Come see us at Grayslake this weekend!

Come see us this weekend at the Grayslake Antique Market! We've got lots of holiday projects, funky smalls, DIY and some really beautiful furniture. Don't miss it. Just click the link on our sidebar for show details. xo

Transformation Thursday: Burlap Basket Liners

I spent the morning at my sewing table today -- something I haven't done in a loooong time.

We got six of the baskets pictured below a while back. Because there is so little structure, we thought some liners would make them much more usable. Burlap to the rescue once again!

There were several shades to choose from at JoAnn Fabrics. I had a hard time deciding, so I picked two -- one light, one dark. Each basket measures approximately 18 x 24, so I figured I'd need about 5 yards of fabric.

Sewing without a pattern is still a little nerve-racking for me, even though I used to make slipcovers for a living. I just hate to start over; I always want to get things right the first time -- I think that's part of what makes me nervous. One lesson I've learned about the creative life is that you just have to push through fears like these. It seems like a little thing, but I'm amazed at how stuff like that holds me back sometimes.

Behold, the serger -- one of the greatest machines of all time!

It trims and finishes the edges as it stitches the pieces together -- what could be better!?

Here's the finished stack. Now comes the fun part: tomorrow at the studio I'll get out all my trim and embellish the baskets. Check back to see what I come up with and check out all the other great projects on today's Transformation Thursday -- just click the link on the sidebar. xo

Of Blind Dates and Antique Shows

Sometimes doing antique shows is like going on a blind date: you know generally what to expect, but you won't know the specifics until the evening's over. Well, this weekend's Kane probably won't get invited home to meet Mom, but we did get a wonderful dinner out of our time together.

Christmas was a strong seller, but not the traditional stuff. It was the funky homemade stars and wacky '60s ornaments that were snapped up, plus a bunch of the DIY stuff we'd tied up in florists bags. Ephemera in general was a strong seller.

Small furniture, anything funky and everything upholstered were also popular this weekend. For example, these two French Provincial chairs went home just hours after we bought them.

Larger furniture, however, mostly came back with us, including this beautiful dresser with its fabulous original finish. We had lots of lookers and even some measurers, just not many takers.

But as I mentioned, we did have a fabulous dinner. Our tremendous hosts, the Boyds, were having a Halloween party -- this is just one of three buffets! There were trick or treaters (at the door), dancing (mostly just the girls), candles (everywhere) and '70s rock trivia "contests" (mostly just the guys). Plus lots of laughter and good company -- who could ask for a better way to spend Halloween?

Coming home with some furniture means less painting time this week and extra time for projects, which is never a bad thing. We'll get more Christmas ready, maybe some jewelry, and a couple of surprises, plus a fresh round of smalls and small furniture. Make sure Grayslake is on your calendar for next weekend. We don't want to start advertising in the "Personals." xo

Kane County: No Tricks, Just Treats

Be sure your Halloween weekend includes a visit to rhubarb reign at the Kane County Flea Market. Sure, we'll have candy, but we also have some of the cutest furniture we've had all year.


Plus we'll have our first round of Christmas -- lots of stuff for DIY, plus projects and plenty of seasonal color. In addition, we've got some killer smalls -- numbers, letters, science bottles, flashcards, chalkboards, glove molds, buttons, jars and LOTS more. Don't miss it -- details are listed on the show sidebar. xo

Ever have one of those week's when your cosmic basket of internal happiness is just overflowing? That was me last week -- just so much to love:

My first-ever Etsy order arrived from my new on-line crush, Emily Martin. I've always enjoyed her fashion blog, Some Girls Wander, but she's taking a little sabbatical, so I switched to her "regular" blog, and low and behold, I'm in love. The posts are really well written, and she seems just like Violet Baudelaire come to life. I'm going to try and read through the archives today if there's time. That's devotion!

I got home from work to find gifts on the table. My folks just returned from Savannah, bringing me this goodie bag from the Savannah College of Art and Design, full of fabulous stationery designed by the students there. My son Jack visited SCAD a while back and said he'd love to matriculate. I'm going to need to start working overtime if that dream's gonna come true.

Speaking of Jack, it was Fall Break this week, meaning extra face-time with Number One Son. We decorated the porch, watched some classic movies and tested this excellent Stovetop Mac and Cheese recipe from my new Everyday Food. We highly recommend it -- the Dijon and Worcestershire give the sauce some real depth, and it reheats well for lunch the next day.

The colder temperatures have given me my first opportunity to wear this vintage swing coat I picked up at our local thrifty ($5!!). Everything about this coat makes me happy -- the 3/4 sleeves, the finger-tip length, the softness of the fabric, the old LS Ayres label -- it's got it all. I'm not usually a big fan of blue, but the coat's color is so unusual, it's almost like a neutral.

And I was looking forward to the weekend's double-header of fun Ohio style -- SoBo on Saturday and Maddie Lisee on Sunday. We got to enjoy Katie's hospitality Saturday evening, hanging out with friends, watching Project Runway and eating the most delicious dinner ever. The smoked chicken was to die for. Sunday morning we delivered our load of furniture to the store, which was looking terrific. Check out Heather's recent photos. It was fun peaking through the Christmas treasure trove in Katie's backroom -- I started my holiday shopping, snapping up jewelry, books, cards, paper and more.

Sunday afternoon, we headed to Heather's house for some of her wonderful Pasta Carbonara and to pick up a great load of furniture and smalls. Here's her kitchen sideboard, all decked out for next weekend's Halloween party. We'll be spending Halloween at Kane County -- be sure to come and see us. We'll have candy -- plus the great finds that we just picked up from Heather and much more. Check back later this week for a preview. xo

PS: A quick thank you to Cathy McMahon for the yummy pretzels -- those didn't last long! (:

What's Your Favorite Find?

While browsing around this morning, we read that our on-line pal/customer extraordinaire Linda Crispell was "attending" a Blog Party hosted by the folks at Flea Market Style:

Being included on the guest list was seemingly easy -- just pick your favorite flea market find. But like a father with many children, how can you name one without your heart breaking over the others? If you've been a "flea marketeer" (their term!) for long, I'm sure you can relate.

However, out of many well-loved treasures, I have to say THIS is at the top or at least close to it. It's a hand-made shooting gallery target, probably from some type of small-town carnival. It has so much going for it -- I love hearts as a motif, but they have to be funky; I adore the color red; its brokenness is captivating; it was made by hand. Sigh. It makes me smile every time I see it.

Want to share one of your favorites? Just click to join the party! xo

Transformation Thursday: Crazy for Burlap

Ever notice that Andy Warhol's maxim,"in the future, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes," works for just as well for fabric? Since Joe and I have been working together, different fabrics have had their 15 minutes: vintage bark cloth and French toile to name just two recent celebrities. However we've noticed lately that the ever-humble burlap seems to have captured the cutting table spotlight.

We thought this antique piano stool would definitely benefit from a gunny-sack makeover.

First we stressed the stool itself using our pad sander to bring out some highlights and wiped it clean.

Next we got out our staple gun arsenal and two sizes of staples. We use 5/16 for most fabric jobs, with 9/16 to tack down the bulkier corners.

Then we cut the fabric with enough margin to just reach the lower edge of the seat's perimeter, ironing it on a cotton setting before attaching. We decided to go right over those lovely gold upholstery tacks, then covered the staples with some vintage trim. A little Tacky Glue works wonders for this application-- just be sure to remove all the pins once it dries.

And there you have it. A totally spiffed up vintage stool! Thanks for joining us for Transformation Thursday. Click the button on our sidebar to see lots of other great projects. xo