Trash To Cash And A Linky Party

This was a fantastic trash to cash weekend! Not only did I have an estate sale for a super great client, but I was able to sell a few pieces of my own. I sold 450.00 in merchandise and earned almost $1,000 for my commission. It was also an incredible week on ebay. Here's my top sellers.

Women's Hot Cotton Size 1X Tan Linen Tank Top 17.29

Women's Talbots Size 14P Burgundy Irish Linen Dress 16.03

Women's Lane Bryant Size 22/24 Paisley Silky Dress 18.31

Women's Chico's Platinum Size 3 (XL) Denim Vest Jacket 20.50. And here's a new item I tried- Shoes!

These Women's NIB Born Size 10 Brown Leather Sandals sold for $32.00. I picked these up at a yard sale almost a year ago, but was too chicken to list them.(wasn't sure how to ship) I finally took the plunge and in my ad said, "Will not be shipped in box to save on shipping amount." All I had to do was wrap them in the tissue and place them in a flat rate priority envelope. This won't work for all shoes, but I think I'll keep my eyes open at yard sales for more new name brand shoes. And my top seller of the week was...

Women's Eileen Fisher Size 1X Purple Silk Dress sold for $46.99. Most of my top sellers this week were from yard sales- not thrift stores and I paid $1 each. My ebay profit for the week was approx. $350.00! So let's here your trash to cash stories. Please link up any projects, recipes, trash to cash stories etc. Can't wait to see what you're up to . Love, Kelly

Buy one, get one free

If there’s one thing you know about me, it’s that I love a great deal.

Buy one, get on free is a traditional marketing design to get customers to buy more because of a free incentive.

If I’m creative enough, I can find buy one, get one frees all the time at while shopping trash.

I just have to think outside the box.

Like this beautiful dresser I found last week out thrifting.

I love the claw legs and the key holes in the drawers, not to mention its French curves.

While shopping trash, I also found a boat, already inflated I might add.

A Coleman inflatable boat, perfect for my kids in the pool.

Hours of fun.

So how is this a buy one, get one free?

I paid $75.00 for the dresser.

The boat was $20.00.

I sold the dresser for $100.00 and BINGO!  It was like getting the boat for free.

Mayer is shocked! 

Let’s see how this works again.

I found this gorgeous highboy wood dresser while out garaging this weekend.

I paid $50.00 for it and sold it later that day for $85.00.

While thrifting, I found this gorgeous Hanna Andersson dress for baby princess.

While going to college, I worked as a nanny.  It was the best job ever.  All the mom's dressed their babies in gorgeous Hanna Andersson clothes.

Every once in a while, I find a Hanna Andersson dress out thrifting and I feel so lucky.

This dress didn't cost me $35.00, like a new Hanna Andersson dress would be.  I paid $1.00 for it at Goodwill, but because of the money I made off the dresser, it was like getting it for free.

Remember my European black leather couch I sold?

Here's little princess enjoying it before it was carried away.  

I love her brand-new red ballet tights, still in packaging, I found out thrifting.  

What's the buy one, get one free with this deal?

For Father's Day, I found the counselor the best gift ever.

For the man who takes out the garbage regularly, I knew he'd love a bigger garbage can.

And the Harley Davidson's stickers make it even tougher.

For $30.00 at a garage sale, I came home with this 4-foot tall industrial piece of mind.

And the counselor loves it.

Because of the money I made selling the couch, I have a gigantic garbage can for free.

I love a good buy one, get one free.

Pottery Barn Lobster Buoys

Last year when Mr. Right and I went to Rockport, MA for a few days I fell in love with this little boating town..I also fell in love with lobster buoys! Here they are hung all over the most photographed building in America- The Motif #1, located in Rockport.When I returned home and did a search for these- this pottery barn image popped up...

I knew these would be easy to make- but why recreate the wheel- so I did another search under blogs and found directions on how to make them at Under the Table and Dreaming. It only took me 10 months to actually do this project- you might have noticed them in my recent "An Attempt at a Pottery Barn Photo Shoot Post"
But they're done and I love how they turned out. If you'd like to make you're own- be sure to get directions from Stephanie at Under the Table by clicking the link above. Here's mine all naked like...
I painted all of mine white, then taped off the areas to receive color, used my cricut to cut stencils, and then distressed, stained the edges and glazed the whole thing with Ralph Lauren's smoke glaze. Here's some closer shots of the finished product...

I made two different sets- One in Red, white and blue to sell and the other in red, black and white to keep. Let me know what you think. Love, Kelly.

Unexpected

Recently, I’ve had some unexpected surprises in my life. 

While watching my super-star son Payson play in a basketball tournament, a voice behind me caught my attention.

  I turned around and looked into the eyes of someone surprisingly familiar. 

Do you see the man sitting directly behind the counselor?

“Were you the voice of Mr. Cobra Bubbles in Lilo and Stitch?” I asked.

I’m usually not this forward, but if you heard this man’s voice I promise you would’ve asked the same thing.

