Spring Weekend Sales

We have scheduled our first farm auction sale of the year.  April 6 is the date and I couldn't be more excited!  My husband has the weekend off and he will be my driver to a faraway Kansas destination!  However, this means it's time to slash prices of current stock.

So, in order to make room in my storage for new auction finds, each weekend I will be placing up 4 items with drastically reduced prices for the weekend only starting on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  When Monday rolls around, they will be placed back in the shop with mildly reduced prices.  So take advantage of the weekend sales to save money on something you've had your eye on.

This weekend's offering are these 4 items:

First is a handmade Fulton Seed Sack Pillow.  The backing is an advertisement from an old 1906 Montgomery Ward Catalog that I printed at Spoonflower.  The pillow inside is included:

WAS $34.99 NOW $24.99.  You can find it HERE.

One of my favorite finds last year was this awesome Windmill Vane and Stem from Fairbury, Nebraska.  This is a pick-up item only because of its' size. Pick up in the Kansas City / Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri area.

WAS $250.00 NOW $175.00.  You can find it HERE.

I'm surprised this adorable vintage Donkey and Cart Handmade Toy hasn't found a home!  This is folk art at its finest!

WAS $34.99 NOW $18.99.  You can find it HERE.

And finally, this awesome vintage Floor Wax can.  It has a great color and logo!

WAS $9.95 NOW $3.95. You can find it HERE.

Have a terrific weekend and a most Blessed Easter!

Pinterest Friday

I almost squealed when I saw this on Pinterest:

(Source:  http://pinterest.com/pin/265853184225698723/ )

I see these old soda coolers from time to time and NEVER imagined them being turned into a bathroom sink but why not?  I've seen antique pieces of furniture like dressers turned into bathroom vanities, so this would be the quirkier version and I like, no, LOVE this idea!

B*itch, Please

Today I'm organizing my personal fabric stash dividing the vintage feed and grain sacks, feedsack material, new fabric, vintage fabric and scraps.  I thought using plastic storage bins would be a great idea to keep things organized.

So did Mable, my nearly 14-year old applehead siamese.

When I turned around, she had staked her claim to one of the empty bins.  When I asked her politely to leave, she meowed and I took the photo.  I'm guessing this was a "no."

Then I got this look:

Have you seen the Charlie Brown and Snoopy cartoons floating around the internet where they are sitting on a dock and Snoopy says something and Charlie responds, "Bitch, Please." ?

I'm guessing this is Mable's look of "Bitch, please."  Wink:Wink.

How can I say no to my precious little blue-eyed babe.  I can't.

And she knows it!

Pinterest Friday / Easter Decor: The Finale

I'm combining both Pinterest Friday and the finale of the our Easter decor into one blog full of Easter goodness.

For Pinterest Friday, I pinned the directions to this sweet rabbit embroidery from Sarah Jane Studios:

(Source:  http://pinterest.com/pin/265853184225659239/)

Here's the link:  Rabbit Embroidery Blog Post with Tutorial

Pair this piece with the vintage rabbit embroidery design I blogged about prior and they would make great gifts for Easter.  You can make tea towels or even pillow cases with the designs with minimal effort.  Remember:  heirloom quality handmade items are loved and enjoyed for generations!

To wrap up my Easter decor, here's a sweet head of lettuce with rabbits on top.  The top does open so you could use the piece for serving up a tasty jello salad.  The head of lettuce sits on a lettuce-edged plate, as well, though that isn't photographed as clearly:

My grandmother's name is carved on the bottom of the plate.  Cute, huh?

The sparkles on this egg remind me of the 1950's, which I'm sure is when the egg was painted.  It also opens up, as you can tell.

I have a couple of these rabbits with pink rhinestone eyes.  I'm pretty sure my mother's name is on the rabbits.  I know my grandmother had both my mom and aunt help out with the painting over the years.

This antique milk glass egg was given to me when my grandmother liquidated her estate.  The writing is rubbing off as is the floral paint, but I still love the look.  It's quite fragile, as well.  I'm not sure if this was a piece that was handed down to her or if she purchased it at an antique shop.  Either way it's quite special.

