My Creative Customer

One of my favorite Etsy customers, Dawn, was sweet enough to share some of her photos of the very cool bird feeders she made with vintage items she purchased from me!

I'm not sure why this one is showing up small, but it's so cute~! Made with a vintage vase and a pretty pink dish!
Thanks Dawn!

Dawn's beautiful creation

 Another view:

So cute!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5,000

Lucky number 5,000!  Today I hit 5,000 sales in my first Etsy shop, "Jenscloset"!  I also have 1,831 sales in MyMilkGlassShop and 1,276 in TheChinaGirl shop!

I'm up early and I work hard.  The best part is, I love it!

JENSCLOSET 

Please check out my shop if you get a chance!  I try to have a nice variety of vintage and antiques so I appeal to a larger "audience".  

I also pride myself in excellent customer service.  If there's a problem, I tackle it and make sure my customers are very happy with their purchase.

THECHINAGIRL 

I love my china shop!  Full of gorgeous vintage/antique china!!  From mod and retro to pieces that are over 100 years old!

Promoting your Etsy shops should be another top priority.  Take advantage of all the free ways to promote.  Every little bit helps.  My favorite right now is Instagram.  I use the same name for most of my promotions under "jenscloset", sort of my way of branding.  You'll find me busy on pinterest, facebook, twitter, and tumblr, to name a few.

MyMilkGlassShop 

I even love packing my orders!  My packages are always wrapped in pretty colored tissue paper and ribbon.  The actually packing of fragile vintage items can be a challenge, but I can proudly say, almost all of my orders have arrived safe and sound.  Yes, there have been a few mishaps, but I've worked those out.  Keep in mind the cost of your packing materials.  Bubble wrap and packing peanuts are a must (yes, I know packing peanuts are annoying!).  We watch for sales on the bubble wrap, and we've been buying our packing peanuts from our local UPS store (they come in gigantic bags at a pretty good price).  I also buy most of my boxes from Uline and my garage now looks like a box warehouse!   My family also saves their boxes for me (thanks!).

I will blog more about my Etsy shops soon, and if you have any questions in the meantime, please feel free to contact me!

Happy Tuesday everyone!  I'll be off to the post office later this morning!

Jen

New Listings

I thought I'd show you some of my latest Etsy listings!

Fenton Candy Dish

 This pretty vintage Pink Fenton Candy Dish just sold, and I will be shipping it off to California tomorrow (maybe I can tag along!).

Fenton Milk Glass Hobnail Egg Cup

 Apparently this Fenton milk glass hobnail egg cup is pretty rare, as it was only made for a couple of years in the 1970s.  I love this classic style!

Vintage Brass Mirror Vanity Tray

 I just love these shabby brass and mirror vanity trays!  They are great on a bedroom dresser, or as a serving platter at your next tea party!  I am obsessed with my fake cakes and cupcakes!!  My facebook friend makes them, feel free to message me if you would like more information on them!

Stop by my Etsy shops here jenscloset Milk Glass TheChinaGirl

Happy browsing!
Jen

Happy New Year!

Happy 2015 everyone!

As always, I have new year's resolutions!  One is to blog more often!  If you have any ideas of what you would like me to blog about, let me know!

I love cooking and I love thrifting, so I will definitely be blogging about those more often!

Cheers to a fantastic 2015!!

Jen

The Lakewood Historical Society

I love when the Lakewood Historical Society has a sale!  They are really the nicest ladies, and they always say I'm their best customer!

 

 

 

Treasures from the Lakewood Historical Society

 I have been considering joining the Lakewood Historical Society, but have just been too busy to do that at this time.  Their sales are wonderful, filled with beautiful vintage and antiques displayed perfectly!

From "kitschy" to classic, they really have a wonderful selection!

 

Be sure to check out their website!

After you've checked out the Lakewood Historical Society site, why not check on my three Etsy shops at http://www.jenscloset.etsy.com http://thechinagirl.etsy.com and http://mymilkglassshop.etsy.com .

Happy Holidays!
Jen

Katherine

Tomorrow is December 1st!! How did that happen!?

My daughter, Katherine, came home from college this weekend to join us to see the Nutcracker Ballet (Joffrey Ballet)!  The Cleveland Orchestra was amazing, as was the ballet!

I had the time of my life last night! For someone that someones can be in my pjs by 3:00 in the afternoon (hey, I get up early and work hard!), last night was definitely not a normal "jen thing"!

Katherine (pic from a few years ago)

 
After the ballet, Katherine suggested we check out the Velvet Tango Room (in Cleveland) to have a drink.  She had been there with a friend a few years ago, and loved it.  What a charming place!  The lovely bartender explained to us that their bar was a throwback to the prohibition days.  They had a large menu of amazing "vintage" cocktails!  

