Mable's Unique Gift Store

Anne Taintor’s Vintage Revisited

crashoverride — Thu, 08 May 2008 20:34:03 +0000

Anne Taintor’s Vintage Revisited

Anne Taintor is the unrivaled queen of of cheeky, ironic, retro style, 50s nostalgia items! Anne takes images from the 1940s and 1950s and pairs them with unique, playful (and often quite sassy) text. People all over the world are scooping up her designs, and so the Anne Taintor product line just keeps growing and evolving.

As of May 2008 here are the available product lines:

Office products: notepads, sticky notes, envelopes, file folders, address books
Postcard packs & calendars
Bags & Accessories: tote bags, messenger bags, cosmetic bags, coin purses, ID cases, compacts, luggage tags, key rings, pillboxes
Flasks: for days when vitiamin C simply isn’t enough!
Emery Boards: keep nails looking lovely the Anne Taintor way
Magnets, air fresheners, stickers, pinback buttons, magnetic notepads, and mini notepads

There’s about a million clever Anne Taintor designs (and these are best appreciated when you can see the image that goes along with it) but some of our absolute favorite Ann Taintor phrases are:

there was nothing passive about her aggression
you can’t TiVo this, honey!
it’s so involved being me
honey, you couldn’t pay me to be twenty
because i’m the mother… that’s why!
she was one cocktail away from proving his mother right

You can get the best deals on Anne Taintor on eBay:
If you don’t have a free eBay account, you can register here.

Baby Shower Invites- Anne Taintor- ‘WOW…’- new

US $4.99 (1 Bid)
End Date: Friday May-09-2008 18:46:41 PDT
Bid now | Add to watch list

Baby Shower Invites- Anne Taintor- ‘can’t make me’- new

US $4.99 (0 Bid)
End Date: Friday May-09-2008 18:47:00 PDT
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Anne Taintor Mug Funny I Don’t Recall Asking For Your O

US $7.99 (0 Bid)
End Date: Friday May-09-2008 19:42:25 PDT
Buy It Now for only: US $9.99
Bid now | Buy it now | Add to watch list

Anne Taintor Pill Box True, there were side effects…

US $9.99 (0 Bid)
End Date: Friday May-09-2008 20:08:34 PDT
Buy It Now for only: US $11.99
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Anne Taintor Pill Box has anyone seen my hormones?

US $9.99 (0 Bid)
End Date: Friday May-09-2008 20:11:23 PDT
Buy It Now for only: US $11.99
Bid now | Buy it now | Add to watch list

NEW She Had Not Yet Decided Journal

US $8.96
End Date: Friday May-09-2008 22:37:52 PDT
Buy It Now for only: US $8.96
Buy it now | Add to watch list

NEW I Feel a Sin Coming on

US $8.96
End Date: Friday May-09-2008 22:37:55 PDT
Buy It Now for only: US $8.96
Buy it now | Add to watch list

NEW She Liked Imaginary Men …

US $5.99
End Date: Friday May-09-2008 23:13:24 PDT
Buy It Now for only: US $5.99
Buy it now | Add to watch list

NEW Birthday Cal: Anne Taintor, Birthda

US $8.96
End Date: Sunday May-11-2008 15:04:01 PDT
Buy It Now for only: US $8.96
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NEW Taintor Another Day in Paradise Pos

US $8.96
End Date: Sunday May-11-2008 15:04:01 PDT
Buy It Now for only: US $8.96
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Anne Taintor T-Shirt

US $9.99 (1 Bid)
End Date: Sunday May-11-2008 17:17:11 PDT
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Anne Taintor Retro Gal Mug "I Love Not Camping"

US $7.99 (0 Bid)
End Date: Sunday May-11-2008 17:30:53 PDT
Buy It Now for only: US $9.99
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Anne Taintor Retro Gal Mug Who wants Mommy’s low-fat sn

US $7.99 (0 Bid)
End Date: Sunday May-11-2008 17:34:48 PDT
Buy It Now for only: US $9.99
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Anne Taintor Retro Kitchen Towel You’ll eat it…You’ll

