Lost & Found

From left to right, top to bottom: vintage lion head earrings, clock key, beautiful crown pendant and brooch, coo coo clock dime holder to carry money for the pay phones.

I've been collecting many new flea market and antique stores finds in the past few weeks, I think I'm all stocked up for summer, even though I'm a shopoholic, there will be more to come for sure, especially since the weather is so beautiful. I cannot wait to start working in my little studio factory and create new pieces.

I have some new pieces in the works for my Skeleton Krew Collection, translating painting into wearable art, with lockets, brooches and pins. More to come soon friends.

~ New finds: small tintype, tiny photo button and lovely gold locket

~ New finds: Gin decanter tag, metal shield, sterling fawn brooch, vintage metal numbered tags.

~ Just purchased this darling photo locket with young girl with bow in her hair, she is just lovely.

Buried Treasure: Flea Market Finds

Don't you just love flea markets, I can't get enough of them! Last Saturday, I spent the morning at the Fairmount Ave flea market that surrounds the Eastern State Penitentiary, the flea market returns Sat, September 12, but there are a ton more coming up you can find here. 

I've been looking forward to going for the past month and went treasure hunting with my accomplice Jess and boy did I hit the jackpot! I came home a ton of vintage jewelry, plus an antique photo album with over 20 cabinet cards of one family, from the early 1800s. Below are some of the glorious finds from my adventure! These finds should be popping up in my shop within the next couple of weeks.

Top to bottom, left to right:

• Vintage pearls with rhinestone rondelles and vintage brass bird pendant and Dogwood flowers • Red glass beads with brass bead caps and two vintage silver shoe buckles with red velvet fabric

• Vintage flower brooch with glass amethyst stones

• Two antique photo buttons, one has the most amazing crackling from aging.

• An antique Pythian Sisters badge brooch, featuring the letters PLEF: Purity, Love, Equality and Fidelity. Made of sterling silver, there is an engraved name reading Jeanette Boehm and has a crown for our queendom, the scepter for our rule and the sword for wrath. There is also a beautiful smaller badge with a sun setting into the clouds, I couldn't find any of these badges with the sun symbol online, this symbol must be rarer and means the soul rising into heaven according to headstone symbols.

• Three military medals honoring a solider in shooting training, love these!

• Embroidered silver rose bracelet with beautiful detailing of red roses

• Vintage snuff / pill box pendant, features red rhinestones and the back opens to reveal your poison of choice

• Vintage daisy blush compact and two baby pink thimbles

• Royal flourish pendant with enamel crest

• White enamel bracelet with rhinestones and cabs

• Garden heart pendant with engraved flowers

• Whimsical umbrella and feather brooch

Buried Treasure at the Local Flea Market

This past weekend was my first visit back to the Newcastle Farmer's Market, not only can you find all American beef jerky and the best fruit by the basket; it is a one stop flea market that holds hidden buried treasure. Alison from Spool and I spent about four hours there on Saturday, I spent almost $100, and that was practically all on jewelry, however I did come away with three vintage scarves, vintage cabinet cards and an antique concrete fawn for my yard.

Check out the mess I had to work out when I got home, but boy did I find some great things. The wonderful thing about flea markets is that the more you buy in pounds the cheaper it is. We actually found a couple of jackpot tables, all with ladies hunched around sorting through vintage earrings and chains all tangled. That's right at this one table, I must of collected 65 things in my basket, 10 bucks, can you believe. And this one lady recognized us from last year, she had dog gone and reached under the table and pulled out bags of vintage jewelry to sort through; my dream come true.

I just love when it gets warm out, I know there is going to be more where that came from. After I got home I spent an hour or so before I cleaned all the pieces and organized them into groups. Everything from classic hollywood, to whimsical garden assortments; I took some time and photographed them.

This week I will show you how to combine flea market treasure with etsy finds.