Weekend Junk finds: Goodwill Outlet again

Just a few finds this week. Still trying to get rid of stuff--it's an ongoing process, one that will probably never be truly 'done' for me. What can I say? I like STUFF! Took another large load to the consignment store last week and another bag for charity is sitting in the car, waiting to be delivered.

On Saturday morning I went to the Sweet William Market, which was the first craft/vintage market that I did last year. I had a great experience last year and Friday's market seemed to be very busy with shoppers. I'm so, SO tempted to sign up for the June 29th market but it really just isn't very realistic for me, which is disappointing. I already have an idea for my booth and have been collecting vintage goodies but I just don't think I'd have time to totally devote to it in June. I'm still mulling it over, but I think I'm leaning towards a 'it's just not practical at this time' answer. Darn.

What I'd really be better served doing is taking all the time I would have spent making stuff to sell at the market and using to list stuff in my Etsy shop! Etsy just isn't appealing to me right now, as evidenced by my very neglected shop--it just seems like so much work to photograph, edit, find a box, and list the item. I wish I had a permanent place set up to do the photos but the way my house is set up, there is just not a lot of natural light available and that's frustrating because on Etsy, the quality of the photography really goes a long way toward selling the item. It honestly feels like it would be less work to pack all my stuff in boxes, haul it across town, unpack it all and display it on tables and hopefully sell it, then pack it all up at the rest of the day and take what's left back home!

After the market, I was not far from the Goodwill Outlet so I decided to swing by again. I didn't find much this week but that's really okay (see the first sentence of this post!).

I like these crocheted covered wooden hangers. These may be headed for Etsy. Or a market.

Another set, this time with yarn. Cute colors!

The Snoopy ornament set will go on Etsy or Ebay later this year. To its right is a vintage ornament--the kind with the little fan inside that spins when the air is heated by the Christmas tree lights.

And a pretty shabby platter, destined for the consignment store, where antiques and vintage stuff actually sell pretty well. It's a 50% split on profits and their prices are very reasonable so you can't make a ton of money flipping vintage there, but when I can buy something this cheap it makes it worth it (plus I always look for antiques/vintage I can buy with my consignment credit that I can resell for more). Total spent for all of the above items was only $2.13!

There's yet another vintage/craft market this weekend. It's a market I don't think I've ever visited, but I want to go check it out to explore it as a possible vendor opportunity. We'll see!

I'm linking up with Apron Thrift Girl's Thrift Share Monday!

Weekend Junk Finds: Mother's Day edition

I usually like to post my junk finds on Mondays but this week I'm a bit behind. Well, actually I'm about a week and a half behind, since these things were found the day before Mother's Day. The Saturday before Mother's Day, I was able to go out by myself to do some shopping. Is it wrong that for Mother's Day I want to celebrate by getting away from those I Mother?

That particular day happened to be the May edition of the Horseshoe Market, which long-time readers might remember was the craft/vintage market that I did last October that was ruined because of freezing temperatures and rain. Even though it's been 7 months, I'm still not completely over the disappointment of that day. I had some PTSD walking back into the market, remembering how cold and wet and miserable that day last October was for me. This time, it was warm and although rain clouds threatened, there were crowds and crowds of people--the biggest number they've had yet. I couldn't help but feel a little bitter at how different those vendors' experiences were from mine--I'm sure they were selling loads of stuff, with all those shoppers! That should have been my market experience too. Nope, still not over it. Sigh.

I only bought a few things at the market.

The Pepsi bottle will go with a pair of other vintage red and white soda bottles that I use to decorate---and a trio looks better than a pair, right? The floral pillowcase is really, really sweet with just the best colors of red and pink and yellow and mint--very Cath Kidston. Too bad that when I washed it, it developed some pretty huge holes in one side. :( I'll have to think of something creative to do with what's left.

The aqua bowls are a funny story--after I got home, I realized that I actually SOLD those during my market last October! I bought them from a vendor who was at the Oct. market, and I think I actually remember her buying them from me now. The good thing is that I don't think I paid more for them than I sold them for initially, so at least I didn't lose any money! I bought them for reselling but now I'm wondering if I'm meant to just keep them if they came back to me like that!

After the market my junk itch still hadn't been scratched, so I stopped by a new Goodwill Outlet that I had seen from the freeway on the way over.

I found quite a few goodies! This old-style shoe is going to be reinvented into a witch's shoe for Halloween. Pity I could only find half of the pair! I bought the old Scrabble game for the letters and although I already have several of that plastic vintage tree-toppers, I couldn't leave it behind.

