The Week in Junk: Gifts, Junk and Sickness too

Hey guys.  Here I am - nine days without a post.  I have had a really bad case of dontgiveadamn. You ever had that?  I am busy all the time, seemingly I can't keep my head above water, with chores, responsibilities,  and the to-do list for both booths and the Junk Ranch which is rapidly approaching. Then, last week I woke up with the WORST sore throat ever.  I mean EVER.  I was gagging and couldn't talk - I looked down my throat and my Uvula was about four times bigger than normal so it was laying on the back of my tongue.  Cue the gagging.  The next day it was better and the day after that it was back to normal in size, but the sore throat remains and now I have a drippy nose, terrible chest congestion, a horrible hacking cough and practically no voice at all.  I am a real pleasure.  :)

Recently I agreed to do all the social media posts for the store where I have my big booth, so I am taking photos, editing them and trying to come up with clever posts for that.  I also agreed to a make 25 pendants for the Junk Ranch to put in "swag bags."  Making the pendants was actually quite quick and painless, but deciding on what to put on them took me forever.  I couldn't find a graphic that I liked online, so I decided that I CAN DO THAT.  I opened this fancy Serif Drawing Plus program I have on my computer and started importing photos and graphics and BAM I had an idea I actually liked.  

I had a different image that I ran my Amy originally, but I like this one better.  (I hope you do too, Amy???!!)  I also decided that maybe people would like to use it as a key chain instead of a pendant, so that's what I did.  Way to go the opposite of what I promised, right?  But, I like it better and I think the key chains for the swag bags are a better idea anyway.  *fingers crossed*

About a week ago I went to a bunch of thrift stores up in the next county.  I came home with very little - I didn't take any photos and frankly, I can't even remember what I did buy.  Sad, right?  But, when I came home there was a big box sitting on the doormat.  It was from my second cousin and his wife.  We are FB friends and see each other once every five years or so.  So, I really could not imagine what they had sent me! 

His Dad, my Great Uncle Murlin, died late last year.  He was a fun guy, very smart - an Architect, a Dean at OU, a Navy vet, and just the nicest man.  This is my Great Grandparent's (up in the header) son - my Grandmother's brother -hence the traditional paper party hat.  Anyway  - when I opened the package, I was in tears.  

Pottery.  Beautiful pottery.  Pottery that either belonged to him and his wonderful wife or pottery that belonged to my Great Grandmother - we aren't sure which.  He had kept it in many houses, many moves, different states and even in his tiny room that he had in their house at the end.  It was special to him.  They had seen my pottery collection on Facebook and wanted me to have these family pieces.  

If I had found these pieces out thrifting, I would have been excited.  But, to have received them as a gift and knowing they are family pieces, is just wonderful.  And, seriously, PINK and yellow - could they be any more perfect?  They are pristine with the original tags.  Just lovely.

So, a little junk - 

I stopped in a Goodwill about 7:00 on a Saturday night ('cause that's how I roll) and was surprised to find all these old glass restaurant mugs scattered about the shelves.  They were 50¢ each, which for our Goodwill is a steal.  They will go to the booth or the JR.  

This clock is in an older clock case that opens.  It is all needlepoint.  

I think it's neat and I hope it will sell.  Someone worked so very hard making it.  

I found this on the late night GW run too.  I had hoped there would be a Coleman lantern inside, but it was empty.  Oh a whim, I did a quick ebay search and found that one had sold for $110.00.  An empty case!  It's sort of big for shipping, but really light, so I don't think it will be that bad.  

Speaking of big things to ship - I was on a roll with that this week!

I spotted this America Girl pony at the thrift - did a quick search and decided she was worth selling. I'm going to need to find some big boxes this week!  

And one last silly find that I think is super fun.  When I set up at shows, I always joke that I have everything except the kitchen sink.  Well, now........

I have a kitchen sink.  :)  Just a toy, but it was only 25¢ and it is PINK, so there you go.  It holds my business cards and some candy perfectly.  I think it will be fun on the check out table.  

