Super Easy Primitive Key Hanger

I still haven’t unpacked my craft stuff yet, so I had to improvise for this Pinterest-inspired key hanger I wanted to make. I started out with this shallow crate / shelf thingy that I already had. Any shallow wood crate or tray would work!

I bought these little screw in hooks at Wally world…4 for $.97!

Making sure they won’t be too long…these are perfect! If they are too long, you could file down the excess, or put some felt dots / tape over the little protruding screws. These are a great small size and will probably work fine  for most crates / trays out there.

Just screw them in by hand. No tools necessary.

There she is, one hook short (oops). I figure I can get more hooks the next time I go, or just set a small figurine or decoration in that space.

This is where the improvising came in. Since all my hardware is packed, including all my hangers and wall hooks, I used two pop tabs nailed on either end. They are surprisingly strong. I simply nailed them down, nailing right through the small, flat metal part of the tab. Another Pinterest idea to the test, and it works great!

I love it!!!

Not only did I work on my first craft project in a while, but I also hit up my first great barn sale of the season. I got a super deal on some primitives that have already made their way to my booth at The Carriage Place. I got these two 10 foot antique shutters for….wait for it….$3!!! That means $1.50 each. Probably the best deal EVER, in the history of the world!

I also got this old ladder back chair and big blue swirly enamel tub. I thought they’d both make great garden pieces.

Two small unfinished shutters and an old tool carrier, both which I plan to eventually paint & distress.

And lastly, I got this old wooden army trunk from the 40′s. Great army green color and original hardware. Trunks always seem to sell well in my co-op.

Along with all my thrift store / garage sale “smalls”, I like to sprinkle in some really nice antiques and quality pieces here and there. This improves the overall quality of my my booth and shows dealers that come through, as well as customers, that I am “legit”. LOL. I got this beautiful antique cabinet on Craigslist. My personal rule is: only buy a piece if I know I can double my money. I know I’ll have no problem selling this beautiful cabinet for more than twice what I paid.

The same goes for this other Craigslist find; an antique oak ice box. These go for BIG money around here, so when you see one at a decent price, you gotta get it! It’s in excellent condition and was a real steal!

I am headed to the co-op for a massive over-haul on Wednesday night, so I will get some updated pics and share them with you soon. If you try out the key hanger, or any variation of it, I’d love to see a pic! Hope everyone has a super-duper week, and Happy Crafting!

Dollar Store Salt Shakers + Vintage Buttons = Button Flower Bouquets

It’s me again! I am on a crafting BINGE! I don’t know what’s gotten into me! Maybe because it’s been sunny and “Spring” feeling these last few days? I don’t know, but I’m going with it!

I have a fun “dollar store craft” for you! I made these cute little vintage button bouquets using Dollar Tree salt shakers (you can also find some at the thrift store for super cheap, like the ones here on the left) and some buttons and wire that I had on hand. So easy and a perfect Spring craft!

I also used twine for a bow accent, and shredded paper (also found at Dollar Tree) to stuff inside the shakers and help hold wire stems in place. I suggest using a pair of pliers that have a cutting edge on them, so you don’t jack up your scissors while cutting the wire.

To make the stems, you are going to twist the two sides of the wire together. Fold the wire piece over and cut it roughly the length you want the stem to be – keeping in mind it will be a tad shorter after twisting it together.

Layer your buttons to make fun, colorful little “flowers.” Slide the ends of the wire through your button flower and start twisting them together tightly, to create a sturdy stem. Cut off the excess wire.

Stuff a small amount of shredded paper down in the salt shaker to help hold the stems in place. You could use more buttons, beads, floral foam, or nothing at all…whatever you want!

Make as many flowers as you’d like! They are fun to make!

My first bouquet is a red and brown theme

And my second bouquet was a blue and black theme

I photographed them for Etsy but decided at the last-minute to bring them to the co-op. They are currently in my booth at The Carriage Place. I can’t wait to make more!

Last night I photographed a ton of new stuff I am putting in my Etsy store, and I wanted to let all my fellow crafters, that have booths or small shops, know that I am going to be selling these word blocks in groups of 6 at a wholesale price. I ordered way too many of them, so they’ll be in my shop this week at some point. They would be a great little item to resell, if you’re into country/prim decor like me!

