Pyrex in the Wild

Hello PC3, SusieQT here from Practice in Time!

I don't know about you, but I have been a bit dumbfounded watching some recent ebay auctions for Pyrex. Even things that are not really rare (hello, Pink Stripe 403) have been going through the roof. So with that in mind, I have decided to keep my Pyrex hunt on the ground, so to speak, and only buy things in the wild. To me, that means thrift or yard sales- I suppose antique stores would count, but I am trying to get things cheap so that mostly leaves them out.

Like most of you, things are hit and miss. I do find good stuff in the thrift stores, but a lot of times I come up empty. I go a lot, though, so I'm bound to find something one in a while. Usually I hit up 5-10 stores a week, some multiple times, but I probably only average about one piece a week. Then there's church sales and yard sales, which are also usually feast or famine- mostly there is none, but occasionally you hit the mother lode and can buy multiple pieces.

Since it's been a while since my last post, here are some of my recent ITW finds:

I found this delphite 401 and 402 at a thrift store. I actually overlooked them the first time I walked  by the shelf- probably because I was looking for patterns on white, not blue! And they were really priced reasonably; my guess is the thrift didn't know they were Pyrex because of the color. These are actually duplicates for me- of course, I bought mine online a while back thinking I would never find them ITW! The woodland butter dish goes into my collection of butter dishes- I only need the Autumn Harvest, Snowflake Garland and the elusive Sandalwood to complete them.

I picked up this Butterfly Gold 922 just this past weekend at a yard sale. I love to haggle, but I didn't even bother with this one- 75 cents was cheap enough!

These are a (very good) week's worth of picks- the Spring Blossom casseroles (475, 474, 473) were all found as a set. The Square Flowers divided dish was found at another thrift- not my favorite pattern, but the price was right and it had a lid. I almost dropped this piece in the store- somehow I caught it with my left hand at the last minute. Gah- heart attack! The cinnamon mugs are my favorite color and match my Autumn Harvest, so they will get a lot of use.

Spring Blossom just seems to be following me home lately. I have a 'no fridgie left behind' policy, as long as they are in good shape and have lids- so these joined my collection. I guess I am now trying to get all the fridge sets... ;)

I have seen the Ponderosa mugs, but have never seen plates before. Now I have two- I got these at a yard sale; the lady said her sister had worked at Ponderosa and brought them home. The turquoise hostess ramekin was a big surprise one day at a thrift store- I looked in vain for the chip bowl and bracket but it wasn't there. I have this set already; once again it is not something I ever thought I'd find ITW.

I am most happy about these two! I have never seen a pie plate and I have been looking for years. I know they're not terribly hard to find, but for some reason they had been eluding me. This flamingo one is mint and I found it in the same thrift as the Heinz promo, and also found four Fire King Blue Heaven Cinderella bowls. That was a great day! I totally stalked a lady that had picked up the Heinz and carried it around all the while she was yapping on her phone. Finally she set it down again and walked away and it was mine. I have almost bought this piece online on several occasions. 

So that's about it for my recent in the wild Pyrex! It goes to show that there are good things out there, you just have to be persistent and frequent at the thrifts, I guess.

One Lonely Piece of Pyrex and A Gift

Hello all!  I found only one small piece of Pyrex today.  I didn't want to leave it behind, just in case the Pyrex gods might think I'm not paying attention.

I know…it's almost embarrassing after all the color we've seen over the past few posts. Kind of a downer, but then I went to the post office and found these gifts from an online friend:

A Butterfly Gold gravy bowl saucer and mug, which will fit right in with this collection:

I always feel like I should have a blog to share here, but I've had a several of them in the past and (gah!) I cannot keep up with a blog.  I am on instagram (lisaloo229) and I have a flickr (lisalou229), if you'd like to see the rest of my collection and more thrifting finds.  

Until next time….

More Butterfly Gold

It's been ages since I've found any good deals on Pyrex, but today my luck finally changed.  I found all three of these pieces.

