Gathering mode

I must be in "gathering mode" - I've been shopping like crazy, hitting the thrift stores and hunting down bargains on Ebay, and having absolutely wonderful luck! (I consider myself lucky that in addition to having the "hording gene," I also seem to have the "purging gene." I can be brutal in getting rid of stuff - do NOT hire me to clean out your stash!) I'm so excited to show you some of my recent finds!

First, after last week's encounter with a local Ebay seller who had some beautiful Rose Chintz plates, I stumbled upon another auction for over 60 pieces of this lovely pattern - all with what I believe to be the original vintage backstamp. A few items were listed as chipped or cracked, but most of the lot was to be in good condition - so I held my breath and took the plunge as the first bidder, and won! A very large box arrived for me on Saturday, and it contained my Rose Chintz treasure: 

Now all of this is not for me - I will be keeping a few pieces, and offering the rest for sale as soon as I can go through it all, touch each piece, look for chips, cracks, etc. - but by and large, it seems the auction description was spot-on with only a few pieces that are truly unusable. (But even those would make lovely props in a vintage vignette!) I am thrilled! 
Also from Ebay were a large lot of colorful cloth napkins - some for crafting and some for the table: 

And this pretty little original oil painting featuring a bold red teapot and dainty green cup. It's only 8 x 6 inches in size, and I'm now on the hunt for a suitable frame: 

This auction was also a great deal: a bargain price for a set of 6 dinner plates in Homer Laughlin Eggshell Georgian "Countess," free shipping, and a motivated seller who accepted my "best offer" AND even sent me one extra plate! I am IN. LOVE. with this pretty, pretty pattern! 

Next up are the thrift-store finds. I nabbed this sweet serving bowl for just 79 cents at the Goodwill: 

And I paid just under $20 total for these three treasures at my favorite antique mall, the Brass Armadillo, where it was 15 percent off day!  

Here they are in closeup - first, a sweet little bust standing about 10 inches high. I had one of these years ago but it got broken and I've been looking almost 10 years for a replacement at a great price.  

Next, a pair of white bread plates in mulberry transferware - and the most informative backstamp I've ever seen! I'm now on a mission to learn more about Miss Clarice Cliff - it seems she was more of an art deco designer for various English potteries, and did not like these formal "transferware" patterns. I, however, simply love them - especially in red or mulberry.  

Finally - this pretty table runner in Spring hues of pink, lavender and soft gray. I think this may find its way into the next vignette on Grandma's table!  

Whew!! That's been my fun for the past week - oh! And, I have finally taken the plunge and put a few things into an Etsy shop! You can find it here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/PaintedPiglet  All dishes for right now, but working on expanding as fast as I can! 
I hope you have had some moments of thrifty joy this week - what have you found lately that you absolutely love?? 
More soon,

Sunday painting

I have a small collection of what I used to call "amateur paintings," all picked up for a couple dollars or less at area thrift stores. Later I learned another expression for them: "Sunday paintings," meaning pictures created by people who took up painting as a hobby or weekend pursuit. My collection centers around landscapes and still-lifes - barns, houses and floral arrangements. Here are a few of my favorites: 

I even tried my hand at painting one - yes, on a Sunday: 

Since I recently re-painted the Mom-cave, I've been trying to be really particular about how I arrange them. Slowly but surely, I'm getting many of them up on the wall. 

I recently acquired this charming little beauty - the colors and subject were lovely, but it was missing a frame. 

No matter, a few weeks later I spotted this 11 x 14 frame at a different store for just 99 cents. It has the routed edges on the insides so the canvas will fit down inside. 

