all set & a winner

I finished up all of the little things for Lucketts today and I think I have done all I possibly could.  Here are some final pictures before I hit the hay...

I'll be selling loose lavender by the scoop.  My silver baby cup makes a perfect measuring device. 

I have lots of beautiful dried lavender bunches in two different sizes.

We spent this afternoon bundling them all, so we feel nice and relaxed!

I finished up a few more signs.  This one may be my favorite sign that I have ever made. 

I will also be bringing this hand painted wooden box that I finished yesterday.

Everything is priced, packed, and ready to go for tomorrow.  I've baked cupcakes, put fresh batteries in the cameras and have crossed everything off my list.  I am filled with anticipation and ready to get some good sleep before the fun starts early tomorrow.  If I don't see you there, you'll get to see some of the action on video and I'll definitely take lots of photos. 

And the winner of the $50 gift certificate to my space is...

Shanann's mom, who is traveling 2822.90 miles from California!  Come see me tomorrow or Sunday to claim your prize. 

The story of Annabel & Rupert

This is a story about love.  A man who loves a woman.  A woman who loves a blog.  A designer who loves to create. 

I received an e-mail last week from a gentleman...let's call him "Rupert."  Rupert had a request.  His wife, let's call her "Annabel", loves my blog and he would love to surprise her with one of my hand painted signs for mother's day.  Unfortunately, all of the signs he was interested in were sold.  It's one of my busiest months, but I just couldn't say no to creating a custom sign just for them.

He wanted something French, related to ice cream or candy.  I found a vintage French chocolate label on The Graphics Fairy and designed a sign around it. 

Rupert wanted a graphic, so I used the crown image from the label.

...and he wanted blue and white, so I used Annie Sloan's Aubusson with Old White lettering. 

Some distressing and waxing finished it off. 

Rupert loved it and bought it for Annabel to give her for mother's day.  (I wouldn't have minded if Rupert hated it, because then I might have given it to myself for mother's day.)

So, are you Annabel?  Is your husband Rupert? 

You'll find out on Sunday. 

PS - I really hope this is a story about love and not a story about a guy who's in the dog house. 

market sign & my pavilion

I finished this sign the morning I brought it to Lucketts, so we didn't have a chance to do a proper photo shoot together.  Sorry!  I really love how this one turned out, though. 

The bead board door was already painted a cream color, so I simply painted over it with Antibes Green with lettering in Old White and shadow in Graphite (all chalk paint.)  Once dry, I used a palm sander to use and abuse the sign until it looked how I wanted it to.  The piece was finished with a mix of clear and brown wax.  Check out my Waxes 101 video if you'd like to see my technique.  

I just bought some huge barn doors today to paint some signs on.  They sell well and it's fun to create my own "art" to sell in my space.  

Some of you were a little confused about the "pavilion" idea, so I thought I would show you exactly what it is.  The pavilion on the left with the blue and white shutters is the back of my pavilion. 

This is the main building of The Old Lucketts Store.  My furniture and signs are sold inside in Karen's room. 

Outside, there is a little village of pavilions with different dealers in each one.  Mine is the last one on the left.

Yes, it is outside and open to the elements, but it's pretty protected by the patchwork walls and metal ceiling.  It's actually really nice.  Not climate controlled, but nice. 

My husband went down on Friday and added a couple more doors on each side of the entrance to further protect my things.  He also hung my sign up, but I don't have a picture of that to share, yet.

 Here's a look inside the booth...

I loved my caddy with clay pots so much that I bought another to sell in my space. 

 I had a great first week as a vendor at Lucketts.  The pantry below sold...

This French buffet sold...

...the mirror sold...

...and lots of other things.  Some things were bought less than 24 hours after my husband dropped them off!  I tell you, things move fast here. 

Which means I need to get to work on more stuff!  I went shopping this afternoon and found some cool things including a wooden theatre seat, a vintage fan, and a bunch of feed sacks. 

