I got a booth!!!!!!! I am now an official flea market carney!!!

Stopped by for a quick run through the furniture area yesterday for my fix for the day.  Gosh I sound like an addict.   I just get a rush when I find some hidden treasure that no one else has found or seen the potential in.  ------Anyway..... I started talking to the owner who probably thinks I am crazy, but highly entertaining, and she said 2, not just  1 booth, was opening up June 1st.  Then she said I could take my pick of which one I wanted.  How cool!  I got to pick the location plus I got to pick out a cool number for my booth.  I am number 33.  Was a good year for me.  I met my husband that year!  A blind date even!  HA! Never saw that coming.  Rambling again....starting to get off track.  I have just been giddy since then.  I am so stoked to get to finally be a flea market vendor like some kind of garage sale junkie with an outlet for their addiction.  I can't wait to decorate my space.  If anyone has any cool ideas, send them my way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  This picture is from our trip to San Francisco a few years back.  Just thought it looked cool with this post.  I will have to get a picture of my flea market with no name.  Funny.  Just a big white tin building that says FLEA MARKET>  Nothin' fancy, just like me.  Nothin' fancy, but it has character.

60's bulletin board

Found this cute little memo board at my local flea market.  Was going to open a booth there, but they just filled up.  Darn!  Just going to have to keep collecting stuff til someone quits or dies and leaves open a booth. Really hope no one dies.  That sounded kind of mean.  Anyways, here is the before and after.  The memo board had an advertisement of itself on the back so I took a picture of it since I forgot to get a before picture.  I think I am goint to put a monogram on top of the fabric to jazz it up a bit.  Not bad for a buck.

A few new finds

Well, yesterday we went to an auction out in the country and of course it rained off and on all day.  Lots of stuff, but everything was getting wet because there were no canopies.  So.... anyway I did manage to get a few good buys.  Accidentally bought about 6 boxes of crap for a dollar.  Thought I was just bidding on one box of crap that had a few crafty things in it, but got a whole load of crap.  I did manage to salvage some stuff that wasn't totally getting ruined by the rain.  Got a bunch of ribbon for 8 bucks and  a basket off of a guy who just wanted Dale Earnhart magazines.  Nobody wanted the ugly green candle holder, so I got it for free since I missed that batch earlier.  Here is a pic of my basket and awsomely ornate and redone candle holder.   Forgot to take a picture of it the ugly green.  I spray painted it white and then stained it a nice oak color.  Just rubbed it on with an old sock.  I am really technical about the process of redoing old things.

new bulletin board

Here's a picture of the new bulletin board I made.  I sold one yesterday at school and got that one finished today, but didn't get picture of it yet.  I am going to start making these and selling them if I get a booth opened at the antique mall here.  I found a load of frames I can buy at LOW prices.  Think I have found a place to get extra fabric scraps from upholstry and drapery projects too.  I am so.... excited that everything is falling into place. 

Found this cool but strange light fixture for 3 bucks a couple of weeks ago.  Think I will paint it white and distress it with another color.  I think it will be nice once it is refurbished.  It's very heavy so I don't know if I want to hang it in our house.  I will probably try to sell it in my booth once I get one anyways.  ha ha

Finished bookshelf

Finished the bookshelf last night!  Doesn't it look just awesome?   I think so.  Turned out too cute.  Willow hasn't seen it yet.  She is sleeping right now.  Finished painting it last night. 

I changed the name of the site, because I thought it sounded better and was more personal.  Now....if I could just figure out how to change the web address to that without having to start all over on everything.  Ugghhh .... I am not a computer geek.  Wish I were sometimes, but then I wouldn't be so creative, now would I?  Hope everyone is having a great week.  I got lots of stuff to upload and post about, but the little one has been sick and it has been crazy buzy in our household!  Hope you like the new site and name!!! Bet you can guess the little one's name now!  I think it takes grace to give old things new life too, so it fit.

other odds and ends I have found

Found these cool wall shelves with curly scrolling designs.  Of course, I am going to paint them white to go in my precious little one's room.  Think I may put little tea cups from my collection (that hasn't seen daylight since we moved) on them.  Will be so sweet and dainty on her wall.  Only 2 bucks each.

Little shelf was 3 bucks.  Think I am going to hang it above table in hallway and get som letters or blocks or small pics in little small frames to put in it.  Definitely going to paint it too.  Oh.... when will I do all of this painting?

