Thrift Share Monday - March 14

Good afternoon, all! I've found some goodies to share.  I must say, this Etsy shop ownership is getting dangerous.  Whenever I'm at an estate sale or out thrifting I found myself constantly saying, "I can sell that!".  It's a fabulous excuse to take home way too much.  I should be banned from sales until I actually make a few more sales...

I just happened to drive by a partial "estate" sale (hello, yard sale) right down the street from my house on Friday.  I came home with this gorgeous chenille bedspread.  My husband's not crazy about it so it may end up on Etsy...

I strive to have a paperless kitchen so whenever I find clean looking linens I grab them.  I was also happy to have found the little service bell on the thrift store shelf.

The above office storage box was also at a thrift store.  25 cent sale on all office supplies? Yes Please!  This will be in the shop later, listed fairly cheap due to the original price.

Great assortment of mugs from various sales. The transferware set was made in Brazil and two of the cups are Buffalo China pieces.  Restaurant ware rocks.

Affordable Rugs

I used to think of rugs as one of those big ticket items that I wouldn't be able to afford until the kids went off to college...which makes no sense, cause that's when you're really broke, right?  In the last couple of years I've started to change how I think about where and how to buy rugs and quickly realized that nice rugs aren't out of the question for a small budget.

These are two rugs I've bought in the last year:

This is a nice quality, hand-knotted wool rug that I purchased for $100.  It measures 7'x4.5' and lies in front of our bedroom seating area.  I attended a storage space sale that was advertised on craigslist.  A woman in her sixties was looking to clear out her many purchases from 20 years of travel and residence in Europe and the Middle East.  She had stored her excess treasures at a U-Haul facility and simply held a sale right out of the storage unit.   Read the details of garage sale advertisements!  You won't stumble upon the "jack-pot" every weekend but if you look consistently, a good sale will eventually come your way.

Last summer I discovered two great furniture consignment stores in our city.  I recently purchased this rug for $65, it measures 3.5'x6'.  Many design blogs and shelter magazines had been including beautiful, very worn, antique rugs in their spreads.  I commonly see similar rugs in antique stores for $300-$600 so I was pleasantly surprised when I confirmed the price.  Both furniture consignment stores in our area also carry a wide selection of rugs and small decor accessories and a handful of quality antiques.  Check out the stores in your area!  Go with an open mind and always try to picture the item in another setting.  It's common for consignment stores to allow you to try the item in your home before committing to purchase.

If I was educated in interior design I'd make some insightful comments about rugs anchoring the room, setting the tone, blah, blah...but since I'm not I'll leave it to the awesome design blogs out there:

Little Green Notebook
Pure Style Home  (really excellent post about her design process)
Urban Grace (she is shopping for rugs I can't afford, but good post anyway :))

I Took a Leap

I hadn't planned on sharing this information on the blog just yet, but I've been encouraged by other blogs I read, namely:

Apron Thrift Girl
I know it's silly, but this is one of my favorite images that she recently posted.


So...I decided to open my own shop on Etsy. 

I've been an Etsy member for a couple of years now and have occasionally thought about various craft projects or children's activities that I could make and sell.  Only very recently did I consider selling vintage goods. As I've stated in previous posts, I love using vintage finds in my home. When I was a kid my folks used to drag us around to antique stores and auctions.  I probably complained at the time but I developed an appreciation for things old and of good quality.  Three and four years ago I mostly shopped thrift stores for our family's clothing.  I browsed antique stores in my free time but could rarely afford to make purchases.  In the last year I've been able to spend a little money on our home and have found things I truly love at estate sales and antique markets. When I have free time, I really enjoy searching, and sifting.  About a week into the new year I decided to take the leap.  Within 48 hours I had expanded my Etsy profile, set shop policies and listed a handful of items (most of which had been in my possession for some time). 

Gorgeous oil pastel. Part of me regrets listing this, I feel like I know this girl.

I've thrown away most of the plastic kid cups in our house and we use juice glasses instead.

Lovely canning jar I found at an estate sale. I'd never seen the cut-out Presto lid so the research prior to listing taught me something new!

This leads us back to Apron Thrift Girl.  In the past I've enjoyed her blog for the thrifted yumminess but over the past weeks I've focused on the reselling tips and even provided a link back to this blog from her "Thrift Share Monday".  ATG is hosting a "ReSeller's Listing Challenge" for the month of February and I'm going to join in with a goal of increasing the items in my Etsy shop.

Estate Sale Goodies

I took advantage of a slow Saturday morning and went to an estate sale a few miles from my house. It's always interesting to get a glimpse into someone's life, their hobbies, their quirks, their style.  Estate sales in my neck of the woods are usually the contents of a middle class home whose last resident has passed away.  It's often "granny style" items that family members are ready to let go.  That said, I've never failed to find something of use. This particular sale was a Friday/Saturday sale with everything going for half price on Saturday.  I wish I had thought to take some photos while at the sale. The last resident clearly had a thing for Marilyn Monroe, anyone searching for MM memorabilia totally hit the jackpot.  The basement was also full with a massive record collection and extensive "DJ equipment". I don't know the lingo but there were turntables and speakers galore.  Here are a couple of my finds from the sale:

This enamel ware refrigerator dish can suit a multitude of storage needs. Currently serving on the back porch as a sidewalk chalk container. Love the navy blue on the inner rim.

I'm still trying to research this hotel ware.  It's made by Wallace Silver Company and is marked "silver soldered", "The Alba". Apparently The Alba was a 1920s hotel in Palm Beach, Florida.  Was this used for room service or strictly in the kitchen? It looks like a miniature dutch oven pan and is only 3 or 4 inches in diameter.  Anyway, a fun find for $4. Not sure of it's purpose in our household yet...

I'll save the other treats for another day.