Me, eBay and the postal service

Buying off eBay can be fun and exciting.  And with some discipline, it can be a fairly (cough) inexpensive means of acquiring items that you want, especially those that are no longer readily available in stores.  Like my Fiesta dishes.  And my violet china.  And my Christmas village pieces.

But as the saying goes, occasionally, there's a fly in the ointment.  And this past year, I had two ointment incidents - and my guess is they were equally frustrating for the sellers.  The first involved my "lucky #7 red bowl."  Well, it wasn't so lucky.  When the USPS driver handed the box to me, it rattled.  I told him it shouldn't rattle.  We opened it then and there, to find shards and chips rattling around what was left of the cracked bowl. The seller graciously and promptly refunded my money, but that meant I was - and am - still short the seventh bowl.  One of these days, another one in good quality at a good price will come up and I'll snag it, but sometimes you're ready for the hunt to be over, and I was at that point.

More recently, the UPS driver left a box at my door that also rattled ominously when I picked it up.  It was supposed to be the Granville house from "It's a Wonderful Life."  Well, apparently UPS' aim was better than George's - they not only broke out a window, but busted up the whole place. All the kings horses and men couldn't put this thing back together again.  Like the Fiesta bowl, it's disappointing for all concerned. In the big scheme of things, it's a minor tempest in a tiny little teacup, but once again, I'm left without the item that I had really hoped to have and display.

So why am I writing this?  To vent, yes. And to caution sellers of one-of-a-kind items to take extra precautions when preparing them for shipment.  An extra layer or two of bubble wrap, snugged up nice and tight, can mean the difference between a successful transaction and one that leaves everyone feeling the pain.

I'd lump in the drivers and package sorters into my little list of transgressors, but to be honest, those guys do a tremendous job, day in and day out.  I can't expect them to treat every package like they're carrying afternoon tea to the Queen.

And I guess I will make it a point from here on out to remind/plead for extra-careful packaging on any future eBay wins.  Then cross my fingers that the box doesn't make a clink when it shouldn't.

Happy (?) collecting,

The China Hutch: Before and....In Progress

I love alliterations.  I almost titled this "Creating Order from Collecting Chaos" but since order has not been fully achieved, I thought better of it.

As a dilettante I dabble in this 'n that, flitting from one flight of fancy to the next.  I tend to leave a hodgepodge of not-quite-finished projects and endeavors in my wake.  There are precious few pursuits I have stuck with for very long, and I have tubs of half-finished projects in the attic to prove it.  One success is my beloved vintage Fiestaware collection, which I occasionally get a wild hair to add to.  But I have taken a serious, deliberate approach to my Fiesta stalking, homing in on pieces and colors I really REALLY love.  (Fortunately there are a lot of pieces I really REALLY love...)

Another collection I started a good while back is antique and vintage china teacups.  Like my Fiestaware, the impetus for my collection came from receiving a few pieces treasured by an elderly relative.  Unlike my Fiestware, this collection has grown haphazardly.  Much like Harriet Beecher Stowe's character, Topsy, "it just growed."  The only hint of a theme among my collection can be found in a few teacups and other pieces with violets, a longtime favorite and not coincidentally, my birth month flower.  The rest are antique and junk store finds that struck my fancy and were in my price range (basically no more than $10 for a teacup and saucer.)  Here they are:

Sorry about the glare, but it wasn't much to look at anyway!

As you can see, mismatched doesn't begin to describe this collection.  An Edwardian period display cabinet houses my menagerie.  Since the teacups only filled one shelf, I used the second shelf for knick-knacks.  But truth be told, I'm not a huge fan of knick-knacks and the arrangement wasn't particularly thoughtful or artful.  The bottom is filled with miniature greenhouses which I've been too lazy to box up each year after Christmas...and for a few years I've been too lazy to even get out and display.  Hmmm.

