Big News - Antique Mall Booth

Well, I have to say - I am super excited!  I took the plunge and Chablis and I have rented a booth at an Antique Mall near our lake house.  This is something we've been wanting to do for the longest time.  Getting a space at a mall in that area isn't easy - they fill up quickly.  There are several malls in the area but I really wanted one where we could display vintage items as well as furniture and other items we re-purpose and only a few offer that option.

So the space is ours as of today!  It's going to be a huge task moving all the stuff we have in Chicago down to the lake.  It's going to take a couple of trips.  Louie and I have been working all week on furniture to bring down.  Our garage is stacked with items in various stages of being finished.  My front room has a huge tarp on the floor with items that I'm painting and mod podging. The bedroom has stacks of items that are finished.  I've been pricing things like crazy.  It's been a whirlwind.  I have barely slept because my mind is spinning with ideas and "to-do" lists.  I go to bed and lay there and then get up to write down an idea and then I can't fall back asleep.  Please tell me I'm normal.....

I need larger pieces for displaying items in the booth.  So far we haven't found a lot of promising pieces, but we have several tables and desks and will make due until we find what we need.  I keep telling myself that the booth is a work in progress and it's probably going to take a couple of months until it looks like what I picture in my head.

Today we hit a huge Church rummage sale and an estate sale.  It was lots of fun buying things I would normally pass on because I didn't want to list them in my Etsy shop.  We literally packed the car so full that we couldn't get anything else in it and now we have a bunch more stuff to work on to get ready for the booth.

Want to see what we got?

A coat rack and a picnic basket....

Photo frame, bag of clothespins, bag of paint brushes, some hooks, a galvanized bucket and a small trunk....

The dry erase board has a chalkboard on the reverse side - I loved it when I saw it.  I think the dry erase board side will be replaced with a cork board.   Some photo frames....

This gigantic picnic basket was brand new, still in the box and inside it has plates, bowls, cups, napkins, a tablecloth and a beautiful red and blue liner.  The cart has wheels on it and a lady standing behind me in the check out line was green with envy.   I also got a small box and another picture frame....

A hat box and a Craftsman toolbox...

A pair of oval picture frames....

Check out the vintage shoe shine box and it's filled with all the stuff you need to shine shoes. Does anyone even shine their shoes anymore?   A silver plated tray and matching covered butter dish....

A wash board and another basket....

This is a really nice chair.  My parents were standing in the front doorway of the rummage sale, waiting for me to get there and my mom was guarding the chair like a lioness.  She knew I'd want it.  Chablis has already laid claim to it for her dining room....

I've been picking up vanity mirrors like crazy lately...

Some pictures that I bought purely for the frames....

A brass daisy photo frame and a shoe brush....

Another large basket, a rooster bandana, and 2 more pictures....

Like I said, we have a ton of stuff to work on for the next week.  I am almost finished with a trunk that I've been working on and this is one of the first items that will be displayed in our booth.  All I have left to do is distress and wax it.  I am loving the white color of this one....

I am nervous as hell to open this booth....Will anyone like our stuff, will anything sell, is there a market for what we do?  I know a lot of you have booths in antique malls, so if you have ANY advice or tips, please let me know.  We need all the help we can get.  Please wish me luck!

Estate Sale Finds 10-06-15

We found some good stuff this weekend.  We only hit a couple of sales on Saturday but I was happy with what we found.

A new with tags Nebraska sweatshirt....

A practically new Chicago Bulls fleece pullover.  The lady told me her son only wore it once and I believe her....

Cute little pewter canister.  I think I'm keeping this for myself....

I can't believe the steal I got on this Great American Nut Machine.  I picked it up and told Louie I was going to paint and distress it.  Then I looked it up when I got home and almost fell off my chair when I saw what it goes for anywhere from $ 15.00 - $ 50.00.   I may be rethinking the distressing....