US $9.99 (0 Bid)
End Date: Sunday May-11-2008 17:45:06 PDT
Buy It Now for only: US $10.99
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Anne Taintor Retro Gal Towel & Pot Holder Medicated.NWT

US $17.99 (0 Bid)
End Date: Sunday May-11-2008 17:50:22 PDT
Buy It Now for only: US $19.99
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Anne Taintor Retro Gal Coin Purse Medicated & Motivated

US $7.99 (0 Bid)
End Date: Sunday May-11-2008 18:01:06 PDT
Buy It Now for only: US $8.99
Bid now | Buy it now | Add to watch list

Anne Taintor Magnet Make an Honest Man of Him

US $1.99 (0 Bid)
End Date: Sunday May-11-2008 20:06:47 PDT
Buy It Now for only: US $2.29
Bid now | Buy it now | Add to watch list

Anne Taintor funny Magnet Gee, I’ve Got it All!

US $1.99 (0 Bid)
End Date: Sunday May-11-2008 20:07:28 PDT
Buy It Now for only: US $2.29
Bid now | Buy it now | Add to watch list

Anne Taintor Magnet Tell Me More

US $1.99 (0 Bid)
End Date: Sunday May-11-2008 20:07:52 PDT
Buy It Now for only: US $2.29
Bid now | Buy it now | Add to watch list

ANNE TAINTOR ROCKABILLY GLAMOUR CIGARETTE COSMETIC CASE

US $9.99 (0 Bid)
End Date: Sunday May-11-2008 21:39:17 PDT
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View all anne+taintor items on eBay

Roomba Vacuum

crashoverride — Thu, 08 May 2008 19:23:53 +0000

Roomba Vacuum

New 500 Series Features Include:

Improved navigation and floor coverage
Improved edge and corner cleaning
Improved brushes and filters
Improved anti-tangle technology
Schedule up to seven cleaning times
Automatically returns to the self-charging Home Base™
Most efficient room-to-room cleaning

Buy One Today

Mable’s has always taken an objective and personal approach in our product reviews, so I have to be honest: The Roomba vacuum cleaner kind of confuses me. I love useful technology, but vacuuming seems like one of the least labor-intensive chores of all time, so the lure of a robotic vacuum is kind of lost on me. However, there’s no shortage of Roomba vacuum devotees who, just months after purchasing, can scarcely imagine life before their Roomba FloorVacs. For all you Roomba-lovers-in-training, this page is for you! Not only am I going to help you find the lowest price and the most helpful reviews, but also some surprisingly entertaining information.

The Original Series Roombas released in 2002 (including the Roomba Pro and Roomba Pro Elite) had plenty of flaws, but since the totally redesigned Discovery Series was launched in 2004 there have been nothing but glowing Roomba reviews from customers. This new line of Roomba robots also have 3x bigger dustbins, advanced dirt detection settings, a 3 hours charging time (instead of the original 7), about 1,000 sq. ft. vacuuming on a single charge, and the ability to return itself to a “self-charging home base” when the batteries are low. Or if you’d rather have your Roomba clean until it runs completely out of batteries, you can set it to “Max Clean” mode (not available on Roomba Red). The Roomba can’t tackle shag carpet, but hard floors and low to medium pile carpet owners will see comparable or better performance than standard upright vacuums.


Roomba Red 4100	Roomba Pink Ribbon 4188	Roomba 4105	Roomba Discovery 4210	Roomba Discovery SE 4220

The Roomba Red is the entry-level robot vacuum which still has the 7 hour charger and only 1 “virtual wall” (which creates an infrared beam that confines the floor vac to one room). The Roomba Pink is almost the same except it has the 3 hour charger and 20% is donated to the Susan G. Komen foundation. The regular Roomba also has a 3 hour charger and a total of 2 “virtual walls”. The Roomba Discovery and the Roomba Discovery SE have all that plus full function remotes and the snazzy little “home base” station where your Roomba will automatically go to recharge its batteries. In addition, the Roomba Discovery has a wall mount storage unit, and the Roomba Discovery SE has a charging wall mount.

