Hippity – hoppity . . . Easter’s on it’s way!

We had an amazing break in our winter weather last week that made me SO ready for Spring!  Our winter weather arrived late (February!) but hit HARD; as did my cabin fever.  Putting out the Spring and Easter product in my booths at Stars has really got me in the mood for ‘play outside weather’.

Since I’ve got the beach decor in my big booth, I put the Spring/Easter product in my wall space.  (Pardon that red bucket in the left corner.  It’s an OLD building and occasionally the roof leaks.)

Some cute vintage chicks and bunnies.  Ostrich sized faux eggs covered with vintage buttons.   Milk glass is great for using with your spring decor!

Vintage bell jars with hand shredded vintage book page ‘grass’ and gold leaf eggs.

~::~

~::~

~::~

Custom blend of pink and gold paper shred to go with the packaged gold leaf and pink little eggs in the pink basket on the right.  Turquoise glitter eggs too.

More unique eggs for your spring display.  These are covered with ‘Paris’ themed paper.

Hand stitched felt eggs, embellished with vintage buttons and baby rick rack.

Gallon size mercantile jars filled with moss, nests and eggs.  Smaller jars with straw and eggs.  Big vase with nest and eggs under black wire cloche.

Cute mini take out boxes in Spring colors are perfect for filling with sweets to give to your friends at Easter Brunch.  Decorative faux cupcakes.

Plenty of cake and cupcake stands.  These are so versatile for use in your seasonal tablescapes for adding height and dimension.

Upcycled journals.

Reproduction vintage style chicks from an estate sale.  I gave them lace crowns and nestled them into some cozy nests.

Hand painted faux eggs in turquoise ceramic pots and buckets.

LOTS of new frames, big and small, just stocked.

LOVE this reproduction Gothic arched window pane.  I’m still on the fence about selling it.  It just might come home with me on my next trip!

Vintage white shutter with handcrafted twiggy wreath.

Youth size white rocking chair.  Vintage wash bowl and pitcher.

One of a kind little upcycled suitcase end table with ‘hairpin’ metal legs.

Black occasional tables.  The bottom one is distressed oak, the top one with  the scalloped apron and curvy legs is a satin finish.  Will be removing all the darker furniture in the not too distant future; replacing it with lighter colors for Spring and Summer.

Not quite matching pair of vintage canning jar lamps.  The jars are the same size but different brands.  The shades are the same color, but slightly different shapes.  Each sold separately; $29.00.

Vintage jewelry box with seashell motif paper.

Assorted crates and carriers; perfect for use with your spring decor.

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

 

Adding some more Spring things

Out with the Easter decor and in with the Spring.  Here’s what’s new in my ‘big booth’ at Stars:

Jars of nests and eggs, jars of moss and bird cages.

This shabby white cubby is $68.oo, and includes the hardware for hanging it on the wall.

Making the most of every inch of display space; an old crate on top of the shelf gives me a little more room.  Shabby wood bird-cage and dessert stand with cloche top underneath the table that the shelf is sitting on.  More jars, big and small, of nests and eggs to the right.

Another little grouping on the back side of the table.

Very cool glass cake stand with extra deep lid.

Vintage, upcycled ‘breakfast in bed’ tray.

Tall glass cloches are perfect for showcasing childhood tap shoes and ballet slippers.

Moved a few things around in Sophie’s Annex.

Stop by for some spring decor inspiration for decorating and organizing.  LOTS of unique baskets, trays, containers and crates for making organization fun and pretty!

 

 

WHERE is Spring???

Ready for Spring!

I am SO ready for spring sunshine!  We had a couple of sunny ‘teaser days’ in January, and a gorgeous sunny and warm weekend last weekend . . . . the rest of the time . . .  rain . . . and MORE rain!  sigh.  Spring.  Spring.  Where art thou?

Although we haven’t had much in the way of spring weather thus far, I have been diligently working on new spring inventory; for my booth at Stars and the upcoming “Every Husband’s Nightmare Bazaar” in April.

