Flea Market Find- Harry Potter, Disney lunchbox, and the batmobile

I thought I would share a few of my recent flea market finds.  I picked these up 2 weekends ago at a flea market up in NC.

The first is a vintage 1976  Disney World metal lunch box.  It is in well used condition.  But I just absolutely fell in love with it.  I should take some more pictures of it. The back has this great graphic of the Country Bears.  The sides depict different rides and dattractions at Disney World.   I paid $8 for it.  I think it will make a great display/storage piece.

The next item I picked up was the  Wizard's Sweets Harry Potter doll.  It is from 2001.  I didn't really start collecting anything Harry Potter related until about 2 years ago.  I picked up a Hagrid and a few other action figure from the first movie at the flea market.    I paid $2 for this Harry.  I love it because he comes with a chocolate frog package and a little frog bracelet that sadly no longer smells like chocolate.   I would love to find the matching Hermione doll.

Lastly, is the Batmobile!   I picked this up at Walmart.  I love Batman and yes, this chick does dig the car.   I recently started picking up the Hot Wheels that are from movies and tv.   I also have the A-Team van and Ecto 1.   I am currently looking for the other versions of the Batmobile and Kitt from Knight Rider.

DIY- Comic Book Dresser

With all of the recent super hero movies, my 8 yr old son has become a huge fan.    I decided that we would  decoupage his dresser with old comic books.

The dresser was very plain and an unfinished piece.  It was actually left behind at my husband's work.  It was in perfect condition and I am happy it was left behind.

Now, I am the worst with taking before and after pictures.   I was half way through the project before I decided to take any pictures.   But you can see here, the original look and the new decoupaged look.





I purchased 12 comic books with various different super heros at the flea market.   I tried to get a mix of old and newer comics, so I would have a contrast of graphics.

I covered  the drawer fronts, sides, and top of the dresser.  For this project, I used 1 bottle of Mod Poge.   I did not use to whole bottle for my project, so I do have some left for another project.




 My plan is also to take out all of the drawers and paint the front black.  I think that it will really make the drawers pop out more.  It will also give a comic book panel look.


My next step is to covert these kid's meal toys into drawer pulls.   I need 12 total, 2 for each drawer.  I am still searching for a few more to use.  I had picked these up at the flea market.   My plan is to drill holes into them and using screws and washers to create new drawer pulls.

It is still a work in progress and I can't wait to get these finished.  I will post an update on how I am making the drawer pulls and the finished project.





This project has been rather inexpensive for me to create. Here is the breakdown.

Dresser-  FREE
Mod Poge-   reg. $7.99  (I used a Hobby Lobby 40% off coupon)   price after coupon w/tax  $5.87
Comic Books-     $6  I was able to get comic books 2 for $1.
Toys-  so far, I have spent $2 on the dresser pulls.   I figure, I will spend about $6 total on these once I find everything I need.

Flea Market- WTF? Half price boots

Well, this week's excursion to the flea market was kind of a bust.   I didn't really find anything that interested me for my various collections or  anything I needed for my son's dresser project.

But, I did see these and it just made me laugh.    I am curious to know what full price was.

Thrift Finds: Hallmark ornaments and superhero tots

Last weekend, we went to 2 of our local Goodwill stores trying to find a few pieces that would be useful to put the finishing touches on all of the children's Halloween costumes.   I guess it was a good day at the Goodwill because we actually found everything that was on our list.

Of course, while I am there, I can not pass up looking through the "Bags of Fun" for vintage toys.

This time no toys were really found, just some great Christmas ornaments that I will happily add to our tree.

The 2 carousel animals do not have any makers information that I can find.  I was hoping that I would be able to get more information on them.

The 2 Little Mermaid ornaments are Hallmark.  The first one I believe is the 2009 "Merry Coral Christmas Tree"  It is missing some parts, but I don't think it is terribly noticeable.
The second ornament is from 1997.   I recognized it right away, because I actually already owned one of these ornaments.

The Daisy Duck ornament is from 2000.  It is the Disney Baton Twirler and is #4 in the series.

I also found this Super Hero, Supergirl Tot.   These were kid's meal toys that were given out at Sonic restaurants back in the summer.   I am still looking for the Wonder Woman, Hawkgirl, and Aquaman.

