The 3 R’s Recycle, Re-Furbish, Re-Love

Jan 30, 2014

Antiqued Mirror on the Wall

Who’s the fairest (and most rustic, vintage and gorgeous!) of them all? This mirror was another “throw-away” Coach found “somewhere”. I don’t ask anymore. It’s like a magic cupboard-I need something, I open up the barn door and voila! Instant DIY subject! Today’s project was this old, dirty, chipping and peeling dark brown mahogany mirror. Despite it’s sorry, drab exterior in dire need of some TLC, the actual structure itself was totally solid and quite heavy, I might add. I transformed it from this in a few simple, easy steps.

Here is the How-I-Did-It: 1. Cleaned the mirror and frame thoroughly with heavy duty cleanser. The mirror is not in perfect condition, but that’s fine by me. Adds to the charm, and it stills reflects the light, which is most important. Lightly sanded the frame just to remove any loose particles of old varnish.

2. Primed with Gripper by Glidden. LOVE this stuff. Seals in stains, odors, evens the color and preps the wood to accept the topcoat.

3. Painted with one coat of Glidden Antique Beige

that I added my “chalk-like-paint” mixture to. It is a nice, soft, matte finish that accepts glazes and waxes very well. That recipe here:

4. Added the unfinished medallion to the top for detail.

I purchased this one at Michaels for a couple of bucks. Just glued it on with Gorilla Glue . You have to brush it on, then weight it down

and wait until it’s dry to ensure a good solid bond. Then I painted it with the same Glidden top coat and allowed to dry.

5. Lightly sanded the whole mirror frame and detail to expose some of the dark wood beneath.

6. Painted on this Antique Wax in Scrub Pine from General Finishes. I like this one because you don’t have to work it in with a rag. You literally paint it on!

Brushed it on with a foam brush, then wiped off with a rag, leaving the dark wax in places to enhance all of the crevices and lines and detail.

It leaves some color, but it also adds a nice matte finish to the entire piece. Allowed to dry.

7. Scraped off the excess paint and stain insdie the frame of the mirror. Cleaned the mirror.

8. Here is the finished closeup of my antiqued mirror. I love it, but what do you think? Should I have left it alone or did I give this piece some love? (BTW, if anyone knows the trick to photographing mirrors without me being in the shot, I would love to hear it!!!)

This is a very simple DIY project, it just takes some time and a little patience to allow each layer to dry before adding the next. If you are thinking of trying this process, test it out on a sample piece of wood before taking on a big, detailed mirror or frame. But remember, it’s supposed to look old and messy, so perfection is not an option! Sometimes a little messy is a good thing… Hope you have a reflective Thursday, everyone! Susan

Filed Under: Auctions, Fleas & Fabulous Finds, My Little Red House, The 3 R's Recycle, Re-Furbish, Re-Love, The Barn Workshop-DIY Series · Tagged: Antiqued Painted Mirror, bobvila, Country Design Antique Mirror, General Finishes Wax, Glidden Antique Beige Paint, Glidden Gripper, Michaels Crafts, Painted Mirror

Jan 14, 2014

Vintage Butcher Block Table

By countrydesignhome · 7 Comments

Yet another DIY project to share. This butcher block table was actually in two pieces-the bottom had been kicking around the barn loft for the past 15-20 years, and the top was a throw-away Coach picked up over the summer at a yard sale.

The bottom looked like this:

The top looked like this:

And now the whole piece looks like this!

I started with the base, painting it in my favorite dark charcoal gray home-made chalk-like paint.

You can find that recipe here. Then I sanded down the edges, added a glaze finish with Martha Stewart Antique Glaze mixed with Madagascar Mocha Couture Paint.

The glazing technique is so simple: Mix the glaze and paint together, paint it on your piece,

then wipe it off where you don’t want it.

Allowed the entire base to dry. Finished with a coat of Fidde’s Soft Wax, which gives it a nice glowing finish.

The top required a bit more elbow grease and some heavy implements.

I wanted to rough it up just a bit to give it a more “antiqued” appearance, but since there will be food prep on it, I didn’t want it to be so rustic as to have holes in it where food could get caught!

