20 Days to Go: Swap Party Madness!

Sep 26, 2012 | 60 Comments

This weekend was spent swapping.  Swap partying, that is!!

My gal Sonya Nimri threw a fun little gathering where there were piles…

New Dress A Day - DIY - Swap Party - Piles and Piles and Piles

Piles and Piles and Piles

…and racks…

New Dress A Day - DIY - Swap Party - Garment Racks O'Fun

Garment Racks O’Fun!

…and clotheslines full of goodies that other people brought to get rid of.  It’s like shopping in the closets of our friends, all in one place.  It’s funny because a ton of the things I brought looked way better on the people who ended up taking them home than on me!!

New Dress A Day - DIY - Swap Party - Clothesline!

Clothesline!

On top of the clothes, there were sunglasses, necklaces, and earrings…

New Dress A Day - DIY - Swap Party - Chair as Display

Chair display of beads and baubles!

…and a whole lotta shoes!!

New Dress A Day - DIY - Swap Party - Shoe Party

Size 9, where are you?!

I found a fabulous stash of goodies – a Stella McCartney sweater was a favorite find on top of some things that I’ll be posting on the blog – and was really jazzed about this below piece!  I think it was at first a mix of shock and awe, and then I gave myself a pep talk and said, “Marisa, you can make this work!!”  So I took it home with me.  It’ll have a moment…

New Dress A Day - DIY - Swap Party - In Living Color Top

My In Living Color top!! (SN totally coined it!)

Now, I did go home with a few more things on top of that shirt, and I’m giving away two of them!  A fun, vintage floral scarf and an adjustable costume ring (it’s right in the center of the pic!)

New Dress A Day - DIY - Swap Party - Win Me!

Win Me!

To enter, leave a comment below listing one of the craziest things you’ve scored at a swap party/garage sale/flea market that other people might say, “wha?!” about.  That piece above is one of those winners!!  And speaking of winners, a winner will randomly get picked next week (10/2)!

In all · Giveaways · Life/News/Press
  • mrs_saundy

    I love just going to garage sales and scoring BOXES of clothing for dirt cheap. Especially at the end of their sale, neighbours are grateful to be getting rid of so much. One thing my hubby once thought was a great idea to buy from a garage sale was a urinal. I begged to differ.

    • diane2809

      Hahahaha…ewwwwwwww!

  • http://www.facebook.com/val.satula Val Satula

    I went to a garage sale recently and got a wax seal making kit….for free! It’s has a little angel seal and pretty gold wax. I’ve always wanted to look official and seal my letters!

  • Keri

    The last couple of summers I’ve gotten a bunch of cute skirts and tops, a great dress and a wonderful winter dressy trench coat! The coat was $2!! But my absolute favorite find was my 1970′s vintage Sears Merry Mushroom salt and pepper shakers…..totally adorable :o )

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Mary-Garrett/1163771137 Mary Garrett

    I kept warm many Minnesota winters in a thrift store fake fur coat. Before that, there was a 50 cent fur jacket from a church thrift store — wouldn’t be p.c. now, but back in the ’70′s it was fun to wear. There was a lovely woman who would call me when she was having a garage sale, her way of helping another woman be properly outfitted for the business world . . .

  • http://www.facebook.com/devyn.lundy Devyn Lundy

    I found a weird new-dead-stock shaggy grayish brownish wig at a thrift store for $2… I bought it because, you never know when you’ll need a wig… and I have used it many times, it made my husband’s 70s P.E. teacher costume, my daughter wore it to be a “creepy lady,” I myself dawned it to dress up as a little hipster boy. It was a good buy, and so much fun.

  • ElizS

    a really pretty sailing print on this white linen fabric perfectly failed that matched my bookcase!

    • ElizS

      whoops..framed

  • Ginia Magers

    I have shopped at yard sales/thrift stores my whole life. My mother taught me the art of picking at an early age. When I moved into my 150 year old farm house I only had modern things from apt living. I went to a couple of church yard sales and thrift stores and scored a house full of antiques. I especially love finding pottery. It is hard to come by but so exciting when I do find it. My mom purchased an antique secretary desk and on the back it said it belonged to W. Macy (W may not be the correct initial I can’t remember) but it was from Macy of Macy’s the store in NY and we are in GA!