Today I took on a different type of "Sunday painting" and just applied a few coats of my off-white acrylic craft paint to the 99-cent frame. I put it all together and really love the result: 

The tabletop above is still a work in progress, but I do kind of like the painting in its frame next to the creamy white pitcher. 
Are there any type of  "other people's artwork" that you like to collect? 
More soon,

New thrifty finds

Pussy cat, pussy cat, where have you been? 
Well I haven't been to London to visit the Queen, I can tell you that! 
I feel like I've been in a sort of self-imposed exile from all of my decorating, vintage treasures, and good ol' junk-hunting. Do you ever get side-tracked into another area of interest that pulls you away and suddenly you realize you've been neglecting something for awhile that used to make you really happy?
Yep, that's me. A couple weeks ago I allowed myself to get sucked back into the world of politics - reading and commiserating with like-minded pol-junkies about some the stuff going on in this beloved U.S.A. of ours, and quite honestly it depressed me to the point where I withdrew a bit from reading and commenting on all my favorite beautiful blogs. 
Add to that a new blogging project that I launched (well, am 99% ready to launch - no, it's not a political blog! LOL)... and well, I've just been MIA around here for bit.  I'm happy to say I did a little junking today and came away quite happy: I spent less that FIVE dollars! Here's what I picked up.  
A set of two deep-green fluted vases, each about 4 inches tall, 79 cents each: 

A sweet little plate featuring my favorite Spring birdies for $1.99: 

And this 11x14 frame for 99 cents, with the routed inside edges so I can fit a painted canvas inside it. I'll be painting it off-white: 

Also, before I went on hiatus a few weeks ago, I found this gorgeous covered casserole dish for $1.99. Now I need a "covered casserole" like I need another hole in my head, but this thing has SUCH a  pretty shape, was in pristine condition, and the colors and scrolly design are really pretty. You can see the backstamp in one of the photos below - it is the Signature Collection, Queen Anne pattern, made in Japan. 

Alongside it were cups, saucers, berry bowls, bread plates, luncheon plates and a sugar/creamer set, all in the same pattern, for 79 cents per piece. I picked up 4 each of the bread plates, luncheon plates and berry bowls   - trying to leave some for someone else to discover, and trying to stick to buying what I knew I might actually use. (I actually tried to sell all these pieces on Ebay after I got them home, but no takers. That's okay - I wanted to keep them anyway!) 
How about you - what have you found lately? 
More soon,

Child's clay pottery pieces

Happy Valentine's Day! I am linking this week to one of my favorite link parties, Suzanne's Vintage Thingie Thursday. I love browsing through all the treasures! 


One day - let's call it 10 years ago - while digging through the bins of loose junk at a thrift store, I spied a little piece of glazed, molded clay. I pulled it out of the bin and quickly realized: it was a small clay "monster," obviously made by a child.

Call it PMS, but I got pretty emotional thinking that someone’s mother had likely died and their child’s handmade art got donated to the thrift store. 

Needless to say, my soft collector's heart fell in love with this little guy. So I took him home, and for the next several years I picked up "clay projects" with surprising frequency - to the point where I had a pretty impressive collection of orphaned childs' pottery. 

I actually re-donated many of these pieces after I pulled them from storage following the flood in 2008 that took our house. But I've kept the Monster Guy, and a few other favorite pieces, and thought I was done with this phase of my collecting. 
Until about two weeks ago, when I happened upon this hefty heart dish at the Goodwill. 

My daughter spied it first, pointed it out, and I actually said, "Oh, it's really nice but I don't buy clay projects anymore."  

"Are you sure?" she asked. "It's pretty big, and it's only 99 cents." At that point I took it from her and began to inspect it. It was covered in little stamped markings, probably using similar tools that made the "teeth" of Monster Guy. 

Even with the pretty red and yellow sides, and the generous size, I was going to put it back until I turned it over and read the writing on the back: 

"To: Samtha Samantha, From: Kyle with love"
Someone please tell me I'm not the only one who gets emotional over these things... 

Vintage Thingie Thursday - Nippon Saucers

I've been on a mission to re-do the "Mom-cave" this past week - I do have a few remaining small projects, but one of the things I came across while cleaning/organizing was a set of five of these sweet little saucers. Two of the five were displayed in my grandmother's home for many decades - I'm not sure when she acquired them - and the remainder were in storage there. Two of them have some fairly noticeable flaws, and I'm now happily displaying three of them on my little restyled knick-knack shelf.