Used a chain, a hammer and a screwdriver and just banged it around a bit. (I wonder why my hands are so cracked and bleeding…) Since I wanted this to be a food safe butcher block top, but also wanted a shade or two darker, I attempted a technique I had found online: staining with brewed coffee grounds.

Really didn’t work out too well, but it smelled great! The butcher block top is finished with Howard Butcher Block Conditioner. This is a product that I picked up at Home Depot -its FDA food safe-perfect!

To secure the top to the base, I used some old black iron decorative brackets Coach got from somewhere…(seems to be a recurrent theme, right? I tell him what I need, he finds it.)

The brackets were a little too black and “new-looking”, even though they are pretty old, so I sprayed them with Rustoleum Gray gloss paint,

but that was a bit too shiny, so I resprayed them with Rustoelum soft flat iron black spray paint.

to complement the antiqued gray base color. I found that the simplest way to attach the top to the base was to place it on top, measured the four corners to ensure they were evenly spaced,

marked the holes with a sharpie, (apologies for the blurry pic-too much leftover coffee, perhaps?)

then drilled starter holes for the screws,

flipped the top upside down and secured the brackets to the underside of the top.

Slipped the top back onto the base and secured it with screws. For the embellishments, I added this cool, rustic, vintage, winged front piece to be used as a towel or utensil hanger.

I am told it was the handle to an old wood planer. These side pieces

are old window lock parts.

Perfect for hanging a pot or pan with an “s” hook. Old wooden rulers are kind of a thing right now, so I added one from “A.J. Wilkinson, The Oldest Hardware Company in Boston” across the front (perfect for measuring out dough!) and secured it with some rustic corner brackets to give it industrial “old general store” kind of vibe. Then I rubbed that with the Howard Butcher Block Conditioning to finish it.

Done and ready for some butchering, or pie-making, or whatever. But it won’t be in my kitchen, or my daughter’s (sorry, Kate-I promise I will make you another one), because it was sold this past weekend at the Vintage Thymes Monthly Market-yay! And, if you are in the market for an old wooden ruler, drop me a line. Since I mentioned to Coach that I needed a few, he’s been on the lookout, and now I have an immeasurable amount to choose from!

Have a “block-buster” Tuesday everyone! Susan

Filed Under: Auctions, Fleas & Fabulous Finds, The 3 R's Recycle, Re-Furbish, Re-Love, The Barn Workshop-DIY Series · Tagged: butcher block table vintage, country design butcher block table, country design table, country style butcher block, Home Depot, Howard Butcher Block Conditioning, Martha Stewart Antique Glaze, Paint Couture, retro butcher block, vintage butcher block table

Dec 28, 2013

Snowflakes and Sopapillas

By countrydesignhome · 8 Comments

In the weeks leading up to Christmas, I was finishing one project after another in record time, but with no time to actually blog about them! Snowflake Blocks and Sopapillas+++ were two of my favorite projects. The blocks were a fun DIY project I had seen on The Cottage Market Blog. The Sopapillas were a yummy treat! But blocks first before dessert. This past summer Coach had dug up a basket full of old kids’ wooden building blocks.

They were pretty dirty and looked like they may have had more than a few knock-downs. After a thorough cleaning with some bleach and soap, I came up with a new purpose: snowflake blocks! Each one hand-painted, no two alike-they are snowflakes, after all. But easy enough for even a novice painter to try. They are small, portable and stackable, perfect for a windowsill or mantel. Oh, and you can add some twine and make them into ornaments or gift tags. Here is the how-I-did-it:

1.Found some pen and ink style snowflakes online. The Graphic Fairy supplied the images, thank you very much.

2. Painted the blocks with two coats of the base color.

My choice was a deep grey that I have made into a chalk-like paint using some flat latex paint. I discovered the recipe on a blog called “In My Own Style”. You can transform any can of paint into a matte, chalk-like finish. Recipe here:

3. I printed out pen and ink snowflakes of various shapes and styles onto regular printer paper. Cut them each out so they were the size of the blocks.

