Yard Sale Slump

This weekend we went to 3 Estate Sales and a few Yard Sales and I didn't buy anything - you heard me correctly....not one thing! That has to be a record for me. I guess it is a good thing because finances are tight right now for us so I really don't need to be buying anything anyway. Sales overall this year have been disapointing. I'm not sure what the reason is. Maybe I am getting very discriminating in what I buy or people just aren't parting with things the way they did a few years ago. Or, it might have simply been the heat. Who knows?

I did go to a church rummage sale and I found a few things there. My daughters scored some great toys for cheap - which made the trip worthwhile. I bought these two primitive antique tool boxes there. I like them but I must confess, I am listing them right now on ebay. I'm hoping to parlay my small investment into some cash. We will see. If they don't sell I can always find a use for these great containers.

Because I don't have much to show today from this weekend's sales, I thought I would share some more collections on display right now in my house.

Currently on my mantle is an assortment of summer stuff that I've collected over the years. I've mentioned before that I love to collect for holidays and seasons and change out my mantle display accordingly. I store all the off season items in rubber totes in my basement.

Here are some of my beach-themed things:

Shell boxes, an Engish cookie tin & a Room For Rent sign.

Shell box souvenirs are one of my favorite things to look for while I am thrifting.

This lighthouse painting is paint-by-numbers. I think I paid a $1 for it at a sale somewhere. The post card is from Presque Isle State Park in Erie, Pennsylvania. That is one of our family's favorite vacation spots.

I always love to have fresh flowers around the house. I am fortunate to have some hydrangrea bushes which supply lots of flowers for cutting. The vase is an old milk bottle bought at a yard sale for 50 cents. Thrifty Tip - Look for interesting glass containers at yard sales when they are priced very low. When I find these I save them and then later when I want to give someone a bouquet of flowers I always have a pretty vase on hand. These types of containers are much cheaper and more beautiful that those you would buy at the flower shop, grocery store or the dollar store. Look for cut glass vases, milk bottles and old blue/green glass canning jars. The container becomes part of the gift!

My daughter's birthday was this past week. When someone in our family is having a birthday I display these vintage birthday items around the house too.

A few years ago I found an entire bag of vintage greeting cards in someone's garbage. (Yes, I have been known to pick the garbage for something old and unique. I promise to share some good garbage picking stories here sometime in the future :)) Anyway, here are some of the cute children's birthday cards that were in the lot.

This one is interactive. You turn a dial to reveal the message written on the chalkboard.

This one depicts the era - 1950's maybe? Cowboys and Indians ruled the day for little boys.

This is my sweet daughter's birthday cake. She loves mermaids. I made this cake for her and I am very happy with the way it turned out. That cake decorating class I took at JoAnn Fabrics way back when really comes in handy from time to time.

Thanks for stopping today!

KayteeJane