Years and years ago I went to a few parties and I know the stuff is very expensive. That's the only thing I can think of, that people are tired of it in their homes but paid so much that they don't want to put "rummage sale" prices on them. I don't think they are collectibles, but you never know these days!

That's exactly what I was going to say .. . It kills me to sell that stuff dirt cheap after having parties ~~~ :-(
I paid almost $50 for a candle light at a PartLite party ...
I ended up selling it for a buck.

(no more home parties for me )

Speaking of Party Lite and Home Interiors, go on Ebay and see how many people are looking for that stuff. The partylite things, people are buying left and right. I too find this stuff at yard sales for pennies, I buy it just cuz I know what it goes for. If I ever get around to selling instead of buying on ebay, I can make a fortune!

I had a grouping of five gold butterflies that were obviously HI, or some such. I hung them on a tree by the hosta bed.....they still looked ugly, so I tossed them!

phyllis.... should have tried patina-ing them green...

butterflies have a certain sheen to them- but they look dumb in metallics ;)

and yes- I tend to think ALL decorating trends after about 1930 are hideous...and with the 'personality in a box' approach to home decor, places like 'home interior' take it to a whole new level of awful.

but I've found that there are certain people who totally misunderstand the point of a yard sale...it's not about getting back the money you spent on something- if it were worth that much you would be keeping it!

I love to find those HI butterflies, flowers, leaves etc. at garage sales. I use them to embelish my sherherd hooks. They look great that way. I too have trouble finding them for what I would consider a reasonalbe price. But when I do I am dancing the happy dance!

Oh man, with the amount of HI stuff that's ar garage sales, it should be in the "free box". It's grossly overpriced new but while it's not usually all that appealing they do train their salespeople to be able to present it in such a way that those who really have no decorating confidence buy into it hook line and sinker.

I used to sell Real Estate and can't tell you how many homes I'd go into that had the exact same wall grouping they'd seen at a HI party. I guess if you don't trust yourself to design it's an easy out (if you don't mind paying through the nose and having the same thing as God knows how many others).

Hi there! I'm a newbie that has been watching these forums for awhile now. Don't know why I didn't become member before this. With regard to Home Interior stuff - I find all kinds of it at my favorite thrift store. Years ago I used to go to a few Home Interior parties and very seldom was able to afford much of it. I'm finding all of this stuff now coming into my favorite thrift store and purchase it with the thought in mind to change it. There are certain pictures that I look for with the intent to use the frame. It's a perfect 16" by 20" frame and there are plenty of 16" by 20" art prints out there. It doesn't take much to refinish these frames and have them looking new again. The savings on frames if you need them is unbelievable. The plastic Home Interior pieces are easily repainted. After spray painted with my color of choice I then dry brush with that gel stencil paint (usually white) to bring out the details of the piece again. I didn't think plastic would hold the paint, but it sure does. I now have no need to go to another Home Interior party - I'm finding everything for next to nothing at my local thrift store and having fun with it too. In addition to Home Interior pieces, I also find many shelves (the kind and size to put nick-nacks, etc., on). I just found a beautiful shelf with the price tag still on it for $159. The shelf unit had a few scratches on it and that is easy for me to fix and change to my liking. I paid $10 for it.

"...should have tried patina-ing them green"

Ah, ha! Thanks for the idea! I have 3 of those metallic brassy looking butterflies that MIL was throwing away. I used them as they were for a few years but then I started to actually decorate and they don't match! I was trying to figure out what to do with them but I couldn't think of the "right" color for them. I thought about painting them like any other butterfly but I'm not up to that much these days! Patina would look neat in my kitchen!

I've got to tell you about my buy before Christmas this year at the auction...I got a box full of party lite for 50cents... One of the brass lamps with the glass shade that a tea light burns in. One of the bowls and three stemmed 'glasses' with the burgandy and gold lines swirled around.(the glasses you burn candles in) 4 stems of the Magnolia blossoms. A brass candle snuffer...and a set of 5 or 6 stemmed candle (glasses) that were frosted glass. There was more but now I can't remember what it was...I used it for Christmas gifts...(cheap ....I know...but it was probably close to 200.00 worth of party lite...for a half dollar..lol)

patti

Oh my goodness how did this get dug up again? I was going to post my use for garage sale fnds of HI stuff only to discover I did last year! I have added several butterflies and cat-tails to my garden since I last posted! I still love finding the butterflies and flowers for pennies. Also the gal who started the HI organization has a wonderful inspirational story of her life out there. I read it years ago. Something about Pearls...