FiestaWare Decor Fun and A Special Invitation

Today, I'm super excited to share something with you that's just plain fun.  If you follow my blog, you know how much I love to go antiquing.  Last weekend, following my doctor's appointment, we went to two gigantic antique places.  I found all kinds of goodness, even several of the items on my 'wish list.'  Can you believe it?  I have a bit of an attraction to the vivid colors of Fiestaware.  It's just so fun!  I found 5 different cups and saucers, each a different vivid and fun color, and slightly varying in style.  Here's how I've used them on my dining room table.

I wasn't going to mix up the colors of cups and saucers, but they begged for it.  There's a little bird nest in each cup, with a few extra sprigs of 'stuff' in the middle cup.  I hope this inspires you to try something new and fun with your decor.

... and one more fun idea ... from my kitchen ...

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- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or click on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.

Some of My Finished Projects

Remember when I shared several photos of my 'antiquing' finds?  Here are some of my finished projects after sprucing them up.  These are at my Prairie Treasures booth in the Root Cellar (at the Wildflour) or already put to use on my front porch or in my home.

This little stool is one of my very favorites.  You can see it under the upside down little table in the photo below.

The stool is all metal except for a wooden seat insert.  I brought it from grungy to gorgeous.  Now for the upside down table.  It was super grungy.  Take a look at it now --- on the left in the photo below.

I love how it turned out.  The table on the right has an all new top.  These are in my booth.  I didn't get a good 'before' photo of the grungy old bookcase, but you can trust me that it was really grungy.  I decided that it would look cute being red.  Right now it's in my booth as a display prop.  I'm not ready to sell it and it comes in very handy for displaying other items.

It was as grungy as the little table.  Now, it's cute as can be and loves being red.  I'll have more photos soon.  As you can see, I've been very busy. 

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world. 

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or click on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.

My Antiquing Finds, Part 2

Warning:  Today's post will have some messy pictures.  Don't worry, you'll be able to handle it.  I want to share with you some of my 'stash' that I've collected over the summer.  I'll be working on these items over the next few months.  Most of them will go to my Prairie Treasures booth at the Root Cellar (in the Wildflour), but some I just have to keep.  I'm trying to decide what colors I want to use for everything, so if you have suggestions, please share them with me.

Welcome to my garage.  The old bench/table item is really cool.  I am thinking maybe a cool, soft green for part of it.  What do you think?  The box is really heavy.  I may decorate it with a Christmas centerpiece.  I've seen some cool ideas for this on Pnterest.  The little stool that is upside down is very badly covered with fabric.  I want to look for some really neat fabric for it.  I think I may actually have some in my 'stash' that would look really pretty on it.  I plan to redo it all.

See the 2 super cool stools?  One is all red and one is cream with a red seat.  I don't know if these will end up in my Prairie Treasures booth or somewhere on my porch.  I absolutely love them.

Here's another shot of the stools.

What can you do with two cute little chairs?  Hmmmmmm...

These 2 little chairs were a good bargain.  What color would you suggest for them?  I was thinking maybe an off-white, but I haven't made my final decision.

The milk cans are all my daughter's.  We're going to have a paint party one of these days, here in the garage.  My husband is starting to worry if we're going to force him out of a parking place.

Look closely, and you can see a cute little ice cream style stool (close to the car's tire).  It has metal legs and a wooden seat inside the metal frame on top.  I need color suggestions for that, too.  The upside down little stool/table is super cute.  I don't know if I want to do it in a barn red, an off-white, a soft green or what.  Suggestions, please!!!!!

I thought this folding chair was really neat.  I love all the slats in the seat.  It's in quite sturdy condition, too.  This would look good in an off-white... or should I leave it natural?

So... I have a lot of fun projects ahead of me.  Don't I?  Sorry the photos are messy, but I did warn you.  I truly would appreciate color suggestions.  It would be so much fun to hear from you on this.

Thanks for stopping by and come back soon.  I will share photos from time to time, as I finish my redo on these projects.  In the meantime, I've brought home even more treasures, so I can't wait to get started.  This is going to be fun!!!

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world. 

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or click on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.