Thanks for those of you that checked on me - that means a lot to me.  You guys are the best!  Now for some Nyquil and some Zzzz's!

Better Late Than Never

Back in the end of February, I found a  vintage ceramic Leprechaun. I posted it on Instagram and mentined that I don't decorate for St. Patrick's Day.  I started getting a lot of comments that said, "Well, you should!"  and "You could!" and "You should try!"  I took that as a challenge and rounded up what I could find around the house and headed to my trusty white shelves.  

If it was obviously a St. Patrick's Day item, it went.  If it was green it went in there, if it was gold, if it had a clover on it and so on and so on

The doll with the green hair has been in the sell box for awhile.  The "Mother from Ireland" Sheet Music was a happy find in my pile of sheet music.  An old Gold Chest candy box, some "17" number cards and "LUCKY" letter cards along with a pipe cleaner leprechaun and a big gold clover paperweight rounded out the top shelf.  

I did have a shoe box with some St. Patrick's day stuff I had found at a sale a few years ago, so I pulled that out.  A Leprechaun and some gold glittery balls, a green truck, giant green button, a green cheese box, green glittery top hat (which is actually a Christmas gift box), a roll of green tickets and another green doll on this shelf.  

That jar is an Atlas Good Luck Jar and says that on it along with a big clover in the center.  I found it in an old fruit cellar at a site where a house had been torn down.  The shelves in that cellar were full of old jars - still full of fifty year old beets and pickles.  I grabbed this one jar and left the rest.  This was years ago before I had a booth or any outlet for old stuff.  I was living in a second story apartment and had no way to haul all those old jars home and dump them out and clean them up. Plus the cellar was flooded and had God knows what in that water.  But, I still remember all those jars lined up that got bulldozed and filled in with dirt.  *Sniff*

Dennison labels, vintage green bowl, BINGO cards, some green boxes from the kitchen, old kid's clover cards and a bunch of other green and gold stuff.  That Leprechaun in the middle is the bugger that started it all.  I had fun rounding up things.  The boys heard me saying, "OH! This is PERFECT!" when I found the Gold Chest candy box.  OH MY GOD A SPIDER JUST RAN ACROSS THE SCREEN AND I ABOUT HAD A HEART ATTACK.  Holy crap.  Where was I?  Oh yes, the boys.  Anyway, they think I am crazy gathering up random things and making displays they don't know that half the internet is waiting to see it.  HA HA.  

So, Happy St. Patrick's Day a few days late.  

Erin Go Braugh!  

Kiss Me, I'm Irish!  

Bring on the bunnies!!!!!

The Weekend in Junk: Holiday Edition

Friday was a rainy gross day so there were no sales.  Saturday was more of the same, plus we had tickets to go see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat so there was no junking to be done.  BTW, if you have a chance to see this production - I highly, HIGHLY recommend that you do so - it is wonderful.

The story is dear to my heart because of a time when The Bean watched it when he was about three years old.  If you know they story, Joseph gets "killed' by his brothers and thrown down a well. When The Bean saw this, he dissolved into tears.  So, much in fact, I thought he was hurt. I was certain that three year old couldn't be that involved in this movie. But, he was.  And he was devastated.  It took about thirty minutes to get him under control to restart the movie so he could see that Joseph was going to be okay.  (I had limited knowledge of the story, but I was pretty sure the main character wan't going to get killed off in the first ten minutes.)  

