It's Showtime!

We have completed setting up for the Christmas show at Monticello Antique Marketplace in Portland, Oregon.  The show officially starts Friday, November 22.  Here is a preview of our space.

The December Issue Is Here!!

Get your copy before we run out!!! It is so beautiful and a real keeper.

Halloween!!

Boo to you!!

If It's Halloween, Can Christmas Be Far Behind?

I have always cringed when stores bring Christmas in before Thanksgiving.  Now, being a shop owner, I do understand the rush.  Christmas is what provides most small businesses enough funds to survive the rest of the year.  Although Christmas isn't in the shop yet it won't be too far off.

The new Jeanne d'Arc Living Magazine is in the shop now.  It is gorgeous!  Makes me want to sprinkle snow outside the door....here is your sneak preview.

Repeat After Me...I Will Not Hoard

Okay, so, I am going to start purging the hoard.  I am truly getting buried in stuff and with Christmas coming it is starting to bother even me!  So I will be bring more things in to the shop in the coming weeks.  Until then, I am starting to fill up our Etsy shop.  You can view our items by clicking here.

As I list I am researching and finding out lots of interesting details about things we have in the shop.  For instance, the artist who created this worked for the Saturday Evening Post.  How cute is this little puppy?

Autumn French Nordic Design

The new issue of Jeanne d'Arc Living is here. Such wonderful fall pictures that you almost forget about summer waning! Here is a sampling of what "Nordic French" design is all about.

And on a side note, I just got back from the annual trip to Reno with my sisters. It has been a family tradition for over 20 years and now includes nieces and friends...but only the girls.  I come from a family with gambling fever in our blood.  We used to have large family reunions with out of town relations since lots of cheap airfares were available to Reno from lots of towns.  One of my best memories of those days is of my dad at the blackjack table with a big grin on his face cracking up the whole table with his jokes.  I play everything but I love craps the most.  Anyway, needless to say I will return next year to visit some of my money!  It's back to the ole grindstone for me now. 

Vintage Halloween Memories

I have such wonderful memories of Halloween in the 1960s.  We used to drag out the trunk of dress up clothes.  It was full of antique bits and pieces of apparel smelling a little of moth balls. I was always a gypsy, my brother was a lady (pretty cute with a butch haircut and converse shoes).   We would be out for hours, it seemed, with our pillowcases of nickle candy bars.  I guess that's why  I love the vintage Halloween decor so much.

Milk Paint Success

I finally painted a major piece of furniture  using French Blue milk.  It is a sweet little oak buffet I found it at a barn sale.

Here is a picture of the buffet before.. That is before gluing and sanding.  I sanded the piece because the finish was coming off from having been stored in a barn for years.

This is after the first coat of milk paint which took all of 10 minutes to complete.

And here is the final result after the second coat and waxing with "Good old brown wax"  by the same company as our milk paint..The Real Milk Paint Company".  I think it turned out gorgeous and the wax gave it a nice finish while adding a lot of depth to the color.  I must say I am quite proud of myself and amazed at how easy it was.

Monticello Antiques Fall Show

We are currently participating at Monticello Antiques in Portland.  You can visit their blog by clicking on the link  http://monticelloantiques.blogspot.com/
We are honored to be invited to participate in their fall show and it is a fun way to showcase our style.  The month long event is one of the premier shows in the Portland area. 


The bookshelf above was painted using The Real Milk Paint which we carry at the shop.  Sonya has been busy experimenting with it on lots of projects. 



Here's an overview of the space.  We had the geese and I recently came upon a huge cache of blue mason jars so we did a little vignette using both.  Notice the rusty bike hanging from the ceiling.  We had a lot of fun setting up the show.



With Halloween coming up we sprinkled some of the decorations from the shop in with the autumn decor.



We have another shipment of bats on the way too!!

Some Milk Painted Furniture and More

Sonya has been busy playing with the milk paint which we have started carrying. She is going to do a blog post about her experiences with it and how to use all the different applications we have available...from crackle to waxes.


Recently we have gotten several clocks in the shop...I have tried my hand at painting an old coockoo clock but we also have some beautiful kitchen clocks from the turn of the century with the natural carved wood.

We even are "itching" to try milk paint on the fabric of this settee. The fabric doesn't really go with the period of the wood frame so what's to lose? If all else fails, we can recover it....stay tuned on this one!
Check out these darling dishes!






Currently we have a couple of workbenches....they are great for kitchens and craft rooms or, if you have a big enough space, in the dining room.



We even have a few beautiful vintage dresses,

Join Us For a Walkabout!

We are going to be at the antique fair in Lake Oswego, Oregon on Sunday, August 11 from 9 am to 4 pm.



And then in September  (OMG! our fabulous summer is ending??) at Monticello Antiques in the Montavilla neighborhood in Portland, Oregon.

I'm Baaaack!

So, I broke my computer on the way home from Atlanta which forced a little break from blogging but am feeling the juices flowing again. I have been enjoying the hiatus so it's time to get back to business!  Computer-wize Pinterest has me hooked and I am working on Facebook for the shop too.

We have started carrying Milk Paint and Sonya is busy painting away. I will coax her into doing a posting about what she has learned.

Here are a few pix of what is up at the shop since last post....