Good news / Bad news

Well, I have some bad news and some good news.  Bad for ME.  GOOD for you.  The bad news first.  This is what the passenger side of my car now looks like:

It actually looks a lot WORSE in person.  You can’t really see how DEEP the dent is in the photo.  It’s deep enough that I can’t open that door anymore.  I’m fine.  My car, notsomuch!   Thanks to another driver in a parking lot who ‘saw me but thought I was going to let him to go by’, even though he had a STOP sign and I had the right of way.

Currently dealing with insurance and just waiting to hear what they decide.  Here’s the ‘back story’.  The ‘Cruiser’ is 15 years old and has served me well for the past 7 years.  I definitely ‘got my money’s worth’ out if it.  Because it’s got such a low resale value at this point, it was futile for me to have full coverage on it anymore; and most likely it is going to be deemed ‘totaled’.  And while I knew the day was coming, in the not too distant future, that I was going to have to replace it, I really can’t afford to do so just yet.  I was really hoping to get at least another year out of it.  It’s still driveable, but isn’t going to be worth squat as a trade in.  sigh.

So, what’s the GOOD news?
The good news is that because I need to drum up considerably more funds to replace my vehicle, I’m having a 50% off sale in my booths at Stars.

Look for these red and white ‘50% OFF’ coupons in both of my booths.  You have to have a coupon to get the discount.  The discount is good for everything you purchase from my booths, through May 31, 2019.  After that, I’ll be extending the sale ‘as needed’, until I have enough to replace the Cruiser.

You can also print a coupon directly from the Stars website.   The coupon on the site will look a little different than the ones I printed on my PC, but the offer is the same.

I was just in Stars yesterday, rearranging and restocking, so there is a huge variety and selection of goods awaiting your shopping, and SAVING, pleasure!  And IF there is something that you have seen in my booth in the past and always coveted, but don’t see there just now; feel free to ASK ME!  It might just be something that I pulled and took home when I changed out inventory.  I’ll be happy to take it back in for you; and even have them HOLD it ‘just for you’ at the front desk.

Time for pictures!

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As you can see, both booths are jam-packed with goods.  I will continue to bring in MORE stock every week.   I’ll be making more and resupplying the coupons too.  IF, for some reason you can’t locate a coupon while you are there; ask them to CALL ME, and I will give them a verbal okay for your 50% discount.

So, come and get it while the gettin’s are half off!!

Stars is open 7 days a week; 11am – 6pm.

Time for another SALE @ STARS!!

Just what you need to fend off those winter blahs!!  Shopping therapy!

STARS 5-day sale

Thursday, February 28th – Monday, March 4th

11am – 6pm ~  Both stores.

I just took in TEN BOXES of fresh product this week to ready my booths for the sales.

I brought in my beach cottage decor.

 Mermaid crowns, shell topped bottles, beachy lanterns and candles.

How fabulous is this shabby white wood trough?!?  I’ve used it to display some beach decor in, (floating starfish frames, white glittered sugar starfish and some metal bowl fillers) but you could use it for dozens of other things.  Perfect piece for the center of your farmhouse table.

I made these sweet little beach lamps.  Found the lamps at an estate sale, and filled the clear glass bases with an assortment of shells and beach glass.

These one of a kind lamps are $49.00 each.  OR $49.00 for BOTH during the sale!

The shabby beachy crates UNDER the table are for sale too!

These fishbowl beachscapes are so much fun to make.

These little ‘six section crates’ make handy little display shelves for smaller items.

Small sea glass wreaths, framed pictures and framed shells.  Beverage bottles and shell topped bottles.

Beachy wreaths and framed shells are hung on the side of my other booth.

***Helpful hint:  If you have some starfish or shells that you want to mount and frame, use a piece of sandpaper for the backing. 

Vintage ironstone creamers, sugar bowls, soup/cereal bowls and butter bells.  Vintage glass snack sets and apple shaped snack plates.

