Price Tags For My Antique Booth

You see an item in a locked case at an antique mall...arghh...the tag is turned over and you can't see the price.  Forget it, you didn't care about it that much anyway.  Walk away. 

The dealer lost another sale that could be easily remedied by writing the price on both sides.  Even if the tag gets flipped over, the customer knows the price without having to flip the tag.  Also, clear printing of description.  Permanent black sharpie.

I usually use manila folders to make price tags.  They are cheap and heavier than most paper, easy to store.  I always have neutral colored tags -- part of me is always tempted to make foo-foo tags -- but neutral tags look good with whatever you put them on.  I do have a couple of different punches, but most of my tags are whacked in rectangles by good old-fashioned scissors.  The larger the item, the larger the tag.

I sold at an antique store for a few years where the counter help wasn't very good.  The one thing they did do was store price tags they had taken off of the items on any given day.  So, if I didn't have a sale recorded, they could sort through that day's envelope to confirm the sale.  But, if the price was on a sticker they didn't even bother to take it off -- out of luck if you had to confirm a sale.  Thus, I got into the practice of paper tags, even if I have to tape it on an item -- but I do try to put the tag on the item with string.  Another time on record keeping and how to price.

Small Victorian Cupboard "Laurel"-- Furniture Redo

Over Memorial Day weekend I attended an auction and went to multiple garage sales. I drug home precious little for all the effort.  What I did pick up was several smaller pieces of furniture. 

                                   Great potting bench that DID NOT NEED ANY WORK:). 

Yeah, that's what I'm talkin' about.

Also a small cabinet that was once part of a Victorian gentlemen's dresser and a picnic table bench. All they needed was a little paint. 

before

For the small Victorian cabinet -- I gave it a couple of coats of white chalk paint.  And in celebration of summer painted the interior red.  I decided to take a couple extra steps and do a coat of clear, followed by a coat of brown wax.  The brown is a water soluble wipe-on wax that I bought at Michael's just for the occasion.

after

Apparently you aren't supposed to leave it out in the rain after applying the water soluble wax.  The brown wax formed splotches.  So I went back over with a another clear coat of wax / lots of buffing / and a second coat of the brown.  I guess that was actually four extra steps. 

I do like how it turned out.

I'm naming her "Laurel".

 

before

The picnic bench was a no brainer. 

Dry brush a little red chalk paint for a little patriotism. 

 

after

Easy cheesy.

I have two new thoughts floating around my head concerning furniture:

#1-- I am getting too old to buy honking big pieces.  Getting them home is hard.  Finding a place to store them is hard.  Working on them is hard.  Dragging them around to sell is hard.  Enough already.  They are going on my "DO NOT BUY" list.

#2-- I do love color in my antique booth.  But it is ridiculous to trade out furniture because it isn't matching my current color scheme.  So, there simply has to be more neutral furniture.  Whites & ivories.  The "smalls" will have to add the color  pizzazz. (Like I ever buy smalls).

Vintage Mantel -- Furniture Redo

OK, in this post the word "vintage" is being used loosely.  I thought the mantel was older when I bought it than was true upon closer inspection.But it does have great detailing and it is SOLID wood. 

The orangish hue did not do anything for me,

so I knew I would have to paint it.

I did a quick coat of green chalkpaint -- because

I will be selling it around the holidays

and wanted a bit of green peeking through.

Then two coats of "Navajo White" --

turned in to chalk paint. 

Some sanding to distress it.

(My favorite part of any day.)

 

Possibly my least favorite part of any day -- waxing.

 A coat of clear Briwax.  Let dry.

A coat of brown liquidish wax, instantly wiped off.

Let dry.  Buff.  Nice outcome and worth the effort.

Helping With A Country Estate Sale

Wednesday I was able to help my friend Beth price and sort her dad's estate sale.  The house is on a beautiful sprawling countryside with plenty of outbuildings to hide treasures in.  I wish I would have brought my camera on Wednesday, but theses photos were taken Friday afternoon after a full day of sales.  Things were thinning out, but you still get a good idea of the immensity of it.

One of the more sought after items --

a John Deere seed planter.

Tons of dishes and pans.

Tons of bottles and jars.

Buttons and jewelry in jars.

Vintage toys and games.

The siblings all had a great time reminiscing

over the good use they had put the toys through.

