Peacocks and Dragons

Today I am sharing more estate sale finds from last year. 

These are from an estate sale Mom and Dad went to last fall.  Once again I was working.  The sale was just a few streets over from our house.  When they got there, people were lined up down the block.  Apparently the lady of the house was an avid doll collector and there were hundreds of dolls.  They almost gave up and went home, but then figured that if everybody else was there for the dolls, maybe there would be less competition for the things they liked.

They waited in line for about 25 minutes and this is what they took home.  Not a lot, just mostly useful stuff: bamboo skewers, glue sticks, plate holders, frames, etc.  They found a couple of jello molds.  Because I don't have enough, right?  I actually gave the smaller mold away to my friend for her kids to use at the beach.  You can make some pretty cool sand castles using jello molds.

 

They found another Wil-hold sewing box, this time in gold, with it's tray,

and plenty of room for thread.

They also found my thread holder of choice.  It's a vintage Tupperware bacon keeper.

I have 4 or 5 of them.  They stack and they travel well. 

They won't open up or spill easily, and all the colors are on display and easy to find.  If you sew or know someone who does, I highly recommend buying these when you see them.  This one was 75c (empty, of course - spools added later).

The doll collection was so big that they ran another sale the following week.  Mom decided to avoid the crowd and go on the last day of the sale.  She found a few things that other people missed.

 I love this nifty little gadget.  It's a Grabbit magnetic pin well.  I'm sure most of you have seen magnetic pin wells before, as DIY versions are all over the internet, but they had escaped my notice until Mom found this one. 

 

 Mom knows how much I love tins AND peacocks, so she couldn't leave this tea tin behind.  Isn't it gorgeous?  My picture just doesn't do it justice. 

Mom was very happy to find this colorful Chinese Checkers game.  Chinese checkers was a favorite of hers when she was very little.  This large tin was made by the Ohio Art Co. sometime in the 1960s.  I just love the fire-breathing dragons.  On the backside is a checkers board.  The playing pieces are supposed to be stored inside the tin.  Unfortunately, the tin is extremely difficult to open, which must have been frustrating for anyone wanting to play.  Perhaps that explains why it is in such great condition.  The marbles are missing, but it will still look great hanging on the wall.

By the way, Chinese Checkers is neither Chinese nor checkers.  The game was invented in Germany as Stern-Halma.  When it was published in the United States by J. Pressman & Co, they thought that associating it with the familiar game of checkers and giving it an exotic Chinese theme would make the new game more marketable. 

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

Vintage Bliss Tuesdays

Let's Talk Vintage

Share Your Cup Thursday

Vintage Charm

A Thrifty Start to August

August was a great month for Estate Sales.   There were several to choose from each week, and Mom and I were able to find quite a bit of useful and interesting stuff.  We went to the first sale of the month on Sunday when everything was 50% off.  Mom picked up some everyday stuff like measuring spoons and Tupperware for next to nothing. 

I found a Tupperware Jel-N-Serve ring mold for $1.00 and a silver-plated cake server for 50c.  I've had the ring mold on my wish list for some time.  It unmolds much more easily than the aluminum ones and is very easy to take to picnics and parties.

 They had a whole shelf of these bar glasses from a defunct bowling alley, and I would have loved to have taken a dozen, but they wanted $2 each, even at half-off.  Fortunately they accepted my offer of $6.00 for half a dozen, so I was able to bring some home.

 

 Mom bought this Corning petite pan in the "Wildflower" pattern for 50c mostly because it had the handle.  Isn't it cute?

 These wooden Christmas ornaments were 50c and will go to the gardener, roller skater and bowler in the family.

 

 We were surprised to find this vintage Wil-hold sewing box with it's tray for $1.50.  Sewing boxes usually sell on the first day.  We also bought the metal contraption.  I don't think the sellers knew what it was.  We certainly didn't, but it was interesting and only 25c..  It was marked "Tack-It" and when we looked it up online it turned out to be a very handy tool for marking fabric.

