Magpie Ethel

Getting My Spook on at Junk Bonanza

Today I loaded in my booth and got it set up for Junk Bonanza.  The show is Friday and Saturday and I could not be more exited.  It was a wet load in with a super rainy day.  I had to rent a uhaul.  I thought I could haul it all in my Subaru, but I evidently was delusional on that idea.

I started my day by locking myself IN my uhaul when I was unloading it.  It is easier to do this than you think!  Luckily there were lots of people loading and I banged on the back windows until I got the attention of my friend Sue.  Thank goodness for the rescue!Enough of that silliness and on to the booth. This was the first time I decided to switch it up and do a HALLOWEEN themed booth. The timing is right and I am hoping there are lots of people that will get excited seeing a booth like this.  Here it is.  I really, really love how it turned out.  I'm just gonna be picture heavy with this post. WARNING LOTS OF PHOTOS...but in a good way :)

I have had it in the back of my head to do a Halloween booth for the past year.  I have been collecting with that in mind at estate sales.  I love all the garden owls.  I was tempted to keep them all and decorate my front porch with them.  

The doll parts in the old aquariums...man, I love those.

I think my witch friend approves of this spooky booth.

It is kind of hard to see in this photo, but I added rat decals to my mirrors that I am selling.  I have about 4 mirrors and each has a rat or rats coming out of the corners.  

I had to add HAUNTED HOUSE to this vintage house for sale sign.

So fun. I can't wait. Show details.  October 14 and 15th...Friday and Saturday.  Friday 8-5. Early buying from 8-10 (you may have had to already buy tickets...check the website at Junk Bonanza).  Regular admission $10 at 10 a.m.  Saturday 9-5 $10.  Clark County Event Center, Ridgefield, WA.  Just a short drive north on I-5...easy...right off the freeway!

Hope to see you there!

 

 

 

Come Trick or Treat at My Halloween Booth

I have done a gazillion Christmas shows. I love doing them and love everything about crafting for them.  I love seeing all my creations displayed in one magical world.  This year I decided to mix it up a bit and try a HALLOWEEN themed booth.

The Junk Bonanza show is in one week and my house is full of spooky inventory.  I love Halloween and have always wanted to do a Halloween themed booth and this year I am actually doing one.  October 14 and 15th, Clark County Event Center (Ridgefield, WA)...only a short drive up over the bridge into WA from Portland.

Kate's room is currently full of boxed up spooky inventory.

I have had the idea to do a Halloween booth ever since I hit the Junk Bonanza show last year locally.  (I hit the one in Minnesota a few years ago.. you can read about it here and here).  I have been collecting all year for this booth.

I did a bunch of extra crafting this year with my Halloween creations too.

All year I have been picking up these old guard owls for a garden. I ended up with about 5 of them in different styles.  I just got this fellow with a rotating head.  I really want to keep them all and use them on my front porch.  How awesome would it be to have a porch with a bunch of huge owls staring out at you?

So come check out my HALLOWEEN booth.  Both vintage Halloween and my Halloween inspired creations.  I'm excited to see it all come together in one spooky world.  I guarantee you will have never seen another booth quite like it.

Favorite Minnesota Shop - Hunt & Gather

One of the highlights of my trip to Minnesota/Junk Bonanza was shopping at Hunt & Gather. I had shopped there on a previous trip and knew I had to hit it again. They had a spot at Junk Bonanza which only wet my whistle to head to their store.

My sis in law and I ventured over Friday after hitting Junk Bonanza again in the morning. 

The store is crazy over the top with color, imaginative displays and fun merchandise.  It is two floors and chock full of great stuff.  Eye candy photos to follow.

They were having a sale and had treats out as well. I wasn't in the mood for the rotating hot dogs, but they had bags of chips, cherry mash chocolates, ding dongs and Easter chocolates.  A quirky mix of party food and a fun little display.
I don't own any concrete swans but I always admire them. I would like a flock of them outside someday.

This bust was GIANT.  It had a fun necklace that spelled out Hunt & Gather made with vintage letters.

