Hotsie Totsie

Oh boy, has it been hot in the midwest!  So much so, I haven't been pounding the pavement much scooping up great antiques to offer to you, my treasured customers.

Auctions have been put on the back burner because of the heat but before the furnace started up in full-force, I attended two terrific auctions.  I crazily woke up one morning at 2 a.m. and drove 6+ hours to Cozad, Nebraska to a farm auction and I was not disappointed!  I found some unusual pieces like this antique stove board:

Isn't that divine?  I've learned that stove boards were put near the wood-burning stoves so that ashes and embers wouldn't set the wood floor on fire. This one has an air of Frank Lloyd Wright, don't you think?

This hand-painting was definitely a must-have when I saw it.  You can just imagine this hanging in a Nebraska farmhouse in the early 1900's:

I also scored this very old suitcase with the original owner's name:

I listed the suitcase on Etsy and it sold right away to someone who moved to the West Coast from Nebraska.  This is one of the reasons I adore selling antiques because many people buy items that give them good, wholesome memories.  :)

The second auction this summer was in Green Ridge, Missouri at a lovely antebellum home situated far from the main road on a plat of land with beautiful, formal gardens and charming outbuildings like this chicken house:

I really wish I had taken more pictures that day, but I was so enthralled with the antiques and vintage items being offered that I took my time there instead of taking pictures of the glorious location.  A former antique dealer lived there and did it ever show!  The only other photograph I took was my stash at the end of the auction, which was on a very hot day:

I'm hoping to get the box you see on the left and the rugs underneath listed on eBay and Etsy this weekend, so keep watch!  I still have other goodies to be listed, but if you haven't checked out my Etsy page lately, please do.  There are many goodies for you to look at while keeping cool in your air-conditioned abode.  

Filling Up the Shops

There are lots of new items in the Etsy shop you may want to check out like this clock:

Wouldn't it be perfect for a photography / movie prop?  It's quite large and wonderfully rusty!

Mr. and Mrs. Oink are looking for a new home:

I couldn't resist photographing the pair on the old feed sack that reads, "American Extra Heavy." Just the way we like our pigs before they turn into bacon but don't worry Mr. and Mrs. Oink-you two are safe from becoming breakfast.  :)

Just this past weekend, I found this tackle box at the farm auction.  It was full of tangled fishing wire and tackle, but I emptied it out and cleaned it up and now it can be repurposed for a great industrial piece to store remote controls or your mail and keys by the front door.

A few new items coming out of my sewing room include this set of flour sacks-turned-bowl filler ornies:

My favorite windmill photograph was printed on fabric at Spoonflower and made into a pillow:

And finally, an old photograph taken of a fishing cabin at the Lake of the Ozarks was also printed on fabric at Spoonflower and made into a pillow:

Click on the Etsy banner to find these items and more!  Our shop on eBay also has a few items currently running.  Several more items will be listed soon, so keep checking back!

What does a Donkey, Elf and Mushroom Have in Common?

Just the cutest little planter on the face of this planet, that's all.

You can find it here for the next 6 days:

Donkey Pulling Mushroom Cart Planter

Victorian Era Lace Sash

While in Emma, Missouri, I picked up a storage container full of odds and ends including antique lace still on the bolt, as well as vintage baby clothes and such.  Near the bottom of the box, I noticed an antique lace sash.

 It is in beautiful condition with rolls of exquisite cream-colored lace and pink ribbon.  The sash comes from a time of beautiful Edwardian fashion:

The auction listing for the sash is here.

If you enjoy that period of time, you will probably find this video to be most pleasing (turn up your speakers):

DeKalb Flying Ear of Corn

I grew up in Illinois; the same area where DeKalb Ag started.  As long as I can remember, the flying ear of corn logo has been a part of everyday life for me.  When we bought our home, I started collecting vintage DeKalb memorabilia for the dining room.  My favorite piece is this DeKalb sign:

It's probably at least 3 feet in length and at least 3 feet high and weighs a TON!  We purchased it from an out-of-the-way antique shop near the Kansas/Nebraska border.  It was sitting behind a large collection of "stuff" on the back wall.  After digging it out, we talked the dealer down to $75.  It's my prized DeKalb possession.

Over the years, I have also collected DeKalb seed sacks.  Recently, I decided to cut one up and turn it into a pillow:

Since I have quite a few seed sacks in my collection, this one is listed on eBay here.

I have another pillow made from an old dairy feed sack from East St. Louis, Illinois. It was the artwork that drew me in with the dollar sign and a dairy cow peeking through.

This pillow is also listed on eBay here.

