Thursday, February 11, 2016

Treasure Hunting Thursdays: The Odd & The Unexpected


Hi friends! This week my daughter had an early dismissal from school so I got to take her along with me when I hit the thrift stores. I usually go alone, so it was nice to have some company this time around. 

I like to go during the day because I find that in the evenings the stores were I shop tend to be more crowded and more picked through after 5pm.

I wrote my list of things I was hoping to find and out the door we went. The first shop we went to had half price off of bric-brac (aka dust collectors) which I usually never buy unless I am looking for something for a specific project, such as a mosaic. 

Here are a few things we came across...  


This ram creamer kind of weirded me out so I took a picture of it. I guess if you are an Aries or collect rams it would make you happy. 


Ahhh this was a find. The moment that I spotted this, the entire trip was instantly worthwhile. My very first vintage glass electrical insulator! Yay! I finally found one at a thrift store! 

I had seen them in antique shops but had never found one at a thrift shop before. It was a really pretty shade of emerald green. For $2 I had to have it. It looks great on my window sill...

Just yesterday I updated my blog post about upcycling vintage glass insulators, so if you haven't read that blog post, you should check it out! (Creative Ways To Upcycle Vintage Glass Insulators) 

If you've never seen one of these before, these were used to insulate telephone poles from the electrical wires. See the grooves on the sides of it? The electrical wires would rest against those grooves. The bottom is open and the inside is hollowed out. That is where it would fit on a peg on the wooden pole. 



Like I said earlier, I'm usually not one for bric brac but I had to have these elephants. Vintage with iridescent pink finish and half price (I paid only $2) they make a neat addition to my studio. I just may add a piece of copper wire to them and turn them into an incense holder. Right on. 


We stopped at a second thrift store on our way home and when my daughter found this plate she was beside herself. Presidents! She is currently obsessed with American history and politics and will be majoring in both French and Political Science in college (which is four+ years away!) Of course, she wants me to make her jewelry out of it...hehe. Half-price, so she got it for $2.00. 

Lesson for the day: Even if you bring along a list, you never know what you're going to walk out of a thrift shop with, so always go with an open mind. It's treasure hunting at its best.   

Do you have a treasure story to tell? 

Please share it with us by leaving a comment below! 




   


My broken china jewelry is always available for purchase at https://www.etsy.com/shop/dishfunctionldesigns


See all of my jewelry making videos here 


Join me on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/laurabethlove




Pin this post!



You might also like:












Article copyright ©Laura Beth Love 2022 and may not be republished in print or other media without express written permission from the author. For any link updates or corrections leave correct info in comment area