The first tag sale of the day was, to say the least, disheartening.

It was a multi-family disaster complete with stained baby clothes that went out of vogue fifteen years ago, a bunch of discolored dollar store food storage containers, an aquarium with a brown and green ombre slime ring, and, wait for it, a rusted gut buster. A gut buster! But you know what the kicker is? They had the audacity to mark it $20, “Price Firm.”

Oh no they didn’t!

Oh but they did.

There was also a big blob of play dough in assorted, mushed together colors in a clear plastic tub…that was filled with condensation. Oh. So. Gross.

I rolled the heck outta dodge and sashayed on down the street to a church tag sale where I found a box of little plastic houses. There are nine different huts, and all of them were only 50 cents.

They’re actually part of a vintage Alpine Christmas village lighting set and what’s neat is that are already multiple holes in the back so they’ll be easy to hang on the wall. I already have a crafty revamp in mind for them!

Speaking of revamps, at the same sale I came across two lovely framed flower arrangements from the 1970s. The dried flowers were glued to a piece of beige burlap which was only enhanced by the stunning matte gold frame and plastic domed cover. They were marked $2.00 each and for a mere $4.00, I still paid about $3.99 too much for the duo. Yet I knew they could be saved! And thus, I ventured home, all the while tinkering with fun ways to take these puppies into the twenty first century.

A few hours later they were looking much better.

After painting the frames a matte cream, I removed the dessicated shrubbery and replaced it with some lovely decorative papers by Basic Grey. They came kinda cute and the colors match the kids bathroom perfectly! The only change I’m going to make is to repaint the frames a high shine, glossy white so they “pop” a little more. It’s hard to tell from the photo, but since the plastic is domed, it gives the print underneath a bit of dimension. Yay.

Off to go tinker with the swanky little houses…stay tuned!

Despite the fact that it’s already the middle of December, I’m *still* lamenting the fact that tag sale season is over. Of course, there are still estate sales now and again and the ever-popular holiday bazaars. And thrift stores. Though with two small children, my visits to all of the above are few and far between these days. But somehow I’ve managed to go on a few excursions anyway.

And now, for my most recent finds….(insert drum roll here).

Old Santa Heads from an estate sale. They’ll be cute for some sort of crafts project.

Also found Three Wise Men by Shackman, made in Japan. One looks like he got into a brawl with a cat. But the other two survived unscathed.

Vintage Santa Mugs. Think these will be great as planters.

But best of all, this odd little vintage holiday display piece with a reclining gnome!

A few weeks after the estate sale my Mom came to visit and we slid to an Antiques mall. She wound up buying me this awesome retro Pyrex dish! I adore it, and am so excited to have my first blue Pyrex piece.

She also got me these adorable Pyrex Fridge jars that I have been swooning over for a while now. They’re much cuter and more fun than using plastic tubs for food storage.

A week later I found these lovely jam jars by Commodore of Japan at the same joint. They’re very similar to the Holt Howard pixieware of the day. And if you can believe it, they were only $1 each and on the clearance table because the jam spoons inside are broken. But since I’m only using them for display, it doesn’t matter to me anyway. I just love how the mustard looks seriously really pissed off at the ketchup for reasons unknown.

Also found a cute slot machine bank from the 1970s.

And last but not least, a bunch of lovely quilt blocks from long ago and far away. The first photo shows two sets of blocks, both depression era. The colors are fantastic, and I can’t believe they’re in such good condition given their age. Not sure yet what I’ll make with these, but I’m thinking perhaps a lap quilt or wall quilt?

I also came across some amazing star quilt blocks that were surprisingly affordable. There are twenty of them, these photos only show a few. All are intricately hand sewn and I think they’re just beautiful! Can’t believe that no one scomped them up before I did…must come up with some special way to display them. I’m almost thinking about maybe taking them apart and framing just the star portions? Could make a charming hallway collage.

