Friday Finds #13: Robertsdale Antique Show

It's been far too long since I did my last Friday Finds post. To make up for it, I hope this is a good one!

Last weekend I shared this image on Instagram.

A photo posted by Hope Smitherman (@craftyhope) on Oct 8, 2016 at 12:29pm PDT

Before I even posted it on Saturday, I knew I wanted to head back to the Antique Show in Robertsdale where I found the flat keys. Alas, Pat and I had visited the show with very little cash on us.

Sunday morning I made sure to hit the ATM before heading back to the fairgrounds where I got more of those keys.

My initial thought was to stamp the keys with words. However, someone mentioned enameling them, so I knew I needed more. Now I just need to find a beginner's enameling kit. Any suggestions?

In addition to the keys, here's what else I picked up.

The vendor had tons of those Asprin tins, but I just grabbed the one. I've been on the lookout for small tins, and the tiny round one totally caught my attention.

There was a whole box of religious medals and other charms. I picked through it a bit before deciding on these three. I didn't want to go crazy!

There was quite a selection of these brass stampings in the booth. I actually got there before the vendor that morning and had some time to pick through them before narrowing it down to these four. I've got some ideas for them, now to just put them into action.

The last item I picked up before leaving the show was this.

It's half of a spool of some sort (at least that's how it was marked)

The seller had a few of them. What sold me on this particular one was the "bottom" of it.

Chippy paint gets me all the time. And, look at those colors!

As for what I'm going to do with it. . .well, inspiration struck when the vendor had it displayed like this.

Do you see it? It's likely going to end up as a bracelet display in my booth. While it would totally work as a display in this vertical position, I'd like to turn it on its side so that the chippy paint can be seen. I've just got to figure that out first.

I stopped myself with that last purchase. And, the vendor gave me his card, mentioning that he would be back for another show in June. So, I just have to make sure I use up these bits before I go buying more in June!

That's it for now. You found anything good lately?

Friday Finds #12: Thrift Store Hauls and Oddities

I've been able to do a little thrifting this week and figured I might as well share!

It all started on Saturday at Southern Antiques and Accents. Every month or so they have a "Dollar Day" where booths have items marked for only a buck. I love this kind of sale because most likely the items at this price are likely to be small things that I can include in my jewelry and art. While I only spent $5 this month, I came away with some real treasures.

My first finds were these metal hardware pieces. I already have a couple of the rings from the last Dollar Day, but it couldn't hurt to pick up this one too. I'm not sure what I'll do with the handle. However, rest assured that I'll come up with something.

While there was plenty of jewelry marked at the sale price, I tried to stay selective and only came away with these two pairs of earrings.

Lastly, this unassuming set of cards caught my eye. Two decks for a dollar sounded good to me. But there was more to this than I thought.

While I was expecting the cards to have the palaces from the box on the front of them, these are the cards I found inside. Interesting.

The cards themselves are a little ragged. But the face cards. . .

Now, these are VERY interesting. 

I haven't flipped thorough both desks yet to see if there's anything else peculiar about them, but I'm happy with this Dollar Day purchase for sure. 

This is the marking on the back of the deck. Searches so far haven't yielded any information about them though. Let me know if you have some other resource. 

Once Saturday's Dollar Day shopping was complete, I thought I was good for the week. But, the thrifting bug bit again on Tuesday. So, out I headed.

My first stop was a large, local charity shop. There, I found a belt that might be fun to make a bracelet or two out of, a German (I think) children's book, and a baggie of yarn and some plastic canvas. I'll use the canvas as a stencil/texture in my art. 

Next was the Salvation Army. I haven't had much luck there lately, but did happen upon this book. I've been wanting to read Alabama Moon for a while - even before I knew it was written by a local guy that my husband kinda knows. For 75 cents, I couldn't walk away without it.

After that, I hit up one of my favorite antique malls. In the same booth, I found both these tiny shakers and the jar of jewelry. Obviously they came home with me.

Finally, I hit up a thrift store I'd only been in one other time. I thought I was going to leave with nothing, but finally stumbled across these goodies: another deck of cards, a roll of rectangular stickers, a tiny shelf, and an old baking powder tin. I don't quite know what I'll do with the last two, but I'll work it out.

While I was in said shop, these . . .oddities caught my eye.

First up was this Super Road Whiz. I guess this is what people used after maps and before GPS-es. Weird. . .

Just the words Telephone Listener caught my attention. From what I can tell, it was just a speaker phone. Perhaps this was before they had the term "speaker phone". However, I can't believe that 'telephone listener' was the best name they could come up with for this device. 

Finally, this baby caught my eye.

I had a Furby back in the day, and we have no idea what happened to her. Her name was Tallulah. At least that's what she told us it was as she repeated it over and over in the creepiest, slow, cutesy robotic voice ever, "Taaaaa-loooooooo-laaaaa." Like I said though, we're still not sure where she is, but we're positive she's plotting world domination. I had to bring this photo home to Pat, just to freak him out some. 

Anyway, that's been my thrifting experience of late. Have you found anything worth bringing home or an oddity that bewildered you?

Friday Finds #11: Cleaning out the pole barn

Pat's trying to convert the pole barn into some sort of usable space. It was already full of junk when we moved in, and then we added our own junk to it. We (mostly Pat) have been working over the past month to get rid the items that just can't be used. In the process, I've made all kinds of discoveries.