4. Using my chalk-it-up technique, I rubbed the chalk all over the back of the snowflake prints.

Then placed the snowflake pattern on the block, chalked side down. Drew along the lines with a pen using a little pressure.

5. Lifted the paper pattern to reveal the chalk outline image.

6. Followed along the line images with a small paintbrush and paints of various colors. I used a #3 which is pretty fine. The finer the brush tips, the thinner the lines, the more delicate the snowflake. I was going for a pastel look so it was white and pastel blues.

7. For the dots, I simply used the other end of the paint brush, dipping the tip into the paint

and then dotting it wherever I wanted a dimensional dot along the lines.

8. After they were dried, first I coated them with the matte finish Decou-page and allowed to try. Then I added a bit of glitter by dotting the snowflakes with Americana Decoupage

and then shaking on the glitter. Allowed to dry. Cute!

9. For the oblong blocks, I painted over the grey with some pastel aqua, then added the snowflakes. For the words, I initially attempted to hand paint them, but that was a big FAIL. Nothing worse than attempting to paint something very fine when you are stressed and hurried. So I used some adhesive scrapbooking stickers that said HOPE, FAITH, JOY, etc. I affixed them, then added a coat of matte varnish to the entire block.

10. For the ornaments/tags, I drilled a small hole in the tops of the snowflakes,

then added a drop of hot glue.

Using a pencil tip, I inserted the ends of a cut piece of twine into the hole. Allowed to dry.

11. For a finishing touch, I brushed the tops of the blocks with the Americana Decou-page glue,

then sprinkled them with some colored glitter. Instant bling!

The finished blocks looked great as tags for the Jelly Jar Soy Candles I presented as gifts this holiday season.

So if you have some old blocks laying around, or anything you can cut into blocks, this is an easy-peasy project (even for kids!) that will add some sparkle to your winter landscape. Hope you are all finally recovering from the crazy holiday week! Susan

+++Oh, right, I was supposed to give you a recipe for Sopapillas too! Well, that project will have to wait another day : )

Filed Under: My Little Red House, The 3 R's Recycle, Re-Furbish, Re-Love, Views From My Back Porch · Tagged: DIY Chalk Paint, In My Own Style Chalk Paint, painted blocks. snowflakes painted on woods, snowflake blocks, wood tags with snowflakes

Dec 18, 2013

Rustic Wooden Wreath

By countrydesignhome · 2 Comments

Ok, so I realize that most of you don’t have an old small green barrel hanging around in your barn, but you could definitely re-use or recycle any other type of old wood like shutter slats, shims or lathing to create this rustic wooden wreath.

This is my kind of greenery-the kind that will last forever-despite my desperate lack of a green thumb. Case in point: this woeful poinsettia has been in my house for just a few days…

This small barrel was in pieces, and short of tossing it in the trash, I needed to come up with some useful way to use the wood.

Since it was green anyway, I figured “what the heck, I’ll make a wreath!” Here’s the how I did it:

1. The iron ring that was holding the barrel together (until it wasn’t holding the barrel together) was the perfect circular form for the wreath base. The staves had little slits at the bottom that the ring fit into. I laid them out in the circle pattern that I liked.

2. Used my trusty electric stapler to secure the ring into the slots all the way around on the back side of the wreath to form the circle.

3. Filled in the slits with hot glue all the way around, securing the iron ring into place in the slits. If your wood pieces don’t have slits, just glue into place.

4. To neaten the appearance, I cut small pieces of black foam core board and glued them into place over the glue-filled slits.

5. Since the wood pieces did not entirely cover the iron ring, I needed something to cover the gaps. Cut some burlap into small pieces and knotted in between each stave all the way around.

6. Created a bow with some more burlap cut into strips, along with a swag of greens and bright red berries to contrast the green wood.

7. Added a wire ring on the back for hanging.

8. Hung the wreath on the front door. Took a photo of the wreath on my front door.

Took the wreath to the Vintage Thymes Market, sadly leaving my front door blank. Sold the wreath at the market.

