Putting thrifted finds to good use!

I have been absent the last few weeks because our family went on a wonderful European vacation, after which I had to return to work.  Oh how quickly my year of maternity leave passed by.  Now that I am back to work, I don't have nearly as much time to thrift.  However, I have accumulated quite a lot of great thrifted items in the past year.  One of my top thrift items was always fabric, since I love to sew and fabric store prices are hard to swallow.  I have definitely been doing some major hoarding.  I decided that it is time for me to start using up all that fabric so I starting looking at projects that I could get started on. 

While reading some crafty/thrifty blogs, I've come across a few bloggers who make quilts for Project Linus, a charity that donates quilts to children in need.  What a wonderful cause I thought!  Well it turns out there is a local chapter of Project Linus in my city.  I contacted the coordinator and found out the requirements for the blankets that they accept, basically anything handmake and about 40" x 40".  Now I am super excited to get started on my first quilt.  Since Project Linus is based on the Peanuts character, I'm thinking I'll make a zig zag quilt - zig zags always makes me think of Charlie Brown.  :)  Here a few of my inspiration quilts:

Too cute right?  :)  In doing this, I'll also be participating in the 100 quilts for kids, an online initiative to sew charity quilts, hence the new button on my blog.  I love that the online community is banding together to do good!

Long weekend haul

I hope everyone had a wonderful long weekend!

Mine got off to a great start with an amazing estate sale on Canada Day.  There were tons of beautiful things, including a lovely collection of depression glass, cool vintage radios, vintage sewing box and, my favourite, Pyrex!  :)  Here are the pieces that I brought home:

There is also a large spring daisy casserole but it was in the fridge holding leftovers when I was taking pictures.  The snowflake divided with lid was $5 and the rest were only $2.50 each!!  I also left behind two mint 404 yellow mixing bowls and a butterprint 444 and 442 because I already have doubles of all of those (which is kinda crazy).

I also got tons of beautful vintage sheets which were only $1 each with pillowcases for only a quarter each. 

I've been seeing so many lovely quilts online made of vintage sheets lately that I've been itching to make my own.  Something super easy for a beginner like me and it'll be in shades of blue and green which I think will be very pretty.

I also couldn't leave behind this table cloth for $2.  It's in beautiful condition (can't even tell that it's been used).







I had my arms full when I left this sale!  Bags full of pyrex and sheets are super heavy. This was definitely one of the best estate sales I've been to!!

We spent the rest of the weekend with my husband's family.  Was able to stop by a small antique mall and picked up this pretty pink fridgie for $4.

Off to wash my sheets and hopefully start cutting pieces for new first quilt while the baby is napping  :)

Flea Market Fun!

I went to my first flea market this morning with two friends.  It was so much fun!  Such a beautiful day to wander around the outside market looking for treasures.  :)

As soon as I went in, I quickly spotted a table with Pyrex.  There was a complete set of friendship cinderella bowls!  It was marked at $27, which I was pretty excited see.  Taking a closer look, I noticed a lot of little scratches but not bad.  Here is the 441 to give you an idea of the condition.

I was able to haggle the seller down to $22 and walked away with them!  Very productive first 10 minutes at the flea market.  :)  This seller also had a set of butterprint cinderellas missing the 442 for $18 (and I'm sure he would have taken less too), which was also a great deal but I already have that set.

My thrifting friend already had all but the 444 from the friendship set so we were searching for that one, but sadly the only friendship 444s we found were pretty scratched up and the sellers were asking $18 for that bowl alone!  So the prices were definitely all over the map.
At a few other reasonably priced booths, I snagged a few other pieces.  I got a whole set of butterprint serve 'n stores (all with lids!) for $20.  Another booth was selling just one of those casseroles without the lid for $20!  Also picked up a horizon 503 without lid for $4 (I have an extra lid for it I picked up over a month ago) and one of the twin server casseroles for $3.50. 

I also left behind some good/great deals: butterprint 444 for only $4 (I already have two of those but it took a lot of will power not to snag this one too...still kinda wish I bought it, if only for trading), a snowflake garland 043 and 444 for $10 each, charcoal snowflake divided for $15 etc...there were tons of Pyrex to be had!!  I was saddest about leaving behind a blue stripe bowl but it was really very badly scratched.  :(

Here's my haul for just under $50:

I officially love flea market shopping!  There's great things to be found at thrift store-type pricing and the selection is amazing! It was far but well worth the drive.  I will definitely go back before it closes for the season.