It's going to be another late night. 

what you don't see & a dresser makeover

I probably have enough content for two blogs, but I only have the time to keep up with one.  And sometimes I can't even do that!  There are so many projects and makeovers I work on that you never see.  I just don't have the time to stage them, photograph them, write about them.  I sort of hit my favorite projects and what I'm feeling most inspired by on my blog.  One of the things I didn't share was this union jack sign I made out of an old dutch barn door.  It had the original red paint on it, so I kept the red and painted the blue and white in craft acrylics. 

It looks like it came off an old ship or something. 

I also recently painted that French mirror with gold leaf detail and the small shelf to the left of the dresser.  Speaking of the dresser...

This is what it looked like when I bought it.  Great lines and it had the prettiest wood interior I've ever seen on a dresser.  I wish I took a picture of it without the drawers.  The grain is so pretty. 

I used Provence chalk paint directly over the old finish.  No sanding, no priming.  Just painting.  Just the fun stuff.  This dresser had the dreaded red stain that seeps through paint like crazy, but the chalk paint handled it pretty well.  Some did seep through, but the second coat and distressing took care of it. The nice thing about using chalk paint on a piece with the red stain is that you can paint it without sanding.  The original poly acts as a sealant to keep the stain from seeping through.  Pretty nice, huh?

I was going to paint the top, but I decided after the first coat that I would strip the top and stain it. 

Two coats of Provence, some dark walnut stain on the top, distressing, Old White details, light and dark wax and tada!  Did you catch all of that.  Sorry I didn't take pictures for a step-by-step. 

One warning about Provence...it is very deceptive when you're first putting it on.  It looks really light and bright, almost like a Tiffany's box.  It tones down when it dries, it gets richer after a second coat and the color gets even prettier after it's waxed.  This dresser is currently for sale in my pavilion at Lucketts. 

If you want to order some chalk paint, check out my post listing the stockists. 

Lion Coffee Sign

I thought I would share my latest hand painted sign with you today.  It's a big one...about five feet long!

I used an antique Christmas coffee ad I found at The Graphics Fairy. 

I cropped the text and put it in my projector to transfer it to my board. 

I found this awesome door at an antique store a few weeks ago.  It was painted in the prettiest chalky blue and had really cool hinges.  Honestly, I've been hoarding it for myself, but it's just been sitting in my office and I needed things to take to Lucketts, so I had to let it go. 

Donna, I know you're suffering from rust envy.  Just go snuggle with one of your bolts and you'll be okay. 

Oh...it looked so perfect in my house.  Sigh. 

Can't keep 'em all. 

If you're interested in making an "old" sign of your own, check out my post on The Making of a Sign.  If you must have this one, it's for sale at The Old Lucketts Store in Lucketts, Virginia. 

Dresser Makeover & New Signs

Oh, I have so much to share, I'm about to burst!!  We had the glitter letter workshop today, I have an exciting event with The Graphics Fairy coming up, I have been using every spare minute to make Christmas ornaments and decor to sell, and I scored some awesome furniture on Thursday.  I'll share it all soon, but tonight, I'm tired, so I'm just going to show my dresser makeover and the two new signs I made for the shop.

Do you remember this dresser?  I bought it at a yard sale a few weeks ago.  It was in great structural condition and someone had even sanded it down for me!  That might be a minus for some people, but it was a huge plus for me. 

I painted it with a brush (the old fashioned way), sanded it heavily, and followed it with a rub of dark walnut stain. I waxed the top with Johnson's Paste Wax to seal and protect it. Glass knobs add a little sparkle and balance out the "shabbiness" of the piece.  (By the way, the color is Stolen Kiss by Sherwin Williams.)

I also painted two new signs.  One with a sheep on it, advertising "Spun Wool" and...

...I made a second Pig Powder sign, since the first one sold so quickly at Lucketts. 

 

I can't wait to share everything else with you, but I've got to get back to work on my ornaments! 

Just a reminder, please vote today for my entry in the True Value SOS Contest.  You can vote once a day. It will take you about five seconds and it will be so huge for me to win! 

Click HERE to vote now!

Thanks a bunch.