Sunday, September 11, 2011

Halloween Estate Sale Finds

My mom and I like to check out local estate sales. We're usually on the hunt for vintage jewelry and glassware, and have found some very nice antiques in the past. Yesterday, mom was combing through the classified ads and found an estate sale with some important words in its description: Halloween items.

So, after going to a Farmer's Market, we drove to the estate sale. It was just something we fit into the day. I doubt either of us expected to find such great things at dirt cheap prices. As nice as a lot of items are at estate sales, the holiday things are usually just cheap old knick-knacks. Not this time!


I left the price stickers on what we bought, because I wanted to brag about the deals we found. :) The most expensive thing we bought cost $4.00! I'm not sure what its intended use was, but I imagine this enamel bucket as a cookie jar. It could also work as an ice bucket, candy container, or flower pot. It was marked Hallmark and still had its price sticker of $9.99 from whenever it was being sold in stores. I'm thinking that was a while back, because everything is so expensive now! I searched for this pumpkin bucket online and found it being sold for $28, $65, and $68! I guess $4.00 wasn't so much to pay after all.


This paper mache pail is somehow both a pumpkin and a skull at the same time. It has sort of a Day of the Dead feel to it. I'm not sure which store carried this originally, but it cost $6.99 once upon a time. We got it for 25 cents!


These pumpkin earrings were another 25 cent find! They are marked with a "lifetime guarantee". I'm thinking that this offer no longer applies since the company was in business from 1932-1998. Although, I can't see myself complaining about anything I got for 25 cents anyway!


I saved the most exciting find for last. I saw this cauldron (probably not its intended purpose) buried under some other things. It was marked $1.00 so I figured it was plastic. In any event, I figured it was cute for one buck and it would be a good decoration for our annual witches party! So, I picked it up and was surprised to find that it was made from a very heavy ceramic. This definitely had to come home with us.

I looked the cauldron over later in the day and tried to guess how old it is. The woman who was running this estate sale looked like she was in her 60's and it was her mother's and grandmother's stuff that was being sold. So I knew this could potentially be pretty old. I turned it over and was excited to see a maker's mark!


It was marked RRP Co. Roseville. O U.S.A
I told my mom it was marked Roseville and she got pretty excited, as any Antiques Roadshow fan would be. Roseville pottery is a big deal as a collectable. Well, I looked it up and found that RRP (Robinson Ransbottom) Roseville is different from standard Roseville pottery. Both companies were manufacturing out of Ohio around the same time, but original Roseville is worth a little more. This is because they've been out of business since 1954, while RRP Roseville has only been out of business since 2005. Both the Roseville company and the RRP Roseville company went into business around 1900! I'm still trying to learn how old our cauldron is.

Anyway, I decided to see how much our dollar find was worth. After an online search, I learned that one of these (that is half the size of ours) sells for somewhere between $40 and $80. I couldn't find any big ones like ours (8.5 " x 12") online. I'm thinking our cauldron is worth way more than $1.00 for pottery collectors. Don't worry, it isn't going anywhere. You'll all get a chance to see it as a decoration in the party photos this year! Maybe it will even be the centerpiece on the table. It would look nice holding some roses.

The woman who had this estate sale told us that she hadn't gone through most of her mother's belongings yet. She said her entire home and basement was filled with 400 boxes. I couldn't tell if that was an exaggeration. Anyway, she said there would be many more Halloween things for sale, so we should come by again. So, there might be a few more blog posts about Halloween estate sale finds in the future!

Oh, and even though this isn't Halloween related, here's a photo of what we bought at the Farmer's Market:


These peppers were just too pretty not to share! I think they'll be turned into salsa in the next few days.

The costume I mentioned in the last post has arrived in the mail. I'm really pleased with all the costume parts and started taking some photos of them today. I'll share all of that in the next blog post!

34 comments:

  1. cool post! I never thought to try estates for halloween, I might just have to give it a whirl!!!

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  2. Fantastic finds!! Everything is gorgeous but I especially love that cauldron!

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  3. Good haul! Wish I had luck like that!

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  4. Till The Following Night ~ Yeah, this is the first time I've seen any good Halloween stuff at an estate sale. I doubt most people think to find decorations at these, but I'd say it's definitely worth a shot! You certainly won't find any better bargains in stores.

    Fatally Yours ~ Thanks! Yeah, the cauldron might be my favorite too. :) It's hard to choose, because I love all of these things!

    wicKED ~ Thank you! Hey, you never know... Have you done any estate sale shopping before?

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  5. Whoa, great bargains. I LOVE the cauldron!!!!! Is the lady going to contact you when she unpacks the rest of the boxes? Looks like a potential treasure trove!

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  6. I do think this could be a potential treasure trove! Well, we didn't give her any contact information, but that probably would have been a good idea. She said to just keep coming back each weekend, because there would be more. She actually said she was really happy that we were taking the cauldron, because it was one less heavy thing to move back into storage. :)

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  7. Haha! Well, I think it's only right that you help this lady by taking a few more bargains, er, I mean "heavy" items, off her hands!

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  8. Great finds! That pumpkin cookie jar is so adorable and well worth the $4 paid!

    I'm thinking that 'cauldron' is a plant pot? It does make for a great cauldron though! I can imagine it overflowing with candy corn at Hallowe'en!

