Vintage Fisher Price, Madame Alexander and Anri

It was such beautiful weather here on the east coast this weekend! It was great for being outside and going to sales. There were quite a few around this weekend and while I was on line for one I heard about another one which turned out to be great.

At the first sale I went to I picked up this sweet wooden musical angel who plays Silent Night. She didn’t have a makers name but she looked like nice quality and appeared vintage so I picked her up. After researching a bit I believe she is a carved Anri piece from Italy. I love the gold paint on her.

There was a 50 cent table at this sale where I spotted a small Madame Alexander doll. She is Caroline and was made exclusively for Neiman Marcus. I hope that adds some value to her. I also picked up this Pound Puppy play set at the 50 cent table and was happy to see that it included five characters. Similar to the Polly Pocket sets, these sets are only worthwhile if they have the figures with them.

I picked up a Count von Count puppet by Gund. I believe I have sold this before for about $17.99.

The next sale was a church sale where I bought several sets of Fisher Price items that were bagged up for between $3 and $5 per bag. I love the old Fisher Price sets for the detail and the art on the lithos. There was a pop-up camper set and an RV camper set. I guess this family really liked their camping! Both sets are near complete and I have each one up for $49.99.

There was also a Weebles airplane set which I have never seen before. Weebles are not as collectible as Fisher Price but I think they are really cute.

I bought this Matchbox reproduction set of vehicles from the Thunderbirds for $4. I recognized this set because earlier in the year I sold an original vintage Thunderbird 2 ship.That vehicle is pictured in an earlier post.  This whole set may sell for what that one ship sold for. Probably less.

The best sale was the one I just heard of while standing on line. There were tons of toys there and even though I arrived about 2 1/2 hours after it started I still got some good items.

Originally I purchased this Cars Halloween costume for the dress up bin in my classroom. I have all boys in my class this year and mostly skirts and dresses in the bin. However, of course I looked it up when I got home and it goes for between $50 and $75 so I guess my boys are going to have to wear skirts for a while longer. Just kidding – I also picked up a Thomas the Tank costume and a pair of bat wings which I think they will love.

Here’s a funny item. This little boy Berenguer baby doll has all his naughty bits! Yes he does. People use them to make reborn dolls. I had to pose him very carefully! He is pretty life like.

This Jurassic Park dino had the JP mark on his leg. He is in rough shape and I think he’s supposed to roar and he doesn’t but for $2 I picked him up.

I think my best find was this case of vintage Strawberry Shortcake figures. The figures measure about 2″ tall. Most of the figures sell for between $3 and $5 but it can go high if you have a rare one. I believe there is at least one rare doll in this group but I don’t know if there are any others so I have it at auction. I paid up for it though at $18.

Those are the highlights of my weekend adventures. I’m loving this weather!!

Bitossi, Tiffany, American Girl and Barbie!

Variety was the spice of life – or tag sales – this weekend. I bought many different types of items in different categories. Toys are always my go to but when there are no toys to buy I try to branch out. Here are some of the unusual for me items that I bought this weekend.

I picked up this pretty tapestry. I have a friend who sells them so I thought of her when I saw it. Unfortunately it does have a circular stain at the top. It was $5 which is a lot for me for something I don’t know much about but it’s Paris! I have it up for $39.

I also bought this horse racing picture because it was only $1 and I hear that vintage photos can do well as well as horse themed items. So – here you go. It is from a once famous race track called Latonia in Kentucky. I put it up for auction at $9.99 because I have no idea.

This ceramic horse looks like a Bitossi figure to me but it is not marked. I recognize Bitossi horses by their big bottoms and this one has that attribute. I saw similar ones on Ebay and they are listed as Bitossi so I did the same with mine.

At the same sale where I bought this horse I purchased two of these brown cat trinket boxes. I was excited when I turned them over and saw that they were marked Tiffany & Co. 1977.

I also picked up this set of vintage coloring books. I love the vintage illustrations and since they are from 1965 I could have used a set just like this one! These don’t sell for much but I couldn’t pass it up because it is so nostalgic for me.

So all the above items were pretty much out of my comfort zone but we’ll see how they do. Back in my comfort zone I was happy to see this set of vintage cardboard Barbie chairs and table from 1962. I think it’s surprising that this cardboard furniture survived all these years but there is quite a bit of it available online.

I also found some American Girl doll items including Molly’s purse, a bathroom vanity, some accessories for Julie and a group of pet items.

It was a great weekend but I spent a lot of money so I’d better get listing!!

Vintage Dolls, Dawn, Barbie and Tiny Things

This Saturday there was a semi annual sale which is advertised as the “ultimate yard sale.” People are supposed to bring their yard sale items to this place to sell but about 60% of the tables are other dealers and resellers. The challenge for me is to seek out the people that really just want to get rid of their stuff and aren’t telling you what the Ebay prices are.

One lady had a plastic jar on her table – like an empty cheese ball jar. It was filled with little toys and I spotted some Calico Critter items. I asked if I could look in it and started separating out all the Calico Critter things. And of course she says this “Oh – those are from my collection. I told my daughter not to put those in there.” Ugh! But somehow, this time, she ended up selling them to me anyway for $8. Whew! Usually when that happens – there is no sale!

