What is a monkeybox?

When I was a little girl, we had a pet monkey named Amanda. My Dad worked in the produce business, so each night he brought home that days culls in a big box - spotty cucumbers, pithy apples, limp celery, moldy oranges and the like. We called it a monkeybox. It was really just trash, but my Mom would take each piece of fruit and trim it, pare it and cut it up to make a beautiful fruit platter for Amanda. Even though it was deemed trash by one, it still had life left in it and was good for the purpose we needed it. That's how I live my life - thrifting, yard saling, looking for another's trash to be my treasure.

Friday, June 27, 2008

The Sale of Sales

I thought of so many of my blog friends today as I dug in boxes and found treasures at my sale. So many of you would have loved this sale. The things they have are so much fun, so old and priced so cheap that is is just a ball to dig, prowl and hunt for goodies.

When you arrive, there are about ten big tables covered in boxes of things, plus the boxes are stacked two deep under all the tables. Everything is $1.00 a box, or each item is 25¢ each. Or, this is what I do, you can get an empty box and make your own box for $1.00. I made three boxes, plus gathered up many more items from the other tables. I spent a total of $14.25 for five boxes of things. *Most intended for resale. Well, a lot, anyway!

Lots of goodies everywhere you look!

Avon bottles are not collectible anymore, but I usually see them at sales for high prices. These were 25¢ each. The front of the table was all Avon bottles, but lots of other treasures were at the other end of the table. That lady in the red owns the local flea market/antique store and thinks she knows it all. I enjoy finding things that she has missed. I would like to know what she did find, because she left with five boxes of things that I never got to see!

These little gals were Avon bottles, but they are cute, aren't they? I never have the b*alls to take many photos at yard sales for fear people will think I am weird and ask me to leave and I will miss out on a treasure! So, I didn't get any photos past this one table. Now, on to the goods:
My two expensive splurge items - that is if $1.50 and $1.00 respectively can be considered expensive. I am in *love* with the graphics on these boxes. Too cute! And, they are complete inside.
Four old unused coloring, paint and dot -to-dot books. The graphics are just too cute. I think they would make good embroidery patterns for dish towels or quilt squares. I loved my dot-to-dot books when I was little. These were all in one of my $1.00 box.
An old vintage Hallmark paper Halloween tablecloth for 25¢.

Eighteen handmade felt Santa napkin rings. The paper napkins complete the bearded look - all part of the $1.00 box.
An old store-stock 3 Musketeers box. I love old packaging, so this is mine. I paid 25¢ for it as it would have taken up too much room in my $1.00 box. It actually had something in it, and that was what was really being sold, but I wanted the 3 Musketeers box.
A red and white gingham CHILD'S apron. My first. Seriously, too cute for words - 25¢.
I scooped this Schnauzer up from the depths of a kiddie pool full of older Happy Meal-ish toys. I knew he was old and I knew he had character and I hoped and hoped he was what I thought he was - and he is. A Steiff. For a quarter. I meant to go back and really dig in that kiddie pool to see what else was there, but I forgot. Dang!
Two big old Mason fruit jars. There was a table of at least 100 blue canning jars all for 50¢ each. I got the only two big ones. The little tin saucer and cup were in the $1.00 box. The sad, but sweet sock monkey was 25¢. I have had good luck with sock monkeys on ebay in the past. I write stories for them and give them identities. I bought eleven sock moneys once for $1.00 each and they sold for nearly $300.00!!! I don't expect that to happen again, but I'm pretty sure I can make a good return on the quarter. The 1966 Kansas License Plate was a fun find for me - I am a 1966 Kansas born baby. I also found my Mom a Kansas plate from her birth year - 25¢ for both.
This $1.00 matte white cradle still has the foil Haeger sticker on the bottom. It is a wonderful addition to my pottery collection as I don't have that many figural pieces.

I already had two of these tins and I have sold quite a few of them in the past. I got five of them today for 25¢ each. I love the original prices of 19¢ and 29¢ stamped on them. Does anyone have any idea what area this line of spices is from?

These six dolls fit nicely in one of the $1.00 boxes along with five or six more that are in various stages of disarray - missing limbs and such. All the pieces are there - just a little TLC is needed on them. They are all celluloid, have sleepy eye, felt hats and millinery flowers. Surely they will sell, right?

