Flea Market Style sighting !!!

Hello Fellow Flea Fanatics!

I found the magazine tonight in my local Food Lion grocery store!

Whew!

One less thing to worry about ....ya know?

Almost forgot to get the cat food I went in there for!It was exciting to see the Top 80 Readers Antique Malls.

When I flipped to North Carolina.....

I flipped OUT!

There they were....The Sleepy Poet & The Depot!

If you've been following me for awhile then you know that I have booth spaces at BOTH of these awesome malls! How cool was it to see them in this super cool magazine!
AND.....

Then I saw the Insiders Guide to Treasure Hunting in Nashville and the first section was on Franklin....which is where the Bella Rustica Barn Sale is in a couple weeks...which is where I will also have a booth!

Pretty~ darn~amazing!

I swear this magazine has super powers!

This afternoon I get a call from one of my customers who called to tell me that she found this "unbelievable magazine" at her grocery store and she knew I'd love it!

Wellllllll.......BINGO was his name-o~ she was right on!!

She's gonna try the suitcase shelves.

Come" hell or high water".

Her words!

She's 82.

But I leave You with This....A DateBook Makeover!

Hello friends! I am getting ready to head to market in Atlanta for a few days with my good bud Shellee! This trip always inspires me and gets the creative juices flowing, not to mention it helps in the restocking of the shop too! I won't be bloggin for a few days but I did want to leave you with a mini make-over I did today on my datebook!

I ABSOLUTELY cannot leave for Atlanta without a datebook. It is my most used item I carry there. I sketch, make notes, write ship dates, appointments you name it.

I tried to find one this year that was halfway interesting and they were all either too cute or too weird...so I gave up. Mr.OTM on the other hand did not! He slipped one into my stocking this year and while it wasn't exactly what I had in mind.....it gave me an idea!

Welcome to the DateBook Makeover! Here's what I started with:

Datebook

Feedsack scrap

Old Levis shirt (25 cents at a yard sale...I liked the ticking stripe!)

Burlap scrap

rubber stamps

ink pad

You need to start off by cutting the material to fit your book. Make sure your seam allowance is enough to hem and that your book will fit once you are done sewing.


This is what you are going for. You may want to embellish the front of your cover BEFORE you sew the flaps over...it makes it WAY easier to get done espicially if you want to SEW your embellishment on.

This is what I decided to do! I used the scraps to create a patch, then stamped the year 2011 on the front.





I also added a little pocket on the inside to hold my business cards.



This could also be used to hold pens or even a cell phone

Now THIS is more of what I had in mind! A very EASY little makeover that makes it one of a kind! I had all this stuff laying around so I didn't go out and buy anything specific to make it.

I hope you all behave yourselves while I'm gone! Don't worry I'll be taking loads of pics to share with you.

Mr. OTM will be running the shop so if ya get a chance stop on by and say HI!

See Ya SOON!

P.S. This little post is linked to White Wednesday

&

Tuesdays Treasures!

There's LOTS of eye candy over there!

Enjoy!!

GARAGE SALE FIND + ANTIQUE SHOW FIND = THIS!

This pound of Melt and Pour soap was at a garage sale for .25 cents....................
I put it into an old sauce pan to melt.......................

Poured it into this AWESOME OLD ROOSTER MOLD ( holds 10!) I found at an antique show...$20.00. My friend Lisa told me to spray it lightly first with Pam >>>>>(great hint Lisa....thanks!!) After it sets take the end of a butter knife to pop them out. OH>>>>> his agent requires that I mention that Mr. OTM was the hand model for this photo shoot....LOL!

AND HERE THEY ARE!!! They were VERY EASY to do but kind of a pain because you have to keep re-melting the soap in order to be able to pour it. The directions instruct you to do this with a microwave but ours is on the fritz so I did it on the stove top. Anyway, I love how they turned out and can't wait to try it again once we get a new micro!! (hint hint Mr. OTM...with the royalties from this photo shoot he should have plenty to get me a new micro....don't you think??......lol!)

