Dime Store Chic

Estate Sale Adventure: Oh, But the View!

Hello, My Friends!~~~

We were in the Northern Neck of Virginia this weekend and hit an estate sale in the tiny town of Weems on the shore of the Rappahannock River. Just look at this house!

A big brick manse on acres of waterfront property.

This is part of the acres of yard leading up to the house.

Here is a shot from the house looking down the driveway. See the cars on either side of the driveway? Shoppers at the estate sale.

Lovely Crepe Myrtles in full bloom.

And what a view...!

Here is the Rappahannock River looking upriver to the bridge that crosses from White Stone, VA. I have travelled across this bridge many many times. It is tall and I love it so.

As far as the estate sale went, it was mostly high end firniture and decorative items. I found a few goodies, but they are not worth me doing a "buy and brag" for you.

On another note, we accidentally came across a country auction of a really old estate. We actually won a few things and it was our first country auction experience. A lot of fun and if I stayed for the whole time, I may have won more fun things. But truth be told, I prefer an estate sale where I can just buy goods outright. Don't you?~~~XXOO, Beth

Little Voices

Hello, My Friends!~~~

Lately, I have heard little voice in the studio.

"We're waiting here patiently for you to get off your butt and make us into something...anything!"

Did I tell you the little voices are quite bossy?

"Uh, duh, we're waiting too. Christmas will be here before you know it and then where will you be if you just leave us in this box? Nowhere, that's what. Now get cracking, Craftgirl!"

Yes, they do call me "Craftgirl."

"OK, well, you have finished me, and Halloween is before Christmas? What are you waiting for...put me in your etsy shop. I mean really!"

Yes...really!~~~I like to list things in my etsy shop in groups. So, Miss Mask Wreath will have to cool her jets. As for the other little voices, they shouldn't doubt that I will eventually get to them. In fact, I will get to many of them this week.

I am, however, no slouch. I have been making pieces for the craft show Suzy and I will be selling our wares this coming December in lovely Williamsburg, VA. Last year we both told each other that it is best to start creating for the craft show in the summer. I took that to heart but I certainly don't want to show up unprepared. I'd rather have too much than not enough, you know what I mean? In my zeal to prepare for December, I have neglected Beth's Bagz. But no more. I am getting down to it, and happily making goodies for Beth's Bagz. Oh, I will be taking credit cards there very soon. Thanks to etsy for adding this great feature!

Hopefully, I'm not slowly going mad by listening to the little voices in the studio, but these little vintage bits n' bobs inspire me and yes, sometimes, I do listen to them. Sometimes...

Have a lovely rest of your week, my friends!~~~XXOO, Beth

Market Warriors at The DC Big Flea

Hello, My Friends!~~~

I went to the DC Big Flea today with dear Hubby. I had heard that an episode of the PBS show Market Warriors was being filmed there today. We saw the first episode of this new show and, to be honest, I am not sold on it. But more about that later.

As we waited to get into the Dulles Expo Center on a very drizzly morning, I saw a cameraman filming what I can only guess to be an establishing shot.

Look at the poor fellow holding the umbrella. He looks quite miserable.

At 9 a.m. we walked on in to browse the rows and rows of vintage goodies for sale. As you may know from previous posts, I am a frequent Big Flea shopper. Here is a little idea at the size of this place:

You may be able to see that this building goes on and on. I am standing at the halfway point here. It is advertised as having over 600 vendors.

I am standing halfway down one of the rows here.

The delightful Truffle Pigs ladies were there. Golly gosh, they have the cutest booth at the entire Big Flea!

But back to the "Market Warriors"...sigh. I had really hoped that I would like this show. It is based on an English show and the premise is letting four "pickers" loose at a flea market with cash to buy things which will later be auctioned. Whoever makes the most profit at the auction wins bragging rights. However, on the first episode these "experts" really didn't do that well as far as profits go, some even lost money. Are the producers of the show expecting us to root for one of these pickers or are they trying to teach us about buying (and selling) at an flea market? The only remotely useful pieces of information during the show are the flea market shopping hints done by the voice over from actor Fred Willard (who I understand will be replaced by Mark Walberg from "Antiques Roadshow").

Through the gauntlet of cameramen and boom mike wielders, you may be able to spy the pickers standing at a table getting thier "assignment" on what to shop for at the Big Flea. At least I think that's what this scenario is supposed to be. We did see some of the shows producers walking around talking to various vendors about some of their wares, so I suspect that the pickers don't really randomly look for objects but are directed to them. Just a guess. I know that many of these "picker" shows are staged but for once I'd like to see one that is more reality than production--I know, I know, a show like that just wouldn't be a commercial success and would be considered more of a documentary.

OK, now I need to pick on one of these pickers. She is this lady behind the blue table. Her name is Miller Gaffney and she is pretty and blonde and looks good on camera, but REALLY? Not since the thankfully defunct Picker Sisters has a female picker completely made the rest of us look like carefully coiffed, designer clothes wearing, high heel strolling Barbie dolls who have no trouble flirting til they drop. In episode one of Market Warriors, Gaffney stood in front of a dealer for a long time while fondling her i-pad doing market research of a certain piece of vintage Tiffany glass. She even told the dealer that she had $1000 to spend and his asking price on the piece was $1000. She finally decided to buy it and not surprisingly the dealer wouldn't budge on the price no matter how much she batted her eyelashes at him. She lost quite a lot of money at the subsequent auction. No duh. I really hate to come across as mean and I'm sure she's a lovely person, but she was terribly mis-cast. My only impression of her is from the show which touts her an an expert. The show didn't display her talents an an expert (on what, I'd like to know) in a favorable light. And I don't believe for one minute that she has spent any time getting dirty at estate or barn sales or even junk yards searching for vintage treasures. And the rest of the cast, an assortment of males, spent a lot of time talking over each other and muddling any information we, the audience, were supposed to learn. You may, however, disagree. Please watch the show and form your own opinion :)

If I was on "Market Warriors" (which you may, in the DC Big Flea episode, see me walking by in the background not by intention, the cameras were everywhere!) I would have shopped at these booths and bought the following (of course I would be spending the show's money!)...

