Oronoco Gold Rush Days 2010 - Part 3

2nd Annual Junkologie Blog Party

August 20, 2010

4:30-6:30 p.m.

Oronoco Park Campgrounds

220 5th St NW

Oronoco, MN

 

This sign greeted each of us as we entered the Pfarkel Sisters camping area.  Amy of Junkologie created the original idea and asked the Pfarkel Sisters to work together with her this year in sponsoring it.  Anywhere the Pfarkel Sisters are, there will be fun times. They are just an awesome group of ladies.

These vintage drapes were strung between two trees and created an entry into the junked up table which had information for the upcoming JUNK shows Junk Bonanza and the AA/JMS events, business cards, and entry forms for the attendance prizes for the blogging party.

Close up of the cool table set up.

Purpose of a Blogging Party:

1) to meet fellow bloggers

2)Junk up your culinary skills in the 2nd annual blogging potluck. 

Bring your food served in a junked up display, and potentially win a prize.

3)Win Junkologie gear and other prizes just for attending.

Amy of Junkologie explaining the hows and whys of the entries for the potluck.

Part of the potluck tables.

Cold drinks and yummy food was shared by all.  Next year, I will participate.  This year I didn't know if I was able to attend or not, until right before it started.

Amy had a helper with picking the winners for the prizes. Sophie, a junk extrodonaire in training of the Pfarkel clan was more than willing to help Amy out with this fun task.

Amy giving Sophie directions as to who the lucky winner was.

Some of the lucky winners with their prizes.

Never a shortage of words when you get this many ladies in a group.  Lots of visiting and fun.

Note the retro cool furniture some of the ladies are sitting on.  Amy found these pieces at the Flea Market the day before and was nice enough to let people use them during the blogging party.

The ladies from Iowa come up to Oronoco and Junk Bonanza each year to hunt for treasures.

Mary and Amy in a conversation while others visit behind them.

See, I was really at Oronoco...Jenny and I visiting.

Jenni, is my new 20 something jewelry friend I met at the show and than she came over to the blogging party.  It was fun to meet and visit with her, as we both have a passion for vintage redesigning jewelry.

This segment of my blog post is about a California film crew that was attending the Oronoco Gold Rush Days and filming on site for a pilot show for this upcoming Fall on the History Channel, when they heard about the blogging party and wanted to come and see what it was all about and film it.  How fun is this...  Come along with me for a behind the scenes look at a TV crew filming in Minnesota.

BB Entertainment

Manhattan Beach, CA

Producers Nick and Deborah with their Film Crew

The gentlemen meeting the Pfarkel sisters in this photo is the gentlemen that is interviewing the people they are filming through out the US this summer for this TV series.  He is a Vietanam Vet, and was a very interesting gentlemen filled with wisdom and life experiences.

Meeting and visiting with Ki, owner of Junk Bonanza.

Crew in action.

As I look on the interview/filming from behind the crew.

Amy has done studies on the health and wellness benefits of junking, antiquing and such and is explaining her thesis she's working on.  I was then asked to share a bit as I had an earlier conversation with this gentlemen that he wanted filmed.  Who knows what will be kept or tossed, but it was interesting, fun and another fun life experience now called a "memory".

They loved the retro campers the Pfarkel Sisters and families own and use, so they even filmed a bit of history about their cool campers.  Filming the cool retro camper above.

An inside shot of the Pfarkel sisters cozy vintage camper that  they've dolled up.  They even travel with this cutie pie little poodle.

I hope you enjoyed this little 3 part mini tour via my blog posts about Oronoco Gold Rush Days, and some of the great vendors one meets, the fabulous people to hang with, the fun blogging party each year, the great food, the hot weather, and the fabulous treasures one can leave with.

Tutorial - Transforming a Window into a Business Sign

Welcome to my window transformation tutorial.  I will show you how to take an everyday tossed aside window and turn it into something once again useful and functional.

This is the finished sign.  I am a jewelry designer that recreates with vintage elements and was in need of a sign for my business when I do special events.  I will be participating in an upcoming event called AA/JMS here in Minnesota next week, with Sue Whitney, aka Junk Market Style owner.  I did a post about it here.  So when I found this great window at an occasional sale store, I knew I had to have it for this re purposing.

My window in its before state.  Loved the 4 slats of glass and thought words when I saw it.

I took extra foam core from another project and cut it into 4 strips to fit inside of the window panes.

At JoAnns' I found the perfect material for this project.  Kind of an oatmeal color with flecks of neutrals in it for texture, but yet smooth enough to paint on.  Used a 50% off coupon for the fabric and bought extra to also make some jewelry frame boards with the same material.

Tools of choice...paint palette, acryclic black paint, paint brush and stencils of choice.

I taped my stencils together to spell out my words ahead of time with masking tape and than made sure I had them even before starting to paint the letters.  I also taped this word down to the material to keep it in place.

It was time consuming, as I've a tendency towards perfectionism sometimes, but well worth the time and effort.  I didn't have any over runs of paint under letters, etc., which can happen if one rushes a job such as this.

My sign with just two of the sections completed.

Each of these panels fit in tightly, so they just pop in from the back side.  I however chose to carefully tack the individual panels in better with small nails.  I also trimmed off the excess material on the edges of the back panels too, which I do not have a photo showing.

Here's the sign hanging in our home, so that I could take a photo of it.  I am considering making four more panels with French words or something else that I like and use it in our home like that,  in between the special events that I would just normally get to use the busines sign for.  Just a thought!

Here I have the sign up at the AA/JMS event and waiting for the rest of my props and jewelry to get put together too.  I have a sale this Friday and Saturday at our French Flea shop, and than can get set up totally at the AA/JMS event for the May 5-9 sale.
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and it maybe gave you some inspiration of what to do with a window you may have laying around the garage or basement.

Here is another window idea I did for our cabin decor with a six pane window.

I'm linking up today with:

Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays at Coastal Charm 

Transformation Thursdays at The Shabby Chic Cottage

DIY Day at A Soft Place to Land

White Wednesdays at Faded Charm Cottage

Its so Creative Mondays at Its So Very Cheri

2nd Time Around