Little Etsy Update

Hello Again!  

I don't know that I have ever posted twice in a day...

I finally added some items to ye olde etsy shoppe

Here is a peek!

Okay, I am off to finish up 2 chests that I will show you next week... one of which I really, really don't want to get rid of!! baby hughes is finally napping!  woohoo!

bye for now!

Snow Day!

Hi there!  Are you guys snowed in?  We are... 5 whole inches.  It doesn't take much to snow us in Tennessee!  

Hope your weekend was wonderful.   We went out on Saturday and foofed and fluffed the booths.

And, then we went treasure hunting.

Ladies (and the few guys that read,) it has been too long.  I missed it so.  We drove out to one little trove that was close til March! But we did happen upon a new place that we had never been to before.

And, there is where we met....

Have I ever mentioned my utter weakness for ironstone?  It is bad.  Mr. Hughes actually picked out this sweet thing.  You see, I have been lusting over an ironstone punch bowl for awhile... but why haven't you bought it? you ask.  Well, let's just say that it was around $375.  And it still sits, in the same spot, for over 2 years.  And, don't get me wrong... it may very well be worth it... just not to me.

So, naturally, when the Mr. told me he thought I needed this bowl... I wasn't going to argue...see, it is even up on a short little pedestal.

We also came home with a very cool vintage school map of Asia and the USSR, I will show you that once Mr. Hughes cleans his desk off.

So, when I woke up this morning and saw all this white, I knew just what to do.  First, I froze my hiney off painting a couple of pieces for the booth... show you later... then after cleaning the house up just a bit, I bundled my little hyena up and took him out to throw snow at each other.  It was fun... what else can I say....kids make everything better.

We built a mini snowman with a baby carrot nose and vintage buttons.  People, I know... he isn't the best... the snow packs really easy but doesn't sculpt.... people from up North, your tips are welcome.

baby hughes loved it!  This is his first snow that he was able to play in.... he took right to throwing it

Now, we are warm and dry.  One of us is napping.  And I am about to grab another cup of green tea and  see what I can shake up around here! (Have you seen the large stack of suitcases in the latest Country Living... I so want to copy that....)

bye for now!

Not Your Granny's Doilies

Hope you all are having a wonderful long weekend!  We have had a great one... we went to ride Thomas the Tank Engine on Saturday.... so much fun.  The weather has been so pretty... yesterday, we took out our vintage quilt that I found for $15 and looks like it has h's all over it and put it to use.. we had a little picnic under a willow tree... it was so nice.  We had the whole park practically to ourselves.

And, I have got some stuff done.  Checked off.  Finito!

Mr. Hughes took the photos of the powder room this morning, and it was quite hard to take photos of this room since it is so small, so I can't give you a great overall look, but I am quite pleased *smiles*

So, here is the powder room Before

And, here is the after:

Here is a snippet of our little jewelbox of a powder room.  I painted the walls Pale Grey by Ralph Lauren (it was actually left over from the laundry room, I loved the color and saved money by using it!)

I have been wanting to wallpaper in here for awhile, but I may be a commitaphobic.  But, I still wanted something that gave me the graphic look of wallpaper.  So, I went with doilies.  They are pretty, inexpensive and have great patterns.

I originally planned on having white doilies... I bleached a whole bunch... well, some of them would not bleach... so, I had some dye that I decided to use.  I had never dyed anything before except for some tie dye shirts.  So, I gave it a whirl... now I want to dye everything... my sweet Grandma used to dye her own towels and curtains.

After I dyed them, I starched and ironed them.  Then, I just stretched them out and nailed them up with some paintable nails.

While out searching for doilies, I found this huge one.  Like almost 3 feet around.  I planned on putting it on the wall and I just couldn't get it to look right.  Then I realized what my bathroom was lacking... a rug.  Now, if I had some extra cash around, I would get the one I featured here.

But I don't, so I thought I would take my shot at making my own with a $2.50 giant doily and some felt.

I sprayed a piece of felt with some permanent spray adhesive.  Then, I placed the doily on it, stretching it out so that it was even. I let it dry then trimmed the edges with a pair of sharp, but older scissors (that stuff will gum up your scissors fast!)

