***BELIEVE***

I'm so excited I just had to share with you all...

Today was the last day of my fifth month in my retail space.

I am tickled to tell you that I had my best month so far by a country mile : )

Having my friend Diane here to shop for treasures and then work in our garage/workshop for hours and hours certainly attributed to this great month. Some of our brainstorming lead to some really original and great new designs for our furniture pieces.

Things are literally "FLYING" out of the shop the last week. Today we brought in two of our end tables with the Time Work look and the owner of the shop scooped them right up under our noses (NOW, she did this right after we had nicely staged them in the space).

The growth of this venture has made me believe in the dream and want to reach for more and more.

Having all of you out there supporting me and leaving comments and following has inspired me.

Here's what the space looked like when we left today..

Here's a "before" of the cutest little table that we added to the collection...Just needed some TLC and a new look..

and here's a table we did in the oregano green with the burlap detail..

Don't you just love this leather satchel we found last week at an estate sale?

Speaking of sales....we are set for a full weekend of estate sales and yard sales starting early tomorrow morning....

Can't wait to show you what we find.

Sometimes you just have to "believe".

The Time Worn Series

We did quite a bit of yard saleing last weekend and found ourselves with 10 furniture projects to work on.

Starting early Monday morning, we got to work. After two full days we ended up with these completed projects last night. We didn't really plan it this way to begin with, but it turns out this is a "collection".
We decided to call it "The Time Worn" collection.

I'm linking up to Miss Mustard Seed's Copy Me Challenge.




The projects just sort of j"evolved". If you repurpose furniture finds (and I know a lot of you do) you know what I'm talking about...

You sit and look at the piece and try to figure out what it may want to be in the next life.

What color?
What type of finish?
What feeling do you want it to have?

One of the best things about doing this with a friend that loves it just as much as you do is this--You always come up with ideas that you may not on your own.

We brainstormed.
Burlap?
Clocks?
Feed sack stripes?

Here's the first piece we finished.

Here's the way it started out after a little bit of clean up. Here's a few more BEFORE shots of some of the other pieces...

A

a couple of mid century modern step tables with great clean lines and wonderful furniture workmanship

and this old sewing cabinet that Diane saw the potential in....

How many of these do you see? Never thinking it could morph into a fabulous entry hall table...

This one was perfect because the top was all one piece without any seams.

Don't pass these up now that you know what you can do with them.

Love the lines on this girl...

We did move these pieces from the dusty garage into the great room for the photos. They just didn't deserve garage "after" shots. : )

I must add a little fact here. Once this piece was in my house, I really wanted to keep it. But, I will be strong and bring it to the store today.

Don't get me wrong--I'll be on the look out for something similar that will stay put in my great room.

Check out the painting that I found at a yard sale for just $10!

I had to include it in the photos, although I haven't hung it yet.
I think this may be "just the right" spot for it.

Here's what became of the mid century modern step tables.

They got the burlap treatment along with a fresh coat of black paint and some stripes and a stencil detail.

Now they don't feel so locked into one style now...Do they?

Yes, we DID have fun staging this piece with some favorite accessories...the hat was an estate sale find on Friday along with this great fishing net.

Here's that sewing table looking so fine as an entry table complete with the wonderful little drawer for your keys.

How adorable is this little chair now sporting anew red finish with stained aging and a little crown in nutmeg? The little stool with a lid that opens was re-done by Diane.

It works perfectly with the chair.

We will rest a little today after we bring these shiny and new pieces to the retail space. We do have a few more pieces to work on before we head up to The Mad Hatter antique show in Spokane on Friday morning (a nice reward after all our work).

I'd love to know what you think of our newest creations.

I'm linking up to these parties:

Stop by and be SO INSPIRED by the oodles of projects featured here:

Blue Cricket Designs Show and Tell

The Power of Paint Party

My Backyard Eden's Make It Yours Wednesday

The Thrifty Home Penny Pinching Party

Cheap Chic Home's Fabric Fun Thursday

Somewhat Simple's Strut Your Stuff Thursday

PS: Santa, if you are listening, I would really LOVE a professional paint sprayer for Christmas--this really is becoming more than just a little hobby for me. Oh, and if the elves aren't too busy, could they help me build a spray booth in my garage? xoxox

This And That Monday

Inspired by Miss Mustard Seed I made my first vantage music sheet wreath. I added a small syrofoam ball to the center. It was painted black and then covered with a sweet little lace doily from my collection along with a button.

