Ruffles and Rust Weekend

On Friday and Saturday, my friend Wendi and I set up a spectacular booth at "Ruffles and Rust - a vintage show to inspire".  We had such a great time meeting people and selling our crafts.

While we don't sell antiques - we do decorate our space in antiques, and so we fit in to the show pretty well.  I've been scrounging blogs for photos to share.  I forgot to bring my camera, and neither Wendi nor I had the presence of mind to take photos of our booth.  Sigh...

But here are some photos of other people's booths.  :)  I came home with a few treasures, but for the most part used self control.  It was an incredible experience, and I did come home with TONS of great ideas for decorating my home.  I can't wait to get started!  This week is all about "purging" so that I can have space to make things look fresh and new.  And I can't WAIT to get started on our nursery!

These are the few pictures that Wendi got on her phone:

John Bob's space is always a favorite:

Here are photos that Sweet Savannah got: 

And these ones I found on Auntie's Finding Joy blog: 

Altered Clothespins

Here is a quick look at a new offering for this year's market.  Altered Clothespins!

One of my newest hat and glove displays is a really cool window frame (I'm holding it) and lattice screen (seen behind me).  I got these from the Painted Lady in Centralia.

I plan to run clothes line on these and use decorated clothespins to hang my accessories.  I thought that if people saw the clothespins, they might want sets for themselves!  So I have been making extra and then packaging the up with some vintage lace and burlap.

The pictures are a bit glaring from the cellophane, but I think you can get the idea.  I was even able to use antique lace on some of the clothespins!  They turned out really neat.  :)

New Paint? New Bed? New Room?

In the past few weeks, I've gone antiquing, scoured tons of blogs, and poured through magazines galore.  I'm so smitten with the "flea market chic" look.  It's terrible (in a really wonderful and exciting way) because I have so many ideas just spinning around in my head, and not enough time to make them a reality.

For instance, Dave and I have been living in our new home for a year now, and our bedroom is still plain, boring, and has nothing going for it - except this truly fabulous sofa that I got at an estate sale (along with a truly horrendous bedroom set).

Well, then Mrs. Emily Jones had to go inspire me with this incredible bedroom make over.  I had originally thought of doing a dark purple accent wall in my bedroom - but after seeing her post, I'm all over a dark navy blue wall instead.  (Click on the photo to be taken to her post).

Then Janee had to go and post a montage of awesome beds on her blog... so of course I'm now on the lookout for new linens, pillows, end tables, and of course a bed frame.   (Click the photo to be taken to her post - she has even more photos there).

Yes... so now I've now begun scouring the interwebs and local shops for a rustic, vintage-esque, french-ish, cool, bed frame   Because in the almost 11 years that we've been married (anniversary = July 8th) Dave and I have never bought a bed frame.  There was always something else out there that we thought we "needed" or wanted more.  Oooh - and I think I need a chandelier too.   I had one in our old house in Ruby's room, but Dave made me leave it when we moved.  (He said it was because we had to leave the fixture in place since the new owners had seen it in the walk through.  I think it really was because it was a bugger to install and he didn't want to have to re-install a new fixture.)  But I digress...

Here are some of the images I've fallen in love with... and who knows... maybe the navy wall will stay a white wall.  Hmmm... so many possibilities!

Just look at those birdcages... and the night stand... and the wall paper... and the dress form!  Swoon.

Yes please.  I'll take it.

WOW!  Could that brick wall be any more fabulous?

Smitten...

I'll be sure to post before and after pictures if I can get my act together.  

Inspiration

Dave approached me today and said he wanted to create a small outdoor herb garden (so he can cook with fresh herbs).

I had just seen this bit of loveliness on the Ruffles and Rust Square facebook page and got totally inspired!

So I asked my sweet hubby if we could set up two chairs on our deck for his herb garden, and he readily agreed!  Have I told you how much I love this man?!?!  Most guys would have said I was crazy, or silly, or would have demanded "why should my herb garden look all girly?", but not my hub.  He's amazing.  And he loves me.  And he lets me do silly, frilly, things like this to our house.

He did however draw the line at driving to Snohomish to pick up this already functioning chair garden.  Sigh.  I'll update soon when I find the perfect chairs for our herb project.  ;)  Maybe I can sneak out there and pick it up when he's not looking.  Hehe.

Speaking of Hat Display...

Leaving the sad fate of the drying rack/hat display behind from yesterday, I'm back to my junking posts.  Today we are going to talk about the items I picked up that I plan to use for Market and Photography display.

Let's refresh your memory of my haul from a few Saturdays ago..

First up is this beauty - sturdy, paint chipped to perfection, and elegant without being presumptuous.  This candlestick holder is going to make a fabulous hat display.

See???

And what about these locker baskets?  They may not be "true vintage" but they look it.  And because they are new, I can haul them back and forth, from show to show, and not worry about a handle falling off, or someone bending the wire.  I like that a lot - especially since last year's market season ruined my most favorite vintage suitcase.  

Not only are the baskets great for holding stuff...

...but they also make super photography props for my etsy shop too!

These are my "Freya Gauntlets".  I'm hoping to get a few pairs up in my Etsy shop by the end of the week.

And lest you forget what they look like on an actual person....  Here is my friend Freya modeling my Freyas.  These photos were taken by the FABULOUS Jeni Nelson.

Fun, fun, fun.  

