Little Bird Cottage

I guess I like to make things complicated for myself because I've gone ahead and opened up a 2nd Etsy store for fun little vintage goodies I come across when I am out and about.  

 I've named it Little Bird Cottage.  That was like my 8th name choice, it seems like everything is already taken on Etsy these days.  But I still love it.

So far, I only have a few items in there but I had my first sale today for one of the vintage sewing patterns I have listed.

 

 Isn't it sweet?  I seem to find these no matter where I go for very little money.  I sold this one today for $7.00.  Which is a decent price for me the seller for profit as well as a great deal for the buyer. 

 I think I had this outfit when I was three or four.  Seriously.  Those sleeves look super familiar.

 I LOVE this party dress.  Look at that darling full skirt!

 This pattern is from the 40's  - what a sweet little cap and jacket!  It almost enough to make me want to unpack the sewing machine Dan gave me for Christmas 2 years ago and start sewing again!

Linking up to ApronThriftGirl

Her Library Adventures

Tuesday Inventory

Hi everyone!  I found out some fun news, my little blog here was made part of an amazing list over at Women's Money Week!  I was really surprised and honored to be included with all those other hard working ladies! 

If you want to check out a really great list of other women who are doing their best to make some extra cash and save money, it's all right here for you.  And don't get mad at me if you spend some extra time this week blog surfing, there are some fun new reads for me over there as well!  

I don't know what is going on but my sales have been a roller coaster this week.  I went three, THREE days without a single sale.  The crickets were chirping and I start seeing my bins of inventory as garbage instead of cash!  

Then BAM!  

All of the sudden, things went crazy on Friday and I did over $300 in 24 hours!  So strange! 

I sold these for my dad - he bought them and realized after opening them up they were the wrong ones.  2 were completely brand new still but he couldn't find the receipt.  I sold the set for $100 with free shipping (you know I added signature confirmation on these so some guy couldn't say they never arrived!) I was happy to recoup that money for him!

I must be in the mood for spring, I could not take my eyes away from all the fun colors when shopping this week!

 Old Navy Coral Capri Pants Size 12

 Whoo hooo!  I always do a little dance when I find Brooks Brothers anything - easy sell for high money!

These being pink, new without tags - even better!

 More pink, yes please!  J. Crew capri pants with martini glasses on them!  Eeek! 

I'm hoping some preppy girl in Boston will buy these. 

 New with tags Coldwater Creek blouse - I love this!

 J. Crew linen and silk dress, like new.

And this one I picked up on a whim, not knowing anything about the brand Monsoon.  I tried to look it up online but my phone is being more and more slow these days so I gave up and just went with it.  It's a size 12 and I noticed a few minor flaws when I got home but I am hoping that it will still do well.   

Linking up to ApronThriftGirl

Tuesday Inventory

Yuck!  We had the flu bug hit our house this week.  Luckily, only 2 of the 5 of us have been down and while I am so sad to see my kids sick, I'm SO glad it's not me.  We all know what happens when the mom gets sick.  Pure and total destruction and chaos!

I ran out shopping while Dan stayed home with our sweet girl who slept most of the day.  I got a few things but nothing too amazing or exciting.  

 Hoku Hawaiian dress

 Calvin Klein handkerchief dress.  Does this scream "Friends" or what?  It sold for $20 a few hours after I had it listed. 

Weirdest dress yet.  Monkeys?  Beaded coconuts?  How awful cute is this?  Can't wait to see who will pick up this gem!

 SAS shoes - fancy, right?  Someone will be pleased to buy these.  They retail for close to $150!  That's a lot of money for so much fashion fabulousness!

J. Crew skirt - I love the pattern on this!

I also managed to list a few more Peggy Dolls in my Etsy shop.  I love these sweet little necklaces.  My grandma's name was Peggy, so the name works for the wooden peg but I really named them after her!

 Aren't they sweet?

The big news is I finished my taxes this week!  SWEET!  

 It wasn't nearly as bad as I had thought, I was putting it off for weeks.  I loved seeing how much this little hobby/job of mine made for our family.  

Are your taxes done yet?  (bleh....)

Linking up to ApronThriftGirl

Tuesday Inventory

Holy moly sales were through the roof for me this last week!  

I had three Chico's items go along with a few pairs of Eileen Fisher pants.  

I was feeling sassy and rich until a $400 medical bill from last fall came in the mail, right on top of a $300 dental bill for the last visit with the kids. 

So THAT was short lived.  

I had a great week scouting and found some really cute items!  A few of my favorites are...

