Things Are A'Changing Around Here

Hello all!  So, I have been sitting on some news about some thoughts about changing our dynamic around here.  I didn't really know how to put it since I was feeling a little sad at first.  So, I will just blurt it out in true Michelle fashion.  We are closing the shoppe.  This is the last weekend that the shoppe will be open on a regular basis.

Now, that being said, I feel that I should offer somewhat of an explanation.   When we opened the shoppe, I started taking on custom painting jobs since I had more room to spread out and paint.  I would work on them alongside the pieces I was working on to sell in the shoppe and my booth.  The custom painting side of my little business has grown and grown to the point that I am now squeezing in my pieces to paint alongside the custom pieces.  There is only so much time and we have cut into our open hours over the past few months to give me more time to get the pieces finished.  Besides the painting, I also have wholesale clients that I have to create products.  Not to mention my #1 employee has been pretty busy with his own work!

So, the decision was made for me to go to full time painting.  I will still keep my booth at Winchester Antiques and there is always my etsy shoppe that will be restocked more frequently since I won't have to watch like a hawk to make sure items are taken down if they sell in the shoppe.  We are planning some pop up type shoppe sales closer to Spring when it is prettier.  I will announce those here and on Facebook. I will still paint at the shoppe and we are hoping to carve a little studio for the Mr there too.

This is bittersweet for me.  I am thrilled to still be doing what I love.  But, I loved having the shoppe open.  We have made so many friends through the shoppe... we see some of them more than we see some of our family.  I am excited to have a little more leeway in our schedule.  Some weekends we have missed out on doing things since we were open. Even though change is hard, I do like it.  I like just enough change so things aren't boring, but right before chaos ensues *wink*

I am so blessed to have been giving this opportunity and to still be doing something I love, albeit in a different facet.  Thank ALL of you guys that have supported me in my little dream.  I can't say that enough... without your support and kind words of encouragement, this wouldn't have happened.   This isn't goodbye... like I said I will still be there, so pop by and say hi.

bye for now~

Around the Shoppe

Hello all!  Today was one of those great rainy days!  I was excited to be back at the shoppe after a little break from it last weekend to restock and *roadtrip*  We picked up some great furniture over the past week and if you follow along on Facebook you have probably seen some of the finished pieces already. 

We created quite a few lamps and shades for the barn show and we have some more waiting in the wings.  I love lighting!  I love interesting lamps and I really love making shades as well.

This pretty buffet is the first thing that sold today... it will be in a nursery!  I always love to know that my furniture pieces will be in a baby's room!

I have a thing for bachelor's chests and I always have to pick them up when I see them.  I painted the hidden drawers the contrasting color on the insets and knobs.  I love the spindle-y legs of this one too.

As always, it isn't all work at the shoppe.  Today, the Mr picked up the guitar and then baby hughes picked up some clothespins and turned them into drumsticks for a little jam session.  I think the lunch pail drums drowned out the acoustic... imagine that *wink* We also managed to fit in some games of *Go Fish* It is relatively new around here and quite entertaining to play... I love games!

Tomorrow, our neighbors, the Spring Hill Antique Mall, are hosting an autumn vintage market with handmade, vintage, food, and music from 9-6, so I am looking forward to sneaking over there at some point.  If you are in the area, you should stop by... the Spring one had a great turnout even though it was f r e e z i n g for April.

I am still adding to the shoppe over the next week... we have finished some other handmade items and repurposed *stuff* that we just need to put the finishing touches on.

Have a lovely *Fall* weekend!  Go crunch some leaves!  We are enjoying it!

bye for now~

Keepers

Hello all!  Wow!  Where have I been?  I realized that I haven't posted in awhile.  And, I certainly wasn't being lazy *smiles*  We have had some super busy weeks at the shoppe and I have been shaking things up at home, but nothing was quite ready to take a photo or maybe I just forgot the camera.  Plus, we have had some company.  We spent a great day with my sis yesterday and while I always miss her, I realize just how much I miss her when she is here. or I am there.  baby hughes *adores* her.  Like, I am "always his best friend" but I heard him introduce her as "his favorite best friend." Somehow, I think that trumps my best friend status.  I also think its pretty cute that my 3 year introduces me and my sister to people and not the other way around.

