Victory! The Green Dot is Finally Mine!

I am really late in sharing this news but it doesn't at all reflect on how happy I am to have this complete set.

My wonderful hubby bought the green dot bowl off ebay for me. He probably paid much more than I would have but he said it was worth it.

My happy collection!

My primary sets are together now

I still have plenty of items on my wishlist but every time I am in my kitchen, looking at these sets make me so happy.
--Lisa
Vintage Vault

Pyrex Love - from a crafty scientist

Hello fellow Pyrex lovers! My name is Kate and I'm from scientific culture! When I'm not spending my spare time making cute science crafts you can find me scavenging the thrift shops of British Columbia in search for pre-loved pyrex dishes to warmly welcome into my heart (and new home)! Although I have a plethora of hobbies and collections already, I find Pyrex hunting extra exciting! I am still fairly new to the world of Pyrex but I'd love to share you my collection so far - let's take a peek:


When I saw this little dish sitting in one of my favourite thrift shops in Kamloops, I knew it was destine to come home with me! I love the Autumn Harvest print and the bright pop of colour and $1 price tag was too much to pass up! Let the collection begin!


My good pal (and fellow Pyrex lover) Alanna spotted a pair of these dishes when we were shopping one day and I was thrilled to get it and double the size of my collection! Plus who can say no to charming butterflies and flower print? Yay!


Once again my collection doubled when my best friend Lindsay was kind enough to score me two more Autumn Harvest pieces for my 27th bday (what a great gal she is!).


Before I moved to Victoria at the end of August I decided to do one more thrift shop in Kamloops as a fond farewell. My mom was lovely enough to join me on this hunt and boy was I ever pleased to have spotted this darling pink mixing bowl! I am still swooning over the girly colour and even though I am far from finished unpacking my new place, I assure you this Pyrex dish is the perfect addition to our ultra masculine apartment. I'm not totally sure my boyfriend Fraser truly appreciates our new apple dish, but I figure since I brought the majority of the kitchen stuff with me when we moved in together (in fact, I believe he just brought a cheese grater and a bowl) the kitchen decor can be my domain.

I am so pleased to participate in the pyrex collective blog - and although I lead a busy life working, crafting, and blogging daily, I can't wait to start searching through the (new to me) second hand shops of Victoria to build my pyrex collection and come back here to share it with all of you!

hugs and kittens,

Kate

Labor Day Finds!

Happy Labor Day Everyone!

Hope you all enjoyed a relaxing weekend. We were so happy here in Houston after almost a month of triple digit weather. Tropical Storm Lee brought us some relief in temperature.

My family spent the weekend hunting for Pyrex. I had a ton of luck! Between garage sales, Craigslist, Antique Malls and thrift stores, I found plenty to be excited about!

I went to lady's house who was selling the Autumn Harvest bowl set (in the second picture) and asked her if she was selling anymore Pyrex. She mentioned some kind of Federal glassware. Imagine my surprise when she took me into the kitchen and showed me all of the Butterprint pieces. She hadn't decided on keeping them or not, but eventually quoted a price. Most are duplicates so I will be adding them to my trade set soon. The solid turquoise pieces came from an Antique stores. The snowflake came from two different thrift stores.

LOVE Turquoise!

Some from the lady on Craigslist, some from Antique stores and some from thrift stores. The Friendship piece still had the Goodwill price on it for 3.93 but the Antique dealer wasn't too thrilled about going down on the price. I ended up paying $6 which was still fair to me because I only have one piece of Friendship and never seem to find it. It was covered in black goop. I wish I had taken a before picture. It looks brand new now! Some duplicates will be posted in trades.

Second Friendship Piece!

Some pieces from an Antique mall including my FIRST Delphite bowl. I was so excited and to be honest, I might have missed it. My 9 year old son spotted it. Going Pyrex hunting with my family helps me spot things I might miss on my own. I found the unmarked opal bowls which I love. My MIL gave me the yellow fridgie that is such a a brilliant yellow. This was sold by a dealer in her store.