There are a lot of stores selling the Roombas, and the lowest prices are usually online. Perhaps the most important thing to consider when buying online is the warranty. iRobot offers a 1 year warranty on all their Roomba models, but they have a policy in place that voids the warranty if the Roomba is not purchased from an authorized seller. Namely, this means eBay sellers. Although you can usually find a great deal on any model of Roomba via eBay, you won’t be receiving the 1 year warranty. Since the new Discovery line was totally rebuilt the Roombas tend to live long, maintenance-free lives, meaning you will probably never have to exercise your warranty.

However, if you like the security that a warranty provides, then you have another option if you want the lowest price available:

The Hammacher Schlemmer store offers a
free unconditional lifetime warranty
on all of their products, including the
Roomba Discovery SE

The lowest prices for the other models of Roombas are as follows:

	Roomba Red lowest price $149 ($14.99 shipping)
	Roomba Discovery lowest price $279 (free shipping)

Roomba and Roomba Pink are currently only available online through the iRobot store at full retail price. No matter which retailer you buy your Roomba from, be sure to register it with iRobot to receive a 15% off coupon on your next Roomba accessory purchase.

And now that you’ve done your research, it’s time for a little fun. Here is an article that hilariously details an owner’s first time using her Roomba… and how her pets react. Perhaps even more LOL inducing is the YouTube funny Roomba videos. And hey, if you hate mopping as much as you hate vacuuming, you’ll be happy to know that iRobot has a Scooba mopping robot on the way!

More Roomba Reviews: PC Mag (8/26/04), PC World (6/12/04), independent review for Roomba Red (6/04/05)

Other Resources: Roomba robotic experiments, Roomba articles, Roomba blog posts and photos, photos of Roomba’s insides, what a perfect name!

You can get the best deals for Roomba Robot Vacuums on eBay:

Big Wheel Tricycle

crashoverride — Thu, 08 May 2008 18:37:59 +0000

Big Wheel Bike

Depending on what decade you grew up in, the Big Wheel just might be the quintessential retro toy. Young boys and girls alike in the 70s and 80s wanted little more than to cruise around their neighborhoods on a big old Big Wheel bike and maybe catch up to the ice cream man for a Bombpop. Once your 70 pound butt started to bend the plastic frame you had to move up to a banana seat bike, but that’s not true today! There are actually a few styles of adult sized Big Wheels, as well as the child sized ones that you’re familiar with. Even Spongebob and Orange County Choppers are creating their own Big Wheels. It’s so kitschy we can’t stand it: we love just about any reproduction retro toys! Get one for you and your tyke so you can prowl the block in style.

Big Wheel Rally, manufacturer of metal frame adult Big Wheel tricycles, currently only offers a couple styles. Buy one while those are still available!

Related products: Water Rockets, Potato Guns

You can get the best deals on Big Wheels on eBay:

Vintage Bathroom

crashoverride — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 21:09:30 +0000

Create a Beautiful Vintage Bathroom

VINTAGE BATHROOMS are a unique and beautiful way to improve your home or apartment. With so many options and price points, everyone from home owners to renters, and all budget sizes can create a retro haven in their bathroom. With all the information and sometimes all the supplies available on the Internet, DIY vintage decor has never been easier to recreate.

NEW TO VINTAGE BATH DECOR? Reproducing a look as exactly as possible can be rewarding, but it leaves little room for creativity. When making decisions for your new bathroom’s decor be sure to leave some room for “creative license” on your part. That personality will really make your vintage bathroom shine.

Each decade has its own unique look complete with holdovers from the years preceding, and little glimpses of the future of design. Choose your time period carefully,and then research it as well as the time periods surrounding it. This will give you a solid understanding of just what makes your chosen decade or time period so unique. Is it the particular color patterns, shape of the fixtures, or cut of the moldings? Look for books and online resources that are specific to your time period (”50’s home decor” rather than “50’s bathroom”)and you’ll find lots of imagery and explanations that will help you choose the specifics of your new vintage bathroom. No matter if you’ve chosen Victorian or 1920’s, the cornerstones of bathroom design remain largely the same.

