Summer Thrifting Finds

I still haven't haven't been able to get out and do any thrifting lately, but I brought home a lot of stuff last year that I never posted about, so I'll show some of it now.

I know, lousy picture, but we're going back in time, so everything's supposed to get a little fuzzy, right?

As you can see, I've acquired a few more aluminum jello molds. 

Do I need more jello molds?  

Probably not.  

But they're fun...

and useful...

and shiny!

Plus they're a heck of a lot cheaper than rhinestones.

I especially like the one with the roses.  I had been looking for one like that for a while, so was happy to see it at Goodwill for half price - $1.50.  The two copper ones were garage sale finds for 50c each, much more my speed.  Have I mentioned I'm cheap?

How could I pass up this giant crab mold?  It's both ridiculous and fantastic.  It's a whopping 14 inches across.  I had never seen one like it.  I couldn't even find a picture of one online.   And for once, the Goodwill price was a shockingly reasonable $1.99.

I'm still looking for the lobster.

The next two finds were items off my thrifting wish list and I found both of them at Goodwill on the same day.

This is a Foley rolling pin.   My mom has one, and I've wanted one of my own forever.  What's so special about them?  They have ball bearings, so they roll very smoothly, and they're built to last.  I've seen other brands at estate sales, but they were never as nice as Mom's 40 year old Foley.   Goodwill price - $3.99.

 

Recognize this little piece of loveliness?

It's the Exciting new Pyrex Flameware Teapot!

Some of you may remember this 1941 Life magazine ad I found last May. 

I happened to go to Goodwill the very day they put the teapot on the shelf, and I snatched it right up.  I didn't even blink at the $7.99 price tag.  Usually I think their prices are crazy.  But I guess that day I was crazy too.   Pyrex crazy.  It's a thing.

I found this cutting mat at Goodwill last summer also.  

It was in pretty rough shape, with two large splits and some staining, but it was really big (23 x 35 inches), so I figured I could salvage something from it.  A new mat of this size costs over $50, so I paid the Goodwill price of $1.99.  I thought I would cut it down into smaller mats, but I ended up putting some duct tape on the back and using it as is.  I still want a new mat, but I'll have to save my pennies.

I went to a garage sale with my folks one Saturday.

Two 50c sweaters for unraveling; 1 wool, and 1 wool/cashmere/angora.

The 25c colorful wool hat will make some really fun felt.

These Pyrex casserole lids were free.  I couldn't let them go to the landfill.

Snowflake Blue

Spring Blossom

Someday I'll find a casserole to put them on.

Mom bought this cookbook for 25c, mostly because Dad's favorite meal is meat topped by meat with a side of meat, but also because it has a recipe for Roasted Raccoon.  She says it goes with her Community Center Cookbook from North Dakota that has the recipe for Jake's Muskrat Stew.

I saved the best for last.

Westinghouse chrome double waffle maker

1940s maybe?

It works, but I don't know if I'll actually use it.  It gets awfully hot, so you have to be careful, and I wouldn't want to ruin the chrome.  I just like looking at it.  The lady who was selling it said it was a gift to her daughter from a boyfriend.  When they broke up, she didn't want it anymore.  I guess she didn't want any reminders.  I paid $7.00.

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog.  I hope you've enjoyed today's post.

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Thrifting finds for June and July

Thrifting in the months of June and July didn't yield a lot of terribly notable finds but there were some gems.  Neighborhood garage sales are not usually our thing, but there is one neighborhood in town where you can find really nice things.  It is the fancy neighborhood overlooking the lake and is filled with million dollar homes, owned by people who understand garage sale pricing.  

I hiked all over the hills of that neighborhood, and was rewarded with this Le Creuset dutch oven.  

Isn't it beautiful?  I have been looking for an enamel pan for baking bread, but I never would have dreamed I could find a Le Creuset in my favorite colorway and at my price.

I was shocked to see that the price was only $2, and when I double-checked with the owner, she said it was because of the tiny chips to the interior of the pan.  As I will be baking bread wrapped in parchment, they won't matter at all.  When I brought it home and showed it to Mom, she asked me how much I paid, and I held up 2 fingers.  "Only $20?  What a steal!"  For those of you who don't know, a brand new equivalent to this pan retails for $300-$400.  Vintage pans usually run $50 to $150 depending on color and condition.

