Market Monday

Happy Memorial Day!!  I hope everyone had a great holiday.  Here's my weekly peak at a few of the items going to my booth this week.  First, this darling little chair.

 It is such a great size.  Large enough to sit comfortably in, but small enough to fit into a tight corner for extra seating or to use for display.  It was showing its age though.  I tightened up its joints and added oil to the wood to give it back some color and richness.  The seat could not be more beautiful.

 A couple 'outside of the box' uses for a petite chair like this would be to hold towels or bath salts in your bathroom.  It has such a small 'footprint' that it serves a great purpose without taking up too much floor space, especially in a room like a bathroom.  And PS, doesn't it have the cutest legs and little ball feet!

 I also like to use chairs as easels.  You may have a corner that this chair could tuck in to and also display a piece of art.

 I have it in my booth right now holding my Market sign.  I've also seen a small chair similar to this used on a porch by the front door with a sign displaying the house numbers.  The options are endless.  This chair is adorable!

I have noticed in magazines and catalogs like PotteryBarn, that cutting boards are quite a collectors item now.  I found this one and it made me smile.  It is old, hand-carved and very imperfect.

I smiled the biggest when I turned it over... does anyone else see a turtle?  A 3-legged turtle... I think it is that handle that for some reason looks like a turtle head popping out of its shell.

 I have a few old Birdhouses.  They are quite substantial in size.  Would look great on a fireplace hearth, on top of an armoire, or just tucked in a corner on the floor.  What I love about these cages is that they each have a 'trap door' on the bottoms... I assume to clean the cage if you used it for an actual bird cage.  But for decorative purposes, the bottom door allows you to put a larger display inside than you normally would be able to fit just inside the cage door.  These would be cute with a stack of books inside...

 ... a stack of nature books with this darling bird bell perched on top of them :)

I also want to spotlight this gorgeous antique frame mirror.  You must see the surface of this mirror... it has the waves and bubbles in the glass.  The frame is breathtaking and would look amazing in a collage of art and other frames. 

Baskets are a true weakness of mine.  So functional AND beautiful.  I have a wide range of baskets currently in my booth.  I have wood strip baskets (very old), wire baskets in all their chippy paint glory, willow baskets in different colors from natural to dark gray, and also a few lined baskets.  I currently have a lined basket like the one above in my kitchen to hold my fresh produce... love it.

I hope everyone has a wonderful SHORT work week. 

Market Monday

I love old signs, and fonts.  Something as simple as an old street sign grabs my attention.  The next best thing is when I find a unique 'canvas' and make my own sign. 

 I found several bead board kitchen cabinet doors and drawer fronts.  Old, thick bead board like this is charming... full of character all on its own.

 I cut the board down to fit my font size.

 Leaving the old handle imprint and screw hole... it speaks to what it was originally used for.  Gorgeous!!

 My favorite surface to paint fonts on is something with a rough surface.  The texture makes for a very interesting painted font, looking old instantly.  In this instance, the surface of the bead board was extremely smooth.  This then requires me to recreate the layered affect of what paint would do if it were weathered over time.  So in this case, I used a burnt umber color to paint 'Market' and then randomly shadowed that with a charcoal paint.  Then I lightly sanded the whole surface and the paint releases in random spots and the paint has the illusion of depth that an old piece would have!

I left this piece 'clean', which means I let the old wood speak for itself... very little distressing.  Perfect!

 Don't you need this sign to hang over your Pantry door?  Don't ya?!

Next topic for this week:  decorating with books!  The books we buy speaks volumes for our tastes and interests.  Agreed?  Here in my home I have a stack of books on a table all about my love of decorating.  The books themselves create decor and I leave them out as a reflection of me.

 On a window ledge in my family room I have a collection of old books.  I have collected these over several years... some were chosen for the color and some for the book title.

 This is my 'hands down' favorite book I own.  The title and the blue cover paired together was instant love.

 So with that said, I am drawn to collecting old books for my Market Booth.  They are perfect as single statement pieces and functional clustered together or used to elevate other items into the spotlight.  Do you love to cook?  Did you know that The Joy of Cooking cookbook series was first published in 1931!  This Music in History book is 1940 copyright and it has a neutral cover and would look amazing on an end table opened to an interesting subject.

 I have several book 'bundles' in my booth.  Usually they are bundled by color waves for decorating.  But as below, I also like to bundle like topics together.  Do you love anything to do with water, ocean... do you live at the lake on the weekends?  This book bundle is for you :)

 The last items I will showcase today is this amazing pitcher and little gravy boat.

 First, this pitcher.  It has no manufacturing mark but the glaze speaks VOLUMES.  It is still water tight to use for a cluster of flowers.  It is just breathtaking... and to this point... THE item that took the most will power to actually take AND THEN LEAVE in my booth.  painful.

This ironstone gravy boat has a darling shape.  It is a an antique that can still have complete function in your kitchen.  Love it. 

Hope you have a great week!  These items and several others are now in my Booth.  Go SEE!

Market Monday

My first week of being open was A.MA.ZING!!  Thank you so much for all those that went in to take a peek and especially those that took home some of the treasures.  It is so fun to see what has been chosen...

Well, this is Market Monday.  Each Monday I will showcase an item, or items, I have worked on in the past week and let you know they are in the booth ready to go home with you ;)

Today I am showing you what I call the 'rag flower lamp'...