My lonely little candle stick holder was just a buck!  Think I will just leave it alone and let it be it's natural woodsy self.  Getting late and I am starting to get loopy.  Seems to be past my bed time.  I am starting to make up words.  You would never know that I can teach English as well as art. 

my cool basket

This is just like the PB wire baskets that sell for way more than I paid for this.  Twelve bucks!  It's from Jersey City too.  Thought that was cool.  I am from Oklahoma originally and have nevet been to the likes of Jersey so I thought that was kind of neat.  Boy! Do I sound like a hick?!!! Going to use it for towels or tp or something useful.  When I figure it out, I will post a pic.  (if anyone cares) . Will have to disinfect for sure since it could have stored old gym clothes in a locker room at one time or icky wet towels at a public swimming pool.   Oh! the places it could have gone!  How did it end up in Missouri?

side table

My 15 dollar table.  Going to paint her black and leave at the end of the hall.  Was going to go in crazy 2 year old's room, but it looks good in hall and I found my ugly yellow bookshelf to be painted white.

bookshelf to be

I have been looking high and low for a bookshelf for the crazy 2 years old's  room that has some character and I finally hit the jackpot.  Got this spicy mustard yellow piece for just 15.99.  Don't know why they don't just round up to 16 bucks!  Anyway, I am going to paint it white and put some modge podged scrapbook paper pieces in the background.  I think it is going to look great in the little one's room.  I might be able to paint wide vertical stripes in the background instead of the paper.  Oh... the possibilities.  Wish I actually had lots of time on my hands.  Gotta go! The crazy two year old is up!

My new shabby chic black chair!

I spent a whole thirty minutes painting this chair with some left over  lamp black paint.  Probably should have done more than one layer of paint, but I am too impatient to go over it again.  Besides I was goint to rough it up with a sanding block anyway.  It turned out pretty good I think.  Now all I have to do is spray it with polyurethane so it won't get scratched up and peel. 

my pretty dish

The green is lots lighter in person.  In the picture it looks like an army green though.  Got this for 2.50.

new flea market discovery

Went to a new town and found a wonderful flea market with great finds.  I didn't buy much.  What I wanted wouldn't fit in the car anyway so I will have to go back with my hubby and the truck.  I did find two big picture frames for my memo boards for a buck each and a beautiful pale green cut glass candy dish.  I realized last week when I had guests over that I don't have any pretty serving dishes that are not made out of plastic hardly so that is my new mission.  You can find beautiful glass serving dishes and small dishes to serve pickles, condiments and other little dishes in at almost every second hand market you go to.  Most finds are way more valuable than what you would find in a upscale store and are probably a lot more intricately designed.  I would rather pay five dollars than twenty five for a nice piece of glassware any day of the week.  Anyway, that's about as exciting as my week got.  The two year old and I did have an excellent outing and she was in good spirits most of the day.  The restaurant visit was a little scary.  We had a fight over her gulping down her sugary drink and a huge fork that she could poke her eye out with, but that was about it.  We did get to meet the Easter bunny too.  That was fun.  She was a little nervous about the huge furry creature, but at least sat down by him and got her pic taken.  Turned out too cute.

My Five Dollar Chair!

So... today I thought I would go over to the big flea market building in town.  Last time I had been there it was just a big building with very little stuff.  Well.... Now it is a Big Building with a LOT of Stuff.  Lots of crap too, but there are some nice finds if you look hard enough.  The two year old fell asleep about 10 minutes into the scavenger hunt so I got to look without worrying about her throwing a tantrum over some germ infested toy that she might see.  I did however have to haul all 25 pounds of her throughout the maze of booths for about an hour, but it was worth it for the shear fact that I got to look uninterrupted.  And...in that uniterrupted hunt for a diamond in the ruff, I found an old but quaint wooden chair for just five bucks!

Can you say 5 bucks?!!! That is an awesome find I must say.  Anyway, I think I am going to paint it black and put some kind of padded seat on it.  or....it might look nice white with some kind of pink satin sash strung through the spindles.  Who knows?  I just know I got a good deal!

Picture with newly painted frame. Doesn't tht look much better? Will really look better on the wall than on the newspaper on the floor.

jazzed up dresser

I added flowers to the top of the mirror with some cheap flowers I got at Michaels. Just stuck them on with the hot glue gun. Don't mind the mess on the dresser. Those are the flower bouquets that I cut the flowers off of. Just fanned the rosettes out a little and voila a fancy frame on an old antique mirror.

Bulletin board I made out of an old frame, twine and scrap fabric. Pretty nifty I think. Got idea from -- Myhomespunthreads website and just added fabric to mine to cozy it up a bit for my concrete wall at school by my desk where it will end up.

cheese grater- soon to be votive cover with a set of others i soon hope to find I hope.

detail of painting

detail--- a little like Van Gogh's brushstroke style.

Here are my exciting finds for cheap,cheap,cheap!

Going to pain the frame a matte black. Going to look really nice somewhere in my house. Great deal for under 4 bucks!!!!

Download accomplished

Figured out how to get pics off of camera onto the computer, so I am so very proud of myself. I did this with no help from my hubby. Now I can put all of my before and afters on here to keep track of my projects and to showcase what I have actually gotten done. Today's to do list includes painting the door jamb around the little one's closet and hot glueing little roses around her antique dresser's mirror two years after I decided to that. Better late than never! Now I have errands to run and house to clean and then off my bum to finish my list. Wish me luck!