Memorial Day Weekend

What better way to spend Memorial Day weekend than to hit up a couple of flea markets? I can't tell you enough how relieved I am that flea market season is underway. It's easier than going to antique malls (prices are usually lower and dealers are right there to negotiate with), and it is definitely easier than going to auctions (while the potential to get a great deal there is high, you have to sit for there for hours waiting for your items to come up for bidding). Estate sales can be okay, but you never know what you will find and of course, selection is nothing compared to a flea market.

On Saturday, I went to a flea market at Wirth Park in Brookfield. It was fairly small, and there was a lot of things there that I had no interest looking at (i.e. people selling old Avon lotions, handmade new jewelry, tie-dye t-shirts, etc) Sometimes I love these "junkier" sales because the prices are generally lower. You don't really see vendors who sell vintage jewelry exclusively (set up nicely in lighted glass cases). While I can appreciate those vendors and their products, their price points are generally too high for me. Here, there were a number of vendors who had "diggers delight" baskets. I don't mind digging if I can get things for a good price. I spent about an hour there and came away with a nice heavy bag of jewelry. It might not have been amazing stuff, but it was a good opportunity to stock up on some inexpensive chains and other small items that I can use in my "assemblage" necklaces. I was pretty happy with my findings.

Sunday was the first Maxwell Street Days in Cedarburg of the year. I've only been there once, and that was last October. I remembered that it was good (a lot of the same vendors from Elk Horn) but I didn't remember it being so big! I originally told my husband it was probably only 1/4 of the size of Elkhorn. Uh...no...it is almost as big if you don't count all the extra buildings that Elkhorn has. Speaking of Elkhorn, remember how cold it was there? Well, I planned on it being fairly cold at Cedarburg too. Even though it was about 50 degrees, I wanted to make sure I wasn't cold. I wore a long sleeve shirt, a sweater, a light scarf, and a wind breaker.  Within moments of arriving, the jacket was off, and the sweater didn't last much longer. The scarf eventually came off and I rolled up my sleeves....the sun was beating down on us (Elkhorn had NO sun). Now I was stuck carrying all these layers around with me. All my husband could say was, "I told you so..."

I brought about $120.00 with me and spent it every bit of it! I got some great things, and I was most excited about finding a bunch of skeleton keys (29 in all). The demand for these have really gone up, therefore, so has the price. It has become harder and harder to find these within my target price point. I was able to find these at or below the"magic price" that I like to pay for these.

As far as the other items I purchased, I was very pleased with all the price points. There were just a couple that were borderline expensive for me, but I have no buyers' remorse. I am now fully stocked with vintage goodies to create with. I should have a great selection of new things made for Cedarburg's Strawberry Fest on June 25th-26th.



Most of my purchases from Cedarburg



I've made quite a few things since Elkhorn, but I haven't had time to take photos yet. Here is just one photo of a necklace I made using one of my huge brooches from Elkhorn. I kept it pretty simple. As much as I love to do new creative things, this brooch is so stunning on its own that I didn't want to do anything to take away from it.

Elkhorn....The Wait is Over

If you've been following my blog, you know I have been absolutely itching for flea market season....and even though there have been a few flea markets scattered here and there this spring, to me, the season doesn't officially begin until the first Elkhorn flea market of the year.....and that was today.

The weather forecast for today just got worse and worse as this past week progressed. It started off with a 20% chance of rain with a high of 55, and by yesterday, we were at a 70% chance of rain, high of 50 (if we were lucky), and 40 mph wind gusts. Great.

I wasn't going to pass it up though. Elkhorn only does 4 flea markets per year, and I'm missing two this year due to shows I'm in. So...I sucked it up, pulled out my down jacket, put on long underwear and rainboots, and grabbed an umbrella. I wore a hat too, but after we were there, I wished I would have put on three extra things:
#1. A winter hat that covered my ears better than the cloth one I had on
#2. A second layer of socks
#3. Gloves.
 Luckily, my mother-in-law had gloves that I could use, so that kinda saved the day. The wind was the worst part. It just cut through you like ice. Needless to say, it also made for a really bad hair day.

One of the  bright spots of the day (apparently) was my rainboots. I got several comments on them, including one older guy who shouted (despite being only 6 feet away from me) "I LIKE YOUR BOOTS!" (I yelled back, "THANK YOU!"), and another man who told me that my boots were in second place on his "cool boot list" for the day. Apparently, first place went to a pair of purple, pink, and yellow plaid boots, and third place was a pair of bright yellow boots with a 2" heel. I had to admit, the plaid ones did sound pretty cute.


My attention-grabbing rainboots


Because of the poor weather, there was a significant number of dealers absent. I can't blame them. I wouldn't want my valuable antiques to get rained on and blown over either. Despite that, I still managed to walk away with a good stash (although I felt like I wasn't finding as much as I usually do...but maybe I'm just getting pickier). I bought some huge rhinestone pieces, including one that I had been eyeing up for a full year (I may even keep that one for myself, because it was a BIG splurge for me). It is so hard to find those large ones for a good price, and even though I spent more than I normally do on them, they are also some of the prettiest and largest brooches I've purchased to date. One of my favorite finds of the day (actually, I have to credit my mother-in-law for finding it) was a huge coral-colored cameo surrounding by pearls and turquoise rhinestones. GORGEOUS! I am in love with the color combo! I may need to keep that one for myself too. We'll see.

I think this was just what I needed. I've been in a creative rut the last few weeks, so now I have some new inspiration to work around. Watch for pictures of new necklaces, because I have a feeling a will be a busy girl this week! 


Um...Do you see the size in comparison to the quarter?? Ya...




Goodies galore