Braselton Antique & Spring Festival

A gorgeous weekend in the south and Saturday was perfect for going to the Braselton Antique & Spring Festival.  Brought sweet Gynness with me to help socialize her to be comfortable with crowds and different people. 

We couldn't ask for a better Saturday with gorgous weather and lots of spaces full of antiques, shabby pieces, upcycles furniture, art and crafts and the food midway.

Lots of furniture was up for purchase and at take home prices.  

Decorative elements abound with a myriad of choices.

Crazy about redwork and I have some gorgeous pieces.  Still, they always call to me and the cherubs piece was marvelous.  These were in one of my favorite booths and offered by Mary Anne Payne, a writer, blogger and lover of vintage/retro linens and especially tablecloths.

Look at these brilliant and joyful pieces.  

Mary Anne also creates these color totes from vintage tablecloths.  Joyful colors, you will want them in every color scheme.  You can contact Mary Anne at 404-580-9969 or email her at hellomap@gmail.com to purchase them.  Be sure to tell her that I sent you she knows how you were able to contact her.

This festival is the best kept secret for buying plants and shrubs.  Beautiful and healthy varities at better than nursery prices, I watched people carry armloads full of them to their vehicles.

Gynness loved walking around but when the crowds started to form, she was happier in my Thirty One soft bag.  I put a fleece crate mat in it and she fit inside beautifully and snuggled in.  She liked being able to look out at everything, sniff the good food smells that were wafting everywhere and still be close to mommy.

Braselton Gallery is always filled with beautiful pieces by local artists and this spot is a festival favorite.

 Wicker is still king for summer use and this pretty pair is so inviting.

 I love a container filled with creepy, doll heads.  So many possibilities.

Another eye appealing space, Vintage Redesigned by Jessica Drexler offered lovely pieces for wear or decor.  You can contact Jessica at gray_dove@hotmail.com.

I liked the way she married found objects with vintage plates.

Jessica has a great eye for marrying interesting objects together.

Didn't find anything that I needed to bring home at this years visit, but I did find this great pair of antique cast frames.  I've got enough now to frame family photos in and that is my next project.

Sweet baby is all tuckered out from the day at the fair.  She did so well that I can't wait to take her to another fair.  Blessings to you and those you love.  SeaWitch

Enough! Three's let me be done already.

First I have to replace the heating/cooling unit in my home last November, second, just a few weeks ago I had to replace the hot water heater and the pressure valve, sigh...and third and it better be the end to this home maintenance nightmare I seem to be living in, replace the sewer line from the house to the street and yes, homeowners does not cover that.  So a home improvement loan for $4,600.00 later and I can flush toilets again.  Enough already, let's hope that I'm done now as the magic of threes has been hit and my bank account is depleted.  

Still, there was a huge blessing that came to my home last weekend.  As many of you know, my beloved Kota pass away a couple of months ago.  I have been following angelsrescue.org for a while just to see the sweet babies that are up for adoption when this sweet face popped up.  It was love at first sight so I reached out to the organization and learned that there would be a "meet and greet at the Canton Street Antique Market parking lot.  

Holy antique finds, Batman!  Was this a sign?  I drove to Roswell and there I met this sweet little face.

A three year old, miniature dachshund that was wearing her cone as she was recently spayed  A lovely conversation and interview with the foster mom and I now had to wait as others had also requested to adopt her. Drove home hoping that I would get the call.  Monday afternoon I heard from the foster mom that they selected me from the candidate pool.  So happy that this sweet baby would be coming to live with me and yes, I can say that this is the best little treasure I have found at an antique store.

Now sweet Gynness (feminine spelling for Guinness) is the newest member of my family.  I had to name her Gynness as she is the color of that tasty beer and everyone knows you have to have a good beer with a hotdog.

She is a bundle of doggy energy and a nosy little thing.  Loves to root through my boxes of antiques.

She has the huge dachshund ears that when she lays down she looks like a sassy little fruit bat.

Watching mommy grill a steak.  Yes, sweet girl, you will have a tiny little piece.

Had to introduce her to my gal pals at Vintage Village and did a little shopping for treasure while I was there.

Lovely Edwardian white waist shirt.  In very wearable condition.

Scooped up this sweet pair of vintage flocked peeps from another favorite booth.  These will be keepers for my Easter decor. 

Lovely Victorian quadruple plate cup has most of its silver.  

