Back in the day, in ye olde candy shoppe, when you went to buy chocolates, you would see little shapes like these sitting in front of little candy boxes.

antique plaster chocolate candy shapes

Made from the same molds as the candies themselves, these little plaster pieces indicated the shape and size of the offerings.

One imagines such visual depictions also helped when a customer didn’t speak the same language as the candy seller. “Dirigible” is difficult enough to say in English – I don’t want to think about trying to buy a chocolate dirigible from an Irish chocolatier! 

Sweet antique pieces of history that you should not eat!

antique plaster chocolate molds

Available for purchase – located in our space at Fargo Antiques & Repurposed Market, booth #1 in the “twig” case.

chocolate dirigible candy molds of plaster
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Sure, we are all about the vintage Valentines this time of year – but we are also enjoying the new trend: Valentine’s Day Trees!

We call this one the Sweet-Tree For Your Sweetie!

(In our space at Fargo Antiques & Repurposed Market; booth #26, dealer code YES.)

Also, what can be more romantic than weddings – and vintage photos of weddings? The entryway at Fargo Antiques & Repurposed Market is filled with them for the holiday!

And we’ve even got this sweet vintage centerpiece idea: a pink & gold metal mid-century modern bowl, sitting on a crisp white china plate, holding a pink Asian jade tree sheltering an adorable pair of vintage, made in Japan, china bride & groom candle climbers! About as romantic – and eclectic! – as it gets!

Discover more in glorious pink & white at the #isncollectorscorner hash! (And on the wife’s Instagram too!)

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Thanksgiving means time with family, not working. However, in order for the family to be able to eat at the dining room table, one must first clear off all the inventory waiting to be cleaned & priced… So, in today’s endeavor to provide a clean horizontal surface fit for family, I, the wifey, had to work a bit.

To my delight, I rediscovered a few gems I’d forgotten about. As both these items are family & gift-related, I figured I’d take the time to share them.

On the face of things, both of these wall hangers are nifty enough. But it’s the back of them which really tells the stories & gives additional charm!

One is “A Tribute To My Dad.” A classic poem or motto from the 1920s, much like those by Buzza. However, someone has placed a plastic golden “DAD” plate on the front covering any attributions. (A search on the Internet attributes this work to MAH.)

We dare not try to remove the vanity “Dad” plate, for risk of damaging the original glass or framing – especially as the aforementioned back is where the real charm lies…

On the back brown framing paper, there’s a message written in what appears to be red marker:

Did you give this to your Dad?

Well, we all want to know!

But, sadly, we will only be able to imagine the answer is “yes”. And, for those of us who enjoy such flights of fancy, imagine how both the original gift-giving to dad went and the following story or stories involving the red marker questioner.

The other piece that has charmed me today has its own story to tell.

This piece is a framed handmade textile piece: a yellow and black Chevy hand-stitched onto a background of tan cloth (which rather resembles burlap). I am a huge fan of needlework, so this could be impressive enough. However, there’s a full story written on the back!

The inscription includes the birthday boy’s name & celebrates his birthday on April 25th, 1979 via this memento of childhood automobile memories:

This is a replica of our old Chevrolet that you had so much fun riding in the rumble seat. Remember? Hope you enjoy this picture. Much love, Mom & Dad

Just how does anyone want to give this up?!

I barely can, & it’s my job!

For anyone else who loves such charming pieces, come on out to the Farm this weekend – both pieces will be there!

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Looking for something to mix into your Fall decor — something that will work with your country burlap and chicken wire looks as well as it will with more simple styles and even more elegant looks? Perhaps something that will work not only for today but can also work for your Thanksgiving table? Check out these handmade vases!

I like the mix and contrast of glass, metal, and thread. Tone on tone ivories and whites makes for an elegant sort of rustic glam, which is perfect for Fall decorating. The delicate dried flowers gives them a more elegant look. But you can use fresh flowers — or, my current obsession, air plants. The neutral tones allow for these little vases to work into many decor styles — and be flexible enough to change with the seasons!

About 20 years ago, I spotted the idea in a textile art magazine… I call them “floss vases.”