I didn't have any Butterfly Gold until my husband's aunt gave us the mixing bowls and since then I've also found the plates and bowls. 

Neither of the casseroles came with lids, but I have a lid from one of my other casseroles that fits the smallest one.  I love when that happens!

Recent Thrift finds

Hello Friends, Merry Christmas! SusieQT here from Practice in Time!

I have a few thrift finds to show you. I haven't been able to blog much lately due to camera problems, but I'm still here and still shopping, so let's catch up a bit!

I didn't think I would like Woodland, but it has grown on me. Just the mixing bowls, though. I can still pass on the casseroles and such! These were really reasonable ($8 for the three) so I picked them up. I am trying to find some solid blue Horizon bowls to mix it with- I think a blue and brown set would really look sharp. The one on the right is an Americana fall colors 403, which I definitely love. Gonna have to find the rest of this set!

And speaking of fall colors, I found almost all of the Autumn Harvest Cinderella set the week before Thanksgiving!  In a thrift store- I mean, who donates these things the week before turkey day? Everything but the rust colored 442, and they were in great condition for $12.99. I am almost done with my AH- just need this 442 and the 402 from the mixing bowl set. I also treated myself to an early Christmas present and bought a fridgie set on Etsy for a super price.

I also found 3/4 of the primary fridge set with old-style lids for $10! I happened to have an extra yellow 503 laying around, so that completed my second set of these. But I don't have the space to keep both, so these went to my booth. I usually sell only individual pieces there, so this will be my first time trying to sell a completed set. Wonder if it will sell quickly or take awhile?

I got really lucky right after Thanksgiving- I was in a little tiny town that had a ton of junk shops and found my first ever 933 lasagna pan! It was only $6, but I am not a fan of Butterfly Gold, so I ended up trading this one. I also found a red 404 for $8 which I am keeping- and don't have a photo, but you all know what they look like. I was stoked to find one because I have been *thisclose* to buying one online for a while now.

Well, that about sums up a month of thrifting! :)

Hope you all have a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah or Kwanzaa!

Butterfly Gold and Woodland

One of my husband's aunts is downsizing to move closer to family and I am the happy recipient of some of her old Pyrex.  I'm getting really excited about my Thanksgiving table now!  I picked up some Butterfly Gold plates a few weeks ago when I found the Old Orchard piece, so with these new bowls, it's all coming together.

His aunt also brought a ginormous box of vintage Santas and a box of Christmas ornaments.  I see a vintage Christmas ornament wreath in my future!  xxxxxxLisa

OMG Balloons (and other items)

Sans child for an afternoon, husband and I went to a couple antique malls. Usually we stay away but there are a few booths at both that have reasonably priced Pyrex, and by that I mean, on par with some of our thrift stores. Plus, husband is proposing I do my own booth at one as I keep hauling stuff in the house that I find for a song at yard sales and such, so he wanted to do some sight observation so we could get ideas for how we'd undertake this endeavor. I have to do something with my Pyrex doubles, as it is impossible for me to walk away from a very low-priced item. And Pyrex isn't all I haul in, sigh.

The first stop had the usual outlandish boot prices: $100 for a set of Flameglo, $50 for a set of Spring Blossom Cinderellas, and $18 for two Snowflake Garland small casseroles, no lids. I was starting to lose hope as the stock at the "lower priced" booths was the same as our last visit. Then I rounded a corner and saw the Balloons 444 for $18. Yes, pricey, but I am willing to pay it for this most coveted piece.

All I could say walking back to the car, bowl tightly clutched to my chest, was OMG Balloons. I think my husband was happy as well since this print is high on his must-have list. I took it home, cleaned it up (this picture is before the cleaning), and am now proudly displaying it.

Also pictured is a Yellow Stripes 402 I got at the other antique mall. The booths there also have a range of prices, including one booth where I think the seller must sniff paint fumes. Seriously, the prices are that high, I'm talking $10 for an Early American 501, sans lid; the stock at that booth never, ever changes (I wonder why). Anyway, I once again rounded a corner and saw this Yellow Stripes 402, it was reasonably priced and is in near-perfect condition. I compared the ask price with some completed sale prices on ebay and there you have it, it became mine. I always knew my smart phone would come in handy.

