We were almost rained out last weekend. On Friday Mr. VJIMT and I went to an overpriced estate sale and all we got was the Mary statue I quickly listed (and sold) as part of the Etsy 365 Project. We hit another estate sale early Saturday morning. There were about 25 people in line. They handed out playing cards for entrance -- we were the ten and jack of hearts. At 8:00 AM, they started reading off the playing cards, letting in all of the clubs. And then all of the hearts. Right behind the clubs. It was goofy. The... Continue reading

Many of my listings last week worked well for Mother's Day, coincidentally enough. Here's a vintage wall pocket vase to hold those lilacs. This antique print from Godey's Ladies Fashion is dated 1842 and is ready to hang in its fabulous black and gold Victorian frame. Did you know that this "ladies book" was directed solely at women and was one of the most influential 19th century monthly magazines of the 19th century and a leading authority on fashion? Me neither. How about one of Vera Neumann's famous scarves in a bold graphic pattern? And a pretty Mother Mary statue... Continue reading

This week's Etsy 365 Project listings included one of the yard sale paintings we found -- which sold within hours of being listed! Everything else was also a thrift store or yard sale find from the past week. Like these aprons. And these interlocking toy blocks. And this scarf. So that means my inventory listings haven't been reduced, but at least I'm not adding anything to the pile! WEEK EIGHTEEN 120. Vintage Painting Flowers Signed Still Life SOLD! 121. Vintage Half Apron Red Pink Rickrack Scallop Edge 122. Vintage Half Apron Pink Polka Dot Lace Edge Sheer 123. Vintage Scarf... Continue reading

This weekend's yard sales were just ho hum again. April definitely held less treasures for us than in previous years, and May started out along those same lines. We were out for three hours on Saturday, and this is all we found -- a small red chest, ugly brown shelves, a box of broken clarinet pieces, and a few other smalls. I don't photograph everything we get at yard sales, though. I'm pretty sure you don't want to see the stuff that's not vintage. Like these "LIttlest Pet Shop" animals my daughter bossily orders sweetly asks me to find. She... Continue reading

Well, it took most of April, but at long last we experienced our first case of yard sale madness this season. Behold the goodness: For some reason, we've been finding a lot of paintings. I don't think we saw any last year. Love the red background on this one; it's already found a spot in our family room. The floral painting dated 1949 was listed and sold in my Etsy shop within a couple of hours! Another female portrait, but a rendering in pastels instead of oils. The black and white is so chíc! Mr. VJIMT is contemplating keeping her... Continue reading

Last week's Etsy 365 Project was the first to coincide with a couple of great yard sale days. Add to that church rummage sale finds and a thrift store bonus run, and I am panting to keep up with the new inventory. So here we go. Some old old, some new old, some religious old, some exotic old. Good thing for us vintage souls, it never GETS old! WEEK SEVENTEEN 113. Vintage Infant of Prague Religious Statue SOLD! 114. Vintage Cabrini College Banner School Felt Pennant 115. Vintage Yellow Train Case Samsonite Silhouette Mustard 116. Vintage Infant of Prague Religious... Continue reading

I headed out Friday morning for my morning walk (after school drop-off) when I realized there was a church rummage sale going on AT THAT VERY MOMENT. All thoughts of exercise completely vanished from my mind. My walking partner was coerced agreed to go with me. To the sale we went! It wasn't very big, and we were about 10 minutes late to the party. But I did manage to snag these adorable red and pink vintage aprons. [extraneous thought] I wonder if everyone has weird dining room photo shoots? Anyway, I also found this lovely round, scalloped edge, embroidered... Continue reading

You may have seen my Facebook post last week about my love/hate relationship with the community or town-wide yard sale. Sometimes they're good, like here and here, but sometimes they're bad. Last week's in a neighboring town was bad. This was all I got after almost 5 hours of yard sale hopping. Also, it's still cold in these parts, so it wasn't a very pleasant adventure either. [Although I've already resold three of those items, so maybe it was good after all. Hmmm.] This week's, in my own town, was decidedly better. Because any yard sale day that features vintage... Continue reading

