Made in Japan...Part 1!

Lately I've been on the hunt for made in Japan knick-knacks figurines. I got my thrift on and was able to find some really sweet treasures. My thrifting adventure took place over two weeks at 4 different shops. This is part 1 of my thrift haul.

Here's what I got for $7!

Love this minty 3 piece porcelain Children's Dinnerware Set complete in it's original packaging!! In the fall, I found a girl's set but it was missing the mug body.

Mini Cardinal figurine. It has a number 17 embossed on the side of its base...possibly belongs to a set of other birds?

Aloha! Pineapple Salt and Pepper shakers, complete with salt made in Japan labels! Most of the cute salt and pepper shakers I find are always chipped or broken so I was pleasantly surprised to find this set in perfect vintage condition. 

A Horoscope Virgo Birthday Angel by Napco. This is part of the Star Baby set made in 1952. Isn't she just the sweetest figurine you have ever seen!?! The original paper label is still on the bottom and the condition is pristine. She will be travelling with me to SF in February as a gift to my Sis who's a Virgo.

I love Kewpie dolls! Growing up my grandparents had a small collection of them that we used to play with. I was so happy to find this vinyl one for $1.25. The back is embossed made in Japan. 

Stay tuned for Made in Japan part 2!

Linking up to... 

Rednesday

Thriftasaurus 

The Nifty Thrifty

Young Heart

Until we thrift again...

AJ

Thrifty BE MINE bunting

For almost every holiday I display a bunting so I was looking for a quick and easy bunting to make for Valentine's Day. I found this Patriotic Bunting from A Bit of Sunshine and decided to use pink and red paint chips to spell out "Be Mine".  

Went to my local Home Depot and picked up several of these Behr paint chip cards. For free... of course:) I love the that they come in such a range of pink hues.

The font is called Oklahoma in size 400. You'll have to excuse the faded black letters...my printer is very low on toner!

Trace your letters on the back of the paint chip card making sure that the letters are reversed. 

Punch two holes in the top of each letter. On Friday I bought this mini hole punch from Michaels (50% off! plus an extra 15% teacher's discount!) String your letters with some embroidery floss or Baker's twine. I hear Target has some really sweet Valentine's Day Baker's twine in the Dollar Spot section.

Did you notice my sweet little girl planter? I picked her up from Salvation Army on Friday for $1.99! She's made in Japan.

How do you decorate for Valentine's Day?

Linking up to Craft-O-Maniac Monday and Make it Pretty Monday.

Until we thrift again...

AJ

May the force be with you on Valentine's Day!

As you may know from previous posts Haakon is a huge Star Wars fan so it wasn't any surprise this year's Valentines were going to be Star Wars themed. I searched on Pinterest to find some inspiration and found this idea from Stitch/CraftCreations blog. 
This idea was prefect since H's school doesn't allow any food or candy to be passed out.

I headed to my local Dollar Tree and picked up 2 packages of glow sticks to use as light sabers now all I needed was the Jedi robe I sewed for his 5th birthday party and a toy light sabre to complete the look. I used his Star Wars Pottery Barn sheets as a back drop for the photo shoot.

Dollar Tree Glow Sticks

I headed to my local photo shop where I added the text and printed the photos in 4X6 size. The whole project cost about $5! This evening Haakon addressed all his Valentines and I carefully inserted all the glow sticks by cutting a slit in the photo (only snapped 2!). Pretty cool Valentines for a pretty cool kid!

Do you send out Valentine's? If so, are they home made or store bought?

I'm linking up with Craft-O-Manic Monday!

Until we thrift again...

AJ

Quest for 6! Vintage 49ers Gear

Happy Sunday! Today was the Conference Championship and our team is going to the Superbowl! YAY!! and what better way to show our team spirit then by wearing some vintage San Francisco 49ers gear.

The knitted toque is vintage dead stock that RJ bought from EBay.I'm scared to ask what he paid for it!?!

A couple of years ago, I found this vintage Joe Montana jersey from Salvation Army for $1.99. It's made in the UK. It's been sitting in Haakon's drawer until he was big enough to wear it~ perfect timing wouldn't you say!

Who will you be cheering for? 

Linking up to A Living Space for The Nifty Thrifty!

Until we thrift again...