 I forgot to get a pic of the before of this lamp, but luckily I have others that look just like it.  I frequently come across these dated shiny brass lamp bases.  They are so substantial and their shapes are gorgeous!  Sometimes they are no longer functional, but a quick swap out for a new light kit (available at Lowes and HomeDepot) and they are ready to work again.

 I also find tons of these old lampshades.  Their shapes are so cute.  Again, I look at the shape of the wire frame... because often the shade fabric is either torn or stained.

 The scallop is my favorite style... but I love them all!

 So, the prep work is to tape off the top socket and the wire.  I have also removed the damaged fabric cover off of the shade frame.  Everything... the base, shade frame, harp, and finial... gets a coat of primer and then a I use cream spray paint to finish.

 Now to recover the shade framework.  I used a textured muslin and made a pattern from each section of the frame.  This can take some finagling (sp?).  This particular frame has a beautiful slope and it was important to get the curves right.

 Once I had my pattern correct... I cut out six sections from the pattern, being sure to allow extra for my seams.  I sewed each section together and slipped over the frame.  I made a little ruffle for the bottom and rolled some 1.5" strips of muslin into rag flowers. 

 This lamp base came with a very bright gold cord.  UGH!  It was not the final look I was going for.  After all, at least a little of the cord always shows and I wanted the gold to just 'disappear'. 

 So I got the idea to just wrap strips of the muslin down the length of the cord... very similar to a chandelier cord wrap.  Much improved!

 And here it is... all assembled and ready to go to the booth, after its photo shoot, of course!

 A few additional items going to Market is this tabletop chalkboard.  Yep, it used to be a table top... long ago separated from the base.  I thought its shape was darling.  I did a free-hand cream border to highlight the curves and added a drawer pull (installed upside down) to hold the chalk.

 I found this luggage stand minus its straps.  I left its original black paint, chipped and glorious.  I added webbing for the straps and now it is useful again.  I currently have a very old piece of luggage in my booth that would look amazing set on top of this... could even be used as a unique side table, complete with storage!

 You could also top it with an old mirror or tray to use it as a table.  Beautiful!

I am excited about a new week.  I will be showing new items next Monday.  Please know I can't show every item on this blog, it will just be tutorials and highlights... go to the booth to see all I have to offer.  I will be adding items every week.  Thanks again for making my first week so fun and a big success!!

Grand Opening

Just minutes after Packards opened... My muscles, aka Shawn and Christian, and I pulled up in two loaded trucks ready to build my business space.

Obstacle #1...I hate painting walls and I really hate pegboard but one can't deny the functionality of it in this application.  So I really did some creative brainstorming on how to get the look I wanted without a paintbrush and without millions of little holes visible.

 Obstacle #2... the floor wasn't quite what I wanted either... to paint the floor would mean loosing days of production for drying time.

 My solution for the wall was Burlap.  It has such a coarse weave that hooks easily slip through it to utilize the pegboard to hang multiple items at different locations throughout time.  So I draped burlap down the walls, I even varied the colors of the burlap to add interest.  Then I went a tad overboard, but it was just too cute, and created a box pleat ruffle to add to the bottom.  I think it gives it a look of a drapery, or so I tell myself.  At times not much of the ruffles will show but other times depending on what is in the booth it will be a nice added detail.  The floor was solved by carpet tiles.  I found them cheap CHEAP and commercial grade.  I worried over the color but Savannah talked me in to the blue, it is perfect.  I also purchased a few extra tiles in case there was ever a damaged tile you pull it up and replace because they are only taped to each other not the floor.  Once the bones were done... in came the large pieces and then I got to 'fluff'!

 I have been dabbling in slipcovers lately.  I really enjoy making them.  There is a very dated dusty mauve wingback under this cover.  But now it is renewed and those cutey bows are so flirty.

 Many thanks to my sisters, mom, and the Hartselle store owner that hauled this gorgeous old door to my truck for me several weekends ago.  It is amazing... and it has the old rusty hardware, swoon!

 I love to repurpose these old frames into pinboards and chalkboards.  I feared they would look so bare by themselves... then I decided to pin quotes and magazine pages to them for display.  Just what they needed to warm them up.

 On my blog I showed the makings of this Harvest table and the crate on casters.  This is what we made them for.  I have the crate overflowing with amazing feather throw pillows.  The crate stays out of the walk path unless someone pulls it out to look at the pillows, perfect storage. 

 I had some friends and family go see my booth within an hour of finishing.  Gotta love supportive people!  As far as I know my sister Cari gave me my first sell... she bought this huge cage.  So it is now gone but didn't it look so amazing on this pedestal?!

 Here is my official business sign.  Painting fonts is my favorite thing to paint... love it!

 I must note that Christian placed the gray basket on top of the hutch sideways.  He was so pleased with his artistic effort... his one and only, snicker.  I actually liked the way it looked so I left it, wink.

Today was amazing.  Everything came together beautifully and how I had hoped.  I knew the measurements of the booth ahead of time but it was sure tiny compared to how I pictured it in my mind's eye, snort.  I sure stocked it full though!  I think that is one of the things that excites me the most is that it will be ever evolving (trying to be very optimistic that things will consistently sell, grin) and that I get to 'redecorate' often.  Come back often and see what my new additions will be!