weekend plans...

The forecast is calling for sunny skies in the early part of the day tomorrow, which is perfect,

because you will be able to find us here at the 

Detroit Eastern Market

actually right about in this area, between Sheds 2&3

in front of the Welcome Center.

We will have lots and lots of this,

our natural lavender laundry and cleaning provisions

and these,

our lavender soy candles,

can't forget the repurposed art jewelry,

aka: the baubles.

After the market, for the rest of the weekend,

you can find me here...

here

still here,

here,

riding the trails with this guy,

and ending my days here

with the same guy...

and of course taking time from our weekend to remember

the reason for the day...

to honor those who have given the ultimate sacrifice so that we can

do all of the things I mentioned above.

I hope that you have a wonderful weekend,

Happy Memorial Day!

love,

t.xoxo

spring cleaning, one room at a time...

Ahhhhhh, it feels so good to have a day to do a 

thorough cleaning, and relax in a clean room.

Those cement legs on my makeshift door table may be my favorite thing in the whole room.

Well, except maybe my little collection of vintage bottles in that beautifully aged toolbox!

Oliver is as happy as the rest of us to have the windows open and let the fresh air inside,

and see how cozy Captain is as he ponders the meaning of life?  

In the photo with Captain, you can see that the sofa covers are on because, well... dogs.

I took them off as I cleaned the room, and sprinkled the sofas with our 

carpet freshener, because, well... dogs.

I left it on for a little while as I did other cleaning, and then vacuumed it up,

The sofas smell so much fresher, they just make the room feel like spring is in the house!

Now that I have one room in the house cleaned, :)

I'm  eager to get outside in the sunshine and put the patio back together.

This photo is from last summer, and I can't wait to get out there

to relax with the family.

Just in case you are thinking that my days are spent

just sprinkling lavender carpet freshener around my house, 

I thought I would give you a peek at one of my 

latest assemblage necklaces.  

you know, because, well, baubles...  :)

Happy Spring!

love,

t.xoxo

looking back... going forward...

time changes everything...

When I started this blog, we lived in a big old white house 

(just in case you ever wondered about the name of our business.)

 I was creating larger assemblage pieces, mixed media collages, 

and repurposing discarded treasures, whenever I found time, mostly for our home or for gifts.

I shared our home after moving a few things around...

(I really need to recreate these fenced platters in our new home!)

our hot chocolate sledding station

 This old dock table is still one of my very 

favorite creations, mostly because two of my favorite people helped us 

put it together!

and then there were the assemblages...

I was a stay at home mom with 5 babes still in my nest.

Now 3 of them have moved out, and lead great lives of their own, 

and my life has changed over these last few years.

because of this...

The Old White House

Since creating our line of natural lavender laundry and cleaning products,

 I am making products, sewing, making jewelry, answering emails,

 filling out show applications, going to a market a week, meeting so many fantastic people,

and juggling mom life, and although it can be overwhelming at times,

I can't think of anyone that I would want to change places with!

(Unless maybe they were doing all of this while staying organized, and having coffee with their friends!)

Creating my jewelry is really my 'art therapy', it makes me slow down, and lets my mind unwind. 

 It's my way of staying connected to the assemblage work that I love, but in tiny form.

I use vintage trinkets, and old costume jewelry, because I am 

drawn to the stories that they hold.  I use the stones that I do because of the organic

feel and look they give my pieces.

I use rhinestones, because, well ...their shiny of course! :)

I do custom work, when I have time, and sell my OOAK jewelry primarily at the Detroit Eastern Market, 

as well as local shows and markets.

Although I don't have them listed online, if you ever see anything

on any of my social media pages that you are interested in, 

please just send me a message and I would be happy put an invoice together for you.

I hope to see you at a market someday, 

and in the meantime, if you would like to see what I'm up to,

please check my Instagram acct. and FB page, 

where you can see pics on a more regular basis.

(because sometimes I still show how our home is decorated, and family life,

 along with the booth, and new creations!) 

like this picture of our new dining room...

Thanks for all the love you have shown me on this blog over the last few years!

t. xoxo

  

let's play catch-up...

I have really missed blogging, reading blogs, and all of the warm fuzzies that go along with it.

These days I am consumed with making soap, making more soap,

and then making some more.

Along with sewing dryer sachets, mixing up batches of linen & room spray and

our kitchen & bath cleanser.

and then bringing it here.

The Fulton St. Farmers Market in Grand Rapids through the week,

where you can find some of the best people selling

their honey, maple syrup and home grown,

non-sprayed, organic fruits and veggies.  

It's early in the season here but in a few weeks the place will be overflowing 

with everything the farmers work so hard to grow for us!