Love those toadstools in the center - that was a happy find at the bottom of a digger box on the tables. The book is interesting and a bit morbid. Someone has kept obituaries, death notices, car accident reports and such from Kansas newspapers from 1950-1968. I think surely, it must have been part of a church records or some other reasonable excuse other than a morbid obit collector. I thought it might be a good genealogy item. I want to look through if first because it is from the area where all my family lives and is from dates when several of my grandparents would have died.
A very, very small part of the many, many linens I brought home - I spotted an unopened box full of linens and snagged it for $1.00 without even looking inside.
These few items were worth the $1.00 of the whole box! Neat old floursack material sewn onto dishcloths. I will be donating a box of linens that aren't that great or in need of more help than I can give them.
Some cool old vintage Hawaiian themed material. There's a couple yards of the green/yellow, but not as much of the red/blue. I think there's enough for curtains or pillows, so I am hoping it's worth listing.
A child's toy 8mm movie projector and a fun old "Adventure with Rocks and Minerals" set complete with lots of rocks and minerals. The Bean and I are rock hounds, so this is for us.
I'll probably go back tomorrow. There's just so much to look at and they often start bargaining even more the second day. You don't have to ask - they just see you looking at something and say, "How about three boxes for $1.00" or "How about $2.00 for all those dolls?". There were a lot more board games, puzzles and celluloid dolls that I didn't get too look at very closely. They also had a lot of pottery and planters, but you really have to look closely at them because many of them have chips or cracks. Most of the pottery is not more than $1.00, so you can overlook a fleabite or a chip since the price is right.
Yep, I'm going back. I've talked myself into it. That was easy! ;o)

15 comments:

  1. I recognize that group of dolls. Back in the late 60's or early 70's Shell Gas stations or maybe it was Chevron, used to give them away with a fill up. The doll with the blue dress and the pink around the neck is supposed to be Miss France. The one with a mostly white dress with a bit of blue is Miss Greece. The Black doll in the red and yellow doll is Miss Jamaica. Not sure about the 1/2 naked dolls. The redhead might be Miss Ireland.

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  2. Oh man, I think maybe my eyes just rolled back into my head just from looking at the photos. LOL :D

    You did us proud! Great finds. Those mushrooms are very sellable, should you want to part with them--I know I couldn't! The candy bar box is cool! I found a Hershey's Almond box at an antique mall and filled with candy bars for my dad for Father's Day. I had hoped to find a Snickers bar (his favorite) but no luck. He loved it!

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  3. I loved the little Avon bottle dolls they are so cute!e I would have bought the Asian one for my daughter...she's adopted from S. Korea and we rarely find Asian items for her. Looks like you had a great time and found lots of fun stuff!

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  4. Man oh man, what can I say... I am sooo jealous!!!
    What a sale!

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  5. That's it dadgumit. I am planning a vacation to see you next year on THIS weekend.

    We could each find cool stuff and still not poke each other's eyes out. I always look foward to your finds from this sale.

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  6. What a great sale! Those are the cutest avon bottles I have ever seen. :) The sales I have seen here lately are all the bad kind of junk! I would love to find one like this!

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  7. OMG, I am going to cry! Wow, you got a lot of great things. I had no luck this weekend, so very very sad:(

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  8. Wow, so cheap, we dont have anything like that here, certainly not those prices! Well done, you shopped for all of us, and you'll make a motza!
    Sue

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  9. WOW what great stuff the Old muskateers box is amazing and the hawaiian fabric is great!!!! I had the blonde girl of the Avon bottles but a lot of people collect them!!! what a great sale!

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  10. Holy cow! That was an amazing sale! I have a yard-sale high just reading about it!

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  11. What a fun sale! Awesome find on the Steiff doggy.

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  12. Anonymous10:01 AM

    All I can say is WOW. I am drooling on the keyboard ... I love the Santa napkins. I agree with Heidi, my eyes were bugging out of my head looking at the goodies in your photos!

    Congrats!

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  13. Anonymous11:48 AM

    I am practically hyperventilating from holding my breath reading and looking at picture after picture. What great cool stuff. So jealous.
    --Mary

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  14. Oh my word. I am so in love with those sweet towels! I wish I could find a box of linens like that, just for the fun of seeing what is in there. :-)

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  15. Anonymous12:33 AM

    If you ever want to sell the copy cat coloring book pleasr contact me. I remember that from when i was young.valisequeen@aol.com

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