Vintage Junk in My Trunk

Country Living -- 50 Things in 50 States

I was recently contacted by Country Living Magazine to submit an entry for their “50 Things to Do in 50 States” online feature.

Various bloggers were asked to share their state's hidden gems -- places you should not miss while visiting. Now, of course, the Jersey shores (not Jersey Shore!) would be the first thing to come to my mind. Only they're not very vintage-y, unless you count the National Historic Landmark that is the entire seashore town of Cape May and its collection of Victorian homes.

My submission was the Columbus Farmer’s Market in Columbus, NJ. I blogged about it here, here and here. Yes, there are a lot of tube sock and tshirt vendors (a big reason I was loathe to frequent it for so many years), but there are also multitudes of fresh produce stands loaded with Garden State goods, and, with a little digging, tons of vintage treasures. 

Especially holiday vintage treasures.

And jeweled vintage treasures.

Check out the “50 Things to Do in 50 States” feature and maybe add a new adventure to your summer travels!

Clover Market 2012 -- The Photos

What a fantastic day at Clover Market! The weather was fabulous, and the crowds were enormous! For about the first four hours of the show I couldn't even see the vendor across the way from my booth, the throng was so big.

I had a great show, and it was definitely worth all of the preparations. My good friend Karen hung out with me most of the show and stayed to help me pack up AND provided her vehicle to transport the big items back to her house that I was unable to fit in my car.

Mr. VJIMT was only available to transport items with me INTO the show, as teenaged Mr. VJIMT competed in the State Spelling Bee Championship later in the day (he finished 4th without studying a lick the whole competition and was disappointed in the result; I'm thinking it's a good lesson learned and still something to be proud of).

Here are LOTS of photos, as promised. The view is going clockwise around my booth starting from the back.

Unfortunately, I didn't bring any of these with me!

Little Miss VJIMT decorated my chalkboard frame for me.

Here are two of the six typewriters I brought with me. Glad I did, since Every. Single. One. Sold! And sold quickly! 

One mom bought one (from the sixties, in a case) for her son, who admired that Bob Dylan typed his lyrics and wanted to emulate him. Another bought one for her daughter who is a copywriter. Loved that the younger generation appreciates the charm of the typewriter!

My scary doll got a lot of attention and little hands couldn't do much more damage to him!

Someone bought the green suitcase and was going to add legs and convert it into a table. I'm hoping she sends me some photos -- would love to see its afterlife.

Colleen of Fresh Vintage took pity on me and bought my crib springs so I didn't have to cram it back into my car! Drinks on me next time!

What was I thinking? Didn't bring any of these either!

And that's the day -- thanks to everyone who stopped by to say hi -- it was fun meeting you all! See more photos on the Clover Market Facebook page.

Next spring dates are May 6 and June 3; I won't be back selling until September, but am hoping to be able to go back next month to shop!

Discovering Columbus #3

Last week, we couldn't resist a rare sixty degree January day, so we headed out to the "new to us" flea market.

I was a little scared when I saw these. And the tube socks.

But then I saw all this! Most of it is already listed in my Etsy shop.

Now you know I wouldn't normally be buying an Annalee doll.

Or two. But I know they're pretty collectible, and I've already sold a big one on ebay, so…

I know this doll is pretty creepy -- it's missing an arm, and the other is horribly disfigured.

But I didn't hesitate to buy it! Is there something wrong with me that I'm fine with creepy vintage dolls, but Annalee scares the bejeezus out of me?

This winky santa is almost as disturbingly creepy, but is a nice addition to Mr. VJIMT's Santa collection. Which I think I forgot to take a photo of before I took down the holiday decor.

Now this I think is pretty cute. The "kangaroo keeper" is from 1956 and holds a man's dresser items. Change goes in the front pouch, wallet on the side, rings and watches on the tail. You can see a vintage advertisement featuring it here. Its brown and cream cousin was also a prop in the movie Pulp Fiction.

This vintage marching band hat almost got trampled on the ground before we rescued it.

I bought these crocheted things (curtain tiebacks?) to make some sort of jewelry item.

