Flea market finds

We went to the flea market this Sunday and it was a very relaxing and successful trip. I have found lots of my favorite things, old brooches, vintage art supplies. I was the most excited about these wax crayons made in Germany by a company named Stockmar. I looked it up and these crayons are still produced and they are used especially in connection with Waldorf schools (this is how they were developed also). I tried to find them in this specific packaging but with no luck. I think these are from the fifties or early sixties judging from the graphics and the font. They are not vegan, ad they are made out of pure wax, but I make an exception for something so old. There are also some Staedler crayons that are from the nineties, I think and some astra watercolor crayons that Icouldnțt find anything about, but they also seem quite old. The Stockmar ones are very good quality and they have beautiful colors, I will most definitely use them in my drawings.

I have also found some small objects.

The most intriguing to me are the two metal brooches with the round holes in them. I have found them in a box full of similar objects, things that looked like oversized pendants that used to hold gems of cameos, a ring that I regret not buying, broken brooches, everything in this dark metal with the same round holes. The tube hinge and the C clasp of the brooches made me think they are antique, si I picked up these two, thar were the most interesting to me. I tried researching them but with no luck so far.

My friend showed me this tiny metal brooch that I picked up mostly because it seemed like an useful thing to wear sometimes. At home, I noticed it has a logo on the back. It is actually a Mellerio daisy brooch, that I found listed as being from the twenties, thirties or forties. I was very glad with my find!

I have also found these sweet metal brooches, that I think are quite old, too. The flower one has a missing rhinestone, but I don’t mind it.

I will definitely wear these large earrings from the eighties.

And lastly, I found a new addition to my vintage thread collection.

My birthday gifts

My birthday was 10 days ago, but I was so busy these days and I neglected my blog. I took a sick day today, in order to heal from a flue, that kept nagging me for some time now. So, I have found the time to take pictures of some of my birthday presents, of the hand made, vintage and second hand ones, my favorite kind of presents.

My friend Rodica made me these beautiful bags. The bigger one is from an interesting fabric that looks like paper.

She also made me the white blouse in this photo. The vintage Japanese yellow cardigan is also a gift from her, but form last year.

This beautiful fancy dress is also made by Rodica, initially for her sister who wore it for some special occasions. But her sister decided to give it to me, as I usually wear fancy dresses with cardigans and such in informal situations, too. I was very glad to receive it. 

My friend Maria gave me a ring for my figural jewelry collection. Also, she transformed for me a nineties troll doll without any hair or clothing. She made the hair out of a mineral and she created for the doll a cosmic dress :). She never liked troll dolls but I like them a lot, so she spend a good deal of time on it :). 

Also, she transformed the cover of a notebook that I used to have since a long time ago, but I didn’t want to use it as I was embarrassed by the colonialist map on its cover. This transformation deserves its own post, in details.

My favorite coworker gave me this set of geometric shapes used by teachers in the eighties. I wanted such a set for a very long time, but it is kind of expensive to buy online and I have never found it at the flea market. I was very happy to finally have them! They were produced in a factory from the town I grew up in. Another coworker gave me also a beautiful gift of a book she illustrated,  a tasty syrup and this soap she had made herself and wrapped in a doily. 

Oti found at a second hand shop this cute t-shirt. 

And the kids at school gave me these flowers that we have planted in our urban garden. 

It wasn’t only my birthday last week. Our dog Cici was born sometimes in October, this is the time frame our vet estimated. So, he put down in her id the same birthday as mine. We had celebrated together :).  

Pencil cases

I love old wooden pencil cases. The ones in the first photos are from Belgium, I think, because I have found them in a box at the flea market that had stuff brought from Belgium. I think they are from the forties, maybe? The one with Plumes written on  it has a sliding lid and the other one has two compartments that open separately. They were obviously used but they are in a good shape. But my favorite is the third one, that I have shown here before, a Romanian one from the seventies or eighties with white and pink counting beads and an alphabet paper glued inside.

Linking up with Vintage Bliss party and Thriftasaurus.

Vintage stationery

This is what’s left of my grandfather’s stationery collection from the seventies and early eighties. He kept his pencils and fountain pens and notebooks in a special drawer and we would take them out sometimes and look at them together, carefully. (He died when I was 6 and he was my only friend till then). There were much more fountain pens and colored pencils, but I used them and gradually lost them in primary and secondary school. There were also more notebooks and I still have those as my diaries from high school. I could never bring myself to write in this last one though, the most melancholy notebook ever. Linking up with Vintage Bliss Tuesdays.

Vintage school suplies

This pencil case is a flea market find, but I had the same one as a child. It was made in China and the colors are so pretty and saturated. One of the panda headed pens (the black one) was the one I used in the eighties. I have found the other one at the flea market (it was a very happy find, as it is in better shape than mine).

   

I don’t remember seeing as a child this wooden pencil case (another flea market find), although it is definitely Romanian and probably from the eighties, too. Or maybe it is a bit older? It is so nice with its white and pink counting beads and the alphabet paper glued inside.

  

Linking up with Vintage Bliss Party.