Wanted:

While browsing  online tonight, I found something that I want very badly NEED!



I truly, honestly believe that I can't live without it, now that I know it exists. Yes, I am being a bit of a drama queen, but you have no idea how insanely happy owning this object would make me.  I have been constantly on the lookout for cute, vintage (or vintage looking), baby hat display props for over a year.  This fits the bill in every single way....

...Except one.

It's out of stock.

What's that sound you hear?  Oh, just me singing an utterly mournful lamenting song.

So fellow blog readers, can you help me out?  If you happen to own one of these babies and would like to part with it - or you've seen one in a shop that is about the same size (11 1/2"d x 18" tall) please, please, please let me know!!!


That is all for today.  Thank you.

Junking Treasures Pt. 3 (AKA - The Wreath Tutorial)

As promised, I've returned with another fabulous craft project - made with pages from an old book I picked up junking over the weekend.

Here it is!  I'm going to call it the "Fame and 'Fortune' Wreath" because the flowers are actually little origami fortune tellers (yes - just like the ones we made as kids), and you'll instantly be the most famous crafter on the block when your friends hear that you made it!  Just kidding... I'm actually thinking of naming it the Hydrangea wreath, because to me, all the little flowers look like hydrangea blossoms.  But you can think of it either way.

With a little patience (and a nifty glue gun) you too can make this wreath!  Let me show you how...

First, you'll need a foam wreath (I've used the 12" size), a glue gun and lots of glue sticks, a paper cutter, and some glue dots or double sided adhesive, a few stright pins, and about a yard of ribbon.

Next you'll need a book.  It doesn't have to be old, antique, vintage, or cost a bazillion dollars.  Older books with slightly yellowing pages look cool - but you could pick up a 1980's romance novel from the thrift store for 25 cents and that would work just fine.  If you go that route, just be careful that suggestive words/phrases are hidden if the wreath is going to be a gift to a teacher, pastor's wife, or mother-in-law.  Hehe.

Tear out about 65 pages out of your book.  I was able to cut 2 squares from each page.  Cut 130 squares - each measuring 4"x4".  If you are using a smaller wreath, I estimate about 10 squares for every 1" of the wreath, plus about 10 extra to use as filler.

Now, you're going to make 130 (or so) origami fortune tellers.  If you have a daughter between 7 and 13 this might be a fun project to do together.  I say "might" because for some families this kind of thing would result in a screaming, crying, rip your hair out, kind of experience.  But for many others, this would be a fun bonding experience!  So, use your best judgement on who you include in your crafting time.  Just remember, it's supposed to be fun!  (If you decide to go it alone, I suggest some peppy music or a movie as a background noise for your folding.  It's gonna take a while!)

For those that don't remember or never learned, here's how to fold a fortune teller:

(and if you have no idea what a fortune teller is, click here)

Start with 1 square of paper.  I used a 4"x4" square.

Fold it in half horizontally, then unfold, and fold in half vertically.

Now, fold the corners in to meet in the middle.

Turn the square over (so the folds are on the back), and repeat what you just did.  

Fold the corners in to meet in the middle.

Now, turn the square over, and poke your fingers into the 4 small pockets as shown.

With your thumbs and pointer fingers in these pockets, you can push them together to meet in the center.

This is what it looks like from the top.

Except, for this wreath, that is actually the bottom.  If you flip this over, you can see the flower shape.

Once you get the hang of making them, you will want to used glue dots or a tape runner to glue the fortune teller together on the back.  This makes gluing it to the wreath much easier.  Before I puffed the pockets out, I added glue to the back edges so that when the sides were squeezed together they stuck in the middle.  Hopefully that makes sense.  Just glue them so they stay in the flower shape, and don't go back to being flat.

Now that you've made about a billion little flowers (it will surely feel that way at least), you can start gluing your wreath together.  Test a small area of your wreath with the glue gun first, to make sure that the heat doesn't melt the foam.  I selected a really thick foam wreath, so it wasn't a problem for me.  They also sell glue guns that don't need such high heat settings to work.

Start by attaching your ribbon to the wreath.  I used tacky glue on the ends, and straight pins to hold it securely as it dried.  (I left the pins in place for long term strength).  Plug in your glue gun to preheat while you are doing this.  

NOTE: If you want the back side of the wreath to be pretty, wrap it in fabric, book pages, paper, or ribbon before gluing the flowers on.  You'll only be adding flowers to the front and sides, so the back can lie flat against the wall when it is hung.

Next, I added glue to each flower and started sticking them onto the wreath.  I began by covering the ribbon, and then worked my way around the top, front, and middle.  I kept the wreath flat on the table (on top of scrap paper) while I worked.  The flowers overlap each other slightly.  It's almost like a puzzle to get them smooshed together just right.  But once you glue 4-5 you get the hang of it, and it becomes really fun!

All done:

Voila!  I just love how this one turned out.  And if you'd like some inspiration, here are a few other people's book wreaths.

I was originally inspired by this post from the Jones Design Company blog.  You've got to check out her stuff.  AMAZING!!!   Here's a photo of her wreath hanging in her beautiful kitchen:  (She provides a tutorial)

Here are a few I found on Etsy.  Just click the photo to be taken to the listing.

WOWZA!

Another great one.

Hopefully this has inspired you!  If you make a wreath, take a picture and email it to me, and I'll feature it on my blog!  I'd love to see what all of us creative people can do.