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. 

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Summer Thrifting Finds

I still haven't haven't been able to get out and do any thrifting lately, but I brought home a lot of stuff last year that I never posted about, so I'll show some of it now.

I know, lousy picture, but we're going back in time, so everything's supposed to get a little fuzzy, right?

As you can see, I've acquired a few more aluminum jello molds. 

Do I need more jello molds?  

Probably not.  

But they're fun...

and useful...

and shiny!

Plus they're a heck of a lot cheaper than rhinestones.

I especially like the one with the roses.  I had been looking for one like that for a while, so was happy to see it at Goodwill for half price - $1.50.  The two copper ones were garage sale finds for 50c each, much more my speed.  Have I mentioned I'm cheap?

How could I pass up this giant crab mold?  It's both ridiculous and fantastic.  It's a whopping 14 inches across.  I had never seen one like it.  I couldn't even find a picture of one online.   And for once, the Goodwill price was a shockingly reasonable $1.99.

I'm still looking for the lobster.

The next two finds were items off my thrifting wish list and I found both of them at Goodwill on the same day.

This is a Foley rolling pin.   My mom has one, and I've wanted one of my own forever.  What's so special about them?  They have ball bearings, so they roll very smoothly, and they're built to last.  I've seen other brands at estate sales, but they were never as nice as Mom's 40 year old Foley.   Goodwill price - $3.99.

 

Recognize this little piece of loveliness?

It's the Exciting new Pyrex Flameware Teapot!

Some of you may remember this 1941 Life magazine ad I found last May. 

I happened to go to Goodwill the very day they put the teapot on the shelf, and I snatched it right up.  I didn't even blink at the $7.99 price tag.  Usually I think their prices are crazy.  But I guess that day I was crazy too.   Pyrex crazy.  It's a thing.

I found this cutting mat at Goodwill last summer also.  

It was in pretty rough shape, with two large splits and some staining, but it was really big (23 x 35 inches), so I figured I could salvage something from it.  A new mat of this size costs over $50, so I paid the Goodwill price of $1.99.  I thought I would cut it down into smaller mats, but I ended up putting some duct tape on the back and using it as is.  I still want a new mat, but I'll have to save my pennies.

I went to a garage sale with my folks one Saturday.

Two 50c sweaters for unraveling; 1 wool, and 1 wool/cashmere/angora.

The 25c colorful wool hat will make some really fun felt.

These Pyrex casserole lids were free.  I couldn't let them go to the landfill.

Snowflake Blue

Spring Blossom

Someday I'll find a casserole to put them on.

Mom bought this cookbook for 25c, mostly because Dad's favorite meal is meat topped by meat with a side of meat, but also because it has a recipe for Roasted Raccoon.  She says it goes with her Community Center Cookbook from North Dakota that has the recipe for Jake's Muskrat Stew.

I saved the best for last.

Westinghouse chrome double waffle maker

1940s maybe?

It works, but I don't know if I'll actually use it.  It gets awfully hot, so you have to be careful, and I wouldn't want to ruin the chrome.  I just like looking at it.  The lady who was selling it said it was a gift to her daughter from a boyfriend.  When they broke up, she didn't want it anymore.  I guess she didn't want any reminders.  I paid $7.00.

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog.  I hope you've enjoyed today's post.

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The Estate Sale Mysteries #27: The Case of the Missing Prices

As I said in my last post, August was a great month for Estate Sales.  It was the second week and I was looking at pictures online of upcoming sales when I spotted something in a picture of a bed covered in toys.

 It appeared to be a box containing a Strawberry Shortcake doll from the 1980s.   I received a Strawberry Shortcake Doll House for Christmas back in 2011.  You can read about it here.  I still don't have many dolls (despite being very much in love with Strawberry Shortcake), so you can imagine how excited I was to see one at a local sale.

As I looked at the picture, I realized that there was not only 1 box, but 7 boxes, possibly more, and one of them appeared to be the elusive Purple Pieman

(photo obviously borrowed from the internet)

while another was definitely Cherry Cuddler, both of whom are high on my wish list.   I know this means nothing to you unless you are also a Strawberry Shortcake nerd, but to me this was very exciting.  But wait, was there any chance that I could actually get my hands on those boxes?  These babies sell for big bucks on ebay, so I would have to beat the dealers to them.  I checked and they weren't on the list of items that were for sale, and you could hardly tell what was in their awful pictures.  That was a good sign; maybe nobody else would be looking for them.  There was no sign-up list to worry about.  All I had to do was be first in line on Friday morning.

