Notes from A Cottage Industry

Nearly ready for our big debut....

  

 .....and so, here's another sneak peek at one of the partially set up vignettes. Remember, we're hosting two Open House parties instead of just one, and we hope everyone can make it! One in the evening, one in the daytime. There will be lots of yummy treats.(Mmm, did someone ask for cupcakes?) We'll be sharing some table-scapes for party theme ideas, and there will be a sampling of our products for the Tumbleweed Cotillion booth as well. If you live in the area, please, do join us!

41 Taylor
41 East Taylor Street
Reno, NV 89503

Friday, July 10, 2009
4:00-7:00 pm

Or, if you prefer...

Saturday, July 11, 2009
10:00 am-2:00 pm

Of course I'll be sharing pictures of everything later, but for now, it's back to work!

A little peek at the party preparations....

      ...A very little peek! I'm busy getting things ready for the Open House this Friday (and Saturday!) for our Grand Opening at 41 Taylor. It's all about the details, and there are so many of them! I know this picture is a bit of a tease, but I want you all to be surprised!
We had a little visitor at 41 Taylor yesterday...
.....luckily he left through the open window without incident.

Words to live by - week 125

Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it.

                                                                         ~ Russel Baker

God Bless America!

Land of the free. Home of the brave.
FYI- My kiddos, July 4,1989...Ready for the neighborhood 4th of July parade.(Note** My son didn't really have a mustache.)
Happy Independence Day!

Booth renovations, itty bitty, pink and pretty cuppy-cakes....and new developments at 41 Taylor.

Just another typical week around here....
The other Tracey and I gave up the smaller side of our booth at Junkee so we could focus on 41 Taylor and (hopefully) keep the one side of our Junkee booth nice and full and refreshed from now on. (Hmmm, we'll see how well we do with that. Life seems to keep getting in our way.)It's nice and full for the moment at least!

I had a cupcake order this week for a sweet lil' tea party.....and we've been going crazy down at 41 Taylor. Oh, so many ideas!! We've decided (as of last night) that we will be showcasing some of our newest vintage finds and re-creations at 41 Taylor each Wednesday through Saturday from 10-4 through the rest of the summer (Sort of a mini Tumblweed Cotillion...a... Tumbleweed Jr. Prom so to speak!) and if you stop by, there just may be cupcakes too.

My cup runneth over....

    Oh, how I love this blog world! Truly, so many kindred spirits.
    Seriously, where else can a girl ask for opinions and advice on how to paint a sign and get so many great ideas,(Thank you all!) or share her deepest fears about being suddenly single at the mid century mark, or, brag on her grand babies (relentlessly!) without anyone complaining?! Only here, in our fabulous blogland.
    Yesterday in the mail, this wonderful present arrived from the amazingly talented Becky!(Yes, I got all teary eyed and weepy just opening the package and reading her sweet, sweet note.) Her fabulous note cards (such a talented artist!) and her 2009 calendar are just the most inspirational eye candy. Becky and I have never met in person, and yet, I feel like we know each other. We have so much in common, and a friendship has formed. Thank you so much Becky!

Only through the incredible internet is all of this possible, and I am so grateful for all of my friends, both in person, and out here in the blogasphere. Knowing that you read my blog just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy, and really makes my day. I treasure your comments and notes more than you can know.

(lots of) work in progress!

    I have so many projects going right now that I am not sure if I am coming or going. I worked on the Open House invitations last night, as well as this sign (made from a twin sized headboard!)for our neighbor, Laurie, behind us at 41 Taylor. (There is a studio apartment behind our place, and it is darling!)

Anyway.

     I am debating...I still need to paint a black arrow on the sign, so people know which way to go to find the French Twist mini salon, but I am stumped as to how I want to finish off the sign though...maybe you can help me by giving me your input!
     Should I add black stripes around the arched trim molding across the top, and at the bottom for a more Frenchie look? Or, just add the arrow and be done?
Hmmmm....?

Get ready to put on your party hats, people.

    ...because it's very nearly party time! (Of course you're invited to our Grand Opening Open House! Mark your calendars!) We've decided to host two parties instead of just one. One in the evening, one in the daytime. There will be lots of yummy treats. We'll be sharing some table vignettes for party theme ideas, and there will be a sampling of our products for the Tumbleweed Cotillion booth as well. Oh, please, do join us!

