Thrift Share Sunday

Some of you may have seen my thrift finds from the challenge I undertook on Friday. It was inspired by the hit song 'Thrift Shop" (Macklemore and Ryan Lewis) and it was helluva fun to thrift with only $20 in my pocket! Check out the blog Young House Love for other participants. many had never (ever!) thrift shopped before! I especially love the one where the person found a shirt they loved, but wanted to wash it 15X before wearing. me? I've been known to thrift the perfect dress and wear it the same day! I do wash most thrifted items first, but if I'm really excited to wear something, I've been known to trust the old olfactory system. I guess I always think people could have tried on the clothes at the store just the same. Not that I'm judging; I guess I'm just a complete opposite of 'germ-a-phobe" frame-of-mind and find it funny! Well, I am a biologist. I guess that may have something to do with it. I know germs out number us no matter how often we wash something. Nevertheless, the challenge inspired a new crop to thrift. Hmm, I am on the fence on whether that is good or bad (my greedy side says, "Bad...")

Of course, the challenge items have not been my only thrift finds in the last couple of weeks. I thought I would purge the rest of the photos and show you the rest of my cool treasures. Most of these came from West Virginia; a few from Louisville thrifts.

I cannot resist animal planters. I've been collecting them for going on 20 years and someday I hope to thrift one of those vintage wooden half circle plant stands. I will fill that baby up with a zoo! I also snagged a great 3M racing game (Derby ready!), and a toy camera that apparently was a promotional hand-out for a Bratz movie. Check out the last photo for why I picked it up for 50c. I like to play around with these plastic cameras and this one should take really great awful photos!

 

 Deer, horse, fawns

 

blue bird, bulldog

3M Game (perfect for a Louisville residence) and a working toy camera

Sorry for the blur-just showing the used roll of film in the camera. I cannot wait to get it developed. I also found that kitty you see in the lower right. I bought her for the Etsy shop, but notice a tiny chip on one ear (I swear I checked at the store), so she is keeping my plants company for now.

Linking it up with these fun thrift share parties: Thriftasaurus, A Living Space, Apron Thrift Girl, Magpie Monday.

Thrift Share: Pick and Choose

Even though I have been slack to participate with y'all, I have not stopped thrifting. I found a few wonderful things in Alabama, Kentucky and West Virginia just in the past month! I will try to sneak in some of the other finds in the next week. I'll start with the most recent scores...
I am starting with one of the ties for favorites this month: A tourist plate featuring the Mermaids of Weeki Wachee! I have been collecting state and tourist plates for years and I have had to curtail my purchases (and weed out the collection), but this one is one of the best ones I have ever found. I paid 75c for it! I wish I had turned the flash off before I snapped the picture.

This is the other tie for favorite. I've seen this style of lamp in antique stores before and admired it greatly; however, being the thrift junky that I am, I could not justify the large price tag. This one I found yesterday at a yard sale for $3.

Here is another lamp found recently (I wish I could remember where...KY probably). I didn't find it in time for Easter.

A plethora of dolls bought at the same YS as the Gazelle lamp. I really avoid dolls, but these guys were in a Ziplock for a dollar. Unfortunately, I was trying to get the smudge off of the wooden doll with my fingernail and accidentally scratched her pretty red lips right off! :(


I love this sugar and cream set. I love the tulips! They were marked $1.45 each and they came all the way from Ireland to West Virginia

Thrift Share: It's been a long, long time

I haven't posted about this because it really is like an addict's dream/nightmare: a few months ago a new vintage flea market opened up literally across the street from my apartment in Louisville. Now, I really have done well resisting it's blessed siren call (and even a garage full of cheap, rough items!), but today I was walking by and thought, "Why not, I can't hear...I can at least look at some lovely vintage crap!"

Oh my...this place is much, much worse than I thought. Cheap. Full to the brim. Wonderful selection. Damn.


