i.love.my.job.

I'm thankful for it everyday.  

Taking our natural lavender laundry and cleaning products,

 and my repurposed assemblage jewelry,

to markets and shows is something that still seems like a dream.

(a dream where I work very hard... but a dream nonetheless.) 

If you have followed me up to this point, 

THANK YOU!

I know that I have come and gone, and come and gone again,

so I appreciate each and every one of you that still stop by 

when you see me come up in your sidebar. 

...and if you have followed for awhile, then you know that I have loved reclaiming 

forgotten treasures for forever. 

 I get caught up in the process of turning a phrase into a wearable reminder.

Repurposing the forgotten little pieces of someone's long ago story

into jewelry for someones new story...

 something as simple as a beloved dog's tag,

a reclaimed memory of someone's best friend...

into a necklace for a special dog lover.

Each small piece of our history inspires me 

to create a sparkly something special for you to wear.

I draw inspiration from the rusty, crusty, sparkly, shiny, 

 the natural, earth formed gems, and our past.

...and then there's this -

our incredibly fresh scented, hard working

natural lavender goodness.

like I said in the beginning...

i.love.my.job.

Thanks for stopping by!

Please make sure to check my social media pages

The Old White House on FB

and 

Instagram

and even

Twitter

for the latest updates on what I'm up to,

and where you can find us!

love,

t.xoxo

summer is in full swing...

and I'm singing the blues.  Not really, I'm just drawn to the blue hues

of aquamarine, amazonite, and turquoise semi-precious stones.  I love to 

create with them and mix them with vintage treasures.  I've been

restocking my jewelry for upcoming markets and shows, and I always 

seem to reach for these!

Of course the neutrals always have my heart also!

These aquamarine rondelles are some of my favorite, add a little

rhinestone bling and well, perfection!

I've also been making lots of resin pendants to hang

on a simple chain, as they are a favorite in the booth.

This is where we spend our Saturdays.  The Detroit Eastern Market.  

We love coming here, the atmosphere is really amazing with so many

wonderful people from every walk of life mingling with each other, shopping for

produce and specialty products created by Michigan small business owners.  

On a rare occasion Duane and I get away from it all, usually to celebrate us.

This year for our 28th anniversary we made it to one of our favorite places in MI.

Traverse City

he had to be up there for work, and I tagged along!

(the sunset made it look like we were glowing, and well glowing is good)

We only had one day up there, but I will take what I can get :)

I used Rhonna Designs photo app to really capture the gorgeous sunset 

that we watched as we sat on a blanket on the beach on the  Leelanau Peninsula.

The kids and I spend most days at home 

either making product or just hanging out, but we have been

taking a few days here and there for adventures too.

The zoo has been a favorite and as a family we have been 

to a smallish lake close to home for a little R&R for all.

I hope that you are having a lovely summer full

of adventures of your own!

love,

t.xoxo

I have a thing for anchors...

There are a few symbols that always catch my attention

while on the hunt for something special to use in my work.

an anchor is one of those...

How about you?  Do you have a special icon that you gravitate

toward when looking for treasures?

A few others for me are ~

red cross pins

religious medals

let's not forget about

photos

buttons

souvenir trinkets

ephemera

all vintage of course,

all giving a specialness to the piece.

happy treasure hunting!

Have a wonderful weekend!

love,

t.xoxo

I have tried to get my items listed as I make them,

but going to the market every week makes that tough.

If ever you see something on the blog or facebook or instagram

and you are interested in it, please contact me so I can make that happen!

(I hope that you will follow me over to fb and instagram

as I have more opportunity to update there more often)

xoxo

pretty pics to take my mind off of the tax task at hand....

It's that time of year and I am sitting here

going through receipts and boring tax stuff.

ugh.

So to take my mind away from it for a bit,

I thought I would post some pretty pictures for you and me!

yes, I am procrastinating generous like that.

This was from one of our first shows of last year's season.

Along with gathering tax stuff I have also been

thinking about booth design and upcoming shows.

Plus making some new baubles for said shows.

yes, I realize I'm really really avoiding dreaded boring business stuff,

but look at this shiny object!

I've been playing with Ice Resin again, it's another way to create with mixed media.

This mother of pearl bead pendant has since been given a beautiful strand of 

semiprecious stone and vintage beads,

and as soon as the sun is just right I will take pics of it.

I have even managed to solder a few more shadowboxes!

I have a table full of projects right now.

Many pieces of jewelry on the way to the shop

and then I made these...

Hearts made from a vintage French linen toile tablecloth,

one that has seen many, many years of love.

It was beyond covering the table any longer, but makes 

the most beautiful hearts filled with organic lavender flowers.

given a little love note stamped onto cotton and 

freestitched onto the heart.

I added winter white seam binding attached with

a large vintage button.