I'm off to check out what treasure others found at ApronThriftGirl.

Can't go home empty handed

It wasn't a great thrifting weekend.  Went to a very disappointing rummage sale.  Everything was so overpriced!  The only Pyrex was a forest fancy casserole set for $25!!  I know it was for charity but antique mall pricing is a bit ridiculous...no wonder there was hardly anyone there.  In the end, they probably made way less money than if they priced reasonably!  I saw others leaving empty handed like me.

Since I chose that rummage sale over some estate sales and yard sales in my area, it left me pretty grumpy because it was such a waste of my precious Saturday morning thrifting time.  Luckily, I ran into a street sale so I did come home with a couple pieces of Pyrex for $3 to salvage my morning.



Also saw a bright green 024 without a lid at another yard sale.  It was marked at $8 and the lady wouldn`t go lower than $6 so I left it.

Hope you guys had better luck that I did!  :)

Vintage rescue

So there was a yard sale I missed on Saturday morning because I wrote down the directions wrong.  Well, by Sunday, the ad on craigslist had changed to say that all the leftovers were free but it had to be picked up that morning or else it was going in the garbage.  Since it was quite close to me, I decided to swing by.  There were boxes and boxes of garbage treasures.  Here is some of what I "rescued":

There were tons of books.  I picked out some vintage cookbooks, craft books and children's books.  There was a wooden box that plan on turning into a treasure chest for my little one.  The set of Olfa pattern weight were still in the package.  I also got a rolling pin (to replace the one my dog chewed up) and some cookie cutters still in the box (that I forgot to take pictures of).

Quite a few other people were there picking through the boxes as well. One guy got a whole box of old records.  A lady was making multiple trips to her car with decorative items like a nice footed glass vase.

I always wonder why people don't donate things like this, especially when many charities do pick ups if you call.  Well, I'm glad I did my part in saving some useful things and reducing the amount of stuff going into the landfills!  :)

Getting back in the thrifting groove

My parents have been visiting for the past couple of week so I've had little time to thrift.  I headed out yesterday morning in need of a good thifting fix!

The first sale I went to was a good one.  I got a brand new set of Dansk steak knives for $2.

I also bought a bunch of great toys for my little one, like this set of 10 wooden puzzles and a stand to hold them all for $2.

 
There were 4 big metal tonka trucks in great condition for only $2 each.  I kept looking at them knowing it was a great deal but thinking that they were so big and my little one is still too young to play with them.  Well, someone else snapped those Tonka trucks up before I was able to make a decision.  Now I'm kicking myself for not grabbing them when I had the chance.  Oh well.

I went to a few more yard sales but didn't find anything.  Then I stumbled onto a yard sale that I had not planned to go to.  There were lots of boxes and older looking items on the driveway so I had a feeling it would be a good one.  First I found a large metal watering can, which I've had on my thrift list for a while. 

Then I spotted some Pyrex!

  

I asked the price and was told it was $3.  Then I decided on a whim to ask if they had any more Pyrex.  Well, as luck would have it, the guy said that he had some more that belonged to his mother and other family members and asked if there was anything in particular that I was looking for.  I mentioned that I prefer blue and turqoise pieces.  He went into his house and then came back with all these (much to my shock and delight!):

Honestly, I felt like I was dreaming.  The 442 Horizon was the last piece I needed to complete that set.  Butterprint...enough said.  And could those ramekins be any cuter?! 

Then the seller started telling me that he has been looking for the largest bowl for the (butterprint) nesting bowls to complete that set so he could sell  it for $40 and that he saw a large bowl in another pattern selling for $10 at a thrift.  In my head, I was thinking "uh oh he knows the value of Pyrex".  I was relieved when he said he'd take $10 for the ramekins and $15 for the butterprint bowls (since I'd have to do the leg work to complete the set) and he would throw in the horizon.  Greedy Pyrex maniac that I am, of course I asked if he had more inside.  He went back in and came out again with these:

Sadly, the gooseberry 441 and 443 have seen the inside of a dishwasher so the shine is gone but the pattern is mostly intact so when he dropped his price from $15 to $10, I couldn't resist.  I managed to sweet talk him into throwing in the butterfly gold casserole to sweeten the deal as well  :) 

He also had a set of Sandalwood cinderella bowls but I'm not a huge fan of that pattern so I passed on those.  

