It's My Blog and I Can Shirk If I Want To!

I have seriously got to quit making statements announcing upcoming posts in this blog. Statements like, "Check back tomorrow for another edition of Friday's Finds!" or "I've been working on a new project and I'm going to share photos in my next post!" Almost invariably these breezy pronouncements are the kiss of death to chances of my actually following through. But it's my blog and I can shirk--balk--dodge--lapse--slump--goof off if I want to! You'll just have to put up with my slapdash ways, I'm afraid, if you want to follow this dopey thing. (Why are you following it, anyway, if I may ask? I'm really curious.)

No point in backtracking with the various newsy bits from the last  couple of weeks. I'll cut to the chase and tell you about my latest cheap thrills in the junking line. I've nabbed some good deals and fun finds from thrift shops, church rummage sales, and estate sales, and it's time to gloat over my loot.

Some of my best finds I've already gotten up and listed in the shops. I've been pleased to obtain a lot of good animal-related vintage junk lately, which is a good thing because MyPalPeppy has been in serious need of a fresh infusion of inventory. It can be a challenge finding items for this shop; one can only sell so many figurines. Here are some of the terrific things already up and running:

www.etsy.com/listing/193129219/mcm-wire-dog-sculpture-letter-holder

I love this mid-century modern wire sculpture letter holder! He was a thrift shop find. Very Eames Era/Mad Men era early sixties.

www.etsy.com/listing/193451572/bright-mod-royal-sealy-stacking-coffee

I actually obtained four of these bright, flower power coffee cups. Two are primarily orange, and two are yellow. Got 'em at a flea market stall for a song--well, that and a couple of bucks. For all four! They're made in Japan with the Sealy label. 1960s? 1970s? And they're in tip-top condition!

www.etsy.com/listing/193453703/cute-animal-cut-ups-childrens-cat

These bizarre children's scissors are as cute as they can be in baby blue and pink, though--truth to tell--I can't imagine they'd be very easy to manage, especially for a young child. They're dated 1989. 

I found the scissors, plus a few other kitsch eighties goodies like these cat-shaped post-it notes and balsa wood refrigerator magnets in a dusty, jumbled-up second hand joint where hardly anything was priced. I hate that! I usually end up getting taken slightly because I dislike haggling. Nevertheless, these were a fairly good deal, and if no one buys them, I'll happily keep and enjoy them myself.

www.etsy.com/listing/193024854/cool-cat-variety-fun-pack

The smoky gray-green glass owl is a piggy bank. Or should I say birdy bank? The poor thing was caked in dust when I found him, but even in that neglected condition he was striking. After cleaning him up, I had fun posing him out in the woods. I would hazard a guess that he dates to the mid-1970s, or a bit earlier. 

www.etsy.com/listing/191009999/wise-old-owl-vintage-glass-coin-bank

Fun stuff, huh? This is just part of it. Wait 'til you see some of the goodies I haven't listed yet:

Here we have a pleasing assortment of vintage beasties. In back is a Breyer horse toy which some deluded individual has daubed in white paint, trying to make a pinto of it. I'm hoping I can get it removed; I'm told denatured alcohol may do the trick. Breyer horses are usually good sellers; if I can get him back to some semblance of his original condition, he may fetch $20, which is no small potatoes for a 50 cent investment.

The blue rabbit is a cotton ball dispenser. You fill his tummy with cotton balls (there's a plug on the bottom), and pull them out from a hole where his tail should be. I adore the somewhat sinister hollow pink blow-mold rabbit, as I always adore cheap plastic gimcracks of dubious taste and value. He has a loop on his head--I may have fun stringing cord through it and wearing him as a giant pendant for a bit before I sell him. If I sell him. The little bulldog (I think it's a bulldog) is, in reality, not so little at all, which is why I decided to give selling him a try, even though he is another figurine. He stands about 6 inches tall and is 10 inches long, so he has presence. I'll be surprised if he doesn't appeal to someone.

Okay, I did buy a few small figurines as well. The gold and glass dog is most unusual. I think the gold is 24K, like I find on some china figurines, but I'm not sure how to determine that definitively. He's got attitude, and I think he'll also attract a buyer once he's been listed. The black and white pig is actually a planter, not a figurine per se. He's a sweetie! Much cuter in person (in hog?) than in my photo. And finally, there's the little pomeranian ceramic figurine, which I am not selling. For some reason vintage pomeranian items are hard to find--although I see lots of poms in old postcards and photographs, looking like the noble Spitz breed they are descended from and not the modern overbred miniaturized version. But vintage figurines, brooches, etc.--zip! So I was happy to fork out $4 for him, which makes him the most expensive of all the items in any of these photographs in this post.

Last, but not least, I was delighted to obtain a really fine gravel art picture. It's a great subject--parrots--it's been painstakingly assembled, the gravel isn't flaking off, and the background is clean, not grimy like so many of them are. I already have two of this same design, so I can sell this one without a qualm. 

Close-up detail:

It blows me away when I'm out junking and I see some ordinary piece of cheap modern rubbish marked with an outrageous price (note that "rubbish" is NOT to be confused with "junk"!) , and then I pick up some cool vintage find and the seller says, "I'll let you have that for a dollar," or--better yet--"Oh, you can just take that." 

Like paint-by-number paintings, for example. I just sold one for $45 and it had only been listed a couple of weeks. Today at a church rummage sale I saw 4 of them going for $1-2 apiece, framed. I thought about buying them, but decided to let someone else have the fun--they weren't subjects I liked, and the colors were sombre. Meanwhile the crummy mass-produced import fall-apart stuff was priced almost as much as if I were to go in and buy it new. How true it is that one person's trash is another person's treasure. I always work hard to keep my face straight when the sellers do this, and not do a little victory jig to tip them off!

Okay, I need to sign off. Got more to show and hope to get around to sharing it, but I'll make no promises or predictions this time around. I'll be here when you see me... eventually... maybe...