Flea Market Finds

Well its been a little over a week since we went to Bloomington AND.......we have redone many sections of the shop! If you visited during the past week you saw our creativity in process and the mess it made, but now the shop is so beautifully put together...we can rest for awhile.

Whenever we make our flea market ventures we are never really sure what we are looking for, when something catches our eye and its priced right (or we can get it to the right price) we buy it! There however are a few pieces that I always keep in mind that I want for the shop. I have wanted a mantle with columns and a mirror for the front room of the shop for over a year now. I have seen a few I like, but they are usually out of my price range. I am so happy to say I found one affordable enough to take home with me....and it looks GREAT in the front room. It has a beveled mirror that goes with it...its PERFECT! I love love love it...I am going to paint it white for the time being....but as with many of the pieces they always seem to be painted black by some point...you never know when I will change my mind.

We are also in need of some larger cabinets....but that will have to wait until next time (hopefully next month). We found a few odds and ends...a black and white toile upholstered bench, an old trunk, a small end table, a set of doors, a white frame, and a mirror. So here are some of the pieces loaded and strapped down in my borrowed truck (Thanks Dad!) for the 3 hour journey home.

There are so many reasons to go to Flea Markets, but for me flea markets are just wonderful for my soul. I am in my element! I love the whole process...arriving wondering what you will find and then walking in and out of barns, up and down rows of tents and boothes. Looking for those pieces that catch your eye....looking at something and figuring out how you can use it....the key to this is not neccessarily what it is intended to be used for, but what YOU can use it for! My least favorite part of the process has to be the loading of the truck phase...its like putting a puzzle together....and then you have to figure out the best way to arrange the bunges so your finds don't fly away while you are tooling along the highway. Then the fun begins...during the drive home I rearrange the shop in my mind...ok so if I move this, then I have to move this, and then if I move that, where will the other thing go? This is is what goes through my mind the whole drive home. Once it is figured out I am ready to drop off the items at the shop and clean them up just a bit....and maybe paint a few pieces. Then the destruction process begins. Whenever something is moved in the shop, something else has to be moved to make room AND then something else has to be moved to take the spot of the previous item and as you can imagine it goes on from there. VERY rarely does it occur that two items can just be swapped out...at least for me that never happens! This is really where the fun is...I get to see if my vision was everything I thought it would be.

Doors and windows ALWAYS catch my eye because they offer a way of dividing a room and still allow light to filter through. Trunks and crates...not the kind that have been redone and look shiny and new, but the ones that have that old weathered look to them. Trunks make fabulous coffee tables and storage bins. I love putting old crates on the walls in a grouping or by themselves for shelves to display on....old drawers are good for this too! Chairs are always a great find...they can be used by themselves in a corner with a quilt draped over them...or find different types to place around a dining room or kitchen table. Chairs can be hung on a wall or placed on a table to add heighth wherever it is needed.

Alright enough chit chat about great flea market finds....lets see the transformation the shop took on thanks to a trip to the flea market.

The infamous mantel....isn't she pretty?????

BACKDOOR SALE SAT JUNE 2

Dahlias will be participating in the semi-annual Backdoor Sale on Saturday June 2, 2007. There are 14 shops participating...we begin at 8:00 am. We will be reducing prices on various items from our inventory...you never know what we don't want to look at anymore! All of our sale items will be in our side yard. Be sure to visit us early and find the BEST deals!

What A Difference Flowers Make...

It's amazing what a difference a little potting soil and geraniums can do! Thanks to my wonderful mother, we now have vibrant red geraniums and lush greens in our barrels on our front sidewalk. This is a huge improvement from the mud that filled them just a week ago...I couldn't wait to get to the shop today to take some photos to share. It really makes a big difference on the first impression of the shop. My window space is so limited it is hard to convey what the shop is all about...we do keep our extra door open with a picket fence...when we can, but still people will walk right on by. So the RED geraniums grab their attention...woohoo!


Flowers are a wonderful thing! They can brighten a mood at any time just by looking at them...and this weekend Main Street is hosting...St. Charles in Bloom! A wonderful event to bring all levels of flower lovers together to appreciate the true beauty only flowers have. There is an abundance of festivities taking place Saturday...Maypole and Spring Dancers, Working Artists, Flower and Plant Care Advice, and drawings for prizes donated by varies greenhouses and nurseries! Be sure to visit Saturday to participate in this annual festival and to experience the difference flowers make!

While you all are enjoying the Flower Festival....or whatever wonderful plans you have for the weekend, I will be going to my first real flea market of the season.....ahhhhhh! I am so excited..I have been having withdrawals since September. I have decided to photograph our way through Saturday....so stay tuned the next blog will be all about my adventures in Central Illinois...