Giveaway! Vintage Paper Ephemera

Note:  This giveaway has ended.
Congratulations to Carla, winner of our Spring Trends 2011 Giveaway!

Read Below for this week's opportunity for free stuff!

My Mom has an addiction to material.  I never really understood it until recently, when I wandered down the scrapbooking aisles of a local craft store.  I do not scrapbook, I am not meticulous enough....but oh, the paper...the patterns, the color....

Suddenly it made sense that growing up there were baskets piled with bright colored fusions of art and cotton, drawers stuffed full of subtle print and satiny textures.  It must be in my genes to fall in love with patterned toile and gigham checks!

I have many sheets of pretty paper and what you in the know call 'paper ephemera' piling up in my workshop.  I have some use for them, but it has gone beyond buying to use.  I am full blown addicted to their look.  And the vintage stuff--the stuff you can't just run to WallyWorld and pick up, well that is like paper ephemera fine wine.  Meant to be used sparingly, not the easiest to find, costs a bit more to get the good stuff....

Which brings me to this week's giveaway! 

This week we will be featuring the shops of Rachel @ Curious Crow on Etsy.  She has graciously donated some AMAZING Vintage paper ephemera for this giveaway.  This is the good stuff!

Here's the Giveaway conditions:

1. You must comment to win.
2. If you sign up to follow the blog, it gives you one extra entry for that week.
3. If you comment on Tuesdays feature with Rachel from Curious Crow on Etsy, it will give you double entries.
4.  Numbers will be assigned to the comments and winners chosen at random, and announced on Monday, March 7, 2011.

Here's what we're giving away!

10 pages from a vintage 1946 Arithmetic Textbook 



10 vintage French Vocabulary Cards!







Imagine all the projects you could do with these...or you could stockpile them.  :)

Happy Commenting!

There's Still Time to Enter the Spring Trends Giveaway!!!!

Make sure to comment on any of this week's posts to gain entry in the 1970s Spring Trends Giveaway!

I have had such fun with this giveaway, I have decided to make this a usual thing!  So next Monday, we will be starting a new giveaway, with an item from a fabulous featured etsy seller--Stay Tuned!  Sign up to follow this blog so you don't miss out on vintage goodies, and mediocre musings!!  :)

On My Soapbox About Goodwill Stores

I may get a backlash when I post this, I'm ok with it...I already know that Goodwill does good things, and that they help people find their way to a better career.  I also think it's great that for the most part folks who cannot spend or do not want to spend extra cash can shop there.  I do not have a problem with them trying to make a LITTLE extra with the whole Shop Goodwill Online thing.

But I think it has gone too far.

I have all but given up on shopping Goodwill stores, and I have been a faithful customer for years!

First-- they cleaned up the stores.  Now, I know that sounds like a crazy complaint.  What?!!!  They color coordinated?!  They stopped smelling funky?!!  They separated the glass plates from the shoelaces?!!!  How DARE they!  Well, okay--some changes were necessary...but I didn't like it, it lost all the fun of the 'dig'.

---Sidenote---as a child digging was really important to me, I used to secret myself away to the recycling center/land fill about half a mile from my house.  I thought I was an archeologist, this was abruptly put to a halt when I brought home pieces of a very used old toilet.  When my Mom came into the backyard and saw my friend Holly and I with our ancient potty shards I lost my funding so to speak.---

Second-- they raised prices.  Still I shopped there, I thought...shame on me for being upset about paying a bit more for clothes or what not, Goodwill is helping people!  Nevermind that everything is donated...this is a good company.  So I dished out the 4.99 when it used to be .99 cents, and kept on shopping.

Third-- They started to build fancier stores.  All the Goodwills around here--except the one in Marysville, Ohio (which thank goodness is still a fun place to shop) are in these new free-standing buildings.  I know that they have said it's cheaper to do it that way, and maybe it is...but really?  In St. Mary's Ohio there is a sad empty storefront in a downtown area that could really use a boost to the community.  It's not a place where there's lots of crime, there was parking there and even a little coffee shop near by, and it helped people shop in the downtown area which was good for other businesses.  That Goodwill was moved to a free standing building in a town 7 miles away right across from Walmart.  And they raised their prices again.

Fourth--And this is the one I am most put off by...they have now ordered all their shops to send anything that has vintage value...or is signed or looks nicer and older to ship it to their center for the Shop Goodwill Online Auction site.  That means lil old me, who makes my living hunting for things of value that others have given away, or are getting rid of has to bid against Jo Schmo in LA with extra cash who can take a gamble on the big bag 'o' jewelry that is now up to 75.00 dollars in bids.  I can't afford that.  75.00 is a car insurance payment, or groceries, or GAS, lol.

I read recently that CEOs of Goodwill make upwards of 200,000+ every year.

 Hmmm...Is it possible that the good idea of a Non-profit company with good intentions has gone astray?

I now enjoy estate sales, and little church thrift stores, and garage sales of people I have come to know...people in the communities Goodwill claims to help.  I think they are helping, but I think they could maybe do more if they reigned themselves in, reset their vision, took a smaller corporate salary, and kept some of the terrific things that are donated in the communities that donated them.

