Junk Exchange

see what i saw ..

2011-11-25T09:14:00.000-08:00

seems things have been on a whirlwind since we finished Canton last month .. we took a quick trip up to visit family in illinois on a wednesday.. rod drove straight thru ..normal/bloomington, illinois .. had a small family pre-thanksgiving meal on a friday and came back to texas on a sunday .. then had a small thanksgiving meal with nephew and great niece and great nephews .. it was fun to spend time with family .. but i have done very little for the upcoming canton .. however, i have scores and scores of vintage Christmas to fill the booth with .. and lots of furniture finds .. so come out and see us this month .. should be one of the most enjoyable months of the season .. we are located in the new lock and leave building connected to the entrance of the Arbors .. you can't miss it .. we are booth number 7 .. and we will be there on Wednesday ..

now to show you what i saw when i was in illinois .. i couldn't let the trip go by without getting a pic or two to share ..

if this doesn't get you in the Christmas spirit, I can't think of what will .. enjoy ..

can you imagine? all i can think of is where do you put this stuff when it's NOT Christmas? and of course, how much we could sell all of those for .. lol!

love ya! hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving ..
troy

the way of Canton ..

2011-11-09T18:57:00.000-08:00

we just finished the October November Canton and it was one for the record books .. in all aspects .. a local police man said it was the biggest crowd at Canton since 1996. .. after 20+ years of doing Canton, we finally have one of the premier spaces at the market .. at least i feel that way .. the new lock and leave building has a feel all it's own .. it was the first time in 20+ years we have been able to leave the grounds on Sunday afternoon before the sun went down .. it was the best show in a long time for us .. everyone loved the new space and commented so .. it felt like home ..
the way our booth looked on thursday morning ..

the way our booth looked sunday morning ..

considered the main entrance to the Canton First Monday grounds .. off hiway 19 .. the new lock and leave building in the distance .. we are the second booth in on the left .. space # 7 ..

a burlap and muslin lamp shade i created .. the base of the shade had an approximate 24" diameter .. i had it lit for a pendant shade ..

our pillow cabinet .. it's an old pine wardrobe .. perfect for the shams and pillows ..

the booth on saturday morning .. i tried to change the booth up every morning .. it was fun moving it around to give it a different look and seemed to pay off ..

a chaise i covered in vintage lace tablecloths .. inspired by curious sofa ..

slipcover cabinet i had Rod create for the shop .. made using an old wardrobe .. cut out on the end .. chalkboard on each side of the opening ..

if you want to see more pics of our booth check out the pics in our facebook album..

hoping your month is filled with happiness and love ..
love ya'
troy

finding it ..

2011-10-21T07:43:00.000-07:00

finding JOY today can be difficult and frustrating .. however, i have a secret that works for me and wanted to share it with you .. though it is now effortless, i work real hard at greeting each day and each gift, surprise or show of affection with a silent "Thank You, Father" ..sometimes i even shout it .. and i can't begin to relate how many times i have used that phrase these past few weeks .. even though it seems every other day brings a new pain and a little less brain power .. i feel very blessed ..

junk exchange had decided this month would be it's last show at canton .. the shoving and loading and unloading of furniture and setting up of displays was just getting harder and harder to do, and canton was building a new lock and leave that would have made it difficult for us to maneuver into our parking space late on set-up day, which is when we like to get there to avoid the traffic of set-up ..

we applied for a space in the new lock and leave and figured if we didn't get in, then this would be our last show .. there were only 10 spaces and hundreds of applicants for the 10 spaces and honestly, we didn't hold out much hope .. we thought it would be nice and of course felt our merchandise warranted such an honor, but there were literally hundreds of applicants .. we were notified the middle of this month we were accepted .. SO ..Thank you, Father!!! .. our NEW LOCATION is in the NEW lock and leave building now known as ARBOR GATEWAY .. we are SPACE # 7 .. how lucky is that? Thank you, Father .. what this means, is we can set up our booth like a shop and lock it up at the end of the show instead of packing it up like we have for the last 20 years ... Thank you, Father...

see this statue? if you have ever been to Canton, you know where this is .. it is located directly at the main entrance off hiway 19 .. see the building behind it, that says THE ARBORS .. well, you can't really see that NOW .. now, there is a big building in front of that entrance .. that is the ARBOR GATEWAY .. we are in space # 7 of that NEW building .. so easy to find .. Thank you, Father ..

this month we also participated in a local show organized by the Shopapalooza Ladies called "Fall into Christmas" .. it was a fun event and we made some nice new contacts .. and met some wonderful people ..rewerked furniture .. texas pickers .. Thank you, Father ..

below are a few images of our booth at that event .. it was a one day event ..

so Rod has been busy building us display pieces for the new space and the sewing room has been a whirl of excitement with fabric flying through the air .. we also have at the end of this month the Junior League of Waco show "Deck the Halls" .. Sherry is doing that show .. and Rod is doing Canton and I am going with him ..again, Thank you, Father ..

you must come to Canton this month and see the new booth space .. junk exchange has found some incredibly lovely pieces to fill the space and i know you will love the new look .. we will be bringing things for sale that we have not offered before due to the unpredictability of the weather .. now with the new lock and leave we feel secure paper goods, fabrics and lamps and shades will not get damaged ..

each day is like a new chapter in this amazing book .. Thank you, Father ..

well my mind has gone totally blank on what i wanted to say .. so i will close with Thank you, Father and give you all my love ..

Troy

sexy hangers ..

2011-10-10T07:46:00.000-07:00

we have decided to add vintage lingerie to the items we offer for sale.. we feel it will add something to the boudoir theme we have going .. i remembered i had some of those vintage padded lingerie hangers stockpiled, but we must have sold them because i sure can not remember where i packed them or placed them.. i thought about what to do as i didn't want to hang sexy lingerie on just any old hanger .. so i came up with this ..(when i say i came up with this, i honestly don't remember if i saw it somewhere and it just kind of stuck in my mind and therefore i felt it sprang - springed? - sprung? - from my twisted, confused mind .. but i thought it was cute, so if i stole the idea from you, my apologies)

i think it sets off the lingerie quite nicely .. it is a simple wood hanger wrapped in strips of hand torn (how else?) cotton muslin and accented with a simple bow at the throat of the hanger, finished off with a dangle-ly charm made using a vintage key and a swivel ball hook ..

i began with these simple wood hangers .. we see them everywhere down here in Texas ..

then we had some excess torn strips that were destined more for the trash than another project as they were too thin for the ruffles on our pillows ... so i made use of them here ..

we have a stockpile of vintage keys .. we usually place them in our popular junk bags and sell them 5/ $1.00 ..

added the key to a vintage swivel ball hook, from the fishing department ..

and it made a cute little dangle ...

then tied it to the throat of the hanger .. directly underneath the bow ..

now isn't that the sweetiest little (yeah, i said sweetiest) .. hanger ? .. you could even soak the muslin strips in rose water then dry them for an added touch .. me .. i just sprayed them with some tea rose .. which always reminds me of my momma ..

enjoy the day .. love ya ..

Canton Sept / Oct 2011

2011-10-03T16:14:00.000-07:00

i love Canton in the fall .. and this past weekend did not disappoint .. we had lovely weather and generous crowds .. everyone seemed to be in a good mood .. and it was such a pleasant time ..
sweet queen anne dining table, dressed with a vintage cotton tablecloth in pink and green .. flanked by a pair of shield back side chairs with tapestry damask seats in cream and eggshell ..and a pair of oak side chairs dressed with our vintage inspired cotton muslin slipcovers .. available here ..

vintage side table chalk painted in cream accented with vintage toile wallpaper on the top and at the drawer front ..

another view of the dining table and side chairs ..

a pile of slipcovers .. topper and skirts ..

pillows of muslin accented with a block printed burlap patch and featuring raw edge ruffle of 3" .. available here ..

mr & mrs pillows .. 16" square .. a popular item for us .. featuring an envelope back and 3" wide raw edge ruffle ..

basket of kings crown burlap / muslin pillow sham ...

love the bench .. perfect for end of your bed .. deep hand tied tufts .. accented with vintage wallpaper and featuring storage areas behind the small doors across the front ..

the dollhouse large enough for a bookcase .. had a stack of old books to display, but forgot them at home .. lucky for you this item did not sell and is available at our shop location at laSalle shoppes antiques & craft mall ..

love the fall look of the ginger jar .. it's a pattern by masons but i forget the name at the moment ..

love it when girls / ladies gather and love on our products .. makes me want to be more creative ..

more loving from our customers ..

a pair of pumpkin head sweethearts greeting the cooler weather to come .. may all this month be special for you and you enjoy the road you travel ..

love ya'
Troy

welcoming Fall ..

2011-09-24T07:32:00.000-07:00

love love love love Fall .. love the colors, the temps, the excitement .. just plain love it .. it is one of my favorite seasons .. lol ..

i am always excited to see what the magazines are doing for fall .. i stumbled on the current issue of country living and fell in love with the article on the pumpkins .. thought, i can do that .. (don't you love that song from Chorus Line) ..

so .. i started with this ..

in an effort to achieve this ..

and came away with this ..

now in the article they said they used paper .. actually copies of fabric pattern .. scanning the fabric and then printing it out on the computer .. but i didn't read that part .. so i used some vintage fabric that i had .. tore it in strips and glued each one on .. then i used scrap pieces of burlap to create the leaves and stem .. then i used a water based polly for the topcoat .. to seal it .. still have one more to do ..

taking them to Canton .. we leave this coming Wednesday .. i am going with Rod this time .. we are in Arbor 2, spaces 217 & 218 .. if they don't sell at canton, they will be at our booth at LaSalle Shoppes on LaSalle Ave in Waco ..

our neighbor dog, chico .. come to visit and see what i did to the pumpkins .. such a sweetie ..

we got him back onto his side of the fence and tried to repair it .. afraid he is going to hurt himself .. but he likes shooger and keeps trying to come visit ..

sharing a song here .. enjoy ..

love ya'
Troy

cashmere passion ..

2011-09-07T21:27:00.000-07:00

i have a thing for cashmere sweaters. i can't stop buying them at thrift stores and used clothing stores. i have stacks of them. i tend to buy the ones that are cream, gray, black and warm toned colors. i have v neck, crew neck, turtle neck, vests, cable knit and just plain comfy.
i remember my first cashmere sweater - listen to me, i talk about them like it should have been a memorable event. but i guess it was. i love the look of a sweater with a good fit. but, i hate the texture of most sweaters. they just plain itch. i can wear a cashmere sweater on a cool morning to brunch and feel wonderful. i have worn cashmere sweaters that are over-sized and perfect for just laying on the couch and watching an epic old movie. there is nothing more enjoyable than a cool dark room, a Susan Hayward movie (Back Street), curled on the sofa, a down pillow, a bag of animal crackers, iced tea and wearing a cashmere sweater.
my first cashmere sweater - i bought with my mom at a church rummage sale. i was 15 years old. the sweater was at least 20 years old. i was drawn to it for the graphic diamond pattern - which is very much in style now - and when i picked it up, it was as if the heavens had opened up and sent down the lashes of angels to weave this heavenly creation. i was in love. i didn't even know what cashmere was and picture if you can a 15 year old country boy in a family of deer hunters conveying his excitement to his father. yeah. well, he loved me just the same.
so, i have a thing for cashmere sweaters.
i think i need to find a cabinet to put them in - preferably something with glass front doors.
p.s. old worn out sweaters also make great throw pillows.

love ya'
troy

Waco, That's My Home Town (Produced by The City of Waco)

2011-09-05T17:11:00.000-07:00

My Aunt posted this on my Facebook page and I thought it was about the cutest thing I had ever seen .. it's a jingle written about my hometown Waco .. back in the late 50s / early 60s .. I think .. about the time I was born ..

Watch it .. for fun ..

love ya'
Troy

Canton - Sept 2011

2011-09-01T15:55:00.000-07:00

rod just left for Canton this afternoon .. we had some things that got in the way of getting there until today .. so he should be pulling into our booth about the time this entry is posted to the blog .. i stayed behind again to care for our two dogs .. shooger and jax .. i did get some pics of some of the things he has with him that we got done for this month ..

remember this wicker set from earlier in the week ? .. we reupholstered it and added some pillows .. loving it .. Marta, it wasn't that difficult .. we don't know how to repair wicker but the back of this just needed new upholstery .. so that is what we did .. sorry i didn't get pics as we went through the process ..

here is the set all upholstered .. i love the floral print ..

the set with the throw pillows ..

the chair .. it is so comfortable ..

i love the way the whole set turned out .. wish i had a big back or front porch to put it on and i would be keeping this set ..

a close-up of one of the pillows ..

a pair of cube tables that we upholstered and tufted the tops on .. love the way they turned out ..

a full size headboard .. just a little bit of burlap at the center and a coat of country white paint ..

enjoy your weekend and head out to Canton and say hi to Rod ..
Arbors 2, spaces 217 & 218 ..

also don't forget, we are in Waco now .. at the LaSalle Shoppes on LaSalle Ave .. across from Treasure City Flea Market ..

love ya'
Troy

headboard re-do ..

2011-08-29T16:50:00.000-07:00

we have had this headboard for some time and we are finally getting around to uncovering it in the warehouse and getting it redone ..

above is the way it looked when we found it.. as you can see it had incredible 'bones' .. love the frenchy feel of it .. it is a king size .. to be secured to a metal frmae, aka a hollywood frame ..

below is the way it looked after ... covered in washed burlap, accented with crosses of raw edge muslin for the buttons and a ruffle of raw edge muslin framing the edge .. reminds me a frosted cookie .. lol ..

below is a close-up detail of one end ..

above is a great 1920s era wicker set we will be finishing out and sending with Rod to Canton .. we are upholstering it in a wonderful floral print .. the headboard is also going to Canton ..

the sweet bisque cherub duo is the base of a wonderful vintage lamp Rod discovered at a local shoppe .. he is bringing that to Canton also ..

Don't forget if you are in Waco .. visit our booth at the new LaSalle Shoppes Antiques & Crafts Mall .. you can read about it here ..

Love ya'
Troy

P.S. Please include my friend Anne's Mom in your prayers ..

thank you ..

moving in ..