Lots more Ironstone dishes and cake stands.

I’ve added lots of newly procured vintage milk glass pieces too.

Two little pink chairs and a little pink scalloped edge shelf, perfect for a little girl’s room.  Upcycled male and female mannequins are great decor pieces.

Regular price on the male is $129.00 ($64.50 at half off during the sale)  Female mannequin is $155.00 ( $77.50 at half off during the five-day sale only)

My wall booth is stocked plentifully for the sale too!

Pretty white frames, gold glitter metal crown, big vintage jar filled with dried Hydrangea (from my very own garden!) sweet little crystal accent lamp.

Another little accent lamp, this one is an upcycled vintage Ball Mason jar, next to an upcycled vanity mirror tray.   Unique shape, narrow bird cage.  Gold cherub jewelry box and gold metal cake stand.

Little brown glass jars and itty bitty glass vials with plastic lids.  I’m really not sure what people use these little jars and vials for, but they always seem to sell well.

Vintage lamp tables.

Heavy duty set of wicker nesting tables with cast iron legs.  Priced individually at $29.00, $39.00 and $49.00; because if I priced them as a set ‘someone’ will want to buy just one of them.  Pricing them individually just makes it easier.  Of course you can buy the entire set still; you just don’t HAVE to.

50% OFF SALE PRICE FOR THE SET OF 3 IS $58.50.

There are three graduated sizes of these metal tables too, but they don’t ‘nest’.  They will ‘stack inside each other’ for transporting, but they have to be displayed individually.  (It’s kind of difficult to explain without being able to show you!)  They make nice little plant of lamp stands and are light weight enough to hang on the wall.

It’s difficult to see the second one in the picture on the left.  It’s just below the other one, and I used the third one under one of the beach lamps.

A new batch of hand crafted paper feathers, made from vintage book pages and sheet music.  I made this batch of the differently than I did the first ones.  Tutorial to follow soon.  Upcycled gold metal cloche on upcycled metal dessert stand.  Vintage cherub statues.

Get out and get yourself some BARGAIN SHOPPING THERAPY at Stars!

“Happily Ever After” ~ New wall space display.

Sorry that it has taken me so long to get the new booth display posted.  Been dealing with a LOT of things all at once.  Finally feeling settled enough to get caught up on my blog.

The theme for May is “Happily Ever After”.  Wedding decor.  Mostly whites with touches of gold, silver, pale pink and blue.  LOTS of vintage milk glass.

Here are some of the major elements that might be a little hard to see once they are filled with displayed smalls.  Lots of shabby white tables and shelves.

Some of the hand crafted elements.  ‘Happily Ever After’ banners made using vintage sheet music and book pages.  Bride to be crowns.  Vintage paper feathers.  Hand stitched vintage lace and felt hearts.

Vintage shabby white candelabras and metal filigree lanterns.

Most of the small shelves can be wall hung OR set on a flat surface.

I couldn’t fit ALL the milk glass and cake stands in the wall booth.  Lots more to explore in my bigger booth.

As always, aqua and turquoise.  Vintage chenille spread and coverlet.  Little aqua stuffed hearts made from vintage chenille cutter spread.  Trugs with vintage wood legs as handles, and pretty dessert stands.

Front view of my big booth.

As much of what was leftover from last months booth display as I could fit, has been moved over to my bit booth.  Bird nests, jars of eggs and moss, jars of natural elements, bark, moss, dried flowers and pods.  Some of the burlap items.

And lots of the assorted galvanized stuff.  Including that cute 12 hole cubby shelf!!

Speaking of crowns

Because you KNOW I love collecting them AND making them!

All these crowns have been in my big booth at Stars since just after the spring show.  They were just ‘scattered about’.  

It finally occurred to me that they just might fit in this little white cubby shelf.  PERFECT!

NOW you really NOTICE that they are there!  (in my wall space)

Meanwhile, over in the big booth I’ve changed things up quite a bit too.

