Blog For Thrift Store Vintage Collectibles Upcycle Repurpose

 LilacsNDreams Blog For Thrift Store Vintage Collectibles Upcycle Repurpose DIY Handmade

Hi! Welcome to LilacsNDreams! Happy to see you landing here to visit with me!

I know I left here to go over there for another Blog I started for LilacsNDreams. I do still have that, but I just felt like I wanted to drop by here. Still kind of hard to let go where I have been for so long. So, here I am. 

This year started off a little rough for us here at home. I had hernia surgery which kept me in hospital for the night with an issue that came up. Next day everything corrected, was fine, and I was released. About 2 weeks later my husband had a heart attack. Something none of us seen coming, and was very unexpected. But, after talking, going over things, being told things we realized this had been coming, and finally surfaced. That happened on the 16th, and on the 23rd of January hubby had double bypass surgery. It was an experience not wished upon anyone. 

So, during this time of recovery, doctor visits, physical therapy there unfortunately was no income being received. Unemployment was filed for, but was denied. Reason…his inability to work/surgery. His boss was not on a “list” that this could be treated like a lay off, and they do not support medical issues. Hubby, and the boss…also our dear friend…were not happy at all. For the years he drove here where has all that money gone? His boss wants to talk with his accountant to find out about paying unemployment, can he quit paying it since it can’t be used, and those kind of things. Soooo living off of credit cards, using what money was set aside for a rainy day, and doing best we could. Survival with doctor visits, and each drive was over an hour from home. Medicines to buy…hubby has no insurance. Never really a need for it because he never gets sick, and has never really had a need to see a doctor. Also, due to his profession of truck driving he was not released to work as soon as others can be released. As the doctor explained he did not break an arm, or a leg that could be casted. Bone in his chest was cut open, and put together with wire. Takes time to heal, no stress, and no physical work that could injure the bone. The next surgery would be more difficult due to more damage to try to fix. 

Almost 3 months of him being home. A lot of walking, and a lot of sleeping. I had a lot of time during these months to think about things, and reach into my feelings a little about what I like to do with LilacsNDreams. I sooo enjoy some of the things when I first started out online. Thrift Stores, Yard Sales, Flea Markets, and that search for vintage collectibles. I enjoyed searching for home decor, glassware was another passion, I so enjoyed things as found but sometimes seen possibilities of them in another way too. How I could upcycle an item to do this, oh it would look great if it had this color added to it, wouldn’t this be unique if these pieces were united, repurpose it for another use, and so on. I enjoyed searching Thrift Stores which you seem to be able to find a little bit of this, that, and look through piles for things. I wish sometimes I could have like a Thrift Store where you can sell a little of everything you would like to put into it. Things old, new, used, discarded, forgotten, handmade, DIY, and honestly a lot of things I enjoy doing myself with online sales. Wouldn’t it be neat to have an online Thrift Store? That idea excited me thinking about it. 

Now, another thing IF I did something like that. Would I keep my name of LilacsNDreams that I have had, and worked under since 2004 when I started? I have the domain for it, could set up a website to sell on, and have had that for a long time too. I have done social sites with it, my different blogs, different selling platforms, etc. When checking with AI with this name it pretty much describes everything I talk about which is a good thing to know. I also have another name with a domain I acquired some time ago. I have dabbled with it, have a blog with the name, but haven’t built it up like I have with this name of course. That name is ThriftyShopGirl. So, it’s me thinking again. Taking the time to look at different things, different ways of things, searching around a bit, making my notes, and trying to feel out what is the right way. I like the Online Thrift Store idea so that I can dabble with a little of the different things I like to do, that I have interests in. I need to feel my way through with the name idea. That is something I really need to look at more, and feel out a little more too.

So, everyone that is where my thoughts, and ideas have come to after everything that has happened this year to bring me to this point. I hope to be able to decide a little more here soon so that I can start putting inventory together for this venture….which this will be the fun part!! The thrill of the hunt, and ideas! It feels good, and free when I think of this. The inventory won’t be a real bad thing to put together. The decision of the name has me caught up a bit, and will hold things up a bit till I can determine more the better way to go with it.

Sorry for the story book. I was happy to share some thoughts, and ideas with you.  Thanks so much for spending time at LilacsNDreams! Happy to have you here. If you would like to share something about this topic, please feel free to do so. Thanks everyone, and see you again soon!

