Incredible Yard Sale Find ~ Vintage Wooden Skis with Bamboo Poles

I never thought I would be looking at snow skis this time of the year, but yesterday I was in Pennsylvania with my sister Kim and we decided to hit a few of the areas yard sales. The kids were with us...each child armed with 5 one dollar bills which provided a couple of smiles along with more than enough cash to buy a few fun things. 

Anyhow we were using the local paper and Kim's GPS to find various yard and garage sales in Bucks county, and at one point Kim led us to this private driveway which appeared almost to be more like a small thruway. I swear the driveway was an easy 1/2 mile long on about a 70 degree incline. We climbed the hill and parked at a designated parking area. Now this was actually a private residence...but oh my was it one amazing spot. 

(With the owner's permission I snapped these next few pics of her property)

We immediately began to check out all of the goods for sale which ranged from antique yard decor to your more typical yard sale finds. BUT...and a big one at that...there was one item which caught my eye and my imagination. There, in front of the main garage, was this beautiful vintage set of skis and poles.

The kids had already milled around and found several items to contemplate buying, however for me, well this set of skis and poles had at the moment my undivided attention!

 Leather wrist straps on bamboo poles, over six foot log solid wood skis complete with leather bindings.

 As you can see, the set has been embellished with greens, pine cones and what appears to be a red scarf (cool idea) to give it a wintry feel. Also included was this vintage postcard which is mounted to a small piece of particle board.

Courtesy of the New England Ski Museum. 

OK so are you chomping at the bit yet to know what I shelled out for this incredible ensemble??? Hold onto your keyboards ladies and you few gents who may have hopped onto this post by virtue of pure intrigue. Not $100 or even $50, which is what I thought they would go for...but a mere $15!  US dollars that is!!

As you can see the manufacturer's emblem is almost all but gone. What remains is the shape of a red teardrop and the last letter of the ski's brand looks to be the letter "R". Not much to go on but I would love to find out about the true history of these skis. I figure they must be at least somewhere in the neighborhood of 80 years old. 

Anyone out there know anything about vintage wooden skis?

Hope you are enjoying a relaxing Spring Sunday

XO

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Thrifty Back 2 School Fashion

There is nothing more exciting for me than finding a great deal. But to find a great deal in kid's fashions for less than three dollars an item is just amazing. Better yet how about $2 or less a piece...astounding? Well my sister Kim has been out doing the garage and yard sale thing and this is an outfit she picked up last weekend for Grace.

The headpiece Grace is wearing was once part of a flapper costume. Gracie decided to incorporate the splash of pink on her head to add a little "pop" to her new ensemble.

Total cost for the top, jeans and little jacket $3.50...flapper headpiece $.33!

The smile on Grace's face...PRICELESS!

Deal or Steal?

What do you think?

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Surprise $10 Yard Sale Find...

Today as I was driving from the A & P with the snacks I had just purchased for Michael's baseball game, I must have driven by about a dozen or so yard sales. Evidently the town where the game was being held was  having a town-wide yard sale this weekend. Dag I thought, I knew I had to get to the 10 am game of which I was already late for.

But mama does deserve at least one guilty pleasure now and then right? So as I was driving I noticed someone selling a set of end tables exactly like ones I had seen on Wednesday at the Bucks County Designer House. I made the quick U-bie and sped back to the house where I spotted the tables. I got out of the car with just my wallet in hand, not even knowing how much was in it, and walked towards the lady behind the table. When I inquired about how much the tables were, all I could think to myself was...please please please don't say anything over $10. I thought even if I only have 5 dollars I can give her the money in good faith that I will be back to pay the rest and collect the tables. "Ten dollars for both" she replied. I opened up my wallet and saw a five immediately with a bunch of ones behind it. Yippee I had it...I had $10 on me so I bought the two tables.

It wasn't until I began shooting these pictures that I realized they were not a matched set.

Hey as far as I am concerned that just adds to their charm! The first thing Mr. Rosemary Lane asked was where they were going to go. I'm not sure but I'm thinking maybe Grace's room. It would be nice for her to have nightstands that somewhat matched. I do have to give it a little thought over the next few days and poke around the Internet for some ideas. But bottom line, I think these are pretty cool and only cost me $10!

So woohoo for me!!!

Tips for Buying Furniture at Yard and Garage Sales

Well it is officially garage sale season so many of you as I myself do, head out on Saturday mornings in droves looking for that one or more amazing purchases. But make sure you shop wisely and don't spend all your money in one place.  My sister Kim is the complete Guru of garage sales and she has one very important motto with regards to finding great pieces.

 "Old neighborhood, old junk...new neighborhood, new junk."

So depending on what you are looking for...a great old piece of furniture or newer items like artwork or accessories...choose wisely the neighborhoods you plan to shop.

1.    The main rule Kim has as far as what to pay for any given item is that you should never pay more than 10% of it's original cost. Case in point...I was out with Kim one Saturday and we came across a rope hammock. It looked like it was in fairly good shape, although you could tell it was used, and the owner said she wanted $30 for it. I looked at Kim and she shook her head...no I did not buy it, instead I went on to the next house and I ended up purchasing a beautiful wood dresser with mirror for $60. My sister actually negotiated it down from $75.

