Vintage Magazines

Rainy today so no flea market, which actually worked out fine as I had early morning and all day away plans anyhow. I'll share a little about that tomorrow, but for now I thought I might share with you a contented evening I spent here alone the other night. Everyone in the family had plans out of the house save me. I spent a delightful evening cozied up with a stack of seven vintage magazines perusing the old articles, recipes and advertisements. What fun! No schedules, no interruptions, just me and the dogs and a stack of nostalgia. I tore out several advertisements that caught my eye for future projects and several recipes to try. I love the old wording like saying cupfuls instead of cups; a pinch of something instead of an exact measurements or ingredients such as sweet milk or confectionary sugar instead of powdered sugar. It just sounds like it tastes better! There were plenty of other tasks I could have been doing, but all could wait while I enjoyed a little time just for me. Hope you find some similar time to do something you love as well. Enjoy!

The Connecticut Cabinet

As promised last week, here is the photo of the cabinet I picked up at The Elephant's Trunk Flea Market in Connecticut when I went two weekends ago.  I don't usually pick a piece in need of so much work.  This needs to be stripped, sanded, scoured, rebuilt in places, restored in others and painted.  It is such a unique piece, however, that I just had to give it a go.  I think the bottom door panels will be removed completely and fabric put in their place.  I am trying to decide about color.  I will work on it for the September Market.  Hopefully, I don't fall in love with the finished product and need to keep it, cause I don't know where it could possibly go.  Wish me luck!

Today's Estate Sale...Hmmm...

All right, so it turned out to be another bit of a disappointment.  This estate sale showed promising photos on line and the host of the sale promised it was a back to basics, good old fashioned estate sale with lots of goodies.  Well..... let's just say he was using a lot of imagination in that description.  The good news is that only about a dozen people were in line when the doors opened at 9:30.  This is quite contrary to the usual 40+ I'm used to at one of his sales.  Granted, this one was a bit further away, but I was still surprised at the low turnout.  Fortunately, less people meant less competition and I was able to take a bit of extra time combing thru nooks and crannies to discover any goodies that may work for me.  Pickings were very slim and condition of items was generally poor and too pricey for condition.  After some scouring, here's what I came up with for my $34.00.

The shelf unit on the far left is very shabby and the bottom third is totally rotted.  I will cut it off and simply make it smaller.  It looks to have been built out of old crates and palettes 50 years or so ago.  It will still hold some appeal for someone once I rehab it a bit.  The white table will get a sanding and paint job.  The wire shelves appear to be an old market display stand of some sort.  The small metal table will get sanded and repainted to go with my vintage metal garden chairs om my deck.

There is a funky hanging lamp base that will see some serious work.  A box of vintage clothes pins, a bread box, some vintage hangers, a few pieces of vintage glassware and kitchen utensils, a galvanized tray, a life preserver and a bubble light candelabra for Christmas, a woven grass tote and a small metal shelf  pretty much round out the haul.

This afternoon, I sorted and packaged up vintage clothes pins.  There were four different styles, some quite old.  These are ready for sale at the upcoming market.

Despite the small haul, I am still glad I went.  It is a change of pace and always interesting to see inside an old home.  It amazes me how many people seem to decorate their homes once and that's it.  Don't think this home had seen any changes since the mid 60's.  That just seems crazy.  But perhaps I am the crazy one, redecorating my house all the time.  Well, at any rate, I enjoy it and it keeps me out of trouble (mostly!). 

Little Things Make Me Happy

Sunday's flea market did not produce enough booty to bother showing you.  I think the hot weather has everything slowed down.  And while it was disappointing, I am looking forward to a potentially good estate sale this Wednesday.  I'll let you know how it goes.  In the meantime, despite being a little too busy, I find I am surrounded by little momentary bursts of happiness all around me.  So what makes me happy?  Here are some of them to share with you.

My girls!!!  Even as teenagers, they love to climb a good tree.  They enjoyed this fantastic weeping willow on the shores of one of the finger lakes in New York state this weekend at a family reunion.

Vintage Sears and Roebuck catalogs.  Found these in my travels this weekend.  Love the graphics.  You can even order chickens for your coop!!  I'll take a red bicycle, metal garden chair,  new stove and 6 chicks please!