Once the story began again and he saw Joseph was okay, he calmed down and enjoyed the story.  We have watched it many times since then and know all the songs.  It is a great production - not  a single spoken word - every work is sung.  If you don't like the typical Musical (The Sound of Music makes me want to stick a fork in my eye, sorry), you would still love this because it is so lively and colorful and different.  Plus, Ace Young without a shirt for two hours.  Winner,  Winner.  :)

Sunday morning brought sunny skies and warm temperatures.  So, I looked on Craigslist for any yard sales that were cancelled over the past two days and I spotted two. TWO!  On a Sunday!  We had something else scheduled. but I decided I could run to the sales while the boys had lunch.  Who needs to eat when there might be junk?  The firs sale was a fundraiser and the lady they were having the fundraiser for was sitting on a couch under a blanket in the garage.  She was pretty young and she looked all pale and she was coughing and she just broke my heart.  The stuff they were selling was pure junk and it all smelled bad.  There was a Bake Sale "in the house" but I passed on that.  I gave her a few dollars and left with nothing.  She thanked me over and over and offered to give me raffle tickets for the money.  I hope she gets some help, because that sad little fund raiser isn't going to do it.  

The second sale was just a few tables in a garage with some scrapbook stuff on one table and some odds and end on another.  There was a lady standing wide legged in front of the scrapbook stuff marking her territory, so I went to look at the other table.  I spotted a double set of pool balls for $12.00 and put that in the back of my mind to be sure to get before I left.  Sadly, I got so wrapped up in what happened next that when I came back to the garage, the pool balls were being sold.  *sniff*

What happened next. you ask?  Well, the little gal having eh sale said, "There are three sheds out back that need to be emptied out.  Everything is for sale."  Now, I'm not really the running type, but my short legs got out to those sheds REALLY fast!  

The first shed had old gas cans, oil cans, BBQ stuff, chicken wire and other things that weren't that old.  It was just sort of useful, but not useful to me.  The second shed had more wire, fencing, dog food and dog dishes.  I was getting discouraged.  But then.  But, then I went into the third shed and stopped in my tracks. 

BLOWMOLDS.  Big pumpkin.  Big Ghost.  Big Skeleton.  And hanging in the rafters?  A big Santa and a big Snowman.  I went and found the girl and asked the magic question before I got too wound up.  (Too late!).  She told me $2.00 (!) each so I sprinted (maybe, I dunno) back and laid claim to all the people that were not anywhere to be seen.  "I'll take them all," I said.  No one was even in the backyard, but I wanted it known.  They were mine.  :)

I looked like a loon dragging them across the car and heaving them over the fence behind the car. You know you are a die-hard junker when you load the car in an artistic manner just so you can take photos for Instagram, Facebook and the blog.  I got a lot of comments about the Skeleton being unique, so I did a little research.  It's a Don Featherstone and sells on ebay right now for about $80.00.  I've never shipped anything that big, but for $80.00 or more - I will!  

Back out to the shed - there wasn't much in there except a couple of boxes and a red and green tub.  I know red and green equals Christmas, so I took a peek inside.  I spotted several old ornaments, so I just closed it up and asked "How much?" again.  I ended up paying $20.00 for five blowmolds, the tub of Christmas, a handmade wrought iron pot holder, a school paper cutter (the guillotine type) and a few smalls.  

When I got home, I had a computer class to take, so I didn't allow myself to peek into the tub until that was complete and my chores were done.  I showed great restraint!  When I did finally sit down last night to look in that tub, I was shocked at the ornaments I had purchased.  This is the largest amount of antique ornaments that I have ever found at once.  I usually find one here and there.  These must have been in their family for years and generations.  Why no one wanted them, is beyond my comprehension.  

Here we go - lots of photos.  

Figural blown glass owl  

The thinest glass ornaments with glass glitter.  

A mercury glass drum.  

This one.  Can you believe it is perfect?  Not a chip off those dainty handles.  It must be at least 80 years old.  And it's perfect.  

Three clip on birds - a peacock, a bird and an owl.  All perfect.  

This one has so many edges and depths.  

Two perfect pink ornaments.  The tiny top on the bright one pink is amazing.

A few  more vintage ones and not antiques.  Love finding the patriotic colored red, white and blue (especially when they have aged to pink, gold and aqua).

A wee little house.  I have a couple more like this already.

