Garage sale finds

Sometimes I like to get up early on a Saturday morning and have a look at the local garage (yard) sales in my area. There isn't always something I'm interested in buying, but it's fun to just have a look around. I actually hadn't been to a garage sale for a while after being bitterly disappointed by one that was advertised as having a number of collector pieces. When we all turned up at 8am the lady announced that she had sold most of the items as a lot to a dealer earlier in the week (for a very small sum I might add). As it turns out the items had been sold before the paper was even delivered to my house!
But last weekend there was an estate sale that I went to and bought a few nice items. They hadn't priced anything, which usually means I don't ask, but I decided to on this occasion and was pleasantly surprised.
First up is this green glass bowl. I've seen similar items in antique stores for quite a bit of money so wasn't sure what price she would want - as it turns out it was $2. And it came with some very tacky plastic grapes that I promptly threw away! As I went to put it in the car I am sure I heard the disappointed sigh of another customer who had missed seeing it!

Green glass bowl

 As I was leaving these two poodles caught my eye on a table filled with figurines. I asked how much and they were only $1 each! I bought them both even though they are identical. I think they are from the 1950's and one has a marking of 751 on the bottom but I can't find anything else out about them.

1950's Poodles

My other purchase was this large glass vase with a blue coloured top. I like it, but not as much as my green bowl. Again she asked for $2 for it and when my Mum said it was a bargain they attempted to change the price by asking us how much we think it's worth - Mum said $2 and that was that! I really don't know what it's worth. I guess if you are hosting a garage sale you need to think first about the prices you want for your items, research them and clearly label them - most people probably never ask and don't like to haggle either.

Glass bowl

Original artworks

I always look at the paintings when I'm in second hand shops. I don't expect to ever find one that is valuable (I wish!) but I do like to have unique paintings on my walls to brighten up the place and add interest.

The below painting of a blue wren only cost a few dollars a while back and is one of my favourites. I put it in another frame (also only a few dollars second hand) and he has pride of place on my shelf. The artist's name and details are on a small tag that came with the picture and I stuck them to the inside of the frame in case they ever become famous one day!

Blue Wren painting

The flowers painting below cost $3.00 and I think it's oil based work. It matches the bird picture well so I keep them near one another.

Flowers painted in oils

Another painting I love is this small picture that was only $1.00 from Vinnies. The original owner had written the origins on the back when they bought it on holidays in Mexico. It was finger painted while they watched the artist work. It's a small picture, only the size of a postcard, so is very flexible to move wherever I want it. I'm not likely to ever go to Mexico, but I'm happy to have something beautiful from their part of the world on my wall.

Finger painting from Mexico