  

I also wanted to share a few great thrift store finds from today! A great enamelware tin pan, an apothecary style jar (these sell like hot cakes in my booth!) some wooden plaques for future craft projects, vintage tin molds, and a small wooden platter with a glass cloche. I am going to paint the wooden base – probably black with a yellow prim star in the middle.

I was also sooooooooo excited to find some unique Scrabble tiles from a “Deluxe” edition of the game; 100 tiles for only $4! Best of all, they are maroon colored! I love that they are different from the regular Scrabble tiles, yet are a great color for country crafting!

And lastly, I had to share this find…..these brown kraft boxes were only $1 for a bag of 6!!! If you have an A.C. Moore’s, go grab some before they are discontinued!!! I was “that person” who depleted their inventory. Hehe. I am going to stamp them eventually. Love the variety of shapes!

That’s all for today! Have a great weekend and Happy Crafting!!!

Scrabble Tile Wall Art

I am finally starting to get my crafting mojo back after a few months of the winter blahs, thanks to some of my fellow crafters and friends who have been sharing some great ideas and projects lately! My friend Sara made this awesome wall plaque using burlap and Scrabble tiles, which I would LOVE to recreate for my booth at The Carriage Place!

I just adore the burlap and scrabble tiles together, so I decided to make a shadow box for my friend with the names of her expanding family. She is due in a few months to add a little boy named Henry to the crew!

So here are the supplies I used! An 8″ x 10″ shadow box from Joann’s, some Scrabble tiles that I found at Goodwill (bought the whole game for $2 and now have 100 letters to work with! Great deal!), some burlap, rusty tin shapes to accent the final project, and my trusty glue gun!

I would recommend laying out your names/words ahead of time to make sure they fit properly in your frame or shadow box. As you can see from my drawing, the names fit nicely on an 8.5″ x 11″ piece of paper, but I couldn’t find a shadow box in that size. Now that I am done, I would have liked to get one a little bigger than 8″ x 10″, as it was cutting it a bit close to the edges. I think it would have been more visually appealing to have some space around the names – see the final product and let me know what you think!

I laid the names out on the cardboard insert to make sure they fit!

I then hot glued the pieces together, to make it easier to line them up on the background.

Cut the burlap to the size of the cardboard insert of the frame or shadow box. It was easy to cut it straight using the lines of the burlap as guides.

Warning: the burlap gets everywhere when you cut it! If you have an anal-retentive significant other like I do, I would suggest laying down some newspaper or else you’d be cleaning up all the little burlap fuzzies that cling to EVERYTHING! hehehe…

I used small dots of hot glue on the corners and around the edges to hold the burlap background in place.

Lay down the puzzle-pieces and glue the names together! Make sure they are straight!

I tried many different rusty tin accents, from little salt box houses, to hearts, to stars. I decided to go with one large star in the corner; I didn’t want it too “busy”.

Tip: Use a blow dryer on the hot setting to dissolve any hot glue string that may be on your project. After a few seconds they just disappear!

And here’s the final product! Again, I wish there was more space above the “M” in Melanie and below the “Y” in Henry. Because of my mild OCD tendencies, I may just have to go back and get a 12″ x 12″ shadow box and replace the 8″ x 10″. It’s really bugging me! lol.

UPDATE! I got a slightly larger shadow box (10″ x 10″) to create a little more space above and below the names. It was bothering me how scrunched they looked. This new shadow box is perfect! I also corrected Christine’s name…it was spelled wrong, in case anyone noticed!

I also thought I would share some updated photos of my booth at the co-op after a little re-organizing! I like to just move stuff around once in a while to keep it looking “fresh” and different. There are not a lot of crafts in there; more antiques and vintage items. I hope to get some more hand made stuff in there this Spring!

Thanks for stoppin’ by! Happy crafting!

P.S. I apologize for the random links in my post(s), that when you hover over them with your mouse, says “coupon drop down” or something like that. I am not making those links  -  it’s must be a virus or spam type action that’s automatically appearing here and there. Don’t click them. Sorry!

Some Thrift Store Finds and Makin’ Tags!

Hello crafty people! I thought this awesome ecard was perfect for this post, as I finally got my pickin’ “fix” this weekend after hitting up a few thrift stores! In the winter, garage sales and estate sales are scarce around here, so I tend to more thrifting in the winter months. I found some pretty cool stuff that I plan on putting in my booth over at the Carriage Place later this week when I do a complete overhaul.

