Vintage Shopping

 I stayed home on Black Friday.  On Saturday, I cleaned up and headed to the big city of Gig Harbor, population 6,000.  This is how I looked, minus the long thin legs, the high heels, the tousled mane of blonde hair and the big sunglasses. 

 eBay is my shopping venue of choice for all things, new and old.  On my wish list has been those 12" tall old bottle brush trees that are covered with vintage bulbs and gee-gaws.  Know the ones I'm talking about?  The artist who makes the ones I want sells them for $120-$170. Gee, why can't I make one myself.  In town I found just the right bottle brush trees for $6 each.  Oh, and that small empty dome in the background, $12. 

Need ornaments and more ornaments to fill the domes, and decorate the bottle brush trees, and for filling bowls, and, oh yeah, the Christmas tree, too. 

Whoops!  How did this get in here?  Heh, heh. 

 I shopped at 2 vintage stores and spent less than $125.  Above are Victorian buttons, rhinestone chains, lace and crochet bits, and a length of the most fab Victorian beaded trim.  I think that trim will go on a jean jacket pocket, affixed with Velcro. 

 I just love these whimsical old Christmas doo-dads.  These were $1 to $2 apiece.  The Santa head is quite old and fragile, made of celluloid, like the old Kewpie dolls.  Remember those? 

Finally, I came upon a 50% off basket filled with old lace and trim.  Some of this is marked as Victorian, I don't know, but it is lovely and rare, I'm sure.  I paid around $7 for yards and yards of this plus some more.  That gorgeous hat covered in velvet flowers?  A Doree for $10.  Can I possibly cut off the flowers to use for crafting?  Probably not.  Lastly, because I still had a check left in my checkbook, I walked over the the town's nicest gift and holiday decor store.  Boring.  Give me vintage shopping any day.