    Oh I'm so excited and a bit sad too as I will be going home to visit my family and friends from the 28th of October to the 6th of November so won't be able to decorate for Hallowe'en this year! :(

    I'm very much looking forward to seeing your home decorations though! xxx

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  9. What fun finds! I can't wait to see them all at the Witch Party!!

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  10. That little Day of the Dead Pumpkin Skull Head thing is the cutest thing I've seen for Halloween ever!!! I want to name it, hug it and eat candy from its head. I love it!!! Good finds.

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  11. Little Gothic Horrors ~ That's right, I'm doing her a favor! ;)

    Vain Glory Sinner ~ Thanks! Yeah, I'd say it was well worth $4.00 too! At the time I was thinking it was pricey. Well, I guess it was compared to the other things that were 25 cents. I don't understand how they decided on the prices at that sale. The woman had some help from her husband and a friend. So I have a feeling everyone grabbed a different set of price stickers and just randomly stuck them to things!

    I was actually sent a tweet from someone that has that same cookie jar! She actually uses hers for cookies.

    I agree that the "cauldron" was probably intended for something else. I could see it as a flower pot. Some people who are selling it online refer to it as a "bean pot". I think they're mistaken, but who knows.

    Aww... and you have a new house to decorate too! Well, there's no reason you couldn't decorate it on Oct. 1st and enjoy your decorations until the 28th!

    Cool! I'll be sure to take lots of pictures this year. :)

    Spookworks ~ Thanks! I'm still excited about all this stuff. Now comes the fun part of figuring out what to do with it!

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  12. More comments! I guess we were all writing at the same time.

    Stacey ~ Yeah! You'll actually be seeing all this stuff up close and personal. I guess you can think of this as a party preview. :)

    Cherry ~ Haha! "I want to name it, hug it and eat candy from its head" How many things can you say that about? :)

    Yeah, I thought it was just adorable and you can't beat that price! We went shopping at Pier 1 after the estate sale, and everything seemed so expensive in comparison!

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  13. I wish I had more time to go to estate sales and such. You've had such good luck. I mostly shop online these days and my luck is never that good.

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  14. What great finds!!! Love the cauldron and the Day of the Dead pumpkin/skull.

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  15. Jessica ~ I have had amazing luck with estate sales. I think it's a combination of the sellers not knowing what they have and also just wanting to get rid of everything. The prices are usually awesome. You'll have better luck at estate sales than at rummage sales.

    It isn't all that time consuming, if the sales are nearby. Making decisions is quick with me since I know what I want. This one took a little longer, because the seller needed someone to talk to. She was nice, though.

    I love to shop online, but that actually is a longer process for me. I could probably putz around ebay for hours! There's just so much to look at. What do you need luck in finding?

    Madame Jen ~ Thanks! I'm pretty pleased with all these finds. :)

    Vivienne ~ Yeah, it was a lucky day! I love those two things too. I think the little pumpkin/skull has such personality. She's quite feminine!

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  16. Oh my word!!!!!! You really hit the jackpot!! Lucky gal you!!!

    LuLu~*xoxo

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  17. Hey LuLu! Yeah, I'd say so. :) It was like winning the lottery in a way! All those good vintage and antique finds for only $5.50!

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  18. Wow! Did you guys ever score!!! What wonderful items!! :0) It does pay to go through the ads with a keen eye....

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  19. It sure does! From your comment, I'm guessing that you know about looking for deals in the paper too. Have you found any good buys lately?

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  20. Yes, it was a lucky day! Hopefully, we'll have more lucky days at this ongoing sale in the future. :)

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  21. I knew it the minute I saw your photo, that little black pot is wonderful! Congrats on a great score!
    Sandra Evertson

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  22. Thanks Sandra! Yeah, that was the feeling I got when I first unburied that little pot on their garage floor. I love that feeling of excitement I get, when I'm picking through things and uncover what I know is a great find!

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  23. 400 boxes? I'm sure you'll get some more monster finds!!!

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  24. Yeah! Isn't that crazy? I guess her mother as well as both grandparents really accumulated stuff and refused to unload it before they passed away. She seemed pretty burdened with it, actually. I guess anyone would feel that way about 400 boxes! I'm thinking there will be more purchases in my future too...

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  25. Great finds and yummy looking peppers.

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  26. Hey Adsila! Yeah, those peppers were great. I love getting fresh veggies from farmer's markets. They just taste better than what's at the store! There were so many good things to choose from there. I didn't include the photos of the apples, tomatoes, corn, and chard we picked up. :)

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  27. Woah! Love the new profile pic! Very cute!!

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  28. Thank you! :) I'm glad you like it. It was definitely time for something new. Also, that photo has a little something to do with my next blog entry!

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  29. OMG! I love the second pumpkin pail, it's so cute! AND! I love your new photo, you look beautiful as always. :P


    Incredible finds as always, Ms. Justine!

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  30. I love that pail too! I think she (I've decided she's a she) would look adorable as a vase for some bright flowers. Thanks so much for the compliment on my photo! :) It was time for something new, and I was in the mood to show off my new hat. You'll see more of it in my upcoming costume review blog entry. I was gone the last few days, so I feel a little behind blog-wise. I should have that post up any day now!

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