New Items in Strictly Vintage

New items in the shop including this awesome antique illustrated medical dictionary from 1921!

Sale at Addison Endpapers

One of my favorite shops, Addison Endpapers, is having a studio sale this weekend! I highly recommend going if you can make it. This family owned business seeks out the most remarkable treasures and they only have a studio sale every so often!

A Day of Finds

Had a full day! Woke up at 6:30 and headed to Niles for their annual Antique Sale. I came away with a few goodies and after a few hours of garage sale scouring and booth bargaining, I continued onto Oakland for..

... a walk in the Mountain View Cemetery with Miss Essential Monsters herself.


We stumbled on this outsider art shadow box on an unmarked grave in the "unfunded" portion of the cemetery. It was such an amazing find amongst the broken head stones and weeds of a forgotten group of graves from an Oakland's home for women.

After a few hours of graveside strolling I went to SF to see the Birth of Impressionism show at the De Young. You can't, of course, take any pics in the gallery (although I'm pretty sure I did at the Musée D'Orsay when I saw them the first time), but I did take some shots of some of my favs from the permanent collection...

Heart on a String Miniature

Heart on a String miniature gouache painting. Available for your loved one here.

Birthday Badges for Little Ones

I made these adorable (if I do say so myself) one of a kind badges for birthdays and celebrations. I found these vintage prize ribbons (for horses) and recovered them with fabric. I used mermaid fabric on some of them from Heather Ross's line Mendocino. I added new ribbons and a bit of glitter paper.  They are available in my etsy store!!!!

They make wonderful package toppers too!

My First Etsy Sale!

Yea! I sold my first pair of miniature paper shoes on etsy. The purchaser, Miss Amber Mitchell, sent me this pic of them in their new home! Check out my etsy shop for other adorable paper creations by me, and look for amber's up and coming shop on etsy soon!

Estate Sale Finds

Went to two estate sales today in Berkeley. One was off San Pablo on Ward St., and the other was off College and Parker on Etna. The one near College was in a Julia Morgan house that was very run down, but there was potential there for some good finds. They had lots of linens and some shoes from the 20's, and petticoats. Everything was very pretty dirty however. I picked up a few goodies at each, spending about $10 total.

I purchased some of the old View Master reels for my collection, two sets of cards, one long and thin with unusual pictures, and one called "Tom Thumb" because the cards are miniature. I also bought an old salve tin for my growing collection, an old blurry photograph of a couple walking, and that long metal thing by "omega" predates a calculator, but is this little hand held device that adds. You use a metal stylus to slide the numbers. I thought it was pretty interesting! Also, found a small mirror, worn around the edges, good for art projects.

Tomorrow I am off to the Alameda Point Antique Sale...1st Sunday of every month. I definitely recommend it to anyone who likes a good hunt. The quality is outstanding, and you can still find a good deal here and there. My fav is the Dollar Booth! This pick is from the dollar guy the last time I went to the show a couple of months ago.

Alameda Point Antique Sale

Went to the Alameda Point Antique Show today. Its the first Sunday of every month, and costs from 5 to 15 dollars admission depending on what time you go (from 6am on). There are so many dealers here it can be overwhelming, but if you can hang out for a bit, there are so many possible finds! I came home with a few old suitcases, a vintage typewriter and a bunch of findings from the $1 booth.


There are 3 booths all owned by the same guy, that is laden with cool old stuff. Watch parts, vials of medicinal powders, and old wooden type are all priced at $1 each. Across the way you can find old suitcases, large metal letters, and various antique decorative items. In the booth next to the dollar boxes are doll heads, brass tags, various vintage clocks and more.


There are always the regulars here at the show including the Bakelite Lady, people selling French linens and architectural salvage, the type guy and many more. Wear sunscreen and bring water...although windy, the sun can be brutal after a few hours of searching! There is also a row of food along the side of the venue for mid morning snacking and lunch, as well as the antique show standard Kettle Korn.

Antiquing in Walnut Creek

A few weeks ago I went to this little antique shop called Quail Country Antiques in Walnut Creek.
This weekend is their annual yard sale, and my friend MJ and I went this morning when they opened at 9am. Although we didn't beat the heat despite the hour, we did find some truly unique items at great prices. The yard sale is held on the shaded gravel drive running alongside the historic little house that is home to an abundance of wonderful antique treasures all year long. Tables nestled along the path were laden with metal egg baskets, antique tins, and antiquated kitchen utensils. Quilts were stacked in piles, and antique toys waited patiently to be taken home. Beautiful rustic wooden fixtures housed vintage Christmas findings, antique crockery, vintage story books and weathered metal watering cans. There were metal picnic baskets, old cabinets, paper ephemera and so much more!

For just under a hundred dollars I found a dozen or more great old things to bring home. Vintage wooden spools, a wooden shoe form (although I have many, this one has red on it!), biscuit tins, and a wooden tea box are just some of the incredible items I found.
One of the best things I purchased was a set of old slides depicting children's book like illustrations of animals and various other things.

All in all it was well worth the sweltering heat!