Ahh yes!  Combine a great set of vintage metal lockers with my favorite side of the road sign posting, "FREE" and it is  happy day!  Some restorative paint and they'll be good to go to the Market next week.

Nature at work in my zinnia bed.  The zinnias are blooming beautifully now and the bees are so happy to buzz around them in their buzzy bee way.  Notice the bee hinney peeking out on the lower right.  Now there is a busy bee!

And lastly, but not least by any means, are these lovely pieces of artwork sent to me by my young nieces.  As a mom of young children, I was presented with artwork every day.  And while I always smiled and thanked them profusely, since it was a regular happening, I didn't always truly appreciate it.  I kind of took it for granted.  It has been a long time since a child made a picture for me, and getting these reminded me just how much I miss the innocent love offerings of the little people in our lives.  These are proudly posted inside my cabinets so every time I open them I see there sweetness and feel a hug from a far.  Thank you Ellee and Addy!  Auntie Tera LOVES you soooooooo much!!!

Hope you all have a lot of little "happies" along your path this week too.

Flea Market Adventure

Saturday morning, I started thinking about Sunday morning flea marketing.  I also was thinking that I needed a change of pace.  The weather report seemed favorable enough and the calendar agreed that I had an opening (probably the only one for a while) so I decided to make a journey to the Elephant's Trunk Flea Market in New Milford, Connecticut.  I had read about it numerous times in various magazines that I read, and all reports were favorable and encouraging.  Their own site claims it is the largest regular Sunday morning flea in New England with over 300 dealers each Sunday.  It sounded like a good adventure.  I thought about inviting a daughter or friend along, but when I thought about it, what I really needed was a little solitary time.  Since school let out, I haven't had any alone time, and lately I'd been craving it, so no invitations were made and I headed off alone on Saturday evening to make the three hour journey there where I planned to stay in a local, well rated hotel that I'd been able to book a room in on line right before leaving. 

The trip down was pleasant, with my GPS navigating me with his consistent little bit of a naughty attitude.  I listened to a favorite movie on the way down played thru my ipod and some inspirational music.  I made reasonable time (despite my GPS's attitude) and arrived in good humor.  At check in, I discovered they did not have my reservation that I'd made on line and tried to give me a more expensive room.  Fortunately, since I had my confirmation print out, they were forced to honor my original booking and price.  The room was quite nice, surprising for a little local hotel.  All was well and I enjoyed some television in bed.  Shortly after turning in for the night the hotel fire alarm went off!!  Let me tell you, that gets your blood pumping especially since it was my first time traveling alone like this.  Turned out to be a false alarm, but the adrenaline rush made getting to sleep again very difficult.

After a short night's sleep I awoke feeling surprisingly refreshed and set off to the flea for the 7am opening.  ( I chose not to go at 5:45 for the dealer's early hours and pay an extra $20 admission).

Yeah.  Here I go!

The market backs up to a beautiful hill.  There were indeed lots of dealers, but alas only about 1/3 to 1/2 of the usual number.  I heard people in the entrance line grumbling that there had been only this many last week as well.  They were speculating that the heat was keeping them away.  Only problem with that theory for today was that although it was quite humid, it was not hot.  It was only about 75 and was the same when I left town at 1:00.  Just my luck, I finally get down there and it's a small turn out.  Drat.  There were happy things to look at, however, it turned out that I couldn't afford most of it.  Seems this flea is too close to New York City, and people with more serious money, to have the kind of prices I am used to.  Here are some of the happy, but free things I saw today both at the Flea and nearby as I was driving around town.

Several of the dealers were selling plants.  These sunflowers just made me smile.

THIS, I absolutely LOVED!!  I spoke with the lady using it.  She had pulled the old stroller frame out of a dumpster, painted it and added the crates and linens and bike basket to create a one of a kind flea marketing cart.  Well it won't be one of a kind for too long if I can get my hands on a stroller frame anytime in the near future.  I gotta make me one of these "sweet rides."

Saw this sweet, well maintained farm house on the side of the road.  It just says, "New England".

And here is my dream truck.  Ohhh I just love this truck!!  I'd love to go flea marketing in one like this.

SO.....despite the lack of sleep, lack of dealers and lack of reasonable prices, I did bring home some goodies.  My car was full, not with quantity but with bulk of larger items.

