After The Vintage Home Market and More to Come!

We are some happy people after completing our second The Vintage Home Market Show in Richmond this past weekend.  I LOVE doing these shows.  We have such a good time with the other vendors that we have gotten to know, along with the FABULOUS promoters, Marc and Tony of Feathernesters! 

 

Coming in on the heels of Lucketts made this show a little bit of a challenge for me....but I do love a challenge.  Since we had to dig into our reserve stock to finish out that show, it put me way behind on inventory for this show. I worked day and night getting pieces ready and still didn't get as much done as I had wanted.   Nonetheless...we did very well and made some really good sales.  Did I mention that I LOVE doing this show?  When the crowds come in...they are some serious shoppers!

 

We were given a space in the middle which frightened me in the beginning...but now I want this to be THE spot from now on (or the type of spot if they move into the bigger building next time).  The flow was fabulous and with a few tweaks, I think we've got it!

 

Here are a few pictures of our booth:

 

 

 

We used our outdoor tent as a frame and draped burlap over and down it.  It turned out so pretty!  You can't tell from this picture, but the chandelier wears glitter which makes it sparkle in the light.

 

We have one more show this year!  We are proud to be part of A Vintage Frame of Mind in Courtland, VA on December 13-14.  I really need to get busy for that one!  I won't have as much Christmas theme going on since it will be really close to the holiday, so I'm working on some really cute year 'round things...and, of course, some more pieces of furniture!  I promise to share some sneak peek pics ahead of time!

 

Add to all of that, we'll be hosting our family's Thanksgiving dinner and then onto another business project next week.  More on that very soon!  I'll also be restocking, purging and fluffing our room at Deep Creek.  With all the shows going on, I haven't been able to work on it like I should.  Think we're busy enough?  We've also been accepted to participate in the Fredericksburg Flea (put on by the same promoters of the infamous DC Flea) in February. 

Like they say, "Moss never grows on a rolling stone."...or something like that. :)

 

'til next time!

 

 

Super Easy Santa Milk Cans!

I made one of these for the shop last year, and didn't even take a picture!  However, the "twins" got their time in the spotlight this year.

 

 

These are super cute and I ran across the idea somewhere on the internet.  I tried like crazy to find it this year and never could...not even on Pinterest - so I had to re-create from memory. 

They are so simple to make!  Just paint your milk cans red (I used barn red...it's not as bright and I think more useable throughout the year). 

For the belt, I used some black grosgrain ribbon cut to size with a little overlap. For the buckle, I cut out the shape I wanted from an iron-on patch (but you can use any stiff fabric).  I then cut two slits the size of the ribbon and fed the ribbon through.  A few glue dots to attach, and I was done!   A real belt is also an option - I just used what I had on hand.  Plus, I think this version shows up better from a distance, especially if displayed on a front porch.

 

 

The best thing about these is that the Santa accessories are totally removable and the cans can be used in any décor all year.  How about some wings for Valentine's Day?

 

'Til next time!

Lucketts Holiday Open House and Winter Outdoor Market

We were so honored to be part of the Annual Lucketts Holiday Open House and Outdoor Winter Market this past Friday thru Sunday.  We participated in the Spring Market, but this was their first Holiday outdoor market and it was AWESOME!!

 

The weather mostly cooperated with us this time.  Luckily, it didn't rain like it did in May, but we had to deal with some really strong wind gusts throughout the weekend.  The tent was secured very tightly, so we were lucky in being able to keep it up.  However, the smalls had to be tucked in corners which prevented me from displaying the tent exactly how I wanted it....but we got it all in there.  On the upside, the sun shined a lot, and I came home with sun and wind burn!  Nice coloring for this time of year. :)

 

 By Saturday evening, our tent was practically empty and we brought the trailer home to load with more things to sell!  Luckily, we have another show on the heels of this one, so I "stole" from that stash.  Good news is, almost all of that load sold, too....bad news is, I have to get more things ready for next weekend.  Looks like a lot more sleepless nights!

 

I was able to get a few pictures this time...

 

On the road Thursday morning.  Rain and more rain!

 

Set up was cold and wet!

 

 

Morning of the first day of the sale!

 

 

The bench and Santa cans were the hottest topics!  We still have the bench, but that's o.k.  This is one piece that we put a higher price on because it was custom built and Dean put a LOT of time in this one.  I'm happy with keeping it if we have to. :)

 

The Santa cans sold. Tomorrow's blog will be on these!

 



 

 

When I had a chance, I walked around and took a couple of pictures.  My cell phone must have been too cold, because most of them did not turn out..

 

These were a couple of my favorites...lots of cool stuff!

 



 

I only got to go in the Design House once and it was beyond breathtaking!  It was so beautiful!  It was also very crowded and I didn't feel comfortable taking pictures.  You can see more at The Old Lucketts Store website here.  I understand that the lines got up to an hour long!

Apart from the cold and wind, and a constant crick in my neck (still), it was an overwhelmingly excellent weekend!  I can't wait for the Spring!!

 

'Til next time!



Ooh La La - The French Gray China Cabinet

Posting to the blog has taken a backseat lately while I was getting ready for the greatest outdoor market ever, The Lucketts Holiday Open House and Winter Outdoor Market! Almost every waking hour for the last two weeks (which there were many as I had serious sleep deprivation) was spent painting, sewing and crafting. More on the Market tomorrow!

 

One of the pieces that I had for the show was this really sweet china cabinet.  Before anyone gets upset...it was actually painted to look like dark wood (not original, I'm pretty sure).  A very nice and heavy piece made by Berkey and Gay, it appeared to be a blonde wood on the outside originally.  I actually got the hubby's blessing to paint it, so that in itself should prove that it needed some love with color. :)

 

The quality of this before picture is bad.  Once again, I was so anxious to get started that I didn't take a before shot....this is from the auctioneer's website...but hopefully you get the idea of what it looked like in the beginning.

 

So anyway, as always, I went back and forth about color.  I had used the Real Milk Paint Company French Gray milk paint on other pieces and decided that this would be another good candidate. 

 

So, it began...

 

 

Ohhhhh.....I love this color!!

 

After letting it sit overnight for the chipping to finish (and after having to re-do the side fluting due to too much chipping), I trimmed out the details in white acrylic paint.  That was the icing on the cake!

 

 

I added a little more white on the drawer trim and the dots above the legs - then lightly sanded the entire piece to smooth out the chipping and tone down the white a bit.

 

 

I had originally planned to paint the inside a white....but wow...I actually loved how the dark wood pops against this color!  I couldn't do it.

 

I gave it a few of coats of clear wax....and voila!

 

It sold on the first day of the market and the new owner, Jennifer, sent me this picture after it was settled into it's new home.  Simply GORGEOUS!!

 

 

I loved it before, but it's absolutely stunning in it's new home.  Seeing it all dressed up almost makes me wish that I had kept it.  Heavy sigh...  :)  Oh well....I can't keep 'em all!

 

'Til next time!