Off to Canton!

(random wishing-for-Spring photo)

Well, sweet hubby and I and my Mom and Dad are headed out this morning on a little 2 day road trip up to the glorious Canton First Monday Trade Days!! We are so excited! It was the end of February 2008 when we were there last, so it is going to be wonderful to finally go again. Here is a recap of our haul from Canton and all the garage sales we stopped at on the way and back..it was sweet! 

It is so neat to look back at those photos and see that many of those things have already sold in our shop...or been used in our home...or been repurposed into something new... 

...like the blue embroidered tea towel which became this fabric collage...

...or the aqua dish and cream and gold teacup that became this little wall hanging...

It is not quite so neat to see that some of those things are still sitting in the studio waiting for their chance to debut as pretty repurposed gifts and home accessories...

But that's OK...eventually they will...just like this favorite quilt from a garage sale in Canton... 

...finally became the valances in my studio over a year later...

...it was finally time for those little butterflies to be reborn and take wing...

I'll be back with tales from the hunt later in the weekend or early part of next week. Meanwhile, I hope you have a gloriously creative weekend...maybe dust off an old project-in-waiting and let it bring joy to you, your home, or maybe a friend who needs a pick-me-up... 

It may just be time for that pile of craft supplies, old furniture piece, or stack of fabric and trims to be reborn into something beautiful...

"He has made everything beautiful in its time..."

Ecclesiastes 3:11

Remodeling Reminiscing...

Hello friends! Since it was a year ago this week that we downsized our life and moved into our remodeled mobile home cottage, and since I have a number of new blog followers, I thought I would do a little walk down memory lane and share some of my favorite before and after photos from our remodeling journey...

Kitchen Befores & Afters

 

Master Bedroom Befores & Afters

Living Room Befores & Afters

Guest Bedroom Befores & Afters

______________________________

It was good for me to take a look back today, because sometimes all I can see are the things that are yet to be done (bathrooms, painting doors, etc), but I forget how far we've actually come. I hope as you look around your life and despair of the things left undone, that you'll take a moment and reflect on just how far you've actually come...

...and take comfort in this...

"And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished..."

Philippians 1:6

Right around the corner...

Our yard is covered with robins this morning....Spring can't be far behind! 

I'm looking SO forward to seeing these...

and this...

and these...

and these...

In the comparitive bleakness of Winter, it's comforting to know that these flowers are just under the surface...right around the corner. In the Winter of your circumstances, please know that as sure as the sun comes up each day, Spring is on the way!!

A Valentine Tale

First off, let me wish each and every one of you a *belated* Happy Valentine's Day!!! I was planning to post my Valentine greeting to all of you yesterday, but as you will see, yesterday took a bit of a detour...

It all began Saturday when we finally had our first bit of sunshine and warmth after days and days of cold, rainy weather, and my sweet hubby was preparing to do a bit of maintenance on our water well. I had started a load of clothes in the washer and when it was done, he would shut off the water pump and work on the tank. Before we could get to that point however, water and "ick" began gurgling and backing up in both toilets and in all the sinks. Yuck!  So I shut off the washer, which was almost to the rinse cycle, and hubby went out to take a look at the sewer line. Yep, the sewer line connecting all our drains and the septic tank was backed up.  That meant one of two things - either there was a clog (better option), or the septic tank was full and would need to be drained (worst option). It was already almost 4:00 in the afternoon, and the ensuing investigation and potential repairs would not be able to be completed by dark, so we began to make plans to head to Mom and Dad's house to campout for the night...

Hubby always works on Sundays, so he had to call his boss and take a vacation day (fun) to be able to work on the septic issue. So on Valentines morning, hubby and I headed back to our house to assess and tackle the problem. (I was along more for the worrying and hand-wringing necessary moral support for such an operation). Hubby is an avowed  do-it-yourselfer, and there was only fleeting discussion about calling a plumber or a septic specialist...even if we could afford one. So, praying (literally) for the problem to be a clog instead of a whole-septic problem, that sweet man of mine delved into the sewage line (and yes, it was as disgusting as it sounds), and with McGuyver-like resourcefullness, armed only with an electrician's fish-tape (long, thin metal-thingy), a coat hanger, a screw-driver, and a roll of duct-tape (I kid you not), he somehow managed to dislodge what turned out to be a clog in the line (Hallelujah!).