This fun and huge tropical couch, and...

This Liddle Kiddles Klub to replace the one I had as a child, and...

This knee hugger elf with a HUGE head, so cool but not for $22, and...

All four of these groovy mod Beatles posters, and...

This trio of cute German elf boys, and...

ALL of these tin circus pieces, and...

Pretty much everything in this booth, but I'm thinking I may go way above the $1000 spending limit! Instead, here is a photo of what I purchased today:

Not too much, but a nice assortment of goods to repurpose into future projects. So, I'm hoping that "Market Warriors" and any show of that ilk will get better and be a success. I think shopping flea markets is a great thrill, but that comes as no surprise to anyone who regularly reads this blog. Have fun, my friends, in whatever you do!~~~XXOO, Beth

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lots to List!

Hello, My Friends!~~~

Thanks so much fot stopping by my Dime Store Chic sale this weekend! XXOO!

I have found a HUGE lot of great vintage goodies! One recent estate sale held the largest array of vintage dime store holiday and craft goodies I have seen in a long time! I am thrilled to offer them to you in Dime Store Chic!

It will take me a few days to get everything listed. There is SO much!

Here are a few things listed today:

Yards of cotton ball fringe!

Party picks for all occassions!

Flag picks and gummed patriotic seals!

Sweet angel slipper ornaments!

These are just the proverbial tip of the iceburg!~~~Check out Dime Store Chic this week for lots more!~~~XXOO, Beth

 

 

Dime Store Chic Now 60% Off Through Sunday

Hello, My Friends!~~

I have extended and given further discounts in Dime Store Chic until Sunday, July 15th!~~~To get your discount you MUST enter coupon code: DSC60JULY. I cannot give a refund on your purchase if you don't use the coupon code, so please use it. Thanks!

After Sunday I will add a whole lot of fresh finds to Dime Store Chic. It may take a few days, as I have found lots of great vintage goodies! Here is a not so nifty sneak peek:

These boxes are full of what I hope you will think are great vintage goodies. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your 60% discount at Dime Store Chic! Just remember to use the coupon code: DSC60JULY.~~~~Thanks!~~~XXOO, Beth

Want Half Off? You Got It!

Hello, My Friends!~~~

It is crazy time here at our house. We are redecorating our basement. We are having the yard sale we were supposed to have on June 30th, this coming Saturday, July 14th. And it looks like the heat wave may be breaking as we are getting a nifty thunderstorm with needed rain.

So in the spirit of cleaning out and getting things back in order, I am delighted to have another Dime Store Chic 50% off Sale!~~~Please enter the following coupon code at checkout (you MUST do this to get the discount) and use all caps: DSCHALFJULY.

Perhaps there is a vintage goodie you would like but would REALLY like to have at Half Off! Now is your chance! The sale will go from now until Friday, July 13th (maybe longer, who knows?).

I would show you a photo of our dining room piled high with yard sale goods, but it looks way too much like an episode of "Hoarders" and that is too embarrassing!

I would rather offer you half off in Dime Store Chic!~~~XXOO, Beth

Derecho

Hello, My Friends!~~

Here in the Washington, DC area we learned first hand a new meterological vocabulary word: derecho.

A derecho is a long-lived straight line of intense thunderstorms. The derecho that hit the DC area began in Chicago about 2 pm on Friday afternoon and slammed into my neck of the woods at 10:30 pm with the ferocity of a runaway freight train. Winds topped 90 mph. We immediately lost power and didn't get it back for 56 hours and of course we are having a heat wave with temps hitting 100 degrees and high humidity--gross.

Our life changed into a quest for places to get on-line, to charge phones and i-pads, to get food and air conditioning, to get ice, and just to cope. We did well and counted ourselves fotunate that the destruction barely tapped our house  but really wrecked havoc in the rest of our neightborhood...

The maple tree over my new Subaru had a few broken branches but my car was spared. We saw quite a few smashed cars nearby, just crushed beneath fallen trees.

The park at the end of our street lost quite a few very large trees including a gorgeous willow oak.

About 5 large trees came down next to each other.

The root balls were huge!

This one left a massive crater of white clay soil.

The path through the park was completely blocked. Bikers who ci=ommute through here can no longer do so until the parks dept clears the way.

And just a couple of blocks down the street...

Our friends and neighbors had a massive oak tree smash their living room and dining room, making the house unliveable. The tree was removed pretty fast. No one was hurt and the mom of our friends lives next door so they are staying there.

Driving around this weekend and even still proves to be challenging. Some traffic lights are still out, most were out this weekend, and trees still block the way...

Crews work dilegently.

Can't get through here.

Can barely get by here and careful to avoid the down power lines.

This house was spared but so many were not. The destrcution is the worst I have ever seen in the area and we have had a couple of hurricanes blow through, one tornado, and a blizzard. Over 1 million people in the area were without power but that number is steadily falling.

We count ourselves very fortunate and pray the rest of the folks in the area will get their lives and homes back to normal very very soon.~~~XXOO, Beth