Garage Sale 2012

So, this past weekend I held my very first Garage Sale.
Setting up was fun, and my son enjoyed planning how he would display his Little People that he was selling.

It was SO hot... and humid!  My little Entrepreneur filled the cooler with frozen juice pouches and water bottles and made a few bucks selling those, and snacks he lugged around in a bin.
He also attacked every person, welcomed them to the sale and handed them my business card.
I love that kid!

We got rid of alot of stuff, though not all the stuff as I had hoped to.  That's how it goes though.

My manager at the check-out counter.

This dresser is my work station in the garage.  I do small projects on it, and store alot of junk, tools etc on it while I am working.  Last week as I slapped chalk paint on the kiddie table/chairs set [SOLD!], I decided to also chalkboard the back of this so I could write on it.  It worked out great, especially after we hoisted it up on the 2 small dollys so that we could roll it around.  I'll be adding real, attached wheels to her, and trick out the top with fold down sides to give me a bigger work surface, and generally spiff her up 'cause it worked a charm!

I got alot of great comments on the dog/doll beds.

I also got some kids trying them out... ugh!  So signs went in them to please not sit/lay in them.

None of these items sold.

I got these chairs for free from a man I bought the caned dining chairs from.

These are not something I would normally want, but he practically begged me to take them, and I figured fixed up I could donate them... but I just can't wrap my mind around this style and fix them up.  I guess I'll have to, since they too are still here.

I got one offer on these tables but it was for what I paid for them before I repainted them and glued them so I declined.  I may just use them in my house.

I got alot of compliments on this, but no offers.

Some said it was too large [though it's really a small china cabinet], and that they just didn't need one.

You can see on the counter of the hutch that I had a display of the rescues brochures, and many took those and also donated directly via the donation can I had out.  I also sold one bottle of fly spray, and between those and the 10% I give the rescue, we raised $55 for Equine Rescue Resource over the whole weekend.  Not as much as I had hoped for, but more than I could come up with out of my own pocket, so I'll take it!

SOLD!

Whew!  But alas, for almost what I have into it between purchasing it, paint, time [sanding the top was forever] and then the caned Heat Register metal in the upper doors and new screws all around because many stripped upon removal and were garbage.  Is it worth it to get rid of it, gain space and also make a neighbor happy?  I think so.

The real win of this weekend was the shot in the arm of people gushing over my stuff... asking me how I did this or that, telling me I should teach a class on how-to, and just appreciating the creative side of this venture.    To me these creations are 'easy', what to do to them just comes to me.  I am learning that not everyone has that creative vision... and that this ability has value.

I had a couple people stop by who do home staging, and hopefully they will get in touch if they have a space they could use a piece of my furniture in.  I also met a very nice couple who has a nearby Antiques and Collectibles store, and they said they would like a small item for their shop.

Wouldn't that be great?!

We also had several neighbors stop by, and out here in the woods it's rare to see your neighbors.  It was great to meet people, to swap stories and get a sense of community with a person instead of a bear/coyote/snake.

So, I still have several items to list on Craigslist, to clear space in the garage... but we also have more space upstairs now, and it feels good not only to get rid of things, but to sell/give items to people who appreciate them.

Garage Sale Prep, day 2

I am in full panic mode here.
I had told myself I would be slashing prices on the Late Bloomers stock, and would NOT, therefore, be doing any touch ups.
Guess how that's working out?

Not perfect, but it looks super cute, and more importantly,... it's DONE!

Here's the before:

the rest of the images on it were pitted and not good, and the entire bed had pitting/rust... so I had to paint it.

In prepping the hutch, I had to touch up the hardware, but I HATE removing hardware...

So I cheated....

Cut a slit in a piece of paper that ends in a small circle, sort of a keyhole pattern.

Slip it on the knob, spray and PRESTO!

I was incredibly jealous... inspired by the picnic basket of a family member at the Family Reunion this past weekend...

Isn't that so pretty?