Here’s a sneak peek at what I’ve been working on.

I’m really liking neutral tones this year.  And big jars of stuff.  Dried hydrangea, dried white pepper berries, assorted dried botanicals and assorted shells.

Jars of spools and balls of yarns and BIG vintage spools of neutral color yarns.

And nests with eggs . . . . this set of three eggs with wood base and cloche top will be sold as a set.

Natural moss, bark and twigs (from my yard!) in a vintage apothecary jar with a little nest.

Big mercantile jar with lid and three nests; being sold as a set.

It’s hard to tell from the pictures, but this jar also has three nests in it, each facing a different direction in the jar; moss on top of all the nests.

Small vintage bell jars with moss, nests, eggs and twigs.

Another ‘beach scape’ jar.  This jar is an old fish bowl.  This lid was from a big 2 gallon glass jar that I BROKE at my last show.  I decided to hang on to the lid, ‘just in case’ I came across another such jar when I’m out thrifting that was missing a lid.  Turned out, it fit this fish bowl perfectly.  The little sand castle was just a white plaster one that I covered with sand.

Just nests.  To give them a little ‘oomph’, I glued them to a big piece of bark.  Tied a little ‘nest’ tag onto some of them; added feathers to some.

More ‘just nests’.  These with super tiny speckled eggs.   See the comparison photo with the nest on bark for egg size.

Assorted vintage containers with various eggs and nests.  The eggs in the tallest jar are ‘chicken egg’ size.

More of what I call the ‘mercantile’ jars; this time with bigger nests and ‘chicken’ size eggs in them; ‘nest’ tags and vintage keys tied to the lids.

Finally ran out of nests and had to start just using the assorted mosses and excelsior that I had on hand for fluff.

Assorted vintage jars with moss and eggs.  I GLUED the eggs to the moss to prevent then from ‘disappearing’.

Using up whatever containers I happen to have on hand for the eggs and nests.  These metal candle stands were perfect ‘little nest’ size!  The darker nest is a ‘purchased pre-made’ nest; the other, a hand-made moss one.

I don’t remember where I got these cute little canning style jars, but they were perfect for a tuft of moss and three little eggs.

LOVE these little apothecary style jars.  They are TINY.   Barely big enough for 2 of the tiny eggs.

I don’t even know what the original use for these metal tins is?!?!  I used to always use them for grubby primitive candles and ‘fixins’.  had a few leftover from my primitive days and decided to put nests in them.  These pictures show a good size comparison of the small vs. chicken size eggs.

For those whom already have containers or cloches and just want to buy the nest, I did a few even without the added bark.  The larger white eggs in this picture are plastic eggs that came in the nests when i bought them.  The other eggs are ‘styrofoamish’ stuff that I hand painted.   All eggs are glued in place.

Close-ups of eggs.

I had a LOT of eggs to use up!  I had saved these glass baby food jars from buying baby food meat to make dog biscuits for my grand-puppy.  Spray painted the lids and printed up little ‘specimen #’ tags to glue onto the jars.  Placed one tiny egg and a pinch of moss in each one.

Will be taking some of this to Stars tomorrow.  MORE to Stars next week . . .  along with a BIG SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT.  And the rest to the spring show April 23rd.

 

Mixed Media Bird collages

I found these two wood Easter plaques at Goodwill, but they had come from Target’s Dollar spot.

I like the using ‘box type’ design for making collages.  The sides of these were already colors and designs that I liked and could work with!

I had some pretty new paper napkins with bird eggs on them that I was itchin’ to play with, so I decided on a bird theme for these two plaques.

A few layers of book pages, then the napkin, then a couple more book pages cut into ‘fancy shapes’, then a rectangle from a Chinese magazine and a bird illustration from a bird book.  A quote from a book and of COURSE, a crown!

What do you think of my new photo backdrop?