Joining the thrifty link parties over at Apron Thrift Girl, Her library adventures, Hey Mom What’s For Dinner, and Knick of Time.

On Sunday I drove all the way across town to check out a fabulous sounding estate sale, only to find out that it was cancelled at the last minute. Kind of disappointing, but these things happen. On the way home I figured I’d stop at one of the nearby farms and pick up a Halloween pumpkin for our front door. Would you believe that the farm I stopped at just happened to be having a big tag sale?! Oh, happy day! And the funny thing is, the seller and I sort of knew each other because I’ve been buying produce and blueberry jam from her all summer at a local farmers market. Small world!

There was plenty to look at, and I began with the toy table. Normally I don’t spend much time looking for toys at yard sales but something about this sale was different. Maybe it was the curious blend of old and new toys, many of which I actually played with in the late 70s and early 80s. There was no shortage of retro Fisher Price goodness and when I saw tin toys and old Happy Meal preminums it was game on!

The first thing that caught my eye was this vintage hard plastic pencil case with a built in tape dispenser. I like how the writing on the side of the bus actually tells you what it is. In painful detail. You know, just in case you weren’t entirely sure.

And bonus, not only is the exterior in mint condition, but it was never used, all of the school supplies are still inside!

Next I came across a Chein “Storybook Express” tin music box. There is no date marked on it, though based on the graphics, I would venture to guess it’s from the 1960s. When wound up, the train on the front moves on the tracks. It works perfectly and is in pretty good shape, just needs a good cleaning.

The back of the music box tells the story of “The Little Engine that Saw the Light.”

A Fisher Price pocket camera.

A Fisher Price picture story camera.

And a view from the back, cause I love the graphics.

Also found a Fisher Price Pocket Radio.

More graphics to swoon over.

I’ve been collecting fast food toys since I was in college, so I have a good amount at this point. Of course, it’s not every day that you come across early, vintage McDonalds happy meal toys, so today was a special treat. I found quite a few, but these are just a few of my favorites.

A glow in the dark star Ronald McDonald from the early 80s.

“Fling n’ Fly” frisbees from the mid 1980s are really hard to come by and coveted by fast food toy collectors. A lucky windfall indeed!

A Ronald comb.

1988 clip on pins. Remember the fry guys?

Children’s Ronald sunglasses.

Some Hamburgler ring toss toys from the late 1970s.

The housewares tables were next, and I did a bit of a double take when I saw what looked like Frankoma pottery. Could it be?

Why yes, yes it could!

I snapped up this cutesy cow creamer, too.

And some ceramic cats. I have a similar one already, but you can never have too many ceramic cats, can you?

The jewelery table proved to be interesting as well. This vintage hair comb was found amidst some metal necklaces and beads. I suspect it may be bakelite but have to test it to be sure.

A super cute doggie pin.

A textured gold bangle.

Some Coro aurora borealis rhinestone clip on earrings.

And last but not least, I spotted this rusty, dusty thing sitting on the floor amidst a bunch of enamelware pans. I had no idea what the heck it was at first. Neither did the seller, who assumed that it was probably a piece of an antique oven. “I think the bottom part is missing” she told me.

It’s made of metal, and it has glass panels on the door and two sturdy wire shelves on the inside.

A closeup of the dial on the door.

After a little bit of research online I learned that this is actually a portable oven from long ago and far away! It was probably made sometime between the turn of the century and the 1920s. No idea what it’s worth, or if it has any monetary value, but since I only paid a few bucks for it, who cares!

I really love the shape and design…it’s got a certain rustic, almost industrial charm just the way it is. But wouldn’t it be just beautiful cleaned up, painted and used to store something? Krylon makes a paint that allows you to paint on rusted surfaces, so there’s endless potential for this piece.

Giddy!

PS – I’ve joined the swell link parties at Apron Thrift Girl, The Penny Worthy Project and Flea Market Finds at Her Library Adventures.