i thought i was going crazy ...

i love new balance shoes, as a diabetic i believe they are the best shoes i can find for walking .. however, the last few pair of shoes i have purchased i have had what i think are major problems ..

now, let me say, first off, to all you cat lovers .. i love all animals ..i dislike habits .. dogs who lick constantly ... and cats who spray ..among them .. so i am familiar with the smell of cat urine ..

anyway, my new balance shoes .. after a while .. they begin to smell like cat urine .. strongly .. not faint .. almost like i walked right into a spray .. i first blamed it on cats .. then rod thought maybe it's cause i will wear a pair of shoes until they need to be replaced .. i replace them approximately every 4 months .. and at 50 or so bucks a shot .. i think that is a lot .. so, i had convinced myself that it was in my head ..

until i found this website ..

'my new balance shoes smell like cat urine .' i made up the title ..but that is the subject of the thread ..

well, off to walk and work in the warehouse .. now that my morning rant is over .. sort of .. but, i am not crazy ..

laters,
troy

no party - just projects ..

i looked for a party to join today, but couldn't find one .. so i am just going to show you some of the things going on here at the junk exchange ..

first up is a little project i finished yesterday ... this was the folding holder for the old tv trays that everyone had in the 60s and 70s ... i made a laundry basket out of vintage fabrics .. the cart folds and rolls ..

here is the laundry basket with the slipcovers in it ... i thought about doing a whole series on the slipcovers .. you know slipcovers in the back the truck .. slipcovers on the carport .. slipcovers in a field .. anyway, i love the way the laundry basket turned out ..


i found a box full of old vacation slides that i will be bringing to canton .. some of them are pretty cool scenes of yellowstone and other parks ..
now, this is super cool to the inth degree ... vintage 1940s era linoleum .. we have an entire roll of this pattern but it is very fragile and when we tried unrolling it, it broke into sections... so we are going to use it to top small tables and the like .. look for a few pieces accented with this at the upcoming canton show ...

more vintage linoleum .. this is a room size section we purchased some years ago and had forgotten about it until we discovered it in one of our storage barns buried underneath some unfinished projects ... there is quite a bit of this also .. and we will be making things that will be topped with sections of this ..
there are several different nursery rhyme scenes .. mary had a little lamb ... jack and jill .. 3 men in a tub .. are just a few that i can think of right now .. oh, yeah and puss n boots ... very funny stuff ... and will be fun once it is washed and waxed ..

and finally here is a little lampshade i finished yesterday ... sherry bought this lamp and it had the shade ... all i did was recover the shade and trim it out with the original trim that was on the shade to begin with ... it is not an old lamp, but has a great look ..

don't forget to come see us in canton this month ..

january 28 - january 31 2010 -
ARBOR II, spaces 203 & 204A

laters,
troy

silver sunday

since the weekends are about finds and treasure hunting - at least i always think of the weekends as a time to explore - i wanted to share our best silver find, i think ever..

we hit an estate sale about 5 years ago - it was professionally run and most all of the furniture and nice china and glassware was priced a the high end of ebay prices - with the feeling that there is always something for you, wherever you go - rod began to look in the many jewelry and silver cases - we had spent some recent spare moments researching and learning about different silversmiths - one of the people we learned about was william spratling ..

so rod is looking in the cases and notices an odd little duck bill shaped object and asks to view it - it is priced $5 - as he turns it over, he notices an unmistakable william spratling mark - the object is a duck bill shaped bottle opener - taking a chance that it might be an actual william spratling piece and not one faked - there are fakes out there -
we bought the item - did not ask for a discount, just paid the price marked and thanked the professional estate sales person and left - we got it home and did more research and discovered it was in fact a william spratling piece - at the time we were listing quite heavily on ebay - however, we could not find any items like this odd little piece .. so we listed it and started it at 99 cents with no reserve ..

it ended at $657.00 ..

sometimes, i wish we had kept it .. but times being what they were, the money came in very handy - i like to think of it as a time when 'god winked at us' ..

be sure and check out all of the silver sunday blog posts and also a big thanks to beth @ gypsy fish journal for hosting silver sunday ..

off to sew at the warehouse ..

