I Work Hard For My Money

Meow

I work hard for my money 
So hard for it honey
I work hard for my money
So you better treat me right!

I loved Donna Summer's!

I realized today, around 4:30, that I had been working pretty much non-stop since 6:00 a.m.  That does including twitter, pinterest, facebook, etc., but I need a good mix of fun social stuff mixed in with shop stuff!

Pretty Fenton milk glass plates

 Am I complaining?  Nope! Am I grateful?  Yes!

It is a lot of work to run 3 Etsy shops, but it's fun work!  Okay, sometimes packing fragile items for 4 hours stops being fun, but I am still grateful I have so many orders, so I keep pluggin' along!

That's what you do!  You find something you love to do, that you're truly passionate about, and you'll never work another day in your life!

Make the resolution to jump into what you've been thinking about doing.  Ask yourself, what is the worst thing that could happen?  Maybe you fail?  But even if you fail, you learn from it, and try it again!

Happy New Year!  Cheers to a wonderful 2013!

Jen    

Give the Gift of Giving

Holiday Donation

Are you having trouble finding the perfect gift for the person who has everything?  Why not make a donation to a local charity in their name!  Doesn't it make sense to give to those in need instead of buying something just for the sake of buying something!?

A place like the Cleveland Food Bank could sure use your help! Did you know that you can feed four people with just $1.00!?

I think the Christmas gift giving has gotten way out of control.  People running around like crazy spending way too much money!

Give the gift of giving this year.

Merry Christmas!

Jen   

A Day

A day starts like any other day
And then something changes
It changes you
It changes your life
Be grateful for everyday
It changes
Not always for the better
But it will get better
There is hope

My heart breaks for the family's of all of the victims in the latest tradegy.

       

Happy Christmas Season!

Fenton

I hope everyone is enjoying the Christmas season!  If anyone would like to do my Christmas shopping for me, just let me know!

And more Fenton!

 My estate sale friends were getting ready for one of their estate sales (because that is what estate sale people do), and they called me right away when the realized they had tons of Fenton milk glass!

I love this crescent shaped Fenton planter!

 Thank goodness my husband Bob came along!  We filled boxes and boxes with pretty Fenton (and some gorgeous green depression glass)!  I bought so much, that Bob had to make a 2nd trip to get everything!

Fenton Squat Jug

 Boy did I have fun digging everything out of the boxes, and then trying to figure out where I was going to put everything (okay, maybe that part wasn't so much fun!).

Fenton juice tumblers

 So between Christmas shopping (not much), and packing orders, I'm trying my best to get all of my pretty Fenton milk glass listed!

Here's to a magical holiday season!  Cheers!

Jen 

Busy Christmas Time

I love Vintage Shiny Brite's!

It's been a busy Christmas season in all three of my Etsy shops!  I'm thankful for that, but I haven't had a chance to blog!

HoHoHo!

 One of these days I'll actually get some Christmas shopping done, hopefully before Christmas!

Be sure to buy at least a few vintage items for Christmas gifts this year!  They're unique, and just may bring back some great memories for the recipient!

I recently was reminded of one of the reasons I love vintage/antiques so much! One of my milk glass customers purchased some pretty lacy plates for her daughter-in-law because she remembered her own mother using the same plates!

Another customer (in Jenscloset) bought some 70's Anchor Hocking glasses that were the same ones he drank from when he was in the Army.  He said it reminded him of his army friends. He is now a disabled American Veteran.  Don't forget to thank our war heroes!

 
 I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season!  

Jen

On Call Estate Sale

Pretty Kitty

I thought I should blog about my access to an estate sale that seems to go on forever!  I know I've tweeted about it, but I thought it would be fun to tell you more about it!

Anchor Hocking Forest Green Charm

 I guess it was several months ago that I was at antique show, and found this awesome booth full of kitschy cute cat and frog figurines!  The booth was being run by a woman and twins in their 20's.

I realized after talking to them for just a second, that I knew them!  Marilyn was the aunt of one of my daughter's best friends Lauren!  Marilyn's Mom had passed away and she used to collect and sell vintage and antiques.

She had a house full of things, and they were trying to sell them at antique shows (and the boys were selling some on Ebay).

Twist your head to see these...Shiny Brites!

   So I told them that I sell these kinds of things on Etsy, and gave them my card.  They contacted me, and I went over to the Grandma's house, and oh my gosh!  Rooms filled with the cutest things! Everywhere!

Shelves of cute kitschy cats, frogs, and more!  Two room upstairs are filled with vintage Christmas ornaments.  There is costume jewelry, vintage toys, etc.  Oh, and the cutest vintage handbags!

So I just contact them about every 2 weeks, and go over there, and shop!  I just went back today, but we've already planned that I'll go back next week to get some more Christmas items and maybe pick up some costume jewelry.

I also am friends with a group of great guys that run estate sales, and I was just at one of their sales today, and the owner, said he'll have an estate sale coming up in January, but he's going to have me check it out in a few weeks, because it's full of milk glass and he knows I love milk glass!

How lucky am I!!?  

Happy Thursday!

Jen

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  I hope you were able to enjoy with people you love!

I'm thankful to have shared Thanksgiving with my daughter Katherine, my sister Susan, and her adorable son, Bobby, my wonderful husband Bob, and a brief appearance by my son Mark!  Too bad Lindsey (and her husband Thomas!) couldn't be here!

Katherine and I ran in the Turkey Trot in Avon this morning.  She was so nice to run alongside me the entire time, as she could have easily ran ahead of me!  I did get 2nd place in my age category!  This is my 4th Turkey Trot, so it's definitely a tradition I would like to keep going!

