Pec Thing

Home of the Pec Thing

When I moved to Illinois many years ago, I was happy that I had ended up in a small town that I had longed for as a child. It had a small grocery store, gas station, a very small library and a couple of antique stores. I enjoyed spending the day walking from shop to shop chatting with the local dealers that would gather for coffee & ciggies at Big D's antiques. When I mentioned that there were some items that I could use that they didn't carry, they directed me to the Pec Thing. They gathered around me & told me the tale of this awesome antique/flea market that was a vintage lovers dream. They told of the sights to be seen, the incredible deals to be made, all the treasures to be had...I was getting light headed.

Surely, I would have go on a perilous journey to get to this amazing place?  Nah they said, just get on the highway and drive here and then there, after that there you go. I got chills just thinking about how close I was, but they did mention that I should visit soon for it was only open two weekends in the year, one in the summer and one in the fall. No matter, as long as I could go just once and see for myself this amazing retro wonderland.....

That was over 15 years ago and have been happily antiquing ever since. When I worked I would request the same two weekends off every year for 12 years straight. My supervisor would just automatically write it down. My family will plan something of there own knowing this is mom's weekend. On occasion my husband & my little guy will join us, but it can be overwhelming for my little guy. My youngest daughter will go with me the first day(she has a good eye for antiques-I'm a proud mama) and the next day I will go alone. I make lists, take measurements, photos of ideas,  I even take color swatches. I take my usual mini backpack with the following- water & snack (fuel for walking), hairpins & lipstick (a vintage gals must), umbrella (for rain/sun), change of clothing ( too cold or inferno like hot flash) and well, money of course.

The Pecatonica antique and flea market is known as The Pec Thing. It has been around for 33 years and it's held at the Winnebago fairgrounds with 100,000 square feet and over 40 acres. It runs rain or shine, kids are free under 12, free parking & it's only $3 to shop from 8am to 5pm. You can come and go to your car to drop off your purchases with a hand stamp or they will pick up large items for you and place at pick up area. The vendors are kind, most will bargain and they all have everything you could possibly think of. I have never had a problem of any sort with any vendor or fellow shoppers. The town of Pecatonica is small,but they have just the right amount of shops with a little of this and that. 

I will go to other flea markets and antique stores to fill in time while I wait for The Pec. They are all fun, have kind dealers, plenty to pick from and one is my main source of vintage clothing. Yet, The Pec Thing is still on the top, not because I can deal to the dollar, the size of it, the options and so on. It's the simple fact that it takes me back to the memory of Big D, Moe, Mary & Stu a group of sweet, funny, antique loving older ladies & gentlemen that took me in with no questions asked. What a welcome wagon they were and how lucky was I to have known them. They gave me advice, stories, laughter, friendship and of course The Pec.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Essentials for the vintage gal

10 for a dollar!

Colorful & Creative

Picking at The Pec

Fancy Poster Tutorial

The Scream

I bought The Scream by Edvard Munch poster for two reasons, 1-It's one of my favorite paintings & 2-The colors matched my living room. When I bought the poster it was on a cardboard, so I bought those cheap poster frames and it didn't do it any justice. Yes, I know it's only a poster, but even a poster can look awesome if placed in a really cool frame. I had an old torn cardboard picture in a tacky colored frame that was given to me at a flea market. Nancy knew that I like to repurpose things, so she said to take it & make something out of it. The poster was larger than the frame, so I knew I would have to cut it down to fit. Trying to match the poster to an old frame would prove to be difficult.

The Scream was painted by Edvard Munch in 1893. He wrote in his diary that he was inspired by the colors in the sky he saw as he was walking one day. He wrote that the sun was setting, the clouds looked blood red and that he sensed a scream was passing through nature. Edvard Munch painted many more beautiful paintings, so you may wish to use another of his or another poster all together. We all interpret art in our own unique way, my interpretation on this is too long and may make You scream, so let's begin with the tutorial.

Items needed-

Old painting with a cool frame

Poster of your choice

Cheap plastic poster frame the same size of poster

X-Acto Knife

Needle nose pliers

Spray paint

Sandpaper 

Yellow or Orange markers

Goggles

Scissors

Tape

1- Remove old art from frame.

2-Remove all staples with pliers. Discard staples.
3-Sand lightly & clean off dust with dry clean cloth.

4-Paint the front & sides. No need to paint the back, no one will see it & you save paint for other projects.