 Here's a picture of Mom using it to mark a dot on a skirt I've been sewing.  She folded a little piece of tracing paper around the fabric, and then slipped the base under the fabric and lined up the bolt with the dot to be marked. Next, she held down the bar and smacked the bolt head with a hammer.  Voila!  Both pieces of fabric were marked perfectly.  It's a wonderful tool.  If you ever run across one at a sale, grab it.

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

Roses of Inspiration

Show and Share
Vintage Bliss Tuesdays
Five Star Frugal 

The Week in Thrifting: May 11-17, Part 1

This post has been a long time coming as I haven't been able to blog much with my mother's medical issues.  There was a surgery and there have been lots of appointments and need for assistance from me.  I began this post soon after the trip was taken but haven't had time to finish it until now.  I apologize for the delay

This last week (May 11-17) my mother found ads on Craigslist for not one but TWO church rummage sales! Church rummage sales are the best.  Everything is donated so prices tend to stay low when there isn't a lot of sentimental value for the person marking the prices and they're usually raising money for something I can support like missions trips and Children's Ministry.

The first sale we went to was empty, almost no one there to shop and great prices.  Lots of things were unmarked but the prices quoted to us were around $0.25-$1.00.  We got everything pictured above from this first sale for under $13.00!

The entire box of ribbon was $1 and if I only ever use two rolls up I've still gotten a deal on them as many rolls are brand new.  The Tupperware measuring spoons were actually FREE because they were "dirty".  I can't believe that.

 

Do you see the smudge on the smallest one?  that was the only thing off about it.  The small assorted things like the "Hawaii" cocktail works, the rosette irons and the melon baller cost less than $1 total.  I am very excited to try and turn the rosette irons into fun Christmas ornaments as they are a bell and a fir tree.  Purple Kukui Nuts are for my bead stash as I already use some black ones with hibiscus flowers on them as focal beads for row counter bracelets.  The plastic measuring scoops are one of the things I had told my mother about wanting only days before this sale and then there they were!  Those scoops are wonderful for flour and sugar especially. 

Mom and I had been toying with the idea of making mini bath bombs for soaking feet or hands so when we found these decorative ice cube trays we just had to have them!  I haven't had time to try my hand at bath bombs but I'm certainly going to share my adventures when I do.

We did pay a whole $1 each for these Reader's Digest Condensed Books which is usually above our price for hardback books but the covers were just too good to pass up.

Don't you think those will make beautiful notebooks?  I am hoping to do a craft night with some ladies at my church to make bound journals with my Bind-It-All machine and these should be perfect for that.  My personal favorite is the one on the far left from Autumn of 1962 as I love the wallpaper-like pattern. What's yours?

Mom has an exasperating habit of insisting on reading EVERY book that enters the house, so who knows when I'll get to work on them...

MOM:  "Hey!  There are 5-6 books in each one of those.  That's 15 books, and they're usually best sellers.  And I can't even leave the house except to go to the doctor.
And there's nothing good on TV.
And I have nobody to play with.
All the other Moms get to read books.
You never let me do anything fun.
You don't love me anymore.
Wah.....
 

ME:  Ok, Mom, you can stop using all my old arguments. You convinced me, lol.

This is the thing we paid the most money for at a whopping $3.  A Rolykit is an old As Seen on TV product designed to hold sewing notions, craft supplies, beads, fishing tackle - whatever someone might need stored in the same place but separate compartments. 

The container unrolls to be several feet long (That table is about 4'6" across I think) and will roll back together, securely locking your small supplies in place.  I think I will start to use this for beads as it should work better than the train case I am currently using.  Mom was very excited to find this as she thought it would be perfect for beads for me; isn't she wonderful?

The mini muffin pan is also to be used for mini bath bombs, it just didn't get into the photos with it's plastic brethren.  The bed sheets pictured here were $1 each and we bought them to hopefully use the fabric for a future project; aren't they just lovely?  I love vintage floral print sheets!

