Artiscape - Outsider Art Fair...and beyond!!

Hello to all my blogging friends - it's looking like spring has sprung (these aren't my tulips though - just a picture I took at Kingwood Center in Mansfield a few years ago...but you get the idea!)!

Hope your week is starting off well (it's 68 degrees right now in Central Ohio...so that's a good thing, and of course it's about time for one of those old fashioned April showers to roll in...). The birds were singing this morning, and I just had to open a window while I got ready for work - spring, isn't it grand?  And, it'll be a short month, and we'll be seeing our sweet little hummingbird friends - by Mothers' Day at least (my feeders will be ready and waiting!).  I've got daffodils in bloom right now - it's a start!!!  (Can you tell I'm just a little excited to see some hopeful signs of a warmer season???)

Anyway, I've been busy creating all kinds of junk - jewelry, collages, button bokays, and other random pieces of "junk" treasures.  Terri and I will be in downtown Columbus, Ohio this weekend at Artiscape - to be exact...the Outsider Art Fair - on Sunday, April 17th.  Here is the link to get all the details:  Artiscape

Here is their description :

Outsider Art Fair ~ Topiary Garden Gatehouse - This event is free & open to the public

SUNDAY 11-5:00 ~ Be inspired by beautiful creations in jewelry, paper, book arts, glass, metal and more! On Sunday, visit this boutique show of finished art- a big hit with attendees last year! Beautiful creations in jewelry, paper, book arts, mixed media, fiber and more will be on display to inspire and tempt you. Visit with the artists and purchase a handcrafted item as a memento of this special weekend. This event is free and open to the public.

 We participated in the show last year, and had an awesome time, selling our "junk" and making new friends (that's always the bonus).  There were some very talented artists displaying their creative wares - it was so inspiring!  There are other things going on over the weekend as well - it's an artist's retreat, with workshops and lots of other activities to feed a creative mind.   

I wanted to share just a few pictures of what we're bringing...everything is "hot off the press" so to speak...new creations from my basement workshop...as well as from Terri's loft!

  

A couple of my necklaces;

 the one on the right is an old rhinestone buckle and a sweet bakelite rose in the center.

Spoon jewelry - snippets of this and that.  I really need to find a better way to flatten spoons - sooner or later my hubby is going to see the places on the floor in the basement where I've "hammered"... ;)

A Parisian beauty through the keyhole...

I really don't throw too much away...you can tell, right??

Terri made these - aren't they fabulously wonderful??

And, she made this one too - it's dripping in vintage silvery bling!

A collection in gold...with just the right amount of sweetness!

And if the silver version wasn't enough...the gold piece is "oh my gosh" divine!

I had some pieces of old painted wood, that could have been thrown out...

but oh no ya don't - doesn't this just sing to you???

And a little more...scrabble letters, etc...

And for the cultured junker...a little French!

I've got loads of vintage goodies all bottled up here!!

And, it just wouldn't be right if I didn't show up with a few button bokays...

(ok...15, but who's counting?

And, yes...we still have some clock parts in our stash (but we're about at the end of it I'm afraid...),

so, we've got some jars to sell to fellow junkers/artists!

I've got some leftover jewelry and junk, so thought I'd share...for a price of course! ;)

This is just a preview...  We've got so much more (actually over 130 pieces of jewelry - we're so outta control!), and also some embellished shirts and jackets, and more...........................  If you're in the area, please stop in - we'd love to see you, and of course we'd love to have you take a little something home with you as well!! 

(And also can't wait to spend some time with one of our Columbus junking friends, Ellen...and maybe Ericka too???   We'll be heading to the Scott Antique Market on Saturday to find a few little treasures...you can never have too many!  So, lots of girl fun coming up!!)

OK...one of my "things" is to pick out the perfect "something" to wear for a show...and I had mine put together about a month ago (a cute little black denim jumper...from the VOA Thrift Store, the sweetest lace top...from a resale shop in Columbus, and leggings - and of course just the right "layers" of jewelry too)...  Yes, I'm a little OCD, but that's half the fun.  (Terri thinks I'm just a bit crazy, but she loves me anyway!!)  Now, Terri dear...have you got your "outfit" picked out??? hmmmm.......?