2011-08-19T20:01:00.000-07:00

we finally got all moved into our mall space at LaSalle Shoppes Antiques & Crafts Mall .. i am so excited .. and we have already started selling things .. which is always a good feeling .. we are excited that we have a place where we can allow our local customers to easily purchase from us ..

this is from the back of the booth, looking to the front .. we will carry a good stock of our pillow shams and slipcovers ..

this is the front of our booth .. to the right is a nice old Art Deco era chest of drawers that we wallpapered with vintage 1940s era wallpaper .. it wasn't there hardly a day and it SOLD ..

this is a view coming into our booth from the main entry .. our space is kind of in the middle of the building ..

another view of our booth as you come into the room from the entry .. the HOPE banner sold this afternoon .. we should have more banners in soon ..

a small vignette on top of the chest ..

If you live in the Waco area, please stop in and visit this wonderful new Antique Mall .. it is young and just getting started, but i think it is going to be a wonderful spot .. and the owners are some of the nicest people you would want to meet ..
It is located at 2221 LaSalle .. near the Treasure City Flea Market and the famous Circle .. the building served as a Hotel up until the 1940s .. some of the original rooms are still intact on the second floor .. if you are from Waco or attended Baylor University, you might remember it as the Unpainted Furniture Store .. they still sell unpainted furniture there, but are making room for a limited number of Antique & Craft dealers .. if you are interested in space, stop in and talk to Bill or Jean and tell them Junk Exchange sent you ..

Also if you head to Treasure City Flea Market or head out to Health Camp or the Elite Circle Grill or Rudys Country Store Bar B Q.. stop in and see the shop, you will like it ..

love ya'
Troy

we done did it ..

2011-08-18T16:49:00.000-07:00

we did it .. we got the space .. great location .. great layout .. love the building .. absolutely love the people who own and run the place .. it is easy access from the interstate .. near an abundance of popular restaurants .. right around the corner from Baylor University .. and across the street from the only flea market in Waco ..

the name of the mall is LaSalle Shoppes Antiques & Crafts Mall .. it is located on LaSalle in Waco .. across from the Treasure City Flea Market which used to be the CIRCLE DRIVE-IN theatre years ago ..

this is the flea market as it appears today .. saturdays and sundays, this place is packed to the brim .. cars and people everywhere ..
this is what the drive-in looked like back in the day ..

our booth is all of the black and white tiles .. the double doors at the front of the booth will remain closed .. there is a ceiling fan above the space .. and the building is air conditioned .. this picture was taken from the back of the booth looking forward ..

this picture was taken from the front corner of the booth looking to the back stairway ..

this was taken from the opposite front corner looking back to the stairway .. the alcove under the stairs will be perfect for housing our slipcover and vintage clothing rack ..

super excited .. we decided against doing anything to the booth other than moving in and filling it .. at least for right now .. the owners said we could paint if we wanted .. being so close to the weekend and how close we are to the Holiday season, we voted and decided to live with what we had and stock the space .. we can paint after the Holiday season ... be sure and LIKE our FaceBook page and join in conversations and posts .. we will also be posting pics of the space once we get it all moved in .. if you live in the Waco area, stop in this weekend and see the space we should be all moved in by tomorrow .. we are right off Interstate 35 at the Circle .. 2221 LaSalle Ave ..

love ya'
Troy

a dip in the pool ..

2011-08-14T19:37:00.000-07:00

it has been a long time since we considered opening a shop .. and to be honest what we are considering isn't a stand alone type shop but renting space within an existing establishment .. we have been getting some calls inquiring where people can see more of what we make .. and one thing led to another .. and we looked at some space today and met the owners and seemed to hit it off ..i have mixed emotions about being in a co-op .. but something about this feels different .. the space we are looking at is quite large for us and has a nice front window .. i will know more in the next day or so .. will keep you posted .. and as you know .. i will be sharing pics along the way ..
love ya'
Troy

a place in the sun ..

2011-08-06T08:18:00.000-07:00

we are gearing up for some photo taking and i have always felt whenever possible natural light is best. so, i have been scouting places on our property that would make a good outdoors photo staging area.
this is the base of a very large paper shell pecan tree at the back of the property. i love the bark on this tree and how it flakes. i think the tree could make a nice backdrop to a variety of items..

we have used this setting several times already, especially in photos for slipcovers. it gets a good amount of light and i like the contrast of the birdbath and the old wood gate .. this has been my go-to spot .. but i want to explore all the options.. i could move some things into this area and plant some nice plants or even do potted plants..

this is the base of an old hackberry tree and an old cedar tree .. the stumps are movable and are only some stumps i came across in a vacant lot ..i could move the stumps over to whatever spot i finally choose..

another view of the stumps ..

the base of a large oak tree at the front side of our property ..

we are also converting a portion of the upstairs laundry room into a photo booth for photographing small items and vintage clothing and textiles ..

when i decide which spot is ideal, i'll reveal what i did to make it such .. i kind of think i know which one i will pick, but i am curious what you all think ..

thank you,
love ya'
Troy

Slipcover, the final product ..

2011-07-28T17:57:00.000-07:00

i have been working on perfecting our slipcover design for the last few months .. well, here is the final product ..

i made it wide enough and tall enough to fit most any size dining chair ..as the photos show ..

people have been asking for longer slipcovers and i tried a few designs but they were all in ones, and i really felt bad for the people who wanted longer ones, but went ahead and purchased the shorties .. so i created an underskirt they could by as an addition to the shortie skirt they already have ..

i will be listing these in our etsy shop soon .. they are available in both the bleached (white) cotton muslin and the unbleached (cream) cotton muslin .. click the movie below and tell me what you think .. each slipcover has ties at the top corners on the back that will come into play for a future project ..

Rod is doing Canton by himself this weekend, so if you happen to head out in the heat, stop in and say hi to him .. Arbor 2, spaces 217 & 218 ..

love ya'
Troy

Glider Re-do ..

2011-07-17T09:57:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics of the glider we re-did last month ..

we purchased the glider on the grounds of Canton during the May / June Canton ..

after we got home from Canton, we dropped the glider off at the warehouse, then we had some issues with our old reliable van and ended up attempting to transport the glider from the warehouse to our workroom in the backseat of our honda civic .. it worked believe it or not .. surprised the heck out of me ..

what the glider looks like all done up ..

at the beginning .. we left the paint finish as it was .. i love old chippy paint ..

the back of the glider folds down .. the seat itself is suspended on the framework by chains ..

the slipcovers for the sides are individual pieces and are made from painters canvas, so it will hold up to the outside .. but i think this piece is best used in a sunroom or covered porch ..

the main slipcover is of the same fabric as the sides .. it ties where the back meets the seat and at each corner ..

back view of the main slipcover ..

placement of the seat cushion .. 4 1/2" foam .. covered in dacron .. vintage mattress ticking used to create the covering which features back zipper and edge cording or welting ..

the back seat cushion measures 2 1/2" thick and is made of the same vintage mattress ticking .. it does not have edge cording or welting ..

the remaining pillows are made using vintage rose floral fabrics from the 1940s .. the side pillows features vintage twisted cotton rope fringe ..

i love this glider, but it's small size makes it desirable for most any use ..

thank you for looking ..

love you,
Troy

A Weeks Worth of 'Catch Up' ..

2011-07-10T08:16:00.000-07:00

they say the 'best laid plans of mice and men often go awry' .. my intentions were to keep you totally updated on the comings and goings of this past Canton .. get you down in the trenches with me .. let you meet some of the awesome people who make up the incredible vendors at what is considered by many to be the largest flea market in the country .. spreading out over 100 acres ..

yes, those were my plans ..

well to start off .. prior to leaving for the two and a half hour drive to get to Canton .. I thought I would show off some of the things we had worked on for the show and would post about them once we got to Canton ..
setting a table up outside i draped it with the wonderful new tablecloth i had made from an vintage tablecloth .. pottery barn inspired .. (oh grab something to drink, this is a weeks worth of catch-up and we are only at the beginning ..) so rod helped me set the dining table up outside and we draped it with the tablecloth .. it looked lovely, draping to the brown green grass, i grabbed the camera and adjusted the focus .. and boom .. gale force winds enveloped us .. well, poo ..

i thought i could grab a quick pic between the gusts ..

no such luck .. i made this by adding ruffled bands of gauze to an existing luncheon tablecloth .. i thought it turned out real cute ..

so fast forward 3 hours .. our two and half hour drive took longer because we had to make a stop half way there to get some bottled water .. 20 minutes into the store .. we discover they had no individual bottles of water .. it's 4th of July weekend and someone forgot to order enough .. but we are assured they will have a truckload that evening .. so back on the road ..

we finally get to Canton and everything is looking good .. our display fixtures have arrived and as requested the 'wall people' have not put our wall up so we can enjoy the wonderful summer air and maybe catch a breeze and surely get some sunlight ..

ready to start the day unloading and setting up the booth .. we like setting the display up first ..

display partially set .. ready to unload the trailer & van ..

so we spent the rest of the night .. until midnight .. setting the booth up and unpacking ..

another chest of drawers .. or as we say down here .. chester drawers .. this one accented with vintage 1940s green print wallpaper ..

little glider vignette with crisp white office chair and vintage table ..

a better look at the tablecloth and of course the slipcovers ..

the next morning the sun was shining bright .. and even though we were exhausted, we were ready for the day .. i loved the way the sun was shining into the back of the booth, which greeted the rising sun with open arms .. it really lit up the booth ..

the sun just lit the booth up with such intensity, it made everything seem crisp and new ..

isn't that tablecloth the coolest ..? ...

a daylight view of the glider vignette ..

we spent the better part of Thursday greeting customers and putting the finishing touches on the booth .. it was so hot, but i was able to make a blog post ..

the Arbors pretty much shut down at 5 o' clock .. a lot of the vendors head off to the surrounding restaurants or settle in for the night .. Rod and I chose to grab a quick sandwich and hit the sack .. it had been a long day and we were totally spent .. we don't have a travel trailer, but we have our old van which we use for sleeping .. we use a blow up mattress and have a small air conditioner we install in the passenger window .. and there are showers on the grounds, which we make use of .. so by 7 that evening we were sawing logs like nobody's business .. when i was awakened by the soft tinkling sound of rain hitting the roof of the van .. i nudged Rod and said .. "it's raining .. did we close up the booth?" ( we always say 'we' when we don't want to appear blaming of the other or suggesting that the other should have been responsible) .. to which he replied .. " uh huh".. i raised my head enough to see the back of our booth and that indeed our canvas drops cloths were closed tight and secured with clips .. i also noticed our neighbors were in their booth beginning to secure it .. then i kind of felt like the rain was getting harder .. not such a soft rain any longer .. i felt the van kind of sway ..i nudged Rod again and said .. "i think this is getting serious .." .."it'll be alright" he said .. and then the rain slowed .. then there was a sudden burst of a downpour .. i grabbed for my shoes, but realized i had changed into my flip flops in the booth and left my shoes there .. i told Rod " we need to get up " at the same time the wind picked up and our backdrop began flapping in the breeze and slapping items in our booth as they were being tossed around and around .. i glanced over and saw our neighbors scrambling .. i heard hail hitting the roof of the van .. i saw hail hitting the ground .. i saw our booth being devoured by the wind and rain .. i felt sick ..
throwing the sliding door of the van open .. i ran .. Rod close behind me .. flip flops flipping and flopping in the rain and wind and hail .. where there was a drive not 2 hours ago, there was now a raging river .. i made an attempt at a jump and lost a flip flop and my phone .. i looked up and all i could see was our booth being tossed .. through the wind and rain i began grabbing at things that were wet in a plan to get them into a dry area .. luckily that afternoon i had opted not to remove all our pillows from their plastic coverings .. or it could have been much worse for us ..the sound of shattering glass and wet fabric flapping in the wind echoed through the caverns of the Arbors .. it was pure chaos ..

now i know it seems odd to stop and take pictures of all this .. but i didn't think of taking pictures of it until it had stopped raining .. the winds had died down .. i realized i was sopping wet .. rod and i looked at one another and began to laugh ..all we could repeat was 'unbelievable' .. he said i kept saying the 'f' word over and over, but that is sooo unlike me, i don't believe him .. you know .. what do you do .. you pick yourself up and keep going .. it was an adventure .. we had a lot of things get wet .. we dried them as best we could and i have been washing things this week .. we lost 3 teacups with saucers, 4 cloches and the cup and saucer of a dish set on the table .. everything else was either paper, wood or fabric .. it all got wet ..

the front of our booth .. the ladder once assisted in closing off our booth and was the point where two fabric lengths met to close our booth from prying eyes..cause if you don't block your booth, people will come into it when you aren't there..

the back of the booth, tossed .. the wood signs tossed like paper ..

one of the chests we had, tossed over and crushing hat boxes ..

so we are close to midnight by the time we get things picked up and sorted and on the way to drying .. when i feel myself limping .. and i look down and see this and immediately get sick to my stomach ..

at some point in the evening, i guess when i made that ill-fated jump over the raging creek/river, i twisted/broke/mangled my ankle .. and that has kept me out of commission for the last week .. a neighbor brought me a boot to wear .. Rod got me an Ace bandage, but it had latex in it, and i am allergic to latex ..(do yourself a favor and don't do a google image search for ankle rash)..

the next morning, the booths behind us in the open field looked like this ..

this is the booth of the guy that rents the little scooters as you come into the main entrance of Canton .. off hiway 19 ..

this is the booth of a plant vendor behind us ..

unable to walk i could not get pics of the damage other than what was around me .. by Friday morning, in most places it looked as if nothing had happened .. there were vendors who suffered a lot more damage than we did .. i feel for them .. and don't let anyone tell you otherwise, there was bad damage in the buildings also .. i heard of people who lost a lot of merchandise over in Pav 2 .. it was a sudden storm that caught everyone off guard ..

here's a story about the storm ..

so it took us all weekend to recover .. i was able to make some posts to facebook by my phone once it dried out, which was amazing .. but it took me til Saturday to locate our notebook .. and by then i just wanted to get home and get my foot up ..

the dr said my ankle was just a bad sprain .. but to stay off of it for about a week and keep it elevated .. uh huh, sure .. she gave me a scrip for an anti-inflammatory and said it should be better in about a week or so ..

now .. wasn't that entertaining and maybe a little bit better than being there ?? lol!

hope you all have a wonderful week .. i will be making a post in the next few days to show you before and afters of the little glider ..

love ya'
Troy

LIVE! from Canton Thursday June 30, 2011

2011-06-30T07:00:00.000-07:00

Pulled in late yesterday afternoon, trying to avoid the heat. Rod has the computer set up, so I will be making posts most of the weekend. So, keep a watch on the blog. And let me know if there is something you would like to see a pic of.. the above pic is one section or vignette of the booth..I am sooo proud of the little glider.. when I get back from Canton, I will post better pics of the glider.
Everything is removable and washable.