Can you see the raised lady in the middle?  This one has a tiny broken end on the point.  But I have never seen one like it, so it will stay until it breaks.  

A clip on Santa and a figural Santa.

A few more vintage ornaments.  

And a tear drop with Dresden.  

And my thumb.  

Sorry 'bout that.

This Santa head is about as big as an apple.  It is fantastic.  

Clowns, we can all agree can be creepy.  But this is a jester.  And jesters are not creepy.  

Two old glass Queen of Hearts light covers.

A pinecone.  

I have one like this from my Stepfathers Grandmother.  

Happy to have another.

When I lifted up the cardboard dividers, I found that amazing mercury glass spider web with the spider on it stuck in the cardboard.  I am so happy that I found it!  And that toadstool?  Uh-Mazing!

This one is my favorite.  A toadstool baby.  I mean COME ON. 

So many fabulous old ornaments.  I am still in disbelief that they are mine.  

Moral of the story:  Always check for Sunday Sales!  

Jewelry For Sale

I have put some of my Domino Pendants up for sale.  If you click on the "Jewelry For Sale" tab under my blog header you will see all of them.  Pendants are $12.50 shipped to the upper 48.  

Don't buy them just to be nice.  

But, if you like them and you want one - well, there you go!

Thank-you!

The Warehouse Sale: Junk & a Journey

Monday, I was up starting to get ready to head to the warehouse sale when Lara sent me a text:  "At the warehouse.  Gate locked.  Now one around anywhere."  Damn!  So, I worked on ebay packages and laundry and didn't even bother getting ready.  Then, about noon, Lara sent another text, "It's open.  Crazy amount of stuff.  Bring a flashlight."  You seriously have not seen anyone get dressed so fast in your life.

When I got there....YOU GUYS, you would not BELIEVE the sheer amount of STUFF.  It was piled to the ceiling in a huge warehouse.  It was not neat - it was a mess.  Piles upon piles.  I started in one direction when the man stopped me.  "The things from this point to this point are not mine and from this point to this point are not mine, but everything else is mine and is for sale.  Open boxes, look in drawers, make yourself at home.  Nothing is off limits."  Of course, the area that I was headed to and was where I saw things that I wanted, but that turned out to be an "off limits" area.  I refocused and found a pile of boxes and just dove in.

Since I didn't know prices, I just started throwing things in my bag.  If I could sell it for a dollar or two, I would throw it in the bag.  When my bag was full, I went for a price.  He looked in the bag, pulled out each thing and looked at it and talked about what it was.  Now, he didn't do this in the usual condescending way some people do or in a way that made me think he was going to charge me a lot.  He was seeing most of it for the first time and he was interested in each item.  He handed me the full bag back and said it would be $5.00.  That's when I knew that I could afford just about anything.  So it was time to dive back in and dig!

The back of the warehouse had a nice bright light, so I spent a good amount of time back there looking in boxes and drawers.  This warehouse was behind a locked gate, in the back of the warehouse and there were only three other people in this pitch dark warehouse along with this man that we didn't know.  It was literally almost every single thing that your parents warned you about all wrapped up into one perfect crime scene.  Luckily, everyone was jovial and the man having the sale was super nice.  There was just one really annoying lady that came and put her super bright flashlight right in my eyes and just stood there shining away.  I was being polite and letting her be and then I heard Lara's voice say, "Geez, Shara - stop being so nice and tell me to stop!"  Ha!  We meet up at the god awfulest/most wonderful places.  :)  

In the end, I only bought two bags full, a cool old metal file drawer and an awesome old metal toolbox that folds out.  It was just so dark in there and most of the boxes were on the "Off limits" side.  I had accidentally gotten into an "off limit" area and found boxes of old Dominoes, game pieces and the stuff like I love before I was told that was part of the not for sale area.  But, he was nice and let me get those items I had already.   He said he would have the sale again in a few months.  So, I will be going back.  Side story on this guy - he was actually on the Hoarders TV show.  I never saw the episode, but I know it was him.  I guess they cleaned up his house, but maybe he "forgot" to mention his twenty thousand square foot warehouse hoard?  He really is just the nicest guy. (I looked it up - He was on Season One, Episode 9, if you happen to be hoarding the box set.  HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.)