The Butterprint bowls were found in a thrift store by my hubby. He saw the print from across the store. I couldn't figure out what he was walking so fast toward. He almost bumped a woman out of the way to reach them. I laughed as soon as I saw what was in his hand. I have been looking for the 404 bowl for so long! I didn't even know they made Embroidery in yellow!

404 Butterprint!

Hope you all had some great finds this weekend. I am always happy to scrub and clean new (to-me) Pyrex. Looking forward to your posts!

--Lisa

Check out my new FB page - Vintage Vault

Pyrex Spotting: Bubba Gumps

My family went to take a trip to Anaheim/Huntington Beach/Newport Beach this past weekend. And at a nice dinner at Bubba Gumps by Disneyland, what did I spot?! Yes, that is a full set of primary Pyrex mixing bowls. After the party that was sitting below them left and did a little quick look and yes, they were real! I didn't snap a picture cause I didn't want to be taken for a freak, even though standing on the seat checking out restaurant props was already drawing enough attention for my Husband. He was so embarrassed. He still hasn't caught on to the whole Pyrex addiction I have. His biggest rant "they don't seal, why do you want something that doesn't seal?!"

Hello, Rainbow Cake! Thank you, Pyrex Mixing Bowl!

When my daughter's first birthday rolled around this year, I just knew her cake had to be special.  And homemade.  I know, I'm weird like that.  And, since she is truly the sunshine of our days, I wanted to make her a rainbow cake.  Armed with a step by step tutorial which called for the use of two round cake pans, I decided a plain flat cake just wouldn't do.  A rainbow cake needed to look like a rainbow, not just a layer cake with rainbow colors.

So an experiment was in order.  I called my mom.  Here's the convo:
Me:  Mom.  I need to make a cake in the shape of a rainbow.  What should I do?
Mom:  I don't know honey.
Me:  You know the old pyrex mixing bowl set you gave me?  You know, the set Dad got me from the thrift store?
Mom:  Yes.
Me: Can I actually bake a cake in a pyrex bowl in the oven?  Or will it explode into a million pieces?
Mom:   I don't think it will explode.  I think you can.  I think people have been doing it for years.  Why don't you try it?

Feeling frisky (and a bit wary) I took my vintage pyrex mixing bowl and filled it full of a boxed cake mix separated into 6 food colored parts, layered on top of each other one at a time.  Does that count as homemade?  Hmmm...maybe not.

With great fear and trepidation, I put that mixing bowl into the oven.  Please Mr. Vintage Pyrex.  Make me a rainbow cake without exploding.  It's for the baby.  You can do it.  I know you can.

Sure enough, Mr. Vintage Pyrex did not disappoint.  It made a perfect rainbow cake, to top off a perfect first birthday.  Hello, rainbow birthday cake!  Thank you, Pyrex mixing bowl!  (And thank you Mrs. Milkglass for the pretty plate presentation!)

To see more of this cute baby or fun yard sale and thrift store finds, visit me over at yard sale mommy!

Leave No Pyrex Unturned

Today I got to a suburban Goodwill and immediately checked out the cart full of gray bins to see what was headed to the shelves. At some of our local GW's they put up signs telling customers not to dig through the "new" item bins - but luckily this GW was not one of them. I spotted this at the bottom of the bin, and I almost didn't dig them out, because the reflection of the outside colors made it look like some Autumn Harvest mixing bowls, which I already have a complete set of:

But I am SO glad I did take the time to dig them out (they were under about 10 fragile wine glasses, sheesh!)

Because they weren't Autumn Harvest at all, they were this:

PINK! Glorious pink Pyrex mixing bowls! I think these came in a set of four, these are the two middle sizes. I happily paid $3.50 for the smaller bowl, $4.99 for the larger bowl.

When I first started collecting Pyrex, the Debbie Downer that I was assumed I'd never find any pink Pyrex (my favorite) but so far I've collected two Gooseberry bowls, the Dessert Dawn dish, and the Flamingo Pink Pie dish. Since May.

(Sorry for the bad quality color photo above! They look dull, yuck..)
Now I have two more pink pieces to add to my collection, and they're in great condition.