“Yes,” he said.

He said YES!

He introduced himself as Ving Rhames.  He also introduced the counselor and I to his wife and pointed out their son playing on the opposing team of our son.  During the game, Ving cheered for Payson and we cheered for his son.  Ving, a Golden Globe winner, also stared in Pulp Fiction, Mission Impossible and Con Air.  He was so cool and it was great to meet him.

Yeah! Unexpected for sure!

So, when the counselor decided to plant a garden, he discussed with me which vegetables I would most like to have.  We picked zucchini, egg plant, tomatoes, green beans and yellow crookneck squash.

But, something unexpected happened.

What are these?

You guessed it. 

We have a garden full of pumpkins.

Notice, pumpkins were never purchased as seeds, nor even planted in the garden, or so we thought. 

After some investigation, we realized egg plants didn’t make it up.  Could it be the egg plant seed were accidentally/unexpectedly pumpkin seed in disguise? 

Looks like I’m making lots of pumpkin bread in the middle of June.

I ran into the thrift store hoping to find some great trash to re-sell.  

I looked around and didn't see anything that catch my eye, until I unexpectedly saw this.

It's in perfect condition, real leather and has a modern European look to it.  

I hope to make some great money off this.

Out of all the trash I've brought home recently, this piece unexpectedly sold the fastest.

I posted it on craigslist and had about 10 people call on it.

I wish I had about 10 more of them to sell.

But, unexpectedly, this beautiful China Hutch hasn't sold.

I thought for sure it would be gone by the end of the day, but it hasn't found the right person yet.

When I saw this huge book shelf, I knew I wanted it, but I'd never sold a book shelf before.  It's always a bit tricky to purchase a piece of trash for the first time.  After my initial investment, would it be worth my time to resale?   This book shelf was so cool and worth the risk.

After I brought it home, I noticed the very small sticker on back.

Unexpectedly, I realized it was from Crate & Barrel and worth about $600.00.

What a great surprise and it's already sold.

The last week of school, Chandler worked on his end of year project; to be a character in the school Wax Museum.  All his classmates were to pick a famous American Hero to dress up as.  They had to prepare and memorize a one minute speech, highlighting the life of their hero.

Chandler picked to be Mark Twain.

For his part, he needed crazy hair, a sport coat and bow tie.

Thanks to $1.00 day clothes at Goodwill, he looked spiffy.

Unexpectedly, I ran into one of his classmates who picked to be Rachel Carson.  

Since Rachel Carson is my hero, I had to have a picture with her.

Isn't she beautiful.

What's happened to you unexpectedly lately?

Trash To Cash & A Linky Party

Now that my oldest daughter's wedding is over, you'd think I could take a little break from turning trash to cash- No Way! Not only do I enjoy the satisfaction of earning money, but I've got a daughter going to Germany next month (plane ticket= $1400) a daughter going to Hawaii in December (Trip Total $1500) and I'd like to do some home improvement projects around here! I guess you could say selling trash is addicting! I'm thankful for the many venues for selling trash. Let's take a look at my Ebay top sellers this week...

Michael Stars 100% American One Size Black Dress sold for $12.50

Women's New With Tags Downeast Size XL White Anchors Away Dress sold for $14.99
Women's Ann Taylor Loft Size 4 Brown Wrap Dress sold for $18.08

Chico's Travelers Size 1 (M) Short Brown Pants sold for 18.50

and my top seller was this women's Chico's Travelers Size 3 (XL) Black Dress. It sold for $18.55. It seems lately, I consistently make about $300 a week on ebay- Which means it's gonna take lots of weeks to meet some of the expenses of having 6 daughters. Thankfully my estate sale business continues to grow and gives me another opportunity to sell trash. If you're in the area, I'd love to see you at my next sale this weekend. You can visit here for the address and to see pictures. Don't forget to link up your trash to cash stories, projects, recipes, etc. etc. We love to visit your blogs and see what you're up to. Love, Kelly

I wish I would’ve known you, Kirby Allan. Now, I will miss you.

You’ve been my neighbor since I was 14 years old. 

How is it I never knew you?

I grew up with your house just across the street from mine.  Your house held my attention, with your chickens and ducks and collection of exotic cars in the driveway. My little brother called you “Chicken man” and he did his best to keep his dog off your property.  You wore your personality on the outside of your house, with lively plants, collections of memorabilia and patriotic emblems including a 10 foot statue of liberty.

I moved away at 18 and came back for a few months my 23^rd year to prepare for a mission.  I walked every day by your house as I exercised and watched your desert roses blow in the wind.  

The pink flowers grew along the borders of your yard and flourished under your care.  I noticed your car collection had grown and now you had a motor home. 

After my mission, I moved back home for a year and studied at ASU.  It was at this time we had our first conversation.  I met you in your yard while you attended to your flowers.  You talked about your health while the woman you loved stood by your side.  You two shared a great sense of humor and enjoyed each others company.  I really liked both of you.