Now I have to make a new wreath. Sigh. Susan

Filed Under: Auctions, Fleas & Fabulous Finds, My Little Red House, The 3 R's Recycle, Re-Furbish, Re-Love, Views From My Back Porch · Tagged: country design wreath, green barrel wreath, rustic holiday wreath, rustic wreath, wood wreath, wooden wreath, wreath made from barrel staves

Dec 16, 2013

Country Christmas Santa-scape

By countrydesignhome · 6 Comments

This holiday season has been flying by! So much to do, so little time. Because I had been spending so much time decorating my booth for the Christmas market,

I have not had much of a chance to decorate my own home for Christmas! So what I am doing, I am doing in bits and pieces. Open a storage bin, pull out some stuff, set it up-decorating on the fly. Tablescapes are a quick, simple way to add some holiday cheer to a tabletop, cupboard or hutch. The trick is in the layering. This is my little storage cupboard in the kitchen. Before…

After…

Here is the how-I-did-it: Started with a base. In this case, a white sparkly runner from HomeGoods to brighten up the top of the cabinet, which is dark red.

Added a backdrop. I had this aged, chippy piece of wood (I believe it is an old cabinet door, sans cabinet, so I painted the raised panels with chalkboard paint so I can write whatever I want, depending on the season or holiday.) I just stood it up against the wall, no need to hang it.

Added the swag-this sparkling BELIEVE sign on a jute rope was the perfect size to hang from each corner.

Next comes the plant or flower. I like to have something flowering on one side and then a candle or lantern on the opposite side to create a full vignette with the background. The heights don’t need to be the exact same size, but you should have some balance between the two sides. In this one, I used a poinsettia in an old raspberry jam bucket we picked up at a consignment shop over the summer. Loving the bright red colors!

Added an old Santa and the red lantern on the opposite side, which provides the height and color balance I was looking for.

Placed the reindeer next to the poinsettia in the bucket.

Since I was going with a Santa-themed vignette, I decided to write some fun Christmas lyrics on my chalk board. Very simple process: go to Avery.com and find whatever size template fits the space you are going to write on with chalk (in this case, I used an 81/2 x 11) Choose your words, choose your font and print. (My printer is just about out of ink, so the print was very faint, but I only needed the outline so no worries there!)

Flip over the paper to the reverse side and “chalk it up” rubbing the entire paper with the side of a piece of chalk.

Flip it over, tape to the chalkboard, then trace the edges of your design with a pencil.

Remove the paper and voila-you have a chalking template in place!

Now you just fill it in with your sharpened chalk and you are done.

++TIP++ keep a damp Q-tip nearby as you chalk so that you can easily clean up any edges or marks.

Looks so festive, right?! Added the greens, just weaving them in and around the items on the tabletop.

Sprinkled on a bit of fake snow for some sparkle

and some twinkle lights to give it that holiday glow. Done. 30 minutes from start to finish. Really gives the kitchen a holiday feel.

Now its time to start baking for our cookie swap! Only 9 days left everyone! Keep HoHoHoing! Susan

Filed Under: Auctions, Fleas & Fabulous Finds, My Little Red House, The 3 R's Recycle, Re-Furbish, Re-Love · Tagged: Country Christmas Design, Country Christmas Tablescape, Country Design Christmas Decorations, Country Design Santa, Country Design Santa Tabletop, Rustic Santa Tablescape, Vintage Santa Tabletop

Dec 7, 2013

Rustic Glam Reindeer

By countrydesignhome · 1 Comment

One of the my favorite holiday projects I’ve been working on this season is a pair of decoupaged reindeer using antique Christmas carol sheet music. I had fallen in love with some similar to this in an Orvis holiday catalog I recently received. But they were glass and glitter and cost a pretty penny. AND, they are sold out!!

Time for a little DIY. This is a simple, somewhat time-consuming project, but with a bit of patience you can make these beautiful deer too for a little $$$! I found two papier mache deer at Joann’s for $6.99 each, but they were on sale for 40% off. (well, actually there were three, but one of the little guys just kept falling over- too much spiked eggnog perhaps-so he was returned?!).