Thrifting, Junking, Repurposing, DIY, Crafting, Handmade, Vintage Collectibles

Welcome to LilacsNDreams! Thrifting, Junking, Repurposing, DIY, Crafting, Handmade, Restyle, and vintage collectibles too!  What can I say, I love dabbling with a lot of things! 

Hello! Hello! Hello! to all visiting. It's been a very long time, and I deeply apologize for that too. The holidays, getting in truck with husband, visiting son on base, bringing his dog home with us for a while...he's like having another child in the home, having an early christmas with our son, and having a late christmas with our daughter. Then, while school was out for the christmas holiday our grand daughter stayed with me for a week. New Years eve was spent with daughter, and her family being here. Also, we had our son on facetime so that he brought in the new year with all of us, and not by himself. Excuses, but they were some precious times that don't want to be missed either. 

So, here we are into the new year 2019. Also, the first month of the new year is done as well. Time has gotten by me unfortunately. Things were different this year during holidays because my husband couldn't be home to share it with us. First time in quite a few years we had this happen. So, I did the tree myself, decorations outside and inside myself, gift wrapping, cooking christmas dinner myself, etc etc. Then, of course I had the fun of taking it all down myself too. Really wasn't that bad. Only issue is the new tree we got this year. 7 1/2 foot tall, and I'm about 5'4". So, that was a chore itself. Love the tree, it looked great, but taking it down....I can't find containers big enough to store the tree as it is. I got one more idea to store it, and hopefully I get that done this week. Next time hubby is home he can then put it away for storage till the next time. 

I'm not one to really set too many goals for the new year. It's easier for me to work on the smaller things, and add as I go along. My biggest goal is to just work on the house as we are able to, and get it more to a point that it is our home. Baby steps, but it will come along. Just another reason I am anxious for spring because that is when all things will be new, fresh air, windows open, things growing, and so on. 

I need to get my craft room into a more organized order for use. That includes going through things that have been stored here, downsize if I need to,etc. I'm anxious for this too. I have been thrifting a little bit here, and there. Getting things in order to start working on. Different glass pieces waiting to be worked with, some need to be washed yet, and then collecting a few extras along the way to use with things I want to make. 

I am anxious for this year to truly get back into the groove of making things, and getting back online selling again too. My dearest friend just lives a couple hours from me, and we converse about things we want to do, set some goals, and try to coax each other to help out in the motivation department too. She is in the process of getting her craft room ready, and organized too. Hopefully in the spring we have made some plans to do some thrifting, and junking. Also, to dig into some things for crafty pieces too. She has a few stores she wants to introduce me to, and I am anxious for it too. That is one good thing about this move that we made. I have a few more areas for shopping, and searching for treasures. Also, a new area where I can spend more time with me, and not chasing around for everyone else. More Me time is something we all need. 

LOL! Well, now that I have bored y'all with my thoughts, and ideas I shall stop here for now. Hope it didn't scare y'all away, and you come back to visit to keep tabs on things being done. Right now I am thinking, and planning maybe a Christmas in July. I'll keep you updated as things go along for me. Along with that I think I might start working on things for some of the holidays along the year too. I have some ideas, making notes, making lists for supplies needed, watching videos to help me a little bit, and I am truly excited for this! I only hope I can do what I am planning, but have fun with it too. 

Thanks so much for visiting with LilacsNDreams, and I hope to see y'all again soon! Stop by now, and then to check in on what is happening, chat with me, etc. Enjoy the company as I venture along with things. Take care till the next time everyone!

Thrifting Junking Searching Preparing For Resale

Thrifting Junking Searching and Preparing For Resale. Welcome to LilacsNDreams! Gonna cover something simple today. I hope it will be helpful, and will give you a little something to think about as well. 

We spend time with thrifting, junking, estate sales, second hand stores, garage sales, and actually anywhere that we can think of to find the next treasure for our homes, or our stores. When we do these special treasure hunts we take pride in the search, have fun with it, and are always anxious to get back home with all the goodies we have found for the day too. So, once we get them home what is is that we all do with these new finds? All of us have our own way of doing things that we have found to work for us. The biggest decision is do we keep it, or do we sell it? 

