STORE UPDATE ~ 7.4.09

First a reminder that we are CLOSED today. Wishing you all a safe holiday, and don’t forget your sunscreen!

It’s been VERY busy since the start of the ‘lost our lease’ sale. Product is really selling down, but the store is STILL nice and full. (does that make sense?) There is less product, but more spread out now and easier to SEE it all. I’ve brought in ’some’ new product (still cleaning out my project piles!)

Funky, fun reading glasses. But a spare pair or two and save yourself lots of time hunting for your reading glasses! I seriously have probably six pairs of reading glasses! A pair at my computer desk, in my purse, at the cash register in the store, and a back up for that pair in the drawer at the store, in my tool box for shows and then one more pair in case any of those get lost or break! At just $2.50 a pair, why not have several?!?!

And glass cases to put those glasses IN! Also just $2.50 each.

Pretty pink peonies in clear glass bottles.

Rustic elegant candle holders.

Shell candle-capes.

Vintage pretty glass bottles.

Vintage tool carriers painted bright red!

Mini stepback cupboard.

Old sliding top bread box; I gave it a primitive make over.

Little shabby chic foot stool and a Parisian style door crown.

Vintage blue enamelware.

Red enamelware.

Vintage ‘made in Italy’ cherub.

Pretty wall pockets with flowers.

Embossed tin ceiling tile wall shelf.

The embossing shows up MUCH better in person.

Lots of gift baskets and sets.

Sneaking in some FALL colors with this handcrafted hurricane candle holder.

Shabby candleabra.

Big primitive candlesticks.

Laundry decor.

Shabby Paris candle holders.

Cute mini curio shelf.

Shabby Paris wall shelf.

Primitive peg rack.

Big GAUDY (as Michael has dubbed it) wall clock.

Shabby Paris wall clock.

Shabby beach desk chair.

Vintage shabby chic telephone stand.

One of a kind shabby beach table.

Primitive pine top table.

Sweet little vintage child’s chair, painted princess PINK!

And a beachy blue one.

Old tool carrier, painted pink .

Vintage style unfinished pine rocking horse.

I’m working on getting some FALL decor put out next week.

AND, of course, the ‘up to 80% off  tables’ are FULL with lots of new stuff added to them EVERY DAY!!

No such thing as “Too many frames”!

A recent windfall on vintage frames.

Lots of different shapes, sizes and styles.

Even a fun little sconce shelf!

Decided to paint them ALL white.

A little bit of sanding for a distressed look.  (sorry, the distressing does not show up very well in the pics)

And here they are on display throughout the store:

Unfinished shelves at the store.

Last Saturday’s ‘Trailer Load Sale’ on the unfinished shelves went quite well.  AND we’ve sold enough big stuff from inside the store  that we were able to ENLARGE the unfinished section and make room for ALL the leftover shelves!

And while not ALL of the exact shelves shown in the above photo are currently in stock, there are THAT many shelves of assorted shapes and sizes in stock on a regular basis now.

And custom orders ARE still available.

* The store closing sale continues until the end of August.  We will be open Wednesdays – Saturdays; 11am – 5pm.   We still have a great selection of products available.  Hoping to get FALL decor out in the next week or two.

We will be closed the 4th of July for the holiday.

I found the bodies!!!

DOLL bodies that is!

At the point in my ‘clearing stuff out’ process that I was actually able to get to the BACK of the storage shed to a stack of bins that were put there FIVE years ago, and too much stuff piled in front of them till now to be able to get to them!

I ‘had’ out nice neat sticky labels on the end of each bin, but those had long fallen off. So, THIS is what was in one of them . . . . a dozen NAKED raggedy bodies. Faces and legs already painted and tea stained. Dresses already cut out and ready to sew.

So it would be really fast and easy to finish these off. Could probably get them all done in a day. But my question ISSSSSSSSSSSSSS . . . . . Are simple raggedy type dolls like this still “IN”???

These are pictures of finished ones from ‘back when’ they were a BIG thing.

I don’t get out much to even know if things like this are popular anymore! Well, ACTUALLY we don’t even have any other ‘country style’ stores or craft malls around here anymore. But it’s been some time since I’ve seen dolls of this like at the shows we do.

So, whaddya think??? Worth my time to finish them up right now? Or should I pack them away for another ten years and bring them back as ‘collectibles’?!?!?

HUGE trailer load sale on unfinished shelves ~ This Saturday ONLY ~ 11am – 3pm

TOO MANY SHELVES TO FIT ‘IN’ THE STORE!

UNFINISHED SHELF OVERSTOCK SALE THIS SATURDAY!

11AM – 3PM ONLY.

CEDAR PLANTER BOXES AND BENCHES TOO!

CUSTOM ORDERS WELCOME!

