Mini Thrift Haul

I left behind the dirty breakfast dishes and enjoyed some thrift therapy this morning. I really should have attended to my duties at home but sometimes the car just seems to switch over to auto pilot and lead me astray. Unfortunately, there were a number of pickers out today and the competition was fierce. No worries, though, I am up for the challenge!

I did find a few goodies, probably because my taste runs a little quirky and I enjoy collecting smaller items that probably don't have enough value to make it worth anyone else's time. I am especially excited about a couple of things I found that are just begging to be made over. It has been awhile since I've featured a "Before & After" on the blog and I can't wait to get started on these projects.

Here is my favorite find of the day:

I just love this piece! I am going to have so much fun turning it into a very special sketching kit for my artistic daughter. I would love to make it for her birthday, which is coming up in a few months. The piece is very solid and practical and if it turns out like I am imagining, she will absolutely treasure it.

Then, as I was perusing the small bag lots, I spied these pinecone Christmas candle clips. They are new, and look like they are unused. These will go nicely with my Scandinavian Christmas theme that I am working on for this coming winter. It's slowly coming together, folks; come next December, you will be reading my "Thrifted Scandinavian Christmas" post!

Another favorite is this vintage Last Supper puzzle. Am I a super geek if I admit I want to drop everything for the rest of the day and put this together?

Because I am a church geek as well as a puzzle geek, I've been desperate for some vintage brass altar candlesticks. Alas, buying a beautiful set in an antique store or on ebay is going to set me back more than I can afford right now. So, I picked up this trio of unique heavy brass candlesticks in hopes that I can doctor them up a bit to make them nice stand-ins for the real deal until I can find my perfect pair. I think they have promise, what do you think?

 

And what lovely things have you found lately? Can't wait to read all about them over at Sir Thrift a Lot.

At Long Last: A Thrift Outing

While I haven't been doing too much treasure hunting lately, I do have a few goodies to share. 

My family had this exact version of Pit when I was growing up. This game is in excellent condition and is such a classic. Do you remember the bright orange bell?

My little daughter is in love with this vintage Poochie paper doll playset. Poochie must have been way after my time because I don't remember her but she definitely has that retro look.

Most of my best finds seem to be in the game and toy department these days--I haven't seen too much of my favorite china and glassware patterns in awhile. But that's okay, I love the vintage playthings. Here are a few more...

The graphics on this Snow White game are beautiful, and all the pieces are there. I much prefer Snow White's look before she became a "Disney princess" and got all tarted up.

Here is an old version of one of my favorite childhood games--Battleship. I have fond memories of fighting over this game with my third grade classmates every time there was indoor recess!

 

 

I'm pretty sure that my family had this same set of Chinese Checkers. Unfortunately, this one is missing the metal bottom and lots of marbles, and is a bit dinged up to boot, but I still couldn't resist. I've hung old board games on the wall before, maybe this will meet the same fate.

 

I came across a stash of vintage puzzles one night and picked out this one to take home. You never know with old puzzles if you are going to get all the pieces, so I was hesitant to take a chance on all of them, but I loved the cover of this one so much that I was willing to take the risk. The pieces inside are a nice sturdy size and in very condition. I can't wait to try my hand at it--hopefully it will not be like the last puzzle I thrifted; that one I completed down to the very last piece only to discover it was missing.

This Happy Hoot Fun Desk is in very good condition if you overlook the decaying sponge eraser that is disintegrating throughout the box! I had to quarantine the whole kit and kaboodle until I can deep clean everything. In the meantime, I had to hide it because my two younger kids are pestering me to get their hands on it. But really, can you blame them?

I have a few more things to show you, but I'll save those for another day. It's been awhile but I'm linking up to Sir Thrift a Lot to show that I haven't fallen off the face of the earth!

Vacation Thrift Finds

After a week of blissful R&R in Vacationland, I am home and ready to take on back-to-school fever, which has hit our household in full force. Although this is one mom who is sad to see the end of summer, I am relieved to know that all three of my children are excited about school, even the two who are entering new schools with all the challenges that accompany such a transition. I must say, it is amazing what a new backpack, lunchbox and water bottle, crayons, colored pencils, and a notebook can do to turn first day jitters into "I-can't-wait" excitement.

