Shupp's Grove Antique Flea Market

Scott and I are junk antique collectors. We like all things old, and worn, and retro, and shabby.We prefer them in the "aged" state, not the refurbished state. Give us an old box with chipping paint and distressed wood any day!!

We don't really have a "collection" of a specific type of thing, but a "collection" of a little of everything.

If we see something that we like, and it's a reasonable price, we get it, no regrets!! 

(See picture above that was actually posted at a booth)

We hadn't been Antique-ing in a while, unless yard-Sale-ing counts, but it is totally NOT the same thing.

Yard Sale-ing and Thrifting to me, means, "deals" and finding prices that are a steal!

Antique-ing means paying Top Dollar for items that people consider highly collectible and rare.

So, with the current economic state of my household, as well as most people I know, Antique-ing hasn't been on the list of activities lately..until...my parents told me about a place called SHUPP'S GROVE.

During the weekend of June 24,25,26, they hosted a "Summer Extravaganza".  

The extravaganza was literally a huge Antique Flea Market in the middle of the woods. It consisted of approx. 150 private antique booths that were set up in the most wonderful SHADY setting. Shupp's Grove is in Adamstown, PA, 

(about 1 hour and 50 minutes from Baltimore)

 in Lancaster County.

We made a few purchases, including my latest obsession, Fire Grenades. They are so interesting and rare. I found a couple in the winter in Antiques stores, some for over $300 each. I found one at Shupps, with the mounting kit, for $30!! I absolutely love it, and we have mounted it on the wall in our family room. We also purchased a minnow trap, 2 vintage wooden fishing lures, an old wooden fishing rod and reel, 4th of July Sheet music from the 1940's, E bought himself a Duncan Yo-Yo, and my mom bought a vintage tricycle.

Enjoy a few pictures that I took that day..

Some of E's favorite items

Cannon $1200 

Child's Bike $35

Larger then Life Beatles!!

Top Hat $35

What I loved about Shupps-

Location, shade, mix of items, prices, food building, free admission

Most vendors were interested in negotiating prices.

What I didn't love-

A lot of empty "booths" made the vendors spread out, and not easy to navigate aisles.

Some items were EXTREMELY overpriced

Check out their brochure for more events scheduled this year.

Thrifting Jackpot!

I hit the thrifting/yard sale Jackpot recently.

Look at these A-M-A-Z-I-N-G treasures that I scored!!!

When I mean A-M-A-Z-I-N-G, I mean like birds chirpping, and Choirs singing, and rays of sunshine shining down on me!!

First, I got this, at the Good old Goodwill...
this is the actual picture from the BALLARD Designs catalog, my photo was too dark, and I couldn't wait to write this post,
Ballard Price $49

I actually got the Fleur-de-lis pattern, but I couldn't pull it up on the website.

photo credit here

My Price from Goodwill $8.00!!!!

My biggest "deal" to date.....remember this post from last week??

I was looking for a chair for E's desk, and I wanted something similiar to this
from Pottery Barn, $199

Photo Pottery Barn

Well..... guess what I stumbled upon at the Goodwill....
 it is dark blue, and in PERFECT condition...

Ask and ye shall receive!!

I picked it up, and turned it over, hoping to see a brand name printed on the wood
...but I found something BETTER..
I found the actual Pottery Barn Price Tag still attached to the bottom of the seat!!

My price..are you ready for this....... 

$8!!!!!

I also purchased this Pennsylvania Dutch  "HEX" sign from GW for $3.00

I love it, it's meaning is:

Double Trinity Tulips


The stylized tulip with its three petals is a dominate feature in Pennsylvania Dutch folk art. It is referred to as the Trinity Tulip and it symbolizes the Trinity as well as faith, hope and charity. The heart in this sign (as well as other Pennsylvania German folk art) is not the heart of sentimental "Victorian" valentines. Rather, it is religious in its representation of the heart of God, the source of all love and hope for a future life. The colors in this heart are used to give them additional meaning. Red symbolizes strong emotion and blue is used to indicate strength, especially spiritual strength. The white background symbolizes purity and the solid black circle represents unity in Christ.