We brought it to the store yesterday and I hope someone likes it well enough to take it home!

I wanted to give you a better look at this gorgeous trunk/suitcase that I found at an estate sale in "never used" condition. I am estimating it to be from the early 1940's.

It still has the original price tag. Take a look at the inside of this beauty. Compartments for your things as well as a silk covered interior with hangers.
It is done in yummy shades of off white and light brown.

I did list for sale, but if it doesn't sell soon, it will most likely have to come home with me. Such a unique piece. Louis Vuittion has nothing on this bag.

Now for a quick story about this little table.

We found it at the estate sale Friday morning. I wish I had done a Before shot, but I didn't (sorry). Anyhow, you can imagine that it wasn't looking so great. There was paper that had stuck to the top of the table and lots of scratches and rings.

We gave it a good sanding. Then it got a fresh coat of satin black paint. Once the paint was dry we applied a coat of Minwax finishing wax. WELLLL...I'm not sure why, but the paint reacted negatively to the wax. It became a big gummy and sticky. We decided to take a scraper and scrape the wax off the top.

Guess what? We really liked the look that was appearing in front of our eyes. So...we grabbed some steel wool and continued to distress it until we were happy with the look.

Here's the finished "after" photo.

And guess where the "accidental" table is now??????

In a wonderful new home. When we walked into the store yesterday to drop off the music sheet wreath there was a couple taking a good long look at the table and then purchasing it! It had only been there one day!

You've just gotta love that!

The table looked so good in the space with the chairs Diane refinished....kind of sorry to see it go. BUT, we have 10 (yes 10) pieces of furniture in the "que" to work on this week. We needed the space for some more pieces to move in.

I'm hoping for LOTS of energy today now that the kids are off to school. Hope your are finding yourself motivated to do whatever it is you want/need to do as this week gets off to a great start.

Friday Finds

It's been a great day of treasure hunting here. We started early with a wonderful estate sale.

I found this fabulous silk gown for Marcella (my dress form). It's the first time I've dressed her up and I'm loving it! Doesn't she look GORGEOUS? Turns out he size was just perfect. The estate sale had the most beautiful gowns, hats and purses from the 30's and 40's.

The space is looking great with the rich brown drapery panels for autumn.

Check out the great coffee table on the left that Diane repurposed. I think this will be so "at home" in some hip urban space with it's cool stripes and great form.

This is a very sweet little side table that we transformed with some oregano green paint and a little aging techniques. We added a little wood applique for that "certain something".
It's not a great photo, but behind this table is the MOST incredible find from this morning. A trunk/suitcase in pristine NEW condition probably from the 30's. It has the original price tag of $42.00 (yep, that was LOT of money back then). When you open it up there are divided sections for clothes, hangers and a silk drape to cover your clothes.

Ok...I have to admit...I put a high price on this because I secretly want to bring it home. I've never seen anything quite like it. Everything at this estate sale was in well-=loved and well cared for condition. It was so much fun to see all these treasures from the past.

I fell in love with this vintage heat lamp with it's copper detailing. Isn't it fabulous?

Check out the great hat on "Marcella". I brought home four vintage hats today. Gotta love that! The belt on the gown fit perfectly on the dress form. I can't help but think the owner would smile knowing her gown was displayed so lovingly here.

The vintage table lamp on the right is really unique and beautiful.

I hope it finds a new and loving home.

You've got to love this desk lamp that we found. It's wood on the bottom and has the greatest buttons for "on" and "off".

Wouldn't this look right at home on someone's desk? You can't find anything like this at Target : )

A great green fan found it's way into the space today. I just adore the vintage fans. They are so architecturally interesting...aren't they? Ad I get ready to turn in for the night, I am happy that we enjoyed such a great day of hunting for vintage treasures.

My passion for things from the past makes me happy.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend friends.

Here's to fueling our passions and making every day "matter".