Spring and the Nashville Show

 Hi guys! My post is a mixed bag today. My first pics are of the Sweet Honesty that is blooming on the edge of my driveway. It is also called Luminaria or money plant. The seed pods when they are dried and you remove the outer coverings are papery luminous white discs the size of a quarter..hence the names!

 I planted this once and it reseeds itself every year. Sometimes I help it along a bit by knocking the seeds loose or if I cut the seedheads, I remove the outer husks and seeds to get to the pretty inner seed membranes and I toss the seeds back where they came from to replant them. The dried seed heads make a pretty arrangement in the fall.

 These have survived my husband trying to "RoundUp" them and... I am embarrassed to say..the little boys peeing off the edge of the driveway when they are outside playing and too busy (lazy) to come inside and use the bathroom! They don't do that when I can see them! It is pretty here today and my husband is out mowing the lawn for the second time already!

 I did the Nashville Gathering show this weekend and here is my booth. I used the tent frame again to hang things. It rained all day Wednesday so I had to load the van by myself Thursday morning, drive 250 miles to Nashville and unload it and set up the booth alone. I was a bit tired that night and a bit nervous as my hotel room was on the ground floor with an outside entrance. I was in the shower and the bathroom light went out..I leaped out of the shower (straight into the trashcan) and grabbed a towel. I could see the lights were on in the rest of the room through the gap of the door. I brushed up on my ninja skills in my head and thought "I can't die until I lose 20 pounds!" and slowly peeked out saying ..of course..."Hellooo?" Luckily no knife wielding madman but I checked every inch of the room before my heart rate returned to normal!

 I made this booth banner with the help of my grandson Hunter. The oversized "tags" we cut out of manila folders. We added pretty scrapbook paper. The middles are vintage dictionary pages that I painted hope and joy home onto. I could have printed them on the computer, but for me just painting them was infinitely faster!

 We added dots of black glitter to jazz it up and because Hunter said we HAD to use glitter! I like the look.. it makes it "pop". I made word spacer tags to which I added punches of vintage wallpaper. I threaded them on twill tape the length of my tent frame plus a lot of extra to tie it on. I used clothespins to strategically pin it up between the words.

 I like how I set this booth up. I used the vintage gray shutters as a backdrop with some vintage barkcloth panels. I tied clothesline across the back and clothespinned the panels to a hanger and hung that. The shutter leaned against the tent frame and also had the clothesline behind them just in case to keep them from tumbling into the booth behind me! (That would be tragic!) I used stacked wooden crates for height because that is what I brought with. I ended up selling most of those!

 The clotheline with my vintage baby dresses. I lucked out and had open aisles on both sides of my booth which really about doubled my booth space since you could shop it from all sides!

These are some of my handmade paper peonies and an upcycled lamp part candleholder. I think the flowers added an element of pretty. My tablecloths are vintage white damask ones topped with 2 pink sheer dotted gathered curtain panels I bought for like $2 at a yard sale. The pink and white ties the booth together.The show was OK..the attendance was loooooow, but those there were buying so I did ok. I hate when other vendors tell you.."Oh you should have been here LAST time!" Ed came out Friday night after work so I didn't have to load alone and had company. I think I will still do the Knoxville shows, but if I come to Nashville again it will be for the Flea Market over this show as that has a LOT more traffic!

 This is what I came home to..momma cat had Kitties! Too cute!

And THIS is what my South Dakota friends and family are dealing with TODAY..April 22nd! Sorry guys! Hopefully this is your last snow! So that was my weekend..hope you had a great one and stop back! Julia

Weekend antique and handmade show

Hi guys! For some reason this post wanted to post itself before I got any words added! I did a show this weekend in Knoxville..The Gathering Show. It is a newish show for Knoxville, it has been running in Nashville for a few years. I did the fall show so this was my 2nd in Knoxville. This is a vintage tutu I took (sold). I thought it was so adorable!

When I got it, it didn't have the rosette, but I thought it needed a bit of "something" so I dipped this vintage net rosette in Rit dye (petal pink) and pinned it to the waist.

I made these upcycled "shrines" out of antique claw foot tub feet and tart tins. Here they have some of my photo ornaments on them..that is my Gramma Hardie on the left and Gramma Cleberg in the middle. They are just color copies that I colored further and Mod Podged to 1/8" luan plywood that I painted. I have a bunch that I display on my Christmas tree and year 'round.

I made hooks from vintage silverplate spoons and forks. You can use these as a hook hung "upright" and as a funiture pull used sideways.

My van was packed to the gills as usual..I had old 6 pane windows, posts and table legs and some cool old interior shutters. They all sold well and I need to take more to my next show.

I took the top off my tent and used just the frame to hang up my clothesline for my vintage baby dresses. This is a "before" pic. It looked cool..sort of like an arbor and didn't block the light since this was indoors. My pics are NOT good..I think I had my camera on Macro..boo!Here you can sort of see my ladder shelves. I set up 2 same size ladders and run boards through the steps for shelves. Folds flat and easy for me to set up alone..which is what usually happens!

A partial "after" You can see a bit of the chalkboard antique frames I did on the floor in the back..my other pics of them were blurrier than this!

Two Arne Jacobson series 7 chairs and the heaviest wooden folding chairs ever (those sold) in cream and red.The shabby pale green boxes on the ladder (sold) were tin receipt boxes and were cool as heck. I have some more in the shed for the next show. I made the fabric totes.

Pillows, wire cloches and the copper plant markers..sold some of all those.

Gardeny table with vintage barkcloth, tools hooks and the most perfectly verdigris-ed tea kettle ever (sold)Fab for a planter.

