As of Saturday when I was out of town I was thinking I was going to be showing off only three items (three great items), forgetting I had done some thrifting the week before, and then at the last minute on Sunday I hit up an estate sale with 20 minutes to spare.
I'm going to dive right in and show you my prized find....well after what led me to it.
Being out of town I didn't really have thrifting in mind since I had to make my return trip home by airplane. Therefore, I didn't want to find something and not be able to take it home. However, my mom offered for us to make a stop at a thrift store since she knows that's my thing. I said yes, in hopes I'd maybe fine a vintage sheet or two, but found something even better.
As soon as I walked into the thrift store from across the store I could see a blue dish on the wall shelf. I went straight for it. It was a blue snowflake Pyrex dish, but as soon as I got close enough to it, it looked bad. The color and snowflakes were in perfect condition, but was heavily covered in baked on grease. I looked at it sadly, put it down, and walked away. I know how hard it is to removed years of cooked on, baked on grease, and with this being 50+ years old that's a long time of possible baked on debris.
Shortly after I came back to the Pyrex when I saw my mom close to it, and showed her. "Look mom, it's $2.99, but so gross looking." She said it could be cleaned, I believed her, and grabbed it. (see dirty photos below)
I walked around some more (no vintage sheet love), then came back to where I picked up the Pyrex dish. I then looked up, high up in tip toe reach *insert angels singing here*. What I saw was something I've only seen online, and I knew exactly where I've seen it. I didn't know what it was called, but I recognized the pattern and grabbed it immediately.
I knew what I had was good. I showed it to my mom, and went straight to check out. As soon as we got in the car I started frantically looking for the blog post that showed this patterned bowl. Not even 5 minutes later I got it. Catherineholm's lotus flower, and on Ebay a 5" one was currently going for $20 (ended up selling for $41). My purchase was for $4.99 so I knew I already had a good buy, especially since the bowl I bought was 11". Yup. You heard me. An 11" Catherineholm's lotus flower enamel bowl for $4.99. It wasn't until yesterday that I found one that sold on Ebay for $105. Score!!!
My mom thought it was crazy that I was able to locate the maker of the bowl so quickly since the bowl wasn't marked. "How did you find that bowl pattern online without knowing what it was called?" My reply was, "Apron Thrift Girl". I remembered that she had a post not too long ago on a Thrift Share Monday, that talked about these bowls, and how high they were selling for on Ebay. So I went straight to her blog and scrolled through her postings. Thank you Apron Thrift Girl! :-)
Saturday, while still out of town, my aunt (actually my mom's best friend whom I call my aunt) wanted to take me out thrifting. Ugh, I was leaving that day and couldn't bare the thought of thrifting with no room in my carry-on. I already had the 1 1/4 qt Pyrex dish and 11" Catherineholm's bowl I had to make room for, and make sure I was able to carry-on to the plane with me. I told my mom I didn't want to go, but for SNG's and to kill time we went anyway.
In my previous post I talked about where we went thrifting, and how I looked around with no buying in mind. For the most part that was easy since these little shops were already taking the meat off the bone, to resell. Until I saw this. I'll admit like the blue snowflake Pyrex dish, I looked at this and put it down. Mainly due to it's size, and having to carry it on to the plane. Until I looked it up online and saw that I could make a good profit on it (that is of course if I decide to sell it).
Kron lamp |
These super cute Siamese cats lamp with glowing eyes was $20. I don't know when or where I've seen these before but they look familiar. My older sister even said the same thing when she saw them. She swears my grandma had one just like it, but my mom says no. Maybe one day it will click and I'll remember who had one, or where I've seen it before. Either way I love them, and I'm so glad I decided to buy it, regardless if I decide to sell them or not.
Wow, this post is getting long, and that's only three items. I'll make the other showings quick.
Mushroom napkin holder.
Prior to going out of town I had scored these items.
Three Fire King Blue Heaven custard cups.
Large brown Dansk enamel pot.
At Sunday's Estate sale
Three vintage amber glasses. Still researching these...if you recognize the pattern please let me know.
Small milk glass Fire King mixing bowl.
Two cute tea cups.
Very vintage-y looking Napcoware compote/bow/vase.
And this super fab avocado green Lustroware ice bucket, that looks to be in perfect condition.
Was this a great thrifting week (and a half) or what?
Oh so I managed to fit all three of my vintage finds from out of town in my newly made Weekender Travel bag, that I will share with you tomorrow. I wonder what the TSA workers think at the airport when they see items like these packed run through their x-ray machine? What would you think if you saw an enamel bowl, a Pyrex dish, and a cat lamp all in one bag?
Oh (again). The Pyrex dish I mentioned (above) was gross with baked on grease. Well, when I got home, and after I tried a standard sponge and soap wash, with no result, I decided to try Easy Off oven cleaner, and holy cow. Look how gross it was before, and how the baked on grease just literally melted away (In no way am I'm being paid by Easy Off for this post). There were a few spots that were really bad, but I just had to spray those areas a few more times to get the bake-on black crud removed. How great is that?
Yay! Pretty Pyrex. :-)
Wow, thanks so much for the Easy Off tip! I know I'll be using that one. Your cat lamp is a Kron Siamese television lamp--made in the 50s, I think. You can find them on eBay for comparables. Great find!
ReplyDeleteWow the pyrex is like new - I love that colour and pattern. BUT BUT BUT - the cat lamp is bloody AMAZING! I've never seen one like that and I love it. I'd be keeping it for definite!
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I can't believe that Pyrex came so clean! I'm definitely going to remember that little tip, because I know that I've passed dishes by because I was sure I could never get them clean.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite thing in your post is those little teacups! Are they marked? I've never seen any with that cute handle design before.
Great finds all around!
Yes, the tea cups are marked, but only with Made in U.S.A. They are super cute, I love them. :-)
DeleteAMAZING finds! And thanks for the Easy Off tip! Now I'm mad at myself for passing on some dishes I didn't think I'd be able to clean up! Next time I'll definitely take a chance and try to clean them.
ReplyDeleteThat cat lamp is 1950s by Kron (I think). If you put vintage cat lamp into ebay there seem to be two makers of similar ones. I just saw the same lamp online the other night. Great scores!
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