These have been listed in the shop...

The Old White House

Well, I should really quit procrastinating and 

commit my full attention to the task at hand.

If I don't put this computer away, chances are that

Pinterest, or facebook, or instagram might call my name, 

and if I hear the call, well then all hope is lost!

Thank you for stopping by,and have a fabulous day!

love,

t.xoxo

to market, to market...

This Saturday we kick off our 2014 season at 

The Detroit Eastern Market!

We will be inside shed 5

and can't wait to go back and visit with our new friends there.

In the traveling art gypsy life, 

seasons  are measured by shows along the way, 

and the  wares that you bring.

 In my suitcase I will have ~

baubles for Valentines Day...

  our new lavender soy candles...

the entire line up of lavender goodness...

shadowbox pendants...

along with these sweet little leather journals...

perfect for writing about the love of your life.

They all make wonderful Valentines gifts for those you love!

Today will be filled with getting the goods

ready to go.  It's the first day back to school

for the kids since Christmas break started!

Lots of snow here, and really cold, so I moved a table

 (that is right now full of bauble makings)

into the living room to work in front of the fireplace and the tv... 

and since they left for school

it will also be the first time that I have watched something just for me while I work.

hmmmmm

netflix no longer carries Downton Abbey

so what should I watch?

suggestions?

I hope to see you Saturday,

but if you can't make it and would like any of the above items

just send me a note or visit my website

The Old White House

and I will get you all taken care of!

Have a warm and fabulous day!

love, 

t.xoxo

playing shopkeeper one show at a time..,

One of my favorite things to do for a show

is set up the displays.  It would seem that I have 

been drawn to books more than ever lately...

This large one stands by itself and holds 

tiny leather journal necklaces.

repurposed leather, tiny pages taken from maps, music paper,

a German dictionary and of course some blank pages...

 for your tiny little secrets!

I bring books to most every show, because

sometimes you just need to lift things a bit,

or you need to stuff vintage button rings in the pages!

or you need to hang shadowbox pendants from them...

I had a woman ask me this past weekend what my pendants

had to do with the United States.

Made me smile at the literal way she saw my display and the

"Oh, I'll use the huge atlas stuffed in my treasures to 

hang necklaces on" way that I saw it!

I even draped necklaces over extra books this past show...

Do you see the new apron for my girl?  I made them for us to wear at shows,

some of us (Duane) tends to walk away from the cash box, so 

I made aprons to put the cash in so no box is necessary for him!

I really made this so easy for me-I bought some work aprons from Menards

and stamped our logo on a piece of drop cloth and sewed it over their logo,

across the apron but not closing up the pockets.

easy peasy, just like I like it!

Now to show you some of the reasons for so many displays...

first, these are custom orders for some of my customers.

Never underestimate the power of one person wearing your jewelry.

My friend Kathleen wore a pendant that I made for her of her parents

and then her sisters wanted them and then her friend wanted me to make her 2 of her 

parents and grandparents.

Thank you Kathleen!!! xoxoxo

this is one of the shadowbox pendants that are hanging 

from the atlas in the photo above.  

I traded out the ball chain for some vintage jewels

that I grouped together.

I then claimed it for my very own!

A tiny xoxo charm with beads and treasures dangling from it

is now another custom order, as two friends 

both had to have the only one that I had last weekend!

This is my last display piece to show you today...

since I'm on the road so much and I use suitcases as much as books,

I decided to put my logo on a vintage suitcase that I painted white.

It does double duty, as it holds things for the show

and makes a great presence in the booth!

Can't forget the major reason for 

The Old White House

our lavender goodness!

I love playing shopkeeper as I get ready for the show to begin...

It may not look like it to those around me as I look like a stressed out squirrel

looking for her stash of nuts, but really I'm having a great time!

on another note...

if you see my stash,

could you tell me where it is?

Right now I'm on the hunt for my metal stamps for 

a project that I really need to do,

or I just may go over the edge!

You know how it is,

you put something in a safe place

and someone moves the safe place!

(it couldn't be that I forgot where it is)

OHHHH one more thing!

I just opened a shop on square

you can now purchase the lavender goodness

at 

The Old White House

click on the link and it will take you right to me!

(for all of you that are already set up with square accts.!)

Thanks so much for stopping by!

love,

t.xoxoxoox

Vintage Inspiration Friday

Happy Friday!

Gotta get ready for "a day in the life..."

but I didn't want to miss Debra's party

so here is one of my latest projects recently listed in the shop

If I was given this trophy pin, then I don't 

think I would have minded 2nd place!

To find and wear something that made someone

so happy over a hundred years ago...

priceless.

Have a fabulous weekend,

I hope to be stopping by with more to share!

love,

Theresa 

xoxoxoxo

linking to:

Vintage Inspiration Friday