Um...AWESOME!

Yeah, so I don't like to brag about reselling because its something I love to do and it also gives me a reason to thrift but every once in awhile I randomly list something on Ebay (not my selling venue of choice) just by chance and I totally ROCK with the reselling!

Case in point:
I bought these 4 packs of vintage 1960s Eureka St. Patrick's Day classroom decorations for $0.69 each--note that is $2.80--thrifting awhile back and had them listed on Etsy for $18.00. No one was buying them during the last 2 months so I listed them on Ebay.

and they just sold for $81.00!!!!

SUH-WEET!!!

The 70s Called and They Want Their "Tiki" Cocktails Back!

While out thrifting today I found this 1976 issue of Cosmo for $0.49. I figured I could resell it and make some money.
I then started flipping through the crazy ads for 70s clothes, cigarettes, movies and even crazier sex advice and found this ad for tiki drinks premade in bottles:
The cocktails themselves sound DISGUSTING but I wouldn't mind adding the bottles to my cocktail bottle part of my collection. I have old bottles of mixers and these would fit right in:
Needless to say there is NOT any apricot EVER in a zombie. I should know...I drink them weekly!
And guava in a Navy Grog???? Sorry Trader Vic you are doing it wrong!
Of course I am keeping the magazine. The 70s---the era of nasty tiki cocktails that I am glad is over!

Friday FINALLY!

Just a few photos on this Friday. Even though I had Monday off good golly this week was far too long for me!

I have wanted a chip/pretzel/nut set for awhile so when I saw this one posted on Dimestorechic's Etsy shop I bought it. The price was uber cheap (what I would pay thrfting) so I figured why not. This just means that tomorrow while out thrifting I will find a set for myself.


Look more gnome art! I love how this little guy is waving:
And I can appreciate the gnome/mushroom combo. So fun:

I just saw this on another blog and I am going to make my own sign and hang it in my bedroom.

And finally my cute cat Fubu Footfoot Fishsticks (yes she has 3 names and I only call her Fubu. Or Ms. Furry Pants. Or Bah-bah. Yes, I talk to my cat. And yes, she rules)

She had too much catnip and passed out on my unmade bed.And she was snoring--seriously. Awww she is too cute!

Happy Friday everyone! We have had amazing weather here--like mid 70s/breezy and sunny. I can't wait to go out and enjoy it!

aaaahhhhh!

Oh my lord this is the inflatable 70s footstool of my dreams!! look at those flowers!

But NOT for $95 crazy Etsy seller!

Gnome Bombing Anyone??

I live and work in Oakland and I love it. I choose not to drive into work (its a 10 minute car ride) and since its just a tad too far to walk I just take the bus. My bus picks me up at the end of my road and literally drops me off 6 steps from my office door. I feel very fortunate to have such a commute because I used to live in the valley and it took anywhere from an hour and a half to two hours to commute just one way into San Francisco. NO THANK YOU!

On my walk to the bus stop the other morning I happened to look down and noticed something peculiar..a gnome. A tiny gnome on a block of wood nailed to the base of a telephone pole. And then on the next pole there was ANOTHER gnome and a mushroom...and on the next. I counted 5 gnomes/mushrooms between my front door and my bus stop and today I took a photo of one of them:

How awesome is that? I have to admit that when I first spotted this little guy I tried to pry him free so I could take him home (I collect gnome stuff) but he is attached pretty stubbornly with multiple nails. I should of known better--everyone should be able to enjoy such unexpected pieces of art and gnome bombing sure brought a smile to my face and I want to say thank you to the artist who put these here.

I wonder how long they have been there? I wonder who else has noticed them.

These are a great reminder to look down every once in awhile :)

I Learned It

So I found like 7 bags full of vintage 40-80s school supplies and games over the weekend and even though I did not photograph all of them---lord I listed 35 items and it took me like 5 hours (Damn computer is acting up!)---here are some of the things I picked up. I am not sure why I am so attracted to flashcards but I am--maybe its because I love "smalls" and anything that comes in hanging plastic bags is my favorite part of thrifting.

Division cards:

Subtraction (these all have their study sheets which is rare)

Gotta love Sesame Street Uno

I could make the world's longest dominoe display with all the boxes of wood dominoes from the 60s and 70s I come across:

Oddly enough I found like 5 different sets of these 1960s wooden blocks at a few different thrifts. I guess they were used for counting??

There were a few things I bought this weekend that I sold right after they were listed. I love when that happens.

This may mean that I priced them too low but in my opinion if I buy something for $0.75 and sell it for $10 that seems like a great profit to me. Plus it seems only fair to pass along my good fortune to others, right?

GO FISH! Two different decks of cards found at two different thrifts on the same day.