Cheers to the holidays!

Jen  

Shipping Stuff I've Learned

Shipping! Most of the items I ship out are fragile.  That means using lots of bubble wrap, packing peanuts, newspaper, and whatever other "cushiony" things I can find!

Order your priority boxes now!

 I've been packin' and a-shippin' since 2008 so I've learned a few things!

One of my most expensive lessons was that if you're shipping to one of the zones farthest from you, and it's a large item and or heavy, us parcel post rather than priority mail.  The post office will charge a crazy extra amount for an oversized box. I can remember a few times that I was actually giving away them item I sold, since the shipping came out to far more than I had expected.  Parcel post will not charge an extra amount for an oversized box, and it's definitely less expensive for heavier items.

Cute but heavy vintage Pyrex bowls

 This super cute but super heavy set of primary color vintage Pyrex bowls are an example of something that you would definitely want to ship parcel post!

Not too heavy pretty bowl from my China Shop

 A pretty serving bowl like this one can ship priority mail.  In cases of items that weigh 3 lbs or less, I have found that the difference in the cost for parcel post and priority is very little, so I would definitely ship priority in these cases.

I take advantage of the free priority boxes that you can purchase at www.usps.com.  Remember though, they are a bit more flimsy than regular shipping boxes, so in the case of more fragile items, I would either use extra cushion, or use one of my purchased Uline boxes. I've actually just found a source for free boxes (don't want to give it away), but I will be stalking them on the day they get most deliveries!

Retro Shiny Brites

  Why oh why did my picture come out like this?! Anyways, for super fragile items, such as these cute retro Glass Christmas Tree Ornaments, I double box them.  This set happens to include the original Shiny Brite box, so that's easy!  I would add tissue to each of the spots around the ornaments, bubble wrap the heck out of this box, and then place it in another box.

So there's a few tips, I hope they help you!  If you have shipping or packing questions, I'm happy to help!

Happy Holidays---yep...they're here!

Jen 

EtsyPreneurship

My Etsy shops are featured in a great book called "Etsypreneurship"! by Jason Malinak.

Buy it at Amazon.com

 

 

 My feature is on page 168 and page 169.  I can't wait to read the entire book!

Chapters include "Creating a business plan", "Bookkeeping", "Taxes", "Marketing", "Finances" and more!

Jason is a CPA.  His wife Katie, has an Etsy shop, and he began taking care of her taxes, bookkeeping, etc.  

A big shout out to Jason for including me!!

Happy Friday all!

Jen   

Etsy Front Page!

Well, I missed all of the excitement since I went to bed early last night!  My friend Lori sent me a convo to tell me my melamine set was on the front page last night!

Pretty Flowers!

I love fresh flowers!  I also love pink and green together!

Just add a milk glass vase!

 I bought this pretty bouquet at Whole Foods (one of my favorite places to go)!

Hydrangea's and Tulips!

 I also love photographing flowers!

Flower love!

 Happy Wednesday!!

Jen

I Miss My Barbies!

I had this outfit!

Oh how I wish I still had all of my Barbie's, and the cute outfits!  Years ago, when my Mom and Dad were moving out of our family home into a smaller condo, my Mom sold all of my Barbie's at a garage sale!  I was living in Colorado at the time and had no clue!

I loved Skipper too!

 Skipper looks so cute in this pink outfit!  Yes, I had this one too!  

Don't get me wrong, I love my Mom, she was my best friend!  She passed away suddenly in 1994, but if she was here, we would actually be having a good laugh about what she did!

Gorgeous!

  I can't remember if I had this outfit or not, but I love it!

Love this shot of Barbie!

 My daughter Lindsey started collecting vintage Barbie's and all of the cute vintage outfits years ago!  I have them stored somewhere in our house, and since she's now married, and living in Columbus, I should bring them to her!

I really would love to start collecting the vintage Barbie's, and her cute outfits, so if anyone has theirs that they no longer want, let me know!

Happy Friday!

Jen

Mushroom Rice Soup

Jen's Mushroom Rice Soup

 

 

I love making soup, especially when the weather turns colder! The past 2 days were absolutely gorgeous, sunny and 70!  But, today is much different!

My Mother-in-law, Grace, gave us several cans of mushrooms, so I thought....why not use them and make a soup!

I started by sauteing onions with butter and olive oil.  Once they were pretty tender, I added 3 cans of the mushrooms (drained); they're smaller cans.  I season each layer with a bit of salt & pepper.

I then added 2 cans of chicken broth and about 3/4 cup of white rice.  I wanted to add some wild rice I had (I think that would have been even better), but that would have taken 45 minutes to cook, and I was hungry!  I also added about a 1/4 cup of black beans (throw in some protein wherever you can!).

I seasoned mine with a dash of garlic salt, a tiny dash of sage, italian seasoning, dash of dried parsley flakes, tarragon, and thyme. You can add whatever seasonings you love!

I cooked that at a low heat, with the lid on, for about 15 minutes, to cook the rice.  I then added some cream, probably about 1/2 cup.

I make a lot of soups, and I think this is definitely my favorite, so far!

Bon Appetit!

Jen       

A Few of My Favorite Things

You know I love Etsy!  Here are just a few of my favorite things (in case you want to buy me something!).

LOVE this vintage dress! Check it out here!

Add something to your little black dress

Change up your white t-shirt!

 

 

I love aprons!  "Sew Cute"

Beautiful artwork! Find it here

 There you have it! A few of my favorite things~! Now if anyone can help me make my blog prettier, I'd love the help!

Happy Hump Day!

Jen