I'm headed to a farm auction in Missouri tomorrow.  The last time I went to an auction in that neck of the woods, I didn't come away with much because there were a lot of dealers with very deep pockets.  But I'm still going because it appears that the farm has been in the owner's hands for decades and there are several outbuildings full of items.  The pictures show many great dust-covered primitives; just the way I like it!

A Weekly Shop Update

So, my HHR is sitting in the garage looking all Sanford & Sons filled to the brim with the latest auction finds.

My husband asked me today, after he moved the HHR out into the driveway in order to get the lawn mower out, where I was going to store my new load because the studio is looking eerily like an episode of Hoarders.  

The Cottage is acquiring and nesting (hoarding) for the winter season.  Even so, what with all of the weekend auction fun, I listed some new goodies on eBay and Etsy. 

This is one of my favorites:

a wonderfully old, chippy red dish strainer discovered at the farm auction in northern Missouri.  It was to be auctioned with a large box of other items, but I plucked it right out and held it up so that I could purchase it separately; it's THAT cool!

But I'm not one to always go with the grain so I think a great idea to repurpose this old dish strainer is to use it as an organizational area.

I displayed this with some workout videos and an old book.  I think the dish dryer would be perfect as a place to store your favorite magazines on the coffee table,  the children's favorite videos that are often watched, or even a bill organizer.

It's a fun way to reuse and repurpose an otherwise mundane household item!

So back to the topic of the weekly shop update, this upcoming week I will be organizing the hoard while last week I added to the hoard only to add more to the hoard this upcoming Saturday.  It's a rough life, but someone has to live it.  :)

A Weekly Shop Update

I think I'm going to try a new weekly entry on this blog that will give a rundown of the last week's activity; sort of a behind-the-scenes look.  We'll see how it goes.  :smile:

It's been a rather busy week here at the Cottage.  Saturday I was perusing the upcoming auctions and noticed a farm auction near the Missouri/Iowa border for the following day and decided to make the trek north for nearly 200 miles.  It was rainy, but that's OK.  Rain can signify good deals and I'm happy to find good deals!

The last portion of the drive was rural and this was the first time my Chevy HHR went "off-roading."  My former Honda Element and I have had many, many good years traveling country roads like this, but since purchasing the HHR, I've tried to keep her on blacktop because she's a bit more of a car-car and less of a sturdy-box-that-goes-anywhere, like my Element.

However, I must say, I was pleased with both the HHR's ability to navigate through mud and loose gravel and the OnStar directional help,  so maybe she will be more Element-like after all!  The auction was pretty pleasing, as well, and I found quite a few items I will be listing on eBay and Etsy.

If all goes as planned, the HHR and I will make another trek to a Kansas farm auction tomorrow.  Luckily, the weather looks to be sunny and 73 degrees.  Yay!

-Don't forget, this week is Feedsack Week here at the Cottage.  Many feedsacks are listed on both venues and some are closing tomorrow on eBay!  A few of them are from my personal collection, so take a look!

-Speaking of feedsacks, I've been busy sewing up a new line of pillows that will be featured on my Etsy site.  Here's a sneak peek at some pillows that are in line for the final stitching:

The large pillow on the left was made from a vintage dairy feed sack from East St. Louis, Missouri.  The rooster pillow was constructed from a child's apron and the cat pillow used to be a table runner in its' former life.  All pillows were backed with vintage bed sheet material.

And finally, our Etsy page has a new look!  I thought the little girl looked like me when I was young and used to roller skate in the basement and on the back patio:

Have a great weekend!

The Week of Feedsack Love

It's all about the feedsacks this week on Etsy.

Ebay  is seeing some feedsack action, as well.

George's Skelly Uniform

His name was George and he worked as an attendant at the Skelly Gas Station on the corner in Small Town, USA.  That was back in the day when a full-service experience was still in vogue; you know, when someone pumped your gas with a smile, washed the windows and checked the oil.  I barely recall that era, however I often got gas at a station in Sycamore, Illinois from one of the last dying breeds back around 1990, but that's about it.

Somehow I miss those days, even though I didn't truly experience them.  It was a time of cordial greetings, a smile and the assurance that someone was looking out for your welfare and it is a far cry from today's trip to the gas station.

The uniforms of yesteryear are now stored in the back of closets, sitting at the bottom of boxes and completely forgotten.  George's Skelly uniform, however, is still around even though he isn't.

The holes and ground-in dirt recall a hard-working man.

Sewn-in patches covering holes.

Original Skelly Uniform Coat

Big Sale on eBay!

Click the eBay link to your left and peruse our sales.  Many items have been reduced and have Buy-It-Now pricing!

I have been hitting the country auction circuit and have lots of GREAT new items ready to list, so I'd like to move out the past inventory to make room for the newly-acquired inventory!