…the color blue, that is! Most of my Etsy 365 Project listings this week were glorious shades of cornflower blue, robin's egg blue, cobalt blue, and slate gray blue. This blue doll rocker is sooo chippy! This antique spice drawer piece was originally unpainted oak, then a pale yellow, and now this bright blue. I think it would look great for holding bathroom or crafty essentials, especially since it can be hung on a wall or just sit on a surface. The green on this miniature wardrobe really pops agains the blue. Love the little latch on the front. And... Continue reading

So this was my view bright and early Sunday morning as the mister and I headed to Clover Market in Ardmore, PA. All I could envision was some of my junk flying off the roof of his car and slamming into me. Which, according to the Plucky Maidens Junk Fest, may not be such a bad way to go. Fortunately, we arrived unscathed and ready for action! After a couple of hours of setup this is what our booth looked like. I sold 4 out of 6 typewriters, including this aqua monster that weighed a ton! The weather was gorgeous,... Continue reading

I'm a little behind on my Etsy 365 Project update -- still recuperating from Clover Market! -- but I listed a bunch of fun stuff last week. And not a single one was a religious statue! This darling little stuffed bulldog was among some scary rubber faced animals I found at an estate sale over two years ago -- I told you I had inventory! My arbitrary 100th listing was a box of pristine linen postcards from the 1939 World's Fair in NYC. The Art Deco images are so cool! My set has over 20 cards, and can sell individually... Continue reading

Well, what do you know, we found a couple of yard sales this weekend -- how about that? Really, it's April and the yard sale pickings have still been slim. Last year at this time they were busting out all over! This Saturday and next are both community-wide sale days for my small town and the next one over. So I should have plenty of stuff to show you in the next few weeks! Here's my "haul"... This fairy print from 1848 is awesome! I may have to keep it. And another scary baby! …sitting on some old blue/aqua/teal books.... Continue reading

It was creepy doll week here in Etsy listing land! I found a bag of assorted scariness down in storage and thought about saving them for the Halloween season, but decided against it. They will expire right around that time, so I can just relist and save myself some effort during that busy season. This gal has a big hole where her innards used to be, and a cracked head. This one is probably the scariest. Very cracked and crackled. I did list some less scary treasures, including this antique checkerboard box, which was probably used to hold pens, pencils,... Continue reading

I spent hours last week re-designing my business cards/hang tags for Clover Market next week (yikes!). I knew I wanted them to be aqua and red, and used one of my favorite vintage scales for inspiration. Most of that time consisted of me obsessing over trying to figure out which Pantone color -- converted to the cmyk (cyan, magenta, yellow, black) printing process -- would best match the aqua. Don't even get me started on the red! As a graphic designer, I am quite familiar with the process but it is still boils down to a guess when you are... Continue reading

Three months of listings! Not too shabby. Unless you're talking clock faces, which I am this week. I put two rusty iron ones up that weren't quite as near and dear to my heart as the small chippy square one (which was listed and subsequently sold almost immediately). But boy, are they heavy! Can I share once again my amazement at the quality of photo from the iphone5 camera? This close-up image is as taken, no Photoshop enhancement. I don't have special lighting either; it just happened to be a rare non-gray day, so I was able to use the... Continue reading

Can you believe there were a couple of yard sales this weekend? With Easter on Sunday, I really didn't think we'd find many. Sparse they were, but the temperatures were in the low 60s, and a few people lugged out their crap treasures to sell. The first sale was just a couple of blocks from us, and they had some great things! I channelled my inner Colleen of Fresh Vintage, and grabbed this National Biscuit Company rack as quickly as I could. I'd want the black frame painted a bright aqua or green or red, but since it's headed to... Continue reading