With all the warm and dry weather we’ve been having I got a few ‘personal’ painting projects done.  One of which was this shelf and the table it sits on.  This ‘shelf’ is actually 1/2 of an old coffee table that was once a display shelf in my booth at Stars.

These are the pictures from ‘back when’ I used them as display shelves in my booth.   I’m now using the half coffee table as  a shelf atop halr of a dining table that is in my ‘office’ (which should be the dining room!)

The lamp has always been in this spot.  I bought it to go with this collection of similarly shaped bottles; which used to be on a shelf in my living room.  I had hoped to figure out a way to display them all together in the living room; but I just couldn’t make it work.  So I settled for this set up; which I like just fine.

And the second collage; styled fairly similarly to the first one.

I extended the napkins over the edges, and they are sheer enough that the original side color and design show through.

This is really my FAVORITE part of them!  hehe

Since the pieces were rectangular in shape, I oriented them in different directions.

They are available for purchase in my booth at Stars.

Post Valentine / Pre Easter booth at Stars

Ahhhhhhh . . . . . so nice and not cluttered looking with the Valentine stuff cleared out.

(well, ‘not cluttered’ by MY design standards at least!)

I’m seriously considering NOT doing ‘holiday’ stuff anymore in my booth at the antique mall.  The seasonal and holiday stuff was such a ‘necessary staple’ when we had our own shop, that I just kind of got into the routine of ‘planning for it’ and working on it a season ahead of time.

The holiday specific stuff doesn’t really sell that well at the antique mall (except for Christmas); and hardly any of the other vendors do any.  (again, except for Christmas!)

And I’m beginning to feel like the holiday stuff distracts from my regular stock.

NOW I just need to figure out what to do with my time . . .now that I won’t have all those seasonal crafts to work on!  (adding them to my etsy shop is NOT an option either!  Been there.  Tried that and it’s just too much stuff to store away until it sells.)

Hopefully, without the ‘extra clutter’ in the way, the regular stuff will sell even better; and I’ll stay busy prepping and restocking that instead of the holiday stuff.

I’m also going to put some real effort into not piling quite so much regular inventory into my space.  It might sell better if it’s more easily accessible.  (Not that sales aren’t GOOD . . .they are!  I’m hoping to make them better!)

I really do LOVE simple little displays like this stack of old book and nest in a jar.

Alas, I tend to display more like this: the shelf nearly disappears with all the stuff on it.

Easter stuff will be arriving next week; along with more ‘general spring’ stuff; birds, nests etc.

 

More ‘yard debris’ wreaths

Yep, I’ve been out gathering up yard debris to craft with again!

It all started out innocently enough last fall when I gathered up a few bits of moss that had fallen off the tree in my front yard to ’embellish’ the blue pumpkins I had painted and displayed on my front porch.

Initially I had only replaced the ugly plastic stems with cut up branches.

Then I was out picking up pine cones from my yard (because for whatever reason, the lawn maintenance people hired by the property owners just mow right over them and leave them on the lawn!?!?) and there was a LOT of big pieces of moss that had fallen off the tree.  That is when it occurred to me that adding some moss around the stems of the pumpkins might look good.

Mission accomplished!

Even the pumpkins with just a ‘stub’ of a stem, looked better with the moss added.

I continued gathering up  the moss from under the tree once a week or so; intending to use it to add to little bird nests in the spring.

Every once in a while I’d pick up a hunk of moss, only to discover that it had grown onto a piece of tree bark; and it fell apart if I tried to remove it.  So, I was tossing those pieces back.

Then we had some very stormy days and a lot of bark bits had fallen from the tree and I had another ‘light bulb’ moment!  Gather up the bark and use it to make a wreath!

It took a couple of months to accumulate enough bark to make a wreath.  I just got in the habit of going out and gathering moss and bark once a week.

First I covered one of the bulky straw wreaths with strips of brown paper using tacky glue.

