Dean and I hit the road on Friday morning and drove to Warrenton, Texas. We enjoyed the two-hour road trip and made a couple of quick stops on the way. We arrived in the Round Top and Warrenton area at 11:00 am.
Antique Weekend is a huge antique, craft, art and collectibles event that attracts thousands of dealers from across the country. There are shows, shops and events in more than a half dozen communities that participate in this huge flea market. This year the events take place between September 22 and October 7.
We parked the car at Cole's Antique Shop on the outskirts of Warrenton. This is a 63,000 square foot building with over 200 vendors. The building is air-conditioned and has indoor restrooms. There are also vendors in the parking lot and they offer FREE parking for customers. We spent about half an hour in the cool Cole's building and then started our walk toward downtown Warrenton. Many vendors were housed under tents and temporary shelters. It was a hot day and Dean decided to buy a straw hat to keep the sun off his head.
I put some serious mileage on my shoes as I walked from shop to shop looking at all the unique, unusual and sometimes outlandish treasures that were for sale. I didn't buy much....several pieces of sheet music and some thread on wooden spools. I really didn't see very many big "bargains" but I am not very good at negotiating with the dealers so I don't bicker over the prices. If the price is too high for my taste, I just keep looking.
The reality TV shows Market Warriors and American Pickers have made flea markets like this more popular than ever. I made the following video that shows the highlights of our day.
I
would love for you to FOLLOW this blog. You may use either the Google Friend
Connect or the Networked Blog widget to show your support and encouragement.
Please share your thoughts in the
Comments Section below.
I usually write book reviews but today I would like to share a magazine that I discovered on a local news stand. ReadyMade Magazine is a magazine about people who make things, and the culture of making. The magazine covers DIY, design, home, food, crafts, style, places and projects. The ReadyMade community appears to be quite large and the web site includes a blog, a place for readers to post projects, the magazine and an opportunity to connect on Facebook and Twitter. The cover of the magazine features two cute table lamps made from old recycled books. I am very interested in reusing old items to create new treasures so I opened the magazine to have a look. I was delighted to see a variety of ideas for reusing and repurposing old treasures to make brand new useful items for your home and garden.
Here are a few of the creative ideas that are featured in the April/May, 2011 issue of ReadyMade Magazine;
Credit Card Earrings Have you ever cut up an old credit card and thrown it in the trash? What about those little fake credit cards that you get in the mail? You can cut the plastic cards into unique shapes, punch tiny holes in the top and add some French wire earring hooks that are available at most crafts shops. These dangle earrings are cute and unique.
TV Shelf What do you do with your old TV sets? Many of these old relics from the 1980s and 1990s end up in landfills or thrift shops. One crafty lady designed a unique storage unit by taking the insides and the screens out of the TVs and bolting them together. She then filled them with books, shoes and decorative items.
Old Record Albums I have seen quite a few crafty ideas for using old vinyl records, but this one is truly unique. Matt Glassmeyer used more than 100 vinyl records as a roof for his porch in Nashville, TN. The records were left outside in the rain, heat and snow for two years. They were still the same - no brittleness or warping. Mr. Glassmeyer explains exactly how to arrange the records on the roof for the best waterproofing effects.
This magazine has encouraged me to think outside of the box. There are so many ways to recycle, repurpose and reuse items that are no longer needed. The magazine and the web site will provide inspiration to all who are ready to get crafty and start some new projects.
I invite you to check out these resources and let me know what you think in the comments below.
We parked the car at Cole's Antique Shop on the outskirts of Warrenton. This is a 63,000 square foot building with over 200 vendors. The building is air-conditioned and has indoor restrooms. There are also vendors in the parking lot and they offer FREE parking for customers. We spent about half an hour in the cool Cole's building and then started our walk toward downtown Warrenton. Many vendors were housed under tents and temporary shelters. It was a hot day and Dean decided to buy a straw hat to keep the sun off his head.
I put some serious mileage on my shoes as I walked from shop to shop looking at all the unique, unusual and sometimes outlandish treasures that were for sale. I didn't buy much....several pieces of sheet music and some thread on wooden spools. I really didn't see very many big "bargains" but I am not very good at negotiating with the dealers so I don't bicker over the prices. If the price is too high for my taste, I just keep looking.