The poster frame will come with plastic sheet cover, poster sample, cardboard & plastic frame sides. Separate each piece. Toss the sides.

Place the old art work on top of plastic(place something under plastic so it won't scratch).
Mark with light colored marker, yellow or orange will do. Place on a surface that cannot be damaged with knife. Score the plastic two or three times on all sides.

Goggles on, carefully separate a little at a time.Then place plastic on your poster & sample poster to mark where you want to cut with scissors. Cut cardboard with X-Acto knife after its been marked.

You will need all the pieces to use as filler for frame.

1-Frame
2-Plastic sheet
3-Poster
4-Sample poster
5-Cardboard

Once you have all the pieces in that order inside the frame, tape the back to hold in place. Make sure you push securely into the frame, so the plastic will not be loose. If the frames has a sawtooth hook on the wrong side for hanging, you can either leave it and buy a new one or remove to reposition it.

Well here it is! I know the picture is crooked and it's a little difficult to see the nice detail in the frame, but I didn't want my reflection in it. I will post a better picture soon on blog or my Facebook page. I hope this inspires you to go out to your local flea market or secondhand store and save beautiful frames from some not so nice "art".

Blogging anxiety

 Yeah, she's smiling now.

The idea hits! My mind starts putting together the layout, photos, little jokes, I run to the computer and then I write, delete, write, delete, again and again. This is exactly what I go through every time I write a blog post. I know what I want to write about and how, but I start to panic about how it will read. Will people get the joke I wrote, because it's totally funny in my head. Will my advice be helpful if someone tries it or did I just ruin their priceless bullet bra.

Screw it I say, just write it and I do. My finger quivering over the delete button, but I finally get it done. In the end, I realize that I should write my blog the way I would speak to someone I know. So I thought why not write a couple of things about myself that may help you get to know me a little better.

Strange, but true..

 

1- I can't measure. No matter what I sew, I get 6 yards. I know I can get a nice full dress and use leftover for other things. Home projects, I place little marks on a ruler and guess the rest. I've built a dog run, tiled my floor and a garden fence. It may not be perfect, but what is? 

2- I practically grew up in a hospital. Asthma, Allergies, Kidneys, they had me in & out of the hospital so many times that I actually love hospital food. I once suggested dinner at the hospital for date night with the hubs.Yeah, that look you probably just made, is the look my hubs gave me.

3- Growing up I was called a tomboy for doing "boy things". I love comic books, fixing things, chopping wood, batting cages, etc. Now I'm not a tomboy,  just a girl with more interests.

4- I may be a 'tomboy', but I don't like wearing jeans. My first jeans were polyester hand-painted seams from Avon(grandma loved Avon), others were just as bad. Since then I have found much better looking jeans, but I only wear them on rare occasion. 

5- I hate washing dishes! I like cleaning every little nook & cranny till it shines. I enjoy waxing the floor, organizing closets, cleaning the garage and so on. I do the dishes like a whiny kid, then half way through I start enjoy myself and then... I repeat the process next day.

6- I could do without electronics. When my husband, back then just a friend, came to help me move to a new place he was a bit shocked. I was renting one of three tiny shacks, my landlord built himself. No washer, dryer, microwave, phone, heater or even hot water for shower. I did have a stove & fridge in the house, but they didn't work. I lived little house on the prairie style and it was pretty cool.

7- On Saturdays I would have lessons from my mother on etiquette, dance lessons, cooking, sewing, cleaning and on Sunday, lessons with my father art, basic mechanics, archery, boxing. Well you get the picture. My mother was raising a lady, my father was raising a lady with a little more moxie.

8- Besides groceries, the rest of my shopping is done at Antique shops, secondhand stores, garage sales & trash picking. If I can't find what I need, I'll make it.

9- For more than 10 years I worked in a well known department store. I would read about designers and all the latest trends. I love my vintage, but there's one modern item I've always wanted... Christian Louboutin red sole shoes.

10- My hubs is 10 years younger than me. We have been together for more than eleven years, married for only two and don't have much in common. Yet, we make it work in our 1940's home, living with our two younger kids, the dog and visits from my/our older 3 kids.

Well there you go, just a couple of things about me that I hope helps you get to know me just a little more. There's still more to me, but why scare you off. Every now & then I'll sneak in some info(I love putting a teaspoon of peanut butter in my coffee)..BAM! See what I just did, sneaky. Well, I'm going to stop here, it's 3am and I'm on my 9th day of trying to write this, but you understand, right?