Something Different

Fall in Victoria

 This time of year always seems to be a busy time for everyone 

and it certainly has been a busy couple of weeks for me. 

With the Vintage fair last month I gained a few contracts for comissioned pieces 

which I was working hard to complete early, 

then there was the sourcing of new(old) products...,

 (A few of my treasures)

 re-organizing my work spaces, and then before I knew it, it was Thanksgiving and 

the kids were home for a quick visit. 

All the while I was still trying to get ready for the next Fair. 

So I have been crazy busy.

 However amidst all of the chaos I came across a wonderful new opportunity. 

There is a great new Vintage shop "Union 22" in Cobble Hill that will be opening on November 16th. 

It is located in a great 150 year old home that has been renovated for this purpose 

(think "Lucketts" for those of you familiar with it). 

They will be carrying products from several different vendors as well as their own sought after products and best of all, they are also going to be allowing 3 vendors to set up their own displays within the shop. 

And I am going to be one of those lucky 3!

I am very excited with this new venture, and can't wait to start!

I will post pics of my booth and some of the products I will be selling, so check back.

Unfortunately, this also means that I will not be participating in any Vintage Fairs, 

at least not for the time being. 

So I am cancelling my booth in the Sidney Vintage, Retro and Collectible Fair at the end of November. 

I don't have enough product or time at the moment to do both. 

Perhaps once the new shop is established.

Hopefully you can check it out.

Vintage Fair Victoria- Furniture

For everyone that visited my booth at the Vintage Fair, Thank you for all of the interest and the positive feedback. It's nice to know that there are so many people out there that love re- purposed and re-furbished Vintage pieces.

The show went very well for me, so there are only a few pieces that remained unsold at the end of the fair.
Some of the pieces I had at the fair are shown below. 

 First up are the pair of lovely Vintage chairs. Their original condition was pretty good with only a few small scatches and dings. They have been painted with Milk paint in White, antiqued to bring out the details and a little distress for character. They are nice solid pieces that will last for years to come.  The upholstery I used is a soft grey blue chenille fabric, that will go with most decors but they are easily re-upholstered if you have a different color scheme or specific fabric in mind. Dimensions are: 37"tall x 19-1/2" wide and 22" deep.

Next we have the Black Oak Oval Coffee table with the embossed detailing in white on the skirt, legs & top.

This is a solid Oak table with the exception of the inset oval which had an inlaid cross-hatch pattern.

Another sturdy piece with graceful lines and details.

Dimensions are: 28"wide x 48"long and 16-1/2" tall.

 Next up is the Black "Suede" Armchair. 

Not real suede I'm sorry to say but this fabric makes a good imitation and is very, very durable. 

It also gives the piece that luxurious feel. 

It is highlighted by nickel-plated upholstery tacks that give it a bit of bling which is a nice contrast to the distressed black wood frame. 

Again another solid piece made from a solid hardwood so it is nice and sturdy and very comfortable. 

Dimensions of this chair are 36-1/2" tall x 24-1/4" wide and 26"deep.

Then we have the Re-claimed Wood Coffee table:

 Size is : 24"wide x 51-1/2"long and 17-1/2" tall

 This is a nice solid piece that was inspected by a professional woodworker.

The wood was originally from what I believe to be the wooden sides of a truck bed. There were two long pieces and a short end piece.

Picture of one of the pieces is below.

This is a really unique piece that has so much character and will last for years to come.

This is not your pre-fab big box store table.

I managed to get my hands on some more shutters so I will be doing another two sets of shutter headboards/room dividers, for all the people that were disappointed that the first set was sold. 

And these shutters are even nicer that the ones I had at the show!

Sorry all of the pieces have new homes.

Gobsmacked!

GOBSMACKED!

(To borrow a phrase from one of my British friends)

That's how I felt after the Vintage Fair this weekend. 

For those of you who don't know about this fair.  

It was held this past Friday and Saturday Sept.27th&28th, in the Crystal Gardens in downtown Victoria. What a great Venue! 

It used to be a swimming pool back in it's heyday, with gorgeous gardens all along the upper level, 

or so I was told by a lady who seemed to know all about it. 

Reminds me of the Great Gatsby.  

I met so many wonderful people this weekend at the show. 

All of the visitors to the show that braved the bad weather and were so friendly and fun,

the other vendors who were so nice and helpful with tips and ideas to help a newbie like me out. 

And last but not least the organizers and all of the volunteers who helped us set up and take down. 

What an amazing team! Can't wait to do it all again.

There were so many people dressed in Vintage outfits, some were doing it for the Costume Contest on Friday night and some just because they could (so cool!)

This couple was my favourite. 

They very graciously posed for me, even though I think they had lots of requests for pictures. 

