Yard Sale Goodies: 2

     Last week I told everyone about my trip down the Historic National Road's Annual Yard Sale.  My porch is slowly getting cleared off from all the projects I picked up while thrifting my way along (and let me tell you that my Hubby is happy as can be that he can finally walk across the porch in a reasonably straight line!)

     Since I home school my boys, I was delighted to find a globe at a small church rummage sale.

Fifty cents for a globe?  Yes, Please!

It was in AWFUL shape- the horrid brass arm and base on it were pitted and rust covered; there were sticky patches where someone had applied little flag stickers; and it was worn in spots.  However, the major geographic features were still there in good shape and I saw some nice potential in it's shabbiness. 

     I pulled off the base and arm and gave them a quick spray of my favorite oil-rubbed bronze spray paint before popping them back into place.  While they dried, I did a gentle scrub to get the ick off and touched up a few smaller spots with a marker. 

     I have a plan to put a bit of decorative tape around the equator, but I'm waiting for the craft store to have the right color tape back in stock.

     What do you think?  Not bad for fifty cents and five minutes of work.

Yard Sale Goodies: 1

Sometimes it feels like I'm stealing from a person for the prices I see at a yard sale.

For example, take one of my latest finds:

Isn't this just the cutest footed bowl?  I HEART whiteware, and this white footed bowl caught my eye almost immediately.  Sure, it's not milk glass or true whiteware, but this stoneware piece's lines and sturdiness caught my eye as a potential replacement for my fruit bowl (which IS milk glass and in constant reach of my kids).

For the price, I couldn't beat it:

Yes, that really does say a dollar.  Not too shabby for a bowl my kids could knock to the floor at any given moment when reaching for an apple.

Imagine my surprise when I got the bowl home and started cleaning it up.  I flipped it over to wipe off something stuck to the bottom and I got to the original price sticker.

$40?  Seriously?  For a decorative bowl?

I'm super-stoked.  Not only did I get this at an awesome steal, but it looks fantastic on the counter filled with apples.

What have you found at a yard sale with new tags on it?

I'm linking up with The Nester!

Cruising National Road and the Longest Yard Sale

I'm very lucky- for the last three years I've lived within a mile of one of the largest organized garage sales in the world. The Historic National Road Yard Sale- which spans the country from Baltimore, Maryland all the way to St. Louis, Missouri, follows US 40- also known as National Road. Typically held every year, starting Wednesday after Memorial Day, this yard sale is 5 days of fun spread across 800 miles. Of course, I can never resist getting in on the action- this year was no different.

All along the route, everyone seems to get into the spirit. We started out at 7am, driving along and watching for signs. Just as often as we'd turn into a driveway, we'd also find ourselves following homemade signs down some dusty one-lane road, past dairy farms or small family cemeteries- each one neat and tidy and well-loved.

The barn WAAAAAAY at the top of the hill was having a sale.  This happens to also be the view out my front door.

The sense of community from National Road dwellers is obvious as most people greeted each other warmly.

My husband's father is an auctioneer and a professional "junker". He likes to tell me that the yard sale/flea market sale is divided into two types of sellers- those who KNOW what they've got and those who just want to make a quick buck.

The ones that want to make a quick buck are pretty obvious- it's the housewife that's clearing out too-small infant clothing or the newlywed couple that's moving out of state and selling their couch. Quick Bucks generally will negotiate with you easily, and are usually too distracted to talk to you as you walk around.

A good mix of quick-buck items and vintage toys met me at this sale.  They knew what they had and marked everything waaaay up or down accordingly.

The other type is a bit harder to spot- they're the ones casually mixing beat up toys with Fenton glass on the same table. They'll have collector's plates from the 60s mixed in with a rack of vintage clothes that have seen other days. In other words, they hide their treasure among the junk because they want you to think that you're finding a rare jewel in the midst of a midden. These watch their wares carefully, waiting until someone has their hand on a gem before casually announcing how rare an item is or how they "don't want to part with it but (insert story here)". If they've managed to get you listening sympathetically, they know they'll make the sale most the time. There's very little room for negotiation with a Junker- they have to make a profit margin. Sure, they'll sell some of the beat-up toys to harried Moms who are just trying to get their kids out of their without breaking the expensive items, but they know the antiques sell.

Everyone gets involved in the National Road Sale. I passed no less than 25 church rummage sales, four lemonade stands, and even the local Goodwill had their doors open. The hardware store was doing brisk business, and I saw several folks lighting up grills in their yard with signs offering pulled pork sandwiches for $5.
Folks, I only drove 15 miles out of the over 800 available- I went to ten rummage sales, stopped at 80 homes, and managed to hit up all the thrift stores on the way.

What did I buy?

 

As they say around here- Happy Yard Sal-in! 

(I've got some unfinished projects sitting on my porch to work on!)