Grayslake Antique Flea Market This Weekend! Half Price Admission.

We couldn't ask for a better weather forecast for the Grayslake Antique Market this weekend in Grayslake, Illinois.  40's in January?  Never happens!  It's a perfect weekend to get out and have some fun.  Thanks to Zurko Promotions you'll get half price admission during regular hours if you print out this post and bring it along.

Here's a little peek at some of the things you'll find in our booth.

z

This old square "bucket" has the most marvelous "make-do" repair.  Giant light bulbs make great offbeat gifts for the one who lights up your life.

You'll see Valentines by the gazillions.

Trophies from Monaco, France, St. Moritz....

Brushes

A table filled with ephemera for your projects.

...and, of course, our signature "Fixin's Bar" filled with schnibbles and bits to inspire the artist in you.

We probably won't get another blog post up, but we'll try to post updates on our Facebook page - click here.

Other purveyors of marvelous things will be at Grayslake including Altered Ever After, Diane Passi, Rhubarb Reign,  and ChiPPy!-SHaBBy!   We'd all love to see you so print this post off and be sure to say "hi" when you come thru!

Collector's Eye Show - Preview Part 1: Ephemera

Sunday: Collector's Eye Show in Cedar Rapids Iowa.  I've heard great things about this show but have never attended as a buyer or a seller.  I'm bringing a wide range of fun stuff including goodies from my huge stash of ephemera.   Here's a small sampling:

Luggage labels

Never opened 1960s flashcards

Early instructional books and 1860s hand-colored prints

 Menus, Victorian trade cards, photos

1860s copperplate maps

Foreign books

Sewing cards

French ephemera, 1850's - 1960's

Beatuiful paper from every era.

Will we see YOU at Collector's Eye?  Hope so!

P.S.  One of the things I'm looking forward to is shopping on the way home on Monday - if you have any great suggestions for me in a generally E/SE direction from Cedar Rapids, please sing out!

Debra at Common Ground hosts Vintage Inspiration Friday....we're linked - now let's all go check out all the participants, shall we?   
:)

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. 

Ledgermania - Antique Ledgers

I'm not sure what it is about ledgers that tug at my heart.  Is it the bindings?

....marbleized endpapers?

...fanciful fore-edges? 

...carefully scribed entries?

...calligraphy?

....columns?

 ....notations?

...history?

...longhand?

...pen and ink?

 ....numbers?

....check marks?

 ....tabs?

...labels?

.............................or bindings?

Whatever it is, ledger love reigns at the cottage. We were fortunate enough to find a bounty of wonderful old ledgers at Brimfield recently. We've just made a few available in our etsy shop and will be adding more later on.

How Do I Love Thee Etsy?

I'm linking up with Capers of the Vintage Vixens, (which may be my favorite blog name ever!), for Blogger's Bodega.  

It's a day for shameless shop promotion, and I'm not ashamed to say that I love etsy....as a seller and as a shopper.  

I'm so grateful to each of my customers; some of whom I've had the pleasure of meeting at shows.  As of today, 979 of my little treasures have found loving new homes via my etsy shop.

Etsy allows me to work in my cozy sunroom and 

never leave the house on these bitterly cold days.  

What more could a girl ask?

  Etsy allows me to share the things I love....

old paper of every sort...

...grain sacks....

 ....old hardware...

...pretty little things

...fun junk...

...letters and numbers...

...and whatever tickles my fancy...

I'm heading on over to Capers of The Vintage Vixens to check out some other fun shops...click the logo to follow me there!