Fun Finds from All Over

I've started pricing the stuff I have at home to clear up my junk room and get things ready to go to the booth.  This is a combination of a thrift run, the New Year's Big Flea, and stuff I got during the closing.  These are only highlights.  Some stuff is sellable, but not blog-worthy.  The blog is for the best stuff.  Only the best for you guys.  Or at least what I think is the best.  All those boring feedsack quilts and Shaker furniture just goes straight to the booth.  You all get the comic books and Beanie Babies.  (Just kidding.  Sort of.)

The only indulgence I allowed myself during the whole closing month at the Peddlers Mall was a trip to the New Year's big flea.  We got our notice on Jan 2, and I was already planning on going Jan 4.  It's an important buying trip for me, since this is the time they add the extra antique wing, which means 400 extra dealers, none of whom are selling socks or salvage groceries.  I will always love the variety and eclecticity of a good flea market, but the chance to see a whole huge room of cool stuff is always too good to miss.

I always go on the last day, because a lot of the antique dealers have huge mark downs on that day.  There's always a lot of good stuff for a buck or so.  One couple comes from somewhere in Indiana with overstock and leftovers and such from their store.  At the beginning of the big flea, everything is in the 2-5 buck range.  On the last day, it's all a dollar.  I usually hit them a couple of times.

We were running late this year and didn't get there until early afternoon.  I was walking away from their table after buying several dollar items, when I heard the magic words:  "As soon as he gets back from the bathroom, it's all going to be a dollar a bag."  That's certainly worth waiting for!  I can put a lot in a bag.  I mean, there are always things that I like that I don't get because there are nicer things that I want to use my dollar to get.  I filled three bags.

At that point, I was feeling kind of light-headed, so I needed to sit down and rest.  After a nice break, I decided to go back to this booth and see if I could maybe fill another bag, now that others had thinned the tables out a bit.  I always seem to be able to find some good stuff that others leave behind.  Right when I got there, I heard the other magic words:  "It's all free now.  There are boxes under the tables if you need one."  You don't have to tell me twice.  Free is even better than a buck a bag!

The two boxes on top of the granny cart are filled with free stuff!

Sadly, most of what I got that day has already been priced, shipped over to a booth, and sold.  All I have left is a few Christmas items that I had set aside to deal with after the move out madness was over.

I loved the bright colors and cute pictures on these china cups.  So sweet.  I don't think they're that old, but I like them anyway.  They're now in storage for December.  This is the mark on the bottom.

Maybe the Queen will come around to these parts and purchase them?

I generally don't do a lot of Christmas tins.  They're kind of a dime a dozen, honestly.  I couldn't resist the shape of this one.  Again, not super old, but charming.  Charming counts for a lot in my book.

I also grabbed this handful of scissors during the "free phase."  Just because I could.  And because scissors are one of those things I can never keep track of.  Not much left to show you out of a pretty great haul.  Sorry about that.

One of the first things I did after I woke up from my recovery hibernation last week was go to a thrift.  I didn't need to.  I didn't need anything.  But I wanted to, just because I hadn't been able to in so very long.  I didn't pick up much but there were a few things.

One of my rules is "Never pass up a cheap Madonna and Child."  Especially when you are trying to re-establish your religious section.

I'm thinking this might be a planter?  It's a bit large to be a creamer, it seems to me.

Anything card or poker themed is a sure seller for me.  I wish all four suites had been there, but this was all I found.  Oh well.

Another section I need to get set up quick is my Asian section.  It's another good seller for me.  This sweet little geisha will be joining everything else.

I have to admit that I am probably more in love with candle stick holders in general than I should be.  I try to be really tough on myself so that I won't be everyone I see, but the style of this pair won me over.  They remind me of something you might see on the Gold Country Girls blog, only not quite as colorful.  By the way, that's a really fun blog to follow and you should do that if you aren't already.

 

This dish had an obvious repair to the handle, plus mad crazing, but I had to get it.   All that stuff is character to me, kind of like my own obvious repairs and mad crazing.  Every mark tells a story, you know?

Let me wrap this up with a few items from my mall closing days shopping and scavenging.

There is nothing special about this basket at all, except that it was free and I liked it.  I'm picturing it filled with Easter bunnies and eggs.  I picked up a lot of baskets during the closing.  They make good display.  I never do very much for the holidays that aren't Halloween and Christmas, but I do keep a small stock of stuff.  I never got to do anything for Valentines due to the move, so I am looking forward to putting a little Easter out.  And St Patrick's.  And Derby. C'mon Spring!  (Won't be long now.  Today is Ash Wednesday, after all.)

This school bell is huge!  It's not old, but it is striking.  Interestingly, it's an award that was given to a local newscaster in the 80's for education coverage.  That's all engraved on the other side.  What's even more interesting is that I got it from a vendor who gets his stuff exclusively from storage unit auctions.  There's a story here somewhere.

I have been eying this pretty enameled brass dish ever since the mall opened.  No kidding.  The 45 dollar (!) price tag put me off, as it seems to have done every other potential buyer for the last five and a half years.

The only reason I can think of for such an outrageous price is this original price tag of 191.00.  It probably never occurred to the vendor that this is not in US dollars.   Anyway, with a very drastic markdown, and 50% off that price, I was able to acquire it for a much more reasonable price.

I actually got these mini baseball player bobblers before the holidays, but never got the chance to put them out.  This was a bulk buy--this is only about half of them--from an evicted booth.

Finally, this awesome vintage portable Royal typewriter with case, manuals, and a spare ribbon!  It's in great shape, except for a small split in the zipper near the front of the case.  I'm thinking someone is going to love it.  I've got a lot of pics, so that I can put it on Craigslist after I get it to the booth.

I'm just getting started working on things, so I'll have some more to show tomorrow for sure.  Everything I got at the mall on the next to the last day of business came home with me, since I would have been moving it out anyway.  I made two other large purchases during closing that are in storage.  I'm glad that this lot made it home, as it is giving me something to do right now while it's so cold and snowy outside.