I love these smaller type decks:

And not to lose the school theme I picked up this cute 70s ceramic owl bank

"A dime or two and soon it's a dollar

Before very long you're becoming a scholar"

I guess learning is a great theme of vintage collecting

Blogland Made Me Buy It

I read a lot of blogs every day and that of course includes a wide variety of thrifting blogs. Its pretty cool to see what people collect in different parts of the country and also its a great way to become informed as to what the "hot collectibles" are at the moment. I thrift so much that I am bound to pass on lots of resellable items--seriously I can't buy EVERYTHING I see (although I do try!) because I only tend to buy and sell what I collect. It's a lot easier for me to get excited about a 1950s cocktail shaker than it is some wicker basket or baby quilt but I respect people who have a sense of style and find that even if I were never to personally buy it I am happy to learn about things I know nothing about.

I also have noticed that thanks to many bloggers I have started to venture into other areas of the thrift stores I used to ignore before. I check out sports equipment, bedding, jewelry cases, electronics, etc where before I rushed in--checked out all the shelves full of knick knacks/dishware and the hanging bags of smalls--grabbed what I found to be must buy items, raced to the register and then moved on to the next store. Because of the anonymous people out in blogland I have slowed down and found more of what people are collecting because I now know to look for it.

Yesterday I hit 2 thrift stores because it was a beautiful day and I had no desire to sit around doing nothing (as I tend to on most Sundays). Thanks to the constant mentioning of Vera scarves online I checked out some hanging bags of fabric and came home with these 3 Vera scarves for barely nothing:



I would never have looked for these before, nor would I have ever bought them nor would I have thought to sell them. I figure now that someone out there would like to add these to their collection so I am going to list all of them together for cheap on Etsy.

This is the 7th or 8th item that I would NEVER had bought before while out thrifting because it personally does not interest me. If it was not for others waxing love for Vera scarves I would have no idea people would ever see these at a thrift and think "SCORE!".

I think that's probally the coolest thing about blogging and being able to share our own thrifting passions online with like minded individuals we would never have "met" otherwise.

So I guess what I am trying to say is AL GORE THANKS FOR INVENTING THE INTERNET!

More finds from Saturday

Some more stuff from yesterday.

Gibson party invites

Teddy Bear paper dolls from the 1970s (only missing 1 paper piece of clothing and 1 plastic stand for the doll to be propped up in--not bad considering)

Most outfits have a head piece also

Aww little cowboy bear!

I stopped buying pyrex because (horror upon horrors I do not collect it) but these were each $1. They just need to be cleaned and off to Etsy they go.

I found ..and bought...25 packages of these 1980s made in Japan make your own ornaments.

I think their heads would make super cute gnomes so I am going to try to make some to resell. See...

My goal is to get 100 more items listed in my Etsy store by tomorrow night. Since i have tomorrow off I don't see this as being a problem. I am contemplating going to a few thrifts today because I dont feel like sitting around here at the moment.

Hmm....what to do....

Saturday is my thrifty day of the week

At a thrift today I hit the motherload for 1950s/60s teaching aides like flashcards and word games. I swear I think some teacher died and they cleared out her estate donating it all to this one thrift. Seemed like a lot of items had the apple/teacher vibe. I will do a post tomorrow or Monday on the stuff I bought. Here is the stuff I bought and that I am going to keep...at least for awhile..

I found these two pictures a few months back at one thrift store. If you pay attention this lime has an egg inside and this pineapple is a watermelon:

Today at that same thrift I found this picture of zucchini (cucumbers?) that are limes. Makes me wonder how many more of these pictures there are. I had the above two on Etsy for sale but since I have a 3rd one and 3 of anything is a collection I have to keep these for awhile.

Mint condition 1985 large dolls of Brutus, Popeye and Olive Oyl. They even have little plastic baggies around their suede covered feet to keep them clean. I will end up selling these but for now I stuck them on a shelf I had.

A few years back my friend's teenager daughter wanted to give her mom the book Post Secret---the collection of handmade, annonymous postcards that are all published into this oversized coffee table book. I gave her my copy (that I found thrifting) so she could give it to her mom and today I found one complete with a dust jacket. I promised myself NO MORE coffee table books but it was $0.99...screw it!

examples of some of the pages

I second this thought:

Most thrifts still have Christmas stuff out. I bought a bag of bad holiday stuff for this large Made in Japan Angel. She has feet but I dont think she can stand so I "may" end up saving her for "if I ever get it" my vintage aluminum Christmas tree........we shall see.She is super sweet though....

I think this will end up being listed for sale. Its from 1976 and its a gag type gift. Granny's Ice Tongs are ice tongs with a pair of dentures attached to one side

so ridiculous!

Finally I got some magnets that were sold at Crate & Barrel..these were most likely someone's Christmas present because they are mint in their packaging. $0.59

I also stopped in at Walgreens and bought 11 bags of Valentine's Day m&ms for $0.87 each. Large bags so I am going to bring those into work on Tuesday--I have Monday off--to make my co-workers happy.

The weather here is in the mid 60s but sunny..awesome!