Aaaack! I never post my favorite first, but I just have to this time! This is the cutest little owl I have ever seen! It's ceramic, I guess, and has 'Mexico' stamped on it. I have NO IDEA how old it is or when it was made but I don't care-I had to have it!

And look! Even the back is beautiful!



I just love this apron! It's vintage and a little farm print that is just too cute!



These are the most beautiful handkerchiefs I have ever seen! They really are just gorgeous! The first one is the "Blue" one, and here is a shot of the whole thing.

And here is a detail shot...


This is the "Pink" hankie. I can't decide which one I like better!

A detail picture of the pink one...


This is a new craft book I found. It looked really great at first, and really, it is a good book. It's just that it's not that helpful to me, personally, because I've done a lot of it/those types of things already. Lots and LOTS of projects-the whole book (and it's a big one) is full of projects!


Really...I need to do less shopping and more crafting! lol!

Thrifty Vintage Finds in Gruene

Oh! Gruene, TX! I cannot believe I waited so long to go! But, I didn't want to go in the middle of summer, and this past weekend was perfect...nice and cool enough just to be considered cold. It was worth the wait!

Now, this first piece is neither 'thrifty' nor 'vintage'(bought at a regular gift shop), but...it is gorgeous and it is mine! A sculpture by artist Sandy Coulter of 'Full of Spirit Creations'. This is one of her smaller sculptures. She also has bigger ones (probably 18" to 2' tall, maybe???) that are also GORGEOUS!!! There is one in that shop that was literally pulling me to it! I don't know if y'all believe in that kind of thing or think I'm crazy or what, but, it was way, way in the back of the shop, and I could literally feel a gravitational pull...I couldn't stop and look at anything until I made my way back there. And I don't normally start at the back of a shop. But it is gorgeous and it was made for me, but I just couldn't justify spending money on that right now with needing to buy Christmas gifts for the kids. I am just going to pray and pray that it is still there after Christmas! This smaller piece (maybe 6-8" tall?) is beautiful also. The picture doesn't do it justice, but the heart is so golden and radiating...at least I could justify this one!


So moving on to the vintage/antique shop... here is a thrifty little vintage Vera Neumann Christmas tablecloth. It just barley fits my table! I'm going to replace the big, very dark red candles I usually have on that table with some lighter red ones that match, along with some greenery or something to make a matching centerpiece. I just wish I could get my hands on the matching napkins.


This is just an up close shot of the poinsetta...


One of my favorite thrifty vintage items...this Christmas Apron! I LOVE IT! I think I'm just going to go ahead and wear it out all the time. I think it would look cute with jeans and a green, red or white t-shirt and my Hanna Andersson red clogs. People may think I'm crazy, but this thing just needs to be seen! I'll have to find some coordinating fabric and made a tote, too! hee-hee!


And this is my favorite...I love all of the little nesting dolls and I have some old nesting Santa's (can't keep that out all year, though) but these are nesting OWLS! How cute are they?!? I can keep them out year round and they are adorable.


They had to throw me out of that store so they could close! Literally! And I only made it through like, 1/8th of the place. Definitely going back, sans children!

What is "vintage" anyway?

With seeing "vintage" this and that all over the place, I'm wondering how the word "vintage" is defined...is it a technical term or something used fairly liberally? When I looked it up in the dictionary, vintage has a lot to do with wine! lol! But, when talking about other things, it says, "a year or period of origin" and "old or outmoded", among other things...and that could be widely disputed! Seems pretty vague

We can probably all agree that something like this dish towel calendar from 1957 would be considered vintage.



And probably even something like this...my Mr. Pickle handmade Christmas ornament, made in the very early 1970's for me by one of my neighbors. I love this one!!!



But what about things from the 1980's or 1990's? It's a whole different century! But, since I was born in 1966, I clearly remember the 80's, so I wouldn't consider that vintage, but I see some things from that time period that are considered vintage by others. (But, maybe I'm older than I thought! LOL!) What about fabrics that are just no longer in production...like a pattern Alexander Henry discontinued last year? Or the little black and white calico that I used to get at Joann's all the time, but now they don't have it anymore?

It seems as though the definition of 'antique' is much more clearly defined. My dictionary says an antique would be something that is at least 100 years old, but I have always thought that it was something at least 50 years old...unless you are talking to a man about cars, and then it is something else all together! ha!

Anyway, if someone could help me clear this up, I would greatly appreciate it!

PS-I got some really cool, old, handmade ornaments from my mom this weekend...that's where I dug up the pickle...but I'm saving them for a post better suited for them; so check back!

*Edited here*...Head on over to Eren's blog, where she created a whole post dedicated to answering this question for me!
And today, we are headed to Gruene (pronounced 'Green'), TX for their Holiday lighting and Market Days...a place known for all of it's antique shops and things. Maybe I'll ask some people there about what vintage means to them. I feel like I need to make up a Press Badge real quick, grab a Karoke microphone and a little notebook to take notes...lol!
"Hello, this is Lauri Smith reporting on behalf of all the crafty women and their blogs, who need to know the answer to just one mind-boggling question..."Just what is 'vintage' anyway?" LOL!

Findings...

Just a little tease here. I haven't had time to get pictures of everything but here are a couple of the vintage and thrifted things I have gotten in the last couple of weeks.

First of all, this vintage chenille I found on Ebay. This was a couple of weeks ago so, I can't remember how much I paid for it, but I do know it wasn't much. It's 5 or 6 big pieces of different chenilles from cutter bedspreads. I love them all, but that blue piece with the flowers will either have to be a pillow or just framed and hung on the wall, because there is no way I'm cutting through that!



Over the weekend, Steven, Ethan and I went to a thrift store near my mom's house. I ended up with several things, but this is the only one I have a picture of so far, probably because it's my favorite!


I LOVE that owl! Not sure what I'm going to do with this, either...dress it up in a new frame and mat and hang it on the wall, or just make a pillow out of it.

I will, hopefully, get some good pictures of the other goodies tomorrow, if the sky clears up. It was all cloudy today, so pictures aren't coming out so great.