Blue Chairs that POP!

Last weekend my daughter did a little kitchen redo while her husband was off camping with the guys.  She painted the chairs this amazing blue and then upholstered the seats in a charming modern swirl.

Above you can see the chair before the process ... and here is the girl herself!!  I even got to dip a paint brush myself, and it was fun to work together.  I also got to teach her the easiest way to upholster the seats and they turned out great!! 

Way to go Emily, they look great!!

White on White at the Antique Mall

Hello lovers of all things white!  Just wanted to share the booth I just redid at the antique mall.  This booth was brown with pink polka dots, I am not kidding.  I did it as a children's booth, because I love antique children's clothes, books and toys.  Unfortunately the booth never really did very well, so alas it was time for a change.

I have always been drawn to whites, and have had several different areas in the two antique malls where I sell, that focused on white, or black and white, or blue and white, or red and white.  But, in the 17 years I have been selling antiques, I have never had an all white booth.

It was quite a trick to cover that brown and pink wall, in fact it took three coats of paint and quite a chunk of my day, but I think it was quite the perfect transformation.

As you can see, the 'Vintage' banner did make it to the antique mall, with plans to make another for my green and white bedroom.  You will likely see lots of white projects in the near future as I further embellish and create this area at the Treasures, my antique mall of choice.  Thanks for coming along.

Vintage Pennant Banner!

Well, I am back in my craft saddle again.  I redid a booth at the antique mall and made it all white.  Of course I need a fun banner to add to the vintage charm.  I made it using  pages from an antique dictionary and running them through my printer to add the charming wreath design from Graphics Fairy.

Next I mounted the fragile antique paper pennants on card stock and cut a scalloped border.  Last of all I add the glass glittered letters that I made just smearing Tacky Glue on letters cut using a Crikut and then pressing them into a pile of  glitter.  I used a flattened pearl trim to hang them.  Last of all I hung the finished banner across the lace curtains in my bedroom to take pictures, and liked it  there so well, I think I may make a different one for the white booth at the antique mall.  Silly me!

Building a Garden House (Some More)

And now its time for another chapter in the building of our garden house.  My dh and I spent the day on Tuesday spraying on the cream colored base coat, on the inside and on the outside, on the rafters and on the floor, even on the fireplace mantel.

Then on Wednesday night, while I was at a service activity and then attending a book club meeting, he surprised me by reattaching the four windows into their casings, putting the door back on and adding the gingerbread piece to the front eve!!  I was ecstatic!  To the right you can see the floor of the loft, and below you can see the ladder that leads to the loft, in its storage position, resting just above and to the left of the door. Note the hinges to the left that will allow it to swing down.

This is the loft.  The green X marks the center of the window that we have masked off for the spray painting.  It will come off soon, and you will be able to see the leaded glass pattern.    Below is the inside view of the door.  The door is only 5 and a half feet high, so most men will have to stoop to enter.  Almost all of those who have seen it tell me that they think it looks like a hobbit door, and thus a hobbit house ...

Of course we know that hobbits live in hills, sort of undergroundish, but in playing with names for my garden house I am considering Hobbitat ... It definitely fits the book connection I am looking for for my literary garden, right? But then maybe I want something more romantic.  Do you have any other bookish ideas?  I would love to hear your input.  Thanks for coming along and sharing the fun!

Printing on Old Book Pages!

This was a fun and fairly simple craft project, thanks to my friend Cathie, who saw it on pinterest and shared!!

I am using a book theme for my garden house and the surrounding garden area.  I thought these sweet little illustrations by Kate Greenaway, as found at Graphics Fairy, would be perfect.

Green is the accent color for the garden house, so the frames went from a vintage gold patina to a fresh spring green!!  The Greenaway illustrations were printed on old book pages, again, perfect for my book theme, don't you think?

Thanks for coming along.

Cluster Earring Bracelets +

So, after seeing all the amazing crafters at flea.o.logy last Saturday, it just made me want to put on my own crafter!! Its been a long time since I have made these super fun bracelets, so I decided to get back at it.

The colored rhinestone bracelet, and the beaded bracelet are both made from old earrings.

This funky yellow and orange bracelet, as I am sure you noticed, is made of vintage buttons.

It is always very satisfying for me to get into my piles and pounds of junque jewelry and make something happen.

Thanks for stopping by.

Celebrating Pioneer Day!

Round here today is a holiday.  We celebrate the day the pioneers arrived in the Salt Lake Valley with picnics, parades, pageants and parties.  This year is the 165th anniversary of their arrival.

 I made these goody bags for a few of my neighbors to celebrate the day.

I found the great old 'pioneer' boot on Graphics Fairy, of course.

So whether you have pioneers who crossed the plains in your heritage, I hope you will consider the amazing people who came before you, and have made your life amazing, because of the lives they lived.

Happy Pioneer Day to All!

flea.o.logy; flea market fun!

This past Saturday we hosted the second outdoor flea.o.logy sale of the year.  We had 35 dealers, which included everything from traditional antique dealers to crafters, with most booths having a mix of both.

Above is pictured the customers waiting for the bank clock across the street to indicate 8:00!! 

Let the shopping begin! 

We had several new dealers this time.  Changing from our cumbersome central checkout system to paying at each space meant loosing some dealers who did have the inclination to stay all day and man their own spaces.

Miss Fits, is a group of artists.  They are sisters whose maiden name was Fit.  They also share space with their talented mother.

My gift to myself this flea.o.logy was one of the junque robots shown above done by Penny Jones, the mother of the Miss Fits.  I thought these were the nicest, and mostly charmingly detailed artist robots I have seen!!

Other crafted contributions included ...

Altered art notebooks...

Anthropology style stacked candle sticks ...

and doll part book marks ...

... and of course, lots and lots of traditional antiques and collectibles.

This picture of one of my displays was taken by my friend Cathie.  She's a fab photographer.  If you want to see more flea.o.logy pics, keep watch on our blog for the next week or so.  I think you will be charmed by our event!!

"Antique Painted" Face Hat Stands

Here's a fun and inexpensive project!  I glued (E6000) wood balls on top of wood candlesticks.  Then I spray painted them with a flat white paint.   Next it was off to Graphics Fairy where  I found this sweet Victorian face on a cologne bottle label.

To make the hat stands, similar to the whimsical stands made in the 1930's and 40's, I reverse decoupaged the faces onto the balls, then painted black hair.  Jane Got a bit of lace and a button for her 'collar', while Sandra got some lace and a rhinestone bit.

Such sweet sisters and all ready to display your favorite hat! The thing that is really nice about these girls is that they are so inexpensive.  Buying painted face antique/vintage hat stands can run as high as a hundred dollars a piece, or more.  This pair made from second hand store finds cost about $5 for the pair! 

Thanks for dropping by for another thrifty craft idea.