Treasures from Brimfield

Whew! What a busy weekend! Saturday was a wedding near the Catskills. Sunday was an 80th birthday brunch in Long Island. And in between was a lot of driving! However...on Friday, before all of that madness began, I took a little trip to the Brimfield Antique Show. It's only an hour away and I had Ben's older brother in tow. I usually don't bring other people with me, since very few have the patience to wait for me while I sift through boxes of old junk. But he was looking for some Shabby Chic end tables for his apartment and was pre-warned about my tendencies to linger in any tent selling holiday items. He was really good and seemed to enjoy the new experience. We did find some great shabby chic sellers, but none had end tables and all claimed to have sold to Rachel Ashwell, Queen of Shabby Chic...which I certainly believe, seeing how she mentions Brimfield sometimes in her books. (You really should pick them up from the bookstore or library...such fabulous inspiration!!)

So, as always I'm on the lookout for pretty much anything that strikes my fancy. Which lately has been old ladies hats from the 30's and 40's. Especially hats filled with millinery flowers. I found a whole mess of them from an old man selling all kinds of great things. There's one I bought that I might wear even though I'm not a hat person. It actually looks kinda good on me! I also found some great vintage Christmas doodads and loose millinery flowers that I plan to incorporate into my creations. I'm debating whether to keep the frilly lampshade or to pass it on to someone else who will appreciate it just as much as I do. I bought a series of old children's books filled with fabulous illustrations and a fun deck of cards from a guy who charges way too much for most of the junk he sells, but I can't help but buy from him every time I'm there! I bought a Wade England cow that matches the cow illustration in one of the books perfectly! I got a great deal on that old pink crepe paper party favor. You're supposed to pull the sides and a toy or candy pops out. I really want to know what's inside! Of course I can't bring myself to rip it to pieces....it's too old and beautiful! Finally, I went to an everything's-a-dollar tent filled with jewelry and bought some funky earrings for myself. Some naked mermaid hoops and some totally 1980's white danglys...I can't wait to wear them!

What a successful Brimfield shopping trip! I can't wait until September...where I can do it all over again! :)

PS - I'll be selling some of the hats and some of the other items on my Vintage from Crystal etsy store. Check it out, I'll hopefully be posting them tomorrow! :)