I made it through roughly 1/10th before I took my finds and high-tailed it out of there. Way too dangerous. I ended up with a great coffee table (needs a bit of TLC and will share it later), a figurine, 2 bird pictures, and a "Jar of Junk" for less than $30 (and the table was most of that, believe me).


Now did I actually need a "Jar of Junk"? Um, no...but Oh MY Goodness, look at that little china beagle!

November Lights

(Holland Mold Tiger Bank, Jie Gantofta Sweden Baby, Strawberry Shortcake picnic basket, Danish vase/candle holder, Italian scarf)

It seems like it has been cloudy on any day I have some minutes to spare and attempt to photograph. My house is so dark and shadowy (something I never noticed until I tried photographing objects!) I had a busy last week at work, so I didn't get much done as far as blogging or Etsy goes. I really hope we have a few sunny days this week. For now, I am going to blame the lighting on my awful photos and procrastination! ;)

Above are a few recent finds (with the exception of the Jie Gantofta Sleeping Baby which I found months ago in West Virginia). I plan to add all of it to the shop this week (hopefully, this weekend. By the way, I know I've seen the weird man-figure candle/flower holders on the blogs before (Ole Christensen Keramik Danmark), but I am hard pressed to remember where. Any one know the era of the guy?

And, speaking of W. VA., above is my favorite find: a tiny W. VA button! I found it in a box of odds and ends jewelry at a Louisville thrift store. It costs me .25c which is probably high for just one button; however, I absolutely love it! I wish I had found a few more. The cashier was pricing the other odd earrings and such I had isolated (to upcycle into necklaces) and saw the button. She said, "You want this...?" (I think she was going to throw it away).

I've actually been staying away from thrift and flea markets of late. I already posted my whiny post about my housing issues and every extra dollar is going towards that at the moment. It would kill me to stay out completely, though, so I have set myself a very strict budget. Fortunately, twenty-five cent buttons fit the bill!

Weekly Thrift Feed: 9 October 2011

(Libra bank found in Alabama-so meant to be!)

Well, another year came and went for me on the 5th. I had a fabulous night: a Louisville friend took me to a restaurant 16 stories above the city and we watched a sunset from the terrace. Everywhere, I could see the explosion of crimson, yellow and burgundy of trees. Louisville is such a gorgeous city!

I splurged and bought myself this cross-stitch deer and fawn. I love them and it is huge (3' x 2') and framed in a great vintage frame. My photograph does not do it justice at all (I will post again once I get it up on a wall). It is signed Geo. Gahn and, I suppose, Geo. could be Georgina or Georgia, but I like to think it is actually George (note to self: Google later). It was an expensive purchase from one of those fabulous KY flea markets. Yeah, it set me back $11. :) I bought another item the same day, but I am saving it for WTF?! Tuesday.

(Temp gauge, wooden Cuban cigar box and a weird metal horse)

I found this cool Honeywell temp gauge for a buck. This was a new to me thrift store in Louisville and it is one of those really junky ones. The employees were so sweet and one of them told me a great story about how her adult son has a way with animals and sends her messages to tell her he's thinking about her via a flock of birds or some other creature. It was a fun day!

(Cute Charlotte Becker lithograph print)

(MiJ collie wall art, ceramic bird, and chemistry ring on top of a red chipped folding chair)

All of the above I snagged at a flea market. everything was less than $2 each (the bird and chemistry ring were around $1). The chairs I bought at an estate sale. I bought three for $10. I love how they look all chippy (despise that word) and old. The (cute) guy who helped me carry them to my car was saying over and over how much he loved the chairs.

Well, that's it for Flea Market Finds and Thrift Share this week. Check out the other wonderful discoveries out there this week! Thanks for all your comments last week!

Thrift Share: $1 Bag Sale

"Elf, Glamor Elf, Jolly Snowman, and a Wooden Santa walk into a bar..."

I mentioned on Sunday that by happenstance, the boys and I wandered into a Salvation Army $1 a bag clean-up sale (cleaning up the old building they moved out of recently). I thought I would share a little more that made it into the bag. The elf on the left has a present for a body and is a 'Made in Japan" sort of elf (my favorite kind!)