My Antiquing Finds, Part 1

If you read my blog on a regular basis, you will recall that I promised some time back to share with you what I found on some of my last antiquing hunts.  I love, love, love to go antiquing.  If a place has beautifully arranged items, I feel like I'm stepping back in time and it evokes joyful memories of childhood visits to see grandparents.  If a place has lots and lots of 'stuff' to hunt through, I'm in heaven.  I seem to be more apt to find what I need at places like this.  Here are some of my latest finds.  These went on my front porch.

This first photo just begs you to come and sit a while.  I love sunflowers AND old watering cans!!!
See how well my fabric flowers have held up throughout the summer.  They'll be fine to use next year, too.

I've had the ducks a while.  I got them on vacation one year in North Carolina.  They kept falling over, so I glued them to a board.  Now they always stay put.  

I love the old cut off ladder, paint splatters and all.  The cute little bench is not an antique, but I love it.  And yes, the boys already asked if they could sit on it.

I had to have this little mini ice cream chair.  It fits perfectly into this little spot by my front door.

Can you see Toby Joe peeking out the door?  Last up, an old, wooden ironing board that was already stenciled.  Love it!  I saw one like it on Pinterest and wanted to make it.  This one had just been finished by the man's wife that sold it to me.  I know I will do some tweaking, but I love my new goodies for my porch.

Come back soon and see more of my finds.  Next time, I'll be sharing some of my stash that I will be working on over the next few months.  I'm trying to decide what colors to use for everything.  Fun!!!

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world. 

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or click on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.

Antiques and Family Fun

I have an inner ear problem that has grounded me from driving, so I'll catch up on some blogging while I'm home.  I had such a great day yesterday.  I had a workshop and had so much fun sharing new products and new techniques with everyone.  We had a great time!  After the workshop, Matt and Jen came over with Olive Jane.  We had pizza and then Olive Jane had fun playing with the boys.   While I was holding her I asked her if she knew that she was the sweetest little girl in the whole world.  She quickly leaned in and gave me a big kiss.  Wow!  That blew me away.  She started the visit by running to me with open arms and that made my day, my week, my year!  What a sweetheart.

I have a chunk of free time this week, so I'll be working up a storm in my studio.  I'll be getting ready for my Winter Scrap and Stamp Retreat this next Saturday.  I'll also be working ahead on more goodies for my Prairie Treasures booth at the Root Cellar and making more cards and projects to add to my displays in my studio.  It sounds like a lot of stamping coming up!

If you follow my blog, you know how much I like to go antiquing.  On one of our trips, I came across this grungy old scale and just fell in love with it.  My husband surprised me by getting it and putting it back for me for Christmas.  Want to see my new display?

Here is my newest scale:

Here are some of the spools from my spooling collection.  In the center, is the hour glass that my daddy made for me.  The photo is of my mother-in-law and her two sisters when they were very young.  I think it's a great photo!

Here are the two scales I got just last summer.  I didn't know I was starting a new collection, but just fell in love with them.  I like the grungy ones!  I don't think this collection can get too large, because the scales themselves are a bit bulky:) 

Notice the holes in the spool in the back?  That's my favorite spool.  It reminds me of a musical instrument.  Sometimes I wrap old lace around the spools.

So, here they all are.  What do you think?

Come back soon to see more fun projects that I want to share with you.

Antiquing and a Vintage Angel

Today I will share a vintage card with you and some of my latest antiquing finds.

One of the stamps that grabbed my attention when the new catalog came out was the angel in the Rejoicing with You stamp set.  I also like the beautiful font of the text stamps with it.  The set lends itself to an elegant but vintage look.  Here's my angel:

I embossed the angel and the text.  I wanted some gold edging, so I lightly brushed the VersaMark pad across the edges of the top layer of the card and embossed that too, using gold EP for all the embossing.  Notice that the angel stamp is designed to give and old, shabby chic look rather than a solid image.

To add one more touch of elegance, I tucked in a layer of scallop trim using the champagne glimmer paper.  By using crumb cake and soft suede with the elegant gold, the entire card takes on an elegant vintage look --- shabby chic.

Now, for some antiquing 'treasures.'  As you probably know by now, my husband and I love to go antiquing.  He loves to poke around in old tools and old books.  I especially like to look for unique finds that I can use in some way in my studio and/or make into something to use in my home.  Here are some of my latest finds:

All of a sudden, I seem to be drawn to old, grungy scales.  My husband bought a third one that he's keeping back for me for Christmas.  By then, I will have forgotten about it and it will be a pleasant surprise.  Aren't these scales neat?