We went out hunting last week.  Each time I do it, I try to find a spot for everything I buy. I really only buy what I love, and then I have a pep talk with myself to let it go.  I really don't want to be on Hoarders or the shoppe to be empty.  Here is a pep talk that myself lost with me:

This piece is a keeper!  I have been slowly changing things around and while the piece I said I would never part with has better storage, this piece has better legs!  Yep, I am a leg girl!  It was missing the drawer hardware.  I had been saving the rusty bin pulls for a special occasion and this was it.... they fit perfectly.  I only had two though, so I braided some linen for the top ones.  It was a temporary fix, but I am kind of liking the look.  And, even though I paint furniture, this one is staying as is.  Which means, this will be the second piece with original paint in the house.  You can also get a little glimpse of the new wall color, which I adore!  I can't believe I lived with the other for over 5 years.  It made a huge difference.  And even though I went from a green to a grey, all the colors in the room pop more and it seems brighter.  I got the vintage German botanical chart off of etsy a few years ago and decided this was the perfect spot.  It was torn and ripped, so I mounted it on some canvas.  I think I may get a new lamp too or a new shade.  Now, this piece is pretty hot all by itself with its great legs and original paint.  But, we got a surprise bonus with it too....

This smokin' hot Mr. T tee shirt was hiding in the drawers!  Did we hit the jackpot or what?!?!  I get a great piece of furniture and the Mr gets an awesome tee shirt!

Have to run now... I have to find a home for loads of cds.... I think I will stash them in the stack of suitcases.  Oh, if any of you have a great herringbone or tweedy or greyish velvet upholstery fabric on a sofa, please let me know.  I think I have the Mr convinced to recover the one upstairs.


bye for now!

Around the Shoppe

Happy Friday everyone!  We had a really busy weekend last week and a pretty busy week this week restocking and getting everything rearranged.  So, I thought I would snap a few photos of the new stuff at the shoppe this week... a little tour if you will.

The barn wood rope boards are one of Mr. Hughes'  original designs... he made one for a display once and since then he had several requests to make others.  

I ordered bunches of dried lavender and billy buttons as well.... I like the way they look in the burlap bags.

We had these old smaller jars with zinc lids hanging around, so I filled them up with some organic lavender.... if you give them a little shake and then open the lid, the whole space smells like lavender!

I haven't been posting photos of my furniture pieces here as much... only because Facebook is a fast little way to do that.  A few of you have asked though, so I thought I would share the most recent pieces that I finished this week:

Meet Jules

And Ruth

And Harriet (named after a favorite book of mine as a child!)

and Doris. 

I get quite a few requests for dressers of this size... because they are so versatile, AND because they are a great height for a changing table!  I love to know when my pieces are going to be used in nurseries!

Have a great weekend everyone!  I will be back next week with a winner for the Sweet Little Giveaway... you have until Sunday night to enter!

bye for now~

Shoppe Talk

Hello all!  I have been absent again for a bit.  I have been totally distracted with all the new (old!) furniture that we got last week.  Almost all of it needs some TLC with a swoop of the ole paintbrush.  So I have been working on those pieces in between the normal life stuff.  It is freezing here in TN!  So, when I wanted to unload the trailer on Saturday to get to all my goodies, the Mr. reminded me just how cold it was, with the wind chill.  So, I decided that maybe this week I wouldn't unload the trailer.  

But, then, a large piece sold and I can't just leave a hole that big on a Saturday.  I got my wish!  The Mr. got to work on unearthing a large farm table with original paint!!

When paint is this chippy and perfect, my paint brush won't go anywhere near it!  It is a pale green on bottom and a pinky hue on top!  We dreamed about it a little and decided that whoever built it used whatever paint on hand.  So, glad he or she did~  

I also have a few of these little stools in the shop.  I just love them!  We have a larger one in the house for baby hughes to wash his hands.  They are just so cute *smiles*

We also have lots of chippy ironstone and restaurant ware plates and mugs too. 

