Gathering Dust

A (Revamped) Apron and an Antique Show

Thanks for all comments and emails about my last post.  Sounds like "what do I do next?" run through a lot of our minds.  I'm feeling better healthwise, planned a getaway trip to NYC, and finished up selling at my favorite antique show.


I wore a "new" old nail apron I'd embellished.  I love the contrast of the utilitarian lumber yard apron with lace and daisies.  I added celluloid pin, a dog license on a bow and, on the right- an 1901 fraternal ribbon.  Unfortunatly, the silk of the ribbon was too fragile to hold up to even one antique show- so all that's left is the outline.

Some of my favorite things from the show- hearts made by Ginger Schrader.

Botanical book.

Cork ball- I'm not sure what it is, but I like it.

Old paper.

Haberdashery display.

Sewing basket- with spools- (I BOUGHT this one.)

Pretty spring look vignette.

And of course, high top button baby shoes-in my opinion,  a staple at any good antique show.

What a Great Idea- Fun Displays from Bottom's Up

A trip to the Bottom's Up monthly antique show always inspires me.  The displays and merchandise are just incredible.

These pictures are just a tiny peek- I was so busy ohhing and ahhing that I forgot to get my camera out.  Karla and I made it a quick trip- we were probably only there a couple hours, but you could easily spend the whole day.

Love this rustic display.

But what really caught my eye was how they used newspaper as a tablecloth.

(I think it's vintage newspaper- Two snow tires for $30 would be a really good price, right?)

Sheet music rolls as Christmas tree garland.

One dealer was even showing old movies in their booth.  I've never seen THAT before. 

French by Design  always has wonderful stuff and wonderful displays...Christmas by the seashore.

French powder boxes.

Display rule:  Everything looks better under glass.

My favorite find at Bottom's Up- these Victorian sailors' hearts.

I didn't buy them, but I'd like to try and make one. 

It's always been my dream to sew like a sailor.

Fall Country Antique Show Favorites: Pattern Texture and Socks

You can bet that if I sell at an antique show on Saturday, I'm going to have pictures to share by Tues or Wed. I can't buy everything that I like, but I can take home a picture.

I'm kind of predictable in what catches my eye.  Collections, patterns, texture and graphics.  With the cooler weather and the start of fall, I like to see bits of nature, too.  Not the pretty sweet smelling flowers of summer- I'm looking for things like twigs, berries and these gnarly gourds.

Hedge apples.

Collections of buttons.

Well worn but beautifully patterned marbleized book covers.

String, yarn and cord in a twisted basket- lots of texture.

Just a still life that caught my eye.

More beautiful books.

I was talking to my Mom; she asked what I had been buying for my booth at the antique mall.  I told her books.  She said "oh, but how do you know what books to buy?"  (I think she was imagining me trying to decide between John Grisham or Danielle Steele).  I told her I bought "pretty books and handsome books". 

My mom is a retired English teacher, I think she was a little disappointed.  She said "Oh... I remember when you used to buy books to READ".

Basket of roving with a jar of berries.

Believe it or not, somebody really did have a Mack truck for sale- well, at least part of one.

Love old sewing displays.

...and graphics.

...and collections.

and men's socks- that's a new one for me!

Pink Country: Setting Up for the Old Summit Antique Show

Thanks for all the positive feedback on my last post on the Back to School collaborative journal.  When I was going through my pictures, it occured to me that one of the coolest things about a journal like that is that no one could make one by themselves.  It takes so many different styles, skills and points of view to get a journal that interesting.   I have more pictures that I'll post later in the week. 

This post is a peek at some of the goodies I'll be bringing to the Old Summit Antique Show.  It's a show I've posted about many times before because I love the show.  It's easy to set up,the dealers, promoter (Sandee Millett) and merchandise are top notch, everyone is so friendly and they have great barbeque available for lunch.  Oh, and they have a before the show breakfast for dealers with biscuits and gravy- pretty sweet.

The show's theme is "country", so I look for merchandise with chippy paint, natural wood, folk art, stoneware, crockery, transferware, old textiles etc.  My colors are usually white accented with shades of green and mustard and if I can find it, vintage red white & blue.

This show is going to be a little different- this has been a tough shopping summer for me.  It seems like so many of the estate sales advertised have been newer homes with newer items.  The heat has made the auction calendar kind of thin, and I've never had very good luck at rummage sales.

So this show is going to be "Pink Country"- with some burgundy thrown in. I have some pretty framed pictures- the small print in my first picture is called "The Dancing Lesson".  My second picture has a framed photo of a young ballerina- I'd guess it's from the 1920's.

One of my favorite finds is this wash pitcher.  I love the aesthetic style design, but I've never seen it in shades of pink.

I always like to have plenty of books- they are great for decorating- a stack makes a good "stage" for other things. 

This book is just plain pretty, with nice illustrations.

Of course, it's not all pink...

I always try to have some fun paper like these flash cards.

And of course I'll have the usual suspects like vintage office supplies, bowls of lace, and whatever else I can dig between now and then.

The show is Saturday Sept 15- that means I have one more weekend to shop! (You can get the rest of the details at the link above.)

If you come out to the show, stop by and say "Hi".   I'll be the girl reflecting in the pink glow.

Yeah for the Red White and Blue -Antique Show Style

One of my favorite things about the summer Old Summit Antique Show is I stray away from my usual "low colors" and bring on the red white and blue.

I brought my usual sewing stuff...

...and books.  Both are good sellers for me.

