Nutbrown Deluxe Icing Set

Mr. Husband and I picked up this vintage Icing Set at an antique mall for 5 bucks.

I doubt I will use it for icing but it would be cute to use for a birthday display!

 

Feemster's Super Salad Shredders

Mr. Husband and I came across this Feemster's set of 3 Super Salad Shredders at an antique mall last year for 5 bucks.

I bought it for display purposes because that lady's hand shredding lettuce is mesmerizing!

However I have used the shredders a couple of times now and it's "Life Time Use" promise is still holding strong!

 

Gildy's Blade

 

I have a real gem to share today!

"Gildy's Blade" from the Radio Program The Great Gildersleeve, 1950

Mr. Husband loves to listen to old radio programs from the mid 1900s.  One of his favorites is The Great Gildersleeve.  There is a particular episode were Gildy invents his own kitchen tool that has a duel knife edge with one side being serrated and the other not, along with the tool also serving as a handy dandy spatula...perfect for spreading Parkay with (who just so happened to be the show's sponsor!).

I spent a couple of years searching for this knife on ebay for Mr. Husband and finally found one but not listed as such.  I was perusing ebay kinda half heartedly looking for a vintage cake server.  Of course there was no way I was ever going to pay ebay prices for one but it's fun to look.  I came across a seller that pretty much only sold servers and knives so I just started looking through all of their listings.  Then I saw it....Listed as an "engraved knife" with no mention of the name that was on it!  And it was a pretty good price too!  I guess the seller thought the owner had engraved their own name on the knife. I was super excited and  still to this day haven't seen another for sale!

I printed out an ad with the order form and placed it in a shadow box I found at a thrift (took a bit for the right sized one to come along) and we have it displayed with some vintage cookbooks.

Oh, and I found a vintage cake server at a yard sale for 50¢!

Dolly Parton Cake

 Dolly Parton, one of our National Treasures turns 77 years old today!

A year or so ago I heard Dolly was teaming up with Duncan Hines to put out her own icings and cake mixes.  The catch at the time was you had to buy the whole kit online.  It included 2 mixes, 2 icings, a hand towel, a spatula, and recipe cards...for 40 bucks!   

Nope!  Next!  I forgot about it until the mixes and icings showed up at Big Lots and for less than 2 bucks each!

We picked up the banana cake mix.  On the back of the box it tells you how to Dolly-fy it up with milk, butter, and banana pudding mix...all of which I did.

I thought the cake was pretty mediocre to be honest.  It was no Dolly version of a cake, she is much more spectacular!

 

DIY: Sputnik Lamp Finial

Here's a fun and easy Decor DIY for you all!

Vintage inspired Sputnik Lamp finials!

I have seen these out in internet land but have never been able to find them (at a decent price) in the real world.  So I took matters into my own hands.

Below is an inspiration board showing originals which are metal:

For this project you will need:

~small stryofoam balls~

~long wood picks/skewers with a bead on the end ~

~gold acrylic paint and gold spray paint~

I came across a pack of these long toothpicks at Dollar Quarter Tree and I trimmed down the ends.  You could probably make your own by adding a small round wood bead to a bamboo skewer. 

To put these together start by spray painting the toothpicks and acrylic painting the styrofoam ball.

Let dry.  Remove the boring finial your lamp came with.  Use a ice pick or dremel tool and hollow out a tight fitting hole in the bottom of the styrofoam ball where it will attach to the top of your lamp.  Next jab your toothpicks in random but well spaced spots. Lastly attach your finial and you are done!  If your finial doesn't want to stay put add some of that tacky wall mount material to hold it in place.

I made another set of these for Halloween last year using long toothpicks with bats on them, which I also found at Dollar Quarter Tree.

1.25 Tree seems to have several different styles of these toothpicks.  Right now there are ones with little wooden hearts on them that could be made into Valentine themed finials.  

Or maybe you could "go wild with allspice" and make up your own!  There are plenty of things that can be glued or skewered on the ends of toothpicks....gumdrops for christmas, plastic fake roaches for April Fool's Day, hot dogs for Fourth of July!  

Snowy New Year!

 I think the most wonderful week is from the day after Christmas til New Year's Day.  The stress and horribleness of the holiday is done and it feels like a 10 ton boulder has been lifted off my back.  That week is the real moment I get to enjoy time with the fam without the additional stress of work/ school and "Stressmas".  It's also super fun to hit the after-christmas clearance sales.  I don't like shopping in retail stores typically but I do when everything is 75 % off!  I'm not looking for Christmas decor (I'm good on that!) but for things that can be used in other areas of the house all year.  This year I bought a couple of light sets to illuminate my china cabinet and the green display shelf.  I also picked up a new foot tap extension cord dealio.  They are great to use for those vintage light sources that don't have an On/off mechanism. Example being my vintage toy stove lamp I have in the kitchen that I use as a nightlight.  It doesn't have a switch to turn it on and off, it has to be unplugged, which ain't happening!  So I hooked it up with a the tap cord so I can on/off it with ease!

For the first week of the year I have been working on getting the house de-Stressmas-ed.  I had everything all packed up which involved pulling out all the Halloween-Thanksgiving-Christmas bins.  Got it all packed up nice and tidy....then I started thinking about winter and how much I love it...and snowmen!  Love them too!  And then I was off pulling out all the bins again and trying my hand at some winter themed decorating.  I know in a previous post I said the insanity has to stop somewhere...and there's no doubt it will after this last hoorah.  I will never do full fledged decorating for spring or summer because I hate them so.

I have a ton of craftiness and decor in the works which will be up within January or February.  Along with some other dishes and what-nots so stay tuned!