I love a good road trip- especially one that leads me to crafts, antiques, recycled and upcycled goodies, and…um…lemonade. (I’m a sucker for fresh-squeezed lemonade. But I digress.) My crafty BFF Vicki O’Dell, the Creative Goddess invited me to take a ride with her and her cousin down the Ohio State Fairgrounds to check out the Country Living Fair. How could I refuse?
It was a sunny day, and after shelling out $5.00 for parking and $15.00 for entrance, we made our way in. (Parking was the pits, by the way. There was no rhyme or reason to it, and folks parked all willy-nilly. A pox on the parking company!)
The even was held at the Ohio Village in Columbus, right by the fairgrounds. There’s a historic “town” set up, and the CLFair was set up in and around that. However, the vendors were set up in tent booths. Just wanted to set the stage.
Now…we got there around 11:30AM on Saturday, and It. Was. CROWDED! The first round of the fair, we had to just peek into booths because there were lines just to get into them. AND it was a sunny day- the kind of day that when you are in the sun you are HOT, but in the shade it was actually a little chilly. Result? We got hot and cranky fast. Good thing there was so much eye candy to keep us mollified.
Of course, being Autumn, there were some awesome Halloween decorations to inspire:
Tree with vintage-inspired ornaments. Fun!
Crepe paper and vintage repro images. They look like ones that you can find in the Dover publications.
Fun funky knick-knacks.
And banners are still all the rage. This one has text-covered stars.
You could make this "Boo" sign in no time!
I also saw a LOT of re-purposed Chenielle bedspreads. I mean a LOT. There were cakes and pillows and dresses and jackets, oh my!
From "Romance Your Home"
Cute jackets!
Vintage materials in the is dress by ThriftyTrixie.com.
Now, see that cute dress I’m holding up? Well, I didn’t buy THAT one, but I did by a different one by ThriftyTrixie.com and a swing top, too. They were just so cute I couldn’t resist! (PS- not the lemonade in my left hand? See. Told you. Sucker.)
Well, that’s probably enough for today, although I do have some more pictures to share. If you want a different perspective, head on over to The Creative Goddess’ blog- she took a different tack and looked at display ideas!
September 28, 2010 at 6:07 am
I love that you took different photos that I did. I get to relive more of the Country Living Fair that way!
I have a couple of more posts about what I saw coming up this week. That’s what happens when you take soooo many pictures!
September 28, 2010 at 6:12 am
Oooohhh! Love that dress! And now I know why I’ve been hanging onto that chenille bedspread I got at a yead sale one year. It has a small black ink stain on it that I couldn’t bleach out, but the rest of it is, well, so SEWable!
September 28, 2010 at 6:49 am
Vicki- I know, right?? I’m holding on to my Amy Barickman post for another day…but I still have another set of photos to share. AND all taken on my iPhone!
September 28, 2010 at 6:51 am
Jen, you are “Sew” right! (har, har!) Chenille in upcycled clothing is all the rage. OR…you could sell that spread on Ebay for a mint!!! They are really “in demand” right now. Hope you make something fun!
October 18, 2010 at 1:22 pm
my sister and I had a great time–Early bird tickets, close parking and good weather, along with great finds–can’t wait for next years fair.