Have a happy spring week - and be sure to stop and look at the flowers "a bloomin"!!

Hugs, Kathy

P.S.  We'll be at the Springfield Extravaganza next...May 20th - 22nd - can't wait!!! 

P.S.S.  In June, we'll be having our Second Annual Vintage Market Day (Saturday, June 25th), and we've got a location...the beautiful historic Susan Sturges House in Mansfield...  Isn't it amazing??  Ten rooms of vintage and antique fun...we'll have a few new vendors too - be sure to mark your calendar!!!  More details coming...so, stay tuned!

Just a few more days...SPRINGFIELD EXTRAVAGANZA!!!

Well...I can't believe it, but it's almost here (just around the corner, you might say) - our favorite show ever...the SPRINGFIELD EXTRAVAGANZA. This fleamarket and antique show is one of the largest in the midwest - and, in May and September over 2000 vendors gather to sell their wares - from garage sale finds to fine antiques - and LOTS of stuff in between.

Nostalgia's Cottage (that's me and Terri!) will be in our usual spot - with some awesome stuff. We've been shopping/collecting/repurposing/painting...etc., etc. all summer long - AND, we've got a bit of a new look too. I'll show you "some" pics of what you'll find!



Anyway...first the details:

Who: All lovers of junk and antiques

When: September 18-20, 2009 (here's the website to get hours, directions, etc...) http://www.springfieldantiqueshow.com/

Where: Clark County Fairgrounds, Springfield, Ohio

Why: ...just purely the love of the hunt!!!

Where we'll be: spaces 828 & 851 - near the Mercantile Building (if you send me your email address, I can send you a map showing exactly where we're located)

And here's some of the great stuff we'll be selling:

A fabulous child's wardrobe..

A very sweet Victorian plant stand (it has porcelain wheels)

Here's a sofa table that we made from pieces and parts of a larger (very broken down) farm table - so, now we have two sofa tables...very cool, don't ya think?

A corner curio stand

An old radio cabinet...turned curio cabinet...

A great French Provincial vanity (the top flips open to reveal storage and a mirror)

A couple chairs (notice the one on the right isn't painted...it had a wonderful worn patina that didn't want to be covered up)!

OK - here's the most fabulous chair ever (we think so anyway...) - We covered this (and another one) with vintage linens, lace, buttons, etc...for your shabby delight!!!

And...here's the back side

Here are samples of some of Terri's fabulous jewelry pieces - mixing vintage and new - creating one of a kind treasures! (the pics are from a previous show - everything will be new for Springfield) A sample of the button bokays I've made...

Collage by Terri

Here are a few I've made

A close up peek...A paperweight filled with vintage buttons
Here are some lamps I've "redecorated"

Some beautiful flow blue dishware

A scale...everybody loves a scale!!

Yep, we've got clocks too...

A typewriter or two...

Enamelware

Well...that's all folks...well maybe not quite all - there are silver platters, mirrors, wire cloches, and SO MUCH MORE!- we've actually got our trailer packed to the brim, and plan on packing up another vehicle before it's over (we just got a new batch of stuff over the weekend...).

And don't forget the wonderful diner dishes from my prior post...they're waiting for a party!!!

So far the weather report is showing us beautiful early fall weather - another reason to get out and shop the Extravaganza...and did I mention we've got the BEST fair food ever??? Enough said! Hope you can make it!

Bye for now!

Kathy & Terri

P.S. I'm really hoping to meet some of my blogging friends, as well as members of JUNKMARKET Style!!

OK...I'm going, really - there are still last minute things to finish...

Hugs!

Me and my girls... A girls' night at the workshop!

I've got the best friends...and one of our favorite things to do (besides junking together) is having our project nights!