41 Taylor
41 East Taylor Street
Reno, NV 89503

Friday, July 10, 2009
4:00-7:00 pm

Or, if you prefer...

Saturday, July 11, 2009
10:00 am-2:00 pm

I made this sweet little party hat last night. Vintage book pages (our signature) and a tiny map of Paris, along with the fabulous glittered letter "T" (for Taylor...or Tracey!) It's so cute that I've decided to make them to sell- perfect for birthdays, anniversaries..or any kind of celebration, don'tcha think?

Oh! And speaking of party hats.....My sweet, dear friend Deb over at Hummadeedledee is having the most fabulous giveaway! We met years ago on line through the old Victoria magazine's message boards, and then in person several times (in fact, she and her sweet Bob were in last summer's Tumbleweed Cotillion here in the biggest little city!)

We are truly kindred spirits. For any of you who somehow don't know Miss Deb, she's the grand dame of display, the queen of creativity, the entrepanour's Obi Wan Kennedy, if you will....and she's an inspiration to me in every way. Deb is celebrating her three year Bloggiversay, and she's giving away not one, but three of her wonderful handcrafted pure-vintage-and-oh-so-incredible crowns!Hop on over to Deb's blog and enter!!

Before and afters of the outside of 41 Taylor.

I thought I'd share a picture of the outside of 41 Taylor, but I forgot to take my camera with me Sunday to show all of the flowers completely planted. Oh well. You get the idea. Today the sign I painted up for our friend Laurie's salon at the back side of our little cottage will go in to the left of our porch in the skinny flower bed. Her salon is named "The French Twist". (Is that cute or what?!)

Anyway.

Here is what the little cottage at 41 East Taylor Street looked like when we first saw it, all bright white and Sani-Hut Blue trim, not to mention the two satellite dishes on the roof. (Did you know the Dish network folks won't even come and take them down? They informed us that they are "Disposable"!)
...and here it is after a bit of work! We still have a few more plans for the outside (window trim painted black to compliment the mocha and the shutters, a row of Arborvitae shrubs behind the sign in the yard...)
 
Now I am anxious for the flower garden to grow and fill in!

Words to live by - week 124

The Home does not have to be planned out in detail, just put together by pieces its inhabitants love.
                                                                                       ~ Josef Frank

Ready, set, B-I-N-G-O.

That's what they were going to play last night at the game night party. Mmm hmm. The hostess ordered a vintage style Bingo set, complete with the tumbler full of numbered balls from Lillian Vernon catalog. Here are a few of the decorations we came up with for the event. (We kept the decorations for this event kind of low key, since people needed room to lay their Bingo cards and their food and drinks) I made little framed quotations here and there for conversation, along with scrabble words tucked around. Our hostess came up with the idea of book page decoupaged cans for flower vases (I love it! We'll definitely use this idea again and again!) 

We had everything set up by 4:30, ( thanks to the help of our sweet, sweet friends next door at Pickled Tink Studio, who came in and rescued us in our final hour with an extra trash can, throw rugs, candles ...and a fabulously dee-lish bundt cake to celebrate our big day!) and, after a champagne toast to the new business, I headed home to collapse. Here is a lil' peek at the dining room and parlor, all set up and ready for the party before the food and drinks were set up...

The other Tracey and her hubbs were actually part of this fun game night group, so I'll get the scoop today on what everyone thought of our new place at 41 Taylor.

Party details

    We had a late, long night yesterday, prepping and painting tables and chairs. The shutters were installed on the windows and the sign hung on our outside wall. It's all coming together so nicely! Our official grand opening will be the weekend of July 10th and 11th, but the event we are prepping for today is for a friend, and it gave us a good time line/deadline to work with (Have I ever mentioned that I like time lines and goals to keep me on track? Well, I do. In fact I need them.)
    Tonight's event at 41 Taylor is to be a vintage game night for a group of 21 friends that have been gathering monthly for about 25 years. (How fun does that sound?!) We're planting flowers and shrubs in the front garden today, and attending to the details for tonight's party.

We are having way too much fun!

Vintage rocker at work.

