The Weirdest and Stranges Animals On Planet Earth

Sparks/White Cloud ~ Fall 09 ~ The Temptations

As promised, some photos of some of the things I saw at Sparks and White Cloud this year. I keep telling myself that I am spending less and buying less since I am taking more photos, but I'm not so sure. The things I am showing on this post I admired, but didn't buy ~ I'll show you what I purchased in tomorrow's post ~ it's sunny today and I am on vacation from my day job, so I ought to be able to get a few decent photos.

I find I am always drawn to sewing items ~ notions, buttons, clasps, pincushions, dress forms, sewing displays.......

{unique advertising pincushion ~ there were five in the series}

{tiny pincushions ~ especially love the mother of pearl disc one}

{great sewing displays from stores}

{loved this graphic and the name}

Another thing I admire is cast iron ~ I love old heating registers and grates, iron rests, fencing etc. ~ basically decorative iron work.

{lovely victorian fencing ~ $950 was probably reasonable, but more than I wanted to spend}

Then there are the drawers, cabinets, organizers etc.... I never come away from a flea market or antique sale without drooling over some of these. Lately, I am only looking ~ unless it is an amazing bargain or something I just cannot resist ~ I have no room in my house anymore ~ unless I get rid of something!

{nice handmade chest of drawers ~ love the handles}

{old mail boxes ~ would make a great organizer for something}

{great cake cabinet ~ this one was pricey ~ $100}

Groups of objects or collections also catch my eye ~ even if it isn't something I collect or am especially interested in. I'm always appreciative of a vendor's efforts to display their wares well.

{great collection of trophies}

{group of old piano rolls}

{advertising buttons}

{nicely organized scrabble tiles}

{nice grouping of games by color}

Of course, a day at a flea market isn't complete without at stop for a funnel cake or corn dog ~ certainly lots to tempt you here too!

Sparks/White Cloud ~ Fall 09 ~ The Scenery

This weekend (starting Friday for me!) has been a good one for flea markets and antique shows! Friday, I took off work and traveled to the twice yearly Sparks and White Cloud Flea Markets ~ about an hour and a half from my home. On the way, I passed through many other small towns ~ places like Troy, Wathena & Fanning ~ many have interesting signs welcoming you to their town.

{signs coming and going}

{Dairy Barn in Wathena}

White Cloud is about 10 miles from Sparks ~ at some point in its history it must have been an up and coming small town ~ there is a main street and surrounding streets, a decent sized school and a giant grain elevator. Now, things seem rather deserted ~ I believe the population is under 100 ~ the school serves as a museum and many of the homes and buildings have fallen into disrepair. Twice a year the flea market brings in many people ~ the main street is lined with vendors, the open field at the top of the hill is usually filled and several buildings house vendors as well ~ you never know what you will find!

{Welcome to White Cloud!}

{Grain elevator}

{White Cloud School/Museum}

{Home along Main Street ~ nice wood shingle pattern!}

Sparks, on the other hand, is even smaller and even less of a town than White Cloud ~ I think the population here is under 30! There are several buildings that look to be the start of a town, but it looks as if it never took off. I guess that when the flea market is not going on, it would be easy to drive by and barely notice the town at all.

A moment of panic as I saw a few raindrops, but lucky for me it never rained while I was shopping at either place! I managed to get a few shots of what the vendors had to offer ~ and my purchases as well ~ I will share those in my next posts!

{bank building at Sparks}

{Sarge & Bonnie welcoming me to Sparks!}

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