Cottage & Family [Search results for good] 

Well there comes a time, especially after 6 years of collecting "stuff" that I just had to clean out !!! AHHHHHHHHH!!!! is all that I can say ~ soooo.... we had a shabby and stuff yard sale today ~ it was alot of fun to get rid of things that I just was "over" ~ ya know that stuff that you couldn't live without and now it would be just fine to sell it for 10 cents or maybe for "free just please take it so I don't have to pack it back up again" stuff ~ well it was fun but I am really ready for a good relaxing bath ~ we are having it tomorrow too so I will talk to you soon!

I am reposting this from January because

I LOVE Drop Cloth fabric and am participating in

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia's

Blogger Block Party !

I have been ruffling the world lately with

my awesome ruffler for my Bernina

(which I love too !)

There have been some wonderful tutorials

and ideas for drop cloths because

it is the coolest fabric with such a vintage look

and a great price !

Who would have known that drop cloths were good

for bags too !

I have always loved to take craft classes ~ they are always so much fun !!
But... sometimes it is hard to get to them because of the time they are offered or various other reasons ~ so I have been thrilled to find wonderful E-tutorials of beautiful projects ~

These are 2 ladies that I have purchased tutorials from and can tell you that the projects are great and the instructions are so good and very easy to follow ~ best of all is that you can do them on your time frame and see the pictures and directions as many times as you want ~

The first place that I just adore is Dawn at "Lessons from the Nest" ~
A few of the lessons she has to offer are silver sugar bowl pincushions, a fairy in a jar artwork, altered compostion books and many more ~

Margo at Robojunker.com has just started offering E-tutorials and she has soldered jars, china swags and wreaths and more ~

Make sure and check out both of these fun sites !!

Have fun crafting !!

My sister and niece have

been visiting me in Texas for

the last week ~ They live in California

and so we try and go back and forth

as much as we can ~

We hit the road shopping all week

starting with Canton's First Monday

{never can get enough junk!! }

Then as much shopping and

crafting as we could squeeze in ~

It was really cold and rainy most

of the time so we spent one day in

front of the fireplace watching movies

and Chelsey ( my niece ) taught

us all to crochet ~

{below is my daughter Stephanie and above

is a good friend Bethany, my niece Chelsey and

daughter Kristin }

Kristin added a rose and I just

love it !!

One day we decided to go

to the Gaylord Texan Hotel because

it is just gorgeous at Christmas ~

{ my sister Kim & I }

{my niece Chelsey, sister Kim, son in law James

daughters Kristin & Stephanie }

It is always fun to have them come

visit and sad when they leave!

I miss my family in California like crazy!!

I guess it is time for us to take

a trip there again soon ~

I am lost deep in the depths

of cleaning my studio ~

I figured since I had a trail from

the door to my sewing machine

and to my computer that it was

time to clean and destash like

craziness!!

I have so much stuff that I think

I might use to create with ....

Stuff to do photo vignettes with ....

and just stuff I am not sure why with ~

Anyway ... so I have been pulling things

out and trying to list stuff in

my flea market category that I won't use

anymore ~ And also taking a bunch to

the thrift store that I don't feel

like listing because I am over it ~

These pictures are to make you all

feel really good about yourself and

to keep me accountable to finish ~

I am such a candidate for

Where Women Create aren't I ~ Hahaha !!

Alrighty I am back to burying myself

in "STUFF" ~

Update #1

I need a gazillion plastic bins !!

Update #2 ~ 8:08 p.m.

Oh my gosh I can see the floor ~

I need to stop and spend time with my hubby

but just maybe it will be done in

ohhhhh about a week !

Kristin and I have been busy busy with our website
the last couple of weeks!!

But ... in between the busyness there are
babies coming very soon!!

