Vintage Junk in My Trunk

Town-Wide Yard Sale, Continued

Here's the other piece we got on Saturday at the town-wide yard sale. Still in the garage, and kind of scruffy, but great color and shape. 

Found this for Little Miss VJIMT. It's huge, about 30 inches long, and the trunk opens up.

She absconded with it before I could snap a photo (or even clean it up).

If it had its windshield, it would be on ebay, since one just sold for $76.

Picked up this shutter/louvered door for my friend Keiren, who will be transforming it into a display board she found on Pinterest. Looking forward to the after shots, KD!

Officially Spring! – Town-Wide Yard Sales

Saturday was our annual spring town-wide yard sale. It was a little rough getting started, with lots of juggling; both kids had commitments they had to attend to early in the morning.

We snuck out to shop at 7:00 am (which was a little too early; not many were set up) after getting Kid #1 out the door, then came back to get Kid #2 ready. We missed the premium 8:00-9:00 yard sale hour, but had the next three to ourselves, so I guess that was a fair trade-off.

We managed to find a few good things amid the flotsam of baby clothes and plastic toys. 

Like this large framed painting. Just the frame alone is pretty awesome.

Of course I found some plates and silver trays.

Love this pattern in particular. It's a lovely mid-century set manufactured by Norsk Egersund from Norway. This pattern (Fasan) features an "Asiatic Pheasant" in intricate black (some say dark blue) transferware with polychrome accents of purple, green and yellow. A smaller platter than what I found was listed on ebay for $28.

Cute little white dove-tailed sectioned box.

Un-chipped transferware pitcher with a lovely flower pattern.

And this Sabre 620 red bakelite camera from the 1960s. Researched one that sold on ebay last week for a "buy it now" price of $80, so woo hoo!

There's another piece stashed in the garage that I didn't take a photo of before the rains came in, so I will have to get that one for you.

All in all, it was a fun morning, and I'm ready to do it all again this Saturday at our neighboring town's sale!

Clover Market 2012 -- The Photos

What a fantastic day at Clover Market! The weather was fabulous, and the crowds were enormous! For about the first four hours of the show I couldn't even see the vendor across the way from my booth, the throng was so big.

I had a great show, and it was definitely worth all of the preparations. My good friend Karen hung out with me most of the show and stayed to help me pack up AND provided her vehicle to transport the big items back to her house that I was unable to fit in my car.

Mr. VJIMT was only available to transport items with me INTO the show, as teenaged Mr. VJIMT competed in the State Spelling Bee Championship later in the day (he finished 4th without studying a lick the whole competition and was disappointed in the result; I'm thinking it's a good lesson learned and still something to be proud of).

Here are LOTS of photos, as promised. The view is going clockwise around my booth starting from the back.

Unfortunately, I didn't bring any of these with me!

Little Miss VJIMT decorated my chalkboard frame for me.

Here are two of the six typewriters I brought with me. Glad I did, since Every. Single. One. Sold! And sold quickly! 

One mom bought one (from the sixties, in a case) for her son, who admired that Bob Dylan typed his lyrics and wanted to emulate him. Another bought one for her daughter who is a copywriter. Loved that the younger generation appreciates the charm of the typewriter!

My scary doll got a lot of attention and little hands couldn't do much more damage to him!

Someone bought the green suitcase and was going to add legs and convert it into a table. I'm hoping she sends me some photos -- would love to see its afterlife.

Colleen of Fresh Vintage took pity on me and bought my crib springs so I didn't have to cram it back into my car! Drinks on me next time!

What was I thinking? Didn't bring any of these either!

And that's the day -- thanks to everyone who stopped by to say hi -- it was fun meeting you all! See more photos on the Clover Market Facebook page.

Next spring dates are May 6 and June 3; I won't be back selling until September, but am hoping to be able to go back next month to shop!

Really? Chaff?

This is the rest of my stash that is going to Clover Market on Sunday.

We also had a yard sale today -- the kind I steer clear of, with lots of kid clothes and toys. It was exhausting counting all those quarters and prying Little Miss VJIMT's fingers off the stuffed animals she had previously agreed to sell.

We've spent the last two weekends sorting and separating the wheat from the chaff. My back is aching and my nails are grubby.

But here's the wheat.

I'm pretty sure it will be worth all the effort, and a glorious day is forecast. Please stop by and say hi if you make it out. I hope to be posting some photos tomorrow on the VJIMT Facebook page.

A Hoarder of Typewriters

Um, I have six of these. To sell. I'm keeping the rest.

Clover Market, 2012

It's that time of year again! Clover Market opens for spring on Sunday in Ardmore, PA. I've been feverishly readying my wares for the big day. 

Here's a sneak preview of my many vintage plate pedestals, just in time for Mother's Day.

I will also have a big selection of silver chalkboard frames and vintage doorknob wine bottle stoppers.

Not to mention the extraneous vintage treasure or two.

