Eccentric Thrifter

Chelsea 50s Singles from KENNETH GORDON

2012-02-13T08:04:00.004-05:00

This is a men's size Large KENNETH GORDON Chelsea 50s Singles Hawaiian Shirt in a pink reverse pattern print featuring lots of bright tropical flowers in turquoise blue, purple, green, orange. There are sailboats along the bottom hem.

It has a breast pocket for small items and plastic buttons. It's 100% cotton and was made in the US. It's in excellent preowned condition and that means no shrinkage! It measures 18 inches across the shoulders and 25 inches across the chest. It's 29 inches long with 11.5 inches sleeves.

Another great Hawaiian shirt from Eccentric Thrifter!

Fellowes Box 07223

2012-02-10T08:25:00.000-05:00

Eccentric Thrifter has the perfect solution for you to organize books or magazines. The Fellowes #07223 Bankers Box Storage Magazine Holders are 9.5 inches long x 12 inches high x 4 inches wide heavy cardboard with fold together bottom in wood grain brown and white. There is a set of 6 NEW boxes. So started organizing today!

Not the Usual

2012-02-09T16:31:00.000-05:00

Eccentric Thrifter is branching out a bit. Mostly that's because Hubster is downsizing some of his person stuff.

We now have available a 22 inch, chrome-lined M1A / M14 TRW OEM BARREL in excellent condition.

The barrel is marked: TRW 77901909 63BM and has an ordnance mark and is stamped MP.

There are lots of close-up photos available at http://eccentricthrifter.ecrater.com/p/13755010/m1a-m14-barrel-trw-oem

I'm told Hubster has more stuff he's planning to add to the listings soon, so come visit often!

Accodata Binders

2012-02-08T07:47:00.000-05:00

We have 5 sets of ACCODATA BINDERS # 53072 covers in light blue. They are just the covers themselves; without any of the little plastic posts. Replacement posts are available online. The covers measure 15 x 12 inches and are all in the light blue color.

Available at Eccentric Thrifter @ http://eccentricthrifter.ecrater.com/p/10514780/accodata-binders-53072-lt-blue-set-of-5

RED STAR ROGUE

2012-02-07T09:57:00.001-05:00

RED STAR ROGUE by Kenneth Sewell and Clint Richmond

Early in 1968 a nuclear-armed Soviet submarine sank in the waters off Hawaii, hundreds of miles closer to American shores than it should have been. Compelling evidence, assembled here for the first time, strongly suggests that the sub, K-129, sank while attempting to fire a nuclear missile, most likely at the naval base at Pearl Harbor. We now know that the Soviets had lost track of the sub; it had become a rogue.

This book is from my husband's personal collection and is in excellent condition!

Available from Eccentric Thrifter!

Almost Azalea Time

2012-01-31T17:25:00.000-05:00

It's almost time for azalea to start budding out. I know it seems like a long way off but here in the Tidewater area we are fortunate to have the perfect conditions for azaleas. Norfolk has been host to the International Azalea Festival for over 50 years.

When I was young my cousin was part of the Queen's Court.

This year's festival is in late April. I never went but that one, but I've been to the gardens many times. If you're ever in the area do try to make time for a tram ride through the Norfolk Botanical Gardens. It started as a WPA project and is now over 155 acres with thousands of plants and a bazillion azaleas!

Now, how about a little something to make you think of the lovely azalea in the middle of winter?

This is the Limited Edition Franklin Mint Gracia Alstroemeria Plate # JB 3221 by Katherine Austen. It's just gorgeous at 8.25 inches across with a basket of pink azalea flowers on a with blue background with gold accent. Absolutely in excellent condition from Eccentric Thrifter.

Last but not least - my azaleas!

Ferguson Auto Repair Illustrated Deluxe Edition by John Doyle

2012-01-27T07:00:00.000-05:00

Ferguson Auto Repair Illustrated Deluxe Edition by John Doyle

This red hard-back book is a sleeper. Unassuming, with nothing more than a simple gold and blue title designation on the cover you would never guess that inside is so much useful information about fixing cars and trucks.

