Ready to shop?

Just wanted to share a couple of shopping opportunities for this weekend.

It's Canton First Monday.  The weather has been super nice all week so I'm sure Canton will be CROWDED.  Pack your patience - but trust me it's so worth it!

If you travel to Canton you are not far from Athens, Texas which is home to Winnie & Tulula's.  I highly recommend enjoying lunch in the Sweet Pea Bistro while you are there.

You can also check out Christmas in Cowtown - the Junior League of Fort Worth Holiday Gift Market.  It's being held at Will Rogers Memorial Center.

And if you are at Will Rogers you can also visit the Cattle Barn Flea Market.  Parking is $5.

There are lots of craft shows scheduled and I will share the dates and details with you as they come up!

Happy Shopping!

Chair Re-Do

This chair has been in my garage for about a month just waiting to be fixed up.  I love the little details and wanted to choose a paint technique that would make them stand out.

The chair is a little small so I decided it might be good for a little girl's room.

I love how the detail at the top looks like a little crown!

Road Trip!

Mom and I hit the road at 6:00am headed for the Gresham Barn Sale.  We had the pleasure of meeting Jodi & Glo - a mother/daughter team - such nice ladies!  Jodi allowed me to take some pictures to share with you.  There were treasures galore in an outdoor tent and inside the barn.

Mark your calendars for their Christmas in the Country Sale November 18th-20th!

After the Barn Sale we visited Ye Olde City Antique Mall which is just at the edge of Historic Downtown Tyler. 

Here are pictures of my finds from both places:

Some items have taken up residency in my home, but most are for sale!



Round Top Blues

I must admit I'm a little jealous of all my fellow bloggers who are in Round Top this weekend.  If you are in the same boat and want some updates check out Theresa's blog here.  Wish I could attend that party!  You can also get the Zapp Hall scoop from Carolyn Westbrook's blog.

Imagine my delight when I read about the Barn Sale which is much closer than Round Top and a viable option for Saturday shopping!  I can even be home in time for son #2's baseball games. 

Of course I'll give a full report if we make this little road trip.

Have a wonderful weekend!

A treasure from Razorback Country

My brother lives in Arkansas and it seems to be a mecca for estate sales, auctions and treasure hunting in general.  (As a sidenote, I went to Arkansas for the 64 Galore Garage Sale this year - yep, that deserves a post all it's own!). To make me even more jealous, he gets the most incredible deals!  He got me this AMAZING fireplace screen recently.  I kid-you-not, this thing weighs about 60 pounds!

Are you drooling?  Did I mention that he paid just $45?!

Bringing the outdoors in

About a month ago I found these awesome iron balcony pieces.  They were rusty and chippy - clearly had spent some years in the great outdoors.  Well, I thought they needed to make their way to the indoors - specifically MY indoors.  I really didn't know where I would be able to use them when I made the purchase.  They are curved and have to connect just so.  I brought them home and sprayed a coat of clear Rustoleum to preserve their rusty perfection.  I walked around the house carrying them and searching for the perfect place.  I tried spot, after spot, after spot, and was getting frustrated thinking I had wasted money on this purchase.  I decided to take a break and re-group.  I leaned them against the half-wall that separates our dining room and living room.  Oh my - what is this I see?  Can it be true?  The part that needs to attach sits right on the ledge created by the half-wall.  And...the bottom tucks just perfectly under the baseboard molding!  Could it be more perfect?!

Hubby says if we ever sell our home that these will probably have to go to the new Buyer...since they were made for this house!

Ready for her debut!

A few months ago I saw this great antique dresser in a local antique store.  She was in bad shape but such a beauty!  The store had literally just bought it off of a truck that morning and had not touched it yet.  She was dirty, broken in some places and had that awful black lacquer finish that was once so popular.  I'm so mad at myself for not taking a "before" picture! 

I knew this was going to be a bigger project than I could handle on my own.  I stripped the lacquer off myself (discovered a gorgeous color & grain) and then took the dresser to a local furniture restoration specialist.  He fixed the broken parts, made the drawers glide easily and refinished the stain.  We brought her home this week and she's now adding charm to our guest bedroom.

I had two folks tell me the dresser probably dated back to the 1890's.  Also, most have agreed it's walnut.

I really like the two small drawers at the top and love that all five drawers have key holes!

A lovely hand-written letter...in French!

A fellow blogger mentioned this awesome site on her blog recently.  You can purchase digital images here . All of the images that I purchased were $3.75 each.  You can then forward the download to your local printer to have larger sizes printed.

I found an awesome 2-page letter written in French and made this:

These are about 17x21.  I plan to make more of these - I learned a few things on this first set and will make a couple of changes next time.

Antique Sheet Music

Sheet music is finding it's way into home decor.  I've seen it being used in wreaths, rolled up and tied with jute and even used as a treatment on furniture.  Check out this dresser on Miss Mustard Seed's blog http://missmustardseed.blogspot.com/2010/03/sytycd-week-4-whites.html (Sorry I haven't learned how to post links in a simpler fashion yet).

I mentioned to my brother that I might like to have some antique sheet music and shortly after he bought an entire box at an auction - music to my ears!

There was one really neat piece that was printed in blue.  I used Mod Podge and applied it to a little door on our dresser.

And here is a neat tray that I completed this weekend.

Another thrift store re-do

I got this little 3-shelf piece at a thrift store last week.  I loved the danty spindles and the curves along the edges of the shelves.

 













I thought it would look darling in a light gray.  Have you noticed how popular gray is right now?  If you don't believe me just check out Restoration Hardware's website or most recent catalog!

