Junk Jubilee

The text and picture I sent to Scott on Saturday, 

pretty much summed it up...

In heaven here!

And I was.

Des Moines, Iowa 

2nd Annual

Junk Jubilee

via Junk Jubilee on Facebook

A little after 7 am on Saturday morning, my good friend, Sonia and I headed off on a two and a half hour drive in search of fun, crafts, and junk.  And I think I can speak for both of us when I say we definitely found all three.

I was in awe when I first walked into the 4-H Building on the
Iowa State Fair Grounds.  

First impulse?

Just to start buying, buying, buying.

Thankfully, Sonia's cooler head prevailed (she must have seen the manic look in my eyes) and she suggested we try to find the ASCP stockist first and get that necessary purchase out of the way.

Thirty minutes later and we were loaded down with 

4 cans of paint (Old White, Pure White, Coco, and Duck Egg Blue), 

a tin a light wax, 

a color card for future clients,  

Annie Sloan's "Quick and Easy Paint Transformations" book.  

Necessary shopping D.O.N.E.

Now, for the fun stuff!

I really wish I had brought my camera, so I could show you all the wonderful booths that had their wares displayed.  

Such creativity and in some instances, pure genius.  

Although the vendors would probably look at me a little odd, if I was snapping off pictures of their creations.

One thing that kind of took the fun out of it for me was realizing that I can make a lot of the same things.  

Before I found my crafty side, 

I would have been snatching up stuff right and left.  

Its no fun knowing they've already "found" the stuff, probably paid a reasonable price for it, and then marked it up to make a profit.  That kept running through my head a lot.

Guess I'm a certified thrifty junker now.  ;)

So, I just browsed, took mental notes, 

and only picked up a few things that I really wanted.  

I actually came home with quite a bit of money in my pocket and if you know me, you know how rare that is.  

Money tends to eat holes through my pockets.  

You'd think it was made of acid or something.  

As I showed you yesterday, I bought chairs to match 

the oak table that Scott got at the auction on Friday.  

I think the table will sell easier as a set.  

So, it was a total investment purchase and my most expensive one of the day.

And the rest were smalls that I bought totally for the pleasure
looking at them brings me.

You can't tell in the picture, but the cabinet is a lovely aqua blue.  It drew me in the first time I walked by it and I kept thinking about it for the rest of the morning.  

When we walked by it again 4 hours later and it was still there, 

I just went with the impulse to buy it.  

Although I KNOW I could ask Scott to build me a simple cabinet like this one, the apparent age of it is what drew me in.  Its going to be a great place to keep all my crafting supplies, since the chippy cupboard is staying in the house.

I scored three lovely flour sacks, all with the same shade of green writing.  I was also specifically looking for the letter "H" and anything that could spell our name.  

The little type set letters are solid lead and fantastic!

The two large spools are going to make sweet candle holders once I paint them.  And if you've been reading me long enough, you know I'm a total sucker the Blue Ball Jars.  Although this time I did shake it up a bit a buy one Atlas.  ;)  

I think this brings my collection up to seven.  

I'm gunning for twenty.  Or maybe more.  

Yeah.  Probably more.  :D

And my final two purchases that I have to share with you are my most favorite.

I absolutely adore this burlap pillow tied with a tea-stained ribbon and adorned with two fabric rosettes.  And since I can't sew, I was intrigued with how the edges were hand sewn and will be attempting to make a few myself.  

I wanted one I could look at for reference.

And finally, a large metal "H" that will soon find its 

home on the front of the aqua cabinet.  

Even Scott admitted that with its patina, it looked pretty cool.  

If I had been thinking about it, I should have gotten two P's for Prairie Patina and the "H" could have stayed in the house.  

Oh well, there's always next time.

So, I cannot wait until the workshop is done and I can start displaying some of this stuff.  

And I can't believe how much I am looking forward to hunting for more.

Sonia and I had an absolutely fantastic time and 

I can't wait until we can go to something else like this.

And next time, Sonia...

You're buying more than a metal letter!

;)

XO,