Tales of this Shopkeeper - Let's go for a ride!

Every Sunday afternoon when I was growing up we piled into our family station wagon and went for a Sunday ride.....those are good memories.  Mom and dad, my two sisters and I, my grandma Lottie and my aunt Ida and sometimes our collie, Ranny all in the family wagon.  In the later years, dad had a couple of station wagons with room for nine passengers.  Otherwise, my younger sister and I sat in the "cargo" space and of course, no seatbelts:)
We would go out of town and drive on country roads looking at the scenery.  Sometimes my dad would lower the window on the back of the station wagon and my younger sister and I would lay back with our feet hanging out. Fun, simple pleasures but family time......
Once in a blue moon, as my mom would say, my dad stopped the car on a deserted country road and let me sit on his lap and "drive" the car.  I couldn't touch the pedals but being allowed to hold the steering wheel just made me feel special.  Years later I would be teased about my "lead foot" while driving.  Hmmm, was that the beginning?

I'm sharing all of this because going for a ride has been an important part of my grown up life as well.  When money was tight, we always seemed to be able to put a little gas in the car to "go for a ride."  When the kids were in their teens and there wasn't much privacy for conversations my husband and I would "go for a ride" to discuss how to handle the various challenges of having two teens in the house.
Going for a ride has been therapeutic for me and going for a ride means quality time with my husband....no one can hear, no one else can interrupt.  We have had arguments and settled them all in one ride and we have cried together over very serious events while going for a ride.
So... for me, nothing beats a beautiful sunny day in the fall when the sky has that golden look and the fields have turned a rusty brown than going for a ride....such was our day yesterday....a Sunday.
Now most of you know that my 91 year old dad lives with us and  we decided to go for a ride and ask him to come along....."How far are you going?" he asked.  "Oh about an hour" my husband answered.  "Well, beats sitting around all day...sure I'll go" he said.  One small problem.....our truck is really for two adults, maybe three across the front seat.  Then there is space in back with two, uhm...errrr...what I would call "jumpseats"(parachutes not included) that very small people can sit in.  I have ridden back there on occasion and so has our adult daughter but it's not comfortable.  Still, the day was gorgeous and dad wanted to go and we were headed to a place that had some pickin' possibilities:)  I could do this....
I snapped a shot from the back seat of my dad who is contantly checking the mirrors while others are driving.  He used to love to drive and having to give that up last year was devastating for him so he stays on top of others driving for them:)

Here is my spot in the back in which I sit sideways on four pillows....I can lay down if I need to so there are some options and, hey, we're going junking so it's worth the sacrifice!

Up and down and over and around we went through beautiful countryside until we came to our destination.  Dad was armed with a chocolate malt and two new magazines.  "Will you be okay?" I asked as we got out of the truck.  "I'll be fine, go ahead." he said.  My husband and I crossed the street to one of our favorite junkin' places.
Oh what fun it was to enter and find....immediately, a beautiful table and four chairs....something we were looking for AND so reasonable!!
There were some other possibilities but nothing like our first find so we decided to purchase and load and head down the street to yet another great place.
Wow!! We found some great things at this second place and once loaded looked like the Clampett's moving to LA!!
Dad was relieved to know that we were so full that there would be no more hunting for the day.  It was getting to be a bit long for him so we headed home.

This was taken out the back window of the truck from my vantage point. Such a delicious load of possibilities, I must say!  Stay tuned for the actual reveal of these items after they have been tweaked a bit..... And so....a different kind of ride this past Sunday afternoon for my dad but, still.....family time.

Tales of this shopkeeper - Chalk Paint Workshop in July

Last Thursday around 6:30 pm six creative ladies joined us for another Chalk Paint workshop at Winsome Cottage.  Once again Debra Campbell of Wallartistry Studio was our instructor...

The week before I had a call from a lady in New Jersey who was coming to Columbus, Ohio on business for two weeks.  She had heard about chalk paint and wanted to learn more so she found us online and registered!  We loved having you Maria!....

As Debra filled their heads with all things Chalk Paint, the ladies transformed a simple mirror frame and decorative hook with techniques like dry brushing, two color distressing, etc......

Everyone was very intent and seemed to enjoy themselves.....

Our next workshop will be an advanced covering aging dust and gilding.  It will be August 16th from 6:30 - 8:30.  Fee:  $75.00
Then, September 6th will be another basic workshop from 6:30 - 9:30 pm Fee: $95.00
Please call to register soon!

Tales of this Shopkeeper - Busy Bees....

This past week all kinds of ideas have been forming in my head.  Do you do that?  While sitting in your shop do you envision how to change this or that or how about just re doing the whole shop??  Well, I have one corner all set in my head and so this week we will be pulling things apart and and totally revamping, adding things here and there and changing the whole look....so stay tuned.  Pictures to follow!

We've been very busy at the cottage lately doing special things for our customers like this....

There are six of these chairs all in great shape and the customer picked out the fabric.  Really love the way they turned out!  She'll be coming in tomorrow to pick them up..........oh and the paint?? Old White, of course, from our line of Chalk Paint(TM) Decorative Finishes.

Tonight we finished a small vanity/desk in Emile.  We decided to "dirty" it up a bit with dark wax and give it some character with some rubbing back.....

Then I worked on this chair in my favorite color, Emperor's Silk.  I love these little chairs but what do you think?  Should the lettering be facing you when you come to sit down?  Wonder if it's a "do over".  Still cute!

White shabby furniture is always in demand at the shop so we worked on these three .....

