Glorious Garage Sales!

Garage sale, yard sale, get rid of your crap sale,or perhaps even a boot sale (in the UK).  Whatever you call them, they are, like the thrift store, a potential goldmine for great deals and truckloads of crazy.

As I’ve mentioned before, they are like random transient thrift stores so as far as I am concerned, that makes them fair game here at Thrift Store Horror.

Jodi S. stumbled upon these little gems at a local garage sale:

Look!  It’s Mr. T!!!!  in homemade pseudo Cabbage Patch form!

 

With his posse!  The all new A-Team!!

Jodi also sent us this creepy item. Apparently it’s some sort of angel.  Not sure what’s going on with the oddly placed foot.  Sorta looks like it’s walking a tightrope.

But if you look closely at the face… it seems I’ve seen this face before.  hmmm…

Ahhh yes, that’s it.  Once again, it’s all in the eyes.

 

Anyhoo, if you have any great garage sale pics or stories, share them with us. 

For more garage/yard sale crazy, you should go check out http://www.yardsalebloodbath.com/  They look at garage sales the way I look at thrift stores and they are full of awesome. 

Thanks again to everyone for hanging in there with us with all the sporadic posting lately.  It has been a BUSY summer.  But we did get a chance to go thrifting again recently so we’ve got lots more crazy lined up for your enjoyment.

-Carmen

Hula Pig

I wonder if she’s related to spider pig??

Hula pig, hula pig, does whatever a hula pig does. Can she mix a daiquiri? No she can’t, she’s a pig. Look out, she is a hula pig.

ok. so not my best attempt at rewriting lyrics. But whenever I see this silly thing, that’s all that comes to mind.

Have a hula pig sort of day!

-Carmen

Ha! You are so funny:) She does have a nice set of coconuts!!

OWLS

Or owl heads, rather.

I’m not really sure what the purpose of these are. 

At least this one seems to be dual purpose.  You could eat cereal out of it  if you ran out of clean dishes.  ;P



I wonder if this owl is as startled as I was when I caught a glimpse of it out of the corner of my eye.  Either that or it had a facelift gone terribly wrong. 



Talk about an overbite. 

Lisa thinks: What in the world would you do with the tops of owl heads?! They would be pretty if they were actually attached to a body, but not so much like this. Hmmm. . .
Maybe you could put it on a stick and leave it out in your yard as a gruesome warning.  (or just to make your neighbors think you’re nuts) –C
Kim says: This a whole decorating theme that I somehow missed! I just couldn't figure these things out...a little bigger and they would be very uncomfortable masks...I hope someone can tell us just WHAT the purpose was??

Bewildered Reindeer

Lisa thinks: This guy is saying, "You want me to what, Santa?!" Poor dude :)
His expression reminds me of a Muppet.  Like this guy for instance:

This Little Shell Creature Needs a Name

So thanks to Shelldon and his creepy cousin, we’ve noticed a trend of shell creatures lurking around thrift stores.  This little guy (gal?) is no exception.  Please help us give this poor little creature a name!

I can’t tell if s/he is confused, happy or surprised.   It’s totally rocking the 80’s side ponytail though. 

Lisa thinks: Aww. . . lookit him- all cute and smiley despite that nasty growth on the side of his straw-covered head!

King Triton Stein

When Ariel's dad is thirsty, methinks he pulls out this appropriately themed stein.  I didn’t get any shots for perspective, but this sucker was in the area of 2 feet tall!  After a hard day ruling the oceans,  one of these filled with a frosty cold brew would hit the spot.

Also, coming soon… Thrift Store Horror delves into the world of garage sales!  They’re like little transient thrift stores.  You just never know what you may find!  Have any good garage/yard sale stories?  What are you waiting for… Send them in!!

Thrift Store Treasure - Cookware

As much as we pick on some of the stuff we find in thrift stores, it is possible to get great bargains.  That’s why I never managed to get a post up yesterday… I was out thrifting with Kim!  And ever so glad I was too, that woman is a fearless haggler.  This seemingly new set of stainless steel Wolfgang Puck cookware was priced at $60.  Already a good deal, especially as I’ve been needing a new set.  But thanks to Kim’s master haggling skills, I brought it home for $40. 

What kind of treasures have you come home with?  Tell us in comments or better yet – send pictures!

-Carmen

Bringing the Ugly Tie to a New Level

Ugly ties are not a new phenomenon.  But it’s not everyday you run across one quite this odd.  (On the up side, if you happened to be sitting on the "Flaming Orange Couch" you would be totally coordinated!)

That looks like the butt of a frog. And possibly the butt of a cat.  A prime example of unfortunate pattern placing.