This silverplate pitcher was wrapped in tissue and then in multiple plastic bags, which is the only thing that saved it from being dinged and scratched beyond recognition AND made sure it was still there for me! I wait until the crazies toss through the bins first before I go looking and I know this would have been snapped up if it had been easily identifiable. It's in great shape and very pretty but I need another pitcher like I need a hole in the head, so this one will be for sale.

When I first walked in, I spotted these two treasures and I knew it was going to be a worthwhile trip! The Fisher Price airport is in great shape, and although I looked in the bin, the Little People were all missing. The Fisher Price firetruck pull toy was an especially sweet find, since I'm the mother to a 3-year-old who is still obsessed with firefighters and their vehicles. It's also in great condition. Now I'm on a mission to find some Little People and maybe even the airplane to go with the airport since it will sell better that way.

I bought a few other things at the outlet--a Clue game for Maren, some cute printed paper sacks, and it seems like there was something else but I can't remember so it must not have been that photogenic. There was an awesome *pink* vintage suitcase in one bin but it was in too bad of shape to bring home, darn it!

Have you ever been to a Goodwill Outlet? What's the best thing you've found there? I'll be linking up with The Nifty Thrifty at A Living Space.

Weekend Junk Finds: 1960s Estate sale edition

I really do love shopping at estate sales, but I rarely get to go because 1) I have a rambunctious 3-year-old in tow and 2) most of the sales are FAR away from my house. A few weeks ago there were two sales that were relatively close as far as estate sales are concerned (about a 25-30 min. drive as opposed to 45 min. or more) and the 3-year-old seems to be doing a little better lately, so I decided to chance it. We were flying out that afternoon for my brother's graduation so we only had a little bit of time but I got all of my packing and errands done the day before so I could go shop with a clear conscience!

The first sale was in a neighborhood that backs to a golf course, absolutely FULL of really fantastic 1960s ramblers. The homes are set on huge lots with wide, green yards--what looks like it would be kid heaven. The houses themselves are low-slung, excellent examples of classic suburban 1960s architecture and the interior of the house was the same. We got there a bit after opening to miss the initial mad rush in the doors so I know we missed some goodies, but I was happy with the things I did find.

 A pair of old sparkler boxes, with sparklers still inside. These will go with my 4th of July decorations.

A pair of WWII-era letters to Daisy, who I assume is the woman who owned the house. There was a whole box full and I picked out just two, although I wish I could have sat down and read them all.

More WWII stuff--a pair of 8x10 glossy photos that look like they were taken by somebody maybe for professional purposes? There was a whole stack and they seemed much nicer than an average serviceman's snapshots.

Loved this one of the couple dancing! It reminded me of the 1940s Ball I attended last year.

And going along with the WWII theme--at the sale, there were some glossy large group photos of Navy sailors in boot camp at Camp Farragut, Idaho in about 1943. Now, landlocked, mountainous Idaho seems like just about the last place where you'd expect to find a Naval training base, but apparently there was one. In the photos were large canvas flags with each group, and those very same flags were at the sale. They are good-sized and each is made of canvas with dark green felt letters stitched onto both sides. I bought all five of them--they seem like something cool to hang in a boy's bedroom. They're a bit dirty so I've got one soaking in Biz right now to see if I can get them cleaner. I think I'll keep one, and the others will eventually be for sale.

Onto the next sale. Also in a 1960s house, though not as neat as the first one.

Why did I buy these? I've certainly never been to any of these locations! I have a weakness for old postcard folders like these, especially the type where the location is written in large letters with scenes inside like the White Mountains on top left. I actually bought 2 more of these but they're for a gift so I can't show them.

Vintage Christmas. I'm selective in the single color ornaments I buy now--this time I bought pink and one orange, since I rarely find that color.

And a whole bunch of babies, including a handful of the ones that are about the size of a marble. They're teeny tiny.

Two bags of buttons. I haven't bought buttons in a while, because usually they're priced sky-high I forgot that I bought these until I pulled them out to photograph yesterday, so I'm looking forward to sorting them all today.

Did you get to go junking over Mother's Day weekend? I'm linking up with the Nifty Thrifty over at A Living Space!

Weekend Junk Finds: Vintage sparkles edition

Hello, friends! It seems like decent Spring weather has finally decided to arrive here in the Denver area! Oh, we had snow and sub-freezing temps last Tuesday, all right--but this weekend the sun came out and the air was legitimately warm. It's enough to give me hope that winter might finally be in the past! Having a snowstorm here in May is not at all out of the realm of possibility, but I think we might be through the worst of it. My kids played outside all weekend long and came in at night, filthy dirty and sunburned but boy, did they fall asleep quickly! I'm all too happy to return to that routine.

