Out Junking All Weekend

My mom and I agree that the best thing about summer is the never ending amount of garage sales, estate sales, and flea markets. This weekend was no exception. Along with the warm weather came lots of opportunities for finding goodies. We really get a thrill out of hunting for anything chippy and worn. We can spot a dresser with a bad finish and good "bones" from a mile away and we seem to have a radar that detects old, ornate frames that can be painted. I have actually seen my mom run past people toward something she's spotted ahead. Here are a few of the fun finds her and I wrestled out of other shoppers' hands this weekend.

We aren't 100% sure what this cool machine is, but I overheard a lady saying she thought it was used for calculating payroll. When you press any of the buttons, the total at the bottom changes. I tend to be more fascinated by this type of item than my mom. I like old buttons and labels and I'm really attracted to black and white vintage things. I would put this in my house as a piece of art, just because it's neat.

This is an old garden statue of a girl holding her skirt. It has the original paint and she is perfectly weathered and worn. I thought she was the sweetest thing when I picked her up and I knew we had to have her for the store. I'm pretty sure she's concrete because she's pretty heavy. I put her in the baby section and she's holding one of our little barrette sets.

I think my favorite find of the weekend is a collection of over 200 old photos.  I'm so intrigued by the clothes, the furniture, and the look of the people in the past.

Are you seeing what I'm seeing???  I couldn't believe it when I pulled this out of the pile.  He has to be like 10 or 12 years old.  It's so weird!

These two are just cute.

A fun old rocker with white paint and a little green showing through on the edges.  It would be to-die-for on an old wrap around porch!

This little old table has a towel bar that slides out of the side.  It has the original paint so it's perfectly shabby.

This headboard is going to be awesome once we paint it.  Knowing us, it will probably be white.

Some fun vintage purses and a hand mirror.  The blue bag says, "Made in Italy" inside.

A pink wire dress form.  So cute!

This table had ugly 60's knobs and I replaced them with glass and gave it a whole new look.

This half table was already pink when we found it.  Woo hoo!

Can't decide whether to do this one white or black.  Hmmm....

This old box with drawers could be used in so many ways.  I think I'll have to paint it because the yucky stuff on the front isn't coming off.  We use Windex to clean everything and it almost always works.  (A little tip though, don't use the Powerized Windex because it has bleach in it and it will leave spots.  Learned that one the hard way!)

Super cute baby booties, a lampshade with pink ribbon around it, and a baby image.  Another lady had the round baby picture in her hand and I kept thinking, "put it down, put it down, put it down," and she did!  I snatched it up right away for our baby section.

And last but not least:

I'm already collecting the charming retro Christmas goodies for a display I'm envisioning for Christmas.  Yes, that's right, us retailers have to think about the holidays when everyone else is thinking about relaxing in the sun.  It's really fun though because I think our customers are going to love it!

Well, those were just a few of our finds this weekend.  There are more pieces of furniture that need to be painted like a coffee table on wheels, a gorgeous sofa table, and lots of mirrors and frames.  Next weekend, we're setting up a booth at Gypsy Caravan, a huge flea market at The University of Missouri St. Louis.  Maybe you can stop by and have your own junking weekend!  See you there and pictures of the event will be posted soon after.  Can't wait!         -Lindsay