All mine!

I picked up a few things last week, but this time they were all for me!

Nothing too fancy, but quite colorful.


This older (I think) enameled bowl. I love enamel bowls for picnics and parties and all that. And the colors are great!

This is a great caddy. Just from Pier One, nothing fancy, but quite useful. I love the handle. I'm going to use it in the girls' room for art supplies or something. You can get things like this from PB Kids for about $40, so $4, while expensive for thrifting, was still a great deal.

And then these gosh-darn-cute jars to use in the kitchen. The colors! The flowers! And they are even from the Nut Tree, which I have very fond memories of growing up. The old Nut Tree, of course, but I'm glad they have at least something still there.

Linking up to Apron Thrift Girl.

Thrifty Share 2/13

I read with relish everyone's visit to multiple garage sales/estate sales on the weekends. Even though I'm in California, and the weather has been fine, there just hasn't been many in my area lately! But, I will persevere.

The one garage sale I made it to this weekend was pretty good. Even though I didn't get there until 11:30, there was quite a bit of awesome stuff, including this group of copper kitchen goods:

I asked her how much the pans were right when another lady asked about the set, and was immediately worried that the other woman would get them, especially since the entire lot was quoted at only $10!

I figured all that copper is worth at least $10 in scrap, and I managed to claim them while the other shopper was still looking them over and bargaining. Whew! Now I've been checking metalprices.com... Ha! Not, this will probably end up on eBay.

At that same sale I found a bunch of CUTE Christmas ornaments for about 50 cents a piece. I don't think they are old, just cute. They are for me!

And this very old set of wooden vehicles with lots of little wooden people.

At $10, this wasn't a steal, but if you think of how much you'd have to pay for a set like this retail, then it still seems like a bargain. My girls have been enjoying it, I just wish I could find out more about it. All I know is it was made by Three Worlds Toys, but that's about it.

Speaking of toys, I also found this Haba Solitaire game at the flea market with all the pieces.

That's always the tricky part about games, especially ones with lots of little bits.

I've had pretty good luck with vintage linens lately. The cartoon kind, not the hand-embroidered kind. I've found Mickey Mouse, Star Wars, and this very cool Smokey Bear pillowcase.

And then there's this really awesome crafting book I found at the flea market for a dollar. It's a Christmas one from 1971, and is so great!

The inside is has such a variety of craft ideas, I had so much trouble choosing which spread to feature. Here's just one, but it covers the gamut from fabric to yarn to pottery to paper to cooking to wood, all with beautiful '70s photos.

I took about 10 more pictures, and I'll try to include them all in my listing. Now I just have to decide if this is eBay or Etsy material.

Finally for resale I picked up this 1970s bridge pad for $2. I couldn't resist, even though the guy drove a hard bargain.I don't even play bridge! It comes in the original box with original sharpened pencil along side. So cute.

I also picked up a jogging stroller for $20 for after the baby comes. I'm going to try to join a friend in a stroller fit class, and need a jogger for it, but can't start until September when the older two are in school. So I started looking, and found what I needed the very first weekend! That's always cool.

Now the only thing I need is a pair of swim fins that will fit my daughter for her birthday next week. I've been searching for months and haven't found ones that will fit her. Am I going to have to buy some retail? I hope not!

Since this is only part of my haul, I guess I can't complain about my limited shopping options. Hope you all had a good week too!

Linking up to Apron Thrift Girl's Thrift Share Monday.

thrift share #4

Got out to the flea market this week, which was excellent. I think that is my favorite place to thrift, even though I'm more likely to find valuable things at estate sales. For some reason, I only find maybe three estate sales a month, even though I'm in the bay area, which of course is heavily populated. I must be missing something.

But the flea market is like going to 1,000 garage sales at once. And if you keep going, you start to get to know all the vendors, and then they start to like you, and hopefully give you a better deal! One guy last week even gave me a pastry after we had talked for a while. The guys are so cool there!

The first thing I came across was this vintage glass cutter.

I wasn't actually that excited that it was vintage, though that does add to its charm! But I know that specialty crafting tools can be expensive, so for about $1, I was willing to give this a try. It looks like it hasn't been used at all! Really great shape.

I found this guy and was immediately drawn to his face.

Mostly because he wasn't cheesy looking, but authentic and crafty. He's in great shape, just a small hole in his sack, and the tag is labeled 1978. The girls, when they saw him, wanted to go put him down in our Christmas boxes. I think they've taken a liking to him! How can you not? His face is very genuine.