I didn't do any junking at all this past week. Still trying to get things OUT--I took another box of stuff to the consignment store a few days ago and I think I've decided to hold a yard sale in a few weeks. Can you believe that in all of the many yard sales I've shopped, I've never actually held one of my own? We're trying to dejunk the house in preparation for selling so now seems like the perfect time. Truthfully, I don't have a whole ton of stuff to sell yet--all of my 'good' discards have been going to the consignment store for months because I can get more for them there. Maren is itching to sell some toys and make some money, and I've asked some friends if they want to send any of their stuff over for me to sell. They'll get the proceeds, and hopefully my sale will look bigger and thereby attract more shoppers--win for us all!

This week's junk finds are all of the pretty and sparkly variety:

This gorgeous vintage brooch is big, about 2" across. It has pretty multicolored gems and part of it is painted. It makes me think "Spring"! It has an 'older' look to me, older than the brooches I usually see. It really is lovely.

This brooch is tiny, about the size of a quarter is all. It's a sweet little birdcage and there's even a wee birdie inside! It's attached with a separate jump ring so it dangles and moves.

I bought this pin because I thought it looked unusual. On the back of the circle there are three teeny screws, and I was curious to find out why it was fastened that way! The only other vintage brooch I have with screws on the back conceals a tiny battery compartment. When I got home and found my itty bitty screwdriver and removed the back, I found that each of those little tiny circles with the blue stones is removable, and there are slots for four more of them. I'm guessing it's some type of service pin, where a circle would be awarded for years of service or some other achievement. I'm wondering if those little blue stones might actually be sapphire chips? Any ideas?

Can't pass up an owl brooch, especially one with red jeweled eyes and rhinestone feathers!

And the last and probably my favorite--a giant, bejeweled lizard! He was tricky to get a good in-focus picture. Guess my hands were feeling shaky that day.

He's 4" long and made of really pretty large grey and aurora borealis rhinestones, with red AB stones for his eyes. There is no marking on the underside so I have no idea of age or origin, but he looks like a really nice piece and it must have been quite a bit of work to solder all of those settings together. I absolutely love it and I've already worn it!

Did you find any treasures this weekend? It looked like there were a ton of garage sales around here this weekend, though I didn't get to go because I was busy throwing a special party--more on that tomorrow!

Weekend Junk Finds: Small town edition, now with more Jadeite!

I know I've been neglecting my blog lately, but the truth is that things here still continue to be difficult and it's hard to feel like blogging. The laundry room floor situation is still not resolved (we're 3 months in, in case you're keeping track) and has in fact gotten WORSE, if you can possibly believe it. All those times when I was trying to be optimistic and chirped, "Well, it could be worse, right?"--apparently I was right about that.

This past weekend alone: on Friday afternoon, a few hours before an event I'd been looking forward to for months my babysitter called and cancelled because she was sick, leaving me scrambling to find another. The Mister worked all weekend long, we had both an unexpected $700 car repair on Friday and an unexpected $170 computer repair on Saturday, all of which culminated in me having a sobbing breakdown last night when I couldn't find any of my photos from 2011-2012 on the computer. I'd like to think I've been pretty tough through all the crap I've dealt with lately, but that was the one thing that finally reduced me to tears. I *think* my sweet husband may have located them, tucked away in a folder with a weird name, but I'm still not 100% sure. And the external hard drive that was supposed to be backing up everything has apparently not been plugged in for quite some time. Needless to say, we have signed up with Carbonite.

And then the capper? Last night as I was reading bedtime stories to Maren, Porter was in my bathroom, decapitating lipsticks. He got through four of them and tried to dump four lip glosses down the sink as well before I caught him. Today's fun? I get to have my very first cavity filled. I made it nearly 35 years without one but if my luck was going to turn, I'm not surprised that it did it now because why not add that to the list? Oh, and I'm developing a nasty canker sore on the same side as the cavity, so that should be fun.

Seriously, I need a vacation from my life.

And if you made it through all of that whining, you deserve a treat! How about some Jadeite?

I spent most of our Spring Break week staying with my recently-widowed grandmother who can't live alone. I managed to sneak away to the thrift store for a few minutes one afternoon between errands, and these Fire King beauties were my reward! I actually gasped audibly when I saw them on the shelf. This thrift store has a "boutique" attached and they skim off any halfway-decent or 'antique' donations so they can charge a higher price for them in the boutique. How these escaped that fate, I'll never know but I was thrilled to find them!

I found a few other goodies on that trip as well.