Just a thought.

Thrift StoreTechnology



Don't forget to comment to be eligible to win this week's Giveaway Prize--and follow me on Google for more Giveaways!!!

We were on vacation.

We can't afford the Bahamas or Paris.

We aren't really as outdoorsy as all that, so we never go camping.

There are a dozen different things we could do with time away, but we like to go to thrift stores...

Not just any thrift stores mind you, we like to hit the ones near the neighborhoods we dream of living in, but never actually would.  Not just because we couldn't afford it...but because every mini mansion looks sorta the same.  I have a philosophy that manicured lawns are really part of an illuminati plot to gain control over our communities through turf builder...anyway

This was such a day, we were in such a place, ready to walk out when my husband checked the glass case by the door.

Now, I never check the glass case, I have snubbed it because of too many 'porcelian' plates marked antique that say made in China on them...but the Jon is different.  He's a hopeful sort and so he checked.  And there, in all it's ragged box and secondhand glory it sat.  The Magellan GPS.  Insert beam of light and angel chorus here.

It was twenty dollars.  Twenty dollars to us is like, well twenty dollars before the goverment printed extra and made it worth like, fourteen dollars.  But it was a piece of technology that had hitherto eluded us, and to my husband it was like honey in the comb.  So we bought it.  It didn't work.  You knew that was going to happen didn't you...?

But when we tried it there had been the smallest flash of a screen, so we took it to Best Buy and decided to gamble on a charger and the knowledge of someone almost pre-pubescent.  The kid was right....and it worked!

Later on in the life of the Magellan GPS Roadmate 300, we had to call customer service where they transferred us to an old guy in the basement near a moldy stack of product manuals from the 19th century.  He was evidentally the only one who remembered how to change the hamster in a wheel battery on the thing.  Ok, no hamster, but our GPS is really really old.

So old that it doesn't know that certain roads exist, or lakes even...but it has been a faithful companion on many a thrift store expedition.

Lesson here...you can sometimes get decent technology--if you are willing to use older tech, and if you are wise enough to look in the glass case.

Happy Hunting!







Giveaway! 1970s Trends for Spring 2011

Note: This Giveaway has ended.

Feja Beha Erichsen in Vogue Nippon, August 2010

About four to five times a year I empty my closet and take a hard look at the reality laid out before me in a pile on bed.  Every-time I come to this conclusion--I need more clothes.

Of course, I really don't...but I usually pair these emptying out sessions with internet perusals of the latest fashion trends.  It is in that moment of anguish, when I realize that no one in Milan consulted me,
(alas, there is no designer that is showing sweats and bunny slippers as couture) that I make the cry for clothes.  It is usually right after that moment of anguish that my husband finds an excuse that removes him from the proximity of the clothing bomb that has gone off in the bedroom.

In years past, I have run out and picked up a few things to bring my wardrobe back into 'Zen'...but this year is different.  This year the proverbial belt is tight.  So how to capture the Spring 2011 trends without killing the budget?  Vintage accessories.

The look from many high end designers for Spring and Summer 2011 was 1970s influenced.  There was a return to tailored, but feminine pieces with a little late 60s early 70s flair.  There was a move toward soft sheer layers, preppy grandma-inspired bags, and colors that ranged from rust to ocean-y aquas.


So in honor of this 1970s chic-ness, and for the sake of budgets everywhere that cannot drop extra cash on a whole new wardrobe, this week I am giving away a few choice accessories that would look fabulous with say, something a little like the pic at the left.

The giveaway winners will be announced Monday morning February 28th, 2011.  Winners will be chosen at random, based on a number assigned to your comment to this weeks blog posts.  You must post a comment to be included in the giveaway!  Make sure that I have your email, either through adding it to your comment, through messaging me here on the blog, or by following me on the blog.  I also Twitter user name Beteabonshop, and I will Tweet the winners as well.

Here's your first available prize!

  This is a seventies era white faux leather clutch, a sheer chiffon scarf in the hot right now aquas and a pair of vintage Avon clip ons with a great faux turquoise look. Comment now to win this set!!

All provided by the Beteabon Shop on Etsy. USA, Canada only.

Give Away!

Make sure you stay tuned!!  I will be giving away several items from the Beteabon Shop's Secret Stash of Vintage and Hand Painted Goodies!!!!!  I will be doing an article on the items in the coming week...and you'll have a chance to enter via comment...so get ready to get free stuff!!!

A Few of my Favorite Things...for Spring

Here are a few of my current favorites for Spring on Etsy.  I need every one of these...but I have to go through my husband first.  :)  Go ahead, if I can't have them--at least you can!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/68224684/vingtage-mid-century-windsor-blue-lu-ray?

http://www.etsy.com/listing/68106372/shabby-chic-beach-cottage-pedestal?

http://www.etsy.com/listing/68165707/vintage-metal-kitchen-utility-scale-by?

http://www.etsy.com/listing/50763433/save-33-white-daffodils-set-of-4-fine?

Snow Cream.

There's something I think, that goes along with a 'vintage' way of life.  A desire to find purpose in the discarded, to reuse what was once loved...to see beauty in chips and rust and imperfections.

