Humdinger Humdigger Estate, Phase II

So phase one of the sale in Stevenson, Washington was a winner.  The attic was supposed to be emptied and the second phase was to happen the following weekend. I waited and waited for the ad to come up online for the sale...I was on pins and needles hoping it would happen. The minute I saw it come online I knew where I was headed.

Amy and I left Portland and the ghastly hour of 6:30 a.m.  We made it to the estate sale by about 7:45 and ended up being numbers 5 and 6 to enter. The sale started at 9.  Amy and I discussed at length what treasures the attic could hold and we both were betting on some vintage Christmas as there had only been a small amount previously. As the clock ticked away these boxes that had been unloaded from the attic taunted us from the yard.

Our wishes were granted. This is a long post.

Amy and I did not do battle. She went one way and I went another.  We handed things off to one another.  We shopped for almost three hours.  There was plenty of stuff to go around.

I was very lucky with a box of Christmas that I found.

Some really unusual ornaments.

The very first thing that went in my basket were these huge Kewpies. I have never seen any this large. I also got a bunch of smaller ones.

Behind my giant Kewpie is a table top aluminum tree that I found.

Spun heads and Santa mugs. The spun heads are tiny Halloween heads.

I am thinking this trio of dolls were intended for a New Years celebration in 1957.  They had been tucked away in that attic for years.

Vintage Easter including some of those rubber eggs that are hard to find.

These little wood patriotic plaques are awesome. Some will go to Etsy next Fourth of July.

Great old noise makers in red, white and blue and a couple of batons.

Lots of odds and ends.

Who saves old boxes of Chiclets?

These month glasses were wonderful. I wish I had the three missing months. Does blogland know anything about these?

Vintage Girl Scout cookie sale posters.

Vintage Halloween napkins. I have quite a few of these now. Old playing cards. I love the top row dog where he looks like he is laughing.
I saw this fairy gal in the online photos. There were two of them, but I was happy to snag one.
A risque Hula girl tie that will go to Etsy.

At one point I realized some of the boxes used to gather and store items for the sale were wonderful. I made a point of searching some out.
The cutest Christmas water decals and a ton of old jingle bells.
I bought a bag of these tiny Made in Denmark hats as they looked interesting. I thought they may have been party favors. Later I discovered they had a neat honeycomb feature.

Laundry bag More pipe cleaners and some great bump chenille. The neon pink is kind of fun.


I discovered the Kreiss Santa in a box the estate sale company had not gone through. He will head to Etsy or Ebay.

This box of stationary was unused and such a nod to history.


Last but not least this box...nutcups, etc.


The box was full of this.

The little favor cups have the cutest rim detail.

This is one of those epic sales that I will remember for a long time. So much fun.  A HUMDIGGER of a sale!

Comments

[Musings from Kim K.]

I'm glad I refreshed my blog reader one more time before I headed out the door to work. I'm also glad I was sitting down for this post. Goodness. I would have been giddy with estate sale happiness for days after this sale. Unbelievable. The motherload of ALL sales. Good for you and Amy!

[Sheryl Remy]

This seems like a once in a lifetime treat. I just love all the vintage treasures you found. I collect those cookie cutters and it was great to see some original packaging. Those ornaments were really old. It is amazing something so fragile has survived so long. Best wishes.
Sheryl

[Gina @ VintageJunkinMyTrunk]

Amazing finds. We never have any estate sales like that around here. I just found a bunch of that German tinsel in Bouckville and unearthed the same Kewpie doll package in a pile in my basement. Glad you and Amy were able to play nice -- not that there was ever a doubt!

[Melissa's Antiques]

SO. MANY. CUTE. THINGS! I want it all! You know I love the Christmas - especially that frog ornament. Will he be for sale. It's always a good day when you find Halloween and Easter! Those spun head Halloween picks! That pink Easter bunny has a creepy face. Have you ever noticed how creepy some old vintage holiday stuff is? (AND it was meant for kids!) Those wedding playing cards would be perfect for a vintage themed wedding (*wink wink*) - would you be willing to part with those? The risque hula girl tie made me laugh! Also really loving the military stationary. Reminds me when I was really little and my dad was away on a ship for 6 months at a time. Mom wrote him and recorded things on cassette tapes all the time. All in all - I am wishing for an estate sale like this!!

[Kathy]

Wow, what a fun 3 hours that must have been!! That little duck pulling the cart is adorable. This will be a hard one to top!

[Hanna]

Wow, wow, wow! I've been admiring a bunch of these items on instagram, but I had no idea they all came from one sale! I can only imagine the happy energy that Amy and you radiated as you shopped through this sale. I really love those honeycomb hats, so sweet. Awesome stuff, its hard to believe it was all in one house!
Happy Wednesday!
Hanna

[Erica]

I went to a sale like that a couple of summers ago and have been itching for another one. Unfortunately, they don't come along very often. 3 hours of shopping sounds like absolute bliss to me. Those hats are at the top of my list of favorites along with those animal rimmed favor cups. I found a few of those in that box of party stuff that I got at Alameda. They are so cute!

