Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Yard sale collections

I'm not one for dusty nicknacks, but I do love picking up seasonal accents for pennies.

This 25-cent coral adds a touch of summer to the secondhand sweetgrass baskets.

Tell me what you love to collect!

22 comments:

Christian - Modobject@Home said...

I'm always on the sniff for classic modern tableware and mod furniture.

Dianna said...

I'm collecting milk glass at the moment. I'd do jadeite too, only I never see any for sale!

Dana said...

I love Jim Shore pieces. If I ever find one at a yard sale or thrift store, I'd probably die from shock. I'm not one for knick-knacky things either, but I do love his stuff.

Blessings--
Dana

Adie said...

I love to collect too many things! So, just my favorite five:
1. china cup and saucers
2. little pitchers
3. vintage handkerchiefs
4. silver baby cups
5. vintage sewing supplies

Amy said...

I'm thinking you mean other than shoes. I'm not much of a collector. I tried tea cups because I love fine china but ran into the space to display them issue. I have a small collection of egg cups that come out at Easter but that's about it.

Jennifer said...

I collect sweetgrass baskets too! Except I have never seen them at garage sales. They are wonderful aren't they?

Just Me said...

I collect Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy dolls!!!!!! :o) My kitchen has a Raggedy Ann theme.

Lindsay said...

I love to collect family pieces: shoes Grandfather brought back from a war, a 60 year-old invitation to a relative's wedding, a vintage mixer passed through the family.... But I don't keep just anything--it needs to have a certain meaning, fit my tastes, and/or have a useful function. I also love dishes.

all over the map said...

That looks lovely next to the basket. i like shells and such but have a hard time fitting them in to my decor. They always look good in someone else's display.
btw: I wanted to comment on an older post you did about splitting/sharing a meal. The mini burger place (can't recall the name).
I think sharing is under rated and hats off to you for doing so. I can't stand to waste money on a kid's meal for little ones when they can simply share from mum and dad's plate. Nothing wrong with being wise about our spending. The world wastes so much.
New to your site and I love this frugal idea. yay!

Anonymous said...

I seem to collect dogs. Somehow, someway, they (the dogs) seem to find me. Just recently while sitting in heavy traffic on IH 35 (big high way through Austin Texas) a small little black and white dog came running in front of my mother's van. She was going into very heavy traffic. Somehow I found myself jumping out of the van and running that dog down. I caught her. As soon as I got her into the van she threw up on me. My mother took one look at that sweet face and told me "I know what you should name her, Lucky" My husband told me I was praying out loud when I jumped out of the van so she had to have a Christian name too. So now we have Lucky Faith. She joins the rest of our girls. We have Beaulah Mae, Trixie Gertrude, Peggy Sue, Dixie Belle, and now Lucky Faith. So, no I do not collect too much at yard sales. My money goes to vets, dog food, and pet toys.
Thanks for the wonderful blog. That piece of coral would have cost someone more than $100.00 in Hawaii. I looked at a nice piece when we were there last Sept. Roxie

Tracey said...

children's books!!!!

nancyr said...

Roxie, must be a kindred spirit of my daughter's. My daughter lives in Texas, too, and has collected many strays. Texas has an overabundance of strays, it seems. Right now, we have two of the strays she rescued, and she has half a dozen!

gclyne said...

1. Fabric
2. Fabric
3. Fabric
4. Teacups
5. Orange glass

Grace

Mary Alice said...

Nice meeting you today, Meredith!

As for me, I always buy milk glass at yard sales. I will usually only buy it if it is under $1, preferably less than 50 cents. I will buy repeats of a piece because I use it everywhere in my house. It's clean and crisp and makes a very striking display when grouped together.

Great topic!

Miss G said...

The coral looks lovely and very summery. Maybe I'll get out the ziploc bag of shells given to me many years ago by the lady I baby-sat for and place some on my bathroom counter with some votives I remembered I had the other day!

I like to collect:
1. red and white enamelware
2. milkglass
3. old keys
4. floral frogs
5. chippy paint, architectural pieces that used to be part of someone else's house

Tubo Family said...

Hmm, I always look for green or yellow dishware and glassware but don't find many so that keeps the quantity down.

Frugalicious said...

Pottery. What I love about pottery is that it is colorful. All sorts of pieces go together because they are all...pottery. I also love the fact that it is usable art. I have gotten so many from the Goodwill. I do pass over the pieces that someone's kid made. Kinda sad to see it at the Goodwill

Janette said...

I collect kids:>) I teach- therefore I collect!

The Nester said...

they sell those corals in pottery barn for $39. FOR REAL. Girl, as usual, you did a great job.

I collect wooden hangers. I love the ones where people wrote their names on them and I actually use them so i don't feel bad buying them. I try to spend no more than 25 cents for them.

Sheila said...

That's lovely, but I just don't know where you keep it all! Do you throw a lot of stuff out everytime you come home from a garage sale? Or did you just not have that much to begin with?

The problem I have with garage sales is that my house gets too cluttered! And I hate clutter.

I collect antique books, and my shelves are full of them, so I don't have a lot of room for knick-knacks. It is a problem!

Visit To Love, Honor and Vacuum today!

Meredith said...

Sheila, I live in a 1400 square foot ranch with 1950's closets and no attic. We have a small amount of storage in the garage, but that's it.

I only keep what I am able to use and display. Sometimes I sell or give things away that I no longer use.

My glut seems to come with entertaining stuff like platters and bowls and napkins--which I use all the time. Making space for them is cheaper than buying disposable items for big events, so I do.

RGW said...

Just to throw something in here - corals, please don't buy them from stores, only pick them up washed up and dead on beaches, the best kind of frugal find. Some places destroy coral reefs (or impact them severely) getting pieces like this to sell for tens (or hundreds) of dollars in fancy stores. Many places (like pottery barn as said below) sell resin replicas, which look really realistic and are great as an alternative.

The more we buy corals, shells and starfish (for example) from stores, the more the stores will source these items, and ultimately, most come directly from the ocean, and the supply is not limitless. Beachcombing is best!

I love your blog by the way, and also wonder where you store all these amazing finds!