I was at TS yesterday & didn't see a single colored glass plate! Did get an adorable antique-looking wooden pelican 16 in. tall of wood on a weathered post with "old" rope & netting & a soda bottle cap painted tan with rounded tack through center of it holding the rope in place. Great gift for DS & wife! Keep looking but probably better luck at yard sales. I think some people make deals with TS owners so pay more for glass or dolls that have good resale value in antique shops as it saves the antique owner time as they don't have to go to sales,1 stop shopping & the TS owner gets more than they could get from us bargain shoppers. I know after 1st few months new TS opens all the colored glassware & dolls disappear, so you know that is when the antique owners "found" the store! I've seen them checking out dolls & said oh, nice dolls & was told they weren't for sale(to me) as I saw the woman looking take several in a bag & those left were put out for $12-15. And I wouldn't pay that. Go early in day this summer & you should have good luck at yard sales. Jan

Same here in Middle Tenn. GW is known for overpricing. Just check out their website!!!It is getting harder and harder to find spoons and forks also. I hit a couple of yard sales yesterday and actually found a few spoons. One thing I got special was some plastic dominos. A small bag full for 25 cents. Grabbed those in a hurrry. Since recycling has gotten so *fashionable* you can't get anything on the cheap!!

We have a St Vincent DePaul thrift store and they have a lot of colored glass and at a good price. Most are .50 to 2.00. I do not find much at GW and when you do you may as well buy new they are so over priced.

I think a lot of stuff is about gone. It seems all you see anymore is newer stuff. It may cost more but do you think you can use glass paint and buy the glass plates and make them any color you want?

Marquest. I think it was concrete primroses that took clear glass & painted it. Look back & you'll find a whole bunch of plates she painted. Be sure to have glass clean, wipe off with alcohol to remove any oils from the glass & use glass paints. Joanne's or Michael's has Folkart Enamels & there is another brand also. You have to let them cure 30 days or put in oven(don't remember the temp) to get them cured faster. Jan

I'm in northern California and I'm having the same problem finding things. Seems like there are a zillion other people this past year that are making crafts from glass and silverware. My sister and hubby travel a lot and they always check the thrift stores for me and don't have any luck in finding colored glass plates. I think the best chance of finding any is going early early to yard sales. I sold at a craft fair yesterday and everyone seemed to want bird feeders. I only had a few. I did sell a lot of totems which was a switch from last year when I sold a lot of plate flowers. You just never know what people will want.

I've noticed a difference in thrift stores over the past few years. As wages remain stagnant and everything keeps getting more expensive, there's less and less 'good stuff' at the 2nd hand stores! Especially glass items of all shapes, sizes, and purposes.

For bottles, Rita, stock up on wine! The supermarket or liquor store will yield better than thrift stores.

I'm sad to think that the supply of vintage lovely colored glass, pressed and blown, is disappearing. It makes me think I should stock up via ebay before it's all gone. I have such a fond association with my Grandma's rainbow collection of sparkly translucent glass collection, that the pieces from that era that I've collected are safe in my curio cabinet and not exposed to the elements in the garden. It pains me to think they may end up in a landfill after my death, but such is how it goes I guess.

For sparkle in the garden I prefer present day bottles. Wine bottles come in a variety of shapes and colors. Word has it that red bottles will be showing up on the shelves soon too. And one can never have too much wine on hand!

GW here is getting really bad. Seems like they edged out the trinkets for clothes. Just about all my clothes come from there - but it's much more fun to shop for hidden "treasures". And yes -- prices have gone way up !

I have also pretty much given up on thrift store shopping. The stores here have gotten so expensive.. might as well go buy new.
And when we winter in AZ, the only time you can afford to go is 1/2 price Saturday, and then you stand in line like it was Christmas Eve!!
One of my favorite shops to go on the hunt raised price 3 fold.. never went back.. :(

I have to agree it is hard to find stuff. I am lucky that there are 3 thrift store bascially next to each other. Unique, Salvation Army and Value World. So when I go, I can hit 3 TS fast.
I did luck out today and got 4 med blue glass dinner plates for .40 each. A few weeks ago, they had runway and traffic light lens (2.50/1.25 depending on size). The SA had 2 cobalt blue dinner plates for .99/each. I bought a bunch of other small plate/candle holders. It is the only time I have found blue plates.