He who works with his hands is a laborer. He who works with his hands and his mind is a craftsman He who works with his hands and his mind and his heart is an artist

~ St Francis of Assisi


Sunday, October 30, 2011

More Antiquing Road Trips.....Indiana to Tennessee

"On the Road AGAIN".............Too many antiques, Too little time!!!

   A fellow dealer in the Antique Mall was setting up( at the Vanderburgh 4H Center for the Collectors Antique and Flea Market  outside Evansville ,Indiana ) and I in a weak moment asked if he needed any help with his booth. NOW....I will admit to having an ulterior motive ( imagine that!!!)  Originally I had planned on attending the show on Sat, but....... I got this little postcard that changed my plans!! It was from a dealer that was returning to the
Tailgate Antique Show in Nashville ...naturally I couldn't resist that!!! Soooooo...an early visit to the 4H Center was now on the calendar.
   This was not going to be a quick set-up. He has walls, lights and 2 HUGE pieces of furniture to haul out of the van and into the building. Luckily, he thought a quick look-see was required before breaking a sweat on his booth. This was still early in afternoon, so not many had gotten much set up...but I did find a wonderful chipped painted red  stool that had a step for you to rest your feet....at a GOOD price.
  Needless to say, once we got started , it was a while before another break. I managed to find two old framed tin insurance advertising  signs...one even from London. YIPPPEEEE.
Then back to grunge work ....displaying smalls, which he hates and at that point, so did I!!
  After a couple more hours, it was done and I was on my way home to get to bed to rise early for Nashville the next morning. MORE ANTIQUES!!!!!!
 If you've never been to the Tailgate -Music Valley Antiques Show, it's a treat, especially if you love primitive furniture and smalls. Dealers from all over the country set up  for these two  shows and have wonderful quality primitives ..TO DIE FOR antiques!!( At one time Heart of the Country was with the fall show but now is only with the spring show in Nashville. )
http://www.tailgateantiqueshow.com/
  These shows are at the Fairgrounds in Oct - although this spring, they will move to the Hendersonville Civic Center & be there for the fall also starting 2012.
  Enough of the brief history....I intended to hit the dealer's booth  ( Maine Antiques) first, but decided to just take a look as I headed that direction. Naturally she had the last booth in the first building we entered & I was a little disappointed. It just didn't seem to have the same amount as last year....I even mentioned that to her and she said "Let me show you the before pic"..WOW...she'd been picked to death...However, on second glance, I saw several goodies I couldn't live without. A WONDERFUL red & black grain painted chest 1830's from Maine, an early 1800's black drop leak table, with original red paint showing through, a great 3 shelf plate rack, and MORE.....I'll post pics of these after I get them unloaded from the van.
       Here are some pics of different booths that called to me as we made our way through the shows.
Wonderful booth with English Road Signs,,,and fabulous graphic chairs

The arched piece is a frame from an industrial window...wouldn't that make a great headboard



Love the wheel












Aren't these fabulous....
Wanted the brushes, but just couldn't justify the price for myself, sadly!!!








Look at that original paint..it was EVERYWHERE!!!!!
Isn't this the sweetest display...it's full of tiny boxing gloves

Drooled over the antique Scottie hooked rug!! There were a couple at the show & in great condition, but again the price prevented me from adding this to my Scottie Collection. I did find a Scottie bank that didn't "break the bank"....it came home with me. Whoooohoooo!!!!
    After loading up...and I didn't drive the van...(we went in a friend's Subaru SUV)and it took some finagling, we headed to a miniature shop nearby, Miniature Cottage One of my friends does miniatures(...in 1/4 scale...I don't know how she does it!!! It's like working in nanometers.)If you've never been to a miniature shop, it's a whole other world of art and NOT cheap...

      On the way to the shop , we passed a locally owned restaurant that looked interesting AND was crowded ( always a good sigh) called The Pfunky Griddle. The griddle name comes from the griddle in the middle of the table where make certain items on  the menu , such as grilled cheese sandwiches,pancakes, French toast, and eggs. A bit smoky when they turn the griddle on,. but their soups and sandwiches are fabulous. http://www.thepfunkygriddle.com/
  After filling our bellies, we made one more stop before heading home. Gas Lamp Antiques was in the neighborhood, so it was obvious we had to check it out. I had heard of this antique mall, but had never stopped there before. It's in an odd location - upstairs next to a staples building, but you'd never know once you entered. It has little aisles all over the place, enough that I was continually getting lost. Thank goodness there were clerks to take your goodies to the front desk!! My best purchase there was a small red tool box...although it actually looked like a document box. Another " Price is right" purchase!!
 All in all we had a fabulous day of junking.....

