Christmas Configuration Boxes

Several folks have asked me how I make my Christmas configuration boxes (Shadow Boxes). So here is step by step directions.

First I purchase a vintage shadow box. I have found these at yard sales, estate sales and thrift stores. I'm lucky because a friend bought me two that are shaped like a house at a thrift store.

Next I gather the ornaments and Christmas decorations I want to put in the shadow box. That will help me determine the size of the divisions. I use a Dremel tool with a saw blade to remove the dividers I do not need. I always remove dividers from my configuration boxes because the spaces are just too small.

These are some of the items I have collected year round for this project.  I look for old Christmas light bulbs, vintage knee elves, old bells, old seals, putz houses, bottle brush trees, flocked Santas, plastic reindeer and more. 

After removing the dividers I cover the inside of each square in scrapbook papers that will blend with the item I am going to place in that space. I use white glue using a brush to spread it smoothly over the area. I use an exacta knife to cut the paper. You could also use a paper cutter. I cover the back and inside of each cell. 

I also put vintage garland and Washi tape on the inside edges of some of the cells to add more detail.

Next I put the ornaments and decorations in the cells. I use removable glue dots, white glue and even some hot glue to place the pieces in the cells. 

Next I cover the edges of each cell with narrow Washi tape. I love Washi tape but it is not the stickiest tape I have ever used. I brush white glue on the edges before placing the tape on it. 

Last year the local one dollar store had the cutest glitter cardboard Christmas ornament words. I bought as many as I could find before they got gone. I place one of these on top or in a cute place on the box. Here's my final piece. I really love it. 

Is It Vintage or Antique?

What's the difference between vintage and antique? 
Are these vintage or antique? 

Folk Art Barn in Goodson Vintage Treasures
at Just Around the Corner in Lincolnton, NC. 

Thumb oil cans in Goodson Vintage Treasures 
at Just Around the Corner in Lincolnton, NC. 

I've been asked this question many times, and it's something I've thought about a great deal. Since my business name is Goodson Vintage Treasures and my soon to be functional Etsy shop will be Vintage by Goodson ( long story but my original business name to is too long for Etsy).  Is "vintage" just old and "antique" just really old? 

At the shop where I have my booths, they define antique as 50+ years old and vintage as 25-50 years. I think that's a good place to start. 

The terms are really relative to where you live also. In the eastern  half of the United States you tend to find things that are much older than the western half. But in England they laugh at 50 years being an antique since they have buildings and items centuries old. In that perspective I think an object would need to be at least 100 years old.

The value of an item also determines whether something is merely old or an antique. A beautiful 100 year old, oak dresser or vanity is definitely an antique. But if it is beat up or has been ruined by water it may be completely worthless.

Antique Dresser in a Booth at Just Around the Corner in Lincolnton, NC.

Of course, your age also affects how you perceive the age of an object. When I seen items that I received as a wedding gift 46 years ago labeled as an "antique" I get a funny feeling. Like I'm getting really old feeling. The adding machine is just like one my mom used when I was growing up, and my husband and I received a piece of this glass new when we were married.

Fron a booth 
at Just Around the Corner in Lincolnton, N

Fron a booth 
at Just Around the Corner in Lincolnton, NC. 

Toys are an area that reflect this. I view toys of my mom's era, 1930s, as antique. I'm not sure at age 90 she appreciates that though. My son, age 45, views toys of my era, 1950's, as antique. But I often see Star Wars toys in antique stores like he had as a child. 

I'm calling this tin top vintage. 

So as a rule of thumb I'm going with my store owners definition of "antique" and "vintage". Even though sometimes it hurts a bit. Remember, just buy what you love whether it's vintage or antique. Oh and by the way I think the first two photos are both vintage. 

When to Close A Booth Space

This blog entry is really more for those who have a booth or are interested in having a booth.

I've been at a booth in a local antique mall for about five years. I started with a small space 5x8 for $50 and never made a big profit, but I also made at least double my booth expense. The mall I was at had 3 buildings and probably 300 plus booths. My first booth was on the outside aisle of the third building. This building was once used as a boat manufacturing business.

Our First Booth 2012

Then after a couple of years I got "smart" and decided to move to building 2. The space in building 2 was in the second row and it cost $80 for an 8x10. I thought a bigger space would be a good thing. I think you can tell by my tone that this move was not a success. Again I always made more than my booth fee but that's not really good business.