I got this light green enamel pot, which is awesome because I found the exact same one a few months ago that is a darker shade of green! They’ll look great next to each other, especially with St. Patty’s Day coming up! I also found a few “apothecary” jars, and a green glass candy dish. I don’t usually do fancy glassware (aside from mason jars, vintage bottles, etc.) but this one was kinda neat looking and had some nice floral designs.

I scored 2 awesome Pyrex casserole dishes with fun patterns that also shout “SPRING!”

I got a bunch of vintage Anchor Hocking jars with lids, which I thought would be great on someone’s counter filled with flour, sugar, or other stuff!

Lastly I got this cute little “cottage chic” bird house and an enamel pitcher. The pitcher was a STEAL at $3 because I believe it’s real, and not a repro. It’s pretty heavy and appears to be old! Sweet!

In other crafty news, I decided to use up some of my tons of scrapbooking paper and make tags, using my trusty tag-shaped hole punch. I don’t even scrapbook – I just have an uncontrollable compulsion to buy cool scrapbooking paper when it’s on sale, “just in case.” Lol. This was the perfect use for it!

I punched some with designs on one side and plain white on the back, for use as gift tags. I went through each one and punched a small hole in the top for stringing them. I am going to sell them in my Etsy store in sets, with baker’s twine of a coordinating color, for hanging them.

Depending on the paper, some have designs on both front and back. I thought they’d still make nice gift tags, or for paper crafts and scrapbooking. The possibilities are really endless! I think these are a great idea for craft shows too, especially around the holidays! High profit margin, and something everyone can use!

That’s it for today. I have craft ADHD and haven’t finished painting the gnomes (from the last post) yet. I will soon. Hope everyone stays warm and has a fantastic week! BBS!

More Craft Show Display Ideas

The craft show preparations are in full swing! That means tying up lots of loose ends and coming up with some new, creative ways to display my stuff. I did a post a while back on craft show display ideas, but here are a few fun ideas I have decided to go with for this years show!

My favorite display utilizes this little red suitcase that I picked up off the side of the road…for free! It was in good condition except for the inside missing some fabric. An easy fix…

I hot glued on a square of red & green fabric and tucked the edges underneath the cute red ruffles. I will use a small crock to separate the mini candy canes!

How cute is this little suitcase?? A simple safety-pin holds up a string of twine that I will use to hang up more candy canes!

Next I needed a place to display my gazillions of magnets I made this year. I literally have probably 10 times the amount of magnets, between the snowman clips, the sparkly snowman faces, and the marble magnets. I decided to dedicate this board to hanging up enamel pans, which the magnets will stick to! I’m always picking up colored enamel pans when I am out and about, for this very reason!

I recently got ahold of this cool old coal bucket from my Grandma’s house. I am not going to sell it, but I will use it as a display for my primitive tree toppers. I find it so much more visually interesting than say a plain basket or plastic container. In my opinion, displays like this really work to create that primitive/country feel you want in your space!

Another idea I got was to use this old seed bag cart to hang up ornaments and pins. I tried selling this cart at the co-op forever, to no avail. It’s been sitting in my basement because I knew I would find a use for it eventually. All I did was hammer in a few nails and voila! It will add height and visual interest to my table!

I have been debating on how to display the melted snowman ornaments because of how fragile they are. I also don’t want them swinging around and burying the eyes and noses down into the snow. I think I am going to prop them up on mason jars of varying heights.  Think of how cute this would look as a line of colored, vintage bulbs along a mantle!

And lastly, I finished up a batch of country night lights and was going to hang them up. Instead, I went with them fanned out in a shallow basket.

I have had a busy few days and finished up a TON of projects! I am so proud of myself for gittin-r-done!!! Here are some pics of some of the finished projects! Starting with my #1 best seller and personal favorite…the homespun candy cane!

And this year, some MINI candy canes too! I was going to tie them together in small bunches, but I think I’ll sell ‘em individually instead.

My annual snowman magnets…changed up the faces this year. Some with eyebrows and no mouths!

I haven’t had good luck selling my rag balls individually, so I decided to bag them up. Maybe a new look will help them sell as an instant collection of bowl fillers.

And last but not least, some sets of marble magnets. All packaged and will hopefully scream “stocking stuffers!” I have tons of single magnets, so I thought some themed groups would be fun. Cupcakes, leaves, pirates, hieroglyphics, vintage machines…something for everyone!

