Barn Pickin' Adventure

This past weekend I had more fun than I've had in a very long time!  I ended up sweaty and filthy, covered in cobwebs, and happier than a pig in muck!  I went barn pickin!'

Let me share a little back story.  Some of you may remember my antique theater seats and the humorous story of the skimpy bathrobed old guy who sold them to me.  Well, of course my ears perked up when I saw an ad in the paper that had the phrases "estate sale" and "2 barns to pick through" in the same ad!!  When I looked up the address I was fairly certain it was the same place where I had bought the theater seats.  And if it was indeed the same place, I remember he had a lot of really unique stuff and his barns must be heaven to pick through.

Hubs said he'd like to go too, so we made plans to have everyone up and fed and ready to be there right at 8am when they opened.  We got there at 8:10 and the local dealers were already making their purchases, so I figure they must have shown up early.  Oh well, I wasn't too worried about it.  I just wanted the fun of digging and rummaging, lol!

We took turns holding the baby while we both dug through boxes and poked around under work benches.  It was such fun!  You just never know what treasure might be hidden away.

We spent a half an hour or so looking around and I managed to come up with a pile of stuff.  I bartered a deal and we loaded up and left in search of a couple of other sales.  If I had an actual brick and mortar shop to keep stocked I would have come home with a van full!  There were old pulleys, and plow pieces, an old wooden dolly furniture cart, neat old antique military pictures, and more.  But as it was, I had to limit myself to only the "essentials." :)

By then it was time for the baby's nap and it was drizzling rain so we headed back home and I dropped them off, then I headed for another estate sale that I'd heard about.  Once I was done there I realized I was still itching to dig some more through those barns, and now I had no kiddos along to keep track of.  Hmmmm......should I?

I called up Hubby and asked if he minded if I went back and picked some more all by myself and he didn't, so off I went.  I had so much fun!  And by the time I got back most of what I had spotted the first time around was gone, but that didn't stop me from uncovering a few more treasures that no one else had found.  :D

I think I did the owner's a favor while I was digging.  I kept finding neat things that were buried and I'd set them out so people could see them better.  I noticed they didn't last long once they were in eye sight.  I also found a whole set of vintage Fisher Price toys in garbage bags scattered all around, still in great shape.  How I wished I had the room to store them!  I would have snapped them up for resale.  As it was, I put them all out on display on a shelf so some other lucky person could discover them.

There were 3 different safes tucked in those barns.  One didn't have a door, one the door was open, and the third was locked up tight.  Oh thy mystery of what could be in that safe!!  So enticing!!  I don't know why, but I just love those old heavy duty safes.

So after tons of fun digging and fighting dead bugs and cobwebs, and coming away filthy, here's what I came home with.  I spent a grand total of $55.

A street sign and some license plates for my son's automotive themed room.

A divided wooden crate/shelf thing-a-ma-jig, and an antique wooden mop bucket with wringer.  I'm not sure yet what I'll do with it, but I couldn't pass it up.  I also found 2 really nice old wooden tool boxes with dividers, but since I'm not currently selling vintage in my Etsy shop I let them go.  I'm pretty sure they would have sold in a heartbeat.

One of my most exciting finds was this huge galvanized wash tub.  I have galvanized buckets, and even a smaller version of this wash tub, but I've been wanting one of these huge ones (I bet it's every bit of 2 feet across) ever since my almost 9 year old daughter was a baby and I wanted to do some baby pictures in it.  But every time I've ever come across one of this size it's either priced way too high, or if it's in my price range the bottom was completely rusted out.  I also found a large enamelware wash basin, it's about 14" across, one of the bigger ones I've seen.  I plan to put the little enamelware coffee cup on display in the laundry room once Hubby gets my shelf built.

Another exciting find for me was the hammock pictured there on the left.  We have the perfect spot in our yard for a hammock and I've been wanting one ever since we moved in 2.5 years ago.  The ones I've been pining after are called Nicaraguan hammocks.  They're beautiful and cozy looking, and all the reviews say they're incredibly comfy, but....they're expensive, somewhere around $150. Which is why I had yet to buy one.  So when I found this identical looking one I was mentally jumping up and down!  When I asked about it the lady said she wanted $50 because it was all handmade and they had paid $75 for it in Brazil.  I told her I was thinking more like $10 and we settled on $15.  :D  I cannot wait until the weather cools down and we can get this baby up and put to use!!

Also pictured above is a little Christmas Advent box for my kiddos, and a vintage gas/oil can.  I used to buy a lot of these old cans to resell, but I've stopped buying since I've only been selling shower curtains in the shop.  But what caught my eye about this can was the color, very unusual for this type of can.

And last but not least, I got this sweet and shabby vintage quilt.  The fabric used on it looks like old feedsack material and I just love it.  I brought it home and washed it on a delicate cycle and folded it so the worst parts are hidden and now it's on display in an old Hungarian laundry basket in our front entry way.  When I was putting it into the washer I found this little metal tag on one of the corners.  I don't consider myself an expert on vintage quilts, but I have come across many of them in my day and have bought several and I've never seen one have a tag like this.  Anybody have any info on what it would have been for?

So that was my barn pickin' adventure.  I would much rather dig through a dusty old barn full of bugs and cobwebs than go on a shopping spree to the mall any day.
How about you?  

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Funky Junk Interiors - DIY Salvaged Junk Projects #341