Political collectibles of all sorts

In an election year, politics is one of our main topics of conversation.  Political buttons, banners, pins and even hats boasting the name of a current candidate are everywhere.

Collecting older political memorabilia is a fun way to remember our past—and you can find examples at many flea markets, antique stores, or even auctions.

I recently acquired a Frankoma Donkey mug from 1977 advertising the Carter and Mondale campaign.  It was a great find—even more so since we are in the middle of another political season.

frankoma

You can see this terrific mug in my Etsy shop here.  Another area that you can run across are paper related items.

paper political

This could be photographs, invitations to an event, or even a print of a famous painting.  I have a lot like this on eBay, which you can see here.

What kinds of political items have you run across?

ED HARDY Belt Buckles

I love to latch onto all things that are vintage or collectible, especially when the item has a lot of pizzazz.  Belt buckles usually go unnoticed with me—but lately I have snagged some standouts.  My favorite is one that is designed by Ed Hardy.

ed hardy

This one has an enameled bird among flowers scene with a rhinestone border, and is a knockout.

Ed Hardy is best known as a tattoo artist and his fashion accessories like this belt buckle.  Christian Audigier licensed the worldwide rights to the Ed Hardy brand in 2005, and that’s about when this belt buckle dates to.

ed hardy back

You can find this terrific find in my eBay store here.  What kinds of belt buckles have you run across?

Yearbooks new and old

I love looking through a vintage yearbook. They are like looking through a time capsule—looking at the fashions worn and cars that were driven are always fun to look at. What else is fun is to see what went on at the school.

1928

There are a wide variety of ways for you to collect yearbooks. One way is to find one that has a relative in them. Another way is to get a vintage yearbook for the college that you attended. The 1928 Drury yearbook pictured above would be great for both of these. You can the yearbook in my Etsy store here.

Another great yearbook is this 1971 yearbook for Central Missouri State College in Warrensburg, Missouri.

1971

You can see this yearbook in my Etsy shop here.

Yearbooks are also great to display on a coffee tables, or even in a bookcase. You can see all of the yearbooks I have for sale in my Etsy store here. What have you found flipping through a vintage yearbook?

Having a great background really helps that item you are selling look even better

Are you considering selling an item online? I have noticed that having a great background really helps make your item stand out from the rest of the items for sale. It doesn’t need to be anything expensive, it could be something around the house or you are going to use for another project.

One background that I use is my back deck. If you have a deck that has weathered a little like the one I have, it could give you a rustic look for your photo.

ronny brook

You can see these terrific Ronny Brook milk bottles in my Etsy store here. Construction paper can also come in handy when you need a background. Black, white, blue and even red are just a few colors that you can use.

As you can see from the before and after pictures above, it doesn’t need to be a huge piece to help make your item stand out. Another item to help you out is a piece of felt. You don’t need to make a special trip to get a piece—if you have a pool table with a felt top on it will work just fine.

pin

The felt in the picture above actually is a part of a stack of felt that I picked up a while ago. The stack has a huge variety of colors that has come in handy for me. You can see the brown enamel pin pictured above in my Etsy store here.

What kinds of backgrounds have you used for a photo?

I need some reader’s help with identifying this set!

At an estate sale last month, I purchased this really cool pottery shaker and creamer set. The matching figural set looks like a lion to me.  I could be wrong–with their styling, they could be a number of items.

SONY DSC

What I need some help with is who and when the two pieces were made. They are not marked anywhere on the pieces.

I have seen several pieces that have the same color combination that are from Japan, but never anything with this shape (I’ve even seen some Chinese pieces also with the same color combination).

The colors look to me like they could be by the OLD CASTLE Company, and their shape look makes me think that they are by SEISEI POTTERY Company.  As you can seem I am at a real loss on this set.

SONY DSC

Any information is greatly appreciated on this.  Do you know what they are and who could have possibly made this?