VINTAGE BATHROOM CORNERSTONES: Despite the wide ranging nature of vintage bathroom decor, the basic foundational pieces remain the same throughout most time periods;

Vintage Bath Tub- Whether new, existing, or salvaged, a period tub is a must. Thankfully there are a couple manufacturers of reproduction vintage tubs, all of which are available from Vintage Tub & Bath in PA. All items get free shipping in the continental US and their selection is exhaustive, so check them out. Restored bathtubs are also a great money saving option and allow you to use your existing tub as long as it is in decent condition. Over time you’ll actually save time and money buying a new vintage tub, but but restored tubs can last several years without needing extra repairs. Regardless of the time period, you’ll probably be looking for a clawfoot tub or pedestal tub in either acrylic or cast iron. Other gorgeous derivative styles are slipper bathtubs and double ended bathtubs.

Vintage Sink- If you could only afford one splurge item, a vintage sink should be it. It can be tempting to stick with a “built-in” vanity sink due to the extra storage they provide, but other hidden shelves can tastefully perform this function so you have room for a period pedestal sink or vessel sink.

Vintage Toilet- Styles of readily available vintage toilets don’t vary as much as other vintage bathroom decor items, but many unique options still exist. Pull-chain water closet styles as well as ornately decorated cisterns are excellent for Victorian style bathrooms. Unless your toilet is a dated color (think pink 50’s or green 70’s) that doesn’t work with your scheme, you may do well to keep your existing toilet. Kitschy themed bathrooms can utilize custom toilet seat covers or novelty toilet seats.

Vintage Bathroom Lighting - Perhaps the cheapest of the “large”purchases you can make, period lighting is essential to recreate an authentic vintage look, and is generally easy to install. Be sure to consider how much light output you’ll want as well as the style of the lighting fixtures. And even though energy efficient lightbulbs weren’t around very long ago, using them in your vintage bathroom will save electricity and energy costs.
Lamps Plus has countless styles available, tons of which have a vintage look.

Vintage Tile & Other Flooring - Vintage flooring options are numerous, but ceramic tile usually gives the most authentic retro look. Depending on your time period, don’t forget to investigate vinyl and hardwood styles, too. For an added bit of luxury, tile warmers can be installed to take the shock out of the cool floor when stepping from a warm bath.

Vintage Window Treatments - Because bathrooms go through many temperature changes, vintage curtains or other window treatments will not have a long shelf life. It’s better to buy a new set of window dressings or buy deadstock (new, unused) vintage fabric and sew your own. Since new “vintage look” materials generally stick to the stuffy flowered Waverly patterns or Mid-Century Modern styles, your best bet is to search eBay. There are always a variety of unique period window treatments and fabrics available.

Vintage Bathroom Extras - This encompasses everything else available to create a vintage bathroom. If you’re on a super tight decorating budget and not doing any renovations, this is the place to start. This includes artwork, towels, towel bars, door knobs & hardware, wall decor, shower curtains, scales, towel warmers (most popular in the 1920’s), or any other antique artifacts. eBay is loaded with vintage bathroom decor goodies so be sure to check the auctions below or search online yourself.

I’M READY TO START DECORATING! Now that you have some basic ideas and information you can start stocking up on supplies! You might also get some inspiration from other sites on the Web: 1920’s bathroom makeover, general vintage bathroom renovation tips, period style bathrooms. Good luck with your vintage bathroom!

You can get the best deals on Vintage Bathroom Decor on eBay:

Fake Food

crashoverride — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 19:44:46 +0000

Fake Food

You don’t have to be a foodie to appreciate fake food- but it helps. You know that feeling you get when you walk past a bakery window or see beautifully decorated food on cooking shows? You just sort of stop, stare, and probably wish you had more money and a faster metabolism. Or maybe that’s just me!