Once I get all of the treasures home that I have found for the day I am no longer tired. I am excited to unwrap items, set them out to view closer, take inventory, make notes, and etc. I do the best I can to keep record of things that will help with decisions that should be made later about pieces too. For now I have a simple form I use that I will record the item found, price I paid for it, is it a resale as is or will I be repurposing altering it in some way. I like to make notes of any flaws that I see with the pieces as well. Then note the overall condition of the piece that I have found. 

Once I get this part done I might take a break...something to revive myself to continue doing a few more things with the treasures found. Once I have done all the notes, documenting of things, and what I feel is necessary to complete with all the items I then start preparing for cleaning of the items. Yes, everything that I find I will do some kind of a cleaning with it. Nothing harsh, but a gentle clean to better show the beauty of all the things I have found. Once I have done this I can see if maybe there are more visible flaws to note, and I can better decide if I will sell the piece as is, or if I will repurpose it in some way. The urge is always strong to want to keep things found, and I have to remind myself that I do not have the room to house these wonderful treasures for myself. I hopefully can make someone else happy with offering things that I have found, and that they may take pleasures with their finds too. 

After completing these few steps the research will generally be done with all the pieces you have found. Researching for the value of vintage collectibles, searching to see if others are selling the same items and making notes of their prices along with successes of sold pieces, you are learning a little more about the treasures found with all of your researches. Another assistance to consider with your searches is to use collectors books that better describe items, their age, their value with their conditions, and some of the history for it too. 

I know that doing these few steps I have shared with you does not seem like much of a procedure. Yes, it can be time consuming doing some of this. I enjoy doing this as I better learn and familiarize myself with the pieces. I feel I can better connect with them by viewing them in a different way from their purchase, and that I can better assist my customers as well too. 

Hope you found your visit to be helpful, maybe consider a few things not thought of before, and remember it's always good to hear suggestions from you visiting as well. Thanks for visiting with LilacsNDreams! See you again soon. Toodles . . . 

Thrift Stores and Good Will Stores Charging Too Much

Thrifty Stores and Good Will Stores, Are They Charging Too Much?  

There are many of us who have our favorite thrift stores we like to frequent. As you are strolling through some of these thrift stores have you noticed that with some of them the prices are becoming a bit spendy on things? Can you still find some items that are maybe below the thrift prices that we had become accustomed too?

Some of our local Good Will Stores have been fairly good with their prices, but that definitely is not the case with all of them. During my thrifting I had found a couple of Good Will Stores that had become quite spendy. Due to this I no longer shop with them either. 

I find it disturbing when some of the thrift stores have prices on their clothing that is higher than what you would find at like Walmart, or maybe with Target too. If you are willing to spend some time digging around for a while you can locate some items that are marked well, and are affordable thrifting prices. 

Another thing that sometimes is disturbing is that prices for some of the items of interest I find are being priced as they would be on Ebay. Out of curiosity I have asked a couple of different clerks how they were determining their prices for some of these higher end products being found. They told me that is what they are selling for on Ebay as the answer. Sorry, but the answer of Ebay kind of gives me a chuckle. These places are not auction houses, or places that take bids on items as Ebay does. Using Ebay for determing prices is not always the sure way for pricing items at thrift stores. Ebay has prices that fluctuate all the time. Sometimes it will end on a higher price, and at other times it could end on a price for maybe $5. It depends on the want for what people are searching the internet for, and what they are willing to bid on it for at that time. 

I have inquired with clerks before if anyone pricing in their store was using collectors books to do so. Some of these books upon research can give you an estimated idea of what your items are worth, but again it does not say that is the selling price of the items either. Generally items will sell for about 1/2 the price of what you see listed in these books. Unless, as mentioned before, someone has a want for the item, and they are willing to bid for it till they get it. 

I guess I assumed that thrift stores were places to go, and shop with for items for your homes, your home decor, to craft with, maybe repurpose, or refurbish too. Some of those who have an income a little bit less than others rely on these stores to shop at for clothes for their children, for the adults, to supply them with work clothes needed, and to help with their kids being better accepted with other kids at school by wearing similar clothes to them. 

Many of these particular stores have items donated to them. That is one less big expense for them with their inventory. They have automatically saved cost there with buying their items, and then having to price according to their purchase price. 

Recently I had come across a little article at ecommercebytes that talked about this same issue as being discussed with the prices of some of the thrift stores. Give it a click, and stop on by to read what they had to say, and what others have commented about as well. 