Wow.  What a shop.  On the way out I spotted this giant E.  E is for Ethel!  I knew it would not fit in the suitcase.
Such shopping fun...a must see if you are in that neck of the woods.

Happy Day!

 

 

 

Junk Bonanza and Minnesota Finds

I had one suitcase. That limits what you can buy. My suitcase was stuffed on the way home.

A fun prize ribbon made with old film strips and some celluloid dolls ready for a little Magpie Ethel makeover. The tin bucket was a favorite find.  I love the fish graphic on it.  The HI flag just made me smile when I saw it.
My collection of vintage baby rattles has really grown. I need to find a new spot to display them.  This one will join the rest of the gang.

These signs were the names of bowling teams.

A few ceramic figures.This apron will be tied to my shopping cart that I drag around to shows. I liked that the apron was from Minnesota..a good souvenir. The rubber duck head is rock solid. I bought a roll of toilet paper. Yes, vintage toilet paper. The wrapper is great. It is dated 1941 and I have the perfect project for it.  The rabbit will join the rest of my Easter collection. My sister in law was a very good sport for not being a vintage gal. In addition to two days at Junk Bonanza, we went to Hunt and Gather and also to the town of Hopkins and hit some shops there. This is the other half of what filled my suitcase.

The honeycomb bunny I had never seen before.  He is a tiny bit manic looking, but the Happy Easter bow tie is a plus.
Lots of finds for crafting. For those of you who lament that the spun heads are only on the west coast...my spun head radar found them in Minnesota.

Oh Deer.
These fellows were eager to hop on home with me. Much to the dismay of my blogland friend Marci, I found more plastic pigs.  One from the World's Best and Biggest Hog Market.
Vintage swans

A child's shoe box for my collection.

Bride and groom birds. A rubber bunny and a old marble game. I will use the green marble game as a display spot. What a suitcase full of fun.  Definitely some good shopping.  One more post coming on the trip.  A post on my favorite shop, Hunt & Gather.

My Trip To Junk Bonanza

This was my first trip to Junk Bonanza in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  I am lucky to have my brother and sister in law live there so Tom and I stayed with them.  My sister in law was a good sport and drove me to the show and then to multiple vintage shops in the area.

I got the early bird tickets for $25.  We got in two hours before the big crowd. We also had admission on each of the days of the show, so we ended up going Friday as well.  The ticket also had a $2 off coupon in the Junk Bonanza shop, so I used it towards a t-shirt. We also got a JB canvas bag (first photo). The early bird admission was definitely worth the price.

The show is good sized and has a great variety of vendors. I have been to Farm Chicks in Spokane, Washington a number of times and thought this show was very similar in the number of vendors, amazing displays and the great vintage finds.

Here we go on what I saw. Half the fun for me at these shows is the creative displays that people come up with.

I thought this was a clever display. Vintage dance cards are pinned to this old prom dress. I loved this display too. She had hung the old tin child's plates and saucers from the branches. Brilliant pop of color.

I liked this giant toothbrush. It was gone on my second round through the show.
One of my favorite vendors at the show was Hunt and Gather.  They have a shop in town (another post).  I love all their crazy color and whimsy. These next few photos are from their booth.

Hunt and Gather
Hunt and Gather
Hunt and Gather.  If I had driven to the show rather than flown, I would have bought this chair.

At another booth the front half of a VW was their checkout area.

If you watch the HGTV show Cash & Cari. Cari had a booth there. Here she is behind her register. This booth was more of a digger booth.  He had great stuff. I got a great tin fish bucket from him.

A great show. I was glad I hit two days as the vendors restock.

I also had the pleasure of meeting a fellow blogger Tammy, from Tammy's in Love.  It is always fun to meet someone that you have exchanged emails with. Hi Tammy!

Junk Bonanza finds coming in tomorrow's post. I had a great time at the show and would love to hit it again. They have another show in the fall and would be fun to hit that one...who knows...another trip in Sept?

Next time I would rather bring a truck.

Happy Day!