1. Along with your deer, you will need decoupage glue ( am using Modge Podge here, but there are so many brands to choose from now), some decorative paper, hot glue, glitter, jute twine, some bells and fluff. Here is the how-to:

2. I cut most of the sheet music into strips and bits before I began, the rest as I went along. There were quite a few curves and crevices to work into, so I used varied sizes of cut paper. If you don’t have sheet music, you can use any light weight paper, like wrapping paper, or even the newspaper! Working in small areas, one section at a time, brush on some decoupage glue to the deer, then onto the reverse side of the paper piece you are using.

Place the paper onto the deer, then smooth it with your finger or brush. Repeat, overlapping as you go, until the entire deer is covered in decorative paper.

I created a bridle with the border of the musical paper.

I left the antlers clear because I wanted to decorate those differently. Allow to dry.

4. Glitter time! Paint the papered sections of the deer with decoupage glue, then sprinkle with clear glitter all over, making sure you get into all the cracks and crevices. Shake or tap it to allow any loose glitter to fall off. ++TIP++ I always place a piece of wax paper under my projects before I begin sprinkling. Once you are finished, you pick up the wax paper, fold in half to created a “luge” and pour all of the leftover glitter back into the bottle. Saves a lot of glitter! If you notice you have missed a spot, then just add a little more glue and re-apply glitter.

I left the antlers and hooves dry, as I wanted those to be wrapped in a rustic jute to contrast the sparkly mane, but you can glitter the whole thing if you would like. Allow to dry.

3. Decorate the hoofs and antlers. Using jute, start in a hidden area and use a spot of hot glue to anchor the twine.

Paint the remainder of the area with the decoupage glue.

Wrap the twine around until the area is covered. Tuck in end and add another spot of hot glue to anchor in place.

5. For the collar I used some white feather boa I had available to mimic the ones in the Orvis ad.

Cut enough to wrap around twice. Anchor the end under the chin with a spot of hot glue.

Wrap the feather boa around twice, cut and secure back under with the hot glue. Make sure you don’t get glue on the feathers or they’ll lose their fluff-a-bility!

6. For the collar, you will need thread, a little bell and a pushpin and a decoration of some sort.

I used a push pin decorated with a sparkly snowflake for the anchor.

Glue a rhinestone to the snowflake for a little added bling.

Take the pushpin and tie the bell with thread to the plastic part above the ridge. That will prevent it from slipping off the pin. Or you could glue it.

Then push the pin into the neck area, through the fur. The pin will not show through the fur, so no worries there. Dazzling deer!!

7. Done! Are these exactly like the ones in the ad? Nope. But I love my deer with the antique Christmas carols and furry collars. Such a pretty holiday decoration for a dreamy, sparkling, snowy mantel or console tablescape!

Now if only someone had a decoupaged deer on their Secret Santa list….only 18 days left everyone-oh, deer, better get shopping! Susan

Filed Under: The 3 R's Recycle, Re-Furbish, Re-Love · Tagged: decoupaged reindeer, glitter reindeer, holiday decorations, Joann.com, making reindeer with sheet music, Modge Podge, Rustic glam reindeer, rustic holiday decor with reindeer, sparkly reindeer

Nov 24, 2013

Teeny Tiny Tea Table

By countrydesignhome · 3 Comments

My DIY projects are being completed at a record pace this month, knowing that Thanksgiving dinner for twenty is fast approaching and our Vintage Thymes Monthly Market will be the following weekend! One of this week’s projects was refurbishing a cute little side table.

The original finish was a shiny scratched shellac with large milky stains on the top over a dark mahogany wood. After several unsuccessful attempts to remove the stains, I made the decision to paint and antique it instead. Since I wanted to show off the pretty delicate floral border, I decided to go with two coats of Annie Sloan French Linen for the base and a specialty deeper gray color that I created. (I’m calling it CDH Parisian Gray : ) I have been mixing my own colors and creating a chalk-like paint using a recipe I recently discovered online. LOVE it. Blog for another day.

For the finishes, I used some Martha Stewart products I discovered in a 50% off mark down bin at Michaels. Crackle Effect for the center, Antique Tintable Glaze for the contrast and a Satin Acrylic Finish.