Aimed at serious amateur home mechanics this book has information on the electrical and ignitions systems, operating and fuel systems, engine system, power train system, and independent systems. There are easy to understand illustrations and descriptions, troubleshooting chart, cutaway diagrams, and more.

This book is NEW.
381 pages

Available from Eccentric Thrifter

Vintage Morton Pottery; Love Birds Wall Pocket

2012-01-20T05:52:00.001-05:00

Aren't they darling? You've probably seen them before. I actually grew up with them, well, not this particular one. But we always had one by the sink on the back porch of our old two-story farm house. In fact, the one and only bathroom was on the back porch too! (Hey, it was already a 100 year-old house when I was born, what can I say?!)

I still have those original love birds sitting on their own little cracked wall pocket nest. But not to worry - this Love Birds / Parakeet WALL POCKET from Morton Pottery are in excellent vintage condition if you don't count the dirt residue inside. There are no chips or cracks, just age appropriate surface crazing.

FEATURES:
* Measures 4.25 inches x 6.5 inches high
* Flat back with a hole for hanging or can use free standing
* Colors: Turquoise green , pink, blue on white

Now available from Eccentric Thrifter!

The Neglected Thing

2012-01-15T06:56:00.000-05:00

My neglected thing of the week is The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Microwave Cookbook

In this busy day and age being able to microwave good food that doesn't come from a bag or box is a real plus. Inside it's 400 pages you'll find over 500 recipes with step-by-step instructions. There are also menus so you don't have to struggle putting something together for company, and time charts and nutrition facts to keep you on schedule and super healthy.

This hardcover book is like New inside and the exterior shows only very minor shelf wear.

Interested? Get it and more from Eccentric Thrifter!

You Can Do That?

2012-01-09T07:04:00.001-05:00

Today I want to share an old book with you.

Make Your Own Antiques

Francis W. Hagerty wrote Make Your Own Antiques in 1975 to show how easy it is to make authentic reproductions of colonial period antiques using only a small basic tool kit and a circular saw.

Projects, including a Shaker Shelf, Block Stools, and a Doll's Cradle, include a detailed schematic drawings and photos of finished products. Directions on gluing tabletops and jointing an edge by hand are clear and easy to follow. Information on the historical function of furnishings and different woodcraft techniques, shows readers how craftsmanship of the past can still be integrated with practical considerations for today.

CHAPTERS:

Why Reproductions?
A Word on Wood
Tools of the Trade
A Workbench
Tools and Where to Put Them
Joints and Joinery
Safeguards and Sawguards
Jointing an Edge by Machine
Jointing an Edge by Hand
Ripping and Rabbeting
Resawing
Crosscutting
Miter Crosscutting
End Sawing
Molding
Glues and Gluing
Surfacing Wood
Sawing to Shape
Making Breadboard Ends
Making Tapered Legs
Making Octagonal Legs
Boring Seat and Leg Holes
Finishing
Decorating with Folk Art
The Reproductions
Sources
Bibliography

This is an 8½ x 11 inch paperback book with 113 pages with black and white photos. It is in excellent condition with very minor shelf wear on the exterior cover edges. There are no marks, tears or dog-ears.

If you enjoy woodworking or would like to learn to make a few old-timey projects this is a great book to have! These projects would be great to take to a craft show or fair.

Deal of the Day

2012-01-07T07:31:00.001-05:00

My Cabana Threads store has been chosen to represent the Addoway Deal of the Day today. Find this terrific Howie men’s Hawaiian print shirt as well as other great pre-owned Hawaiian shirts for men at Cabana Threads. Stop by soon!

Cat in Rocker Room

2012-01-06T15:56:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine posted recently that she was a busy as a cat in a roomful of rocking chairs. I can feel that poor cat's pain. It seems like I've been running from pillar to post so much during this first week of 2012.