laters,
troy

wanted to add pics of the 4 slipcovers all done - i know you are probably tired of seeing the slipcovers - but i am real pleased with them - it has been awhile since i sewed and honestly, i wasn't sure if i still 'had it' - so i was a little scared about getting back to sewing, but i guess it's like most things - you don't really forget - not really - anyway, the chairs will all be painted an off white and they will be around a small white round table - if you were at canton last month you may have seen the table - it was missing a small section on one edge - but it didn't sell, so they brought it back to the warehouse and rod made the repair and honestly you can't really tell it was ever missing ..

saturday junkin' finds

hit a really good junkin estate sale this morning - surprisingly there werent' that many people there - perhaps they had mostly come earlier - like the day before - the family running the sale said their grandmother was a hoarder - i believe them - and i enjoyed looking through her treasures - basically, everything was just piled in rooms - nothing was priced - lots of things had not been uncovered - so it was a 'dig for it' and we will shoot you a price kind of deal - they were fair on the prices and there was stuff everywhere - did i mention that?..
here is a group photo of the things we uncovered ..

love this huge still life painting .. that graniteware bowl is wonderful ...

dominoes for my 'bucket o' dominoes' - though the green ones are bakelite, so i will most likely sell them separately ..

i am a sucker for vintage glassware - especially when they are as fun as these -
clocks are always good sellers - whether they work or not ..


a small grouping of ladies hats - some fancy - some everyday - a bunch of ladies gloves in cream and whites - and the wire canning basket -
an old mission style rocker - needs rockers - rod can do that easily enough - a seat cushion, which our partner sherry and i can do - and some minor cleaning - unsure if we will paint it or not -

and this is that slipcover i made with the little pleated ruffle - all washed and dried - love the way it turned out -

well i am off the do some sewing - ya'll have a great day and don't forget to tell someone today that you love them ..

laters,

troy

a pleat, a ruffle and a shade ..

is it considered a pleat .. or a ruffle ? .. i am unsure, but i believe that it really finished off this little slipcover.

there will be 4 when all is said and done .. they will grace 2 pair of odd dining chairs, which will be painted off white .. the slips will be for sale either with a pair of chairs or separate .. they are a very soft minty green linen .. the photos are prior to it being washed and dried .. i brought it home tonight and washed it and dried it .. i am an impatient one and could not wait until all were done .. i had to see what they would look like .. i will post another pic tomorrow.. but trust me, it /they will be gorgeous ..

i have been teaching / showing sherry how to recover lampshades .. i think she is doing a wonderful job .. here is the latest one she is working on .. it is covered with the fabric of a vintage floral print tablecloth .. love the red and pink on this .. and perfect for valentines day ..

robelyn stopped by yesterday and picked up some pink pom pom fringe .. we got to visit for a good time .. awesome person.. real .. stop by her blog, she always has some cool thoughts going on ..

tomorrow morning we are hitting an estate sale .. hope it turns out to be a good one ..

good night you all ..

laters,
troy

white wednesday - later that day

white wednesday - i love the idea - it comes from kathleen at 'faded charm' - such a gracious host and this makes the 30th white wednesday she has hosted.. i just never seem to remember to participate until it feels too late - so i remembered today even though it was later - and i went ahead with a post -

white has always been sort of mysterious to me - i love how it is often used to veil what lies beneath or beyond -

i don't think i am really a white person - i like things that are white and i always sell things that are white - but as i look around at my personal collection of items, white is sparse - even the whites i find myself drawn to are not what one would call white white -

my inventory of things that are white -

i love the embroidery work on a white spread - or sham - even just a touch on a pillow case - i really do like white bed linens - the majority of my linens are white as is my comforter - i like white bath towels -

the simple white chain stitch on this european sham is so sweet - even though a lot of the area around this section is stained and has rust spots - i have hoarded this because i love the way the stitching is done - it may appear in a project soon ..

i love white crocheted pieces, though i am ALWAYS tempted to tea dye them, especially if i am using them in a project ..

white painted wood, especially accent pieces like this shutter - i have a pair, which will be at canton this coming month - i like - a lot - the reverse side is green - so when i would get tired of the white - i turned them around and displayed the green side...

chippy white paint is the best - whether it happens naturally like the section above - which is from an old busted up garden trellis - which will also be at the upcoming canton show ..

or you make it look chippy yourself - like i did in the above picture - the table was an old oak table - the finish was too far gone and i felt it needed to be painted - i painted it white and matched it with a set of 4 chairs - also painted white - sold the chairs and the table remains - still i love the way the white chippy paint turned out on this piece ..

and to totally change the subject and even though it has nothing to do with white or white wednesday - i wanted to share - here is one thing i worked on today - hand covering this lampshade, which is hand sewn to the frame - and will be used to accent this wonderful asian inspired pottery lamp below .. i love the fabric - sherry brought it from home - there is enough left that i may make a pillow - we'll see ..


isn't this a cool lamp? - i love it!

come see us in canton this month - january 28 - january 31 2010 -

ARBOR II, spaces 203 & 204A

laters,
troy

tuesday - things are coming together ..