And finally, this little vignette makes me smile.  The praying boy nightlight was from my grandmother. The hand-painted egg was made by a woman whose children I babysat when I lived in North Carolina many moons ago.

Just small touches around the house give it a festive flair of this most joyous of holidays.

The weekend is here!  Stop in at your local antique shop to search for lovely little Easter treasures to add a touch of homemade to your Easter decor.

Easter Decor Part 2

My mother, at one point, started collecting small figurine boxes (I guess that's what they are called) for me, primarily Easter boxes.  I know there would have been others obtained through the years, but a stroke took her away, so these little ceramic and resin boxes mean more to me than ever. And I know in the blog post prior, I mentioned buying things off the shelf that are made overseas do not really become heirlooms, but there are exceptions.

These pieces are not vintage, unless you consider 1990's vintage.  I take that back, I think Etsy now allows up to 1993 or 1994 as vintage so maybe they are climbing into that category.

I am getting old.

Anyway, the boxes get a very special place each Easter season.

I put them on the music box my grandmother gave me for Christmas.

Sweet, right?  The next picture is authentically vintage because it came from my grandmother's home when she was liquidating everything to sell the house.

I placed the egg on a candle that has a timer, so in the evening it flickers underneath the egg.  :)

Tomorrow I will finish with a few more ceramic pieces and that will wrap up our Easter decor.  Just a few, close-to-the-heart pieces decorate the home this season, but each piece tells a story of familial love and the greatest love of all: Christ's love!

Easter Decor Part 1

I'm sure glad my grandmother decided ceramics was the thing back in the 1960's because she painted many lovely little pieces that I now own.  The next few blog posts will feature a few Easter items that I treasure!

Isn't this basket adorable?  Her name is carved on the bottom of each piece she made.  You'll also notice the fabric decoupaged egg to the right.  Her mother, my great-grandmother, made the eggs.  Here's part of the collection:

I have more eggs on the mantle, but this gives you an idea.  I bring out these Easter items every single year. Handmade items are so much more special than buying something off the shelf in today's world.  So many items are mass-produced overseas and you have to ask yourself if these items will become heirlooms.  If not, then considering crafting something special for your child or grandchild that will stand the test of time.

Vintage Free Easter Bunny Embroidery Pattern

Just in time for Easter!  This would be so cute embroidered on a small pillowcase or even a tea towel!

Embrace Your Inner Farm Girl and Pitch the Post-It Notes

Every farm house kitchen needs a place to write notes such as grocery lists and honey-do lists.  If you were around in the 1960's - 1970's, then you'll remember this:

It probably sat on a desk of an employee of the American Dairy Association of Missouri.  The top piece opens up and most likely held notes or receipts:

Wouldn't this be perfect for the kitchen nook or even on your desk in lieu of post-it notes?

You can still buy the rolls of paper at an Office Max, Staples or any office-related big box retailer.

I would imagine the paper is just about the same size as you'd use in a printable calculator if they still make them today.  I love the industrial appearance of this piece and if you do too, you can find it at Dancing Bumblebee Cottage right HERE.

Pinterest Friday

Is it Friday already?  Goodie gumdrops!

I've pinned ideas to use when you have vintage frames without the glass and you don't know how to display them.

(Source: http://pinterest.com/pin/265853184225563432/)

What a delightful idea to place antique clocks in the center of the frames.  Here's the link that will take you to the site which has other pictures including pocket watches in frames:  Framed Clocks

Here's another neat idea using a frame as a jewelry display:

(Source:http://pinterest.com/pin/265853184225621024/)

Link: Antique Frame Jewelry Display

Although I think this, by far, is my favorite pin:

(Source:http://pinterest.com/pin/265853184223964105/)

Link: Clothespin on Twine Picture Frame

I think using frames for something unexpected brings charm in any decorating scheme.  My shop is currently carrying a couple of great frames found at a Nebraska farm auction.

I liked the rounded edges of this frame.  It's an oldie and even though there's a chunk of wood off the left hand side, I think it adds character and brings a primitive element in the design.

This frame is my very, very favorite!  After cleaning off several layers of dirt, a greenish coloring on the edges of this frame appeared!  Isn't it lovely?  The link to the shop is to your right.

