Enjoying the Fruits

This was the last day my mom was here.  I dropped her off at the airport after our last busy day together.  We really packed a lot of work into five days.  Tonight, I'm crashing.  I'm tired.  Exhausted.  Done. 

I just finished editing photos I took today of my booth at Wild Rose.  Beneath my heavy eyes and fuzzy brain I feel satisfaction.  Even joy.  I love what I do.   

I worked hard this weekend and I had a lot of things to take to my space.  It was over-flowing.  The cherry on top was the beautiful stuff Jami from Freckled Laundry delivered over the weekend (like the gourmet suet cake pictured above.)

The antique Empire table I refinished  is the centerpiece and it provides a perfect place to display some of Jami's shoes and suet cakes.

I painted this side table over the weekend as well. 

Today, it was fun seeing it all come together.  Enjoying the fruits of my labor.

...and Jami's stuff looks right at home.  Down to the tags tied on with hemp twine. 

I arranged her little handmade shoes on a silver platter.

I absolutely love, love her clay tags.  I meant to grab a few for myself, but the toddler-time-bomb was going off and I needed to rush out of the store. 

If you love Jami's work, you can buy it at Wild Rose in Walkersville, MD or from the Freckled Laundry Etsy Shop. 

Now, I'm off to enjoy the fruits of a soft bed, comfy jammies, and a good night sleep. 

By the way, check out my Tips for Shopping Craigs List, which was featured over at The Design File.

A New Space

No, I'm not taking on a fourth retail space.  I'm not that crazy!  I did get to move into a new space yesterday, though.  There was a little bit of a shuffle at Wild Rose and I was put in the corner.  No, I wasn't naughty.  No dunce cap was involved.  It was a good thing.  I got two full walls to put my furniture on.  I was really excited about the switch and it was fun for me to pull all of my things into my own little corner. 

Once I did that, I realized I need some more things to hang on the wall and I need a small table or carpet for the middle.  It looks a little sparse, but now I know what I need.  (By the way, I used my new toy to take this picture.  I sucked it up and bought a wide angle lens.  I'll share more about it later.)

I also need some more smalls to fill my pantry.  I'm looking into carrying some wholesale items, which is so against my nature, but there's some cute stuff out there and it sells. 

I found this scale while thrifting in North Carolina with Brittany from Pretty Handy Girl.  She actually found it and pointed it out to me.  The baby shoes are made by Jami from Freckled Laundry. 

I just found this spectacular sunburst mirror and was very tempted to keep it, but I didn't have the perfect place for it right now, so it had to go to the shop.  That's the rule.

I stopped by my favorite antique source yesterday to buy some benches for the wedding I'm designing in May.  I had just been there two days ago and I had a car full of kids and a husband, so I had no plans to shop.  I told the shop owner I was buying the benches and he asked if I had seen their new shutters.  He knows what I like. 

These were the best shutters I had ever seen.  I bought seven of them!  There were a few left, but I may go back and buy them.  I need to think about it.  I'll share them shortly, but just think Restoration Hardware, grey, chalky, cool hardware.  Awesome. 

To wrap things up today...  Everyone else is saying thanks for their referrals and I love that gesture, so I thought I would do the same.  These were my top referring blogs for December. 

My Sweet Savannah

Funky Junk Interiors

Centsational Girl

Better After

Savvy Southern Style

The Lettered Cottage

Thrifty Decor Chick

Willow Decor

All Things Thrifty

naifandtastic (From Madrid! Who knew?)

Thanks so much ladies!

Christmas Open House

Today, I crammed another HGTV.com project in when I had the chance and I made the trip down to Wild Rose and Chartreuse.  I enjoy both of those shops every time I walk in the door.  I could just wander around and look at the displays and beautiful decor. 

Today was the holiday open house at Wild Rose, so it was all decked out for the holidays.

Lynette does an amazing job arranging things to make every one's stuff look good.  Isn't this sign by Molly amazing?

I popped over to Chartreuse and something big was missing from our space...

Yes, it sold.  I was happy and sad at the same time.  I hope whoever bought it really loves it and will give it a good home.  Sniff.

I forgot to share one exciting thing from our Swanky Junque Swap last weekend...  I was interviewed by Stephanie from Dial M For Minky, who is an iVillage correspondent.  The feature is about upcycling furniture and it should be posted in a few weeks.  I'll link to it, of course, when it's up!

Photo by Karen.

Tomorrow is going to be all about laundry, packing and last minute projects before we head out for Raleigh on Monday.  Both sets of grandparents will be there, so it should be tons of fun. 

Glittered Letter Workshop Recap

First of all, the winner of the Eco Natural Soap is Ann (AKA Nutbird.)  Congrats, girl!  You'll have to send me an e-mail directly, so we can get your soaps to you.  Thanks to all who entered!

This past Saturday was our very first workshop at Wild Rose.  It was so much fun!  It truly was. 

We had eight participants in the workshop and we wanted to make all of them feel special.  A station with a box of chipboard letters, supplies, glitter, and a name tag were all waiting for the ladies when they arrived.

The ladies got to take the supplies and chipboard letters they made home with them.  We even had a small enough group that everyone won a giveaway!

We chatted, laughed, glittered, glued and ate. 

It was so fun to see what all of the women were making...spelling out the names of the children or grandchildren, planning for the holidays, or forming words that would inspire.

 I even got to hang with Sarah, The Thriftress!  She was such a delight and cracked me up when she shared that she told her husband she was going to "an important blog networking event."  What a riot! 

The first one was a success, so more are on the way. We're having a special event in November, that I'll announce shortly, and we're planning a Saturday in December to have a Sheet Music Wreath Workshop.  Some other workshops that are on the horizon are Slipcover Basics, Painting Furniture, Sign Making...and I'm open to other ideas.  Maybe even a workshop on photography or blogging. 

A glittered letter tutorial is on the way for those who couldn't make it in person!

Another reminder to please vote for my bathroom entry for the True Value Design SOS Contest.  Just two clicks will be a huge favor for me.

Click HERE to visit my entry and vote.  Thanks so much!

A Never Ending Job

First of all, the Lisa Leonard giveaway is still going on, so make sure to enter! 

I'm learning that, like mothering and household chores, keeping inventory up in a space is a never ending job.  The time is not ever going to come when it's done and "I'm set."  Especially because I make or find everything on my own, I can't just order bulk.  Yesterday, I drove out to Wild Rose and Chartreuse to get my spaces filled up.  I also dropped off a load of items for the Lucketts Design House. 

I was left alone in the shop for a few minutes while Lynette picked her kids up from school.  I relished the time to snap photos and "play" with all of the beautiful things in there.  I just couldn't help moving things around! 

Here's a look at what is currently for sale.  Remember that we do ship, so let me know if you see anything you like!

I made these "Wish" and "Sweet" banners as an experiment and I love how they turned out.  More are coming as well as a tutorial. 

The chalkboard is Gail's and the buffet is Christine's.  Doesn't everything look like it was meant to be together?

Christine just brought in this industrial cart.  I was seriously thinking if I could get away with having this in my family room, but I don't think it would work with two toddlers. 

It is just a dream to be selling my things in these spaces.  I'll show some picture of our Chartreuse space tomorrow and tell you a little bit more about that!

If you hadn't heard, we are having a workshop  from 11-2 on October 23, where I will be teaching how to make my German glass glitter letters.  The cost is $30, which covers lunch from the Corner Bakery, supplies to make the letters (which you get to keep), and use of the space.  It is going to be a blast, so please send an e-mail if you would like to attend.  For those who live too far away, I will be posting a video tutorial, but it won't include lunch or supplies!