Elizabeth Holcombe ~whimsies and words~

Big Time Man-Tique

Hello, My Friends!~~~

Today I hit a couple of fun estate sales near my home. When I go to estate sales I take a large reusable grocery bag (or two) and just put things in the bag I think are interesting and I can afford. Today one of the sales was advertised at the estate of a 3-star General (there are a lot of those such military folks living and retiring here in the Washington, DC area) I found several interesting things (none of them military, which does not interest me) and put them in my bag. When my bag was half full, it was time to pay.

The nice woman running the sale gave me a good price on everything in my bag, including charging me a dollar for this scarf I found which had a map of France.

I thought it was cool even though tattered, stained, and made of nylon, but I know that things with France on them have an appeal in my etsy shop and I thought I would list it there for a few dollars above the one dollar I paid.

After getting my goodies home and sorting through them, I took a closer look at the France map scarf.

The little map in the corner was intriguing, especially the bottom part about "German Patrols." That when it dawned on me that this was no ordinary scarf.

There are markings in it, and in the bottom corner (couldn't get a clear picture) in fountain pen is the inscription "Souvenir of WWII, carried by me in battle," followed by three initials.

After doing some internet research I learned that this is a 1944 D-Day Invasion Map from World War II. It was made of the same type of mylon used in parachutes and was commonly carried by parachute jumpers. After showing it to my husband and other "dudes" on my street, they all drooled over my find and said I had to keep it, in fact frame it. After looking it up on ebay we found that a similar one solf for over $200. Our son said he would like to have it framed in his bedroom. Fine by me.

So, there you have it. I accidentally found a piece of WWII history. My husband said I have a good eye. Not really, I just thought I had found a cool map of France--well, I guess I kind of did :)~~~XXOO, Beth

Estate Sale Adventure

Hello, My Friends!~~

I don't know if I have blogged about my not liking to drive on highways. I live inside the notorious Washington, DC beltway. I work at home and on a few days only a few minutes away, so I don't need to hit the very VERY conjested and always under construction DC beltway. Today I made an exception. There was an estate sale advertised near Mount Vernon (that is George Washington's home and a major area tourist attraction) which is 30 minutes from my home and the only sensible way to get there is by highway. When I read the estate sale had a 60 year accumluation of stuff and craft supplies I just could't resist. Gritting my teeth and playing my favorite Beatles CD, I hit the highway and made it to the estate sale without incident.

I got there almost two hours after the sale opened and nearly had the house to myself. Here is my haul...

Millinery flowers, West German spun cotton mushrooms, craft booklets, adorable miniatures, and a fabulous putz church in orginial box!

Figurines, plastic flowers, craft kit, Christmas and more! I am so glad I went. Digging though boxes of vintage craft supplies on a table in a very crusty basement all by myself was complete bliss! I found the large vintage Christmas citrus box in the trash outside of the garage. I am shameless, I know!~~~I can't wait to use these supplies in new creations and to share some of the love in my Dime Store Chic etsy shop!

I took a little different route on the way home, heading down Route 1 toward Alexandria and took a celebration break at Krispy Kreme Donuts. I had two of those melt-in-your-mouth delights along with a big unsweetened iced tea. I can't think of a better lunch after a wonderful estate sale!~~~I hope you, too, have an adventure very soon!~~~XXOO, Beth

Three Tiers High!

Hello, My Friends!~~~

I recently purchased a vintage 1930's wedding cake topper and couldn't resist making a wedding cake-inspired pin cushion.

Three tiers high. That's ten inches tall. Crazy!

The adorable couple seems to be holding each other tight so they won't fall off!~~~XXOO, Beth

Kitty's New Quilt

Hello, My Friends!~~~

Remember from this post a few days ago, I had bought a fabulous vintage quilt for a wonderful price? Well, after I laundered it carefully in Woolite I put it on our bed and what a wonderful fit! Well, it didn't take long for our cat, Gyro, to decide our bed and new (old) quilt was his.

This is how I found him this morning...

Completely passed out with his hind legs and tail in the sunshine.

The picture of kitty cat contentment...I'll leave him be for now.

Have a contented day!~~~XXOO, Beth

Hot Crowded Time at the Big Flea and A Quick Escape

Hello, My Friends!~~~

Oh my! I will be happy when the temperatures are no longer in the triple digits! This morning I set out for the DC Big Flea out in Chantilly, VA at teh Dulles Expo Center. The Big Flea is now condensed into one bigh building instead of two, as the expo center folks sold one of the buuldings to Wal-Mart. Really????

Be that as it may, I went ready to shop in the air conditioning with my neighbor's daughter, Maggie, and my other neighber and good friend, Caroline. We walked right in as they opened up a few minutes early and it didn't take me long to snag some wonderful goodies. After about 2-1/2 hours, this is the loot I purchased!...

Lots of fun and whimsy!

Fabulous black barkcloth with a killer PA Dutch style design AND great vintage early 1960's paper dolls in wonderful uncut condition!

More paper dolls, figurines, vintage 1940's sewing patterns, and cotton Christmas goodies!

More figurines, too cute! And more holiday goodness!

We actually left the Big Flea after 45 minutes and walked though the unforgiving heat to the Holiday Inn on the other side of the parking lot, where Truffle Pigs had set up their own sale as they were wait-listed to the Big Flea and didn't get in. Clever girls that they are, had a room full of the sweetest eye candy and sewing notions! Their hand made creations are truly drool worthy! One thing I really needed to find was rickrack and Truffle Pigs didn't disappoint. Here is what I brought at Truffle Pigs...

