A Heart-Grabber

Possibly my favorite find on our recent trip.

weathered and worn...

...with a terra cotta top

...on a cast iron base

....sigh...

(I'll show you where I found her in my next post.)

One Fun Stop

A year ago I read a post by Ki on the Junk Camp blog about some antique malls she'd visited on a trip.  We  happened to be traveling the same route recently and couldn't resist stopping at the town she'd mentioned. At King Cotton we were warmly greeted by the owner Philip.

His shop is loaded with interesting items and quite a few things walked out the door with me...including this beautiful large vintage cage that will be coming to Grayslake with me next weekend.

Philip also clued us in to this:

 ...I'm pretty sure we would have never stopped here on our own.

It turned out to be a contender for "best meal of our vacation".  A-mazing BBQ. (Thanks for the recommendation Philip!)

After lunch, we headed across the street to the Braggin' Bull Antique Mall.

(Sadly, this mall will be closing on April 30th)

CG snapped a quick pic of my favorite find there before loading it up.

Patina perfection!  You'll see this one at Grayslake also.

There's lots more to show you but I've got to get busy now and plot my path for tomorrow...

stay tuned!

 

Bricks & Stones of Savannah

Sa

 

Savannah...a beautifully aged old lady -

rocking her bright pink lipstick.

**************************

Giveaway alert:  Speaking of PINK, our friend Candyce of Altered Ever After is having a wonderful giveaway revolving around the soon arrival of her newest grandbaby...check it out!

A Little Shopping in Asheville NC

Just before we arrived in Asheville, CG spotted an "Antiques" sign on the interstate, (snaps for him!)
We exited and found a little shop in a rural area. It appeared to be a multi-dealer mall, but all of the booths looked 'unkempt', (to put it kindly). Prices were mostly 'top end', which surprised me given the environment and lack of presentation.

Our next stop was Sweeten Creek Antiques in Asheville.  It's a large mall and a lot of the spaces were nicely staged. I found a few treasures including a huge lot of well-worn vintage letters & numbers.

The last stop of the day was Screen Door.  Can you say "eye candy"?  Over 100 vendors have some of the best industrial, architectural, primitives, mid-century, and garden finds displayed in enticing vignettes.  Some booths have newer items and repros, but it's easy to bypass them and let your eyes settle on the aged beauties.  The rest of the photos are from Screen Door...enjoy!

Chasing Spring ... Where Shall I Shop in NC?

Daffodils, flowering crab, redbud, green stuff...not in Wisconsin. We're on the road from Knoxville to Ashville NC and enjoying the scenery. We won't have time to tour Biltmore, but I'm hoping to sneak into a couple of shops. Does anyone have a suggestion for great "low-end" junk shops?

Hope to give you a full report later!

Happiness Colors

I've been known to drool over photos of white rooms layered with delicious shapes and textures, but when it comes to 'living', I need to be surrounded with color.  My favorite colors are the shades of the Caribbean Sea... soft blues & greens. 

This little collection populates the sunroom. 

The upside down urn...  

...and it's twin were my favorite finds in Minnesota last weekend.

I adore this old bottle, "For The Hair".

Matte glazes seem to be especially

appropriate on these colors.

 Now you've met my "happiness" colors...what are yours?

No Time to Create :(

I know we're all busy. How do so many of you find the time to create such wonderful things? Keeping my business running smoothly takes all my time. Between buying, photographing, listing on etsy, shipping, paperwork, tagging show items, blogging...there's no time left in my days to create.  I love what I do, but was just reminded again that I need to find a way to be more efficient! 

As I listed this sugar sack with the most beautiful faded red print...

...I realized that it would team up beautifully with a couple of old voting booth curtains in my shop.  A tote bag, an apron, a pillow...I can see them all in my mind's eye.  I've decided to save a similar sack and curtain for myself, but am wondering if I'll ever do anything with them. I'm truly frustrated by my inability to get to projects like this.  If you have any great time-management tips for me, sing out!  In the meantime, it's back to work for me...
  

***********

Thanks to Michelle from Vintage Junky for including one of our items in her delightful post today. Check out her fun blog when you have a moment.