A GIVE-AWAY AND GOLD RUSH

 We are getting close to having 1000 sales in our Etsy shop, Gwen And Alma's!! As soon as we hit this huge mark we will be having a Give-Away on our Instagram account @gwenandalmas.

Follow us on Instagram to know when we are having the Give-Away! It might not be long so head on over and click "Follow"!

Also we are having a space at the upcoming Gold Rush event in Rochester, Mn on the weekend of August 20th-22nd. This is the 49th anniversary of this event! People come from all over the U.S. to attend! And the different vendors are from all over the U.S. as well! You won't want to miss it! This is one of the largest Antique/Flea Market shows in the Midwest covering 52 acres of fairgrounds both inside and outside!

We are really excited about coming  back to this event. We will be bringing Farmhouse Decor and Mid Century Modern Decor as well as some other unique and fun finds! And those who purchase will receive a discount coupon  for shopping in our online store!

We will be showing some of the treasures we will have at Gold Rush on our Instagram account so check it out often @gwenandalmas!

In the meantime you also will want to check out our Gwen And Alma store to see our wonderful finds! Go here to see them!

Plummer House News: After a year of being closed due to Covid, we are now open for rentals and also Wednesdays for Self Guided Tours. Check out my Plummer House page to read more about the House and our role here. 

Here's a sneak peek at a few of our finds at Gwen And Alma's...

                                                   

                                                    Antique Copper Soap And Glass Holder

                                                                  Vintage Enamel Pot

                                      Four of these sweet vintage German candle and flower holders.

                                                            AND SO MUCH MORE!

CHRISTMAS SHOPPING

I usually don't like to jump ahead to Christmas before Thanksgiving and at home I'm not doing that with my decorating but I HAVE already starting my Christmas shopping. I decided to try and get as much done as possible so I have a bit of a more relaxing December. In fact, my first gift purchase was online and arrived just today.

So thinking about online shopping got me to thinking that it might not be too early to share some Christmas items here that are listed in my Etsy Shop, Gwen And Alma's.

 

We have Christmas tablecloths and Christmas Hankies.  I've used Christmas Hankies for wrapping bars of gift soap, making it two gifts in one! It makes a nice inexpensive gift.

     In the photos shown above are all items that could be used in Christmas decorating as well as for other times.

                          We also have many great gift items for both men and women!

AND..... A few VINTAGE NORWEGIAN SWEATERS!

Go to Gwen And Alma's to see all the treasures we have for sale!

Thanks for stopping by!!

GOLD RUSH, HOB NOBBERS, AND GWEN AND ALMA'S

Les and I will be taking some Primitives and other Goodies to Gold Rush in Rochester, Mn this August. This event has been around for many many years and draws hundreds of vendors each year. We will have a booth in a building that is in front of the 4H Building.


Actually Les will be there MOST of the time because I will be taking care of our Granddaughter. But I WILL make an appearance. We always have fun at this event. We know a couple of other vendors in this building from Rochester also. And we've come to know another couple from another state we've met that come back every year as well.

Somehow I keep finding antique bath accessories...

I found this old metal antique bath stand that holds up to three basins and has a hook for towels. It would look great in a bathroom filled with towels and bath accessories. I will be selling this at our Hob Nobber Sale this Fall.

And this HUGE enamel rustic tub would also look great in a bathroom filled with white fluffy rolled towels. But you could also use this as a planter, or many other fun uses could be found as well. This will be going to Gold Rush with us.

And I'm not sure where I'll take these collars but I thought they were so cute I picked them up! These
 are white antique collars that were worn back in Victorian times. They are in good shape. They might end up in my Etsy Shop. I have four of these but am showing only two of them here.

I have three places I'm selling items currently. Well, four if you count Craigslist. You might want to check out all four as each place lists different treasures.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sandy

EASTER AT GWEN AND ALMAS!

Heading for Florida next week for almost THREE WEEKS! Just thought I'd share some Easter pretties I have listed on Gwen And Alma's! Order before we leave if you want something in time for Easter!                   

                                                 Here's my PERSONAL favorite!

