Feel Like Chatting!

What a surprise!  I feel like chatting!

First, I'm happy that the postal strike in Canada is over!  I was able to finally ship out orders to Canada that had been put on hold due to the strike.  That drove me nuts, as I try to ship out within 24 hours of a sale!

And related to that, Canada Day is Friday, so Happy Canada to all the Canadians!



So....what else!? 

Oh, a big graduation party on Friday night for my daugher, Katherine!  It should be great!  We rented this cute house on the lake!  It was through the city of Avon Lake, Ohio (where I grew up) and was really inexpensive!  It would take too long to remove my shop stuff from my house (yes, it's everywhere), plus we live on a busy street, and parking is a problem!  So this is the perfect solution!  There's even access to the beach, and hopefully the weather will be great!

So that's my quick update!   Hope everyone is enjoying their summer~!

Happy Fourth of July!!

Jen



Fresh Flowers and Milk Glass

I love fresh flowers and milk glass!  I usually have a milk glass vase filled with fresh flowers!

Simple and Classic

Plus, since starting my Etsy shops, I now have a love for photography!  The first thing I usually do when I get my new flowers, is take pictures of them.  Most times I will post them to flickr (I love flickr!).

Not sure what these are but I love them!

I've also taken several milk glass bud vases and added just a single flower to each and put them on my windowsill (I'll try to do that soon and get a shot of it up here).

These are great for weddings!

I love this green!

So grab a vintage milk glass vase (oh my...you don't have one!? well you must go here http://www.mymilkglassshop.etsy.com/ )!  Go out a buy a bouquet of fresh flowers (you can find them anywhere these days and they really aren't too expensive). 

It'll brighten up your house!  (Even a house like mine that's full of vintage everywhere-and I mean everywhere!)

Happy Sunday!

Jen

Been Busy!

If you read my last post, you will know that I had my own personal shopping spree at a church yard sale! How nice is that!?

I bought tons of jewelry, and I'm trying to get it all listed!

I love vintage jewelry! It just seems more...I don't know, just more! More cool, more classic, more retro, more sturdy!

Sarah Coventry Brooch



Like this cute retro Sarah Coventry brooch!

Lisner clip earrings-sold, but I have more! blurry pic-yikes!

The oh-so-clever-and creative people (if you read my blog, you know I'm not in the category-I do Jenny's crappy crafts now & then), that can make cute things out of vintage jewels!

Fun retro turtle brooches-these already sold too!



Take your basic black dress or favorite t-shirt and jeans, and add a unique piece of vintage jewelry! 

Clip earrings hooked to spaghetti straps



My daughter, Katherine, came up with the idea of hooking vintage clip earrings to spaghetti straps!  She did that with one of her homecoming dresses!

Be sure to check out my shop, I will be listing more vintage jewelry this weekend! http://www.jenscloset.etsy.com/

Enjoy your weekend!

Jen

Thank you!

A shout out to Clague Road United Church of Christ, and especially to Nancy!  Thank you!

Just a small fraction of what I bought

Can you imagine a rummage sale where you're the only one there and you don't have to run for the things you want!?

That was me today!

Last week I went to the Clague Road United Church of Christ (located in North Olmsted OH, for the first night of their rummage sale.  It was my 3rd year there. 

The first year there was  set of dishes I wanted, but I wanted to wait until they went to half price.  The ladies at the church knew that, and they totally surprised me when I went back, and they had put them aside for me!  How nice!

I meant to go back last weekend, but I just didn't get the time!  Well, Nancy from the church called me today to tell me she still had plenty left from the sale and it would all be half priced!

I met her this afternoon at the church, and could not believe how much was still there!  All for me, if I wanted it!

I was in rummage sale heaven!  Plus, Nancy is such a nice person, we had a great time together!

I bought some beautiful porcelain pieces, TONS of jewelry, and even some things I normally don't pick up, such as an old shoe shine, it's cute-red and tin (I think!) (that was Nancy's), and an old shabby chic scale!  I also picked up some linens, and crystal, and so much more!

What nice people at the Clague Road Church of Christ! http://www.clagueroaducc.org/ If you're in the area, check them out!

Thanks Nancy!

Jen

Canadian Postal Strike

For those of you that ship internationally, at this time there is a postal strike in Canada.  Supposedly this will end sometime this week.

Here's the update from http://www.usps.com/

http://www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/2011/pr11_073.htm

On the bright side, tomorrow's officially the start of summer!

Jen

Happy Birthday Lindsey!

Happy Birthday to my daughter Lindsey!  And Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's out there!

Lindsey was born in Denver, Colorado on Father's Day!  She was famous from day one!  Lindsey and her Dad were on the news the day she was born!  Yes, they did a quick shot of the one that gave birth to her (me), but it was all about Dad's day!  I wish I had a copy of the tape!

An early reader!

Lindsey & I moved from Denver, CO in 1989 back to my roots of Ohio!  We've always been close, and I consider her to be my best buddy!

