Yard Sale Fun(ny) Stuff!

It seems Patty was a little off her game yesterday when we got together to make up our yard sale signs.  I have proof:

What can I say??

And because it's us, we'll actually use this one.  I wonder how many folks will be paying attention??

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Time Again for the Country Living Fair!

Our ticket to Country Living heaven!

The Country Living Fair 2012 in Atlanta, GA is gearing up, and Patty & I will be heading in that direction on Oct. 26th for a much anticipated overnight road trip.  And, get this.........both of our hubbies are going along for the ride!  Can't believe they actually wanted to go when we started planning this trip, but we're certainly glad they'll be with us to join in all of the OUR fun.  Besides,  we'll be able to use two pairs of strong arms to haul around the junk we buy!  

Since attending my first CLF last year, I'm a little wiser about the "equipment" required to enjoy this trip to it's fullest.  I didn't have near enough hands to carry all of the treasures I found, even with hubby Don's help.  So I was quite envious of the "Treasure Transportation Devices" that several folks were using.  Therefore, for my birthday this year, I've put in a special request for this little item:

Perfect for hauling STUFF!

A collapsible RED wagon for hauling around all of the fantastic treasures that we'll find.  I spotted one of these at Harbor Freight Tools for $59.99.  It will definitely be put to good use!

Also, I noticed that a really nice vintage inspired charm necklace seems to be a must-have piece of equipment for shopping the CLF!  So, Patty & I have both come up with our own versions, but since we've never photographed them, I found this example on Etsy:

Photo courtesy:  Urban Southern Charm

Can hardly wait for the end of October!  In the meantime, we're brainstorming a special vintage tailgate lunch to add some more fun to our trip.  AND, I need to make sure hubby doesn't forget to pick up my Treasure Transportation Device!

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YARD SALE! YARD SALE! YARD SALE!

Weather permitting, we are planning an INDOOR/OUTDOOR YARDSALE/GARAGE SALE this coming Friday & Saturday, Aug. 31 - Sept. 2, starting at 6:30 a.m.  Come see us!  We are in the mood to bargain, so you can pick up some really great deals!

Follow our signs from the intersection of Hwy. 231 & Hwy. 14 in Wetumpka.  Sale address:  11846 US Hwy. 231, Wetumpka, AL (which is actually Wallsboro).

Hope to see you there!

Great New Treasures at Paint Pan Patty's

I haven't had a chance to do much treasure hunting lately, but what I have found has been really great and I thought I'd share with you.

Vintage wicker settee

Couldn't help myself when I saw this wicker piece up which I picked up  for an excellent price at a local thrift shop   All it needed was a little cleanup with some Clorox spray and it's ready to go.....STRONG with no broken pieces.  Can't you just imagine it with cushions made out of some groovy vintage fabric!!

Lovely little salt & pepper shakers

How cute are these??!!  Found them hiding out in a box at my parents' flea market.  As I unwrapped them, it was one of those moments where an honest-to-goodness treasure hunter will actually hyperventilate with the anticipation of what the unwrapping will reveal!  Come on now.........YOU know who you are!!

Vintage wood crate with great label

This wooden crate was holding a bunch of small tools under a pile of rusty stuff & plenty of dust.  I just love this little guy!

Vintage enamelware

I have to confess that I have a REAL weakness for vintage enamelware.  Makes my heart skip a beat whenever I run across it, and these three pieces were no exception.  Sometimes it's really hard to contain myself if I'm in a shop and I find great pieces like these.  My first thought is always, "OMG!!  How could anyone ever get rid of something like that??"  Of course, that's how I feel about almost all of the treasures I find!  : )

Do any of you out there see anything here that you're interested in??  Wondering when it's going to show up in the shop for sale??  You know, sometimes the treasures we find are so totally awesome, like the wicker settee, or just so darn cute, like the salt & pepper shakers, they never make it to the shop.  Just can't part with them!  