SO.......... I have $20.25 invested in to this project . My plan is that after I make and sell a few of these I will come out ahead. Sounds good right?? I plan on doing some cinnamon wax bowl fillers and stuff too so I think it should work out. (I just have to keep telling myself this becasue I wanted the rooster mold so bad and in case Mr. OTM reads this I have a legit business plan in effect!! LOL!) Have a great day!!!

CHIPPY WHITE TEXTURES!

OLD CHIPPY SHUTTER

WONDERFUL CHIPPY SPICE CUPBOARD!!!

THE TOP PART OF AN OLD CHIPPY WHITE MIRROR!

Last but not least a chippy old birdhouse! I was looking around my living room the other day and it occured to me that there are so many different textures of "CHIPPY"! I took these few photos and will post some more later. My first chippy item I ever bought was an old white cupboard that was 15.00 at a yard sale. I remember debating on it thinking" I don't know why but I love how it looks with the paint coming off!" When I went to pay for it the guy said that he hoped someone would buy it and take the time to refinish it. Well obviously the wrong gal came along because I never did do a thing to it except love it and let it catapult me into a free-fall of buying up anything that has chippy paint coming off it...especiallywhite! I used to go to an auction every Monday when I lived in Ohio. Usually it was me and a bunch of guys, English and Amish who were lookin for tools .If anything chippy came up the auctioneer would just look directly at me and start out the bidding at 1.00! Many of the guys picked up on my "habit" and some would bring stuff to sell specifically to me knowing "if it was chippy...it was me!" I used to get a kick out of them because they would say stuff to others like" don't even bother biddin against her!" or "she must have a money tree growing in her yard!" Goodness they made me sound ruthless BUT if anyone paid over 10.00 that was just outrageous to them!! (unless it happened to be something I bought that they WANTED me to buy from THEM!!!!) LOL!

I love how there are so many different tones of white and that it goes with everything! Loving a neutral color makes decorating sooooooooooooooo easy! Hope you are able to do some easy decorating this weekend!

Can I please play too?????