The lidless Tom's peanut jar was from a different thrift store and actually was not much of a bargain, but I snagged it anyway because I have plans for it. The three Fire King Kimberly mugs were from the same store as the Jadeite bowls.

That same store also produced a handful of vintage seam binding (which I've been using frequently in my recent crafting) and a pair of vintage games. The Children's Hour game is adorable! There are actually three games inside the box:

--An elephant board game complete with an cool, graphic game board, little plastic elephant game figures, and an elephant head spinner.

--Some sort of card game with animal cards that have cute illustrations

--and a darling fishing game with little alphabet cards and a wee fishing pole. Sadly, the instructions are missing so I'm not sure how to play any of these cute games.

I have high hopes that this week will be a better one. We do have rain and snow in the forecast and cold temperatures expected for the entire week which will do nothing positive for my mental state, but I know we desperately need the moisture here. We're having a big event for Maren in less than two weeks so I need to start party prep, a task I always enjoy. I'm hopeful we'll make some progress on the basement disaster. And perhaps we'll get through the week without something expensive breaking or my 3-year-old destroying it. Cross your fingers for me.

Weekend Junk Finds: vintage Letterman sweater

I mentioned in Friday's post two things: Porter started preschool and I found some fun junk at the thrift store. These two items are totally related, because the latter could not have happened without the former! Porter now goes to school two days per week for about 2.5 hours each day, so I have five lovely hours all to myself (well, not always--last week I watched a friend's baby one day and then volunteered at the school on the other. But the potential is there, anyway). I've been staying well clear of the thrift stores lately because I'm trying to get stuff out of the house, not bring more in. However, I had to celebrate Porter's first day of preschool with a solo trip to the thrift stores! I was rewarded with some fun finds, one of which I want to show today.

That particular day at the thrift store, all of the winter-type clothing (coats, sweaters, etc) was 50% off. I took a spin through the women's racks to see if I could find anything to keep or resell but didn't even think to look at the men's section. As I was walking to the registers at the front to pay, something caught my eye:

a vintage letterman's sweater! It wasn't even hanging with any other sweaters so I'm not sure what it was doing there, other than patiently waiting for me to find it. :D

At first I thought maybe it was a reproduction or a newer version, but this tag clued me in that it was the real thing. Then I saw the number on the arm and got really excited:

1943! Very cool. As I was inspecting it, I found one more little treasure:

the owner's name, embroidered on the inside placket. So naturally, I Googled him, and guess what--I found the owner! Mr. Moog passed away last November, and through the magic of the Internets I found his obituary. He was "Top Boy" and graduated from high school in 1943 in Eveleth, Minnesota--hence the giant E. He served in the Navy after graduating, then went on to work as an aeronautical engineer. He even worked at Lockheed Martin on the Viking Mars Lander and Space Shuttle programs!

I think the sweater is a really fun find, but I must admit that after recently losing my own grandfather I feel like it's my duty to see if I can make contact with any of the children named in the obituary and ask if they want their dad's high school letterman sweater returned to them. I can imagine that after he passed away his belongings were donated to charity and that's how they ended up at the thrift store. If I can't locate anyone or if they don't want it, then I'll keep the sweater and at least my conscience will be satisfied!

Tick tock, a broken red clock

Yesterday, there was a tragedy in my house.

Okay, fine, it might not exactly qualify as a tragedy, but I'm still sad! My beloved red plastic retro kitchen clock fell right off the wall and met with an untimely end on the wood floors. I thrifted the clock back in 2008--I was surprised to see that I've had it so long!

When I first bought it at the thrift store for 80¢ the clock mechanism didn't work. I fixed it by buying another 80¢ clock at the same thrift store and using the working mechanism in it to replace the non-working one in my red clock. Pretty thrifty and smart, if I do say so myself!

Now I'm on the hunt for a new retro-style wall clock. All day long yesterday I caught myself looking at the wall where this one hung! There's actually a carriage-style clock hanging directly on the other side of the kitchen so if I just turn my head in the other direction there's still a clock--but force of habit has me looking at the empty spot. If you know of a cute clock I need to see, let me know!

Weekend Junk Finds

In my quest to lighten up my basement, still no thrifting for me! I even took another box to the consignment store and made another pile of stuff to donate, so I'm making progress! Feels good, but I won't deny I miss the treasure hunting. :) Here are some more past finds I haven't shared.