Kristin's baby boy, Isaac's room, is
in a vintage airplane theme ~ She wanted
to use one of her husband, James' photographs,
but wanted it to look old ~

This is a quick step by step but
you can get more detailed instructions on her
family blog ~

First we got the picture laser printed at
Staples in a 20x30 inch size ~
Then we went to Home Depot and had them cut
a piece of wood in to 2 pieces 10 x30 inches ~

Place the 2 pieces of wood side by side
( we attached it together at the end but
you can do that step ahead of time )~
Then brush on Acrylic Gel Medium
and spread pretty generously ~
Place your paper with the image face down
and smooth out ~
We had a couple of wrinkles and actually it
ended up adding to the vintage look ~

Let it sit overnight ~
Then dampen the paper with
a wet cloth ~
When the paper looks wet rub with your fingers and the paper kind of rolls off ~
Kristin cracked me up because her fingers
didn't have finger prints or something because
she was having issues with this step ~

You can keep dampening the paper when it dries out
until it is
all rubbed off ~ Some of the paper was left
and it ended up grabbing the stain and looked good ~

Next Kristin stained over the entire piece ~
Then she sanded the edges
and rubbed the edges with
Pigment ink with a sponge ~

Lastly we waxed it with Annie Sloan clear wax
but you can also use Mod Podge to seal it ~

After it dried the wood was attached together
on the back with metal flat brackets ~

The whole project cost less than $30 ~

It turned out great and looks awesome
in Isaac's room !!!

I have been asked if you can

stamp the blank charm

frames that are on my website ~

As a matter of fact I was going

to show you what they look like stamped

pretty soon .... but, I figured it was a good

time now since someone else just

emailed me :)

Here is a sample of what they

look like ~

This particular charm blank in

silver is sold out but I have

it in gold and alot of different

ones available here for a great price ~

Have fun stamping!!

Yesterday my girls and I

went to the Dallas Home & Gift Show ~

Oh my goodness to say that I LOVED

the style of so many places is a total

understatement !!! It was somewhat

overwhelming ~

Here are just a few pictures of some of the

yummy stuff !!

The pictures are with my Iphone so they aren't

very good but I couldn't resist taking some ~

There is no way to see it all

in one day so I am ready

to hit the road to go back as soon as I

am done blogging :)

Stephanie and Kristin ~ My babies !

Dang they grow up quick!!

Today I spent the day getting ready for the Make Mine Pink, "The Garden Path", Pink Friday event ~

I wanted to take you along so that you could see the journey of recreating a flea market find into something special for your cottage home ~

The first thing you do is find what you want to work on ~ it is getting harder and harder to find these awesome totes like the large one that I have shown ~ It is very old so the wood is rough and weathered ~ I really don't know what it was used for but I think it would be perfect for putting your flowers in as you cut them and get ready for a bouquet ~

The next step is to glue on embellishments if you want to ~ I love them because they add such a shabby chic look ~

Then you prime your piece with a good primer ~ my very favorite is Kilz oil based because it covers so well ~

After that is dry, which takes a few steps to do all sides, you paint on whatever color you would like and when that dries you distress it with sandpaper ~ I use flat paint because I like the look of it ~

I love it when the weather is sunny because it makes the best painting days !!

The items that I have shown you, along with other garden treasures, will be available on my website for Pink Friday ~

Have fun shopping or creating !!

I tried to take some pics to show you of my first day at Canton ~ Wednesday is the day when alot of people that have businesses go to buy so it is pretty crazy ~ the good thing about selling here is that there are always eager people to help you unload your car ~ this is a picture of people waiting at the back of a ladies car just ready to unload it for her and see what she brought ~ it is just a tad bit stressful because the buyers aren't very friendly when they are on the hunt for treasures !!

I love chippy things although I didn't buy these ~ maybe I will see if they are left tomorrow ~

Do you need a chair to make over ?? Here are just a few ....

Here is a sneak peek of some of the things that I bought but it was dark when I took the pictures so they aren't that great ~

Until tomorrow ......

I had an awesome Canton

day on Wednesday finding

some Farmhouse goodness!!

I was totally on the hunt

for rusty and galvanized ~

Haha!! Can you tell...