Today I also spotted, still in the bins waiting to be shelved also, some Snowflake Blue Corelle. Until now I haven't ever been tempted to pick up any Corelle dishes, which I see quite often, but these matched the Snowflake Blue Pyrex, which is one of my favorite patterns. So I went ahead and got several Corelle dishes as well.

That's 1 small covered (butter?) dish, 1 oval platter, 1 large bowl, 2 medium bowls, 8 small plates, and 8 bowls for a grand total of $8.50!

Which was perfect because just a few days ago I found this Pyrex butter dish at another Goodwill for $2:

I'm loving the Snowflake Blue pattern. 

That little dish is interesting to me in that the dish is marked Corelle but the lid is marked Pyrex. It's so cute!

Thrift Store Hunting

While I started my collection in an antique store, there's something about thrift shopping that's much more satisfying. I think it's the thrill of the hunt. I know I can get in my car anytime and be in an antique mecca in an hour, where, for a price, I can find just about any Pyrex I want. It somehow feels wrong, like cheating. I love the idea of walking into a thrift store and not knowing exactly what I'll find, or whether I'll find anything at all. Yes, it can be frustrating, and I strike out a lot. Yes, it means my collection is largely controlled by what's available, and not necessarily what I'd buy if I had free range. But this all makes it fun. I thought I'd show off some of my finds from the last month, all from Goodwill and Salvation Army.

This Homestead 1.5 qt casserole was my first real thrift find. I found it along with a pristine Fire King casserole (not pictured for obvious reasons). This piece is what got me hooked on the thrift store bug and let me start believing that I, too, could find amazing deals at thrift stores. This is in perfect condition and cost $3.

This 402 Colonial Mist mixing bowl needed a little TLC. It had metal scratches all along the outside. With a combination of magic eraser and baking powder, I was able to remove all but the most stubborn scratches. You really have to look close to see any imperfections now. Price was right at $2.

Butterfly Gold is one of my favorite patterns, and I was so happy to find this 1.5 qt casserole. It's in perfect shape, although missing its lid. It cost $2, and the cashier apologized for it being priced so high! This, along with the two previously photographed pieces are all from the same Goodwill. There doesn't seem to be a rhyme or reason for it, but I seem to have better luck at this one store than all the others I've hit combined.

A collection of mugs from a couple of different thrift stores. They were $2 each. I'm guessing the tea cups once had saucers? If so, I'd love to find them one day.

I think I'm doing well for my first month of collecting. I hope to be able to come back soon with more to show! Good luck out there, fellow thrift addicts!

And So It Begins

This is my very first post at the collective. I'm also new to collecting Pyrex. I had a vague understanding of vintage Pyrex from what I'd seen around the blogosphere and Flickr, but I never really "got" it until I saw some in person. That's when it all clicked for me, and I've been on the hunt for more ever since!

I was at a flea market for the first time, a place my mother in law suggested, when I spotted these two bowls and quickly snatched them up. Honestly, I probably over paid. The 403 Autumn Harvest bowl went for $12 and the 402 Butterprint set me back $10. But I knew nothing about Pyrex when I bought these. I just new they were pretty. The Autumn Harvest will make an excellent serving dish come Thanksgiving. The Butterprint was sold to me as "Amish Print," which seemed like an appropriate purchase as I was in Amish country, and I love anything aqua.

So why do I have Pyrex photographed with some not-Pyrex? Because I bought it, thinking it was Pyrex. Then took it home and photographed it, thinking it was Pyrex. Then I tried to identify the pattern and had trouble. For a brief moment, I thought I'd come across something rare. I started thinking I was secretly a thrift shopping genius. Then I, the genius, got the bright idea to turn the piece over. It's Glasbake. The Spring Blossoms casserole, that I did flip over before buying... and chipped the lid in the process! The dealer felt sorry for me (although I felt sorry for him, having some klutzy lady breaking his stuff) and gave me a discount. If I hadn't dropped it, I probably wouldn't have bought it, but then I wouldn't have a pretty casserole dish for my baked ziti. So it all worked out in the end.

You live, you learn! I've already learned so much more about Pyrex since I came home from the flea market and thought to myself: "I wouldn't mind having more of this!"