 

    No, it's not another shameless Gramma Blog post. Really, that's just not my style. The simple fact is that I am so blissfully buried in projects (sandwiched around working at the bank) to be ready for this Friday night that I didn't have time for editing more pictures of 41 Taylor for today's post, and then, this picture arrived via email...and...well, it just seemed like the perfect lil' post for today!(I know how you like to see project updates, and this is an older project..in action!)
     Remember this little rocker? Mmm hmm, I knew you'd want to see it in action. Looking back on when I painted it, I couldn't imagine just how much I'd love these grand babies.

Seriously. There are no words.

41 Taylor it is!

     That's right, the name of our new place. Many of you guessed it, and it was the number one suggestion by all of my blogland readers!
I have been painting the signs for outside on the wall and for in the yard in the evenings after work and after working at the place...I mean, at 41 Taylor. The oval sign is from an old piece of oval plywood that I got for a dollar at a yard sale about seven years ago (I knew it would make a great sign for my business and then never had the right place to hang it..until now!) and the sign for the yard is a full size headboard from the Salvation Army, and I only paid five bucks for it. I made the nice lettering and swirls with my fabulous Silhouette machine, of course. (Who knew I would use that machine this much?! I love it!!)
     We wanted the logo to be classic and generic enough to work for many different kinds of events, not just vintage (which is hard for us, 'coz we love it so) We chose the black background for the formality and because it will go with all of the seasonal decorations in the yard that we have planned.
    The signs will be installed in the yard and on the house tomorrow and that means pretty soon I'll be sharing the outside before-and-afters with you!!

Stay tuned!

A tour of the loo with Elmer, Harlan and Roger.

       Meet Elmer Huss. He's three years old in this portrait. (His name and age were on the back of his picture when we bought it from a fellow vendor at Junkee) Isn't he just about the dearest little guy?! Well, I mean next to these two doll babies. That's my own Dad, Harlan, on the left and my uncle Roger on the right. Couldn't you just eat them up?
They are all residing in my most favorite room of the new place-yes, many of you guessed it! The bathroom. The restroom, the loo, the water closet, the library..whatever you call it, it's a room full of charm in the little cottage on East Taylor. I could hang out in there all day. (*note* It is very hard to get good pictures in a tiny place like a bathroom, so bear with me.)Oh, but wait. Let's go back to the beginning, about a month ago. (Wow! Is that all it is? We do work fast!) Here was the fabulous little room a few weeks ago....

Lots of mismatched tiles. And some rather interesting....modifications, like this one here...

Ummm...hmmm....I guess someone wanted to recess their toilet into the wall..? (Who does that?!)

    We had the challenge of how to make this little bathroom work for us, on a shoestring budget. We decided we loved the floor, which is all original and in perfect condition. And we loved the original-to-the-house medicine cabinet.

 Everything else? Notsomuch. The patchwork-y tile was bad enough, but that hole in the wall. Augh! We were just not sure what we could do about that. Luckily, Juan, our incredibly-inexpensive-and-reliable-painter guy looked at it and said he knew how to do tile repair, and..get this..he could "bondo" the cut out wood area to look like new. We said "go for it, Juan." And he did. Our first plan was to cover the tile over with bead board. Too pricey for us, and it would be quite a challenge. then, we decided to paint the tile. I researched it, and yes, it can be done, with a lot of sanding and oil based primer and paint. Then, we hit upon another idea. Our signature look! Book pages! we have done it on bookcases and dressers, why not the walls? The added benefit is that it can easily be removed if someone else were to take over the home and need to actually shower in here. Three bottles of liquid starch later, and a whole lot of books and here is the finished product... The sewing Queen set up her machine in the bedroom and bless her heart, sewed so much burlap her machine may never be the same. (I had no idea burlap was so fiber-y and lint-y. What a mess!) She made us a skirt and a matching shower curtain (and the table skirt in the parlor in a lighter shade of burlap!)

   There is still a little bit of tweaking to be done (replacing the shower head for a smaller one and seeing if the Sewing Queen is up for monogramming the towels with our name...thanks for the idea, Betsy!!!!)

*sigh* so there you have it- a tour of my favorite room in the new place. A bathroom with enough reading material (and charm) for anyone.

How's about a little tour of the completed Parlor in the new place?

