The Top 5 Things to Look for at Yard Sales This Year

When Melissa of Melissa's Antiques asked me to take part in a multi-blog-post involving several other vintage guru's I thought "HOW FUN!" It should really be interesting to see how different we will be in our answers. It is also really difficult to narrow it down to 5 THINGS. I kind of grouped them into topics.

My perspective has changed a little due to the opening of my new store, Vintage & Co. (The website isn't finished yet...we've started, but not quite there yet.)

In the past, I was usually on the hunt for smaller, yet beautiful antiques. This theme fit perfectly into my "Bella Rosa Antiques" shop that I still have online here.

1. Here is the #1 item on my mental list:

Now that I have an actual brick and mortar shop, I am now being drawn to furniture. Anything from a chair to a dresser to something broken... it is all open season because we are repairing, transforming, and creating something beautiful and new out of it. Dressers and vanities are popular pieces and sell well.

Other than furniture I look for is age. When we stop at a yard sale at the crack of dawn (Okay, 7 am) we have to be super alert because there are always other dealers showing up and you have to be quick. Your eyes have to quickly scan the area and eliminate anything new. We have missed so many wonderful items because it takes us so long to get out of the house... the three of us! But, there is plenty to go around. I was reminded by a friend that the next ten years there is going to be a HUGE flooding of things into the market due to the baby boomers downsizing and / or moving into assisted living areas, etc.

I have two Etsy shops to maintain besides the store. One is more "antiquey" while the other is retro. So I have to have dual themes/mindsets going on which makes it tough to narrow down 5 things.

2. That being said the 2nd thing I am looking for is:

 

 Jewelry!

 

Let's face it, it is easy to ship and photograph.

Anything small and sell-able is okay in my book.

 

3.The third thing I like to find is: 

 

 

Christmas Stuff!

 4.

If I can narrow down the sale quickly enough, I am looking for Retro era pieces like Fire King or Pyrex. You can't go wrong with Pyrex. Well, color is a big factor. Aqua and pink are hot while maybe the brown is not. 

These Fire King mugs were a huge hit and I bought them at a yard sale just to have something retro for my Etsy shop. I soon discovered that they were LOVED by the collectors.

 

 
5. The fifth thing I look for is:

Antique Books! I love them and love to sell them. My collection grows each year but I'm slowing down a bit on the keeping part. Now I sell more books because I have discovered they sell very well!

Even books from the 70's & 80's can be lucrative.

It was tough selecting just five things because I have three shops so jere are my Runner's Up:

1st Runner Up-

Lamps.

Everyone needs a lamp and we try to breathe

new life into abandoned and forgotten lamps.

 

Mid-Century lamps have done well for me in the past.

A new shade, a new harp, finial or even re-wiring. That being said, I will pick up shades, harps and anything to help us the re-do process. Once I found a pair of Lenox lamps that sold for about $150.00 a piece on eBay. I had no idea they would do so well. You can be sure I am always looking for another!

 

2nd Runner Up-

 

 

Teacups and other antique china.

The market has slowed down a bit

in this arena but I do well with nice,

higher end teacups.

 

3rd Runner Up-

 

Industrial and Rustic stuff

I'm paying more attention to these

items especially now that I

have the brick and mortar shop.

 

They never go out of style!

 

*****************************

Hope you enjoyed my perspective on yard sales. We also have to think like this at an estate sale as well. There you have to have the same mindset, but you are racing going from room to room looking to find any one of the above items before another dealer does. Ain't it fun?

Of course it is or else we wouldn't be doing it!

A big thanks to Melissa and all of the other bloggers who took part in this fun blog hop event:

Amy @ Brocante Treasures

Cecilia @ My Thrift Store Addiction

Diana @ Adirondack Girl at Heart

Donna @ Distressed Donna Down Home

Eddie @ Eddie-torial Comments

Jillian @ Bella Rosa Antiques

Kim @ Snug Harbor Bay

Linda @ Itsy Bits and Pieces 

Melissa @ Melissa's Antiques 

Pam @ House of Hawthornes 

Rita @ Panoply 

Shara @ Monkeybox

Sharon @ Blue Willow House

Tuula @ Thrifty Rebel Vintage

Be sure to check out and visit the other bloggers to see what they are on the hunt for.

Good luck yard sale-ing this year...

It is your mission if you choose to accept it!

Joining in with: Vintage Charm

Let's Talk Vintage #81: Latest Estate Sale Treasures and Possibly the Last LTV

Welcome to Let's Talk Vintage!

Today I have breaking news.
Well, Let's Talk Vintage news.
It is all happening this morning.

Unfortunately this may be the last
one unless I can find a free link up.
 I have been barred from using
inlinkz and Linky Tools unless I
pay 24.00 or 36.00 a year.

