Change is Good

Hi Guys!! I am back from my trip with some great new ideas and possible new merchandise for the store. Change is good, right?? No I didn't fulfill my dream of opening up a shop on the coast

yet... But I did open up my email to find that some class changes were made to my upcoming Creative Connections Event in September.

The Art & Coronation class was still a go....

The Folk Art Painting Class was still a go...

But my Needle Felt Kitty class by Pat Murphy was cancelled. So before I left on my vacation, I switched my class to Jennifer Murphy's felted pin cushion class. Boy did I ever get a better surprise when I found out the pin cushion class got switched to the Let There Be Peace clip ornament project!! Yipee Skippy!!

And other changes are coming your way... The Vintage-Flea is now a fully operating Antique Mall with over 30+ consignors. Crazy how 6 years ago we started with 1200sq feet of unique retail treats. After one year at the Summer Grove location, we moved The Vintage-Flea to Downtown Newnan and have spent the last 5 years in a 4000 sq. foot building. Now with the hardships of the economy, many changes had to be implemented to help keep The Flea a float. So now that we are operating 100% as an Antique Mall we have implemented a new return policy:


The Vintage-Flea
All Sales are Final on Clearance items, Holiday items, and Original Artwork. All other merchandise can be exchanged from the same vendor it was purchased from within 7 days and with receipt.


Thanks for your understanding and continued support!!

Hitting The Road Jack!!

Yes that time of the year has come again where my family and I go off for a bit to explore the coast. This year we will be visiting Charleston and meandering our way down to my favorite city, Savannah. In the middle we will be visiting Hilton Head and Beaufort.. two new places that I have never been before.

vintage suitcase picture found here

So I wish you Aideu and hope to bring back some wonderful new treasures and stories to share.
See you soon at The Flea!

A Colorful Flea

"If you're quiet, you're not living. You've got to be noisy and colorful and lively"

- Mel Brooks

Blasts of colorful new items have come into the Flea recently and we love it!! Our peacock feathers are back (18"-20") and are only $1.00 each.

Dried Lavender bundles are also back in for $5.00 each.

New colorful Robes.. yes something different for our Flea customer but look at those colors!! Cotton robes with two large pockets in the front. We only have 6 in stock, $35.

Some fancy new mannequins have taken over my turquoise display. $55 for the small, $65 for the large. All with a linen body with Paris stamped on top and wooden base.

Quilted journals with the French Provencal color palette. $12.50 each. Framed Bird prints are $22 each. (Only 5 remain)

In the French Provencal color palette we also have clip boards, $12, and trays (not shown), $10 & $14.

Finally these would be perfect for Father's day, colorful globes $8 each.

If you want to see some of our new Americana goodies that have also come into the shop, click on "Flea Bite" at the top of this post. See you soon!!

Bloom

Heading over to one of my favorite new stores in Serenbe today called Bloom. Sisters Lindsey and Lauren have got it going on for sure in this adorable, funky & eclectic shop featuring some of the neatest one of a kind items. Lindsey and Lauren do a great job searching

out the Indie Artist and want to have a shop filled with handmade, quality items.

I was honored to be asked to bring some paintings by to hang in their little paradise. Here are a few of my new ones headed their way..

I think they will like this one called Bloom. $275 Encaustic on Luan Board. 24"x16"

One of my favorites that will fit really well in the Serenbe Community is Lakeside. $275 Encaustic on Luan, 24"x16".

And another mini landscape. I've been selling lots of these lately. La Plage is $150, Encaustic on Luan board, 12" x 12".

Thanks Girls!!

If you are interested in any of these paintings, you can call the Bloom Shop at 770-629-1756.

Meet the Neighbors...

We have some new neighbors that have moved into our backyard paradise.. Romeo and Juliet. We have lived in this house for 7 years and we have seen several geese, a blue heron or two, but never any swans!! What a treat. The kids and I decided to play the welcoming committee this morning.

This brought back fond memories of my childhood living in South Florida. We lived on a small canal and I remember fondly treating the ducks to white wonder bread at least once a week. My father and brother would fish for catfish and my friends and I would take the canoe out and someone would intentionally turn us over for a fun dip in the canal. That was until an alligator showed up in our backyard and decided to hang out with us for a few days. We never swam in that canal again and the "what happened to the cat" question was finally answered.

Back to Romeo.. what a handsome fella. He had his feathers ruffled up for us the whole time making sure that his lady love was always protected.

Juliet stayed in the back for awhile before coming up to say hello herself. She was definitely very shy.

Olivia told Romeo over and over again.. please stop eating all the bread pieces, Juliet is hungry too! What a typical male.

Brice (blue shirt) had his friend over to "hang out". Ever see Diary of a Wimpy Kid?? Boys don't play together, they hang out. Oh and let me just say that my son probably has the largest collection of silly shirts amongst 8 year olds. His favorite in his collection says "your lips keep on moving, but all I hear is Blah Blah Blah". With that smirk you KNOW I have my hands full.