The following items were purchased within the last two weeks while I went "yard saleing" with my mom

I just fell in love with this wooden barrel, currently it's sitting next to the Pellet stove,
 and is storing Hot Wheels Race Tracks, I paid $5

And this is another A-M-A-Z-I-N-G find while yard saleing with my mom..

Remember this post, again??

$24 Each

I love old boxes, and really wanted one or two of these old Soda crates

 (above are from Pottery Barn)

I see them in antique stores all of the time, and I know that they are collectable,

I prefer COKE instead of Pepsi, look what I bought!!!

I love them!!

The man pulled one box out of the garage along with the bottles as I was standing in his driveway.

I asked what he wanted for the crate, as I really didn't want the bottles,

 and he said, Oh, I have another one in the garage, how about $2!!

I of course couldn't say YES fast enough!

Then I said , "Well, how much do you want for the one With the bottles?"

He said $3!!!!!

Needless to say, I got both wooden boxes and 6 empty 32 oz bottles for $5!!

The boxes are from 1971 and 1973, the dates are printed on the inside from a bottler in TN!

Some of the bottles are older then others, as some have bar codes printed on them!

I love them all!!

Great DEALS huh???

Lucketts Spring Market 2011

On Saturday, my girlfriend Karen and I drove to Leesburg, VA to attend the Lucketts Spring Market.

It took us 1-1/2 hours to get there, and honestly, the conversation, and fact that it was just us two girls out on a Saturday was sooo relaxing and enjoyable, that the trip seemed a lot shorter.

As we drove into Leesburg, and sat in the single lane traffic, as it was creeping towards the Lucketts store, we were both excited to see the huge field of vendors to our left, along with a line of people waiting to get in the gate. It was only 9:30, and a huge line had already formed.

We parked in a muddy farm field, in a specific area that police directed us to, and we were off towards the entrance gates! (And spot-a-pots!!)1-1/2 hours in the car and an entire bottle of water doesn't sit well on my bladder!!

When we got up to the entrance area, there were a few vendors set up, which was a prime location on their part! They were the first booths that you saw when coming, and the last booths that you saw when leaving!

The entrance area was soo charming. A little wooden booth planked by two displays of "glass houses" with sandy bottoms, seashells, and hurricanne vases with water and live fish swimming around! Why I didn't take a picture of that stumps me, it was very "BEACHY"

Then, into the market area...

It was a beautiful day, the sun was out, but it wasn't scorching hot, the birds were chirpping, and there were live musicians performing all day. It was a great atmosphere!

We started to the right of the entrance, since that's where the banos were located. And I know that this may sound silly, but these were best "portable banos" They were clean, and there were little notes on the insides of the doors, like "Today is a Great Day" and "Are you going to be embarassed when you walk out of this stall?" (Funny) And, there was a table set up outside of the banos with wipes, lotion, soap, Antibacterial hand cleaner, and FRESH flowers in a vase! (There were also portable sinks)

I just had to tell you about the bathroom set up because it is just one of those "special touches" that made this event so "girlie" and "women friendly" It was an appreciated gesture!

So..on with the pictures....

The Design House was our first stop! It was wall to wall Beautifulness.

These are a few pieces that I loved! (And Itook pictures for inspiration)

Then out into the Garden of the Design House



This table was soo pretty, it was a pale blue with glaze on the details!!

Here are a few more from a few vendors!

There was sooo much EYE CANDY!! And, we arrived at 10:30, gates opened at 10, and I could not believe how many large pieces/furniture items had been sold by noon. It seemed like evey piece of furniture that I was interested in  had a S-O-L-D tag hanging from it!

We both bought a couple of items, me- a set of Croquet mallets, and balls for my Rec room, a vintage, Metal Letter E for E's collection, and a really cute vintage wire storage basket.

Karen purchased some accessories for her bedroom, items for her upcoming wedding, and a Beautiful Green

 Ribbon Sun Hat! (I shoulda bought it, I saw it first!!)

We have decided to make this an Annual Trip,

and may even bring our moms along next year(or maybe not!!)

 for a Day of Girl bonding and Shopping!!

Lessons Learned/Strategies for Next Year

1) Just because it is overcast does not mean that you can't get Sunburn.

