Handmade Holiday

I've always loved receiving handmade gifts and this year I tried to make most of the gifts I gave to others.  My number one picker, Betty, a friend from school, got most of the loot!  Below is what I made for her:

cupcake ornament (idea from Pinterest)

snowglobe using vintage mason jar:

vintage box grater with greenery:

here is a group of the whole lot:

I had so much fun putting it all together.  She's always on the lookout for me and I appreciate her!

Handmade Holiday

Busily getting ready for the trunk sale Thursday.  These lovely little ornaments will be for sale...

 
Along with these that are a work in progress:

As well as a few of these...

So, come shop for beautiful handmade gifts and support local artists like me!

Jeanne Oliver Winter Collection

I have purchased a few items from Jeanne Oliver in the past and have never been disappointed.  Her new winter line is gorgeous!  Check it out:

Thankful For...

...Pinterest, one of the best sites ever!

...Old Fashioned Milk Paint, which is a dream to use on furniture.

...This moisturizer that I have been using for over 25 years; it truly is dramatic and different!

...This blog for all of its never ending inspiration!

...Soldiers and their sacrifice; I'm proud to call several my friends.

...my health.

...my little furry child :-)

...family and friends.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Before and After

Remember this sweet little dresser from Craigslist?

Here it is now:

Sorry, no shots of the work in progress.  But here are the particulars...sanded it all down with power sander really well.  It sat in the garage for a few weeks due to lack of time to work on it.  This weekend, Painted it with milk paint, which was a dream to work with.  No priming necessary.  After painting two coats, which dried very quickly, buffed with a sanding sponge and rubbed on some dark wax.  Added new knobs.  Sounds like it went quick, but these projects never are, are they? :-)

She will be for sale very soon here.

11-11-11...

...Not just a field day for numerologists or weddings, but most importantly tomorrow is Veterans Day.  For the past several years my students and I have interviewed veterans and put together some type of tribute - either a video, or in this year's case a booklet of essays, profiles, and poems.  It makes a big impact on my students and me, but it also means a great deal to the veterans who are given an opportunity to tell their story.  Please consider taking the time to thank a veteran today.  And the next day, and the next, and the next...

Busy, Busy...

I hate not posting and I hate it when blogs I regularly follow don't update often, but I get it!  Blogging takes work and when you're busy working on other projects, it's not easy to frequently update!  I have been working on creating some items to sell for a wonderful little local gallery.  Below is one wreath I have done:

This is meant to be a Christmas wreath but I think it would also be adorable in a little girl's my room!  I'm working on a white one now that I think I will use turquoise ribbon on.  One of the other projects that I'm trying to tweak and perfect are coasters.  Saw the idea on Pinterest so I put my own vintage twist on them:

The main issue has been trying to smooth out the mod podge wrinkles.  So, they're a work in progress.  But very funny and I think these would make a great gift!

Will blog more when I finish more!

I'm A Winner!

Yes, I know I just posted, but I'm very excited to share that I'm a winner!  I enter blog giveaways fairly frequently and I finally won something.  The nice thing is, I'm not even exactly sure of what I won.  I did not win the big Vintage Tea prize, but I get a mini prize for blogging about the giveaway.  I'm so excited because everything Jennifer Rizzo puts her hands on is beautiful.  Okay, back to work now on all these projects I have going on!

A Little Busy...

I had to laugh when I read this blog post because I can definitely relate.  My dining room is a mess, too.

 In fact, I think mine is worse.  I'm trying to get ready to show some items to Bay Arts to hopefully sell.  So, I've been a creative/crafting maniac trying to get items ready and going to bed WAY too late.  It's that crazy time of year.

On a good note, I did make money this week selling 2 needlepoint pictures and an antique crock.  Woo hoo!

Vintage Tea Giveaway

How beautiful is this...

It's a beautiful giveaway going on over here.  Go check it out.  Tea, vintage - two of my favorite things!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I know it's not even Halloween yet, let alone Thanksgiving.  But I've got Christmas on the brain.  So much to do, so much to make, so much to DECORATE.  I do love it, though.  I am on the hunt for vintage Christmas ornaments and I'm hoping to get some this week.  How I would love to score this:

Now, as much as I would love to make this...

I don't know if I can bear to use them all for a wreath!  Maybe.  We'll see.  Now, the other item I really want to make are these little beauties:

Can I tell you how many of these we had growing up?  A WHOLE VILLAGE.  And we used to put them on aluminum foil.  With spray snow.  And it was adorable.  And what happened to them?  Who knows.  Unfortunately, we were not the generation that saved everything.  But I'm learning!

Hey, It's Not Oak...