I would not call it frugality, though I believe in being frugal--and right now, have no choice but to be.

I think, perhaps, it's a longing for simplicity...

When I was a child, we used to make 'snow cream' an ice cream like concoction made from the fresh fallen white stuff.  Then came all the concerns about pollutants, and even acid in rain and snow.  Our snow cream days were over--even our childhood joy of catching flakes on our tongues was carefully monitored.  It was sad, and somehow felt like an era was past.

Today, I am writing this as big puffy snowflakes travel in an earthbound spiral past my window.  They add them selves to the plethora--and I mean plethora of snow already on the ground.  And I am thinking of snow cream.

I have Googled the safety of it, and found that the scientific snow eating experts say it's OK in moderation unless you live in a large city.

I live next to a corn field.

I have decided to embrace my inner child, do a little 'vintage' eating, and have some snow cream.

Snow Cream Recipe

Mix together 1/2 cup of whipping cream or cream of choice, 1 TBS sugar and 2-3 drops vanilla.  Slowly stir in 1-3 cups of clean snow, a little at a time, till it’s the right consistency.  You can adjust ingredients to suit your taste and experiment with flavors like cinnamon, butterscotch, lemon extract and eggnog.

So...the Superbowl causes heart attacks?

I was watching CBS tonight and there was an 'Eye on Your Health' report siting that Superbowl losses are now a cause of increase in cardiac attacks.

Are you kidding me?!

I appreciate the warning to aviod getting too stressed, and to watch certain beverage intakes and fatty foods (ok, ok...I'll stick by the token carrot stix)...but really?

This is sign to me that

1. Our nation Might just take sports too seriously...if the 'statistics' are true and not skewed.

2.  If the Superbowl is causing heart attacks, maybe we should pull out of, say, the Olympics...imagine how stressful it would be for your country to lose, not just your team.

3.  Fox is showing the Superbowl and CBS is 'jealous'.

4.  It's always easy to blame someone else for not taking good care of ourselves as a nation. (I understand that some people can take excellent care of themselves, and still have coronary issues.  My Dad is a cardiac patient.)

The study that this is based on was done in LA in the 1980s...and it's just coming out now.

Now that Fox has the Superbowl.  Wow, thanks CBS for the update.



Hmmm......





Here's an interesting blog on the topic

http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/49411/the-super-bowl-may-cause-heart-attacks-oh-really/

Obsessed with Tiffany Silver Color

As my readers know, I often re-paint furniture.  Lately I have become obsessed with finding the perfect silver paint to mimic Tiffany...and the pictures below.  I am still on the hunt.  If you know of any paint colors that give that almost ethereal tone of silver--let me know!!  I know I could mix one and I might have to...but oh, for this particular shade of silver!!!

When I find the way to achieve this --I will blog about it, with pictures so you can do it to!! 

 If anyone can give me a color that matches these found at www.crownfrenchfurniture.com--I will share it with everyone.  I promise!! :)

Have I Discovered the Secret to Etsy's Front Page?!

  

Only time will tell that, I may very well be doing something that many others have done before me.  

I have created a 'formula' from Etsy's front page.

I am pretty new to Etsy, even newer to making treasuries and have 'the bug' --you know, the one that bites you when people say 'good job' or 'wow' on the Treasury comments.  

I have had only a few of these comments and now I am like a gator snagged up on some chicken put out by the Swamp People in the Bijou.  

Anyway, I started writing down what I saw on the front page and realized that the treasuries are chosen not only because of fabulous pictures, original merchandise and attractive models.  

It seems they also share a common pattern.

I started using this pattern in my treasuries recently, and love the result!  This may not get your curating skills to the front page--but I like to think it may help you make a more successful treasury.

-Front Page Treasuries usually have between two and three stronger colors, with other colors much more muted and in the background.

-Pay attention to your pictures background, many front page treasuries have neutral backgrounds with tones that are varying shades of the same neutral.

-Tell an abstract story, or use an idea that carries through.  Entire collections of one kind of item, like fuzzy slippers, are not typically featured.



Box #1



Box #2



Box #3



Try this out for fun, and see what you think (it's my secret formula)
1st Box Something funny, close up words--a pillow, card, sign...ect

2nd Box Close-up texture, fills screen

3rd Box Edibles or Geekery...Specialty object, usually a pop of color

4th Box Haute Couture, or a strong neutral image--has a classier feel

5th Box Close up art print, or something that feels like it could be a close up graphic image

6th Box Farther away words, person, or object

7th Box Vertical, Angular, Narrow Image

8th Box Stronger graphic color...often vertical again

9th Box Artwork, or close up of a person

10th Box Texture, metallic or industrial...rounded

11th Box Object in image faces either a stronger right or left

12th Box Art print...often black and white or neutral

Here's one of mine I used 'the Formula' for 

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d499fb623e48eefee5251fd/the-way-we-communicateits-like?ref=pr_treasury

Of course, now that I have written this...it'll all change.  

I think though that what the eye likes, it likes.  

Happy Treasury Hunting!!!