Yards and yards of rickrack! Buttons and fabric too! And the cutest plastic bunny/flower pot!~~~It was a delight-FUN morning getting to see friends and being with friends and, of course, fabulous vintage shopping! I look forward to including many of my finds into new creations for Beth's Bagz etsy shop and listing some in my Dime Store Chic etsy shop and Ebay to share the love! Thanks so much for stopping by and may you find "cool" goods in this heat too!~~~XXOO, Beth

 

 

Code Red Estate Sale

Hello, My Friends!~~~

Code red air quality day today. Yuck! I can't belive it actually got more hot and humid today than yesterday! Even waiting in the shade of a large tree at 9 in the morning was brutal! But the wait wasn't long and the house was jam packed. Unfortunatley there wasn't a lot that interested me. But I did find a treasure. This lovely vintage quilt...

It's a queen size, which will fit our bed perfectly! I love the jadeite green color and the fabrics used to make the rings!

The quilt was priced at $25 which I thought was an excellent price given the estate sale company running the sale which usually prices things way too high. When I took the quilt to the area where you can hold items you wish to buy and have hands free to shop, one of the folks working the sale told me that the quilt must have been mis-marked and she'd have to check the price. This isn't the first time this has happened to me with this company. It really makes me mad when they do this and unfortunatley they don't handle it very well practically accusing me and other customers (I've seen it happen to others before) of switching price tags. Incredible. They have all week to set up, you'd think someone in charge would take a look at the prices to make sure everything is in order.

But today luck was on my side and they sold me the quilt for the price they marked: $25. Yay! I also bought a few other goodies...

Santas, mushrooms, and a sweet deer, all destined for pin cushions--although the deer will be one large pin cushion! And a Krispy Kreme mug which caught my eye because of the nifty thing inside...

A little ceramic donut! So when drinking from the mug you say to yourself in your best Mommy voice: "Drink it all down, Honey, so you can see the donut!" I usually don't buy mugs because we, like many folks, have way too many of them, but I couldn't resist this one for a dollar.

So, stay cool, and pray for a big ol' thunderstorm to wash away this heat!~~~XXOO, Beth

Code Orange Farmer's Market

Hello, My Friends!~~~

Whew! Are you as hot and sweaty in your neck of the woods as we are here in the Washington, DC area? My goodness! The news announced this as a code orange air quality day which means don't even step outside because the air is that bad! The only thing that appreciates this intense heat and humidity is my grocery store orchids which just thrive in this!

Despite that, I needed to do my early Thursday morning routine. I got up bright and early and by the time I went out to the Annandale Farmer's Market which opens at 8 a.m. the temperature was already 88 degrees! The air is as sultry as a sideways glance from Lauren Bacall.

I shopped at my favorite organic vendors and bakers and this is the bounty I brought home...

I'm not using a special misty photo technique here, it's just that my camera from the air conditioning brought out into the humid heat fogs up. The blueberries are candy sweet, and the breads are whole wheat and sweet pepper with cheese. I 'll slice the squash longways, brush with olive oil and sprinkle with parmesean and bake. Yum-mmy!

And here are some goodies I am growing in our garden for the first time...

Kale--I cut some leaves after I took this photo and plan to oven roast them later.

Brussel Sprouts...they're there all tiny and cute where stem meets stalk.

Beets...I think the leaves are gorgeous!

And celery...please don't mind the weeds. I've tried a few of the stalks. Strong but great dipped in hummus!

Please please please if you are living where the intense heat is in your world, stay cool!~~~XXOO, Beth

Christmas In July!

Hello, My Friends!~~~

It's Christmas in July at Beth's Bagz!

Glitter, shiny, and bright!

One shipping price no matter how many goodies you purchase in one order! Thanks so much for stopping by!~~~XXOO, Beth

 

Great Aunt Ethel's Lane Chest

Hello, My Friends!

Today I dug out a treasure trove of "artifacts" from my Great Aunt Ethel's Lane cedar chest. Aunt Ethel died in 1980 at age 86. Her furniture and other items were distrubuted among my family, and this huge cedar chest of hers ended up in the storage room of our river place. It hasn't been opened in many many years. Today we took a peek inside.

In addition to newspapers from the 30's about the Lindbergh baby kidnapping and King Edward's abdication, and some World War II ration books, was a nice assortment of nursing books from 1919 or earlier. Aunt Ethel was a nurse and studied nursing in Danville, VA. No one in my family otther than her was in medicine, and we all gasped at some of the illustrations in these old books. I get queasy from looking at anatomy pictures--don't ask me why!

What are those people doing to that child?

 
Some of these illustrations are interesting! But they still make me a little queasy...OK, I'm wierd...:)

Instead of tossing these books out, I decided that someone might be able to use them. I listed some of the books and other ephemera we found in the chest in Dime Store Chic this afternoon. I think I'll use any of the proceeds to have the cedar chest refinished as it is gorgeous and needs serious TLC.

Also, and please pardon another "commercial", I will be listing new Christmas and other vintage creations in "Christmas In July" in Beth's Bagz tomorrow afternoon (EST). Here is a peek...

And...

If you have a minute drop by tomorrow afternoon! Thanks so much and have a wonderful rest of your weekend!~~~XXOO, Beth

 

 

Warm Winter Wishes!

Hello, My Friends!~~~

OK, it is brutally hot out there! Just gnarly hot! So what have I been doing? Making Christmas! Why not?

Oh yes! I'll be hosting Christmas in July at Beth's Bagz etsy shop on Sunday afternoon, July 17th! I will stock my shop to the rafters with holiday inspired, and MORE, goodies!

Even though the sun is shining strong and bright, making everything toasty warm (hot!), I think it's time for a little holiday sparkle! Don't you?

AND until July 17th there is FREE SHIPPING at Beth's Bagz with reduced prices on all handmade goodies! If you have a minute stop on over!

Thanks SO much! And see you on the 17th!~~~XXOO, Beth