My lack of focus led to self-doubt:  what if I became that old lady with a monstrous collection of dusty bric-a-brac and hideous what-nots?  Self-doubt led to a long moratorium on additional acquisitions--probably a good thing.

But in a small dining room, floorspace is too precious to squander on anything that is not useful and/or aesthetically pleasing.  It was time to make this a fun, purposeful collection to be used and enjoyed.  To that end, I stepped back and asked myself what I really liked and wanted to collect, display and use.  The answer was staring me in the face:  violets.  Fortunately for me, there are dozens of china patterns featuring my favorite flowers, and many vintage pieces can be had for a song, letting me mix-and-match them easily.

The first step was tactical:  clear out all the unrelated stuff and give the piece a good oiling.  (And hang the picture and shine that poor silver!) Some of the removed pieces are slated for an upcoming yard sale, others are tucked away for swimmer girl when she has her own residence.  The greenhouses are stowed away in their tub in the attic.

The second step was strategic:  assess the going prices for various pieces, and then slice through the eBay jungle like a bushwhacker, spotting bargains and creating enough variety in patterns, styles and eras to avoid any hint of a fussy set of vintage china. 

After an intense foray into eBay territory, I now have a fun and (relatively) frugal collection of violet-strewn teacups and saucers, dainty plates and serving pieces on their way.  Most of the pieces have arrived; a few are en route.  Yes, the back of the cabinet is currently white - it's temporary. I'm waiting on a piece of buttery fabric to arrive.

Getting closer to the desired effect...

When everything is in place, I'll post some "after" pictures along with a few helpful hints to share, and my suggestions for safely displaying collectibles when you don't have cup hooks or plate rails in place.

And what do I plan to do with them, besides display them?  That's the best part of all: I now have the perfect excuse to host some fun parties for girlfriends young and old.  There are dozens of reasons to have tea party, and now I've got all the necessary accoutrements to pull it off with panache and style.  If a piece gets broken, it won't break up a set or break my heart.  In between celebrations, I can smile every time I catch a glimpse of my new little (?) collection.

Happy collecting,


psst, wanna see what happens next? Check out the work-in-progress and the grand finale.

It's raining violets...

I've been on an eBay binge, and I've got a whopping hangover to prove it. Overwhelming evidence is mounting daily in the form of boxes delivered to my door, each one filled with pretty pieces of violet-strewn china. Plates, cups, saucers, bowls, serving pieces...oh my. 

I realized I haven't even updated my weekly menu in two weeks.  (I have been cooking, though. And baking bread.)  Not so much on the cleaning, though. Sorry Flylady.  So how does this wanton behavior square with my resolution to make this a frugal February? Well....it doesn't.  (Hey, at least I'm honest with myself.)

But in my defense:

1. It was a dirt cheap fling. Apparently no one else is thinking violets this time of year. (HELLO!!! Violets are the official flower of February, AND it's almost Valentine's Day!?!?!)  My nose for bargains rooted out pieces so cheap, the shipping was often more than the pieces themselves. In fact, most of my purchases have averaged about a buck apiece. For vintage china in GREAT condition. Don't everybody rush to eBay all at once...I've still got a few pieces I'm eyeballing and I'd like to snatch them up without any competition, thank-you-very-much.

2.  It was in lieu of any birthday gifts.  (Last year's Dutch oven and tickets to see Josh Turner at the Grand Ol' Opry were wonderful surprises but this year I advised Mr. Official that I'd save him the trouble of figuring out what to buy me.)

Once everything arrives, I'll have enough pieces to throw a proper (if modern) tea party for a dozen or two friends. And I took a neglected area of our home and made it into something useful and joyful to behold. Stay tuned for upcoming posts. One will have the before-and-after shots, and another will feature some nifty, thrifty ways to make a china hutch display pop and sizzle.  (Because "staid" and "traditional" just aren't in my repertoire.)

Now where's the Tylenol?

Happy  Friday!