    Whew! We're very nearly done renovating the new place on East Taylor Street, and we'll be hosting our first event there this Friday! Let's begin today with a tour of the now completed parlor, shall we?
    Oh! Before I begin, I want to share a little story. Last Saturday, the other Tracey and I were yard saling, hoping to score more wooden dining chairs for the new place. We arrived at this one sale and found some of the most unusual things. (Okay, we didn't buy these things, but we both saw them as some sort of oddball confirmation from God that we are on the right track with our business venture. Are you like that??)

Our first amazing find- We spotted this crest. (or is it called a shield?) Now, we aren't really into crests, but the fireplace at our new place has a kind of knight's helmet thing-y in the center of it, as well as a shield ( or is it called a crest?) on either side of the mantle. And just take a peek at what is on this crest.(...shield?) Mmm hmmm. A "T". A coincidence? I think not.

So, then, upon entering the actual garage, the other Tracey spotted this.Oh ya, who says God doesn't have a sense of humor?!

Anyway.

Like I said, we didn't buy those things, but, I ended up finding and buying an incredible silver tea and coffee service (I am a nut for vintage tea services, especially if they have ornate foofy silver footed trays.) And then...we found not one, but two of the most darling, charming vintage newly upholstered fan back chairs. Well, we assumed they'd be too pricey, but when I asked the price,we were stunned to find they were in our price range! I then offered the woman even less and she said yes, so we grabbed them right up and hauled them to the new place. See the charming chairs? Pretty fabulous, don'tcha think? We just love them. And did you notice the wood floors? (Remember this room before?)

We stained over the old light oak with a deep dark mahogany colored finish, and we used a water based stain. No stinky smell, and it went on (we brushed a fairly thick coat and then sealed it a day later) like a dream.I highly recommend it.

   Here is one last before and after picture of the parlor. It's the front window area.......the warm chestnut colored walls, coffee dyed lace curtains and bright white trim with those new dark floors look so rich, and it cost us next to nothing, if you don't count elbow grease.Tomorrow I'll show you my very most favorite room in the sweet little cottage on East Taylor Street, complete with before and after pictures!

I betcha can't guess what room it will be.

Words to live by - week 123

Pursue what you love, and you'll never work a day in your life.
                                                                                             unknown

Parlor alcove progress and some clarification...

    You saw it in it's "before" state, remember? Well, a little more has gone on in our dear little alcove, and we've been deciding which frames and mirrors will go where....it's going to be a perfect look for any event that is hosted here!
   Speaking of events, I am not quite sure how, but somehow I managed to give some (or most..??) of you the impression that our new place is simply going to be a boutique. Not so! It's main purpose will be to host intimate sized events, like baby and bridal showers and birthday parties and rehearsal dinners and special events like supper or book clubs, along with providing a permanent location for the Tumbleweed Cotillion Vintage Markets!
   We'll have some petite events as well to showcase our vintage treasures, but it won't be a traditional nine to five brick and mortar boutique shop. (that's what we use Junkees for!) Does that make sense to you? In other words, it's not going to be a boutique that is open each and every day of the week. The Tumbleweed Cotillion events will be publicized and held often- some large, some small (with just myself and the other Tracey participating) and some in between, where we will feature a guest vendor (or two or three or four!) and they will most likely be seasonally themed...but all vintage of course.
Anyway, I hope that cleared the air for those that were confused and I am sorry if I mislead anyone!
   We are just thrilled with the transformation that is taking place over on our beloved East Taylor Street, and there are many more surprises coming along this summer as well!

Time flies.

Long.
Long.
Day.

    But so much fun! The other Tracey got the bathroom finished up and cleaned while I did my thing at the bank. (We even got my cute little sign hung on the bathroom door) Then, we got the floors all cleaned and stained. Sooooo pretty!!!!(but so sad, I forgot my camera at home!)
   We decided that the white lace curtains were just too new looking, so I came home from the new place (at nearly 10:00 last night!) and coffee dyed them before taking my cool relaxing bubble bath.
    This morning I will meet up with the other Tracey and the Sewing Queen to put in a few hours before going to work at the bank for the afternoon, and then I am off for three days straight! (and I have my camera, so I promise to share some pictures later!)

