My purchases from Renningers

Hello, friends! How are you today? I hope you had a blessed Thanksgiving and shared time with family and friends.  If you remember, I went to Renningers antique extravaganza here in Mt. Dora, Florida a few weekends ago. I've posted pics for you here and here, but I've been anxious to show you my purchases!  The pile of bling above made its way home with me. I did have to search all day to find good bargains though on vintage jewelry, pocket watches and trim.  It was a labor of love!

I've been trying to find demijohns at good prices to decorate with in the family room or kitchen. These were the perfect sizes and also in very good shape.  This dealer had a table full so there were plenty to choose from. Much cheaper than what I had seen in local antique stores and on Ebay.

I love vintage books for decorating and making paper wreaths. These were a steal and just the right colors for the season.  Don't you love these old shoes? I can't wait to alter them or just add a small Christmas pic and tag.

Vintage buttons are not hard to find but the prices were really, really good here. I never pass these up since they look great in an apothecary jar while they are waiting to be used on a project.

I couldn't pass up this little chippy green step stool either.  I'm sure I will find a great spot for it while decorating for Christmas. Maybe in front of the tree? What should I put on top?  I could also use it on the back porch. I always need plant stands out there.

You might remember these from my first post about Renningers.  These are Dutch ice skates.  They still have a bit of the sticker left on them which indicates a Brussels manufacturer.  The blades are also marked "Akkrum" which is Dutch.  I thought they were so unique. They are part of my front porch display now.

That's my little milk crate in front there which was the inspiration for my giveaway.  The skates now hang from this vintage sleigh.  The wreath I brought home from our trip to get the Christmas tree is a bit large I'm afraid!  I may have to change that.

I was so happy with my finds and then...on the way out...I spotted this!

She's a 1929 wall paper sampler! The first 25 pages or so have been used as a scrapbook...by someone in the 1930's! I was so excited. There are old newspaper clippings, comics, drawings and schoolwork dated mostly 1931.  Here's a glimpse -

Of course there is plenty of old wallpaper too! This is just one of those unique finds that deserves its very own post.  Look for more on this great find for White Wednesday. Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to stop by.  Your follows and comments are so appreciated. Don't forget to enter in the giveaway by Sunday, December 5th at 5:00 p.m.  Have a great week!

It's time for a GIVEAWAY!

Hello, friends!  I can't thank you enough for your support, your follows and your sweet comments.  It has been a joy watching this blog grow so quickly and getting to know each and every one of you. As you know, I read every comment and respond as often as I can. I love visiting your blogs and participating in your linky parties. I have found friendship and inspiration every where I turn in blog land.  I can't get enough!  So, to show my appreciation, I wanted to create a very special giveaway.

I do believe my most popular post so far was this post where I transformed vintage finds into home decor pieces.  Your favorite was this vintage milk crate -

 I decided not long after this post that my holiday giveaway would be another transformed vintage milk crate. I went hunting and found a vintage metal crate with wooden handle. It doesn't just have six compartments, it has eight.

I found mason jars to fit and filled each with whole coffee beans.  Many of you commented that you liked my use of coffee bean fillers in my decorating.  It smells delicious too when paired with these vanilla scented candles in glass votives.  I managed to squeeze those inside for you.

The crate is rusty and feels very industrial.  I decided to go with some rustic holiday picks.  You'll find red berries, pine cones, small bird's nests, pears and apples in this arrangement.

It's quite large too which means it could be a table centerpiece.  Or how about using it to light the front porch on the night of your Christmas party?  It would look great indoors or out.

I almost forgot...the handle has been embellished with some crinkled seam binding and a skeleton key just like my fall piece.  This is a unique vintage find that has been transformed just for you.  So, how do you win?  Let's make it simple. You have two chances to enter -

1) Leave me a comment telling me you're an existing follower or a new one. Include your email if you don't have a blog please so I can get in touch if you win!

2) Leave me a second new comment telling me you have posted a link to this giveaway on your blog or that you grabbed my button and posted on your blog (see right side bar).

I'll accept entries through Sunday, December 5th, 2010 at 5:00 p.m., I will post the winner that night.  A random number generator will be used to select the winning comment.  Thank you so much for participating!  I appreciate each of you so much! Good luck!  Linking this post to:

Feathered Nest Friday
Vintage Inspiration Friday
Funky Junk - Saturday Night Special
Metamorphosis Monday
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday 

White Wednesday from Renningers

Hello, my friends! Are you tired of pics from my trip to Renningers? lol  I know we have not even made it to my purchases yet! They are coming and so is the giveaway post. If you missed the other pics see my previous two posts for more vintage goodies and junk!  I snapped photos all day Saturday. Here are a few of my favorite whites for one of my favorite blog parties of the week  Whte Wednesday at Faded Charm.  Please stop by and browse the links for some great inspiration. I hear there is quite a bit of snow there!

I thought this little tray was sweet.  Wait, is that a scary clown on the TV? I still like her anyway!

This vendor had two giant tents full of vintage chandeliers. This chandy in particular was really amazing with all those tear drop crystals. 

Someone needs to buy this little sweeper and alter it with lace and bling!