Foil leaf & mercury glass ball holiday picks and glittery velvet birds, because what's a flea market adventure without some vintage Christmas purchases?

Or dishes? Here's a set of five lovely blue transferware toile plates…

…and even better green ones!

Hope there are some unseasonable balmy days in February!

Discovering Columbus #2

So last post I started to fill you in on the long-lost flea market we rediscovered. November's trip was a pleasant surprise; December's foray was a test to see if the last month had been an aberration or the real thing.

I scored this pretty chippy Blessed Mother statue right off the bat. They've been a good seller for me in my Etsy shop, so that's where she went.

And then, my prayers were truly answered, because I happened upon this gigantic stash of vintage jewelry. The guy selling it had no idea what to do with it, and was obviously way out of his comfort zone. He told me I could fill a small box with whatever I wanted for ten bucks!

Can you believe how much I got? There were 32 pairs of vintage clip earrings, about 15 orphan earrings, a bunch of broken rosaries, 11 rhinestone and enamel pins, a few rusty keys, and a lone sweater clip.

Mr. VJIMT found some things too. Like this yard-long photo to add to his collection.

It's so long I can't get the whole thing in the shot.

Other miscellanea, including vintage jingle bell cards you saw me use here, the red truck you saw here, and red bakelite-topped salt & pepper shakers I forgot to put out for the holidays.

You also got a brief glimpse of this cardboard advertising before, but it's double-sided.

I'm thinking this flea market is a keeper.

Discovering Columbus

Way back in November, an old college (and junking) pal and I got together and went to an outdoor flea market. We hadn't been to this particular flea market in many, many years, and were hoping to find more than the standard tube sock and fake designer handbag fare.

She got a vintage artillery shell (?) and a giant agate basin (and a breakfast shish kebab, but our friendship prevents me from showing that photo).

I'm not sure if anyone's interested in seeing any more vintage Christmas stuff, but this is what I got.

Three small holiday blow molds, from three separate vendors. The small snowman is a container; his head comes off!

A bunch of bottle brush wreaths, embellished with shiny reflectors, mercury ball ornaments, and glittered deer.

Shiny Brites and cookie cutters. I thought I might try to glitter them like I saw Heidi do here, but I wasn't crazy about my results.

A bumpy chenille holiday corsage, featuring sweet Baby Jesus.

And this cherubic bumpy chenille angel… thing.

A bunch of lovely reflectors in spectacular pink and aqua.

A miniature santa, pixie, and tiny wreath.

Blue plastic tree topper.

I did find a few items that weren't Christmas-themed, like these gorgeous floral tin plates, made in England.

All in all, it was a really fun day and a pleasant surprise. Mr. VJIMT and I have gone twice more since -- posts coming up!

What I Got at Clover Market

I decided at the last minute that I would sell at Clover Market this fall. Literally, the last minute -- I didn't make my final decision until the Friday before the Sunday event!

I didn't have to do much, as I still had 3 bins packed, tagged, and ready to go from my last selling venture. Mr. VJIMT was away on a crabbing trip, so I could only fit so much in my car.

It's always fun to see some blogging buddies, like Jill and Beth of Gypsy Barn fame. Also there was Allison from Nanny Goat Antiques and new pal Kim from Larkspur Interiors. Disappointed I didn't get to meet some of the other vendors, but maybe next time!

Here I am with Jill -- the next two photos are from her Gypsy booth with Beth.

I had to stay away from their booth, or I would have bought all those necklaces. And the prairie bags.

So what did I get? Just this funky necklace sunburn. I may have it tatooed. 

necklace designed by Jill, also seen here

(Thanks to Janet who runs the whole show with flawless precision and provided additional photos for this post, as well as my pal Karen for keeping me amused and caffeinated.)

Check out the rest of the photos on the Clover Market Facebook fan page.

Postcards, Pretties, and Plates

In addition to buying things for resale, I also bought some supplies for MAKING things to sell. I have a project in mind using these inexpensive vintage postcards.

And this stash of vintage bling for some jewelry projects.