  • disqus_ED2Krdpk0Z

    a really darling nearly new black leather cropped jacket at a yard sale for $7. When I got it home I realized that although it looked pristine, someone without deodorant had worn it. I was discouraged thinking I would have to pay a huge price @ the drycleaner to salvage it, BUT….I thought what the heck, and threw it in the washer – came out perfect, smelling great and looks brand new. (I also washed an expensive leather purse that was soaked with ink inside, and it too came out great). I won’t hesitate to wash leather in the future!

  • http://www.shanniloves.blogspot.com/ ShanniLoves…

    a very very old wooden chair that had no seat in it. I walked miles to find it and had to walk miles back to my car carrying it over my head. I must of looked hilarious. I got home and hubby said, uhh you know you can’t sit in that chair you’ll fall through.” Well thank you Mr. Obvious! I sat it on our front porch but a huge metal bucket in the hole where the seat should have been and planted some flowers in it.

  • Luna

    My best piece was black St. John Knit pant suit that is perfect for any occasion from business meetings to cocktails. When I think I have nothing to wear to an event I turn to it and it ends up being the perfect outfit. Best part it was free.

  • http://rtthvintage.blogspot.com/ Sara

    This looks like fun! One of the craziest things I’ve ever gotten was a romper that had blue zebra print hearts printed on it…yup! Somewhere I have a photo, I wish I had kept it…

  • http://profiles.google.com/merinda Aarika Denton

    I got a giant strawberry cookie jar for my mother at a flea market for 50 cents! My mother loooves it and we like to fill it up with cookies or tea or presents and leave it for her to find.

  • Rebekah

    I got an old doll from 1902 that was all dirty and yuck….cleaned up she is adorable and worth a few hundred dollars…..and I got her for $3!

  • Ariana

    I love a good clothing swap! My girls and I throw one when we can. I would have to say the craziest piece I’ve scored was a racer back tank dress. What made it crazy was the bottom- it had an elastic waist and a giant tutu-esque skirt. It was puffy and totally reminded me of little girls at ballet. So I took it and decided to cut the tank off- which I use as a shirt to throw over a sports bra for working out. As for the skirt- I wear it to my pole dancing fitness class!

  • Emma G

    An mini-dress entirely of silver sequins! I chopped it into a top and a matching tie!

  • vickie

    I like to buy those cute baby receiving blankets from the local thrift store and sew them up as pillow covers and changing pad covers for the grandkids. They wash well and only costs about 50 cents apiece.
    The more you wash them, the softer they get!

  • Kit

    I found a cream-colored cashmere pullover sweater for $6 once. One of the most comfortable sweaters I’ve owned. So cozy!

  • http://www.facebook.com/melissa.p.garland Melissa Planeta Garland

    I got a pink cocktail dress for 69 cents from the Salvation Army’s Saturday Madness

  • huntersprize

    A Janome serger! Best $50 I ever spent. :)

    • http://www.facebook.com/KaleaKai Cassie M Schoonover

      I’m jealous, we just spent a bucket load on a new one :-/

  • Savannah Fowler

    I bought some really nice brooches for a dollar a piece, I have been meaning to use them for a fabulous necklace.

  • merry mary

    I bought an antique, solid wood nightstand at a garage sale for $2. My kids thought I was crazy, but were amazed at the look after I stripped and stained it. It was perfect for my guest room redo on a tight budget. Your swap party looked amazing!! I’m jealous.

  • http://profiles.google.com/momlovesdeals Vanessa Vazquez

    I got a pair of uggs for $3 once, Loved those things into the ground!

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1247286795 Kim Lyle Polcar

    I scored an amazing dressing table with all kinds of cool shelves in it that is a nice solid wood for…. $15!