 

Only one of these cute bunnies left...

 

                                                
                                                       Four stoneware custard cups...

Vintage Easter Decor are great collectibles and hard to find! Start collecting YOURS NOW!

                                      Pretty Pastel Colored Cake Plate and Platter for your Easter Table!

                                                 Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit Book 

                                                      
                                                                   Sweet Flower Dish...

                                             Beautiful White Italian Pitcher...

                    And you'll find LOTS LOTS more treasures at Gwen And Alma's for your Easter decorating!! Check out the fun here!

NEW FINDS NOW LISTED AT GWEN AND ALMA'S

I'm really enjoying having my Etsy Shop, Gwen And Alma's! It's fun being able to sell to people all over the U.S.! Most of my customers live on the East or West Coast, a few down South. I have had some requests to sell in the U.K. so right now I'm working on the details of selling Internationally.

I have ideas of how we could make this a Full Time business but being retired I'm not sure we have  the energy to build a huge business at this time. However, we would like to build it big enough to be able to sell the whole business some day. So our goal right now is to grow our inventory, build our brand, and keep expanding one small step at a time.

          Since we started a year ago, our sales have increased significantly each month! I can't believe people keep finding our little shop!!

                                       I have 11 of these little Swanky Swig Glasses for sale...These are the glasses that got me started collecting vintage treasures in the first place...

                             And we continue to find more interesting vintage and antique treasures...
                              
                                      Like this handy dandy Notecard and Pencil Holder

                                        Organize with this 8 compartment wire basket...

                                         How about an antique Flow Blue Salt Container?

 
                                                       Harry Potter Glasses, anyone? 

                      For Your Office Desk....A Vintage Retro Letter ( or napkin ) Holder

                                                            And just in time for Easter...Collect more and make an Easter Banner

                                                        Some Great Granite  Ware....I was going to make one of those three tiered storage holders with these...Great idea for the "buyer" of these fun rusty granite bowls!

                          And a darling Chick Tablecloth for Easter! But this already sold!

You can see more photos of these and even MORE new items listed in our Etsy Shop at gwenandalmas.etsy.com. Hop on over!!

FARMHOUSE BLUE

                                                   Be your own kind of beautiful!


So I've been excited to find lots of very cool stuff for my Etsy shop, Gwen And Alma's! I still find myself drawn to Farmhouse/Country Blue treasures. Blue just makes me smile!  But as you'll see in my Etsy store, I'm still open to picking up other things that jump out at me.

 
The blue slats in the background I purchased from a collector who said they had been truck bed slats. I have a spot where I could use them in my home, but right now I'm using them as a backdrop for photos.  Aacckkk! Too many shadows in these pictures!

Right now I'm watching "Dancing With The Stars" while I write this. I  don't believe in multi-tasking so I'm going to get off the computer and enjoy watching the dancers! Dancing also makes me smile!

Thanks for stopping by!

YOU DIDN'T WIN THE LOTTERY? LUCKY YOU! ...AND VINTAGE FINDS

                                       It is more blessed to give than receive. Acts 20:35

 Did you win the lottery? Me neither.  Yeah, I'm disappointed but here is my thinking on being a "loser in the lottery": I think having this kind of money could make one lazier, less creative, less motivated, and not any happier. So you've been saved from being a lazy, unmotivated, uncreative person who is not even happier than before. Hah! Lucky you! I've always been one to look on the bright side of things. 

The reason I say that is because many people would quit their jobs if they won the lottery. And if you quit your job, you might have a tendency to sit around, sleep in and not get as much done...you'd get lazy.  If you're not liking your job right now, consider finding another job and not waiting until you win a lottery. Or better yet, figure out how you can enjoy the job you've got! You could find a job that you love so much that you would do it even if you had won the lottery! (update: I just heard that one of the lottery winners will keep working because she loves her job!)

They say that necessity is the mother of invention. People are creative and come up with ideas and invent or make discoveries because they need things or they need money. If you have enough money to have all your needs met without doing a thing, you would become less creative and less motivated. Most successful people have not come from money. They have had to earn it! And they have learned and gained strength by having to work for it as opposed to having money handed over to them. Other than Trump,  all the presidential hopefuls have come from childhoods where their family struggled and that was the motivation for working up to the point of wanting to be President!