Then I saw a lady with some old Ken doll items in a bag with a Ken doll. I am more interested in Barbie stuff and at the bottom of this bag I saw a tiny case that looked like it had some Barbie shoes and jewelry in it. For $1 she sold it to me. The items inside included shoes, jewelry, a clock and a little yellow hat. They all seem to be from the early 1960’s.

I also picked up this pretty Gotz doll and a little leather purse with a lucite handle.

At another table a lady had a bag filled with Dawn dolls. I didn’t have Barbie when I was young but I did have a collection of Dawn dolls so these are special to me. She sold it to me for $15 and I may keep some. I especially remember that light blue gown with the gold top. Somehow that always seemed magical to me.

Inside this bag of dolls was a Dawn clone doll which I found out is a Mego doll called Dizzy Girl. What kind of a name is that?

One of my favorite purchases from this day is this cute wooden miniature tea set. It is marked “Made in German Democratic Republic.” It reminds me of a wooden apple with a tea set inside that I bought a few years ago. If you scroll to older posts you will see it.

Here are some recent sales updates:

Zippy the Cheerful Chimp – $39.

The Fisher Price tudor dollhouse – $42

Kermit the Frog puppet – $24

Little Tikes Dollhouse items – $38

Vintage Tigger plush – $17

2 Vera Bradley wristlets – $20

Atari style plug and play – $19

Summer is winding down! Keep shopping!

Barbie, Books, Bambi and Bananas

I have a mix of items this week purchased at the thrift store, a church sale, a temple sale and some tag sales. That sounds like a lot of sales but I didn’t really buy too many items.

This funny guy was from the thrift store for $3. He is Zippy the Cheerful Chimp and a reproduction of an old creepy toy. Now he’s a new creepy toy. I have him listed for $39. Creepy sells.

Also at the thrift, in one of the hanging bags for $2 were these vintage plastic deer. I believe people use them for Christmas decor. I’m hoping to get $19 for the pair. I think they are very charming and vintage looking with their big eyes!

At a church sale I picked up a set of these Nutshell Library Christmas books. They measure about 4″ tall. I believe they are from the 1960’s originally although this set may be later because there is a UPC code on the side. I had a set similar to these when I was a child. I always loved little things so this was nostalgic for me!

I went to a temple sale and purchased a few things. There was an unadvertised early bird so when me and my friend arrived I’m afraid it was already picked through but I found a few items. The best one was this vintage Scooby Doo toy from the 1970’s.

I also like this brass candlestick holder shaped like a little man. It is marked Israel on the bottom. I have no idea of the value. I can’t find anything similar but I think he is funky and someone may love him.

I went to several tag sales on Saturday. I purchased this vintage Kermit the Frog puppet there. He goes with the Kermit the Frog pad that I purchased a few weeks ago!

I don’t know too much about Barbie dolls. I have sold a few vintage dolls and some Pink or Black label newer dolls. I know that if they have thick plastic eyelashes that means they are probably old. There are also many repros being made now with those features. I saw a Barbie with those kind of lashes. She had long blonde hair but seemed to be missing a bunch of hair in the back. She had a funky neck thing going on but other than those issues she didn’t seem to be in too bad shape. She was also a funny color.  The lady wanted $30 for her. I really hesitated but then decided to go for it and I asked her to throw in another doll that was laying nearby. I thought the other doll was a Tammy doll but it turned out to be a Tressy doll.

The Barbie, I believe, is a vintage pony tail number 3 Barbie. I have really learned a lot while researching her. I’m pretty excited and hoping to get a good price for her.

Happy September everyone!!

Vera Bradley, LPS and American Girl

This week I had some luck at my local thrift store. First I found two bags of Little Tikes dollhouse furniture. Recently I sold a red van and some Little Tikes people for $29 so I was excited to find some more. I broke it up into 3 lots.  It cost $8.

I never heard of these vintage 1980’s toys by Tonka. They are called Keypers and they are supposed to have a tiny pet inside them. You can open their body up with the key they have around their neck. Mine doesn’t have the pet but it does have the key. She was $3 and I am putting her up for $24. I think she’s super cute. I thought she was a turtle at first but she is a ladybug. She has long legs for a ladybug.

The most surprising find from the thrift store was from the doll section. There were a few baby dolls in a pile for $3 each. This one stood out to me because she looked like she was good quality. When I looked at her marking I was surprised to see that it said American Girl. I was not familiar with this long haired Bitty Baby doll. I was saving a Bitty Bear that I found for $1 at a tag sale recently. The bears don’t sell on their own.

 

I went to one church sale on Saturday. It was fun because there were a lot of items to look through. The best items I found there were 2 bags of Littlest Pet Shop for $1 each. The last group of LPS items I had up sold for $59. (Unfortunately I lost $10 in shipping because they went to Utah). There were lots of cats and dogs which seem to do the best.

Most of the items at this sale were $1 and most of what I purchased will sell only for about $10. I like to sell items for a minimum of $20 but this is what was there this week.

