Road Trip continued........Nashville Flea Market

This place has become my favorite destination on the 4th weekend of the month. Word is that the fairgrounds where this is held has been sold for a convention center and the shows will end by late this year. That is so sad, because it's a real old fashioned flea market, with a great antiques section, as well as anything else you could want (a dozen Titelist golf balls are 2.00).

Shoulda bought that mannequin and the door holding her up, but the truck was already loaded!



(Just in case you live in a cave and missed this---you can click on the pictures to enlarge them)

I could have filled 10 trucks this month since there were more dealers set up for the April show. The booths are spread out over a large area, and you really need comfy shoes and a cart--some prices are high and some low....but it is always interesting, especially if you like architectural.

Above is the booth of Cindykay...nostalgia*gal...and below is her partner Charlie's booth.

Road Trip to Kentucky and Tennessee.....Blue Moon

First stop on our 3 day trip was to get some architectural pieces from Andrew Garcia, owner of Blue Moon Antique Market in Franklin, KY.

He has a great selection of doors, windows, shutters, hardware, moldings, columns etc., at really affordable prices--well worth the trip! He also has unique stuff like these fabulous 9' window/green shutter frames, cathedral windows, and other totally cool architectural treasures-also very affordable.

Franklin is only a short drive north of Nashville, and I wish I had brought a trailer, so I could bring home more stuff! (I am finding that as much as I love my truck, it was easier to load a van, and I swear I can get more stuff in a van, with a lot less trouble)




Be sure to give Andrew a call if you are in that area--he is very nice and will give you good deals!

Salvage collage

I managed to get a few last minute projects done......spring fever sure does slow you down! I just want to plant flowers and ride the bike trails when I should be working!

I put together some corbels, iron brackets/wood pieces and glass knobs to make collage shelves, and made some wall teapot vases (glass inserts) from vintage cupboard panels and decorative iron pieces. The tall sign is a sidelight window painted with chalkboard paint. 

A few more finds.......

I found a bit of good pickin' close to home over the weekend......I love this green beadboard column! It's so hard to part with some things, but I am really good at not keeping stuff, or I would have buildings full like the folks Mike and Frank pick from on the show!

Some pickin' pics.......

When I went to TN I didn't have my truck, and after loading up all the stuff I needed for a weekend trip (pillows, cooler, enough clothes for a month, kitchen sink) I discovered I didn't have much room left for my pickin's!!
I'll be going back up in a few weeks for the big stuff, but this pile is some of what I could fit in the car.

These days I have to have stricter criteria for a potential purchase......can I buy low enough to resell at a profit? does it have "the look"? is it in fairly good condition? is it something I know my buyers would want? is it something I would put in my own home? does it have function? can it be used as a component in a collage or construction project?

Needing to buy low is what eliminated the majority of stuff I had to pass up.....I could have bought so much more, but I know my market, and just can't pay too much for anything!


I love this old wavy wire basket I found at a flea market, and this photo of the girl with the white kittens.

Just a few more backroad pics.......

Any picker would brake for this sight on the road! It's a 160 year old house/antiques shop in Cave Spring, GA. Not great pickin' as it turned out--you just never know......but the architectural features were awesome.


I don't know why corbels are so fascinating.....the craftsmanship and creativity of the woodworker makes these amazing works of art. I wish I knew how they did this with basic tools, which makes me think: could I do this with my humble little hand jigsaw, files, etc? Maybe, if I had a week to spend on each........our lives now spin on a faster scale, so it would never pay.

Everything looks like it was custom made to fit!

More backroad pics.........

I can't get enough of photographing old houses I see along the way.......

These old iron fence posts are too cool.......


Side view of another great old house......

Backroads Pickin'.......

With the whole world headed to Texas, I got travelin' fever and hit the trail for a little backroads pickin' in Tennessee and Alabama. Spring hasn't quite made it's full reveal yet, but it was still beautiful and I got some of the winter cobwebs blown out of my brain so maybe I can get creative for the next show!

I didn't find the "honey hole" or make any prize picks, but I found some neat stuff for the next show and got some really good leads---you never know! (You'll have to endure the travel photos first though!!)

This restored cabin was sitting along the Tennessee River.....I love to see the old structures preserved.

The river looks like a lake it's so wide....and the water is clear and blue.

Alabama sure is different.....they have the only coon dog cemetery in the world (true fact).....and what's up with this tree full of shoes on the side of the highway?

(More backroads pics to come.....)

Bella Junque.......

It's always fun to post about new dealers who are into creating and repurposing! Meet Danielle Christian of "Bella Junque"who has recently moved into Hall G at Lakewood. Danielle loves making unique items from vintage pieces, and enjoys working with old books, jewelry, postcards, and much more. She is very talented, and I can't wait to see what she'll be doing next month for the show!

Cool prism collage pendants.......


Custom vintage plate monograms and tin magnets.....

I love what she does with paper and lettering......how clever to run the old book pages through the printer with a large font letter on each page to make her sign! Wish I'd thought of that ;)

What a great show.......and we still have two more days to go!

We have the best customers in the world!.......thank you so much for coming out and shopping with us!

It's so much fun to create and decorate for Spring.....

Floor Lamp/Chandelier Collages.......

It's so much fun to work with these components.......you can hang all sorts of things from these. For the show I'll put little pots of ivy, nests, birds, or ? in the silver sugar bowls, teapot, and wire mesh pots.

Spring Fever...............

The recent nice weather has completely paralyzed my creativity, and I only want to be out riding! But now it's RAINING, so I am finally forced to get some projects done......I'm warming up with the little stuff to get myself back into gear for the big ones that I've been putting off........

These corbels are really ancient, and have quite unusual designs that don't show up in the pic. I collaged them into a wall shelf with some iron hangers.


I can't remember where I saw the bird nest in the bed spring idea (somewhere in the bloggerhood, I think) but I ended up adapting it to a piece of molding I had. I may do something different with the springs by showtime....maybe holding little vases of flowers?


I found this gigantic bird cage (it can hang or rest on the stand) at a little junk store I had never been in before..... it will go to the show next weekend.