I love the shabby chic look of old silver (silver plate). I think that using it in my holiday decor is fun and looks very nice. I am currently in a silver, white, red and greenery phase. I was thrilled today to find a very dirty, brown drab looking, urn stuffed into the garden area of a thrift store. I thought that it was plastic from fairly close...but, I picked it up...and surprise, surprise, a real find. I found a vintage silver champagne bucket, that had been used as a planter. It appeared to have been sitting in the back of an old shed for a long time. I really liked the price...$4. Now I know that the bucket would be much more shined up at an antique store. It is now by the fireplace with a white pumpkin sitting on it!! I like finding great stuff like this!
Today, I went to the Largest Antique Fair that is held in the area, The Coburg Antique Fair, running for 25 years, one day each year. I have gone to nearly all of them. The first ones were small affairs, then turning into huge events. The last few years have been smaller, I think that the economy is to blame. Not many people have $$ for such things. I put $20 cash in my pocket, to avoid making large purchases. The dealers had things priced pretty high for this area, I wonder how they fared. There was one gal with a jewelry booth, and she had everything priced at $2. She was doing great..women were crowded around her tables...and they were buying. I got 4 items to use in crafting, because I know that the retail options were $$$. I could have stayed much longer...however, I had to get home for the dogs. It was fun, and there was no admission fee.
I decided to drive a scenic route back, on a road that has very expensive, exclusive homes and properties. There was a garage sale sign at one, well, hum...interesting. I stopped to see it, thinking that these folks might have really nice things for sale. I was disappointed. I wonder though...the affluent folks are doing this...instead of just doing donations. Hum...