There is wide spectrum of quality in fake food items, ranging from very durable (and usually less realistic) pretend play food, all the way up to restaurant-quality, life-size, fake display food that looks and smells good enough to eat. Play food items are made of all non-toxic materials and are safe for children to play with. These are often scaled down, plastic foods, but can still look very realistic. Artificial food that is meant for display (fake cakes for bakeries, and other fake desserts for restaurants, etc.) tend to be made with one or more toxic ingredients, so they are NOT safe for kids. However, they have a potentially endless shelf life, and look the most mouth-watering. Prop foods for stage productions are often somewhere between those two extremes.

As expected, the price of fake food items is as wide ranging as the quality available. Some online stores charge double-triple the average retail price, some require $100 order minimums, others offer no online ordering, and one even has an insecure online ordering form! Buying fake novelty food shouldn’t be such a hassle (no online shopping should!), and thankfully there are a lot of good stores out there. eBay is loaded with such sellers who carrying a wide variety of unique fake foods (see below for some examples). Whether you want a scented cupcake decoration, wax food, a slice of fake pie, a spilled soda, a phony fruity cocktail, a pretend grilled sandwich, or a colorful faux garden salad, you can find it on eBay. There are even how-to instructions and kits if you want to learn how to make your own bakery crafts. Scented candles and soaps in the shape of fake foods are also abundant, so you can see and smell yummy food in every room of the house!

On a personal note, I find fake food items to be so eye-pleasing that we use them as part of our office decor. It definitely doesn’t fit with everyone’s design ideals, but fake food fits perfectly with our kitschy, fun atmosphere.

You can get the best deals for Fake Food on eBay:

Mother’s Day Gifts

crashoverride — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 02:23:46 +0000

[ Pages: 1 ]

Mother Blessing Bottle

Ask Not What Your Mother Can Do For You�

Custom Photo Handbag

Spa Experience Gift

Heavenly Total Body Support Pillow

Personalized Mothers Necklace

Personalized Mothers Pendant - Beacon of Hope

Sleek Personalized Mothers Ring

Uplifting Mother Chalkboard

Love You, Mother’ Card and Flowers

Motherhood is not for sissies! Mothers Necklace

Funny Joys of Being a Mother magnet set

Mommy Needs Sleep Eye Mask

Organic Dozen Crown Majesty Roses

Organic Deluxe Lily Bouquet

Organic Spring Tulips Bouquet

Magical Tracy Porter Tea Set

Whimsical Tracy Porter Artesian Dinnerware

Tracy Porter Cup & Saucer Artisan Candles

No-Worry Women’s Packable Wind/Rain Coat

World’s Most Cuddley Nap Blanket

Tranquil Moments 12-Sound Therapy System

Heart Warming ‘For the Love’ Charity Necklace

Protect This Woman Heart Bracelet

Organic Relaxation Mother Gift Basket

Mind+Body Yoga Chocolate Gift Set

Organic Vegan Berry Infused Chocolate Cordials

DIY Personalized Mothers are Marvelous Plate

Custom Photo Clutch Purse

Sweet Nostalgia Retro Candy Gift Basket

[ Pages: 1 ]

Unique Shower Curtains

crashoverride — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 02:10:49 +0000

Unique Shower Curtain

In our opinion, the shower curtain is a very under-appreciated media for unique decorating and personal expression. Thankfully, with the growing number of unique shower curtains available, this seems to be changing. With novelty shower curtains featuring anything from animal prints or characters (Hello Kitty, Spongebob, Mickey Mouse, etc.) there are tons of cool shower curtains to choose from. Animals are a cute option (duck, butterfly, and fish patterns are the most popular), but the more outlandish styles really spice things up: clear pocket shower curtains, solid pink or black, or the infamous Psycho shower curtain! Maybe I’ve seen just Psycho too many times, but I prefer the clear ones with tiny full-color prints: unique, but with a good view!

But bathroom creativity isn’t limited to just the wacky designs. Many contemporary shower curtains come in tasteful striped or polka dotted color schemes that will compliment any bathroom. If that’s more your style, make sure to check out Mirabella’s gorgeous designs, especially the pink and brown line. IKEA also makes shower curtains with retro modern prints, novelty themes, and plain colors.

