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.

Sunday, August 31, 2014

The Week in Junk: Labor Day Edition

Labor Day weekend is the biggest weekend for yard sales in the small town where I like to do most of my yard saling.  There is a huge craft fair in town this weekend that attracts nearly 100,000 people to this town of less than 8,000.  Everyone throws junk in the yard and has a yard sale.  Many people wait all year just for this weekend to have a big sale.  And it's not the baby clothes and household goods kind of junk.  It's good junk like I like.  Boxes of stuff, holiday, vintage, old glassware, jars and random junk.  PLUS, this is where my flea market it as well as nearly fifteen others.  This tiny town is a mecca for junk this weekend!

We normally go to the craft fair, but the last few years it has kind of been the same old, same old.   One year I even walked loops around the whole place trying to get a certain baby to COME OUT.  Anyway, everything has to be a craft - handmade.  People (and me in particular) are more into up-cycled and re-crafted than strictly leather belts, crocheted towels, pottery and wooden birdhouses.  We might end up going on Monday if it's not beastly hot out there.  

Friday I took a bunch of stuff out to the flea market and loaded the booth up even more than it already is(!) and I put all my feedsack pendants on the display case by the register.  Along the way I stopped at a few sales, but then it started raining, so I had to quit.  Saturday morning it was raining, but it cleared up by noon, so I headed out to hit some more.  Honestly, a rainy morning that stops sales from starting early is the BEST.

I went to the Animal Shelter Fundraiser on Friday and Saturday.  It didn't start until Saturday, but they were out setting things up and annoying people like ME stopped to shop.  They had the money box out and were ready for customers or I wouldn't have stopped.  

This funny wiener dog ashtray was only 50¢.  The bottom of the ashtray is broken, but I think I can stick a little flower pot in there.  He still has an awful lot of cuteness left in there.  

I know how some of you *EDDIE* feel about old dolls.  And I might have to agree on these - but I always sell them in the booth, so why leave them behind at 25¢ each?  That oak basket is a nice handmade one. When I bought it, it was full of those horrible cinnamon scented pinecones that make my allergies go into overtime.  I considered dumping the pinecones under a pine tree until I realized they were glitttered.  Someone would think they had a very special tree if they discovered those under it!  

Funny vintage skunk bride salt or pepper.  I have a fondness for single shakers like this.  

I don't know if these glasses are new or old or sort of in-between, but I like them.  I was kind of nervous about what they would cost, because at this sale they have expensive antiques, vintage things and regular yard sale junk.  And I wasn't sure which category these were - but in the end, I think they were 10¢ each.  I paid $3.00 for the glasses, that nice oak basket and the skunk.   I think I will keep the glasses and actually use them.

When I stopped on Friday this was my purchase - a jewel eyed Santa mug - LOVE - and a wee tiny stork all for the magic price of 15¢.


A different sale in the rain on Friday brought this little silver tree to me.  It's not old, but it looks old and sometimes that's good enough for me.  That way I can use it for display when I am selling and sell it if anyone asks about it.

As well as this sweet piece of vintage pottery.  This is a keeper for sure.

I can't remember where I picked up this little Uneeda doll, but she gave me a chuckle with her funny hairdo.  

I was super excited to have finally found a BIG HUG MUG.  Too bad it's not worth the $125.00 they were six months ago.  Now it's worth about $15.00.  But to have actually found one made me happy!

Gee my memory is getting bad - I don't remember where I got these either!  Sweet apron with a different type of print than usual and a cast iron trivet clock.  

A popup sale by the road in a parking lot brought me the USA puzzle which will be sold on Instagram by the piece.  (People collect certain states!) A box of old cardboard thread spools, a wee box of playing cards and a tiny old telephone someone made.  It has thumbtacks and pushpins  - can you see it?

 My most expensive purchase was at this sale - these two boxes of old letters and numbers.  They are on an old type of plastic and the letters are carved into them.  There are two types and upper and lower case of each with multiples of some letters.  I paid $10.00 for them which is like a hundred to this cheapskate.  But, I thought they were interesting and have possibilities.
Cool, right?

Are you tired of me yet?  Two more sales to go.....