Now this was fun!!! Tammy at Country Girl at Heart had a great idea going with assigning you a letter and you had to think up 10 things you liked beginning with that letter! I love a challenge and things that make you really have to put your thinking cap on so I asked her if I could please play too!! LOL! She still had some letters left that she hadn't handed out yet and I was lucky to get the letter "F"! So here goes.......
1. FAMILY.....I am the oldest and I have a younger brother Rick by three years. I can still remember bringing him home from the hospital. I was sitting in the back seat with my grandma and we held him all the way home......WAYYYYY before the days of the seat belt laws. We got along like your typical brother and sister and remain close to this day. I used to make him dress up in my tap dance skirt if I wanted to play "dance class' and if he wouldn't do I would threathen him that I would tell mom I saw him take a piece of Brachs candy from the grocery store! It would usually work great, til one day he just cracked and went and told mom himself he took the candy!! That ended my blackmail streak and playing dance class forever!!! LOL! We are both so lucky to have parents that been happily married over 40 years. They always have let us try what it is we want to do and if we failed they would be there to help us pick up the pieces, if we succeed they are there to rejoice with us. Mom and Dad both have retired in the last few weeks and look forward to traveling around.
2.FRIENDS.........I could go on and on here but I would not be anywhere if it were not for the love, help, support, laughs, honesty, joy, strength, inspiration, trust, and encouragement that all my dear friends give me everyday. I read a great quote one time" I could fill a stadium with aqqaitences, but I could count all my true friends on my two hands" sooooo true. I love you all!
3. FREE......I love a freebie!! This could be at the grocery store, in the mail, on the side of the road, in a dumpster, at a yard sale, from a friend, at a restaurant, you name it.....IF IT'S FREE, IT'S ME!!!!!!!
4. FINDS........The THRILL OF THE HUNT is addicting and I love finding a wonderful treasure espicially if it's cheap. I have come across some wonderful finds in my day and never get tired of it. I know I get it from my grandfather...he would always come home with the best stuff....he would always gather up discarded lawn chairs from the curb and re-do the webbing and then resell the chairs at out annual yard sale every year. Another thing he'd do that would drive my grandmother nuts was pick up brushes and combs he's find laying around...gross right??? Welllllll, after he'd gather up a ton of them he would put them all in the WASHING MACHINE and run them through a cycle with HOT water and bleach and sterilize the heck out of them...bundle them into bundles of 6 and sell them at the yard sale too......he would ALWAYS SELL OUT! At least I come by this honest and can't help the influence that I was surrounded by! LOL ...I miss him like crazy............
5. FLOWERS.......Peonies are my favorite but I just can't get enough of any flower really! I love container gardens, hanging baskets, all my flower beds and look forward to being able to get to nurseries in the spring. I love the "junk" flower section at Lowes when they discard the stressed out plants.You can come home with some great stuff...just a little deadheading and voila....a great looking plant!
6. FREEDOM......how lucky are we to live in such a great country to have the freedom we do?? When I count my blessings, this is always at the top.
7. FLEA MARKETS......You know I had to put this in here!! I have been going to flea markets since the beginning of time and I love them!! You never know what treasure awaits......
8. FOOD.......LOL!! Goodness knows I couldn't leave this one out! I think I am probably the only 40 year old out there who still loves FRUIT LOOPS!! I think this comes from having to eat puffed rice, puffed wheat, Cheerios, corn flakes, oatmeal all the time as a kid (what was my mother thinking making us eat all the healthy stuff>>...lol!) . I think Italian food is my fav but Mexican is a close second. I could be on this one forever...........chicken wings, cabbage rolls, stuffed pork chops, homemade bread.......okay I'll stop.....
9. FARMS...... I grew up on a farm but not the livestock kind....we grew grapes! Yep I grew up on a vineyard and my dad sells all his concord grapes to Welch's....still does! So next time you are in the grocery store, pick up a bottle of WELCH'S grape juice (the purple one)! You could just possibly having some of dad grapes!
10. FIXER UPPERS......I love to find something that might need a little help and turn it into a great piece someone would love to buy and have in their home. It is recycling in disguise and I get a kick out of it everytime!
Well I know this was a long post but I really enjoyed it and you may have all learned a little bit more about me and when I am the way I am!! LOL! Hope your day is great!! Don't forget to count your blessings!!
UPDATE!!!!! After telling Russ about my 10 things he said I can't believe you forgot.......FEEDING THE BIRDS!!! So I had to add number 11!!!! We may not have enough groceries in the house but my birdies will be fed!! I espicially love the Cardinals....... I once had 27 of them out there at once!! I was speechless! All the birds just bring a smile to a my face everyday!!

BETWEEN BARBARA STREISAND & TOM JONES......

Who doesn't like a freebie??? Well on my "junkin escapde" the other day I came across this old bread board that still had the original old chippy ivory color paint along the edge. It was sitting in a box of old records...between Barbara Streisand and Tom Jones! I yanked this out so fast that the whole box of records fell apart but it was TOTALLY worth it!! Anyway.....I went to get a price and the guy said "what are you gonna do with this thing??? .....WEEELLLLLLL , I told him that I had no idea at the moment but I would for sure figure out the perfect place for it to go and he needn't worry! LOL..Then he said the best four letter word that starts with "F " ever to be heard............you can have it for FREE!!!!! Yep FREE!!! So, inside I am like doing cartwheels and jumpin for joy and all that but outside I am the calm cool business woman and said "well okay that sounds good..thanks....." and turned around and ran to put it in the truck!! When I got home I put some paste wax on it and cleaned it up a bit and then walked around the house thinking and looking on where this baby might land....As you can see it landed under my cloche on top of my chippy side table!!... A way better spot than being stuck between Babs and Tom don't ya think! Til next time........

FINALLY...SOME SNOW!!

Ally in her sweater!!

Front Porch

YIPPEE!! Well girls.... my junk market "finds" pictures will have to wait a day or so because we FINALLY got some snow here in NC!! I spent a good part of the day outside filling birdfeeders and birdbaths plus taking a bunch of pictures and playing with Ally in the snow! It was great. I got to shovel off the deck and sidewalk ( I love to shovel and plow!!!) then Russ and I went for a walk up and down the street to see the winter wonderland! It's days like this when you really appreciate the simple things in life ....warm hand knitted mittens, a heavy flannel jacket, birds in the yard, snowflakes, shovel, central heat, warm boots, thick socks, hot cocoa, and hat hair...LOL!! Hope you all found some simple things to enjoy today!

