Back in the Saddle Again

Well it has been awhile since I posted. Life has been crazy lately and it doesn't seem to be slowing down. I am finally back in the saddle. I just wanted to do a short blog to let everyone know that I am still here and working on picking unique items and painting projects. Just this last week I moved back into a small booth at my favorite shop Camas Antiques. I wasn't sure how much would fit into this small space, but I packed it full. Since the shop didn't have a larger booth for me to feature my furniture, I opted for a display cabinet where I could at least do smalls. My how I have missed doing displays.

I am really trying to re-focus my style on a cottage look with vintage touches and shabby elegance. As I have said before, my favorite place to pick is Goodwill and I have found so many great treasures lately that I think really pull everything together. The mirror in the back was a $5 find and it was just a plain wood frame and mirror. I tried a couple of ideas on the mirror itself, but settled for a clean stencil to keep the lines simple. I think it is perfect as the eye catching piece of my sweet display.

Having a display case as opposed to a booth is really forcing me outside my comfort zone. Since I can't fit dressers inside it, I am trying to think of items that normally I would pass on due to the size being too small. I think this is really going to be a great learning experience in how to come up with meaningful items, displays, and it will give me the opportunity to be more daring and creative when it comes to small furniture pieces.

I am really loving mercury glass, ceramic birds, and wooden bird houses right now. Maybe it is just the spring time fever. I love this unique bird house I found at a vintage show and it looks lovely paired with the unique shaped swan figuring and the very shabby mercury glass bottle. I wish I could find a place to put these items so I could keep them for my collection.

My new favorite things for spring is apothecary jars and clear glass canisters. There is just something so classic about items that you can keep out all year round and just change the décor inside them. These were both found at local thrift stores, as well as the little figurines inside. I just love the cute little face on that vintage bunny. He is perfect for Easter.

My latest craft item I have been making is just some aged book pages rolled up, bound in a bundle of 3, tied with some jute and a white vintage button. They look so adorable sitting on a side table, in a basket as they are pictured, or in a vase. They are just a simple way to add a touch of shabby, whimsy, and vintage to a small space.

This book was an experiment. I had never painted a book before, but I thought I would take a chance on it since I only paid $1 for it at an estate sale and it has failed to sell in as is condition. I painted it in Annie Sloan Old White Chalk Paint, added a band of lace burlap, and a lacey flower that I embellished with 2 vintage rhinestone earrings and a white button. Again, I wish I could keep this simply shabby sweet book.

For the last photo, this is probably my favorite part of my new little display case. These little vintage porcelain birds I found at Goodwill and thought they were so adorable. The little mint green bow really adds some character to their simple design. These little love birds looks so cute perched on this little wood shabby white bench.

I hope you enjoyed looking at the pictures. I didn't realize how much I missed putting together displays. I love how this small space can be so intricately designed by adding varying heights of items as well as intriguing layers of items that have a detail and story all on their own. I hope you will come visit my blog again. Now that I am back in the shop business, be sure to stay tuned for new displays and new items available in my booth at Camas Antiques. It feels so good to be back in the saddle again! :)

Vanessa

I Believe in Pink

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