Sellers we dig: Bottlessoldcheap

image by David Corriera of Bottlessoldcheap

Etsy has a new featured seller each week, and while most of them have a decent product, I feel like a lot of really cool people can get glossed over if they're not taking photos with a DSLR. Sure, I like the pretty pictures too but in the end, you;re not spending money on a listing, but a product you will hopefully love and enjoy or appreciate.

Bottlessoldcheap is run by a guy named David Corriera out of Vermont and he has a FANTASTIC assortment of vintage glass from the past three centuries spanning from food containers to ink or poison bottles to even those lovely insulators of yesteryear. The only thing that matches the selection are his prices.

Here are some of my favorite items:

19th century hand blown pocket flasks (awesome bud vases!)

blown glass half gallon mineral water bottle

6 round bottomed torpedo bottles (mad crushing on these)

Super cool Pawnee Indian Medicine bottle with the label intact

a spring water bottle with a porcelain topper

And my FAVORITE a druggist bottle with a mean lean (super love it)

This man will be getting my business, but the hard part is going to be choosing what to buy, he's got over a thousand items and even huge bulk lots for weddings and parties.

I love when people do right by other people.

Good dude.

Peggy's Mural

Today I finished up a mural for a super cool woman I met at Trader Joe's. She liked the pond scene I painted behind the flower section and wanted to know if I was free to paint something similar at her place.

She's got a sort of oasis for herself and her menagerie of rescue dogs up in the Pasadena foothills. This place is cool. Tons of different old growth plants, an enormous avocado tree, trellises, garden paths, and toward the back is an old horse barn.

 

Part of the structure had to be replaced with new particle board siding which didn't do much justice to the vibe she had going, so I concentrated my efforts on that spot. Maybe 13' by 9' ish?

She gave me free reign to do as I pleased, with a few requests: butterflies, cacti, and a 1955 Ford T-Bird. why? Because she totally has one, in super nice condition, and it runs like a champ!

Cars aren't easy, but how could I refuse? :)

Here's an example of that scary midpoint, just before I started the car. Just when everything can go down the chute.

Crisis averted.

I filled in a little more background just so I wouldn't have to repaint stuff behind the windows and blocked in the car. Butterflies are still undone. I decided to save the car for last and go ahead on the butterflies.

And with most of them done, let's get going.

 I tightened up the lines and started articulating the cut lines in the body, hood, windows and hard top.

Looking back at the car it really wasn't a stark white so I warmed it up a little and started to contour.

 Compliments the teal interior nicely :)

And here comes the reflections in the  headlights plus the grills on the hood and front end.

 Now reflections in the chrome fixtures, hubcaps, and windshields!

 Perspective is only really weird from the extreme right side, but still fun to look at :)

On the last day of painting, Peggy surprised me with a beeeyoutiful barrel cactus (seasonally decorated just so) to add to my own fledgling garden.

The whole job was such a treat. Happy to do it again soon!
 

Highland + Baldwin

This sale was nothing short of amazing.

I've been super off my game the past few weeks, getting there super late and all. I was AN HOUR late to this one and waited in the longest line at an Estate Sale ever to get in but good googly moogly it was like I was the first one in. This really nifty little 1920's house was packed to the gills with some seriously good stuff.

Books. Books books books. Huge shelves everywhere. There were even floating shelves around the door jambs with cutouts to accommodate the crown moulding.. I didn't buy a single one but it would have been fun to look HOWEVER it was a Cynthia sale and she's notoriously stingy on her book pricing and I didn't want the hassle. I like overwhelming the ladies with tons of little things that have no prices I usually get a better deal because they want me to get my tiny crap off their table.

And they had tiny crap, but it wasn't crap. Best pick? A hammered pewter bowl with two stag heads soldered to each side. Hunger Games Chic. I don't expect to be the owner for very long on that one.

The KITCHEN. There were enough bowls, plates, trays, tools, vases, and to fill 4 kitchens. I grabbed some odd looking whisks, a brass curry server from India, a hanging fork and spoon duo, some clay cookie decorators in a CUUUUTE vintage print drawstring bag

Can I just tell you about the furniture for a sec? The chairs, the drop leaf tables, the carved spindled side tables and some seriously amazing rugs and throw pillows (amazing fabric patterns). So. GORGEOUS. Tons of character. Great condition and boy did this couple have an eye.  But there was one piece in particular that was just outrageous. It was a dark finish craftsman style corner bench that was slightly austere and rigid but just practically perfect in every way. My heart dropped and sang at the same time as I saw a couple cart it out. It had the coolest bench cushion too a really stripey red one. I wish it well.

The lines were so elegant. The husband made lots of little shelves and cabinets and odd cubbies, even his own rolling music stand.

You won't even buhLIEVE the handmade earrings I picked up at this joint. That's it's own post.

Mom and I decided to hit it again before going to lunch at our favorite Thai place in Pasadena (Saladang Song! Green curry! GO!). My mom is an estate sale noob but she did great, especially since everything was half price by the time we got there.

She got a doubled lapis bead bracelet for $5 (yes you totally read that right) which is hilarious because that was exactly what she was looking for last time we went to rocks and Runes in Burbank and she was ready to drop 10 times more for the same thing. Not only that but she snagged some Oaxacan clay beaded necklaces, one of which had these gorgeous mother-of-pearl round beads (HUGE!) and a couple other neato doodads for beans.

You wanna know how crazy this sale was here's the picture of the line. At 3 PM. Unheard of.

Still reeling. . .