More Autumn Decorations

As usual my pottery collection plays a big part in my holiday decorations (mostly because I would have to find a place to store it all if I didn't display it along with the seasonal stuff :). A corner-cupboard in my dining room displays some yellow pottery. I kept my yellow pottery out because I think it compliments the fall colors.

These pottery squirrels come out every autumn. The pink & gray ones are McCoy. I love these. I found the pink one at a church rummage sale for 10 cents. Actually my super hubby spotted it. Can you believe that luck? - 10 cents! The gray squirrel was bought at a yard sale. I paid a little more for it but I'm glad I did. Our town is known for it's gray squirrels every where. I love to put him out on display every fall. The salt & pepper shakers also came from a yard sale somewhere. A candy tin for Bowers Old Fashioned Peanut Brittle is in the back. I didn't even think about the connection between nuts and squirrels when I put that there...only later did I get it.

I like to add vintage paper ephemera to my displays too. I added some vintage game cards here and a moth ball tin - think Silence of the Lambs!

This Anchor Hocking milk glass apple always comes out in the fall as well along with some plastic apple coasters.

This awesome vintage Brach's Candy advertisement was given to me by my friend Cindy last year. She put it in a gold frame. I am displaying it on my Life Savers rack - also in my dining room.

And there is more to show - which I hope to do within the next few days. Thanks for looking!

KayteeJane

junk drunk - part 1

Over the next several posts I will be sharing pictures of the treasures I have found recently while out junking. It is starting to get insane! My floor is covered with stuff and now I've got to figure out what to do with everything - the ugly side to collecting!  To say I am "junk drunk" (one of my favorite expressions that Mike & Frank from American Pickers use) is an understatement. I'm junk OD'd and need to stop going to sales before I show up on Hoarders.

This past Saturday we hit a community having 100+ yard sales. My friend Lisa (you remember her beautiful house) organized it. She made some great signs to point the way to houses - my favorite one said in bold letters -  "All roads lead to yard sales". She wasn't kidding and after 4 hours of shopping in the heat I was sweaty, tired and loaded with goodies.

Here are some of the great things I found at those sales.

Let's begin with some bread boxes! I have a soft spot for these and can't pass them up if they are cheap. The two read and white boxes were purchased for 75 cents each! Now you know why I couldn't just walk away from them. You can't even buy a candy bar these days for 75 cents! The box with the two doors - I guess to hold baked goods as well as bread - is pretty worn. I love boxes in this style though so I will probably keep it anyway.

The box with the yellow lid was found several weeks ago. This box and it's contents is an entire post in itself for a later date. I bought it for $5 at an estate sale because of what was inside. This handwritten tag on the top gave a clue to what I might find.

I purchased the box without going through the contents first. I took a risk figuring that it would be exciting no matter what the outcome. Well, the contents did not disappoint! Here is a sneak peek until that later post when all will be shown.

This cute little trash can was found at the same sale where I bought the red and white bread boxes. It was also 75 cents. This is another thing I can't walk away from - cute vintage waste cans. I have one in just about every room in my home. This one will go into my daughter's room. 

While we are on the topic of old metal stuff - I bought this tray recently at a church sale. I think I paid $1 or maybe less. Not sure if I will keep it or not. Again, I'm a sucker for old trays with florals & leaves.

Another trash can. I only bought this one because it reminds me so much of my childhood. I was (and still am) a Holly Hobbie freak. I plan to take this can to work to bring a little vintage/retro to my office space.

The original price tag is still intact - and I won't be removing it either! Seeing this tag on here made me want it even more. Gold Circle was a frequent shopping destination back in the 1980's for my Mom. I can still picture the inside of the store in my mind. Wish I could decode this tag to tell what year it is from. Maybe 1979? This can only cost $2.19 back then.

Stop by again in a day or two for more treasures. They just keep on coming!

