Notes from A Cottage Industry

NeSts!

Isn't this the most darling nest? I just ordered one from Amy's site. Our friend Deb made them, and they are just so wonderful looking that I had to have one, even though I have absolutely no business spending a dime on myself right now with all the shop doings and such...but,...well, look at them! Even the box and tag is beyond cute.
It's FABULOUS I tell you.
I know you won't be surprised when I tell you collect nests. (I collect so many things)
I have 'em in various spots in my home, and I even put a large one with faux speckled eggs in it up in one of the indoor trees at the mall where my dear little shop is.Oh, I can't wait for it to arrive.
Anyhoo, if you want on of these babies, you'd better move fast. Deb only made a dozen just especially for InspireCompany, and I heard that more than half were already gone by the time I spotted them on Amy's site....check out Amy's other treasures while you're there. Darling stuff I tell ya.

***Uh oh! Update here... as of this morning Amy is SOLD OUT of Deb's fabulous NeSts! Not to worry dear friends, she has more coming very soon, so keep watching!(9/28/06)**

Gearing up for the Harvest Craft Faire

The annual Galena High Harvest Craft Faire is rapidly approaching. (This Friday night, and all day Saturday!) I am working feverishly on finishing up lots of cute pieces for my booth, as well as trying to get my new shop ready to open the following Saturday.

We will be eating canned chili and I will be pulling some late nights up till Friday (thank goodness this is the week all the new shows are on TV) Then, Friday, we will schlep all my treasures down the hill to the big gym at the school where the faire is held.

My booth is a 10 by 10 this year, which is only half the size I have gotten in the past, so it will be a challenge to arrange my furniture, and fit me in there someplace as well.

I really do enjoy this Craft faire.I get to see lots of familiar faces, and this year will be especially sweet because at long last, after years of telling people that “no, I only sell here, I don’t have a shop” I can actually say “Yes, yes!! I do have a shop! It’s open every Saturday!” Oooh, I just can't wait.

A New Adventure Begins

It's official. I got the key to my new, larger shop space yesterday. I am doubling my shop size!
Later today I will begin prepping and painting, glazing and cleaning. I have such plans for this place. I tell you, it's going to be a virtual candy store for the eye.
I have to take care of the inside before I can focus on the outside. There is a new shopkeeper anxious to take over my old spot, and I need to get my things out of there so she can get settled in.
Oh ya, exciting times! A new shop space and new neighbors! This is going to be oh so fun.
I am keeping the same wonderful curtains my Mom made for the tiny shop in the new space. That fabulous wheat-ish linen/peachy/sage green and deep cocoa toned floral is so perfect.  I changing up the colors I am highlighting for my little Cottage Industry a bit for the big move, getting away from the green and tomato red combo, opting for a more "aged" look. I want it to be a surprise, so I am not going to tell you everything but, I will say this- "Semi Sweet" by Behr. (as in chocolate...) That's just one of the colors I am incorporating, and it is as yummy as it sounds.
I am also adding  a more weathered feel to the inside of the shop (now that I will actually have the room to do anything with color) to give it more of a vintage feel. These screaming lemon meringue pie walls are gonna be gone, baby. Oh, and the glaring brand new looking copper roofing will be aged too.

I get so excited just thinking about this project that I can barely focus on anything else.
I also have the big Harvest Craft Faire next weekend to be prepping for as well, so this is gonna be a whirlwind next 8 days... I can't wait to get started!

Coat Challenge 2006

It began with Alicia and Lisa. Then Amy got in on it. Now, I feel I must share mine.

Apparently there are a fairly large number of us out there- WOWCC: Women obsessed with cute coats that is.
Since I am "dress form deprived" I had to photograph my favorite coats on boring hangers. (Where DO you ladies find these cool vintage dress forms?! I swear there isn't a single one to be had between here and Sacramento!)
I've got 2 leather jackets and a ski coat, but they are ordinary so I won't bore you with those.
Oh, and I am still struggling with adjusting my colors/lighting in Photoshop, so the colors look a bit glaring..not so in person, just my poor photography skills.
Here is my Basic Black coat- got it at Express. I love the buttons, the satin ruffle and the ribbon tie.

Got this fabulous vintage coat at a yard sale. It was in the dry cleaner bag with the dry cleaning tag still on it. (I feel oh so glamorously Lauren Bacall in it!)

The pale aqua coat is great 'coz it's light weight...love this color... I wear it with black pants and a black turtleneck..if I could find some pale aqua shoes, I'd really be stylin'. (And speaking of shoes, I bet I could win the fabulous shoe challenge if there ever was one)
I saved the best for last here. I got this coat in Granada Spain a few years ago while visiting my daughter, who was living there while studying abroad. Love the coat. The price? $12!!!! So cute AND cheap we bought 3. One for me, and both of my girls.

As you can see, I am a soid color coat gal, which I hadn't even realized till I took these pictures, and looked at the other coat collectors coats. Hmmm, I I may need to rethink the print idea.