Sister is doing better .. she is home .. BIL and i drove to lufkin and got her a lift chair - so now she can get up and down on her own - though she is still having a little trouble adjusting with her broken arm - but things seem back on track..

after spending the morning being with her while BIL ran errands - i joined rod and sherry at the warehouse -

we are getting excited about canton coming up - here are some projects i worked on this afternoon -

this 1960s era vinyl covered footstool/ottoman started life with brown stained legs - i had rod spray the legs and since it didn't matter if the vinyl got paint on them - i just cut up and around the legs and then recovered the footstool and made a slipcover with some vintage 1960s era linen screen print fabric i had - below is the finished stool ..

love the colors in this vintage 1960s linen screen print -

this cute little chair will get the full treatment - i am recovering it in an off white duck - painting the legs a soft sagey green and making it a shorty slipcover - so the legs show - with a wonderful big floral vintage faux quilted fabric that has a sagey green background - the slipcover will be finished off with bullion fringe of the same green as the legs - gonna be cool -

i love this afghan - love the granny squares - and i have something so cute in mind for this - wait and see - i will show ya a day or so before canton -

this cute little metal playhouse/dollhouse will be going just like it is - i just found it this week at the little church thrift store i frequent -

lots of vintage inspired valentine ideas - these are all hand cut - you will love what i do with these - so cute and a cool idea ..

these are butterfly and seashell cut outs - hand cut - by me - same idea as with the hearts - it excites me when i think about how they will look in the booth - you gotta come see us -

so many ideas - so little time -

remember - ARBOR II, spaces 203 & 204A

laters,

troy

one foot in front of the other ..

sometimes i get the feeling my purpose is not to wonder why... not to question.. to just keep putting one foot in front of the other and believing, trusting that everything will work out in the end ..

wednesday last as we were prepping for the canton show i was hit with a stomach virus that forced me into deciding to not attend the opening days of the show - luckily rod and our new partner, sherry, were able to get things packed, loaded and ready to transport - while i lie on the bed writhing in pain, confident the end was near .. the plan was i would join the party in progress on friday or saturday ..

so - rod & sherry were at the warehouse - i was home in the bed - my sister and her husband were watching television - and the dogs were with them in the living room - suddenly i heard the dogs barking like mad - i assumed someone was at the door - as they don't like strangers at their door - then i heard my brother in law calling my name - i thought maybe it was my sisters home health care nurse and i needed to retrieve my share of the dog pack from the living room - so i hurried as best i could to the living room - to find my BIL on the phone with a look of sheer terror on his face and i glanced across the room to my sister in her recliner and she was in full blown seizure mode .. now, my sister has only had one seizure in her life and she was in the hospital at the time ..and that was over a year ago .. and i was no where around at the time .. and i have never ever been near when someone had a seizure .. i knew absolutely nada .. other than someone i loved and cared about was having a seizure .. as my BIL talked to 911 .. i knelt near her .. the force of the seizure had thrown the recliner into full reclining position.. her left leg was extended straight as a board .. her toes were curling .. her head was thrown back ... her teeth were clinched tight tight tight .. so tight her gums were bleeding .. her eyes were rolled back in her head .. and there is no other way to describe it other than she was sputtering and spitting .. and hissing .. i remember her hissing ... and all i could do was stroke her arm and keep repeating to her she would be alright .. i remember her dog was in her lap and refused to budge during the seizure but once it was over, she calmly hopped down out of her lap and let the ems workers do their thing .. also, while my BIL was trying to tell the 911 operator where we were located, he dropped the phone and got disconnected and had to start all over ..i kept thinking i needed to get something in her mouth to keep her from biting her tongue .. but what? .. there was nothing around .. other than the television remote .. and the thought of that only made me laugh to myself (yeah, i know, my sister is having a seizure and i am laughing - how sick am i?) when i thought of trying to explain why i shoved a remote control in the mouth of someone having a seizure .. she did get to the hospital, spent the 1st day in ER and is now in a room .. she is doing better .. she had also had a severe stomach virus during Christmas and after .. and to top it off she wasn't eating much of anything .. and she is also diabetic .. the doctors said her levels of calcium, magnesium and potasium dropped to life threatening levels .. also when she first started to have the seizure, my BIL noticed her out of the corner of his eye and saw her jerk, then what looked to him like she was falling out of her chair .. so he reached out and grabbed her arm .. and broke her upper arm between the shoulder and elbow ..