Our empty booth upon arrival... display delivered and ready for set-up. ..

tub ottoman, made from old wash tub .. painted white .. distressed and upholstered then fitted with a custom throw...

new slipcover designs .. check out the slipcover on the top of the table.. our new twice piece slipcover.. also see the tablecloth .. a reconstructed vintage tablecloth .. love it .. have already had to scare a photographer off who was going in for close-ups on the construction .. people! ..

close-up of the glider .. loving it! .. it is such a cute size.. so you will know, this was transported to the workroom in the back seat and trunk of a honda civic .. it folds down ..

vintage 1920s chest with vintage 1940s wallpaper .. fabric tie handles .. so cute ..

Come see Junk Exchange in the Arbors .. Arbor 2 .. spaces 217 & 218 ..

We are excited to see you ..

love ya'
Troy

Last Canton .. the one afore the one coming up ..

2011-06-24T13:46:00.000-07:00

here we are getting ready for Canton next week and i'm realizing i never even showed you pics of Canton last month ..

enjoy some of the pics and remember to come see us this month .. yeah, i know .. it is sooo hot .. but one thing to remember about Canton in the summer months .. there aren't a lot of people shopping .. so it isn't as crowded .. and there are fewer vendors, so the ones there are really willing to make you some good deals .. and you can always come and shop the arbors and pavilions .. you could almost walk all of Canton and never have to be in the sun .. almost ..

pillow made from old embroidery stitching ..

1936 blueprint laid on board .. love it ! hanging above vintage pearl snap button Western shirts .. short and long sleeve ..

'paris' pillow shams on canvas ..

vintage turned wood pieces ... these were a big hit ..

collection of old painted label soda bottles .. as flower vases ..

one side of the booth from a distance ..

the other side of the booth .. also from a distance ..

vintage dresser and vanity .. did not match .. painted both white and accented with vintage rose print wallpaper .. sold both ..

another view of the booth ..

don't forget to come and see us this month .. Arbors 2, spaces 217 & 218 ..

love ya'
Troy

'maters in the sunshine ..

2011-05-19T09:44:00.001-07:00

does anyone do this anymore? .. sitting your tomatoes on the windowsill to fully ripen? .. my Mom and Dad both used to do this, i just started doing it recently .. i love the taste of a tomato (my father called them 'maters) ripened in the sun .. the warm juiciness coming through in the flavor .. the juice sometimes running down your wrist or spreading across your plate .. i like to sprinkle them with a little salt and pepper .. sometimes a little dill .. i love them as a side dish .. especially in the summer ..

i think everyone has grown a tomato plant at some time or another in their life .. it's the one garden item we can all grow .. easily so .. and feel connected to the earth .. the cycle .. look what i did .. i grew a tomato .. and that first taste is always the sweetest ..

may your day be filled with the sunshine your life requires ..

love ya'
Troy

cleaning house ..

2011-05-16T10:11:00.002-07:00

i hate cleaning house .. who likes it? i like having a clean house .. i like everything in it's place .. i just hate being the one to do it .. i really have to make myself get up and do it .. that being said, other than pushing a broom to sweep up dog hair here and there and stray fabric clippings, i am ashamed to admit that our house hasn't been cleaned since Christmas .. yeah, i know .. yuck .. i tell myself that is the advantage of two guys living together .. there is no pressure to clean .. but that is a cop out .. everyone likes a clean environment to work in .. it just always seems to be the last thing on the growing list of things that need to be done .. especially when you live in an old house .. i keep waiting .. when we get a new door, we'll redo the floor in the entry .. i'll hang the curtains after the new windows are put in .. i wanna re-paint before i hang the art .. i can't decide on the color of paint ..

after a lot of really looking at our lives .. and the way we live .. i decided to just enjoy what we have .. we have an old house that needs work .. which is why we love old houses .. they are solid and have a story to tell .. i love stories .. i accept that our house is not shiny and new .. but you know what? .. it's ours .. i think this is what the Japanese call wabi sabi ..i don't know .. but i like the way our house speaks .. i like the creak in the stairs .. when the dogs are upstairs they know that creak means i am coming up to sit with them for awhile .. they wag their tails extra hard .. i like the way the window doesn't raise all the way up and hangs at a slight tilt .. when it hits that angle, i know it has been pushed as far up as it will go .. i like the ledge of the window sill, it's perfect for a rock collection or to rest an elbow as i look out into the gravel drive and watch the flock of doves that peck at the gravel under the big old oak tree ..

i like our house .. so this weekend we started cleaning and accenting our house and enjoying it for what it is .. an old house with hundreds of stories to tell .. what is your house telling you? ..

enjoy the pics and have an awesome day ..

love ya'll
Troy

You can 'click' on these pictures and make them bigger ..

the gathering room .. this is kind of like the dining room .. with comfortable chairs to sit and visit after a meal .. it's where we have morning coffee and visit with the puppies before we begin the day .. it's where we will have dinners for family and friends .. it's where neighbors will drop in and have a cup of coffee .. we have a large round dining table that is being repaired that will go in the center of the room .. around it will be slipcovered arm chairs of various shapes and sizes ..

we love art .. the gathering room is mostly the landscapes .. one wall has blue bonnets on it .. :) .. the cabinet is an old sheet music cabinet from the trash .. i use it to hold serving platters and trays .. perfectly ..

we use an old dresser for a sideboard .. we have a glass front cabinet that will eventually go here .. this dresser holds linens and slipcovers .. and serving pieces ..

shooger .. in her fav chair .. she is usually found in this chair with her head resting on the back of the chair looking out the window .. when she is not chasing squirrels ..

entrance to the gathering room from the front door ..

looking across the gathering room ..

the blue bonnet wall .. the two chairs are wonderful examples of art .. they are sturdy and very comfortable ..

the needlepoint says " God Bless Our Home " .. Sister stitched it as a Christmas gift for our Nannie and PawPaw one year .. when Nannie passed away and we were emptying her home, i got it .. two gifts in one .. i like it ..

the teddies .. the little chandelier joining them on the bench was purchased for the entry hall .. it has yet to be attached .. we keep forgetting to buy scotch locks ..

i love how 'harvey' sits on the window sill at the landing during the day and plays up and down the stairs at night while we sleep .. the sill is the perfect place for him .. so he can sit there and watch the comings and goings of everyone in the house .. and turn to see the doves under the oak in the drive below ..

i have been pulling up the faux wood masonite someone placed over the risers and treads of the stairs .. each will be sanded and waxed .. but for now .. i will enjoy the painted scared finish ..

this little angel looks down from the upstairs landing .. through the railing .. Rod and I gave her to my Momma one year .. and she spent a good part of her life in Mommas garden .. when Momma died, she came to live with us .. but has spent that time in a box .. yesterday i took her out of the box and placed her on the little footstool that my grandfather made my grandmother and i reupholstered for her ..

yes, emma there are unicorns .. my mom loved this statue .. everyone who sees it, loves this statue .. rod purchased it years ago from a friend of his from galesburg, illinois .. john tribbey .. it is made of welding rods .. the mane and tail of the unicorn is made of little stick figure people climbing all over one another .. a portion of our rock collection sits below him on the window sill ..

enjoy your house .. love your life ..

always love,
troy

Happy Mothers Day, Momma

2011-05-07T10:47:00.000-07:00

Dear Momma,

I haven't talked to you in the longest time .. seems like forever, though I can still hear your voice. And smell your perfume.

There are so many things I want to tell you. So many. But mostly, I just want to lay my head in your lap and feel you brush the side of my face with your soft gentle reassuring hand.

You were the first person I thought to call during that awful September day .. and then I realized, you weren't there to talk to like we had talked when Princess Diana died.

And when they brought Bubba home, I wanted so bad to bury my head in your lap and pretend it wasn't happening.

When Nannie left to be with you and PawPaw and Daddy and Gran and PeePaw and Bubba, I tried staying away from the hospital, but I wasn't very successful at blocking the memory.

And then Sister .. Momma I never thought Sister would leave. I was sure her stubbornness would help her outlive us all. It seems like we are all still walking in a fog, still waiting for her to be released from the hospital. But she isn't coming back.

And now Uncle Wade joins all of you. It seems like more of you have gone than there are of us left.

And the weddings since you left.. Sister remarried .. Kevin and I dressed in overalls and gave her away.. and I decorated the yard for her wedding, which we had outside under the trees and she married on yours and Daddys wedding anniversary .. Mistie married and it was a beautiful wedding.. the guy she married is twice as tall as she is, talk about Mutt & Jeff ..lol.. she was so pretty in white.. Renee did a wonderful job of orchestrating the entire thing.. it was held at the white Gazebo there in the middle of West.. and Aunt Bobbie married a wonderful man and she retired from the hotels .. I know you were there with us at all of them, but I also know you most likely out-danced anyone around.

And the births Momma.. you would love all the young-uns we have running around here. First Little Mistie had Emmaree, then Kaleigh, then Wendal and now Kevins family includes little Emma Nicole.

I love you Momma and miss you so much. After you left, Sister and all of us, but mostly Sister, organized get-to-gathers, bar b ques and meals on Mothers Day .. and sometimes it was just a celebrated meal at Golden Corral.. this will be our first year without some celebration on Mothers Day. One year I made pinback buttons for everyone to wear from that picture of you at Gran and PeePaws 50th wedding anniversary bar-b-que that Daddy threw for them, where you are sticking out your tongue at the camera .. everyone gets a kick out of that pic ..

You were the best Momma a young, confused, artistic, creative, sensitive, shy, blond haired, blue eyed country boy could have ever hoped to have. You were fun to be around, I so loved making you laugh. You were so easy to talk with. If I could re-wind to that last moment when we talked, and I held you tight and kissed you goodbye before I left ... I would hold you longer, tighter and remind you how much you are loved..and I wouldn't have walked so comfortably from your room assured we were in the clear and everything was going to be ok .. before you slipped into that coma and left us.

Were you here, now.. Every day would be Mothers Day..

I love you, Momma
Toebo

weekly wrap-up & old gliders

2011-05-06T13:19:00.000-07:00

Canton was last weekend .. and it turned out to be a pretty good show in spite of the abundance of tornadoes and high winds .. we had chilly mornings .. and pleasant afternoons .. though the weather people scared everyone with talk of tornado warnings and watches .. we didn't see much rain to speak of .. and Sunday was downright pleasant .. though no customers ..

I forgot to take my camera along .. so the only pic I have is from my phone ..

this was taken from the front of the booth.. we had an old army cot all dressed up and draped with mosquito netting .. it was quite cute and started a conversation with Rod and a customer over the metal gliders we used to slipcover .. I promised that customer I would upload some pics of gliders we had done in the past ..

this glider all in white and accented with a single green damask pillow was shown at Marburger .. it sold the first day it was shown ..

this glider and the one below were both shown in Warrenton at the Hillcrest Inn .. they both sold the first day ..

this one was also shown at Warrenton at the Hillcrest Inn show, I think it sold the second day of the show ..

this one was done in vintage denim and tablecloth check in red and white and vintage tablecloth pillow fronts .. it was shown in Canton and sold the second time it was shown ..

this is one of my favorite Warrenton gliders ..I covered it in a gorgeous Cath Kidson rose pattern fabric and accented it with eyelet underskirt .. then draped it with mosquito netting .. sold the first day ..

this is one done for Canton.. it is covered in vintage mattress ticking and had a matching chair.. both pieces sold though separately that weekend..

other than that .. not a lot going on .. hoping the upcoming Canton is a good one .. Rod is working on some cool things for the show .. we are also doing some minor things around the house ..

ya'll have a good weekend ..

love ya'
Troy

Happy Easter Weekend ..

2011-04-23T08:15:00.000-07:00

Debra at Talking Trash posted a pic of herself as a child in all her Easter finery, which made me want to do the same .. so follow suit .. pull out all the pics of yourself as a child at Easter and post them on your blog or facebook ..

Here I am with my brother, Wendal and my older Sister, Joyce.. We called her Sister and I called my brother Bubba .. and he called me Toe .. he couldn't say Troy and it came out Toe ..

Wendal died in 2006 and Sister died a year ago this coming June 30.. I cherish these memories ..

This was taken in 1960. I would have almost been 2. I am the little one in the middle. Our parents dressed Bubba and I alike until we were old enough to protest.

Miss those Easters. Enjoy yours and I hope you have a Joyous Easter.

Love ya'
Troy

on slipcovers, collecting kitchen and my niece ..

2011-04-17T12:22:00.000-07:00

Here are the two new slipcovers we will be introducing at Canton this month .. along with a lot of other things ..
Though one is done in natural cotton muslin and the other in bleached cotton muslin either slipcover can be made in either fabric .. Both of the slipcovers are our answer to the long ruffled slipcover .. there may be changes made over time .. but this is the prototype ..

The bright white slipcover was inspired by the petticoat of a Victorian era slip I have carried around for years .. it is my favorite one ..

I spent yesterday working in our kitchen .. unpacking things and putting things away .. one thing I realized .. all these years of collecting .. I / We have collected with the intention of having a huge old fashioned country kitchen .. when in reality, what we ended up with is a small compact kitchen where I can stand in the middle of the room and stretching my arms out almost touch the wall on either side .. bottom line, we have too much stuff .. as for shelving in the kitchen .. there is one more shelf like this on the other side of the sink .. with a small window open to the back yard in the middle ..

the cute canister set houses nuts, gluten free crackers, tea and the like .. I don't use sugar or flour ..

What better way to end the weekend than showering family with love and affection .. this is my Princess .. the Little Divine Miss Em - Emma Nicole Rash - she will be 1 year old next month .. we also call her E Nicky to the R .. she is my angel .. oh and she's my niece .. love her bunches .. she gives the best kisses and hugs .. and she loves her Uncle Toe ..

love you all .. have a glorious Sunday afternoon and evening ..
Always,
Troy

Twitter & Facebook / Status & Tweets ..

2011-04-15T19:39:00.000-07:00

We now have a Facebook page ..

Junk Exchange .. stop in and be our friend ..

We also have a Twitter page ..