Santa Face!

We had a bunch of these when I was a punk in the '70's. Not the cool type punk (that was retro 80's), but the brat type (I'm not that old, although the dreaded 1-step from 40 is tomorrow. I still feel, hmm, 33-I've raised it a bit from last year). My youngest (4) spotted this classic and said, "Can we get the noodle face Santa?"

(Alabama score!)

OK, this was one of those things where I looked at the box a couple of times before the second thrift spider sense kicked in and said, "Gina, open the box..." Ninety-nine cents later Box was mine!

Yep, a complete Trout Fly Tying kit! Everything, including feathers of all sorts, is included and never used. Did I hear you ask if I fly fish? Um, no, but like a lot of your super thrift sellers, I would love to have a booth at one of the fabulous KY junk malls and I think this would be a super seller!

Thanks for looking! Check out other wonderful scores over at Apron Thrift Girl (and a bit of a shout out at the Extreme Thrifter who hit Louisville this past weekend-apparently I need to stay in KY on the weekends a bit more!) Oh, and one more shout out to all the followers and commentors I have here at the blog. You all mean so much to me!

WTF?! Tuesdays: Weepy the Wee Wee

Oh, do I have a good one for WTF?! Tuesdays this week! Meet Weepy the Wee Wee (ah, the alliteration of it all!) I love the impish boy's smile as his sweet pee pee toy sprays all over you in line at the Krogers. Keep him occupied while you pay your debts at the bank. Thank the makers of Weepy for steppin' up the family fun on holidays.

I left the GW price sticker on it because I know you are going to ask why I didn't snatch Weepy right off the shelf. Yes, that would be $5 and some change. I call this the Expensive GW in Louisville (the one on E. Shelbyville for you locals) and I only stop in now and then to drool over great things for horrible prices.

I have made it a new challenge to look for the kooky items while thrifting for this fabulous linky party at Sir Thrift A Lot. It keeps the hoarding to a minimum.

The Time that Wasn't

(Lovely Mary)

It's half over...September that is and summer 2011? Yes, just a memory now. I am still struggling with a very busy work schedule and (more) travel. This time I am heading to Alabama for training. More than likely, sadly, thrifting will not be an option due to time.

Rest assured, however, I have been thrifting. I have so, so many great things I have found and wanted to share with you all, but I just keep missing the linky parties. I am especially excited to participate in Sir Thrift-a-lot's new WTF! Tuesdays party. I actually went to a GW after work this week in hopes I could snap a photo, but I could not find anything weird and/or scary enough to share (if I hadn't been looking I'm sure I would have spotted plenty of scary clowns and creepy dolls!)

Something non-scary ( beautiful actually) I found recently at a flea market in KY is the lovely made-in-Italy Mary. I love her and she fits in perfectly with the gaggle of other Mary's I have collected over the years. The flea markets in Kentucky are fantastic. The selection is great and nearly every little town or city has one. And, the prices are better than the KY thrift stores and even yard sales. It feels a little like cheating because I always know I'll find some yummy vintage tidbit when I visit one. If you find yourself lost in KY, check the flea markets out before the thrift stores-you won't be disappointed!

Lots more fabulous finds at Her Library Adventures.

Cuckoo, cuckoo

Oh, how I have wanted a cuckoo clock for so long! I pined for them on Ebay, looked at newer ones at department stores, looked for years at the thrifts. Finally, my day time has come! I found this large, Made in West Germany beauty a couple of weeks ago at a Louisville thrift. I am taking it to a clock repair shop to help me set it up, but it is all there and in wonderful shape. Cost: $10!

Over the Pity Hill

I apologize for my horrrible photography skills. I cannot figure out how to turn off the flash and my apartment is basically a "living" tomb when it comes to light. Anyway, I thought I would share a few more of my finds from the past few weeks. I acquired them from various places like thrift shop, flea market or yard sales.