The wooden file crates on the left need to have the funky 70's contact paper removed and a new paint job.  The metal cart will get a fabric liner made for it and be a fun flea marketing cart to sell.  The little spindled two-tier table will get a coat of cream paint and a distressing.  The wire basket will get de-rusted and sold as is.  The two hosta plants and lettuce seedlings are for my gardens.

The two vintage hats will most likely end up in my personal collection.  They are in fantastic condition.  Wish I could wear them out somewhere like our vintage predecessors did.  The vintage towels will be for sale.

The little vintage purse is for me.  Vintage bags are back in, so I'll be toting this baby to church next Sunday.

These vintage boxes of bluing may be for me.  I haven't decided yet.

My largest purchase of the day was a big white cupboard, which you won't see in this blog.  It was still in my car when I took these photos as it was too big for me to get out alone.  It is quite unique, but needs LOTS of work.  I'll show you photographs of it soon. 

 All in all, I'm glad I went.  I was disappointed with the overall flea, but it all worked out fine.  I spent some time at the Flea and found some treasures; took myself out to a nice breakfast at a quaint dinner where I poured over a new magazine I'd brought form home; went back to my hotel for shower to freshen up; found a church much like my own here and took in a service, where I liked the pastor and his message very much; and listened to two more movies on the ride home.  In all, it turned out to be a relaxing and rewarding day.

Would I go back and try it again.....???   Probably not.  Even with more dealers, it is still too expensive for my pocket book.  But it was fun and good to meet myself again in the quiet hours of it all.  Take care.

Beach Time (in the livingroom!)

The weather has been excruciatingly HOT and HUMID here.  It has curtailed my outdoor activities for the time being.  Even taking the dogs out briefly or picking berries in the evening when the sun is gone has become very uncomfortable, to say the least.  The air quality is terrible in this heat and humidity and really bothers my asthma, so indoor activities are what's on tap.  Yesterday I changed over my mantel in the living room from a "let's go fishing" theme to a beach theme.  I won't be going one to anytime soon, but I can have some reminders on display.  Thought I'd share them with you.

The little bottles of sand on the left are saved from beach trips when the girls were little.  The test tube is a "letter in a bottle" with sand and tiny sea treasures in with it.

Enjoy.  If it is hot where you are, try to stay cool.  And remember all the little critters outdoors are suffering too.  Leave out a shallow dish of water in your yard in the shade if you can.  The birds will enjoy a cooling bath and the littlest animals will appreciate a cool drink.  I watched three chipmunks enjoying a refreshing drink in our bowl yesterday and the robins were out in force in the bird bath.  Stay cool!

My Studio....Finally!!! Part Three: nooks and crannies

Last but not least, some of my favorite details and nooks and crannies in the studio...

I love drawers with lots of little divided sections for lots of little goodies to hide in.

This is one of my favorite ways to display vintage photos and ephemera.  Old metal hangers have more uses than just holding clothes.

I made this shadow box to showcase little vintage toys.  It doesn't serve much purpose except to make me smile, so I guess that is purpose enough.  We all need to smile more.

Inside one of the Hoosier side cabinets.  The bottom shelf is all vintage birthday party items.

This is a box, with three drawers that are each divided into many little sections.  The box alone makes me happy, but then fill it with little art supplies and goodies and oh what a happy box!

Sparkly glass glitter and some modern Martha Stewart glitter as well.

Vintage glass canning jelly jars full of a rainbow of vintage buttons inside one of the apothecary drawers.

Another happy drawer in the apothecary full of vintage ribbon and lace bits.

These boards are from a vintage receipt book.  The book was made of many of these metal pages with the spring loaded clips to keep a salesman's or storekeeper's receipts organized.  I clip happy little bits of ephemera to it, both for organization and for eye candy.

This vintage display rack was a happy birthday present from a good friend and is perfect for organizing my vintage postcard collection.  The little collapsible metal basket next to it was once used for gathering eggs, but now it a great holder for my adhesives.

Happy rolls of vintage wall paper on the apothecary shelves along with vintage berry baskets and cigar boxes.

I'll end the tour with a peek into this happy drawer of vintage labels of all sorts.  I am always afraid to use these, since when they are gone, they are really gone, so I am pretty choosy about what I use them for.

Well that's the studio.  Hope you enjoyed the tour.  I'd love your feedback, now that I finally showed it all to you.  Thanks for stopping by to visit.