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.  :)

What do you make?

While I try to figure out this whole blog thing, I think I should post some pictures as I've had several people asking, "What do you make?".  I also had a call from my hubby today asking if I had pictures on my blog that he could show a gal at work - nope, not yet.  I guess I should fix that.

My GOAL (remember, my last post was about setting goals) is to start posting items with prices under a separate tab - just haven't quite figured that out, yet (remember, I said that I'm not very techy).

My sewing/crafting started with the Memory Blankets and then went on to me looking for a laundry hamper for our new grand baby.  I couldn't find anything cute in the stores and if I found anything at all they were priced out of my range.  That's when I created  "Hamper Liners" that fit a tall kitchen wastebasket - perfect size for a little one's laundry hamper, toy basket, or a cute hamper to fit any smaller space.  I actually made two for baby Emma and included little handmade vouchers so that her mama could redeem them for laundry service via this grandma for a few times after she was home with the new baby - slip one "Hamper Liner" out with the dirty laundry and slip another one in the wastebasket to start all over, again.

I've been selling a "Hamper Liner" for $15 and at craft shows have run a show special of $20 with the wastebasket - I got a good deal on a stack of wastebaskets at Meijer a while back, and believe me $20 is a great deal on a cute hamper - trust me, I've shopped many stores before Emma was born.

Here's a sampling of Hamper Liners I have made.  I'd also be happy to make one with your fabric choice.

I will post pictures of some other things a little later, but for now here's a description of some of them...

Most recently I've been making tote bags and diaper pouches.  The tote bags can be used for a small diaper bag, a purse, or just a tote bag to throw some things in and head out the door.  The diaper pouches are designed so that you can tuck it in your larger diaper bag and then pull it out when you have to head in somewhere to change the baby.  They hold two or three diapers and a travel size pack of baby wipes.  I'm selling the "Pack-n-Go" tote bags for $20 (they are about 13x13) and a "Diaper Pouch" for $6.50 (is 6x9).

You know, it's not so much about the diaper bag fitting your boy or girl baby - it's more that it's something mom wouldn't mind carrying.   I would always be willing to make a baby themed set for someone, but I like that I've created this line more with mom in mind.

Beside the baby things, I've made some little bags that I've named "Scrappy Bags" because I wanted to find a way to use my little scraps from other projects.  Our almost 10 year old granddaughter loves hers.  It is perfect for a little pad of paper & a pen, her CD's fit in it, and she says it's the perfect size for her DS.  I've sewn them together leaving the raw edges exposed.  They are embellished with a fabric flower and I've been selling them for $7.50.

"Cross My Heart" pins were created with Valentine's Day in mind but I'm liking the idea of them for year round.   They have a cross charm sewn onto a pretty heart with a pin back attached.  They can be worn on your lapel or you could hang them from a pretty ribbon in a special place.  I've attached them to a card so you could add a message on the inside, "Crossing my heart and praying for you", "I cross my heart and promise I will always love you"... you get the idea.   I sold them for $3.50 at the last craft show.

"A Piece from the Past" are things that I've made that include some vintage element.  I've found that linen napkins, doilies, hankies, and small tablecloths work great in creating a special occasion baby blanket.  The prices vary depending on what I have to pay for the vintage part.   I've found that many people have these things tucked away in boxes or dresser drawers and are excited to have them find a new purpose where they can be seen.  I'm always looking for pieces so if you have some pieces you would part with, I'd be happy to talk price.  Also, if you have a special piece you'd like turned into something for your own family, I'd be happy to talk to you about doing that, too.

What's next... I'm really liking the whole recycle/repurposing thing so am coming up with some ideas to run with.  I think you'll start seeing some cute envelope purses made out of vintage linens and dresses.  Those little "Scrappy Bags" would be cute using old jeans and such for the main element.  Flower pins are all the go right now, so I'm thinking a little vintage flare for some of those would be great, too.

For now, I'm headed back to my sewing room to finish creating Tiffani's cheerleader's bag that will hold her shoes, clothes, and pom poms.  I have it started with an old pair of my jeans and some patriotic fabric - some good red, white, and blue will go well with her red pom poms.   I'll take a picture when I'm done and will post it along with pictures of the things I've mentioned above.

I hope this gives you a little glimpse inside my "Simply by Marge" world.