If you live in Tennessee you may be asking yourself and God when in the world Spring is truly going to arrive! I know I am, but the truth is we know how funny the weather can be here and the light at the end of the tunnel is, it will come and soon.
Spring is a season for shopping, forget Christmas sales, and back to school - Spring is where it is at. Flea markets, open air markets, yard sales that span several states, community sales, consignment sales, outdoor special tent events, the Spring weather brings everyone out, and when we are out, we shop.
There is something about a nice warm and breezy day that makes me want to hop in the car and go treasure hunting. With the recent rain and mugginess I have found that I get a bit anxious for the weather and those days when I can hop in the car and head out to yard sales and street fairs. One thing that is helping me deal with my anxiety is crafting ideas. The beauty of the internet is that it doesnt matter what the weather is outside, you can find every season online, and this is a motivating way to get ideas while you are trapped inside.
My most recent inspiration is none other than Easter. There are so many ads, specials and coupons with relation to Easter and candy shopping. One helpful website that I reference all the time is http://www.frugalcouponliving.com/, she consistently lists all the deals advertised and coupons related to products both online and in store. One of the recent promotions was at Disney.com - I had never thought of buying Easter basket goodies online, but with discounts it can be a great idea.
When I think about Easter, I think baskets but the truth is the basket is the least important part of the Easter Basket experience, isn't it? Well I don't suppose it has to be. I was thinking about the kid's baskets this year, I typically buy a very inexpensive basket and fill it with the "goods" - and they use that same basket for easter egg hunting. This year I am hoping to find some new ideas for baskets or in lieu of baskets. There are always pails, bags and other multi purpose containers that can be used, these are great. In the past I have used toy storage containers by Sterlite or Rubbermaid that are intended to be used as open boxes or tubs for toys. The small ones serve as a great and useful alternative for Easter baskets. But what about the egg hunting.....I am on a mission to find a really cute Tote and decorate it for Emma's easter egg hunting this year.
Just a few ideas for the tote:
- Canvas bag or maybe a recycable shopping bag that doesnt have a lot of design
- Add gluable rhinestones, flowers and glitter with fabric glue
- Sew on or Iron on patches with colorful spring themed designs
- Customize and personalize with Fabric markers and let the kids decorate them on their own
- Attach a key chain around the arm straps for added personality
This is a little project I am hoping to get into before Easter while this weather is keeping me inside! I will post pics when I am done, hope everyone has fun finding bargains and using their creative bones to create while we wait for Spring to spring!
Friday, April 8, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Beginnings.....
This family of ours, we are transplants from Southern California. Mom moved here a long time ago (about 11 years), my Sister Crystal and I just weren't interested in living in Tennessee at that time, her in her late teens, I in my early twenties. But as we grew older and began to have children, we knew we had to be close to Mom. So move we did, and now we enjoy weekends, events, and every Holiday and Birthday together. When I am lucky enough to get away from life in Nashville, I venture out to share moments with Mom at the shop too and it reminds me of when it all began.
In the beginning, we all lived near Livingston, TN where All Things Vintage the shop, began and is today. Mom had lived here in Tennessee for some time before she decided she really wanted to pursue her love of all things creative and well, All Things Vintage! She never was a junk collector or a pack rat, she enjoys things, she enjoys shopping for antiques, second hand goods, quality furniture, and things almost forgotten by time but she rarely wants to keep all of them, so what is better than being able to shop, rehab and create then pass it onto someone who is going to make use of it?.... She won't stay more than 30 minutes in a mall and that's if you drag her, it's the hunting, the searching and the finding of those special things and bits of history that Mom truly loves - and lucky for her (and I) I am a sucker for those things too. Although, I love the mall ;)
Mom thought long and hard about her plans to own something and follow this dream of hers.....she had seen a building for sale on the square for a while and wondered what it would cost. The wheels began turning and the plans began forming, once she is on a mission there is no turning back. Long story short, that building became hers.
We aren't a rich family as far as finances are concerned, no trust funds here, or Grandparents who own oil.....Mom had to pay for this thing, this project and it would become her constant labor of love and remains so to this day...and often Daddy's too, just ask him he is probably there right now moving a piece of furniture.
The place was a mess, an onion of historic papers, books, and unfortunately long forgotten repairs. We helped Mom as much as we could, and she worked every day cleaning, scraping, painting, laying down floor, cleaning windows, removing nails, having the toilets repaired, cleaning some more, searching, trashing, saving and hoping it would all come together. She searched second hand places for sales counters, display cases, she was starting with nothing and it was incredibly scary and exciting all at the same time.
