Fantastic Finds in Miami

When we were in Miami last month, we did about two hours of antiquing with Ben's grandma. There was a strip of road that had antique store after antique store. I was quite excited, but after the first overpriced store, I didn't really expect to find much. Most of the stores were jam packed with goodies, but it was all too expensive.

While I was in one store, the knee slapping owner was a hoot, but was also quoting crazy price after crazy price. I didn't plan to spend much time in there, but I ventured in deeper anyway. I found a small pile of Christmas ornaments. I hesitantly asked how much a zip lock bag with about 6 tiny regular, but old ornaments were. "Twenty bucks for that" he said. Yikes! Even five dollars was pushing it. I put it back and continued looking. Then I spotted a shallow box balancing on top of a narrow display case and carefully lifted it down. It contained a bunch of really nice vintage glass Christmas corsages, along with a few floral picks and some random junk. I was shocked to also see a pair of antique paper ornaments! I thought they were spun cotton at first (they did have cotton watte heads), but then I realized that they were made out of crepe paper. Layer after layer of crepe paper. Jackpot! I'd never seen any like that in person! I knew they were worth a lot and was afraid to ask, but I did anyway. "Let's see...I'll need to get ten bucks a piece on those." Gasp! What? He wanted over $400 for a run of the mill paper mache jack-o-lantern in not so good condition...but only wanted ten bucks for these beautiful rare ornaments in near perfect condition?! Well...I wasn't about to argue, so I calmly said "Hmmm...ok. How much for this other stuff?" He gave me an ok price on the other stuff and I just accepted it all and gave him the money before he could change his mind. Score!!

Finding these rare crepe paper and cotton snowman and clown really made the whole trip! I didn't care if it rained or if Ben got grumpy (which he didn't) or anything else. I was taking those rare specimens home and that was all that mattered!

They really are in amazing condition. No missing parts, nothing broken or ripped. The only difference between now and hundred years ago is the yellowing...and the paper is a little more brittle than it probably was back then. Amazing! They'll be treasured for a hundred more years now! :)

On any other day, these beautiful corsages would have been the find of the day...but they only come in second now. They really are amazing with the tiny beads, the little beaded elf and the glittered reindeer with no missing legs or antlers. I think I'm just going to hang them on the Christmas tree!

These floral picks are really special (I love that beaded guy and the pink tinsel icicles) and will probably show up in my spun cotton Christmas pieces this year.

You can never go wrong with anything vintage and honeycombed! Especially in bird form! It will look great on the tree! And this little sock is just waiting for some spun cotton creature to snuggle up in it.

I also found some pretty hardware at another store. The eagle will be great for my July 4th figures and those knobs will end up on some piece of vintage furniture down the road.

This piece was my only purchase from one store that was absolutely chock full of things. It seemed silly bringing this tiny thing up to the counter with it's $1 price tag. But it's perfect for Easter projects and will look great once transformed!

Thanks for joining me on this trip down antiquing memory lane! I can't wait 'til next time!