The Sheer Trash Road Show

Anthony Andrews as The Scarlet Pimpernel

I seek it here~

I seek it there~

My Roadshow seeks trash

EVERYWHERE!!!

Welcome to my newly rechristened garage sale showcase, The Sheer Trash Road Show. Why be limited to only one day of the week to discuss one's  junking finds? And anyway, the title "Friday's Finds" was just too blah to truly encapsulate the variety of dubious second-hand items I typically find myself hauling home from yard sales, estate sales, rummage sales, and thrift shops to share here on this blog.

Without further ado, let the unveiling begin. I'd like to show you some of the goodies I found at an estate sale yesterday morning.

One of the advantages to having no class and even less taste is that the kind of stuff I'm gravitating to at sales isn't usually the stuff anybody else pays much attention to. Case in point: look at this terrific vintage Hallmark cardboard expanding file. It's in good condition, the graphics are a true 70s kick, and I got it for $1.50. A little high, probably, but I was glad to fork out for it.

Also among the cardboard and paper ephemera items was a big stack of vintage calendars, priced from 50 cents to $1 apiece. I nabbed three of them--two Hallmark floral calendars from the 70s and a 1991 Cleo calendar of Grandma Moses primitive prints. My camera is showing them a bit faded out here, but they're all bright and unmarked. I plan to dismantle them, keep a few of my favorite pages for framing or crafting somehow, and put the rest up to sell. Here are some samples of what's inside each one:

 

I'm always on the lookout for small animal-related vintage items to list in Peppy's shop, and I found a number of little figural Avon bottles that fill the bill. Most of these are from the 1970s, also, and they were priced from 30 cents to 50 cents apiece.

For the benefit of readers who may be new to this blog, I opened MyPalPeppy on Etsy to raise money for some expensive surgery which my pomeranian Peppy desperately needed. Once that was accomplished, I started donating 15% of the proceeds to animal rescue efforts (Displaced Pets Rescue) and any profits remaining I use to pay vet bills for my own fur companions. 

 It was with Peppy's shop in mind that I really splurged and bought this set of six vintage hand-embroidered dish towels. I paid $14, which is high for me, but they're so cute I felt I couldn't resist. I feel certain I can sell them individually and still come out ahead. Here's one in close-up:

I love it that the tiny writing beneath the dog's tail says "Screech" as he slides to a halt before the spraying hose nozel!

For a couple of days more, my shops will continue in vacation mode, but I'll be reopening them July 1 if you'd like to check them out.

Okay, a couple more photos and I'll stop for today. Anyway, Peppy's over here barking up at me, which means he's fed up with my sitting at the computer and wants to go outside.

 

This terrific old Fisher Price "Pull-a-Tune" toy makes a wonderful chiming sound as you push or pull it along. It was a steal at $2, even in its somewhat shabby condition.

Lastly, here's a lovely pink flocked chiffon scarf embellished with colored sequins--fairy tale stuff!

I shall add it to the dress-up collection I'm storing up for little girls to play with when they come to visit.

Speaking of little girls, in my next post I'll show you some of the projects I've just finished for the upcoming grandbaby. 

March Madness

This is what I've been looking at out my window this week:

Granted, it is not a lot of snow, but the point is, it's snow.  In mid-March.  And when it wasn't snowing, it was wildly windy, with branches coming down everywhere.  (One big one crashed down just where our bookkeeper's car had been parked only moments before. Thank God for perfect timing!)  In between snow flurries, we've had sleet and hail. And LOTS of drenching, lashing RAIN. 

I have NOT been a happy camper.

Ah, well... 
Here's what I have been doing, when I could squeeze in the time:  Making lots of little wedding favor bags for a most delightful bride in Australia.  It's exciting to have my first custom order, but also terrifying!

Meanwhile, I have received an order for one of my poodle toilet paper cozies--!  I've been asked to make a hot pink one for an Etsy customer who lives on a houseboat  in the U.K.!  (Why is it my TP poodles have a more exciting life than I do?!)

I did  have a couple of nifty finds at Goodwill this week.  My husband had to drive into Vancouver for parts this week, so I rode along and coaxed him into letting me dash inside for about 10 minutes.  I found a vintage Vera Neumann linen dishtowel:

and a Grandma Moses crewel embroidery piece (unframed):

and this terrific vintage British Colony Hong Kong plastic and wicker handbag.  Isn't it fabulous?

I decided to keep the purse, at least for a while, but the other items I listed on my Melmac Paradise site (etsy) and they sold almost as fast as I posted them!   I love it when that happens!


  

This coming week, I have GOT to get organized for income taxes.  I've never been this late before.  Ick, ick, ick.  Beats me why we can't just have a national sales tax and be done with this maniacal income tax return rigmarole every year.

Meanwhile, the snow has started in again and is supposed to be hanging around tomorrow, so I've got winter and taxes to tackle...

It does rather seem like adding insult to injury, wouldn't you say?

"O Wind, if Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?"  (Well, yes, apparently!)