Let us put by some hour of every day for holy things...

I will not doubt, though all my ships at sea
Come drifting home with broken masts and sails.
I will believe the Hand which never fails,
From seeming evil, worketh good for me.
And though I weep because those sails are tattered,
Still will I cry, while my best hopes lie shattered:
I trust in Thee.
--Ann Kimmel

Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines, the labor of the olive shall fail and the fields shall yield no meat, the flock shall be cut off from the fold and there shall be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. Habakkuk 3:17-18

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Friday Finds Rides Again!


Yes, yes, I know.... In my last post I was singing my swan song, but today I'm so jazzed about what I've found at two garage sales, I couldn't resist telling you about it.  

I am endeavoring to rein myself in of late.  It's tempting, when one sells vintage items on Etsy, to grab anything and everything that's potentially sale-able and cheap. The trouble with that is, one's house gets frustratingly cluttered up, and if the items don't sell, you're left with it and have to face hauling it to the Goodwill.  

So now my guiding precept is I will only buy it if I like it myself enough to keep it if it doesn't sell. Or, as one of our founding fathers wrote (Thomas Jefferson or George Washington, I don't recall which), Do not buy anything you do not need simply because it is cheap.

This does create some of its own problems, though--I don't want to sell anything!  But I buck up and do it anyway.

Okay...Now for the gems!

Yesterday, a local garage sale yielded three vintage Barbie patterns for a $1 apiece!  Not only could I sell them "as is" for more, but I understand these are no longer under copyright and I could duplicate them and sell them that way.  Wahooo!!!!!!!!!!!!  I'll have to do a of research as to PDF files and so on, but onward and upward!

That was it for yesterday, but it was enough to make me let out a few cheers as soon as I was discreetly away from the sale. (I think it's very impolite to let folks know I've paid them peanuts for a vintage treasure!)

Today, my husband wasn't too excited about heading out for a garage sale outing, but as he wanted coffee at the store, we agreed to see if we saw any fresh signs along the way.

We only found one--barely--it was small and poorly positioned. But we managed to locate the sale, up a very steep gravel drive on the outskirts of our neighboring village. What we found when we finally made it to the top was not promising--the usual table of old clothes, bins of cheap baby toys and stuffed animals, and scads and scads of "collectible" decorator plates and dolls.

As my daughter says, "If it said 'collectible' when you bought it, it probably isn't collectible now."  However...



Some things are just so tacky and kitsch that they simply must be examined, and there were two boxes of small "collectible" dolls from the sixties, and most of them were still in their original packages.  

These little horrors were made in Hong Kong and have never been removed from their little bags. The seller had probably 7 or 8 more representing different nationalities, and she only wanted $1 apiece. I wouldn't have looked at them twice if they weren't still MIB (mint in bag!) but I decided to take a chance on them since they're in such great shape. If they don't sell on Etsy, my granddaughter will eventually get them and she can do what she wants with them.

Next, I looked through a dozen or more boxes of other supposedly collectible dolls.  These were promotion items from a gas station that is no longer in business to my knowledge, and each has its original brochure and is in mint condition.  Apparently, you could buy one of these dolls for 99 cents with a fill-up. These were also going for $1 apiece, and I had fun looking at each one, and choosing a few I thought were relatively pretty. Or should I say, less ugly than the others?
From left to right, England, Colonial American (floozy, presumably), and Greece

 I like England's doll wearing her crown.

Next, a Bradley doll, or at least a type of doll similar to the Bradley dolls:
An unusual Bradley style doll with yarn hair.

From the top of her head to her pointed goes, she stands 13" tall.

Can you believe this price?  The staple is old and rusty, so it's likely original.

I can't find any manufacturer's mark or label, but she does have some glue residue on her legs, which makes me think she was fastened on to some kind of stand when new.

Okay, I've saved the best for last.  I think my daughter will find these interesting; two early plastic Barbie dimestore knock-offs in their original outfits. They're filthy, but for historical interest if nothing else, I thought they were worth their $1 price.  

These are fascinating!  And they're still wearing their original shoes--wow.

These have molded eyelashes just like the original Barbie, and the ponytail hairstyle.
I have no idea if these gals are actually worth anything or not, but it should be interesting finding out. 

These would have been the equivalent of today's Dollar Store dolls and would have been fobbed off on little girls clamoring for a Barbie like their older sisters had, back when Barbies were a bit "up market" and not cheapos made in China like they are today.

I should know--my mother got me one similar to this when I was about 5and I despised it, knowing full well it was not the real thing!

Well, that's all, folks!  Talk to you again... eventually.


 


1 comment :

  1. I really love it when you post your friday finds
    It sounds like you had an interesting friday..making me regret my choice of staying inside the last few days :)
    I cant go flea marketing for awhile..not until business really picks im im overwhelmed with stuff.
    I do the same thing now only buying something that I might want to keep if it doesnt sell..or know someone I can give it to.
    I also have another rule I dont pay over 7.00 dollars for an item unless..I dont mind being stuck with it.
    Ive got boxes and boxes of stuff right now that I havent posted yet.
    My mom has a similar story she wanted a Tammy doll and got a barbie.

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