Assorted thriftiness

Hello! After finally managing to find these photos in my phone (I swear it hides things from me!) I thought I'd share with you what I picked up on the second annual op-shopping road trip that Rebecca and I did ^___^

Here's an overview. Um, wow, right?  You've already been introduced to my new pyrex pieces, but I did find some other cool things as well! ^____^ In the top left hand corner you can see my newest tuperware piece. I love finding old tupperware! It's usually still got the seal intact, and it makes my pantry look so much neater ^____^ This one was only a couple of dollars - huzzah! ^____^ At the bottom is my one and only doily purchase this trip (I try not to buy too many of these as they really serve no practical purpose ... but they do look very pretty!); this one is hand embroidered with a lily-of-the-valley. I always find it hard to leave handmade things behind in op-shops, don't you? ^____^

  

I got four new embroidery hoops, which is really excellent because since I've been doing hooplas I've been going through them like hotcakes! ^____^ I also picked up two DC comics pillowcases. I'm really hoping that I'll find superhero sheets one day because I really, really want to make a dress from them. Finger crossed!

 

This set of Johnson teacups, saucers, and plates was only $2.50 so I really couldn't justify leaving them behind, even though they are not the type of china I normally buy. They're a bit more practical for everyday use than my fancy bone china teacups and saucers though and I've been using them quite a bit ^____^

 

This cute canister has a crack that prevents it from being airtight, but it was 50c and I'm planning on using it for craft room storage. The two glasses are, hopefully, the start of a vintage glassware collection and were $1 for both. All my other glasses are super plain and boring, so it's nice to liven it up a bit! ^____^ Also in this picture you can see the additional four pineapple bowls that I got to match the seven piece collection that I brought previously. I'm going to need to have a dinner party and insist on a pineapple dessert, I think! ^____^

 

I really hit the vintage sheet motherload on this trip and ended up with six sheets and three pillowcases. Once I get past my fear of actually cutting into them, I plan on making some pretty dresses from these ^____^

Gosh, going through these pictures has made me want to go thrifting again very soon! Do you have a favourite thing to get second-hand? 

- Lisa xx

Pyrex is a girl's best friend

Hello! Oh my gosh, this post has been a long time coming! I finally took photos off all my vintage pyrex today, and you can see how long it took from how the light changes throughout the pictures ~___^ Not *all* of these are actually actual pyrex, but I've learnt that there are actually three brands of "offical" pyrex and then there are a ton of other brands as well ... anyway, here's what I've got and what I've learnt! ^___^

 

 

This is the first piece of pyrex I collected, and it's JAJ Pyrex which means it was made in England. This brand is also sometimes called Crown Pyrex, and the maker's mark can be the initals JAJ, a crown, or both. This pattern is called Indiana and is possibly from 1969.

This is also JAJ Pyrex. This pattern is called Chelsea and was apparently produced from 1968 into the 1980s. 

 

This is my first piece of American Pyrex! It's normally just called Pyrex, apparently the Pyrex company started in America and then licensed production to England (i.e. JAJ/Crown) and then to Australia (i.e. Agee - some examples of which are coming soon!). This pattern is called Daisy, or sometimes Sunflower, and is from about 1964 til about 1974.

 

It's also super dirty! I haven't had any luck getting these stains off, but I haven't been trying anything too chemically or abrasive in case I ruin it. Any suggestions for cleaning would be very welcome! ^___^

This design is called Cottage Rose and is another from JAJ Pyrex, produced from 1970 to 1971. I adore this pattern, it's so pretty yet still quite bold.

 

And I have two pieces in this design! ^___^

They are the same shape, but different sizes. I'd love to collect all the sizes in this design ^___^

 

This big dish is from France, which I thought was pretty cool! The company is called Arcopal, and the design is called Little Daisies. It's quite sweet, and I love it even though I'm not sure if it's "real" pyrex.

 

This is a piece of Agee Pyrex, and it's the only divided dish that I have (currently!). Agee Pyrex didn't have as many patterns as American or English pyrex, as far as I can tell, you could basically choose from clear, green, blue, or 'biscuit', although some ads do have 'coral' as well.