Hope you all had a great day and until next time, happy craftin!

An Enamel Top Table Fixer-Upper and a GREAT Day of Pickin’!!!

First off, I wanted to say thank you to all of the awesome, encouraging comments people have been leaving here on my blog lately. I really never expected so many people to actually read and follow it! I really appreciate it and thank each and every one of you who have stopped by to say hello!

So of course I forgot to take a before picture of this enamel top table I got at a garage sale, but trust me, it was pretty rough. The top and leaves were in good shape, but the wooden base was all stained and the metal legs were very rusty. I started by removing the legs and painting the wooden table base black.

I thought I could shine up the chrome legs with some steel wool but after scrubbing them ruthlessly, the rust would not budge. It had actually eaten through and was pitted in some areas. I also scrapped the project and was going to leave the legs as is, but I stumbled across this shiny “metal” spray paint and thought I may as well try it out. First, I steel-wooled the crap out of the legs to smooth them out as much as possible.

Wow, it actually worked! Looks great!!!

The spray paint worked better than I anticipated and gave them back that “chrome” look! Even up close, it’s very convincing!

I even painted the old plastic drawer pull with the metal spray paint, to match the legs. I love how it turned out and hope someone snatches it up to enjoy on a porch or a  sun room!

In recent “pickin’” news…I had the best day EVER last Saturday and scored a bunch of great primitives!

Got a couple new crates which have been selling like hot cakes!

Some great firkin buckets…

A country tool/flat-ware carrier…

A super primitive wooden bowl

A wonderful red painted planting box / crate

A green vintage suitcase and an enamelware “slop bucket”

And a red silk-lined case of some sort. Wonder what it was used to carry?

Lastly are these fun, quirky vintage pins! I bought a crate at a garage sale and it was filled with these colorful old pins, some of which I found kind of humorous. Like “Preppies are people too…” There were probably about 40-50 of them. I love little chotchkies like these…they are just FUN!

That’s all for today! Have a great weekend!!!

Scarecrow Fest & Updated Booth Pictures

Happy Monday!

Well, the Scarecrow Fest was a bit of a flop, as far as making any money. BUT we  promoted the heck out of the co-op, and I also met the owner of Parkyka Farms in Kendall, NY, who was interested in carrying some of it in her gift shop! I met up with her on Sunday and sold her some snowman pins, country night lights, and a few other items. It was my first time selling “wholesale.” If nothing else, I made a great contact on Saturday and got the word out to the town of Kendall about The Carriage Place!

Check out the Partyka Farms website to read about the very cool “Country Barn Quilt Trail of Western New York.” Many barns scattered throughout WNY have these massive, hand-painted, “quilt” patterns on their barns. Each pattern has a special meaning. It’s really interesting!

Anyway, at the Scarecrow Fest, it was a pretty small space unlike my big show up in Potsdam. Here are a few pics. I had one table, and my friend June had the other.

I got this antique wooden tool box at an estate sale on Friday. I almost don’t want to sell it…it’s got a neat leather handle and big metal latch.

 

I love how the folk art pumpkin magnets look on the green enamel pan. I love displaying magnets on enamelware or those big tin stars!

After the Festival, I headed right over to the co-op to bring back some of the inventory. I rearranged and took some new pictures!

10 things on this table were Goodwill/Salvo finds. Can you guess which ones??

See that cool enamel coffee kettle with the colorful graphics (below)? Garage sale find last weekend! It’s so cute in person!!! The wooden table in front was also a garage sale find. It’s amazing what people want to give away for next to nothing!

There’s my suitcase display….love, love, love it!

 

It’s getting to be the end of garage sale/estate sale season so it’s time to gear up and power buy for the winter months. I am however LOOOOVING this Fall weather and all the Fall stuff that comes along with this season. It’s an absolutely beautiful day today in WNY. Hope you have a great week and check back soon!

 

 

Craft Show Display Ideas

Wow, what a busy weekend! We had our Cruise In and Flea Market on Saturday at the co-op and it was a PERFECT day…blue skies, tons of people, and lots of sales!

Anyway, I wanted to do a post about “Craft Show Displays” because I notice that’s a popular search for a lot of crafters, including myself. I am not claiming to be an expert by any means, as I have only done a few shows, but I wanted to share a few of my display ideas. I think a display can make or break your sales. I truly believe a good or interesting display can draw people in and create an atmosphere that makes customers more likely to buy!