Admiral Ackbar, The Highlander, and some vintage toys

This is a re-post from October 2012 from my family blog.

This past Saturday, my family and I took a little road trip to Knoxville, TN to attend the Fanboy Expo.   This year the sci-fi convention had some really great celebrity guest in attendance.  For us, we were most excited to meet Adrian Paul from The Highlander tv series and Tim Rose, puppeteer and Admiral Ackbar from Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.

My husband really loved The Highlander tv series so meeting "Duncan MacLeod" was exciting to him.   I do have to say that I love Adrian Paul's accent.  Listening to him talk during is Q&A session was great.   He was funny and genuinely seemed to enjoy meeting his fans.

I know my husband had wished that he could have spoken with him longer.  DH has always loved The Highlander.   As a gift one year, I bought my husband all 6  seasons on DVD.   We had this epic Highlander marathon one weekend.   That of course was before we had children and our TV got hijacked by Nickelodeon.

We took a short break after meeting Adrian Paul.  His line was the longest of the day for our family.  The kids were ready for a change of pace.    The venue for the event was held at a park, which was great! The kids were able to get outside and run around for a little bit.  After a bite of lunch, they were happy again.

For me, the highlight of our time there, was meeting Tim Rose.   Since, my Star Wars costume is Admiral Ackbar, it was a true pleasure to meet the man who actually portrayed the character. As a puppeteer he has worked on some of my favorite movies.  Return of the Jedi, Howard the Duck (cheesy but awesome), and Dark Crystal.   I went total nerd and brought my costume for 2 reasons.  1.) To get a picture with Mr. Rose and 2.) to enter the costume contest.    I mean, how often do you have to opportunity to meet the actors?

I really wished that I had the opportunity to speak with him a little bit longer.  I would have loved to have learned more from him about being Ackbar.

I am proud to say that I did win  for best costume in the "Best Sci-Fi" category.   I won an autographed poster.  It was signed by a graphic novel artist.  I am totally finding some place to display it.  As far as I am concerned, it is a trophy of sorts.

We did meet several other Star Wars actors.  My husband added their signatures to one of our multi signed pieces.

Of course, you can't go to a con without hitting the vendors area.   I only picked up a few items to add to my assorted toy collections.  My first purchase came in the way of Mr. Staypuft.   I have been fighting starting a Ghostbusters toy collection.  But, I just love that movie so much!  I never had any of the toys as a kid.  So I gave in and got the beloved marshmallow.  He really is in excellent condition.  The color is still white, no yellowing and no marks.

I need 2 more Ghostbuster figures, Slimer, and maybe an Ecto1 for my collection to be complete.

My second purchase was a bag of assorted Harry Potter action figures from the first 2 movies.   I paid $15 for the bag, which was reasonable for the 15 figures it contained.    I finally got a Ron Weasley in Hogwarts robes!  Which to me, made the bag.   I also picked up a Griphook figure and 3 of the Slime Chamber figures (2 Harrys and a Malfoy).   Some of the figures are extras or upgrades to the ones I already own.   I also was able to upgrade my large Hagrid figure by adding his pink umbrella accessory to him.  Now, if I can locate a baby Norbert, he will be complete.

I really love the mini Quiddich Harry and Hagrid figures.  I have been researching  more information on the "mini" figures.   My HP figure short list is growing.  I am now on the look out for a Ginny Weasley mini figure.

Found Monster High Scaris deluxe dolls

I am so excited that we found these dolls!!    Ever since we saw a preview of the two newest, Jinafire and Skelita, I knew we had to have them.     Plus, finding them before the holiday rush is an added bonus.    I picked these up at Justice.   Which right now, Justice is having a 40% sale.   The reg. price is $34.00 (which is high for these dolls) with the sale $20 each.    So check your local Justice stores, and if you don't see them on the shelf, ask if they have any in the back.    That is how we found these beauties.

This is a re-post from December.   I am moving all of my old post over to my new blog.   I am still looking for the basic Scaris Deuce doll.  

My new blog

The Retro Toy Safari is my newest blog.   I have been blogging about my trips to thrift stores and flea markets for some time.  I decided that I would put all of those post in one place.     I don't just blog about vintage or retro toys, but I also enjoy blogging about newer toys.   I am especially in love with the Monster High dolls.

Thank you for visiting my new blog and I hope that you have fun checking out my growing vintage toy collection.