I love the way it looks and it was pretty cheap.  I still need to add a rug mat to prevent slippage.

I repainted the little table that was already in here a pretty blue and changed out some of the accessories

I wanted some black in here because I had some artwork in mind that would look perfect in black frames

(I got that little ironstone soap dish from Tara)

Mr. Hughes designed these butterflies on some vintage sheet music that he scanned in and I painted the previously white frames black (we totally copycatted some on etsy...so if you want to buy some, go here!)

And, when we were out a week ago, I found another large frame at an antique store that was just like the other 2... so I bought it, of course.

We hung this one above a little vintage iron towel rack that I have had for awhile.

I went ahead and hung my very favorite birdcage ever... I will miss it on my dresser, but I love it here too.

I had originally planned on putting this mirror in the booth, but I decided it was the perfect size for above  the little shelf. It was originally dark wood, so I painted and distressed it. The shelf is a very old pickett cut down (from Three French Hens) and set on some vintage brackets (from White Flower Farmhouse.)

I added my set of 3 ironstone butter pats with tea lights (got the butter pats awhile ago from Chester and Donkey.)

I am so glad that I decided not to paint the brackets... when I was thinking the doilies would be white, I was going to paint these.  But, they look much better authentic.

I got this old Helene Curtis shampoo bottle from the flea market awhile ago for like $3 and I love the little lady silhouette.

Okay girls, I have to tell you... I love my bathroom.  I may break my arm patting my myself on the back. I keep going in there... but, I think the real reason is this soap that I featured here... I am in love!

It is pretty (and looks great piled in ironstone) and my whole bathroom smells so good.  I haven't used it yet, but I will, now that I know I can get more!

I got it and some owl soap from Satin and Birch. 

So, CHECK!  It is finished!  On to other projects *wink* I seriously started 4 small furniture projects for the booth today and also took some photos of new items for my etsy shop that will be listed later this week.  I have had a burst of energy... I also organized all our DVDs and CDs and went through and got rid of a trunkload of toys for Goodwill.  Long naps are a Mommy's friend!

Be back later this week to show you what has taken Tara's place for the time until Kate is ready...

Oh, and I am linking up to all the others that made their lives and homes lovely this weekend at Blessed Little Nest's Life Made Lovely Mondays!

Bye for Now!

Lagging from Spring Forward

Every year, this whole Spring Forward kicks my butt for about a week.  This year was no exception.  So, that is why I have been away from the blog world for a week.  And, baby hughes is cutting at least 5 teeth. That and I have been lucky enough to see my sister 2 weeks in a row.  The weekend before last, she came here to go see Remember Me and get pedis.  And, this last Friday, Mr. Hughes decided at the last minute that we should drive to Cookeville (where I am from) to see my mom and sister and do a little vintage treasure hunting.  Bless him!  It is what I needed.  A beautiful sunny day with most of my favorite people.  Oddly enough, we both had cameras. but took very few photos.  I will have to do a home town tour one of these days.  As much as I complain about it, I truly do have fond memories of where I grew up and hope that we can find a place that baby hughes can feel warm and fuzzy about too.  Speaking of him,

here he is examining a water meter.  We have big hopes for him!  So, the Hughes familia started out in downtown Cookeville... did I mention this was a surprise trip?  There is nothing that Nana loves more than some baby hughes time and luckily it was her day off.  We met Nana and the Margarita Sisters and Aunt Ashley at an antique store where baby hughes was happily passed around while me and Mr. Hughes shopped. I saw an idea that I have never come across before:

 Can you tell what the shelves are made of?  They are toilet tank lids on brackets.  At first I was like "where in the world did they find these ironstone shelves and why haven't I seen them before?" Pretty cool, huh?  I found alot of treasures there, I need to take some photos of my lovelies this week.

Then, we headed for Mexican at our favorite place.  Strangely enough, no one had a margarita, not even the so called Margarita Sisters.  Very odd.  But, there was lots of laughing at the other end of the table... I felt left out.  Next time, someone else is going to cut up the baby's quesadilla and make sure he doesn't jump out of the high chair so I can hear what is going on!!  And, order momma a margarita!