This trio of beautiful vintage NOS postcards is from an antique store but they're in almost pristine condition-- in fact, I think I'm going to frame them! I have always loved this style of postcard, where the name of the place is in big letters that are filled with pictures. Also, I love to collect travel souvenirs from places that are significant to me so these are perfect! I especially adore the one in the center. It's from the valley in southern Colorado where my parents grew up and my grandparents still live. And yes, they grow potatoes there. :)

In fact, I found this cute vintage chalkboard in a thrift store in that very same valley! This one went into my Etsy shop and sold soon after.

I found this beautiful shabby platter on a fun trip with some girlfriends. It was on the top shelf in the loft of an antique store, covered in thick dust. I'm going to hang onto it for a future pink/blue/shabby style booth that I'm planning for an outdoor vintage market this summer.

I found this globe on the same trip. Actually, it was the same trip where I bought the globe I showed last week. Two globes in one day! This after we swore we were limited to buying only things that would fit in our purses. HA! That was one packed car heading home, let me tell you. Lucky for me that I was the driver, or I'm pretty sure I would have made the trip with a globe or two on my lap! This globe is not particularly old or decorative (like last week's 1939 beauty) so I'm almost tempted to do something fun like cover it with chalkboard paint. We'll see.

And one darling find from the local thrifts. This cutie pie mug has two sides. If you're feeling chipper when you wake up, you can drink your morning coffee from the "Good Morning! Darling" side with the warbling bluebird.

And if you're feeling cranky, you can use the "Good Morning You Ole Grouch" side with the owl in the rain!

The mug is currently available in my Etsy shop here.

Did you make any fantastic junk finds this weekend?

Weekend Junk Finds

Full disclosure: none of these things were actually found this past weekend. The temperatures here were of the frigid variety and The Mister had to work so I never even made it out of the house. And honestly, I'm feeling pretty overwhelmed by the amount of STUFF in my house right now, so I really don't have any business bringing in more. I do have a few older finds to share, though!

When I was in Utah after Christmas, my Dad and I went to explore an antique mall recommended to me by Shirley of Zetta's Aprons. I had really hoped to find some awesome post-holiday discounts on vintage Christmas stuff but only one booth had anything marked down, and they didn't have anything I wanted! Disappointing, since the dealers in the big antique malls around here have awesome sales after Christmas. I did manage to buy two baggies of old mercury glass beads. I love to use them in my crafting and these are about the size of marbles, which is larger than any I have in my collection.

I also found this cute 1960s Hearts game.

I thought the box would be so fun to display at Valentine's Day, but I also love the cute lettered dice inside!

This globe is from a fun trip I took back in November with some friends. We junked until the car was completely full! I found this beautiful old globe on a really fantastic wooden base. There are websites you can use to help you date your globe based on the names of the countries shown, and this particular model dated to 1939! I sold it in my Etsy shop.

Not too exciting, but I just can't pass up LuRay when I see it! Even though I have ZERO use for teacups.

Last, this cute vintage Bobbsey Twins book was the perfect pre-Christmas find! It's a lovely shade of green with red lettering and white snowflakes all over the front. It was just the thing to use in my Christmas decorating this year.

Did you make any fabulous finds this weekend? I'm linking up with Apron Thrift Girl's Thrift Share Monday.

Greetings for 2013

A teeny, tiny calendar found at an antique store. Remarkable that such a small, fragile thing that was made to be discarded somehow survived for 100 years!

Happy New Year! May 2013 bring you happiness and adventure!

Weekend Junk Finds: It's a Wonderful Life Houses

Today's junk finds were actually bought on a weekend back in 2011, right before Christmas, but I never posted them then. I literally bought them on Christmas Eve last year, which was a Saturday. So technically they are Weekend Junk Finds, just not from a recent weekend.

Literally two days before I had read about the It's a Wonderful Life village houses on one of my favorite blogs, 320 Sycamore. Because it was Christmas Eve, all of the Christmas stuff at the thrift store was 50% off.  I first noticed one house, and then another. And then even though I'd already walked through all of the Christmas aisles, I headed down them again and found three more houses!

Then I packed them away in my crazy vintage Christmas closet (remind me to show you that mess sometime) until this year. I had hoped to get them listed on eBay before Thanksgiving but that didn't happen. I didn't get them listed until December 2.

 This morning when I woke up I got the notification that the last one sold! Woo-hoo!!

Just wanted to let you know so that while you're trolling the thrifts this year in search of vintage Christmas goodies--keep an eye out for these! They're not really the style I'm looking for and I don't have room in my house for a village, so I've probably walked right by them in the past. It was only Melissa's post that clued me in and you can bet I'll be on the lookout for them in the future!

I've linked up with the Nifty Thrifty at A Living Space and Apron Thrift Girl's Thrift Share Monday.