welcoming Fall ..

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 ..

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)

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

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 ..

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 ..

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 ..

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 ..

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 ..

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 ..

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 ..

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