Junk Exchange .. follow our Tweets ..

not sure I understand how all of this is going to come together .. but they tell me it will .. lol ..

Aside from that .. watch for some new slipcover designs .. I have two new designs that will be making their 'debut' this month at Canton .. with a special preview photo shoot coming here this weekend ..

In the meantime .. enjoy a pic from 2001 of some slipcovers I made gathering for a garden party .. it's one of my favorite pics ..

love ya'
Troy

How was Canton ?

2011-04-05T13:44:00.000-07:00

Canton was beautiful this past weekend.. the crowds were large and even though it was a bit cooler, we had a lot of travelers. Louisiana seem to all come for a visit. Seems like every other customer was from Louisiana, with some saying they were having so much fun they were coming back next month.
Met some customers all the way up from Austin and San Antonio who fell in love with the booth.
Here are some pics from our booth this past month. Enjoy and we hope to see you there next month ..

tufted french bench .. you can't really see them in the pic, but i made some buttons for this bench using cotton string .. they look like little pom poms ..

love the little slipcovered childs chairs .. Rod made a table to go with using old banister spindles as legs ..

i love the look of a sweet little antique chair stacked with pillows .. the top pillow is from our new line of vintage pillows .. just the sham, ma'am ..

darling ruffled initial shams .. cute!

don't you just love this pair of stools .. i believe they originally were a pair of cocktail tables .. the base is heavy metal and was already painted gold when we found them .. i covered them in burlap and i love the way the tufting turned out .. i also made some special buttons for them using threads of the burlap ..

another pillow from our new line of vintage pillows - just the sham, ma'am - the pillows are made using discarded and saved scraps of vintage fabrics blended with burlap, canvas and muslin ..

just the sham, ma'am - vintage toile pillow ..

i love our union jack pillows ..

We hope to see you in Canton this coming month.. keep watching the blog for updates on finished projects for the show.

Love ya'll
Troy

Price-y Project ..

2011-03-27T13:02:00.000-07:00

Rod found these old metal price tabs that were originally part of an antique cash register .. We knew we wanted to do something fun and easy with them, they were just too cool.

We settled on having him make bases for them to rest in, made from an old painted 2 x 4. He plans to clear coat the bases.

Didn't they turn out cool? They would look cute scattered throughout a bookshelf .. Or buy the one that best suits your situation .. know someone who is always giving their .02 ?

I decided to price them individually so everyone can pick their favorite ..

They will be at Canton this week.. come see us ..

March 31st thru April 3rd ..

Arbor 2, spaces 217 & 218

.10 a dance?

.01 for your thoughts? odder than a $3 bill?

NO SALE ..

Have a great Sunday .. love ya'
Troy

Leah Grace update and New Stuff for Canton ..

2011-03-22T06:22:00.001-07:00

I got an update on Leah Grace.. the benefit sale was a success .. they raised almost $9000 and were thrilled with the turn-out. They used my title ' A Cup of Tea With Leah Grace ' as their slogan .. which I thought was awesome .. so happy to have helped this little precious angel in whatever way I could. If you helped and kept her in your prayers, thank you.

Also, here are some things we have been working on for Canton ..

an old needlepoint i stitched / patched to the front of a piece of vintage mattress ticking i had and backed it with a piece of vintage chenille ..

sometime ago we purchased these glass cloches or bells .. i epoxied various seashells on the tops to act as knobs for lifting .. i have a stack of vintage salad plates that work great as underplates for them .. i like these a lot ..

this is one of my favorite ones .. love the seashell on this one .. i have a limited supply of these .. only about 18 .. i priced them out at $9.95 to $11.95 depending on the seashell used and then the plates i priced at $4 - $5 ..

this is a swatch of wallpaper .. the colors are more vivid than the pic shows .. esp the pinks and blues .. i have a nice size roll of this vintage paper .. wait until you see the what i did with some of it ..

judy hill seems to have made old paint brushes popular .. who would have thought .. but here at the junk exchange, we hope to supply you with all your decorating needs .. so, if you want old paint brushes .. here they are ..

if you aren't able to make it to Warrenton / RoundTop .. i hope you can make it to Canton .. come see us in Arbor 2, spaces 217 & 218...

well, off to do more sewing, painting and creating ..

love you,
Troy

back to creating .. back to blogging ..

2011-03-19T12:57:00.000-07:00

i'm fixin to get back to creatin' and bloggin' ..

my uncle - on my fathers side passed in february .. i had my gallbladder removed in february .. so the last couple of months i have wanted to do very little .. feelin better..

i am going to be at Canton at the end of this month, so would love to see you there ... wish we were doing warrenton / roundtop but it has just gotten to be too long of a show .. fun .. very fun .. but it just exhausts me .. so i will be sticking with Canton ..

here are some things we have been working on creatin ..

these are cute little 16" muslin pillow shams .. a fancy curly style initial adorns the front of each ..

sweet raw edge linen style fabric sham .. 16" square .. adorned with a Paris design ..

our popular Union Jack pillow in a bed pillow size sham .. 21" by 26" .. canvas with muslin strips ..

new this month .. burlap toppers for our muslin slipcovers .. block printed with a fancy curlicue initial .. tied at the corners with muslin strips ..

closeup of the burlap topper .. the backside is the same as the front ..

come out and see us .. we are in Arbor 2, spaces 217 & 218 ..

love ya'
Troy

A Cup of Tea with Leah Grace ..

2011-03-11T10:24:00.000-08:00

Three year old Leah Grace needs a heart transplant ..
A local craft mall, named The Craft Gallery in Waco has donated space for a booth. All the proceeds go to help pay for a heart transplant for Leah Grace ..

You can read more about Leah Grace HERE.

Mr. Bill Gillum of Waco has donated over 400 teacups and saucers to be sold for Leah. Stop in and purchase a set. You may also call the Craft Gallery at 254-751-0693.

later .. love ya'll .. Troy

bathed in light ..bathroom redo

2011-01-05T16:18:00.001-08:00

I thought I would share with you what happened at our house while we were gone to Illinois to visit Rods sister the week before Christmas.

Mindy made a post on her guest bath and it reminded me that I had never shared this with you all.

While we were in Illinois visiting Rods sister, Lori. Our business partner, Sherry stayed behind to work on product for the next show and offered to keep an eye on the house for us. We placed our puppies in a kennel.

Anyway, this is what our downstairs bathroom looked like when we left.

when we purchased the house, i pulled up a single tile to see what was underneath. it was a sticky mess and i never got around to pulling another up. it was something i figured we would get around to this spring.

notice the cabinetry and walls outlined in the pretty pink color? they match the tiles real nice don't you think? i thought the black toilet seat was a nice touch..

a full on view of the downstairs bathroom before its transformation ..

This is what the bathroom looked like when we walked into our house after a 14 hour. trip. Tired and bleary eyed.

sherry and her husband, steve spent the week we were gone redoing our downstairs bathroom. can you believe it? i felt like i was on an episode of trading spaces..

gone is the pink trim ... gone are the sticky tiles ..

i was in shock .. but loving every last minute of it .. it is rare to find a friend who knows exactly how you would have done something ..

look at that tub .. i didn't think i would ever see it that clean ..

can you see that floor? isn't it beautiful? i was so afraid there would be damage underneath all those sticky tiles..

Sherry said she didn't think she was ever going to get the sticky up. I love my new bathroom. I didn't show you the medicine cabinet, but they started stripping the layers and layers of paint. Our plan is to take it down to the original wood and seal it. We also have an interesting treatment for the bathroom window planned that we saw while we were in Illinois. Stay tuned.

I am still in complete shock that Sherry and Steve did this while we were away. I just can't help but walk by it and stand and look. Rod says I shouldn't worry too much, we have another bathroom upstairs that is almost identical to the way this one used to look.

I told Sherry we might take a vacation around my birthday in June. Do you think it could happen again?

Love you,
Troy

about the bear ..

2010-12-18T18:40:00.001-08:00

Do you see the little black bear sitting in the corner of our oak settee? We call him Momma Bear (yeah, I know - him/her). He sits there all quiet as if he has nothing to say. But, as you will soon see, he has plenty to say.

I made him the fall of the year my mother died. In the fall of 2001. I made him while I sat spellbound as the lives of many changed forever. I had been dealing with my own grief over the death of first my brother-in-law and then my mother in the spring of that year. I felt I had a head start on dealing with grief, so I sat mesmerized as the whole country dealt with loss. And I sewed.

Sewing always relaxes me, just as cooking does.

My first thought was to make a single bear who would sit in a corner much the same way this one now sits.

One turned to two and two turned to four.

The fabric I used? I had just enough to make the four I needed. I carefully chose the colors from my selection by their wear. The fabric began as clothing that had belonged to my mother. The pattern fabric was a nightgown she spent a good deal of her final 6 months wearing in the nursing home where we had to place her. The black fabric was a jogging suit she would often wear to visit our fathers grave when she was able.

And I began cutting and sewing. The more I cut, the more I sewed, the more I cried.

Finally they were complete. Four identical bears made from the clothing of our mother. Just in time for Christmas. I wrapped each one identical.

Each of my brothers and sisters got a bear of their very own. Except I forgot to make one for myself. So, how did I get this one? He is the bear that belonged to my older sister, Sister, who died in June.

This is my oldest sister, Sister with her Momma Bear.

My baby sister, Renee with her Momma Bear.

My baby brother, Kevin with his Momma Bear.

My middle sister, Becky with her Momma Bear.

Just a reminder in this stress filled time, some of the best gifts come from the heart and don't cost a dime.

All my love and hoping each and every one of you has a Glorious and Merry Christmas.

Troy

Those Fabulous Beekman Boys

2010-12-09T09:56:00.001-08:00

I saw this idea and thought I would share.

I don't know if you enjoy watching the Fabulous Beekman Boys, but I discovered them this fall and have enjoyed watching their program.

I also am one of their many fans on facebook where they shared this decorating idea.

Winter Morning Wreath.

I hope you have a wonderful day ..

love ya'
Troy

ice ice baby ..

2010-12-04T08:24:00.000-08:00

I couldn't resist. (the title of this post) Picture me smiling at the thought I made you smile.

I redecorated our fireplace mantel. Not sure I am completely through with it. I know I have a MERRY CHRISTMAS sign I want to place on the wall above the mirror, but I can not find where I packed it.

Here is what the mantel looked like for Thanksgiving and fall.

close-up view of one end of the mantel

side view of the entire mantel

And here is what it looks like this morning. I was inspired on many levels. I saw some pink and pastel color ornaments at Sams club and liked the way they made me feel. There is a new baby in the family, hence the 'baby' hues. I have always wanted a 'White Christmas'. I found some faux ice chips that I fell in love with. And I wanted something simple, quick and easily put together, easily packed away. So, here is my take on all of that.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend. Enjoy the day.

Love ya'
Troy

Canton ..

2010-12-02T20:59:00.000-08:00

This weekend is Canton. We are located in Arbor 2, spaces 217 & 218.
If you make it to Canton this month, please stop in and see Rod. He is doing Canton on his own this month.

Here are some pics of a few of the new pillows that we are doing.

This is my version of the popular Union Jack pillow. The one pictured is a 24" square. I also do these in a standard bed size pillow size. Both are shams.

14" square sham with raw edge ruffle. JOY

14" square sham with raw edge ruffle. HOPE

14" square sham with raw edge ruffle. NOEL

Standard bed size pillow sham with raw edge ruffle. BELIEVE

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

My middle sister is in town this weekend and we are spending time together. We are attending a memorial service for our older sister, Sister, who passed away in June.

If you are in Canton, stop in a say hi to Rod.

Love ya'
Troy

Smell this ..

2010-11-29T11:09:00.000-08:00

How often have you had someone do that to you? Smell this, and then they stick something awful smelling in your face under your nose.

Well, I am usually the one who is doing the 'smell this' routine. While looking for Holiday scents this year, I ran across one that I decided must be in every room of the house.

Cashmere Woods by Glade. The first word got me, some of you may know I have a weakness for Cashmere. Once I actually smelled it, I was hooked. I do not generally like sweet scents, I prefer scents that have a more musky base.

I bought all I could at the local Walmart and then it was like they quit stocking it. During Black Friday, I discovered a multi-pack at Sams Club. If you haven't smelled it, do. In my opinion, it has a nice warm earthy smell.

Speaking of smells, I hear Mindy at Primtiques & Poetry has a nice assortment of candles. I am really wanting to smell the Citrus & Sage. Here are the varieties; Spiced Apple Cider. Pumpkin Vanilla. Dutch Apple Pie. Sweet Almond Creme. Gingerbread. Glazed Walnut Spice. Vanilla Pound Cake. Citrus & Sage. French Vanilla Bean.

If you haven't made it over to Mindys new store. Go. I haven't been able to get away and since I personally don't drive I end up worshiping from afar. However, from the pics I have seen it looks to be a true treasure trove.

Wishing you all the best this week. Don't forget Canton is coming up. Enjoy the day and stay warm.

Love ya'
Troy

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-25T06:46:00.000-08:00

Wishing you all, each and every one of you a Happy Thanksgiving!

Rod and I will be enjoying Thanksgiving today with one another. We have come to look at Holidays as times we can enjoy each others company and re-connect.

We are having a simple menu of turkey, potatoes with mushrooms and onions, stuffing with chicken & apple sausage, baked sweet potato with cinnamon & honey and a butter green salad with grape tomatoes and homemade croutons in a vinegar & oil dressing.

I am going to try not to overeat, but I have no intention of fighting the urge to nap.

I am sharing some pics of our Gathering Room with the Thanksgiving dining table set for two.

The china is Stangl Starflower. The glassware I do not know the maker, but they are vintage yellow crystal and pick up the yellow in the dinnerware quite nicely, I believe. The silverware is vintage plate, but the name slips my mind at the moment. The napkins are vintage damask in celery & gold. The placemats are a set in brown faux suede I picked up at Walmart some years back. I like the way they play to the feel of fall.

The plant in the corner is from my Sister, Joyces funeral. I haven't found the exact pot I want, so I have not re-potted it yet. The stand it is placed on we purchased in Houston. It has a marble top and a brass railing. It is marked on the bottom "Made In France".

Our curtains are just plain old canvas drop cloths we washed a bazillion times.