Me, Robin, Terri and Carol

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Me and three of my bestest friends, or is it three of my bestest friends and I...anyway - us girls (Carol, Robin, Terri and I), had one of our "Girls' nights" at our workshop the other night. It's a great place for us to play (aka create fabulous projects and have lots of fun) - and not have to worry if we make a mess, make too much noise, or act too silly (not that we worry about that a whole lot anyway)! (or partake of too much chocolate...oops...)


We had two projects in mind, and I'll share one of them for now... It was a junky/rusty wreath we had seen at a friend's house and we wanted one of our own! So.....over the last couple months we've been collecting pieces and parts (garden tools, tiny watering cans, and other miscellaneous pieces of metal paraphernalia) to make these rusty creations! Some of the pieces we found were those old coppery wall decorations (from the 60s??? - kinda cheesy looking by themselves...) - they made perfect focal points for our wreaths.

We used a wire wreath form for the base, and loosely wrapped some wide burlap trim around to hide some of the wire. We then tried to decide what to put on first...decisions, decisions (we had too many that was the problem...!). So, starting with the larger pieces first (on mine, it was the coppery flower cart), and then added the garden tools and cans, and etc........ I had gotten a large spool of perfectly rusted wire at a garage sale - and it worked great in attaching everything. One nice thing about this project was that we didn't have to worry about hiding the wire - it was part of the "trim"!

Another good thing about this project, was that perfection was the furthest thing from our minds...a bit of a test for Carol (the perfectionist in the group) - but she passed with flying colors!!

After we had them all together, we added a little moss here and there (with a glue gun) to fill in some gaps. The final step was making it all "look" rusty (some pieces were galvanized metal, copper, or too "new" looking) - so I had a can of brown Rustoleum primer that we lightly sprayed on the pieces that needed some age added - that really made the whole wreath come together in rusty perfection!

I'm going to hang mine on my front porch, and may even make a couple to sell (maybe even different "themed" wreaths...the sky's the limit). This was a really fun project -not too difficult to do - and an awesome look...AND best of all BIG FUN with my girlfriends!!

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Now some pics to share (of course):

Here's Carol attaching her first pieces...it was a little slow going at first, but we picked up the pace! So many decisions....

I found this great spool of old rusty wire at a garage sale...it came in pretty handy!

Here's just a small sample of our junk lineup... We had no problem at all coming up with MORE than enough stuff to play with!!

More stuff...and here's our little junk "muse", Petra - and she is SO "amusing" - and pretty darned cute!! (she knows it - ha ha)

Get busy girls...we don't have all night! :)

Here's Robin's wreath...

A close-up look - great junk!

Here's Carol's version...

Don't you love the little potted "plant"?

Rusty tools galore

Here's pieces and parts of Terri's wreath (I cropped the picture and saved it - so lost the picture of the whole wreath - trust me, it very cool!!!)

Another view - with a cute little red bird perched on a tool!

Here's my version - I just love it!

A little bench with a tiny watering can - I can envision a butterfly stopping by to rest on it...

I love the hanging pieces - lots of little details...

(and by the way...I was the last one done - which is normal...I just "fuss").


The flowers were part of a coppery wall decoration... But, with a spritz of some faux rust (primer in a can) - it all goes together so well!

Just another view...some tiny garden gloves (for munchkins I think) add a little texture.

I love the flower cart (it's one of those coppery things too...) - a great "centerpiece"!

And finally, for just the right amount of faux "garden dirt" on my tiny garden gloves, I had Petra bury them in the driveway, and rough 'em up a little! She was happy to help!! (just love her!!!) She was having fun...and didn't realize I was putting her to work! Kids... :)

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Thanks for stopping by - I hope you have a blessed day, enjoy some sunshine (and a sunset) - and find lots of great junk at your nearest garage sale, thrift store, etc... Gotta keep the economy going, right?

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P.S.

I'm looking forward to my upcoming trip to Minnesota - and meeting (in person) some of my fellow JUNKMARKET Style Contributors (who I feel like I know already...), a bunch of wonderful bloggers (I know you're out there!!!), and making new friends from near and far (mostly far...Minnesota is a bit of a drive from Ohio)!

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Take care! Kathy