There was also the question of price, since I have limited funds, but I hoped they would be reasonable and I could get one or two of them.  If nothing else, I wanted to at least see them.  So I called my friend Wendy and we made plans to go.  I wasn't able to be the first in line as we had a few errands to run that day but I was hoping I might be able to find them anyway and at least see them up close.

That sale was a mess.  The house was huge and things were just all over the place with very little apparent efforts to organize anything and few marked prices.  After searching through the entire house (basement including bedrooms, kitchen, living room, study, 4 bedrooms upstairs and a few bathrooms) I finally found the room that had the train from the photos.  But the bed was now covered in clothing and the dolls were nowhere in sight.  There was just the box for a Berry-Shaped Carry Case (which I own several of) but no dolls.  Everything was just so disorganized.  I wanted to ask someone in charge if the dolls were still around somewhere but I couldn't find any workers in the house.

I found this bedspread in one of the last bedrooms.

Doesn't it remind you of the curtains from The Sound Of Music?  There is plenty of fabric and I'm quite excited to turn it into a gathered circle skirt.  The material is standard woven curtain type fabric that resembles canvas and I'm hopeful that will mean a skirt that doesn't need a crinoline to look full.

We also saw a blonde mink stole that I was very interested in until I noticed a large hole between the lining and the fur of the collar so I sadly left it behind.

When we left the house and returned to the garage I browsed the jewelry table and picked these up for $1.50 total:

stunning pink and red rhinestone earrings with screw backs

and some beautiful silvertone rhinestone shoe clips

I asked for a price for the bedspread and was quoted $3 which I deemed acceptable because of the low price on the jewelry.  I also asked the woman in charge whether or not the Strawberry Shortcake dolls had sold and if she could remember what they were sold for.  She didn't remember them.  It was so weird and kind of frustrating as I just wondered, (maybe if she didn't remember them, that meant they didn't sell for a very high price) but I wasn't about to search that whole house top to bottom again. 

My parents also went to the sale on Sunday.  Usually the last day of an Estate Sale everything under $50 is half-price, but half-off no price is still no price, so it was hard to tell.  After they had found a few things that interested them, they had a question about price, so Dad trudged back upstairs and went outside where BOTH of the people running the sale were located and requested a price.  He was met with the response of "Is that all you're buying?  Show me everything you want and I'll give you a price on all of it."

What the heck?  No individual prices?  How do we know what we want to buy if there are no prices?  We're not antique dealers.  We just want to find a few nice things we can afford.  Frustrated, Dad left the item with the cashier for safekeeping and went back to Mom.  They looked around a little more, and when they got back to the kitchen, there on the table was the item that Dad had given to the cashier for "safekeeping."  AARRGH!   By this time they had had enough of these "professionals" and were ready to leave.

They negotiated a price of $15.00 for everything in this picture,

 

plus this 4 Qt Turquoise Club Aluminum dutch oven.

The dutch oven was charred black all over as if it had been used in a campfire, but Mom put it in her biggest pot, added a scoop of dishwasher detergent and boiled it for about 30 minutes.



After that the grime just wiped off.

I don't think these Nancy Drew books from the '60s have been read even once, their pages are so tight.

 

I love the illustrations on the facing pages.



The iced tea spoons are silver-plated.  We see the Fire-King relish dish often, but never with all it's gold leaf edging intact, so Mom couldn't leave it behind.  The creamer and sugar bowl are in the Dewdrop pattern.



Mom likes recipe card boxes, but better than that are the vintage 3x5 cards.  The ones they make today are so thin they are worthless. Dad found a metal stabbity thing (Yes, that's a word.  I made it up myself.).  It's an ice pick with some advertising on it.

Mom's favorite find is that little cardboard box.  It is a disposable specimen cup - weird, but that's why she likes it.

They also got me all this jewelry (not counting the ones I already showed you) for $3.25.  Most of it is just jewelry to take apart and use for other things but a few things are especially nice.

This is an enameled Trifari brooch that sells for as much as $15 online and I think it's lovely.  It will hopefully make a great shawl pin.

I am very much in love with the glasses cuff link and wish there had been a pair so I could use it as a sweater clip.  The black enameled earrings will become a sweater clip for sure.

We're happy with our finds, but I don't think we'll be attending any more Estate Sales run by this company.  It's just too much work. 

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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.

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Of Sewing Machines and Tomato Soup

We've had really nice weather this summer.  I mean REALLY nice weather.  It's been 70 - 90 degrees consistently with hardly any rain so far this summer.  Yeah, I know we need some rain, but I can't help but enjoy the sun.  Normally, the only month you can count on to be rain free is August.