THIS ONE HAS QUITE A STORY!

You aren't going to believe this one!! It all starts out with a fun day of shopping after being released from "Christmas Jail" (that's what my friends have started calling it because I can never do anything during the Holidays because I am so busy with the shop!) Anyway, I came across this FABULOUS old, old ,old huge primitive base cupboard in OLD RED PAINT none the less. It is all toungue and groove pine with handmade latches and knobs, four doors and did I mention yet how HEAVY this is?????? ( That part is really important to the story). The day I bought it I couldn't take it because I didn't have the truck, so no problem I could just come back another day and get it. It would be convenient to because it was already sitting outside(another important part to the story) and I wouldn't have to make special arrangements with the shop owners...just come on back and load it up. Well Russ and I were running errands a few days later and he said that we may as well just drive on over there and get it. After that comment the transmission in the truck started slipping (we had just had a new one put in a few weeks earlier...THAT'S another story for another day...) so we decided we better just get home ONLY we wound up getting there in the backseat of a TOW TRUCK!! Talk about frustrating! I called the shop back and told them that we wouldn't be able to get the cupboard that day and that I would have to get back with them after the truck was repaired. The next morning I get a call from the shop...it goes like this....." Hi Beth, hey did you come and pick up the cupboard last night????" ....me "Um no...remember I called to tell you that the #$%*!! transmission was giving us trouble again?? "...them "Uh well then it's been STOLEN and we are going to call the police and we will call you back to tell you what needs to be done. " me UHHHHHHHH, Your're kidding??? Um alright , let me know what happens!'' So we hang up and I am just shy of having a breakdown then just realize there is no use in stressing about it and what will be will be! WELL LOW AND BEHOLD......about half hour later I get a call from the shop again...."Hey Beth....WE FOUND YOUR CUPBOARD!!!!!! Apparently....the guys who stole it were in the process of getting hernias because it is so heavy that they dumped it in the front yard of a house two doors down!! There she was laying on her side in broad day light!!! I was so HAPPY!!! To try to picture them carrying this thing and just saying the heck with it makes me laugh because it just goes to show you that having some extra bulk on you can pay off sometimes!! LOL! So now she is safe and sound and looking FABULOUS in the shop. I have bought many a piece of furniture in my day BUT none of them have as exciting a story as this one....at least that I know about!

GOT JUNK???? TELL ME ALL ABOUT IT!

Okay gals!! I thought this would be a fun post to do!! WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PIECE OF JUNK that you have ,where did you get it and how much was it??!!
My absolutely favorite piece I found was about 10 years ago at a yard sale. It was this old looking base cupboard that had a round hole cut in the top. Apparently there had been a table saw bolted on to the top and the customer right ahead of me had just taken it off and bought it and was loading it into his car. He was getting ready to leave and I asked him if he was taking the cupboard and he said no! So, jumping for joy I hopped on over to the gal that was having the sale and asked her 'how much for the cupboard??" She proceeded to udder the best four letter word on the face of the earth......FREE!!!!!! HOLY COW!!!! Well I loaded that baby up in the trunk of my Chevy Cavalier (yep it was hangin out the back with a bungee cord to hold the trunk lid down) and couldn't wait to get it home and fiddle with it! Well after unloading it I hosed it off in the backyard and I opened the two doors to clean inside and LO and BEHOLD.......right there , nailed to the inside to was an ANTIQUE WOODED SPICE CUPBOARD!!! The kind with eight little drawers and the spice names stenciled on . Whoever put it there had used it for nuts, bolts, nails and screws. I was totally freaking out and just blowing a gasket!!! I had to reload the whole thing back into the car and take it to my Dad's so he could get it out for me. I spare you the look on his face when I pulled into the drive way.......................Anyway, he rescued the spice box for me and I was back home to now decorate! Remember the round hole in the top of the cupboard?? Well I wound up putting an old enamelware bowl in it and filled it with potpourri and a candle. It sat out in my sun porch and I have never had a piece of furniture that received more compliments than that. The spice cupboard hung on the wall in the kitchen where I could gaze it while I slaved away preparing meals! So there ya go....can't wait to hear your story!!