Here is the How-To:

1. Cleaned the table and remove cobwebs and dust (it was in the barn…).

2. Painted the base coat with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. The beauty of ASCP is that you don’t need to prep or prime anything. Just paint and go. Two coats. 3. Sanded the edges to give the table a more rustic appearance. (You can skip this step if you want it to be a bit more refined : )

4. I had left the middle circle untouched, thinking that I would just add the crackle medium and then paint over that to allow the dark wood to show through. (For more info on using crackling medium, check out my Big Rack Attack Towel Rack tutorial)

FAIL. The crackling medium dried, and when I painted over it for the contrast, it looked fine.

Until I started to add the glaze. What a mess. All of the paint started coming off with the rag! Apparently the crackle medium did not adhere to the unprepped and shellacked inner circle. So I scraped it off,

cleaned it well, sanded it down,

painted it with my CDH Parisian gray,

crackle glazed and repainted that inner circle again, allowed to dry thoroughly,

then proceeded on to the next step.

5. Mixed the Antique Effects Glaze with my darker gray paint.

Remember, the more paint you use, the darker the glaze effect will be, so just use a small amount of paint. Paint it on, wipe it off with a damp rag. Do one section at a time, as this product dries pretty quickly and you want it to be blended smoothly and not leave streaky lines.

I started out with a fairly dark mixture of paint and glaze, then added more glaze to lighten up as I went on. The great part about this product is that it is water based, so just taking a damp rag to it removed the excess perfectly. You can see how the glaze enhances not only the crackling effect in the center, but also the medallion of flowers along the border. So country pretty!

6. Allowed to dry, then added the Martha Stewart Satin Finish for protection. Done. Overall, I give the Martha Stewart products two thumbs up! They go on smoothly (the crackle fiasco was my bad, not Martha’s), clean up with soap and water, are essentially odorless and a little goes a very long way, so it’s inexpensive as well. But the refurbishing of this little table cost me a lot of time. Good thing Coach got it for FREE-99!!

7. So, where could you use a Teeny Tiny Tea Table? How about next to a pretty pink victorian rocking chair in the Parisian-inspired guest room?

OK, I am off to decoupage the world! Or, at the very least, some more stars… Have a super Sunday everyone, and GO PATS! Susan

Filed Under: Color Class, The 3 R's Recycle, Re-Furbish, Re-Love · Tagged: Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, antique tea table, country design home decor, country design tea table, French Linen, Martha Stewart Antique Glaze, Martha Stewart Crackle Effect, Martha Stewart Satin Finish, refurbishing a tea table

Nov 22, 2013

Jelly Jar Soy Candles

By countrydesignhome · 2 Comments

Nothing like a fun DIY project to get ready for the upcoming holidays! I had a box full of vintage jelly jars kicking around,

so I decided to make some candles as stocking stuffers. This is really quite easy, as most of the products I used from Country Lane

came with very explicit instructions on the packaging. I purchased the starter kit, plus all of the additional materials including the colorants

the scent bottles (so many yummy flavors to choose from!!)and extra wicks

at AC Moore, but you can also buy in quantity from various candle makers through Etsy or Ebay as well. I figured I would give it a try on a smaller scale before I got into wholesale lots of wax and wicks. Here is the How-To-Do-It:

1. Wash the little jars or whatever you are planning on using. In my case, if the tops were really rusted, I spray painted them so you could see the embossed Jelly Jar writing.

2. Bring water to a boil in a pan large enough to hold the candle melting pot, but with only enough water to submerge the bottom of the pot!

The melting pot has a handle so it hangs onto the edge of the pan of boiling water. Once the water is boiling, reduce to simmer. Place pot filled with wax chips into the hot water, making sure you don’t splash any water into the melting pot!

3. Leave the pot in the simmering water until the wax melts completely. DO NOT ALLOW THE WAX TO BOIL!!! Soy wax melts very quickly on the lowest setting, so it only takes a couple of minutes to melt the entire bag.