First, I spotted this old yellow box covered in cobwebs. Something about it being encased in the web kept my curiosity at bay over what's actually in the box. Here's the picture I posted on Snapchat and Instagram.

I'll open it some other time.

I had to stop Pat from just throwing everything in the trash. I can't even imagine the cool bits he threw away when I wasn't out there supervising. Here's what I was able to salvage.

We tried to just get the doorknob, but some of the screws are really stuck in it. So, Pat broke the drawer apart for me. It and the other piece of hardware have some nice patina on them. And, then there was the little book and slip of paper. Had to have those.

Since the dumpster we rented was getting way full, and there was no way to break down a metal desk; we're keeping this rusty one in the yard for now. We think we may use it as a surface for painting in the future.

It's already got some nice splatters on it from who knows where.

And look at that rusty, bubbly-ness. LOVE!

Finally is this large cabinet that did go in the trash. Pat says it's some kind of metalworker's cabinet.

Alas, it was in too bad of shape to be salvageable. I did ask though!

So, that's some of what I've found out here lately. There's still plenty more to discover and uncover. Have you made any fun finds recently?

Friday Finds #9 - Craft and Thrift Haul

I actually got a You Tube video uploaded in a timely manner, now to just share it with y'all. I was able to do some thrift and craft store shopping a few weeks ago. Among the many treasures I found was a bag of ceramic pieces that were allegedly collected along Mobile Bay.

Here's the video of everything I scored.

And, here's some more pictures of those ceramic treasures.

Here's my favorite of the pieces in the bag.

I still don't know what I'll do with all these lovely pieces, but they're fun to play with.

Found anything good lately?

Friday Finds #7 | Gifts from a Friend

I am oh-so-fortunate to have very generous friends!

For months, my friend Mary Jo had been trying to get me to come over to her house to pick up some things she had been collecting for me. She's also a jewelry-maker that enjoys using old jewelry. She had a container of items gathered for me, but while I visited with her; the pile of gifts grew and grew. I went home with a huge box of fun stuff through which to sort.

Sitting on the top of that pile is a smaller box. Inside was a collection of brooches she insisted I take with me. How could I refuse these beauties?

She had these two stacks of tied paperback books she said a family member of hers sent to me. On the right is a candle holder with a small wire basket turned upside down. Mary Jo uses this method to organize earrings in her own garage studio. All of these pieces are great for displays. I've already taken the books over the the antique store.

The main gift she had set aside for me was this large tin.

She had it packed with all kinds of jewelry, and keychains, and other bits and bobs.

She also insisted I take this large baggie of gemstones that she couldn't fit into her stash as well as a medium sized baggie of more old jewelry bits.

Before I knew it, she tossed in this bead spinner (since I don't have one and she just got an electric one.)

And, then there were the other extras she packed up for me: paper pieces for crafting, handmade drawstring bags, and a chunky faux turquoise necklace. 

I couldn't thank her enough for all the goodies or the kindness shown. I was a bit overwhelmed to tell you the truth. And, when I got home. . .the real fun began: sorting through it all. 

Of course, the gemstones were sorted by color to be put away in the bead cabinet. 

And, the rest took me all afternoon to pick through and pile into categories. It was a blast!

If you look on the left side of the picture, you can see one of the earring that was transformed into a charm necklace.  And, notice the two mostly full jars on the right. . .that was only PART of what she sent home with me. I am truly blessed and spoiled. 

Now to only find to time to create with all these treasures!

Friday Finds #6 | Thrift Store Scores

Last week I got a little restless so I knew I needed to venture out and hit up some thrift stores and antique malls. Sometimes I feel like I get those urges because there's something out there that's calling my name and beckoning to me to come get it. Yes, I have an over-active imagination but just check out my finds.

 

I'll admit that I only found these treasures at half of the places I visited. But, who doesn't love the thrill of the hunt?

As soon as I walked into the first place, I noticed that they had a display of office supplies. This rolodex caught my attention since it was full of blank rolodex cards. 

The Facebook group I do most of my swaps with often does altered rolodex card swaps, but that was a supply I didn't have on hand. I think I'm well-supplied now!

Over in the book section I spied the edge of this old music book.

The frayed edges and twine tie piqued my interest.

I was sold when I saw the fountain penned name and date on the inside cover.

And the music pages are beautifully aged too. (This picture's not the best. Sorry about that.)

As a bonus, this Beethoven music book was also tucked between some of the pages. Score!

I also spotted the edge of this French book.

There's hardly any English words in the book, but lots of images and French phrases on wonderfully yellowed pages.

Awesome, right?

My time at that thrift store yielded no more finds so I moved on to a few more places. My last stop of the afternoon was an antique mall where I spent almost an hour. In the same booth I had found the keys a few months ago was this broken compass.

It's missing its hand, but that's not necessary for my needs.

The front has US engraved on it and some wonderful splotchy patina. I'm not sure if it's military or someone's initials or a brand. But, it's pretty darn cool.

I also picked up this jar of handmade sweet pepper jelly. 

I just can't resist pepper jelly. It's so good on crackers and cheese.

The biggest steal of the day was this turquoise starburst Pyrex dish.

The lid has a chip out of it, which was hard to photograph.

But, it's real and true Pyrex. 

The few searches I've done for this pattern have shown that the cheapest one for sale was about $50 more than I paid. A steal!

It wasn't a huge haul, but it got me out of the house for the afternoon and I was able to silence those pieces that had been calling my name.

What have you found of late?