Based on the backstamp, I learned that they were a product of the Te-Oh China Company in Japan, and are examples of hand-painted Nippon ware produced between 1891-1921. 

"Nippon" is (or was) the Japanese pronunciation of that country's name. Beginning in 1891 the US's McKinley Tariff Act required that all imported products bear the name of the country of origin. So, the word "Nippon" appeared on pieces imported from Japan beginning that year. Then, in 1921, the rules were amended to state that the name of the country of origin must be stated in English. Because the name Nippon was determined to be a Japanese word, its use was dis-allowed so imports after 1921 were marked "Japan" or "made in Japan."  
Along with the Te-Oh backstamp (which was a fairly common mark found on Nippon pieces), the translucence of these tiny plates is another indicator that they are delicate, authentic Nippon.

So is the use of gold edging and the raised dots and lines on parts of the design, although much real Nippon is actually more elaborate in design. 

I am so happy to be displaying these delicate saucers - and am amazed that they could be anywhere from 92 to 122 years old! 
I'm sharing my pretty Nippon saucers at Suzanne's fabulous link party, Vintage Thingie Thursday!

No no no no n- well, okay

Have you ever got "stuck" with something on Ebay because people were bidding against you and darn it - you just weren't going to let them have it cheap?
No? Maybe it's just me... 
Anyway, recently while scouring a flea market I came upon a Christmas tree figurine from Precious Moments that plays "Silent Night." Now I am not a fan of Precious Moments figures - I do not collect them, I don't even particularly like them. 
But I saw this tree, and the color palette was soft and "shabby," if you know what I mean. And I thought, maybe I could just collect one piece of Precious Moments - a piece that doesn't depict the big-headed, teardrop-eyed children that just don't appeal to me. 

(The photo above is courtesy of PJ's Precious Collectibles on Ebay - who by the way is a wonderful seller of Precious Moments figures if you are looking to buy them.)
But the asking price was $25, and this was a thrifting trip, and that was just too much money.
So I came home and looked it up on Ebay, and watched a few auctions. And while I was surfing Ebay, I came upon this little piece: a little car with a Christmas Tree tied to the top, and a worrisome little puppy anxiously looking out the car window. 

It wasn't $25, and it featured free shipping. And, seriously, I really thought it was adorable. So - against every fiber of my being, I bid on a Precious Moments figurine. 
And was immediately out-bid. Well!, I huffed. Not about to let someone snatch this out from under me so cheaply, I entered a maximum bid just to be sure that the other bidder wouldn't get such a grand bargain. Only this time, I became the high bidder at $15. And over the next few days, I stayed there, wondering if someone would come along to outbid me. To save me from myself. 
They never did. 

I did use my penance time wisely, by researching the piece I had bid on. I learned it is part of a Christmas Village series called Sugar Town, pieces for which were manufactured in the mid-80's through mid-90's. I decided that it didn't really make sense to own just a car from an entire Christmas Village, and that if I won the auction, I would need one more piece to put with it so at least I would have a little scene. 
The Sugar Town series is not short on pieces - I narrowed my options down to something under $10, which meant I would get a mailbox, railroad crossing sign, fire hydrant, split-rail fence, or other small item to suggest that the car was part of a larger universe. 
The day I won the auction for the car (at $15 with free shipping), I also did a "buy it now" for the split-rail fence ($9.75 with free shipping). 

So if you are doing the math, you have just realized that I spent $25 on Ebay on two pieces of something I do not collect, all because I did not want to spend $25 at the thrift store on something I do not collect. 
Fortunately, my pieces arrived safely (both on the same day!) and they really are adorable. 

I still do not collect Precious Moments, but now I have two pieces. 
Maybe I need the little lighted Sugar Town Chapel, so that Sam the Puppy has a reason to be driving his little car.