 

I found some interesting vintage booklets at the same sale (20c each).

I was especially pleased to find the owners manual to our 1957 pink Sunbeam MIXMASTER.



Inside the back cover are some very useful instructions for oiling the machine, as well as a chart showing that the mixing bowls were not only made in pink, they were also available in yellow and turquoise.  Wouldn't that be a nice thing to stumble upon at an estate sale - a 1957 Sunbeam turquoise mixing bowl!



I picked up a manual for the 1948 model, too.  Approximately 2 years after I found the pink 1957 12 speed, Mom found a white 10 speed model.  It looks identical to the 1948 one, and we suspect it was made a few years later.  It was interesting to see how things were different 9 years earlier, even though that's apparently the same old cake on the same old plate.  "Jackie, what the he**!?"  Doesn't everyone else love "That '70s Show" as much as we do?

In 1948, a MIXMASTER had 9 speeds, 3 fewer than ours,



and there were 13 attachments available, from butter churn to potato peeler.  All there was for ours is a food grinder.  I guess by 1957, people were buying stand alone appliances to do things.  Some of those attachments looked pretty cool.  I would love to have the high-speed drink mixer attachment

I thought this booklet was pretty cool.  It was distributed by the portable appliances department of General Electric in 1963 and encouraged people to "make the most of your electrical servants."

I would love to make the most of my electrical servants.  When is G.E. releasing their design for the robot butler?  The booklet included menu planning, recipes, party themes, buffet table set-ups, and even how to have two parties in one day.

I have never been a fan of Corning ware, preferring Pyrex, but when I saw this at Goodwill, I couldn't resist it.

It is a 1960 Corning 2.5 qt saucepan with handle, fin lid, and cradle in excellent condition.  I especially love the fin lid.  I paid $8.00 for it - an enormous sum for a tightwad such as me.

The candle warmer looks like it has never been used.

I also picked up this cheese dome decorated with piano keys for $2 because it seemed unusual.  I guess I was right, because when I searched the internet for it, I found absolutely nothing.

I also made a few trips to the Goodwill Outlet.  

I bought some useful boring things like clothes and jelly jars, but I also found a few treasures.

2 small enamel saucepans, 95c each.  I love the golden yellow one.  These will be used for a "camping" themed birthday party for the son of a friend of mine.

2 pink aluminum jello molds, 30c each.  I really like the pinwheel.

This is a picture from ebay.  I found a Fisher-Price Roly Poly chime ball just like this ($1.32) and gave it to a friend for her new baby before I could take a picture.  Mine was just as yellowed as this one, and had many scuff marks, but it cleaned up nicely with some help from Bar Keeper's Friend. 

 I love Roly Poly balls.  They are practically indestructible.  This one is 50 years old.

I picked up this book thinking I could cut it up and make a cute notebook, 

 but as soon as I opened it I knew better.

 

 It is full of beautiful illustrations of children from all over the world.

 

 

 

 Doesn't she look like a Spanish version of Snow White?

The illustrations accompany stories of life in various countries.

This book was printed in 1937, and so tells of a world very different than that of today.

I was not surprised to see that it is a Platt and Munk book, as they are known for their charming illustrations and I am a big fan.

This is my favorite illustration,

Kala and his father surfing with Diamond Head in the background.

Look, they all got together for an ocean cruise.
An improbable but charming illustration for the facing pages.
I happily paid the $2 asking price.

So those are my finds for June and July.  Which one do you think is the best?

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A Simpler Way To Make Fire Starters

Today's post is written by my mom.

We use our fireplace insert to heat our house almost every day, so we build a lot of fires.  I used to make fire starters by mixing melted wax with sawdust and pressing it into the cups of egg cartons.  Those fire starters work very well.  But I have since found an easier way.  Whenever I made sawdust fire starters, I was left with the tops of dozens of egg cartons.  One day I decided to see if I could make fire starters out of the leftovers, and this is what I came up with.  

 

Fire Starter Strips

 They don't burn as long as the little sawdust cups, but they fit between logs and two of them are just enough to start a small pile of dry pine cones.  There are two giant pine trees in front of our house and I collect the cones when they drop and save them in paper bags in the woodshed until winter.  The cones make great kindling. 

The best thing about fire starter strips is that they are very easy to make.  Plus they are practically free.

If you think this kind of fire starter might work for you, I will try to tell you how to make them.