On Sundays this wonderful place becomes

The Fulton St. Artisans Market.

where you can find incredible pieces of work and have an amazing artist henna your hand.

(Hannah's favorite thing a couple of Sunday's ago when she came to help man the booth)

On our opening day we had 104 artists selling 

their work and it was fabulous!

Every Sunday through September... how amazing is that?

So you see, I don't have a great deal of new things to share on a regular basis,

I kinda figured 'how many times can I show a bag of soap, or the market booth'?

If you want the answer to that, just check my facebook page...

apparently, A LOT!

I have been so busy that I have gone to posting mostly on FB.  

It's quick, easy, and right now about all I have time for.

I do miss you though.

truly.

I haven't been able to read my favorite blogs in such a long time, that

 I probably need to put my picture on the side of a blogging milk carton.

Here are a few shots of some of the other things that have kept me busy...

Max started baseball in May, with Duane as his coach.

That's Max as #2!

As a side note, I hope to keep all parents from going through what we went through

as a result of Max playing ball...

One wrong bounce of the ball and Max lost a good portion of his front teeth!

He came running to me crying, "my permanent teeth, my permanent teeth!"

Oh my gosh, my heart sank!

He is now all back to new, thanks to our awesome dentist, 

... and he now wears a mouth guard when he plays ball.

Something that my other boys never did, and very few, if any

other boys in the league wear. 

mouth guards... they are a good thing.

I missed showing you these beauties...

and how they filled out the front of the house so beautifully.

Unfortunately, as you well know, they don't last long after a hard rain.

Even after staking and tying them up all of the buds you see here

took a beating and down they came.

I was happy to get this photo as the first of them bloomed!

I expanded our front garden with the help of Max...

this is the view from our bedroom window right after we finished.

...and here it is this morning!  

(just for you, I went out in my jammies to take these pics!)

The iris's are mostly gone, the peonies as you can see are all gone,

but some of the other plants that I dug up from around the house are doing really well,

thanks to all of the rain we've been getting!

This cost of this garden was a lot of hard work and the mulch.

I took all of the plants from other areas where they were overgrown.

It felt so good to be digging in the dirt with my sidekick, Max!

He was my dirt clod shaker-outer!

One last thing before I go.

I have finally hit the 'PUBLISH' button on my new website!

You can see all kinds of the goings on over at 

www.theoldwhitehouse.com

this has been the biggest project yet!

I have wanted to do this for a while now,

I will still have the blog, it is linked on the website,

and hopefully be able to tend to it more often, as well as visit all of you.

I also wanted to have a .com where you can purchase our products,

and not search through etsy.

For now, I will still have etsy too, and that is where the pendants and jewelry

are listed until I have time to list those on the site.

This was a huge undertaking, and quite taxing on my noggin!

I hope you will visit me there and I would love to hear your feedback!

Also, if you don't follow me on facebook,

please do!  I am there everyday, updating my whereabouts 

and adding photos of my happenings!

Like my new business cards and labels that I designed!

new pieces as I finish them...

this was taken at the Garden Gallery show last month.

and some family shots...

front yard frisbee for Fathers Day,

Cam still in his umpire pants and Max showing his skills,

throwing back to Dad!

... and this one

where you can find us at the end of a long day.

My brother had this fireplace stored under

a deck for a few years, and when we mentioned that we 

would like a little firepit back here he offered us this beauty!

How lucky am I?

pretty lucky!

(I really need to clean the siding though)

adding it to my ever growing tada list.

It was wonderful chatting with you all!

I will be taking my new little chrome book

(thanks to the generosity of my kids - my moms day present!) along with me to 

markets and when it's a bit slow, I will be playing catch-up at your place!

I hope all is fabulous in your little world

and that the sun is shining down on you today!

love,

t.xoxoxoxo

guest artist...

I am lucky to have 5 very talented and creative kids.

Each one has their special gift of creativity, 

they are all an inspiration to me!

Today I am going to share 

Hannah's latest creation.

This fabulous piece of string art is now gracing our dining room wall.

Like all good artists Hannah made good use of her resources.

She went out to the barn.

When she came back in she had a few pieces of 

wood for her future masterpieces.

love this girl...

This is a pretty large piece, measuring 2'x2'.

She painted it white,

freehanded our great state of MI.

and the put many, many nails around the outline

and then went string crazy!

edit... see the open heart?  That represents where we live,

so you see why it's so special!

I love it!

It brings a pop of color and most importantly 

HAPPINESS

to the dining room!

Thank you BOO!  

love you!

Have a fabulous day,

and may you too be inspired by the special 

people in your life!

love, 

Theresa

xoxooxoxoxox