Feeling better now...I am over my pity party.

A granny purse! It has been so long since I found one. The print will go on the wall of bird prints (soon).
Religionalia (to use Kylie's word) I love, lotus rice bowls, a bowl marked USA, and the cute milkglass goblets (6).


I found this near Owensboro, KY. I love it. I hung it up in my apartment kitchen.

Gorgeous teak salad and serving bowls shown here. Now I need to purge a set (I think this one is the third set!) I think this one is the keeper.

I immediately loved the print on these plates. I only found two, plus two saucers. Why o why do thrift stores lose the rest of the set? Are they broken, scattered among the chains, bought?


Vera! Mikasa!


Oh, look! Darrell found Sadie the mule for his little cabin homestead.



Bottom of the bowl I showed yesterday. I love the shape and color.

Last, I broke my "no S & P sets" rule. These seemed pretty unique.

Pteromys volucella

(Once again, I apologize for the horrible photographs!)

Sometimes thrifting makes me sad, but then I am a sucker for the underdog, the forgotten, the abused, discarded and the sentimental.

A few examples:

*My obsession with old religious ceremony certificates (I just cannot fathom how a family could dispose of them!)

*Animals hanging out near or in the road. My mom has a giant, fluffy grey cat I rescued from a Very Busy interstate. I saw this little fluff near the median barrier and thought, "Did I just see a kitten?" I left the highway at the next exit, drove the opposite way to the exit on that side, drove back to where I thought I had seen the fluff, parked on the side of the highway (with my emergency blinkers on, of course!) and quickly dodged semi traffic to find a (fortunately) unscathed 6-7 week old kitten. I grabbed it, re-dodged traffic and he has now been living with my mom for about 5 years. I also have a soft spot for turtles (and saw two box turtles today!)

*Even before the current trends, knitted or crocheted blankets. I have several, plus handmade quilts and I use them.

*Books with hand-written notes from the giver to the recipient. It's hard to hold on to everything, but I do wonder why some things get donated to thrift stores.

And this brings me to my case-in-point. Today I was late getting back to the office and knew traffic would be a bear. I decided to stop at a (slightly claustrophobic) GW near the entrance to the express way and kill time enough to allow the first flush of traffic to flow through the city. I looked through the book bins (50c a book) and then went inside. Almost immediately I spotted a framed Audubon print with flying squirrels. I love nature and had seen something similar at a flea market recently. I picked it up and noted it was $5. Hmmm, a bit salty for something I don't really need...

A side note, isn't it funny how $5-10 can seem expensive at a thrift or yard sale, yet I know with shipping I pay more than this for items on Ebay. I also shell out at least this for a decent lunch. Actually, even fast food is at least $5 for a meal. And, don't even get me started on my coffee addiction!

OK, where was I? Oh, so I put it back, but then I picked it up again. I turned it over and noted an inscription:

To my granddaughter Hannah Sarfield from her grandfather Taylor Hay (and his
wife Joanne) on Christmas 2000. This hung at the Scotland Farm. With Love, Pa
Taylor Hay

Awww! Now by the time I came along to my older parents (I was one of a younger group of children born when they were in their 30's and 40's), my grandparents were almost all dead. The only living one, my paternal grandfather, was a stranger to me since I only can remember seeing him maybe two times. Once he gave me a ball point pen with the name of a lumber mill in Pikeville, KY. He said, 'I hear you are good in school..." Then he walked over to a gorgeous armoire and fished around until he found the pen. Nothing special, but I still have the pen! We also called him "Pa" (I think it is a Southern thing).

So, as I was looking at the flying squirrels print (which I also thought was pretty neat), I wondered why Hannah gave it to GW. Did she have lots of things Pa Hay gave her and it was to a point she just had way too much? Did she have bitter memories of him? Maybe he passed on and the memory hurts. Maybe (gasp!) she just thought the print was junk!!!

