stack of others. They mix nicely with others I have collected in this color. They are sitting inside an old sewing cabinet drawer. Isn’t the front of the drawer so beautiful?

There is just something about a small deer figurine that immediately attracts me. This one called my name as well.

I also picked up a hard-backed local telephone book from the 1970’s. What a gossipy walk down memory lane that was! This book had not only the standard listings for businesses and residents, but next to each resident’s name was their address and their occupation. Can you imagine? Another book I picked up was this vintage cookbook,

You can tell that this book was well-loved. I can just imagine the wonderful desserts that were served from recipes in this book.

After I paid for my few items is when I realized that things were half price. I took my treasures to the car so YSCE (Yard Sale Chauffeur Extraordinaire) could peruse the interesting phone book. I went back to the sale to load up with more and load up I did. As I was filling my arms, one of the gals having the sale came over to me to chat. It seems we were school mates and her sister, also at the sale, was a school mate of the YSCE. I was so concentrated on the wonderful vintage items that I didn’t recognize either of them! The sale was of their parents’ stuff as they had recently moved into assisted living. No wonder so many of the items pulled at my memory strings! This was stuff from my childhood as well as my school mate’s. This Girl Scout Calendar really brought back some memories.

I also picked up some sewing notions, buttons, and linens; all are some of my favorite things to find!

I think there is something beautiful about this well-worn tape measure wrapped neatly around an old wooden thread spool. I love it!

I also found quite a collection of the the linen tea towel calendars with Colonial Williamsburg scenes. I haven’t had a chance to take photos of them yet.

There were so many wonderful vintage items that I admired but left behind: Jadite dishes, a vintage TV tray, numerous small appliances, an old metal tiered shelf which advertised oil (and was where the oil cans would sit for sale), more sewing machine drawers, an old sewing machine cabinet, vintage hats and much more. It was so much fun to look over all these things and to come away with some treasures of my own in addition  to the many memories sparked on Milbourn Lane.

I hope you have a wonderful week of thrifting. May you find the treasures that make you smile.

If you have a chance, visit the parties at Knick of Time’s Knick of Time Tuesday, Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays at Coastal Charm, Today’s Thrifty Treasures at Southern Hospitality, Thrifty Things Friday at The Thrifty Groove, and The Penny Worthy Project at Hey, What’s for Dinner Mom?

Tammy

Posted in Buttons, Dishes, Garage Sales, Linens, Recipes, Thrifting, Uncategorized, Vintage, Yard Sales | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Buy It Again, Tam

Posted on September 30, 2012 by tammylovesdishes

They say if you wait long enough things will come back in style in your lifetime. Well, I have found this to be true, especially so about household items I received as a bride. Back in the day, everyone had to have Tupperware and Pyrex in Harvest Gold and Avocado Green. The occasional ugly orange was thrown in for good measure. I have always been more of a red, white and blue girl myself (might have something to do with my near patriotic birthday). As soon as I had held on to those lovely colors mentioned above the proper waiting time, I promptly dispersed them at my own yard sales. Yes, I sold off almost all my Tupperware and some of my Pyrex.

Look what I bought this weekend:

Yeah. Now I want it again. I have always loved the Tupperware measuring spoons and cups so much so that I still have my original Ugly Orange and Avocado Green set. I still have my original sets of measuring spoons, too, although some have gone missing over the years (Hello, darling family, I’m talking to you). I pick these up whenever and wherever I see them all the while trying not to squeal my delight too loudly. I have even purchased them on eBay, once I realized I could. It’s a sickness.

I don’t remember if I ever had a cupcake / pie carrier to get rid of, but I now do. If I find that I don’t use this pie carrier as I think I might, I know a gentleman who makes the most incredible apple pies for charity and he could certainly put it to use.

The above finds were at a yard sale which was really an estate sale. The woman’s grandparents had lived in this same house for sixty years. I bet her grandmother never had a yard sale to get rid of her unwanted Tupperware, that is until last Saturday.