Window Frames & Chicken Wire

One of my favorite displays of all time is this old pair of window frames that I hinged together and covered the backs with chicken wire. I set it up on my table to create height and also have tons of space to hang stuff. I used little paper clips that were unfolded, to hang ornaments, pins, wreaths, and other decorations! This could also work with regular frames and old screens.

Make a “Tree” Using Twigs and Branches

This is my latest display in my craft booth, that I just ADORE…these giant twigs to create a “tree” for hanging ornaments! It creates height and depth in my space. I plan on weaving some white christmas lights in there. This could be done on a small OR large scale. A small twig tree sticking out of a mason jar could be cute for some small ornies.

Hanging Items from Old Shutters

You can see in both the pic above and below, I used this old shutter to hang up some of my hand poured tarts. Again, I used unfolded paperclips over the edges of the wooden shutter slats. I recently made a pair of hinged shutters to set up on a table (same idea as the window frames) and that would make a great display for jewelry or other small items!

An Old Rake as a Shelf/Hanger

I found this old rake head at a yard sale and cost me hardly anything, but it makes the cutest hanging display ever. Love the country feel it creates. I suppose you could take one with the handle still attached and stand it up at a show to hang things from. Be creative!

Wooden Ironing Boards As Peg Boards and Tables

I love wooden ironing boards for many reasons – they are portable, easy to set up, don’t take up a lot of room while traveling, and create an interesting display especially for a “country” themed space. The one in the picture below was missing the legs and was just the board…but I still loved the look of it. Very primitive!

I propped up up in a little wooden stand that I rigged up – basically just nailing two 1″ x 1″ pieces of wood parallel to eachother onto a large flat piece (the base) and then slid the end of the board in-between the two 1″ pieces, to prop it upright. See ghetto diagram:

Here is an example of using an ironing board as a table display. It’s a nice way to wrap around your display and create more space for yourself, without making your space too crowded (because it’s long and narrow)!

I made this next display by spray painting the board brown and propping it up the same way as shown in the diagram above. I layed down fabric first before sliding the display into place, to cover up the base and the giant wad of cords that happen to be laying there!

Also note the giant tin star as a display for magnets! I discovered they stick to enamelware pans too!

Faux Christmas Tree to Hang Ornaments

This is a no brainer, and a very cute display for the holiday season. You could put your ornaments/other hanging items in a bowl, but this is much more interesting!

Wooden Boxes, Crocks, and Enamelware Pots & Pans As Containers

If you are going to display things in bowls or containers, at least make them interesting. Wooden crates, cheese boxes, crocks, mason jars, enamelware, baskets…you name it!

Cover Up A Crappy Plastic Tote With Fabric

This container full of grapevine wreaths is actually a giant plastic tote that I draped with homespun fabric. I didn’t have a container large enough to fit them, and did this as a last minute fix. It actually looked kinda cute and slid right under one of my ironing board tables.

Creating Shelves By Stacking Crates and/or Wooden Boxes

It’s just my personal opinion, but nothing looks tackier than plastic shelves at a craft show or in an antique co-op…it takes away from the atmosphere of country/antique/vintage/primitive/whatever that you’re trying to create. This is a better alternative, and creates a neat backdrop for your items. You don’t have to sell only “country” stuff to use a display like this. I think it would look great stocked with soaps, candles, books, bottles of sauces or jars of jam….anything, really!

Using Lights to Accentuate Your Product

This works especially great for glassware, like in this picture below of one of my fellow vendors at the co-op. A simple strand of white lights makes the glassware POP and shows off some of the colored glass really nicely.

I put a strand of lights in the back of this cubby too, since it is deep and kinda dark back there. I don’t want people to miss anything!

Tucking in Smaller Pieces Under Large Pieces

Such as putting a small table under a larger table. Stacking smaller stools/boxes under larger ones. This is a good way to utilize limited space, when you have a lot of pieces.

Use Whatever You Have Handy When You’re In A Jam!

So…I have a problem selling my displays; i.e. the ironing boards. Right Teeny? LOL. I wasn’t prepared last year and sold two of my ironing boards and then…D’OH! Nothing to put my stuff on! So, we used Christine’s little folding tray tables, lined them up, and covered them with fabric. It worked for the second day of the show. Lesson learned…don’t sell your displays, unless the buyer can wait til the END to pick them up!