Cutie Pie!

Ever since I was a little girl, all I wanted to be was a Mom!  Lindsey has her own baby now, he's a bit furry and his name is Cosmo!  He's my grandpuppy and he's a long haired chihuahua!

Lindsey & Katherine when Cosmo was a little puppy!

I'm so proud of Lindsey! 

Happy Birthday Lindsey!! I love you!

Mom

Pic of my Mom!

not sure what the thing above her head is, but she didn't have a horn!

How Weird is This!?

Libbey Cavalcade 50's glasses

Okay, so I have these cute glasses listed in my shop!  Today I happened to be searching for pictures and stuff for my daughter, Katherine's graduation party. 

While searching, I found this school project that was my Mom's from the 50's!  I don't know how I got it, I've never seen it before.  Flipping through it, I saw a Mixmaster that I have (just haven't listed it yet), but the coolest thing, was that for her everyday glasses, she wanted the Libbey Cavalcade pony glasses!  The ones I have listed in my shop!  I didn't know the name of these until my Mom helped me out with her school project!

The glasses I have listed (on far right) I'm going to have to search for the others she wanted!

My Mom's name was Mona, but she went by the name "Pat" in high school!

I wish my Mom was still here, we'd have a good laugh about this (we laughed a lot together).  You never know, she just might be laughing in heaven right now!

Thanks Mom!! Love ya!

Your daughter, Jennifer (she always called me Jennifer)!

Just Words

Skyline Jewelry

Words can be so powerful!

I try my hardest these days to choose my words carefully, and use them for good!

You never know when you might just make someone's day, maybe they're having a bad day, and there you are, to cheer them up!

Things are a bit slow on Etsy right now, and then I received the sweetest "tweet" (you know I love Twitter)! Here's the tweet:  "So glad I visted Jenscloset's Etsy shop...Beautiful vintage finds and such beautiful photos!  So well done, I love this shop!".  Wouldn't that make your day!?  

Check out http://www.skylinejewelry.etsy.com/ for gorgeous handmade quality jewelry, and a super sweet shop owner!

I love this necklace from Skyline Jewelry!



I've had some other sweet convos such as this one:

"I'm a very busy mommy of my own 4 & 1 stepchild.   I work from home.  I homeschool.  I don't have a lot of time to "play" on Etsy.  I say ALL that to let you know...it is a BIG deal for me to take time out of my busy day to contact another seller JUST to tell them how MAGNIFICENT their shop is...but YOU have a MAGNIFICENT SHOP :)  And that deserves kudos!"

and this one:

"Hi, I just wanted to thank you for sending the cornflower blue plate...It was wrapped so beautifully.  It's clear that you take pride in your business and making your customers feel special.  Thank you so much!  I am beyond pleased with the awesome service you provided us."

"must have" earrings from Skyline Jewelry

I am not telling you about these convos to brag, but to show you how powerful words can be.  Why not try to lift someone's spirit's today!?

Thank you Skyline Jewelry, you have lifted my spirits today!

Jen

Hi Shirley!

Sometimes you wonder if anyone reads your blog!

I just had one of the highest forms of flattery!  My 18 year old daughter, Katherine, just told me her darling friend, Shirley, reads my blog, and likes it!

Shirley is the epitome (I had to look that word up, I really thought it was spelled epitomy) of style!  Always looks cute, not only that, but she has a great personality and a great sense of humor!

Adorable Shirley on the left (Julia on the right)

Thanks for reading my blog Shirley!!

Jen aka Mrs B

Photography

I'm constantly learning what works when it comes to taking pictures of my vintage items from my Etsy shops!

I have come a long way from when I started my first shop in 2008, but still have trouble with certain things, such as clear glass!

Footed Tumblers from Hazel Atlas



As you can see by the above picture, not so great!  I did go ahead and list these, but I need help!  I know one thing that would help is to have something darker to contrast with the clear glass.  I have some of my favorite shops that are on the front page so often (one reason being, they're great photography)!  I have studied those quite often, and am trying to "tweak" mine.  I don't want to copy exactly what they do, but at least get some ideas!

I usually take my pictures in my "photography studio".  Don't be impressed, it's my little foyer at the front door of our house!

I also have a light box that my daughter, Lindsey, made me, which is good for smaller items like jewelry.

The camera I've been using is a Canon PowerShot SD790LS (or is that IS?).  I'm thinking of upgrading, so would love any input from you out there!

I've also been collecting vintage clothes to add to my shop.  That's another place I need help with my photography.  My favorite model, Katherine (happens to be my daughter), has been kind enough to spend some of her time modeling the clothes, but I just don't like the way the pictures look (nothing to do with Katherine!).  I've also studied some of my favorite vintage clothes shop, and I especially like the simpler shots. 

Cute dress, great model!



This is such a cute dress, but my bad photography does not do it justice!  So I'll be working on this before I list any of the cute clothes I have!

Help!!

Jen