And this sort of looks like Barney.  With bedroom eyes.  (shudder)

Where exactly would one wear this tie?  More importantly, WHY would someone wear this tie??  Or even BUY this tie?

There are some questions that are better left unanswered.

Lady Elaine and Beau??

I’m sort of at a loss for words.  I’m not really sure what, or why, these things are.  All I know for sure is that if they were in my house, they wouldn’t last long as they would scare the living crap out of me. 

Lisa thinks: These two win the "scariest knick knack" award. Where would you put them? Why would you want to look at them?! I remember when we found them I made some comment about her looking like Lady Elaine from Mister Roger's Neighborhood. . . I sure wouldn't want either of these two to be MY neighbor!!

Kim says: I. Just. Don't. Get. It!

For the record – Lady Elaine Fairchilde (from the children’s show Mr. Roger's Neighborhood if you’re not familiar) scared me a little too.  (Are you all wondering by now if there is anything that DOESN’T scare me a little??)

FLAMING ORANGE couch

Somewhere an interior decorator is weeping at the very existence of this couch.   Granted, I’ve seen worse, but idea of a flaming orange velour corduroy couch in my living room is a little too much to bear. 

Kim says: Um guys? I would buy this couch...it would need a slipcover...but it looks really comfy...am I going CRAZY?! Help!

That’s what makes you such a rock star thrifter, Kim. You have the ability to see past the crazy and look for function whereas I’m all about the crazy.

What is this supposed to be, anyway??

Hello there thrifters!  Contrary to popular suspicion, we have not fallen off the planet, been abducted by aliens, trampled by elephants or fallen down a well.  Just a case of that thing called “life” which seems to have been a bit busier lately making it near impossible to get online.  But fear not!  We are back! 

 

Jodi sent us this odd little piece of work that that initially made me think of one of those macramé plant hangers, but is that even what this is?  I see no  space to stick a plant.  Perhaps it’s just creepy “art”. 

What’s with the little face? It scares me a little.

Lisa thinks: It's like an evil nylon-crafted face. How scary! Just where do you hang something like this?!

Good question,  I know for sure it would be nowhere in my house! 

I “SAW” Elvis

This just cracked me up.

 

I’ve seen saw blade clocks before, but never like this.

Lisa thinks: Hmmm. . . is this one of those things you get someone who has everything? "Aunt Lucy is a millionaire- she doesn't need anything I can think of. . . but she DOES love Elvis. This clock/sawblade is perfect!".

Thanks to Jodi for scouting it out for us!

Stop that Infernal Racket!

I think these fall into the awfully awesome category.  They are rather scary looking, but they still make me giggle.  What’s not to love about a couple of cadaverous alabaster figures in a comical pose.  ;)  Can’t say I’d actually buy them or put them in my house, but as a thrift store find, and for a posting here, they are full of win. 

More Miscellaneous Knick-Knackery

Today, for your reading pleasure, we present another collection of random knick-knackery chock full of effed up goodness.

We begin with this little happy birthday clown.  Granted, this is one of the less disturbing clowns I have come across, but still.  What ARE you supposed to do with it?  

This looks like an exploded cat.  Not exactly the theme I’m going for in my house.



Care to wash up with some foot soap? 


If I looked like this, I would have that disgruntled look too. 


Lisa thinks: Oh, boy! Where to begin?! First- didn't I tell you to lay off the clowns, Carmen?! Happy Freakin' Creepy Birthday!! Second, crazy cat-face meets Troll Doll hair! Wow- my cats would tear that sucker apart!! Is that Mickey Mouse's foot? I wonder what squirts out of it?! And last, but certainly not least, what a "creative" & "interesting" way to repurpose a salt or pepper shaker. Goodness! I think that one would fall into our "crap to 100% crazy" category. Butterfly wings. . . wow. Is it just me or does she look pretty ticked at having been created?!

Kim says: That little fuzzy magnet thingy just cracks me up! I wanna go back and see if it sold! And... what is that first one? A birthday onament?! Are we supposed to be setting up birthday trees now?

Crap to Crazy?  Lisa, you slay me!  -C

Love is Blind

Hello again, faithful readers!  No, we didn’t get lost, nor did we abandon you all.  Between work and life and the holiday weekend, we just got too busy, but we’re back with more thrift store mishaps for your enjoyment.

 

Our exhibit of the day is this lovely disturbing little statue.  Nothing says wedded bliss like empty soul-less eyed children.

 

This brings the term “vacant look” to a whole new level.

Now I can’t get this song out of my head. Except with the lyrics changed to “Empty Eyes”



Kim says: Again...WHO bought these the first time around??? The dolls should go audition to a Tim Burton movie - they'd be perfect!

Lisa thinks: They must be symbolic of that old saying, "love is blind". . . and creepy in this case!