Flea Market Project Previews - Part 2

As a follow-on to yesterday's post, here are a few more photos of finished and in-progress projects for the upcoming Flea Market (Larry's Old Fashioned Trade Days) in Winnie, TX. Above and below, I used antique sewing machine drawers as a container/backdrop for these small Fall arrangements...

I already shared a peek at the little lampshades we decorated, but here are all of them we have so far...

I had fun cutting up this $1 garage sale sweater...

...to cover these little lampshades...

I have several more projects planned for the sweater...I'll post those as I get them going.

Here's a large lampshade I had...I had just enough of this fancy beaded fringe trim in my trim stash to add to the base of the lampshade...

Way back in the day, when I was in junior high, my parents owned a decorative plaster wholesale business. We made cute little plaster pieces from molds and sold them to various shops....well, these veggie wall hangings were just like ones that we made way back then, so I grabbed them at a garage sale a while back, mostly for nostalgia's sake and repainted them....

...but then I decided to go a step further and "upcycle" them into something for the sale, so I coupled them with these little wooden plaques that I had from another garage sale, repainted the plaques black, distressed them, and added a drawer pull onto the larger plaque as a hanging knob. Here is the outcome...

I'm not sure if anyone else will like them or appreciate the kitsch of them, but I thought they turned out pretty cute, and I'll use them in my kitchen if they don't sell...

In Progress:

I usually pick up these English brass wall hangings when I see them, if they're cheap enough, because I've had success painting/antiquing  then reselling them in the past. These are all in progress...

I'm turning this old washboard into a little memo center...

I've already painted the top part with chalkboard paint. Next I'll paint the frame and metal washboard part then antique it. Finally I'm going to make a set of coordinating clothespin magnets to put on the metal part. I think it would be cute in a laundry room or kitchen...

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That's it for now...thanks for stopping by to see what we've been up to! We still have lots to do, but we are putting a dent in it to be sure. I've been sick with a cold all week and all I've really accomplished so far is taking these photos and a few other things here and there, but I'm finally feeling better and I'm ready to hit it hard again starting tomorrow. I'll take photos of our progress as we go along, and I am planning to document our booth layout planning and other merchandising details to share with others who may be contemplating participating in a flea market or craft sale...

Hope the rest of your week is beautiful and creative and blessed!

I haven't posted any illustration for a while now, so I'll leave you with this thought...

Flea Market Project Previews - Part 1

I'm happy to say that Fall weather has finally arrived here in Houston! With the cooler air came a glorious clear blue sky and great light, so I lugged several of my finished projects for our upcoming Flea Market out into the sunlight to take some photos. Here are a few of the highlights...

This candelabra started as a wood and brass diamond in the rough. (sorry I don't have a 'before' photo) I started the transformation with a couple of coats of Heirloom White...

...then I glued on these four matching glass punch cups to the candle holders on the four arms and a small coordinating glass globe to the center candle holder...

These cups will hold tea lights...

The hanging crystals finish it off...

I have a number of shabby pink, green and cream accessories left from our shop that we will be selling at the Flea Market, so I made a few more shabby-rose-pastel items to round out the 'collection'. I continued to peruse my stash and found this metal pitcher which I spray painted green then antiqued with brown glaze...afterwards I added a bit of lace and an earring along with pink and cream silk flowers...

I glued these cupcake platters together using matching rose plates and painted rose ceramic candle holders topped with glass cheese server covers...

Here is another container that I painted green...

...then antiqued it, added decorative trim and fall silk flowers and berries...

I had fun making the following wall hangings...my Dad cut bead board to fit into frames we had, he secured them with staples, then I painted them Heirloom White and antiqued them with the same brown glaze I used on the pieces above, then shabbied them by sanding. I then painted these little half terra cotta pots I had, antiqued and sanded them and glued them to the boards. I added the green trim, a bit of floral foam in the half pot, moss and a silk green hydrangea bloom. Finally I glued on the shabby drawer handle to make a little hanger on the board...

Well, after looking at the remaining photos I have to share, I decided to save them for a Part 2 post tomorrow...I took quite a few...

Preparing for the Flea Market has been such fun - I am really enjoying adding many more handmade/upcycled projects than we had at our prior antique space...now I'm just hoping folks will want to take some home with them...we shall see...

 I hope to see you tomorrow for Part 2!

Addie's First Birthday!

Wow, hard to believe it's already been a year since sweet little Addison was born! This is my Hubby's oldest grandson's baby, which makes her our great grand-daughter! 

Here she is just a year ago...goodness gracious they grow so fast!

We drove to Louisiana this past weekend to celebrate Addie's birthday and see all the kids and grands. Everyone is growing up SO fast. After never being able to have children of my own, God blessed me with a beautiful and bountiful brood when I married John and I am so grateful for being a part of their lives! Here are a few photos from the little princess's party...

Is there anything cuter than a baby with their first birthday cake...?

But even yummy cake gets old eventually...

Here's our youngest grand-daughter Hope...she just turned three...!!

Seems like just yesterday we were headed to Lousisana to see her right after she was born...where does the time go...? Here's a photo from her first week...she was so tiny...

Addie will be three before we know it and we'll be saying the same thing - "where does the time go...?"

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It was such a fun, though brief trip, and we got to see almost everyone. Here's a little collage of the kids and grands and their sweeties from the party...

We are indeed blessed!

"Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him."