I went to a sale a couple of weeks ago where they had SO MUCH STUFF - sheds, garages, a yard full of stuff.  Nothing was priced, so you just rounded it up and they made a price.  I like sales like that and I don't like sales like that - you just never know what to will happen.  It seems it's either really cheap or really expensive.  I dug around and found these old letters and numbers lying around in different places.  They were about eight inches tall and pretty neat.  It took me about an hour to find them all and then when I asked for a price - it was $60.00.  Yikes.  I din't have that kind of money on me and I wasn't expecting that much either. So, I respectfully declined.  The guy asked me to make an offer, but you can't counter offer $15.00 when he just said $60.00!  

I did get a big box of old jars and bottles for $3.00, all was not lost.  They will go to the Junk Ranch.  

Anyway, he was having the sale again this weekend, so I stopped.  I asked about the letters and he told me that they had sold.  Then he said, "I liked you,  We should have dealt on those more.  You liked them." Dangit.  Oh well.  
I got these ceramic number balls for 50¢.  Remember when they were the rage a few years ago?  I still want to find an alphabet set.  And maybe a "4" now that I look at that photo....
This old red berry basket was 25¢.  And inside it?

All these old carnival prizes!  I remember picking these up in the claw machine.  I have a small collection of these in a jar - this quadrupled it!  (They will go to the Junk Ranch too).

And, are you ready??????
PINK. COLEMAN.  That is all. :)
No wait - FIFTY CENTS!
THAT is all!


ONE MORE SALE!

This is the guy I wrote about that works for the local auction company  - he buys the leftovers and sells them cheap.  I love his sales - there's never anything really valuable  - but you can make a pile and it's super cheap.  

An old BINGO game, metal cookie cutters, an old dovetail GLASS box and a Levi Strauss tray.
A wonderful old horse scarf slide.

Really big jingle bells, a watch doo-hickey, medical symbol pin and a couple Kewpies.

Super sweet vintage baby dress.

And even sweeter vintage baby shoes.

Also, this awesome old yellow metal leaf rake that is screaming to be used in my Fall Display.  All that, plus a shovel and a handful of things The Bean deemed "cool" for $3.00.  

Time to put it all away and get organized until next weeks sales.  I love Fall sales the most!


12 comments:

  1. I've been living some if the sneak peeks on IG. Those juice glasses rock!!! I'm pretty smitten with that Coleman too.

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  2. good haul as usual. We are now going into the season of the town wide sales. Each town takes turns having town wide sales. So I am getting my ones ready for the first town wide this coming weekend
    Cathy

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  3. I do not want to tarnish the image of that cute doll with the side knot hairdo, but I thought of Miley Cyrus. I know, ughhhh.

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  4. Love those drinking glasses. Vintage or not, who cares? They are cute! Just tell everybody they are really old. They'll believe you!

    It's funny that you have so many sales on Labor Day weekend. We hardly had any! But next weekend is the Coburg antique fair. I LIVE FOR THIS EVENT! I'm sure I'll be making up for the lack of junk from this weekend.

    ~Erica

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  5. The pink thermos is too cool! The doll with the hairdo? I think those are horns and she's creeping me out by the way she's staring at me. But as long as she doesn't wake you up in the middle of the night standing over you with a knife in her hand, then you just go ahead and love her :)

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  6. This was as close as I got to any sales this weekend and I loved going along with you! So many great finds and I love those letters you did find! This post makes me want to go hunt junk!
    hugs,
    Linda

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  7. Anonymous10:58 AM

    I may have to come visit you next Labor Day Weekend. Holiday weekends are terrible in these parts for yard sales, although we were pleasantly surprised on Saturday. There are so many things I like here -- the red glasses, the red letters, the horse slide, the pottery... I don't like the sales where nothing is priced because I never know how big to make my pile -- what if it's all crazy expensive? But what if it's all crazy cheap? And, like you, I need to learn to just make an offer if someone asks me to -- I guess the worse they can say is no? Actually, that's not the worse they can say, which is why I'm afraid to ask, but they did say make an offer! ;)

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  8. Wow, what a fun junky weekend! I love the blue squirrel planter and that yellow rake.

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  9. Anonymous4:38 PM

    That squirrel planter is my favorite thing. You found wonderful stuff!!! Thanks for showing us. Marie

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  10. FIFTY CENTS??? EEEEEEEEEkkkkkkkk!

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  11. My goodness! QUITE the haul you got there, I really like the letters you did pick up, and that pink Coleman is pretty cool too! Good to see you had a happy labor day!

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  12. The Uneeda doll is a cutie. The other ones? Not so much. Too much goodness! It was dead here Labor Day weekend, as far as the yard sales go. Thank goodness for the bog flea! Looks like you're gonna be good and ready for the junk ranch.

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