Hey everybody! Sorry it’s been a couple of weeks since the last Vintage Treasure post. With the harvest season in full swing, I’m running around with my camera, trying to document all of the corn, cotton, peanut, and bean pickin’ action. Speaking of pickin’, the yard sale pickin’ had gotten pretty sad a couple of weeks ago, but last Saturday made up for all of the empty-handed disappointment. I came home on a yard sale high! I’m going to start with a couple of items from two Saturdays ago, then we’ll get into last weekend. Here we go…

I picked up this vintage print for a $1 two weeks ago. It is a little larger than an 8×12 inch photo. As you can see, it is very fragile. I am hoping to try to save it and put it in an old frame. It’s just such a beautiful scene, and it reminds me of the many times I’ve spent photographing cows.

At the same sale I found this old chair for $3! You know I have a thing for a chair with character! As I’ve said before, one day I would like to take all of my chairs and paint them in unifying colors to arrange around a table. And yes, I had that idea before I ever saw it on Pinterest!

Ok, let’s get into last weekend’s sales. I found these miniature figurines all at the same sale. Here’s a yard sale tip for ya. When you find an item you are interested in, the key is to act well…not that interested! After noticing the items were Occupied Japan, I knew the seller was probably going to ask a lot for them. I had walked away from the shelf to casually ask the seller how much. To my surprise she said, “Oh, how about $1 a piece?” Sounded good to me! So I picked up the three little pigs, a set of marching band dogs, and the southern belle, walking her blue poodle.

Ok, ok. I know you’re thinking Jessica you have lost your mind! But remember, I found one of these cat-like figurines before and bought it for 25 cents because it was the most unusal thing I had come across yet. Well, this was sitting on the shelf with the previously mentioned ceramic figurines. I expained to the seller how I had acquiried a larger one, and I had no idea what it was. She said, “Honey, you can have it. That ugly thing needs to be in a matching set!” Well, I hope that was ok with her husband. After she had given it to me, he came out and explained it was a Japanese chalkware carnival prize from the 1920s-1930s! Even though it’s still u-g-l-y, how many people can say they have a set of carved Japanese carnival prizes?! LOLs. You never know what you may come across at a sale.

I also picked up these two Occupied Japan beauties for a $1 a piece. They’re about three inches tall. They fit perfect in a shadow box.

I got these vintage iridescent earrings for my mama. $1

I found this old ring for $1. I thought it was or was hoping it was a J with some decorative accent behind it. Now, I’m not so sure if it is really an F. What do you think? I’m hoping it will clean up good. It will either be a J for Jessica or F for Fantastic! Ha, ha.

I say I really don’t collect avon bottles, but my shelf would deny that! I just couldn’t help but adopt these two perfume puppies for 25 cents a piece.

I luv these glasses! Three for $1. Now as a germ-concious person (the term germ freak just has too much negativity attached to it), I make sure any glasses I purchase look like they have never been used. Plus, they are cleaned multiple times. Things I refuse to purchase at a yard sale: underwear, clothes, and shoes! My aunt says I’ll cave in on the shoes one day, but I’m still staying strong.

I got a large Ziploc bag full of these ceramic knobs for $2. Do you know how expensive knobs are? Try at least $2 a piece! They will come in handy with any vintage furniture projects that come along.

Yep, you better believe I’m going to have a holiday shout out! 74 days until Christmas! I picked up a box of small glass-colored balls at an estate sale for $1. Oh, and the plate they are on was 25 cents from a previous sale.

At the same estate sale, an entire collection of Hallmark ornaments were being sold for $2 a piece. I mean it must have been a lifelong collection. I have never seen so many, and they were all in their original boxes. A friend that was at the sale actually found these photography related ornaments for me! The little elf/gnome figure’s camera blinks. And who could resist the little bird, holding a sign of a piece of cheese on his head!? The little bear and penguin are just adorable as well.

I also got this plate for my sister for $1. She has quite the vintage/antique plate collection thanks to me!

I tell ya last Saturday morning was packed with sales! The weather was just perfect. But I had to go underground to find my next treasures. My next stop was at a basement sale. I felt like I had stepped onto the set of American Pickers. At the entrance to the basement, I was greeted by an old, long-bearded gentleman, just as friendly as could be. As I started walking through the basement, I noticed this antique stool/bench. As you could imagine, I lit up when I saw a $3 sticker on it! Now, I had just looked at a little bench like this in a thrift shop and the asking price was $45!!! The one in front of me was even larger! It was the wife’s grandmother’s bench. It was contructed with wooden pegs and is still pretty sturdy and heavy too! SOLD! Then on a table just above the bench…

…were crates of records! Woo Hoo! So I plowed through those records, searching for my Christmas vinyl. I’m not picky. I just get any Christmas album. At 25 cents a piece, I grabbed them up.

Even if a record is not in the best condition, I will still sometimes purchase it for the artwork alone. I luv the bottom right-hand, A Christmas Festival, cover. I have so many records to convert to digital that it’s not even funny, but I work on them any chance I can get.

I promise I am not opening up a Coleman’s Nursery Christmas Land…even though most locals know what I’m talking about and had fond memories there as children! This plastic Santa is only a little over 12 inches tall. I couldn’t leave him for $2. But he still cannot compete with my 5-foot vintage blow mold Santa. I’m still pretty proud of him. Check out the vintage treasure archives for that one! Here’s the link: http://jessicacasperblog.com/2012/06/05/christmas-in-june/

Are you ready for my last and biggest find of the weekend?

I purchased this old sideboard for only $20! I cannot wait to give it some extra loving and bring it back to its original beauty, but I think it’s pretty awesome as it stands! I’m going to have to get the top restored. Unfortunately, it had gotten wet where it was stored and that made the top bow. But other than that, the piece is in pretty good shape for its age. The previous owner told me the glass knobs were original. I am planning on replacing the ceramic ones on the middle shelves with some more matching vintage glass knobs…as soon as I can find some! I am absolutely in love with this piece! Oh, and this is what let me know that this piece was meant to be…

I found this camera inside the sideboard! I paid $5 for it. The owner didn’t even know it was in there! As I said, it was meant to be! I hope you have enjoyed today’s Vintage Treasure post. It’s where my love of photography and vintage treasure hunting meet! Just click on the follow Jessica Casper button on the home page to keep up with all of my current projects. Have a great weekend. Happy Friday!