Jax and Shooger are loving the house. They are also loving that furniture is starting to appear here and there so they have a comfortable place to rest. I am not sure what Shooger was watching. Since we moved into this house, she frequently stares off into space like she is watching something, but nothing is there. There are rooms she will not go into and she hates to be left alone in a room. As for Jax he will just suddenly begin barking at thin air. Rod and I think the house might have restless spirits. Though they appear to be friendly and appreciative of what we are doing.

Enjoy your day and give someone a hug!
Love ya'
Troy

white wednesday before & after share ..

2010-11-17T09:59:00.000-08:00

excited that the gathering room is moving along in time for Thanksgiving .. thought i would share before and after pics of the fireplace ..

Before ...

After ...

i will be stripping the tile around the fireplace after the first of the year .. the concrete planters to the side will get rosemary trees .. the wild asters in the jar on the mantle grow wild in the back of our lot .. the topiary were gifts from sherry .. love the fireplace logs .. i am going to add some petrified rocks i have aroudn the front to hide the base of the log unit ..

hope you have a beautiful day ..

love ya'
troy

linking to Faded Charm for their White Wednesday .. thank you Kathleen ..

7 go-zin-ta 100 ought 4

2010-11-08T06:56:00.000-08:00

"how hard do you want to work next week" .. that is what he asked me when he was at canton last ..
"why?" i asked ..
knowing what he meant was we would be working long hours and with a deadline ..
"we have a client who wants 104 pillows for the nutcracker show" ..
"100 and 4?" ..
"yeah, one of the designs they only want 4"...
"that's why we are in this, isn't it .. call sherry and get her input".. i said ..

104 pillows in 7 days .. we did it .. all 3 of us (rod didn't get to help until the 3rd day in).. working together .. we are so proud .. proud that we didn't have to farm out any of the work .. proud that the only casualties were pricked fingers and sore backs .. it felt good .. but i don't want to do it again .. not in 7 days .. would love to have another order like that, but not the deadline ..

so this is what 104 pillow shams look like ..

in case you ever wondered .. in case you ever have to guesstimate .. 3 people working long hours (sometimes until 10 or 11 at night) can manufacture 104 pillows in 7 days .. that's measuring, cutting, trimming, serging, washing, drying, pressing, printing, pinning, sewing, gathering, sewing, unpinning, serging, turning outside, washing, drying, inspecting, folding, stacking, counting, packing and finally shipping 104 pillows, 832 pieces of fabric in 7 days .. what a feat! ..and that doesn't even take into account the normal every day stuff that goes on in the lives of 3 grown adults with grandkids and other household responsibilities .. and we are all over 50 years old ..!!

old people rule!!

love ya'
troy

off to do some shopping ..

don't forget ...

2010-10-29T07:20:00.000-07:00

don't forget.. this weekend is canton .. if you are in texas and have not made it to canton this year, now is the time to do it .. this weekend promises to be perfect canton shopping weather .. lows in the mid 40s and highs in the high 70s to lows 80s ... rod is doing canton by himself this month .. sherry and i stayed behind to continue working / sewing and creating ...

our booth is in arbor 2, spaces 217 & 218 ..

raggedy ann and andy .. i have never seen them in brown .. they are large .. at about 32" tall .. they are homemade .. cool .. i love their fall look ..

one of the new pillow designs we are offering .. Mr & Mrs ..

the Mrs to our Mr ..

hope you are having an exciting fall .. we have some new designs coming up for fall and winter .. and are working on some cool things for the spring ..

the house has gone on the back burner for now .. we are living there and working there .. but we are not too concerned about decorating or anything until we get finished with the december canton and back from our illinois trip .. since we will be gone for a week, we haven't moved anything of any real value into the house .. basically just kitchen stuff and bedroom and bathroom stuff .. and the sewing room ..

well, i am off to the sewing room .. have a beautiful day and weekend ..

love ya'
troy

mish mash dash

2010-10-16T11:20:00.000-07:00

so much going on ..

canton last month was awesome .. so many people and the sales were brisk ..

the trailer loaded for canton ..

a pretty hand sewn cutter quilt we had for sale ...

chairs stacked with pillows we make in our sewing room ..

more pillows and slipcovers ...

after canton we started working on the house .. painting the rooms we felt were most important .. we painted and got the sewing room together so we could keep sewing ..

the sewing room before .. the room measures approximately 13ft by 17ft ..

rod spraying the first coat .. every room in the house is going to get a coat of country white while we decide what to paint the final coat ..

the room set with cutting counters and sewing machines ..i didn't get a good picture of the hardwood floors, but they turned out beautiful and all they needed was a good cleaning .. we used orange glo ..

i am starting a blog on the house .. the title is la maison a l'ouest .. the house on west .. i will be keeping a journal of sorts about the house .. check it out .. follow it if you like ... our plan is to take it and go step by step on projects and let you know what it cost us to do things the way we did them ..

here is a picture of the fireplace in the gathering room with it's first coat of country white ..

and here is the view from one of the master bedroom windows ..this room is upstairs directly above the sewing room .. it also measures approximately 13ft by 17ft .. i placed the bed so it faces this window and for the moment the bed is in the middle of the room .. this street reminds me of the street that deadends into the house in hope floats .. this street deadends into our house ..

enjoy the weekend and thank you for following me ..

love ya',
troy

the gathering room ..

2010-09-19T17:07:00.000-07:00

since the house has two living spaces with fireplaces .. rod and i decided to make the lower living space a 'gathering room', at least that is what we are calling it .. this room will be anchored with our dining table and mismatched chairs with additional seating around the room for guests and visiting .. the entire room will get painted white .. the hardwood floors will be cleaned and waxed .. the fireplace will first be painted white and then over time, stripped down to the original wood and waxed ..follow me ..

this is the entrance to the room from the front hall ..

the fireplace .. it will be painted white for now .. eventually, it will be stripped and waxed ..

i scratched the paint on the tile of the fireplace revealing what i knew to be original green tile underneath .. eventually, all the paint will be removed from this to reveal the tile .. the same tile was used in front of the fireplace .. and i have a 5 gallon bucket full of these same color & style of tiles that i have carried around for the last 7 years .. how is that for fate?

rod says the current color of the fireplace surround is deep purple .. i see black .. love the detail of the mantle .. can't wait to see it white ..

i also scratched one of the columns of the fireplace .. at least 6 coats of old paint .. love the wood grain underneath ..

from across the room, near the kitchen .. any angle .. i love this fireplace ..

the entrance to the kitchen area is highlighted by built-in bookcases on either side of the entryway .. the original french doors for this entry are missing .. my plan is to wallpaper the back of each bookcase with some vintage small print wallpaper i have ..

i love the paneled detail of the entry into the kitchen area ..

this wall, once painted will be the perfect spot for our collection of blue bonnet paintings .. seated along the wall will be primitive wood benches for seating, books, plants and the like ..

there are two windows in this room ..they will eventually be replaced .. but for now, just cleaning them up .. between the windows i have a very large mirror that will rest against the wall with a daybed/cot in front of that facing into the room ..

jax and shooger, unsure of their new surroundings .. shooger absolutely HATES walking on the hardwood floors .. ( i took the measuring tape over this afternoon to measure the rooms and forgot to measure .. i will get the measurements of the rooms and add them to the posts later)

off to sew ... enjoy your evening ..

love ya'
troy

the stairway ..

2010-09-16T08:48:00.000-07:00

i love the front stairway of the house .. i took loads of pics of the whole house .. so bear with me and i will share as we go along and i will tell you what i envision .. luckily, for the most part, rod and i are totally agreeing on the look of the house .. so it seems to be fate ..

did i mention how fated the house was .. we felt as if God winked at us .. the house was never listed with a realtor .. while house hunting, we drove by it twice and commented on how it needed someone to clean it up .. and how huge the lot was .. the owner listed the house once, on craigslist .. the week sister died .. and he never listed it again .. rod and i decided that what we needed was a duplex, so we could work on one side and live on the other .. we were thinking side by side duplexes .. anyway, i checked realtor.com ... the local papers .. barely missed out on a couple of cute ones .. decided to check craigslist and did a search on duplexes for sale .. it pulled this one up .. almost a month old .. the guy said he hadn't listed it with a realtor and needed to relist it on craiglist .. we were so afraid something would happen before we could close on it, so we stayed as quiet as church mice while we negotiated with him .. i was about to bust a gut the closer we got .. anyway, it is ours now and we are so excited ...

so .. here are pics of the stairway .. you enter the front door and the stairway is off to the right side a little with an entrance into the downstairs living room to the left ..

the stairway originally had carpet, but someone pulled the carpet up and instead of removing all the little carpet tacks, they just tacked down thin paneling over the stairs .. so we are going to work on removing that and removing the tacks and then sanding and waxing the stairs... the wood is pine .. we may leave the railings white and not strip them .. unsure yet .. but we are going to start off painting every room we can white or off white ..

there is a little closet with a 3/4 size paneled door under the stairway ..

love the simplicity of the railings, they remind me of a farmhouse ..

the landing at the top of the stairs will serve a bench well .. maybe a mirror above it to reflect the light ..

love the light that floods the stairwell .. i am thinking just sheer gauze type curtains .. if that ..

view from the top of the landing looking down into the 'foyer' .. ha! just realized we have a foy'yeah ..

there is also a cool stairway down the back side of the house leading from the upstairs kitchen ..

more later ..

love ya'
troy

a reason to work harder ..

2010-09-15T13:52:00.000-07:00

as if we needed a reason to work longer hours - or as rod is fond of saying - working smarter -

today we bought a house .. it's a fixer upper .. brick colonial .. built in 1932 .. duplex .. 2 bedrooms 1 bath upstairs and 2 bedroom 1 bath downstairs .. each unit has a sweet little dining room and darling little kitchen .. the upstairs unit has a stairway down the back of the kitchen .. both units have nice old fireplace surrounds for gas heaters .. huge lot .. 93 ft by 200 ft .. big old trees .. an older part of town .. an old 3 car garage with a 1 bedroom garage apartment above ..

i am thinking .. french colonial farmhouse ...

the first thing is to get in and clean and paint .. and remove all the Christmas lights, wires and the satellite dish ..

more pics to come ..

view from the street ..

view from the back of the lot.. near the garage apartment .. looking to the street ..

view from an upstairs window looking across the street to a stately old home ..

well, there is no big front porch .. but there is lots of land for gorgeous landscaping ..

love ya'll

troy

overheard at the dallas flea ..

2010-09-12T10:14:00.000-07:00

teen girl .. oh mom, mom .. look .. these are so cool .. they have these little cardboard things and when you hold them up to the light, you can see a picture ...

love ya'll .. enjoy the sunday ..

troy

sat - 9/11 - the dallas flea

2010-09-10T10:16:00.000-07:00

saturday we will be at the dallas flea - 1409 South Lamar Dallas, TX 75215 - south side on Lamar -

it's a small - only around 40 vendors - but incredible market - juried show - great mix of wonderful creative stuff ..

the dallas flea

check it out - it opens at 9am and closes at 4pm - a one day show .. it's moves quicker than any show i have ever done .. come out to see us ..

love ya'
troy

canton aug /sept 2010 .. arbor 2, spaces 217 & 218

2010-08-30T12:09:00.000-07:00

don't forget this coming weekend - also labor day weekend - is first monday canton .. we will be in arbor 2, spaces 217 & 218 ..i am going to be there with rod this month, so i would love to see all of you .. stop in and say hi ..

here are some pics of things we have been working on ..

lots to get done ..

lots to catch you up on when we get back from canton .. some exciting news on the horizon ..

love ya'
troy

a porch

2010-08-19T08:45:00.001-07:00

it wasn't anything big or very southern, just a simple concrete slab of a front porch .. attached to a simple post war ranch style house .. but, we loved that front porch and it played a big part in a variety of activities that highlighted our childhood ..

foremost, that front porch signified 'home' .. home base .. safety .. protection .. and where we gathered to discuss the summer games scheduled for the day ..

our most popular summer game, we named 'pa-ting' (pah - ting) .. it involved one of us being 'it' or as we called them, 'pa-ting' .. their goal was to chase ( robot style ) the other participants in an effort to tag them with a baton ( an old twirling baton ) they carried .. and repeatedly say 'pa-ting, pa-ting, pa-ting' .. the other participants could run anywhere in the front yard they wanted except into the driveway or street .. mainly they had to stay on the grass .. the front porch was 'home base' .. and only one participant on home base at a time .. 'pa-ting' had to 'tag' 3 people to 'release themselves of the curse' .. the third person tagged would be the new 'pa-ting' .. and the game would go on ALL day ..

as i entered my pre-teens, we moved into a home on the outskirts of town that was more or less a farm .. it was a big old prairie style house with a huge southern style front porch and a big old barn .. we had horses, pigs, chickens, rabbits, goats and momma even raised doves .. we even had on old hoot owl in the barn and a raccoon in one of the sheds ..

the porch may have taken on a different shape and style, but it always stood for comfort, protection, safety .. home base ..

that old porch on the house on the hill .. as we came to call that home .. stood in at many bar-b-ques as a place where the kids always gathered on cots and roll-a-way beds to 'hunker down' for the evening .. whispering ghost stories to one another .. trying to stay awake to watch the sun come up .. the morning dew misting the sun dried sheets, cooling our sun burned legs and backs .. the comforting sound of fathers snoring, in their lawn chairs, under the trees of the side yard .. the smell of bacon frying and coffee brewing and fresh cantaloupe filling the morning air ..

i long for a place with a nice front porch ..

wishing you all a joy filled day ..

love, troy

about old barns ..

2010-08-07T03:32:00.000-07:00

i loved teresa's post on old barns ...

it made me think of the big old barn we had on the property when i was just a teen ..

seems we always lived out in the country .. when this photo was taken, sister was married and living in hillsboro working as a nurse for grant buie hospital in hillsboro .. momma was pregnant with our baby brother kevin ..i am the one in the plaid pants .. my older brother wendal stands next to me .. in front is our middle sister, carra rebecca - becky and our baby sister, renee .. the barn held a lot of good and bad memories .. secrets .. daddy didn't like us playing in the barn .. but we always snuck off to play 'fort' or 'hide and seek' .. wendal and i discovered a stack of old records and spent the summer tossing them out into the field and using them as target practice .. it's where i smoked my first cigarette .. it was where i first participated in the fall ritual of hog killing - and my last time .. behind that old truck was a huge old fig tree .. momma loved figs and we would pick them for her to make preserves ..
i remember one time being in the hay loft of the barn when i was not supposed to and hearing momma and daddy calling my name ..we used to jump out the door of the hay loft and land in the soft dirt below .. one day i jumped .. barefoot and all .. and landed on a broken coke bottle .. slicing my foot just under my big toe and the toe next to it .. i was so scared that i would now have to tell them where i had been .. i was surprised that i did not get a whipping ..

anyway, i love this old barn ..

thank you, teresa for sharing and stirring memories ..

love ya'll
troy

about last month ..

