freshvintage

Antiquing Orgy, Part I: Photos from the Trenches

I am still rounding up the photos of my finds from my three-day antiquing orgy (that damn Sue already beat me to it). In the mean time, here are some shots from the trenches...

What a cute and cuddly squeaky-toy doll! She has those little t-rex arms, just like Giada De Laurentis.

The night I saw this, I had a few more nightmares than usual.

And wait - can you believe it? I'm not the only freak who would buy doll parts!

We stepped back in time with this Fisher Price toy display at Renninger's in Kutztown. How many of those toys did you have?

Here's Allison from Nannygoat Antiques, ready to leave Shupp's Grove and move on to the flea market outside of Adams Antiques:

And when we arrived at Adams Antiques, poor Allison tripped over a curb and her flip flop broke. She didn't have any extra shoes (and why the hell would she?). A nice antique dealer selling at the flea market in the parking lot busted out his electrical tape and wrapped it around her foot and flip-flop. AND, he let her keep the roll of tape. THAT is service!

Sue and her sister Michelle, showing off their finds:

Me & Sue:

Michelle's husband, John, rounding up the troops with his vintage helmet.

A game of Barney Miller anyone?

Wheelin' and dealin' Sue:

I think we were totally posing for this "impromptu" photo that my sister, Erin, took. I can tell by the stupid grin on my face.

How awesome is this sign? My friend Mike from Royal Port Antiques in Salem, NJ  sold this at Renninger's in Kutztown. It is going into someone's house! I would love to peek into the windows and see what other cool stuff those homeowners are displaying.

OF COURSE I had to take a photo of a sign that says "Great Rack":

This is a new blogger that we met. She was busy getting a perm when we met her, so she didn't have time to take pictures and share stories and show us her flea market finds. Frankly, she was a little standoffish.

Want to know what I bought? Read Antiquing Orgy, Part II: The Mother Lode.

freshvintage Spring Tent Sale at Brandywine View Antiques

Visit freshvintage at the Brandywine View Spring Tent Sale on May 15th!

We'll be selling tons of our vintage finds, including all of the booty from our three-day spree in Adamstown and Kutztown and an ungodly amount of junk that hasn't seen the light of day since it was stored in our garages throughout the past three years.

We'll be selling outside from 9am to 3pm (and we don't shoot early birds). We even bought a tent for this occasion, which means that it will be a stunningly sunny day. When we sold our vintage finds outside last fall without a tent, it poured rain.

AND, you might find mimosas hiding under our table (and wine in the afternoon, perchance?). So, make sure you say the secret phrase: "These antiques are making me thirsty".

After you shop outdoors, you can wander through three floors of antiques: Furniture, Architectural, Country, Primitives, General Store, Victorian, Shabby Chic, Jewelry, Silver and so much more. Be sure to stop by our space on the second floor, too.

The outdoor tent sale is also on Sunday, May 16th but freshvintage will only be there on Saturday. So, if your Saturday is all booked up, be sure to stop by on Sunday! AND, there is a huge tent sale during the weekend of May 1st & 2nd (we won't be selling in person that weekend).

Here are the details:

Brandywine View Antiques
1301 Brintons Bridge Road & Baltimore Pike (Rt 1)
Chadds Ford, PA 19317

Saturday, May 15, 2010
9am to 3pm

Traveling from out of town? Visit the Brandywine Valley website for information on local attractions, lodging and antique stores.

Fabric-Covered Cork Board with a Vintage Twist

I am in the process of re-decorating my kids' playroom in our finished basement. Well, I shouldn't really say re-decorating, since I never really decorated it to begin with.

There isn't really a theme, but I've been attracted to the color combo of aqua and orange lately. So, my husband painted the playroom aqua, and I re-covered a few pillows in various aqua & orange fabrics.

Since I always buy corkboards when I find them at yard sales and thrift stores, I decided to recover two of them for the kid's yet-to-exist "homework area" in the basement. And, I wanted an excuse to use some totally cool vintage pushpins that I bought on eBay.

I have the super-simple instructions for making fabric-covered cork boards on an old post from 2008. The photos below aren't as detailed as my original post, but they should at least guide you through the process. 

Step 1: Paint the frame of the cork board

For these boards, I used Rust-Oleum Universal spray paint in orange. It is the best spray paint I have ever used, but it is usually about double the price of normal spray paint because of the easy-to-use applicator trigger. I bought this can for a buck when our local hardware store was going out of business. The color is a little brighter than what I would normally choose, but it is for a playroom and orange is my son Finn's favorite color.

The fabric in front is by Home Decor fabric by Vicky Payne in Pumpkin and the background fabric is Belle by Amy Butler in Blue.

Step 2: Glue the fabric to the cork board

I use Craft Bond spray paint to adhere the fabric to the corkboard. If you use regular tacky glue, you can see the streams of glue beneath the fabric. Also, make sure you staple the fabric to the edges using a staple gun. The trim will cover up the staples.