It got me started on mine...

It's going to be a very faint checkerboard with Black Eyed Susans over it.

Ok, I gotta' get back to work.

Hopefully once the sale is set up I'll have a mo' to post some pics!

Garage Sale, pricing woes and letting go of a dream

Apologies for not having a 'real' post to offer today, but I am in full 'Garage Sale' mode here... ruthlessly throwing things into the 'To Sell' pile and slapping prices on them!

Pricing is hard!

For example:
My son has this huge collection of Little People toys he adored as a toddler.  Those have to go, and thankfully he is seeing dollar signs dancing before his eyes, and has agreed to sell them.

The one pirate ship retails for $59!  So what price do I put on it?  It's complete... gently used.
I've been pricing things at 1/3 retail price, and of course am totally in the mindset of 'I want this gone, make me an offer!'.
I just hope I am not pricing things too high that people will walk without discussing!

I have a train table and one of those giant ZipLock storage bags [and I mean the REALLY big one!] full of Thomas train track and cars... and I threw in all the other Thomas stuff he had as well like books and activity books and whatnot.
Thomas train cars cost about $10 each, and he has at least 3 sets of track, those go for over $50 each.
I priced the entire bag at $50 and the train table at $50 also.
Ya' think that's too high?

Again, I am thinking the real thrill of going to a garage sale is finding a bargain and then haggling the person down some more.

Am I mistaken that others also go into a sale like this figuring they can whittle the price down a bit?  Am I mistaken that $50 for a train table that retails for $130, is a decent price?



I am so excited to have this place cleaned out, stuff we no longer use gone and into homes where they will get used... and some cash would be nice too!



I am sad to say, I am also cleaning out the Late Bloomers stock. 

I had such high hopes.

I've sold one item in the last 12 months, the black China Cabinet, and made a whopping $400.
I dunno' what it is that is slowing down interest in used or upcycled furniture.  You would think with this economy, it would be thriving!  But I think it's time to admit the venture has died and needs to be buried.   I had such hopes for this to help me donate some to the Horse Rescue, as well as make me some spending money.

These girls need surgery...

She needs her old teeth cleaned and maybe some removed

She's getting spayed, 'cause the last thing we need is Coyote/Beagle puppies!

Would those be Coygles?  Ceagles?  BeYotes?  I don't want to find out!

... I had hoped that Late Bloomers income would make these kinds of 'extra' costs hurt less.


How are sales where you are?  Do you sell on Craigslist or elsewhere?




Again regarding pricing, I have slashed the prices on the remaining Late Bloomers stock.

This started out priced at $450.  I slashed it back to $350 and then $250 on Craigslist.

That's the price I have on it for the Garage sale, fully understanding I will have to go lower to get it gone.  

What do you think?

Same with this China Cabinet... slashed from original of $450, all the way down to $250.

And I am just hoping someone takes it!  It's a waste for it to rot [not literally] out in the garage.

I did absolutely nothing to these Mid Century chairs... I am selling them as is.

Do you think $10 for the pair will get them out of here?

Remember these?

They came out like this:

Is $40 for the pair crazy?  I could just keep them to use in the 'Bonus Space'

Won't someone buy me?  Please?

These beds are all solid wood, painted and distressed, and upholstered.

The dresser is painted and the drawers lined.

They are appropriate size for American Girl Dolls, and we all know how much the AG furniture, that isn't even wood, goes for.  

So all that being said, is $50 too much for each?  $100 for the set of 3?  

I also have a hutch of the same scale and paint finish...

I tried to get the dog beds into a few local 'Natural' Pet stores, thinking recycled and locally upcycled was a nice fit.  No one was the least bit interested in having them in their stores.  Most of them never even responded to my inquiries.

The one retail location I wanted to get my 'human' furniture into, a resale decor shop, closed.
So sad.  They had great stuff besides being a retail option for me.