KayteeJane

Saturday Finds

I hit my first indoor flea market for the year this morning. I bought a few things. I found this box of unused wine and liquor bottle labels. The seller was anxious to get rid of them. He sold me the entire box for $5. There are 100's of labels. He said he used to work for the LCB and aquired them through his work.

I like old ephemera and vintage advertising. I thought these were kind of neat. They could be framed as a group and hung on the wall. I bet someone who collects wine or has a home bar might like them to decorate with.

I think I am going to sell these by the piece or in small groups on either etsy or ebay. Whatever doesn't sell online I will sell this summer at the fleatique.

Here are some highlights:

More of my finds next time.

KayteeJane

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

More Weekend Finds

Here is what else we found at the church rummage sale and also at some sales we hit this past Saturday.

A Pyrex baking dish. I really like this one. I can see making baked mac and cheese in here.

Some table cloths and linen dish towels. The table cloths are in great shape. I bought the patch work one at the church sale. It is new - from Pier 1. The vintage table cloth came from a yard sale. It cost $1. The dish towels are in rough shape. They have some wear and holes. They are very soft though. I am still going to use them. They are great for drying - super absorbent.

Miscellaneous odds and ends. An old thermos - cute for display. The old picture will be removed and the paper frame used for crafts. The moth ball tin - I liked the graphics on it and also the original price tag of 39 cents. 

This little compact is pretty cute. It doesn't look like it was ever used. It cost $1 at an estate sale. I display these on my bedroom dresser just for fun.

Christmas stuff. A bag of  vintage elfs, a strand of mercury glass beads (these were free!), and a never used box of Shiny Bright ornament hangers. I love these old boxes. I don't open them but just put them out on display at Christmas time. The original price on this box was 13 cents.

This tree skirt was found at the church rummage sale. It is hand crocheted and in beautiful condition. The price? 50 cents. Mark was the one who found this. We both felt that we had to buy it. We kind of think of these hand made items as lost souls that need rescued and appreciated for how special they are. Who else would appreciate the fact that someone took the time to lovingly hand make this? Obviously not the person who priced it! I will be putting this under my white feather tree this coming Christmas.

These are the treasures for this week. The church sale was a great success. The yard sales on Saturday not so much. It hasn't been a very fruitful yard sale season so far this year for me. But, that doesn't stop me from getting out each week and looking anyway :)

Happy Treasure Hunting!

KayteeJane

$12.50

This weekend I went to my favorite church rummage sale, which is held one weekend in June each year. It did not disappoint. I look forward to this sale all year because I always find something vintage for a great price. The sale begins on a Friday evening. When you arrive at the church there is a line out the door waiting for the sale to begin. Mark and I had planned to go out to a special dinner for our anniversary that night. When I learned that this sale was happening at the same time, I changed my dinner reservation so that I could shop first!

I bought all of this stuff for $12.50! I kid you not! 

Here are the treasures up close.

A set of pink depression glass. There was a box of it on the table which had 3 dinner plates, 7 bowls, 5 cups and 5 saucers. The price....$7 for all! I snatched that up instantly.

Pottery. I'm always on the look out for vintage planters.

I was lucky enough to find some old McCoy.

More Pyrex bowls. These are not my typical color choice, but I still like them. I may sell them too.

I also found some vintage linens at this sale. This yellow & gray tablecloth is in great shape.

The reason I am so successful at this sale is that Mark and I do the shopping as a team. When the doors open he goes one way and I go another. This way we can cover more ground faster. That is the key to success at this type of sale where everyone is grabbing in a mad frenzy. It is fierce competition those first minutes when everyone is looking to find the best stuff! He is actually a better treasure hunter than I am. From the above photos he found all of the pottery and the Pyrex bowls.

This lot of treasures was round 1. We paid $12.50 for all of this, loaded it up in the truck and came back to search for more. I will show you what else we found tomorrow.

Thanks for stopping by today!

KayteeJane