Country Living Fair- What I Found

The top thing on my list to find at the Country Living Fair this year was a chalkboard and my aunt spotted one almost right away! I am so happy that I was able to bring it home especially with only a $15 price tag! I told the ladies at the booth I bought it from that it was the only thing I was looking for and they were pretty happy for me. 

It literally fits perfectly in the spot I wanted to hang one! I love that I was able to get one with graphics on it too. The little train has animals and ABC's on it. 

 Isn't it so cute!? I don't have a lot of  purple in my house but.......

.....it is a two sided board and the other side is black! 

It had a screw on each side so it must have previously had a stand so that it could be flipped. 

I added some hardware at the top so that I could hang it and that way I can also flip it to either side. I think it looks great. I got it so that I could write bible verses on it that I want my son to learn. Also to add holiday sayings on as it will be one of the first things people see when they walk in our house. 

I also picked up another blue seltzer bottle to go with my collection, I now have 4, two with tops and two without. This one was only $15 too.

I picked up a $10 grab bag that has all sorts of vintage goodies in it. ribbon, ric rac, wrapping paper, appliques, cards, etc. 

I grabbed this one because of this cute little cat, I don't know what I am putting her on yet but she will be used!!

Lastly, we stopped at a thrift store on the way home and I grabbed this vintage tree skirt kit. It has snowmen and santas on it and it will be something to finish probably for next Christmas.

It was a great weekend with fun finds. I am already planning out next year because my country chic sis-in-law will be with us and she has never been there before. She is going to love everything!! 

I am linking up to melissasantiques.blogspot.com, 

stop over to see more awesome vintage and thrifty finds!

Country Living Fair!

Our day at the Country Living Fair this year couldn't have been better! Between the cool but comfortable weather, great finds and delicious food, it was just a swell day! Not to mention the wonderful company I had. 

The signature pumpkin pile, they have a few of these scattered around the Fair.

A purple cow. That was the first thing I remember looking for the first time I went to an antique mall with my aunt and mom. My aunt was on the search for a purple cow creamer, or something like that. It's always so fun to go with them because we each have our own style but we know what each of the others like. 

We arrived at about 9:30 am and the gate doesn't open until 10 am, so I went up and bought our entrance tickets, got a map and headed back to the car so we could see where we wanted to go first. My aunt had missed a glitter house 2 years in a row so we hit them up first and she found one that will match her lake cottage perfect. I am sure she will add her own touches to it as well. 

I wanted to head straight to the vintage tents and so that was our next stop. We really ended up buying so much awesome stuff in that first hour that we bought a rolling cart. In previous years only a few people had carts but this year it seemed like about half of the population had them. Some had even decorated their carts with lots of vintage fabric, we decided we are doing that next year!!

Sorry this picture is upside down, I can't fix it, but there were a few paint by numbers. Not as many as I remember there were last year. I am working on my own horse paint by numbers which my mom had up in her attic, so these got left behind for another collector.  

My aunt watched the show Cash and Cari and got to meet Cari and get her picture taken with her. Her booth is full of vintage finds, paints and all sorts of fun things! 

See the red cart in the left hand side of the picture, people had lined them with fun fabrics too.

I love those little chenille Christmas trees with the fuzzy tops.

Loved these globes but I have 5 and don't know where I would put another large one right now. 

The whole chair was painted, I feel like his would just be a decorative piece. It was cute because the edged of the chair were ripped like the kittens had been sharpening their claws on them.

My mom and aunt enjoying the day with me!

Every year the Sisters On The Fly group has a glamper display. A few of the members bring their campers so that we can all enjoy looking through how they have decorated them. My mom has a camper right now that is slowly being transformed into a glamper. I will save that for a post all its own. I just got one of those pie carriers!

My aunt got one of these bags made out of an old book, it is seriously adorable!

 This gal had some of the cutest vintage stuff. She said she didn't have a shop but did a few shows each year from stuff she has thrifted and collected throughout the year. See that little lady in the purple dress? I have a collection of those from my mom!

Mom and I almost at the end of our adventure.

This lampshade was made from old advertisements, so cool!!

It was really a fun day and I got to spend it with two of my favorite people!

Tomorrow I will show you the awesome things I got at the show!

Country Living Fair- 2 days to go!

Two days from now I will be in the midst of one of my favorite Fridays each year, the Country Living Fair in Columbus, Ohio! Its really hard for me to do much by myself since I have 2 toddlers but I have taken them with me just to go to this event in the past. This year I will be kid-free and in great company! Here I am with my cousin and aunt the first year we went. It was so blazing hot and I was pregnant with capri's on, a nightmare!!! 

It was so much fun though and I have only missed one year since then! My mom was also with us, on the left. There is nothing that makes me happier than a good thrift but sometimes you just have to find someone else who thrifted and buy their stuff!

This year I am going with my other aunt, my mom's sister, below on the left. She is pretty crazy, crafty, the Queen of Everything as she calls herself, so a lot of fun to go with!!

I don't usually go with any idea of what i will end up bringing home, lots of times things I like are out of my price range but this year I have a few things I am going to be on the lookout for. 

I would love to find a medium size vintage chalkboard, black or green, with or without graphics (with would be awesome). If not I have an idea to make one myself when we get back home. I am also going to look for some vintage posters or advertisements. Any old cameras that are any color other than black. I don't really want to collect black cameras at all since I love color so much. 

Me with my baby girl last year, she was such a good girl the whole day! 

Most of the handmade items (not quite my taste) are up towards the entrance so I will probably make a beeline for the back which houses all of the vintage and antique shops. I am sure we will make a game plan the night before. Check back in a few days to see if I scored anything!!

Beauties from the Past

My grandparents were a bit older by the time I came around as my parents were both the youngest children in their families. Although my grandfathers had passed on, my grandmothers were both still blessing us when I got married. They both were so just...awesome. My mom's mother, Lauretta, had 6 children and was such a crafty lady. Ever single time we would visit, she would have some kind of craft for us to do and I loved it every time!

Below: Lauretta and Wilbur

Weekend Thrifting

I started the long weekend off with an estate sale and a few other garage sales. I didn't get to the estate sale until 3pm but still managed to pick out some fun items, all a dollar or less.

As soon as I saw this cute mint camera, I knew it was meant to be mine. I mean who would have left this at the sale for 50 cents all day without snagging it up?? So cute, and I think I collect cameras now because my mom just brought me a few old ones of her and my dads...

The vintage pie/dessert carrier was in pristine condition and even came with the original insulated carrying bag. 

I found all three of these at the same garage sale all for 50 cents each. The Christmas tree holder still had all the contents in the box and looks as though it has never been used. The garland had me a bit stumped. I don't know it if is actually Christmas garland or Chinese or Japanese festive garland? You can see the tag below has some foreign symbols on it. But there are about 10 strands in each box that also look as though they have never been used or out of the box even.

I got this retro little highchair that actually matched some chairs I had picked up the weekend before. It was in the basement of the estate sale for 50 cents too and just took a little extra fine steel wool to polish it right up!

There were 3 yellow molded plastic chairs I got at a church rummage sale for a dollar a piece that are currently being used in my dining room as extra seating for when the family comes over. 

And I couldn't believe these got left a whole day at the same rummage sale! I didn't go until the second day and these were a dollar each, my son thought they were awesome giant candles!! They will get cleaned up and wait until Christmas to go outside in front of the house. 

It happened to be a great few weekends for sales here. Our county fair is coming up this weekend so I doubt there will be much action for other sales coming up. I will be enjoying french fries and our hometown sugared doughnuts at the fair this weekend!!

Also linking up over at  Melissa's Antiques.
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