Booth 2 - Bigger

Upon observation I realized that things were changing at this antique mall but I wasn't sure why. First the lighting in my area was not as bright as the other building. My hubby actually changed the lightbulbs in the fluorescent lights near our space. The building was always clean and the staff friendly but the sales were off.

Booth 2 - 6 Month Later

Last summer I opened a booth in our local town in a new smaller antique and collectables store. It is in a downtown setting with bright lights. Wooden walls in each booth, hardwood floors and vintage tin overhead. There is a nice quality and variety of goods in this mall. There is blacksmith, a clock dealer, vintage and antique dealers, potters, soaps, candies, sauces, dried beef, hand sewn goods, paintings and other art and hand crafted items. The owners are very friendly and incredibly business minded. Sales in this new mall have been great.

New Booth 3 in Local Town on 1st Week

But one of the biggest differences is that this mall uses social media. In fact, I take the photos and make the posts for them for a slight fee. The owners often boost posts for special events on Facebook. If there is a special activity or festival in town they open the store later hours to match the timing of the event. Even though this store is closed on Sundays and Mondays, they have lots of traffic in and out of the store. Downtowns are not really dead. They can be sources of wonderful restaurants, specialty stores and antique stores.

So we finally made the decision to move out of the first mall. It wasn't an easy decision personally, but as my husband told the owner when she very kindly asked why we were leaving.; it isn't the people as everyone was very nice. It was the bottom line. We just were not making money with the same items as the new booth.

Was the fault mine? Perhaps. I would often take things to the new space instead of the old one. I had more enthusiasm for the new booth. I started to care less for the old one. Were my things lost in a huge space and lots of booths? Maybe. Was the mall advertising as they did in the beginning? I have no idea as there were no meetings of vendors and no newsletter. Was the quality of items in the mall declining? Maybe. Was a lack of advertising? Definitely, there was no use of social media. The payment methods were very reliable and honest. These were great people. They even dust every space once a week. You won't get that many places. I will miss the folks at my old space, but as hubby says it is all about the bottom line.

So our next decision was what's next. Read in a future blog how to look for a new antique and collectables space.

Booth June 21, 2917

Paper Dolls

Box of Vintage Paper Dolls

Did you play with paper dolls when you were little? Uh Oh I think I just gave away my age. When I
was young paper dolls were a popular toy. Last year I bought a box of old paper dolls at an auction. Hubby thought I was losing it, and I really had no idea what I was going to do with them. But as I always say, "Buy what you love." and I loved paper dolls as a child.

So for the last year those cute paper dolls sat on a shelf in the storage side of my basement, but in the back of mind they were floating around. I researched Pinterest a few times but found few ideas I liked. Then one day I decided to frame some of the dresses. I found an old shadow box type frame at a flea market to use. I took the art out of the frame and glued some blue scrapbook paper to the inside for a background. Then I took mat that came with the frame and spray painted it a contrasting color of orange. I chose a couple of cute 60's style dresses and glued them to the background. I spray painted the frame white and sanded it to give it a worn look. Finally I put the whole thing back together. I like the results.


A few days later I found another bargain shadowbox frame that was a little larger. This time I used some cute striped paper as a background and used some washi tape on the mat. Washi tape is a beautiful type of paper tape sold as most craft stores now. I chose several great old paper doll outfits to glue to the background. As before I painted the frame white and sanded it a bit.

For the next box I found a cute idea on Pinterest where they created a clothesline and hung the paper doll dresses on it. This time I took and old silverware box I had and found a frame that fit it. Then I painted both parts. I made a clothes rod out of a wooden skewer and attached it to the sides. I used pink scrapbook paper and another cute washi tape to cover the insides of the box as well as the mat. I made hangers out of craft wire and glued the clothing on it. On the skirt I used little clothespins. Then I attached the frame to box. In this picture on of the dresses is crooked but I can shake it an straighten it out.

The final paper doll item I created was a clothesline banner or garland. I used twine and glued a selection of vintage paper doll clothes to the twine. Then I tied the string in bows at the ends. I love how these turned out but with anything new I have no idea if they will sell. I'll keep you updated.