Vintage Ephemera Friday #008

Ephemera is defined as something that is not meant to last long– often paper goods. I find myself picking up matchbook covers, postcards, and old magazines at estate sales, flea markets, etc. I know that there are plenty others who dig this stuff too so I’ve decided to post a new piece every Friday as a series, “Vintage Ephemera Friday,” or #VEF on IG.

I encourage anyone else who reads this to also post cool old ephemeral goods (old papers, pins, magnets, pretty much all advertisement goods, whatever you like!) and post it with both “#VintageEphemeraFriday” and “#VEF” tags so in the future others can search through the collective finds.

For my 8th VEF post I’m showing the matchbooks from the previous thrift post. I had mentioned how much I liked a shop called “Beyond the Ranch” in Oregon. They had a huge basket full of old matchbooks and they were priced at only .25 each! That is quite the deal to a California thrifter like me who usually finds matchbooks for $1 a piece. I was so excited by the deal that I pulled the basket up to the counter and started going through it and picked up $5 worth of books.

I tend to pick out ones that have bright graphics, vegas hotels or restaurants, and food theme ones. While I am not a smoker, I do enjoy finding these old forms of advertising.

I also dig the books with artwork from the locations– the pink tables and umbrellas are precious I wish I could visit!

I also managed to pick up some from the same businesses. I love that Bishop’s is “fussier for you.”

The books that have artwork across both sides are interesting finds, and so weird: I’ve always seen “Big Boy” from Bob’s Big Boy but apparently he’s also from Marc’s as well? I’m guessing it must be a regional find.

I especially like the Franciscan book as you get an idea of what the restaurant looked like.

Please feel free to join in and post your vintage ephemera finds here or on IG on Fridays! #vintageephemerafriday #vef

Thrifting in Oregon

Over the Summer I was able to take a trip with my family to Oregon. As I love visiting thrift stores here in California I hoped to find a few stores on the trip. I was lucky to visit a few and scoop up some great finds!

I love vintage brooches and found both of these in Redmond, OR. They have a Goodwill and also some great antique shops. I loved a shop there called “Beyond the Ranch” which I will cover in another post because I took a ton of pictures while I shopped.

I also purchased my first pose doll in the Redmond Goodwill. I loved her Mrs. Claus outfit!

This Disneyland tin also came from GW in Redmond. I’m always happy to find old Disney merch while thrifting; I love this design with characters at park attractions.

This tourist cream and sugar souvenir set from Canada is kitschtastic and I hope to include it in an upcoming project!

While in Salem we came across a Value Village (like Savers) but it was about to close. I just walked through the housewares and sewing/craft section and found a couple of bags of vintage patterns! I love the vintage graphics and once I strengthen my sewing skills hopefully I can put these patterns to use.

I came across some brass figures and candlesticks from two shops– a GW in Tillamook and another in Redmond. I’m not a big candle person but I love the pineapple detailing. There were a ton of brass animals at one of the Goodwill’s but I decided to stick with the deer. Like any shopping trip while traveling, I had to be mindful of space.

While in Portland my mom and I made a stop at Monticello Antiques and I found this killer lime basket purse. It was a fun shop– I also picked up some vintage postcards, a mixed vintage fabric bag, and the palm tree tie in the picture above.

Thrifting in another state was a lot of fun! While I was traveling with non-thrifters I tried to be mindful of my time and didn’t stay in any store too long. I focused on the housewares section and avoided clothing because I didn’t know what access I’d have to a washing machine.

**TIP: Before traveling, search for antique stores or antique malls (or flea markets or whatever you’re looking for) on Yelp and Instagram. I wrote a few addresses down ahead of time for cities I’d be visiting. If you have some unexpected free time in a town, just search on Google Maps under “thrift” or “antique.” That’s how I found the majority of the shops. Luck also had me passing by a few while on the road.

A few of my fave antique (non-thrift) shops:
– The Mercantile in Springfield, OR
– Monticello Antique Market in Portland, OR
– Antiques and Art on Main in Pendleton, OR
– Farmers Co-op in Redmond, OR
– Beyond the Ranch in Redmond, OR

Thrifty Finds: Long Beach Flea Edition

So last week I shared my love for the Long Beach Flea at Veteran’s Stadium. I found some great goodies that trip (and left even more behind!) and I’d like to share them with you.

The sweet little Santa above is a bell. Bells are not usually something I look for, but I liked his face. Plus, when I got him home I looked inside and it has the original Japan tag and Holt Howard markers. I scooped him and a bag full of wood ornaments from a booth for $5.

I don’t know what I’m going to do with these ornaments, maybe a future craft project, but the reason I picked them up was the tiny baby ornament with a present. It is sitting on a quarter for scale. Too cute!

There was a booth full of stacks and stacks of old magazines. The seller saw me flipping through and making a stack and he told me there were more boxes under the table. They were $5 each so I had to be a little more picky. I focused on holiday theme covers because that’s usually when I buy magazines now. The holidays ones seems to be a little bigger and I was hoping for decorating tips in these. I also found 2 fashion magazines– one for dressing for all “types of men” and one for fashion on a budget.

These will all definitely make appearances in future #VintageEphemeraFriday posts.

I had quite the vintage linen score, and many on the same theme: vintage southwest. I found 2 tablecloths with grid patterns and hispanic and desert images– one was $6 and one was $5 from two different sellers. The tea towel in the front came from my favorite booth of all: piles and piles of linens to dig through (I took a picture in the LB flea post, check it out!). The towel has some major staining but I’ve been working to clean it up. I also found a children’s hankie (for a future craft project) and my favorite thrift score ever:

This is a vintage DEADSTOCK Las Vegas tablecloth. It’s covered in old hotel signs, many are not even around anymore. The colors are vibrant and there was only one spot on the bottom for me to clean up. When I got it home I realized it wasn’t even a stain; it was the residue from the price tag.

Vintage Vegas gear is some of my favorite and it’s not always easy to find, and when you do find it sometimes it’s too expensive. This beauty (plus the tea towel and hankie) was $5! Ahhhh! Easily the score of the year, and one of my fave finds ever. I wish I could go back every month to this booth and dig for vintage gold.

So have you been going to any flea markets this year? What has been you favorite find, let me know!