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Showing posts from May, 2018

Cleaning a Vintage Copper Pot - Before and After!

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Update: this copper pot sold! Winter afternoons I like to start little projects for Offbeat Avenue. Michelle and I have our specialties, she's the expert in crafts and design, and I'm the fixer upper. I clean, sew, repair vintage items to get them ready for sale. I enjoy taking something that's been in hiding for decades and making it ready for its Offbeat Avenue debut! Case in point, I have had this gorgeous copper pot for a few months and I didn't want to put it up for sale without giving it the once (or twice, thrice) over.  This heavy duty  Stockli Netstal Copper Hammered Pot Casserole Pan was a little rough, so I decided to shine it up. Well that took some elbow grease as it hadn't been shined up in ages. The wood handles needed to be cleaned up too as years of gunk got into the pretty scrolled design.  I went through so many blackened napkins before you could really see the beauty of the hammered copper. But once I was finished what a

This Week's Favorite Likes and Looks for Mother's Day

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We're already two weeks into May and can start to see what's trending at the Offbeat Avenue shop. This month, vintage fans are definitely thinking of dressing for the season's upcoming special occasions like graduations, weddings, showers, and of course Mother's Day! Certain dresses are getting lots of likes and looks: Here's one of our personal favorites, a black, plus size rayon crepe dress with sequins. Though not in perfect shape (the previous owner altered it to make it larger) it's really a classic little black dress fit for any special occasion. Speaking of special occasion seems everyone has their eye on this peachy little satin dress number straight out of the 1970s or Studio 54! Slinky, sexy, Grecian styling in a super soft polyester knit. A local (to us) looker too, made in Providence, Rhode Island! When the warm weather comes you want to be cool and chic, and this Nipon Boutique cotton dress is the perfect summery casual yet

Winner Announced for Bead Counting Contest from Offbeat Avenue

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It all began when Michelle listed a Mason Jar full of beads on Instagram at the beginning of April. #vintage #bead #lot #1776 #libertybell #masonjar #filled #beads #colorful #glass #metal #wood #plastic #allsorts #fashion #crafting #jewelry #sewing #forsale #etsy #leominster A post shared by Offbeat Avenue (@offbeatavenue) on Apr 9, 2018 at 8:05am PDT When I saw the post it was as if a light-bulb in the shape of a giant jar full of craft beads appeared over my head. Let's start a contest to see who could guess how many beads were in the jar.   Did I have any idea how many there were? Of course not.  Whoever guesses the correct amount, or closest number to the actual amount, under or over, would win a custom made Bertrand bottle opener key chain! Michelle filled this jar with a huge assortment of all kinds of beads: glass beads, charm beads, vintage beads, novelty beads, plastic beads, findings, pearls, gems, and much much more. It was as much a mystery to her