I had meant to list some new items in my Eccentric Thrifter store. Lord knows, I have plenty to work on. But somehow I just haven' been in the mood. You know what I mean? You know what needs to be done, but you find that sitting at a computer with a blank stare is so much easier to accomplish. So the listing is basically still on hold, except for list a couple of items that used to reside on my desk. I was determined that, by Golly, I was going to list them and they would no longer be within sight, but would be in my "warehouse" where they belong, sitting patiently awaiting the day the You've Got A Sale notification came.

My spirit has not been centered on my store, but on getting the eCrater Stores Network community that I co-admin whipped into shape for the 2012 season. This year we've decided to become a totally paid site. It will eventually pay for itself and we will no longer have to worry about non-active members. Anyone who pays can stay, at least through their annual year. Our worries will be with educating new eCrater store owners on the joys of owning a store, policing outdated and sold item photos, and creative advertising for member stores. It's a task I enjoy for the most part; I try not to stress but it's hard. I want so much for ESN to succeed.

Add to that Online Sellers, another community site I created where store owners can tout store selling on multiple venues. Where ESN is solely for eCrater stores, OS is for many stores. I, myself have LadieAnn Toboggans Plus, a web store on Weebly for my handmade items as well as a men's Hawaiian shirt store, Cabana Threads, hosted on Addoway (which, I might add, had another sale just this morning).

And let's not forget this blog you're visiting, my Cabana Threads blog, the Creative Side of LadieAnn handmade blog, my Wordpress blog called Happenings @ Eccentric Thrifter, and the ESN blog that is a companion for the ESN community. WHEW!

So is it any wonder that listing sometimes takes a back seat in the scheme of things? And I have to find time to crochet handmade items....which is what the rocking chair was for in the first place!

Winter Winds

2011-12-31T09:37:00.000-05:00

If they aren't here yet, they probably will be soon - those winter winds blowing outside your window. We hate when that happens; it's cold as heck, you can't get outside and do anything, and you're stuck indoors for days on end. But if you're a quilter at heart you know there's no better motivator for getting to some of those projects that have been long over-due for attention.

If you like sewing, and especially quilting, check out this terrific book from Gail Lawther:

This is a New soft-cover 8x11 inch book with step-by-step instructions for 25 special occasion patchwork, applique and quilting projects. Make use of those saved fabric scraps you have laying around.

Color photographs illustrate how-tos and there are templates and tips so even beginners can enjoy using Quilted Gifts From Your Scrap Basket.

You may also like to take a look at http://eccentricthrifter.blogspot.com/2010/04/break-out-your-crafty-side.html for another great quilting book!

Gathering Thoughts

2011-12-30T07:22:00.001-05:00

I’ve been getting myself together for the new ecommerce year. I’ve been rethinking my stores from when I spread out some items to other venues. I still think eCrater is best and recently had my 300th sale.

After Hubster found out he had a gift for finding Hawaiian shirts at thrift stores I ended up putting half of them on Addoway as well as eCrater. Those aren’t my best sellers, but do ok. It’s a niche item with big colorful flowers. Addoway seems to works better for collectibles and normal items, attested to by many successful sales on there daily.

Last year I made Weebly part of my life. I really like Weebly, even though I actually don’t need it. I started a shirt store there as well as a handmade store.The shirts are not published now, but the LadieAnn Toboggans Plus store has had a few sales of my crochet and knit items. I guess it won’t hurt having them there a while longer.

I want to get my desk cleaned off by Sunday, sort of a symbolic new start. I am making a schedule for listing and blogging to organize myself better. I find myself jumping around from site to site getting nothing done too much.

I’ve also got break my every day come hell or high water computer addiction. I think I am missing life too much. I need to exercise, read books, enjoy the sunshine. Right now it’s 7:20 am and I’ve been on here for 4 hours already. I think I will test an every-other day theory and see how that works. Wish me luck - I gotta go now before my ass gets numb from sitting too long.

Get Ready

2011-12-27T16:10:00.001-05:00

Only a few more days left before 2012 starts. This week I’ve been working on getting my WordPress blog updated after too much neglect (a compilation of several blogs I have). I may just use the one next year; the jury is still out on that right now though.