So, what about you? Have you seen some of this price trend when you have been thrifting? Do you think maybe it is certain items that they are doing this with, or maybe they are just doing it to be doing it? Something to think about a little bit, huh?

Thanks so much for sharing your time with LilacsNDreams, and hope to see you all again soon. Till the next time have fun, enjoy, happy thrifting, and much luck with all that sell online too. 

Design Your Life With a Lil Sparkle and Creativity

                                 Thrift Shop Finds For The Home

                          Brown Beaded Watch in Thrift Shop Finds

                  Black Scroll Stand or Wall Hanging For the Home

                        Thrift Shop Finds as Bathroom Accessories Decor

                                 Black Scroll Stand Finds Another Use

Design Your Life With a Lil Sparkle and Creativity, what fun!

What a week! It's summer time, holiday, and I have to say it . . . I just feel lazy lately! I took a last minute week off from things a bit. Oh, yeah. With my shops, organizing at home, crafts, and I mostly lounged. But, I did take one day to myself to visit our local thrift store in town, and another one over yonder as well. 

Both stores have things donated to them, but what a difference in some of the inventory and the prices too! Not to mention the hospitable service between the two also. I visited with Melissa's Hope Chest where I found the gorgeous heavy glass vase with some wonderful design in it. I also found the gold filigree vanity dresser frame tray there too. Oh, yes, I can't forget those wonderful vintage hangers that are fun to work with too! Some day I will have to show what I have been working for with those. 

On my way home I stopped with our local thrift shop which does not happen often. I don't agree with their ethics there of how the employees take for themselves what comes through the door for donation, or they set things aside for close family members, and friends. The day I visited I watched a very expensive horse saddle brought ought for a customer. One of them good saddles that would cost about $1100+. I watched them bring it to the counter for this girl who then paid only $30 for it. Wow!

Anyway, that is where I found the black scroll stand or wall hanging. I also got the blue glass jar with the glass votive holders. I found the brown beaded watch there which is missing a bead, and needs a battery. But, it is something I can deal with to fix too. I got the cute little picture frame with stand to set on my vintage vanity in our bedroom, and the white stand is holding a picture of my grand daughter on my desk as I write this to all of you. 

As you can see from the pictures I was undecided with the black scroll stand. Our downstairs bathroom is small, and I wanted something there to hold some rolls of toilet paper for us. I really don't have enough room to hang things on the wall, and was hoping this would work. It did at first, but I wasn't settled with it yet either. So, I then moved the stand into my office, and set it against the small wall with our clock above it. As I looked at it I was thinking of course. I then put something solid on the second shelf as you can see, and I am using the slots above to separate most of the mail that comes. Below it on a couple of the shelves I have put in small boxes of envelopes which fit in there good. So, it is working well in my office at this time....till I change my mind again. 

You will also see that I did compromise for the bathroom an idea. I used the gold filigree tray to set a couple rolls of toilet paper on those, and on the side I decorated with the blue glass bottle, and the 2 votive candle holders. By the way, the 2 votive holders have tea lights in them that have a blue wick too. This all goes very well with our shower curtain that has a very light designs of vintage paper, vintage bathroom bottles, few butterflies, with colors of sand, blue, purple, and a beachy green color. 

So, sometimes it is great to thrift shop for your business, crafting, and the things we do online or in our own stores. Yet, it is so much fun to thrift, and be able to create different things for our own homes too. Don't you think? Hey, doesn't hurt to add a little sparkle, and creativity to our homes, right?

Hope you all had fun visiting today, and maybe got a few ideas of things to do for yourselves. Remember you are always welcome to share some thoughts, and ideas with all of us here as well. Thanks for visiting with LilacsNDreams, and hope to see you all again soon. Have a sweet day everyone!

 

Online Summertime Sales Slow to None

Online Summertime Sales Slow to None

For many who deal with sales online, or in the brick and mortar stores will sometimes notice sales being slower. Some have not had many sales to speak of. When this happens, many of us will question ourselves about what are we doing wrong, do I need to change something, is there more I could do, and etc.

In all reality sales during the summer generally do become slower for many. Depends on what you are selling, supply and demand, and you know. Consider that many people, and families during the summer spend time vacationing, traveling, spending more time with family and friends, and their focus is not with buying too much of anything. Sure, they will buy when they are traveling, visiting out of town, and vacationing for different little souveniers. The majority of their time is not spending all their time online buying, but maybe emailing, researching with travel plans, some take the summer to prepare for winter months themselves with their diy projects, their online inventory, and things like that.   