Don't they look so perfectly authentic, like they just stepped out of a time machine.

(Excuse the background, I had to blur out the other people in the pic!)

Love them!

There were several booths with fabulous clothing, footwear, hats and accessories 

so you could put together your own vintage outfit. 

Everything from Mid Century Modern to Top Hats and bowlers. 

Maybe next time I will dress up as well.

Also there were some food booths and Friday night there was wine as well.

Saturday there were lots of presentations on the upper level including a Vintage fashion show.

So much fun and everyone seemed to be in such good spirits despite the torrential downpour outside.

Well, my thing is Decor and Furniture, as those of you that were at my booth saw first-hand.  

My passion is Re-inventing pieces that have lost their appeal 

or totally changing them up to make something new.

Some of the favourites were:

 the clock table:  

With the Pepper mill pedestal and floor lamp base and the smaller clock that actually works. 

This was a real conversation piece. It went to a very nice lady that fell in love with it at first sight.

                          The Suitcase side tables:

                 Which open for more storage!                                             

Had a lot of people checking these out 

and I think a lot of people will be trying this for themselves, 

which is great but just be forewarned.....

These are a lot of fun to make, but more work than you might think. 

Another favorite was the old wooden tool chest:

(with the hidden compartment). 

The number twenty-three has always had a special significance for me 

(my booth was # 23 too!)  

but as it turns out the lady that bought this cabinet also had a connection with the number 23. 

Sometimes things are just meant to be. 

There was also the shutter Headboard/Room Divider:

Had lots of people interested in this one. 

Amoung those were: a couple of Brides-to-be looking at using this in their shabby chic themed wedding, 

a lady that wanted to use it as a back drop in her shop 

and a few people wanted to use it in their home as a room divider

 and a screen to hide exercise equipment.

I actually wasn't sure that I was going to part with this piece. 

I could have used it in future shows as a back drop once again. 

Oh well, I guess I will just have to make another one if I can find the shutters!

My next post will have the pieces that didn't sell at the show, with details and prices

 for those of you who were thinking about it or needed to check with someone first.

The sales at the show were very good so there are not very many items to post, 

but I will be adding items every time I finish a new project. So keep checking back. 

Or e-mail me and let me know if there is something in particular that you are looking for. 

I may not have it but I can keep an eye out for it in my travels for new projects 

or at least I might know where else you can find it. 

Not sure yet if I will be in the next Vintage fair as the venue is a lot smaller and it is Christmas themed.   

 I will let you know here on my blog of other shows as they come up. 

There is a show at the end of November in Sydney, that I may particiapte in. 

Still have to work out the details. Stay tuned.

Chalkboards, Chalkboards and more Chalkboards

Hi, just wanted to show you what I have been working on lately.

Nothing ground-breaking here but still kind of fun.

Remember that I said I had a collection of window frames? Well, I thought I should use up a couple more.

 This one is a chalkboard and a memo board. Hard to see in this photo, but the window frame color is a pale Seafoam color, similar to the ribbon I used on the memo board.

And this one is just chalkboard with a drawer pull for chalk storage.

I did both of these with the same methods as I used in the "Nautical Window Frame"post.

I also made a few other chalkboards.
With vintage silver trays this time for a completely different look.

 I tried two different types of chalkboard paint. Martha Stewart and Rustoleum's. 

This is Martha Stewarts pictured above. I was not happy with this product, it did adhere to the silver without a primer but, it did not cover well (took 3 coats) and had a shiny finish when done. 

So I broke down and spent the $23.00 to get a quart of the good stuff - Rustoleum. 

Wow! What a difference.

The Rustoleum went on beautifully, and covered in one coat (I applied a second one anyway).
I sanded and primed two of the trays before painting with the chalkboard paint and applied the chalkboard paint directly on the other two. Coverage was great on both .
As for durability I am not sure, only time will tell I guess.

If you were going to try this yourself I would recommend a light sanding over any engraved details on the tray first so the pattern doesn't show through.
Then prime and use two coats of paint, sanding in-between coats. 

I had taped off the edges on the trays, but when I removed the tape,

 the edges weren't as nice and clean as I would have liked.
Anyways, I found these adhesive gem strips that I applied around the edge to give it a cleaner look.

I added some little rubber pads to the back to prevent the tray back from marking up the wall, they also help prevent the tray from sliding around on the wall.

Then I used some wonderful satin ribbon to hang it.

You can also use a plate stand to hold the tray on a counter or table.

Here are the other completed trays:

I like the small rectangular one alot because they are great for so many things.
Labelling food at a buffet party, directing people at a wedding,
as open /closed signs for a business, etc. etc.

French Telephone Bench

You know you are old when....you can remember telephone benches,
or so my 18 year old son tells me. 