My updated business cards just arrived today. They now have my eccentricthrifter@cox.net address on them. I think I’ll try using them a lot more than I have. I give them out a lot when I’m in thrift stores.

I’m rethinking boxes and labels and other ingredients to my small business endeavor too. There’s a lot of I’s to dot and T’s to cross.

For Christmas Hubster bought me the 2010 MS Office update for my Windows 7 Pro computer. I’m almost scared to update…what if I mess it up? All my business stuff will be screwed up! I don’t have a lot of time to learn stuff.

I’ve been getting my databases ready for tracking all my new sales that (hopefully) will be coming soon. I also have one for tracking item hits each month. This is really handy for seeing what’s what on the customer side. Yes, I have analytics enabled, but this shows me things I don’t get on there. I’m not much of a GA Connoisseur so I do it. Or maybe I’m just crazy, ok?

At home we’ve been sorting and deleting items from the house. Everyone gets in that clean the closet mode. Some things will flat out get donated; others will get listed. We have some good stuff around here. With an RV in our 2012, things are really changing around here big time!

Simplify

That’s the key here. Consolidate and simplify. Make things easy on yourself. If you followed the trend last year and spread out all your selling categories into multiple stores across the internet, stop a moment and study where your traffic came from and where your customers hit the Buy buttons. Then adjust your lifestyle accordingly.

Wisdom

With each passing year, we get older and wiser. We did then what we thought was right. Now we know better, we can do better. It’s still one of my favorite sayings ever (much to my daughters’ chagrin). And I’ll repeat the one I love from Comycgyrl – Get one store and market the hell out of it!

‘Nough said!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T15:18:00.000-05:00

To all my many customers, friends and fans

Terrific Gift

2011-12-19T05:41:00.000-05:00

ESN Scavenger Hunters was re-instituted this week. Last week the ESN blog was re-activated. I seem to be going backwards. There are reasons though and hopefully the decision to add both back on my To-Do list will be a wise one.

This week the Scavenger Hunt theme was for one terrific gift. Gosh, where do I begin? I think I have lots of terrific gifts at Eccentric Thrifter that are posted on ESN. There are several new sealed puzzles displayed on ESN. All are stunning with beautiful colors and would be great for the whole family.

A favorite of mine is the

AFTER RAIN Hometown Collection Puzzle 19 x 27 inches 1000 pieces

I love those Hometown puzzles. There are so many little details like little flags or people showing up where you'd never expect them. They showcase real American scenery with a Victorian folk-art flare to them. It's a delight to figure out the solution, piece by piece and the finished product is suitable for framing.

You can find this puzzle at the Eccentric Thrifter store at http://eccentricthrifter.ecrater.com/p/9919048/after-the-rain-jigsaw-puzzle

Seeking the Lost

2011-12-16T09:17:00.000-05:00

Well, boy, have I been busy! It's been forever since I actually posted about one of my sale items. Between all the Christmas shopping and decorating, visiting thrift stores and shipping items at the post office, taking care of ESN things and working on the OS site, my Facebook profile, fan page and ESN page....Gosh! is it any wonder I've been tardy on blogging! I even decided to reactivate the deleted ESN blog again.

I mentioned thrift stores. I have been hunting and this is the perfect time to do it. Way back when I first started selling on eCrater I made a sale of a wonderful set of the vintage Windsor Collection Victorian Christmas Carolers. There were 4 of them that came in their own box, each wrapped in separate bubble wrap. When these sold I took the box and double-boxed it inside of another box with bubble wrap between the boxes, creating a cushioned nest for the little people.

You guessed it - a couple of them broke. I received my only negative feedback on my Eccentric Thrifter store. The writer mentioned that I gave a quick, polite apology, but didn't say a word about her receiving ALL of her money back, including shipping. I felt so bad, mostly because she'd told me that her mother had a set of these that she put out every Christmas. The originals were long gone and my customer had been searching for years for another set. My set was the first she'd found.

