Fall Forest Life and Crafty Christmas at Farm Girl Antiques

I have some photos to share with you guys from Farm Girl Antiques! My mom and I made it there last week, so there wasn't much Halloween left. I'm going to start with the vaguely Halloween/Autumn displays and move into Christmas. I think you guys will still enjoy the Christmas antiques, because there are some unique, funky items. You might also get inspired to decorate or craft something similar. So, we're starting off with one spooky owl. Those eyes! And it's a little creepy, if realistic, to see that this owl has caught dinner. 

This owl lamp is much less menacing.🦉

The owls here... um. If you think that middle owl in the painting is sleepy, check out the owl candle at the bottom. :) Oh, I just noticed there are more owls on that sugar canister. 

I like these mushrooms. 🍄 It looks like someone rolled some birch-looking material around them. 

These little ornaments look like pumpkins to me. 

This deer area was lit up so well. As I'm looking over these photos, I'm realizing how many forest-themed displays were there. 🦌

You can see a few of the old buildings in this neighborhood from the store windows. The Farm Girl building has large storefront windows going around it. You know, the ones with plenty of space to put displays back in the day. She's filled all these little nooks and crannies with mini displays. I think some of the more interesting finds are in these areas.

Here's a view facing the back of the store. You can see the old tin ceilings being revealed. I try to imagine what it once looked like in here. 

I think every Christmas tree in there had a different shape. Many, like this one, had twisty little branches. Maybe some of you will recognize these vintage ornaments. A few of them are classics. 🌲

I was so focused on these cute pinecone critters, that I didn't even notice the book underneath them. 

I wonder what That's Why is about?

We're entering the retro pink and turquoise Christmas section here. 

I like this rainbow wreath. I wouldn't have thought of transitioning color around a wreath, but I'd like to try it. Think of all the color combinations or different shades that could go around a wreath. 

I have a feeling this doll head was part of a Halloween display before. I may even be remembering it from previous years. I'd figured it was the hat that was for sale, but now I'm not sure if this is all one piece. 

Here's a closer look at that ceiling. I wonder what the purpose of that ceramic couple is? I can tell that they held something. They look sort of St. Patrick's Day themed to me. 

This gives sort of an idea of that window space. As you can see, it's pretty roomy in there. 

The string lights add something festive. I bet this place looks interesting at night. Or it could, anyway. It's not open to the public past 4 pm. 

That glittery Santa sign is similar to the deer sign by the entrance. Now I'm wishing that I would have touched one of the signs to see what they were made of. Probably some type of cardboard. I doubt those large signs are vintage, but they have a definite vintage look. A number of items in this store are vintage-inspired crafts. I noticed that the store's name online has been changed to Farm Girl Art & Antiques, so maybe she's going more in that direction. 

I see another one of those little velvet mushrooms here. I may even like them better in pink. It's looking like she took actual pieces of birch bark to make that stand. I'd thought the stands were wrapped in some kind of birch-looking paper before. 

I like all these reflective objects together. That clear glass under the trees looks almost like rippling water. There are actually a few details I didn't notice before, like that planter behind the ornament. There are so many creative uses for containers in this store. I think every tree is standing in something unusual. 

I feel inspired by this icicle box. I'm sure we all have some sort of wood box like this around. Adding some icicles to the front of it makes a perfect container for whatever winter decorations you'd like to put inside. I see ideas like this online all the time, where someone has designed a centerpiece with candles and some sort of foliage in a box. 

Leaving Farm Girl Antiques now... This building neighbors the antique store and I'm sharing a photo of it because I thought you'd all appreciate the architecture. Look at the date up top: 1883. Someone has kept this building in great shape. I looked up "Lamers Building" and found a bit of history provided by the Grove Gallery which now operates in this building: Lamers Building History

I'd remembered taking this light fixture photo about the same time I took the above pic. I'm not seeing this fixture anywhere on the building, though. I don't get it, because the brick and trim are the same. Where is this light hiding? Maybe there was a twin building next door that I forgot about. Anyway, pretty cool ironwork! Even the lightbulb looks twisty.