I just started gluing bark to the paper covered wreath form.  The tacky glue worked great for this project, as it’s ‘tackier’ than regular white glue and sets very quickly.  I’d lay out several pieces of bark, apply the glue to the back; then put the bark on the wreath.  In just those few extra moments, the glue will begin to ‘tack up’.  Occasionally I’d have to hold a piece of the bark in place for a minute or so for it to adhere properly.  I’d much rather do that then deal with a hot glue gun.  Plus, hot glue doesn’t hold up ‘in the weather’, and I envisioned these as ‘outdoor’ wreaths.

That first photo of the ‘first step’ is really the only one that I took.  Beyond that, it was just ‘filling the space’ with bark bits.  After drying over night, I filled any bare spots with moss.

Here’s what the back looks like.  I glued a strip of muslin to the back to hang it from.  You can see that loop at the top of the previous picture.

Be sure it’s covered about 2/3 of the way around, so that none of the backing shows from the side view.

A few ‘glue spots’ are visible in this pic, but they will eventually dry clear.

Simple and organic looking.

I actually had enough ‘supplies’ to make two of them.  As an after thought, I added some feather birds and a nest.

Little bird on top of the smaller wreath.

Little nest with eggs and a bird added to the inside of the bigger wreath.

~::~

Do you think they look better ‘plain’ or with the birds/nests added?

ANOTHER Re-made make-over

So, if stuff site in my booth TOO long without selling, I bring it home and re-make the make-over.

Such was the case for this simple little table.  THIS ^ was actually it’s THIRD make-over!  Originally it was the largest in a set of nesting tables that I bought new 20 years ago.  They were primitive/rustic style and I think this one was blue.

After a few years I sanded off the blue and stained it hunter green, to match literally EVERYTHING else in my house, which was also hunter.

When I’d tired of the hunter green, I changed my decor to Americana with a lot of red,white and blue.  At which time I painted the top of this table to look like an American flag.

Just before we closed our shop, I had tired of the Americana primitives and sold most of them in an estate sale via the shop.  Somehow this little table go left behind, and it has come in handy over the years.

In my most recent downsizing though, it HAD to go; at which time I did the above black and tan Paris chic make-over.  It has been in my booth for at least 6 months and not sold, so I brought it home and made it over YET again!!

But WHAT color do I try next???  I primed the whole thing black and it sat in my garage for quite a while as I pondered my options.  Ah-HA!!  Everything I’ve painted my ‘new lighter blue’ has sold quickly!  There’s my sign!

And here she is, in her fourth (and hopefully FINAL, incarnation!).  Plain and simple, light Robin’s egg blue over a black base-coat and distressed.

I love that, even after so many times being painted and sanded and repainted and sanded again, some of the grain pattern still shows in the distressing!

Painted and distressed the legs to match the top this time.

Will wait until after Christmas, and possible even until Spring, to take it to my booth at Stars.  Just depends upon when I NEED to add more furniture.

I also painted this chunky wood footstool the same color; but without the black base-coat.

And this cute little stool that already had a coat of white on it.

I almost always end up using the little stools that I take to Stars to ‘prop stuff up on’.  But they still always sell really well.

Ready to go and just ‘waiting for spring’!

Up next on my ‘paint blue list’ is these two bar stools. . . . IF my son and new daughter-in-law decide they don’t want them.

What I did with the backless frame

Found this frame, without the backing, at the thrift store.

I quickly slapped on some turquoise paint as a base coat.

Then spray painted with Ivory; then lots of distressing with a sanding sponge.

(there are those darn SPOTS again!!! grrrrr!)

Just a tiny bit of the turquoise just barely peeking through.  Normally at this point I am DONE.  Tie on a price tag and take it to my booth.  But I’ve been ‘sorting and organizing’ my craft room all week and came across a faded bird egg print that I thought would look perfect in this frame.

  I love how the egg print looks in this frame!  I mounted it on a piece of an old dictionary page.

Since the backing was missing, I had to ‘make do’ with a piece of heavy cardboard, which I also covered with a dictionary page.