...it's maple.  Which is why I'm painting it.  I don't think I'd paint over oak, but other woods are an option for me.  Understand, I had a grandmother who painted EVERYTHING.  For those of you purists who don't like the idea of painting furniture, stop reading now.  Here is a before shot of a cute little dresser:

Which is fine as it is.  However, I have another vision for her.  All my furniture seems to be female, by the way.  I found her on Craigslist.  A very sweet elderly couple were trying to downsize by getting rid of some belongings.  They told me they bought it used in 1955 when the woman was pregnant with her son.  Can you imagine the stories this piece would tell?  I'm sure this dresser held everything from cloth diapers through bell-bottom jeans.  Yes, bell-bottom.  The term "flare" didn't exist back when this family's son was in high school.

It is a solid piece with dovetailed drawers.  Manufacturers don't make pieces like this anymore.  But I envision a pale paint with clear glass knobs.  A little distressing.  Just wait.  She's going to be beautiful.

Buy It If You Love It

My philosophy has always been, if I love it I will buy it.  I will worry about where to put it later.  My mom always reminds me that if I walk away and keep thinking about it, I should have purchased it.  My husband, on the other hand, believes that I MUST have a location/space in mind before I even think about it.  Thankfully, my mother is quite creative in her design spacing.

A few weeks ago at the fall festival there was an ADORABLE vintage child's bike.  In red.  For a steal.

Me:  I love it, it's so cute.

Mom:  You have to get it.

Me:  I know, but where would I put it?  You know Steve will ask me where I'm going to put it.

Mom:  It would look great hanging on the wall of the lake house or even on top of the fireplace mantel!

Me:  I'm going to buy it before someone else does.

So I load it into my car and of course Steve is VERY skeptical.  It's heavy and he thinks it's too large for the mantel.  Swears it won't fit.

Ah, but it does and it looks great.  Steve doesn't get it.  My brother doesn't get it.  But I love it and my mom and aunt do too.

It's definitely a conversation piece.  Not too many people have a bicycle on their mantel and I like that.  This bike has quite a few stories to tell.  How many scraped knees did it cause?  How long did Dad hang on to the back of the seat before he let go and all of a sudden, "Wow, I'm riding without training wheels!"  How fast did it go when some little boy was racing home before dark?  Many, many stories here.  And now, it sits on my mantel.

SOLD!

Ah, what a lovely word.  Sold a few items this week in the shop.  Somehow, this seems more satisfying than selling at the outdoor fall festival.  Maybe because this means that in a shop full of lots of other items, they wanted MINE.

Anyway, my mom's lovely green dresser sold which makes me a little sad actually because I would have gladly purchased this cutie for my own house...

And my little gossip bench sold; here is the before primed and ready:

And here is the after on the left - painted black and finished with some darling toile fabric:

I can't wait to sell more since that means I get to buy more! ;-)

Every Item Tells a Story

The subtitle on this blog as well as on my price tags is, every item tells a story.  My vision is that I will write a little something about each item I sell which will make for some (hopefully!) interesting reading.  Sort of like a mini version of the old J. Peterman catalog, if you're old enough to remember J. Peterman and if you're not, go watch some old episodes of Seinfeld.  Did you know that the J. Peterman catalog still exists?  It's entertaining reading.

But that subtitle isn't just about making good reading for customers or trying to make a sale.  I truly believe that all antiques and vintage items do tell a story.  That's why I love them.  Especially the ones handed down to me.  Sometimes I look at some of the dishes that belonged to my great grandmother and think, I wonder how many times she used this...or did she save it for special occasions?  Or the monogrammed linen napkins that I use for everyday because EVERY DAY IS A SPECIAL OCCASION. I wonder who bought the napkins.   Were they a wedding gift?

Take this vintage church pew I purchased for example:

I stripped off all the old paint (three layers) and sanded and re-painted and waxed it.  It was a labor of love.  But while I was doing all this, I kept thinking, What kind of stories could you tell?  Did mourners sit on you at a funeral?  Did proud parents sit on your edge with excitement over the baptism of their first child?  How many prayers did you get to hear?  That's why I'm doing what I do.  Because I love a good story.  Who doesn't?

All Fluffed Up

Ah, what a dramatic difference a little fluffing makes!  Here are some pictures of the new booth space.  We managed to fit quite a bit in this small space.  Mom seems to think we could fit even more, although I don't know how we'd manage that.  I think it's perfect now, except for the bare lightbulb that is making me crazy.  To the point of where I might have to go put a little shade on it tomorrow.

Hoping we sell some of these lovely items SOON.

Needs A Little Lipstick or Something...

Here are some VERY rough before shots of our booth space.  It's not pretty now, but it will be after tomorrow!  Mom and I plan on making this dingy, cramped basement spot into a cute little space.  Stay tuned!

On the bright side, at least there's a window! :-)

The First Show

Lousy weather resulted in a low turn-out but our first show was fairly successful.  My mom is a master merchandiser and was able to transform an ugly canopy into a nice booth along with a little help from me!  Now that we have a few items in the store, hopefully they'll sell!  And hopefully by next week we'll get our inside booth.


Below are a few pictures of all our cute items.  Come out to Countryside Antiques to see us soon.