But two of them broke and all I could do was compensate her money and I promised to keep an eye out for them. If I ever find them I will ship them to her free as soon as I can look up her address again. So,now that everyone is dumping their old Christmas stuff at the thrift stores, what better time to seek the lost!? It's really fun to shop with a mission in mind. Yes, we still peruse everything in the store and find an occasional goodie to add to the home pile. Some you will see online soon, but mostly, at this time of year I'm just looking for those carolers.

About Online Sellers

2011-12-07T07:14:00.000-05:00

About a year ago I was checking out sites to host a selling community. Ning was in the throes of removing their free sites and there was a possibility that eCrater Stores Network on Ning would have to stop. Luckily ESN came up with funding for the last two years. Unfortunately it looks like the probability of leaving to a new host is looming for 2012.

But in April, 2010 I opened two sites on Wackwall.fm - one for my Eccentric Thrifter store and the Online Sellers community site . Since then my personal site was deleted in favor of OS and Wackwall evolved into Wall.fm.

For the longest time OS has been sitting quietly on the back burner with very few members. Some days I thought about just hitting "delete" and taking one more thing off my to-do list, but every time I started to do so, someone would join. It wasn't much but a thread keeping the site alive.

I experimented with features, playing with html, rss, and such. It was my sandbox going nowhere. I really have to thank Terra Photography for inspiring me to keep the site. On the final day I was determined to delete it I went there only to discover that Terra had not only joined, but had worked so very hard adding her links and advertising to the site. I didn't have the heart to destroy all her efforts. So the site remains.

You've heard it said, when God closes a door, He opens a window. That's what's happening here.

Now with issues at ESN, OS has begun to grow. Currently I am moving information I created for ESN over to OS. We'll be adding additional how-tos and selling tips for various venues as OS grows. One big difference between ESN and OS is that OS is for multiple venues, not just eCrater. It makes it easy to keep up with all your stores in one place while sharing in a simple uncomplicated facebook like site without all the drama.

One way the sites are alike is that OS is not a link-dropping site for inactive members. We don't store or share photos and links without members being active participants. Membership is a privilege, not a right. OS is open to anyone who sells from their own online store. We look forward to growing and creating more friendships in 2012. Consider this your invitation: http://onlinesellers.wall.fm

Vintage Cookie

2011-12-02T06:32:00.001-05:00

How about a nice fresh vintage cookie for Christmas? That sounds like an oxymoron, doesn't it? But it could happen... I found this really cool metal cookie mold earlier this fall. I just couldn't walk away, and I really tried. I finally went back and bought it.

The entire metal plate is about 11 x 6 x x 3/8 inches. The frock-coated figure is about 8 high x 3½ inches wide. Now that's what I call a cookie!!!

On the back of the plate is an embossed section that states the image is a copy of a pattern actually used in the Williamsburg VA bake shop back in the day.

It's definitely preowned and I've personally scrubbed it clean it as much as possible. I seriously believe that anything left in the little crevices will ever come off, so not to worry when adding your batter! The surrounding plate shows surface scratches but there's no chips or digs or anything that would impact the cookie image itself. You'll still get a perfect Revolutionary style gingerbread man (or whatever you wish to create) every time!

He's available from Eccentric Thrifter! This package will weigh in at about 2½ pounds and will ship Priority Mail.

2011-11-27T18:04:00.000-05:00

The blogging theme this week was Small and Sparkly. But I don't even have anything small and sparkly. So I chose a cool book to highlight. Maybe you can add your own small and sparkly with this The Best of Making Jewelry book by Jo Moody.

This soft cover book has 240 pages and is in excellent preowned condition with only minor cover wear. Inside there are no marks or tears. There's a long list of how-to's within it's pages on making everything from chokers to hair pins. If you're into being creative with beads and such you'll love this book.

Thankfulness

2011-11-21T17:44:00.000-05:00

I think Thankfulness is the moment in time when you really stop in your tracks and think about everything you have and all the people that surround you. After you think about it a moment, then you are Thankful. We've all heard the saying that if you look hard enough you can find someone else worse off than you are. It's true, you know.

No matter how much your life might suck or how lonely or depressed you get at times, no job, your kids have no respect, yada, yada, yada...it would be much worse if you were actually in charge of your life. And a lot of times we think we are or try to be in charge. We usually muck it up pretty bad when we do that.