Psalm 127:3

 

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Meanwhile, back at the studio, I am hip deep in projects for the upcoming Flea Market - I have to move things around and do some clean up before I can even take photos...which is exactly what I am about to do. I promise I will show you the latest "after" photos well before yet another week goes by...hopefully by tomorrow....really...  :o)

Creative Chaos

Yep, I make a huge mess when I am creating...it may look like chaos, but I work best when I everything laid out in front of me. We're in the midst of our preparations for the upcoming Flea Market in November...here's just a taste of some of the projects we're working on...

We used junk jewelry and assorted trims....

...to upcycle these cute little mini lampshades my Mom had...they were fun to make...we have about 10 more in the works...

There's been lots of pieces spray painted...

...with still many more piles of projects waiting their turn to be transformed...

We're having fun, but it can be a bit overwhelming at times. But overall, I am really pleased with our progress.

Here's a little sneak peek at three projects in the early stages of their transformation...

I'll show you the finished projects, along with a tutorial, in the next day or two...

So, do you thrive in creative chaos or prefer a clean, organized workspace?

Remembering That Day

I don't even have to say 'what' day - we all know it. We all remember where we were...what we felt...how we wept...what we feared. It was indescribable...it was unthinkable...yet it happened...to us...to our fellow countrymen...to our loved ones...to our friends. Churches overflowed that weekend, strangers talked, neighbors lingered, families huddled and prayed. We were one nation under God...

 I pray that we can turn again to one another with love, in solidarity, with faces turned to God and hearts tuned to one another...Lord please give us Your grace to do just that...now. We need You more than ever Lord...

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD..."

Psalm 33:12

Fall is Calling!

(click any image to enlarge)

You know it's been HOT when the weekend forecast calls for a high of 90 and a low of 69 and you get all excited! Hurray - Fall is coming! Pitiful, I know. Not exactly time to break out the sweaters and make hot apple cider, but around here, we'll take any little break in the monotony of oppressive heat and celebrate it as a sign of cooler days to come.

So, in the spirit of all things Fall, I thought I would share some projects and images to help get even us Southerners into a Fall-ish mood...and nothing says Fall like a fun flea market in the crisp cool Autumn air (which arrives about November :o)

We're beginning to get our preparations underway for our booth at the November flea market in Winnie, TX. Here are a few photos from the studio of projects in the making...

I created a few Fall florals using some pressed tin containers my Mom had...

Earlier in the year I bought a Duncan Phyfe table and 6 chairs for $50 total (I know, amazing how people practically give some things away!) We used the table extensively in the antique shop to display merchandise, but now we will be selling it along with the chairs at the flea market. We covered one chair to see how we liked it...we liked it just fine, so just five more chairs to go...

The fabric we used to cover the seat was from an awesome garage sale we went to a couple of months ago...they had stacks of fine upholstery-grade fabrics for $1 per piece...and some of the "pieces" were 5 yards long! Here's a sampling of what I bought that day...

I picked up this huge clock a few weeks ago at another fun sale at someone's warehouse...5 bucks..

One of the things we are really going to change about our merchandising approach at the flea market versus the antique shop is leaving some of our finds as is...instead of up-cycling them. Good case in point are these lamps...I don't think I paid much more than 1 or 2 dollars for any of them, and we want to sell them as is, with no matchy shades or anything, and pass on our savings to our new customers. Normally we'd clean them all up, maybe repaint them and then trick them out in a gorgeous shade, then sell them for $30 each or more, but now we'll keep them well under $10 each. We're still making double, triple, quadruple what we paid, but we're providing an affordable DIY lamp project for someone to make them their own...

There will still be plenty of things we remake too...here are some cupcake platter bases all in a row waiting for their turn to be glued...

...this is what I mean by "cupcake platter" (as if you haven't seen a gazillion of these all over the place already)...

Some items need just a tad bit of work, like a quick coat of paint...these were partially painted when we bought them...we'll just finish the job...

Some things we'll just wipe clean and they're good to go...

Love these silver-plated cut class coasters...they were in a box at a recent garage sale for ten cents each!! Once again, instead of selling them for "antique store" prices (set of 4 would fetch about $12 - $20), we'll see them cheap ($1 or $2 each) and still make ten times our money or more...

And some stuff is just fun "fluff " like these pink shabby sconces... I grabbed these at my local thrift store from a pile of stuff sitting in the rain outside...the apologetic clerk said "oh, those are just 50 cents because they've ruined out in the weather"...I guess one woman's "ruined" is another woman's "awesome patina" :o)

Still, the most fun projects for the flea market for me are the handmade and repurposed items. Here is a pile of various wood items to be made into functional art...

My Dad has cut and routed a number of plain pine boards for me...

...some will be hand-painted/lettered signs, and others I will combine with frames like these...

...to make hangers like these...

I'm really looking forward to how it will all come together...we have a LOT to do between now and November, but it will no doubt be a lot of fun! I will definitely continue to share photos of projects and new garage sale finds as we go along - I hope you'll enjoy following along with our progress...

And one last bit of Fall for now...if you like the images in the mouse illustration at the beginning of the post or this little mouse girl, etc. I have all of the images as well as a number of background papers and the tag with the Scripture all available in my Aimee Asher digital clipart shop... This kit is called "Happy Fall Y'all!"...

 For just $2.99 you can print them out or use them digitally for any number of creative Fall projects for school, cardmaking, scrapbooking, etc... I hope you'll stop by my Digital Boutique and check out all my clipart kits - they are all very reasonably priced and have uplifting, Scripture-based themes...

OK, I'm finally beginning to feel a bit more Fall-ish...at least until I walk out the front door :o)

Happy Fall Y'all!!

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"Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you: he will never let the righteous fall."

Psalm 55:22