When You’re Out and About…Look for Pieces That Might Make a Neat Display

…And be sure to think outside the box. I found this piece at an estate sale in someones basement. It was full of tools, nails, and junk. All those little cubbies screamed “display stuff in me!!” It works great and can fit a lot!

For some more great ideas, I stumbled across this link:

http://mariezvezda.blogspot.com/p/craft-fair-display-ideas.html

Using old luggage as display pieces

Well that’s all for now. Hope everyone had as great a weekend as I did. Today is a somber day…9/11…a day we’ll all never forget. We all know exactly what we were doing on this day, ten years ago. Don’t forget to take a moment to really remember all those fallen.

Til next time!

Awesome Thrift Store Finds

 I have been slacking in photographing my thrift store finds over the last few weeks so I thought a little update was in order. I haven’t found a ton, but what I have found has been AWESOME! Let me start with the best find…this stoneware jug, at the SALVO!!! $5 is a bit more than I usually pay for stuff at the thrift store, but come on! This was a steal!

 Fenton clear/opalescent hobnail sugar & creamer set- $2!!!

 A very cool vintage mosaic ashtray. I got this out of pure nostalgia…I remember seeing one as a kid in one of my grandparents’ house, but I can’t remember where. I saw it and just had to have it…I don’t really know why!

A vintage (50′s?) plum ball pitcher! SCORE! I LOVE the unique color! Got it for $1 and I have seen them sell for upwards o $30-$40 online!!

Got these for a little project that I’ll share later. I have a bunch of mini Christmas trees and thought they would be cute ornaments for them! I am always thinking Christmas because of my annual holiday show up in Potsdam!

An Androck nut meat chopper. I love vintage kitchen stuff, and it sells!

Again with the kitchen stuff…an old noodle cutter!

I have enamelware up the wazoo but I couldn’t resist this great speckled gray & poppy orange color combo. The jar with the wooden lid is going to be filled with some kind of goodies (buttons, marbles, or something…) and I plan on painting the wooden cap black and distressing it a bit.

I don’t normally do country angels, but this one was kinda cute.

It appears as though the “stars” in the wings are indentations from the end of a philips head screw driver…right? What a clever idea!

Had to research these cute lil guys. I found they are single portion honey pots. How cute!! They are supposed to have little spoon “stingers” that come out their backsides but unfortunately these guys have lost their spoons.

Lastly, I got this cool blue tequila bottle for .50 cents. I have a thing about colored glass. This one is even more brilliant blue than what you see here. It may not be super old, but I still think it’s cool!

Well, that’s it for now. Got some really great stuff over the last few weeks and I can’t wait to get it cleaned up and in my booth. It’s SO amazing to me what people “throw out” or donate! Such treasures!!!

Have a great weekend!

From DRAB to FAB: A Thrift Store Pot Makeover!

Ok, so all I did was add a new knob. But still…it changes the whole look and makes this boring pot quite FABULOUS!

First, I got this cool little enamel pot at the thrift store for .99 cents, marked “as is” because it was dirty and the top knob was all scratched up and gross. I knew with a good scrub and a little love, I could make this diamond in the rough shine a little!

First I scrubbed it and got it all nice and clean. I didn’t take a “before” picture but it was dull and had a grimy film over the whole thing. Ewwwww. Here’s the ugly, beat-up knob that came on it:

So…I unscrewed this knob and took it off….

And added this AWESOME porcelain knob I picked up at Hobby Lobby for $3. Yes, that’s a lot for one knob I suppose, but for a project like this I think it’s worth it.

And the “AFTER” with the new knob! Isn’t she a beaut?

I LOVE the clean, simple look of black and white!

Hobby Lobby has a HUGE selection of knobs (among other craft supplies and home decor), and I am starting to think of all kinds of neat ideas for these. Re-vamping and old dresser…sprucing up some more old pots…adding them to tops of decorated/painted paper mache boxes perhaps? Hmmmmm….what else could we use these for? Here are a few that I LOVE and would like to eventually use for something (not sure what yet, I just really like ‘em!):

UPDATE! I just found this adorable stocking hanger sign over at http://gingerbreadandcandycanes.blogspot.com/ using the same types of knobs…how freakin awesome is this?! I am DEFINITELY making these for Christmas!!!