Then it was off to the super-cheap booth. Everything there is 10 cents or 25 cents and the big-ticket items are $1. Thought they did have some new 20-quart cooking pots they were selling for $8. I almost got one as the husband needs one to help collect honey from his hives, and it's much harder to find pots for super-cheap than I expected. But since he doesn't need it until next harvest season, I was just annoyed with the idea of carrying it around and storing it.

Anyway! The booth is cheap, but of course it's mostly crap. I do usually find one or two things though, including a Christmas craft book and these vintage baby shower plates:

Very cute design, and for 10 cents, it's hard to pass them up! I wonder if anyone would actually be interested in buying them, though.

Hit another moderately-priced booth, and found some breakable things!

I quite liked this cup and saucer for the shape and design, and when I noticed it was made in Germany, that sealed the deal. I have German roots, so I have a soft spot for anything from that area. It joined me along with these three collectible plates.

The are actually miniature plates, and all tied together so they hang in a chain on the wall. They don't really seem related, however. Even the markings on the back are all different. But the illustrations were appealing, as well as the mini cuteness! I got all this breakable stuff for $4, and afterward, I wish I had tried to go down to $3, which I think I could have gotten. But, eh, sometimes in the madness of thrifting you forget to bargain.

I also picked up some clothes for the new baby when he arrives ($2), a set (complete!) of vintage sheets for the guest bed ($4) which I had been looking for, and a couple Cooshee Boosters for $3 each. I had always wanted that booster, even though my two kids don't even use them anymore, and thought at least I could leave them at the grandparents' house or something. But it looks like they do pretty well on eBay, so I'm going to give them a try there.

Unfortunately, I could only stay there for a little over an hour, which is so hard! The market is huge, it would probably take me six to seven hours to go through all of it. Usually I can spend two or three, and that makes me pretty happy. After a while I do get sick of digging through so much stuff.

Walking through the booths I didn't get a chance to look through on my way out was so difficult! It's a great place.

Linking up to Apron Thrift Girl's thrift share monday.

Thrifty Finds #3

I'm almost back in the thrifting saddle again. If only the kids would stop getting sick! Okay, I guess they can't help that.

I did take the older one to a mediocre Goodwill on Monday when she was out of school and the other was in. She's pretty good to go shopping with. I found a few things for me (including a great REI toddler snowsuit for $4!), but the only thing I found for resale was a bag of five cross stitch and ribbon embroidery kits for $3.50. They weren't that amazing, but cheap enough to try.

I listed them on eBay, and was amazed when two of the ribbon embroidery kits went in within a day! Sold the last one within the first two hours of listing it later that week. I was surprised, as looking at ribbon embroidery kits previously sold on eBay didn't reveal anything amazing. But I was glad to have some success already from that random bag I picked up.

I was able to hit two thrift stores and an estate sale on Friday (which turned out to be more of a glorified, indoor garage sale). But I was able to find some amazing vintage stuff at Goodwill of all places. I never have luck with the one I visited on Friday, but I did very well there.

The first thing I saw was this amazing owl needlework pillow! I NEVER find things this cool, so I snapped it up right way.

Next up I found two vintage creamers.


Also, I never seem to find pottery that is very interesting, but maybe I've never really looked before. The deco one is made in Japan, by the Toscany Collection, but I haven't been able to find any more about it. Still have to research that one.

The flowery one is from England, and isn't that old since it says dishwasher safe on the bottom! Still have to research that, too.

Finally I hit up a tiny little thrift store that I usually have good luck at, and picked up some vintage children's clothing.


This sailor knit actually has snaps on the bottom so that it's a bodysuit. That seems so funny to me! I wonder if anyone actually wore it.


This next piece has seen some wear, but is in great shape overall. I love the green corduroy, and it even has snaps up the legs. What a great vintage clothing find for a thrift store! Usually I only come across things like this at estate sales.

Ready to get busy again next week picking up inventory. Now the kids are back in school, I can really start searching again to fill up the shop!

Linking up to Apron Thrift Girl's Thrift Share Monday.

Relisting Challenge 2.21

I have actually done a lot of listing this week, which I am very surprised about! Though on the other hand, I haven't been able to go out thrifting very much, so the inventory isn't as exciting as I'd like it to be.

So according to my chart, it looks like I've listed 12 items in the last week. Two on Etsy and the rest on eBay.


I love listing things on Etsy. The site is beautiful, simple and so amazingly easy to use. This group of vintage Italian buttons was in a big box of old buttons. I ended up dividing them up by origin, since that seemed like a simple way to go. Japan and Holland are up next!


eBay, on the other hand, is so much less enjoyable to use. Even when you have templates set up and even when you're actually used to the process. I can get in a groove eventually, like a few nights ago when I listed a bunch of clothing I had, including these swimsuits. I eventually got a lot listed, but would have loved the process of Etsy.

