Saturday, April 27, 2013

Frustrating Free Friday Finds

I took Friday off from work because there were some really great estate sales and I had so many vacation days that I thought I should use one and I just wanted some time to relax.

It turned out to be a wee bit frustrating but I'm really not complaining because I did have a Friday off and I did get a chance to relax a bit. It was frustrating because there was only one of me and three things that I wanted at the first sale. I couldn't decide which one piece I absolutely had to have. I made my choice and lost out on the other two. I guess I did okay because I did get at least one piece.

Here is the beauty that I found. This is a heavy, vintage square cake stand by Indiana Glass in the Constellation pattern. Perfect condition, love it!
Next I went to a sale that had been open for two hours before I got there. I didn't know what to expect but I did snag a bag full of treasures. My favorite find were these Shiny Brites and Poland glass ornaments. Some were beautifully faded to shabby shades of pink, green, silver and blue and others were bright.
Then there were some orange, Poland ornaments that are slightly squat and not perfectly round. They reminded me of pumpkins. Perhaps these were meant as Halloween ornaments. I think a little more research is needed here.
I found a bunch of vintage ceramic Christmas pieces. I had pinned an image of little Santa mugs on my Pinterest board and thought it would make a cute display.
I found several vintage corsages and saw them as perfect gift wrapping accents in place of a regular bow.
Found a lot of small vintage craft supplies.
The last item I found were these four square wire hangers. They are regular wire hanger size except they are square instead of triangular. They can be used as a hand towel holder or vintage linen display. Anyone know what these were originally used for?
Since I spent my thrifting allowance on Friday I am now relaxing on Saturday although I feel an urge to check out more sales. Looking back at everything that I found, I guess I don't really feel frustrated. I had a fun free Friday. I hope everyone had a great day of thrifting!

This is linked to:
Brambleberry Cottage, Common GroundFrom My Front Porch to Yours, Hey What's For Dinner Mom?,  Savvy Southern Style, The Colorado Lady and The Thrifty Groove

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Nice People + Nice Prices = Oh Happy Day!

We had a surprisingly nice thing happen this morning as we were waiting for an estate sale to start. We were sitting in our car since we were so early and another car full of people pulled up. Then a third person pulled up and the driver started a sign-up list. I assumed that she put her name first then she went to the car full of people and then brought the list over to us. Well not only did she leave space for us to be the first two on the list, the people in the other car also told her that we were there first.

Wonderfully nice and honest people! Awesome!!! Then to make things even better, the seller gave us a really low price on everything. And if this wasn't good enough, we stopped at a sale that was just about to end and the seller said that we could have anything we wanted for free. Oh happy day!

So here are some of the treasures we found. I love these perfectly shabby old silk flowers.

I was excited to find these old, Victorian Frozen Charlotte dolls. They are from the estate of an antiques dealer so I believe they are the real old one.
I found a box full of aquarium gravel and just the top of the blue mermaid sticking out of it. I dug through the gravel and found all of the other aquarium ornaments buried beneath. The blue mermaid is really unique because her mouth is open like she is singing and she is playing a Bass instrument. Also in the front right corner is a small dog house aquarium ornament. This seemed like an odd subject for an aquarium piece. Finding all of these was like digging for buried treasure and discovering an instant collection .
We found some unique chandelier crystals, an old bottle marked "Nippon" and some silver tinsel ribbon. I collect chandelier crystals and I'm pretty sure I don't have a few of these styles. 







We found several glass items. I like old science glass pieces so I picked up this beaker below. The cup is by the Federal Glass Co. in the Patrician Spoke pattern. The red vase/candle holder is Italian. And the other glass piece is from an outdoor light fixture that has gone a soft purple color. 

We also picked up a Maydwell milk glass insulator, a red Anchor Hocking nut chopper and a red plaid Thermos bottle.
I would love to make some terrariums with these drum-style vintage fish bowls.
We found a bag with several mother-of-pearl buckles, some carded buttons that say they are made from Catalin and a jar filled with colorful vintage buttons. I can't wait to sort the buttons.
I have been cleaning and sorting and researching so many of these treasures. What a wonderfully fun day. Nice people make me happy! Thank you nice people!

Slowly but sure I will keep adding pieces to my Stuff to Treasure store. I hope everyone had a wonderful day of thrifting.

This is linked to:
Stylish Once Again

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Thrifting - A Catch and Release Story

I have mixed emotions about my thrifting adventures today. I found an awesome treasure but I had to let it go. More on that story at the end of this post.

I found a petite glass cupcake stand. It is only 6" across the top. Also found another vintage knee-hugger elf. The small stand makes the elf look huge!
My favorite find was this awesome 1938 Toastmaster toaster. I plugged it in and it works! Love the chrome and Bakelite.
Found some old film reels that would make great clocks or other projects.
I love old Dymo label makers and I found one in the original box.
I think these are shoe maker molds instead of shoe stretchers. One is shaped for a high-heeled shoe. Both have nail holes in them which makes me believe they were used to design shoes. They both have a rich patina that is really pretty.
Now to my "Catch and Release" story. I found a great vintage Toledo candy scale at an estate sale today. It was so amazing but was marked $100. Then the seller said that it was half price so $50 and this treasure could be mine. I stood there transfixed because I wanted it so badly. The problem was that it probably weighed about 20 pounds so realistically I could sell it for local pick up only. Or the other option would be to keep it for myself. I could not justify keeping it so I had to walk away and let it go. I don't think I will have any serious regrets but it will be one of those stories about the "one that got away".

Hope everyone had a great day of thrifting. Most of these treasures will be posted in my Stuff to Treasure Store soon. Anyone else ever find something they couldn't justify keeping for themselves?

This is linked to:
Hey, What's For Dinner Mom?, Mod Vintage LifeSir Thrift-A-Lot and Stylish Once Again

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Racing Family Weekend

We didn't get to do much thrifting this weekend because it was my son's first official race with his Competition License. It is getting much more exciting and much more expensive but I couldn't be more proud of him. Since the day he could actually hold something in his hand, he has always loved cars. And thanks to the additional love and support of Dear Handyman {a total motor-head himself}, my son has the opportunity to chase his dream.

It was all worth it because this was his first competitive race and the Rookie won third place! Now he's holding a trophy instead of toy cars!
But to get that trophy we had a few sacrifices. Anyone who has gotten up early to go to an estate sale knows what it's like to give up the opportunity to sleep in on a weekend morning. In our case, we were actually in the pits before the sun was up.
Early morning and the Boys were busy prepping the car. Yes it was cold.
There's my race car and driver on the track!
Prepping for another qualifying race back in the pits.
And out again.
I may have missed out on some amazing thrifting opportunities this past weekend but I was a part of some magic instead. When someone is realizing their dream then it is truly an awesome experience to be a part of that.

It was an exciting weekend and we were all very tired on the long drive home.

Friday, April 5, 2013

Thrifting Bits That Inspire Projects

I found a few treasures this week and also combined two of my thrifted treasures together to create some vintage happiness.

I came across my old glass rolling pin resting next to my jar of vintage white buttons. I suddenly had one of those "AH-HA!" moments.  I filled the rolling pin with buttons.
I found a handful of old wooden rulers. The seller kept asking me if I was a teacher because she believed that they must be the only people that buy old rulers.
Another great find was this large wooden spool.
Found a basket filled with old colorful feed sack aprons.
And finally I found a box with a few small little items. Here is a tiny groom and an old key.
This week's treasures seem to be starters for all kinds of repurposed projects.  Hope everyone has a great weekend of thrifting.

This is linked to:
Brambleberry Cottage
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