Thrifting finds for June and July

Thrifting in the months of June and July didn't yield a lot of terribly notable finds but there were some gems.  Neighborhood garage sales are not usually our thing, but there is one neighborhood in town where you can find really nice things.  It is the fancy neighborhood overlooking the lake and is filled with million dollar homes, owned by people who understand garage sale pricing.  

I hiked all over the hills of that neighborhood, and was rewarded with this Le Creuset dutch oven.  

Isn't it beautiful?  I have been looking for an enamel pan for baking bread, but I never would have dreamed I could find a Le Creuset in my favorite colorway and at my price.

I was shocked to see that the price was only $2, and when I double-checked with the owner, she said it was because of the tiny chips to the interior of the pan.  As I will be baking bread wrapped in parchment, they won't matter at all.  When I brought it home and showed it to Mom, she asked me how much I paid, and I held up 2 fingers.  "Only $20?  What a steal!"  For those of you who don't know, a brand new equivalent to this pan retails for $300-$400.  Vintage pans usually run $50 to $150 depending on color and condition.

 

I found some interesting vintage booklets at the same sale (20c each).

I was especially pleased to find the owners manual to our 1957 pink Sunbeam MIXMASTER.



Inside the back cover are some very useful instructions for oiling the machine, as well as a chart showing that the mixing bowls were not only made in pink, they were also available in yellow and turquoise.  Wouldn't that be a nice thing to stumble upon at an estate sale - a 1957 Sunbeam turquoise mixing bowl!



I picked up a manual for the 1948 model, too.  Approximately 2 years after I found the pink 1957 12 speed, Mom found a white 10 speed model.  It looks identical to the 1948 one, and we suspect it was made a few years later.  It was interesting to see how things were different 9 years earlier, even though that's apparently the same old cake on the same old plate.  "Jackie, what the he**!?"  Doesn't everyone else love "That '70s Show" as much as we do?

In 1948, a MIXMASTER had 9 speeds, 3 fewer than ours,



and there were 13 attachments available, from butter churn to potato peeler.  All there was for ours is a food grinder.  I guess by 1957, people were buying stand alone appliances to do things.  Some of those attachments looked pretty cool.  I would love to have the high-speed drink mixer attachment

I thought this booklet was pretty cool.  It was distributed by the portable appliances department of General Electric in 1963 and encouraged people to "make the most of your electrical servants."

I would love to make the most of my electrical servants.  When is G.E. releasing their design for the robot butler?  The booklet included menu planning, recipes, party themes, buffet table set-ups, and even how to have two parties in one day.

I have never been a fan of Corning ware, preferring Pyrex, but when I saw this at Goodwill, I couldn't resist it.

It is a 1960 Corning 2.5 qt saucepan with handle, fin lid, and cradle in excellent condition.  I especially love the fin lid.  I paid $8.00 for it - an enormous sum for a tightwad such as me.

The candle warmer looks like it has never been used.

I also picked up this cheese dome decorated with piano keys for $2 because it seemed unusual.  I guess I was right, because when I searched the internet for it, I found absolutely nothing.

I also made a few trips to the Goodwill Outlet.  

I bought some useful boring things like clothes and jelly jars, but I also found a few treasures.

2 small enamel saucepans, 95c each.  I love the golden yellow one.  These will be used for a "camping" themed birthday party for the son of a friend of mine.

2 pink aluminum jello molds, 30c each.  I really like the pinwheel.

This is a picture from ebay.  I found a Fisher-Price Roly Poly chime ball just like this ($1.32) and gave it to a friend for her new baby before I could take a picture.  Mine was just as yellowed as this one, and had many scuff marks, but it cleaned up nicely with some help from Bar Keeper's Friend. 

 I love Roly Poly balls.  They are practically indestructible.  This one is 50 years old.

I picked up this book thinking I could cut it up and make a cute notebook, 

 but as soon as I opened it I knew better.

 

 It is full of beautiful illustrations of children from all over the world.

 

 

 

 Doesn't she look like a Spanish version of Snow White?

The illustrations accompany stories of life in various countries.

This book was printed in 1937, and so tells of a world very different than that of today.

I was not surprised to see that it is a Platt and Munk book, as they are known for their charming illustrations and I am a big fan.

This is my favorite illustration,

Kala and his father surfing with Diamond Head in the background.

Look, they all got together for an ocean cruise.
An improbable but charming illustration for the facing pages.
I happily paid the $2 asking price.

So those are my finds for June and July.  Which one do you think is the best?

I'm linking up to these parties.  Please stop by and join the fun:

Show and Share
Roses of Inspiration

Vintage Bliss Tuesdays
Treasure Hunt Thursday

Estate Sale Finds

I haven't been to many sales lately, but the Saturday before Christmas I went to three estate sales, so I have a few things I've been waiting to share.