is it selfish to say i feel worn out .. just emotionally wrung out .. i mean this is my blog and it is about me, right?

so, since i couldn't go to visit her at the hospital right away .. i spent a lot of time laying in bed working on getting well.. my stomach virus turned to a head cold and cough .. while i lay in bed . i stared at this antique print - as it was propped up on a shelf near the tv .. i starred at it so long, it began to remind me of people i knew .. does this look like anyone you know? .. i won't embarrass them by saying who it reminds me of .. but to me it is uncanny .. so, starring at this image and praying for guidance helped me get through several very rough days .. i believe in the power of prayer .. and Sister should be coming home in the next day or so ..

so, how did canton go? rod and sherry did very well and were very pleased... they met a lot of fun people and said they had the best time .. and it felt good to me when they told me people were asking about me .. we did sell the slipcovered chairs .. and i understand from both rod and sherry that i have my entire month mapped out on sewing pillows and slipcovers and lampshades ... we got a different space for the next show .. we will be in ARBOR II, spaces 203 & 204A .. lots of cool ideas for the next show .. so be sure and stay tuned .. right now we will be listing some things in our etsy shop while the weather keeps everyone locked in ... we are meeting some people at the warehouse this saturday .. so hopefully, the weather will be back to normals ..

i know there is more to say .. but my mind is numb right now .. if you asked a question i have yet to answer, please remind me .. i am not ignoring you, i just forget things fairly easily ..

laterz,
troy

perfect fit ...

they look a little tight - in my opinion - but they fit perfectly - this is the way my slipcovers made especially for this little dining set came out - after i washed them and dried them in the dryer - i like the wrinkled look - i didn't hem the lace ruffle and left it with raw edges so it kind of raveled - which i like the look of -



so we are finishing up last minute details here in the warehouse - getting things ready to load into the van and on the trailer - mostly we are watching the weather - torn between wanting to see some snow and wanting the weather to be beautiful for canton - we are in arbor 3 - space 374 & 375A .. come out and see us .. if you can..

laters,
troy & rod & sherry

canton - arbor 3 - space 374 - 375A

we leave for canton on wednesday - will be setting up wednesday and the market opens on thursday - and runs through sunday - jan 3 -

we have been working like crazy to get stuff done - priced, packed and created -

my home computer caught a virus on Christmas eve night - so i am without a home computer for a few days - no time to get it fixed until we get back - the virus is called security tool - and it is nasty - hopefully, it will get all straightened out .. anyway, i am using the computer at the warehouse to make posts and answer emails -

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


there will be 4 of these little slipcovered chairs around a painted white round table - i should have the covers finished tonight and am taking them home to wash so they are more wrinkled - they are natural muslin ..


this was an old duncan-phyfe china cabinet - rod painted it and i am thinking i might put quilts and the like in it - not sure yet - maybe some china - i have some queensware wedgwood i am taking - so that might look good in it -

footstools, wicker and odd side tables - awaiting distressing - love the wicker basket - i have some ironstone that will look great displayed in that -

because nice matters - a sign we make that is always a good seller - another that we make - be nice or leave - sells real well also -

looking forward to seeing you there -

we are in space 374 & 375A of Arbor 3 ..

laterz,

troy & rod

my favorite Christmas movie ..

i don't know how or even remember when it became my favorite Christmas movie .. but for me Christmas is not complete without at least one viewing of .. Meet Me In St. Louis .. it certainly was never billed as such .. but for the last 20 years or so (my that sounds like a long time) i have felt compelled to watch it during the Christmas season..

i love the houses, the furnishings, the clothing .. i absolutely love the snow people that Tootie builds in the backyard .. for some reason they remind me of the cartoons from the New Yorker magazine .. i love the way the Halloween night scenes are shot, as if from the eye of a child .. i love the songs, especially Under the Bamboo Tree and Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas .. and who could forget The Trolley Song .. amazingly they say Judy Garland recorded that song for the movie in one take .. no stopping .. straight through from start to finish. ..







so rod and I wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year ..