Or sometimes, they actually do make it to the shop, and they actually do get priced and put out for sale.  But then, either Patty or I will spot it, and here we go again playing our favorite game "Give Me Some Credit".  Yep, I walked into our Kitchen last Saturday and saw the dark green enamelware piece in the picture above and immediately started to SQUEAL!!  True, I'm sorry to say, because I am definitely not a squealy kind of girl.  Needless to say, Patty happily added the price of that lovely piece to the list of lovely little pieces that I already owe her for, and off it went to my house at Yellow Creek Farm!

Excellent Customer Service at Paint Pan Patty's!

Patty and I had a brainstorming session last week in an effort to come up with some new and innovative ways to provide excellent customer service for all of our excellent customers.  After tossing around a few ideas, Patty came up with something that we both thought would be absolutely great.......install a zip line across the shop!!!  Yeah!!  The shop is nicely uncluttered now since our big cleanup with lots of walking around room so we thought the zip line would be a great way for Patty to get to you really fast when you have a question.  I, of course would be standing up on my stool at the front desk keeping a keen eye out for potential customer service needers, and then I would point Patty in the right direction.  It could work like a charm! : )

So we spent a minute doing a Feasibility Study and took a couple of aerial shots of the shop to determine the best location for the zip line installation.

Aerial View No. 1

Aerial View #2

After studying the layout for quite a minute, and with some very careful planning, we've decided that a multi-directional zip line (do they even make those?) would best benefit our customers.  You can be standing anywhere in the shop and Patty will be there lickety-split!  Genius!!  Yep, that's why we make the big money!

We're always having lots of fun at Paint Pan Patty's!  : )  Have a wonderful day!

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Paint Pan Patty's is Ready to Re-Open!

Hello again to all of our friends and family!  After MUCH hard work and and a WHOLE ♥ LOTTA ♥ LAUGHTER, Paint Pan Patty's is finally ready to reopen on Saturday, March 3, 2012.  Rain or shine (but not tornadoes!), we'll be there.  We've worked our fingers to the bone tearing down, rearranging, dusting, painting, and we're really anxious for you all to come and check it out!

Patty & my husband, Don, working on shelving

Gwen (me!) painting shelves

In between work days, we've also managed to slip out to some of our favorite junking spots and load up on new treasures.  Patty's been hard at work pricing the new merchandise.

Patty pricing new treasures

Those of you who have actually visited our shop will remember our backroom where anything we couldn't find a place for was dumped!  Well, it's a different story now.  Feast your eyes and take a look at these Before & After's.....

Our junky backroom BEFORE.......

Our junky backroom DURING dismantle, and.......

Tah-dah!!  Our beautiful new un-junky kitchen.......

We love the green door we mounted on the wall

Cute enamel top table and recycled blue cabinet

Our refrigerator rocks next door to the Pyrex cabinet!

We added everything AND the kitchen sink!

Great.......right???  I know!!  Patty and I are very proud of the fact that this whole kitchen re-do cost us almost zero dollars.  Of course, we operate on a shoestring at Paint Pan Patty's, and Reduce, Reuse, Recycle whenever possible, which turns out to be about 99.9% of the time.  For instance, Patty found the old Hoosier cabinet in pieces on a trash pile beside the road, brought it home, put it back together, painted it blue, and now we have this great old piece in our kitchen.  I purchased the old tool cabinet at an auction for $5 and gave it a whole new life with new green paint outside and yellow inside.  It now makes a bright and colorful home for our Pyrex collection.

We hope you'll come check us out when you get a chance.  We are so anxious to share all of this funky, vintage lovliness with you!  And for those of you who don't live anywhere near Wetumpka, Alabama, USA, we greatly appreciate you reading about our little shop in the country and hope you continue to enjoy our blog.  Patty and I are always on the prowl for great new junk, and there's usually a funny story or two that goes along with our adventures.

~♥~