2.   Don't be afraid to barder with the owners...especially when it is getting into the noon hours. Their stuff will just have to be hauled back into the house or to a dumpster, this will provide you with more room to haggle on the prices.

3.      Also...when looking at items, keep in mind the possibility of refurbishing them or re-purposing them, especially if they are solid and or in good shape.

Here are a  few items I picked up for $10 or less.

You can Hurt Nothing By Asking...

These chairs I snagged for $10 each. They are solid wood and HEAVY. I bought 4 right from under the this women's kitchen table. They were not actually being sold at her garage sale but when I inquired about them she said..."I was ready for new chairs anyway!!!"

If it's in Good Shape and The Price is Right...Buy IT!

This is one of my favorite finds. Kim was at a yard sale down in Pennsylvania when she came across this beauty. She called me from the sale to see if I wanted it for Grace's room. I asked how much and Kim replied $5. My response was SOLD!!! Even if it didn't fit in Grace's room I figured I could always sell it or give it to a friend!! This was just too good to pass up!!!

Keep Your Eyes Pealed for Freebies

I had been wanting a serving cart for may back porch but didn't want to pay a lot of money. Well you can't get any cheaper than FREE. This darling cart was sitting on the curb with a sign on it that said Free. I brought it home a slapped a little black spray paint on it and voila...I had a beautiful new serving cart.

If it is Cool Looking and Cheap...Grab IT

I bought this window box for $2 at a yard sale last spring. I had no idea what I was going to do with only one window box but I hung onto it anyway. Then as I was getting ready to decorate for Christmas I had a brainstorm. Why not create a flower arrangement using the window box as the container. So spray painted the box gold along with some dried up hydrangea and then added pine sprigs from the backyard along with a few berries I bought at Michael's Craft store. I added an applique to the box and had a gorgeous arrangement in my entryway for the holidays!

Just remember that you can really make a killing and have a lot of fun with as little as $20 in your pocket if you keep these tips in mind the next time you hit those Saturday morning garage and yard sales!

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Yard Sale Casualties

Well it's the fall and on any given Saturday morning you probably can find dozens of yard sales going on all over your neighborhood. But I think what happens on Sunday is even better! Typically people will either donate or toss out the things that aren't sold at their yard or garage sales, and sometimes they will even put it out on the roadside and just give it away. I like to call Saturday's unsold items "Yard Sale Casualties" and the lamp and the mirror in the below picture were just that! I was so inspired by these two castoffs that I rearranged the furniture in my entryway and they became the focal point of the design. I kept things very simple and clean, with only a few pops of autumn's orange.

 

 

(The buffet was free too only it was from my parents. I painted the base and removed the lacquer finish from the top.)
 

 

Isn't this lamp fabulous?

 

This little Halloween bucket I bought in Brimfield last month...what can I say...I'm a sucker for Halloween and anything with witches!!

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Wow...you got all that at Yard Sales?

My sister's living room has been the same for the past 16 years and she was more than ready for a redesign. Kim is the "Queen" of yard sales and has really scored a number of beautiful things over the past year. Enough in fact to completely redo her living room! From the leather sofa to the lamps to every piece of artwork on the walls, all were purchased at either a yard or home sale. She has a great eye for pretty things and has amassed quite a collection. Now it's time to put it all together in order to create a beautiful new living space. 

So this was what I walked into on the day of the redesign.

Kim cleared almost everything out of the room so we could start with a clean slate. The first thing I did was to position the sofa in the center of the room and then the area carpet and trunk were placed in front of it. The carpet defines the seating area and the trunk makes for a beautiful coffee table. This arrangement also allows Kim to see right into the family room so she can enjoy the fireplace from her living room.

(The carpet and trunk are both yard sale finds)

Then a club chair taken from the family room and one of the two end tables already in the room, were placed on an angle to the sofa. A wonderful yard sale lamp on the tabletop helps to complete this cozy reading nook. Two yard sale pictures were hung side by side on the wall to fill the blank space.

We brought down a portion of the wall unit which was upstairs in one of the bedrooms, and placed it against the long wall where the sofa originally sat. I accessorized it with all of Kim's yard sale finds. The clock is one of her favorites so I moved the middle shelf down and placed it in the center of the wall unit. Positioning the clock against the dark wood of the wall unit makes it to pop and it becomes more of a statement in the room than if it was just hung on the light color wall.

The other end table went on the far side of the sofa and with yet another yard sale lamp placed on top.

Since the back of the sofa can be seen from the entryway, a small table from the kitchen was added to the room's arrangement to act as a sofa table. A plant was placed under it for color and a lovely iron piece purchased from a yard sale for $20 was placed on top to add interest.

Accessories were brought back in and artwork was hung to create this warm and inviting room.

Kim loves the finished room. It has the warm colors she adores and all of her yard sale treasures surround her in this beautiful new living space.

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