What ideas spring to your mind when you see a vintage frame?

Enjoy your weekend!

Vintage EZ Mounts

Most old photo albums have small mounts on each corner of the picture to safely adhere to the page.  The next two photos are from my grandmother's photo album:

I went home over Christmas and scanned in many pictures from her albums while she sat and explained nearly every picture.  This one brings me great joy because this was her comment, "He had a great car. Why do you think I started dating him?"

My 84 year old grandmother is awesome!

I don't quite remember who the girl in the back center digging for gold is, but my mother is in the back on the right hand side.  Isn't she adorable?

So it was fun when I came across this envelope of photo mounts in one of my ephemera boxes:

I'd guess this is from either the 1930's or 1940's.  Neat-o-keen!  It's great, if just for the advertising aspect and would be perfect framed and gifted to a photographer.  The mounts are listed in my Etsy shop.  Check them out!

Farm Girl Fabric

Boy am I ever on an ephemera kick.  It could be the result of cleaning out and organizing my office space.  :)  Everything is now reorganized in clear totes which is heaven!!  Can I tell you how delicious a full clear tote of vintage feed sack fabric is?  I'll have to shoot a picture and post in the near future because it's so loverly.

Speaking of ephemera and fabric, I like marrying the two.  See the link in my right sidebar that says Spoonflower.  You'll notice I have a little shop there.

Recently, I sat down with my hand-held scanner and a 1925 Kansas Farmer publication and scanned in sweet cut art and advertising.  I especially liked this art showing a woman looking down at a chicken and baby chicks:

It was above an article about how farm wives are making money with the purchase of baby chicks.  I turned it into fabric over at Spoonflower.  The sample I scanned has the pattern in straight lines, though I have changed it to a half drop pattern that you can see on the site.

What fun this could be by making cafe curtains for your farmhouse kitchen!  I have 2 storage tubs full of vintage ephemera that I have picked up at auctions, so continue to stay tuned for more fabric designs and other featured tidbits here on the blog.

Pinterest Friday!

I'm starting a new column every Friday titled, "Pinterest Friday".  With the weekend ahead, this is the perfect time to start a crafty project and what better source of inspiration than Pinterest!

So, you have a dog.  So do I (3, actually)!  Our newest little squirt is a poodle named Edie.

She won't be very tall, so this idea probably wouldn't work in her case, but if you have larger dog whose dishes are accidentally kicked causing a mess, then this idea is for you!

Here's the link on Pinterest:  Elevated Pet Dishes

Isn't this a brilliant idea?  If you have a medium-sized dog, consider using a step stool like the one in my Etsy shop:

You can find this stool in my Etsy shop; link is on your right.

So dig in the garage and basement, visit your local antique shop or buy a vintage chair or stool online and create an off-the-floor eating experience for your dog while making a decorating statement at the same time!

Win-win, right?

Enjoy your weekend!

Time Capsule Auction

I've been perusing the various publications that advertise farm auctions.  There is one this weekend that I *may* hit, but otherwise not much in the books as of yet.

Sometimes, I wish I could step in a time capsule (OK, more than sometimes; LOTS of times!) and go back in time.  Knowing what I now, I wish I could step back to the mid-1970's and attend my great-grandparent's auction in Sycamore, Illinois.

Doesn't this look like fun?

This is their kitchen and a place I remember well.  On the left-hand side, you'll notice a small pantry.  My grandmother stored gumdrops in a Ball Jar there and would take out the jar before we'd leave so we could grab a gumdrop or two.  :)

The white pantry behind the table had drawers below that held toys.  I particularly remember a plastic horse that I helped gallop across this floor many times!

See the shorter guy with a hat and glasses?  His name was Red Johnson and he was the auctioneer and the town mayor.  :)

Auctions haven't changed much.  There's still someone who walks around with the auctioneer handwriting the sales into a book to be taken to the clerk.  Vintage items are still placed on flatbeds and around the perimeter of the lot.  And buyers will always be there to snatch up wonderful items from days gone by.

Sigh.  At least we have the photographic memories!  :) Now more than ever, I'm in the mood for a good old country farm auction (It's been a looooong winter).