Selling has usually been slow for me during the summer time which I have adjusted to. I have adapted with the sales being very slow, or if any at all. I like to try to take the opportunity to work more with my blogs, spend some time with my website, reorganizing things, do a little research about some diy projects, and hoping to take the time to repurpose pieces too. I also have been noting some of my inventory, reviewing past sales of what has or has not sold for me, and try to prepare a little bit for the next year or seasonal changes.  

Like many others I also like to take some time to go thrifting, yard saling, junking, visit some estate sales, maybe attend a few auctions, and enjoy the wonderful weather! It has been a different summer this year with the late start of it, but enjoying what I am able to now.  

So, if you are getting the summer time blues with your online sales or storefront sales, are concerned about slow sales, or no sales, don't be too worried. Just remember that summer time is generally slower for many. Now.....the season will soon be changing from vacations completed, traveling becoming minimal, and with school soon starting again for the little ones, those in middle schools, high schools, and college too. Once the season changes, and people are back home more they will be spending more time with their computers, and doing some of their favorite online shopping again.  

Hang in there everyone, things will soon get better!:) Thanks for sharing time with LilacsNDreams. See you all again soon!

Vintage, Thrifted, and Handmade Picture Frames

                                                         White and Green Picture Frames
 

                                                  Black Picture Frames With Glass Vases

                                                    White Picture Frames Lower Wall

                                                    luveysblog Jeweled Picture Frames

                                               Repurposed Vintage White Picture Frames

Vintage, Thrifted, and Handmade Picture Frames add character to any home. 

Hi, and Welcome to LilacsNDreams! I don't know about you, but I just Love seeing different picture frames. I adore how many are so created in what they do to show them, use them, and to offer them to many of us for use with our own home decor. 

You know I use to have a bunch of picture frames, and with the cleaning, downsizing, reorganizing, etc of things in our home I got rid of many of them too. Darn! I really wish now I had not done that. Although . . . it is a good excuse for me to go shopping for them again too! You can find many unwanted picture frames when you go thrifting, at garage sales, goodwill stores, second hand shops, sometimes at estate sales, Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and etc. As you can see above there are so many possibilities of how to use picture frames, how you can repurpose them, paint them, and make them into creations that fits with the decor of your own homes. 

You can paint these frames with any color you would like, keep the glass in them for further use, remove the glass, put frames inside of frames, add some lace and wire to then use some little clips to hang things, add some vintage collectible jewelry that is either broken or missing a piece to the set, and like the second picture with the black frames you can also add other items of interest with them too. What is really neat about reusing, repurposing, upcycling, crafting, and DIY projects is that there are no rules. You can create away, and do as you please for what is fitting to you. Adding your own character, and that special touch to anything makes for a more precious item to be seen by others, and don't forget gift giving too. 

Now, if I did everything correctly with links above on these pictures you should be able to click, and visit the sites that these all came from. Use either the pictures, or the captions below them to visit with other creative souls who do some gorgeous work. I adore those who share their work for others to complete their own work, and to give many of us ideas to do our own too.

By the way, this is another item that has been added to my list for the season with thrifting, garage sales, second hand shops, and so on. Cannot wait to go shopping, and bring home some items to occupy my time with. 

Thanks so much for sharing your time with LilacsNDreams today everyone. Hope ya'll had a great weekend, wonderful Easter, and can't wait to see you all again. Take care, and Happy Thrifting and Creating!

Frist Rule of Garage Sales and Junkin

First Rule of Garage Sales and Junkin . . . . Is to look under the tables! 

Who thinks of this, right? Sometimes people will have a small cloth over their tables with their displays of items, and that can be distracting. Many times we just don't think to look down, and under that far. I know I am guilty of it. As I make my list for items I would like to find this year I am also making a note at the top . . . Don't forget to look under tables! 

You need to remember to look under the tables everyone. Why? Sometimes not all things will fit on the tables right away. So, there they sit in the box waiting for room. But, many times those boxes down under the tables will be for sale as you find them. That's right. A full box can easily be priced at $2.00, $3.00, $4.00 and so on. At first glance they might not look like much, nothing is appealing in there, but make sure you dig through the box. Sometimes things are just thrown together to get rid of them. Many times you will find some possibilities in the box with vintage, home decor, items that maybe you can repurpose or paint, and etc. The boxes are generally full, or have an abundance of items to make it worth your while. Sometimes many valuable treasures can be found this way too. 