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Junking Road Trips and Signs

   After a summer hiatus( well, just from the blog...nothing fun..LOL), it's time to get back to the blogging. Most of the summer was spent working on paint jobs until August when I got to start back junking. Being in the 127's backyard,so to speak,  it's impossible not to hit part of it during that junking frenzy!! I typically keep to the Lawrenceburg to Harrodsburg route...by the time I finish with that small section, I'm yard sale brain dead!!I found a few neat things this year, specifically looking for really unique items. This yard art windmill whirligig was impossible to resist.
                      I also fell in love with this "barber pole whirligig" that the same dealer had for sale, however,  
                                         one whirligig was enough for that day
Further down the road, I found this great art deco-ish pastry/pie display that will make a wonderful display  cabinet for my jewelry along with a 50's hairdresser's supply case( which will be great for beads.
These are seating on the world's longest bench!! An antique Amish bench with folding legs to make it easier to transport to homes for worship/ gatherings.
Since I didn't buy any large furniture, I took a side trip to Shelbyville....and Low and Behold, there was a jelly cupboard calling my name AND the price was extremely right. No pics of it yet..Sorry!
Road Trip 2 Almost every year a couple of friends and I make a road trip in the fall for a junking weekend . Last yr we had to forgo one with gas prices suddenly going sky-high ( little did we know it was here to stay!!)
This  year there were 4 of us, so that helped on gas consumption ( I have a 15 passenger van to haul furniture & it IS a gas hog!!!) We planned on making a road trip replay . Country Living Fair, Springfield Antique Extravaganza then Burlington Antique Show..and all in TWO days. We were taking no  prisoners on this trip!! LOL
We first went to Lexington on Friday to spend the night with a friend and get an early start to Columbus Ohio. Scott was the gracious host..having supper all cooked when we got there ( I have NEVER seen him cook anything in the oven, other than cookies..LOL..I was IMPRESSED!!) Natalie made her famous mashed potatoes & Jeff brought us choices in dessert...YUM!!!
Ironically, the dishes we used where ones I had bought from one of the other girls to give to Scott for Xmas..he's all into Retro..but I love him anyway..LOL. Linda was SOOO pleased her mom's dishes were being appreciated.
     We took off early Sat morning for Columbus ..an uneventful trip until we got to the exit for the CL Fair....bumper to bumper cars turning off. Luckily it moved fairly quickly & we sprinted out of the van..........for the bathrooms ( oops port-a pots). Many of the same dealers we'd seen 2 yrs ago were there , with some exceptions. There was a lot more mixed media jewelry and elements to use in them , several ribbon , button dealers. I found the jewelry to be rather pricey, but they are also paying booth rent that is NOT cheap. Hmmm....maybe I need to up my prices!!! The necklaces with just a couple of elements / objects were over $100...mine are chuck full and aren't that price.
  It was pretty crowded by the time we got there, so we split and sought out our own interests...all in 1 1/2 hrs. No grass was growing under our feet!! LOL Actually we knew that the next two stops would have more reasonably priced items. I will say they have an excellent  layout for the Fair ....each type of exhibit has it's own area. Artisan, Antiques, Food. I was a little disappointed that I missed seeing the Beekman Boys. Jon Carloftis was also there, but "been there done that" LOL. He had given a talk a couple of years ago at the Ky State Fair that I'd attended. He does such outstanding landscaping!!
  Springfield was our next stop & we wanted to cover as much ground as possible before that closed. I was still on the hunt for unusual items. i am naturally drawn to tables,small stools,  boxes, frames, so I have to make an effort not to get sidetracked - which can happen too easily!!! (Hmmmm ADD???? although that's Antique Deficit Disorder to me  LOL)  One the way back to the van, I did find a great large woven lidded basket. I had never seen one this large and in such great shape. It was larger than a cotton basket, but a squarish shape..Here's a pic of it
There was still a partial label stamped on the lid with DeKlyn Chocolate Company, Cleveland Ohio and a handwritten address. A little research seems to indicate that this is what they used to ship their candy. It would make a great toy chest, or storage for quilts & blankets.

Here was are loading up for the nexr leg of our journey. Linda, Joanie & Cindy...I'm hiding behind the camera!!! HeHeHe

We had made our hotel reservation in Florence, which is just right down the road from the Burlington show.
We'd had great weather up to this point, so naturally it was misting on us Sunday morning...and of course, most of Burlington is outside..ARRRRGGGHHHHHH. Burlington's a much smaller version of Springfield so it wasn't going to make us as long to make the rounds of the show.
                                                                             

 I did find a great primitive chair, that is possibly Shaker , a fantastic quilt that's got great fall colors and a couple of items for altars.
     We had a great time...even though I'm afraid I kept them awake Sat night with my coughing...seems I had some kind of respiratory thingy...at least I wasn't contagious by that time.
While I was recuperating from my coughing and hacking, I finally got a chance to finish a sign I was painting for a friend's birthday ...we won't talk about how late it was going to get to her!!! At some auction, I bought pieces of a wardrobe & a couple of doors. The bottom of the wardrobe made a perfect background for the sign. I love the way it curves along the bottom instead of being straight across. I used the font called CoffeeTin..and I do love the graphics on it..BUT, it was SUCH a pain to get all the parts done and in the correct colors.
Of course, did I take pics of it as I went along...NOOOOOO. I started with the yellow & covered the entire board . After I got the lettering on, I painted the background black and highlights a deep red. Once dry, I did some distressing with sandpaper & a dip spreader ( it was handy  LOL). A matte topcoat was sprayed on & then waxed with Dark Brown Briwax. She loved it and the colors will go perfectly with the primitives in her house.
OK..this was a WAY too long post, so I promise to not take 4 months before the next one!