I hope this will fit beautifully in some one's home!

Collection Walls

I love the look of collections - whether it be a collection of framed family photos, a collection of ironstone displayed on open shelves or a collection of wall art.  I have recently completed two collection walls in my home and I'm enjoying the change.

This collection of brown & white transferware is in our guest bedroom.  I've decided that plates are acceptable decor in just about ANY room.

This collection of antique frameless mirrors is in our master bedroom.

Maybe you should try a collection somewhere in your home?  It's fun to collect the items over time and then arrange them in the perfect display.  Collections are interesting and add such a custom element to your room.

Out of wall space?

Don't let a little thing like no more wall space keep you from adding new favorites to your home decor - you just have to get creative!  I bought this great shelf at LaurieAnna's in Canton (see blog link on my sidebar).  Now before I can even move on to the picture, I just have to tell you that LaurieAnna's is AMAZING.  She has the most gorgeous - I mean breathtaking gorgeous - shop you have ever seen!  She has a new store on Hwy. 19 and booths in the Arbors as well.  So, back to my purchase...

Isn't it great?  I love the color, the number tags, the open wire shelf - had to have it!  I was racking my brain on the drive home from Canton trying to think of a place I could hang it.  I got home and unloaded the car - most items went to the guest room because it's closest to the garage.  I put the shelf at the end of the guest bed and went to unload more.  I walked back in and noticed that the shelf was the EXACT same size as the center section on the footboard.  I grabbed a couple of small nails and hung that shelf right in the footboard!

Oh, and the cool vintage spools were purchased at LaurieAnna's as well.

Part 2 of Garage Sale Finds - Re-Invented

If you read Part 1 of this post you'll recall that I had plans for the other wood piece I purchased at the garage sale.  I finished this up tonight after son #1's baseball game:

My camera distorted the color - it's actually tan with some exposed black.  I used a couple of drawer pulls that I had at the bottom so things can be hung - maybe a bag, dog leash or lanyard?  We all need organizational tools but who says they can't be pretty?

Hope your weekend has been wonderful!

Flea Market Finds

This is one of the treasures I purchased at the Cattle Barn Flea Market yesterday.  It's a cool old metal cart thing - I forgot to take a picture before I spray painted it.  I used a sage green Rustoleum spray paint but I sanded it to expose some of the awesome rusty metal underneath.

A good friend helped me cut some old fence boards to make a platform for the top. (Yes, there are actually reasons to keep some of that old fence).

Now that's pretty darn cute garden art!

Flea Market

Yesterday, hubby had a fishing tournament and son #2 didn't play baseball until 5:00...so mom and I had the green light for a little shopping trip!  We've had a couple of places in Fort Worth on our "must see" list for a while now.  We started at WORKING THE FLEA on Camp Bowie Blvd.  Great shop - check out their website at http://www.workingtheflea.com/. 

And since we were on Camp Bowie Blvd. we just had to hit Kincaid's for lunch - best burgers around!

Next stop was the Cattle Barn Flea Market - Barn #1 at the Will Rogers Memorial Center.  This flea market is open every Saturday & Sunday.  There is plenty of nearby parking but it will cost you $5.  The barn is pretty darn hot, but the vendors are friendly.  We loaded the car up with great finds!  There were no more stops on this shopping adventure - we were out of space!

SCORE!

No, not a football game - an awesome find!  My brother scored 4 amazing old columns that were used on a porch at one time.  They were solid wood, about 7 feet tall and had lots of old chippy paint.

My mom quickly reserved 2 of the columns and I snatched up the other 2. 

Here is how I used mine:

And here is how mom used hers:

Have a wonderful weekend!

Garage Sale Finds - Re-Invented

I found these two wood pieces at a garage sale on Sunday - paid less than $2 for both!  Notice that there are two different sides - one side is solid while the other side has four panes.  Perhaps they were going to be cabinet doors?

I had other ideas for them!  I made this out of one of the wood pieces.

Now, I have to give credit where credit is due - I stole borrowed this idea from The Lettered Cottage (see link featured on my sidebar).  I modified the design based on the size of my board and starfish and added the jute to hang it from for an added "beachy" element.

I have a completely different idea for the other wood piece so check back - I'll post photos once it's completed.

Basket case

It's true - I'm crazy about baskets!  I took a quick survey of my home and well, I have lots of baskets.  I just love the texture they add to spaces.  Here are some photos from around my home.

Do you love baskets too?

Where Women Create

I stumbled upon a blog one day that featured a story about Elizabeth Maxson making the cover of Where Women Create.  I had never heard of the magazine but the cover was gorgeous - just look at the home page of their website http://www.wherewomencreate.com/.  I made a mental note that I would enjoy checking out the magazine some day, but as many of my mental notes go...I moved on to other things and forgot about it.  So, I was at Jo-Ann on my lunch hour one day and there, at the checkout counter, was the magazine! 

TIP:  The magazine is pretty pricey so if you purchase it at Jo-Ann use one of the 40% off coupons! 

I flipped through a couple of pages before heading back to work and comtemplated calling in and telling them I got sick at lunch and had to go home - ha!  The pictures are amazing, the women featured are inspiring and there is something of interest to everybody.  The magazine is published 4 times a year.  Go grab yourself a copy and get inspired!

Parlez-vous francais?

So, I took French as my foreign language in high school.  I'm pretty sure I took the class because my friends were taking it - made perfect sense at the time.  The thing is I love French influence in home decor.  Ms. Markert would be so impressed with how many French words you can locate in our master bedroom!

Bonne Nuit (good night)