So on another fun note, I just finished designing The Carriage Place’s 1st official newsletter! I have taken over the duties of updating the website and doing a lot of online stuff, including e-mailing out a quarterly newsletter with upcoming events, announcements, etc. I wanted it to be eye-catching, but also short and sweet – not too much text that you don’t want to read it. I went for a real “vintage” feel. What do you think??

Yay for a sunny day for a change! After all these April showers…we BETTER have May flowers, and SOON! Have a week everyone!

Welcome to Booth #84 at The Carriage Place!

I am so excited to share these pictures of the new booth with everyone! My friend Christine came down for the weekend to help me set up and I am THRILLED with how it turned out!

A chilly but gorgeous spring(ish) day at The Carriage Place!

And here is it, all set up! The 3 large lamps hanging from the ceiling are not mine, and are going to be moved soon.

Vintage garden seed signs, just in time for spring!

I’ve hit up some great sales lately, including a church rummage sale where I acquired the limited-edition Normal Rockwell plates (on the wall in pic below) and that large, fabulous, enamel ware pan! Score!

A few cool items stacked up: a vintage black trunk, a heavy metal ammunition case, and a wooden carrier full of country star ornaments!

Love these tin flowers for spring and summer!

If only you could smell these sachets…they make the entire corner of the building smell AWESOME! They are adorned with a variety of vintage flower seeds art.

Got this charming little folk art soldier man at the rummage sale. I had to have him for the new space! I LOVE little folk art characters!!!

An antique sewing box, lots of enamel bowls, and some wooden shelves take up the space under the big table!

Gotta love dusty old bottles…

And a view from the main hallway!

Teeny and I, after a long day of setting up. Thanks again Teeny for all your help!!!

I also want to say thanks to everyone who has continued to follow my blog even though I have been less than faithful at blogging lately. It’s just been so busy getting things in order for the new space! I plan on doing lots of thrift store shopping and crafting as the weather continues to get nicer!

Have a great week all and thanks for stoppin’ in!

After Christmas Sales and Thrift Store Finds

As you know, right now is a great time to shop for any and all things Christmas, because it’s all on clearance! It’s a great time to stock up on winter/holiday crafting supplies as well. I got a ton of these large metal bells for 80% off, which I will probably paint green and red and embellish with homespun ties. I also got a large stock of little wooden discs to make my snowman pins and magnets for next year!

We have a Goodwill that sells the usual donated items, but they also have a stock of seasonal new items that are priced very well. Add after-Christmas sales and you’ve got a ton of really great deals! I got two of these “Let It Snow” wooden snowmen at a VERY low price!! I am sure they’ll sell great at the 2011 show. I might just keep one!

This box of electric candles is screaming for a country prim make over, with a little texture fierro and silicone dipped bulbs. Can’t wait to work on them!

You know I love my enamel ware. How about 3 pieces in PERFECT condition, less than $5 for all 3…talk about a great score! Great olive green color too!

Got a handful of these cute little snowman figurines. Different colored scarves too. Love them!

Miniature snowman watering can ornaments!

And last but not least, these itty bitty snowmen figures glued on the end of clothespins so that they can be clipped anywhere…even on a Christmas tree! I think they are SO darn cute, and I love to stock up on snowman stuff!

Guess that’s all for now. Hope everyone is keeping warm and enjoying 2011 so far! Thanks for stoppin by!

Thrift Store Finds…Both Xmas AND Halloween!

I found a bunch of neat thrift store goodies right before the craft show a few weekends ago and never got around to posting them. I just have to share…I found some REALLY cool stuff! I get a strange high when I am in a thrift store and find something really cool…I feel like I won the lottery! I am all about vintage Christmas ornaments this year, and I found these guys:

Love this cute little elf with a big pointy hat! My friend Christine said he was really creepy with those black eyes…lol….but I still really liked him. A lot of vintage ornaments/dolls/cartoons/etc. seem to have a certain creepiness, if you really think about it, with their big eyes and strange little faces! Personally I find them endearing and love these unique, strange characters!

A couple of cool vintage reindeer…

And a tilting Santa candle. The lady who bought it said it is very hard to find these old Santa candles…??? Anywho, I got all 4 of these guys for $3 and sold them each for at least $3 a piece!!!

As you know by now I drool when I see enamel ware of any sort. I found this neat ladle that I used to display some night lights at the show. I just love the red rim on the white. It’s got a real neat retro look. See it hanging there on the right:

Another enamel pan that is a brilliant orange! Okay, so I already have this exact same one but I had to get it because I want to do a Fall/Halloween show at some point, so I am always on the look out for orange and black items. For $1, I’m doin’ it!

