Monday, May 30, 2016

Pallet Projects

I have such fun working with Pallets. They can be used for so many different things and because they are often free, or really cheap, they are great to experiment with and learn some building techniques without destroying quality wood.
 
A good friend of mine sent me a txt last week asking if I wanted some pallets that a friend of hers needed to get rid of. Well yes! Of course I want them!
 
Six nice ones, four are pretty new, two are very old and weathered. So of course I zeroed in on the older more weathered pallets. I had a project in mind already.
 
I am a big fan of Donna who writes the Funky Junk blog and I really love the stenciled signs she creates. What I don't love is stenciling. As a matter of fact....I hate it. I am not patient enough, and it never turns out as neat as I want it to. Not to mention her stencils are a bit on the spendy side for someone that only plans to use them once or twice.
 
So I thought around the problem. I wanted a metal look. Metal house letters? No, to expensive as well. But what about wood? Not expensive, and with a coat of metallic spray paint, they have a metal look without the metal price. I knew I was on to something there, so off to Hobby Lobby I went.
 
27.00 final project price for two signs. Now that is more in line with my budget.
 
First things first, cut out the nicest parts of the most weathered pallet. Would you believe we found it had pieces that were red oak? Wow.
 
 
I decided I wanted the more weathered look for these signs, so just a good rub of feed n wax orange oil was all I did. Love the look, love the scent!
 
 
Wow, what a difference the oil makes. Left side is untreated, right side is treated.
 
Beautiful!
 
 
Played around a bit to figure out the best way to fit the words.
 

 
Blast of metallic spray paint.
 
 
 
And boom! Finished product. I definitely need a pop of color. I think red geraniums are just the flower to add both color and some old fashioned charm. Off I go to the garden center this week!
 

 
Not quite finished styling them, but I am very happy with the results so far!
 
Great quick project to tackle over the long holiday weekend.
 
Hope you have had a lovely Memorial Day weekend!

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Tang Pitchers

Growing up I LOVED Tang.
 
Of course what kid growing up in the 60's or 70's did not love Tang?
 
Ok.....I still love Tang.
 
Anyway, I can't honestly say I remember seeing the Tang pitchers growing up. Probably out of our grocery budget. But I see them now, and I like them!
 
During one of my late night Ebay surfing sessions looking for Milk Glass salt/pepper shakers, I ran across this 1960's Milk Glass Tang pitcher. I had never seen one of these before in my flea market travels and had to have it. 11.00 with free shipping, if I had seen it at the Nashville Flea market I would have offered 8.00, but for the convenience of Ebay, I happily paid that price and snapped it up.
 
Perfect size for juice when I bring my breakfast down to my "She Shack" on the weekends. Or, perfect size just to fill with water for my bedside. Heck, it will work nicely with some of my several Milk Glass dinner sets.
 
Justification's? I can come up with a ton of them when it comes to buying vintage!
 

I just love the Daisy's! They are so sweet!
 
 
We have a long Holiday weekend coming up, the Nashville Flea Market, perfect pool weather in the forecast and cute vintage to dress up the table and patio.
 
For me, the perfect recipe for an excellent weekend!
 
Hope you are looking forward to a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend!
 
 

Saturday, May 21, 2016

Strawberry Jam

It is no secret that I love making jam. Homemade strawberry jam with peanut butter on sourdough toast is one of my favorite things for breakfast, so every spring I make sure I whip up a big batch of freezer jam to last me until the next Spring.
 
This year I was starting to get a little nervous that I would not get my local strawberries before they were all gone, so I ended up sending my husband to the Nashville Farmers market on his way home Friday night, and even he had some trouble finding good ones.
 
But he delivered the goods.....and I made the jam.
 
And it is oh so good!
 
 
Spring strawberries with the last of the Spring Peonies. I never get tired of this combination.
 
 
Of course I had to get some pretty shots before they went into the pot.
 
 
Sugar and strawberries bubbling away. The entire house smelled of strawberries.
 
So good!
 
It took me a couple tries, but I think I finally have this whole jam thing down. The first time I tried it, I had all the fruit floating on top and it was very runny. Then the next year, I did better, but added vanilla to the mix..blech, funky flavor, not again. But the last two years I have managed perfect batches!
 
 
 
Of course, local delicious strawberries always make the best jam.
 
Is it just me that thinks homemade jam is beautiful?
 
We wrapped up another Farmisan Market tonight. It was a very cool evening with lots of events going on around town and graduations everywhere, so foot traffic was light. I will not be back selling until the Fall. I keep hoping that our little market will pick up and really catch fire.
 
We will keep trying!

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Trying something new...

As I get older, I find that my attention span is getting shorter and shorter. I get bored very easily so to combat my boredom I try new things all the time...and since this little side "Hobby" job of mine makes me some nice "mama mad money" for my vintage addiction, which somehow never bores me, I thought I would stick to hammering. And what better to keep my attention and get me excited about a new project than something to do with one of my greatest passions.
 
Dogs!
 
 
I have only done a few, still playing around, but I think these turned out pretty well! Well enough for me to want to try some more.
 
Off to the craft store to find more blanks to hammer out!!
 
Because who doesn't want a little bling for their fur
baby?
 
I only have a few made, but I will be bringing them to the Farmisan Market on Saturday.
 
I hope people like them, because there are a whole bunch that I would like to hammer out!
 
Fun stuff!
 
Hope you are having a great week!


Sunday, May 15, 2016

Simple pleasures

I don't know about you, but Spring is always a super busy time for us. Between yard work and getting the garden in, Farmisan Markets, Spring birthdays, end of year school functions, and for us this spring, our redecorating projects, my sons Junior Prom and my daughters first musical in middle school. 
 