  • Jen

    I got a beautiful coal short jacket at a yard sale for $0.50. I was so excited because I had seen the same jacket at a retail store for $65.00. Best part I can rock it with distressed jeans or a pincel skirt. Love it

  • Galia

    I once got this HUGE, gold owl necklace with amber eyes. It looked way too big and blingy for my usual style, but I’m soooo glad I got it – now it’s one of my favorites! ;D

  • http://www.facebook.com/KaleaKai Cassie M Schoonover

    a complete fondue set, that had been made in the 70s (in its original box!!!)

    Hmm, I found this freaking adorable 50s-esque June Cleaver style dress at a local thrift shop, it’s probably my favorite clothing item I’ve ever bought used

  • smurph

    my favorite fun purchase was from the pound store. i found the best purple/black shiny 80s pants and they cost 10 cents! of course i wore them to an 80s party with teased hairsprayed hair to go with it!

  • Laura Whitman

    That looks like it was a lot of fun! I want to go to one of those parties!

    Oh my goodness, there are so many crazy things that I have found at garage sales it isn’t even funny. I think the crazies though is this AMAZING cropped sweater with sequin circles all over it that was in a FREE box. Yeah. A free box. I should feel bad about taking advantage of people’s insanity, but I don’t. :)

    xoxo,
    Laura

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=632179562 Sophia Shwartz

    One of the craziest things I’ve ever gotten was socks with turtles on them!!! Got them at the Flea Market for fifty cents ;)

  • Ann

    My first purchase at a sale was a cute planter for .25. What a deal!

  • http://www.facebook.com/rebecca.h.macdonald.1 Rebecca Hessing Macdonald

    I got an amazing vintage beaded bag. I wore it to a wedding this weekend and my 6 year-old thought it was cool. I had to take it away because I was worried he’d lose some of those precious beads.

  • http://www.facebook.com/jill.jordanmoore Jill Jordan Moore

    the cutest socks with wine and cheese on them! :)

  • limitless501

    I got this, over the top, colorful ,hawaiian, 2 piece summer set. It was a shirt & skirt. Seperate, they were great. Together they were a headache.

  • http://www.facebook.com/vanessa.meadows.36 Vanessa Meadows

    So, my best story, aside from my Goodwill Outlet Burberry trench coat I MAYBE paid $4 for adn sold on Craigslist for $100 (LOVED that!) would be the “after party” of garage saling….the “FREEsale”! I found one this year and a man just set all the leftovers at the curb, and wouldn’t you know, there were 4 complete suits in that pile! 2 Jones NY, one Stafford, and one….BURBERRY! Seriously, I got this one for free! My hubby fits one of them, the other 3 are on CL as we speak. LOVE making money off things people have no use for any longer!

  • Dawn Lowe-Wincentsen

    At good will last year I found a puffy snow vest with 50 cents in the pocket. And at a swap a few years ago I found a skirt made of curtian fabric – it was a great skirt that I turned into a purse.

  • Debi

    Got a great Unkranian military coat at a thrift store. It’s knee-length with a belt, fleece collar & a zip in lining. I still wear it in the short Texas winter

  • Jesica

    I don’t know if I’ve ever gotten anything really crazy but I’ve gotten some great deals. I got a whole stack of nice wooden puzzles for my son for $1. I bought a great dresser/mirror that I uses as-is for a long time and then painted to use in my son’s room and am thinking about repainting to use in the guest room – a good, solid piece of furniture that will probably outlast me and I think I paid $50 originally.

  • http://www.facebook.com/michelleblanz Michelle Blondin Blanz

    The hubs and I love to look for movies. We have a $2 rule unless it is Disney. We often come home with a bag full! My favorite recent find was a Vera Bradley back pack for $1! It needed a little TLC but I fixed it up and love it!

  • Boatgirl

    I got a huge Rubbermaid tub filled with old quilt tops, hand crocheted doilies, two finished quilts with embroidered motifs (Sunbonnet Sue and Overall Bill), and a beautiful crocheted lace tablecloth for $5.00 at an auction. Every item I took out of that box just kept getting more wonderful!