Created an entire ‘dessert buffet’ display on the rustic tables Michael built.  Don’t you just LOVE the crisp white with the weathered grey??

All kinds of assorted cake plates and pedestals, and stacks of small dessert plates.

Assorted bases for different heights on the stands with dome lids.

A smaller 2 tier stand can stack on top of a bigger plate to create more height to your dessert display.

A few single cupcake pedestals.  Here a clear one on top of a white platter.

 

I made a couple of  ‘DESSERT BUFFET’ signs too.

A little old step ladder adds interest and ‘layers’ to the display.

 

 

Dessert buffets are becoming very popular at weddings, so I added one of my wedding signs to the display too!

Stop by and see what else is new soon!

 

Recent finds: White!

I seem to be finding A LOT of whites at the thrift store lately.  

With HALF PRICE tags, no less!!

They seem to practically FLY off the shelf and into my cart when they are half price!

NO such thing as TOO many white dishes though, eh?

I can always just take them to my booth at Stars and sell them ‘as is’.

And I just ADORE having this aqua shelf unit FILLED with white dishes!

And the white DO dishes sell VERY well like that.

Which is WHY I can so easily justify buying so many of them!

Finding a lot of matching dinner and side plates.  Funny how the colors look different in that picture?!?!  They really ARE the same color!

Making them into cake pedestals seem to be quite popular on etsy. 

And I do have a few of the cloche tops in my current stash.

What I always get ‘stuck on’ in regards to selling stuff like THIS on etsy, is the PACKING and SHIPPING though.  The pedestal plates WITH a cloche top won’t fit into the largest priority mail box with sufficient packing materials to ship and arrive fully in tact!

Same issue with the 2 tier ones like this.  Now I COULD take them to a FedEx or UPS store to be ‘packed and shipped’ . . . but THAT cost would be as much as (if not MORE!) than what I’d charge for the stand itself!  Plus, it’s nearly an hour round trip to the NEAREST facility for me; so I’d have to make the trip on my ‘regular errand day’ OR charge for gas.

I see quite a few of the ‘double decker’ plates, like this on etsy; without the base pedestal.  I don’t like them like this AT ALL.  It’s just not BALANCED.  It just looks like 2 plates stuck together.  Okay, I KNOW that is what it IS,  but it’s SUPPOSED to look like it was ‘meant to be’ . .. not just slapped together.  

I’d REALLY love to do a ‘set’ along these lines (but with white china dishes.  This set from etsy is WOOD; AND comes with a $50.00 SHIPPING cost on top of the $135.00 cost of the set!)  BUT with the aforementioned conundrum regarding the shipping issues, WHAT IF I offered it ‘UNassembled’???

I could certainly offer ‘more for the money’ selling them unassembled.  Less chance of breakage in transit too!  But the question is, will customers want to pay for a box of components that they have to put together themselves, for the sake of SAVING a significant amount of money???

I could take pictures that SHOW how it looks assembled.  I’d tell them what kind of adhesive to use on them.  And I could pretty much sell a set of FIVE unassembled pedestals for what it would cost to just SHIP one assembled 2 tier, or dome topped pedestal!  

The ‘hot market’ for these items seems to be wedding dessert buffets.  And it seems like there are a lot of brides on a budget these days then ever before.  And more and more are doing a lot of their own decorations etc . . .

Soooooooooooooo . . taking ALL THAT into consideration, should I give the ‘assemble your own’ listing a try???  (I’ve really got NOTHING to lose; because I can still use all the components elsewhere/otherwise if they don’t sell)  I just don’t want shoppers to look at the listing and think, “Well THAT’S a stupid idea!  If I want to MAKE it myself I’ll just go out and BUY the plates myself and save even more!”  

OR would they gladly pay for the convenience of the already matched and thought out set??   As opposed to spending a lot of their time searching thrift stores and estate sales for the right pieces.  

I’m really ON THE FENCE on this!  What do YOU think??