An easy little recycled picture frame tutorial

    Our new little place of business needs a nice sign for the restroom door. I decided to make one from an old framed art piece that I got for fifty cents from some yard sale that I had stashed in my craft supply closet. I had bought the picture for the frame, because I liked the rectangular shape. I love using things I have instead of having to run out and buy something new, don't you?

I printed the French word for Restroom on an old dictionary page, in several different fonts because I wasn't sure of the look I wanted. I printed a vintage photo I had of a man and a woman, (cropped the photo in half on my computer so they could be two separate pictures) and gave them old looking photo edges in my little print program. I cut them out to add to the new sign.

Using the picture glass, I made sure they were laid out just right. I spray painted the old oak frame a glossy black.

I cleaned the picture glass all nice and clear, and put the completed new sign in the fabulous recycled frame. Total time it took to create this little gem, just under 45 minutes, including dry time for the picture frame.

 

Perfect for the restroom door...for ladies or gentlemen.

*Edited late Tuesday night* A little mid-way progress report from the parlor at the new-to-us place.

  

 
      Okay, so you saw the charming fireplace. (Ooh, I love it, and it works!) So,now, I thought I'd show you the back wall of the parlor. (Technically, it's a living room, but parlor seems to suit it so much better) Here it is, in the original "Before" state. You see, at one point, the house was chopped into three tiny apartments, and so this area was a kitchette. Tiiiiiii-ny. Here are the remains of it...

    We didn't care. We saw it as an alcove for a buffet table (of course!) and we got our handy man to gut it out, then re-wall it in.

  

     I say that like were easy, but it involved capping off old plumbing and removing a pipe with old electrical stuff in it and all sorts of technical stuff that the other Tracey and I have no idea how to do. Remember? I don't do electrical.( Not anymore.)

        After that,the painter did his work, (but, somehow I forgot to take a picture!edited Tuesday night with the picture at the top and shown below)and then we had the Home Depot guy cut a really expensive nice piece of oak to begin making our table...which I also forgot to take a picture of,added Tuesday night because I was too excited and was busy taking pictures of the currently-hideous-but-soon-to-be-amazing one and only functioning bathroom, so

..picture that in your mind until I get a moment to edit the post when I have a picture later tonight. edited to add* The picture now shows the painted half done table top deal-y thing we are in the midst of creating.Don't even ask about the crazy legs. They will be covered, as the table will be skirted. It will serve as a buffet server and as a display area for the boutique..we think.

Trust me, it's looking great. (And it's not even finished yet!)

Blissful details

     You know I am all about the details, and the picture above is just one of the sweet little details that I am referring to... can you guess what it is?
    Our place is evolving and blossoming right before our eyes, and it is thrilling, to say the least. Yesterday after church, the other Tracey and I, along with the Sewing Queen of northern Nevada, met up at the new place to check out the paint job and do some foofifying, if you will. I antiqued the fireplace mantle..remember it from before? After I was done, I told the other Tracey that the mantle had the perfect spot for a number 41. ( Hmmm...maybe that's a clue for the new business' name?)        
      After she and the Sewing Queen left, I got to work with my trusty Silhouette, and I ran back down to add the finishing touches. The other Tracey has no idea that I did this last night and she is going to love it! Here's the part I am thinking she will like the best- it's a little surprise for her- a "T" for her, and a "T" for me, on the left and right shields on the plaster mantle sides!

    Here is a better picture of the living room wall with the finished fireplace, with the new paint and curtains. It turned out that the old wall sconces that were hung above the mantle before were not wired (the wiring was old and not usable) and so we decided to camoflage things by starting a collection of vintage mirrors and frames to decorate the mantle, covering the holes in the wall. (The odd shaped little white thing in the center is a just reflection in the big mirror of a hall tree across the room!)
    We will be working feverishly all day again today, staining and sealing the floors and hopefully, the chandeliers will be hung in the parlor and the dining room.

    We were hoping to get our sign done and put in the yard this weekend, but, as usual, our to-do list was longer than the hours we had. The funny thing is, it felt like the entire day was an hour long. It's true what they say - time flies when you're having fun!

Words to live by - week 122

Baby blue.