Here's some of what I bought in a lousy photo since it's been raining for days.  Three nice old paint by numbers, an old metal box, a huge corn sack with great graphics, a few neat old tins, cards, chess pieces, Dominoes, single salt and pepper shakers, two heavy bronze finials, a little toy soldier, a carriage clock, Buffalo Nickel ashtray, rubber chew toy, cue ball and a transistor radio.  

I bought the cue ball only to toss in my box of pool balls that I sell.  When I got it out of the bag, I noticed it had a signature of Buddy Hall on it.  I looked it up and he's a professional pool player and he is in the Billiard's Hall of Fame.  I can't guarantee it's authentic, but the signature matches all the ones I could find on the internet.  It's on ebay with that disclaimer, so we will see.  The little transistor radio turns out is worth about $50.00.  You see, you just never know what is worth what until you bring it home and research it.  They can't all be big sales, but the little stuff adds up too.  I figure there's a couple hundred dollars worth of stuff in that photo.  That's not bad, right?  

This is off topic, but that reminds me - I bought a shoe box full of old new in the box office supplies not long ago.

See those four blue and aqua boxes in the middle?  They are these rolls of wire that go in an old stapler that makes individual staples one at a time.  I had never heard of anything like that - so I put them on ebay.  They sold for $42.00.  I know that ain't Blythe money, but they were destined for the trash just about anywhere else.  I am glad they will be used and I am happy to have $42.00. :) 

I found this drawer under a set of shelves.  When I asked the man the price, he opened the drawers and admired every piece of wire, every old plug, all the screws and so on and so on util I mentioned that he could actually KEEP all that stuff IN the box, if I could just buy the box.  His eyes lit up and he smiled at me, "Really?" he said.  He pulled out all the "junk" and told me I could have the box for $5.00.  SOLD.

I also got a really great old metal case that opens up and all these levels of drawers pop out.  It's hard to describe, but it is seriously awesome.  I have an idea that I can use it to hold all my different types of jewelry when I sell at shows.  I should be able to store it all in there, go to the sow - open it up and be in business.  I promise to show a photo when I get it all cleaned out and set up.  PINKY SWEAR

My last purchase was this heavy, heavy box full of old door hardware - locks and inner door workings that use a skeleton key to operate.  They just looked interesting to me, so I decided to buy them.  He explained to me what each piece was and which one went with which other one.  He really was nice and wanted his items to be used and appreciated.  I need to research these and see if they are ebay worthy or just take them to the Junk Ranch.  

Anyway, the real story about this particular sale is the journey and not necessarily the junk in this case.  I knew I needed to post because you guys have just been sitting and hitting REFRESH all week waiting for me to post. RIGHT?  Ha.  :).

Thanks for listening and happy junking to you all!

TV News

Just in case any of you watch The D*ggars on N*neteen K*ds and Count*ing  - Tonight Michelle and the family go to her High School reunion - which is MY High School Reunion.  I didn't go - DADGUMIT - so I won't be on TV - YEA! But, it will be interesting to see - I mean how many people have their High School Reunion on National TV?  

My High School Yearbook - That's me on the top upper left and JB&M on the bottom right.  

Also, if you did watch it - please keep in mind that I look SO MUCH YOUNGER than anyone else and I am SO MUCH THINNER and I AM SO MUCH MORE SUCCESSFUL than anyone else. That is my story and I am sticking with it.  

*The film crew was at the thrift not long ago and I think all three of us made the camera multiple times even though we tried to avoid it......We'll see!  

Back tomorrow with tales of the Warehouse Sale!  

