Thursday Sale Bonanza -- Lots of Lefton and Christmas Kitsch

I think it's a basic principle of business that you're supposed to spend less than you bring in.  That gets really hard when the weather warms up!  Just when the flea markets and yard sales are starting up again and there are lots of bargains to be found, people are busy outside and not spending as much time in antique malls and shopping online (and they're going to flea markets and yard sales)!

As I try to not-buy-as-much (as-if I could...), I avoid the looking at the temptation of the weekly emails from estatesales.net and gsalr.com.   I owe a big THANK YOU to my friend Bargain Hunter for giving me a heads-up on a really good sale last Thurday, loaded with Lefton figurines!  

It turned out to be the left-over accumulation of a former antiques dealer who'd passed away last year.  Most of it was her 'barn stuff' -- you know, the boxes of collected odds and ends that don't make it into the booth or to a sale (bits of china, linens, broken down pictures and frames).  There was an entire table of Lefton and made-in-Japan figurines, though, and I was the first one to it!

Look at all this SWEET Lefton!

Not Lefton, but sweet nonetheless

The caption on the cookie jar lid says it all...

It all needed a good cleaning (but who doesn't love playing with their thrifty finds?)

Besides the great kitsch, I also got a couple of quilt tops -- one had piping around the edge to finish it off, but no back fabric.  Rather strange!

Love this butterfly quilt top -- I'm thinking of bringing my quilting skills out of retirement to finish it

This is the bound block quilt

This plastic half apron appealed to my love of strange souvenirs.  It's from the Hiawatha rail line that goes from Chicago to Seattle.  I think it's from the 1960s

These were an odd (and luckily, inexpensive) impulse buy -- 2 legal document packets from 1927, dealing with a property dispute in Dearborn Heights, Michigan.  They'll probably be good for a scrapbooker to use.

Once I'd taken the bait and gone shopping, I looked for more sales close to home and found one just a couple of miles away (a rare occurrence)!   Since they opened the first sale 1/2 hour early, I was able to check out and race over to the second one and get there just as everyone was going in.  I made a beeline for the basement, hoping to get a green ceramic Christmas tree I'd seen in the picture.  I got it and that was just the tip of the iceberg!  I ended up with 2 box-flats of great vintage Christmas, plus some other odds and ends.

TWO ceramic Christmas trees + a Holt Howard Santa + a Royal light-up snowman!

The tall angels need to be rewired, but are really hard to find.  Napco and Enesco NOEL candle holder sets are always popular.  The little angel shelf sitters with lambs are so sweet -- even though one has a repaired wing, I couldn't pass them up

I think Santa's creepy -- much creepier at home than he had been at the sale.  He looks like the drunken love-child of  Joe Piscopo and Kris Kringle

Black transferware tray, Texasware-type bowl, West Bend penguin ice bucket and an Oven Serve bowl.

Dogs playing poker -- who could resist?

So, in the space of about an hour and a half, I had spent all my shopping money for 2 weeks!  Well worth it, though, don't you think?

This Friday and Saturday are theM-15 Heritage Yard Sale and also Davisburg Antiques.  I'm really looking forward to both of them, since they were great shopping ops last fall.  I'd better get some more shopping money out of the bank!

How Fast Can I Shop?

There were some good shopping opportunities this weekend and almost no time to take them in, which left the question, "How fast can I shop?"

On Saturday, Williamston Antique Market had their annual Summer Sale & Outdoor Market.  My shopping buddy Bargain Hunter couldn't go with me and I had so much to do I didn't think I'd get away.  I was so surprised (and happy) when Mr. KV volunteered to go with me!  We had a fun time on the short outing, sandwiched in between household chores and errands.

The weather was beautiful -- sunny and 70s and there were more vendors outside than there had been in past years.

I didn't buy a lot, but got some good stuff.  Everything inside the mall was 20% off, too, but all of my bargains came from the outside.

Hoenig of California covered pumpkin dish

Barkcloth covered sewing box

Paper advertising fans -- including some unusual ones (Iwo Jima, Mahalia Jackson and Will Rogers)

These western themed tin trays are so cool!

An army of birthday angels...

These are for me...Commodore Christmas candleholders with unused candles in the original box and all in mint condition!

 On Sunday, Mr. KV and I were going to watch little Gracie overnight so our son and daughter-in-law could get away for their anniversary.  Before she came, though, I wanted to go to Mega Mall's Flea Market -- Bargain Hunter's talked about it a lot and I've never been.  So I went for a quick trip there with Bargain Hunter and she agreed to speed-shop so that I could get back for Little Miss G.