I left with a big box of Pyrex and a huge grin on my face.  The couple running the sale had a great sense of humour, I enjoyed chatting with them and they nicknamed me "Mrs. Pyrex"  :)

Check out Thrift Share Monday.

This week's finds

I'm happy to report that I found myself some more Pyrex and other goodies this week.

I found this Terra casserole at a SA.  No lid (and I have no hope of finding one in this pattern), a bit scratched and a chip on the rim but I coudn't resist for $1.99.

I did a round of thrifting again on GW's 1/2 price day this week but no luck on finding any vintage items, but did find some good toys for the baby so all was not lost.

There was one estate sale I was planning to attend on Saturday morning but got an email from the estate sale company saying that it was starting on Friday instead.  I wasn't able to get there until almost closing time but was able to score a Pyrex cake pan for $3 and a cute vintage ice cream scooper for a quarter.

This allowed me to go to a different estate sale in the morning and it was a good one!  Here is all the Pyrex I scored:

There were so many Pyrex canisters I was in shock.  I took only about half of them (anticipating my husband's reaction if I brought home more).  I already had the 444 and 441 of the Verde, and the 442 was quite scratched, but for the price, I could not resist.    A friend also recently found a horizon 444 and was going to give it to me but now she can keep hers for trading.  I was happy to find the lemonade carafe, since I've been on the hunt for one and had recently left a lidless one (for $2.99) behind at SA.  There was actually also a larger one with orange slices but sadly it was broken  :( 

I also picked up a neat set of dominos with dragon pattern:

So you're probably wondering what I paid for all this (along with a few small random things not worth mentioning)...a whopping $12!  Not bad eh?  :)

Of course I pushed my luck and went to a church sale afterwards that was more than 1/2 hour drive away because they made it sound like a huge sale.  I was kicking myself afterwards because the pickings were super slim even though I got there right when it opened.  They only had 4 rows of tables in one room whereas the other ones I've been to have taken up multiple room and even multiple floors of the church.  I didn't want to leave empty handed after all that wasted gas so I decided to rifle around to see if I could find anything.  I did pick up a couple of random things.

Who knew Esso made DIY candle kits?!  It was only a quarter so I figured I'd add it to my craft supplies.
 

This set of coasters caught my eye.  The foam backing was so old it was crumbling off but I can easily add some felt.  It was only 50 cents for the set.

Also stopped by a yard sale on the way home and picked up these interesting figurines.

I do need to stop buying things just because I think they're cute.  I have no idea what I'm going to do with these.  How often do you get buyer's remorse?

Check out other fun finds at ATG's blog.

I'm back!

Ok, I finally figured out the problem I was having with blogger and now I can post again :)

Here's a few pieces of Pyrex I found last Friday (another GW 1/2 price sale!).  I was very excited to find this golden acorn oval casserole.  It's mismatched with a divided lid but I needed one of those so it worked out perfectly!

Also found this red 402 to complete my primary set (at least until I find one in better condition).

It was found in pretty bad shape but I worked some magic one it...you can read about the transformation here.

I also hit some rummage sales on the weekend.  Found this cute Mickey carafe for a friends whose kids love Mickey.

I find the Pyrex store 'n see canisters super handy so I was happy to find this one for only a quarter.

I also scored a yellow fridgie in great condition (but no lid) for only 50 cents!  I put it to use immediately, which I love to do with all my new Pyrex finds
.

I am very happy to finally have my very own copy of the Pyrex collector's book (a belated mother's day gift)!  :)

Blogger hates me :(

I've been trying to post since the weekend and every time I try to upload a picture, it gives me an error message saying "server rejected"...anyone else have this issue?

Back to the Antique Mall

Went on my second ever trip to antique malls a few days ago with a friend.  It is so much fun seeing all the lovely vintage things.  The high prices are both good and bad; for the items that I already have, it was fun to see what a bargain I got on my pieces in comparison, but for the ones that I don`t have and want, it`s very very sad.  Not everything is priced sky high, in fact it was very interesting seeing the price differences between different booths.  I was able to find a few reasonably priced Pyrex pieces that I was happy to pick up because it`s not too likely that I`ll find them thrifting.

My first friendship for $10.

 Some more butterprint!  :)  The medium fridgie was $9, the butter dish was $8.50 and the 403 was $7.

I think I spent more on gas driving there than on my Pyrex...the gas prices these days are just so crazy!!