Two-day Pyrex Haul

It's been quite the Pyrex haul the last couple of days around these parts. Of course, despite hitting up multiple garage sales (there's been city-wide ones the past couple of weekends) I've had the best luck at the thrift stores. These Daisy cinderella casseroles (471 and 473) were found at a thrift with the one opaque lid for $3.

I couldn't pass up this vintage Anchor Hocking juice carafe that appears to match the Daisy perfectly ... all it's stripes are in perfect condition and it has the original plastic lid! Only $1 at the same thrift.

And also there was this rather sad looking little Woodland Fridgie 501 with lid for 75 cents. It had some strange white stuff covering it... that soap and water wouldn't remove. This is the before... the after is super shiny - Magic Eraser did the trick!

These two white beauties are my garage sale finds ... an Pyrex-stamped Hamilton Beach mixing bowl (super heavy and large!) for a quarter, and an Anchor Hocking loaf pan with a pretty (but unknown) blue floral pattern for $1.

Then yesterday, I found these primary yellow pieces! The top is the largest bowl in the primary set (404) and looks like it has never been used! It was $2.50 at a different thrift store. And below it is my other yellow find ... a 503 refrigerator dish that has seen PLENTY of use! With the lid, it was only $3, so it was hard to pass up. I did scrub it up good after this picture and it's pretty much without shine, but much cleaner!

I had passed up this same 043 oval casserole in Golden Acorn earlier in the day at a different thrift store as it wasn't in great condition and was $3. Apparently the Pyrex karma gods thought I should have this piece because it was at the next store, in great condition and marked only $2. So, I snatched it up!

And finally, I found this wonderful, pristine condition 8-inch lime green round cake pan for $2. The color looks a little funky in this shot, but I assure you, it's solid throughout without any sign of wear! There is nothing I love more than shiny Pyrex!

So, what have you been finding lately? Anyone having ANY luck at garage sales? It seems I've been striking out no matter how many I hit (and I've been at roughly 40 over the last two weekends).

What stopping for a quick soda will get you!

I am currently a full-time nursing student, finishing up my last three weeks of clinical - I graduate on May 14 (my second degree - I have a BA in journalism from 10+ years ago). On clinical days, I have to get up at 4 a.m. as I live about 45 minutes from the site and we start at 5:30 a.m. Needless to say, by the time we leave at 2:30 in the afternoon, I'm exhausted! And Tuesday afternoon, I was dying of dehydration ... and mentally playing through all the possible places I could stop for a soda, where I knew there was a machine on my side of road... of course, the St. Vincent de Paul store came to mind. Now, despite searching there ALL the time, they never have Pyrex. I've given up even looking there. But yesterday when I stopped to grab that quick can of Cherry Coke, something told me to run inside for 2 minutes ... and I'm glad I did! I found this great 043 1.5 quart oval casserole in the Gold Butterflies pattern (no lid) for $1.50.

I also found this great 401 Wheat Stalks small mixing bowl for $1. Barely worn and in great shape! Both of these two pieces are available for trade in my Flickr set.

And this last one is staying with me! It's a 053 2.5 quart oval Snowflake casserole in perfect condition (needs to be cleaned up a bit!) ... and only $1.25 (no lid). Even my husband was thrilled with this one!

So, the moral of the story is, you never know what you'll find when you stop for a 50 cent can of Coke!

What $35 of pyrex looks like...

I was away from home the end of last week for other reasons than thrifting, but managed to fit a bit of it in :)  This is what $35 of pyrex looks like!  I cannot believe everything I found.  Most of it came from a St. Vincent De Paul store just north of Seattle.  All but the flameware and divided dishes came from there and cost only $20!  I lucked out to visit during their "Everything Used 50% Off Sale."  Dishes average $7-10 each whenever I find them, so I NEEDED thought I'd give them a new home and scooped all the pyrex they had up.  I am so excited about my loot that I have just a couple pics from when I had them drying today.  I will come back and show you the dishes in better detail in a couple of days.  (clicking the picture will link you to my pyrex set on flickr)

Stop by and visit me, over on my blog, sometime.