I also hit the Autumn Harvest and Butterfly Gold 1 motherlode the other day at a Goodwill. The below are all duplicates for me so I will be selling or trading these. I just.can't.pass.by.inexpensive.Pyrex. I can't.

I find a lot of Butterfly Gold and Autumn Harvest at the thrift, likely because they are newer prints. However, it is only a matter of time until the drips and drabs of the older stuff I occasionally find becomes a flood, right? I'd settle for a stream to tell you the truth!

Jacquelyn

Recent Finds…I've Had a Stroke of Luck

I've been busy thrifting and hitting yard/estate/garage sales. It's just starting to cool down here (as in, it was 86 the other day) so the sales are plentiful, people are cleaning out their stuff and heading to the donation centers, and oh yes, I went to my first flea market (who knew there is one way out in the country the first Sunday of each month? I sure didn't). After my last post in which I marveled at the recent inflated thrift store prices I have found I was relieved to enter back into the realm of reality.

If I had one Pyrex superpower I would say it is finding lids. Here's proof…I have five, yes five, extra 502 lids, most of which are the older version. One I even got for free. That was a good day. I actually ended up finding bottoms for the two 470 lids a few days later. I amassed these lids over two weeks. I have taken to calling myself the Lid Whisperer.

I'd had a drought at the thrifts and sales until last Saturday. First up was an estate sale where I picked up the Spring Blossom, Butterprint, and Daisy. It's not the best picture but clearly I was excited. Then, that afternoon we stopped into a Goodwill en route to my in-laws' house. Finding this Butterfly Gold 501 for $1 was pretty exciting, given how much Goodwill has been charging these days in my neck of the woods.

How about some embroidered tea towels for $1 each? Or the old school sifter (circa 1950s I think) for $3? Then there's the lime 221 and 22, for $7 each. Steep, but they jumped in my cart and came home with me. I was also thrilled to find this Golden Pine space saver, it's the first one I have ever seen. The leaf is still in good shape, especially on the lid.

Feeling lucky yesterday little miss and I hit the thrifts while my husband stayed home to knock out some projects. I'm not a huge fan of Autumn Harvest but he likes it so I brought them home. Yes, that's another lid, the free one I got from random empty-lot-turned-swap-meet; I asked how much, the proprietor asked what it was, I told him a Pyrex lid, he said take it. The pixies were a fun find as well. The lamp, well, I have a weakness for lamps, I got it at a yard sale that morning. But the apron, that was my favorite of this bunch. It was a whole $2.

And here's what I found at the flea market today. The little shakers are actually mini Ball mason jars and were used by salesmen back in the day to store product samples. The cutlery is a Girl Scout camping kit my daughter got for free from a very nice vendor who found out she is a Girl Scout when talking with her.  

Now, I still left a lot of Pyrex behind at the thrifts. Some was DWD, some too scratched, chipped, or abused. Some were patterns I don't collect and really don't need to haul into my house, so I thought I'd leave them for someone who really wants them. I feel like I've grown up as I used to just grab anything and now I have definitely exercised some restraint. I guess that is progress. 

Jacquelyn

Falling for Pyrex

I do love Fall. And Pyrex. The perfect combo, right? 

It has been serious slim pickings along the Pyrex Patrol where I live, so I'm learning to simply enjoy the collection I currently have. 

I keep finding tons of lids, though, which leads me to believe that there must have been Pyrex here at one point, but people broke it and just donated the lids. Or else they kept the Pyrex for themselves and decided they didn't need the lid? 

So far, I managed to get an extra space saver lid for only $2. Another thrift store has the same plain one going for $5. Call me cheap, but I'd rather pay that price for the base. I'm waiting for a sale. 

