Fun toys after Christmas

I haven't been able to shop at Goodwill for a long time! I am going to try to go more in 2009. I went to three Goodwill's in my area yesterday, and here are some of my finds:

Here is a 2000 piece puzzle. Have I lost my mind?? It is a photograph of Neushwanstein Castle in Germany. I lived in Germany for a year, but I never made it to see this one. Now I wish I had. I did go to a bunch of other castles, and they were all amazing. This puzzle cost $1.38!













Here is a neat cardboard floor puzzle for my daughter. It looks new, and it was only $2.38.

The best find of the trip: a big wooden box full of train track parts! It is not a complete set, but I was still thrilled to find it. It is compatible with the wooden train set that my daughter got for her 3rd birthday. It has tunnels, a bridge, trees, signs, track pieces, a windmill and train cars. The best part: It was $6.38!! I had no clue what I would find when I looked in the box, but I was thrilled.

Neat toys found at Goodwill

I found these three wooden vehicles at Goodwill for $5.38 each. I believe they came in kits and someone put them together. They are really cool wood vehicles. They are around 8 inches long each, and super sturdy. I looked them up on ebay and they didn't seem to be worth much more than I paid, but I still think they are neat.


Here is the crane truck:

A wooden jeep or Humvee:

Pick-up truck:

Aren't they cool? My daughter plays with them every once in a while, but hasn't shown much interest in them. My cousin's six year old likes them a lot.

I think they are a great find! In fact, when I was waiting in line to pay for them at Goodwill, several people were eyeing them. One man said "Oh, I saw those on the shelf." And his wife said through her teeth, "Then why didn't you grab them????" I just pretended like I couldn't hear them, because I wasn't giving them up!

Cute doll furniture at Goodwill

Check out this cute doll furniture that I found at a Goodwill store! These pieces were $5.38 each, which is a lot for me. I loved them and thought they were so cute, so I splurged! They are wooden and some of the paint is scratched off on the edges.

a few things from garage sales

Garage sale season is nearing and end around here, due to the weather. I think September will probably be the last month. I have been going out nearly every weekend to hit the sales. I am much more selective this year (what with trying to declutter and everything). Here are a couple neat things I found:


Old fashioned bingo game, $2


Pink depression plate (about 15 inches wide) $6 for my mom (would have been about $30 at an antique store!)

last week's goodies

I have been busy shopping Goodwill and garage sales. I am trying to declutter, but I also need a few things to help me stay organized. I am having a garage sale in late September, so every once in a while I pick up something at Goodwill that I can resell. That doesn't help me declutter at all.

Here are some more jars that I have had really good luck finding. These are 88 cents each, and I will use them to organize my crafts and sewing.

Two lovely tall mugs in a nice blue color. I found these at a resale shop for $1.99 each. A lot of money for me, but these cups will come in handy. Normal cups just don't hold much tea, and I drink tea all day in the winter.

Two really cute Christmasy pot holders for my table. I bought these at a garage sale from a nice lady who had a bunch of handmade stuff. They were $1 each. I am sure on etsy, they would have been $15 for the pair. They are worth it too!

I bought a set of 4 of these glasses for myself, because I have broken some out of mine. I had a set of glasses with white swirlies from Pier One, so these kind of go with. I'm not against mismatched anyway. These were 88 cents each at Goodwill.

I found this cute little trunk at Goodwill. It was $3.38 and I figured I would resell it at the garage sale. It is made from laminated cardboard with silver glitter. Of course, my daughter likes it so we might keep it if we can find a spot for it.

Some good stuff!

I went Goodwilling again this week, went to 4 stores in the city. It was quarter and 88 cents day, depending on the tag color.

Here's the good stuff:

Three jars, 88 cents each

Two adorable handmade cotton dresses, $1.19 each

And the best part!! One of my stores put out wool sweaters!! I scored six 100% wool sweaters, $1.69-$3.38 each. I make wool playfood so these are the best finds!!

Two funky colored ones for who knows what project:

A striped one to make a wool elephant from:

Two red ones and one tan one (always need these for apples, pizza crust, bread, etc.)

Some cute toys

I found some cute toys this week.

One of those cool plastic balls that expands $2.38













A cute little chair for dollies (that is a blah-blah doll of my daughter's sitting in it) $3.38



















Little tiny shakers for the play kitchen $0.88, metal measuring spoons $0.38












Tiny shelf with drawers, $2.38. We will paint it white for the play kitchen.



















And for me, a glass Pyrex 4-cup $1.38!

Goodwill shopping

I haven't been able to shop at Goodwills due to some nasty weather and flooding that we have been having lately. I was able to stop by one yesterday. I found some cute skirts for my daughter (but I am not going to blog about toddler clothes).



Here was my only other find:






















A cute little white bookshelf for $3. I am going to use it for my daughter's play kitchen, to store her playfood!

Local thrift store finds

We have a new thrift store that opened last year. It benefits the mentally disabled, I believe. It is in an old warehouse downtown, with no air conditioning! It is a neat old building and it holds a lot of stuff. It is mostly run my volunteers, so it is not the most organized place you have ever been to. We love to shop there and my daughter knows where to toys are now "up the scary stairs."

Here are some recent finds from our trips:

Big jar of antique buttons and other buttons $2.50

2 blue flower pots, 50 cents each

Glass jar 50 cents

Some really cute metal stuff for my daughter's play kitchen!

Various mini metal mixing bowls and utensils for my daughter's play kitchen.

3 metal ice cream bowls $1

Church rummage sale find

I found this wonderful doll furniture set for $2.00 at a church rummage sale. I sat down for a while to make sure all the pieces were there before I bought it. It was mostly taken apart.

It includes a bed, table and 2 chairs. It is for regular sized dolls, not dollhouses. What a find! It is made with branches and rope, except the table top. The bedding and chair pads appear to be handmade. All I need to do is re-glue the joints together.

My first post!

I am starting a thrift store finds blog!! So excited.

I thrift at Goodwill and a local store that benefits the handicapped. Our Salvation Army is icky. I may also blog about good clearance finds at department stores.

My latest trip to Goodwill:

Acrylic baby yarn for a future craft swap, 88 cents each.

I found these 3 glass jars for 88 cents each. I am going to use them to store craft and sewing supplies.

I am going to use this tiny little bookshelf for my daughter's wooden play kitchen. It is going to be storage for her bakery items: bread, muffins, pancakes, cinnamon rolls, waffles, etc. This bookshelf cost $2.38.

I found these microfiber cloths at Target on clearance. They are 95% bamboo. They were $2.38 for a 2-pack.