First you need a pot for melting wax.  You don't want to use one of your good cooking pots; you need a designated melting pot.  I bought this one at Goodwill because it was A) cheap and B) heavy. 

You can see it's got mineral residue and a bit of wax in it from multiple uses.  I never wash it.

Next you need a large can, the kind that held 2 lbs of something.  If you don't have one, I recommend buying a can of hominy. Hominy's good stuff.  You can use a smaller one, but I like this size better.  You are going to make a double boiler by putting the wax you want to melt into the can, putting the can into the pot and then putting water in the pot.  DO NOT TRY TO MELT WAX OVER DIRECT HEAT!

This is my can of premelted wax, left over from the last time I made fire starters. I got the wax by melting down some candles I bought at a garage sale.  I can usually get half-used pillars for 25c-50c each.  Once I got a grocery sack full of them for $1.00. 

Here are my tools: scissors, newspaper, an old oven mitt, and a canning jar lifter. 

In addition to the wax, you'll need a supply of cardboard egg cartons.  Cut off the closure strip and remove the lid. 

Cut up the top until you have a pile of strips like this.

 

Then cut the strips in half.  You should end up with an assortment of strips of cardboard about 5 inches long.

Lay some sheets of newspaper on the counter closest to the pot and set the bottom of your egg carton on the newspaper.  Make sure the newspaper covers the counter up to the stove, NOT like it is in the picture.

Fill the can with the wax chunks.  One reason I like using a big can is that a pillar candle will fit in it.  If you have a smaller can or a really big candle, cut to fit.  Put the can of wax into the pot and add water up to about one third the height of the can.   If the can starts to tip, you have added too much water.  Heat the pot on high until the water boils.  As the water heats up, the can will rattle a bit.  This is perfectly normal.

When the water in the pot has come to a full boil, turn the heat down to just below boiling and heat until all the wax is melted.  Keep adding wax until the can is about three-fourths full.  Resist the urge to touch the can.  It will get REALLY hot.  If you absolutely must touch it, use the oven mitt.  There is no need to stir the wax, just let it melt until it looks all shiny.  I usually test it by sticking one of the cardboard strips into the wax and trying to stir it.  If I meet any resistance, then there are still some unmelted chunks of wax. 

Once the wax is melted you can start dipping the cardboard strips.  Push each one in almost to the end.  You may need to let the strip bend a little to get it all in.  Then lift it out.  This part should go rather quickly.

Hold the strip over the can until the wax stops dripping - this takes maybe 5 seconds. 

Set the waxy strip into the bottom of the egg carton to dry. 

Here is the finished fire starter.  You can see I now have two cartons.  I cut up another one while I was waiting for the wax to melt.

Here are all the fire starters in their drying racks.  One egg carton yields about a dozen fire starters.

When you have finished dipping all your cardboard strips, CAREFULLY remove your can of wax from the pot of hot water and set it on a pile of newspaper to dry.  This is where the jar lifter comes in very handy.  You can do it with oven mitts, but they will probably get wax on them.  I could leave the can of wax in the pan to cool off, but that takes several hours, and I usually need the stove before that.  

Don't just put the water down the sink.  After it cools I sometimes line a strainer with paper towels and pour the water through that to catch any wax.  Or I might just dump it outside.

I timed myself doing this.  It took 20 minutes to go from empty pot to fully melted wax, but then only ten minutes to make all the fire starters and clean up.  The wax will harden on the strips very quickly.  They can be removed from the rack in a couple of minutes, making space for new ones, so you can do several batches rather quickly. 

We keep our fire starters in a basket next to the fireplace.  The end without the wax is the one to light.  Once I got the idea to dip both ends.  Not a good idea.  You need the bare end for it to light easily.  I also tried other kinds of cardboard: toilet paper rolls, soda boxes, corrugated strips.  None of them worked very well.  I think it is because the egg cartons absorb the wax better.

Has anyone noticed the irony?  I started making these because I had a bunch of leftover egg carton tops.  Now I have a bunch of leftover egg carton bottoms, lol.  I suppose I could become the egg carton caterpillar queen.  

I think I'll just recycle them.

One last note:  I don't have any little kids in my home.  I wouldn't melt wax with little kids about.  But I learned how to make fire starters from the Boy Scouts, so use your own judgement about how old your kid needs to be in order to help with this. 

Mom

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