Oma's Trunk Update

 The purpose of setting up an Etsy site was to clean out some of my "collections".  In 3 weeks, I have made a bit of a dent.  I have sold 11 items to 5 different customers for a little under $100.  The following items are all gone!

 These buttons were from the 1940's---one woman had one button for $5 on Etsy.  I sold mine for $15. 

 The first sale I made was to Noel---3 wedding dress sleeves (each was different) from turn of the century and also some trim from sheets and a pillow case.  I did inherit the sleeves.  Mom said they came from "Mom" Curran---I think they were probably dress maker's samples.  I have had them for over 30 years and never could figure out what to do with them.  There was nothing out there like this so it was hard to set a price.  Since I had two buyers at the same time, I priced them too cheaply, but, then, they are gone and I made a first sale!

 Next, I sold three patterns to the same buyer---all were designer patterns.  I had bought them at a garage sale years ago probably for a dime and sold them for $10-15 each.

 I sold this one to a different person and advertised it as being like on Mad Men.  When I did a search of Mad Men dress patterns. . . .I was shocked how many were promoting the patterns this way!

 I sold the Life Magazine for $5---the envelope cost 2.50.  By the time I added the Etsy and Paypal fees, I made $1----not sure if it is worth Dave's gas to sell these magazines.

I was tempted to keep these gloves---but I sold them---washable suede and they are beautiful!  Leah asked what I was going to do if I ran out of stock.  Well, that gave me permission to go shopping, right?  Although I have been to a few garage sales, I haven't really bought anything.  I have bought a few things at Thrift Stores, though. 

Above are 4 scarves I bought at Good Will last weekend.  Soon, some of them will find their way to Etsy.  One is an Anne Klein, one Ellen Tracy and one Escada, but one is a no name that I bought for myself. I guess you'll have to go to my Etsy site to see what is for sale and what isn't!  Remember it is Oma's Trunk!

Oma's Trunk

 While getting ready for the church rummage sale, I found box after box of. . . . vintage items.  I have old books, newspapers, magazines, postcards, stamps.  Then, I have lace, patterns, buttons, trim and other sewing paraphernalia.  Some I inherited, but I bought a lot at garage sales 25 years ago, too.

 Rachel visited over Labor Day weekend and helped me get started.  I had already decided what I would sell and the name of my shop---Oma's Trunk.  All of the stuff I had could easily fit in a trunk (as opposed to a closet or an attic), but I knew the name "Grandma" was probably already taken.  Since I have German books and maps, I decided on "Oma", the German word for "Grandma".

 We quickly decided that Grandpa Long's trunk photographed better than mine.

 While Rachel handled the artistic details (like the banner at the top of the page), I researched my items to see what my treasures could sell for.

 We made the Dining Room the staging area because of the large table top and good Northern light.

 I had to break out my iron which hasn't been used since my son-in-law Todd was here last. 

Staging area for most photos----note ladder to stand on!

Rachel and I agree that the above photo wasn't the best way to display the collar, but this scarf was a real headache.  I didn't like it flat but Rachel didn't like any of my hanging ideas.

 

I think we finally agreed on these.  Not too busy, but showing off how the scarf looks draped.  So, here is my Etsy shop.  Wish me luck!

Surprising St. Louis Zoo

 Last weekend, we took Brett (cobra), Libby (kitty) and Davis (eagle) to the St. Louis Zoo.  Although I have been going here almost every year for 65 years, I am always impressed and surprised by something.

 I usually buy the kids a toy, but we decided to splurge on face painting this time. I didn't even know they did that! Then, I asked each one what animal they really wanted to see.

Brett really wanted to see the Anacondas, Cobras and Boas. . . but he usually is too afraid to step too far into the "snake house."  But, we got him all the way in and took his picture in front of the sign to prove how brave he was.  That was a wonderful surprise!

 

Libby wanted to see the monkeys, but spent a lot of time on "Poop Patrol" with Davis. :-)  No surprise here, really.

On our way to Davis's animal request, we passed a lion napping in the trees!  I don't think I've ever seen that before.
Davis requested to see the Okapi, one of his Webkins, but it was very shy hanging around the rocks.  An animal interpreter came up and he was surprised that we knew what an Okapi was. He even showed us this Okapi's baby picture! Apparently this animal has a very small fan club.

So he dug out all of his charts and told us the story of how Okapi's were "discovered".  Click here for a very interesting history.

It is actually more closely related to giraffes than to zebras despite the zebra-like stripes.

The St. Louis Zoo is pretty amazing--it is free, it is wonderful, but it is also very beautiful.  There were more flowers blooming than at the Mo. Botanical Garden last week.

It has some pretty amazing art also.  The art above was in the Herpetarium which looks pretty much how it did when I was a child.  John E. Wallace, the architect, hand sculpted many of the architectural details.

The area around the Bird Cage (built for the 1904 World's Fair) has some beautiful stained glass.  The one above had a hole in the middle to frame the swamp currently in the Bird Cage.

But, outside were some other wonderful stained glass pieces and mosaics.

Davis wanted to see the Okapi, Brett the snakes, but Libby wanted to see the monkeys.  Every time I tried to take a photo, this ape turned around.  I was certainly surprised to see how much this looked like scary eyes glowing in the dark on. . . 

The End.

Japanese Gardens

The Japanese Garden brings such peace and tranquility.  I will let the photos speak for themselves.