2010-08-06T07:17:00.000-07:00

i am on my way back.. it just seems like a long road .. thank you all for all the nice things you have said and the words of encouragement .. i apologize for neglecting you .. i know you understand that somewhere i just needed some time .. i knew a year ago that Sister was not long for this world .. her body had been fighting since she was 16 .. that's a long fight, especially when even the doctors can't tell you what exactly is wrong with you .. up until 2 weeks prior her doctors were all saying she was doing great, then it was as if one day she went to sleep and the next day they were saying her liver was shutting down .. they called it NASH .. from her diabetes and all the antibiotics she has/had taken throughout her life ..the massive amounts of painkillers .. at 16 she became addicted to morphine while hospitalized .. she was pulled from a horse and landed stomach first onto a tree stump .. she was hospitalized for 15 months in the late summer of 1969...our father was in the hospital with a heart attack and our mother had to ask friends to care for the remaining 4 of us (there were only 5 kids at that time - we grew to 6).. it's an odd feeling seeing your sisters face on a jar in the grocery store begging for money to help with hospital costs .. the whispers of well meaning neighbors .. "she's not expected to live" - "and her father is near death" .. she never was able to have children .. though she did adopt a son ..and after leaving the hospital she conquered her addiction to painkillers, though every trip to the hospital was a fight for her as the doctors ordered more and more painkillers in higher and higher doses .. finally the last 3 months of her life she said 'enough' .. i don't know where she found the strength, but she and her husband worked together and she was able to deal with her pain without drugs .. she was making weekly, often bi-weekly trips to the ER and she loved loudly telling the nurses and doctors .. do what you need to, but no narcotics ..
i could sit here and tell you what a wonderful loving sister she was.. how she had always just been 'Sister' - Aunt Sister, Sister Momma .. how she would pretend to not like children, but we all knew she loved children .. it was just the mask of the pain of not being able to give birth .. how when our parents passed, she would enjoy telling us she wasn't our mother, yet was always there with a stern warning of advice ..how every thanksgiving she would spend weeks preparing and planning a family get-to-gether and then after thanksgiving meal would proclaim she wasn't doing it again next year .. only to begin planning halloween night .. how she would open her home to anyone in need .. how she went to work as a cook at a boys ranch and became the confidant and mother confessor to boys who seemed to have lost their way .. and became momma joyce ..
because the last year she spent so much time in and out of the hospital, i have to remind myself daily that she really is gone .. she is not coming back .. i keep thinking i need to stop and go visit her or call her at the hospital .. i keep thinking she will be home tomorrow .. but she won't ..
i spent the last week spending the nights with her in the hospital .. the doctors had convinced her to accept the painkillers, as they would make her more comfortable .. so i sat with her and watched her sleep and texted postings to facebook for family on updates of her health .. and my thoughts ..

"fear of the sound of silence heard above the laughter and tears. the sharing of memories, the love of brothers and sisters .. family. for those who wonder, a new day begins much the same as the previous. prayers for Gods will and a peaceful journey. we love you, sister..."

"where you been? from the lips of a sleeper can jar the senses and chill the soul of a watcher when mumbled in the darkness of the unknown... peace to all the sleeptalkers and watchers... live the love..hold the light high.. smiles"

"conversations with sleep talkers. as if standing in the wings watching memories unfold. startling. raw. funny. filled with love and light. gifts from god. gratitude fills me. .... love for all."

"when the voices of the past whisper in your heart late in the night, sometimes the only thing you can do is listen.... i love you all"

"i already miss her so much .. the love and care for her has become such a routine .. a part of me .. not sure i can make it through this .. i miss her so much just putting one foot in front of the other seems an almost impossible feat .. what will i do?"

so i thought i was doing ok .. moving along .. getting by .. i was checking the tv for some lighthearted funny show .. and i come across a movie 'the invention of lying' with ricky gervais .. who i have always gotten a good laugh from .. so it's cute, it's fun and then .. boom .. there is a scene where he is talking to his mother, who is in a hospital dying ... and he begins to tell her what heaven is like .. and i feel a tear .. and then i can't stop crying .. every thing he tells his mother sounds like something i told sister in those last days .. and i feel rod holding me and feel this tremendous release of emotion .. knowing that everything is ok.. knowing that she is no longer in pain .. knowing that she is in the arms of God .. and knowing that i will see her again one day ..

'where you go when you die', from the invention of lying

i love you, all

troy

3:58

2010-07-01T07:41:00.000-07:00

yesterday - wednesday - june 30th - two thousand ten - at 3:58PM - my big sister, best friend and loving soul reached out and touched the hands of God, Jesus, Daddy, Paw Paw, Pee Paw, Gran, Billy Bud, Momma, Wendal and Nannie and was welcomed home.

Sister, how can this be? how can you be gone .. you protector of the clan .. you with so much strength .. with so much courage .. and so it is .. grief is insufficeint .. i honor your memory today and always .. the best big sister, mother, wife, woman any individual could ever hope to encouinter ..

The Dallas Flea - come see us there ..

2010-06-11T13:07:00.000-07:00

Come see Rod & Sherry at The Dallas Flea .. Tomorrow .. Sat .. June 12, 2010 .. 9am to 4pm .. 1409 South Lamar Street (south side on Lamar) .. 5 dollar entry ..

RC Project The Dallas Flea - KDAF .. view this short video on the flea ..

have a great weekend ..

love ya'
troy

Happy Birthday Troy!

2010-06-09T08:50:00.000-07:00

Troy is visiting with his sister right now...... shhhhhhhhhh! Its his birthday today.... So I am asking everyone to wish him a very happy birthday.

Rod

new look for june

2010-06-03T07:54:00.000-07:00

dang it's hot ..

rod is working canton alone until sherry and i go out there on saturday .. so stop in a say hi.

we gave the booth a new look .. tell us what you think ..

the front left side of the booth ..

bottle vases, wired to painted beadboard ..

tower of pillows and footstools .. topped with a slipcovered chair ..

more pillows and an old porch swing ..

the perfect place to sit and rest on a hot summer day .. we have the back of the booth open to allow air to flow into our space .. come in and say hi to rod ..

arbor 2, space 217 & 218

love ya'
troy

wicker lamp re-do

2010-05-31T08:21:00.000-07:00

i hate when i forget to take before pics .. so use your imagination .. the shade on this floor lamp once was wedgwood blue with burgundy trim .. the floor lamp itself was once celery green .. the lamp and shade were found separately almost 2 years apart at the warrenton antique shows .. the crochet is/was part of my hoard ..

the shade and lamp were painted country white and the shade has been fitted with the crochet trim ..

come see it in canton - Arbor 2 space 217 & 218

Thursday June 3 - Sunday June 6

excuse the mess in the workroom ..

love ya'

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

2010-05-28T06:23:00.000-07:00

we hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend .. and want to say a big Thank You to the men and women who serve our Country ..

enjoy this song, written by a teacher and performed by a third grade class ..

love ya'
troy

what we did with that ..

2010-05-25T13:00:00.001-07:00

found a cool metal rod folding thing - unsure of it's original purpose .. but the minute i saw it, i knew we could come up with something cool to do with it ..

it has wonderful patina on the metal, so we left it alone .. other than a good cleaning ..

then we had rod build us a wood tray that could be lifted off .. notched on the ends for easy grip ..

the tray will receive a coat of white paint and light distressing .. and a top coat of poly ..

then we made a little scalloped slipcover of burlap .. it has a wonderful little french look .. perfect for poolside, bedside or an impromptu garden party ..

we are busy getting ready for canton .. you MUST come see us this month .. we have so many wonderful things to share .. an extra big load of small furniture and accent pieces .. lots of slipcovers and lots of pillows .. lots of white stuff .. we are also doing the Dallas Flea this month, so sherry and i will be home except for sat working on things for that show while rod is at canton selling .. so stop in a see him ..

arbors 2, spaces 217 & 218

love ya'
troy

p.s. later, we found another folding thingy just like this one, so we will have two of these tray tables ..

i'm an uncle!

2010-05-15T11:14:00.000-07:00

welcome Emma Nicole Rash, born May 14, 2010 at 11:13am. weighing 6 pounds and measuring 20 inches long.

isn't she beautiful!?

for emma!

love ya'll,
troy

ready for summer?

2010-05-13T07:30:00.000-07:00

summertime always reminds me of time to relax, slow down and enjoy life .. i love early summer in texas .. everything seems alive .. the days are warm and sometimes downright hot .. and the evenings are still cool enough to enjoy a little quite time on the front porch ..

here are some pics of gliders and army cots i have transformed for placement on those big front porches the south is known for ..

this is a metal porch glider that required cushions .. i covered new foam cushions and pillows in a cath kidston rose print fabric .. and placed a mosquito net over the setting ..

another glider that required new foam cushions - i like working with this style of glider - i used a vintage blue and off white ticking stripe i had - you can't really see it in the photo, but the front skirt is scalloped at the bottom ..

this glider i covered in a french style fabric i purchased at a close-out ..

this one i covered in an old awning stripe fabric .. i try to keep the gliders in their original state as best i can .. i have never repainted the gliders, though i have had to re-work the springs a time or two ..

this one i used an old plaid patchwork fabric mixed with crisp white eyelet cutwork tablecloths that were about to be discarded .. i used vintage tablecloths to make the accent pillows ..
a folding army cot dressed with pillows, comforter, throw and mosquito net .. i love doing this to army cots ..

another cot i dressed .. and actually, it was the first cot i dressed and it was so well received that i continue to do this whenever i find those old folding army cots .. its a great look and people always seem to get excited when they see one ..

i thought i would throw in a pic here of a mosaic collage i did on an old mirror i had .. the mirror was one of those old buffet mirrors with the rounded top .. the frame work had some damage and to disguise it i added seashells and pieces of pottery i had .. the cockatoo is an old stangl piece ..

enjoy the day and thank you for keeping us in your thoughts ..

love ya'
troy

canton - april / may 2010

2010-04-30T04:45:00.000-07:00

yesterday was gorgeous here in canton .. excuse the pics .. i am trying to upload them with a very poor connection .. at&t .. anyway, the crowds were out .. the sun was shining .. and the people were buying .. i meant to take better pics first off .. but we got here late in the day wednesday to set up and unloaded the trailer and van and then slept and got up early and set up the booth .. up early again this morning .. anyway, the people hit us hard buying and by the time i grabbed the camera, a lot of stuff was gone .. you know, you are just going to have to make it out here one day .. saw theresa of garden antiques .. she is doing a show herself this weekend and was out making last minute purchases .. the show she is doing is in montgomery .. check out her blog for details .. i would link to her here,but my fat stubby fingers and tiny keys on a tiny netbook are not cooperating this morning .. so enjoy the pics of our booth .. i am going to try and get out - if it doesn't rain all day - and take some pics of other vendors ..

laterz,
troy

muddling through ..

2010-04-24T08:38:00.000-07:00

it isn't always easy to remember where we are going, and why we are here .. sometimes it seems life is just an aimless walk with one foot in front of the other .. and sometimes that is enough .. enough to get us through .. trust .. believe that where we are going is where we are meant to be .. allow the Grace that has been bestowed upon us to shine through .. and put one foot in front of the other and keep moving .. movement .. and trust ...

rods brother in law - steve - married to rods sister, lori - father to 3 incredible young men - passed away in the early morning hours of last sunday - sudden - shocking - gut wrenching - those moments in life when you would trade every possession to instantly transport yourself from one place to another .. so you get there as fast as you can .. though i didn't make the journey with rod .. my mind and heart were there, embracing .. God Bless you, steve - and watch over lori and the boys ..

today is the anniversary of my momma passing .. she died april 24, 2001.

sherry and i have been here at the warehouse working, keeping things going .. getting ready for canton .. we leave on wednesday ..

we have some new signs .. and we will have a lot of the new pillows we designed .. then yesterday we designed a new slipcover for some little footstools we have that haven't been selling .. but we think the new slipcover will make the stools sell .. what do you think?

this one got a pressed treatment .. the cover is burlap with a ruffle of muslin ..

these little stools are only 12" square and 8" tall. .. they each have a vintage style floral fabric covering .. we will be listing these on our etsy shop .. but will also be carrying this design to a larger 12" by 16" footstool size ..

off to try and get some listings on etsy ..

laterz,
and reach out and hug someone today - tell them you love them ..
i love you all .. esp you, rod ..
troy

your preference requested .. please .. thank you

2010-04-11T08:25:00.000-07:00

here is one of the new signs we are making .. it's part of a series of vacation spots we are working on .. it is painted on 3/8" plywood .. it measures approximately 10" by 16"..

my question is .. which do you like? .. i finished one out with an oil based polyurethane and the other i finished out in wax, applied and polished by hand..

the one on the left is finished out in polyurethane .. the one on the right is finished out in hand applied wax ..

finished out in oil based polyurethane .. we may change to a water based polyurethane ..

finished out in hand applied and hand rubbed or polished wax .. in my opinion it has a darker more aged appearance .. and i personally prefer it .. rod likes the clearer finish of the polyurethane .. sherry prefers the one with wax also ..

just curious ..

laterz,
troy

new sign & dumpster rescue

2010-04-09T16:00:00.001-07:00

back from canton - so much going on - getting adjusted to new meds .. yuck .. body rebeling .. garden type show this sunday at the local arboretum .. sherry and her granddaughter are doing the show ..
she and rod have been working hard on items for that show .. i have been back and forth to doctors and dentists .. and working on a new sign design .. also getting ready to start a slipcover order for the lovely janis .. and then a custom lampshade for mindys' mom ..

so here is a sneak peak at the sign i have been working on .. i am so pleased with it ..

i will post a better picture of it over the weekend .. i think you will like it ..

also, this was a piece we found in the dumpster here at the warehouse this morning ..
too cool .. love the hardware .. it is solid wood .. no veneer .. rod says he is going to build a base for it and an open shelving cabinet for the top .. and then we will paint it out ..

not much else going on .. finally got everything unloaded .. now to get busy on stuff for canton .. the next canton begins on thursday the 29th of april ..

laterz,
troy

this, that is canton ....