AJ

Fridays Thrifty Finds!

 This week I found some pretty fun and interesting finds at 4 different thrift stores all for $7.50! 

Being a teacher, I'm always excited when I find vintage teacher related items. This sweet "Teacher" mug is made in Japan and cost me 50 cents. It will be heading into school with me.

This Johnson Brothers Old Granite Hearts & Flowers oval serving platter was $1.99 and in excellent condition. Perfect for some Valentine's Day baked goodies!

 A set of two slate blue Pyrex mugs for a $1! 

I have a small collection of tin litho trays which are all Christmas themed. This is my first souvenir tray that features the Hawaiian Islands. Did I mention we are going to Hawaii in March!!!

So I've been looking for a wicker purse for-ever!! Finally found this one. Love it's square shape and leather details. So very Golden Girls!

Linking up with The Thrifty Groove for Thrifty Things Friday, The Cottage Market for Junkin Joe and Young Heart's linky party!

Until we thrift again...

AJ

Homemade Tomato Soup...Yum!

Yesterday I was looking for an easy tomato soup recipe and found this one on Marin Mama Cooks. It's an heirloom tomato soup. I realize heirloom tomatoes aren't in season right now so I used a combination of hot house, yellow and orange tomatoes. The recipe calls for overripe tomatoes so I was lucky enough to find a container of overripe hot house tomatoes for $2 on the reduce for Quick sale shelf at FarmBoy.

First step is to gather and prep your veggies! The recipe calls for 2 cloves of garlic...I added 3 for good measure!

 Chop your tomatoes into chunks. Don't those tomatoes look great in my newly thrifted Spring Blossom Cinderella bowl?

Using a dutch oven "sweat" onions and herbs in 1/4 of Olive Oil. 

Add your chopped tomatoes, garlic and salt, let simmer for 10-15 minutes until tomatoes are broken down.

Remove herbs and add another 1/4 cup of Olive Oil and 1 teaspoon of Balsamic Vinegar. 

Remove from heat and blend using a blender or immersion blender. Return to heat until ready to serve.

Voila! Easy tomato soup...add some tortilla strips and sour cream or pair it with grilled cheese. It's a perfect lunch on a cold, winter's day! Notice the the pink and green Kitschy tablecloth? I thrifted it last year and it will be part of my kitchen Valentine's decor.  

Heading over to Feminine Adventures for Thrifty Thursday!

Until we thrift again...

AJ

Valentine's Day Reds for Rednesday!

Happy Rednesday! I have just started to decorate for Valentine's day and I'm so excited to share with you some really cute vintage Valentine's Day goodies.  

I'm not one for unicorns but I thought this miniature unicorn figurine would be a great addition to my Valentine's decor. It wasn't marked but I thought it might be made by Flambro.

I fell in love, no pun intended, with this "Falling in Love" vintage sweatshirt probably from the 80s. It's 50/50 and made in the USA. I wore it yesterday and it's quite comfy! 

I purchased this mug and the sweatshirt above from BFM where they put together a small display of Valentine's Day related donations. This mug is made in Korea by Giltcraft and cost 50cents.

A hand-made "Be Mine" Valentine's bear for 99 cents. It has a brown, silk backing...I'm not really sure how I feel about it yet?? It may be up-cycled into something else.

February 10th is Chinese New Year so I was so thrilled to find this vintage, tin Chinese Checkers game board. I'm going to turn it into a wreath for Chinese New Year.

What vintage Valentine's Day/ Chinese New Year goodies have you thrifted lately?

Heading over to It's a Very Cherry World for Rednesday!

Until we thrift again...

AJ

Vintage Coca-Cola!

Last week I found this vintage 70s or 80s Coca-Cola ice bucket? snack bowl? from SA for $1.99. I have always been drawn to Coca-Cola memorabilia and was really excited to spot this beauty on the shelf. It's in amazing, minty condition! The bowl has various Coke branding like...

Coca-Cola

It’s the real thing.

Coke.

Things go better with Coke.

Coke is it!

Have a Coke a smile.

Ahhh! Coke

What do you think about the new ads Coke has just launched to tackle obesity?

Linking up with Apron Thrift Girl, Sir Thrift A Lot and A Living Space.

Until we thrift again...

AJ