WE’LL CONTINUE TO MAKE AND STOCK THESE SHELVES IN THE STORE UNTIL OUR CLOSING DATE IN AUGUST; BUT WE ONLY HAVE ROOM FOR 5-6 SHELVES AT A TIME.  THIS IS A GOOD CHANCE TO SEE A HUGE VARIETY.

A GREAT SUMMER PAINTING PROJECT.

SMALL SHELVES FOR SMALL SPACES AND FULL SIZE BOOK CASES.

UNFINISHED NAPKIN HOLDERS, PLATE STANDS, BENCHES AND ‘TREASURE BOXES’ . . .

JUST A QUICK BIT OF SANDING AND THEY ARE READY TO PAINT.

WE’RE HAPPY TO OFFER PAINTING ADVICE.

SMALLER BRACKET SHELVES TO HANG ON THE WALL OR SET ON THE COUNTER-TOP.

CORNER SHELVES.

FINISHED EXAMPLES TO INSPIRE YOU.

Upated sale pictures

Adding more items EVERY DAY to the “up to 80% off” tables. Here’s what’s currently on them:

ON THE $1.00 TABLE:

And on the $3.00 table:

On the $5.00 table:

Cute mini sized fringed lamp, and several plain shade lamps, which I bought to paint designs on the shades.  I painted several of them ‘back in the day’, but now they are just clogging up the back room.  Great little night lights, plain or painted!

Yes, those ARE Sophie’s cottage t-shirts!  I had ordered a few samples, thinking I’d do some sort of promotion and just never got around to it.  They are fairly LIGHT weight shirts in large and x-large (mens sizes) and they do shrink about a size when washed.  Not bad for 5 bucks.

A few jar candles; some of the hazelnut cappucino room spray and cinnamon refresher oil.

AND, we’ve added a $10.00 sale table:

Some items have sold, and some additional added since I took the photos.  I’m trying to add new itens EVERY time something sells.

Put on a pedestal

Making LOTS of these glass pedestals lately. Dome lids on them when I can find the domes. Found some cute ‘bon bon’ shaped candles to put on some of them. Some strawberry shaped candles to put on others. This one I filled with a nest and bird:

These domes were tall enough to hold a little faerie and a ceramic angel:

A big one holds a sweet mini crown:

Some very small ones with a tiny nest and egg.

Sometimes I leave them just plain and empty.

Another with a little nest and egg.

This one in a beachy theme with shells.

I even make some into candle holders.

Sometimes I just use them to display stuff in, and add height to a display. This one holds some little bags of nest grass and an egg.

Here are a couple that I decided to give a ‘fancy skirt’:

Can you guess what that ’skirt’ is??? Because you KNOW I didn’t do all the work of cutting and tying on all those individual strands of ribbon on! Nope! I found a ‘quick and easy’ and even inexpensive way to create the look:

Pretty pony tail holders from the dollar store! They had a little plastic Tinker Bell charm on them, which I just clipped off with wire cutters. (Sorry Tink!)

Ah ~HA! There’s that picture of the one with the strawberry candles! (Can never find the right pictures at the right time in my post!)

And the ‘bon bon’ candles!

No dome for this one, but what a GREAT cake stand! I found the plates AGES ago, knowing I wanted to make them into a cake stand. Tried many, many different things for pedestals but none of them had ‘enough weight’ (visual weight) . Finally found these FESTIVE coffee must at the dollar store. PERFECT!

Found all three of these bell jars at the thrift store, each one on a different trip! Debating whether I should put them on a pedestal too. For now they are filled with nest moss and eggs.

Sometimes just a little snippet of ribbon is all they need.

LOVE the blue/yellow color combo of these little vintage bowls!

The bigger plate in this photo is from the dollar store. It’s the PERFECT size to fit a dome from a cheese board. Just waiting to find a dome at the thrift store. On the one I use a cheese dome I make sure my ‘pedestal’ is a sturdier and WIDER piece to hold the weight.

For the bases, sometimes I use thrift store finds of old candle holders or even old stemware. But when I want to make a BUNCH of them, I’ll just buy the candle holders at the dollar store.

Most of the small domes are actually candle holders turned up side down, and the rubber tip just removed. Occasionally I’ll find an actual dome.

Be sure you pedestal piece and plate piece have FLAT surfaces that will stick together well. Use EPOXY glue that says it is suitable for glass, and follow the package instructions

What do YOU have that you could put on a pedestal today???

Nice legs!!!

This old oak stool had really nice legs, but the seat . . .. not so nice!

It had kind of a ‘carved out’ middle and was probably quite comfortable “in it’s day”.  It looked like maybe someone along the way had glued some sort of seat cover onto it.  And I really thought about just sanding off the gunk and refinishing it and leaving it as a stool to sit on.

But I really wanted the LEGS to stand out more, so I painted them  a flat black, then came across a small pine table top that would fit perfectly to make it into a little table.

The round pine table top (a thrift store find) was a tad ‘grimey’ and had lots of scratches in it.  Appeared that someone had ‘oiled’ it and used it as a cutting board.  (um, NO, as a matter of fact, PINE is not a good wood to use as a cutting board.  It’s much too soft!)

