Collect: A day at the Markets!

If I were to say "I am a shopper", it would be the understatement of the year.  I love to shop. I really do. I admit it- and I also blame my mom. Don't worry, she will agree! 

At the top of my list of "favorite things to shop for" you will find antiques and vintage goodies of course! There is nothing like heading to a flea market or antique show early in the morning, and knowing that there are great treasures to be found with a little digging and hunting.  The fact that you can bargain doesn't hurt, and even better is the fact that I can craft using a majority of the things I bring home!  How/why would I possibly deny myself crafting supplies? I am an artist after all ;)

However, it also has to be said that I am a huge penny pincher. I WILL NOT buy something if I feel it's too expensive. Maybe it's my stubbornness too, but my will power can not be cracked. I have a very limited budget with which to shop, and I need to make that go as far as I possibly can. As soon as I find something I like I mentally put a price cap on the item, and I will not budge. Nope, no way.

Mom and I headed to the markets last weekend, and with the cost of moving and ridiculously high gas prices I was definitely sticking to a strict budget. No disposable money for this girl. I decided to take $100 cash out of the ATM, and see what kind of damage I could do. I consider it a challenge of sorts...

Here we go...

 I found a collection of old mother-of-pearl buttons that had been hand carved, and knew they had to be mine for a sweet price of $12. I've found that buttons like these, at these prices are getting harder and harder to find, so I was sure to scoop them up! Here are my two favorite:

 This beauty of a book caught my eye from inside a locked showcase. The silky fabric spoke to me, and the pink tassel on the side is so charming. 

 I was still on the fence about spending $28 on this beautiful book. That's a steep price, and big portion of my budget for the day. But when I opened up the silk cover to reveal a farmers almanac from 1899 inside, it was as good as mine. SOLD! 

 I was a little frustrated when I got home and saw $18 written in pencil on the front page. Dealers- remember to erase the price you paid for items that you hope to resell. It makes your customers feel gipped!  

 I love to find beautiful books that would work well as photo props. In this case, the book on the left is PERFECT. So lovely and a steel at only $4!

 The red, French book on the right was definitely the "deal of the day" for me. At only $2, it contains maps and information in French about all of the neighborhoods (that's arrondissements in French) in Paris. I threw my dollars at the dealer, stuck this little book in my sac and did a jump for joy. 

 Moving on from the "deal of the day", we have the "splurge of the day". 

 This old penmanship book went un-noticed until my mom back-tracked with me just to point it out. I am so glad she did! Each page is filled with the most gorgeous calligraphic animals, birds, letters and words. My plan is to frame several of the pages that are too lovely to be hidden away in a book. 

 Lucky, the dealer was able to reduce his price of $40 to $30. I have a feeling I would have regretted walking away from such a beautiful book- but at $40 I would have had too.  

 I have a weakness for silver beaded flowers. I love they way they sparkle in the light, and look SO vintage. I bought two of the four silver flowers this dealer had.

 At $5 each I wish I would purchased the whole lot. She may have even given me a deal, guess I'll never know....

 The last purchase of the day was this black mourning fan. I've come across several of these fans in the last few months, and they have been very popular in my shop. 

 Ringing up at $15, it's the most I've ever paid for a fan. This one will be staying in my personal collection as I just love the black and silver contrast. 

There you have it- a full list of my purchases. I think I did well; I love everything I bought, and got good prices, and came home with $1.  Three marks of shopping trip well spent!

I'd love to hear your feedback about this blog post. It's a subject I'm thinking about featuring regularly, but only if you like it :)