The Week In Junk: You've Been Schooled

It warmed up this weekend and made me be in a yard sale kind of mood.  Sadly, it was freezing cold with snow all week, so there were few yard sales to be found.  I did find one, not far from my house.  It was advertised as an Estate Sale, but once I Google mapped the house and did a street view, I saw it was at a house of a retired teacher I knew.  She was just moving to a different house, so it wasn't truly an "Estate Sale" (which is a SERIOUS pet peeve of mine!).  I decided to go just in case she had some old teaching aids (the ad said as such, but you never know).  I decided to go there, then circle out to the Super Cheap Thrift and see what I could find.  After that Lara texted me and we ended up hitting a few flea markets in the afternoon.  It was a fun, junk filled day - even though I didn't really buy that much in the end.  

This old phone actually came from Goodwill earlier in the week.  Black isn't the most popular color as far as selling - but it I've really never seen many of these at the thrifts.  It will go to The Junk Ranch.  *As wise IG person told me that is a Chicago area code on the center.  

I found this in a box at the teacher's sale.  The little girl I babysat when I was in my teens has twin daughters and one of their nicknames is Kiki.  So, it will go to her.  In real life, Kiki loves animals. But I hope she will like this book too.

This big eagle is just made of plastic, but it's sort of majestic anyway.  I am considering spray painting it, but I like it black too.  I hung it on the porch, but I am going to take it to The Junk Ranch is some sort of a Patriotic display area.  It was only $1.00.  

The tiny oil painting is from the flea market later in the day.  I have a thing for tiny little paintings. From the sale - vintage Hallmark honeycomb stork, a pair of lucite candles, a box of Dragon Dominoes, a wee piece of pottery, a copy of "Junk Day on Juniper Street" (which is like the BIBLE for us junkers), an old metal frame of some sort and a book of poetry and sheet music.  I thought I would salvage the sheet music for ephemera packets.  

But, then I realized it is a book of poetry in Black dialect.  (That's what the inside says, I know we would phrase it differently nowadays).  If you look at it, you would think it wouldn't make a lick of sense.  But, if you read it out loud, it makes perfect sense in a thick accent.  Try it - it's really interesting.  I can't cut it up now.  It's really awesome.  

I was hoping to find a box of old flash cards - like Dick and Jane Flashcards - but all I found were these brightly colored giant flashcards.  They are really good for a kids room - nice and bright with fun pictures.  The Humpty Dumpty is handmade (I know, you could tell that...) and vintage.  The Cinderella doll has pages that turn and tell a very, very abbreviated version of Cinderella.  It is dated 1977.  And that cap gun!  It is vintage and it has a PINK handle.  Yee haw! 

These were my favorite finds from the sale - old handwriting tablets.  I don't think schools hardly even teach handwriting anymore, so these struck a chord with me.  

I remember writing my name over and over on those lined pages.  I am thinking a scrapbooker or ephemera lover will appreciate these.  Minus the one I am keeping.  Maybe two.  We'll see.  :)  

This big carved wooden knight was my big purchase of the day - both in price and size.  It stands about three feet tall and cost $3.00.  It is signed on the front and back and I think it's kind of cool.  I think Eddie would buy it - am I right?  I picture in a Frat house or a man cave.  It will go to the College town booth for that very reason.

From the Super Cheap Thrift -  Two vintage aprons in bright colors, a set of buttons to cover with fabric and some vintage fabric scraps all for 10¢ each.  I found a gorgeous full feedsack there last weekend so I am going to be digging in the fabric/craft bin for a long, long time because I just KNOW there will be more.  Fingers crossed!!

Tomorrow is Monday - but guess what?  There is a SALE!  

MONDAY. MOVING/CLOSING warehouse. March 9th, 10-5. 1-day only. West side of Fayetteville. Tools, furniture, old barn wood, metal carts, legal locking file cabinets, 4’x8’ sheets of hard foam insulation, old upright piano (great salvage for wood and keys). Boxes & boxes of treasures. Fantastic hunting for pickers. Buy it all and start your own flea market. See you!

Wish me luck!