Thanks For a Great Season at Elkhorn!

Forgot to take my camera to Elkhorn during setup on Saturday.  Forgot to take my camera to Elkhorn on Sunday.  Sheesh!  No pics..sorry.  I did make some altered spool photo holders just before heading out, and most of them sold. I believe most of them are headed for Japan.  (There was a  bit of a language barrier but we got the deal done.)  It was a wonderful 2011 season at Elkhorn and I want to thank each of you that shopped our booth.  YOU are the best and we appreciate you, old friends and new!

There was some amazin' stuff out on the grounds at Elkhorn yesterday and our buds that set up outside really had to fight the weather to sell. Pouring rain followed by sunshine, followed by sideways rain, followed by clouds, followed by showers, followed by clear skies, followed by downpours of Biblical proportions....(repeat)...we were happy to be inside where we only had to contend with one leak in the roof.   CHiPPy!-SHabbY! Jeanine, Margaret from Lady Libertys and Diane Passi had amazing stuff and I hope the buyers didn't let the weather deter them.  (I know there were other friends outside but I didn't get to see them.) 

There's never much time for me to shop at Elkhorn, but I did make one fun purchase from a neighboring dealer.

A bag of scroll-cut name pins.  These are old-timey...check out the names!

Aren't they the cutest?

They'll be appearing in my etsy shop soon.


In the meantime, thanks again Elkhorn shoppers!

(Our next scheduled show is Collectors Eye in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, October 23rd.)

Signed,

 Yep, that's the name my Mom gave me...

(...and she's the only one allowed to call me that!)

I'm linking up with Linda over at Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday . Check out all the fun posts over there!

Don't Forget Elkhorn This Sunday!

Come to Elkhorn and dig for fun finds!!

The Elkhorn Antique Flea Market in Elkhorn, Wisconsin is one of the best in the Midwest...no Beanie Babies, tube socks or school supplies. Just 400-500 dealers of the best vintage around.  It's an easy drive from Chicago, Milwaukee or Madison.   It opens at 7 a.m. this Sunday, although early buyers can enter for $25 on Saturday afternoon.  And don't worry if the showers come...there are plenty of buildings to take shelter in, (& shop!) . You'll find us in our usual location, space 29, in the Small Animal Building.  We don't stage our booth...we stuff it with hundreds of great finds for you.

Shopping wasn't on my schedule this week, but I did trek out to a couple of fun sales and came home with some unique items for Elkhorn and Etsy.

I bought this for the letters, but it's such a cute, complete set that I don't have the heart to break it up without giving it a chance complete!

Feeling smart? 

This 1940's IQ test will let you know if you are or not!

Over 2" thick, this catalog of typefaces will make you swoon!

fabulous fonts

and more!

These c1914 paper dolls are as charming as can be.

Call a shopping buddy and make plans to attend the last Elkhorn Antique Flea Market of the season. 

See you there!

Watch our Facebook page for updates.

Got Staff?

Some days I wish I had household staff.

 They would be quiet, efficient and attend to my every need.

 My laundry would be done and each morning my clothes would be laid out for me.

 There would be someone charged only with planning menus, shopping, cooking & serving.

The newest member of my staff would be assigned to cleaning. She'd be a natural, keeping the house spotless.  Yep, my household would run like a well-oiled machine... if I had a staff.  Would you like to have household staff?  (The professional ladies above are currently available in my etsy shop)

I'm linking up with Kathleen at Faded Charm for White Wednesday.  Check out this wonderful linky party!

Junk Bonanza...Rockin' Shakopee!

'Early birds' on opening day waiting to get in

 Wow.  What an amazing show. Ki &  her terrific staff know how to throw a show! We loved our location this year, in the entrance tent. It was light, traffic couldn't miss us and the 'neighbors' were so fun!  We were near Janis of Dime Store Vintage and Lori from Round Barn Potting Company. (I've been following her for-ever; it was great to finally meet!)  These gals are the best!  On the other side were Marge & her hubby from Hahler Windmill Antiques.  Across the way were Cindy and Michelle from Iris and Ivy, rockin' the ruffles they added to their Junk Bonanza t-shirts. Cute!  I'm ashamed to say that I don't have photos of any of this, or any of the other amazing vendors that filled Canterbury Park.  I barely managed to snap some blurry pics of our space;  most are from day three, when loads of stuff was gone.

"Miss Fruit of the Loom" appeared with Ki on a local TV spot on opening morning.  She went home with a happy collector later that day.

Meeting Teresa from The Porch & Atelier was a special moment - love her stuff!

Linda and Liana from Itsy Bits & Pieces came by and I'm so bummed that we didn't get a photo. They have the best goodies. We missed meeting last year; I'm so glad we finally connected.  We saw so many other great folks and I'm sure to miss a lot if I name names, but I'm gonna toss out a few that come to mind anyway.  Texas was in the house all three days...Margo is a field editor for Flea Market Style magazine and a junker extraodanaire. Check out her blog here.   Kari from Meadowview farm has a barn sale coming up; would love to go if we weren't elsewhere that weekend.  We saw Terri who we see regularly at Elkhorn, Kim from Antiques Iowa and the cutest Mother/D-I-L pair, Lisa and Sara from Junque Factory.  Laura from B&B's Nest was an early bird - (who would have guessed?)