Yep, had one of these before, too, and sold it at a yard sale. So of course, I had to buy yet another one. I actually have a collection of these waiting to be crafted into adorable cloche stands; you know, the really cute ones you have seen in blogland. With the addition of this particularly nice specimen, I have enough to create a display of domed cheese boards should that ever become a hot decorating theme.

Who doesn’t remember these? Well, some of you might not recognize this little Westclox beauty. I can tell you that it still works as it was just a tick-tick-tickin along as we drove around to sales. At first I was unsettled by the ticking until I realized what the noise was. I know if the power goes out, I can still count on this little guy to wake me up on time. (That is if our dogs should suddenly decide to sleep in for ONCE in their lives.)

I also happened across some old album sets. One complete with Bob Hope albums.

And one from Reader’s Digest with lots of Christmas songs.

I hope I can find someone on eBay who will truly enjoy these old collections.

I think one of my favorite finds of the day has to be this tiny blue druggist’s bottle.

Old bottles are something to which I am always drawn. This yard sale was being held by a true bottle collector. He had several up for sale and while I wanted to grab up the whole load of them, I limited myself to this little blue bottle used by a Baltimore, Maryland pharmacy many years ago. The highlight of the stop was an invitation to see his entire bottle collection. (He’s a friendly guy, but we knew him before stopping. He doesn’t invite all his yard sale attendees into his house, at least I don’t think he does.) We got to see many bottles which came from our little home town from many, many, many years ago. I might ask about taking some photos in the future, if he’s amenable, and sharing his collection on my blog. It is that wonderful!

It just proves that what you might not find interesting or particularly pleasing today, can easily become the desire of a collector’s heart in the future. Or even your own heart. You might also have to say, “Buy it again, Tam.”

I hope you have a great week of thrifting and tablescaping. If you get a chance, please stop by the parties at Knick of Time’s Knick of Time Tuesday, Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays at Coastal Charm, Today’s Thrifty Treasures at Southern Hospitality, Thrifty Things Friday at The Thrifty Groove, and The Penny Worthy Project at Hey, What’s for Dinner Mom?

Tammy

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Yard Sale Salve

Posted on September 22, 2012 by tammylovesdishes

 

Sometimes you just need a little retail therapy. Fortunately for me, there was a yard sale in my travels today to provide the salve I needed to soothe my thrifting soul.

I decided to stop by just to take a look around. It was late in the day so I really didn’t expect they’d have too much left. They had great “signage” so I figured they would have had a brisk business early.

Lucky for me there were still some interesting things left and not long after I arrived they announced that most things would be half off. I quickly scurried back to grab up what at full price I wasn’t sure I would buy, but at half price I was right on it.

This wreath was the first thing I picked up. It has found a place on my back gate for the time being.

For fifty cents, I can afford to perk up this back yard gate.

My daughter loves to bake and so when I saw these old bread pans, I thought of her. At 1.00 each, they were a little high for my thrifting senses. Once the half price light went on,   I scooped them up.

I know there will be some loaves of pumpkin bread in the near future of these two pans.

This cookbook and music cd were in perfect condition in their original box. With the half price discount, I paid $1. They look interesting. I love to read cookbooks and this one comes with its own background music!

And on a whim, I picked up this little bear. He is called The Byron Bear. He is so dark that you can’t see his eyes. He was marked down to $1 also.

So for $3.50 I had quite a lovely time shopping and found some bargains. Just the salve I needed!

I hope to visit the parties at Knick of Time’s Knick of Time Tuesday, Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays at Coastal Charm, Today’s Thrifty Treasures at Southern Hospitality, Thrifty Things Friday at The Thrifty Groove, and The Penny Worthy Project at Hey, What’s for Dinner Mom?

Hope you have had a great week filled with found treasures that soothed you, too.

Tammy

 

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Clownin’ Around

Posted on September 3, 2012 by tammylovesdishes

As difficult as it has been, I have stayed away from yard sales again this week. I’m not sure how much longer I will be able to suppress the urge to grab my yard sale cash and hit the open road. Well, probably for the next two weeks anyway since I’ll be otherwise occupied. We’ll see.