Parade of 444s

I have to admit I prefer the cinderella mixing bowls to the regular ones.  The spouts are not great for pouring batter (as I experienced last night making banana bread), but I love holding onto them like handles.  I'm always so paranoid about breaking my Pyrex!

I was lucky to find two 444s this week.

First was this Verde at GW, in mint condition, for only $4.04 (I love it when the "good" pricers are working).

Then I found this daisy at VV, for $6.99 plus tax.  I was able to clean off the black crud but sadly it left some staining.  But still in pretty good condition.

Can't wait to use these for our summer BBQs! 

Pyrex filled Mother's Day weekend

I was able to squeeze in an estate sale very early Saturday morning. I found a partial primary mixing bowl set.  It was very grimy and a bit scratched but at $7 for the set of 3, I couldn't pass it up.  They cleaned up pretty good.

I also stopped in at a church rummage sale (love them!) and found a constellation divided dish.  The lid has a big chip but for $1, it was still a steal and hopefully I can find a replacement lid some day.

I also met someone online who was downsizing her collection and generously offered to sell me what she had to offer at the prices she paid.  Happy mother's day to me!!  :)  I paid $47 for all of this, plus she threw in a lid, some forest fancies and homestead she was planning to take to GW.

On Sunday, I finally got my mystery auction lot that I blogged about before.  Mainly I was after the snowflake pieces.  They turned out to be a bit more scratched than I had hoped, but they were not too bad.

Also included were homestead mixing bowls, DBD blue 401, two Glasbak divided dishes and some other random glassware. 

I love my new snowflakes but I don't think I'll be buying anything else sight unseen (except for a couple of poor quality pictures online with no detailed descriptions). 

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

 

Researching treasures

I love coming home to find out more about the vintage things I find, almost as much as I love finding them in the first place. 

Today, I stopped by a rummage sale.  It was probably the smallest I've been to and I didn't find any vintage Pyrex so I was disappointed at first.  But since I had already paid for parking (which I was not happy about doing in the first place), I figured I might as well take a look to see if I could find anything to salvage the trip.

I've always been partial to the blues and this square bowl caught my eye:

 Here's the bottom showing a stamp that says "3335 Soholm Bornholm Denmark Stentoj".

Turns out that Soholm was a ceramics factory founded by Herman Sonne Wolffsen and Edvard Christian Sonne in 1835, and was closed down in 1996. First I thought "Stonetoj" was the name of the designer but it actually means stonewear.  This appears to be part of the most well known "blue series" designed by Einar Johansen, who worked for Soholm between 1958 to 1966.  I found this exact piece on a couple of online auction sites and it seems to be worth between $30 and $60.  Pretty good considering I paid only 50 cents  :)

Another piece of blue pottery, that I spotted under a mug, was this pretty pitcher:

Here's the mark on the bottom:

I thought the mark said "Meadowcraft", but it's actually "Meadowcroft".  It was a pottery based in Meadowvale, Ontario, that was started by Sandy Metcalfe in 1966.  He started by making honey pots for his home made honey.  They became so popular he decided to go into the pottery business.  Sadly, it closed down when he started having heart troubles in 1974 and he passed away in 2005.  On the website www.canadiandesignerresouce.ca, his daughter posted comments on his work and mentions how she would love to have some of his pieces.  I thought that was so touching, so I posted a comment for her to get in touch with me if she wants this pitcher.  I would love to reunite her with her father's work, which she helped with as a little girl.  Just writing about this makes me tear up!

On a much lighter note, I forgot to post one of the other freebies that I picked up at the estate sale I went to earlier this week:

It made me chuckle  :)

Oh, and I also forgot to post about this little fridgie that I picked up under the "no fridgie left behind" policy:

The lid and the bottom says "Balkan's Yogurt Maker".  It seems there's some debate whether this is Fire King or Anchor Hocking.  Either way, it's super cute and I'm using it to hold my salt.  Picked it up for 50 cents from a GW on half price day.

Speaking of half price days, I also went to a couple of GWs today.  Found a Pyrex canister:

It was only $1.01 after the discount!

Also found this super cute and very old looking pitcher:

It had a lot of caked on grime but cleaned up beautifully.  Love the pattern and the christmas-y colours.  It is huge and I paid $2.02 for it.  There are no marks indicating the maker and my random google searches are not coming up with anything.  Anyone have any ideas?!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Mother's Day weekend!!  :)