Mix n' Match

I love color and pattern, as may you know by now if you have read my Blog before. I also love making something new out of something old.
This is one of my favorite re-born pieces in my home. It was supposed to go to the craft faire that year, but we liked it too much, so it stayed with us. It sits in the big bay in my kitchen. It's cheery to look at in the mornings.
I had gotten an old dresser out junkin', and then a year later got a desk with a hutch top. The hutch top looked far too cumbersome on the desk, so I painted the desk solo and sold it at the craft faire that year. I then realized the dental molding on the hutch top matched the dental molding on the old dresser exactly (probably both originally from Sears and Roebuck) so I put them together and painted the piece kind of French Country/Mackenzie Child's style.

The french writing I painted on the hutch top reads "the Red Rooster Cafe" in french. If you ever want to write or say something in another language, try doing this.
The possibilities are endless for re-inventing a piece of furniture from one use to another completely different use. All you need is a little imagination, some paint and a couple of free hours, and you're good to go.

Have bed will travel

Actually, this bed doesn't necessarily have to travel to be cute and practical.

There are about a million and 2 ideas for things to do with vintage suitcases, and this one is just so cute I had to share it!

The bed part is in the bottom of the suitcase, while the pocket area in the lid holds doggy toys, treats, even a dog brush. Just close the suitcase and you are ready to go. Open it up when you arrive and voila, your pampered pup is ready to sleep in a familiar bed.

All that is needed to do this project is a vintage suitcase and a pillow in a coordinating fabric pillowcase. A folded soft plaid blanket could do the trick as well.

Have you done anything that's unusual or unique with a suitcase? I'd love to hear your ideas!

A picture is worth a thousand words

Do you collect things? I do. I think it is part of being a junker.While I do not consider myself a pack rat, I do love to collect things. Old things. I collect vintage rolling pins, suitcases, dishes, washboards, picnic baskets, mirrors...and old cameras.
While I am not a particularly  good photographer, I do love the look of old cameras. Some of them remind me of fond memories when I was a little girl, standing with my brother in our Sunday best,facing the glaring sun, squinting our eyes so tight we looked Chinese, as my Mom held her Brownie camera about waist high and looked down into it to snap our picture. It seemed we had to hold that smiling still life pose for 15 minutes before the shot would actually be taken- film was a valuable commodity and not to be wasted on blurry shots of a little kid flinching, twirling her Easter purse.
These old cameras are just so neat to look at, with all of their hidden features and pop out parts.  These are the cameras that once upon a time took all of those oh so cool vintage photos I treasure,whether I know the people in the photos or not... lots of history right here sitting on my hutch.
I have my Mom's original Brownie camera, 2 that belonged to my step dad way back in the day, and the rest were thrifted from yard sales. I have never paid more than $5 for any one of them, and I am on cloud 9 for an entire week when I find one out junkin' that I do not already have.
These cameras come from a time when folks did not hap-hazardly snap 55 shots of one thing, and pick the best shot to print. You didn't make 12 extra copies of that best print for friends and family to look at, post on their refrigerators, or toss away.
Oh no, no, no. It was a big deal to be the proud owner of one of these cameras, and quite a production start to finish taking photos way back when. The film inside was able to take something like a precious 12 snapshots, and you couldn't develop the prints until you got to the end of that roll. You didn't know if you got a great picture until you picked up the pictures a week later from the camera shop (later the corner drug store, like Thriftys and Pay Less) That was when you saw that you had cut Uncle Roger's head off in the Christmas dinner shot.
I keep my collection housed on the hutch in my home office. I just love the vintage feel and warmth they add to the room. Take 3, 4, or 10 of anything alike, and group them. Instantly you have a point of interest in the room, a conversation piece, and personality.
That's the wonderful thing about collections. It can really be anything, but somehow groupings of same items suddenly make the ordinary... unique.

Everything old is new again

...or will be shortly in the case of this chair.

I bought this fabulous old (it reads 1935 on the tag on the bottom of the chair!) fan back velvet chair 2 summers ago in my all time favorite junkin’ neighborhood here in the biggest little city. Since then I have been looking, off and on for just the right fabrics to re-invent this wonderful piece.

Last Saturday, I finally found it!

I had to guess at the yardage (You know I do not sew, nor do I upholster) and I am crossing my fingers that I bought enough of all 3 fabrics to end up with a charming chair AND a couple of coordinating pillows. (If I bought way to much, you'll probably be seeing place mats and napkins around the shop as well.) I bought 8 yard of the chocolate floral, because he upholstery chart at the fabric store said 7, and 1.5 of the banding fabric for the cushion (the ticking look) and 1.5 of the robbins egg/cornflower blue for the piping (hey, it's 54" wide) so I am praying that I am OK here... oh, and some foofy cool satin ribbon trim (3 yards!) for my Mom to make  a cool pillow.

