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

let's play catch up (again)...

Hello! I missed all of October here in blogland... I can't even believe it myself. It has been a wild ride of doing shows almost every weekend and spending the week preparing for them.   To get you a little up to date on what I've been up to I went through the pics on my phone going backwards from most the recent ones and stopped when I figured you were saying "enough already!"

I made shadow box pendants for last weeks show, and a customer had me marry two necklaces together as we chatted a bit.  I love how it turned out!  I may have to take a second look at some of my stock!

Here are some repurposed glass bottles with vintage ornament toppers for Christmas.   The show was the Recycled Art Market.  It's one of my favorites because everything you make has to be at least 50% recycled.  Right up my alley! 

Soldered bottles, some with pearls, some with feathers, some with little trees... They come with a chain to be worn but they look great on the tree too.

 pumpkins, bottles, vintage button rings, and soldered ornaments hanging from repurposed feather trees made by my brother Wil.  Plus the lavender laundry and cleaning goods in the background.

the worktable...

Max the zombie making his rounds on Halloween with his buddies.  Yes, you have to RUN between houses when the city only gives you 2 hours to gather as much candy as your pillowcase can hold!

And YES, at our house you still trick or treat when you're in high school as long as a costume is involved... especially if you made yourself a sweet fairy forest deer costume 

...most especially if you stand long enough for a zillion pics for your mom.

Vintage button rings from my stash of beautiful metal buttons, most were given to me by a dear friend so I could repurpose them... Thanks Judy! xoxo

 Our newest addition to the lavender goodness - Lavender Carpet Freshener!  Lavender buds, and lavender oil along with natural freshening agents to freshen your carpets and vacuum as you clean.  It's really lovely and makes your home smell fabulous!

I put our heron decoy in this apple picking bag a while ago, and he got a fall makeover with corn tassels.

Every birthday should end with you falling asleep in the car hugging your new best friend that your sister bought for you at the cider mill!

...because this is how much fun you had at said cider mill!  Happy #11  Max!  xoxoxo 

Speaking of new best friends, have you met Captain yet?  When we got him in August the humane society called him a 'lab mix'. We are pretty sure now that the 'mix' is Great Dane.  He's much bigger than this already!  

But he's ALL puppy!

Sometimes I play with apps on my phone for Instagram.  This one is my fave by Rhonnadesigns.  

I think i heard someone In the back yell "enough already!" so I'll stop now.  Thanks for playing catch up with me!  This is the first time I've blogged from my phone, we'll see how it goes, maybe I could blog more often and not have to recap an entire month!

I hope that you are having a wonderful autumn!  Thanks for stopping by!

Love, t.xoxo

it's pumpkin time...

(sold)

I fell in love with this burlap, it's perfect for my pumpkins!

just in time for fall shows...

I hope that the cooler weather has found you well,

and that a visit to a local show is in your future!

Thanks for stopping by,

love,

t.xoxooxo

thank you...

pinterest...

for the inspiration for my new TaDa list in the kitchen!

http://theinspiredroom.net/2013/08/11/message-center-ideas-kitchen/

isabella sparrow actually shared it on fb and I 

fell for it immediately and well,

TaDa!

I'm not finding a blog for her, but her FB page is swoon worthy!

and thank you craigslist...

for the matching sofas in my living room

seriously both for 150.?

my family says thank you for the cozy and beautiful new seating!

Captain approves as well!

thank you ice resin...

especially Susan Lenart Kazmer

for another creative outlet for me to play with!

I have had these ring blanks for quite awhile now

and you gave me the inspiration and tutorials on how to 

use your fabulous product! 

thank you picmonkey...

for helping me design my monthly calendar...

most of all thank you to you,

for indulging me in this silliness!

I hope that September treats you well.

We are having some really beautiful weather here in MI.

Nice cool temps at night, perfect for sleeping.

Speaking of which, I better say good night,

I have a 5:00 am wake up call in my future.

Have a fabulous weekend,

Thank you for stopping by!

love,

t.xoxo