And I couldn't do any junking without finding some nice plates for my party trays.

Isn't this a pretty dish?

And this one?

Not any more!

Casualties! I'm not gonna tell you how it happened. Let's just say somebody else made dinner last week.

From Rhinestones to Rusty Springs

I also found some things at Bouckville to put in my Etsy shop for resale. Like these vintage lucite and rhinestone shoe clips:

And this embroidered (crewel?) hunting dog scene dated 1959:

I bought this brown English transferware tureen for me, but then I found the awesome blue green transferware platter, so I'm going to keep that instead. I think. Probably.

This stack of cool promotional cards for Wm. Rogers silverware will be great for altered art projects:

As will these lotto game cards (and the graphic on the box lid):

Vintage Noma lights in box (I'm loving these graphics, especially the Halloween cat):

Bought two great old tin toy phones from the same vendor; decided to keep the red one and sell the black one:

This vintage electric Santa (in box) is in great condition:

This sweet wedding cake topper, not so much. I think the base part is pretty much unsalvageable but the chalkware figures themselves are perfect.

Some other things I bought are intended as gifts. My boy loves all things nature; I thought this butterfly collection would be great to display in his room alongside his shells, fossils, rocks, and gems.

He also has been enamored of the Beatles (not beetles, fortunately) of late, so when I found this Sgt. Pepper album I knew he would love it.

My pre-teen nephew is obsessed with vintage Coca-Cola items (which is not the cheapest collectible to buy) -- he even borrowed a reference book from the library! I bought these neat old Coke ads to frame as a Christmas gift for him.

Also got him this huge (almost 6 foot) plastic sign, which was surprisingly affordable. I think it will look fabulous in his room with some lights behind it -- I did clear it with his dad first!

I got this shelf to use as storage in little Miss VJIMT'S room, even though I'm sure there are a bunch of similar shelves in our basement stash. I like this one because it has two shelves and a space on the bottom for hooks. The pale green color is pretty fab too!

I bought a few of these rusty springs; not really sure what I'll do with them. The vendor was touting them as good votive candle holders, but I think I'd prefer photos.

This was also destined for the Etsy shop but it's already been hung in the remodeld bathroom:

Whew, I think I'm almost done showing you our Bouckville scores. What a week!

A Few of His Favorite Things

The day after Mr. VJIMT told me about his weird blue purchase back on the fields of Bouckville, he texted me this message:

"I may have a problem…"

Usually I'm the one who's finding scales at yard and estate sales and wanting to take them home.  "We are NOT collecting those" is often his mantra.

Only now I guess we are. This one's about a third of the size of Big Blue.

Then he texted me that he had gotten another blue one!

At least this one's more manageable.

He found a lot of other things he likes to collect…

Like these group shots of schools or teams. They're not yard-longs, but still fit the criteria.

And paintings:

And signs:

Other miscellanea, like this antique "Reward of Merit" certificate:

And this Tonka truck:

And these large finials:

And this cool green handled carrier:

I'm still not done with my Madison-Bouckville report! Hopefully we won't lose power due to Hurricane Irene and I'll be able to post again soon. Stay safe, fellow East-Coasters!

A Few of My Favorite Things

Not all of my finds from Bouckville are destined for my Etsy shop or other selling venues -- some things were just for me! Like these mercury glass bird ornaments.

Mr. VJIMT was happy I didn't find any Shiny Brites, but I did find this cute little flocked and glittered reindeer.

I also couldn't resist these adorable Valentine's day cards.

I think it was the glitter that got me.

Yeah, I bought one of the glove molds. 

Mr. VJIMT had one years ago, but sold it because it creeped me out. I now have a newfound appreciation for them.

I was going to put this red tin toy phone on Etsy, but I think I like it too much.

Found three little butter pats that match the set I bought here.

Also got this fun vintage stretch bracelet for a couple of bucks.

But my best find? I spied this at a shop along the road at the end of the route. 

Thought about it for a day, then went back to get it.

Isn't it gorgeous? I'm envisioning using it as a vanity tray on my bedroom bureau.