~A SWEET DRESS FORM and a FABULOUS OLD DESK~

Winter has finally come to Oklahoma and I'm trying desperately to be a good California Girl and not WHINE about the sleet and snow that will soon blanket the ground.  (I'm happy with the rain tho~we need it!)  I guess after being cooped up from hand surgery for so long I WANNA GET OUTA HERE and have some fun.  That said...I know Spring is around the corner and glorious days of junkin' and slummin' are on the horizon!

See the vintage dress form at the top?  It is a great old piece and made of wood.   I can't wait to do something fabulous to it!  I'm thinking vintage lace, etc. 

About three years ago my big sister rescued the one above from the TRASH and we had so much fun recovering it.  She uses hers in her shop for display (I borrowed the picture from Facebook) and everyone wants to buy it!  Imagine that! :)  Her shoppe is in Dickson, Tennessee and it is darling!  If you are close to Nashville you MUST go visit PLANTATION WHITE!

On Saturday I did a little bit of local tag sale shopping and I snagged this awesome solid wood desk.  She's screaming out for a makeover and I'm going to give it to her!  I can just see this beauty dressed to the nines with my favorite soft white paint!  YUM!

The inside of the widest drawer had the burn-stamp of Ballman/Cummings - Ft. Smith, Ark.  I just found an amazing article on this company...you can find it HERE.  I just found a dresser and mirror on eBay and it's price is $700.  Oh My Gosh...not gonna say what I paid for the desk but it wasn't anywhere CLOSE to that price!

This week I'll be working on restocking my suffering website.  I haven't listed anything new since before my surgery so I have LOTS to catch up on!

Happy Monday.

Love to you...

~THE LIFE JOURNEY CONTINUES~

I heard Peggy Benson (wife of the late Bob Benson from Benson Publishing) speak way back in the early 1990's and have never forgotten feeling totally mesmerized while hearing her life's story.  Here I am, nearly twenty years later, and I find the wisdom behind her words still ring true.

A couple of days ago while working my new booth space I met a pretty young woman whose personality reminded me so much of myself while in my early 30's.  We began to chat and I listened as she shared a little bit about the journey of her own life and how disappointed she felt over where her past choices had led her...

She had lots of teenage dreams, but believed only a few of them had come true...

She looked at my Mr. AGPMan (who was working on lighting behind me) and shared how she prayed for a long and happy marriage and a peaceful childhood for her children.

She said she longed to give flight to her creative side and told me how she hoped one day to do something similar to what I was doing~

I smiled big at what I understood to be a compliment, but could barely keep my own emotions in check as I looked into her eyes.  In them I saw a painful reflection of my own younger self... Someone once filled with the very same hopes and dreams as she, but one bound up with similar fears and insecurities about the future and the purpose behind the blessings given by the Lord...

"I have finally come to understand

that it is only in the silence that I

can hear the story of my life and

the voice of God talking to me

through the telling of it."

~Peggy Benson

As we parted ways I promised her I would pray for her and asked God to remind me to do so...

 I have the telling of my own life-story down to a science, but I've never been good at listening...

I'm trusting this new adventure of mine will bring with it a greater purpose than just a way for me to peddle my wares~

I continue to understand that it's only when I allow the quieting down of my own spirit that I'm able to the hear story of my own life and what, if anything, about it He desires for me to share with others...

Blessings for a lovely Sunday!

Love to you...

~MY NEW BOOTH AT SERENDIPITY MARKET~

For the last couple of weeks I've pretty much worked non-stop on my new Booth Space at Serendipity Market in Edmond, Oklahoma.  Yesterday I finished putting some of the final touches on a few Spring and Easter displays and tomorrow morning I will return to tag a couple pieces of furniture and some odds and ends.  It's hard to get anything done because it's so much fun visiting with all the shoppers!

 Unfortunately I was only able to snap a couple of pictures!!   :(  My camera battery died after only two snaps and I didn't have my spare with me!  I so wanted to show you the amazing pergola style framework my hubby, aka: my Mr. AGPMan, made from my previous booth space.  He also laid an awesome wood floor for me out of stained/grooved plywood.  It sits underneath the posts and vintage doors which easily hold it in place.  I love it.  Promise to show more pictures soon!

Since my hubster is down with some BUG there won't be any junkin' this weekend for the two of us.  We're do for a rest anyway...all the painting, moving, building and decorating has worn us out!

Hope your weekend is fabulouso...

Love to you...

 

~HOW TO MAKE A CHIC TOTE FROM JUNKY JUNK~

Today I'm going to share with you a wee little tutorial on how a thrift store wicker bag was transformed from something junky into something très chic and totalleeee fab!!!

