17 May 2010

thrift store finds

I finally made it to the thrift store (and Home Goods) over the weekend. I left the kids with Hubs and had a ball searching for treasures. It is now apparent to me that I am a container freak. I love containers of all kinds, and I feel like I can never have enough. It is approaching obsession-level. Hubs is concerned.

Want to hear about what I found? I'll go from tallest to smallest.
I have been looking for something to go in this spot outside my front door for ages. I wanted something tall, fairly narrow (because there's not a lot of space there) and bronze. My ideal item would be a tall, slender antique milk can. But the only ones I've found so far have been too short and fat. That search will continue, but in the meantime, this will do.

I found the green vase-type-thing at Home Goods for $19.99. No, it's not bronze, but I picked up my spray paint today and will show you how that goes in a future post. It's not quite as tall as I'd hoped, and it's a little too narrow for the spot, but the shape and texture are exactly what I was looking for. I think $19.99 is a steal for something so close to my mental picture.

Oh, the milk bottle. I've wanted one of these to use as a flower vase for a few years now. You see, H picks lots of flowers, so we need a variety of vases. (Yes, dear Hubby, we really really do!) We used to get milk in glass bottles (bigger than this) when I was a kid, and this shape has always appealed to me. $1.50. Can't beat it.

Ditto for this little pitcher. I've been wanting to add one to my vase collection for a while. It's perfectly shaped, perfectly white, perfectly smooth. I love it. $2, thank you.

But this. Oh, my goodness, I am in love with this.
When I picked it up at the thrift store, I thought it was a cute little bowl with an interesting green design. Even more interesting was that the design was repeated on the inside of the bowl. At $2, I grabbed it, thinking it could hold rings or something.

But when I got it home, I got an amazing surprise.
 The "green" design is actually translucent! The light shines through those shapes with the most serene glow. It makes me intensely happy whenever I see it. I really lucked out with this one.

I imagine this style of ceramic work has a name. Does anyone know? I would love to find out more about it, and have a name so I can look for more pieces.