 

I found this awesome ad from the Australian Woman's Weekly which shows what the Agee Pyrex range was like in 1952 using Trove. They actually have a whole bunch of old magazines and newspapers digitized so it's well worth checking out ^___^

 

 

Back to America, and this design is called Friendship ... or the Pennsylvania Dutch Bird Scene, which is a bit more of a mouthful, or Birdie, or Friendship Bird, or Red Rooster (which is also the name of a fast-food chicken shop here in Australia) ~___^

I am so pleased that I got the matching lid for this piece, they look so lovely together ^___^

 

I brought this from a tiny op-shop where basically everything is two dollars (the best kind! ~___^) and they had a larger lid in the same design so I hunted around to see if there was another dish, but had no luck. I checked with the lady at the counter, just in case, and her response was to say "no, nothing goes with this one. Oh, and it's chipped." And then she threw it in the bin o ___ o I told her I'd pay .50c for it, she said I could have it for free if I fished out of the bin. The things I do for pyrex! ~___^

 This one is a Fire King piece, which is one of those brands which is similar to pyrex, but not actually made of the same thing. This design is called Primrose and was made from 1960 til 1962.

This is another English piece and the design has quite a few names! Apparently it can be called Woodland, Wildflowers, and/or Country Autumn. Take your pick, I guess! ^___^ It also had quite a short production run, being produced only between 1985 and 1988. I was born in '88, so I think it would be lovely if this dish was the same age as me ^___^

And speaking of short production runs, this one is called Rustic and was made by JAJ between 1980 and 1984.

 

Another short production run; this design is called Butterflies (ummm ... maybe?) and was made from 1983 - 1984 in England ... maybe. It's been really hard to find much information on this design! If anyone knows anything about this design (or any of the designs, really!) I'd love to hear from you ^___^

Although they don't match, I really like how Wildflowers and Butterflies look together. They're really both quite cute, aren't they? ^___^

 

This long dish (or lid, maybe?) is from Agee, yet, interestingly, is a different colour from my other piece of Agee. The little bowl is probably not any kind of pyrex, as it has no maker's marks, but it's the same colour and the little lip makes it a practical thing to have so *shrug*

 

This design is called either Tuscany Vegetables or Market Garden and is by JAJ Pyrex. It started being made in about 1971.

Although the timing is a bit out, I'm very tempted to make this Spagetti Casserole in my Tuscany Vegetables dish - yum! ~___^

 

This design is from 1972 and is called Carnaby Tempo. It's another one produced by JAJ Pyrex and always seems really familar to me for some reason. Perhaps one of my family members had something in this design once? I've no idea, really.

I love the contrast of the white lid against the blue dish in this design, which is American Pyrex Snowflake Blue, also called Winter, Snowflake Garland, or just Snowflake (although the latter is apparently incorrect).

This design was apprently produced during the '60s and '70s but it was obviously very well cared for as it looks almost new!

 

This dish is marked with "Pyrex 16" - and that's it! I haven't been able to find anything else about it at all. It's a mystery dish!

 

As is this one, maked "Pyrex 17". Curiouser and curiouser!

This one is marked only with the number 17. Very strange!

 

Also, it's kinda weird looking, don't you think? Like the designs printed on it don't really go together? It's interesting, nonetheless!

 

This isn't maked with anything! But, I did manage to find out that this is made by Hazel Atlas and this pattern is called Ivy. Awesome! Solving mysteries is the best! ~___^

This design is by Agee! This is the only printed piece of Agee that I have, and I don't know the "offical" name of it so I've just been calling it Strawberries. (Groundbreaking, Lisa!) ~___^

 

So, I've got kinda a little mismatched collection going of strawberries and ivy. Random, but I like it ^___^

 

 

This piece of Pyrex is really interesting; well, it is to me anyway! ~___^ It was produced in England, but is maked with the Nestle's logo. This is because you could get it by sending in labels of sweetened condensed milk to Nestle's - sounds like a pretty good deal to me! ^___^

 

I don't know how to work out how much money a 1959's housewife would have been expected to send in, but this dish was apparently worth one pound, which today is about $35. So, I've got the dish, now I just need to make the rice pudding to go in it. ~___^

 

Pyrex really likes their florals, huh? ~___^ This platter is made by JAJ and is called Autumn Glory. It was produced from 1969 but I don't know for how long.

And I have this design in a dish too ^___^

 

 

I've seen this design on teacups and saucers too, but I've never found any in real life. Pity!

 

This platter design is called June Rose and is another from JAJ Pyrex. This one was produced from either 1966 or 1967.

This little dish (which I have photographed rather poorly, as the flowers are actually a much lighter colour) is made by Termocrisa, which is a Mexican brand. It's like Fire-King in that it's not *really* pyrex, but many people advertise it as pyrex.

And that's it! Wow! I hope you enjoyed this post, even though it was a bit of a departure from my usual content! It's actually been really fun researching all these different pieces, although now I have a mile long list of all the other designs I'd like to collect! Well, I guess I'll take my advice from this 1949 ad ...

 

Thanks, vintage housewife lady!

- Lisa x