Last month, a local home accessory and clothing store was closing and they were having a big "retirement" sale. I didn't realize they had as much vintage display as they did, and subsequently missed the first day of the sale. When I strolled in on the second day of the sale, I was really annoyed to see the stack of seven or eight vintage suitcases that were marked "sold". Really annoyed. Until I saw THIS. Now you know I have a minor addiction to the vintage dress form. Much like my obsession with the vintage typewriter, they are not a... Continue reading

Don't you just love those stories of treasures found at yard sales and thrift stores that turn out to be worth tons of money? Like this rare Chinese bowl, which recently sold for 2.2 million, or the Italian painting worth $12,000. I had my own find at Goodwill last week, and think she's pretty spectacular, although maybe not worth thousands of dollars. She appears to date from the 1960s, and after researching similar online, including a discussion with an ebay seller who specializes in vintage portrait paintings, I'm guessing her value is a few hundred dollars. Love the background color... Continue reading

I did find a couple of other things this weekend along with the Smith Corona "Silent" typewriter. This vintage Vera Neumann scarf caught my eye immediately. Look at that aqua! I've bought (and sold) a few Veras in the past, so I scooped it right up. And listed it right away! Also found this McCoy pottery green glazed tulip vase. Another great color! There is a crack on the back, so it's not worth as much as it could have been but it's still nice. Listed! I also listed this gorgeously chippy metal clock face. If you read me on... Continue reading

I went to two indoor yard sales on Saturday morning and left with nothing. Both houses had been ones I'd shopped at before, so I guess I shouldn't have expected a different outcome. There was one more estate sale a little bit further away, and I hesitated since it had started two hours prior. Did I mention the hesitation was brief? I found a couple of items and then saw this array of black cases under a table. Would you have given them a second glance? Do you notice the missing space? This was in the missing space. I knew... Continue reading

As you know, I don't go to auctions very much. I'm much more of a yard sale kind of a girl, but there's a local biweekly auction that doesn't intimidate the bejeezus out of me, so once in a while I hit that. Usually only in the dead of winter, when there haven't been any yardsales, and I am desperate for a fix. I've ranted about it in the past, here and here. It doesn't help that the things I bid on have always gotten a big laugh from the auctioneer. He has come right out and mocked me for... Continue reading

"Things I have multiples of for $400, Alex" was the theme for this week's listings. Like these antique Victorian funeral baskets. I bought three at a recent store closing sale; there were more, but I restrained myself. Two have paper maché inserts, and the other has the more sought-after tin. I don't usually "stage" my listing photos, but these definitely needed a little something extra. A few cut flowers added great color, a hint of spring, and a much more inviting photo. I told you last week I found another box of religious statues in my inventory, and here they... Continue reading

Last week I spent way too much time researching the box of vintage stuffed things I won at the auction. But it was worth it, as the little bulldog sold quickly on ebay for a $45 profit. A big NYAH-NYAH to the auctioneer who always mocks the things I bid on. That should be a blog post! A bunch of religious items got listed this week, including the statues I found at the church sale. I didn't want to overwhelm everyone with all that holiness, so the additional box of inventory I found in my storage area will wait until... Continue reading

I don't know about you, but I am READY for some spring. These last couple of months have been cold and gray and cold and windy and cold and dark and really cold. I am cold right now typing this and I am wearing two shirts and a giant fleece pullover and the fireplace is blazing. The cats have been in front of it for hours and I could probably toast a marshmallow on their heads. There has been no snow to speak of either, which I know makes many of you happy but I say if it's going to... Continue reading

Last week my Vintage Junk in My Trunk Facebook page got its 1,000th "like". As a small "Thank You!" for all your support and kind words, we're having a giveaway! Win the latest copy of Flea Market Style magazine AND your choice of one of my handmade-from-vintage cocktail rings. If you haven't already done so, simply "like" my Facebook page and comment on the giveaway post for your chance to win! Contest ends at midnight on Friday, March 1. One name will be drawn at random and announced that weekend. Good luck, and thank you! Continue reading