Monday, November 21, 2011

The One Dollar Flea Market Challenge: Vintage Scores for Under a Buck

It was eighty-one degrees out yesterday; breezy and sunny. Perfect weather for flea marketing. Yet when I pulled into a favorite flea market I realized I'd forgotten to pack cash! At the bottom of my bag was a crumpled dollar bill a friend drunkenly gave me. I accepted my challenge. Here's what $1.00 got me at the flea market:


Three seventies era vintage planters. These would look perfect in a sunny kitchen windowsill. I'll place this trio into my antique store booth tomorrow.


A decapitated R2D2. It may look a bit morbid, but I'll give this R2D2 a new life when I fill him with an attractive cactus. He'd make a good pencil cup, too.


A complete Fisher Price Doctor Set. A gift for my niece who wants to be a veterinarian. I'd have killed for this toy as a kid. I've always loved science and medical themed pieces. 


A flower vase and a black planter. I'm not sure what I'll fill the black planter with yet, but the flower vase is already holding some lilies that I had in a large beer mug before I left the house.


A cookbook, a Nothing Book. I'm putting the cookbook in the shop tomorrow, but I may keep the "Nothing" book.


The Nothing Book is interesting. Proclaiming usefulness for:
"Poets, cooks, travelers, writers, diarists, students, comedians, brides, grandparents, decorators, kids, tourists, doodlers, secretaries, list-makers, forgetteers, artists, sketchers, businesswomen, businessmen, leaf-pressers, gift-givers, minimalists, and all of us who've ever wanted to do a book." 
It's a book full of blank white pages. I love that it's sturdy and hardcover. I think I'll save it or something special.


Cowboy and Kitty Print Fabric: I have some crafty plans for this cowboy and kitty print fabric.


While hunting at the flea market I found another dollar! So I bought the vintage First Aid for Insects book above for fifty cents.


I'm tempted to dedicate an entire blog post to the charming illustrations from this book. The kids and critters are so animated.

So how did I score all of this for so little? A flea market vendor was running a deal she does from time to time; fill a grocery bag with merch for $1.00. At first glance, the pile of rubble she offers for exploration has little potential. You have to dig past the broken appliances, funny books on "Fidelity" I'd love to send anonymously to ex-boyfriends, and dirty stuffed animals to find something worthwhile.

After this One Dollar Challenge I'm excited to do more of them! Both my dollars were "found", so it feels like I got a lot for nothing. I even have fifty cents left over. I'm definitely hunting on a smaller budget going forward...

What did you find this weekend?

Linked to: [Thrift Share Monday] [The Penny Worthy Project] [Flea Market Finds].
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17 comments:

  1. The R2D2 is fabulous! So is everything else.

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  2. JuJu: There was a Return of the Jedi sleeping bag at the flea market, too. But even after getting it down to $5.00, it was out of my budget ;)

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  3. Oh I had that Fisher Price doctor's kit. I saved many a stuffed animal from grave medical conditions with that thing. Good times!

    <3 Jackie @ Let's Go Thrifting!

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  4. You have such a good eye.
    At an estate sale, I took a FREE BOX, which was a shoebox of crusty office supplies...nothing I needed. Sifting through it at home, I found a 18K gold charm shaped like the country of Italy (the boot shape)! So that was a good score.

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  5. Please show more of the book, I love old books, they are always so different! Yesterday I found one that was "How Tape Recorders Work" the cover illustration was awesome!

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  6. Jackie: I'm including some stuffed animals for my neice to save with her kit ;)

    Chandleguera: Seriously great score, and I love that it was free!

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  7. Chelsea: I'm thinking of doing a series showing off beautiful old books; they need to be shared!

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  8. Great finds for really nothing, way to go! I love the cowboy print fabric, would love to see your crafty plans.

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  9. Victoria: I'll write an update when that's complete :)

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  10. Dogs: The planters were my favorite find, too. I have them in the antique store booth already.

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  11. I just saw The Nothing Book at Goodwill last week! Never bought it though.

    We had the Fisher Price set as kids, me & my sister. Have no clue what happened to it, but I bed we had a blast with it.

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  12. Sir Thrift-A-Lot: Funny that two people who commented had the same Fisher Price set and you saw the same strange Nothing book while thrifting ;)

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  13. Amazed at your eye for quality "junk" and seeing potential. I do love bag days and can pack any size bag within mm of stretching its capacity. I was taught by the best. (Well, maybe just the most cheapo.)
    I am amazed that there are copies of the Nothing book floating around.

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  14. Dogsmom: A lifetime of curbside spying is a great way to develop the "eye" for potential in a junk pile ;)

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  15. fun finds! i'd love to read a post about the illustrations in that book. i think i'd probably spend an hour sitting on your couch looking through it :)

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I love reading your comments. Thank you for adding to the discussion! I always reply to any and all questions.

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