I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day.  We had a quiet, but yummy dinner at home.  I am off to the shoppe in a bit to take down the remainders of the Valentine's decorations and possibly add something else *wink*

bye for now~

Sort of Spooky

hello there!  Halloween is almost here and I have a little confession about it...while I love dressing up my boy and buying pumpkins, I don't like the really scary decorations.  I barely decorate for it at all... just pumpkins.  It irks me when I walk by something with my 3 year old and all the sudden some half decayed looking monster type thing screams at him.  Not cool.  I like the not so spooky side of Halloween.  So, this weekend the Mr. took out some sort of spooky, sort of moody things for the booth.

This is the Annabel, one of my moste favourite pieces (I thought those spellings were a little spooky)

she is sold *smiles*

Now, I almost always.. okay, always... briefly daydream about keeping every piece, but this one, well, she really almost stayed here.

Now, Mr. Hughes sort of has a thing for ancestry and doesn't mind going through grave yards, taking photos of cool, old stones and gates... he took out his Poe inspired chalk art for a little photo shoot.  We both love Poe.  The Mr. agrees with me about the make you jump decorations.  I want baby hughes to have fun, but not be scared.  To me being scared does not equal fun... being thrilled, like on a roller coaster is fun for me... but being so scared of something you saw that you can't sleep... not fun

So, how do you feel about scary stuff?  Are you into really scary stuff or just sort of spooky or not at all?  

Okay, the dishes are a'callin'

bye for now!

A Crib

Hello all! We (or at least I did) had one of those sunshine and rainbows sort of weekends, even if it didn't start off that way.  Can I confess something?  I loathe having yard sales.  Really.  I love to treasure hunt and buy and I had a great time selling at Bella Rustica, but a yard sale.... notsomuch.  I am really not sure why... maybe it is because I will still have to deal with the leftovers.  And, the getting ready for it isn't fun either.  In spite of all that, we had gorgeous weather and we all stayed outside and painted (Mr. Hughes) and read library books (me and the hyena) in between visitors.  Plus, we sold some stuff that was taking up space, including a rocking chair from the nursery which is slowly becoming a big boy room.  We decided to quit the sale on Friday and spend all day Saturday doing fun things like getting pumpkins and cupcakes and hunting for old toy trucks.  Yesterday, one project that was dependent on us selling the rocking chair was practically finished and I will show you later this week.

Whew... wordy!  I bet you are wondering what that crib photo is for... not us.  baby hughes was quite concerned when I was painting it... his was identical to this one.  A sweet couple that bought a dresser from me this summer contacted me and asked me to paint a crib.  I remember looking at Mr. Hughes and being like... uhhhh... I don't know.  But then, I warmed up to the idea and told them to bring it!  Since I hand paint everything and hand sand as well, I knew those spindles were going to be some work.  I used no VOC paint since I knew that it would probably be gnawed on a little *wink*  I am really pleased with how it turned out and I am pretty sure they love it too... I made her promise to send me a photo of the room all set up.  They bought the Rose dresser:

I love this piece with all its little details.  I can't wait to see it in the nursery!  I am always thrilled when I know that I piece I painted is going into a nursery.  There is something special in knowing something that you did is going to be around a new little soul.  I think this nursery is going to be so lovely!

Well, it is sunshiney today too!  I think we will get out and enjoy it when the hyena awakes.  I have some finishing touches on a personal project that I will show you later this week...it may turn into a tutorial of sorts... don't expect much though.... I am terrible with directions!

bye for now!

Hello Yellow!

Hello all!  Hope you had a wonderful weekend!  We took a short break from creating things for the Barn Show to go to my hometown to do a little shopping and a little visiting. A few weeks (or months, I am not sure) I mentioned adding a new color to my favorite greys and blues that I always lean towards in painting furniture.  And, I have since painted the inside of a buffet this wonderful color, but I hadn't found the right piece to paint the exterior this cheerful shade until now.... it was inspired by these flowers that I am currently obsessed with...

I took that inspiration and toned it down a little to remind me of some of my favorite tweed-y suitcases.... then I asked a dear friend who is a lover of this shade to help me name her...