Here are some of the things

that I found and are listed

on my website ~

There is also some vintage ticking

that is being washed

and a bunch of other things that

need cleaned and worked on ~

I want to go back sooo bad already!

I am kind of obsessed with treasure

hunting there!

I need to get out my paint

and work on some step ladders
~

Thank you for stopping by!

{added later }....all clean and

smelling good!

I just love paper products of all kinds, especially vintage looking things ~ I have been trying to figure out a good spot to put them on my website so I decided the best spot would be its own category ~ soooo.....coming soon will be the "Paperie" category ~ I am really excited about adding gift tags, altered art, cards, file folders and alot of other goodies ~

~
I will let you know when I get the new category up too ~ there might even be a special discount just for my blog readers ~

Remember the lavender that I brought home from California ~

It smells soooo good !

I have been making lavender sachets with it that have been alot

of fun to do ~

This is just a quick tutorial on how to make them ~

They are easy peasy !

First start with a piece of fabric ( I use vintage that I have tea dyed ) ~

Stamp the image or images you would like to use ~

I tear the edges so that they will fray ~

Next with another piece of fabric cut the size you want it to be ~

This one is 7.5 by 10 inches giving me 1/4 inch seam allowances ~

Sew on your stamped image pieces ~

Then fold your fabric in half right sides together leaving

a space at the bottom to turn and stuff it ~

When you are done sewing turn it right side out, iron

and stuff with just a little batting and I put 2 generous

spoonfuls of lavender ~

Next turn in the raw edges of your open spot and sew ~

I use my machine because then I am going to sew on lace so

it is okay ~ You can hand sew it if you would like ~

The next step is to embellish with whatever little things that

you want ~ On this one I used gathered tea stained dryer sheets,

seam binding and vintage buttons ~

I also like to stamp the fabric after it is sewn but before the

stuffing ~

It is fun and they smell yummy !

If you don't want to make them yourself

then you can find them at Katies Rose Cottage ~

I LOVE going to First Monday

Trade Days in Canton Texas!

Every month it is something

I so very much look forward to ~

Even though I knew it was hot,

I left my house with a good attitude

and told myself that I would

just stand the heat because

I LOVE Junkin' !

I hit the grounds with my

trusty cart {a necessity there },

my ginormous ice tea and anticipation

of the treasures I would find ~

I drove in and saw ohhhhh maybe

5 vendors when there are usually 75 ~

But....I knew there was cool stuff

even with the 5 vendors and there

was still another HUGE area to hit ~

The next area had about half of

the usual but still some neat things!

I NEED a chicken coop and that cute

little bicycle and all the awesome

galvanized stuff, a gazillion

old keys, a stack of drawers and

birdcage ~

COOL STUFF !

Has anyone done anything awesome

with a chicken coop ~ I want to see :)

I didn't buy any of the big stuff

because I was on a mission for my

website and big stuff is expensive

as craziness to ship ~

After about 2 hours I thought

I would die of heat stroke

so I went to my most favorite

place to eat because it looks healthy,

you get free refills on ice tea

and they have a HUGE fan!!

Ohhhh and the buffalo head rocks!!

{not really, I don't like dead animals

but it is so Texas }~

After I ate I was revitalized

and ready to hit the junkin' trail for

HOURS more ~

Well I lasted about one more hour,

saw sweet Daphne and Dorothy that were fun

to chat with and decided heat stroke

was definitely setting in ~

Dang it!! I so wanted to last

for sooo much longer but

it was kind of miserably hot ~

{110 degrees and it is humid...bleh!!}

Next month I am definitely going

on Thursday so I can visit

LaurieAnna's Vintage Home,

Girls Gone Junkin and some of

my other favorite shops that aren't open

on Wednesday and have air conditioning ~

I talked to my mom, in California,

while driving home and she

told me that she was kind of chilly

because the ocean breeze was blowing

in and it didn't feel like summer

{which she loves }~

I would be loving some ocean breeze

right now :)

~This post was taken from our Vintage Rose Boutiques blog so I could show
you some of our booth ~

The girls of Vintage Rose Boutiques were very busy today setting up our booth. The excitement of Market is building and we know it's going to be a good one. Here's a few pictures.