 H&M Divided Denim Knee Length skirt

 dBY floral sundress

 Max Studio drop waist dress

 Levi Strauss denim jacket

 Union Bay overall dress.  I don't know what it is about overalls, but seriously, people are still wearing this somewhere and paying me for them so I'll keep buying them! 
(update - SOLD within 24 hours of listing to some cool girl in Alaska.  She is going to knock some outdoorsy mans socks off wearing this!  I mean, hello, denim PLUS hardware?  She had better watch out!) 
;)

 My best find was this pair of black leather boot cut pants from the Gap - I was tempted to keep them out of the store until the fall when they would sell better.  I just decided to throw them in there anyways with a high price and see what happens.  I will be thrilled if they sell quickly!

I've been wanting to post more often but we have lived in a crazy house this past month.  With 3 birthdays and Valentine's Day, there has been a lot going on.  This week I am trying to get a lot of things listed in the store as well as deep cleaning a few areas of my house - I am looking forward to having a yard sale this spring to get rid of some dead weight inventory and kids toys.  

My husband is looking forward to it all moving out of the garage so he can have a glimmer of hope to parking his car in the garage next to mine again!  

Linking up to ApronThriftGirl!

Tuesday Inventory

It's been a decent week for me aside from a few returns.  I hate returns - simply because half the time you know they are lying and you really have no recourse but to refund money and be nice.  I think a lot of buyers think small store owners are Nordstrom.  And try as we might, we are not.  

In the long run, I would rather give a return (and happily!) instead of dealing with a negative feedback or low star ratings.  

Buyers are KING on ebay - aren't they!

This is what I listed this week...

 Karen Kane Brown Linen Pants Size 12

 White House Black Market Legacy Pants Size 8 Regular

 Boys Gap Navy Windbreaker Size Large

 I am also listing like crazy Lauren's Gymboree outfits that she has grown out of.  This set is the Citrus Cooler Size 3 3T

 These were just so cute on her!  Hopefully some other little girl can enjoy them this summer.  This set is one of 2 Tropical Bloom outfits I have for sale.

And remember this Pottery Barn crib bumper I had for sale?  Yeah, I got a lovely email from Williams-Sonoma telling me to cease and desist with selling it because out of the the 8 pictures I had up, 1 was from their catalog.  Never mind that there are 100's of other listings of PB items where people use their catalog pictures.

Not a huge deal - but I now have it listed on a local Craigslist type site.  Might take a little longer to sell it now, but at least I won't be typing blog entries from jail!

Linking up to ApronThriftGirl

Tuesday Inventory

It's been a busy week!  Not only was it Valentine's Day, but we celebrated this sweet girls 4th birthday with a mermaid party...

I keep trying to get my inventory UP and it keeps selling!  I'm not complaining at all though.  I'm excited that garage sale season is just around the corner so I know I will be listing a lot then!

I am super excited about my first 2 finds...

 Pottery Barn Peter Rabbit Crib Bumper - this is no longer made.  Hoping to see this gone for a decent price and quickly.  I think it will but in the meantime it's taking up some serious space!

 I found these boots for $6.  Listed them and they sold within an hour.  OUCH!  It's good that they sold but I might have listed them too low at $85.  But they were a size 5.5 and I know the smaller sizes sit forever.  So better a decent profit than have them sitting around till fall!

 Black Banana Republic Skirt

 Black Gap Hutton Skirt - long skirts do so well!

 H&M Divided dress

 City Triangles cocktail dress

 Travelsmith dress and Chico's new denim jacket

AGB Black cocktail dress - I was SO mad I picked this up thinking it was less than the $7.50 I paid for it.  I was too busy with Lauren when I was paying and didn't pay attention.  Hoping I can at least double my money on it.

 New without tags Ann Taylor silk navy skirt - it is so gorgeous!

Linking up to Apron Thrift Girl!

Tuesday Inventory

Thank goodness things are picking up around here!  It's been a decent week of sales and the vacation fund is building back up!  I managed to pick up a few cute things this week and I'm trying to get my store back up to 300 items.  Whenever I get to that mark it seems to drop quickly after that (a good thing!)

My favorite finds were:

 Gap White Embroidered Shirt/Cover up

 Super cute J. Crew Khaki Cargo pants

 Brown Ann Taylor Dress pants

 Gorgeous Banana Republic Wool Dress Pants

Wool Silk Blend Banana Republic Dress Pants

Ralph Lauren blue nautical jacket

And I have yet to put this in the store, it was a cloudy overcast day here so I think I want to take a better picture.  But I found this 2 pc Ann Taylor Loft suit BRAND NEW with tags!  Love that.  Except I got home and realized that the jacket is size 2 and the pants are a size 4.  Darn it.  The jacket retailed for $139.00 and the pants for $89.00.  I haven't had much luck pairing mix/match sizes like this, so I might have to break this couple up and list them separately.   

Would you do the same?

Linking up to Apron Thrift Girl