This week I will have pictures of our new area as it gets finished....thanks for stopping by!!

Tales of this Shopkeeper - Chalk Paint(tm) Workshop

What a great group of ladies we had last Thursday night for another exciting workshop on Chalk Paint Decorative Finishes by Annie Sloan!  Once again Debra was full of information and new ideas as she instructed the ladies.

What is it about people who sign up for these workshops?? I have not met a bad one yet...in fact, all of them are extremely nice! 

Is it working with your hands that makes you nice? Or keeps you balanced and therefore nice? Or keeps you using your creative bent and therefore you are content so you're nice??:)

These ladies brought their own small item to paint and in the process of three hours learned much more than just putting paint on a piece of furniture!

This lady raises horses.  That has to keep you nice!:)

Our beautiful summer employee, Alexis, even joined us......

Someone brought in a metal lamp that they had painted with Chalk Paint(TM) and had over waxed.  Here's Debra showing the remedy.....that was very helpful!

Debra used the new color "Florence" to demo with clear and dark wax.  Love it!!  Sooooo......
one more workshop behind us and a good time was had by all!  Our next dates coming up are:
July 19th and August 16th.....call to register soon as they fill up fast!



Tales of this Shopkeeper - Gallery of Dreams/White Cottage

East of Columbus, Ohio is the town of Newark and in the quaint downtown is a wonderful shop called
"Gallery of Dreams/White Cottage".  I have been hearing about this great place from another merchant in town so this past Thursday I headed up to Newark to take a look for myself.
The shop is located amidst a string of beautiful old storefronts.  The front door is set way back so that as you approach the building you walk between two fabulous display windows and then through the front door.
Everything in the front windows was in shades of white with white urns and wire garden containers beautifully placed.
Here is what I saw as I first stepped in the door....

Wow is right!! A definite black and white theme hits you at first and then bling, bling, bling!! Crystal chandeliers and jewelry and girly accessories galore artistically arranged and displayed on stylish black furniture

Someone is very talented at merchandising....

What a treat to pass through this blingy wonderland to get to my goal......furniture!  Straight back and center I entered "The White Cottage" where Cyndi Neal has spun a fantasyland of white everything....

Wispy clouds of cheesecloth hang draped from the ceiling and around the central arbor that houses vintage garden and patio items.  Dress forms stand at attention here and there while natural bits of twigs and branches bring just the right touch placed in large glass containers.....

A couple of years ago I had attended the Heritage Market in Columbus for the first time and was immediately struck by the amount of primitive and country decor.....except.....for one booth that stood out like a sore thumb(and I mean that in a good way)  amidst the tin stars and wooden bread bowls and mustard-colored quilt racks.....it was Cyndi and her booth had wonderful muslin rose necklaces and jar candle holders adorned with old keys and ledger paper tied with twine....it saved my day and made my trip and I loved displaying those necklaces in my shop....and so, here she is.....along with her friend, Kim, who has the front of the shop....

Needless to say, I found more than my little truck could take home with me and the timing was perfect as Kim's husband was just bringing her lunch so he helped me load the truck.....thank you! I'm sorry I didn't get your name but we'll be back soon!
It was a fun day and if you have the time you won't want to miss a trip to see this fabulous shop at ......
37 N. 3rd St. in Newark, Ohio.  They are open:  M - F 10:00 - 5:30 and Sat. 10:00 - 5:00 or visit them at
http://www.galleryofdreamsnewark.com/

Tales of this Shopkeeper - Funky Junk Boutique

This past Saturday we visited our son and precious family....that's another whole blog:)  We love them to pieces!
We decided to drive to Seville, Ohio where they were holding their annual Father's Day weekend garage sale......the WHOLE town!!! Fun, fun!  While there we stopped in to Funky Junk Boutique right in the center of town.  Michelle, the owner hasn't been open a year yet but when you walk in her shop there are treasures everywhere you look!

I saw soooo much I would have loved to take home with me!

Michelle greeted me with a warm smile and I liked her right away.....she has done an amazing job with her space including painting the original tin ceiling!!  She carries Chalk Paint Decorative Finishes and holds workshops two to three times per month.

I wished I could have taken this piece home....:)

Other items in her shop include these handmade bags.....

Everything is creatively displayed and makes you want to stay awhile....... I was so happy to meet Michele and see her fabulous shop!!  I know there are some big things ahead for her.  Stop in to see her and sign up for one of her Chalk Paint workshops.  The best of everything to you, Michelle!!

Tales of this Shopkeeper - Coffee Filter Wreath

Last Christmas season I found out how to make a wreath out of coffee filters.  Sooooo easy and fun!  I made one big one, hung it in the window for display and had a contest on guessing how many filters I used.  The prize?? The coffee filter wreath!!  Lots of guesses and lots of fun with this.  The closest guess was about 100 filters off but still the winner.  I emailed her ......and emailed again.....and still the wreath hangs in the shop to this day!

The last couple of months I've had people ask what it was made of and why didn't I make more to sell?  I guess I felt lots of people knew how to make these and there wouldn't be much interest but I had so many people ask about them that I decided to make some medium sized wreaths to be available to those who weren't interested in making them.....and I'm doing them in white and tea stained....

soooo white....and

tea stained.....this could be darker and I will work on that for my next one....

These could be embellished with all sorts of vintage findings or left on their own...........they are about 20" in diameter finished and take about 160 coffee filters....get them at the dollar store 160/pack!!  So, hot glue/gun, white foam wreath form, filters.........easy peesy!  Takes about an hour to make this size. Enjoy!