~HAND SCRAPED WOOD FLOOR GOES IN...WHOOT! ALMOST DONE!~

 ~Beautiful Hand Scraped Wood Floor~

My Mr. AGPMan and I leave for the Nashville area this week to spend some time with my sister and to help her with her estate sale...we are hoping to sweat off some pounds while we are there and maybe bring back a few treasures!  We we  also be hauling back the antique counter we will be transforming into our kitchen island...so excited!

~Wood Floors Tie Everything Together~

After yapping about our complete kitchen remodel/renovation and I'm excited to say that in just a very short time it will be completely done.  Can't wait to show you pictures of the final reveal with everything put into place.

~Waiting for Glue to Dry~

I haven't taken new pictures, but the stove/oven and fridge are back in place and so is our temporary island we purchased at Sam's Club.  I'm going to paint it and move it to my studio as it's a great piece to craft on.  You can see part of it in one of the photos below (two down)...

~May 2014~

We've come a long way since a year ago May 2014.  This temporary island was made up of two old cabinets.  We used this for over a year...YUCK!  But...hey~it worked!  The big white fridge was banished to the gawh-raj!

~May 2015~

Lots of work in one year.  That was evenings and almost every single weekend!!!!  Seeing the cabinets go up was so exciting.  They still had to be customized and painted...but to see cabinets on the wall made me feel like we had a real kitchen again!

~Easter 2014~

The two pictures above will show you that we actually used the kitchen during our remodel.  This is my Miss K and I at Easter 2014 dying Easter Eggs in a hovel of a kitchen.  I refused to allow the torn up mess to keep us from making memories.  If I had we would have lost four years of fun times!  This is before sheet rock, etc.  My Mr. AGPMan was still working on the electrical, etc.  By the way...I have on his geek shirt (need a hair cut!) and my Miss K is now as tall as I am.  She's grown a lot in 15-16 months!  She'll be 13 in November!  Say it isn't so!

~My Miss K~

OK...more when I return from our trip.  August is half over and my favorite month of September will soon be here...  I love Autumn...makes my heart sing!

Love to you...

~Miss Autumn and her Paper Pattern Skirt~

I love love love the Harvest time of the year and I'm so happy it's around the corner.  It was time to spruce up my booth today and so I spent the evening working on new displays and removing some of the old and bringing in some new...  I always love the changing of the seasons and I start out trying something new if at all possible...

Just a quick post about my little mannequin.  I dressed her in a skirt made of old paper patterns with lots of layers and ruffles.  I used a crocheted doily for a collar and burlap as a modified vest.  Vintage silk ribbon was used for her waistband.  It was tattered and worn and simply fabulous.  The original paper wrapping for the ribbon was used to fashion her Miss Autumn banner.  

She was so much fun to make and I think she'll be a real conversation piece.

This next week I travel to Tennessee to help my sister with her estate sale.  She closed her shop and they are downsizing and selling their home.  Big job ahead...

We are bringing the vintage counter from the late 1800's back with us...  Remember I told you we are modifying it for our kitchen island.  By the way...our wood flooring goes in this weekend.  The last of the projects before the kitchen is completely finished except for the island.  We are beyond excited.  The nightmare is finally almost OVAHHHHH and we are both actually still ALIVE.  

Will share more will you soon.  Can't wait to show you the big reveal!

Love to you...

~FRENCH INFUSED VINTAGE DESK...Oooooh Lahhhhh Lahhhhh~

The year has just marched itself right along, hasn't it?  Can you believe we are in August already?  Where has the year gone?

I'm always saying that and the answer I come up with is always the same.

It flew by waaaayyyyy too fast!

When you are the proprietor of a vendor mall booth like I am you have to think ahead.  Otherwise you (and your sales!) get crushed by the big H. L. (your favorite craft and go-to store).  Fall is around the corner and so this week that is what I'm working on...

AUTUMN, FALL and HARVEST-TIME creations.

Hard to envision crisp, cool weather and falling leaves when it's 100+ degrees outside.  Still...must press onward.

I did take a little time out of my schedule today to finish up a fabulous old desk I had only managed to paint WHITE a few weeks ago.  Wasn't sure what I was going to do with it...just know that things that are plain-ol'-white just don't bring in the money these days...  Not unless the piece is extra fabulous if you know what I mean!  There has to be something SPECIAL attached to the item before people will oooh and ahhhhh about it and then pull out their trusty pocket book and lay down the ca$h.

This great old find was painted with simple white paint and then a vintage French letter was transferred onto the fronts of each of the drawers.  The top was accented with a vintage mailing envelope, also French (both available from Graphics Fairy).

Finished it up with a bit of glaze and wahhh-lahhhh....

DONE!

The desk was originally in incredible condition even though the knobs had been changed out at some point.  I know that only because there were remnants of 'one-hole-knobs' on the back side of each of the drawers.  The brass handles are OK...like them more now that they've been painted and aged!

Looking forward to the summer winding down.  Junkin' is so much MORE FUN when you're not suffering from heat stroke! 

Love to you...

~THE VINTAGE BUTTON LOVER~

~VINTAGE BUTTON COLLECTION~

For as long as I can remember I've been fascinated with old buttons.  I've both collected and used them in my work for almost 30 years and have found it a bit frightening to watch my stash dwindle down to only a few jars.

I love embellishing pretty old things...like the vintage glove box you see above and the tattered lace purselet (petite tote bag) shown below!

With each new creation I pass along a few more of my treasured finds.

I love adding them to newly designed pillows and Christmas Stockings, too!

Earlier this year I once again cleaned up and re-organized my studio.  With every tag sale I attend I bring new vintage-finds into my work place and that means I'm constantly having to straighten things up! I've used up so many of my vintage mother-of-pearl (shell) buttons that for the first time in years I've had to be choosy about the buttons I let go of...

  And so...you can imagine how incredibly fabulous it was to stumble upon a sale yesterday where I found bags and bags and bags of vintage shell buttons.  

There were large, medium, small, tiny, two hole, four hold, shank, carved and smooth buttons...

I couldn't believe it.  I ended up purchasing about 20 pounds of absolutely pristine buttons...never used.  They were acquired by a private individual when an old American button factory was auctioned off a few years ago...

I continue to find it absolutely incredible when I'm led to the very thing I'm in need of.

I still don't believe in coincidences...

No...

My steps will always be directed by

the One who brings me peace, joy and strength.

The Holy One.  The Most High.  My God.

~~*~~

Sorry to be MIA for the past couple of weeks.  Been busy creating all the things I love.

Blessings and love to you this Sunday...