(and yes, I took a picture...)

My hero of a hubby did it!! We were back in operation - clog solved, mission accomplished!! I have never been so proud of that man!! It really was amazing to watch. In a funny way, it was really very romantic how he saved the day! Hey, it may be far from the normal idea of a romantic Valentine's Day, but it turned out to be one of the best Valentine's Days ever!

I hope your Valenine's Day was wonderful - no matter how you spent it! Even if you found yourself alone yesterday (been there, done that), you can rejoice in the fact that our Hero Jesus pulled us out of the muck and mire of our sin, washed us clean, and is preparing to spend all eternity with us, His Bride! That's the greatest romantic story of all! Please know you are deeply loved...

"He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire.He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along."

Psalm 40:2

Shopkeeping Fun and a Bakery Logo

(click any photo to enlarge)

Half the fun of shopkeeping is the perpetual decorating you get to do. The change of seasons, the sale of a key furniture piece, or just a creative whim are all common reasons for tweaking the look of your shop. I recently sold the big white china cabinet and side shelves that anchored the center of our space, so that led to some fun shuffling and re-staging. So I thought I'd share glimpses of some of the changes as well as some new goodies I have acquired at garage sales and junk stores...

The photo above is the bar/hutch I shared with you a while back - it holds a few new finds that have helped fill it out. LOVE this antique cookie jar...so cute!! It really fits with the retro-kitchen look I'm going for in this part of the space...

We did have a small hutch in this corner - but we moved it to give it a bit more visibility, and moved the round table and chairs there instead. They are graced with more vintage kitchen...

Love this Enamelware tray and McCoy vase - so sunny and cheery!

We moved the hutch out to the middle of the space, facing customers as they enter the shop - we're hoping this will give it more visibility. We moved all our "blue" merchandise previously on the round table into the hutch along with the linens we already had...

I love "accidental decorating" occurances like the one below - Mom was unpacking a box of glass and set certain pieces on the window sill for lack of a better place to put them while we were working - after a while we looked at it and loved how the milk glass vases and pressed glass cordials looked in the sun shine...and so they stayed...

As I mentioned, we sold the large china cabinet on the middle wall in our space, so we had to have a replacement. Good old Craigslist to the rescue! I love the lines on this French Country pecan finished Thomasville china hutch from the 60's...

Now that the smaller hutch was out in the middle of the floor, we simply backed the Duncan Phyfe table up to the back of the hutch. It still holds an assortment of garden-themed pretties atop a lace tablecloth...

I recently added a few of my licenced artwork samples from Universal Designs into the merchandising mix just to see how they would do - so far, so good...

And these bookmarks are on the "Valentine" table, which rounds out the back of our space. It is still pretty much the same as when I shared photos on this post, but with a few new touches...

This past Monday the 1st we closed the shop for a storewide workday as we had 3 new vendors moving in and lots of switching around and shuffling space to do. That's when Mom and I did most of our re-vamping. It was such fun to have all the vendors together at one time (we have 18 vendors). We had a potluck for lunch and all pitched in to help each other out with the work. It was exhausting but tons of fun! You can see photos from all the vendors spaces around the shop on the Whispering Willow web site. (click on any photo on the website to enlarge) Lots of beautiful things and really sweet people - I love the atmosphere at the shop!

And our brand new bakery at the shop is now open!!! See bakery photos here... If you scroll down, you'll see a hand painted chalk board that I painted for the bakery (click the photo on the website to enlarge). The bakery owner (sweetheart Chrstistian lady) loved the design and asked if I could incorporate it into a logo for the bakery - so I did a digital version of the artwork and added the name of the bakery. She'll be using this for business cards, brochures, menus, product labels and more. It was so fun and gratifying to do...I'm glad she liked the results...

 

I'm having a blast! It is a true gift to get to do what you were created to do and love to do! I hope you have a glorious weekend of doing what YOU were created to do!! Take care, stay warm, and be blessed!!

"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

Ephesians 2:10

"Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms."

1 Peter 4:10