The flea market filled Mega Mall's parking lot, but was less vintage and more 'tube socks' than I expected.  There were lots of booths that were easy to skip because you could tell at a glance that there was nothing in them that was more than 2 years old or that wasn't made in China.  Regardless, I found a couple of things (don't I always?)!

This TV lamp was so dirty and 'unloved' -- the owner said she was tired of looking at it.  Her loss is my gain...

Here it is after a good cleaning

...and lit up

I thought these were fun -- Judy Jewelette sets.  They were a mid-century version of the Bedazzler, complete with 'rubies, diamonds, emeralds and pearls'

An extra-large -- 10 cup -- Pyrex stovetop percolator, complete with insides

I think this dark green and chartreuse plastic pitcher is pretty cool

This is the star of the day -- a mid-century wood and woodgrained formica drinks cart -- rolling bar.  I'm trying to figure out a way to ship it so I can list it on Etsy

We were only gone a little over 3 hours and that included 1-1/2 hours drive time!  That was some serious speed shopping!

2 Crazy Days of Shopping - Day One: Maumee Antique Mall

Last Friday, my friend Bargain Hunter and I went out for a little 'retail therapy'.  We had planned to go to the M-15 garage sale (about 46 miles of garage sales), but decided to skip it because it was so chilly and rainy.  Since it didn't officially start until the next day (Saturday), we thought the early-bird sellers might just decide to wait and hope that the weather improved.  

Instead, we went to Maumee Antiques near Toledo, which has quickly become one of my absolute favorite malls!  It's in an old grocery store so it's really big and most of the booths are very well staged with lots of interesting stuff.  They even have shopping carts, which is good, since they don't have many (or any) floor walkers.  

I found some great things, with a definite mid-century vibe...

Napco bobble-head cat with two kittens

Holt Howard Santa from 1963 and a boy birthday angel (always hard to find)

Spaghetti poodle planter in near-mint condition

I think clowns are creepy, but I always like these homemade yo-yo clowns with the celluloid faces.  This little guy is only about 7" high.  The large apple bowl is fired-on Flamingo Pink & in perfect condition.

1951 Dolly Toy wall hangings -- Little Boy Blue

I thought I'd put this planter on my front porch, but now I think it will end up in the booth

I loved this teal and basketweave train case!  

The mirror's gone and the seller has added this floral paper panel.  My friend Bargain Hunter likes it, but I think the panel has got to go -- how do you vote?

I loved this showboat musical jewelry box from 1965!  Do you think it's cool or tacky?

It plays 'Way Down Upon the Swanee River'

Six Vera Neumann napkins and a garden tote -- plus a wonderful little news brochure from 1950

Mr. KV says the news magazine, called Quick, was like the ipad of the 50s, because of its caption:  "Get Quick at your newstand each Thursday and carry it in your pocket or your purse...and read it wherever you are"  We could just imagine a bus or restaurant full of 1950s people all reading their Quicks, the way people are all busy on their phones now!

After all those fun finds, you might think I wouldn't want to shop any more.  NOT SO!  We were all geared up and ready to go to the Antiques Flea Market at Davisburg the next day.  That's the next post, though.  

Have a great evening, everyone!

The BIGGEST sale of the weekend?

I went to only one sale last week -- advertised as the 'biggest yard sale of the weekend'.   That's quite a lot to live up to!    It was big and had a mix of old and new.  Just as I got there, it started raining and the seller was covering most of the tables with plastic.  He didn't cover the old glass & dish ware, though, which was what I'd gone for.  He had 3 rows of tables the entire length of his very long driveway and each was full of flat boxes filled with junk merchandise -- most of it filthy and so crud-covered, you could hardly tell its condition.

I had planned to go to a few more sales and then out to the mall, but had such a bad migraine that I had to turn around and go home.  Since the headache lasted all weekend, that little sale -- the biggest sale of the weekend (ha!) -- was the only one I made it to.

Lots of really dirt- & crud-covered stuff!

I got pretty much for not much money, but wasn't sure if it was worth it until I cleaned it up.

Look at how dirty the Oven Serve custards are!  Yuk!

Look how good nice it is!  EVERYTHING looks better when it's clean!  I ended up with 17 Homer Laughline and Taylor, Smith & Taylor Oven Serve custards and handled bowls, 4 Napco & Lefton birthday angels, 6 Mardi Gras Festiveware aluminum cups, two mid-century salt & pepper sets and some great Pyrex.

All clean!

These birthday angels are sweet and, amazingly, have NO cracks or chips!

I know I should sell these three loaf pans, but I'm really thinking of keeping them and starting a collection of them in all the Pyrex colors.  Sweet!

Desert Dawn, Chartreuse and Flamingo Pink loaf pans