2010-04-03T18:39:00.000-07:00

the people were out in full force today in canton .. i have seen the crowds thicker, but it was such a beautiful day and even though it was the last weekend of warrenton / round top .. the crowds here were wonderful .. everyone seemed in good spirits .. i took a lot of pictures to give you an idea of the crowds and merchandise available .. honestly, it seemed like the old days .. there was some wonderful stuff out here ..

the crowds at canton begin arriving fairly early in the day ..

the are many places in canton to get something to eat.. perhaps the most popular place is the food court at the end of arbor 2 .. it is in the arbors and so it is covered from the weather and there are a variety of places to get anything you want from good old texas bar-b-que to gourmet sandwiches and pizzas ..

a lot of canton is under cover or shelter of some sort .. however, there are still places that are out in the open .. this area is in front of the canton civic center .. a popular place for shoppers looking for antiques and junk ..

i don't know who this guy is, but he always has the most awesome spread of antiques and junk ..

this painted primitive fireplace surround was even more wonderful in person ..

i just love old brass water hose nozzles .. and this dealer had a wonderful display of them .. i liked the visual of this grouping ..

china, china, china .. blue willow to haviland to homer laughlin ..

junk jewelry, costume jewelry .. pieces and sets ..

when rod and i started out selling antiques and collectibles back in the 80s .. one of our specialties was advertising ..

some dealers don't bother with a tent set-up when selling at canton .. they just roll up in their vans, set up tables and start selling ..

if you are in to tin ceiling panels .. dave is your guy .. he has been in the same location for years and years .. selling the same item ..

i couldn't tell if it was an advertising gimic or this was where some couple actually planned to spend their honeymoon .. i am guessing a gimic ..

the wonderfulness that is canton allows you to witness people from all walks of life .. this tireless soldier is here every month delivering her message from sunrise to sunset .. some skirt her .. some confront her .. and yet she continues .. i do admire her commitment, while we may differ on method of delivery ..

enjoy the pics .. have a beautiful Easter with your family and next time you are near canton during first monday - stop in and say hi! ..

laterz,
troy

friday - canton - april 2nd - 2010

2010-04-03T04:14:00.000-07:00

friday was a good day at canton - rod and i got up at 5am and reworked the booth .. we sold some of the bigger pieces on thursday and wanted to give the booth a fresh look - so we got up, showered and reworked the booth, then had breakfast and by that time the crowds were starting to come out .. it was a little overcast here and there .. had a small amount of rain mid afternoon, then around 3:30 or so the skies opened up and there was a downpour .. and it kind of drizzled the rest of the day with more downpours around 6:00 last night just as the crowds were thinning and heading home .. highway 19 was bumper to bumper .. the crowds were thick, the thickest i have seen in months and it seemed everyone brought their four legged friends .. saw some beautiful dogs.. the booth stayed crowded most of the day and it felt sooo good to hear all the positive comments .. i think we only have 2 'seriously' signs left .. lol! that one went over real big .. oddly mostly to people who said they were teachers .. go figure ..i didn't know who he was but late in the day some dallas basketball player - dallas mavericks - showed up and created some excitement .. well, here are some pics of the reworked booth ..

since we sold the little round table i ended up putting 2 of the chairs up on a display table and creating a little setting .. the slipcover on the left is light blue linen accented with creamy white pom pom fringe and the slipcover on the right is light lavender cotton accented with a black and white check ribbon ..

there are more pics but the connection out here is really the pits .. so i am trying to limit myself .. today i am going to venture out and get some shots of the crowds and other vendors and share them with you - so look for them tomorrow morning or later tonight .. ya'll all have a good day and enjoy the weekend with family and friends .. if you are in canton stop in and see us - Arbor 2, booth 217 & 218 ...

laterz,
troy

thursday -canton - april 1st 2010

2010-04-01T17:16:00.000-07:00

today would have been my dads 81st birthday - happy birthday, daddy ..he loved that his birthday was on april fools day and he loved playing tricks on people on his birthday, esp if you were a youngster ..

today was opening day at canton - sherry, rod & i came down yesterday and rod & i spent the night and got up early and finished setting the booth up .. sherry has an ear infection, so wish her a speedy recovery .. we have a new space - actually 2 spaces and that seemed to make a difference .. it was a beautiful day and the crowds were out in full force ..

here are some pics i took of the booth before the crowds ..

i dressed the chairs in a different color slipcover for each ... love it!

some of the new pillows i am making - they went over real well ...

slipcovers! i did some in almost every Easter color i could find ..

some of the signs rod has made ..

i love the moroccan flavor of this lamp ..it has the sweetest little nightlight style glow ..

bunnies, baskets and tulips .. does anything else say Easter Greetings in quite the same way?

like most everyone i run across - i too love wasp nests - just something about the construction ..

i just love my slipcovered chair .. this is only the second time i have shown it since i completed it .. so hopefully someone will love it this weekend ..

if you are in canton - stop in and see us - arbors 2, spaces 217 & 218 ..

laters,
troy

canton - arbor 2 - spaces 217 & 218

2010-03-30T10:05:00.000-07:00

i can't believe i haven't posted anything in over 2 weeks..

we leave for canton tomorrow .. we have a new space .. in Arbor 2, spaces 217 & 218 - we are in Shiloh's old space .. she will be moving across the isle to the space we were in last month ..

i will have our netbook with us during canton, so i may be posting pics here and there .. it should be a great weekend, though they are calling for a cold front to move in on saturday, which could bring some rain..

here are some pics of things we have been working on .. we will also have a lot more furniture this month as we now have the 2 spaces we have been wanting .. yeah!

love this mirror - it has a resin/plastic frame - but a great look and quite large ..

we framed up some prints in frames that rod made .. we like their look ..

sherry created this wonderfully charming bed tray - love the french look it has ..
i have a weakness for portrait plates .. and even though i rarely sell them and always price them reasonable to cheap - i continue to purchase them for resale when i see them .. go figure .. i still like the look they offer ..

rod has been busy making signs .. wait until you see some of the signs he made up for this weekend ..seriously! .. cool!

i have been busy sewing slipcovers .. sets of 4 .. and sets of 2 .. wanted a whimsical touch this month .. i am very happy with the way they turned out ..

and don't forget .. get your Easter greeting cards .. we have enlarged Victorian era Easter cards, packaged and ready for gift giving ..

we hope to see you ..

laterz,
troy, rod & sherry ..

silver sunday .. photo frames as dressing mirrors

2010-03-14T09:37:00.001-07:00

one of the things i like to do is collect vintage styled and antique styled silverplate picture frames .. i have rod cut mirrors for the frames and then use them for dressing or vanity mirrors .. they always interest people and they have a wonderful look ..

here are some we have in the warehouse now .. mixed with some odd silverplate items .. the candlesticks are not old but have a great look ..

and since it is Silver Sunday .. i thought i would throw in a picture of some galvanized items - i love the old water jug used as a picket sign holder .. and the flower buckets are not old, but we sell them very well at $5.75 each ..

go visit Beth at Gypsy Fish Journal for more participants of Silver Sunday sponsored by Gypsy Fish Journal ..

laterz,

troy

what i did today ...

2010-03-12T14:11:00.000-08:00

met some customers today at the warehouse and worked on a couple of projects .. let me know what you think ..

the first is a line of pillow shams i am making - they are muslin with a burlap center .. the center of this pillow has been accented with a crown .. we may be offering other designs in the future, but for now i will just be doing the crown .. i will also be doing slipcovers that compliment these pillows ..

the other project is a lampshade, inspired by the team @ Bloom & Bee Swanky .. i covered a lampshade in some gloves i found when sorting through a box of fabrics ..

i started with a plain jane shade that had a nice taper ..

i first arranged the gloves to make sure i would have enough .. and it appeared that i would ..

the finished project .. i accented the shade with a bow of vintage lace ..

i like the way it turned out .. it kind of grows on you ..

rod, sherry & i are headed up tomorrow to visit jenny with uptown country home and see her at the dallas flea and then over to anthropologie ..

a day of adventure ..

laterz,
troy

junkin thursday ..

2010-03-11T11:00:00.000-08:00

we are as tired as this poor little rabbit looks ..
we have been working on setting our warehouse up for appointment sales - so if you are in the neighborhood, please email or call us for entrance .. we are here most every day from 11am - 4pm .. for now take a look at some pics i took this morning ..

masons ironstone .. english china.. fruit basket pattern .. so sweet ..

i can never ever resist seashells .. i have quite an accumulation of them .. i like using them in projects .. so you will always find them in the warehouse ..

lovely Easter styled setting created by Sherry .. she is such a wiz at creating and displaying ..

more lovely Easter type dishes .. love the cameoware and the homer laughlin with the pink roses ..
lots of lovely linens, quilts, chenille spreads and vintage fabrics ..

you can reach us through email or by calling our AT&T cell - 281-813-0341 .. would love to hear from you and show you around the warehouse ...

laters,
troy

pictures to share of last warrenton ..oct 2008

2010-03-05T18:29:00.000-08:00

i was looking through some old picture files today and ran across some pics that i don't believe i have ever shared with anyone ..

as many of you know, last warrenton was a muddy mess .. rod and i took a 24 foot box truck of merchandise stuffed .. which we attempted to cram into a 30 x 15 space .. our truck got stuck in the mud in front of our tent and we were unable to totally unpack the truck .. we ended up putting as much as we could into the booth up on tables and stacking stuff on top of one another .. so after the first day of unloading in the rain and getting the van unstuck from the mud - we decided to return to waco with the stuff we were unable to unload and return the truck ..

as has been mentioned, it rained a lot that week .. everywhere in texas .. when we got back to waco and got the truck unloaded rod went to return the truck and i stayed at the warehouse .. after he had been gone for a little bit .. i looked across the sky at the setting sun and was met with the most awesome sight and had to grab my camera ..

today, i am still stunned by the beauty in these photos .. so you will know, i have not altered these photos in any way .. the sky really was that color .. like fire in the clouds ..

laterz,
troy

100th post & the importance of junk ..

2010-03-04T08:52:00.000-08:00

i heard somewhere one time about people who give their junk importance .. i love that idea .. giving junk importance .. isn't that what we are all after .. to be important .. to matter .. so junk matters .. it holds it all together .. the junk in our lives, the junk in our homes ..

a lot of what we sell these days is stuff we convert, make or re-use .. we hadn't been selling as much of what i like to call the old stuff .. the junk ..the trinkets .. the left behinds .. the forgotten pieces of someones memories .. you know what i am talking about .. and i, having been in the business a long long time, have accumulated a lot of that stuff .. and i want to share something with you that came to me and seems to work .. work really well ..

i gave that junk some importance .. i handled each little trinket or do dad and slipped it into an appropriate size baggie with our business card .. closed up the bag with a staple .. punched a hole in the top with a hole punch .. priced the piece a small price .. lots of stuff under a buck .. most all under $3 .. (and i did most of this while watching the current season of american idol) .. then i hung it on a pegboard .. people loved it .. loved it .. i think we paid our booth rent off this junk .. which we gave importance to ..

don't forget if you are in waco and want to come shop our warehouse to give us a shout out .. we would love to show you around ..

laters,
troy

ok .. me in shorts ..

2010-03-03T18:00:00.000-08:00

ok .. here are the pics .. here is the proof .. i actually had hoped the weather was changing for the good .. it was warmer when we left waco on friday morning .. it just got colder ..

honestly, i love wearing shorts .. i am very hot natured .. my mother was also .. i own coats and sweaters .. and i own some long pants .. but i so prefer shorts .. i just feel more comfortable in shorts ..

so canton was good .. tiring .. but seems like most any show is these days .. would really love to find a good one day show ..

we have been working the last few days on setting up the warehouse in case people want to come shop the things we have here in waco .. so if you are passing through or headed this way .. give us a shout out and we would be glad to open up for you ..

rod and i started exercising again .. i need to loose about 30 pounds .. i was weighed at the doctors office today .. 186 .. when we were fired from our jobs last august .. i weighed around 160 .. stress .. i know it is ..

i know everyone who is headed to warrenton is getting ready for it .. kind of wish i was going .. just the excitement of it .. but it has gotten too long for an old boy like to me participate ..

off to say hi to come of you ..

laters,
troy

squirrel !!! what does it mean?