Vintage Nylint truck, candleholder, votives and another chalkboard. I've been on the lookout for succulents..I got these at KMart!

Some seed flats left over from my former store, vintage wire baskets (I think those sold too) and galvinized buckets with vintage tin roofing tiles.

My clothesline of vintage baby dresses..I needed more clothesline but apparently left the rest at home (of course!)

Buried under here was a cool metal folding chair (sold) My online sleuthing said it was Russel Wright..it had the most perfect shabby green paint! The pillows are ones I make of vitage textiles and the stool is a stainless steel medical one..love that look!

Here's the Arne Jacobson chairs again..love these too.

You can see a bit of the metal cups that I added Frenchy decals to..perfect for votives!

The primitive cabinet is now in my livingroom holding our TV on top ..at least for the time being. I love that blue and it was skinny enough to fit on our hearth.A wire dress form with a cute vintage apron.

These are my latest creation..French decal-ed enamelware. I did pitchers, the small cups and these canisters.

Red ones plus decaled votives.

The blue ones..I think these are my fav color.

A cool Italian candle/plant holder. I had a little lady offer me half for this (snort) and I politely declined and counter offered $5 off. She walked off and came back later and got it. Overall the show had lowish attendence, it was the first nice Saturday here. The line for the zoo was backed up to the interstate! However, the shoppers that were there were buying so it turned out a B- show for me.

Except for these vintage Frye boots I bought for $20! I was actually just that morning trying to justify buying a new pair ($400+ for the pair I liked) but these will do nicely ...A+ on the boots! I have a show in Nashville not this weekend but the next and am busy getting things back in my local booth and online on Etsy and Ebay. We mowed the lawn yesterday and my sympathies to my SD friends and relatives that got an ice storm and lots of snow this weekend! "Til next time! Julia

Stamped copper garden plant markers

Hi guys! I got a lot done today but not a lot of pics taken. These are some stamped copper garden markers I jazzed up. These markers are new(ish). My husband got them from an estate sale but they were too new for me to sell as was on Etsy..there it has to be handmade(altered) vintage(20+ years old) or a supply. So they floated around in my husbands pickup for a month. I decided since I was doing a garden themed show to fix them up for sale. You could probably buy these from a garden or home improvement store. They were bright shiny new copper.

I stamped them with my metal stamps. You can get them at Hobby Lobby. These are thin so don't hammer too many strikes or you will punch through. Ummm..confession time..I have a full sized anvil in my kitchen (and what woman DOESN'T?) but you could also pound these on a concrete step. I also have a trailer hitch piece I use as a mini anvil. If you pound them on something soft like wood, you will get a dent from the punch edges. There is a metal pad you can buy to go with the punches, but I am cheap and would rather use what I already have! I chose phrases over plant names (which you could certainly do!) because I felt it made them more flexible to sell. You could also use these in a potted plant if you didn't have a garden!

After I punched them, I sprayed them with a mix of vinegar with quite a bit of salt dissolved in it. I use an old Fructis spray gel bottle because ..again..it was free and on hand, but you can also buy little spray bottles..or so I hear! I sprinkled on a bit of additional salt and let it dry.It dries to a pretty aqua verdigris finish. I knocked off the excess salt and spritzed it again and let it dry. I wiped up the lettering a bit and darkened it with a fine tip Sharpie. I punched a hole with a nail and added a small acrylic prism that I had floating around in my "save this you might need it for a project some day" bin. They had cheesy white wire jump rings but I didn't like the look so I made some plain galvanized wire ones and swapped them out.

For one of the Secret Garden ones, I couldn't resist adding a small vintage key..also in the bin! The Secret Garden was one of my fav books as a girl ..and still is! Off to the show these go! More pics tomorrow..'til then! Julia

Projects for the Show Paper Peonies and Chicken Wire Cloches

 Hi guys! I survived Easter and the renovation we had going on this week. We (and I mean "we" in the "guys that we hired" way) took the bay window out of our living room and replaced it with a triple patio door and had a deck built. I'll have to do pics of that later! I have a show coming up this weekend and have been creating like a mad woman (and loving it) The theme of the show is garden, so I had to garden up my offerings. I made these paper peonies for sale and decoration in my booth.

 I cut, assemble and dye these individually. I like the different shades of peony pink that result..this shell pink one is a fav of mine.

 I like the warm apricot ones too. I call these peonies, but they do resemble the David Austin rose bush I used to have called Abraham Darby. Loved that one but I killed it somehow!

 Maybe I am only meant for paper flowers! The vase is one of my vintage McCoy ones.

 I also made chicken wire cloches. I didn't have a pattern or instructions for this..I just cut a strip and wired the ends together and shaped the top into a dome and added a glass knob. The succulents I have been searching high and low for..I guess I need to make a trip to "the city"! Lowes had a few and I got 3 at the Nashville Flea Market last week...must..have...more!

 The hand is off a vintage mannequin that Ed bought on Monday. Truly the creepiest mannequin you ever saw!I think she is a 40's -50's model..plaster over wood. She was "done over" as an old granny. I am going to do her over again as something hopefully less creepy and a lot more chic! I will be sharing pics when I do. I made him take her home from the auction in HIS truck. I was afraid she would animate on the way home and strangle me! She is lurking out in our shed as we speak...

 anyhoo...these turned out different sizes but that was OK.

 I used some of the glass knobs we sell in Ed's Etsy shop, www.theindustrialfarmer.etsy.com and some old washers. I like how they look together!.

This one was a bit larger. I have a ton of things I am working on today and hope to get pics of those things taken tomorrow. Stop back for the further adventures of doing the show! Til then! Julia