This particular GW is in the wealthy county in KY. I find many, many high end brand name clothing there, modern knick knacks and current books. I rarely find vintage things let along lithograph prints from the late 1800's. I decided to buy the print. I really like it and wondered if it really came from Scotland (I have Scottish ancestory).

I Googled "Taylor Hay" when I got home and found this interview. Amazing what one can learn from a discarded object and the Internet.

Taylor Hay (and, thus Hannah) are descendants of one of the original Buffalo Trace distillery founders (then call Old Taylor Brand Whisky)! Scotland Farm is the original Kentucky homestead bought by Colonel E. H. Taylor when he began the distillery. If you have time to kill, listen to Pa Hay tell the story of his grandfather. It is sad that Hannah didn't treasure this gift from her own grandfather (the Colonel's namesake) who, along with his wife JoAnne, are obviously very interested in history (so this gift would have been from both his heart and mind). Perhaps he usually just gave the family Bourbon & money and was disowned by Hannah when all she received in 2000 was some old squirrel picture.

Well, whatever the story, I love it and will hang it up with pride. The odd thing is my own maternal great-great grandmother was a Hay, but, as far as I know, I don't believe she came from KY (and she was Native American and not Scottish). No matter, I'll just pretend (like I do with the religious certificates) that I am related to the Buffalo Trace Bourbon folks! Hey, Pa, thanks for the history lesson and the wonderful keepsake from Scottland Farm! :)

Thrift Share Monday: Leftovers

Despite not being terribly religious*, I *heart* Religionalia, especially if it is from 1920's-1950's era. I am partial to the Catholic items (long before I had a Catholic husband and now sons) because of the fact that women were more prominently represented, motherhood is honored, and they tend to be a little more on the kitschy side of things (my absolute favorite side of thrifty things). Take this little nun, for example, found slightly broken and repaired at the yard sale I've already told you about (hey, she is right at home among my shattered and reglued ceramics!) I love her and she will fit in with the collection soon to be housed on the wall with my vintage/antique religious certificates.
Look more Religionalia! A Mary planter found for 60c at the thrift with 50% off I visited last week. Her middle finger is missing, but we love her all the same. She can still give us the ol' bird with the other hand should she find it necessary. She is sequestered inside another cacti cache pot (as a book I recently checked from the library explained that planters without holes are called). And, because it fit behind her, a milk glass (hobnail) wall pocket is also showcased for your viewing pleasure.

Two keeper state plates from the box lot bought at the yard sale. Kentucky (of course) with a fabulous pastel rainbow effect (Made in Japan) and Brown County, Indiana. I also threw in two pins I bought at the 50% off sale in the photo. One says Flint Creek (25c) and the other a silver butterfly. They are sitting on another recent find (from a couple of weeks ago), a gorgeous maple wall shelf. The wall shelf, the nun and Mary, and other collected religious artifacts will soon be a vignette on my wall. Stay tuned for photos (maybe even this weekend if they would quit being so darn short).


And, because they were sweet and cheap, I grabbed these pastel kissing Dutch children the same day I found the shelf (at a KY flea market). I can only say, it is definitely a Small World in my kitschy universe.

Linkin' it up with the usual thrift parties: Apron Thrift Girl and Her Library Adventures.

Oh, and reason for crappy photos tonight? Yep, you guessed it: more rain in Louisville!

*Not to be confused with spiritual! ;)

Thrift Share Monday: My Own Barn

I already shared with you my fabulous owl lamp find (I love it! I do have to ask, though, how come so many lamps in thrift stores are missing the shade?), so I am going to show you some of my (mostly) Indiana discoveries this week. Well, except for this shelf and stack of books. It is hard to see (with my great photography skills), but the books are A Series of Unfortunate Events. I originally found 13 in the series for 50c at GW. I thought it might take some time, but I thought it would be great to find the entire series for my eldest boy (and even the other one later on). Well, a couple of weeks later, at a Louisville flea market, I found 1-9 for $2 each (perfect condition!) Now I only need the remaining 3 to call it a set!