Find Mirabella unique shower curtains now

No matter what you choose, just make sure it fits your personality and and comes in colors that aren’t too hard to match. Pair your unique shower curtain with some equally unusual curtain hooks and your bathroom will be beautiful and funky in no time!

You can get the best deals for Unique Shower Curtains on eBay:

Matt and Nat

crashoverride — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 23:46:56 +0000

Matt and Nat Purses

Matt & Nat is a line of ultra cool and functional purses made in Montreal, Canada. Matt & Nat bags are made with the highest quality cruelty-free synthetic leathers and fabrics on the planet. Each bag has the "signature of positivity" message printed on the bottom, and is stamped with the Matt & Nat logo.

The Matt & Nat line of purses is huge and always changing, so when you find a style you like buy it before it sells out! Whether you’re intentionally looking for a vegan purse (free of animal skins or fur) or just want a hip and functional handbag, Matt & Nat will undoubtedly surpass all your expectations. Here’s a review of the Ibiza style.

Your best bet to find Matt & Nat purses is probably to find them on eBay. Check out the eBay listings below for items that are ending soon, or browse eBay for Matt & Nat Handbags.

You can get the best deals on Matt & Natt Handbags on eBay:

Lightsaber Replica

crashoverride — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 23:13:04 +0000

Replica Lightsabers

NOTE: Master Replicas no longer produces the Force FX replica lightsabers or any Star Wars items. It has just been announced that Hasbro and eFX will resume production of these products in 2008. Yah! In the meantime, finding a replica lightsaber has become more difficult, with most styles only available on eBay.

For a Star Wars fan, a realistic replica lightsaber is one of the ultimate collector’s items. It ranks right up there with a lifesize Han in carbonite, a homemade Slave Leia metal bikini costume, and the mythical rocket launching Boba Fett figure (the latter of which never existed, by the way). The Mable’s crew camped out for 9 days at the Big Newport theater to see the 12:01 screening of Episode III, and every time we turned around there was another group of lightsaber wielding Jedis and Siths! Click here to see a picture of the fun.

Don’t get me wrong, the cheap plastic, retractable lightsabers have their place. They’re perfect for your little sister’s Luminara Halloween costume or even adult use when waging duels. For the serious fan or costumer, you’re going to want something befitting a true Jedi Master or Sith Lord. You want a Master Replica lightsaber.

As the current licensed producer of Star Wars replica items, Master Replicas has made some jaw dropping props. They are all limited edition so many are all ready discontinued, but new ones are always created. Darth Maul and Yoda’s lightsabers, as well as Luke’s training remote are just a few of the discontinued and highly sought Master Replica items (sometimes available on eBay, see below). Many of the available models are from the Force FX Edition, which are not only spectacular but surprisingly affordable (see tons of pics here):

Updated May 2008

Force FX Lightsaber Series
($99 - $199- with blades)

(EP II and III) Yoda Force FX lightsaber
Available at BuyCostumes, Entertainment Earth, Think Geek,
Hammacher & Star Wars Shop

(EP I) Darth Maul Force FX double bladed lightsaber
Available at Hammacher & eBay

(EP IV) Darth Vader Force FX lightsaber replica
Available at Think Geek & eBay

(EP V) Darth Vader Force FX lightsaber replica
Only available on eBay

(EP IV) Luke Skywalker Force FX lightsaber replica
Available at Think Geek, Sharper Image & eBay

(EP III) Anakin Skywalker
Force FX lightsaber replica
Only available on eBay

(EP III) Obi Wan Force FX lightsaber replica
Only available on eBay

(EP II) Mace Windu Force FX lightsaber replica
Only available on eBay

Limited Edition Lightsaber Series
($369- without blades & with display case & certificate
All of the Limited Edition sabers are SOLD OUT and Master Replicas won’t be making anymore due to non-renewal of their licensing agreement with Lucas.
In 2008 Hasbro should be making new ones!

Also, Entertainment Earth will get a few discontinued lightsaber replicas in stock, so check out their whole collection to see what’s currently available.

You can get the best deals on Replica Lightsabers on eBay: