Favorite of the Week - Early 1960s Sailor Dress Pattern

How cute is this dress design? I love sailor dresses and this dress has such a wonderful early 1960s retro look.

I sell a lot of vintage patterns on eBay. I do well with 1940's - 1960's -- especially:
* designers
* unique and harder to find designs
* children's clothes
* wedding dresses
* costumes
* toys and doll clothes
* embroidery transfers

This pattern sold, but I have many more in my store, if you'd like to take a peek!

http://search.stores.ebay.com/Birdhouse-Books_vintage-pattern-cross-crochet_W0QQfcdZ2QQfciZQ2d1QQfclZ3QQfromZR10QQfsnZBirdhouseQ20BooksQQfsooZ1QQfsopZ1QQsaselZ81052548QQsatitleZvintageQ20patternQ2aQ20Q2dcrossQ20Q2dcrochetQQsofpZ0

Favorite of the Week - Dean Walley - The Little Girl Story

I just love this cute little book by Dean Walley. This was published by Hallmark Books and I have always done well with the small Hallmark books by Dean Walley. This book is called The Little Girl Story: A Child's Experience of Growing and Helping. It was published in 1970, and has illustrations by Arlene Armacost and Gloria Nixon. It's about a little girl's life as she grows from toddler to "big girl" of 4 or 5 or so. Cute! http://cgi.ebay.com/The-Little-Girl-Story-1970-Dean-Walley-HALLMARK-Book_W0QQitemZ260271759838QQihZ016QQcategoryZ279QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1638Q2em118Q2el1247

Christmas in July!

I couldn't resist sharing a few photos of some very old glass Christmas ornaments that I have listed on eBay this week. I love vintage and antique Christmas and always have a number of vintage Christmas books for children and boxed ornaments (i.e. Shiny Brites -- I love them and try to keep a few boxes online all the time). These ornaments that I listed tonight are really unusual. Check out the tiny Bordeaux wine bottle ornament -- it's glass! They are older (I would date these as 1900's to 1940's vintage) and really unique. Here are a few photos - and a link to my Christmas goodies!

http://search.stores.ebay.com/Birdhouse-Books_Christmas-Ornament-premier-shiny-brite_W0QQfcdZ2QQfciZQ2d1QQfclZ3QQfromZR10QQfsnZBirdhouseQ20BooksQQfsooZ1QQfsopZ1QQfsubZ0QQsascsZ0QQsaselZ81052548QQsatitleZQ28ChristmasQ20OrnamentQ2aQ2cpremierQ2aQ2cshinyQ20briteQ2aQ29QQsofpZ0

Favorite of the Week - Moulin Rouge Ashtray

Hi again,

This is my first blog post in a while! I'm going to start a feature that I'll call "Favorite of the Week." I'll post a photo of my favorite recent listing, and tell what I find interesting about it.

My favorite this week is a retro ashtray with a Moulin Rouge motif. It is heavy yellow glazed pottery with a great Mid-Century Modern/Eames era design (similar in style to California pottery ashtrays). The design is labeled Moulin Rouge and it has a vintage Paris motif. I would date this as 1950's to early 1960's.

I don't smoke (never have) but I just love the look of this piece.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Moulin-Rouge-1950s-Yellow-Paris-Ashtray-EAMES-ERA_W0QQitemZ360075385272QQihZ023QQcategoryZ594QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

What to include when listing Book on eBay

I started on eBay buying books -- you know, those "oh, I remember those from childhood" favorites. Then I started selling. I still shop for vintage books on eBay, but a lot of auctions are missing vital information for a collector. Here's the information I like to see in a book auction:

Title - full title

Author or authors

Illustrator - this is KEY with children's books, as I often am looking for an illustrator (i.e. Eloise Wilkin, Corinne Malvern) more than an author

Publisher - be sure to also see the dustjacket and back of book, since Book Club Editions (i.e. Weekly Reader, Book of the Month Club, etc.) are frequently listed in these locations

Publication date - look at the copyright page and list the MOST RECENT date. I've made several purchases and been disappointed because auction seller listed the EARLIEST date instead of MOST RECENT, and I ended up with a reprint.

Type of book - Hardcover (with or without dustjacket?), trade paperback (larger paperback, i.e. same size as a hardcover book), mass market paperback (the smallest of the paperback sizes)

Edition - look at the copyright page again for the words FIRST EDITION or string of numbers, i.e. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1. I always include this with listings.

Description of book - What is this book about? This is also the place to interest illustrations that may be of interest to a collector - i.e. "lots of vintage illustrations featuring a cute Scottish Terrier" or "illustrations show travel on a Delta Airlines jet."

Condition - Be as specific as possible! Creases? Writing in book? Any dog-eared (turned down) pages? Spots or stains on pages? Foxing (tan coloration) on front or back endpapers? Wear at edges of dustjacket? Library markings? You can't list too much about condition!

I hope this is helpful ... I know this information helps me as a buyer, and I hope it helps my own buyers too!