Speaking of Halloween….check these out!!! Not something you expect to find at Christmas time, but I HAD to have em! The detail of the illustrations is great, and they are pretty solid…ceramic (or whatever normal plates are) and not plastic which I originally thought when I saw them from afar. LOVE THEM!

Do you get the feeling you’re being WATCHED?

 

Haha…that’s all for now. Now that I am done with the craft show and am not in psycho crafting mode as I have been for the past few months, I probably won’t be posting as often. Hope everyone is enjoying this FABULOUS holiday season so far!

Craft, Food and Wine Show 2010

The craft show went GREAT! With the help of my trusty friend/accountant/maintainance woman Christine, we sold about ¾ of the items and made about 20% more money than last year! There was a record 4000+ people who went through the show this year, thanks to the addition of food and wine, which drew in many more customers than previous years! Here are some pictures from the show! (be prepared…I went a little overboard with the pictures…)

Grubby tea lights and mini snowman clips…sold out!

All cinnamon shapes…sold out on the first day!

Sold ALL but 5 or 6 candles! They were hit!

Signs…not so much. The same thing happened last year. I only sold a few. I do have a few people who want to buy some for Christmas gifts, so that’ll be good.

All 3 wooden ironing board displays…gone!

The antiques sold very well. There were other craft booths, but none with antiques. Both vintage scales sold the first day! I love them for kitchen decor.

Christine and our mascot Melanie! Mel sure did draw in the people to our booth…I learned babies are a good marketing technique!

No one bought any of the little candles I enhanced with the texture fierro (brown and green ones along the bottom). I was surprised, because I thought they were really cute! Oh well.

Sold all but one of the country night lights.

I am an antique bottle junkie, and probably sold 1/3 of ‘em.

The vintage reindeer and santa went too…wasn’t sure about those guys. I love vintage Christmas ornies! Probably do more of those next year, if I can find them. I got those at the Amvet!

All the lil snowman magnets…sold out!

The penalty box was directly behind my booth space…SCORE! We used it as our little nook…or ‘office’…hehehe! The ledge made for a great transaction area, plus being a few inches off the ice made a HUGE difference in us not freezing out @$$’s off like last year! I am going to request the same space again for next year…it was SO awesome!

There’s one of my Craigslist scores…the tea cart used as a display.

Homespun candy canes and pins…sold out!

The drool queen!

I thought Christine was going to beat me because I sold all of my ironing board display pieces! In place of them are Christine’s little TV trays drapped with fabric.

The trip home was pretty funny. Even though we sold a ton, the truck was full of all the display stuff. Christine took one for the team and was wedged into the front seat with the boxes that wouldn’t fit in the back, along with my brown bag full of wine I bought. lol. Thanks Teeny…I luv ya!

Hope everyone is weathering this snow alright. It’s coming down like crazy here in western NY. Hope everyone had a great weekend! Thanks for looking…I’ll be back soon!

Craigslist Gold: A $10 Enamel Top Table

Truly a steal for $10!!!

Have I mentioned I LOVE enamel? I’m obsessed lately and have been finding some great enamel pieces at thrift stores, for literally a fraction of the cost of those found at country decor shops! I found this awesome enamel top table buried in the ‘furniture’ section on Craigslist a few weeks ago, not too far from my house, so I sent Greg off to pick it up for me. I thought, even if it’s not in great condition, you can’t go wrong for ten bucks. To my surprise it was in GREAT shape and is sturdy as a rock. It’s perfectly worn and has a nice little lip around the edge. I just love it and am using it as one of my display tables at the craft show. I don’t plan on selling it, but for the right price I might let it go…

I have noticed a lot of neat enamel pieces popping up in country/prim decor, and I am loving it.

Around the 1950s, enamelware—regarded as a remnant of homelier eras—declined in popularity and was largely supplanted by aluminum and Pyrex cookware. The older technology refused to die, however, and returned to favor as an element of the retro country chic that gripped Canada and the United States in the late 1990s. ~Encyclopedia of Kitchen History

I’m thinkin about painting the legs black with some light distressing, like in this picture below. What do you think?

Happy Tuesday all! Two, count em TWO days til I leave for Clarkson U!