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

Friday, November 9, 2012

Friday's Finds: Free Box Bonanza

Last night my husband spotted a classified ad for a "barn sale" not too far from us, so this morning we decided, since we had other errands to do, that we might as well take a look. (Big surprise, eh?)

When we tracked it down, we realized it was a location we'd been to before--a barn, yes, but more or less a permanent hoarder's stash that is opened up a couple of times a year for those who like to rummage.  Most of it isn't terribly interesting. There are the ubiquitous piles of empty baskets, throw pillows, and mismatched dishes, old unused candles and Wal-Mart detritus. However, this time they had a FREE box outside the door.  And that's as far as I got.

Take a look:

The little ones were fascinated by this pile of grubby old toys... even Peppy slipped up to snatch a decapitated vintage Barbie head to examine more closely.

Yes, all this came from the free box.  I've only had time for a cursory examination so far, but there are vintage Barbies, a Tutti, some of those dolls from the Ideal family (can't think of their names--Pepper? Penny Brite?) as well as some vintage Ideal fashion doll knock-offs. 

Then, of course, there were the vintage My Little Pony figures made in Hong Kong. I've written about them here before. With a bit of cleaning, hair restyling, and research as to their individual identities, these will sell easily on Etsy. I have here not only ponies, but unicorns, a giraffe, and even a pony with a fire helmet...  Fascinating!  And freebies to boot.


I'll share more photos soon when I manage to clean these up a bit.

Then, when I finally got inside the barn, I found a few more dolls at fifty cents apiece:

I'm counting on my doll collector daughter to help me identify the various Barbies acquired in this haul.

Last night I got out my trusty scissors and paper punches and made some cute gift tags which I'll be putting up for sale in Peppy's shop shortly. The little pomeranian is taken from one of the antique greeting cards in my collection, the same collection I use for making the magnetic bookmarks, only this one is damaged on the back so I haven't been able to make an acceptable bookmark with it--yet. I do have plans to try and repair the card.



The Christmas buyers are already out in force. The night before last I had the shock of my Etsy life--someone purchased SWEENEY!
Oh, me of little faith... Though I put my little dachsund up for sale, I never really expected anything to come of it. And now, little Sweeney the Weenie is on his way to be a Christmas present! I wrapped him in the cutest dachsund print fabric bag.  Here's the fabric, which I purchased at JoAnn's:

 I have more to write about, but time is short for today, so I'll close for now, and I hope to add another post over the weekend.

Meanwhile, I want to share a link Vanessa sent me. Some of you who have been following this lame excuse for a blog over the last several months (and you do have the right to remain silent) will remember that Vanessa's beloved Maine Coon cat, Merrill, died after a brief illness. I'm happy to report she has a new fur baby, a delightful little bundle of personality and energy named Sophie. Flicker won't let me post the photo, but they will allow me to post the link, so take a look. It's a great shot.  Sophie is a doll!
  
http://www.flickr.com/photos/89240468@N03/8149035085/

Oh, and check out these treasuries if you have time. All three of my shops are featured in this one, by the Holiday Addicts Team. You can find sale coupon codes for all the shops represented as well:

www.etsy.com/treasury/MjYzMjk5MDJ8MjcyMzU1MTI5Ng/all-weekend-holiday-shopping-bnr-new

And these are some I've made recently, of which I'm particularly proud. I'd love for you to take a look, and perhaps leave a comment.

 http://www.etsy.com/treasury/MTYzNzA5MTZ8MjcyMDk3Mjk5NQ/electric-bluewhat-a-hue

 http://www.etsy.com/treasury/MTUzNDcxMDN8MjcyMDk4MzYyNw/orange-you-glad

  http://www.etsy.com/treasury/MTUzNDcxMDN8MjcyMDc3MTY3NQ/the-lavender-blue-cast-of-melancholy

 www.etsy.com/treasury/MTA0ODU1ODB8MjcyMzUwNTEyNg/rumplestiltskins-legacy

www.etsy.com/treasury/MTA0ODU1ODB8MjcyMDg1ODQ1MQ/a-treasury-riddle-can-you-name-the-poem?


6 comments :

  1. WOW I seriously am very jealous
    thats quite a haul ..now you really need to join my toy team on etsy.
    Im not surprised sweeney sold he is adorable :)

    You NEEED to make a cat stuffed animal and you need to name it sophie :)


    Thank you for mentioning me you make me feel like a celebrity or something.

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    Replies
    1. Hi, Vanessa,
      Yeah, it was an amazing trove to find. I'm still in disbelief. Truly one person's trash is another person's treasure.

      I keep forgetting to ask you about the Vintage Toy team. I need to jettison Pom Moms (it's dead in the water, more or less) and then I can keep up with a new one.

      Delete
  2. Yeah right now not much is going on in my team but I hope to get it very active with people having fun and talking toys :)

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  3. Ive actually never heard anyone say that they dont look good in black..black is almost the only color I wear..that and green and red.

    Cant wait for that cranberry sauce recipe ( cranberry sauce is my favorite thanksgiving food )

    ReplyDelete