Fun stuff keeps you busy. And can wear you out.
 
Needless to say, the last six weeks or so we have been hopping, and I am pretty worn out. So today, now that the events are over and the yard work is about 75%  complete, I decided to spend some time this afternoon enjoying a few simple pleasures and some of the fruits of my labor.
 
like making some fresh ricotta with herbs fresh from my garden and enjoying it with good French bread and tiny tomatoes.
 
 
 
Oh how I miss my herbs during the Winter, so happy to have them flourishing in my backyard planters.

My lavender is looking very pretty, and smelling even better!
 
 
Oh and the peonies, They are here for such a short time, I make sure to enjoy every minute I can with them!
 

 
Oh and the Peaches are early this year! I was so happy to catch the Peach Truck on Friday afternoon! These taste even better than they look! I am still hunting my strawberries, will be hitting the Nashville Farmers market next week for sure.
 
 
Hope you got some time to slow down and enjoy some of life's simple pleasures this weekend!
 
 

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Mission Complete! Ok, I may have cheated a little.

I have been on a mission to complete the Fire King flower mug set ever since I found the Violet mug at my favorite indoor flea market, what? Two years ago?
 
Then within a few months of finding the violet, I found the Tulip mug at the Nashville flea market, two in the wild, not bad. Then for another year...nada. Nothing in the wild and even Ebay was too expensive. Then in the last six months or so. Success, not at the flea markets but yes on Ebay. I got two rose mugs for 9.99 no shipping cost, and finally, FINALLY I found the Daisy on Ebay, 4.99 + 3.00 shipping. The most expensive of the mugs so far, but I still feel like I got a good deal considering how much I am seeing them listed for online, and the fact that I very seldom see them in my flea market travels.
 
 
Watch, I will start finding them every time I turn around now.
 
But it feels really good to have the set complete, I may have had to "cheat" a little sometimes and bid Ebay instead of finding my vintage in the wild. But, a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do I guess... Now, to move on to the half dozen other "sets" of misc stuff I have to collect.
 
Ahhhhh, it never ends....and I am not complaining. Viva la junk!
 
We had massive storms sweep through our area of Middle TN last night, I am a bit slap happy from lack of sleep today if that is not obvious.
 
 
But my peonies survived the hail storm, typhoon like winds and massive downpours, so I am relieved! Tired, but relieved.
 
Hope you are having a great week, and keeping safe!

Sunday, May 8, 2016

She Shack

The pallet deck in my favorite spot under the willow tree finally rotted out last summer and I have to admit I missed it a lot. I knew I wanted to replace it. Of course if you are going to replace, why not upgrade a bit?
 
She Shed's are all the rage right now. A bandwagon I would happily jump on if they fit into my current budget. But they are a bit over the top for a girl on a flea market budget with a kid shopping colleges, so I went for something that sat a little easier on my wallet. Not quite in the same league as the She Sheds, Lets call it the "She Shack" instead.

 
 
Nice new 10x10 deck and a gazebo to sit on top of it. It is metal, but not the really sturdy metal gazebo, but as much as I love this one already? The sturdier metal gazebo will be in the budget for next summer.
 
Did I mention I love this already?
 
I had almost everything on hand already to decorate, but I did go out and pick up some fun curtain panels from Ross to make it a bit more homey and provide a little more privacy. We had to move the double level pallet couch over near the fire pit, but we needed more seating over there anyway so it worked out great. My pallet couch, coffee table and end tables fit perfectly. Leaving plenty of room for a couple chairs and a pillow for Daisy to lay on. I ordered the coolest vintage looking battery powered lantern lights for the end tables so we will have some light out there at night, cannot wait until they get here this week. We even have space for a small table and TV for movie nights.


 
We have had dinner out here the last couple nights and mothers day breakfast this morning. This outdoor room is going to get a lot more use now that you can eat outside protected from bugs and bird poop. I love my willow tree...but so do ALL the birds.
 
I am looking forward to spending many Saturday mornings this summer and fall drinking my  diet coke with my fur babies at my side while we listen to the birds in this comfy new outdoor living room. 

 
Bruno has already made himself at home!
 
Best Birthday/Mothers day gift ever. Well, for me at least!
 
Hope you have had a wonderful Mothers Day weekend!'
 
 

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Vanilla

If you are ever on Pinterest, even if it is only once in a while, you have probably seen the pins about making your own vanilla extract. I am a huge vanilla addict, recipe calls for one teaspoon? I add a tablespoon. Whole vanilla beans? Yup, I buy them, and I use them. Pavlova, homemade whipped cream, homemade ice cream, vanilla pudding, custards, every excuse I can find. And after you scrape that heavenly vanilla caviar out of the pods? Right into my tub of sugar, oh the smell of vanilla sugar. Drool.
 
Now, fresh vanilla beans are not cheap. Look in the grocery store and you can find two nasty desiccated beans in a jar for six bucks, gourmet shop? Ummm, leave your first born as a deposit. No thank you. But, I have been really lucky finding them on Ebay of all places. Good prices and I have yet to get a bad batch. Of course, being a vanilla addict, all of the "make your own vanilla" pins caught my eye. Never one to shy away from a Pinterest project I gave it a try.
 
The most common "base" is good vodka, but people also suggested bourbon. Both sounded good, so I made some of each.
 

The bigger jar is your "standard" mix with vodka. And the smaller one is good old Gentleman Jack bourbon. I cannot wait to see how they both turn out.
 
 
Two weeks down....two and a half more months to go. Good thing I am patient.
 
well sort of patient, I cannot wait until these darn peonies bloom!
 
 
hope you are having a great week!