Plus the lady who ran it was very nice and creative... it just seemed like she was always running, which is the nature of having your own business.  But I wonder how that played into the demise of her place?  I do know the flood didn't help, she lost alot of stock because the creek behind her first location overflowed into her shop!  Yuck!

I look to the demise of her shop, and consider that if she couldn't make it with that prime location, then the fact that I am selling nothing out of my garage isn't really as much 'failure' as just what it is.


So, wish me luck for this garage sale, keep your fingers crossed that I sell out, and that D doesn't lose his mind over people parking on the grass [HORRORS!].



I'm linking up with Savvy Southern Styles Wow us Wednesday Cause truth be told, her Wow us Wednesday is my 'goal' to blog each week.  I tell myself I must have a new blog post by Wednesday to post at her gathering... and the last couple weeks it's worked a charm.  Thanks SSS!

It wasn't even really on the To Do list!

... and yet I got [most of] it done yesterday.

I have played with what to do with my kitchen back splash forever.

While it has a 4 inch granite backsplash, the rest of that wall just looked blah.
I had started out painting it the golden yellow of the rest of the kitchen, but it just looked off.
Aside, that's what I love about paint.. you can try it, live with it a while and then just paint over it.

I would love to do a herringbone marble tile, but the budget at present won't allow, so I toyed with doing a faux [painted] tile in the meantime... but kept putting it off because pin-striping tape is hard to find in my area and I knew that would be a major undertaking.

I thought about tin ceiling, which we did at the old house.  It was lovely, easy to clean and the classic look I wanted.  But I'd already done that, so I kept leaning away from that too.

Then there's my hankering for toile.  I have been looking for a toile wallpaper in a scale appropriate to finish the hutch in the kitchen.  I finally came across this one, and while considering it for the hutch, also  debated using it above the 4" of granite back splash.

I don't know what it was, but yesterday I just dove in.  I thought going in it would be a couple hour job, as long as I was careful around those outlets [I shocked myself papering around the one in the Butler Pantry].

Not so much.  

Wallpapering is a new skill for me, and I am self taught for the most part, though I must have learned alot watching my grandmother Mary papering our various houses.  Let me tell you, I was calling on her for help on this one, tight spaces are hard to wallpaper!

It took about an hour per length.  The paper, while being vinyl, ripped easily when wet and there are more 'jogs' in that area than it even looks like!  Getting it in place cut almost to the shape needed, and then trimming it in place... OY!

Then I committed cardinal sin #1, not deciding where I would end the job before starting.

I knew I didn't want to go up and around the window to the ceiling [or at least I thought I didn't].

Eventually I want to build a faux top to these cabinets, taking them to the ceiling and adding crown molding all the way around the room.  So if I did go around the window, it would look really unfinished until that project got underway....  I already have so many projects that are half done, I really loathe the idea of adding another one!

So I stopped where I stopped in order to sleep on it and figure out where to stop.

That makes sense right?

Actually, I have one more strip cut and ready to add that would take it to just under the cabinets, but I didn't put it up because I was still not sure if I wanted to end there, or where I wanted to stop.

In the pic above of the sink and window, do you see where the bottom of the bottom shelf on either side of the sink is?  

I think that's where I am going to carry the wallpaper to.  

I'll paper all around the bottom of the window, up to the point where the shelves start.  I'll then finish off the paper edge with some trim the same width as the thickness of those shelves.  

At least that's what I decided when I woke up this morning, but the day has just begun and I am only halfway through my first cuppa'... so who knows!!

So what do you think?  Would you wallpaper a back splash?  

Would you wallpaper any rooms in your house?

I know people groan at the thought of removing wallpaper in a house they are considering buying, but D convinced me that this is my house and I should do what I want, and if it doesn't work, I can always redo it!

Honestly, there are so many beautiful wallpapers out there, Toiles, Florals, Geometrics.... I want a bigger house with more rooms so I can use them all!

Linking up with Savvy Southern Style for their Wow us Wednesday!