Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Wow, that’s a cool advertising calendar top!



Calendars have been used for many years to advertise anything from cars to musical instruments.  There are quite a few items that are featured on calendars, and there are just as many calendar designs as well.

One design of calendars that you will run across is a calendar top with a pad attached to it with a small sheet of paper that tells you what month and year it is.  The calendar pad will be replaced over the years while you keep the top.  Part of this type of design can be seen on this terrific calendar top advertising the Griesedieck Brothers Beer Company.



When the Griesedieck Brothers Beer Company produced this calendar, they used a print by Rolf Armstrong on it.  The print was titled, “Dreamy Eyes” and was originally produced in the 1920’s.  Rolf Armstrong’s work was featured on many things from magazine covers to even mugs, and they are very collectible in themselves.



The other great thing that this calendar has going for it is the size of it.  It’s 15 inches wide by 19 ¾ inches long, so not only does it not take up a lot of room it also can fit into a standard size frame.

You can see this terrific calendar top in my Etsy shop here.  What kinds of advertising calendars have you run across?

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

This is truly an odd bird!



I think there’s an odd bird over there on that goofus glass vase!



Goofus glass was made in the early 1900’s and was the first type of carnival glass giveaway because it was relatively cheap to make.  Plates, bowls, vases like the one above, and even oil lamps were made in mass quantities.

The glassware was also made with highly decorative patterns like the one on the vase above.  The pattern on the vase featured here is called, “Odd Bird Sitting On A Grape Vine.”  The bird on the vase looks like it could have come out of a comic book!

The great thing about goofus glass is that it comes in a wide variety of colors form what’s on the vase to red, gold and even green.  With a wide variety of colors and shapes, you could find the perfect piece and color combination for any room.

One thing that you need to keep an eye on is the paint itself.  Since the paint was not fired on, it has a tendency to flake off.  The listing for this vase on Etsy shows the beginnings of this type of paint loss, which you can see this here (the best way to see it is to look through the vase towards the bottom).

Another thing that’s great is that goofus glass can be seen from flea markets to swap meets to even antique stores and shows.  You never know what you’ll find where!


What kinds of patterns and goofus glass pieces have you found?

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Great reads for everyone!

Are you heading to the beach?  Do you love spending a quiet afternoon on the porch swing or on the patio?  A great item to bring with you anywhere is a good book.  One of the first questions that you will ask yourself is this:  Do you prefer holding pages in your hands to reading on an electronic device like a kindle?

It’s a great question to ask yourself before you head out to your favorite spot.  When you decide on what type of item you decide to bring with you, you’ll need to figure out what book you want to read.

Do you love to read the classics?  There are quite a few of them, and “A Farewell To Arms” by Ernest Hemingway would be great to bring with you.

1957 A Farewell To Arms Hardback Book By Ernest Hemingway No Dust Jacket 
 
You can see this book in my Etsy shop here.  Both volumes of War And Remembrance is also available, with volume one available here and volume two available here.


Do you prefer a modern tale?  There are many different books that you can pick up.  It could be a copy of Danielle Steele’s book like this one titled, "Malice."

  

You can find this terrific book on eBay here.  You could even get a great book by John Grisham like "The Pelican Brief," and you can see this book here.


Check these books and more out on my Etsy store here, and my eBay store here.  What kinds of books do you like to read?