 It all started with a trip to our local second-hand store where I'm sure to always find SOMETHING begging for a makeover...  Last week I found this cheapo wicker style Tote Bag with a incredibly limp and wilty turquoise cotton/poly lining.  Big plans were in store for this run-of-the-mill-tote-bag!!!  I see these bags all the time after summer fades into autumn for $1. :)

 First thing I did was careful snip the lining out as I needed to use it for a pattern for the new linen fabric I chose for the inside!

After the blue fabric was removed I cut a new fabric liner making note of the seam allowance used.  I chose a natural linen!!!

Didn't expect for the handle to come off with the fabric...I just hot glued them back into place vs. stitching them down.  Next I lightly brush painted (sorry...forgot to photograph it!) the entire wicker tote with my favorite soft white paint.  No need to paint the inside but I did lightly coat the upper inside rim!!!  I let it dry overnight!

The new fabric was frayed for a fringed effect and since I planned on hot gluing it into place (instead of sewing it down) a band of matching fabric was stitched close to the frayed edge.  Once the liner was sewn together it was attached to the inside, raw side against the inside of the Tote!

After the lining was in place the outside handle was decorated with roses, vintage French Net Lace and loops of old bobbin lace, too!  A little braid and a bit of frayed linen was also added to the floral mix!

An so there you have it!  A transformed Tote Bag that took MAYBE an hour to create!!!  This was a fun project and a sweet addition to most any booth space or shoppe!

I'm headed back down to my new booth space to price more product today!!!  It's snowing outside so I'm having a slow-motion day...  Hard to leave the cozy comfort of my home!!!

Hope to share pictures soon!

Today I'm linking up with:

Green Willow Pond for What We Accomplished Wednesdays

Ivy and Elephants for What's It Wednesdays

Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays

 

Love to you...

~IT WAS WHAT?~

 On Saturday I showed you some of the latest French themed pillows destined for my local booth space at Serendipity Market (Edmond, OK)...  Hope to have my wee little shoppe up and running and fully stocked in a couple of days.  Sooo much work to do...hauling of furniture, pricing/tagging and lots of arranging!

Today I'm sharing with you another pillow and I hope you'll be inspired to create something similar while re-purposing great used, vintage or second-hand clothes.  We all know our local thrift stores are filled up and over flowing with such things, right?

I love working with linen, flax and high quality cottons when making pillows.  The problem is the yardage is sooo expensive that once you purchase the fabric and either poly-filling or a feather insert the cost can truly get sky-high.

 Add some vintage buttons (or even new shell, etc.) the cost continues to climb...

Well...to help out my pocketbook and to keep my overall investment as low as possible (I resell most of what I make so I'm always thinking about profit) I scour the thrift stores for linen clothing for possible makeovers...

I found this great late 1990's Eddie Bauer dress for a few dollars and knew it would be fabulous made into a pillow.  It had shell buttons down the entire front and since it was made of 100% linen it had this wonderful color and texture to the cloth.

The entire skirt portion was used for the pillow...or about a yard (plus a little) of fabric!  To make this pillow out of new and comparable linen it would have cost me three or more times as much!  An added bonus was the front panel was perfect for the buttoned back!  LOVE THAT and no buttonholes to make or buttons to sew on!

I'm going to be in and out this week transforming my booth into what will hopefully be a sweet place to shop!

Hope your week is fabulous!

Love to you...

~FRENCH EPHEMERA PILLOWS~

 Today is an exciting day as my little booth space at Serendipity Market (Edmond, OK) is 99% ready to move in.  Just a couple pieces of wood flooring are left to install and then we can begin the task of filling her up with lots and lots of goodies!  Hand painted signs and furniture, pillows, sachets and sweet vintage finds and so much more....  I'm so happy I'll be settled in before Easter and Spring!  If you're like me you're already craving warmer weather and sunshine...

I've been a busy bee sewing and painting up a storm.  Such fun! 

I've finally made use of the vintage images I've collected while visiting the ever popular Karen at GF!!!.  I love, love, love how her graphics look when used on simple white cotton and linen pillows!  Nothing complicated here...petite ruffles combined with the old ephemera and feather inserts make for French themed pillows that are easy on the eye.

I love all of the old images, but my favorite one was used on the first pillow at the top!

I also snagged another mid-century maple dresser and recently painted it out in my favorite soft white paint.  This piece is almost exactly like one I sold last year that I painted pink.  Love this one in white...simple paint techniques, gentle distressing and a quick sealer help to make her home-ready!

I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day!  I made Chicken Spaghetti for my family and then we all played UNO until almost midnight.  Guess who one?  NOT ME!

Hope your Saturday is wonderful!

Love to you... 

~DON'T THROW IT AWAY! DON'T THROW IT AWAY!~

Sometimes I wonder just WHAT some manufacturers are thinking when they design gift-ware merchandise for the industry.  I've seen some pretty cheap and visually challenging things during my years in retail and I'm amazed some of those designs ever get past the prototype phase~  And yet, the thrift stores are filled up and overflowing with stuff we only use to love...

