Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Cherry Aprons


I live in "cherry country" so we like to include cherries in lots of things - cookies, pies, muffins, cakes, aprons - yes, even aprons.  I love this cherry print fabric so I made a few aprons with it.  Today they're going to be finding a new home at The Red Dresser - An Eclectic Boutique in Traverse City, Michigan.  They will be part of a "Cherry Festival" display.  How fun is that!

The weather wasn't very kind to our cherry crops in our area this year - Jack Frost took a big bite out of it.  There might not be an abundance of the fruit to enjoy this year but we will continue to promote those beautiful red cherries whenever and wherever we can.   Stop by the local fruit stands and support our local farmers, and browse through some shops and support some local crafters, as well.  :)

Saturday, June 23, 2012

The Red Dresser's Hens & Friends Barn Sale

What a wonderful weekend and the perfect setting for a sale - beautiful yard filled with canopy tents, each filled with fun things to sell. An old, red barn in the middle of the yard that housed many more little nooks and crannies of unique - and antique - things to sell. Fun stuff. Fun event.

This was my first outdoor sale and I think God had truly blessed my weekend. The event was a short walk from my house which made getting there pretty easy. The weather couldn't have been more perfect. It was great to see people excited about their new treasures and being inspired to create something themselves with some Annie Sloan paint that was sold there. Fellowship with my helpful granddaughter, daughter and niece made it pretty special, too - my hubby was very helpful, too, and even our son was able to lend a helping hand.

You just never know what will sell, and even though I had to bring some stuff back home I did pretty well. I went there with an assortment of things and sold an assortment of things, but people are really into the old furniture stuff right now - wood grain furniture not so much, but painted old furniture - that's where the interest is. They either want the pieces that someone has put a nice coat of paint on or they want an old piece of furniture that they can paint themselves - making something old look fresh and new with lots of character.

Here are some pictures of the great weekend...
 
 
The Americana corner - handcrafted checkerboards, water bottle holders, baby t-shirts, an apron...
Red, white & blue stuff.
 
Garage sale finds painted with Annie Sloan Paint.
 
Old cupboard doors that I saved from our kitchen remodeland painted for the sale - the raised centers became chalkboards.
They were a popular item and fun for us to write little messages onso folks would know that they were actually chalkboards.
Lily (the vintage dress form) is wearing one of the aprons that I made.
My helpers (Tiffani & Lori) had fun putting aprons on and walking around with them on to try to make a sale for me.
I spent today in one of the Cherry Aprons - I don't usually wear an apron, but think I'm going to start.
It was fun to wear and it really would keep me from getting stuff splattered all over my clothes while cooking.
 

Chalkboards were selling well the first evening so I had to fill in the gaps today with checkerboards.
 

The Barn Sale Special was the Hamper Liners with the wastebasket that they fit in - small hampers that work well for kids. The first ones I made were for our new grandbaby. We've discovered that they're great for fabric scraps in this grandma's
sewing room, good for stuffed animals that need a place to hang out other than the floor, and for the basic laundry hamper where there's not a whole lot of room for a big one. There are lots of fabrics tops to choose from.
 

A couple of my helpers. :)
 

A vintage stroller that's been in the rafters of our garage for years.
It didn't sell at the Barn Sale but it did makefor some fun pictures of our grandbaby, Emma.
 
 
This is me, Marge. For those of you that know me but haven't seen me in a while, YES, I quit coloring my hair.
It is not gray or silver, but WHITE. I'm ok with that.
I no longer have to worry about the wind blowing my hair and someone seeing my roots.
I'm happy having my grandma's white hair.
It's doesn't make me any older but it has simplified my life, and sofar everyone seems to recognize me. :)
 

Again, it was a great weekend and a fun event to be a part of.  Let me know if you see anything in the pictures that you're interested in - NO, the grandbaby is not for sale.  :)

Friday, June 22, 2012

Barn Sale

It was a busy evening at The Red Dresser's Hens & Friends Barn Sale. People were lined up waiting for five o'clock when they could storm into the barn and booths to see what treasures they could find.  What a great way to start the evening.

Painted furniture seems to be the going thing and that's a good thing since I've discovered how fun it is to paint with Annie Sloan paint. I sold a couple of great painted chairs that will be finding at new home in someone's new cabin. They also purchased dressers, tables and lots of other things from other vendors that will make their new place a "home". 

My old kitchen cupboard doors were transformed into chalkboards and that seems to be a pretty popular thing. We had fun writing little messages on them before the sale started and they are selling really well. :)

All in all it was a great day. Beautiful weather for setting up my booth outside. The customers were fun. I sold some stuff. Now tomorrow we do it all again. I'm looking forward to it but think I better get some sleep first.

Pictures will be coming soon - better yet, stop by the Barn Sale tomorrow and see for yourself all the great treasures that can be found at The Red Dresser's Hen & Friends Barn Sale.