And our happiness never comes from things. Our happiness comes from inside of ourselves where we choose to be happy no matter what our circumstances. Nothing outside of us can ever make us truly happy. Happiness is a choice we make no matter what our circumstances are.

So there you have it! You are so lucky if you didn't win the lottery! Let your creative juices go, choose happiness, get motivated and do what you love!

 OK But I did have $2 worth of fun dreaming of how I would spend it! Actually most of it I was going to give away! I mean, how much money does one need anyway? But I was going to have fun giving it away! So now I'll have to settle for giving smaller amounts away. Much smaller!

The Penny Project 

Even though we give 10% of our income, we look for  more ways to give...in our time, our resources, and our money. One simple and painless way we are giving just a bit more money this year is that each couple in our small group Bible Study is saving pennies the whole year. We're calling it the "Penny Project". Each couple finds a container in which they will collect pennies for the year. At the end of the year we will pool our pennies ( turn it all into bills of course ) and give it away to someone in need. Sure we could all just write a check at the end of the year but this will show us just how far a few pennies every day will go. 

Why not try it for yourself with a group of friends? If you'd like to join the "Penny Project", just leave your name in a comment on The Penny Project Page above. Tell us how many people in your group are saving pennies. If you're saving alone that's OK too. Also blog about it and encourage others to do the same and come back here and leave their name also. Along the way I'd love to hear how things are going. At the end of the year it will be fun hearing the stories of who you gave your money to and what the response was. Even a smaller amount pooled together and given away could be like winning the lottery to someone! Well, maybe not quite but it's better than nothing! 

Let's see how creative we can all be with our giving this year and have fun doing it!

Gwen and Alma's

Here are some items I just added for sale in my Etsy Store, Gwen And Alma's...

Vintage ink well with pen holder

Covered dish and rustic bell with leather strap ( sold together )

Vintage lantern candy jar and darning tool ( sold together )

Vintage thermometer and butter pat mold ( sold together )

9 Assorted Valentines

 

Paper mache rabbit ( Easter postcard included )

                                                                  Check it out here!

OPENING OF ETSY STORE

It has been a long time coming but I'll be ready to open my new Etsy store next Wednesday, November 18th. The name of my store is  named after my two grandmothers...

                                                           Gwen And Alma's

Gwen

While Hob Nobbers is a group effort of Karen, Renee,  and I, along with our families, my Etsy store is a business that I am doing on my own. Our Hob Nobber occasional sales will continue over Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends, though so don't worry! My new Etsy store will just allow you to shop year round!

Gwen and Alma both have Scandinavian backgrounds and grew up on farms so I will be featuring rustic farmhouse wares, vintage Scandinavian treasures, as well as other vintage items.

Check out my Gwen And Alma's page to see what will be for sale next week. Pictured below are some things that will be posted for sale at a later date. You can contact me if you are local and would like to purchase an item.

Vintage Tray

Rustic Primitive Scoop

 

Several Vintage Christmas Tablecloths. Everyone needs at least one!

                                 AND LOTS MORE...JUST IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS!

                    Also check out my Craigslist site where I have the following for sale:

Difficult to find vintage dress form. If you use this for decor, you can pull off the knitted outer lining and it has a lovely patina and rustic look underneath. Great also for display of vintage dress wear and jewelry.

           And because both Grandmas had cottages on lakes I'm listing beach chairs! Find them also on my Craigslist listing...( Rochester, Mn, Antiques )

Perfect vintage beach chairs,  the original canvas is still in good condition but can always be easily replaced later. These would look sweet in front of any lake home or cabin or even in your own backyard. Great gift idea for anyone who loves vintage also!

     REMINDER:   Be sure and check out my Gwen and Alma's page above just under the header! These will be for sale next week!

Our admiration of the antique is not  admiration of the old, but of the natural.  Ralph Waldo Emerson