I know I'm missing so many of you that took the time to say 'hi'...I truly want to thank each of you that shopped our booth...you're the best!

Thank You Junk Bonanza Shoppers!

You were:

sweet

impulsive

not impulsive

patient

imaginative

organized

new to junk

young or not young

informative

local

cute

charming

from far away

kind

an experienced junker

hilariously funny

...and did I mention patient?  

We appreciate each one that stopped by our booth...THANK YOU! 
(More on Junk Bonanza next post...we got back late last night and my brain is 'mush' today!  We'll add some pics to our facebook page later today.

Headed to Junk Bonanza

6 chalkboard 4 drawer units that can be used alone or together.




...and this great PO box cubby unit





You've got to "squeeze and sniff" these "grainsackchets"... Gnarly and dreamy at the same time!




See you at JB!

We're linking up with Capers of the Vintage Vixen for Bloggers Bodega...check it out!

9-10-11 Blessed....

 ...by a little guy that emerged rockin' a mohawk, on 9-10-11 at 1:57 a.m.

...by our amazing daughter-in-law, who gave birth to this 9 lb 5 oz boy, 22 1/2 inches long, without the assistance of any pharmaceuticals.....with her parents, her in-laws, two sisters and her daughter cheering her on.  Her doctor was amazed at her strength and composure in the midst of some tough stuff.

...by our son who became a loving step-dad to a nine-year old a year ago, and has taken to parenting a newborn as if he's been doing it for years. 

Welcome Dylan...we love you!

Pressing Matters

Been feeling a little pressure here lately, trying to get ready for Junk Bonanza.  I'm so behind on my blog reading and will have to play catchup later to see what all of you have been up to.  Linda at Coastal Charm has a lovely post today...thanks Linda!

(We also are awaiting the birth of a grandson who is a bit overdue and hoping that he sees fit to make his appearance before I head out on Tuesday.  I've resigned myself to the fact that I may be meeting him via Skype.) 

I did want to show you the heaviest piece I'll be taking to Junk Bonanza; a 19th century cast iron book press.  There's no ornamentation, it was designed for function, and yet it's beautiful in scale and proportion.

There are traces of old gold paint on the handles.

 Pictured with it are some other items that are headed for Junk Bonanza.  

These pages in a dreamy French-y blue are from a Potosi, Michigan shop, in 1866.

 In the 1890's, someone "re-purposed" parts of the ledger for a scrapbook of trade cards.

The book was disintegrating so we're offering individual pages. We also will be bringing several leatherbound ledgers, which look great in autumnal vignettes. 

We're posting Junk Bonanza updates on our facebook page so check it out if you haven't had a chance.  (If you have a page, please post a link on my wall so I can check yours out as well!)

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Working on the Little Things

Welcome back from a long weekend everyone; hope you enjoyed it!  The weather here was perfect!  Progress was made on my 'big' projects for Junk Bonanza and I'm starting on the little stuff.   We're known for our "schnibbles & bits" in our Fixin's Bar...my big roto-bin will be stuffed full of little treasures.  (More on that another time.)  Today I'm gathering ephemera. 

 

There's stuff from every era from the 1850's forward.   

You're just going to have to come by our booth and dig!  If you can't make it to Junk Bonanza, you can also find ephemera in our etsy shop.

One week from today, we load the truck and head out. 

Timeless Treasures - Letters & Numbers in San Francisco

In San Francisco recently, we took a moment to pop into Timeless Treasures.  Why?  Because it's the coolest little shop for a letter-lovin' vintie, that's why!  Before we could go there, we had to stop for a quick lunch at the wharf. Not this:

...but this.  Yum!

 Timeless Treasures is just two or three miles from the wharf. Uphill.

I was trying to help navigate and snap iPhone pics at the same time.  The architecture of the city floors me every time we visit.

Once we arrived at the shop I was in letter heaven. 

Every size, shape, font, and color imaginable was here.

 Neatly organized...

 ...and creatively displayed.

 Other fun items were mixed in.

 The shop's owner, Joan, wasn't in the day that we visited, but we enjoyed chatting with Jenni. Now that we know how easy it is to find Timeless Treasures, I'm sure we'll return on our next trip West!   

 ** I've just unpacked some letters & numbers that I found elsewhere in California and loaded some into my etsy shop for you!  Others will be making their way to Junk Bonanza with me.

Speaking of Junk Bonanza, I can hardly believe that we'll be loading the truck and heading out just a week from Tuesday.  There is SO much to be done here and you may not see many posts between now and then.
I will do my best to post sneak previews on Facebook...check it out!