I actually had to explain to him why they were called that. So for any young people out there, a telephone bench had a table part for the phone to sit on and a bench or seat for you to sit on while you talked on the phone. We didn't have cell phones yet of course, but believe it or not, we also didn't have cordless phones at that time so you couldn't just take it and go sit on the couch to talk.
But these benches can still be quite functional pieces of furniture. 

Here is a picture of the one that I found:

Really not bad looking but the seat had absolutely no padding of any sort. Unless you count three layers of fabric. I could have just re-upholstered the seat but where is the fun in that.

So first I removed the seat and started removing the fabric. First layer is the red you see above,

next came a large floral print

then a not so bad striped fabric. This one was actually the original.

It was no small feat to remove all of the fabric, as they had been fastened not with just with staples but lots of small tacks as well. The tacks had heads that would snap off when you tried to remove them. It took pliers, cutters and a flat head screwdriver to get them out and each layer more than fifty of them. All totalled there were 162 tacks & staples. (Yeah I counted, it gave me a sense of accomplishment.) 

Finally I glued on some 1-1/2" foam, wrapped it with batting and then covered it with a lovely linen blend fabric with the names and pictures of famous Paris landmarks printed on it.

(I used staples..... Just sayin.)

The bench itself I painted with a pale grey latex paint that I had added "Paint Minerals" to. I love this stuff it makes the latex paint just like "Chalk Paint" at a fraction of the cost and in any color I chose.

I distressed it and sealed the paint with "Miss Mustard Seeds" clear wax. Then I antiqued it with "Miss Mustard Seeds-Antiquing Wax". These waxes are my favourite because of the lovely creamy consistency. They are so easy to work with, are all natural and don't smell.

Next I stencilled some French typography onto the table top.

 Distressed it, antiqued it and sealed it as well.

Finally I took a basket that I found at "Homesense" which was almost the same color blue as the print on the seat fabric and I removed the lid and the liner and placed it on the shelf. It fit perfectly. 

This bench sits in our front hallway and still functions as a phone bench. Only now the cordless home phone charger will sit atop the table and the cell phone charger cords will be tucked away in the basket. As for the seat, it's always nice to have somewhere to sit and take your shoes off.

Nautical Window Frame

For those people that know me, they know that I have a bit
of a collection of old window frames and shutters.
And much to my husbands relief I finally broke down and used one in a project.

Unfortunately though, I didn't take a photo of the window frame before I painted it. 

It was a creamy white color and it was actually in pristine condition. 

 I wanted something a little more worn and aged looking.

So first I painted it with Miss Mustard Seeds Milk Paint in Flow Blue. 

But there was no cracking, peeling or flaking like I hoped there would be. 

So I helped it along here and there (see my earlier post "Tips On Using Milk Paint"). 

 Then I sanded it in a few spots
sometimes just down to the white
paint and other times I took it
further, down to bare wood.

Then I waxed it with Miss Mustard
Seeds antiquing wax in some strategic
areas and used regular wax on all
other areas.

Now for the panels. I cut two panels to size from 1/4" plywood. I used an MDF board for the blackboard panel. I found this worked much better than regular plywood for two reasons: 

1- there is no grain that will show through under the chalkboard paint and therefore only requires one coat 

2- because there is no grain I don't have to prep the surface or even sand it after painting!

Here it is with just one coat.
Looks great doesn't it?

I also added a little ledge for chalk that I made out of 

some old trim, just under the panel on the frame. 

Had to paint and distress this too of course.

Next I took one of the plywood panels
and glued some batting on.
Trimming it  a little on all edges to
prevent too much bulk, which would
make it harder to mount in the frame.

Then I covered the batting with some burlap fabric. Glued it in place with hot glue. I then put some stretchy net fabric over the burlap, purposely placing the netting randomly with folds here and there to give a more natural look.  Tacked it in place here and there with glue.

I painted and waxed the back of
 all the panels. This panel I even
 glued on trim to finish off the edges
 of the burlap. 

The panels are held in the frame
with metal offset clips.  

Now photos and cards can be tucked into the netting. 

Finally I glued on some starfish.

Next panel I used contact cement to glue on a sheet of cork I had cut to fit the panel.

I fitted the panel into the frame with the offset clips and 

then glued some old fishing rope around the inner edges.

(I had to bind the cut ends of the rope with heavy duty thread 

and a bit of glue to prevent unraveling).

Then I glued on some more starfish for overall balance and to jazz it up a bit.

Then all I had left to do was to put hanging hardware on the back.

And Voila!

I am happy with the outcome. And I actually sold this piece to a shop downtown :0)

(See Honey I am not becoming a hoarder!)

I linked to the party at: