It's Craft Show Time

Thread and little fabric snips are tracked throughout the house this time of year. My sewing machine makes a permanent home at the end of the dining room table where the light from the sliding door is just better on my eyes. Our family room is filled with display racks and projects waiting for my attention. To say the least, the house is in a bit of a mess, but I'm having a good time.

Last weekend I did the first craft show of the season with a niece. We had a great day and did pretty well. It's always fun to meet new people, especially when they offer great ideas and tips on our crafting and display.  It is great to come away from a craft show with new ideas and inspiration.

This year I have developed a design for Car Trash Bags and have had them at The Red Dresser - An Eclectic Boutique where they have been selling pretty well. I also featured them at the craft show last weekend and am busy making more for the next show and to keep the downtown shop well supplied.
 

 

 

These "Car Trash Bags" are vinyl lined and are sized so that a paper lunch sack can be used to line them.  They will hang from a console shifter, a knob, or an arm rest in your car.  If that doesn't work you can use one of the 3M/Command hooks like I did - I placed the hook on the dashboard of my car so that the trash bag hangs just to the passenger side of the center of the car - works perfect for me.  With the 3M/Command hook system you could even attach one behind the seats where the kids could easily reach a place to toss their trash.

These are only six of the designs - more are coming.  The most popular one is out of owl fabric that I had run out of, but I have just received a new shipment and the owl bags are cut out and waiting on the table for me.  I had great requests for other designs, so you'll be seeing some leopard prints, sports team, camouflage, some lighthouse prints and more... I'll post as I get them made.

I had an assortment of other things at the craft show, as well. The first thing that sold was a fabric stuffed pumpkin. I made them because I needed a great decoration to go on the table runners that I made...

I love "Miss Mustard Seed" and all of her great ideas.  She uses new painter's drop cloths for making slip covers for furniture and all kinds of things.  She has great tutorials about how to wash and prep the drop cloth so that it's ready to work with.  Check out her website:  www.missmustardseed.com.

I had purchased a drop cloth to use as a drop cloth, but then decided that old sheets would work for what I wanted and I transformed the newly purchased drop cloth into other things.  Check out the seat on the window bench that I made for my niece in an earlier post: A New Window Seat

I had washed that drop cloth with lots of bleach (a couple of cups) and put it through three wash cycles and a couple of rinse cycles.  I then threw that big (9'x12') drop cloth in the dryer expecting it to come out all crumpled and wrinkled - it didn't!!!!  It came out great and for the price it is great fabric!

So I had the rest of the drop cloth left from the window seat project so used it up making "Table Runners" - I lined them with muslin.  They are 72" plus the ruffle on each end - some with a single ruffle and some with a double.

 

 

One of the "Table Runners: with some pumpkins on top.

Here are the pumpkins.

 

The "Table Runners" will transition well from Thanksgiving to Christmas with just a change of decorations on top.  Maybe there will be one left for me to use in my own home (I never seem to have anything on display at my own home that I make - I make them to sell).

I made a "Padded iPad Case" for my niece and she traveled to Italy and back with her iPad safely inside, and loved it.  I didn't like the pattern or padding that it called for, so I used it as inspiration to run with my own design - so if you need a "Padded iPad Case", I have a few made up.

 

It's a padded case with a Velcro closure, has a pocket for a pad of paper, etc.

(that's the great selling owl fabric I used in the "Car Trash Bags")

 

Several fabric options to choose from.

 

I like to sew but sometimes need a change, so I also like painting furniture and re-purposing things.

I made "Dry Erase Boards" for the craft show by painting picture frames with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.  I love her paint because you don't have to prime or prep - you can just start painting and then finish it off with a coat of wax.  She carries clear and dark wax in her line.

I used scrapbook paper in the frames for the background - even used some fusible web on the back of some owl scrap fabric and ironed the owl onto the paper.  Once the paper is behind the glass you can write on the glass with a dry-erase marker.  They can sit on the counter, hang on the wall... I always jot things I want to remember on my bathroom mirror with a dry-erase marker.  Now I think I'll design a "Dry Erase Board" for the areas of the house that I often find myself without something to write on.

I have several designs to choose from.

 

I also have made "Checkerboards" and "Chalkboards" so had them at the craft show, as well.  The "Chalkboards" I made by re-purposing old cupboard doors and drawer fronts from a kitchen remodel.  Again, Annie Sloan Chalk Paint is wonderful - three coats and it can be used as chalkboard paint, but I used the can of chalkboard paint that you find in the home improvement stores for the part that you write on - I did use her paint on all of the frames around the chalkboards, though.

 

 

 

I'm thinking that I need to promote these "Checkerboards" as some "unplugged" fun - get those kids away from the electronics for a simple game of checkers and start a new family game (new to the younger crowd, anyway).

So that's my life these days until December, anyway.  For now you'll find me (along with my everyday duties) sewing, painting, crafting, and getting ready for the next craft show - that would be on November 10 at the TC Christian School in our area, then on November 17 at Old Mission Peninsula United Methodist Church, and I'm still looking into an early December show.  I need to leave time after that to make a meaningful Christmas for my family, which includes cleaning up my crafting messes, getting beds made, presents wrapped, and the sweet smell of Christmas goodies coming from the oven.

If you're in my area, stop by one of the craft shows to see me or stop by Red Dresser - An Eclectic Boutique to check out the "Car Trash Bags".

A New Window Seat

My niece was looking for a window seat to put in a garden shed that she has converted into a summer sitting room.  We were thinking that some kind of a trunk with a cushion on top would be good, but most of the trunks you see around would be just too big for the space.  I stumbled across this handmade pine box of sorts at a garage sale, so I picked it up for twelve bucks - it's 12 inches deep, 37 inches long, just the right height to sit on, and storage space besides.

 

Original Pine Box

Original Pine Box

 

 

I painted the whole thing with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in the color called Emperors' Silk.

 

First Coat: Annie Sloan Chalk Paint "Emperors' Silk"

 

 

Next I painted over the Emperors' Silk with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in the color called Versailles, except for the inside.

 

Second Coat: Annie Sloan Chalk Paint "Versailles"

 

 

My husband came home after work and said, "I thought you had that painted red.  Didn't you like it that color?" Well, not wanting to explain my whole plan, I just responded, "It was ok, but I have other plans."

After the coat of Versailles I put on a thin coat of clear wax and let it dry.  Next I took some fine sandpaper and started sanding down to expose some of the Emperors' Silk.   I wasn't sure how I liked it until I started waxing it again - another coat of clear wax with dark wax over the top, some drying time, some buffing, sewing a cushion for the top, and Oh My Gosh - I love those two colors together and so did my niece.

She's going to add a hinge on the front to add a little more character, but here is the finished window seat for her little summer sitting room.

 

 

Window seat after two coats of clear wax and one coat of dark wax.

Finished Window Seat

 

 

I will not walk past a handmade pine box at a garage sale again! This was a fun project - a simple pine box with heavy coats of varnish, given a new life with some Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and some of her great wax. Now all I need is a picture of it in its new home - that great garden shed that's been transformed into a great summer sitting room. 

I should add that there was an inspiration piece that my niece saw - a small shelving unit with a cushion on top and listed for $499. I made this for $23 plus the cost of the paint.  

I also made the cushion from a piece of canvas drop cloth that you can find at any home improvement store. I had watched a video by Miss Mustard Seed about buying, washing, and using these drop cloths for slip covers and things like that. It worked out great! I bought one that was 9' x 20' for about $18. I was afraid it would come out of the dryer a wrinkled up mess, but it washed and dried very well. I put bleach in when I washed it as suggested by Miss Mustard Seed and it came out a nice oatmeal color. I will be trying some slipcovers on a couple of chairs that I have. 

The Internet is so wonderful and gives me so much inspiration and instruction.  :)

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.  :)

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.