I Got My (Thrift) Mojo Workin'

One very nice thing about moving back near my old stomping grounds is the chance to visit all my former thrifting haunts and secret holes in the wall again. Mom and I have had some really good thrifting luck lately. Case in point, this first pic, which shows just some of the stuff I snagged for absolutely nothing at a garage sale last Saturday. While I excitedly dug through six or seven large boxes marked "FREE", scarcely containing my squeals of delight, Mom was busy cleaning up at tables where every item was ten or twenty five cents. Among the haul from the "Free" boxes were a pair of eerily painted plaster praying hand book ends dated 1964--useful for the man of God who likes to throw all night, black light-illuminated bible study parties. I also scored a plastic "cut glass" cake cover, a mechanical 50s or 60s era baby doll toy, a few vintage cookie tins, a vintage poodle crocheted around a bar of soap, a set of four mod wooden hors d'oeuvres trays with built in coasters, several vintage owl items, a pretty white ceramic flower pot, some vintage "Coffee Time" invitations, and lots more.


I didn't even get a chance to snap pictures of the items we actually paid money for at the three sales we hit that morning, including a ready made collection of more than 20 vintage kitschy state souvenir plates I scored for a quarter a piece. I'm planning to cover an entire wall with them in the new house. I did snap this photo of a beautiful 1950's aqua and brown flower vase with a built in metal frog (75 cents), a metal card/photo holder which I plan to use to display vintage postcards ($1), a vintage glass canister with a red mother and child design (25 cents), and a plastic jewelry dish with a rotating musical base (50 cents).


Some other treasures culled from various thrifty places in the last few weeks include a ceramic reindeer ($1.50 and part of a pair until I dropped the other on the driveway while unloading the car, but I think he's glueable), two Chinese figurines (part of a cheap lot my step dad bought at an auction), a decoish glass (10 cents), and a gorgeous metal tray with a leaf design (50 cents)...


two little plastic elf bells and a bizarre glass horse vignette, ten cents each...


a vintage needlework kit and tons of vintage flower making supplies (each package for a dime)...

bunches of vintage handbags just begging to be embellished for a quarter a piece...


a cool ice bucket and a vintage Pyrex dish for a dollar each...


a lone, but extremely awesome salt shaker for 10 cents, a small tiki mug for 50 cents, and my find of the month and a real splurge for me, a vintage glass cookie jar with a gorgeous aqua(!) design. It set me back five whole dollars, but it had my name written all over it, don't you think?


...and last, but not least, a spiral earring holder (needs painting, but it was a dime and I've been looking for one) and this double ram sculpture that just spoke to me for some reason. I'm picturing it as a bookend, and I paid $3.00 for it which was less than half of the original price the dealer at the antique mall had been asking for it.


This was only a sampling of my awesome scores from the last month or so, but I only had time to share a little. I've been so busy with a very large project (to be revealed soon), not to mention a hundred small ones and buying the house, that I've barely had time to stop and breathe! Among my recently found treasures are a huge stack of vintage craft pattern books and magazines, so I have lots and lots of great ideas to share with you Dollfaces, time permitting. Hopefully things will slow down a little soon so I'll have more time for blogging. Until next time, take care of yourselves, and each other. Okay, so I stole that from Jerry Springer, but I do appreciate every single one of you. Thanks for visiting Sweetheartville and leaving your kind comments and good luck wishes about the house.