It's Garage Sale season, some have already had garage sales, and some will soon be attending garage sales. As we all get ready for this seasonal change of joy with junking, and treasure hunting it's kind of nice to have some reminders of things we should do too. So, make them lists of items you would like to find, and make sure to note on there to check under the tables too!

Thanks so much for sharing your time with LilacsNDreams everyone! Enjoyed having you, and hope you found the visit a pleasant one. See ya'll again soon!

Have a Holly Jolly Christmas Everyone From LilacsNDreams

Have a Holly Jolly Christmas Everyone From LilacsNDreams!

Hello, hello, hello, and how is everyone doing? WOW! Just a few more days, and christmas is officially here for us. Is everyone ready for this? I have most of my things done, house is pretty much in order for everyone to arrive, and stay. Busy, busy, busy. I will be ready for a long break after this season though. Time to slow it down, and work on some projects too.

I did get a chance to stop at a local store of ours that has relocated into a new building. Did it more, or less to see how the bigger place was, look around a bit, and see if their prices had changed much with this new building. Pictured you will see a Big Jar I found with the lid, has the rope & Santa decoration around the neck of the jar, and inside the jar the strand of red lights came with it too. I just could not refuse this piece, and love it on my kitchen counter top. Yep, got home I checked to make sure the lights worked, cleaned the jar out, cleaned the lid, and lit this baby up. When I got to the counter is when I found out that all christmas items were 50%. So, for $3.00+ I could not complain with this item. 

Anyway, I do believe I have all the food for our dinners we will have. Now, wish me luck in the morning as I have to get up extremely early due to the snow we all of a sudden are getting here. Snow, snow, and more snow. It hasn't quit, but yet oddly enough there are a few areas I can still see some of our grass peeking through. I just hope we don't get too much so I can get through it in the morning. Living on a farm someone was usually here to run the tractors, and scoop the snow. No one here right now, and am hoping I can get through it till I get back home. Picking son up from airport as he is on his leave for holiday till the 3rd. Daughter, and grand baby here by Sat. morning. Dinner on Sunday, and Dinner, left overs, and some other goodies brought in for a day of family again. 

Making my list of what items I still need. Not sure where my head has been, but I have to wrap gifts, and haven't gotten the wrapping paper yet! Plenty of tape, but no paper...LOL:) I do hope this finds everyone doing well, and everything is being done in your preparations for the christmas season as well. Thanks so much for sharing your time with LilacsNDreams everyone. See you again soon, and have a wonderful, fun, and enjoyable Christmas!
       MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE ! !

Thrifting Junking Repurposing Homemade Creating Weekend

Thrifting Junking Repurposing Homemade Creating Weekend

Welcome to LilacsNDreams everyone! Wow! It is Friday, and it feels good to be here too. You have any big plans for the weekend? Nothing big here. Birthday celebrations with sister, and hopefully time to sleep, sleep, and even a little bit more sleep with the hectic schedules that have been here the past 2 weeks. 

Oh, yeah, I was kind of hoping to get some more pieces put together, and get more new things listed in the shops too. Can't jump ahead too far as my plans don't always work out. Day by day:)

Whatever your plans are for the weekend enjoy them, and have fun! WooHoo! It's Friday, and weekend here we come. Thanks for dropping by everyone to visit with LilacsNDreams, and see you again soon. Take care, and have a fabulous weekend with all you plan. Get in a little bit of shopping with Thrifting, and Junking if you can too. Till the next time. . . . 

Google Shopping Keywords and Selling on Ecrater

Google Shopping Keywords, and Selling on Ecrater is something to consider. 

Hi All, and Welcome to LilacsNDreams! I have been gone all day again on Wednesday. Busy busy busy. Each time I have a day like this I make sure to still stay up at night to read my emails, read messages to me, check my shops, and of course read what is being shared in all the forums I like to frequent, and roam through. 

Many of us who are sellers have many shops. Some of our shops are all in the same place, some of us use different venues to sell with, and some of us also have websites that we like to sell with as well. Some day I hope to be more active with my website, or maybe just do everything from my blog here too. Anyway, I am getting ahead of myself there a little bit.