While in Maine, I spent most days on the beach enjoying glorious late summer weather or at the lobster pounds eating, well, pounds of crustaceans, but I did make a brief trip into town to check out the thrift shops in the area. I wasn't in the mood to do any serious shopping, but I still found a few little treasures to tuck into my suitcase.

My girls are into all kinds of home crafting projects right now, so I always dig through the arts and crafts area of thrift shops, where I frequently find unique and interesting finds to keep our crafting cabinet fully stocked. This trip I scored some vintage rick rack (one of my personal weaknesses!), pretty vintage lace trim, wooden shapes, dollhouse-sized bird ornaments, a miniature metal latch, and tiny jingle bells. I also found a large bag of raffia, which I need for preparations for an upcoming birthday party. The girls picked out some vintage buttons and tiny boxes, which they have already crafted into button boxes.

I also nabbed small yardages of two vintage fabrics. The pink one has tiny roses and daisies on it, and we are going to use it for the backing of a nine-patch quilt (made of vintage fabrics, of course) that my daughter is making. The green one I had to have because I remember that fabric from a skirt my mother made me as a young child. Very 1970s!

Also in the craft section was this unused vintage Bermuda bag, plus a pattern for making the covers, and a half finished sample. A while back, I picked up a darling vintage child size version that needs some TLC along with two vintage covers in good shape. When I get to that project, I can make a cover for this one and then give a bag to each of my daughters. Maybe for Christmas? I wish I had kept my own beloved Bermuda bag from 7th grade. I remember having several totally preppy covers for it, including one that was a beautiful madras. I'm glad I found these two bags so I can still pass on the preppy love to my daughters.

It is kind of hard to show the scale of my next find: a very large shallow stainless steel pan. I picked this baby up for a buck and I have already thought of a number of uses for it. I originally intended to use it for my younger daughter's pioneer party (a re-do of daughter #1's Little House party from earlier this summer)--with so many guests in attendance, I needed another pan for washing clothes. This pan will do the trick nicely and like I said, it will be great for other projects, too. Not to mention I can fill it up with ice and use it for adult beverages at parties. It looks a mess now, but once I get it cleaned up, I'm sure it will be a beauty.

I found a box full of vintage coloring books at a yard sale on our way home, and picked out a few for myself. I'm always searching for vintage Christmas coloring books in particular, although as my kids grow up, I'm losing a bit of interest in them. These finds were not quite as exciting as the vintage Peanuts coloring book I found a few weeks ago, but I don't see these very often and I was happy to pick them up.

I've also been looking for vintage comic books for awhile now, but have never seen one in a thrift store for a bargain price. I so remember loving them as a kid and am disappointed that my kids don't know the joy of curling up with a fun comic book on a lazy afternoon. I was thrilled to finally find one, offered up for about a quarter at the same yard sale. It is in great shape, too, aside from a slight musty smell which I think I can minimize with the help of my trusted friend, Mr. Baking Soda, and a plastic zip baggie.

And nerd alert! I bought a puzzle. I love making Ukrainian Easter eggs, and I'll admit it, I love doing puzzles so this was a perfect find. What makes it really fun is that my kids now love doing them with me, so while it is no longer time for solitary reflection, it is enjoyable in a whole new way.

There you have it, my vacation treasures. Nothing too spectacular, just enough to keep me in the game! Linking up to Sir Thrift a Lot; I missed seeing all the thrifty goodness last week. 

Weekend Thrift Finds

I had a wonderful time thrifting and hanging out with a friend last weekend. Although I originally set out to do more browsing than buying, I left with some pretty wonderful treasures. To start with, I found these vintage-look cast iron French poodle bookends. I secretly want a French poodle. I guess now it is not so secret, but since my husband doesn't read my blog regularly, I think I'm safe. Anyway, my friend was not as enamored with them as I am, but I wonder if she will change her mind once she knows that they were recently sold by Anthropologie for $65 a pair? And sees how cute they are on my bookshelf!