I also found the cool handmade shelf. I love the rough little swallows, but not so much the rough cocks on either end (not pictured). Nevertheless, I love it and it is big. I need display space and am trying to decide whether to paint the shelf or not.

OK, back to Indiana...I found the Doc Martin sandals and Born shoes at a thrift store for $2 each pair. I actually have a black pair of Born shoes identical to these red ones (also thrifted), but I paid more for them. Not pictured, I also picked up 2 Made in Japan planters (a white Victorian girl and Swan for the bathroom collection).

The best finds this week (besides my cool owl lamp) came from my own barn. As I was reminded by Hubby Dear (when I mentioned yard sale season would commence soon in No. IN) to keep purchases to a minimum (i.e."It has to fit in the Pod"), I did not do too much weekend thrifting. I also started going through the boxes-o-crap I still have stored away. Most of it is auction lot stuff, stuff I have thrifted through the years, plus a bunch of boxes of vintage fabric a neighbor's daughter gave me after her mother died. I took most of it in and found some great vintage pieces (tablecloths, quilt squares, dresses, fabric, curtains). Down in one of the boxes, under the folded linens, I found a tin. Look what was inside!

All in all there are about 20 squares with about half finished, some started and others untouched. Unfortunately, this particular box of stuff was stored in her garage for years and then was put in my barn because of the smell. I washed most of the fabrics, but didn't open this tin until later in the day (I also found another full of old buttons). I need to gently clean them with something to remove musty odor (I can tolerate "old smell" really well, but these are beyond tolerable; however, their cuteness factor makes them so worth saving). I hope to make the quilt she apparently had planned!

I will tell you an eerie story about this particular neighbor. She was fairly healthy for her age (late 80's/early 90's). After she died, I helped the daughter clean up the house (this was partly why she gave me the box of fabrics. She had planned to toss them, but I expressed interest so this was my "payment"). On her wall, LH kept a calendar. She would write in her doctor's appointments or other outings. On the day she died, in her scratchy penmanship, she had written: "Stay Home". This was the only day she gave herself this particular appointment.

Every Monday, check out the rest of Thrift Show & Tell at the fabulous hostess' blog: Apron Thrift Girl.

For an Australian adventure in Thrift Show & Tell: visit Her Library Adventures.

A Good Story with a Junky Ending

So, one of the first people I met when I moved down to KY was the wonderful woman in the office next to me. We work for the same agency, different programs. She helped me tremendously with getting acquainted with other KY colleagues and learning some of the job. She is a wealth of experience and interesting stories. We even share similar ideologies!

Imagine my surprise when I mentioned I loved thrifting and I found out her and her husband (also a retired colleague in the same agency) are avid collectors, thrifters and auction attendees. We even have similar favorites as far as what we like to collect (I love the 30's/40's era). She could roll off maker's marks like nothing!

Well, the other day we were discussing spice racks for whatever reason and she mentioned she has a favorite one that is missing one piece. She has looked constantly for the missing piece, but has not been able to find it. She described it to me and the piece suddenly jumped into my head as if she had the rack in front of me (she did not). She ended up taking a picture of it and as soon as I saw it I recognized it. See, years and years ago I thrifted this one spice canister: Cloves. I have no recollection of when or where I found it, but I have carried it around with me for years. I thought it might even be in my China cabinet back in IN.

I was right. It is her missing piece!! What are the odds that two people would find complimentary vintage spice elements so far apart? How odd that the very one she is missing is the one I have? I wrapped it up and I cannot wait to gift her with it on Monday (thank goodness Gov did not shutdown!!)
I also want to share my fabulous find. It is the owl lamp I have admired in my favorite pub! I need to find a shade and I am debating painting it a solid color (except those freaky eyes), but I was so excited to spot it at a St. Vinnie's in KY. And, I saved the best for last! Here is the GORGEOUS Pyrex casserole dish I won from Brittany at My (Un)Intentional Life. Thank you so much! This pattern (along with Gooseberry) has always been my favorite and I have never found any of this one! I will treasure it!