These pictures were close-ups from my booth, but of course I had to make the rounds with my camera and take some pictures of other things that caught my eye.

It seems like we'll never lose our fascination for pieces with lots of drawers.

...or little shoes.

I loved this display of old cast iron banks- like a mini metal city.

From my friend Melinda's (Tres Melinda) booth- feathers and a whole set of optical lenses- wow!

Peanuts and apples fill a HUGE copper kettle.

One of my favorite low color booths- this time a combination of greens and grays.

Love these old locker pins and holders from Chris and Diane Ripper's booth.

And how did the show go?  Great! Just like this display of Melinda's- I was BLESSED with great customers.

I Love Buying Antiques, I Love Selling Antiques

I love to buy antiques, vintage stuff, weird stuff, cool stuff and I love to sell it- but I don't like what happens in between the buying and selling; that is the cleaning, sorting, organizing and pricing.

I know, I've complained about this before, thanks for indulging me and listening to me say it again.  I've had a lot of things set aside for the Old Summit Antique Show and I spent today pricing and packing them.

To keep myself entertained, I watched reruns of Pawn Star, and took some pictures...like these  pictures of string- as you know, string makes me happy.

And how cute is this child's toy sewing maching ca 1900?  I'm tempted to see if it really works- I think all it needs is a needle.

Great graphics- another thing that makes me happy.

A picture of a tub packed about halfway.  You can see an ironstone platter that I've shown before, a tobacco tin lunch box and an old store display of manicure scissors.

Bits from the sewing basket...

a bridle rosette...

an English needlebook...

As I was packing and pricing I found some books with wonderful illustrations.

...a music book with great pages, a German poetry book with beautiful illustrations and a "how-to" book on Spenserian penwork.

I've scanned some images and I'll post them tomorrow.

And more simple things that make me happy- beat up leather coin purses.

And I'm pretty fond of the cloth version, too.

...and pocket watches; broken, beat-up, or without glass- because you really can never have enough time.

Thank you for not laughing at my attempt at making a dog bed that the dog won't use in my last post.  Tami said give it time, eventually he'll use it- and I did catch Button resting on his new pad- but only long enough to snap a quick picture.

Petticoats on the Prairie- I Love Texas Style

Whenever I go to Texas, I'm so impressed and inspired by the style and displays I see in antique malls and shops.  As part of Paper Cowgirls, we went to the Petticoats on the Praire Vintage Market, and I took some pictures of what caught my eye.

Cute Sign by Jennifer Babcock.

Beautiful Bridal Bouquet made of vintage materials.

Isn't this what we all just want to be - "Girls Gone Junkin'"

This chair seat was covered  with a vintage rug- and there was a desk to match with covered drawers.

Ann Denise Anderson always has such happy displays.

I especially liked this little guy.

That's all...just a quick post to give you some Thursday morning eye candy.

 

Packing it Up for Another Antique Show

I know some antique dealers go from one show to the next, week after week but I don't know how they do it.  I sold at the Old Summit show on Jan 21 and I'm selling this weekend (Fri & Sat) at Bottoms Up and I'm scrambling to find stuff to sell.

I decided to pull everything off my mantle and sell it including my favorite (and only) poultry trophy.  This will free up my mantle so I can paint it.  After the kitchen makeover, I'm in the mood to make some more color changes- like painting the fireplace wall a shade called Fudge Truffle and painting the actual mantle the same color as my kitchen cupboards.

From the other side of the mantle, I'm selling this cute little bridal couple and a mish mash of Florentine tole, too.

I've scrounged up some bling...

and made some tea stained lacy bags- ironically photographed in black and white.

If you haven't been to the West Bottoms in Kansas City on the First Friday weekend, check it out- I think you'll be amazed by all that's going on.  New shops and food trucks pop up every month.  Hope to see you there!

More from the Old Summit Antique Show

Just so much to love and so much to share from last weekends antique show.  Beautiful old clock and even older needlework.

Ribbon work pillow.

A reminder that spring is almost here.

Complete with vintage seed packages.

Yo yo flower pillows.

I'm not sure what these are- I mean, I know they're balls made of  leather or cloth, but I'm not sure of their purpose....but I still LIKE them.

REAL history- a family bible with clippings, lace and locks of hair.

And of course, no group of pictures from a good country antique show would be complete without a cupboard of ironstone.

Next weekend, I'll be selling at Bottoms Up Antique Market.

Here's a little peek at some of what I'll have to sell. It would be great to see you- if you're in the Bottoms, come by and say "Hi".

Old Summit Antique Show Part 1 (sigh...)

The Old Summit Antique Show that I sold at on Saturday was wonderful. I sold very well.  I've got great customers who get me and the sometimes weird things I have to sell- scissors, flash cards, eye glass lenses. old tool chests and string...things that in their time were meant to be functional, not collectible, but today they make us "sigh".

Before the show starts, I like to get some pictures of things that make me sigh- like this big old pile of doorknobs from Chris & Diane Ripper.  Just like candy to an antique dealer.

Or this stone fruit- which is just like... stone fruit to antique dealers- and more expensive than organic fruit at Whole Foods.

The simplicity of this little vignette caught my eye.

Beautiful hearts made from old books by Ginger Schrader.

A whole bowl full of beaded whimsies.

Melinda Dennis of Tres Melinda always has an eye catching set-up to

compliment her pendants made from repurposed materials.

A stool stack, wonderful crazy quilt and an owl perched on concrete table.

I've got more pictures- there were so many pieces and vignettes than made me....sigh...