After lunch, we went to a few more antique stores with Aunt Ashley and got some ice cream.  Did I mention that she owns a Baskin Robbins?  Well, not really, but that is what I told baby hughes.  Can you even imagine who his favorite person is?

Then we went to the final store of the day.  Mr. Hughes finds this gorgeous ironstone tureen and says, "I think you need this."  Well, who am I to argue with that?  So I ask how much... 58.99 with 15% off.  That is more than I normally pay for my habit, but it was pretty and I wanted to put flowers in it.  We started making a pile of a few things, each of us going back and forth.  Well, I was paying while Mr. and baby hughes were outside and she gave me the total.... $165 something.  WHAT?  What had Mr. Hughes put up there?  So I asked her to read it back to me.  She started with the tureen... $148.99.... I went out and asked him... "did you really mean to get that.... um NO...."  So sadly (very sadly) I went back and told her that he must not have seen the 1 and that we wouldn't be getting it.  Oh I was sad. And, I think the lady was a little peeved.  So, I loaded up the stuff we did get and I was on the way out when the gentleman that owned the store stopped me... would I still like it if if actually WAS 58.99 with 15% off... um, yeah!  Mine all mine!

Turns out the dealer was in the store and he went up and asked her.  She said that she definitely hadn't put the 1 there.  She and the owner seemed to imply that a 95 year old woman who was also a dealer there was sabotaging the other dealers by marking up their prices.  Can you imagine?  Mr. Hughes thinks it was the cashier since he really did not notice the 1, but I like the idea of a 95 year old woman being a little sneaky like!  I can't wait to find some plants for it.  I love it!

In other Vintage Junky news, we are seriously putting the finishing touches on the laundry room.  It really isn't my fault... I have been distracted 2 weekends in a row by my sister and Robert Pattinson (in very different ways though *wink*)  Oh, and, here is my newest obsession:

Saw one in Cookeville and decided that I truly need a vintage Volvo. Okay, hope to have the laundry room and additional treasures photographed by the end of this week... rain go away!

One Year Bloggiversary!

Well, it is my one year anniversary of my very first post.  And, I am so happy that I started blogging.  I have gotten to know so many of you guys and I really do consider you friends.  I look forward to your posts and comments.  So, to thank all of you for supporting this vintage habit of mine, I am going to have a giveaway.  First up:

A grain sack pillow from my etsy store.  I bought a lot of grain sacks that have never been used.  They are just as they were right after they were printed, so they are really clean and the logo is bold.  I laundered them to soften them up.

Then, something really fabulous, so fabulous, I wish I could enter my own giveaway... something from one of my all time favorite shops, Scarlett Scales....

Oh isn't it lovely?  I picked it out just for me... I mean, YOU!  It is an ironstone pitcher that is all stained and crazed and perfect.  And, check out the design on it

A sailboat on one side

and on the other...

A bird and a vintage looking frame...

I have never seen one like it and it has a mark on the bottom, so I am sure it is pretty old.  I think it is perfect for Spring... can't you just see some pretty blooms inside of it?

So, here is what you need to do to win both:

Leave me a comment and let me know that you want to win.

If you want to blog or tweet about it, I will enter you twice. Just let me know in the comments that you did.

You don't have to be a follower or have a blog to win, just make sure you leave me an email address so that I can get in touch with you.

I will draw the winner next Thursday.

Thanks for being with me this last year!

Flea Market Finds

I just realized that I haven't shown you my lovelies from the last flea market.  I think I have pulled together all the items that I am keeping.  I listed some of the other goodies in my etsy store.  I actually went twice!!  On Friday, it was raining, so many of the vendors had their treasures under wraps.  I felt so cheated, so the wonderful Mr. Hughes suggested we go back Sunday after Church.  So this is my loot!  I got a couple of vintage frames and a great old medicine cabinet that just might have to have a little makeover.  And here is a closeup of one of those items that has been seeking me:

Ahhhh ironstone!   Look at the patina!  And it has a few cracks here and there!  And, it is large!! I found this lovely in a booth full of mishmash on Friday.  The gentleman that ran the booth informed me that he was a picker for a very expensive antique store in Nashville.  And that he picked it especially for her.  Well, I told him that she was out of luck because I was taking that pitcher home!!  For $15!  I know if I would have let her buy it, I would be lusting after it for the bargain price of $115!