I went to the first sale because they posted pictures online and I spied a gooseberry pink Pyrex casserole, and a 7 ft aluminum Christmas tree. I figured I'd never get the tree, but this was a chance to see one up close. It did not disappoint. It was absolutely gorgeous, and I'm sorry I didn't take a picture. The lady running the sale said it was the first item sold and it went for $135.00. I didn't get the Pyrex either. It didn't look like I was going to find much of anything until I saw this 78 record.

You see, back in November, Sherrie at A Conversation at Goodwill had a giveaway and one of the things she gave away was this piece of vintage sheet music from the forties.

I had looked up the lyrics online, and they are so bizarrely offensive to big women, it's amazing they got away with singing it. They'd never get away with anything like it today. So of course, when I saw the record, I had to buy it. I also got a pair of cake cooling racks and a blue glass canning jar.

At the 2nd sale, I found a cake decorating booklet, and this basket; 30c each.

This is what's stamped on the bottom.

233N is a 3 Qt rectangular baking dish.

(picture courtesy of ebay)
It's a bit shorter than my Butterfly Gold lasagna pan, but because the wicker is somewhat flexible, it works with the lasagna pan.

At the last sale, I found these ice cube trays

for my vintage refrigerator,

and this cool Pyrex carafe (that I showed you last week). Too bad it's lid is missing.

And I found

the reamer and juice bowl

for my Sunbeam mixmaster. Now I can make lemonade.

Then I was very excited to see this box.

And when I looked inside, I found

the meat grinder and food chopper attachment as well as

the power transfer unit that is sold separately. The power transfer unit hooks in where the beater goes and then the grinder attaches to it. Both are needed for it to work, so I was really happy to see it. I paid $10 for both of them. After I got it home, I discovered that there is a left-handed wing nut missing. It's not needed to grind meat, though, and that's what I wanted the grinder for. My Dad thinks he can find a nut that will work.

I also discovered that the black thing stuck in the tube of the grinder did not belong to it.

It was a corked lid to something. You don't suppose it might belong to the Pyrex carafe do you?

Why, yes it does! Imagine that.

They also had two sets of Sunbeam mixmaster beaters for $2.00 each, but they didn't match my mixer, so I didn't buy them. I regret that now. I have since seen two vintage mixmasters at Goodwill priced really low because they were missing their bowls and beaters. New beaters are available online, but they cost at least $15. So from now on, I'll buy Sunbeam beaters when I can get them cheap.

The only thing they didn't have at that sale was a Sunbeam mixmaster.
They had a Hamilton Beach one.

I also found two boxes of magicubes which I hope fit my thrifted Polaroid, and
a 1960 S&H Green Stamps "Distinguished Merchandise Ideabook,"

otherwise known as a catalog. I'll show scans of the inside in a later post.

Until then, here's a peek at how they displayed the linens.
Click on the picture to enlarge it.


This 1.5 Qt bowl didn't come from a sale but from a trip to the bins a few days later. It cost 75c and I bought it so that I could have two sets of bowls for my mixmaster. I can now mix frosting in multiple colors effectively and decorate cakes more efficiently.

Looking back at what I bought, most of it goes with something previously thrifted. I found parts for my mixmaster, a carrier for my Pyrex, a cake decorating book for my cake plate, ice cube trays for my fridge, etc. Funny how that works, isn't it?

I am linking this post to:
Thrifty Thursdays @ Bloggeritaville
Junkin' Finds Friday @ A La Carte

Come join the parties

The Year in Thrifting

Here are my favorite thrift and estate sale finds of 2010 in no particular order:

Rhinestone Necklace for myself.

I finally found a good one at an estate sale rather than an antique store.

Our mid century coffee table for $1.00

\So much Pretty Pyrex!!!

This was the first year I really started to collect it and I have gotten so much I can hardly believe it.

Assorted mid-century specialty cookbooks.

Various assorted books from the '50s and '60s on "better living" through home improvement
and craft instructions.

Tons of adorable baby planters and the vintage quilt in the picture.

Vintage Shiny Brite ornaments, specifically two with flocked lettering and images on them.

Remington Quiet-Riter and a Eureka typewriter ribbon (in the cutest little tin ever).

Vintage Hotpoint refrigerator.

Old slides, a projector, slide viewers, and even a screen to view them all on.

My vintage pink Sunbeam Mixmaster ca. 1957.

It's been a wonderful year of thrifting and brought me many useful and fun things. How's your year in thrifting been? What are some of your favorite finds?

I'm linking this post to:

Thrifty Thursdays@Bloggeritaville
Junkin' Finds Friday@A La Carte

Join the parties and see what others have found.