We're in booth #2327 on the 12th floor of the World Trade Center.
If you're at Market, don't forget to stopy by and say Hi!

Here's what setup looks like. It's a hustle and bustle of boxes, packing tape, yards and yards of bubble wrap and of course, papers. Papers for this and papers for that.

And more papers....

Here's our booth nearing completion. Peggy's, Erica's, Carrie's and Lori's lines are beautiful. Kimberly's faux pastries are coming on Thursday.

Stay tuned. We'll be back with more great pictures!

I am so excited to carry
Jeanne d'Arc Living magazine
on my website!!

It has been one of my very
favorites and is now more
affordable than it ever has
been~

If you have never seen one before...
the pictures are GORGEOUS,
the articles are so good and it
does not have any advertisements,
which is great !

You can get them in our shop
for $19 including shipping ~

Just click here to go there ~

Another fun Canton First Monday has gone and it was so much fun ~ My mom and dad and I camped this time in their motor home on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday ~ it was great because the motor home was a nice refuge from the heat and a great place to grab a bite to eat and rest during the day ~

It poured on Tuesday so we were a little worried that there would not be any one selling in the flea market area because it is mostly outside ~ but... Wednesday the sun was shining and the vendors started pouring in the gates and setting up their treasures ~ we got 2 good shopping days in so we were excited about that~

These are pictures from one of my very favorite places there called "Girls Gone Junkin' " ~ I am not sure if they have a blog but if they do I will post the link so you can take a peek ~

Talk to you soon !!

I am really still alive even

though it has been forever since

I have done a blog post :)

Life has been crazy the last few

months with my preggie girls ~

{Steph is 20 weeks & Kristin is 29 weeks }

Stephanie, my youngest daughter, is

20 weeks and has hyperemesis which

is crazy over the top morning sickness ~

She was literally in bed for 3 months

and in the hospital 4 times ~ She had

a subcutaneous pump in her stomach

for most of that time which

helps with the nausea ~

It was a good day when she could

just talk and smile ~

Needless to say my focus has changed

to my girls ❤

The pump came out a couple of weeks

ago and she actually can do things now

which pretty much is a total blessing

and an answer to many prayers ~

Last weekend we

flew to California for

our annual girls trip with my mom,

sister and niece ~ We just spend the

time shopping and laughing alot :)

{me, Steph, my niece Chelsey, sister

Kim and mom Sue standing...

Kristin was not in this picture :( }

{the shoe dilemma ~ I am not sure why it was a dilemma though since they were only $5 hehe! }

{Chelsey and Steph...bestest friends }

Sometimes life as we know

it stops and what is really important

becomes loud and clear ~

Today was my monthly trip to Canton Texas where I junk to my heart's content ~

If you are a junkin gal at heart you would just love First Monday Trade Days because people come from all over to sell ~ There is alot of wonderful new things but my very favorite is the old vintage stuff and there is tons of it ~

Sometimes it can get kind of stressful because everyone knows where to find the "good" junk ~ Junkers mean business when they want something :)

One thing I learned pretty darn quick is that you have to have a cart ~ I use to carry arm loads of stuff back and forth to my car ~ that did not last long before I sprung for my handy dandy cute pink lined cart ~

You would not believe how many sellers drive up like this ~ I crack up when I picture them driving down the road, stuff has to fly off ~ Seriously how does it all stay on ???

Until later .....

Today I got all of the
lace out of my flea market
shopping cart and got
busy tea dying it ~

The hot sun today was
perfect for drying the
lace fast :)

I needed a good drying
rack though and
remembered this ladder
in my yard ~

It worked perfect!!

The rungs gave alot
of area to drape the
lace over ~

After it was dry
and ironed I got busy
creating the bottles in
the picture above for
a shop in San Diego ~

My very favorite
part of what I do is
the creating part ❤