I've also learned in the last couple weeks that I really prefer set price selling rather than auction formats. Auctions are too stressful for me! My first auction (another lot of clothing) turned out poorly, but in the end, the buyer backed out so I was able to list it again at a set price. I think I set it too high, but figure I can always lower it eventually. Of course, now I'm anxious again to decide when to reduce the price. It has almost been a week, and it's a 30 day listing. I think I've decided not to change anything until a week has passed.

I was happy to sell one more item, the little grasshopper toy from last week. That did sell within the first few hours for a good price, so I was happy about that. But now I'm wondering if I'm doing something wrong and all listings should go that quickly.


These Ugg boots I found last week for $10, and they were in new condition, so after a little research, I listed them for $99. Later, I also added a Best Offer option after reading more about it.

Within a couple hours, someone sent an offer of $75. I spent some time considering it, and just wasn't happy with taking 25% off the price so quickly, especially since I was offering free shipping! So I countered with $89 and a nice note about it still being so early. But the offer was ignored, so now I'm second-guessing myself again.

I think this is the hardest part of reselling, when you're trying to figure out your best strategy for everything. Though I know that process continues throughout. But the learning curve is tricky to navigate.

Other items in limbo include this lovely pot (which was perfect until I dropped it and chipped a chunk out of the enamel) which got an inquiry quickly from a buyer in Korea about shipping cost. I quoted her $11, but haven't heard back yet.

Also this cute clothing set, which I set at $12, and then accepted an offer for $10. But that was Sunday afternoon, and I still haven't been paid. I know it hasn't even been 48 hours yet, but I still worry. She looked reliable! Hmmm...

Patience is what I'm learning this week. Patience.

Linking to Apron Thrift Girl.

thrift share #1

I wish I had better photos and info to share this week, but after a weekend with guests, parties, and sickness, I am still trying to catch up.

Not that the weekend was poor by any means. The sickness didn't really cause me to crash until about 9pm Sunday night, so I actually did get to enjoy all the time spent with friends and family. But I am still slowly recovering. I can go for about five hours, then need at least an hour of down time before I can get going again. I'm getting weak again, though, so better finish this up while I still have the energy!

I managed to hit both the flea market and my favorite thrift store this weekend. Both were average trips, though I've only researched part of my haul so far. And, as above, I haven't managed to take any individual photos yet.

So far the interesting things are:

• A boiled wool Austrian jacket - paid about $.50, but don't think it's worth more than $10
• Giant box of vintage buttons on cards - paid $2, think I'll be able to separate it out enough to make a few interesting lots
• Greek grasshopper pull toy - paid $1, found the company is out of business and should be able to fetch a good amount
• 2001 Willow Tree angel figure - paid $1, thought maybe since it was older it would be hard to find, but found about 30 on ebay.
• Tiny gumball machine - paid $1, may be from the 80s, and is cute enough to be worth the money!
• Old pyrex coffee maker - paid $3, still haven't even unwrapped it to read the instructions inside, but hopeful it's interesting

And the one that got away was an American Girl typewriter for $3. I was on the fence about this one, but since the guy wouldn't go any lower, and I didn't know very much about it, I passed. Found out it's in demand on ebay in the $30-$40 range. Drat!

Moral of the weekend: Don't look up the things you didn't buy after the fact and just buy a data package for your phone so you don't make the same mistakes again!

Linking up to Apron Thrift Girl's Thrift Share Monday.

oldie games

A trip to the flea market and Savers last week included a few vintage toys. I love vintage toys, and would probably buy more if I had the room. Now at least I have the excuse to hold onto them while they are for sale in my Etsy shop. That just means more shopping!

I found an old Monopoly game jumbled up on the tarps at the flea market. It look so old and interesting, I snapped it up, thinking maybe it was valuable. I paid about $1 for it with a bunch of other stuff. But it turns out there's a lot of the 1961 version out there already. And this one had a beat up box and board. But the pieces were still interesting, so I put them up in the shop as sometimes people like old game pieces.

And it's a lot easier to ship a bag of game pieces than a giant game board. Why can't they make game boards fold up smaller? Can't they just add an extra fold?

A few months ago I found a complete Tupperwear Shape-O toy for my own kids. I couldn't believe it had all the pieces! That's the only tricky part about buying used toys, sometimes it's difficult to get all the parts.

Then at Savers last week I found a Shape-O in its original 1985 box. I can't imagine the story behind it that it hadn't been used for over 20 years.

But there it was, looking all happy and pristine for only $1.99. I originally was going to give it to my niece, but as my sister is sometimes wary about used toys, I ended up putting it in the shop instead.

I get to go to the flea market again tomorrow, I wonder what I'll find!