The only thing better than a bargain is getting Pyrex for free. You have the rest of today to enter the Everything's Better with a Butter Dish Giveaway, and you could win this gorgeous Butterfly Gold Butter Dish, shipped to you in time for Thanksgiving. 

Fall. Pyrex. Giveaways. What's not to love? 

Hope you are enjoying this season -- may you all find the right dishes to display a bountiful harvest! 

Brenda 

Butterfly Gold Butter Dish Giveaway

That's right, Pyrex people! 

I'm celebrating my First-Year Blogiversary by giving away a Butterfly Gold Butter Dish on my blog, Typing Sunflowers. 

 
To enter to win in the Everything's Better with a Butter Dish Giveaway, just visit this post on my blog and leave a comment there. The giveaway is open to anyone -- and I will ship worldwide. I believe everyone deserves a piece of pretty Pyrex, no matter where you live. 

You have a whole week to enter -- the giveaway closes October 24th. 

Spread the word. And if you win, you'll be spreading the butter, in style. 

Good luck! 
Brenda 

Saturday Scores {Including a NIB!}

We hit the yard and estate sales bright and early today. It was a mixed bag of highs and lows. I'll do the highs below. The lows, well, can you say $10 for a Town & Country casserole? How about $6 for a red mixing bowl (I think it was a 404) that had seen better days? Or, $36 (yes, you read that right) for a Woodland set of 401-403! Yowza!

Now, on to the highs. I will save the best for last.

Though not all Pyrex I couldn't help but share the above, especially as they were all part of a bundle. The top is pink Fiestaware: a sugar bowl, gravy boat, and creamer. It's not really my thing but I know people like it so I will be selling this. The bottom is a Fire King Tulip pepper shaker, it's too bad the salt was not available but someday my prince will come; I'm keeping this for myself as I love the print. Next to it are some Pyrex spice canisters which I will also sell. I got the above and some other random craft stuff for my daughter for $15.

Butterprint 403 in perfect condition for $2. I spotted this from across the yard and I started to walk fast. I grabbed it right on up. I wasn't sure if I had it as I had picked up some Butterprint a couple weeks ago so I whipped out my phone and found this blog and what I had posted from my last Butterprint find. Turns out I didn't have this; I had the 401 and 402. One more piece to go and I will have a complete set!

And now for the best deal I think I will ever find. Maybe. I hate to say "ever" as there is always the possibility of something better and I like to think of myself as an optimist.

I searched Craigslist Friday night for Pyrex and came across a yard sale listing that had this pictured. This is new, in box, never been opened. When I saw the posting and the price this was marked at I knew I would have to be there right as it opened. The house was behind a gate at the end of a long drive. We rolled up ten minutes early and were the first ones in when the owner opened the gate. I came away with it giggling like a schoolgirl.

$5!!!!!!!!!

I want to open this so badly and see how it is packaged, what the usage book (owner's manual) looks like, and just look at brand new "old" Pyrex, but I am controlling myself. I'm not sure how to proceed with this!

Jacquelyn

First Thrift Store Find!

Well, after a months of trying to find a piece of Pyrex at any thrift store in the Old Pueblo my drought was broken. Hallelujah!

This afternoon my daughter missed her bus stop as she was too busy reading (a good habit!) to be bothered to keep track of when she needed to get off the bus. I wasn't able to stop the bus in time to see if she was on it so I ended up following it back up to the school while on the phone with the front office, who confirmed she was on the bus, she just missed getting off. Whew! I picked her up at school and to calm my nerves decided to stop at a thrift store right down the street from my neighborhood. I'm glad I did.

I found the Butterfly Gold 403; it has some minor scratches and fading at the top but otherwise no other flaws. I also found a Golden Honeysuckle casserole but it was in very sad shape, some DWD, but a lot of black marks, scratches, and discoloration. It was marked $2.50 but I just didn't want to bother as I was not drawn to the pattern enough to want to clean it up. Anyway, the 403 you see above did not have a price, so little miss and I took it up to the counter where they sold it to me for $2. I was relieved I had decided to not get the casserole because no doubt they would have charged me more for the 403 when the kind ladies up at the register saw the price and condition of the other item. I escaped without even having to pay our insane sales tax, as the store supports a local non-profit. 

