Walnut Antique Show 2008 ~ The Goods

I took quite a few photos this year ~ even though I lost some downloading them {curses!}, I still have plenty to show. There were many great items to pick from ~ those shown below are things I liked, but for one reason or another didn't get ~ at least I have a picture!

{pencil samples, shell boxes, trophies, great tin}

{mod collection of flower brooches}

{ancient ledger with beautiful penmanship ~ this was hard to pass up!}

{great chest of drawers ~ love the label plates}

{wooden hardware cabinets from old store ~ what I would do for one of these!}

{metal hardware cabinet ~ have never seen one like this before ~ it looked heavy!}

{great anatomical chart}

{charming display of worn baby shoes}

{distinctive display of doll heads ~ cool, but a little creepy}

Walnut Antique Show 2008 ~ The Show

As promised, here are some shots from the Walnut Antique show this year. What I was not able to capture via photo was the wind! Although it was a gorgeous day to shop, it was so windy many of the dealers struggled to keep their tents from collapsing ~ the wind was so strong that it would actually lift some of the tents several feet in the air. Once the wind died down, the day was just perfect!

{Walnut scenery}

{Fireman's Pancake breakfast ~ served up with a smile!}

{Main Street}

{great variety of goods, displayed beautifully ~ love those test tubes!}

Walnut Antique Show 2008 ~ Getting There

It's been a busy few weeks since the 2008 AMVETS Antique Show in Walnut, Iowa, so I am a bit behind in posting. I thought I would post in two parts as I have quite a few photos ~ below are some shots from our travels to Walnut this year.

{Montgomery County Courthouse in Red Oak}

{convenience store sign}
Someone has a sense of humor ~ and I'm not referring to the gas price!

{Steakhouse/Lounge in Atlantic}
This is on the list for next year ~ I just have to try some Oinker Sauce!

{handpainted welcome signs}

{entrance to Lake Anita State Park where we camped}

We had a great time at Walnut again this year ~ even if it did take us a little longer to get there due to a few flooded roads and detours ~ we ended up going through some towns we hadn't seen before, so that was fun. Upon arrival, we shopped the show until 5 and then traveled through Atlantic to Anita, where we camped at the State Park. We packed up early Saturday morning and headed back to Walnut for a full day at the antique show ~ tomorrow I will post the photos from the show!

Obsession #6 ~ Notions

Yet one more thing I can never have enough of are notions! I always keep my eyes open for beads, buttons, miscellaneous bits and baubles ~ anything I deem interesting enough to use in my artwork or just plain pretty to look at. This all began when I was a child ~ I started with an empty Whitman's (I think) candy tin that I filled with seed beads I bought at Woolworths ~ at the time, about the only place you could buy beads. I made dozens of elastic cord chokers ~ I think I actually selected colors that coordinated with my extensive schoolgirl wardrobe! Needless to say, I have more than one tin filled with beads, buttons, bits & baubles! {that is kind of an understatement ~ I am a hideous hoarder!}

{carved mother of pearl buttons, french linen underwear monograms}

{more carved mother of pearl buttons}

{type drawer filled with trinkets}

{colorful assortment of vintage plastic buttons}

{variety of handwrapped beads I make to use in jewelry}

Fabulous Find #6 ~ Mabel's Scrapbook

As promised, below are some photos of my lucky find at Antiques on the Common ~ a huge and lovely scrapbook put together by someone named Mabel in the 1800's. I find it odd that the lettering style of her name seems so contemporary ~ maybe the name was added later and wasn't the person that made the book ~ so far I haven't found any clues. Although there are chunks of pages cut from the ledger book here and there, there are still loads of pages filled front and back. I'm sure I will notice something new every time I take a look!

{extra treasure ~ loose alphabet page}

{great sarsaparilla ad and series of corset ads ~ love the way the handlettering of the ledger page serves as a background pattern}

{lithographed floral illustrations from seed catalogs}

{one of my favorites ~ love the handwritten script!}

{fruits}

{vegetables too ~ even the lowly cabbage looks like a gem!}

{ a selection of religious cards ~ beautiful subtle colors}

{lovely monochromatic pair of pages}

I just find this scrapbook so fascinating ~ and beautiful ~ whoever made it certainly had a natural flair for design and color. She must have gotten several magazine subscriptions and garden and seed catalogs as well ~ and saw the beauty in what showed up in her mailbox. I still can't believe someone else didn't snap it up earlier ~ for me, this made trudging through the mud well worth it!

Antiques on the Common ~ #2

The spring Antiques on the Common in Greenwood, MO was several weeks ago. As I have alluded to earlier, the weather can add extra adventure to these outings! This was the case this year as you can see from my shoes ~ too bad I forgot to take a photo of the car ~ it looked much worse than my shoes!The notice on the website............

As it turned out, it rained heavily early that morning causing all of the mud, but by the time the show opened and for the rest of the day, it was sunny and comfortable. Once you parked and figured out the least muddy trail to the entrance, you were set ~ until it was time to leave. While we didn't get stuck, we did have a harrowing ride down the unpaved road ~ it was similar to driving on ice ~ at one point I was sure we were going to end up sliding into the pond!

Despite the mud, the show did not disappoint ~ here are a few shots...

{beautiful Victorian capelet ~ bad photo though}

{old german grammar book}

{old business book with great illustrations ~ everything you needed for that era ~ shorthand, spencerian penmanship tips, even sign language}

{ great selection of handbuilt houses!}

I wish I had room for a nice collection of these houses, but I had to settle for photos instead! I did purchase the books above and found an especially amazing scrapbook of which I will post about all by itself ~ I took a bunch of photos of the different pages ~ it was my find of the day ~ or maybe the whole season!

First Day of Summer!

{mmm good!}

Antiques on the Common ~ #1

{All gussied up and nowhere to go}

{good & evil}
These squirrels remind me of one of my favorite childhood books, Miss Suzy

{great paperboard hat and patterned boxes}

{evil ~ or at least constipated doll}

{tiny paintings with handmade tin frames}

Although I mentioned that I am going to the Crown Center Antique show tomorrow, here are photos from the Antiques on the Common show from this past autumn ~ I know, that was eons ago, but I am playing catchup ~ I have been taking photos for quite awhile to use on my blog, but it took me a bit to get started! I will post a second set of photos from the spring Antiques on the Common which happened May 24 ~ not too long ago.

As you can see, the show this fall was great ~ beautiful weather and lots of wonderful sights to see. I always love going to this show as it is only a short drive and it is out in the country under tents ~ depending on the weather it can be quite an adventure! This is one of the best shows for primitive furniture and primitives in general ~ high quality and unusual items ~ not a huge show, but always a relaxing day away.

After the show, since we are already in the area, it would be stupid not to stop at the rest of the antique shops in Greenwood: Greenwood Mercantile, and Greenwood Antique Mall are two that have websites. You might as well make it a day ~ you never know what you might find!