General cool stuff that I couldn't even name.

Here is Beth with 3/5 of her siblings, dad and the newer generation --

after my husband messed around with photoshop.

Here it is pre-photoshop.

"Beth, where was your staff shirt?"

Saturday 6.14.14 Auction Finds -- Antique Frames

Looking over my junking options for the day, sleeping in and going to a local auction sounded ideal.  There wasn't anything outstanding there, but on the plus side -- great weather and not a lot of dealers to contend with. 

GREAT FRAMES were my best buy. 

Most of them I will paint and sell at the Rusty Chandelier.

I scored six big beautiful Victorian frames.

I am keeping this great old oil painting --

and I rarely keep anything!

The oak finish was damaged on this one, but

ornate trim was still in great condition --

so I only painted the oak.

This one was in pretty good condition, with just

a little damage to one corner.

I'll try to sell it without painting it.

Antique Lighting Finds From Last Weekend

Looking over the haul from last weekend (Savannah's city-wide garage sale), one category of collectible stands out:  LIGHTING.


Two other floor lamps were added to my "bridge lamp".
Now all three are awaiting their turn to go to the antique mall.

Love the marble base and swing arm on this beauty. ( Did I not get a picture of the whole floor light?!) You'll just have to trust me, the swing arm was sweet.

 

I spied the Akro Agate base on this one from the road. (It has a small light in the base to illuminate the glass!)  The rust doesn't bother me a bit. I know there is a future buyer that will enjoy it as well.

I found TWO (count 'em -- TWO) vintage Italian tole floral chandeliers.  Both ready to plug in and go. (Sometimes I could just cry with joy).  Unfortunately, I took the smaller one in to my booth AND SOLD IT THE SAME DAY.  So, no photo of it.

Over the course of City-Wide Garage Sale Week

I picked up three of these fun and funky lights.

Each a little different, trying them on ebay.

 

 

Lastly, a mid-century standout.

Perfect for drinks and magazines.

TOP 10 Outdoor Vintage Items That Are Selling

Here is a countdown of vintage outdoor items that are selling well for me:

10 ** windows -- multi pane

9  ** galvanized buckets and watering cans

8  ** plants -- succulents in interesting vintage containers

7  ** antlers / skulls

6  ** wooden ladders -- smaller painted folding ones and straight ones













5  ** concrete planters and concrete figures

4  ** wheelbarrows and children's wagons

3  ** painted architectural pieces -- hard to find

2  ** washtubs on stands -- hard to find, but easy to sell.  I bought three this week, they all sold within 48 hours

1  ** vintage metal lawn chairs -- a rare commodity

Savannah MO City-Wide Garage Sale Part 2

Friday and Saturday of Savannah's City-Wide Garage Sale whizzed by in a blur.
By Saturday afternoon I was in Yard Sale Coma.  It pained me to pass by garage sales without stopping, but I just couldn't manage to hit every one.  My husband, son and daughter-in-law all took turns "sailing" with me.

Friday the weather was great and the crowds weren't too bad.

We loaded and emptied the van a couple of times.

Everything ran like clockwork.

  

 Saturday was another story.

Deluges of rain which lasted until late morning.

Many of the sales didn't open

until later, or not at all.

 

This picture says it all:

"What?  You forgot the bungee cords?

And you ran out of checks?

And we don't have enough money to pay this guy?"

15 minutes later this was followed by a dead battery.

 

We still managed to find a few things and have a good time.

The finale was lunch served by the Main Street Committee.

I wish I had taken a picture of the homemade strawberry-

rhubarb pie, it was a thing of beauty.

 

It seemed like there were sales in the surrounding countryside than usual.

We saw this huge snapper hugging a garage door outside of town.

We figured his home got flooded out.

Vintage Fan Fanatic

Vintage Electric Fans, one of my top 10 favorite collectibles.

We own quite a few.  These black ones have the great old blades and cages which have made them keepers for so long.

They have such a great look to them.
Like pieces of art.

This is my favorite keeper.

It still makes my heart sing,

and purrs like a dream.

 

This little fan is one we still use.

He is keeping company with another of my

top ten favorites.

 

This tall, handsome specimen is one

that I am still undecided about.

To sell or not to sell.

 

But these three I know are going into The Rusty Chandelier soon:

I paid $3 for this little fan, and sold it on ebay for $58.