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