Thrifty Acres: Christmas In July

Hello! Christmas may still seem far away, but it's Christmas all year long at some of the local thrift stores, and there are holiday goodies to be found at estate and garage sales as well. I'll show off some recent purchases in this post. 

Five Christmas magazines, ranging from 1965-1970. 

I was most interested in the top magazine, McCall's Christmas Make-It Ideas, which is from 1965. Always fun to see vintage craft ideas - never know which ones can be updated with today's more plentiful craft supplies. The close-up above of the cover shows "Pompon Santa...a merry yarn and felt toy" and "Clever lion hides a surprise" (ie,it's meant to be a gift box). I'm not tempted to make either project, but there's undoubtedly several others in this magazine that are worth trying. 

Newer magazines:

Better Homes and Gardens Christmas Ideas is from 1993, so not super-new, of course. Has a number of old-fashioned crafts and also features several artisans who do old-time crafts like woodcarving and turning eggs of various sizes into fanciful Christmas ornaments. 

Well-Styled Home Vintage Holiday Christmas is from last year. I was delighted to find this magazine at a thrift store since I had coveted it at the grocery store magazine section last fall.  The $9.99 price stopped me, but by waiting several months, I was able to save $9.49 - worth the delay.

I was especially pleased by this find since specialty magazines like this rarely show up at thrift stores and other secondhand markets - at least, not in my experience. Not surprising, really, since these magazines are loaded with beautiful photography and are more expensive than monthly magazines. They're meant to be more like keepsakes, I think. 

A couple of decorative items:

The fake greenery ball is tacky, I know, but I bought this for the little (about 3"h) elf on top. He's missing a boot and a bit of trim on his hat but is still plenty cute. No identifying label but I suspect this is a vintage "Made in Japan" decoration. 

Also of unknown vintage, but considered collectible:

From Butticki of Sweden, a wood and fabric figure resting on a wooden sled. The piece measures about 3 3/4"h x 3 3/4"l. Perhaps because they're handmade, items from this company sell for quite a bit more than the small price charged at a local thrift store. I'd never pay the original asking price, but don't mind paying under a dollar!

Now, to look over that 1965 McCall's Christmas Make-It Ideas magazine - bet it's worthy of another blog post!