Perhaps this is a sign of good things to come? We do plan to hit yard and estate sales Saturday, and I may do some independent searching at the Friday pre-sales. Reading everyone else's blogs about their various Pyrex and other cool vintage finds has really inspired me!

Jacquelyn

Percolater Parts! I found them all!

I found where all those percolator parts are hiding. In a dinky town in the middle of Michigan! That is where I found all these (I didn't buy all of them!) at a flea market. 

They have bodies of percolators too.

I had a blast thifting in a different state last month.

  I didn't like having to take this all on a plane with me. 

You can see all the details  over at treasuresmyhh.blogspot.com

So if you live in the middle of nowhere in Michigan I will gladly share with you where all those percolator parts have been hiding. Fair warning, there is odd stuff at this flea market..... you might want to carry hand sanitizer. (see the details at the link above regarding the gross thing I found, I won't burn your eyes here)

Happy Hunting, 

~Katie

Treasure hunter

Packing Pyrex

I've been missing in action from both the thrift and the blogging scene for a while now, but I have a good excuse: my Pyrex has been living in cardboard boxes for the past few weeks.

We recently moved, so I began the packing process weeks before our actual departure date. By the last week at home, all of the Pyrex had been packed... and my kitchen seemed eerily empty.

Needless to say, I definitely stressed about packing the Pyrex. (I need to apologize to the environment for the amount of bubble wrap and packing paper I used to pack everything!)

Apparently my packing priorities paid off though, because all of my pretties made it to our new location absolutely unscathed. 

We ended up moving to a different apartment than the one we originally wanted, but this one is so much nicer and has MUCH more kitchen space. I nearly passed out when I saw all of the cabinets. (Some of you may remember that I believe I formerly had the smallest kitchen in America, so this is a great bonus. I'm giddy!) 

Now, for the first time ever, I have enough space to actually display my Pyrex! 

I'm looking forward to changing it up for different seasons, but for now, these are the two main colors I have in the kitchen. 

Any of you Pyrex collectors moving this summer, too? If so, happy packing! 

Brenda 

Use for that margarine tub finally.

I don't use margarine. I use butter and bacon grease. I used to have this jelly jar that held my bacon grease but it broke yesterday. I almost cried. 

The only suitablee replacement I had at the moment was a lidless Butterfly Gold Margarine tub. 

It works, and is a great size. 

RIP jelly jar. 

Pyrex in action! 

Now I wil be on the hunt for one of those drippings jars.

 Maybe I will even stumble upon a Pyrex one. (We can all wish right!?)

Happy Hunting

~Katie

treasuresmyhh.blogspot.com

Cleaning house, bye bye Pyrex!

Sad day but I have decided to clear out my house of some unwanted pyrex and other goodies.

 See here for sale.

Uh I may shed a tear.

Or not, leaves room for more new goodies for me! 

I may or may not get a booth at a local mall. I have been toying the idea for a while. I just don't know how that works. Anyone have any tips? 

Going for the Gold

Yesterday, I felt compelled to drive a little further than I usually do for a thrift store. It's always somewhat thrilling to go to a place I haven't been to for a while -- who knows what is right inside that door?!

The first floor housewares yielded nothing, so I trudged upstairs somewhat disappointed. Lo and behold, the Butterfly Gold Pyrex 402 sat on the shelf. I'm pretty sure I heard my name from across the room. I think I broke out into a jog. I was going for the gold. Or at least the gold on white.

I already have this Butterfly Gold 402...

 

...but I wanted the one that technically went with the 401 and 403 I already had. (I'm guessing the yellow 402 pattern was sold as part of a different set?) I've had my eye on the white one at an antique store, but couldn't bring myself to pay $10 for it. I nabbed the one at the thrift store for only $2. 