With all of the costs of my new
store, I just can't afford that
right now.
 So, I apologize for no link up today.

UPDATE: (I just heard back from Mr. Brent
Riggs who owns Linky Tools and he
gave me a couple of days grace
period... yay! SO today there IS
a link up! )
If anyone knows of a free service
other than inlinkz or Linky Tools,
I'd love to know.

Don't click away from my blog, just yet!

I do have a little bit to share
and features from last week....

 

This week I am sharing some

of my recent finds. We went

to an estate sale... the best

kind, where you get to pick

like "the Pickers" do with no
other dealers around!
 

(The elephants made it to the shop already so there is no picture of them.)
 

I found a few treasures...
 

Beautiful candle sticks

Hand carved elephant bookends

Antique books
A Bianchi Nativity Set
Jewelry

 

I just can't help it. I head for the same

types of things every time!
 

We are noticing in the store that 

I am more formal in my finds 

and my friend Kathy is more on 

the rustic side. So, it works, we
have a good mix in the shop.

 

I've also been back listing

some things in my Etsy shop.

We're getting into a groove finally.
I love being a shop owner!

Thank you for all of your support
as I share this journey with you.

 

_____________________________ 

Now for this week's features:

Penny, of Penny's Vintage Home
had me at "Yard Sale Chandy" but
wait til you see how much
she paid for it! What a find!
We are looking for one of these
for the shop. Other than taking down
our own chandeliers, we are 0 for 0
in locating one. Great job, Penny!
 

 

Joy of a Vintage Green made over

this captain's wheel. Makes me think of
summer, my favorite time of year!
And I love those word stencils!
 

 

Sharon of Blue Willow House
shared some of her latest finds...
not only are her finds fun, but her
pictures are too!
 

 

and Debby of Debby Goes Shabby
caught my eye with this pair
of vintage radios. I am a pastel
girl at heart and would love
to have these in a display!

Thank you all so much for joining
the party... with the store open
now I have even less time than
I did before to visit everyone...
but I'm trying! Thank you all
for your support and encouragement!

 

If you were featured today be sure to grab this

"LTV Feature" button and place it in your post

or on your blog side bar.

 

Thank you all for your support.

I'll be back on Friday morning at
10 for a blog hop, hosted by
Melissa of Melissa's Antiques:

TOP 5 THINGS TO LOOK FOR AT
YARD SALES THIS YEAR.

 

 

 

 

Let's Talk Vintage! #80: A Whirlwind of a Week & Some Shop Updates

 

 

Welcome to Let's Talk Vintage!

This week will be short and sweet...

 with just a couple of shop updates.

 

I'm hitting the fleamarket bright and

early today... my first of the season so

this post was done last night and

scheduled for this morning.

 

 

Two pieces of chalk painted furniture sold over the weekend, which was fantastic, but left us with two holes in the front showroom.

The hubby helped me get two more pieces ready. I worked on this buttercream vanity which can also work well as a desk. I left the drawers untouched and loved the contrast.

 

And believe it or not, the hubby re-finished

this triple-mirror vanity.

 

I loved how he added a slight silver glimmer

to the existing drawer pulls.

 

The chalk paint is Parisian Gray.

  

The only thing that didn't work out well

was his photo! He is a blog newbie...

and shhhhh - he doesn't like his photo

being displayed on the internet!

We won't tell him! 

 

 

 

Now for this week's features:

 

 

Kicking it off this week is

Shoppe No 5 with this awesome

chair makeover. Loved the

style and the fabric choice!

 

 

Tuula at Thrifty Rebel Vintage

shared her finds of the week.

I love silver plated trays like the

one she found... an easy way to

turn a party into easy elegance. 

 

and new to the blog this week

is an Etsy shop:

 

 

MiladyLinden

Look at this Czech beauty. Of course,

being so stunning, it sold already!

 

 Thank you to all who

participate each week!

 

 

Feel free to save this MBWF button

if you were featured today!

Just right click and save it to a file,

then upload to your blog post or side bar.

Let's Tak Vintage #79: New Projects and Our First Week in the Shop

Welcome to "Let's Talk Vintage!"

 

 

You can link up your blog posts about your latest

vintage finds, projects, items for sale, you name it!

 

Other ideas include old family photos and stories,

tried and true recipes handed down through the

family, collections you may have, etc.

 

Today I'm sharing some of my latest

projects and photos from our new shop.
 

 

Since we had to fill the shop up pretty quickly,

I have a bunch of projects that I've been

cranking out. I have to say I even surprised

myself with how much I enjoyed creating!

I think it was all the years I've watched things

being created in blog-land that helped me.
 

So, thank you for all of your inspiration!

I'm not sure who originally gave me this 
idea but I knew I had an old bread board
that had seen better days... and voila!

What was once old is new
again, and now in the shop.

 

 

Here are a couple more projects....

a small side table and a suitcase.

 

The table had pretty good lines

so I decided to keep the lower half

untouched and only paint the top black,

using chalk paint.

 

Then a stencil over the black that

matched the color of the lower half.

 

 

I like how it turned out although I think

we realized it could have been better.

The hubs used regular wax on the top

instead of dark wax. Learning as we go...

 

I loved the suitcase and decided

to decorate it.

 

Using blue painter's tape, I blocked

off a set of three stripes and painted

in between using black paint. Then I

 added a French stencil overlay in white.

 

One of the easiest projects I've tried! 

 I'm currently working on a vanity since one sold

over the weekend in the store.

 

I'll have results with what we decided

to do for "the makeover!"

 

 

**********

 

Now for this week's features:

 

 

Pat from French Country Style at the Foot of the Rockies,

shared how easy it is to blend French Country

 and Country Farmhouse styles together.

 

 

 

Cecilia from My Thrift Store Addiction

made a jewelry holder out of an

old coffee mug tree! So pretty!

 

 

and last but not least, Sarah

of Sadie Seasongoods, found

a new way to announce Spring

on her front door. A handbag

from Goodwill of all things!

Perfectly sweet!

 

 

 

 

If you've been featured,

feel free to right click and save 

this LTV feature graphic and place

it on your blog.

 

**********

 

 

Let's Talk Vintage #78: Almost Ready - A Sneak Peek at Our New Shop!

Welcome to Let's Talk Vintage!

We're glad you're here.

 

This where you can link up and show off your latest finds, vintage DIY projects, collections, old photos, family heirlooms, and even vintage things you sell.

 

 

Today I'm giving you a sneak peek

into the new brick and mortar shop!

It is located in what used to be an old
barn... and this stone wall is a perfect
backdrop for vintage things.  

 

 

I've been perfecting my chalk painting abilities.
Learning a few lessons here and there!

So, above is a before and after shot of my first piece of furniture. The harp phone table had really great bones
but the seat cover was a 1950's teal and vinyl piece. It really was awful with the mahogany finish.
(And I forgot to take a full BEFORE photo.)

 

I used Parisian Gray chalk paint from ACMoore, found

a great stencil on Amazon and wonderful French

script fabric with keys at JoAnn Fabrics.

Bebe loved it so much she kept asking

if she could have it! I'm finding out

with a lot of pieces that I wish I had done

these makeovers a long time ago!

 

(There is the check-out counter which has a sordid past life, we believe, as I wrote about here.)

This is a wide shot I took a last week.

 You'll see in another photo below, how
much more things we have filled in.

 

My partner in crime friend, Kathy, has

brought in a couple of her pieces. She made over
a dresser turned buffet, and vanity.
The room really started to take shape.

 

 

Last week I showed you this pedestal table I

was painting. I used the Parisian Gray again along

with an antiquey white chalk paint from Lowes,

then a French stencil. The table had a neat

raised trim along the edge and I went over

that with the same white, giving it a little

bit of contrast... I loved this table too and

wanted to keep it! But, I can't... so into

the shop it goes.

 

 Here is the latest photo which shows how much more we
have added to the shop.

We just acquired this piece over the weekend.

The hubs gave this piece a completely different look. Except the knobs. They were already there.
In this case, we made our own chalk paint
using calcium carbonate and some oops paint.
I found the Martha Stewart stencil on clearance
at AC Moore.

And yes, that is some LuRay in the cabinet.
I had extra pieces when my Mother gave me
the plates she wasn't using. I decided this
cabinet was too cute for just any old plates.

 

We've painted several pieces with chalk paint.

Note the coffee table above... it is from my

living room! I just had to paint it as it has a

glass top. I absolutely love it now! 

As soon as I paint a piece, I instantly love it.

Below is the new name of my brick and mortar shop:

Just 25 hours until we open!

Thanks so much for coming along
on my mini tour!

 

 

Now - here are this week's features:
 

 

Having worked in local television for 16 years, I just

loved this floor lamp by Lynda Creates! Wow!

 

 

and Joy at A Vintage Green shared some

of her finds and I loved this vintage

telephone! I see an industrial pattern here

with this week's features!

 

and last but not least with an industrial flair

this week isJulie of Renaissance Mermaid and her happy

accident jewelry art. Amazing how this piece

just fell into place. 

 

Remember, if you were featured today or in any other LTV post, feel free to grab this "My blog was featured!" button and place it on your blog.

Now it's your turn: 

An InLinkz Link-up

Linking to:

Vintage Charm