Behind Door #1 is....

Here is a fab door that I got this weekend at The Bluebird Market (see previous post) and the second I laid eyes on it I knew it was PERFECT for a project I've been thinking about for my booth at shows.  I've been wanting something I could turn into part display and part advertising....via a chalkboard.  I have a large frame that I turned into one, but I wanted a DOOR.  This baby is grand because it is not tall, wide OR heavy....great for sliding in the car.  Those panels...LOVE them....and the tallest one will become the chalkboard.  I want to put hooks under it so I can hang a wire basket I have.  Think I have it all under control??  Noooo....here's where I'm stuck....

Anyone who knows me knows I don't do neutrals!!  My mantra: "Life is too short for neutrals!!"  I don't have them in my house, office at work, or even on my clothes, so WHY would I have neutrals at SHOWS??  Now, I have total respect for my fellow artists who use the black or cream table coverings...that's them.  But for ME, I want "BAM-In-Your-Face" color!  This is the fabric I chose for my table cloths.  They do have a burlap top to showcase my pieces, but boy...those coverings have drawn in more customers than I can shake a stick at!! 

Here is my booth at a recent show....see what I mean?? It's BRIGHT!!  But, here's my dilemma:  I want to paint that door (around the chalkboard section) using the colors in the fabric, but I'm just not sure on what DESIGN I want to do.  I'm not a painter by ANY stretch of the imagination, so needless to say--I'm LIMITED!! LOL!  Oh well...I'm out to the garage to at least do the chalkboard paint part...that's fairly mindless!!  If anyone has ideas, PASS THEM ON!!  Have a great Monday!!!!

Remember When??

Frostie root beer...is there any other kind???

Howdy orange drink over vanilla ice cream...with it dripping off of my chin!!

Yummy...I remember the grape Crush!

Remember when people sat out on their porches and drank pop out of a bottle....shooting the breeze about the latest gossip?  Remember when kids used to save the bottle caps and play with them or display their collections?  You guessed it...I'm old enough to remember all of that and I'm happy I got to experience those days, too!!  That was way before computers sucked up our time....I miss those days.  I had some plain shower curtain hooks just BEGGING to be decorated somehow...and I had these bottle caps...so voila!!  Care to purchase?  They are in my piecespassed store on Etsy!!

Sweet Hubby

I have to brag a bit on the hubby....Today was my 25th wedding anniversary and as my gift, I received these two GORGEOUS prints of mermaids that I've been eying in a local store for a quite a while.  These were painted by an awesome local artist named Anne Crawford here in Danville, Kentucky and I LOVE her work!!  I think the thing I love most about them is how I can almost see their hair blowing in the sea breeze...and the colors are absolutely yummy...don't you agree??

Graphics and Gardens: New Tin Pieces

Most of the time I am creating jewelry involving florals and either cutting and forming them or putting them in settings....but sometimes I like to go out on a limb!!  I recently won a small lot of old tins with some cool graphics so, along with some other graphic tins I had, I decided to mix 'em all together for something totally fun...and of course, not meant to be taken seriously in the least!!

"Bluebird Market"--A Cause For Kids

Imagine having an idea of asking people to donate what they don't want to you, organizing them, pricing them, setting up displays like you may see in a magazine, selling it all, and then...donating every penny of the money you've made to a wonderful cause:  a community preschool for children with developmental delays to help them stay open....can you imagine it??

Libby Suttles could....and DID!!  There she is on the right greeting customers in her newest brainchild store called "The Bluebird Market" in our little Danville, Kentucky.  Libby previously worked for United Way so she's always been in the "What-Can-I-do-for-YOU?" mentality rather than the "What-Can-YOU-do-for-ME?" frame of mind.

Did I also mention that Libby and her business partner Jody Arnold also have a booth called "Iron Angel Baby" in our town's antique mall??  That gives you an idea of why she is the go-to girl for creative displays...like the one here that she saw on Pinterest!

Fun vintage hangers from an old department store here in town hang on the walls creating an "Oh-I-gotta-do-that!!" feeling!

Oooohhhhh....I wanted this!!  BUT, it wasn't for sale!!

Neat fan cover for displaying pictures and the like

A burst of color....paper pom poms and a pallet bed made me want to curl up with a book and take a short nap!

Because everything is donated, you never KNOW what you may find there!! I should have bought this for the hubby, who adores The Music Man!!

Another one of Libby's signature displays...I love the bottle label!!