    Cupcakes that is. Here they are, all sweet and soft baby blue and creamy and yummy. Some classic sized cupcakes, mingling with oodles of babycakes (of course!) that are sure to add to the festivities. They are so simple to do, and they look so hard. Just frost the cupcakes with a large star tip and then take the alternate color frosting in another pastry bag with a #3 tip to make the little polka dots. The big polka dots? They're simply Wilton white chocolate candy melts, plopped into the center of the frosting. Easy peasy. The flags are easy too. (Remember? I sell them in my online kit!)Oooh, they are going to look daring at the shower, I think! I'll be dropping off the order at the hostess' home on my way to the bank today and I can't wait to see what she thinks.

I am betting that the Mama-to-be will like them too!

TGIF.

      Aaah, Friday at last. Well, I guess it's really like my Thursday, since I have been working all of the Saturdays for the past seven months...but, now that it's summertime and yard sale season, I have managed to work a deal at the bank to have a few Saturdays off, beginning next Saturday!
    Tonight after work I'm finishing up a cupcake order for a baby shower. Some classic sized, some baby cakes, some with flags, and some without, all in soft shades of baby blue and cream. They're going to be so sweet! I'll deliver them tomorrow morning on my way into work.
    I'm so excited for the weekend to start (mine starts on Saturday at exactly 2:30 when I get off work!) because the painter will be all finished down at our new place of business. Then, the fun will really begin! The other Tracey and I will be down at the new place starting our first makeover projects- finishing up the fireplace makeover (oh! Just you wait!) and reinventing the new alcove in the parlor.   
    Hopefully by Monday evening the sign will be going in the yard, along with a few new flowers, and I will be unveiling the name of our new venture, complete with before and after pictures!

My little cupcake.

     The Sewing Queen of northern Nevada brought this fabulous new cupcake collar for Moose back from her trip to Portland last week. (Bear had just gotten a new collar last month and there was only one cupcake one in the shop she found this in...)
     Pretty stylish and perfect with his hair color, don'tcha think? (And he's comfortable enough in his manhood to pull off the pink cupcakes.)

A little revelation and some new found energy.

    Good golly, have I really not posted since Sunday?! That is how it looks. (I did at least post twice on Sunday. Does that help?) And, I know I still have not shared my outdoor creation. Mmm hmm. Still rainy, thunderstorm-y weather here. (unheard of for this many days straight!) Soon. Very soon. I promise!
     After running errands nearly all day with the other Tracey for things to do with the new place we are opening (Oh! And it's coming along so fabulously that I can barely stand it! I will be sharing photos as soon as the painter finishes his handy work and I can show before and afters!) I was kind of...well, tired, I guess. I was thinking how I'd like to take my bubble bath, but it was only 5:30 and that seemed ridiculous early in the day to do that,with the sun still up and all. (What am I a little old lady? The night is young!)

Anyway.

     I sat down in my office and it hit me. I feel tired..er...overwhelmed... each time I am at home alone these days. I didn't realize it until just today, but it has been bugging me just how far I have let things around my cottage go these past few months. Call it being busy, or disorganized, or putting off today what I could do tomorrow, out of control, or all of the above, but the place pretty much looks like it has been ransacked by a crazy-mad crafter that is shedding golden retriever hair.

Seriously.

     It's gotten so bad, that I even told the other Tracey a while back that if something were ever to happen to me, I want her to grab my little hidden cash in my piggy bank and call a housekeeping crew before she lets my kids in. Other wise, they'd all arrive here and shake their heads, saying "We had no idea she was living like this!"
     You know, I was just telling one of my girlfriends last week that I had read, on Oprah's daily email I think, that in order to be successful in maintaining weight loss, a person needs to be organized and in control of things in their life. We had discussed how that makes sense and I think that's when I began to realize that things were not copacetic here in my cottage. When things are all discombobulated around the house, it causes stress. For me it does anyway, and I have been living in a pretty chaotic fashion for the past few months.
     So... I am now officially in late-spring cleaning mode and this little cottage is going to get organized. And cleaned. No more hairballs on the hardwood. No more looking for my favorite missing earring on the computer table. No more justifying things with the statement "Creative minds are seldom tidy". Everything in it's place and a place for every thing. That's my new mantra.

     I'm feeling more in control and energized already.