It took a long time, but she did it. I won't even pretend we were a huge part of her success, we weren't. We helped, we painted, we threw away trash, we sorted through things, and offered ideas, but she did it. She had the dream and she worked hard to make it her own. Every day, every week adding a few things here and there. Until it all came together. She had the shop set up, paint on the walls, plumbing working for the most part, electricity took a few weeks so it sat unopened a bit longer than she wanted.....that was just the beginning of what we have discovered it truly means to own a piece of "History". The roof gave out in the first year, we blew breakers, we had no vendors, then we had many, then we had none again. But slowly, with a lot of love and time it began to become the little shop that could and it had my Mom's touch all over it. I loved it when it was one floor of everything old and new, and then when she opened the second floor and toiled on the old wood floors wearing out mops and eventually her hands for months to clean them, put up lights, painted walls until she opened yet another floor and I love it now nearly 6 years later.......
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| The Shop July 2005 |
Mom thought long and hard about her plans to own something and follow this dream of hers.....she had seen a building for sale on the square for a while and wondered what it would cost. The wheels began turning and the plans began forming, once she is on a mission there is no turning back. Long story short, that building became hers.
We aren't a rich family as far as finances are concerned, no trust funds here, or Grandparents who own oil.....Mom had to pay for this thing, this project and it would become her constant labor of love and remains so to this day...and often Daddy's too, just ask him he is probably there right now moving a piece of furniture.
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| First floor July 2005 |
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| The first "paper" sign announcing the opening |
The good, the bad and the ugly
If there is one thing I have learned in my experience with Antique searching, second hand shopping, treasure hunting and what some call "junking", is you will find some amount of "junk" in the process. It is what you end up doing with that junk that is the true test of your creativity and passion for the art of re-do, re-make, re-create.
Essentially working with anything used, you are asking for a level of damage, wear, or possible "outdated appearance", the main thing is follow these rules and you can work with the piece, and come up with something worth enjoying (or better yet, selling):
- Do not buy anything with water damage even if it appears to be "okay" - you cannot reverse water damage and potential for mold.
- Do not buy furniture that has split wood, or something that cannot be refashioned or repaired easily. You don't want to spend so much money rehabbing the piece you could have bought it new.
- Don't shy away from items that are dirty. If you are hunting at yard sales, a lot of folks don't see the point in cleaning things (not sure why), but that doesn't mean they aren't worth anything. Cleaning something can make a world of difference.
- Remember when purchasing items you intend on repainting, they must be able to take paint. Laminates are a lot of fuss for painting, unless you are willing to put in the extra work using a sander or finish remover, don't invest.
- If you are searching for used clothing or vintage threads, remember the style can mean a lot or a little. If you are looking for a piece to resell as is, then style is important only certain eras are marketable, but if you are going to refashion it ie; make a new dress out of it, or use a vintage T-shirt to make a new kid's dress, then material and pattern are your only concern. Polyester wasn't breathable and comfy in the 70's, that hasn't change take material/ fabric into consideration.
- Be willing to dig!!! Some of the best things I have ever come across I found by digging, and hunting, searching through racks, boxes and mounds of "stuff".
The biggest difference between people who love this and don't - is the time we are willing to spend looking for that certain something.
My latest inspiration is Decoupage.......more on that later.
Happy Hunting! xo - Jenn
Essentially working with anything used, you are asking for a level of damage, wear, or possible "outdated appearance", the main thing is follow these rules and you can work with the piece, and come up with something worth enjoying (or better yet, selling):
- Do not buy anything with water damage even if it appears to be "okay" - you cannot reverse water damage and potential for mold.
- Do not buy furniture that has split wood, or something that cannot be refashioned or repaired easily. You don't want to spend so much money rehabbing the piece you could have bought it new.
- Don't shy away from items that are dirty. If you are hunting at yard sales, a lot of folks don't see the point in cleaning things (not sure why), but that doesn't mean they aren't worth anything. Cleaning something can make a world of difference.
- Remember when purchasing items you intend on repainting, they must be able to take paint. Laminates are a lot of fuss for painting, unless you are willing to put in the extra work using a sander or finish remover, don't invest.
- If you are searching for used clothing or vintage threads, remember the style can mean a lot or a little. If you are looking for a piece to resell as is, then style is important only certain eras are marketable, but if you are going to refashion it ie; make a new dress out of it, or use a vintage T-shirt to make a new kid's dress, then material and pattern are your only concern. Polyester wasn't breathable and comfy in the 70's, that hasn't change take material/ fabric into consideration.
- Be willing to dig!!! Some of the best things I have ever come across I found by digging, and hunting, searching through racks, boxes and mounds of "stuff".
The biggest difference between people who love this and don't - is the time we are willing to spend looking for that certain something.
My latest inspiration is Decoupage.......more on that later.
Happy Hunting! xo - Jenn
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