Later that day, I wandered into the local Salvation Army and spotted a blue stripe 401 bowl without a price. The cashier wasn't allowed to price it for me. Nobody at the store could price it. They wouldn't hold it for me, even though I promised to be back to pick it up after they priced it. (What in the world?!)

I went back this morning and it was nowhere to be found. I even dug through the carts. I've been collecting the 401s for my mom, since she loves that size -- and it's been fun to 'collect' without needing to find space for them! Who knows if it's still there, or if someone else picked it up and managed to get it priced before me. 

I did find these overpriced verde fridgies in the cart though. I don't think I would have normally paid what I did for them, except I was so annoyed about losing the bowl.

The only thing better than getting a bargain on Pyrex is getting Pyrex for nothing. Somebody is going to get a Butterfly Gold Gravy Boat for free! Remember to add your comment on my blog for the Great Gravy Boat Giveaway for your chance to win. Giveaway ends April 30th.

Happy weekend hunting! May your Pyrex dreams come true... 

Brenda 

Best Yard Sale Scores to Date!

Well hello yard sale season!!  This was a few weeks ago, on what my husband and I like to refer to as THE BEST YARD SALE DAY EVER!!

We pulled up to a house and saw tables and tables of glassware, and in the front that beautiful red hostess serving bowl shown in the far left of the photo below.  Then my daughter spotted the pink daisy casserole in the stand... and well lets just say we found a few more treasures to add.

I offered $30 for everything you see in the photo.  Everything on the right is butterfly gold, then there are two pink gooseberry pieces, a red fridgie, carafe...everything in great shape!  The guy said his Mom used to have an antique booth, but everything had been in boxes for years.  I think he knew I was asking a very cheap price, but he needed to get rid of some stuff and was willing to let it go.

A close up of the daisy in the stand :-)  My daughter, who is 8, has already claimed this as hers!

And at another sale that day two MINTY butterprint bowls... $15 total... I had the 401 already, just need the 404 for a complete set!

Yay!  Yard sale season!!

Whitney at Frankly Speaking Too

Rummage Sale Pyrex

I'm as giddy as a kid in a candy store right now, because it is officially yard sale/rummage sale season! I went to our town's big semi-annual rummage sale on Thursday and found some Pyrex. I don't usualy find more than one or two pieces, but last year I found a pink Gooseberry casserole, so the bar was set high. I was one of the first in the door, and made a beeline right for the housewares, seeing a spot of green on the table.

The Verde 442 (or is it Spring Blossom/Square Flowers?- according to PyrexLove, Verde did not come in Cinderella shape- anyone know?) was $3, which is astonishingly high for this type of sale.  It's not even in great condition- quite a bit of wear to the handles and utensil scratches which came out with a little BKF. It just goes to show that people everywhere (even little old church ladies) are onto those of us that collect it!

Friday I went to another church rummage sale. Thankfully the lime square baker was only $1 at that one. Apparently those little old church ladies are still in the dark! 

This is my second piece of lime (found the round cake pan about a month ago) and my 4th utility dish-  I have a flamingo lasagna pan and lidded casserole. But do you think I could find a pink or lime pie pan? No... still looking after all these years!

I've also done a bit of thrifting lately and found some really neat mugs (no other Pyrex to be found, boo!). 

First the Pyrex ones, although the Old Towne one is not marked Pyrex.

I also found this FireKing Peach Lustre creamer for $1. I am trying really hard not to collect this stuff, but it keeps jumping in my basket and coming home with me! I also found a set of 6 matching custard cups. (Sorry for the poor photo quality, our power was out when I took the picture and the outside light was poor.)

I liked the look of this one, with the eagle on it. It's quite a bit bigger even than the Old Towne footed mug, perhaps it may be McKee?

Yes, these are GlasBake, eek! Can you believe it- why didn't Pyrex make some cute mugs like this? I think there are other fruits in the set, but I only found these three plus the tennis one.

Check out my blog for some more rummage sale goodies!