The little shoes are not antiques, but I love them.  What is old is the ruler.  This one opens out like a fan and then the top 2 pieces flip out to make it longer.  I love it!

I hope you can see this old railroad lock.  It even came with a key, but the key doesn't work in the lock.  Oh well.  I didn't need to use the lock anyway.  It's rusty and grungy and I love it.  The old case on the bottom is one that was my father's.  I think he liked fun, grungy things, too.  He used this one to carry his music to and from his piano lessons.  Well into his seventies, he was still taking piano lessons.

This is an old red train case.  I actually use it for a good purpose.  It has needlework in it.

As you probably know, I love old spools.  I decided to use one to make a string holder and then had the idea to put three spools on it.  After staining the base, I simply glued on the spools using Crystal Effects.  It's a pretty strong adhesive.  I actually use these kinds of string and twine a lot, so it's handy and fun to have around.

This is an old box that a friend gave me for doing her a favor.  I really like it for showing off our latest buttons and goodies.

When I got these old movie reels, I didn't realize how trendy they'd become.  Back in the day, I actually used reels like these and yes, I know how to thread a movie projector.  I guess that dates me:)  The coffee grinder was a past find that I've enjoyed for a while now.  The old iron is one I got from my dad.

And lastly, here are some of my watering cans, along with an old minnow bucket.  The bucket belonged to my father-in-law and he used it a lot when he went fishing.  They're not all sitting together on the porch, but I brought them together for the photo.  They contain artificial flowers because, when I'm busy creating in my studio, I forget to water real ones:)

I hope you've enjoyed the little antique trip with me today and will try a shabby chic Christmas card.  Enjoy!

Prairie Treasures

Have you ever had a dream that you just had to follow?  I've had one --- having a booth at an antique place and/or high end boutique.  Well, over the weekend, everything fell into place and I am now following that dream!

If you follow my blog, you know that I love to go antiquing with my husband.  I love to look for little treasures (I've run out of room for larger ones.) and display them with my art work, make something with them or use them in unique ways.  My husband and I were antiquing at a new place, the Harristown Depot.  I overheard the owner talking to another couple about selecting a booth.  I was interested and then talked to her myself.  When I got all the info, I said I'd like to sign up.

I had her show me around to all the available spots about 3 times.  I wanted the perfect spot.  I think I made a super great choice!  She had 3 sizes of booths available.  I knew I needed table space, to display some of my framed projects, so I went for the middle size.  It's a good thing, because I've totally filled it up!  My booth has 3 walls and even a window, so it's light and has good display space.  Yesterday, my wonderful husband helped me load up all my boxes of things I'd marked the night before and we set out on a new adventure.

I covered 1 wall with white fabric, to lighten it up a lot.  I covered 3 card tables with vintage table cloths and added bits of burlap, for a rustic look.  I have a Fall and non-seasonal table, a Halloween table, and a Christmas table.  I hung up some of my framed projects and a couple of wreaths and attached a card holder to the wall.  My cards are kind of spread out throughout the area.  I needed a bit more table space, so I looked around the store and found a neat old wooden ironing board.  I bought it and added that to my display, covered with another vintage table cloth.  By the end of my setting up, I even used a couple of my boxes, covered with burlap, for extra display space.  I probably won't have as much after the holidays, but wanted to show as much as possible for now.  I ended up marking about 155 items.  See?  I needed to follow this dream!!!  I'm also waiting to see about a second booth in downtown Decatur.  That should come about in October or November.

Thanks for letting me share my new adventure with you.  If you should happen to be in the Harristown, Il area, stop by the depot.  They have lots of antiques.  It's under new ownership.  She's only had the place for a few days and has already rented out all or nearly all of the booths.  I'm glad I acted when I did or I wouldn't have gotten the one I wanted.

Gee, I'll bet you'd like a sneak peek.  OK, here you go!  I've named my booth Prairie Treasures, a name my husband and I came up with together.

See, you can cram a lot into one little booth:)  I'm really excited about my new venture.  The hardest thing for me will be to be around all the other delicious antiques and fun stuff at the antique mall while working on my own booth:)  Let me know what you think!
Enjoy your Labor Day holiday.  I have a busy day, with company coming, working on another display item for my booth, finishing my prep for scrapbook club...