The reason we went to San Francisco was primarily to hit the monthly Alameda Flea Market. We were not disappointed. We arrived at 6:30 a.m (gates opened at 6). It was still dark, but luckily I had a teeny key-chain flashlight with me. I had dressed in layers as the morning was quite nippy...I even wore gloves for the first few hours. The day turned into an absolutely glorious sunshiny day.
You can see the city in the background. The rows of vendors stretched on and on. It was truly amazing.
I usually pick up smalls, and was true to form on this trip. I had plenty to dig thru. At one stand every thing was $1 and I spent alot of time looking thru the goodies. The prices were fairly good and i think I dickered on everything I bought.
I got this BIG metal heart and thought it fitting to cluster my finds within it...you know a little ALAMEDA FLEA MARKET LOVE.
At one booth they had a bowl of unused vintage patches...names like Mabel and Edna and such. I was thrilled to find "Ethel" among the bunch!
I was happy to find this silly bump chenille duck to use as a prototype for a little Easter crafting.
Spun heads were shouting my name from quite a few booths.
This old German rotating display rack was pretty cool. No idea what I will do with it, but one of these days I will figure it out...will let you know when I do.
You may remember a post I did a few weeks ago about collecting green vintage tins. I narrowed down the field to those that held mints. Found one! The teeny tiny type says that these mints come "in four strengths of mint - white, pink, green and yellow".
This little girl will find a sweet spot somewhere in my world. She is less than two inches tall. I'm also a sucker for things made with pipe cleaners.
Holiday items to add to my collections or that need to have a little Magpie magic worked on them. Mr Snowman on the top left has lost his top hat in a snowstorm..luckily for him, I have one to give him out in the studio.
I couldn't pass this bunch of honeycomb chicks by. They also will be getting a little TLC out in the studio.
I also got this great hand painted frame.
The glass is fairly thick and there are four holes drilled in it. You put an image under the glass and then attach it to the wall. I liked the whimsical nature of the children. A day can't go wrong when you are blowing bubbles.
The five of us ended up filling two carts. One of the women Thea, owns a shop and another gal, Lynne has a spot at Monticello antique mall so they bought larger items. We filled up two good sized carts.
I think we did pretty good, altho we barely had enough room in the car. My little nodder doll I got at the flea is also giving me a nod that we found some great stuff.
More San Francisco posts to come on some finds from some one of a kind shops that left me dazzled and in awe!
Happy Day!
Welcome back! Sounds like a good trip! I love the bunny with the Happy Easter Booklet and the other holiday stuff of course!!!
I've been snooping thru your stuff too all week but it wouldn't be snooping if I left a message would it?!
;-)
Posted by: Theresa | February 11, 2010 at 04:00 PM
Such great finds! So there ARE spun cotton heads to be found in California after all... I never find them here! That little pipe cleaner doll is adorable!
Hugs,
Jill
Posted by: Jill | February 11, 2010 at 06:40 PM
Wow! Amazing and so great that the weather was good. I think I love the honeycomb chicks the best.
Posted by: Sadie | February 11, 2010 at 06:42 PM
Your 'Ethel' heart is fantastic - so glad to see you had some blue skies while walking around with the all the other vintage people. Getting a little homesick here but bring it on! Can't wait to hear what other adventures you had. -amy
Posted by: Into Vintage | February 11, 2010 at 06:42 PM
I kept liking each thing better - all the spun heads, and then the honeycomb chicks, and that frame! It would have been worth the trip for just the Ethel patch, though.
Posted by: barbara | February 11, 2010 at 06:44 PM
Wowzee! You found some goodies! The Ethel patch, the honeycomb chicks and lets' not forget the spun heads. You know I was in a shop last week and they wanted $5 a head! These were Santa heads but geez Louise!
Posted by: Shelley Germann | February 11, 2010 at 08:14 PM
What a fun trip! And BTW, my daughter loves your blog too and thinks it is pretty cool that you MADE the Christmas house I gave her for Christmas!
Posted by: Lori | February 11, 2010 at 08:27 PM
Happy to have you back home, but what a fantastic trip! I haven't made it to Alameda yet. I'll have to do that one soon. Have you been to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena?
All your finds are fun, but I have to say the glass with the hand painted children is calling my name! Can you hear it? Oh and how can I not mention that ultra cool Ethel patch? Such fun!
Posted by: Janelle | February 11, 2010 at 10:27 PM
OH I love the finds you that you got..glad you had a wonderful time and are back safe and sound.:)
Posted by: gina | February 12, 2010 at 01:16 AM
I don't know what I enjoyed looking at the most. All of your "smalls" you collected or the sunshine!! This looks like such fun. Love the Ethyl patch, too! - Kathy
Posted by: Kathy | February 12, 2010 at 05:26 AM
I am friends with the folks who you bought that patch from. Their stuff is great!
I had a feeling you would hit there booth when I saw you had been to Alameda. We are so lucky to have that faire every month.
Posted by: Liz | February 12, 2010 at 10:20 AM
I sooooo wish Portland had a big, amazing flea market like that. I used to live in Pasadena and went to the flea market at the community college there all the time. It was the best!
Posted by: Jessica - Domestic PDX | February 12, 2010 at 07:58 PM