Finally this is my backyard that Romeo and Juliet have come to call their own... definitely prime real estate.

300 acres of pure bliss living sans alligator. Anyone want to go for a swim??

A Visit From Olive Rue

So it all started with this..

an amazing image transfer from Olive Rue (btw I didn't get this one last time but OMG.. I am so buying it now) which I was planning to use to make some great new products for the shop. So that purchase led to a convo with Crystal, a.k.a Olive Rue, where she told me that she was from Carrollton. A few days later.. she visits the store. Talk about talent.. this girl not only runs her Etsy shop but she is a fantastic photographer. You can catch her on her other blog (did I mention that she has 2) called Vintage Remixed.

We must have been friends in another life because she is as crazy over shells and beach decor as I am!! Head over to see Crystal at Vintage Remix and see all of the lovely shop photos!!

Thanks Crystal!! Your a hoot!!

Feeling Flirty??

Some new jewelry came into the shop today.. I think you will LOVE it!!

Pearls, Pearls Pearls.. white pearls $15

silver pearls on silver wire $10 (also in white)

I'm calling this collection Vintage Flirt!! Love the new headbands. $20 each

some pretty flirty new earrings have also come in.. $14 each.

see you soon.

New Store Pictures

I was feeling a bit blah lately about the shop... a colorful makeover

was all I needed!!

Lots of Japanese lanterns are hanging from the front room

to highlight our newest pottery from Rae Dunn. Rae is

a California native whose handmade pieces are simply

stunning.
A colorful new clock has found its way onto our walls.

New bird prints that just flew into the shop.

Our new Sea Horse lamps are gorgeous and really

make our beach section complete.

Our Memorial Day Sale will be this weekend on Friday and Saturday. You will find amazing booth wide sales from 10-20% off, a $20 children's clothing rack from Simple Treasures, Low Country Produce Gourmet will be 50% off, all plant kits are now only $5, and much much more.

Hope to see you soon.

Signed, Sealed, and Delivered

Yep.. I have sent off my registration form and check and now I am officially going to The Creative Connection Event in Minneapolis, MN

in September!! This is an amazing 3 day workshop filled with art, inspiration, and wise business advice for the entrepreneur. Best yet it is hosted by Jo Packham (Where Women Create), and Nancy Soriano (former editor-in-chief of Country Living Magazine).

and if that is not enough.. some of the featured artists on hand to teach workshops are Betz White, Jennifer Murphy, Kaari Meng, Pat Murphy, and Wendy Addison.

Owning a gift boutique may seem like glamorous work to a few but the reality is I don't take home a paycheck. It ALL goes back into The Flea. So I promised myself to take at least one fun, business related trip every year. I went to Portland one year for the Art & Soul retreat, New York after that for the Country Living Fair, and do you remember this past February??
I wonder what new people and new things I will be introduced to this time!!

more fun than you can shake a stick at.....

Seriously.. what kind of expression is that?? Anyways a few months back I was seduced by a blog with the most amazing photographs. Reading back several posts I found out that she uses Photoshop Element Actions. Okay I don't speak the photog lingo but she linked over to the Florabella Collections website where any amateur can instantly be turned into a wonder wiz...

(Well I don't know about instantly, I had a hard time figuring out where the goodies went after I downloaded them into photoshop) 2 hours later and 1 email from Shana Rae herself.... taa daa!!

The Florabella Vintage Action
The Florabella BW Action
And this was the original. My daughter (pink hat) and her friend after their Easter Egg hunt on the beach. So now I am ready to redo The Vintage-Flea website with some amazing new photographs of our latest and greatest in the shop. What could you do with a little action??
For more inspiration, visit the original blog that started this all.. Mimi Charmante. And lucky you.. on her blog she is giving away a set of the Florabella Actions!! Get on over there and register.. best of luck.

update.. The Florabella Actions giveaway has inspired one of my own!! Leave me a comment and you will be entered to win one of our adorable wooden birds now posing

for us in our new Blog Banner!! Yes I love these actions so much I changed my blog banner. Good Luck!!

I'm a sucker for a good Tote...

I really am... I must have at least 10 large ones in various colors and a few dozen smaller ones that I keep around. My kids use them when they sleep over a friends house, we use them to clean up the junk in the car (mostly toys), and I especially use them to haul all my finds to work.

So that is why I like this company so much.. The colors are gorgeous and the price is perfect. The small drugstore bag is $9, large department size is $14, the laundry tote is $22, and the storage box is $28.00.

And they can be monogramed for those that like that extra touch of personalization. Here we have a laundry tote that I will be giving to our shop girl Kate who is graduating this year from High School. Plane Stitches is just around the corner from us.. this embroidery cost just $8!

Here are some more of our department bags.. beautiful summer colors.

For those that are heading of to The University of Georgia this year.. how about a black and white bag with red monograms?? Come on by The Vintage-Flea soon for best pickins...