The original owner had handwritten all the numbers and letters inside the trays. I think that is so cool and I'm leaving that alone. Thanks Moira - you're the best!
Ok, so on to the estate sales - Check out the stuff we got. This was such a bargain. Seven unopened rolls of Christmas wrapping paper and the Tupperware storage container and its lid, all for 5 bucks!!
Chablis also collects vintage wooden advertising hangers and she found 5 good ones in the back of a closet. I'm telling you - check the back of closets because you never know what's hanging around back there. My favorite one was the Marshall Fields hanger.
I took this 7 star colander to re-sell. The old grater is put away for a project I'm mulling over and the mesh spoon is brand new so I took it for Louie when he's making fried fish at the lake.
I found this old Dr. Peter Farhney & Sons bottle standing next to the staircase in the basement of one of the sales. This one gets bonus points because it's from Chicago and says so on the side of the bottle.
Chablis keeps threatening me that she's going to move out one day, so she bought this cast iron skillet to add to her growing pile of kitchen supplies....
I always make a bee-line to the basement to check out the tools or workshop. I have such fond memories of watching my dad working in his workshop when I was a kid. He had an awesome set up, with all his tools organized and hanging on peg boards on the walls. He would spend hours sawing wood, sanding things down, staining and painting. To this day I love the smell of saw dust and it reminds me of him. I learned more from watching my dad in that workshop that I ever learned in school. That to me was the best education and something I've used my entire life and have passed down to my kids.
I love to poke through the old tools and I get such a thrill when I find old tins in those workshops. All those tins made such great containers for storing nuts and bolts and nails. I always open the tins and check out the contents. If they hold something I'll use, then I'll keep them along with the tin. If it's something I don't need I'll usually just dump everything into a box and then just purchase the tins by themselves. These 2 Revelation tins held small finishing nails and I can always use them, so everything here came home intact.
Check out the yummy green color on these Holiday Pipe Mixture tins - Holy cow! It's gorgeous!! The larger tin didn't have a cover and both tins held junk, so they got dumped into a box and we just bought the tins.
I'm always on the look out for yarn and the one skein was full and the other 2 were remnants. I got a stand-alone Bobbin winder that I was thrilled to find because I hate it when I'm in the middle of sewing something and my bobbin runs out of thread. I have to un-thread the machine to fill up another bobbin and I hate that - my eyes aren't what they used to be and I never look forward to threading the needle on the machine. This will really help with that problem. And the 2 apron patterns are already on their way to my friend Dolly - the apron maker extraordinaire!
Here's another tin I found tucked up on a shelf in a workshop. This one gets huge bonus points because it's a National Tea private label coffee tin and I used to work at National Tea as a cashier when I was a teenager. Score!!
I liked this Special Financing sign - it's reversible and says the same thing on both sides. Very fun sign and it's already listed in my Etsy shop. The wooden folding ruler has a couple of inches missing from one end. I didn't notice that when I bought it and I was going to list it until I saw that. Bummer - looks like this will somehow get re-purposed into a project somewhere down the line....
I know I should list this thermos - it's in perfect condition. But I love the red plaid and right now it's sitting in a box, slated to go to the lake house. But I may change my mind and list it. Then again... maybe not....
Another vintage bottle from Chicago. Chablis slipped this into one of her moving out boxes....
This tool box is in rough shape but I bought it for myself because it's a nice size for me and it says Sears on it...
Pancakes are my favorite breakfast meal so I bought this Hungry Jack tin for myself. It's headed to the lake house....
And here's my happy dance, find of the weekend. OMG - I am in love with this chest. I saw it at the aforementioned house that was crammed with stuff. I found it in a closet, and it was filled with a bunch of junk and old boxes. I actually sat there on the floor and pulled everything out of the chest and gave it the once over. But where was I going to put it? I don't have any room for it. So I did the unthinkable - I walked away from it....
Do you ever see something at a sale, pass on it and then cannot...stop.... thinking about it? I thought about that damn chest all Friday night. Every time I woke up in the middle of the night I thought about that trunk and wanted to kick myself for not buying it. Check it out - it has the original owners name and the dates he used it scribbled on the inside. 1966-1968 - do you think he was a soldier in Viet Nam?
When I got up Saturday morning I told Louie I wanted to go back and see if the trunk was still there. Being the great husband that he is, he drove me over to check it out. When we got there, we couldn't even find a place to park - there were cars lining the streets for 2 blocks on each side of the house. There were people everywhere and they were all carrying things out of that house like they were giving things away. I had little hope of that chest still being there and I told Louie to just forget it and take me to another sale. But Louie pulled up in front of the house, stopped the car and shoved me out the door telling me to at least go inside and just look. I squeezed past all the people standing in line with their treasures and with a sinking heart I ducked into the bedroom where the trunk had been. OMG - it was still there. I could not believe it. I slammed it shut and lugged it up front and stood in line. Just look at it - isn't it fabulous??
It's already been washed down with vinegar water and it sat outside all afternoon in the sun. I walked all around the house trying to find some place to put it, but we have no room. Then I thought about the lake house and I really don't have the room there either. So with a sad heart, I listed it in my shop. I hate to let it go, but it's so gorgeous that someone has to have it. I hope someone buys it who will love it because it's just that fabulous!!
Before I go, please help me wish my Mom a Happy Birthday - today is her birthday and after the last year that she has had,I hope this is a very special day for her. I love you Mom!!
