Welcoming in the New Year!

In anticipation of the New Year, I've made some changes.  Starting with my blog template, which had remained the same since...forever!  Don't know how long I'll keep the pink, but it was nice to make a change.

I also spent all day a few hours at LaVon's, reworking my booth.  I tend to think in themes, and had been collecting items for a red, white, and aqua kitchen display.  After pulling down the Christmas decorations the other day, I knew it was time to put the kitchen plan into action.

This is the "before."

And the other side.

Of course, first I had to pull almost everything out and start again.  I worked to find a spot for the yellow table, and as I picked it up to move it, noticed the "Sold" sign on it! 

Never mind finding it a new spot!  So, I'd move and set things, step back and decide to move them someplace else.  This went on for some time.

I moved the round table to the center of the back wall and made the kitchen display there.  I think it came out pretty good!

I think the star of the display is the bread box I painted with Miss Mustard Seed milk paint in Tricycle Red that I got from Petticoat Junktion.  Before I figured out what to do with this bread box, I got carried away priming it and sprayed the inside with primer. Then I realized that maybe people wouldn't want to put food inside of a freshly painted piece.  It spent the rest of the summer in the garage, until inspiration hit!

The box doesn't HAVE to be used for bread, it could be used to store/display condiments on a table or any other thing.  So, I decoupaged some pages from a vintage recipe magazine that had red accents in it to the inside.

On the outside, the original white ceramic knob and raised plaque were replaced.  Thank goodness I thought to keep them "just in case!"  I could have just as easily thrown them out!

The display has a variety of kitchenware, cups, canisters and bowls in my favorite color combination.  I hope the customers find it refreshing too!

The rest of the merchandise was rearranged as well.  I have to pay attention to the large window in my booth.  As much as the natural light is wonderful, I cannot put anything that might fade near it.  That includes upholstered furniture, lampshades or paper items.  The price tags on the things that have been in the window have bleached out already!  So it took some time to accommodate everything while protecting items from the sun.

The last two wieners are hiding under the stenciled table.  The footstools are now on top of the wooden ironing board.

"Cheryl's" red Asian table (so named because she is trying to convince me to mail it to her!) stand on one of LaVon's oak side tables that really needs a white paint job.  The blue accent table sits on the matching oak table.

Items were moved around on the bookcase, and the blue record table took up residence in front of the window.

Not much changed on the vanity, except I moved the lamp there after selling the original lamp that started out on the vanity.

I am now ready (okay, not really!) for the start of a new year.  It will probably take me until March before I remember to write 2013 instead of 2012, but someday it will become automatic.  I am hoping for a good year at LaVon's, and have a bunch of ideas rolling around in my otherwise empty head.

Here's to 2013!!

Christmas morning!

So, November and December disappeared into the chaos that is my garage/workshop.  I've been doing well at my shop booth, selling things faster than I can make replacements!  A good problem to have, for sure!

I also spent time making Christmas gifts, but of course, I didn't remember to take pictures of them all.  

Liz wanted a sign for over her bathroom door.

Courtney wanted a green stool for her kitchen, so I painted one I got at a garage sale this summer and stenciled a koi fish on the top.

This Goodwill vase was in perfect, if dirty, shape but the white color was a bit too ghostly for me.

I painted it jade with gold accents and added silk greenery and twirly twigs.  This was for Courtney.

I found a vintage "crystalette" chandelier kit at LaVon's and immediately knew it could be turned into a great floor lamp for Liz's guest room.  She currently has a multi-arm lamp that clashes with the shabby feel.

As a last minute gift, I made each girl and their guy a photo canvas.

It was great to have everyone here for Christmas.  I think the last time the whole family was together for a holiday was about 6 years ago!  As the girls get older, their lives are likely to take them far enough away to make these celebrations impossible.  They came with their boyfriends and we had such a blast!  Food, laughs, movies and gifts...what's not to like??

 Courtney and Liz

Liz's boyfriend, Tim trying to hide.

Courtney's boyfriend, Clint toasting with orange juice.

  

The morning started with cinnamon rolls and stockings.  This was apparently the "electronics" Christmas.  Courtney got a much needed new computer.

Tim got a Garmin GPS so he won't get lost driving Liz around!

 

Liz got a new iPhone, since she's been using my old one.

Clint gave Courtney an XBox...

 

and she gave him a watch that he wanted. 

That got her a thank-you smooch!

Courtney made Liz fleece pants with Tim's alma mater name and colors. 

 Like the trash bag on the table?

Once the elastic was adjusted for Liz's tiny waist, she had a tail! And she played with that tail all day!

Clint REALLY wanted the complete set of James Bond movies on Blu-ray, and he wasn't disappointed!

 After the gift opening, it was time for fried egg sandwiches and quiet time to enjoy the gifts.

The rest of the day consisted of multiple James Bond movies, steak and baked potato dinner, and then more movies.  Snow started falling after dark, which kept Liz and Tim from leaving until this morning.  Tim was supposed to work this morning, but was able to go in after lunch instead.  Courtney and Clint left this morning as well, but not without some foot-stomping and whining about how they didn't want to leave.

I think everyone had a good time.  At least, I sure did, and we know that's all that really matters!  Hope you had as good a Christmas as we did!

Open House Day

This was how my booth looked when I left Wednesday night.  I still had a couple of things to bring in that weren't q.u.i.t.e ready on Wednesday.  But I managed to make a sign for the bookcase with what I had on-hand.  My booth name is "Runs With Scissors."  I think it goes well with Colors Outside the Lines!

