Just Lucky, I Guess....

As previously mentioned, Mr. T. and I hit the streets each week-end, on our way to estate and yard sales.  Our motto is... "You Have to Kiss a Lot of Frogs..." which translates to the fact that you have to go to tons and tons of estate and yard sales to find great stuff.  We had an especially good week-end recently, scoring a few really great Fabulous Vintage Finds.

We are discriminating buyers.  I have seen those shows! "Hoarders" and "Hoarding: Buried Alive" are my very worst nightmare!  I just don't want to be consumed by stuff, purchased just because it's a good deal. Don't get me wrong.  I love a bargain, but if you don't especially want or need it, what's the point?

The sweet vintage cookie jar is Shawnee, made about 1945 and is called "Puss n' Boots".  I found it at an unadvertised yard sale just a short distance from our house and our first stop of the morning.  We took a chance and followed the yard sale sign up the road along the river.  I knew immediately what this jar was when I saw it.  I don't know a lot about Shawnee Pottery, but I knew that this little cutie was worth much more than it's single-digit price tag.  And I mean LOW down in the single digits.  OK, I'll tell ya... I paid $2.00 for this thing!!! Check it out on eBay or Etsy to see what these actually sell for.  Puss may not be living here at our house for very long.  I am probably going to flip the Puss!

I collect Chinese sewing baskets and have a number of them in all shapes and sizes.  These baskets have often taken a bit of a beating and many are in poor condition.  But this little one, and it's on the tiny side, is in very good condition but for it's fragile silk tassel.  It is also unusual to find one that has the beads and coins intact.  And I have never seen just how the string tie is strung.  That feature is also often missing. Tucked inside were the pin card, needle book and a few old wooden spools of thread.  I'm in love...

Actually, this basket was first spotted by the eagle eye of Mr. T., who is always on the lookout for sewing related items for me.  I would call him "well trained", but really, there was no training necessary.  He's just a natural!  He knows that I love old sewing items and he's quite good at spotting them for me.

Case in point.  Mr. T. found the little box that contained the 24 vintage Victorian glass buttons that I have pictured here!  The detail on each of these tiny works of art is amazing! My friend, Suzie C., who knows WAY more about buttons than I do, says that this was an excellent find and she is seriously sorry that she did not find them herself.  We often run in to her while we are out at sales.  She acutally asks sellers, first thing, "Do you have any old buttons for sale?", and she often gets great buys that way.  Me... I don't feel as if I know enough about them to even know what to pay.  So I just pick up buttons that I like here and there.  I bought this little box of buttons for $1.00.  A great deal, I think. If one sews, one is likely to appreciate buttons.

My last fun find pictured in the first photo is the little ceramic baby shoe in a lovely aqua-green color.  I am thinking that I will make it into a pincushion.  You know, you can make just about make any small vessel into a pincushion.

Mr. T. bought a nearly new, very sturdy 28 ft. extension ladder, but you don't really want to know about that, do you?  Nope... totally boring, but he was happy about it. And, now I know that when he is up high on a ladder, that it is a safer sturdier one.  Not all of our great finds are antique or vintage.  But they are usually great bargains, and that's a good thing.