  • shylomicorizon

    I actually scored a pair of 7 for all mankind jeans!!! They are a little short for me, but I can wear them with flip flops and may possibly turn them into shorts.

  • Omma

    this isn’t crazy but I got an old singer sewing machine from the sixties!! If only it worked!

    • Lovestosew

      Those old machine are worth getting restored. They are real work horses and once you get it running again, it will last you you years and years.

  • CourtneyB

    I don’t have a great story of something I’ve found, but the happiest I’ve ever seen anyone at a yard sale was when my parents sold an old Halloween costume of mine. My mom used to make all my costumes when I was a kid, and one year (6th grade) I was a flapper. She handmade the dress, sewed rows and rows of fringe, attached metallic ruffled elastic straps and made me a feathered headband. I wore that costume three years in a row, and I only stopped because…things…started to get too big to fit into it when I was 13. A woman went crazy over that still-in-great-shape costume at the yard sale.

  • http://www.facebook.com/jessica.nemazee Jessica Nemazee

    I got brand new ice skates for $3 :)

  • Sue

    I scored some brand new Skechers sneakers for $4, my daughter got a London Fog trench for $5 and we’ve both gotten Wilson’s leather coats for a few bucks.

  • carol

    My house is mostly furnished from thrift shops and yard sales. I don’t consider the things I get weird, but I still haven’t forgiven myself for leaving behind the taxidermy chicken at an estate sale.

  • Kimi

    I got a VINTAGE and original Channel purse. At first I thought it was a knock-off, but then I saw the “stamp” on the inside & took it by a vintage clothing retailer… sure enough- it was real! Here’s the crazy part, it was a “no $ swap,” so I got it for FREE. The original owner just thought it look “old lady like.” Psssh! It’s amazing!!!! :)

  • Pam H

    I have found lots of great items over the years at yard sales. But the best deals I found were not there. I live in a condo and for some reason always find free tvs. I have found 4 tvs over the years and given them to parents and nephews. They aren’t flat panels, but they were all big screens. The last time my parents were visiting and the dog woke me at 2 am for a walk. And in the freight elevator was a huge tv with the remote and the manuals. My nephews needed a tv for their game room and the rest is history.

  • Julie B.

    I picked up a great vintage Victorian style wool coat at a garage sale. It think it was a dollar. I love it, it’s a double breasted really thick coat with pretty muted colors, and it makes me feel like Anna Karenina.

  • RainnKenyon

    I got a shovel bird- that is, a bird made of old garden equipment and tools, He is an oddity, but every time I see him he makes me smile.

  • http://www.facebook.com/mo.eads Mo Eads

    I have never been to a swap like this. In fact, my mother in law is taking me to my first flea market next week. And we are going to garage sales as well. hopefully I will find something awesome.

  • http://www.facebook.com/michele.waters1 Michele Waters

    A 70′s diagonal striped top that I might have worn when I was oh, 9? but reversed it, took it in, changed the neckline, and ended up with an amazingly sexy modern top!

  • Jess H.

    i love scoring ugly jewelry from garage sales… i can get them for a song and then revamp them into something beautiful and on-trend for myself or a friend!

  • FlorenceRose

    My husband and I scored some dusty wire shelving system for my craft room for just $10 at a garage sale. It was a little rusty being in the owners garage but we spray painted it white to look brand new again. I had priced the system at Home Depot and the parts would have cost me over $100 with all the brackets, vertical rails, and the shelves.

  • Lovestosew

    my Horn, pop up, sewing cabinet was only $15 at a yard sale. It’s old and a bit worn in places but works well for me and folds up into a tiny cupboard that can be rolled into a corner.

  • Katie

    The “realest” fake designer purse ever…… it’s so cute, and it was so free!!

  • diane2809

    That had to be my “walk like an egyptian” dress that I refashioned – the cashier at the thrift store thought I was NUTS! lol…I also love scoring used toys – I always check to make sure they aren’t recalled, of course, but one time I found a Fisher Price musical chair with an attached nightstand for $1.98 that retailed on Amazon for over $100.00. Whoo-Hoo!