Three years later, I fell in love with a wonderful man who proposed to me after we dated for only 4 weeks.  We lived in a little white cottage house on the wrong side of the tracks.  After almost 2 years (and one burglary), we moved our small little family back to the street I grew up on in a house we could afford.  I loved being back in the neighborhood, with its mature citrus trees, large green grass yards and friendly neighbors.  It was then I saw you again one Halloween night while trick ‘or treating.  Your house, four houses down the street from mine, was all aglow with bright white ghosts, orange pumpkins and purple spider eyes staring back at me in wispy webs.  My kids were scared of your decorated house, but my husband and I lured them up your side walk. 

You and your partner sat on the front porch amid fog smoke and sounds of cackling witches. 

You reached out to my kids, coaxing them to touch the plastic bats hanging from your front porch.  You had candy, hospitality and chickens and you made an impression on my kids.  From that day forward, they called you “Chicken Man” too. 

Occasionally I’d see you driving down the street in your white pick-up and you’d stop so we could catch up on the weather and irrigation schedules.  Your partner organized street clean-ups, planted more flowers and attended the chickens and ducks while you stayed knee-deep in Mesa politics.  I heard your ran for Mayor of Mesa and usually had the opposing view at City Town Meetings, but found it hard to believe such a quiet man could be so outspoken.

I didn’t really know you, although I enjoyed having you as a neighbor.

Your ducks had babies and their babies had babies.  They waddled around your yard, in and out of the bushes and under your overgrown trees. These ducks created a storybook scene and it made the neighborhood somewhat magical.

Halloweens were always fun, an excuse to walk up your sidewalk, past the Statue of Liberty, past your upside down American flag, inside your terraces of bougainvillea and back into the world of Kirby Allan, but of course, I didn’t even know your name.

Image found here.

Until you died.

I woke up Thursday June 16^th at 3:00am because I heard my dog moving around in the hallway.  I asked my husband if he’d please put the dog out, when he came back in the room.

“Honey, there’s some fire trucks outside, come look.”

So, with tired eyes I walked outside with my husband and was shocked to see not one fire truck but about 20 in a carnival of red and blue flashing lights.  Floodlights glared into the neighborhood from overhead. 

“What’s going on?” my son Chandler said as he walked outside with us.

With the contradiction of pitch night and glaring light, it was eerily quiet.  There wasn’t anyone around.  We walked into the front yard and looked down the street. 

It was then I saw an outline of something in the sky.  Smoke!  It was white puffy-cloud smoke.  I watched as the wind carried it west, away from my home, I couldn’t even smell smoke when I realized a house was on fire. 

Was it my parents?  Just two house down from mine?  No, the smoke appeared to be coming from the other side of the street.  The bishop of my church?  I couldn’t tell, so my husband and I, along with my two oldest sons, walked down the street to find your house engulfed in flames.

Mammoth flames, almost 20-feet high, tinged the tops of your palm trees.  There, on a 4-story high ladder was a fire fighter directing a hose of water into your home.  We were quickly told by a concerned neighbor that you and your partner were out of town.  Knowing you were safe was a relief, but still the sheer horror of such a sight.  Watching flames escape your windows, burning through your roof and into the night sky.  Just when it appeared the fire was under control, another portion of your house would ignite.  Water was being sprayed from all angles and I wondered what does it take to finally stop a flaming beast?  Never had I seen such force, never had I seen firefighters working a house fire.  It was a strange sort of suffering.

At 4:30am, my family and I walked back to our home and made it back to bed.  I wasn’t until the next morning I found out you had died in the house fire.

Image found here.

And I cried.

I cried, hoping with all my might you hadn’t suffered, but I guess that’s naive.  To think death took you this way makes me angry and I have lots of questions.

It was you who made the 911 call, it was you who made sure your partner made it safely out of the house, but it was you who died just a few feet from your back door.

I wish I would’ve known you Kirby Allan. 

I wish I would’ve taken the time to hear about your life, I wish I would’ve reached out.

  In the paper, I read you were in Hollywood with Frank Sinatra and were a song writer with a #1 hit in 1952.  

Image found here.

Even still wrote music for the Sex and the City movies as well as other venues.  You were a WWII veteran who loved your country and as a libertarian, believed in the same conservative values I hold dear.  Some labeled you a gadfly, others called you radical; I think you just wanted to hold people accountable and make them think about their actions.

The fire fighters respectfully took down your flag and folded it into a triangle.  Despite the flames, your Statue of Liberty still stands and she looks perfect.  Your bougainvillea is almost reaching for heaven.  

I’ve seen chickens running in your backyard, hiding in their roosts under your wagon wheels and piles of limber. 

The roof of your house caved in and continues to fall still, but your children are their taking care of things, looking through stuff, trying to make sense of your blessed life that ended so suddenly in a tragic accident.

I will miss you Kirby Allan.  I’m glad you lead the type of life you did and that you stood for what you believed in.  Take care of the desert roses in heaven and know that you are loved, even by a neighbor who barely even knew you.