Hmm...Did they run out of paint? Drawer broke and they found this one? (insert head scratch). That's okay. The gal who purchased her is going to strip it and paint it white and chippy.

Love these but managed to show some constraint. My cart was full!

I love ceiling tins. This vendor had some church tins too. But, the booth was so crowded! I saw something shiny over "there" wandered off and never made it back!  Thanks so much for stopping by. Your comments and follows mean so much. I have two great posts planned for the weekend. I'll finally share my purchases with you, and I will share my giveaway with you. Have a great day friends!  ((Hugs))

More photos from Renningers!

I thought I would share a few pics I snapped of the actual show. Did you miss my first post about the show? You can take a look here. Believe it or not, Mt. Dora, Florida is not flat like most of the state. There are hills!  These pics were taken from our parking spot. It was remarkable to each of us just how hilly the landscape was.  If you live in Florida long enough, you'll know what I mean. It is beautiful out here and very close to Ocala National Forest.

The show actually sits on 117 acres! We only grazed the surface on our trip Saturday. Ready to see some more junk? Christmas ornaments, mercury glass picks, bottle brush trees and ceramics everywhere (at "it is almost Christmas" prices too..pass!)

 There were plenty of pretty things too to drool over and lust for...like these lovely hat pins.

...and this glove box. I'm not sure which I like best, the glove box or the tray she sits on in the photo!

Here's a little glimpse at one of my favorite purchases of the day...

I can't wait to show you what is inside this!!! Yes, it is a 1929 wall paper sampler. Yes, there is still lots of vintage wall paper inside.  But, it gets even better! The first 25 pages of the 100+ were converted to a scrapbook. There is school work dated 1930s by a Mr. David Bliss. The handwritten pages were completely unexpected and a treasure! I cannot wait to go through it and photograph it for you! I may even have to scan a page of his script for you. It is too sweet and will likely get its own post soon. Wait, I forgot to tell you the best part. It was $2.50!!! (insert scream here). Okay, I need to gather myself.  Where were we?? Oh, yes...more photos from the show...Let's share some furniture and industrial goodies.

These "aqua-ish" gears would make great wall art if paired with the gorgeous furniture trolley coffee table above! These old trolleys or carts were everywhere. Some refinished and some left just the way they were found.  Anyone collect copper tea pots or kitchen ware?

I do promise to do a post this week of all my purchases. I did share my favorite treasure above..the vintage wallpaper sampler with the 1930's handwritten school work inside. I'll leave you with another glimpse of my loot!

Do you know what these are?  Take a guess and leave me a comment. Shouldn't be too hard! They have a great story. I so look forward to sharing it with you. Have a great week. I hope it is a short one for all of you!  HUGS!

Renningers Antique Extravaganza

Welcome to Renningers! Renningers is a weekly antique fair, farmers market and flea market in Mt. Dora, Florida.  This weekend is one of their three day "extravaganzas" that brings in dealers up and down the East Coast.  My girlfriends Jennifer and Blair invited me along to hunt for "smalls" with them. You know...we weren't looking for furniture but we were "ratting" around for items to create with and take home to the studio.  We found acres and acres of dealers that look like this one above. As you can imagine, we spent the entire day today at the show and covered only about half of the dealers.  There was some serious junk to work our way through.

One of my first stops was a dealer who had demijohns for sale for $39-59.  I bought two at a discount that I'll share with you when I reveal all my purchases.  Much better than Pottery Barn!

I needed vintage buttons, jewelry, etc...for the studio.  There were so many to choose from at great prices. I bought an entire tin and a few other little surprises from this table.

Aren't the colors on these frames fun?  The textures were great. This was the first year at this show that we saw an abundance of chippy and shabby. I took a few pictures that will work well for White Wednesday. I'll share this week.

You know I love butter churns. There was an abundance of them!  This booth had some great kitchen items for good prices. I bought some small tins and cookie cutters for crafting.

They also had these old grates.  I was in love with the patterns.  They were extremely heavy or I might have brought one home as a piece of wall art.  They were just so pretty.

Speaking of pretty...this vintage dress was one of many. I was fortunate with this one to snap a picture without a crowd.  It wasn't easy to pull a cart full of purchases and snap photos today!

How about this corner piece? It is 12 feet high!  It was just gorgeous in person and supposedly from a home in Paris.  They had a pair of these, and they were very impressive!

One of my girlfriends has a green thumb. She loves her garden and we looked for gates and rusty garden tools for her today.  I thought this small, rusty gate was perfect for her!

These test tubes and beakers came from a really fun dealer. He had a giant tent filled with chemistry supplies.  These would make great bud vases and add some whimsy to your decorating. If I would have found him before Halloween, I might have been in trouble!

So, there are a few pics to hold you for now! I have more to upload tomorrow from browsing at the show.  Of course, I need to photograph and share my purchases too! I'm so happy with what I bought today. I can't wait to show you!  Have a wonderful and blessed Sunday my friends.  Thanks for stopping by! Your sweet comments and follows are so appreciated. I've got my giveaway ready to photograph too.  I will be posting by the end of the week. See my previous post for a hint! I'll be linking this post to:

Gypsy Corners Three or More

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday