Comfy Jesus Pillows & Nose Putty

The same weekend that I went to the yard sale in Joe Biden's neighborhood, I hit quite a few others in Delaware. I haven't bought a thing since then. Nothing! It's been more than three weeks. I'm starting to get the shakes.

I shelled out $24 for this shabby chic haul so long ago:

The metal bread box has a glass knob and that perfect green & white chippy patina. I thought about keeping it on my counter, but it is a little too big and there wouldn't be any room for pizza boxes and chinese takeout all of the ingredients for my daily home-cooked gourmet meals.

At one of the estate sales, I found the Strawbridge & Clothier hat box, a bunch of cute linens (including the windmill dish towels), and this handmade green & yellow blanket. I'm not a yarny kind of gal, so I have no idea what technique was used. Can anyone help me? Was it knitted?

While I'm asking questions of my oh-so-helpful readers, can I ask you why someone would embroider a big piece of cotton with an image of Jesus? Do you think this was eventually supposed to end up as a pillow?

I bought this huge metal toolbox at a yard sale for five bucks. I love all of the little drawers. It was so heavy that the homeowner ran inside to get her husband so he could carry it to my car. Two minutes later, a very old man walked out the front door. He seriously looked like he was recovering from hip replacement surgery. Before I knew it, he picked up the toolbox and put it in my car. I wanted to stop him, but what the hell was I supposed to say? "Oh, no - that's okay. I can do it. You look like you just crawled out of the grave"?

It is mostly filled with heavy-duty drill bits and metal files.

But I managed to find a few treasures, including a parabola razor, beer can openers, a glass spoon, a couple of old skeleton keys...

a little man pushing a raft and a tiny copper pan....

and nose putty.

This will come in handy when I want to pretend that my husband beat me up for buying too much junk.

Comments

[bethtrue]

What a great find for $5!! and the nose putty - now what do you suppose that was for??!! :-) thanks for sharing all your goodies - enjoy playing with all that!

[Queen of Fifty Cents]

Nose putty is used as stage makeup--you shape your character's nose on your face, then put makeup over it. (I think!) I'm not positive, but your blanket is probably crocheted in afghan stitch, also known as tunisian stitch. It makes a solid fabric that is often cross stitched over.

[Karen Murphy]

As a rookie knitter (still a rookie after 2 years) I am going to say this is NOT knit. But don't ask me what the hell it is because I have no freakin' idea! Although it is very beautiful!

[Tastyman]

Good Finds...I found Jesus many years ago...Believe!! And remember WWJD.

[Jersey Girl in DC]

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that bread box! You could put it on a home office shelf to organize some stationary in for quick and easy access to thank you and happy birthday cards.

The large piece of cotton with Jesus on it could possibly be meant for hanging in church. Sometimes in a smaller church, some of the banners hanging in church are made by the ladies in the parish.

[Jeannie]

Love the random assortment of items in the box! I wonder how the little raft man got in there? I love the skeleton keys...I saw a bunch of those at the antique faire I went to this past weekend, and they wanted $2.50 each! Maybe it's just me but that seemed like a lot!

[Teresa]

What wonderful finds! I couldn't for the life of me figure out what Jesus and nose putty had in common. You have a lovely sense of humor.
Teresa

[Blondie]

That nose putty is worth the 5 bucks alone.

[Rosemary]

It was probably supposed to be a pillow sham or as one reader suggested, something for the inside of the church ;) Its pretty!

[Heather]

I always love your goodies. Great finds!

[Sandy in MI]

I have the same breadbox, only in Fiesta orange with Mexican-inspired decals. It's where baked goods go to die in my house. Once they're in there out of sight we completely forget about them. Sort of a bread graveyard. It looks adorable though and I can't bear to part with it.

I love your website! I'm an avid garage saler, thrift store shopper and garbage pile peruser.

[Wanda]

How fun is it to dig through tool boxes and junk drawers? I LOVE doing that. Kinda like going through Grandma's button box. The experience alone is worth the $5. Almost.

I've tagged you. Aren't you thrilled? Come on over to the blog to see what's next.

Wanda
http://www.shopjustvintage.com/blog

[Grace@PoeticHome]

What treasures! The breadbox is adorable...and the toolbox with all its industrial treasures is so alluring. You just never know what ends up in old toolboxes...except for nose putty -- that's a given :)

[Jennifer]

I have been flipping through your blog! You find some really cute things!

[Tina H.]

What a find! The tool box is most likely a "Kennedy Kit" look inside the lid to see if the metal label is still there. These were so popular with the service men back in the 40's. What a treasure you found.

[Carolyn Peeler]

hahaha! not sure what the heck nose putty is for....but hey, it came in a cute tin, so you gotta love it.

And as wierd as you may find the Savior needle work, I think it's really cool. Maybe it was supposed to go on a table as a runner?

[Alicia]

I love how you always get these big boxes filled with stuff and manage to find some good stuff out of it. It reminds me to keep an open mind because while it looks intimidating to sort through, there's something good in there afterall.

Also I was curious about something you might know about. Ok, I know you love that breadbox for all its chippy glory, but... have you ever taken anything to get powder coated at an auto shop? Would it be such an outrageous cost? I know most people would leave it as-is, but I just have this urge to powdercoat everything metal, and I was wondering if you had any experience with it.

[Tammy]

Well, I don't know about you, but I ALWAYS keep my nose putty in the toolbox! You never know when you might need to reshape your nose, or add a wart. I often do this when I work around the house with my drills and files.

[Marilyn Lynch]

Hi,

What great finds! I especially love that tool box. I have my father's, which looks exactly the same but it's made out of oak. It's one of the possessions that I treasure the most. I keep my jewelry in it.

That blanket that you found is done in an afghan stitch. The hook that's used is a little bit different than a traditional crochet hook. It looks like a crochet hook at one end and a knitting needle at the other. Usually, there's some type of decorative cross-stitching applied to the finished piece.

Love your blog. Thanks so much!
Marilyn

[Timi]

Fantastic Finds! You always find great things. I'm going to have to start being a little more open minded about boxes of junk. One never knows what they will find in it.
Nose Putty??? I love it! Just makes me laugh.
Timi