Flea's & Tiques - Artful Finds.....

"When I go to a country, I go to flea markets, antique stores. I am always looking for something."

~Ursula Andress~

Thank you all so much for letting me know that my posts are now getting through. I really appreciate the feedback. I am sorry so many of you are experiencing some of the same issues as well as others. I think it is not "us" but "them". Anyway, I am glad to be back in loop.

I recently started a new art project and needed a few items to incorporate into the main body of the piece, soooo, I had to go flea marketing. I know, its a tough job, but a girl has to do what a girl has to do! I am working within a very limited color pallet of shades of three colors, wanted specific textures, and the items had to have the feel of a specific time period. Not much to ask for huh?

I knew my best bet would be to first try Flea's & Tiques, (1097 Highway 65N, Greenbrier, AR), one of my favorite antique and flea markets. They have a great mix of styles and items with equally great prices. The owners are friendly and fun to banter with. If you are ever in the area be sure and stop by, you will love it!(This photo has nothing to do with what I bought but don't you just love this old iron bed frame welded into a bench? Dreamy fabric too! I love this dealers booth!)

I found a wonderful old chippy picture frame with hand painted details on the corners ~ a steal at 50 cents! OK, so first thing out of the gate was not for the project I was working on but I had to buy it and I do intend for it to be a frame for a collage...someday.I did find a tiny pink fabric pin cushion with a crochet overlay,a pink leaf impression ceramic thing-a-ma-bob, and the best of all...a dance card from a 1917 Halloween Dance, complete with the original ribbon, tassel, and tiny pencil!

All of these will fit nicely into the project. The dance card cover is super delicate, I plan to carefully disassemble it, copy it and use the copy for the actual project as I don't think the original will hold up.

Ordinarily I would not touch the integrity of a vintage ephemera item but sometimes to save it you have to alter it. I will need to glue the brittle cover to another piece of paper in order to preserve it as it is literally crumbling with age. I will also treat it and all the pages with a spray that neutralizes acids that deteriorate paper and cause brittleness to prevent further decay. There are darling little notes under the dance titles.

Another stop netted me a few more items, a pair of ivory sheer ladies gloves with a ruffle at the wrist, (BIG SIGH, my technical difficulties are not over, Blogger refuses to load the photo below in the right position! In my file it it correct, when I upload it is sideways!!! Just tilt your head to the right to view the correct position. I give up!) a small round frame, and 3 chandelier crystals, a small oval mirror, and an interesting old opalescent bottle. I also found these very large spools of fiber.

One is a knotted cotton type heavy twine and the other two are chenille, these are also not for the project but for a dollar a spool I was not about to pass them up. They had several more cones and now I am wondering should I have bought them all but they are very large and take up space to store.

Can you guess which item in the photos is not mentioned? It was not a purchase, it is the first piece I made for the project and is not complete yet. If you guessed the dress you are correct! I had a ton of fun designing and sewing this little lace number. I'll add a few more sneak peeks as I make progress.

Blessings,
Miss Sandy