Today my YSCE, who I think is secretly jonesing for some yard sale action as well, wanted to go to an auction at an auction house run by a long-time friend of ours. I had been to one other auction at this location, but YSCE had not. We arrived about 30 minutes after the auction began and had to park in the wilds due to so many attendees. I signed in and got our number and cozied right up to the table that had some Haviland dishes.

The best part about an auction is the randomness of the items and how they are presented. When they held up this little guy, YSCE and I exchanged glances and I bid. He is just the type of odd thing that attracts our attention.

He is a Bozo puppet produced as a promotional item by Capitol Records in the 1940’s. Of course, we didn’t know this when I was bidding. We just liked him.

However, we will not be watching any clown-based horror movies as long as he’s in the house.

The YSCE is an avid comic fan. He has read comics since childhood and still sighs heavily when he thinks of the many, many comics his mother trashed while he was at college. I’m told (over and over) that these were worth quite a bit of money in today’s dollars. Since he has quite a collection amassed (again), we don’t normally search out comics at yard sales or auctions. Today we made an exception.

There were about four or five flats of comics. As we stood watching the bidding progress, YSCE had an opportunity to peak over at the flats. He also watched as a man took the Batman comic shown above, which had been placed at the top of the stack, move it into the middle of the stack. YSCE knew this was a valuable comic and so, apparently, did the man. We decided I would bid and what our maximum would be. Once the bidding got around to the comics, I bid and was high bidder and the bid was per box, winner’s choice. So we had our choice of the five boxes and could have taken each box at the same bid amount had we wanted. We wanted just the box with the hidden comic. While YSCE was perusing which of the boxes he wanted, the man who hid the comic tried to block him from access to that box. The nerve! YSCE was not deterred. He chose that box. That’ll teach you, buddy. Don’t mess around with a man who is holding a Bozo puppet in his hands.

I also won a pair of pictures. I thought I was bidding on something else. Yikes! Thankfully, this was just a $3 bid and not a $300 bid. The frames will make good practice for Annie Sloan Chalk Paint some day.

I didn’t win a lot of newer Blue Willow dishes, shaving mirror, pewter dinner plates, Clark’s Thread storage box (ooh, I wanted this but not at $175), and a kitty teapot. YSCE actually bid (his very first live auction bid!) on a vintage Mattel Wrangler gun in holster with original box. Another childhood memory that ended with a bid that was over our price limit so it went to another bidder.

We had a fun time together clownin’ around at the auction so I’m sure we will be stopping by the auction house again. We’ll be spending more time together this week as we research the comics to see how we did!

This week I hope to stop by Knick of Time’s Knick of Time Tuesday, Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays at Coastal Charm, Today’s Thrifty Treasures at Southern Hospitality, Thrifty Things Friday at The Thrifty Groove, and The Penny Worthy Project at Hey, What’s for Dinner Mom?

Tammy

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Yard Sale Withdrawal

Posted on August 19, 2012 by tammylovesdishes

It has been a while since I last checked in with you about my yard sale and thrift finds. Truth be told, I have been trying to stay away from yard sales and thrifts. I have been bitten by the de-clutter bug. My inner self is having a major struggle, though. I love going to yard sales and tis the season! I also love a neater house than what I currently have. As I battle this out, let me share with you some treasures my yard sale/thrift self managed to smuggle into the de-clutterer’s house.

This dish lover couldn’t pass up these large white plates. They have a really lovely raised design around the edge which will work nicely with a number of other designs. Only one plate was marked with a red dot which apparently meant $1. When I inquired if that was $1 per plate, one of the rummage sale pricers said I could have all four for a total of $2. That worked for me.

This Arthur Amour aluminum tray was at the same rummage sale. I saw it when I walked in to the sale but didn’t pick it up right away. It was marked $5 and I wasn’t sure I wanted to spend that much on it. After finding only the $2 plates and remembering that I had a 20 percent off coupon (yes, a coupon for a rummage sale, how great is that?!), I decided I would take it if it was still waiting for me at the entry table. It is a very nice weight and I like the lily pad design, especially for $4 after my coupon.