I came back Thursday morning and brought the rocking chair

this two-tiered revolving caddy,

and some miscellaneous silverplate.

I wasn't going to go in on Friday, because I didn't have anything else to bring, they were still running around decorating, and, frankly, I didn't want to look like an obsessed nutcase!

But on Friday, the shop owner called me and proudly said, "You sold the round table!"  I wracked my pea-sized brain and finally replied, "But I don't have a round table!"  "You know," she said, "the one holding the candlestick picture frames!"

I had an ah-ha moment.  "That's YOUR table and you sold it out from under me!"

Now let me tell you, this was a table otherwise bound for the dump!  But she was kind enough to lend it to me and I was thankful to have use of it.  But now I needed to come up with Plan B quickly.  And I still didn't have a table of my own.

Here is the sold table after I remove my things:

I ask you...what would you pay for this!  I wouldn't have given $15 for it with the cheapo laminate top and missing edges.  I nearly wet myself when I asked what she sold it for and she told me she got $75!!  Some people have more money than sense!

I grabbed a pair of Pottery Barn canvas drapes that I found at the Goodwill for $5 and ran to the shop.  The owner had a folding table I could borrow, so I wrapped the legs with the drapes and put the tablecloths and items back on.

I made the shop owner promise not to sell this table until after the Open House, and said I was heading out to find a table to buy.  The GW had a crappy table yesterday, but I didn't need a table then.  When I got there, the table was gone.  Of course! 

So, I headed down the street to the warehouse of a new bud, Rick, who buys storage units and resells the contents.  I bought the chair that became part of the suitcase table from him and figure he might have a cheap table.  In fact, he had exactly what I wanted, but he didn't want to sell it to me because one of the legs was split down the middle into two pieces.  He said he didn't think he could sell it to anyone.

We agreed to let me try and repair the leg (and another seriously cracked one) and if I could make it usable, I would come back another day and pay him...$5.  My kind of deal!  I just knew I could repair this!

And I did!  Isn't it nice?  And doesn't it look better than the other one??  Ha!  I will swap out the folding table next week. 

So, now I am all set up for the Open House.  I borrowed a coat rack for my log carriers and a couple of small tables that were in the way of the aisles.

Last year's Wiener Collection is here.  On the back table are All Beef Wiener and Pork Wiener (wearing a removable pig nose.)  On the front table are, from left to right, Baller-wiener, Cocktail Wiener and Meaner Wiener, the girl from the 'hood.

I made some small gift pouches in conjunction with the jewelry designers who were going to be showing their wares.

And I brought in this gray and white table that I reconstructed from pieces and stenciled.

I went by today after the Open House was underway a couple of hours and found the joint jumping!  There was food, a musician providing tunes and lots of customers checking things out.  So far, I have sold the reversible chalkboard/mirror, which is pretty cool.

And if someone wants to pay me $75 for my new round table that isn't even in the shop, I might consider it!

3 days and counting!

Well...I got an entire booth for the Saturday Open House (and beyond!)  Let the full-blown panic begin!!

I have been working like a madwoman trying to finish projects, create price tags and imagine how this booth was going to look!  Today, I got to take the first load over and start setting up.
 

Before 
Rug and table cloths are mine.

My booth is by one of the two entrances and has a large window on one side.  This is both good and bad.  Good in that it provides a lot of natural light.  Bad, in that it provides A LOT of natural (afternoon) light!  I've been warned that I will need to frequently rotate items near the window to avoid fading.  In fact, the streaming sunlight made it difficult to take clear pictures!
 

The display unit and the round table belong to the store owner, but she has been kind enough to let me use them until I come up with something else.  The shelving has the name of the previous booth-renter on it, so tomorrow, I'm either going to paint over the name or put up some wallpaper.  I am whipping up a (temporary) sign to go up there too!

 I will try to take better close-ups tomorrow.  The store is only open Thursday through Saturday afternoon, so I have to wait to receive a call that someone is at the store and can let me in.  Eventually, I should be given a key, so I can "fluff" on days the store is closed.

All-in-all, I am quite pleased with how it looks on the first day!  I was having trouble visualizing how the stuff would fit, but it came together pretty quickly.  It will probably change tomorrow, as I bring in more stuff!

I'm really loving my "suitcase table".  Hope someone feels the same and makes a home for it!

So, there is your first peek!  Let the panic continue!

A small panic attack is starting....

Well, it was inevitable. With all the hoarding junking collecting that has been going on around lately, it was time to bust-a-move and find an outlet for some of the projects.  Some things just aren't suitable for Etsy or are too big/bulky/heavy to sell online.

There is a cute store in Tiny Town that rents booths to vendors who sell antiques, collectibles, handmade items and upscale crafts. I've been talking with the owner for a while about setting up a booth of my own, when one becomes available.  It takes a while of sitting on a wait-list before your turn comes up.

The last time I was in the shop, the owner had just finished installing billboards around town advertising her Holiday Open House on the third of November. She told me that she makes space available to people who don't currently have a booth in her store and asked if I wanted to participate.

 Do I?? You bet!

She is still working out how the store will be arranged to accommodate the extra tables, so I'm not exactly sure how much/what size stuff I could bring in.

But in the meantime...chaos!!  The Open House is in 1 week!!

I've got a zillion projects in the works, large and small, some more done than others. I'm trying to come up with more "gifty" type things specifically for the Open House.

I hope I hear soon if I have a table or shelf unit.  Until then (and for some time after,) I will be in my garage working like a mad woman. 

And if I don't end up in the Open House??  Well, I will have a LOT more items to list on Etsy!