One of the shops I have is with Ecrater. I have slowly...and I mean slowly been adding my inventory into this shop. My vintage collectibles, items found when thrifting, and I have also been adding in my items that I repurpose too. Ecrater is free to list, no final value fees, has been around for a while, and they do offer choices of paypal and google wallet as payment services to use too. As some of us, or many of us are aware soon Google Shopping will be completely different for use. In order for our products to show with Google Shopping you will have to pay to be a part of it. I have heard it can get quite spendy too. I have never really worried too much about Google Shopping as I am seen in Google Organic searches, found in yahoo searches, product images show at The Find, and etc. But, let's admit it, the more we can get seen by others, the more exposure, the better chances of sales, right? In the forums at Artfire tonight another seller there who also sells on Ecrater shared something interesting with all of us. TheLivesAndLovesOfMaggieTheCat shared this with us: 
                   "For all who are or are considering opening on eCRATER I just learned that the admin is paying Google for minimum key word bids so our items will still be picked up by Google Shopping. How is that for a totally free site?"

WOW! This is good news, and even more incentive for me to start working harder on those listings I have slowly been adding in there. With this kind of announcement it is time for me to step it up a bit more with the Holiday Shopping fast approaching for us too. 

So, for those who are sellers visiting with LilacsNDreams, and if you use Ecrater I hope you find satisfaction with this announcement as I did myself. I wish you all well, and many happy sales to you too!

Thanks for sharing your time with LilacsNDreams, and hope to see you again soon. Take care till the next time everyone. Toodle Ooohhh....

Weekend is Here Finally, Hope You All Enjoy it

The Weekend is Here Finally, and I Hope You All Enjoy it!

It's the Weekend!! Hi everyone, and Welcome to LilacsNDreams today. Ok, I am not completely dressed like that as pictured, but I am sure lounging right now. To make a long story very short, yesterday was one heck of a day! Bank, unauthorized charges on account, and then to deal with the dealership after spending over an hour at the bank. At the dealership I requested a manager, someone in charge, and things went good there too. Just ALL took time. 

So, today for a while is lounging time. I hope all of you have had a wonderful week, and I wish a very good weekend upon you too. Sometimes we need a weekend where we do nothing, and just sit around. I hope some of you are able to do this, and enjoy it too.  Hey, if you get some thrifting in, little bit of junking, or some crafting done that is relaxation too!

Thanks for stopping by LilacsNDreams everyone. Enjoy your weekend, have fun, and be safe. Take care, and see you all again on Monday:)

Summer Gone Seasons Changing Fall is Coming

Summer Gone, Seasons Changing, Fall is Coming. Hello everyone, and Welcome to LilacsNDreams!

That time of year is once again upon us. Summer is coming to an end, schools are starting if they have not already, vacations have been done, and people are starting to come back to their homes for the season that will soon be changing. Don't give it up to quickly yet though. Still some late summer time left for us before it starts to get cold in the areas we live, and still some things we can do. 

I Love summers! To me when spring comes I get all excited because I can than do what I enjoy doing so much. When I go down the road I will often find myself breaking for the Thrift Stores, stopping by the Yard Sales and Garage Sales that are posted, check out some yummy Rummage Sales, watch the papers for Estate Sales, and so on. I tell you when I see some of them signs posted for these sales it is like they are calling out to Me "over here" or rather "come visit me" and so on. Fall is soon upon us, seasons will soon be changing, but hang on as some of those tempting signages can still be seen. Sorry, but when I see them I just have to stop because you never know what treasures you might discover, and what little goodies might have been over looked by someone else. 

I enjoy looking through tables, and shelves of glasswares, dinnerwares, home decor, some boxes of odds and ends being offered, and I just cannot pass them up. That is the fun of doing what we do, the thrill of the hunt, and also meeting some really great people with some neat stories to tell for some of the items we find along the way too.

That is the fun, and enjoyable part of what becomes our adventures that we have taken in finding once loved treasures. Now, once that part is done we then are faced with the post sale of our business which is the careful, and gentle cleaning of things. Upon completing this we can then see how the pieces really look, and if there were any unnoticed flaws. Next we have the fun of researching different items, recording what we find and read, and then we photograph the pieces as well. This is all a part of the fun of selling online, or even with some who have brick & mortar stores too. 