Sadly, I no longer have the publication nor even remember its name. (If you know it, please do let me know so I can properly credit the idea!) But I loved the look so much that I kept the idea in my head. It didn’t take long to stumble upon a box of vintage and antique balls of Coats & Clark crochet thread at an estate sale. It took longer to find the glass pieces for the vases themselves. Eventually, I scored a box of vintage glass cigar tubes. But the box of crochet thread was now buried in storage… You crafters and collectors know how this goes. Years of moving didn’t help. But recently, when we cleared out our storage unit, I found the boxes one at a time… One by one I dragged them home. Finally, decades later, I was able to put these beauties together!

While I adore the ivories and whites, this idea has lots of possibilities — including more color! Colored balls of floss or thread can be used. And the decorations can be colorful too.

Other favorites are what I call the “ecru and blues”…

(Shown here with a little vintage sewing drawer piece I made.)

Here are some made with colorful thread balls, paired with vintage diaper pins, hair barrettes, and buttons. They are very cute for nurseries and little girls’ rooms.

To make these, all you need are balls of crochet thread, glass cigar tubes (or test tubes or other small glass tubes or vases).

If you don’t have such vintage items on hand, you can try Etsy, of course. Or, if you are excited and would rather not wait (or risk the scenario I described above!), you can get new items at Amazon for this vintage look: Crochet thread balls, test tubes.

Assembling them is relatively easy. The vintage glass cigar tubes have rounded bottoms, so they must be hot glued or otherwise affixed to the paper bottom of the balls of crochet thread. For best results, I recommend putting the plastic seals on the top of the tubes to use. Simply cut off the part which would fit tightly inside the tube. Now you have a tiny flat-bottomed “dish” which can be filled with hot glue. Fit the round bottom of the glass tube inside the little dish of glue and hold ’til it sets. (Low temp glue is fine.) Once that’s set, use the glue gun to apply more glue to the flat bottom of the cap piece and quickly insert it inside the ball of thread and hold it securely in place until the glue sets, affixing the whole piece to the paper bottom of the ball of thread.

Once the glass vases are inserted, and, if necessary, secured in place, you are then free to decorate with bits and bobs you have sitting in your craft drawers… Bits of broken jewelry, charms, buttons, beads, sequins, bows, found objects, etc. Depending on the pieces used for decoration, you can attach them to the balls of thread via pins, tacks, chains, and even the glue gun again.

I like the simple clean look, where you can see the thread and the vase. But you can create your own variations… Stack more balls of thread to hide the vases. Load up the glam by covering up the surface of the balls of thread as much as you’d like.

All of these vases can be found in our booth spaces at both the Fargo Antiques & Repurposed Market & the FM Antique & Repurposed Market. Small vases (single ball of thread) are $12; larger floss vases are $16 each. As always, if you are interested in any of these items or any others on our site, contact us! We do ship (in the U.S.).

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In our spare time, we’ve been (admittedly slowly!) working on a series of tables made from vintage suitcases. This is the first one we’ve managed to finish and put up for sale. It’s in our space at the Fargo location of F.A.R.M.

This one is in shades of vanilla and white.

vanilla-white-suitcase-table

Yes, it opens! Spiffy blue satin lining, with plenty of pockets for hiding remotes etc. Pretty & practical!

vintage-suitcase-table-fargo

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If you’d have seen the wifely lately, you’d know a bit about what we’ve been working on due the color of her hands. *wink* For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure, we’ve just made these pretty (and rather large!) quilt block boards. Each board features a red, white, and blue star quilt block. The boards are stained either red or white. Each measure board measures 29 inches square. It was the best way to salvage the quilt. Perfect for quilt lovers, fans of Americana — and, of course, just in time for the Fourth of July!

vintage-red-white-and-blue-star-quilt-blocks-and-antiques-in-fargo-moorhead

Also shown in the photo from our space at F.A.R.M.

That 8-foot long primitive industrial cart, vintage Pigeon Forge Pottery racoons, and a collection of vintage handmade, wooden Hagar The Horrible characters!

Oh, and we’ve some of these vintage quilt block boards at Su Laine’s too. You can see what they look like in our booth with other vintage red & white items. (The whole thing is so Pennsylvania Dutch looking, isn’t it?!)

red-white-and-blue-antiques-and-collectibles-fair-oaks

Among the other things we’ve been doing…

We were on the radio again. This time, I joined hubby on KFGO and we talked about picking during Fargo-Moorhead’s Clean-Up Week.