This women's devotional set will go to my Women's Ministry leader for a door prize as she likes to do a small drawing at every social event we have and it is very nearly brand new - I only paid $1.50!

These shoes were probably the best find of the sale (not my photo obviously) I got a pair of these same Sofft Mary Jane style low heeled shoes in black leather and they are lovely and so comfortable.  I have admired Sofft shoes at consignment shops for years and used they often run around $20 which is just more than I can justify for used shoes.  These were $2!


The second rummage sale we went to was a HUGE affair, and I don't have time to show you everything we found in this post, but I'll be sharing them with you soon.

I'm linking up to these parties.  Please stop by and join the fun:
Show and Share
Roses of Inspiration
Vintage Bliss Tuesdays
Vintage Inspiration Party
Treasure Hunt Thursday

Thrifty Gift Basket Ideas

Remember the trip my friend Rachael and I took to The Bins last month?  You can read about it here.

We were searching for some raw materials to use for an annual fund-raiser my church does.  Every year members of the congregation make up gift baskets for Mother's Day and auction them off.  The proceeds go for scholarships to send people to our church camp.

I thought you might like to see what we made.  Remember the green book with the nice library binding?

I used the cover for a blank journal.

I kept the pocket in the back just for fun.

I made this set of coasters using sharpie markers and alcohol.  Aren't they pretty?  I will be writing a post later showing how to do it.   I also decorated a glass candle plate in the same colors and added a jasmine and coconut pillar candle.

These were all part of a Meditation themed basket.  It also contained a large mug, an assortment of bagged and loose teas, a tea diffuser, and a gift certificate for 2 lbs of coffee roasted to your preferences by a friend and her husband.  I'm sorry I don't have a picture of the finished basket.  I just didn't have the time between assembling the basket and the start of the auction.  This basket was the hit of the auction and quite a bidding war broke out. Some people REALLY love their coffee.

Remember this shadow box frame?

I spray-painted it white...

and used mod podge to add a piece of scrapbook paper to the back and waterproof it.  Then I glued the back on to turn it into a tray or shelf for use in the bathroom.

It became part of a bathroom basket that included my homemade body scrub (coconut oil, sugar and cinnamon), 6 crocheted face scrubbies and a crocheted "loofah" bath pouf, all made by Rachael, 3 bottles of Revlon nail polish, a bottle of nail oil I blended myself (apricot, baby oil, and orange essential oil) and several face masks.

I bought these pieces of silverware to turn into herb markers.

I already had these Currier and Ives pots that we got at the bins 5 years ago, so I filled them with herb starts.

Basil

Mint


Lavender


 Rosemary

The pictures are a little fuzzy, but that hides the bad job I did with the stamping (and that I misspelled lavender, oops).  This was my first try.  I'll get better, right?



These all became part of this kitchen basket.  I made some Tunisian crocheted washcloths and a trivet/hot pad.  I added a jar of my Mom's spice rub for vertical roasted chicken, some decorative recipe cards and a piece of vintage Tupperware: a "Sweet Savor" for storing syrup or cream.



I added the Tupperware because Mom and I made this.

It's a travel recipe notebook.  We used a vintage Tupperware brochure we found at an estate sale.  We laminated each page, so they could serve as dividers, making six sections for recipes, and filled it with about 100 lined pages.  The pages of the brochure actually had some handy information about how long you can keep foods and what freezes well, etc.

I carry a notebook with a similar purpose to this in my purse.  I can take my recipes to my friends' houses when I cook for them and I can share my recipes when someone asks me for one.
 I hope whoever received this notebook likes it as much as I like mine.

I had the actual baskets in my room holding beauty products, so I swapped them out for 3 dollar store totes.  As you can see, we were able to put together three gift baskets, without having to spend much actual cash.  I hope this will inspire some of you to do the same when you need a gift or a prize. 