While we were enjoy our delicious drinks, one of the nice hostesses asked if we wanted a tour of the place.  Well, of course we did! But it was a very small place, so we didn't think it would be much of a tour.  Wrong!  They have  secret back room, and in this secret room was another entire bar, with people partying and another piano man!  She told us you can actually book the entire room for a party, or make reservations for a smaller group.  I am definitely going back there!

After our drink we were getting ready to leave.  We had seats at the bar, and as as we were standing up, a guy asked us if we were leaving, we said yes, and he was apparently very happy about that (I didn't take it personally, he just wanted our seats!), because he then said he was buying our drinks (the drinks there are not cheap)!  Another good reason to have cute Katherine with us!

I'm not sure what time it was by then, maybe 10:30?  We were hungry so we went to another fun place, "Town Hall", just down the street from the Velvet Tango Room.  That place was packed, with mostly 20-some year olds, and yes I was the oldest there, except I did see one guy that I knew was older than me, yay!!  We ordered some tasty vegan snacks, had a few more drinks, and then headed home.

So I was out after midnight livin' the crazy life!  Katherine is so much fun to be around, and I cherish my time with my kids, since time is going way too fast.  Katherine is my "baby" and already 21.  We have decided when she's back in a few weeks for winter break, we are going dancing together.  We both love to dance!

I'm sure if you are a Mom you know it is the best "job" in the world!  Hug your kids right now!!

Happy Holidays!
Jen

Visit Jennifer Beaton's profile on Pinterest.

My Lastest Etsy Listings

Milk Glass Dish with cute fake candies!

I've been busy vintage shopping, and with a house jam-packed full, I have also been busy photographing and listing tons of awesome vintage in all three of my Etsy shops!

Libbey's Country Garden Glasses

 I'm always in a pink mood!  This post will be pink-themed!

Pretty pink jar - sold!

 This cute jar sold within a few days of listing it!  I will be packing it up and shipping it out in the morning!

Fenton milk glass collection

 Oh how I love milk glass!  It's gorgeous in a collection on a shabby shelf or cabinet!

Large pink floral serving platter

 There you go!  That is just a sampling of what I have available.  Be sure to check out my shops here:  http://www.jenscloset.etsy.com http://www.mymilkglassshop.etsy.com and http://www.thechinagirl.etsy.com.

Happy shopping!

Jen

Rhonda's Rose Cottage

www.rhondasrosecottagedesigns.com

Best gift ever!  Okay, I have been eyeing everything Rhonda creates, and I want everything!  I found her gorgeous creations on facebook, and have been a fan ever since!

pretties

 

 I ordered the rose cupcake, but not only did I receive that, but also the cutest little floral candy and a hand painted wooden plaque!

 And...everything was wrapped in pretty pastel tissue paper and tied with ribbons!  Be sure to check out Rhonda's amazing shop here:  http://www.rhondasrosecottagedesigns.com .

Happy weekend!

Jen

Soup of the day!

I love to make soup, even in the summer!  After a tennis and run workout this morning, I decided I needed to make a yummy soup!

I was inspired by the fact that I had so many fresh veggies in my fridge, and some potatoes from the roadside stand.  Instead of waiting for them to die a horrible death in the refrigerator, which does happen on occasion, I grabbed them all and started working.

I lined a cookie sheet with foil (easy clean up), added some olive oil, and cut up my veggies in uniform pieces.  I happened to use yellow and orange peppers, tomatoes, red and white onion, zucchini, and squash.  Season with salt, pepper, and some italian seasoning.  Roast at 350 for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, then I added my mushrooms, and roasted a bit longer.

While that was going on, I sauteed my potatoes (cut up pretty small), carrots, and onion in olive oil and butter, cooking until just about done.  I then added chicken broth (I use no sodium broth) and then add my own salt to taste).  Add the roasted veggies to that.

I like to take some of the soup mixture (about a cup or so), add blend it in the blender (of course!), to give the soup a bit more creaminess.  I add scallions, black beans, and elbow noodles, and cook for another 10 minutes, check to make sure the potatoes are cooked through.  I also added some sprigs of fresh thyme and basil leaves.

I love a bit of fresh cream in my soups, but I just add about a teaspoon to my bowl (I find that if I add it directly to the soup it just gets kind of "icky").

So good and so good for you! If I was making this for my daughter Katherine, "the vegan", I would just use veggie stock, and leave out the butter, and probably use coconut oil instead of olive oil.

Substitute veggies with whatever you have and make it your own!

Enjoy!

Jen