knowledge is power

okay so i am constantly on the hunt for a deal when it comes to vintage glass. i check everywhere; ebay, etsy, craigslist, thrift stores, and antique markets and malls. the one major flaw they all seem to have is an abundance of Federal Glass mislabeled as Fire King.

i am here today to clarify the difference because it drives me absolutely bonkers. Fire King is very well known but there is also people out in the world looking for Federal Glass. it may be mighty difficult to sell your gorgeous Federal Glass casserole with lid to a collector of that brand when you have it listed as Fire King.

the Federal Glass trademark is a capital F within a shield, as pictured below...

the Fire King trademark is simply the name written in script, as pictured below...




















please keep in mind that this is not the only way to identify Fire King glass. there may also be the Anchor Hocking logo or there may be nothing at all, some pieces where not marked with anything. i think the most important thing about collecting is to be exceptionally curious. do the research and get familiar with the patterns and the dates they where produced. also investigate some of the other glass makers (federal, mckee, jeannette, glasbake) because there are a TON of companies that made very similar but equally beautiful patterns.

i hope that this will be helpful to some of you that may have a hard time finding the information you need. im no expert myself but i think we can all learn something from each other. enjoy!

the internet is a wonderful thing

recently i have been coveting the idea alone of having a compete set of pyrex bowls. i have a few patterns and styles but no more than one or two pieces of each and its driving me mad. then during my latest craigslist scan for cheap/free goodies i discovered a yellow gooseberry cinderella set, and for $25 i absolutely had to have it. it seems these days to buy all four at once you gotta dish out $60 or more, no thank you! all week long i have been anticipating picking up these up, once i had them in my hands it was very difficult to hold back my excitement. my 8 year old step son says im cuckoo.




















this weekend i also put my very much loved tea kettle on my etsy. a couple weeks ago i purchased a duplicate and dont have the space to keep both. these revere ware copper bottom tea pots are fantastic and have a nice and loud whistle. throughout all the information i can find about them it seems that you rarely find one that was made in the usa, most i see were made in korea. those ones are just as nice but i love that i could find something that felt special.

thrifting overload

over the past week of two i have had many an opportunity to snatch up amazing things for even more amazing prices. i shall tell you all about it but first id like to showcase my most recent etsy addition. i came across a very lovely anchor hocking covered dish that is sure to produce smiles with all its shiny, pearly, milk glass goodness.



















thank you craigslist for your ever growing collection of the most random useless junk that every once in a while from it i can manage to discover something worth desiring. like a really freaking adorable 1900's entry table for $10. this was SO worth the little bit of a drive to the end of lancaster county to pick up.



















over the passing week or two ive gathered some items that make me enormously happy. while in western pa i thrifted a ice blue Fenton salt cellar thats a little rough around the edges, but still cute. also there was an old Pyrex mixmaster bowl. i already had the smaller one so i was grinning from ear to ear when i found the mate that is much larger, 3 qt maybe?



































in york county there was a GIANT pennsylvania dutch styled tin bread box. it was fantastic and begging to be bought, along with an aluminum colander. then today at my local salv army i spotted a near mint 444 gold script cinderella bowl, too bad the entire chip n dip set wasnt there. with the 444 i found a large Pyrex spice of life canister. i cant wait to wash all of it up and put it too good use.















i am definitely not disappointed. happy thrifting!!

much needed time off

i am about to enjoy my 4th anniversary of marriage, its strange to say "wedding anniversary" because it seems one would have to have had a wedding ceremony, and we kept it simple at the JP. with small children about funds are typically low so this will be the second time my husband and i celebrate by going to an amusement park all by our selves, which is actually a crap load of fun. we will be visiting much loved family in western pa so the obvious choice is to go to cedar point. ive never been there before so i am more than excited.

another reason for my excitement is that that little area of pennsylvania and ohio has a plentiful supply of vintage and antique items. every time i visit it is impossible for me to come home empty handed. i may have to leave a child behind so i have room in my car for all the goodies. kidding... kinda :)

so you can guarantee my next post will be extremely visually pleasing!