I ran into quite a bit of vintage wrapping paper at a couple of stops this weekend, much to my utter delight! (It's the little things, folks.) I'm sharing a few of my favorites with you, I think in total I got about 8 different prints. I especially love this Valentine's theme paper, still in the package:

But I also like this Easter print:

And this alphabet sampler print:

And I'm not sure how old this next paper is, but as I adore vintage paper dolls, and have a very large collection, this paper just had to come home with me:

Why don't I ever find any vintage paper dolls at thrift stores? I have only found one not-so-interesting book of paper dolls at a thrift store. I just know they must be out there, so if anyone has any tips on how to find them, I'd love to hear them. In the meantime, I am forced to add to my paper doll collection through online auction sites.

Remember my collection of vintage Christmas cookie cutters? I found a few more for my collection. I am aiming to complete three sets, one to give to each of my children when they grow up and leave home. I inherited mine from my mother, and this will be a way for me to continue for at least one more generation my family's tradition of making hundreds of Christmas cookies every year.

The bell, star, tree and Santa must have been the most popular cutters because I find them pretty frequently. I also usually have to purchase a whole bag of cutters that I don't want to get the few that I do, but this time I didn't mind because they were priced so inexpensively that it was well worth it. I just pulled out the ones I wanted and placed the bag with the rest of the cutters onto the donation pile on my way out.

Another vintage Christmas find, and a great one at that, are these beautiful ornaments still in the box. Of course, the box held only five ornaments, but they are in wonderful condition and I don't have any of them. My favorite is the blue one with the cabin on it, followed closely by the one in front with the bell.

I also found this vintage Paris Metro puzzle that reminds me of one of my favorite cities in the world. However, it did trigger a memory of the time in college that my friend Karen and I accidentally boarded the first class train and were accosted by the RATP Police! The mean lady officer confiscated my friend's passport and it became a stressful nightmare as we hastily tried to secure the funds to get it back. Not the most pleasant memory but it hasn't dimmed my affection for all things French. (Like my longed-for French poodle, as mentioned above.)

These are just some of the treasures I found last weekend--I'll post more in the next couple of days. I also am finishing up one of my thrifty before & after projects, and will post that soon as well. Unfortunately, I got so motivated to start my project that I failed to take a "before" shot so you'll have to use a little imagination! Oh well, it's all in good fun. And despite being a bit late posting this, I'm going to link up to Sir Thrift a Lot again, enjoy checking out other great thrift finds.

More Vintage Fun for Kids

Having three young children at home means I always have an excuse to pick up vintage children's toys, decorations, or books. But let's be honest, even if I lived alone with no little ones around, I would still be tempted by vintage children's things. They are just so much fun and bring back so many happy childhood memories. And it is even more fun to treasure hunt when I have a ready audience just waiting to play with whatever vintage goodness I bring home!

I'll start my sharing with something that conjured up not pleasant childhood memories, but bitter memories of sibling jealousy and rage! My oldest sister had this very same deluxe set of crayons, and guarded it from her little sisters with the intensity of a tiger mother protecting her cubs. How I coveted this set! When I saw this tucked in a stack of tired board games at a church rummage sale, I recognized it at once and knew it was going home with me.

Look at all those crayons lined up so nicely, and that adorable little red and gold crayon sharpener! It's no wonder my sister protected this set so ferociously; I have to admit that I, too, have yet to let my little charges play with my set.  

Next, I found this colorful United States map puzzle by Playskool. I'm guessing it is from the 1950s or 1960s. The states were packed separately in a ziploc bag, so I had to take a chance that all the pieces were there when I purchased it. Unfortunately, one of my favorite states--Rhode Island--was missing when I put it together. Luckily, RI is a tiny little state, and you can hardly even tell it is not there. I doubt this one will get much use around here anyway, at least for awhile, as it is a bit more challenging than I think my kids are ready for.

Another vintage Playskool toy is one of my favorite finds of this past week. I love this vintage parking garage almost as much as my kids do.

Awhile back, I found this Bingo set. If you recall, back in February, I found a partial set but this time I found the box and all. We love Bingo, it's a great family game and perfect for rainy days or cold winter nights when we don't want to go out and brave the wind or snow.

This next find qualifies as a toy but really, I wanted them for my adult self. I loved marbles as a child, and have been collecting them when I find them for a reasonable price, which is hardly ever. However, I stumbled across several small bags of old marbles for only 50 cents each the other day. I think they look pretty in this bird topped jar in my sitting room.