Tomorrow it's off to the upholsters... I can hardly wait to see the transformation!

To be continued..... I promise!

Mona Fleas-a

Cousin to Vinnie and the youngest of all the grand-pups in the family, Mona Lisa had a bout with fleas early on and hence the nickname. Isn't she a sweetie?
Mona's a long haired Chihuahua. At nearly 3 years old, she weighs 3 and a half pounds, and is QUITE the diva. Even Moose, our 85 pound yellow lab grand-dog doesn't mess with Mona...
Mona recently moved from the quaint charm of small town life in Salem,Oregon to breathtaking South Lake Tahoe with her mom (the Maid of Honor) where she loves living the jet setting condo lifestyle with partial lake view.
I love to hold her and sing the old Nat King Cole song "Mona Lisa". (Oh dear. I think I just dated myself here, some of you are saying Nat King WHO!?....You know, Natalie Cole's DAD.)
She came down to visit me at my shop Saturday. (Not Natalie Cole, Mona.) I thought it would be fun to have her model and showcase some of the latest treasures in the shop, but the pictures didn't come out quite like I wanted, so I only have a few to share. (She didn't like  posing, or modeling or sitting still...how does Alicia get Audrey to that?!)
The fabrics behind Mona are from the newest batch of pillows from the amazing Ms. Lucille.
I am expanding a grouping of pieces in darker jewel tones...I guess you could call it more European-kind-of-Paris-Apartment-sorta-kinda-but-still- traditional-ish. Anyhoo, hopefully more pictures of the new stuff soon!
After the photo shoot we let Mona take a break and have a spot of tea, and a milk bone. Please don't hate her because she's beautiful.

Guest Bath

One room in my home that is very plain and simple in it's decor is one of the upstairs guest bathrooms.  I love the whole french black and white thing but, I LIVE in an English Tudor style home. I figured I could get away with ONE room done this way..and I love it. (Oh, and by the way, the room is not slanted, I just tend to take bad photos when I do not use my tri pod )
Of course you are not at all shocked or surprised to know that literally every accessory is thrifted- I mean, that is, after all, my favorite thing to do.
The curtain is a table scarf. the chair holds silk mums in an old enamel pot. I think I spent about $60 on this bathroom, including towels AND the rug. (Thank you Martha Stewart and KMart!)
Probably my favorite thing in the entire bathroom is the clever little vintage reproduction sign I got in Austin, Texas while at the Texas Book Conference (did I ever tell you I was in a book club?)
We have a wonderful linen closet in there, filled with anything and everything a guest (or grown child home for a weekend, or week) could want.  Baskets and enamel pots with lids hold toiletries guests may have forgotten, and a blow dryer...

It's all just another part of nesting, and making folks feel at home....
even if it IS just the two of us.

Indian Summer

We sat out by the fire Sunday night, just enjoying the perfect Indian summer weather here. We have a day bed that I got out yard saling, (for a mere $20 including a brand new mattress!) and it works just perfectly as a cozy, comfy sofa. When I put it out on the patio I worried that the neighbors might think we were nuts, moving all of our indoor furniture OUTDOORS..like something the Clampets would have done on the Beverly Hillbillies.
This is really truly my favorite time of year. (I know I said this just 2 days ago! ) but I mean it. We sat out till after 9:00 and never even needed to put on a poncho. We have a big basket of ponchos we bought on a trip to Mexico that are just perfect for when the chilly weather nights. Our guests love it, it's a conversation piece- and so much more fun than a coat or sweater!
I am still tweaking the patio area. As you can see, I am in need of  a giant grapevine wreath for the fireplace, and we have some vintage looking strands of round clear lights to string around the patio cover. We had better hurry up, before snow season arrives here and it's time to drag the daybed into my cottage workshop for the winter.... Isn't it funny how some of us (well..er..me I guess) are always trying to bring the outdoors IN and the indoors OUT? What is with that? (Maybe my neighbors DO think we are the Clampets!)

Best seat in the house

Isn't this the dearest chair ever?!
Painted up and antiqued in my current favorite color, that yummy kind of robbins egg blue with just a teensy hint of green, this chair is taking center stage at the shop this week. I bought it at the HUGE annual neighborhood yard sale a few weeks back, and it looked...well, very late 60's, early 70's. (see it here in a group picure of "before's" ) My talented Mom made the custom cushion and pillow of course! (and got it completed while it's STILL golf season!)
This is the kind of project that gets my heart racing, my mind reeling, and soooo inspires me. I can imagine an entire room designed and decorated all around this charming chair! Sweet as can be in a bedroom, a breakfast room, a living room, even in a large bathroom... *big sigh*... I'd keep it myself if I only had the space.
Tonight I will be in my cottage workshop adding the finishing touches to a fabulous black bench to hold the latest batch of pillows with french writing and wonderful stripes and checks (also created between rounds of golf by my mother...) awaiting their car ride down to the shop!