Meet Daisy!  I think that the pop of yellow is the perfect accent to so many spaces.  And, it also goes well with another one of my favorite things....

Vintage maps!  These are from a vintage atlas that the Mr. found recently.  Daisy made her way over to Rebecca's last week.  I did a little bloggy tour of her shop last year here. Rebecca has been carrying some of my smaller handmade items for about a year now and recently she asked me to bring in some furniture as well.  I was thrilled!  I adore her shop, so I was flattered that she wanted to carry a few of my pieces.  I am working on another piece to go there later this week and hope to get a few more finished after the Barn Show for her as well.

This week we are working on more stuff for the Barn Show... maybe I will give you a sneak peek of a few of the things that will be making the trip.  And, we are also finishing getting Hazel spiffed up to make the trip as well.  Right now though, I have a date with some dishes and then with the hyena to go pick out some library books (ie play with the giant train table there.)

bye for now!

Mother Dough

Hello all!  Do you remember me?  I didn't mean to take such a break.  I got caught up in all the birthday madness last week on top of painting furniture.  You probably think I am back to share photos of the Big 3 birthday party... all in good time.  Truthfully, I haven't had a chance to look at them yet, but I promise I will post them this week.  Today, I have something non- birthday related to share.

A long, long time ago, when I had cable, I was watching a show...most likely on the cooking network.  It was about a bread company in San Francisco that made sourdough bread.  The interesting thing was that they kept using a little bit of the original dough that they started with...this is a common practice amongst sourdough bread makers, but I had never heard of it.  This little bit of yeast rich dough is called mother dough.  So, each batch of bread has a little bit of that first loaf in it.  Some may think "eeeewwww..." but I was quite inspired by it.  I tucked it away in the recesses of my brain until one day I was getting ready to paint a piece of furniture and I didn't have enough of the grey I had wanted to use. hmmm.... what to do..... I decided to mix some "end cans" and create my very own custom color.  Now, I know that many people probably create their own custom colors as well.  The next time I was out of paint and I went back to mixing some end cans, I decided to pull that same paint out and add to it, creating my very own mother dough.

Each time I try to paint a little swatch on the top of the lid, but sometimes I forget.  Here are a few pieces that I have painted with my mother dough paint:

I am still mourning the sale of this one!  This was my first mother dough piece.

This one too.... loved the simple, clean lines and the dainty legs.

You will notice a grey theme here... well, I have liked greys for some time and don't foresee me liking them any less in the future *wink*

This piece is the piece I finished last week and it is now at City Farmhouse.

It is also painted with mother dough... a medium grey custom paint, one of my favorites that that I have mixed.  This is one of those pieces that I really, truly adore... it must be all those curves.  Oh well!  You can't keep them all (or you can and the nice folks from Hoarders will come visit you... not that I have seen it... I don't have cable, remember?)

I hope to expand my mother dough pallet in the future to include more colors..... maybe some blues and other neutrals besides grey.  Okay, I have to get busy cleaning the remaining birthday remnants... loads of glue dots to clean off the trim!

bye for now!

Meet Amelia!

Hello all!  Hope you have had a wonderful weekend!  The Mr. has been busy delivering loads to all the antique booths today.  Including the lovely piece that was named in the Name Game Giveaway!  I had so much fun with this giveaway, so I am sure I will do it again.  I chose my favorites from the great names you provided and then let Mr. Hughes and my sweet sister pick their favorite... and they chose the same name... and it was just perfect.  So, meet Amelia!

Amelia was named by Amy, so Amy, if you are reading, contact me with your address and choice of pillow or Mimi tote.  I gave this piece a light grey paint and she needed just a little something extra... so Mr. Hughes suggested chicken wire.  And it just fit.

Something a little rustic to tone down her sweetness... check out those legs and casters.  I adore casters!

I love the little shield shaped raised details too.  She is at Winchester Antiques in case any of you locals are in in love with her too!  Thanks to you all for commenting.  Well, I will be back soon with some things that are now checked off my To Do list!  Yay!  

bye for now!