Did you spy what is behind the Nut Machine???  A printers tray.  This is the first one I've found that was painted, and an ugly green on top of it.  But they usually sell pretty good.  I may leave it that color or I may repaint it before I list it.  I'm undecided....

Love these pink cowgirl boots and I'm definitely not a pink kind of girl.  Louie found them in the back of a closet at the estate sale and they weren't even marked with a price.  I got them for a steal.  They need a really good cleaning and then I'll list them.  They are a size 8.5.  Good thing that's not my size or I'd be really tempted to keep them....

Check out this old Treasure Chest!  It needs some work because one of the side boards is cracked, but we can fix that.  Other than that, I'm not sure what color to paint it and whether or not to stay with the pirate theme.  Suggestions??

The inside is pretty beat up...

And last, but not least....Another trunk.  I need my head examined.  This one is really old and has the original material lining.  Both the leather handles are gone.  It's filthy and it has a smell.  And the lock doesn't work.  We had to actually drill out the top lock piece to even get the trunk open.  I hated to do that but we had no choice.  Plus, I was sort of hoping we'd find something really cool inside - like money.  Hey, I can dream, can't I?

I've been quite busy working on my other trunk that I bought last week.  It's almost finished.  Hopefully I can show it to you this week.

Out with the Old and In with the New

I am insane.  We've spent the past 2 weeks cleaning out my stash piles, unfinished projects and re-purposed furniture.  We spread everything out in the driveway and had a huge garage sale on Thursday and Friday.  We were planning on having it on Saturday too, but it ended up raining us out.  So we did clear out a bunch of stuff, and what was left got donated to Goodwill, the church for a rummage sale, and all the books and dvd's went to the library.  Whew.  It's nice to have the house cleaned out and we made a little extra money in the bargain.

So here's why I am insane.  My husband shook me awake at 6:00 am on Sunday and suggested we go to the Flea Market.  And I said yes.  Hello..... didn't I just say I wasn't going to any more sales and buying any more stuff?   That thought just literally flew right outta my head.

We got dressed and went over to Wolff's Flea Market in Rosemont.

It's a huge Flea Market around here. This weekend they had around 600 vendors.  There were probably thousands of people there milling about and who do we run into walking in?  My dad - how random is that?  One of my sisters and her husband were there someplace too but we never saw them.

I couldn't believe how much junk   treasures were piled up in this truck.  People were just picking through it all....

It was a cloudy, overcast morning and I was glad we got there early because it wasn't crowded yet...

Rosemont is right next to O'Hare airport and the landing planes are so close you can practically touch them.  It's very loud and another plane lands every minute....

That's the Allstate Arena in the background and where we go to see most of the concerts around here.

We walked around for about 2 hours and I really reined myself in.  I didn't buy a single thing, altho Louie bought 2 brand new pairs of shoes for a good price.  Then we left and I roped him into buying me breakfast at IHOP.

We were headed home and Louie suggested I look on my phone and see if there were any geocaches in the area, so we ended up grabbing 4 of them and then I got sidetracked by a sign for a garage sale.  Now I knew I was in big trouble because I just cannot drive past them.  I get reeled in like a big bass.  So we stopped at a couple and I was doing really good - I didn't buy anything.  Until I saw the sign for an Estate Sale and then my heart sank.  Because there isn't much that I like to do more than poke around somebody else's house looking for crap.

Once inside, Louie and I split up,  I always head for the basement first, and then the kitchen.  I picked up a vintage Better Homes cookbook to sell and a cute Coke bottle opener.....

I headed  up to the second floor where Louie was standing and waiting for me at the top of the stairs.  He grabbed me by the arm and steered me into the master bedroom.  "There's something in here you're going to want," he said.  And of course he was right because he knows me so well and because he's the most awesome husband in the world even if he does feed my junk buying habits.

I just fell in love with this desk the second I saw it and even tho I said "Oh, I can't buy that.  I'm not refinishing any more furniture," I knew I was lying thru my teeth because sure as shit that baby was coming home with me.

