This past weekend I went to several garage sales with a group of friends.  We have a realtor in the area that arranges neighborhood garage sales.  Usually they’re 300+ homes all in the same area, but this one was 90+ homes.  We actually made it to about 75% of the homes whereas with the 300+ sales, we barely make a dent.  It was a beautiful day on Saturday, not too cold, not too hot (sound like Goldilocks), the people were friendly and fun and the sale didn’t start until 8am.  Usually we’re out there by 7am, but we weren’t going to complain about sleeping in.  By 11:30 we were ready for lunch and the rest of our day.

I’ve been “in-love” with garage sales for a few years now.  It’s a treasure hunt and the prices (most of the time) can’t be beat.  Normally I find things that I “think” I’ll use and because it’s so inexpensive, I’ll buy it and then it ends in MY garage sale.  This time I had a plan!  (and what’s that about the best laid plans…)

This time I told myself I could only buy something if I had a definite purpose for it.  And I think I did pretty well.  I’m sharing my haul here along with my plan for the item as a means of accountability and fun.  So here goes…

<–These Christmas ornaments will go perfectly on my wall tree.  Cost:  $.50

I’ve wanted to do a collage of my dogs and this frame is the perfect size.  Cost $1

<– Aren’t these adorable.  They’re only a couple of inches tall and have teeny little scoops.  I’ll use them for my glitter.  Cost $1

I’m always on the hunt for beads.  These strands were $.25 each and will be used for many a bracelet.

<–I installed a curtain rod in my craft room under a set of cabinets for hanging cards.  These clip rings are the perfect size.  Cost:  $1

I’m always on the hunt for cute –> containers to hold small crafting items.  I found two of these for $1 each.

<– Found these tart tins ($1 for all) with the purpose of making pincushion holders like these featured at Just Something I Made. 

<– For some reason wine corks were quite the rage at this sale.  I picked up 3 – gallon sized bags for $1 each.  Initially I didn’t know what I was going to do and then my friend suggested a note board idea.  After some searching on Pinterest, I found a bulletin board idea with painted corks that caught my eye as well.  Hope I have enough corks.  Cost $1 per bag.

I’ve been looking for a 3X5 card holder for a while and this one is perfect.  I’ll give it a fresh coat of paint and then set it up to store my scraps of paper that aren’t small enough to throw away but aren’t big enough to end up in my paper scrap file.  It even came with plastic dividers.  Cost $3.

A fresh coat of paint and this carousel will be perfect for my craft supplies.  Cost $1.

Golf tees.  Now I don’t golf, but these bags were $.25 each and the tees are perfect for this project I saw on Pinterest.  I’m fascinated with miniature gardens or fairy gardens and making the things to go in them.  This is a start.
And finally my favorite…  Cost $.75 + 3 AA batteries

How do the dogs feel about him?  Ellie was interested enough to sit and listen, Mindy bolted into the backyard and Woody walked up to it, sniffed it and attempted to remove its head.  So there you have it.

Do you enjoy garage sales and if so, is there something you’re always on the hunt for?

Until next time, 

We’d just like to say that we think Woody’s reaction to the Christmas dog was a bit over the top.  I think maybe he thought it was another dog that was coming here to stay and he was letting you know that three’s the limit.