So I just gave it a good sanding and a bit of medium stain and attached it to the stool.

A bit different from my typical styles of primitive or shabby chic, but I really like how it turned out.  the legs really ’show off’ much more now.  And here I go . . . .  filling up the trailer again!  (hopefully just temporarily until there is room in the store for this and the other stuff I worked on over the weekend)

Here comes the sun! How to make wire “curly q’s” tutorial

The month of May was UNSEASONABLY’ warm here in Oregon.  The month of June is panning out to be quite ‘typical’ Oregon weather.  Warmish to coolish, overcast with a few sun-breaks.  We LOVE the sunshine here in Oregon, but don’t get to see it nearly enough.

So I made this Folk Art style sun to brighten things up on those dreary days.

You can see how to paint the eyes in THIS tutorial.

For the star on the cheeks I used a foam stamp.    The lips – I’m not so great with lips, which is why ALL my beginning works in Folk Art simply do not have mouths!!  I just sort of ‘fumble my way’ through the lips, making a heart shape, then elongating it.

The really FUN part of this piece as all the wire ‘curly q’ sun rays.  They are really quite simple to make, just takes a bit of time to make THIS many of them.

I used REBAR tie wire.  Much stronger (and a LOT cheaper!) than craft wire, but still easily bent by hand.  AND it’s fits perfectly into a 1/16 drill bit hole.

First I drilled my holes around the edge of my sun.  (drill as DEEP as you can)  Not TOO close together because you need room for the curls.  Count up your number of holes so you can clip the right amount of wire strips.

You may have to make a few ‘test curls’ to determine the best length of wire for you specific project.  For this  (the sun is about 9×11) I cut my wires 9″ long.

Grip one end of your wire with a pair of pliers, then with the other hand, lightly curl it.  simple as that!  Leave well over and inch at the end UNcurled so you have plenty of room to insert it into the wood.  I drill my insertion holes as deep as the drill bit will go, so I need a good amount.

Make up all of your curly q’s before you start inserting them.

They don’t come out ‘perfectly’ alike, but that’s part of the charm of Folk Art.

Here you can see the tiny holes drilled along the edge.  For attaching the curly q’s to the sun: first put a DOT of glue into the hole (I always use Aleen’s tacky glue)   Hold the glue nozzle tightly over your drilled hole and squeeze in your glue.  They to get it INTO the hole.  Have a damp cloth on hand to wipe off any excess.  I usually do about five holes at a time.

Then just PUSH the straight end of your wire into the holes with glue.  It’s a TIGHT fit, so you may have to use your pliers to get it all the way in.

I add a sawtooth hanger on the back for hanging.

The trailer is EMPTY!!!

Between needing stock for the store AND the 4 shows we do a year, I typically keep our 6×10 trailer about 1/2 full. Except for 4 bins of fairly newly made product (set aside for the fall shows), the trailer is now empty!  Oh, and two boxes of ‘multiples of stuff’ that I already have plenty of in the store.  All that product has made it’s way into the store for the clearance sale.

I still have about 10 bins of product to sort through and put out in the store as space becomes available. ALL the furniture (except for one table which is in the back of my car) is now on display. We have sold a good portion of furniture already. And are making our way through the ’stash’ of assorted items in the storage shed to get them ready for sale.

Yesterday was a PERFECT working day. Overcast and a little cool, but warm enough to work outside in short sleeves. I can get SO much more done on days like that when it’s not too hot out.

I finished painting a ‘flower cart’ (for lack of a better name for it) that has been waiting to be finished for YEARS! It’s something that Michael dragged home thinging that I would be able to use it ‘as is’ . . . . DARK green???? Um, WHEN have you EVER seen me paint something DARK GREEN?!?!

So, couple of summers ago I set out to paint it. figured black would best cover the dark green. Gave it a good coat of black paint and left to let it dry. Came back to check and it looked like I had not even painted it?!?!?! All the paint had just SOAKED in. (What IS this thing made of? SPONGE?!?!) So I gave it another coat and it STILL was not covered well. Then it got stashed in the storage shed and other stuff piled in front of it and it was forgotten about until now.

As we are pulling out other stuff from the shed to paint and fix to take to the store, we finally reached ‘the cart’. ARGH!!! Not THAT THING again!!! Well, I really could use it in the store about now to put boxes of signs in, because I have run out of space on the walls. So, once again I set out to paint this thing. Gave it a good coat of KILZ first, then decided to try WHITE paint. After about three more coats of paint, I’m calling it good!

Also worked on a couple of chairs, two small tables, a foot stool, four lidded baskets, a telephone stand, two child’s chairs and another old drawer shelf.

Today is ‘errand day’; and hopefully tomorrow I’ll have more time to finish up these projects before heading back into the store on Wednesday.