Look at the lines.....  the cool decorative pieces.....  the awesome Lion drawer pulls - which I will keep because I am a Leo after all....

I didn't care how beat up she was, this desk was coming home with me so I could refinish it and use it as my jewelry making desk.  She is so strong and sturdy - a really solid piece of furniture.  The woman holding the sale told me it was her dad's desk from when he used to work at Kent State University, and he had brought it with him when he moved back here.

I love, love, love it!  She had a price of $ 25.00 on it and I talked her down to $ 15.00.  She asked me if I could move it out of there by Monday and I asked her if she was crazy??  I wasn't leaving there without it.  That's one of the advantages of having a truck!  When I walked outside I literally did a little dance and clapped my hands - I was that excited!

It's already in my garage, as you can see, and I've already pulled out the drawers and cleaned her up.  I hope I have a light work load today because I want to start sanding her.  Stay tuned because I'll have an update soon.

It was a pretty darn good day - Flea market, pancakes at IHOP, geocaching, estate and garage sales and a new refinishing project.  And all before noon!   So what if I fell off the wagon.  We all knew that wasn't going to last anyway, didn't we??

Linking up with....

Let's Talk Vintage # 47

Estate Sales 7-27-2015

The estate sale pickin's were a tad slow this week.  I didn't get much but I'll show you what we did pick up....

A cute little chest that will get repurposed - love the hardware on it, don't you?

A vintage bait box that I may use for decoration at the lake house or I may sell.  I'm  not sure yet.  The fish basket is for my boat because I just broke my old one.

This tray is even better in person - the green is bright and vibrant and I loved the graphics with just the right amount of rusty goodness coming through....

My favorite buy of the day was the vintage Woodland Picnic jug - I've actually never seen one like this before.   It cleaned up great and is headed for my shop....

Louie bought the Sketchers gym shoes for me to re-sell.  Brand new, in the box - size 7 1/2 women's in case anyone is interested.  Otherwise they are headed to Ebay sometime this week....

That's it for this weeks sales.  We spent Saturday geocaching with my parents in Indiana, so we have a post coming up on that.  See you later!

Estate Sale Finds 7-20-2015

It's been so long since I've been at an estate or garage sale that I almost forgot how to dig through boxes and drawers or how to wheel and deal - just kidding!   Who could forget how to do that?  It's like riding a bike - 2 seconds and you're back in business.

We found some good stuff this weekend.  Let me show you....

A set of 3 brushed aluminum kitchen canisters and a Boden's Orchard milk quart....

Brand new set of peach colored bathroom towels and wash cloths - never even taken out of their original packaging.   I'll be keeping these....

50th anniversary Salerno tin and 2 silver plated spoons....

An entire box of assorted buttons and some cute pins....

Almost an entire roll of bubble wrap - for free!!!!

Three legged table that I cannot wait to refinish....

A set of Salty and Peppy shakers.   The Snow White box is vintage Disney from 1964.  I thought it was kind of cool....

A pair of barely used Timberland women's hiking boots - size 7.   Not my size so I'll be selling them on EBAY....

Some yarn for another multi colored blanket that I'm making....

More yarn and a spool of string for wrapping ETSY sales.....

 Five assorted color and size pants/skirt hangers....

A great vintage trunk that's in really good shape.  I love the color but it will have to be painted because of the tape marks somebody left on the top of it.   This is another project I can't wait to start...

I picked up 4 vintage wall pennants.  The Chicago Bulls....

The Cubs vs the White Sox....

The Magic Kingdom and it comes with a pin....

I really liked this Florida pennant....

Louie picked up this chest of drawers because it was a nice size and for me to refinish.   I don't like the colors at all.  What colors would you suggest?  It will eventually be sold.

A sifter and what I think is a flower frog....

The flower frog was actually my favorite find of the day.  I've never seen one this style and I love the honey comb pattern on it.   I have to research it because I have no idea what it may be worth.  Any ideas?

What did you find this weekend?

Linking up with...

Vintage Inspiration Party # 198