this is the face of a happy girl

alright my story begins as i go into my local salvation army thrift with the intentions of looking for a pair of pants. i think to myself "i'm not planning on buying any glass today but i'll go check it out just for the hell of it" my curiosity gets the best of me fairly easily. about a quarter way down the isle i grab some fire king jane ray saucers with the hopes of finding the cups to match. i start getting a little discouraged because i'm not seeing a whole lot and im almost to the end of the glass ware section.

i quickly scan the last of the remaining glass and do a double take because there i see 3 jadite d handle mugs. my heart starts to flutter and i feel a little woozy from excitement. i put the saucers down and dash over to the mugs, i think i made a happy squeaky sound because the woman i almost ran into to get to them laughed at me a little. i scoop up the mugs and behind them are 3 more d handle mugs in the regular milk glass. oh joy!! i know im sporting the goofiest cheesy grin and everyone around me probably thinks i'm a crazy person. each mug was .99 and i can feel my face start to hurt from smiling.

now i know this all sounds a bit dramatic and i believe my husband is probably tired of seeing me dance around the house like a nerdy fairy singing about my love of jadite. honesty i just cant help myself, i have wanted a piece of jadite anything for as long as i can remember but have never been able to buy any, it's pretty far out of my budget and i've never seen it at a thrift. then i have this magical moment of discovering these beauties and i feel as if i have won the lottery. all is right in the world.

rain rain go away

the weather has been keeping us inside for days and it seems everyone in my household is beginning to suffer some cabin fever. nothing but rain, all kinds of rain, light rain, windy sideways rain, get dumped on completely out of nowhere rain. another disadvantage is the lack of natural light, my poor etsy photos are suffering a little bit.
on my last thrift excursion i found a trio of corning ware dishes at the very bottom of a goodwill bin just like buried treasure. i decided to list 2 and keep 1 for myself, mainly because my cupboards are filled almost to capacity as it is.
 














i've been having a difficult time deciding whether or not to keep or sell my fenton pedestal dish. i love it but it doesn't tie in with a lot of the things i have around my home, knowing me i'll start to lose sleep over it. i am notorious for holding onto things for literally years because i get stuck in that limbo of not really needing a particular thing but not wanting to get rid of it because i'm sure that one day i'll find a use for it. for those of you who haven't had the pleasure of owning fenton you should look into it. their glass is amazing, the one i have is heavy, so so shiny, and incredibly smooth, you can just sense the quality whenever you hold it, it's delicious.















now i'm off to find something that will occupy my time. 2 more days of rain then finally some sunshine. mental note: buy more neosporin because with nice summer weather comes more scraped elbows and knees.

a fruitful thrift trip

first off let me say that there are times when i go shopping that i feel like saying "why me?" either i have money to spare and i find not a dang thing that i really like or it's that i go knowing i can only spend a certain amount and i end up surrounded by tons of pretty things screaming to take them home with me. on this occasion i left with my arms overflowing and feeling sad for the stuff i couldn't bring along. my boys got an old school desk for their room. it is so frigging cute, even better it was only $1.97, seriously i was beaming with delight.



















i also found a pitcher that was in outstanding shape. i haven't searched for the maker yet, although it does have that hocking glass look to it.



















there were quite a few corning and pyrex pieces i grabbed, among them is a really fantastic pyrex mixing bowl. it's teardrop shaped and marked like a measuring cup. i'm hoping i can eventually find the others in the set because after only one use i was head over heels. i used it at breakfast and it fits perfectly in your hand while mixing. love, love, love!



















this evening i will be adding some more indiana harvest milk glass to my etsy. i was lucky enough to find a couple compotes that are stackable. they are so pretty, i never get tired of this pattern.

btw adding and arranging photos to this baby is pain i never could have imagined, sheesh.