What is a monkeybox?

When I was a little girl, we had a pet monkey named Amanda. My Dad worked in the produce business, so each night he brought home that days culls in a big box - spotty cucumbers, pithy apples, limp celery, moldy oranges and the like. We called it a monkeybox. It was really just trash, but my Mom would take each piece of fruit and trim it, pare it and cut it up to make a beautiful fruit platter for Amanda. Even though it was deemed trash by one, it still had life left in it and was good for the purpose we needed it. That's how I live my life - thrifting, yard saling, looking for another's trash to be my treasure.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Red & White - It's Alright

I've had the Easter decorations put away awhile, but I couldn't think of a collection to put on my shelves.  today I strolled around the house looking for things to make a display. And, I found them!  This is really a hodgepodge of items, but it makes a pretty neat arrangement now that I have it all gathered up.  (I pretty much destroy my house once I decide on a collection to gather.)  You can see the past collections here:  Vintage Stationery Store Collection, Vintage Games, Vintage Birthday Decorations, and Vintage Christmas.  (Someone emailed and requested bigger photos and links to my collections.....)
I added in the red and white potholders even though they aren't advertising or packaging.  I just needed a touch of softness in there.
Bottling caps, a salesman sample hat box, old Glitter tape spool, fruitcake tin, French's Food Coloring, Spice tins and a kitchy cool red and white thermos. 
Coffee tins, baking powder tins, furniture polish bottle, Flinch card game box, spice tins and a chalk box round out this shelf.   
Moth Nugget tin (- yea, I know, kinda weird, but how can you not love that cool plaid tin?), another thermos, Velvet tobacco tin scavenged from the dump at The Breadman's Grandparent's house and a fun old ice cream carton.
Oh yes, and a few SharaSoda bottles from my stash.  I have a few to spare.  And, if I find you and your name is Shara you get one too.   Check out her blog - her name is Shara and she is an Estate Sale, yard sale, thrift store, vintage lover too!
Every time I touch this box, I envision my lungs filling with toxic asbestos fibers.  *Hack*hack*  I actually thought long and hard before I bought it (it is full of the actual product) but, it came home with me and I am still alive.  Yea, me!
Well, this isn't advertising, but heck, it's red and white and it ties in with the whole Sharasoda theme, so why not?  This was on the back of my bicycle my entire childhood.  I think i had to save a lot of ceral boxtops and send it for it.  I know for a fact it was not store bought as SHARA isn't exactly a common name.

Several years ago I was featured in the newspaper for winning the Arkansas Volunteer Award from Campbell's Soup.  I was noted for my hours of volunteering at school and for the thousands of Campbell's labels I had donated.  After that, people started saving labels for me including a sweet lady at one of my thrifts.  She gave me a baggie of labels one day and then proceeded to hand me a couple of labels that she had kept from a trip to Japan.  She thought I might like to keep them.  She was right!
This is a side of an old EXPLOSIVES box from WWII.  I found it at a yard sale about to be thrown in the trash.  I rescued it and brought it home.  I love it.  It says EXPLOSIVES A on the other side.  Not sure what the difference is between A and B and I really don't want to find out!  I have this hanging above the toilet normally.  I know, tacky.  But funny!

This is too big to fit on the shelf, but I had to include it anyway.  One ginormous red and white polka dotted tin of mints. 

I have a Mother's Day display in the works.  Come back to see it, but come back before then too!  Okay?

13 comments:

  1. Very cool collection. I love how all the reds just work together. Great display!

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  2. Love the red and white. My kitchen would be red and white, but I have almond appliances. Hello 1987! Anyway, totally cool that you kept your license plate. I had one too, but goodness knows it's gone.

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  3. Great red and white collection. I have a moth tin too, but mine is in green. I don't care what they advertise as long as the tin is cute.

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  4. The 'SPICE OF LIFE' tins work perfect with all of the 'SHARA' stuff ;-) FUN! FUN! FUN! gotta have FUN! with our toys!!!

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  5. What a great red & white collection....love it!

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  6. I really, really want your White Chalk box!!

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  7. Thanks for your comments on my blog...I'll be in you area in June! Rogers is 1st in the running! =)

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  8. There I am enjoying your blog when all of a sudden I see the explosives sign and that it normally sits over your toilet. I love that. My kind of humor. You should be posting this lovely collection for Wednesday is Rednesday. Everyone would just love to see your unique approach to all things red. You can find the link to this red party back on my sidebar. You should check it out.

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  9. Oh, sigh. Love it! And I cannot believe that you found another Shara, who likes estate sales as well! Unbelievable! I'm off to check out her blog too.
    PS--the explosives sign over the toilet SLAYS me. Snort.

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  10. Shara, you are one brave girl to bring home that box-o-asbestos! The red and white collection looks great though. I'm working up to a Mother of a display for May too!

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  11. I love the explosives sign over the toilet! Now I'm going to have to go out and find my own explosives sign.
    Once again another great collection~you have the coolest stuff :)

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  12. Awesome display, as always! I love the "Atomic" asbestos box and the story about the explosives sign over the toilet made me giggle.

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