Perfect for spring!

Here’s what’s new in my booth at Curiosities . .

I now have Valentine goods stocked in my booth at Curiosities also.

Little shelf filled with assorted Valentine-y stuff.

Pink glitter owls with hearts and keys.

Itty bitty gumball machine filled with candy conversation hearts.

Pretty Valentine gift boxes.

With metal charms attached to the bows.  (and paper shred inside of course!)

Little red birdcage with stamped pillow inside.  Tag on the side says ‘prisoner of love’.

Paper love crown.

More of a ‘spring thing’ than Valentine; bird and nest on urn.

Paris chic burlap pillows.

Child size rocking chair.

Shabby chic picnic basket.

HUGE vintage cheese box.

BIG black footed tray.  I didn’t measure it, but it’s at least 4′ long.  Perfect for a big farmhouse table.  I filled it with assorted gold stuff.  Gold finials, little crown baskets, cloches and framed picture.

Pair of rusty wire cloches with bird toppers; a red glitter love crown placed atop the larger cloche.

I completely ‘flip flopped’ the left side wall of my booth this last time.  Actually this side has NO wall.  The booth only has 2 walls and 2 open sides.  But to make the best use of the space, I ‘build a wall’ of product along one of the empty sides.  this is the side that faces OUT to the aisle.  (All of this stuff was previously INSIDE the booth. )

These three aqua shelf units were previously on that outward facing wall.  Now they face inside; backed up to what’s in the previous picture.  (kind of difficult to explain!)

A sign display as an ‘end cap’ (sort of!) of the two previous back to back displays.

Rustic wood hearts with keys.

Barnwood heart with old hinge and shutter.

Spring-ish whites.

Hand crafted ‘cranberry’ (wood bead!) hearts.

Altered heart shaped candy boxes filled with chocolate CANDLES. (yes candLes, not candies!)

Shabby white bird cage filled with dried hydrangea.

Moved the antique enamel table further into the booth against the wall; with the two shabby end tables tucked underneath.

Lots of fun new stuff for Valentine and spring decorating.  Come by and check it out.

Curiosities is open Tuesdays – Sundays; 10am – 6pm  (closed Mondays)

Is it spring yet?!?!?

Been getting LOTS of spring things ready to go to Stars!

Batch of vintage apothecary jars.  You can tell the ones that are older because the inside rim of the topper is frosted glass.

This was one of the birds with the wire feet; except the feet broke off on this one.  So I put it in a nest!

BIG vintage tin cup filled with paper shred and eggs.  (those are ‘real’ sized eggs).

I didn’t have any ‘grass’ to use so I just used my custom paper shred mix.  Since the cup is turquoise, it worked just fine.

Nest with eggs in apothecary jar.

The lid to this crock broke, so I couldn’t sell it as a crock anymore.  Just filled it with moss and added a bird and some tiny eggs. (made these eggs using Fimo clay)

Little tin watering can had a weird logo on the front, so I covered that with some tea stained paper.

Vintage cherub wall sconce nest.

I had lots of eggs left over from last year to use up, so I didn’t need to buy any this year!  Pulled out my stash of jars that I collect year round and a bag of moss and started filling!

A single egg on a bed of moss in a small jar.

Covered pedestal bowl was just the right size for one of the nests.  Just added a bit of moss in the bottom.

Little bell jars with moss and one egg.

Bigger jars filled with nests.

Short squatty jars were too small for the nests, but had room for three eggs and moss.

Slightly bigger jars, but still to narrow for the nests; so again, just moss and eggs.

I had more of the cream colored eggs left, so I filled this coordinated set with them.

Vintage repro bird post cards that I framed.  This set went to my etsy shop and has already sold.

The rest of them, in these weathered wood frames will be going to Stars.

And now I just have to price and pack them all up to take to Stars!

Have you started on your spring/Easter decorating yet?  Easter is EARLY this year, March 31st!