Have a wonderful day~

Erica

[Diane]

Yowza! What a treasure trove that house was. Right up your alley too!

[Lynn]

Wow, Wow, wow,!! You hit the mother load!
Hugs,
Lynn

[Jennifer]

What a fun sale. Those chicklet boxes made me smile. I could go on and on but you know what a fab sale it was. It is always a thrill to open your blog to see what wonders you have unearthed. Thanks for sharing!!

[Doreen]

SCREAM!!I have dreams like that but then I always wake up and it's gone! What a pal you have too that you can hit a sale like that and not battle. I have a friend like that too :-)Just love it all!
How did you manage to drive home?
Thanks for sharing it all and making my morning:-)

[Dorothy]

Oh Lord, I believe I might have fainted and not been able to shop!! I have not been this lucky yet, ever!! That was a step back in time, I know you had a ball!

[Annette]

I can only imagine the heaven you were in that three hours. Looking at those super finds, one after another, I can almost feel the thrill of seeing each one for that first instant and grabbing it for your basket. That stationary, the hats, the tie , the nut cups, the duck wagon, it just goes on and on. Pure joy!

[Poppy K]

So, as a non-estate sale person (if I'm up that early it's to go for a run) when you find THAT MUCH STUFF how do you keep it all together? I can't imagine that you carry it all around with you while you shop - you'd need a Santa-sized sack. Do you just start a pile somewhere and mark it as yours? If that's how you do it, how do you keep people from scrounging through your stuff? I've heard that estate sales can be kind of cut-throat - I bet you have some crazy stories (which would make a great post).

[Marla]

Oh my goodness!! So much treasure! I'm in love with it all. Just think of the fabulous flamingos you could make with the hot pink bump chenille.

[Pam @ House of Hawthornes]

Ho-ly cow! I would have feinted if I saw all that in one place! I'm so excited for you and Amy!

[Susan]

Oh that little fairy girl! I remember playing with one just like it at my grandmothers - so very Tinkerbell!

[Mary]

What an amazing HAUL!! I can't even imagine a sale like this.

[Danielle @ Blessed Serendipity]

What an amazing sale. I can only imagine the giggles that came out of you two as you skipped away with your newly found treasures. Love those huge kewpie dolls.

[Lynne]

Ohhhhhh.....sigh.....a wonderful haul indeed...! ~And those tiny Chiclet boxes are good for lots of things ;)

[rae]

i can't even wrap my head around this sale! i don't know what I like best! those giant kewpies! the animal nut cups! all the spun heads! it is like a dream!

[deb]

WOW...WOW...WOW!!!!!!!!!3 hours at one sale and you certainly SCORED! Happy for YOU!!! One of these days I'll be at a sale for 3 hours! LOL!
warmly,
deb

[Erica]

Who saves Chiclets boxes, you ask??? Ummm apparently "our kind" of gal! Seriously, as your post went on and on, the more I realized how much I would have loved to know this lady who kept all these things! Isn't it funny that she basically had a house full of a bit of everything that we love? Our kind of gal for sure! I'm glad you were able to rescue so much of it.
Erica :)

[Shara]

I have been to three sales like that - glasses I will always remember for what I found, who I met and the fun I had digging for HOURS. This looks like one amazing sale!

So, I tried to work my Google magic on those glasses. I did notice that the dates on the glasses are correct - meaning when one months ends on a Saturday, the next month started on a Sunday. Starting with May 1st, since that was the first glass you had - they date from either 1943, 1948 or 1954 as best I can tell. I bet they were from a gas station. But I can't confirm that. I do enjoy investigating mystery items. Thanks for giving me a project! :)

*Also, I love it that they are kewTie dolls not to be confused with kewPie dolls. :D

[Into Vintage]

Gee -- you did get a lot! Glad we trusted our instincts on this one and the mysterious contents of the attic. It did not disappoint. Now on to the next one! (I hope).

[Sherry]

Laura, you sure can find the neatest things. I never find such neat things and when I do, they are not in very good condition. Love reading your posts!!!!

Sherry - quiller

[Stacey Johnson]

What an unbelievable amount of amazing stuff! My favorites are the Girl Scout poster and the candy cane box! LOVE the graphics! What is it about vintage graphics?

Stacey at the Gluten Free Pastor's Wife

[Maureen]

Methinks you are going to need a separate storage facility soon for all these incredible hauls... amazing finds - makes me wish I lived in a place where estate sales are more prevalent!