4. Get the little wicks and dip them into the melted wax, then adhere them centered in the bottom of the jar. Allow to cool completely!

That way when you go to pour the wax in, they will stay upright. Nothing worse than a crooked wick!

5. Add scent and colorant to the desired colors and scent levels. Obviously, the more you add, the darker the color and the stronger the scent. The melted wax appears darker than when it cools and sets, so color accordingly.

6. Pour melted wax carefully into prepared jars, making sure you avoid the centered wick, so it won’t melt and warp. Allow to cool.

7. To create some labels, I went to Staples and got these cute little Martha Stewart Brown Kraft Paper labels numbers 72428 and 72429. (If the packages look a little ink-stained to you, that is not your computer screen. They were in a bag with a jar of black grout and I was fumbling for my keys and dropped the bag in the driveway and…you can guess the rest.)

8. Go to Avery.com Design & Print Online, and plug in the label numbers in the search box.

A template will pop up and you can design it however you would like your label to look. Remember, these are enlarged on the computer screen, so when you actually print them in sheets of 6, the print will be smaller!

9. I have a pretty old printer, and it doesn’t take kindly to adjusting for different size cards and papers. So I simply taped my labels onto a sheet of standard copy paper in the proper position,

then printed them-perfectly placed and spaced!

10. Add the printed labels to the jars and put the tops on. Cute! And they smell great too! If you have questions or are looking for additional information, go to Soap Expressions.com and they have lots of candle-making tutorials using their Country Lane product line.

Have a fab Friday, everyone! Time to start preparing for Turkey Trot Thursday!! Susan

Filed Under: Auctions, Fleas & Fabulous Finds, Cookin' Up Country, The 3 R's Recycle, Re-Furbish, Re-Love · Tagged: AC Moore, Avery online design and print, Avery.com, Country Lane Candle Supplies, DIY soy candles, Kraft Brown Labels Martha Stewart, making soy candles, making soy candles using antique glass, Martha Stewart Home and Office

Nov 18, 2013

Todd Farm Dawning

By countrydesignhome · 1 Comment

Sunday morning, Coach and I ventured to Todd Farm in Rowley, not as shoppers, but for the first time ever, as vendors.

Coach had been yard and estate-saling all summer long, and the barn was bursting at the seams. This weekend was the last available one for us (but the flea markets are still going on until December 1) where we could try to move some stuff, to essentially make room for more stuff. Alarm went off at 4am. Groan. Pitch black outside, damp and freezing cold @ 31 degrees.

Fortunately, we had packed both cars the night before so we were ready to travel to Rowley, arriving at 5am under the cloak of darkness. We were ushered to a row of parking spaces marked with orange cones, next to the lovely Lisa from Rita Joes Vintage, who was already set up and ready to sell! As we began untying the ropes to take down our display tables from the roof of the car, we noticed flashing lights in the foggy distance,

reminiscent of an old western where the sheriff and his posse are desperately searching for the escaped fugitive. The only things missing were the baying bloodhounds. An amazing and surreal sight. And simply AWESOME. These were the many dealers with head lamps and flashlights swarming the incoming vehicles,

checking the interiors for hidden treasures and asking “any old toys, any old artwork?”

So once we set up shop,

I strolled around to take a few photos as the sun began to rise over the fields.

Pink sky at morning…

Finally in daylight, I was able to see what some of the other vendors were offering, and discovered a few of my favorite things:

A very jaunty Mr. Snowman

I have never seen a mannequin like this one, but I would be happy every day if I had her in my dressing room…

This is an entire Marionette’s traveling road show suitcase.

As the breaking daylight illuminated the quickly-occupied fields, it became apparent that there are many levels of sellers. Those, like us, who packed their mini vans and SUV’s with household wares and crafts,

and then there are those who press their company trucks and vans into service for the day.

And then there are the big guns, the vendors who we see every time we shop at Todd Farm, with large cargo vans

and trailers packed to the rafters with furniture and goods.

I love the Christmas vignette from this vendor with the antique sleigh and vintage life sized Santa…Holly Lane…Ho Ho Ho!