So come on by if you're local -- the weather is supposed to be lovely and there are a hundred vendors (double from last year)!

In Your Best Pinterest?

I'm always a little late for the party, but did you see the Easter eggs dyed with silk ties on Pinterest?

My friend Keiren made these; they are so pretty and super easy to make.

(Here's a tutorial. And another.)

I didn't have any silk ties handy last weekend, but found these at Goodwill yesterday. So I'm way ahead of schedule now.

Of course, I probably won't be able to find where I stashed these come next Easter, but at least I TRY to get ahead.

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Speaking of Pinterest, I'm really not sure yet about the whole pinning thing. I've gone on a bit to search for things, but haven't made many boards. At first, I was afraid it would be a giant time-sucker and I would be lost in a sea of pins for days on end. 

But in addition to making fun inspiration boards, it also seems like a good marketing tool. Mitzi of Flipping Vintage has written a great post on Using Pinterest in your Online Vintage Business.

Then I started coming across some vintage bloggers who were having issues with Pinterest's Terms of Service, like this post by the talented Anne of Fiona and Twig.

You can be held responsible if you pin something that you don't own and that person doesn't want to be pinned. Seems it would only be safe to pin your own items, which sort of goes against the whole concept of Pinterest.

I think most people would want the free publicity and exposure, but I can certainly see how a photographer or other artist wouldn't want their creative property displayed without their permission or control.

It's certainly something to think about, although the legal ramifications are a little too convoluted for me. Plus the Easter candy has been screaming at me and getting me all distracted. Damn you, Zitner Butter Krak Coconut Eggs.

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To read more about this issue, here are some links. My advice is to have lots of candy on hand.

Why I Tearfully Deleted my Pinterest Inspiration Boards

The Perils of Pinterest

Pinterest vs Ethics and the Law

Change Your Terms or We're Leaving

Above the Law

(Pinterest has recently updated its Terms of Service, although I'm not sure if that's due to all the hoopla or if it even addresses this issue.)

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As for my decision? I would like to start pinning more, but I'll be sure to link back to the original post to give credit to the pin.

In case you were wondering, you have my full permission to pin anything you like from my blog. And if you want to give me candy, that's ok too.

Her Easter Finery

This is about all the decorating I've done for Easter. I kind of like dressing up my vintage dress form for each season though. Fast and easy.

Here are a few of my vintage Easter postcards.

Click here to see February and December. And enjoy your celebrations.

Planes, Trailers, and a Breadbox

Mr. VJIMT and I took a weekend trek to Maryland to see if we could find any treasures. Sadly, we didn't come home with a carload like last year. But we did find a few fun things.

He got this cute little metal red trailer.

And this metal airplane.

And this old photo of Oliver Hardy. 

Not really, but I think there's a resemblance.

You could hear an audible gasp from me when I saw this box of pink Shiny Brites. They were a bit out of my comfort zone price-wise, so I passed. See, I'm not a total addict.

The thrifty optimist in me thinks I can find them for less this yard sale season. We'll see if my instincts are good, or if I will regret the decision all summer. I miss you, pink Shiny Brites!

A couple of pretty plates are always a prerequisite for me. I was shocked that the porcelain dish below was only $4 in an antique store -- I thought for sure the price label would read over $30 when I turned it over.

Finally, another vintage breadbox has come my way. At least I think it's a breadbox. There are air holes on the back side. 

But why a handle? It's too big (16") to be a lunchbox. A tackle box? 

What's your guess?

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Speaking of breadboxes, the aqua one sold in minutes on Etsy. And one of my readers inquired about the New Jersey Turnpike plate and quickly bought it!

Most of the time, I will post my finds on my VJIMT Facebook page or on this blog as I find them, before I list them. Most of what I find will be for sale, so if you are interested in something, just let me know! 

A Pink Cradle, Green Luggage, and a Big Red Santa

I'm still finding more yard sale stuff I forgot to show you from the end of last season. I got this large Coca-Cola Santa display just after the holidays.

This vintage football sold immediately on Etsy. I guess it was priced too low, but I still made an 800% profit (if I've done the math correctly!) so I'm not complaining.

Little Miss VJIMT has at least 4 vintage cradles/doll beds so she (or the cats) really didn't need another. But I couldn't pass up this pink wooden one for $1.

Little avocado green American Tourister piece of luggage.

Didn't come with the bunch of baby shoes (and crocheted baby hat) but works well as storage.

Great old lined and numbered ledger with only a few pages written in…

I thought this vintage gun-shaped glass candy holder would be more valuable than it is selling for on ebay. Ah, well...

Lastly, some flower frogs, a silver tray, and a toast/letter holder.

The tray will be a little chalk memo board, the frogs are holding some seasonal vintage postcards, and I want to do something fun with the holder thing.

Plate organizer? Photo display? I could paint it, hang it, and use it as hooks for… any suggestions?