What's a girl supposed to do when it's hot and sunny?  Why, go to the river, of course.  So a few Saturdays ago, my friend Ian picked me up and we headed out.  But not two blocks from home, what should I see but a giant pink sign hailing me.  ESTATE SALE!!!   It was actually flapping in the breeze, waving me down, imploring me to stop.

I had no money on me, but it couldn't hurt to look, right?  So after agreeing to take only five minutes (because Ian knows me) we stopped at a small family-run sale.  I did a quick pass through the house, and saw nothing remarkable until I got into the back bedroom.  There I found a nice little sewing table for only $10.00.  I have been looking for one for a few months to fit my Kenmore Model 1302 machine that I purchased years ago at a rummage sale for $3.00. 

 

 My Kenmore model 1302 sewing machine.

 Most tables I see fit Singer machines, which have rounded corners on the base.  My machine has square corners.  So I was very excited to see a suitable table for such a good price.  There was already a working machine in it, but I'd worry about that later.  Since I had no money, and the table would not have fit in Ian's car, anyway, I called my folks and asked if they would be willing to come get it for me.

Me:  Hey Mom, I'm at an Estate Sale right around the corner from you, and they have a sewing machine for $10.00.    Could you and Dad please go to the sale and buy it for me?

Mom:  An Estate Sale?  Two blocks away?  Where's my purse?

By the way, what do we need with another sewing machine?  We just bought 3 of them last month!

Me:  I don't want the machine.  I just want the table for my Kenmore.

Mom:  (To Dad) We have to go to an Estate Sale.   Right now.

Dad:  We HAVE to go to an Estate Sale RIGHT NOW?  Why am I even asking?

Mom:  We need the truck.

Dad:  Why do we need the truck? 

Mom:  We have to bring home a sewing machine in a table.

Dad:  ANOTHER sewing machine?  I don't even want to know.

 

 

When I returned from my day at the river, this was waiting for me.
 Pretty nice for $10.00.  Please excuse the lousy picture and all the junk.

 

  

The machine inside the table is a Kenmore Model 52, a mid-century machine with a very good reputation.  I will probably give it to a friend of mine who is interested in learning to sew.  It should clean up nicely. 

The prices at this sale were so good, Mom and Dad couldn't resist buying a few other things.

 

Kitchen wares for 10c -25c each.  Mom was especially pleased to find a Pyrex refrigerator dish lid.

  

This chrome cake cover and glass plate cost a whopping 75c.

 

 This train case was $3.00.  We've never seen a Forecast brand before.  It was sold by Sears in the 1960s. 

 The mirror is missing, but the rubber frame that holds it is still there, so Mom would like to try replacing it, but first we have to practice cutting curves in mirror glass.

 The Forecast appears to have been an inexpensive model.  It's a plastic case, without a fabric lining.  It originally came with a cloth bag that snapped to the inside of the case, but ours is long gone.  It's still a sturdy hard side case with lots of use in it yet.

Mom bought a few pieces of broken jewelry at 10c each for crafting with,

 including this lapel pin.  She thought maybe it was for a college or a professional organization, but couldn't find out anything about it.  Anybody recognize it?

 Mom also found a few booklets for 25c.

 

I already have a vintage fondue set, so she thought I could use this.

 

She knows I want a vintage Waring blender.  This is for a 1968 model.

 

 It's always fun to look at mid-century cookbooks. 

Let's see what they have in this 1968 edition.  

Do you like that my nail polish matches?

 

 Surprise Cake - The surprise is that the cake tastes like tomato soup!!?? 

"Jackie, what the He**!?"  (Gotta love "That '70s Show")

I am a big fan of Campbell's Tomato soup.  And I love to make cakes.  But I can tell you right now, I don't think they belong together. 

 

 

 They are not satisfied with messing with cake; they have to redefine "Cocktail."  I am a big fan of cocktails, too.  They are supposed to be colorful, flavorful, fun concoctions served in elegant or playful glasses.  Cold soup and beef broth with seasoning does not a cocktail make.  Blecch!

 Ok, this page looks a little better.  The Chili Beef Franks recipe looks normal.  But wait... Creamy Peanut Butter Soup?  Tomato soup and peanut butter?  Here we go again.  Did they just draw random ingredients out of a hat?  But since I can't even imagine what peanut butter and tomato soup would taste like, I'll concede it might be okay.  But what the heck is so "Special" about chilled pea and potato soup?  Sounds terrible.  I wonder if anybody actually used these recipes.

I think I'll just stick with grilled cheese sandwiches with Cream of Tomato Soup on the side.

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