2010-02-26T10:20:00.000-08:00

i have had this squirrel for some time .. and have been meaning to list him on etsy.. he is a bank .. he has a slot on top of his head for inserting your money .. but the whole reason he has intrigued me is i keep seeing SQUIRREL!!! and wonder what does it mean .. if it is dirty .. i don't want to know .. sounds dirty .. also sounds funny ..

i think it is deb of talking trash who keeps saying SQUIRREL!! - so what does it mean? and here's mine .. and i still don't wanna know, if it's dirty ..

having a blast out here at canton today .. lots of people .. i chose to wear shorts today .. so here i am in shorts in a coat .. lol! it was warmer when we left waco this morning .. it is very chilly and wet here today ..

laterz,
troy

thursday @ canton

2010-02-25T18:18:00.000-08:00

today was opening day at canton first monday .. our second time in arbors 2 - we are in spaces 207A & 208 in arbor 2 .. we met some wonderful people today - saw some familiar faces and made some new friends .. we found out that our blog is definitely attracting customers .. which is always nice to know .. one of our new customers is diane @ What A Find Antiques in Katy, Texas.. if you are near .. go check her out ..

so here are some pics of our booth - tomorrow i will post pics of all the cool stuff out there this weekend .. i did get out and do some shopping .. so keep an eye on our etsy shop for new listings fresh from the fields of canton ..

view to the left of the booth - revolving rack of vintage inspired plaques we make using vintage floral letters .. slipcovers and fabrics at the back of the booth .. the glass dome with the bunny underneath, under the oval table .. sold .. love it!

the left side of the booth at the front - a revolving rack of vintage inspired enlarged postcards - we make these - they are packaged with an envelope and an easel that can be attached to the back of the card - we sell them for $3.99 each .. and we have every holiday you can think of ..

the slipcovers and fabrics .. and some suitcases .. and some chenille spreads ..

to the right side of the booth - more cards - more holidays .. lampshades in the back .. loyal customer, bridgette - happy to have found us ..

always kiss me goodnight - picket signs .. we make these .. they are made using old fence pickets .. they sell for $9.95 ..each ..

baby dresses .. and baby shoes .. hang below a beautiful framed baby photo .. the baby shoes have been a big hit .. sold one pair so far ..

old coca cola crate in yellow with red lettering .. filled with shredded kraft paper and nestled with vintage bottles .. and seashells ..

vintage inspired holiday cards and vintage style paper mache bunny rabbits .. and wonderful hand made lye soaps ..

if you make it to canton .. do stop in and see us .. we love meeting new people and really enjoy it when people say they read our blog .. we heard that a lot today .. so thank you!

laters,
troy

2010-02-23T07:29:00.000-08:00

today .. it is snowing again here in central texas .. we have the van packed and ready to leave on wednesday morning - canton starts on thursday .. we will be in Arbors 2, spaces 207 & 208A .. rod and i, and sherry are taking today off .. rod and i are just lounging around watching it snow .. i am making homemade tomato bisque soup and grilled avocado & cheese sandwiches with a side salad .. we rented law abiding citizen and harry potter to watch .. got my sweet potato chips for the crunch factor while movie watching - so i think we are ready for go ..

i wanted to share some pics of things we will have at canton ..

these are some new slipcovers i designed and made - i didn't have enough of the fabric so i was only able to make a pair - i love the way they turned out ..

the bottom of the skirt is edged with a small double ruffle - i left the edges raw - i would really like to be able to just design the slipcover and then have someone else make bunches of them ..

i left the corners open so the legs of whatever chair will show through .. kind of 'kicky', i think ..

i love babies shoes .. it has been a long time since i found some however, at a recent estate i was able to find several at a price i could afford and in turn sell at a price others could afford .. i stuffed them with tissue to fill them out and when i didn't have laces, i used old safety pins .. and then stuffed shredded paper in the tops .. love it!!

while cleaning out some of my storage buildings, i unearthed one of my collections .. old baby dresses and gowns - love them - i cut some simple wooden hangers down to size and they hang perfectly on an old rotating jewelry display ..

we have collected tons and tons of tiny jewlery fixings, odd pieces and this and that, drawers pulls, costume jewelry, trinkets and do-dahs .. i can't throw this stuff away - so i packaged it up and priced it cheap .. putting the 'junk' in Junk Exchange ..

also uncovered these - they are actual pressed flowers .. great for craft projects .. there are also leaves .. all small details ..

i love this old bathroom trash can - of course, now it could be used anywhere .. someone glued an old cut-out of vintage wallpaper to the side .. just like the way it looks ..

a few pillows .. didn't have as many pillows for this show as i would have liked, but the weather has kept me under the weather .. :) ..

aren't these galvanized flower buckets great!!? .. this is all we have left .. great for summer floral arrangements. .. i love them filled with fresh dill and wildflowers ..

collection of bottles nestled in an old coca cola crate with some shredded brown kraft paper ..

these wonderful homemade lye soaps .. we have them in fresh linen (shown in the above picture), pink true rose, and peppermint tea tree .. they are hand made one batch at a time and then wrapped in vintage chenille and tied with raffia .. we sell them for $6.00 a bar and the bars are big - measuring about 3" by 1 1/4" thick and 2 1/2" .. my favorite is the peppermint tea tree .. so soothing ..

old book, shredded for craft projects .. filling cubbies and nestling what knots ..

old dominoes .. for craft or jewlery projects .. i have an old galvanized bucket resting in an old water bottle stand ..

vintage hand painted chinese paper lanterns .. probably from the 30s/40s - maybe some into the 50s .. super cool - i am going to hang them around the booth ..

also, we got us a netbook .. so i will have internet connection at canton .. if you would like, you can add me/us to your yahoo messenger - our id is junkexchange .. the netbook has a camera .. so i/we can chat with you .. cool huh? also i will be posting pics of the booth once we get set up - which is an entirely new and different look and one we are almost settled on .. there are still a few tweaks to perform .. but i like this look a lot ..

laterz,
troy

once upon a time ..

2010-02-19T05:02:00.000-08:00

back in the late 90s, rod and i had a little shop outside of waco along interstate 35 in a small town called elm mott - it's just a blip on the map ..

the building we had our shop in was a 50s era log cabin that is now slated for demolition as the new highway project will claim the land ..

i ran across some pics of our shop - some of you who traveled I-35 in the late 90s may remember the shop - the building is still there for the moment..

i painted the sign by hand .. i was real proud of it .. this picture is after we had been there for awhile and had planted purple verbena - which grew like wildfire ..

we later grew all kinds of rose bushes and flowers around the railing area and under the sign ..

the side porch was the perfect spot to lure people in ..there was a door on the side and one at the front - there was no air conditioning and we left the doors open during the day ..when the weather was nice ..

the interior was divided in half - the front half had a combination knotty pine walls and sheetrock walls .. the front half and outside porch of the building was shop and the back half of the building was an upholstery / work space .. i did a lot of upholstery work then ..

this was still when we were buying painted furniture pieces and stripping the paint off .. we only did that if the paint was an ugly color or we knew there was oak underneath .. now, we just sell it like it is or paint over it .. no more stripping furniture ..most all of the wood finishes in this picture if of something we refinished ..

a great square oak table - i loved the woven felt folk art rug on the table - and the tureens .. the table was painted yellow when we found it ..

this was a great little rocker i reworked - it had it's original finish, but was without a seat .. so we gave it an upholstered seat and a matching ruffled pillow ..

one of the things i was known for was taking old metal porch gliders and upholstering them with slipcovers and cushions - this was one i re-worked in denim and plaid with floral pillows .. i love the way it turned out ..one day i will do a post on nothing but the pictures i have of the gliders i have re-worked ..

this was a double rocker rod made - he took a regular normal size rocker and took it apart and extended it .. i upholstered it with a drop in seat cushion and padded back and a pair of vintage floral fabric pillows ..

this was a wonderful vintage art deco mohair sofa and chair .. i added the vintage barkcloth pillows for accent ..

don't forget to come see us in canton this month - Feb 25th - Feb 28th - we will be in Arbors 2, spaces 207 & 208A

laters,
troy

son of a taxi driver ..

2010-02-11T09:18:00.000-08:00

i never knew him .. i only knew how he made me feel when i saw the things he created .. the beauty he brought to the world .. the way he dressed a woman .. the way he could twist and turn a length of fabric or in his case a bolt of fabric .. his gowns always struck me as created by someone who was instructed to use all the fabric in the bolt ..

i remember the first time i saw one of his gowns .. i honestly wasn't sure what i was seeing .. the way it twisted and turned and folded over itself .. i thought for a moment it was a trick to the eye ..

i loved the things that alexander mcqueen created .. i don't pretend to know the demons he carried .. but i am thankful he showed the world the beauty from within ..

may he rest in peace ..

Alexander McQueen - March 17, 1969 - February 11, 2010 ..

the milliner in me & a $2 find ..

2010-02-10T08:05:00.000-08:00

i used to make hats .. i started making them back in the early 90s .. and then got into it heavily after the movie Howards' End in '92 .. loved the costumes in that movie ..

i have been sorting through my life in pictures .. and locating pictures of all sorts of things .. places we used to live ..shows we used to do .. the many ways our booth used to look (i used to take pictures all the time) .. and some of the things we used to make or have found. ..

so i found these pics of some of the hats i have made .. i used to wholesale some of them to a lady in dallas who said she was selling them to barneys .. i never knew for sure, but it always thrilled me that it could be ..

this one had hand pleated fans on a straw base .. it was created for a summer wedding .. the veil was detachable .. and trimmed in the same vintage silk as the fans and band .. where the crown meets the brim i accented it with a strand of vintage pearls ..

this one was also silk .. i used two colors .. one bronze and one cream .. the picture is a little faded .. but, the underside of the brim is pleated and gathered ..all of this is hand sewn ..

the feathers used in all my hats were vintage ..

this was one i was most proud of .. it is worked on a vintage felt base ..and i made it to go with a vintage edwardian tea gown i had purchased .. it has vintage pheasant feathers, egret feathers, ostrich feathers, wings and tulle and vintage ribbons ..

i love the way it looked with the dress .. i ended up selling the hat long before the gown.. in fact i still have the gown .. packed away in a box .. though it has deteriorated ..
i just thought i would share these things with you ..

also wanted to share this ..

back in the late 80s - before internet .. rod and i stopped at a warehouse sale on the edge of town .. it was a huge cold storage warehouse and the man running the sale also owned an antique shop on the other side of town .. among the vintage linens and dusty oak dressers and tables there was a large painting propped against the wall .. it was huge .. and though i don't remember the exact size .. i do remember that we had an old 1971 chevy impala .. and it barely fit in the trunk of the car .. by a mere fraction .. the sides of the frame were grazing the opening of the truck .. it was huge .. anyway, there was a piece of masking (sorry robelyn) tape .. it was marked $2.00 .. i turned to the guy and said "is that 2 or 200?" .. he said .. "oh, it's torn (which it was) .. so just 2 dollars". .. ok .. we'll take it .. so fast forward to 2010 .. i find the pictures of the painting and notice the painting is signed .. Richard Newton, Jr .. and he is worth thousands .. however, we did sell the painting at Canton the weekend after we found it .. we sold it for $1200 and that was in the late 80s .. so i think we did pretty good .. but still there is a bit of me that wishes i had held onto that painting .. but we can't keep it all ..
by the way .. keep watching .. i am uncovering some great photos of things we have found through the years ..

laterz,
troy

awesomeness ..

2010-02-09T15:00:00.000-08:00

willows at home .. these people were set up down from us at this past canton .. their names are fred & peggy hunt .. their website is willowsathome.com .. my dream home is filled with items they create .. set off in the woods .. away from the daily grind .. with my pets and loved ones ..

their display set-up was so welcoming and warm .. i loved it ..

i didn't get close-up details of the furniture, but the finish on the tables is so wonderful .. it is a checkboard pattern - kind of like the old picnic tablecloths ..

their twig furniture is made here in the states and the most comfortable and sturdy i have ever seen ..

i love the chandeliers ..

their topiaries and accent pieces are so wonderful, you must see them in person .. so the next time you are in canton - come see them - they are in the arbors - Arbor 2 - just down from us...

laterz,
troy

face it ..

2010-02-03T08:12:00.001-08:00

aren't these cool? there was a couple set up across from us at canton - well kind of across and down or up - husband and wife team - howard and sharon - they have been doing canton as long as we have, maybe longer - off and on .. they are very creative and very friendly .. actually, i think they are setting up in what used to be judy hills space - in arbor II - spaces 219 & 220 ..one of the many things they do is re-cast old mannequin display heads .. these are copies of mannequin heads they have collected and this is only a small portion of the styles they have available .. they wholesale them for $85.00 - so cool .. i am thinking about one, but cant' decide which to get .. howard makes these himself .. here in America .. which i think is a big plus ..

group shot .. love the look a group shot creates .. just gorgeous ..

the vintage hats are not included and are part of their personal collection .. not sure if the hats are for sale ..

doesn't she look like katherine hepburn .. howard said back in the day when the originals were created they wanted to create mannequins that looked like the movie stars without looking like them enough to cause lawsuits, they you will find mannequins that resemble certain stars .. i think she looks like katherine hepburn ..

this one reminds me of lauren bacall ..

off to work in the warehouse .. new look for the booth coming up for the fabuary february show at canton -

laterz,
troy

new space and friendly faces ..

2010-02-02T05:28:00.000-08:00

yesterday was spent unloading the van and trailer .. and starting a mock-up of the new space - we didn't do a mock-up of the space this past month and i think it hurt the look of the booth .. yes, we have a new space - the coming month at canton, we will be in spaces 207 & 208A .. if you are familiar with the Arbors, we will be one step closer to the large walkway - alley - at the end of Arbor 3, before entering Arbor 2 .. 2nd vendor on the right .. to the left of the Green Tree Pecan vendor trailer .. that big reddish burgundy trailer ..

anyway, sharing some pics I took of this past weekend..

the entrance area to canton, off hiway 19 - there is a large parking lot across the hiway from this - there is a large iron entrance with the words 'canton first monday' - or something like that above this statue ..

next month we will be down the left side of this big trailer .. into the left side of Arbor II .. 2nd vendor on the right .. they sell nuts of all varieties out of that trailer and are busy all weekend long .. i got a big bag of raw walnuts for $4.75 .. they were/are delicious ..

the following pics are of some of my favorite places to shop .. just some random shots .. if you can figure out where they are, then you know where i like to go hunting for treasures on the canton grounds .. but i am not going to tell you .. maybe if you come see us, i will point you in the direction .. maybe ..

if there were any doubt in my mind, i think looking at the pics i took this weekend confirms for myself, i am a junker .. i love junk .. piles and piles of junk and the more junk the better .. it was cold and miserable this weekend and there weren't near the vendors - or customers - there usually are .. the PERFECT time to find some real goodies ..
have a wonderful candlemas day - according to the history, today is the day you should remove all your Christmas decorations ..

"Down with the rosemary, and so

Down with the bays and mistletoe;

Down with the holly, ivy, all,

Wherewith ye dress'd the Christmas Hall"

— Robert Herrick (1591–1674), "Ceremony upon Candlemas Eve"

i think i just barely made it .. tell the truth, do you still have your decorations up? .. i didn't have all that much stuff .. still have a tree in the bedroom, a little one .. very little .. anyway, next year i will wait until feb 2 and now i know a reason to wait that long ..

laters,
troy

ready for shoppers ..

2010-01-29T19:23:00.000-08:00

sherry and i ended up staying home today and rod went to canton.. the plan was that sherry and i would list on etsy .. since the weather was going to be wet and cold .. well, i didn't get very far .. one thing led to another .. and the day just kind of slipped away ..

so here i am at the last minute tonight .. making a post with the pics i took of the booth on thursday morning ..

i am headed to canton with rod tomorrow .. but for now, enjoy the pics of the booth .. and i will try to get out and take pics of other booths and the scenery ..

i love old clocks .. whether they work or not ..

some clothes pin bags sherry and i made using an old pattern .. then we stuffed them with shredded paper and nestled a bottle in them for placing a small bouquet ..

the sofa table size table is actually a nice heavy wall mirror that we had rod build a base for using old table legs .. and the picture frames are fitted with mirrors we had rod cut ..

come see us .. ARBOR II, spaces 203 & 204A

troy, rod & sherry ..