Then we call on Him...even with a still small voice that we won't acknowledge as our own...we do it...we call on Him. And He is faithful to answer us simply because He loves us.

Be Thankful that He doesn't hold a grudge, doesn't keep score. You know none of us would ever be worthy. No, He gives freely and without reservation to anyone who will call upon His Name.

Be Thankful that even in times of trouble He is there, waiting for you to let go so He can go back to taking you on the Journey He planned for you.

If you know you have it made pretty good, have at least one caring friend, family that you actually like (even with those dysfunctional moments), have a place to sleep where it's dry and warm, and food to eat when you are really, really hungry...then Give Thanks. Things aren't so bad. Even if your health sucks, it could be worse...just look around.

It all means He's got your back and what more could you ask for. So take a moment this week to tell Him Thanks for Him watching out for you.

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31b

It's Buffet Style

2011-11-19T12:30:00.001-05:00

Holidays are upon us and so are all the big meals that traditionally go along with them. If you are the head chef at your house you know it's sometimes easier to put some of the food out ahead of time. To help you stay organized we have this Tasty Temp Food Server that uses hot or cold water to keep things just the way you want them.

Tasty Temp 454 Plastic Hot/Cold Double Food Server Rare

Yes, these days this model 454 is a hard to find product made by the Bernard Industries Company of Chicago. The interior is divided into two compartments for doing double duty. The smoky gray exterior looks great and thee are four button feet to keep it up off surfaces.

It comes with the original instructions and is in the original box, although the box has seen better days and looks like it had tape on both ends. The server itself is in New condition!

I Love Sally

2011-11-16T16:17:00.000-05:00

I just love the Sally masks, don't you? Having never had the pleasure to travel to Louisiana, I'm sure I must be the last to know about these gorgeous masks. I know the first time I ever saw one a few years ago I was smitten.

These lovely creamy off-white and white ceramic masks have been hand painted in black and gold in the Mardi Gras tradition. These two were both done by none other than Sally herself and are both signed on the back.

One of them has a logo on the back too. I am thinking it is newer than the other. But they are both absolutely beautiful and both are in perfect condition.

You can read about them in detail at Eccentric Thrifter and see all the photos. If someone wants to purchase both of them shipping costs will be combined.

Thank a Veteran

2011-11-09T07:00:00.001-05:00

This week is Veteran's Day. To me, it's a bigger deal than I think most young people give it. I live with a Viet Nam veteran. Even though he'd never say so, when someone thanks him it really means something to his heart, that somebody remembers and still cares. Kids don't think about how lucky they are to be free to be dumbasses, with their "I'm entitled, I'm-privileged" attitudes while walking around with their pants hanging off their butts, acting like they're the first ones to invent anything and everything. And all the while, not thinking about what and who fought for them to be free enough to do those things.

When I worked at an assisted living facility for 3 years as an Activity Assistant, one of the first things I found was that no one made a big deal about all the war vets living there. Before I left each and every one of those veterans had a big American flag sign on their door stating "A Great American Hero Lives Here!" They were always listed in the state-award winning newsletter, along with their achievements and photos too.

Don't get me started - I get passionate about this.

When I thought of the 'Thank a Veteran" blog theme for ESN this week it seemed like a simple thing. Now I'm not so sure we should have been using the platform to showcase sale items. But I will pull a few to show how proud I am of our fighting men and women:

Embroidery Fashions Boutique has fabulous custom embroidery available, including the emblem above on a black ball cap. EFB has lots of stuff and because they customize they can often do something unique you want to create. I've met them in person and better people you cannot find. I highly recommend them for all your veteran-inspired custom pieces!

What every American warrior fights for is the Flag and the Pledge of Allegiance.

With troops arriving home every day you may want to greet the plane and dress the part by wearing this awesome American flag tie. It's available from my Eccentric Thrifter store in the men's clothing section!

To all our Veterans a BIG THANK YOU for services rendered! You make us proud to be American!