After many weeks of feeling deprived, I finally made it to a yard sale! So you might say this is the confession of a desperate yard sale addict! Other addicts will understand, you get to the point where you need a fix. Or I could call this…
“Confession of a Desperate Yard Sale Addict or You Know You’re a Yard Sale Addict When….”
- You’re going to a yard sale on crutches
- You’re asking your hubby to go to the sale for you as you’re biting your nails in the car.
- You’re plotting how you CAN go to the sale, yet still sit in the car. Maybe a camcorder and a walkie-talkie?
- You’re politely telling him (while gritting your teeth) to please park the car so you can at least LOOK at the sale.
- You’re at the yard sale anyway even when the doc told you no…how stupid is that???
I must explain…I have a broken kneecap, and am not supposed to be walking on it, even though it doesn’t hurt. But doc said I may walk around in the house.
Once in the distant past, Gary told me he would go to sales for me. AH! File that away in the brain for future reference. So the time had come to take him up on it. I coerced, arm-twisted, wheedled, sweet-talked him into going even though he was suddenly suffering from amnesia.
So there was a sale. Like Cinderella, I was DYING to go to the ball. I pointed out the things from photos ahead of time I wanted him to look for, and where they would be. I knew this was risky because as we know, men have a difficult time finding things. And sure enough, he couldn’t and didn’t. Someone else scored the little chest I wanted. Oh well…. This is what he came back with: not exactly my vision…of a productive Friday! Don’t get me wrong…I AM grateful he went. Desperate yard sale addicts can’t be too picky.
Saturday he talked me into going with him while I sat in the car. We went to about 5 sales, and he walked around forever, but came back empty-handed! (How is this possible???) I was cringing over what he was missing.
At one sale, he came back to the car saying “they have Barbie dolls and tons of other vintage items.” Arrgghh….before I knew it I was casting caution to the winds and going to look! I had my cane, and it’s almost like walking around in the house, right???
Vintage items were priced outta sight. The people kept saying everything was negotiable, but they could have sold a whole lot more if their prices were better. Badly tarnished silverplate trays…yes, I know it doesn’t matter if they are tarnished, but…$20 and $10? No way.
Lots of LP records…saw a Beatles record with a very worn cover….$15…NOPE! They had obviously checked Ebay. But it’s a mistake to price a yard sale like the winning bid on ebay. I’m not usually one to turn down the Beatles. However, I did find a few bargains.
This lovely vintage bookcase for the haggled-down price of $8. I love the pretty details on the edges and the shelves. Just a little peeling veneer on the top, which can be fixed. For an awesome tutorial on how to remove veneer, check out this post by Denise of Salvaged Inspirations.
A lovely paneled door with possibilities
and only $3!
THAT could be THIS lovely rustic chalkboard door~
From my friend Wanda Craft at Just Vintage Home (used by permission)
or THIS….beautiful hand painted cabinet door by Debi Coules Romantic Art and Design. http://www.debicoules.com/
(used by permission)
Here are my other priceless finds of the day~lovely vintage hardware which I literally grabbed…
If anybody knows what this is, please tell me! Close up of item in bottom row of photo above:
More hardware lovelies~
And last but not least….sewing trims and notions are irresistible to me….
One of the collars has stains, but I get around this by dyeing, which causes the stain to blend in.
Advice about selling vintage sewing notions:
- Hoops & wooden spools always sell.
- Notions and trims do better sold as a grouping or lot, although I have sold them individually. Vintage trims are very popular, but make sure they are vintage. They aren’t dated, so you have to guess by how old the packaging looks.
- Generic, solid color yarn with no labels is a hard sell, unless in a lot with others and priced cheap.
- DMC embroidery is difficult now that embroidery is out, unless you have a lot of it, with unusual colors.
- Embroidery patterns are almost impossible to sell unless the pattern or kit is extremely cute.
- Aunt Martha’s iron-on’s? Never tried, but I doubt they sell well.
I always tell myself not to buy sewing notions, but I do it anyway. I still love them, even though my machine and I have not met for many years!
All of the smalls (hardware and sewing notions) will be headed to my shop on Etsy: vintagesouthernpicks.etsy.com.
Otherwise, I would love to know what you think of this post!
Florence
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Score! Glad you were able to get out for a bit. That door is great! And thanks for the shout out!
The medallion doesn’t have a stem? *Should* it have a stem? With a stem, it would be a curtain tie back.
So glad I could get out too! Medallion doesn’t have a stem, but has the hole so maybe it is for a tieback. It’s pretty isn’t it?
Wonderful treasures! my hubby doesn’t like yard sales and it’s a struggle getting him to take me. Hugs!
Katherine, Luckily mine likes them, but he had to grow into it! Thanks for your comment!