And finally, these are probably not vintage but they are a nice find nonetheless. I had previously thrifted a vintage set of plastic chess pieces but could not pass up these wooden pieces for a replacement. We've been wanting to pull out the chess board this summer to keep our skills from getting rusty, and this find just might motivate us to do that!

And now I'm off to work on preparations for my son's upcoming baseball birthday party. The adrenaline had better kick in soon because I only have two more days until the party and ever so much to do!

Vintage Fun for Kids

A few days ago, when I was recounting all my recent finds, I forgot to mention two things that I picked up for my kids. Okay, well, for me and the kids.

I loved the Uncle Wiggily board game as a child; I have many great memories of playing this game with my sisters and cousins. This version is not that old, probably dating to the 1980s, but I was still surprised to see that it was complete and in very good condition.

I also picked up this retro Hansel and Gretel puzzle. When I looked it up online, I learned that at one point this same puzzle came in a very cool cylindrical tin. I wish I had found it in the tin, but even in the box it is still a cute puzzle and all the pieces are accounted for.

 

Now I must admit that neither the puzzle nor the game has caused too much excitement around here, but this next find has been a winner with all three kids. My two younger ones are really into acting out the Peter Rabbit stories right now, so when I spotted this little vintage rabbit tea set I had to pick it up. We've been enjoying the most delightful tea parties ever since. Come a rainy day when there's nothing else to do, I'll get out Uncle Wiggily. Until then, do drop by for a spot of tea. We'll put the kettle on for you.

Recent Thrifty Finds

Another snowy day here! This never-ending winter weather is really starting to intrude upon my thrifting habits. When I have only a couple of precious mornings each month to hit the aisles, bad weather or other unexpected occurrences rudely interfere with my plans. But tomorrow is the first day of spring and I do hope that means I won't be seeing any more snowflakes for a good eight months or so!

In anticipation of the upcoming change of season, I am embarking on a massive spring cleaning. Luckily, we've only lived here for a few months so there is no need for a great purge yet, but as the children keep outgrowing toys and clothing, I have found a fair amount of things to stuff in bags for the Goodwill. Gotta keep the thrift pipeline flowing! I'm also organizing the odds and ends of things that never seemed to find a home when we moved in, and trying to be ruthless in deciding if I really need it if I am having a tough time finding a spot for it. I'm also making sure that I have a spot or purpose for each new thrift store treasure that I am tempted to bring home. Here are a few recent things that have made the cut:

First, here's this oil on paper Rothenburg scene by Paul Sallmann. It is signed and numbered by the artist. It was actually one of a pair, but the other was not numbered (and I didn't like it as much), so I only purchased this one. I have attempted to research this piece but have not turned up much information yet. In the meantime, it looks lovely in my sitting room/library. I especially love the pale turquoise bordered matte.

I also recently picked up a box of four Tasha Tudor Fairy Tale puzzles, dating to 1963. The box was taped up so I couldn't see the condition before I bought the set, but someone had helpfully written "complete" on the front of it. In black Sharpie, of course. Lovely. But I couldn't resist them because I adore Tasha Tudor. We have many of her beautiful children's books, and they are among our favorites. So of course I bit.

And when I got home and opened the box, the fairy tale set was indeed complete, but tucked inside were a couple of extra treasures--two vintage Playskool puzzles.

Cute finds, right?

Another cute find was this small vintage Minnie Mouse figurine. Sometimes sentimentality gets the best of me, and this was one of those times. I do not collect Disney, and normally would not even notice this type of figurine. But this one happens to be very similar in age and design to one that my sister had as a child. I still have the matching Mickey and I just felt they should be reunited. Of course, if in my latest spring purging I decide that Mickey can do just fine without her, a quick check on ebay confirmed that she does have a modest resale value, definitely several times what I paid for her.

And while I say that I do not collect figurines, another exception to this rule is vintage Christmas figurines. A friend gave these adorable petite candle holders to me and I just love them. Of course, now I am on the hunt for "N" and "L", so if you run into them in your thrifting adventures, let them know I am looking for them.