Fantastic over painted albumen print of Civil War era lady. This is a beautiful piece and in a simple, oval frame. Circa 1860s.

This marvelous wooden box on metal sled runners was also found at Vintage Village and is a great example of a regional piece. Being a Yankee gal who spent lots of time around outdoor skating rinks and ponds, I knew exactly what this was. A box on sled skids with a hook was usually attached to a snow mobile or dog or horse and brought to the rink filled with blankets, hot chocolate for kids and hot coffee often laced with whiskey, for adults, to keep warm while you skated. This will make a terrific coffee table for a lake, ski or mountain home.

Fantastic RumRill, Redwing base from their Athenian line.  Very Art Deco and now I'm on the hunt for the matching bowl.

Good night all, looking forward to tomorrow's trip to the Braselton Antique and Spring Holiday Fair.  Blessings to you and those you love.  SeaWitch

Nooooooooooo!

What a day March 26th was.  Woke up at my usual 7:00 am and padded into the bathroom to get ready for work and walked into a puddle of water.   Water?  Why is there water on the bathroom floor?  Hmm, now I hear what sounds like the shower running.   A little investigation and I discover that the expansion tank on my water heater has burst and it's been sending water out for several hours.  Now the SeaWitch does appreciate a body of water, just not inside a land house.  Sigh, not the way I wanted to start the day. 

Called a plumber and then my boss to say I would be working from home as the plumber does his thing. I was hoping this would be a quick and not too expensive fix, but alas, not only did I need to replace the water heater but also the main pressure value.  So, 4 hours and $1,880.22 later, I have water again and contained as it should be.  

Now, all of this happened almost ten days ago and it has taken me this long to finally get this post up.  Busy at work, busy at home and in between I have been treasure hunting.  So there are lots of pics to look at.  

Hit the auction and won two pieces of ugly furniture. LOL.  Both needed lots of TLC and a chalk paint upgrade.  Love the way they both turned out.

This was a rickety antique fern table that needed a good reglue.   French aqua blue is still my favorite shade for repaints and I applied a florentine fresco design and finished with barista brown wax.  

Pretty, demilune side table was scratched all over so I did another upcycle with French aqua blue and the same finish as the fern table.  Both pieces are in my main booth at the Buford Queen of Hearts.

Another auction win.  Nice chalk statue with stand and small bird feeder bowl at her head.

Gorgeous vintage, inlay tea/liquor cart from Sorentto, Italy. Drop down leaves and solid brass wheels.  In as perfect condition as you could want. This is currently in my Victorian booth.

Acquired a small box of quality fashion jewelry and inside was this gorgeous Joan Rivers Imperial Crown brooch.

Stopped by one of my favorite thrift store haunts and scored this Eastlake chair for a shamelessly cheap price.  It is now my new desk chair.

 Same store, same dealer and acquired another beautiful Victorian chair. Nice boudoir slipper chair of hand carved walnut with a lovely reupholster in pink velvet.  It's in my main booth a the Buford Queen of Hearts. 

 Brought in a load of vintage pillowcase sets.  In lovely condition and so nice to offer sets.

Crazy about this vintage bottle wrapped in cane.  

This weekend was a crystal and cut crystal weekend.  Found some lovely pieces and it starts with this great Hofbauer crystal compote.  Original label, there are four birds (byrdes) cut into the sides of the bowl.  West Germany.  The Hofbauer factory burned down in 1990 and this is no longer produced.   Circa 1970s-80s. I added the vintage sequined fruit for display.

Came across a table filled with mid century pressed glass that had pieces of American Brilliant cut crystal mixed in.  It was obvious that this seller did not know the difference between pressed glass and cut and I acquired these on the cheap.  I kept the top one as it is a very heavy piece and I love the way it throws rainbows.

The second piece that I almost kept but it is now in my Victorian booth.

A matched set of low bowl servers.  Hand cut crystal.

Another thrift store find, etched EAPG vase.  This one is a keeper for my EAPG collection.

Fantastic antique copper drinking cup. This one has lots of dents on the bottom so I suspect this was a communal cup at a public water pump or a trail piece.

Found a pile of antique and vintage serving pieces and a great sterling silver handle shoe horn.  It was a good two weeks of fighting treasure and I hope to sell enough to pay for the new water heater, sigh.

My main booth is packed to the gills with the painted pieces and pretty statue and has a nice spring look to it.  Hope everyone is also having a lovely spring and wishing blessings to you and those you love.  Sea Witch.