Dog Protection.

Here at Manto Fev we go to great lengths to protect our products. We want them to be in tip-top shape before they are sent out to our customers.

To that end, let me introduce our highly effective Dog Barrier 2000 (tm) with patented "Two Levels of Vicious Protection" and optional, but necessary, "Black and White Fur Finish" for optimal camouflage. Also, we have activated "Border Collie Mix Round-up" to help keep everything in line.

We are the pioneers of this precise system of protection!

Here it is in action:



Layer One! The "75 pound Door Guard" feature. This feature protects the first level of entry, the front door. Notice the prone position. This may appear to be laziness, but, in fact, the top eye is always open. No one can get into that parking lot without a serious barking-at. This layer also comes with the optional "Very Soft Fur" and "Crazy Eyes".



Layer Two! In the unlikely event that an intruder should get past Layer One, Layer Two is ready for action. Layer Two has the job of one-on-one combat to protect all of our important products. No one is getting to that box of Nori Glue unless they walk very slowly and say "Nice doggie" as they do it. Layer Two comes with customizable fur, or "Scruffiness" for a wide variety of looks and finishes. Layer Two also comes standard with "Show the Soft Belly" to finish off the bad guys as they succumb to the cuteness.

We take your art supplies very seriously here at Manto Fev. We spend thousands of dollars a year on fancy foods, treats, balls, vet bills, meaty toothpastes, and more just to keep our security system in tip-top shape.



sara@mantofev.com

Sunday Flea Market

As always, the Sunday flea market this past weekend yielded some fun finds for the website. Here are some highlights:



I take a lot of pictures like this.... a jumble of stuff. Buttons that look like pennies! Old keys! Fleur de lis!


Super cute silver doilies with an Asian style. A darling little metal pin that says "6 years old". Some little ceramic figures that came in a bag with the small metal dog (top left) which is what I really wanted! But they are kind of cute, too.


Bad photo, sorry! Awesome old autograph book with neat messages inside. A vintage pencil tin and a circus-themed Old maid card set.


I'm not entirely sure what these are but they were too cool to pass up. They are little Chinese men and women made from fabric and paper, but they are flat. It looks like they were removed from something but who knows what?


Finally, jewelry. The bracelet in the upper left is yucksville as-is but it is decorated with pretty vintage cut glass beads which I've already removed! Also some flower pins, MOP pins which I can never pass up, and some rhinestone earrings.

Good times were had by all.

sara@mantofev.com

Swoon.

I found an excellent stash of vintage Valentine's Day cards at an estate sale recently. They range in ages but I would guess most are from the 1920-40s. So many awesome graphics and styles, including many 3-D ones. These will be for sale in the flea market section of the site, individually!








About 140 total cards. I love finds like this!

Flea Market Fun!

This past Sunday was one of Omaha's monthly flea markets, and I had a good time! I thought it would be fun to make a post of some of my finds. All of these items will be available for sale via my own flea market at some point in the near future, but email me if you have any questions!


These are 1950s prescription files from a pharmacy. The boxes are cool and the have a neat little metal contraption inside to hold the filled prescriptions. They would be great as a base for a mixed media scrapbook. I'll sell the prescriptions via my site and then sell the boxes and holders separately.


Some linens. The big lacy thing on the right is an older vintage collar. I love the embroidered animals at the bottom.


These are super cool! I was told that they are antique Chinese gaming tokens made from 1750-1800. They are intricately carved mother of pearl. These will make amazing pendants or jewelry. I've never seen these in real life so I was excited to get a big lot of them!


Fun paper items, almanacs and kid's books.


My favorite things to buy are, of course, many tiny things. Tokens, buckles, an old compass, birds, small letter openers made from bone.


Also I can never pass up vintage religious medals!


Oh... shiny stuff. I've never seen a mirrored buckle!


More small things.


I need more paper stuff like I need a kick in the head, but the price was right so I got about 200 pieces of antique postcards and photos here.


I love the way these vintage canning labels look! I should photocopy these before I sell them.

In other news, I recently acquired a HUGE amount of beads, findings, cabochons, charms, kits, etc., all NEW in the package. These will also be posted into the flea market section of my site at great discounts over retail price. I have a ton of this stuff so it will be priced to sell!

Hope all is well out there!

sara@mantofev.com

New Office or, The Dog Fight

Manto Fev moved it's headquarters in November from a basement to a room! Yay! It was a pretty smooth transition and move and I am finally getting settled in enough to have time to update my neglected blog. So here is a short tour of the new Manto Fev world headquarters. Also included, at no extra charge, is a dog fight.


When you first come in the door (on the left of the picture), there is a handy fire extinguisher .... oh, wait... nope. Just a glass box and a stick to break it. No fire safety for you, move along.


Turn to go down the hall and you are welcomed by two very calm dogs. They seem to say "Hello, this is a place of calm and tranquility."


Then, BAM. Welcome to the office and welcome to THE TERRIBLE FIGHT. Don't call the Humane Society on me, I promise no wagers were made as to the outcome of this event. It ended shortly after and no dogs were injured in the making of this post. Or in the 157 more fights that have happened just today.

So here it is, in all its glory, The Office. Good times.

This post is also a vehicle to provide the following information:

We are having a coupon sale right now. $5.00 off any $30.00 order. Use the code FEB10 when you check out. Valid through 14 Feb 2010.

Check out this page for new products, some of which were just added today. It's a helpful page.

sara@mantofev.com

Stuff I like

I have a fun job. Going around, looking for fun things for you to use in your art projects, taking photos, updating the site. Lots of little things flow in and out of my life and it's nice to be their owner for little while and then pass them on to a new home. I do like some little bits more than others, and here are some examples.


Vintage redemption stamps, redeemable for fabulous prizes...


The current cool colors I have in the sari fabrics.


I love big heaps of postage stamps. These are waiting to make up the misc. postage stamps packs.


I adore these vintage matchbox labels. Each one is different and better than the last.


I am down to my last bottles of German glass glitter. I bought out my supplier's remaining stock so get it now to add sparkle to your holiday crafts!


Real pennies with little hearts cut out. These would be great for Valentine's Day art.


As a devoted follower of all things small, these watch part vials really fit the bill. Maybe I was a watch repair person in a former life?


These vintage liquor labels have such fun, bright colors.


Dixie reluctantly models the small plastic dog figures.


Stella unknowingly models the doghouse charms.

So that's the end of that.

But before I go, two announcements!

One, Manto Fev now offers a free gift with any $25 purchase. There are several options to choose from and I will add new options now and again when I come up with them.

Second, Manto Fev will be moving to a new location sometime around the beginning of November. You can expect great things after this if the move doesn't kill us all.

Hope all is well in your land. Toodle-loo.

sara@mantofev.com

Souvenir Bathroom

Another one of my collections...

Souvenir items.

I have a bathroom on the first level of our house- it was yellow when we moved in, and the color looked great with my collection of green and white pottery. I was also happy to finally have a place to display my souvenir plates. Most of these are places I have lived in or at least visited.


I also have metal souvenir ashtrays lined up along the chair rail, that little ledgey thing.



The green and white pottery with some yellow thrown in. I guess seashells and stuff are also a theme here....



The sea glass in the following picture was collected in Ireland.


I have only two of these old souvenir cups, but I'd like to get more. Also a small pottery bird that fits into the color scheme nicely.



Hope everyone had a nice Labor Day.

sara@mantofev.com

Tiny Dressers

Well, shoot. The weekend is over. Drat! I'll try to merge gracefully into the week with a new post about another one of my favorite collections.

I guess these are supposed to be jewelry boxes? I call them tiny Asian dressers. The name isn't that creative but it does describe them well. I have 7 of them right now.

For example:


The one on the left isn't Asian, I guess, but it is a tiny dresser and it was only $1 so I got it.


I love their little doors, drawers and handles. The one on the right above has sliding doors that open and close. This one also has a lot of nice inlaid work.


A little mirror in the door on the right.



This is my latest one and it came with all of these fun little things inside. Dollies, old celluloid charms, a tiny woven basket from Japan.

I don't think I've paid more than $10 for any of them. I think they look so cute all together.

And pacified by the cute, I'm ready to start work again. Have a good week, everyone.

sara@mantofev.com

Some new products.

I've been behind on adding new products this month, but I did get some added today. I always make a list of new products, with links, on this page.

Here are a few of my new favorite things!


I love these vintage Italian letters. They have cool stamps and handwriting. I also have Swedish letters posted on that same page. I have French and Czech letters to add soon, too!



Nifty vintage watch rings. Some of these are even in foreign languages!



These are my new favorite things! Vintage Japanese name stamps. They look so cool stacked up in a little row, and I love the dark characters against the pale plastic or wood of the stamp.

I also updated the Flea Market section with all kinds of fun one-of-a-kind goodies.

I hope all is well out there. Have good days.

sara@mantofev.com