Step 3. Glue the trim around the edges

I have used both a Tacky Glue and a hot glue gun for this step. Either of them work fine. (And yes, that is the same trim that I've used on almost all of the fabric-covered cork boards that I've ever made. This is the very end of it. I am a little nostalgic about it, since I mentioned it in my very first blog post.)

Step 4: Add some totally awesome vintage pushpins.

These are Mitten's Movie Titlers. No, not Tittlers, you pervert. Titlers. As in movie titles. 

In the golden age of home cinema, long before fancy digital video cameras & editing software let you easily add titles to your home movies, people used individual letters pinned to a board to add titles or comments. (You can see the brown board in the background of the photo above). You would set up your titles, shoot the static shot of the board with your camera, and then splice it into your home movie. Seems like a lot of work, doesn't it?

I bought an unused set of Mitten's Movie Titlers from eBay a few weeks ago. Here are some title examples from the box:

Here are the letters up close:

And the finished product!

Aren't they cute? You could also use the letters to spell out each day of the week. Or spell out topics like Home, School, Work, etc.

How would you use the movie titler letters? Do you have any ideas to share?

Two Scottie dogs, Six short painters and a plump wife walk into a barn...

I bought a lot last weekend. And I couldn't get it all into one picture. Or even one post.

I think this wall cupboard might need a new coat of paint. It is a beige color, but I think it would look better in white.

I found these tins at the sale of a woman who does estate cleanouts. It is one of those fun sales where you  gradually build a huge pile of stuff, and then the woman gives you a great price for everything. And you don't have to worry about the price because it is always low.

I like this one because the sign says "Sweet Shoppe".

The plaid lid and the black scottie dog are reason enough to love this little tin. But any mention of a South Jersey shore town is all I really need. The Douglass Candies shop in Wildwood, NJ is still around today.

Did I mention that those tins were filled with buttons? Most were pretty lame, but there were a few beauties, including some rhinestone buttons, mother-of-pearl buckles and my first figural button: a scottie dog. (Is there a theme here?)

At a different sale, I found this stack of 75 postcards from all over Europe. Three bucks!

Verna from Cottonwood House had another sale at her barn last weekend. You know what that means: more fresh eggs! And antiques, of course. I bought this hospital bedside table with a cast iron base. I didn't take a picture of the eggs this time.

The height of the table top adjusts when you turn the knob. Those books on top are a set of six Bell's Miniature Series of Painters from the early 1900s.  I thought they were a series of books about short-statured artists, but I read the title wrong.

At the estate cleanout sale, I threw five vintage tablecloths onto my pile.

And this ended up in my pile, too. The nitwit lady reading a How to Toast book while she sits on a toaster.

At a different sale, I bought a stack of eight platters and souvenir plates for two dollars.

I like this white platter with pink & green decoration. Each of those green medallions has a tiny image of a peaceful landscape.

My favorite plate: Pennsylvania Dutch Land (only 30 minutes from here).  Take a look at the witty saying on the left: "A plump wife and a big barn never did any man harm".  I totally agree, as long as the plump wife can use the big barn to store all of her junk!

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Sue and I decided to postpone our flea market meet up until the summertime, when people have more time to travel to our favorite flea markets. We will still be shopping for three whole days, so if you are planning to go to Kutztown or Adamstown from April 23 to 25, let us know and we can get together. And I am sure that we will return with lots of great stories to tell you! (Sue and I are sleeping at my sister Erin's house on Saturday night. I have to remind myself to buy lots of wine and hide the video camera.)

Flea Market Meetup with Your Favorite Bloggers

Hey, all of you East Coast gals & guys!

Sue from Vintage Rescue Squad and I are teaming up for a Flea Market Meetup at Shupp's Grove Antiques Market on April 24th near Adamstown, PA.

This is an unprecedented opportunity to meet your two favorite vintage bloggers at a beautiful outdoor antiques market. Sue will be traveling up from D.C. and I'll be making the trip from the Philly suburbs.

I know - I just peed from excitement, too!

The best part? Sue and I are bringing prizes and goodie bags! And, If you are one of the first fifteen people to RSVP, you will receive something extra special in your goodie bag.

Here are the details:

The fun starts at Noon. We'll have a little "Show and Tell", where we will share all the great stuff we found at the market. Sue and I will give out a few prizes, including the highest honor of Best Pick.

This is all free, by the way. (But, you can pay us back by getting us a guest spot on American Pickers.)

We can gossip about antiquing or blogging or anything you'd like. And then we can wander around the market and shop some more. 

If you live anywhere in the Northeast US, this weekend will be worth the drive to PA. It is a HUGE weekend for antiquing:

Shupp's Grove Spring Extravaganza Weekend

Renninger's Kutztown Extravaganza Weekend

Renninger's Adamstown Special Sundays (Sunday, April 25)

Plus, there are tons of smaller markets and antique malls in the area.

Read these posts about two of the trips that I took to Renninger's & Shupp's Grove. You can't deny the awesomeness of the stuff I found there!

UPDATE: Our meet up has been postponed until the summer. Send me an email if you are interested in getting more info about the next event.