I found 2 Vera Bradley wallets and a makeup case. People love Vera Bradley stuff! I see it all over.

One of my favorite finds is this sweet little Christmas decoration by Josef Originals. The deer and the tree are fuzzy. I love the face of the deer. It is a little discolored but I am trying to get $20 for this because of the charm factor. It’s only about 3″ tall.

I picked up a box of Eaton stationery because I saw a Youtuber who had success with vintage stationery. I like paper items.

Another paper item I found was this Art-tissue Halloween spider by Beistle. I had some luck last year when I found about 7 paper and tissue paper Beistle Christmas Carol figures new in the package at the thrift store. I have sold about 4 of them so far for $10 each.

I picked up this hot pink makeup case by Caboodles for $1. I bought it because it reminded my of a similar one by Victoria’s secret that I recently sold.

The last thing I will share is this Atari Plug and Play TV game console. Normally items like this usually sell between $10 and $15 but I will try for a little more because it’s new.

Those are the results of my adventures this week! Hope you all had some great finds!

 

Diversifying with Fabric, Purses and a My Twinn Doll

This weekend included several church sales, a temple sale and a yard sale. Surprisingly to me the tag sale was were I found the best items – even though this was on the second day of the sale. It was advertised as being a 12 family sale. I wasn’t finding many of the items I usually look for so I checked out the shoes and found a beautiful pair of blue Dr. Martens for $2!

Next to the shoes they had some bags. I saw this bag called Pacsafe. I never saw this brand before so I walked up the drive way and looked it up on my phone and found that they sell well. It has some kind of security feature to it. It’s brown with a pretty bright blue interior. They had $3 on it.

They also had some fabric for sale so I picked up this retired Susan Branch fabric called Tea Party. There was about 2 yards of it. She is a writer and a watercolor artist who is very popular. I didn’t know she had fabric too. It sold in 2 days for $29.99.

I also picked up this nursery fabric which is very cute.

Keeping with the theme of fabric I went to one church sale where I picked up this vintage tablecloth for $2. Unfortunately it has some staining. I recently purchased a vintage tablecloth for myself from Ebay for $39 and have been on the lookout for them ever since. I love the pink and the flowers. I arrived at this sale pretty late and this was my only purchase there.

I went to one church sale that was advertised as being huge with “thousands of items.” No truth in advertising here. I was just about 7 people set up with tables. I only found a few Littlest Pet Shop pets and these vintage children’s Disney hats which I think are from the 1970’s. I think they’re pretty cute. They were $1 each.

On Sunday there was a sale at a Temple near my house which I have been to every year. I went first to look at the toys on the table. I saw some larger dolls and there was a lady in front of me holding an American Girl Doll! I missed out by a few seconds. There was another large doll lying there which I recognized as a My Twinn Doll. The lady was blocking my way. She was looking at her American Girl Doll and so I rudely reached in front of her to grab the other doll. She gave me a strange look which I guess I deserved but I wanted that other doll. I think ownership at a tag sale occurs when the item is touched by the person. Not when you are standing in front of it. It’s not like I grabbed something out of her hands. I would never do that. I would probably never do that. Anyway – My Twinn Dolls were made in the 2000’s. You got a catalog and picked out the features you wanted your doll to have including face shape, eye color, hair color and hair style. I remember these because the year I got my daughter an American Girl Doll for Christmas, my sister in law bought my niece a My Twinn Doll. The idea is that you customize it to look like your child. Then you can buy matching doll and child outfits. I remember some kind of fiasco where my sister in law didn’t think the doll’s hair looked like her daughters and since she is a hair stylist she started to redo the hair then was unhappy with the whole thing. I think they were able to return it and get another one. These dolls are pretty collectible. Here is the one I got.

I also picked up a large lot of Littlest Pet Shop toys and some Minecraft figures.

Those were the highlights of the sales I went to this weekend. I am looking forward to the Fall rummage sales!!

Vacation Finds – Fisher Price and Vintage

I was on vacation for 2 weeks but you know I can’t stop thrifting and going to yard sales! When we were out on Long Island we went to an estate sale in a very old home. There were crooked floors, tiny rooms and a very narrow staircase. I made two purchases here. One was this hotel pin tray or ashtray. I got it because the style looked mid century modern to me. It is from a hotel in Yugoslavia.

I also picked up this red toolbox. I like the labeling on the lid.

At another sale I paid $10 for everything I bought which included a large lot of vintage Fisher Price items. I have broken them up into a few lots. The largest is this dollhouse with figures, cars and furniture.

These other lots also came from the same sale.

I also picked up a Teddy Ruxpin at this sale which I haven’t gotten to work yet.

At another sale I bought this Fisher Price Nativity set which I hope will sell around Christmas time.

I picked up this Tokidoki bag which is a good find except that it smells like perfume and that may prevent it from selling. It has such a cool print.

Of course after being out of town for two weeks I had to check the thrift store. I picked up a bag of Polly Pocket items and this interesting Dala horse which was originally from Ikea. It has some damage on it.

The bag with the Polly Pockets in it contained some Disney items and some rooms that go to a Polly mansion that you can build onto.

That’s all for this week! Hope you are enjoying these warm days!