I so love what I do! Now, if only I could figure out a way of having more hours in the day to do all of this, and knowing what fun possibilities I could have.

Thanks so much for sharing your time here at LilacsNDreams, and I always enjoy you visiting with Me. Remember that sharing, leaving comments, asking a question, and etc is acceptable here. I enjoy them all by responding to you as well. Thanks again everyone, and have a most wonderful day. See you again soon!

 

Trash to Treasure With Thrifting Repurposing Recylcing and Reusing

Trash to Treasure With Thrifting Repurposing Recyling and Reusing. Welcome to LilacsNDreams for a little more share time of something that I, along with many others, enjoy doing. Thrifting, Repurposing, Recreating, Reusing, Collecting, and as some would also consider making Trash into Treasures.

I have always enjoyed vintage collectibles, and another side of me hates seeing things being thrown out too. Every time I might consider throwing something away, or maybe donating it I always have that little thought in the back of my mind....what could I do with this, what else could be done with this, maybe I should paint it, maybe this piece could be glued to that part, is there another way I could use this, and so on. No, I am not a hoarder of treasures, but consider myself to be a keeper of such things.

You have them same thoughts too? Sometimes vintage collectibles are used to repurpose with. Other times it might be a lonely piece that needs a little loving. You know, a single plate, a glass piece that is missing it's partner to it, a single candle stick that came from a set, etc. I love thrifting for things like this. Yes, I thrift for the home, and sometimes things to wear, but I also look for them lonely pieces that no one wants anymore. I feel that if given a new life they could also bring joy to someone adorning their homes with such things. 

Instead of buying new, why not save a little bit of money and do some thrifting, and reusing of pieces. With the reuse market of today you actually will find items that are both good quality, and are inexpensive too. Keep in mind that not all thrift store merchandise is junk. Sometimes they need a little wipe from the dust that collected, maybe just need to be cleaned and polished to be alive again, maybe just a little mending of sorts, and so on. If you would really honestly look you would also find that you will see brand name items being offered in good used conditions, some are like a new condition, once in a while some items are new with their tags and were donated to the thrift stores, and of course this is all found at a much more reasonable price too.

Thrift Stores are found in many areas, and there are many ways to be thrifting too. Visit Goodwill, some stores specify they are a thrift store, your local second hand stores, Savors, your missions stores have some really nice donated items, and then there are some stores that operate with their monies going towards maybe women shelters. There are many kinds out there in all sorts of forms, shapes, and sizes. There are many possibilities hidden within these stores that are looking to be reloved. Consider it doing more with less, and loving your home again. Sometimes turning junk into treasures is a feeling of accomplishment, and loving some of them pieces all over again. 

I have different Thrift Stores I will frequent, but always enjoy finding a new one to add to my visiting list too. Thrift Stores, Second Hand Stores, Consignment Stores, Goodwill, Missions, and more. I find many things to add to the home to make it more comfortable, and to make it a welcoming home for all to visit as well. Where do you like to thrift, and what do you like to thrift for? What are your passions when it comes to thrifting?

I want to thank all of you for sharing your time with LilacsNDreams. Make sure you come back to visit again soon. Never know what I might share next, and of course I enjoy when everyone shares along too. Happy Fourth of July to all. 

LilacsNDreams Wishing You All a Wonderful Weekend

LilacsNDreams Wishing You All a Wonderful Weekend!

Hello everyone, and here it is Friday again...already! Don't it seem like this week just flew? Maybe it is just me, but the time sure got away from me this week. 

So, any big plans this weekend anyone? Maybe some Thrifting, Garage Sales, any Flea Markets in your area? I did some thrifting on Wednesday, and then yesterday I came across a tag and estate sale while going down the road. Having a tag sale in this area is not very common, and it did catch my interest. I stopped in, and found a few old goodies. I got a red, and white kitchen scale that appears to work so far. Gonna look at it more today. I got an old tea coffee pot. Lil 6 cup one that is in very good clean shiny condition. Picked up a hankie, a doilie, and just couple of odd things for the home. Talked with some people, and enjoyed the late afternoon shopping:)

It's Friday, and here is to wishing all of you a fantastic weekend! Enjoy it, have fun, and be safe everyone. Thanks for visiting with LilacsNDreams today. Come back to visit again soon.