And, it wouldn't be a productive trip without a few letters...

Pretty neat, huh?  I am not sure what I am going to do with them yet but they sure are fabulous.  And, I made away with some numbers too....

This is actually a deck of cards from some old card game. There are numbers 1-15.  I am keeping Baby Hughes' birthday and will find something to do with it.   I will list sets of these in my shop soon.

Well, that is all of my flea market goodies for this month.  Oh... look at what I got in the mail today!

 

Mr. Hughes was sweet enough to design me a business card!  I feel so official.  I want to thank all of you for your sweet, encouraging comments about the opening of my etsy shop.  It really means alot to me!

So, I hope to show some more of the fall decorating... it has been raining since Sunday... and I am itching to get some more pumpkins

Multiples Party and a Giveaway!

So glad you came to the Multiples Party.  First things first, we all know what this is, right?  It is a way for us to show off what we have multiples of...okay, okay, I guess we can use the word collect.  I think sometimes that word has such a negative connotation... like you have 30 cats or something.  Not that there is anything wrong with that *wink*  Most of you probably know one of my weaknesses is anything with  letters and numbers on it.  And, I love me some vintage mirrors.  But here are few more:

Part of my collection of ironstone, oh I love it so!!

I really like plates and platters with staining on them.

 I love the maker's mark on the bottom of the pieces almost as much as I like the pieces themselves.

I love my big ironstone bowls.   They are great for so many things.  I plan on putting some pumpkins in these very soon.

I even use ironstone in our bathroom to hold swabs, cotton balls and tooth brushes (it is one of my favorite pieces.)

Now, some of the best things I have ever come across are my Dundee Marmalade jars.  They line my bar in my kitchen.  And I have a few others scattered here and there.

Aren't they great?  I think I have 14 now... one of them is a large one!

And, a fairly pricy habit is my mercury glass.  The real, vintage mercury glass is very elusive (and expensive.)  I have a few real vintage pieces.  I kind of have a rule for my finds.... I will only buy the new stuff if it looks new... not too distressed.  I think they try too hard distressing it.  But, I will buy the old stuff in any condition that I can afford.

The matching vases in the back are from 1897 and have lost almost all of the silvering.

Here are some photos of my table that I have filled with my mercury glass.  Part of me wants to burn the candles all the way down so that the wax is dripping all over everything.  And, the tidy part keeps me from doing that.

And, also in my dining room, I have a small stash of vintage bottles.  I really like the ones that are frosty blue.

And, here is a sampling of my milk glass

And, I can never come home without a vintage frame... they are all over the place.  In our living room, I painted them all black.

And, the last thing that I can think that I have multiples of is hand mirrors.  I actually don't pick these up anymore... I am satisfied with the way the arrangement looks.

Okay, now before you rush off to see the fabulous blogs that are joining in with their multiples, please sign up for my little giveaway.

It is a milk glass pedestal bowl.  I have one that I love to fill with soaps, but it also looks adorable with lemons and limes.

You know the drill...become a follower of Vintage Junky, then leave me a comment.  If you are already a follower, just leave me a comment so I know you would like to win.  If you want to blog or tweet, just let me know and I will throw your name in twice.  I will draw a winner on Thursday to be announced Friday.

Okay, now it is time to party....

If you'd like to join in.....

....here is how this works:

1. Write a post showing us your multiples. In the post, link back to this party post so that everyone reading your blog can see what everyone else has brought to the party. Click on the title of this post and copy the address bar to link back here.
   
2. Come to Vintage Junky and add your name and permalink to your multiples post to the list at the bottom of this post. To get the permalink, click on the title of your post for this party and copy the address in the address bar. The link you add should NOT be your blog's address ( ex: www.anyblog@blogspot.com) It will be much longer, like this ex: www.anyblog@blogspot.com/2009/09/title-post.html
3. Make sure your link works. If you come back and your link has been deleted, just try again and make sure you are linking back to this Party Post and you leave the link for your Party Post. You can always email me or comment and I will help get you joined in!

Now, sit back and enjoy all the wonderful posts from the partygoers!