We visited the Layton Fruit Market on the way back. Like a lot of places now, it was decorated with a bit of fall and a bit of Christmas. I was happy to see some painted store windows, which I haven't seen in a while. 

How cute is this ghost? 

I'm feeling inspired by those planter designs, and might try something like that with some greenery and a bow this year.

In case you missed that toothy little pumpkin in the corner. :) 

This display has been inside the store for years. I wonder how old this horse and cart are? If anyone has any ideas about this in any way, I'd like to hear them. This is an Italian grocery store, so that's a bit of a clue. I'm going to assume this is an Italian antique. 

There's a mini horse and carriage at the bottom. I'm not sure if I even noticed that little guy while in the store. 

And I can't leave out these guys. :)

I hope you guys enjoyed the virtual antiquing! Maybe you even feel inspired to put together some similar displays? I'd be interested to know if you recognize any of the antiques. 

A Much Anticipated Return to Farm Girl Antiques

I am so excited to share this year's photos from Farm Girl Antiques! Part of my excitement comes from them being open. You might remember that we weren't able to get in last year. The other reason I'm excited about this trip is because I photographed some new, unique items. Starting with one of the more unique decorations, how about this guy? What a character.

This is part of the window display. I may have mentioned in the past that this store has open display windows you can walk into. Can you spot the little yoga skeleton? 

I took a few photos in what I call "Squirrel Vision" where I stoop down on the floor and just tilt the camera up. I didn't even know what I'd get in this one. There's something about taking a photo at ground level that really works with mice. 

Another view from inside the display window:

Classic!

Can you guess what these are?

Shark teeth! They seemed spooky enough to be included with the Halloween theme. They were marked 10 for $1.00, which is probably a pretty good deal, as far as shark teeth are concerned. Not that I'd even know. I wonder how someone amassed such a large collection of these.

Here's a ghostly image of a little... mouse? Bear? It's cute, anyway. There's something ghostly about the man in the photo too. I didn't even notice him until looking through these photos at home.

There's a lot going on here. It's always interesting to look at the details in a photo like this later. I like those mini lantern pumpkin lights.

Some more dollies:

And now onto the costume section:

This looks like a ghost prom or ghost bride getup. 

This gives a nice view of the tin ceiling.

A possible autumn floral inspiration pic. 

Now this. THIS. This is my own photo and I have trouble looking at it. The longer I look at this, the more uncomfortable I feel. I discovered her while crouching down to take one of those "Squirrel Vision" pics. 

I found this guy down near the head. He's also creepy. I know he's kind of ridiculous looking in some ways, but he had a vibe. 

I love this jack-o-lantern! He nearly fooled me into thinking he was an actual antique, but after checking his tag, I saw he was a Bethany Lowe. They do great recreations. 

I can tell that little pumpkin on the tree is also a Bethany Lowe. 

Here's a close-up view of one of those party hats. 

Each year they set up this old carriage with a different Halloween display. I remember it decked out for Christmas as well. I still remember the year they set up a skeleton "driver" in the carriage. 

Now onto the owl section. 

How cute are these little guys? 

I found it so surreal to be photographing this antique camera with my modern camera. Lens to lens, it felt so personal. Try taking a photo facing an antique camera some time and see how it feels. For me, it felt like an object that had been looked through many times was now looking at me. Can you see the old building reflected in the lens?

Some of you may be familiar with the Brownie cameras. I'd heard about them, but hadn't seen one in person before. 

I took a pic of the door to the store on the way out. This will give you an idea of those display windows. 

I thought I'd include a few photos from in front of a Mexican restaurant near the antique store. 

This skeleton sculpture was inside another large display window. This space was used as a gallery years back when I took those Day of the Dead photos. Perhaps some day those gallery events will take place again.

I hope you enjoyed looking through these photos as much as I did! It's always fun to revisit photos like these at a later time. I've looked over my Farm Girl Antique photos years later. There always seems to be something hidden.