Last week I did a small amount of thrifting and spent very little but was very happy to find some things I had been specifically looking for.
I have a friend from church with two lovely little boys and my boyfriend and I had wanted to thank the family for help with something recently so we've been on the lookout for a toy and a book for their 2 year old that the infant can enjoy when he is the right age.
There is a small independent thrift store in town that I hadn't been to in about a year so we stopped in last week and discovered that two days a week everything is 60% off and we were there on the exact right day!
Everything in this picture was $0.98! The Brown Bear book and the Fisher Price Corn Popper were bought for our friend's son and he loves his "pop pop" toy. They cost a total of $0.25 because you get a free toy with each purchase. We will definitely be going to this thrift store more often.
This Bear Scouts book was only $0.25 and begs to become a spiral notebook. There are some really great illustrations inside including Father running from alligators. (I love alligators).
This little made in Japan Christmas Pixie had a friend who was broken beyond repair, which was disappointing, but this one was only $0.40 and I brought him home for Mom.
Later in the week my mother spotted a Strawberry Shortcake lunchbox in the photos of an estate sale and called my boyfriend to see if he would want to go look for it as a surprise for me. (You can read about my Strawberry Shortcake Dollhouse
here) He blew the surprise with good intentions and we went together to find it. The lunchbox was gone but I did get some treasures.
Each item in this photo was only $0.50 totalling a big $2.50.
The pastry blender and cupcake papers are just because they're useful while the measuring spoons and strange brown and orange thing are for a swap I'm involved in on Ravelry.
These little beauties are wine charms that will eventually become stitch markers or adorn a charm bracelet, whichever I need wine-themed charms for first.
This "strange orange and brown thing" is a handle-less Terra Pyrex mug. Terra is an uncommon pattern of Pyrex, produced in a matte finish. It is a chocolate brown with concentric circles of burnt orange throughout. These handle-less mugs are 13 oz and Terra is the only pattern they were produced in. Several years ago I found one of these at a Goodwill in the next city over. I was overjoyed to find it at this sale as my swap partner's favorite color is orange! The large size makes for a great pen holder if she doesn't want to use it as a mug.
The next sale was a blessing to find! My mother found an estate sale listed online with photos of HORIZON BLUE PYREX BOWLS. I have been looking for Horizon Blue Pyrex for several months as a
wedding present for a friend. The shade of blue it comes in is very
close to her wedding colors and she only learned this year that Pyrex
ever came in colors!
The last time I found Horizon Blue in the
wilds was November 2011 and I passed up a small casserole thinking I
would easily find one at a lower price. Boy was I wrong!
My church has an annual regional convention (4 churches in the area meet at my church for sermons and to discuss upcoming camps and other events in the greater church organization) and this year's convention fell on Saturday. I went an hour ahead of the sale and was the first person in line. I was late to church by about 20 minutes but it was worth it since I only missed the greetings!
My usual price for a 4 bowl set is $20 so when I found only the two smallest bowls for $10 I grabbed them. Even without the larger bowls I think they make a lovely gift. The heart shaped jello molds came along for the ride at $2.00 for 8 of them.
Isn't Horizon Blue just such a lovely pattern? It's a shame that
Horizon Blue and it's sister pattern Friendship are so hard to find.
Here's a picture of a set of Friendship cinderella bowls courtesy of the internet. If I could find it more easily and inexpensively I think Friendship would be MY pattern.
My father came to the same sale, was in line a few people behind me, and went home with a few small things, all for $2.00. The two paper fans are from Taiwan. I lost the cord to Mom's 70's slow cooker a couple of weeks ago, so Dad found a replacement. (Ssshh... don't tell him I found the cord a few days ago. He's a hero.) Not pictured is a large vintage Farberware skillet for my mother. She is so tired of teflon!