Since this was a Sunday rummage sale, we really only planned on this one stop. However, on the way to the sale we noticed a sign for a yard sale outside our small town. We decided to stop by on our way back home. I picked up a painted wooden charger-size plate to use as a guinea pig for ASCP experimenting, some wooden spring clothes pins, and two old books. The cookbook is from the 40’s.

It has indented tabs like you’d see on a dictionary or an old encyclopedia. I really like reading the notes written in by a previous owner.

This was one cookbook that was used. There are pencil marks next to many recipes. Many say VG, which I believe means that recipe must have been “Very Good”.

I also found this old book at the same sale.

I don’t know much about it as I haven’t had time to do any research. I liked the interesting cover and that it was from the late 1800’s.

Not bad treasure hunting for a Sunday afternoon. And I limited myself to just two sales this weekend, so not bad.

I had a day off from work and it also coincided with National Thrift Store Day. What kind of thrifter would I be if I didn’t stop in at least one thrift store on this day? Even though my inner de-clutterer wasn’t too thrilled, the thrifter in me felt obligated. I was close to the Salvation Army Thrift so popped in there.

I found this little wooden tiered shelf for $1.99 and a nice wooden frame for the same price. I think this shelf will be just the thing for one of my first ASCP projects. Just the right size, don’t you think? Once finished, I plan to use it to display some little treasures which should help the de-clutterer feel a little better as well.

Are any of you wrestling with your inner de-clutterer?

I hope to stop by the following parties, Knick of Time’s Knick of Time Tuesday, Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays at Coastal Charm, Today’s Thrifty Treasures at Southern Hospitality, Thrifty Things Friday at The Thrifty Groove, and The Penny Worthy Project at Hey, What’s for Dinner Mom?

Tammy

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Flying into The Empty Nest

Posted on July 21, 2012 by tammylovesdishes

I have been so excited since Janet at The Empty Nest announced she was opening her own shop. I have been following Janet’s blog for awhile and have always admired her beautiful creations. Friday, July 20 was the grand opening of her new shop, located at 92 Main Street in Warrenton, Virginia. Since this is not too far away from my hometown, I knew a road trip to

was imminent. A friend and I decided to fly into The Empty Nest today. Getting to meet the woman behind the blog and to see her creations in person was icing on the cake. Here is sweet Janet at her shop desk:

Isn’t she just the cutest thing? For those who don’t live close enough to pop by the shop, I’ll share several photos from my little iPhone camera. First up is the front display window as seen from the sidewalk outside. Janet has arranged a little vignette of a sewing room. Can you make out the sewing machine on the right?

Once inside, the shop is just adorable and filled with the things we all love. Dishes (!), gorgeous painted furniture, aprons, sweet hand-crafted children’s sweaters, cloches, wooden rulers, crystal, tea cups, prints, and, oh yeah, Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, and much, much more. If you are looking for a gift for yourself or a friend, this is the place to come. Eye candy galore! Take a gander.

I fell in love with this buffet. It really was a good thing we didn’t have room in the car for this. (Not to mention there is no room in my house, but that wouldn’t have stopped me if we could have transported this beauty home.) This is a totally gorgeous piece finished in ASCP Old White with clear wax. Janet left the top in its original finish. Just a stunning piece!

Janet has scattered salvaged window frames about the walls of her shop. Each frame is painted in an ASCP color.

Here you can see one of the ASCP cupboards and part of the ASCP paint sample wall. The Empty Nest will also be carrying Miss Mustard Seed’s new line of milk paints.

As for me, I made my first ASCP purchase today. I have joined the ranks of those who eye every piece of furniture, shelf, basket, and wire stand as a possible paint project.

Let the painting begin! More projects will lead to more paint which will lead to more road trips to Warrenton and visits to The Empty Nest. It’s all good.

Thank you, Janet, for your hospitality and for sharing your beautiful shop and creations with us. Wishing you many years of success at The Empty Nest!

Tammy

Posted in Dishes, Linens, Silver, Tea Set, Uncategorized, Vintage | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments