Yard Saling Away

Hello Friends, it's good to have you here!

Finally, the weather has warmed up and yard sales are sprouting everywhere! I had some great luck this past week. I hit a couple of rummage sales Thursday first.

I found a couple of vintage Hawaiian shirts at the first rummage sale- I thought it was going to be a bust for the longest time because I started in the housewares section and there was literally nothing but crap. I scoped out the clothing as a last resort and came up with a couple good ones- they are already listed in my Etsy store here.

I got to another rummage sale later in the afternoon just before it closed. And that means it was bag day- everything I could fit in a paper bag was $2. It also means that stuff was kind of picked over, so I definitely didn't pack the bag full. But I picked up a couple books and puzzles:

Also grabbed these art pieces. The oil painting is another vintage landscape for my collection at our cabin. That is really coming along, and I should probably do a post on that sometime. The empty frame is a simple but elegant art deco picture frame, which I always pick up whenever I find them. So much nicer than the frames they have at Michael's!

The little Hazel Atlas Moderntone sherbet glass was part of the bag sale, as were the cute fork and spatula. The fork is the Corningware Country Festival pattern. The speckled bowls are actually confetti Melmac, and are the first I have ever seen in black and white. Maybe they are "RARE HTF"? LOL  They will be listed in my Etsy store eventually too. 

This was another item I put in my bag- I'm going to let you guess what this is and then show you what we did with it later!

My husband took the kids to our local bike rodeo Saturday morning and I got to go driveway shopping. My son won 2nd place for his age group; I think he hasn't taken off his medal since then. But my prize was these pieces of Guardian Ware. I got all three for $1 each. The roaster is really huge and will bring a nice bit of $$ online.

I got these PBN horses at the same sale- it was a dollar sale, so everything there was $1. So, 5 paintings, $5! I am hoping to sell these as a group, I think they make an amazing "instant collection"!

More from the dollar sale- the Shiny Brites, lampshade and Homer Laughlin bowl. That bowl is the most stunning piece of stoneware I have ever seen. It's got a raised pattern of trees all around it. I don't know much about Homer Laughlin other than Fiesta, but I want to know more about this style. The only bad part is it has a bit of a chip on the rim and a crack there, but will be beautiful holding fruit on the table.

The Ponderosa plates are the only pieces of Pyrex I found. I have never seen the plates before, only the mugs. I'm sure these will go quickly in my Etsy store when I get them listed. The little brass swans were only a quarter; I actually have a couple of these already, they used to be my mother-in-law's.

It is hard to find bakelite radios anymore. I used to see them all the time and now they are definitely few and far between. I bought one a couple of months ago and now found this one- the only ones I've seen in a long time. It's an Admiral- doesn't work, but for $5, will definitely look great on a shelf. The alarm clock was only a quarter and that one works!

So that's the wrap up of my first real good weekend of yard sales, now here's what we did with that mystery item:

It's a bike rack! My husband painted it white and put it on my bike as a Mother's Day present. ;)

Thrift Scores!

Hello friends, it's good to have you here!

Well, I've missed blogging a bit and don't think it's because I don't want to, but (you know there is always a 'but...') I've been crazy busy lately and haven't had a chance. I've been working on my Etsy store quite a bit, and all that photographing and listing takes time. I don't know about you, but I am way better at acquiring stuff than selling it! My downstairs has been taken over by the stuff I have bought to resell. Plus, I'm getting ready to sell at a flea market for the first time, so there's a bunch of things in my basement waiting to be priced, etc. I have a high tolerance for clutter, but this is getting out of control. (Shield your eyes- reality check follows!)

In case you are wondering what it is like to be a vintage hoarder seller, this is what it looks like. It is a lot of fun, but more work than most people realize. And this is only a small part of the mess- my storage and packing stations are elsewhere!

But that also means I've been buying a ton of cool stuff, so I thought you might like to see some all cleaned up and ready to show off!

I just bought this amazing antique chest yesterday. It had been sitting in my local Salvation Army for about a week and I kept passing it by because there was no price on it. (You know they won't sell stuff without a ticket on it, so I kept waiting.) It finally got priced yesterday and it was $6.99- seriously! Even at that, I hemmed and hawwed at it because I didn't think I could fit it in my car. And I was right...hehe.  I somehow wedged it in the trunk of my Chevy Cruze and drove it a couple miles home with the trunk lid open.

I bought it to use outside on my patio I was thinking as a potting bench or outdoor bar. It's not in great condition, but for outside it will be fine- I wish I had a covered porch to keep it on! It makes an amazing photo backdrop for some of my listings, which is exactly what I needed. Unfortunately, nothing will help my lame photography skills, though. Selling on Etsy is so dependent on taking great photos, and I definitely know that is my weakness.

I pass up enamelware all the time- not quite sure why I suddenly decided to buy some. Except that these are awesome pieces and I love red. The platter is so cool, and it was only $1, the bowl still had some of the original label on it and it was $2. (See how easy it is to rationalize...)

I love vintage lawn furniture and have quite a collection at this point. I bought this little strap chair for my daughter to use. It was only $2! I use the bigger one in the back all the time- they are so much lighter and more comfortable than those stupid chair-in-a-bag things. All this green and turquoise furniture is so cheery, plus it matches my vintage patio umbrella I thrifted last year. I can't wait to get it all out- will definitely have to do another post on that!

This camera is one of my favorite buys from the last few weeks. It's a Polaroid Land Camera with its original case and all the accessories. My son and I actually went in on this together because I didn't have enough money on me to buy it that day. My 9 year old (known to many of you readers as "Eagle Eye") bailed me out! LOL But since he loaned me 1/3 of the purchase price I told him he could have 1/3 of the profit when we sell it. So look for it in my Etsy store soon, and help support the next generation of pickers! 

The time to buy holiday stuff is just after that holiday is over! I bought these Beistle leprechauns at the pound store. One is on  a skateboard- argh- the cuteness!  So they basically cost me 6 cents. And the Marvin the Martian lunch bags are still in their package. I can't decide if I want to sell them or let my kids use them for school, but I don't think 3rd graders appreciate the coolness factor here.

The same goes for this Sylvester the cat bookbag. Way too cool for school- and already in my Etsy store. Want it? Enter coupon code PIT20OFF and you get 20% off!

And it wouldn't be a thrifting post without Pyrex. Lately the greens just seem to follow me home. I don't collect either of these patterns, but I know a lot of folks do, so here's hoping I can resell them. The cinnamon mugs match my favorite pattern, Autumn Harvest, though, so they might be staying. LOL, who am I kidding, it all might be staying! ;)