Sometimes we’re so busy picking, cleaning, painting, etc. that we don’t blog as much as we should. We’ll try to do better; meanwhile, keep an eye out on our Tumblr, Twitter, & Facebook Page for some quick peeks at what we’re up to and what we’ve got for sale. (Follow us too, please!)

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People have asked about the gorgeous antique plaster relief of Mary we previously showed you, so here’s some more info:

It came out of a very old Catholic church. It’s not so much a wall plaque; this old plaster piece was built into the alter or wall of a church — as evidenced by the carved and gilded wooden frame. A rather large architectural plaster relief religious medallion.

antique-church-medalion-relief-of-mary

Measurements:

23 inches by 27 inches, and 5 inches deep.

We are proud to present another turn of the church piece — a true antique religious item! Never seen another like it!

If interested, contact us for additional information and details. For now, it sits in our space at SuLaine’s. Price: $415

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We’ve been busy, setting up and refilling so often that we’ve been remiss in telling you that we are selling at the new Fargo Antiques & Repurposed Market (F.A.R.M.). Today it is one month to the day the shop opened! It’s a great mix of true antiques, cool vintage, and unique repurposed, recycled, upcycled items.

This is just some of what we have there in our space. Or maybe we should say what we’ve had there — because things are selling fast! Our space os booth #40, which is located right next to the check-out desk. (We’re on the other side of the wall of ribbons and wrapping.)

The shop is open from noon until 6 pm today, so stop on in & see what’s there!

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mid-century-modern-three-tier-metal-rolling-car-barcart-with-glasst-barware

mid-century-modern-glass-barware-cocktail-set-tray

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If you like automobilia, if you’re looking for some cool vintage advertising for your man cave, take a look at these vintage metal auto part storage boxes.

Original metal wall-mounted tool cabinets which once hung in Sahr’s gas and service station in downtown Fargo, North Dakota, these were pretty stinkin’ dirty. This is them after being sprayed with the hose, before any scrubbing took place. But we cleaned them up and now they are spiffy enough to use in your home.

vintage dirty wet auto part advertising sign graphics metal storage boxes

dirty with shelves mancave metal wall cases

Even better than metal advertising signs, these vintage metal cases hold things! They can be used, as they once were, as tool and supply cabinets to hold auto, fleet, farm, and marine parts; or you can store anything you’d like inside as there are shelves as seen in the photo above — but don’t worry, all clean now!

before-after-napa

I think the black and white box with the retro 70s car, boat, tractor, truck, bus, and boat graphics would be a cool way to store Matchbox and other collectible cars — for little and big boys. But once you buy it, fill it with what you like!

vintage belden auto parts wire metal wall mounted storage box

Super functional; super cool.

Uncommon pieces as they were only available to service stations, auto supply shops, and the like; not for consumers.

vintage metal filko crown jewel automotive products service station wall unit box

The taller upright metal Napa & Belden cases are likely from the late 1960s-1970s; the shorter, wider, unit with the green and gold Filko advertising is circa late 1940s-1950s.

You’ll find these items, and many others, in our booth at the Elkhorn Antique Flea Market this weekend in Wisconsin. Our booth is located outside, near the entrance to the flea, in booth #214. Call 701.306.6145 if you need help finding us!

PS We travel to the flea tomorrow, so keep an eye on our Facebook Page for updates with photos!

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Sometimes I don’t think we talk enough about the cool things we have in our Etsy shop… So it’s time to highlight some of the items recently listed in our Etsy shop, including additional information about them.

We have a fabulous retro mod Sculptura telephone (aka the “doughnut phone”) listed for sale — just like the one you can see on FX’s The Americans!

Also listed is a vintage Marx Midget Climbing Fighting Tank with original box — which appears to be an uncommon variation of the toy. Note how the one we are offering has the gun turret done in camouflage.

We’re offering a complete st of 1984 Los Angeles Olympics Transit Tokens — something hubby wrote about a few years ago.

Last, but not least, I learned some interesting things about vintage greeting cards with teeny-tiny Bibles on them.

we have your collectibles fair oaks antiques

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