(We got FRIED!) Bring sunblock and apply it ofter there is not a lot of shade!

Or, wear a tank top so that you don't end up with a Farmer's Tan! (uggh)

2) CASH!!! Most vendors only accept cash payments.

(Thanks Lucketts Blog for that heads up!)

3) Sticker Price is not always the Price

Don't be afraid to ask a vendor if the listed price is the best that they can do,

 I saved $20 just by asking if the vendor would make me a deal!

4) Take Pictures of Inspiration Pieces.
I mentioned to a vendor that I wasn't sure if people liked me taking pictures,
but she said that she welcomed people to photograph her items.
She was flattered, and she also said that we all can learn from one another's projects!

5) If you see something that you really like, BUY it!! If you don't someone else will

6) Visit the Design House, the Lucketts Store and the Polka Dot Store by Lucketts, AFTER you have visited all of the vendors. The stores accepted credit cards, and had Airconditioning!!

You can check out more pictuers at the Lucketts Blog!

Bella Bella Bella

There is a store, about thirty minutes from my house that I have been wanting to visit for over six months.

It just has never been convenient, since they are closed when I  get home from work, and the weekends have been crazy with the holidays, and events. So this weekend, was a perfect time to visit.

The store is called Belle Patri, which translates to "Beautiful home" They sell new, antique, refurbished, and consignment furniture and accessories. They also sell home furnishings that were used in model homes and staged condos.

I love this store, and it is one of my new "must visit WEEKLY once a month" places.

They have the most adorable "gift items" for hostesses, and girlfriends, and neighbors, and I loved all of the home decor accessories. I was talking with the ladies that work at Belle Patri, and they said that they are very particular about the consigned pieces that they accept, and that a lot of the large furniture pieces are treasures that the owner has collected, refinished, and finds on her own.

We fell in love with this little desk and chair, and it is now a new fixture in our kitchen!

We paid a fair price, not a Goodwill price, but not an antique price. It was $81 for both pieces.

What do you think?

Here is a sample of some of the current inventory in the store...be prepared to drool!!

Ohh Ahhhh....can't wait to go visit Belle Patri again!

Treasure Hunting

Yay Saturday!! And there were no Birthday parties, holiday celebrations, weddings, sporting events, or appointments. I had absolutely nothing planned for today! Wow! Maybe I should have clean the house...or maybe not!

Sounded like a great day to visit the Goodwill. It's been two weeks since my last visit. and I was Hopeing I didn't miss any treasures!!

My first spotted treasure was this caserole dish with it's lid.

It's not something that I would typically pick up, as I'm not crazy about the off-white color and orange flower combination, but I know that this is called Autumn Leaf. And, I know that the gold that lines the rim of the dish and lid, is real gold. And, I know that it is a highly collectible Antique piece.

I know this because my mother in law spent many many years and many many dollars collecting Autumn leaf.

She would be very proud of my find. (She must have been looking out for me in spirit!)

It is a really great piece, in excellent condition. and, honestly, I think that this was mistakenly put on the regular shelf, as it would have gotton at least $60 in an antique store or if it was inthe auction case.

But, I only paid $6!!

Next, I saw this sewing table. I really liked the lines,and knew that it would/could be a great accent piece, but I didn't buy it, it was marked for $30 and I think that it's too much for Goodwill to charge.

I love globes, and this beauty was sitting on the floor, calling out for me to buy him for $4.50!! It's old, but I don't know how to tell the age of a globe other then by looking to see which countries are missing or called other names.

And, I HAD to buy these kids chairs. They are painted baby blue, but they will be a future project, which will be sanded down and I will custom paint them, and gift them to two very lucky little friends of mine. Not bad for $5 each!

Scott got two vinyl records, for $1 each, and he bought 2 brand new 12 cup muffin

tins for $4 each.

Before we left, I spotted this lamp. (I didn't buy it, but had to take a picture to show my mother) I had this exact lamp in my nursery when I was a baby. The clown should have been holding a bunch of balloons, which were missing but it was identical other then that!! And, it was in great shape.

All in All, it was not a bad day at the Goodwill!!