I found this [lovely] white wood factory-designed basket with the red check lining and robin's egg blue satin bow last week at Goodwill.  I walked by it three times before finally tossing it into my shopping cart.  It was priced at $1.99 and even though I thought $1 would have been a better deal, and despite the fact it whispered

CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP

I decided to haul it home.

First thing I did was rip off the blue bow.  The lining was hot-glued in place so I needed to use my blow dryer (set to HOT) to help heat up the goo in order to free the fabric.  After the lining was removed a few swipes over the rim with a piece of medium grit sandpaper took care of the remaining hot glue...

With a chip brush (super inexpensive at Home Depot) I dry-brushed the entire basket.  Gave it one coat and let it dry.  One more light coating and the basket was instantly transformed.  Dry brushing allows some of the original base color to show through and I love this not-too-perfect look! 

Now~after staring at the basket it seemed to need just little bit of SOMETHING EXTRA~something like a sign (similar to those seen around the neck of a wine bottle).  Then I remembered I had purchased some metal hangers on clearance at a local craft store last summer and hoped at least one would add the needed bit of pizzazz I was looking for!

I painted one with the same white paint and used a modified French graphic found online (Graphic's Fairy) for the inner label.   After a bit of distressing and the clipping of the hanger in half, the sign was gently wired onto one side of the basket!  Can't you just see it holding a loaf of fresh French Bread???  Yummmmm....

Total basket makeover cost was about $3.  Basket was $1.99.  Hanger was .25.  Ink and paper (for printing) and the paint didn't cost more than .75, at most!

This was a fun and easy project and if you decide to do something similar I'd love to see what you come up with!

Today I'm linking up with:

Green Willow Pond for What We Accomplished Wednesdays

Ivy and Elephants for What's It Wednesdays

Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays

 

 Winter finally came yesterday to Oklahoma.  The snow floated down in what looked like puffs of white cotton.  We sooo need the moisture and even though I'm not a winter-lovin'-gal (I'm a Cali native, remember?) I hope it snows again tomorrow...  Our red earth is so dry and that will mean a greater chance for fire come this summer...

We've so enjoyed the spring-like weather we were having that we forgot to put our Adirondack Chairs away...  I actually love how they look covered in the frosty-wintery-white-fluff.  If you look closely at my pictures you can see the falling snow~

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day...can't wait!

Love to you...

~MY INCREDIBLE VINTAGE FIND ON CRAIGSLIST~

Not sure just how old this amazing antique chest of drawers is, but trust me when I tell you it's old, fabulous and an incredible find!  Simply put it's more than beautiful.  It's solid wood through and through and every single piece of hardware is in perfect condition.  My guess is that the chest hails from the 1920's or maybe even a bit earlier.  I'm not too good at dating furniture, but given similar advertising pictures shown in my 1912 Women's Home Companion magazine I don't think I'm far off in my assumptions...

Now...I don't camp out at our local Craigslist site even though I probably should visit it more often that I do.  'Tis true there is allllottta junk listed for sale, but every once in awhile it is possible to score something wonderful!  Last summer I purchased a French Cabinet for $50 and I still swoon when I think about it!

 Well...a couple of days ago I happened to log onto the CL website looking for a couple of pieces of furniture begging for a makeover (I'm on a quest to fill up my soon-to-open booth space).  After perusing several categories (antiques, vintage, furniture, etc.) I stumbled upon a listing for a Vintage/Antique Chest that caught my eye.  After a quick phone call to make sure it was still available my guy and I headed out the door to view the piece in person.

The chest was about 15 miles from our home and so it only took a few minutes to get there.  A nice man met us outside his beautiful home and he quickly led us to the garage where the chest was being stored.

After looking over the piece and making sure it wasn't falling completely apart (strong drawers, no missing hardware, no big gashes or broken legs, etc.) we agreed on a price and the deal was done.  

Pretty fun, but slightly ho-hum story, right?

See a piece, buy a piece, haul it home, etc... 

Well get this...

After chatting with the seller for a few minutes we found out we attended the same Oklahoma University (SNU/Bethany) back in the late 70's and shared mutual friends.  Then we discovered he knew my sister and bro-in-love in Tennessee very well and had once been my sister's boss.

Now how cool is that???

I've shared before how I don't (and never will) believe in coincidences!  I love it when I'm reminded that my steps are ordered and directed by The Most High. 

Life is grand!

(so.is.craigslist)

My project for early next week is to whip this baby into shape using some AS paint with maybe some glazing...hmmmm.  White paint is in it's future for sure.  Promise to share with you the process as I go!

Today I'm linking with these

A-MAZING-LINK-PARTIES:

A Cozy Little House for Tweak it Tuesday

Nick of Time Interiors for Knick of Time Tuesday

Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday 

Love to you...