Paris Flea Market~the cottage~Leesburg, VA

These are the girls who are responsible for all the fun and frivolity over the weekend. They are Linda and Ann, owners of the cottage, the shop where The Paris Flea Market is held. They are as beautiful inside and out as their wonderful shop is. It's hard to work up a lot of sympathy for all of our hard work doing shows when you catch us on film having the time of our lives! Well it IS a lot of work but this is what really makes it all worthwhile...I can never (and hopefully never will) get over how blessed I am by all the friends I've made through this crazy biz. Talented?~oh yeah, fun?~you bet, carney-like?, uhu, great friends?~the best! It's away camp for little girls who accidentally grew up. Hope Wallace/Paper Relics, Amy Powers/Inspire Company, Stephanie (me with the pigtail coming from my buzz cut~I have no idea what that is)/Doojies. Check out both Hope and Amy's blogs for more pics. Also Hope has some of her own beautiful pro photogs on http://flickr.com/photos/thesoulofhope/tags/parisfleamarket .

Above is my spot o' fun.

Below is part of Karen's area minus a lot of cute and pretty items she had already sold. I didn't take this 'til Saturday afternoon~I forgot to whip out my camera until then~and missed her previously-packed space. I think I hear her crying on the way to the bank, oops I mean Georgia Tech, to pay next year's tuition. Amy's little still~life with her little ballerinas and Eiffel Towers~sooooooooo Amy!

Amy in her cutey apron acting as sales girl helping a customer. There's no need to "sell" when it comes to Amy's sweeties, everyone wants them all. A view from the back of the yard to the back of the cottage. The tents were a great idea, we had rain off and on Friday (did NOT dampen any one's spirits especially the customers!) but, thankfully, not 'til the end of the day on Saturday.

Fab fabric laundry bags, sachets, and all manner of cuteness abounds...

This gal had lots o' wonderful nature items and her 12 year old daughter's fashion designs!, plus some of the cutest, unusual toy items I've ever seen. I made what I called perhaps my most frivolous purchase ever with her~band aids that look like a STRIP OF BACON. The really frivolous part was that I bought THREE BOXES and I feel it to be one of the best investments of my life!

last time until after...

I said I wasn't going to post again until after the Paris Flea Market but I couldn't wait and also had to send one last reminder. Karen and I made our first trip with loads today to get ready to set up for tomorrow. Okay, I know I mentioned this before but I have to say without doing it any justice, the drive is so beautiful. All I got was this pic which is not great but shows a little how green and lush it is? As soon as you hit Route 15 and cross the bridge it just gets breathtaking. I saw so many great photo opts but couldn't stop. Check it out in person yourself!

Then we are greeted by the girls! Oh what fun already. And the shop. No eye contact until we could peruse the whole place and I immediately started making my pile at the cash wrap desk.

So I got some first-day buys under my belt and already home. There are so many fab morsels to look at.

I took many more party pics but I don't want to give too much away, you just gotta see it all in person or you'll have to wait 'til after.

Amy's little nook inside the shop.

Amy setting up outside, having fun with a trial run.

Just a peek of what will be tomorrow in Amy's tent...

And here's just one of my wonderful first-day purchases. The hydrangeas already cozy in my bathroom!

No snoozing and loosing, see you there!

Mira, Mira~By Surprise!

I must have been really distracted on Friday when this showed up in my mailbox. Well it was the beginning of finally getting some nice weather. So distracted by it being Friday; no homework, all the kids out riding bikes, me on the front porch (on my new porch furniture-see previous post regarding PJ's) doing my crossword puzzle... So by bedtime I still hadn't thought much except, "hmmm, I don't have a subscription to this, I usually pick it up at the newsstand". Then I decided to peruse the issue and it dawned on me that they do send a complimentary copy when they publish your art but, since it had been well over a year since I had submitted anything to them, I brushed off the thought.

Then I flipped to this page and still didn't think a thing until my eye caught MY NAME. It had been so long since I submitted this I didn't even recognize it. I "rock-starred" myself (as Mellie and I like to say-we easily amuse ourselves)! Well it IS fun.

I couldn't be greedy, I had to share. Remember, just when things might seem ho-hum or even when you are busy enjoying one thing another great thing can still surprise you. Have a blessedly surprising day!

Gallery Under Construction...

As I was taking pictures of my most recent art work today before the Paris Flea Market, I was thinking how I take pictures of everything but don't usually do anything with them. So I decided that I'm going to build this gallery post and then move it to archives so y'all won't have to go through all these to get somewhere else. So, here's the start and as soon as I figure out how to move them they'll be easier to look for.