I'm linking up with these parties:

Show and Share
Tips and Tricks
Vintage Inspiration Party
Roses of Inspiration

Ravelry Swap Reveal: Part One

For my crochet projects, I use Ravelry, a networking site for fiber arts, where one can find patterns for free or purchase, pattern help and yarn or notions venders.  They have a wide network of social forums and groups.  I am a member of a group specifically for swapping, and I just completed a swap. 

The theme for this swap was "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle."  This fit so well with things I like to do, such as thrifting, repurposing, and crafting, that I was able to fill a large Priority Mail flat rate box and stay well within my budget.  

 One of the requirements for the swaps that I do is to include at least one skein of yarn for my swappee to use.  I also like to send one item that I crocheted.  Mom likes to unravel or dismantle sweaters, and I help, so between the two of us, we were able to compile a good amount of yarn for this swap.

 

This 25c wool/angora/nylon J. Crew sweater

became a pair of fingerless mittens

and a lot of bulky weight yarn for my swappee to craft with.

The color in my picture is a little off; the yarn itself is a bit more mustard yellow.

I'm always on the lookout for a good white wool sweater that can be unraveled and dyed. 

So I pulled this one from my stash.  This was a 2XL woman's sweater, wool/nylon blend, that I picked up at Value Village for about $3.50.

First, Mom took out the seams, then she unraveled the sweater, resulting in about 2000 yards of sport weight yarn.

I used felted joins to make two skeins, 455 yards each, and then dyed them using Wilton Gel Color and vinegar to get a nice variegated orange colorway.  My swappee's favorite color is orange.  You can see I still have a little more than half the yarn left for another project. 

We learned how to unravel sweaters and reclaim the yarn from THIS website.

I've been cannibalizing jewelry for years, so I was able to put together a row counter bracelet and some stitch markers.  And there are the Tupperware measuring spoons I found back in February. 

These are just some of the things I was able to get into my swap box.  I'll show more soon.

I'm linking up with these parties:

Nifty Thrifty Sunday
Show and Share
Roses of Inspiration
Think Tank Thursday
Frugal Friday
Tips & Tricks
Bouquet of Talent

Pink and Yellow (and Green and Blue)

It's Mary Engelbreit Monday at Cherry Chick's blog, so it's time to show you my recent ME finds. I just love the $1.00 ME items at Michaels.

Yellow cherry socks.

Pink flowered socks.

Some for me and some for my niece.

And if $1 isn't thrifty enough, I can use my 40% off one item coupon that comes in my weekly email from Michaels.com.

Speaking of $1,

I found this well-loved blue Pyrex primary 401 bowl at an estate sale. Now I just need the 402 red bowl to complete my set.

I also found this pretty blue divided server,
with a not-quite-matching clear 2 Qt casserole lid for $2.00. I think the pattern is Blue Horizon, but since it didn't have the patterned lid, I'm not sure. The actual color is more of a cadet blue than the blue in the picture.

Some day I hope to have a pink and yellow kitchen of my own, so I am always on the lookout for pink or yellow kitchenware.

14 inch Boonton melamine platter - $1.50.
Isn't that a cool shape?

Pearlized white and yellow Tupperware cold cuts keeper with 2 deviled egg trays inside - $2.25.
I already had one of these, but not in this dreamy color. I can't wait for picnic weather.

And my Mom found these cute little juice glasses for $4.00.

I couldn't get a picture that didn't distort the lines; they really are straight.

This green cake plate was $3.00. It's not vintage, but I really like the color.

These last three are for my mother.

She didn't need any more depression glassware, but she has a soft spot for grill plates, and these were only $5.00 for all three. The pattern is called Florentine No. 2, made by Hazel Atlas between 1932 and 1935.

The weather has been really cold here lately,
so I'd like to leave you with this sentiment.

I'm linking up to the following parties:
Mary Engelbreit Monday
Thrift Share Monday

Click on the links and join the fun.