If you happen to be searching for anything unusual, like an antique circus wagon

or a weathered stone mermaid,

or a box of gorgeous bright blue bulbs from an airport runway,

Todd Farm is the place for you! And if you are interested in selling some of your prized possessions, they make it so easy. You drive up, park your car, pay your $35 and you are in business! Just remember, the early bird gets the worm,

so getting there before daybreak is the best way to showcase your wares to dozens of dealers before the general public arrives. As for Coach, what exactly did he sell? The signs in the above photo? Pretty much gone. As a matter of fact, some of the old metal auto and cigar signs were purchased by another vendor who promptly walked across the pathway and resold them in his booth! Shades of Killer Stuff and Tons of Money.

Those antique coffee grinder wheels we scored at The Elephant Trunk? Sold.

This antique retro table with the cool graphics. Gone to a good home. Top included, just not in the photo.

This gorgeous aqua metal trunk? Sold. (That one killed me. I loved that thing! But just had no where to put it!)

Coach did alright selling his stuff, and I loved the people-watching, the photo-taking, getting rid of a bunch of stuff and the donuts from the canteen truck that was conveniently situated nearby. The amazing Marty’s donuts. OMG.

And since Coach did so great selling his finds, I think we have may have just found his new summer job! But for now, it’s time to get out there and find some new stuff to sell! Happy treasure hunting, everyone! Susan

Filed Under: Auctions, Fleas & Fabulous Finds, Outdoor Adventures, The 3 R's Recycle, Re-Furbish, Re-Love · Tagged: Flea Market hours, Flea Market in Massachusetts, flea market north of Boston, Mass, Rowley, Todd Farm, Todd Farm Flea Market

Nov 13, 2013

The Crompton Collective

By countrydesignhome · 5 Comments

A few blogs ago, I wrote about a road trip out to Signature Finishes in No. Grafton to pick up some Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint. While there, I also traveled into Worcester (pronounced “Woos’tah, for those of you not from the Boston area) to visit the Crompton Collective,

a collection of local artisans and vintage vendors housed in a beautifully renovated brick mill building in the canal district. The Collective is the brainchild of Amy Chase,

who also owns Haberdash Vintage, America’s very first mobile vintage shop and she is a co-founder of The Swapaholics-quite a resume! You enter the Crompton Collective store through the pretty fancy lobby of Crompton Place, go down the stairs (just follow the antique signs), but once inside the Collective you feel as if you have stepped into someone’s vintage home

and an antique parlor wrapped in the warm glow of lace and lamplight.

The store is separated into 70+ loosely defined vendor spaces,

each one offering unique,

vintage

repurposed

re-loved

items for sale.

At every turn, I spotted lovingly repainted,

refurbished furniture

and home decor accessories,

as well as one-of-a-kind pieces (cocktail table from an old drum? Brilliant!)

and this bit of Americana created from old license plates.

One of my absolute favorite spaces was The Junk Drawer

The owner created this cozy, welcoming booth that was completely packed with inspired goods.

Have you ever seen a vintage lamp with a shade made of crumpled old sewing patterns?! Perfectly poufy Beehive ‘do!

How about a hot pink deer head? (Had I seen that first, I might have altered my color palette for the bathroom reno…)

From there, I ventured into the Haberdash space,

chock full of fabulous vintage clothing and accessories.

Of course, this was back in October, so the fur coat seemed unnecessary, but after those snow flurries yesterday, I may need to return to grab it! This is a co-operative shop that you need to walk through at least a few times,

there is so much to take in! Stopped short in my tracks when I spotted these letters in the window.

Offered for rent for weddings and showers and happy occasions, I can imagine that they are well-used and LOVED in each venue they are featured. No gift purchases made today, it was Halloween season, but I did grab my Eulalie’s Sky Milk Paint from the Signature Finishes booth.

But now that the holiday shopping season is upon us, it is definitely worth a trip back to the Crompton Collective to see the shops decked out in their holiday finery.

They are at 138 Green Street, Worcester, MA. Have a wander-ful Wednesday everyone, and if you happen into the Crompton Collective, tell Amy that Sue from Country Design Home sent you! Susan