Fabulous Flea Market Finds

I have a confession. I LOVE rummaging through things at flea markets. I mean, seriously, I drive by them and long to stop and go in.
I don't get to go to them hardly at all anymore. Most of them are NOT at all kid-friendly. My kids know how to act in stores and I expect them to do and not do certain things. However, many of the flea markets are so jam packed with things that sometimes I even bump something and nearly knock it over.  SO, it has been a LONG time since I have been able to walk through the doors of one of these fabulous places.
You can imagine my excitement when I got to go explore through one of the local flea markets over the weekend.

 Here are some of the things that caught my eye, but didn't go home with me.
Can a girl ever have enough vintage buttons? Um, no, she cannot.
I am always drawn to old metal fans and coffee and bread boxes. And oh my goodness, I have a thing for vintage dishes! I could fill every cabinet with them, but I practice restraint.
Look at those fun vintage children's books too! But I actually already have a few shelves of books like them.

Vintage children's table with a chalkboard in the middle anyone? I would love to have been it's new proud owner. But we have nowhere to put this little treasure in our home and so again, I practiced restraint.

Can that big teal blue shelf just go home with me and live forever storing all of mine and the kids art supplies?! Pretty please!
Unfortunately, they said no, display only. This happened to be the case on a few different super cool storage pieces that called out to me. Oh well, not meant to be.

Oh how I love vintage clothing. I looked at these dresses and just thought about what the women that wore them must have been like. Where were they going? Were they women of influence or did they save up to buy these dresses for a special occassion?

And, can you see the beautiful red poppy tablecloth hanging in the bottom picture? Probably not because the photo is so blurry-my bad!
But, it was A-MAZING! I wanted to take it home with me so bad and make pillows out of it and and maybe even some tea towels too, but I didn't and now I wish I had. Hmm, I wonder if they are open today?
I LOVE vintage fabrics, tea towels, table cloths, etc.

Ok, so I love MOST things vintage! I love the style. I love that they have history and tell a story. I love that they were used, worn and loved. I love it all!

Now, these three pieces are mine. This is what I DID come home with.
This adorable tea towel was the first thing I saw when I walked in the door and I knew right away that it was going home with me. I cannot wait to show you what I am going to do with it! I'll share that soon. ;)

The beautiful, colorful lady is a vintage painting. It is a plaque and has been sealed and looks the same way it did SO long ago. It is in great shape and I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it. It was underneath some fabric that I was rummaging through and I was so excited when I saw her.
The color is wonderful in it and I love the clock tower in the background.

And the old school hymnal......well, old books are just cool. Plain and simple. I scored this one for $1 and it is full of old, timeless hymns.
I plan to use the pages for art stuff. Very excited about the ideas swimming around in my head. ;)

I am going to make a point to take the time to go treasure hunting more often again. Really and truly, even if I had left with nothing in my hands, I would've been so happy to have just gone and looked at all of the wonderful pieces while day dreaming about their past.
It really makes me happy.

Some tips about Flea Market shopping:
 -set a budget for your adventure and take exactly that amount of cash. If you find something amazing that costs more, then you will HAVE to really think about it and if it is still there when you come back, it's meant to be.
-Look for truly unique pieces that YOU love.
-If you find something you love but aren't sure about the price, don't be shy. Ask the store clerk if they will take less. Many times they have a set amount that they can negotiate with.
-Look for "good bones" when it comes to furniture pieces. The hardware,finish and/or paint doesn't matter. You can easily change that. Look for sturdy pieces and style.

Just a few tips for now. Now go treasure hunting and tell me what you find!
Enjoy!
-Jenny