euro wood type

My good friend, Christopher Rouleau, just came back from a remarkable trip to Paris and among the things he brought back, were a set of vintage type. When he visited me a couple of weeks ago to share stories of his trip, he showed me the letters and I told him that he needed to print those stat! And without hesitation he inked up those beauties right then and there. Out of the four presses that I own, the letters would've only printed well on the Morgan Line-O-Scribe for two reasons: 1). it's the only press big enough and 2). it has an adjustable roller height. Apparently because the letters came from Europe, they weren't exactly type-high. They were in fact considerably higher. I knew the Morgan would come in handy :)

Check out more beautiful photo accounts of Christopher's trip to Paris here!

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thrifted tins

Some of my recent thrift store scores include a twelve-sided polygon tin in a sweet robin's egg blue colour, a vintage cookie tin (which will be gifted to Jaime of Send More Mail to hold some of her pretty stamps) , and some spools of vintage thread.

Happy Days, everyone!

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in his hands

I grabbed this small plastic globe at the thrift store today and wondered if M would get a kick out of the spinning action. When he saw it he said, "Ball!" and pointed at Europe. Here's hoping he really does get to see the whole world when he gets older.

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thrifted: leather tote

I'm always on the lookout for well-made leather bags or purses when I'm thrifting. So when I came across this tote, I grabbed it! Camel in colour, medium in size and the leather's pretty much gotten to the point that it's nice and soft. I don't mind that the leather looks worn, in fact, I quite like the condition it's in. The two handles are hard and sturdy but the bag was missing the strap. As luck would have it, I also found a wide canvas strap (even in the same colour!) at a different second hand store a week later. The hardware doesn't match (brass on the bag and white metal on the strap) but I can live with it. I wasn't sure what I was going to use the bag for. But at a thrifty $6, I wasn't debating it for very long. For now it's the perfect size to house my camera, extra lens and batteries.

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numbers book: 4

I'm making progress with Marcus' numbers book. Four little cupcakes. This reminds me that I should probably learn how to bake a cake for his first birthday in December. I keep imagining that when he gets older and asks me to make him a birthday cake that I won't know how to and I'll feel like a complete failure! Or if I'm lucky and if he's anything like me, he might just ask for a Baskin Robbins ice cream cake instead :)

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It was a good day at the thrift store. As soon as my eyes locked on the kitchy vintage patterns of these albums, they were mine. Then I read the words "Post Cards" and squealed. What a great idea. An album that holds postcards...why hadn't I seen anything like this before? I brought these beauties home, unravelled my sad, messy bundles of snail mail and sorted through the ones that I could fit in the 4 x 6" pockets. Both albums have eight sleeves with six pockets that can hold 96 pieces of small mail. So good. Now, I'm encouraged to look back at all my lovely mail whereas before I just kept them in tied up stacks, hidden away in a box. Best second-hand store score. Ever.

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On our way up to the cottage this past weekend, we took a short detour to the Orono Antique Market. I've always wanted to visit this place and am glad I took the opportunity. I only had a limited amount of time to stroll the aisles and check out the rooms. Little Marcus was anxious to get to the lake. But from what I saw, there were plenty of things that would've kept me occupied if I had more time. Sadly, I didn't find any letterpress related equipment but am hopeful for my next trip there.

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My latest find at the thrift store was this math workbook for children that was published in 1953. Why don't math exercise books look like this anymore? Seriously, how great are those fonts? And the illustrations, gah!

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thrifty baby

I've been on the lookout for a book to put photos of Marcus in and to keep a record of some of his milestones. The ones I've seen in the bookstores are much too modern, flimsy and glossy for me. But as luck would have it, my trusty thrift store came through again! I found this 'Baby's First Diary' and flipped through its pages. Vintage with old-school illustrations! It's just down-right cool and well made to boot. I was pretty much sold on the cover, and then ran over to the cash register after seeing the family tree.

Next, I found a simple square bound photo album with an emerald green and gold border cover. There's nothing 'baby' about it which is why I like it. Classic and simple. Both of these books, coincidentally, were made in Japan.

Then, rummaging through the fabric section, I found two matching panels of this fun, vintage and colourful curtain. I don't have any windows to cover, nor a nursery to put them in but found a use for them anyway. We have Marcus' change table against a wall and so I hung up the curtains beside it with a mirror in the centre. My babe seems to have taken a strong liking to the (creepy) clown. Maybe it's because the clown is closest to his line of vision but it keeps Marcus distracted and happy all the same.

Yay for thrift stores!

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makeshift drying rack

One of my studio essentials is the vintage record holder. Four years ago, when I started printing (in what I used to live in which was a basement apartment) my kitchen counter, couch and bed served as the drying space for my prints. I only stopped printing sometimes because I didn't have enough room to lay down more prints. But it all changed when I spotted one of these beauties at an antique market and it suddenly occured to me how perfect they would be for drying small pieces. These would also do well with gocco and silkscreen prints too. They hold up to 40-50 sheets but often times, I just put prints back-to-back when I'm doing a large run. And it takes up less than 3 feet!

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wrapping paper throwback

I have a weakness for those old, vintage thin pieces of wrapping paper. I found these a while ago at the thrift store and couldn't help but grab the whole lot. They're so bright and colourful and so different from what you see in wrapping papers nowadays. It took me a while to do anything with them but I decided to cut a few and make some envelopes for some letterpress printed stationery.

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thrifting for baby

My second-hand-store adventures have turned into searching for treasures for the baby. While there are some things that I prefer to get brand new (a car seat for instance), I don't mind getting gently used gems for the baby. It's a personal choice I guess, but you'd be surprised at what you can score at the thrift shop. I was happy to find some unused clothes for newborns, and I mean, never ever used with original price tags on them! The deals are great, so it's easy to accumulate alot of things. I'm just being very selective about what I bring home.

Above are photos of what I know will be just the beginning of things to come :)

Reversible light cotton jacket: $1.49
Brand new onesie: $0.99
Jacadi suede booties: $2.99
Wooden toy train: $0.25
Children's book: $0.25

What's not to love about that? This little guy is going to be one thrifty baby :)

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holiday thrift store find: rubber stamps

 

Now I've gotten some sweet treasures from my trips to the thrift store, right? But I have to say and you might agree, that this particular score takes the cake. Brand new large rubber stamps of the alphabet in upper and lower case cursive. Those words in one sentence don't often come around. Merry Christmas to me. I can only imagine all sorts of things to do with these stamps. First thing that came to mind was wrapping paper. And I'm pretty sure they'll also find use on some handmade envelopes for snail mailing. Also, when my nephew starts to practice his handwriting, these will come in handy.

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To my old and new friends, thank you for visiting me here on the blog. Your comments, encouragement, inspiration and kindness keep me going. Season's Greetings, everyone! I hope your day is peaceful, merry and bright. See you in 2011!

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