A World of Goods at Brimfield!

Two weeks ago, the long awaited Brimfield Antique Fair finally arrived! After an entire winter and spring of lazy treasure hunting, I was ready for it. And I got pretty carried away with all of the goodies I got! I have no regrets though, except for one....which I'll point out a bit farther down.

This sweet little globe is missing it's plug, but has happily joined the globe collection I've been working on for Ben (or is it really me I'm working on it for?).

I met up with some friends, old and new for lunch. It was a glorious day and a glorious picnic on a beautiful shabby chic quilt, complete with silverware and glass goblets...My veggie ham and cheese sandwich tasted that much better! Thank you girls!

This little guy was my first buy. He's a beat up little paper mache candy container from around the turn of the last century. He's worth about $150 in good condition, but with a missing eye and some missing paint, he was MUCH less. :)

Finding holidays goodies are always my main focus on treasure hunts. While Christmas items normally abound, this time I was able to nab a good number of items from almost every other holiday! These Easter goodies are so sweet! The tin eggs and bisque bunnies with babies are my favorites.

This super sized cotton bunny was my favorite purchase of the day....and the most expensive ($35). But he's in great condition and I've never seen another like it!

Look how large he is in my man sized hand!

These crepe paper flower nut cups need some TLC, but they were a great deal at $1 a piece and they are currently being molded back into shape...I just took some paint bottles and gently forced them inside the cups. Another week or so and hopefully they'll stay in their original shape!

I always find at least a few flowered hats. The white lily of the valley hat already has a bald spot on the back of it because I couldn't wait to use some of the flowers for the wedding cake toppers I've been working on.

I couldn't resist getting some patriotic doodads too. Especially since I'm severly lacking in July 4th decor. But not for long! The cardboard foil hat is atually a box!

This pretty planter in my single Valentine's Day find. The rhinestone in the middle is a great touch.

This is where my one buyer's remorse item appears. It certainly isn't one of those two fabulous Halloween party hats, which were a steal! No, it is the funny orange pumpkin man. He doubles as a box and is missing his nose. I was in such a frenzy at the awesome holiday booth that I made a b-line for, that I scooped him up at a "great price" not thinking about the fact that he's a reproduction. Don't get me wrong...I have plenty of beautiful reproduction items, but for the price I paid (I think $20, an original would have been in the hundreds), I would have rather gone online and had my pick of little Halloween paper mache box people. Oh well! I'm not sure if I'll keep him or incorporate him into my work, or what. But he is a cutie and the smile is hard to resist!
Also, I saw two other booths that had reproduction paper mache boxes and ratchets like this one. They were being sold as originals...buyer beware of these things! The easiest give away is if you find a vendor with a small collection of similar pieces in pristine condition. They could claim that it's old store stock...but I wouldn't go for it. Even old store stock would have some sign of aging (brittle paper, etc.).

But back to the hats...These are originals and at $2 and $6 I was thrilled to find them (in two different places)! This one even has an unusual image of a creepy leaf eating caterpillar and his smaller branch dwelling friend (the grinning cat is on the front).

Of course I couldn't stay away from the Christmas goodies altogether, but I didn't buy as much as I usually do. This collection of handmade glittered tin can ornaments are amazing. I'd never seen them before and they make me want to create my own! I must say that they are not kid friendly though...they kept piercing holes through my shopping bag and could possibly double as Chinese stars!

These metallic deer and sleigh will be transformed for this upcoming Christmas season.

As will this set of white celluloid reindeer.

These unusual pieces just had to come home with me. A collection of solid glass light bulbs, blown glass trumpets, a string of pink glass gardland and picks and a pretty drop shaped bulb with strange pink frosting on it.

More vintage bottle brush trees for my collection.

And I can't stay away from these paper mache boots! These are giant ones and were only $2 each! I think I have about a 8 or 9 at this point.

I bought these foil paper boxes to use this Christmas.

And these little cotton watte characters happily came home with me.

As well as this set of choir boys.

This is another favorite and unusual find. A family of snowpeople (and they're large too)! Made from cardboard and heavily flocked. Dad needs a new stick broom and junior needs a new arm...but other than that they look great!

I couldn't resist these foil reflectors, although I've yet to come up with a good plan for them.

And I didn't miss out on finding some Saint Patty's Day goodies!

Or even some New Years goodies!

And these fabulous millinery glass berries and acorns and such will go great in my creations.

And I've been needing more of these mini tart tins.

I even took out my invisible magnifying glass to spot these tiny charms! I'll add them to my charm bracelet that I plan to wear all over the place this summer. The hatching chick is my favorite!

I don't normally buy tons of dolls, but this one was so cheap and I couldn't resist the wooden horse she rode in on.

Three bucks bought me some new toys for Sam, Michelle and Levi, including a little ladder!

And lastly, this wasn't a purchase, but an extremely generous gift from the fabulous Heather of Speckled Egg! She gifted everyone at the picnic with a shaker full of silver glass beads. Thank you thank you Heather!

And on a totally different note...I want to comment on comments. I LOVE reading all of the comments you guys leave. They really warm my heart and make my day every time I read them. The only problem is...responding to them! All of the comments get sent to my email (so I don't have to keep checking on the blog) and I would love to be able to hit "reply" and send something back! Who doesn't love getting good mail...or emails for that matter? However, I almost never get any email addresses to reply to...it's always the, "noreply...blah blah" email address that goes no where. So I ask this...please check the little box on the comment thingy that says "email followup comments to...", whenever you leave a comment. Of course you don't have to, but if you'd like a response, I'd like to give you one! And naturally I would never do anything with your email address other than email you back. :) Thank you thank you!