My hanger addiction was fed today...for $1 a piece, who could resist??!!

Found these vintage card decks in a box for a cool quarter....

Book with a fun title for my journals!!  So....if you find your way to our little town, be sure to find the Bluebird market and spend to your heart's content...knowing that your money is going to a great cause--for the kids!!

Back to St. Louis: "Cherokee Street"

So here I am on my third installment of my trip back to St. Louis...and this is one of my favorite destinations: Cherokee Street!  The old buildings turned shops and restaurants are continual favorites, though many seemed to have closed over the years.  I'm featuring two stores that seem to never lose their appeal, even though the economy has taken a hit.  I believe it's because they are just SO MUCH FUN!!!!

This store has more cool stuff than you can shake a stick at!  I didn't take pictures of the inside (a bit dim) and even though there is a plethora of stuff in there, the REALLY cool stuff is out back in what I lovingly refer to as "The Magic Garden".  This is just an incredible space FILLED with fun stuff.  The problem is...NONE of it is for sale!! 

I mean, LOOK at this!! I could stand out here all day long and never see enough.  You aren't allowed to go beyond a certain point, so I've never been up close to any of it....good thing the camera could be!

I've admired this Siesta Motel sign for years....at least 20 or so....but all I can do is look.  I'm not sure why the owner doesn't consider selling it because he'd have a whole line of folks ready with their wallets open!!!   He's actually a man of few words.... I've never quite been able to engage him in much conversation, but still lots to look at!!

More fun signs...ready for the picking!

Down the street is "Panorama"....a true visual treat of folk art and antiques!  Isn't the sign enough to draw you in??!!

Love the outdoor chalkboard....a hint of what is inside

My eyes danced around the room and landed squarely on this table full of folk art creatures called "The Misunderstoods".  These are all handmade by one of the owners, Mitch.  I love the colors and expressions on their faces.  I got so excited over everything in the store and talking to Mitch that I left without buying the orange cat in the back.  I may need to call to have him shipped!!

I loved them all....hard to choose!!

In the glass case were "The Mizfitz" and I was just enchanted by them!

LOVE her clothes made with old trading stamps and that little plastic appetizer fork...she's on a mission!!!

These wall hangings just made me smile with their hair and mouths full of pearly teeth

Mitch happened to be working on a skeleton that day and was doing some meticulous stitching

I almost forgot Bentley!  He is the shop's vicious sweet dog who greets everyone at the door...he was good enough to pose for me, too!!

If you find your way to St. Louis, you gotta make the journey down to Cherokee Street to check out The Purple Cow and the enchanting world of Panorama....give Bentley an extra hug for me!!

Back to St. Louis--"Red Lead"

I visited so many cool places on my recent trip back to my hometown of St. Louis that I have to do separate posts!!  My new friend, Ann, introduced me to the most enchanting store I've ever been in: "Red Lead" in Webster Groves, Missouri.  Over lunch she casually said, "Have you ever been to Red Lead?  It's a fun store for anything mixed media."  I couldn't make it to the door quick enough!!!

They had ME at this green dresser just inside the door!!

How cute is SHE??!!  I am huge lover of dress forms and this one with her lights....ah...I could have fainted!!

Pops of color on the wall with those pretty washed red frames and darling tags/cards

COOL idea for jazzing up your tent at shows: take an old lampshade (sans the fabric) and hang your goodies from it and attach to the top of your tent!  I make jewelry, but I may need to figure out a way to do this!  I LOVE the pop of the black and white ribbon....my eye went right to it!

Love the teacup!!

It was this space that made me want to fall over dead....a super cool workroom down the stairs near the back of the store!  This is where the magic happens at Red Lead....classes, workshops, late night creating or anything else they choose to do with the awesome space!  I could have moved a mattress down there, gone without food and water for DAYS just looking at all of the neat stuff!!

And speaking of mattress....cute crib springs loaded with tons of tags!

This was such a cute idea, I thought:  the owners obviously had collected lots of mismatched bowls, compotes, cups, etc...and filled them with any and everything you could imagine to use in art projects.  The eclectic-ity of it was so charming!

WORK IT, GIRLS!!!

Couldn't you just EAT all of this glitter??!!  My good friend, Sue, would go NUTS in this place!

I love the way the frames were turned into shelves....and the detail on the old frames...so pretty!!

Cute journals hanging from drawer pulls...precious!!

Nests, anyone?  Proof that they have just about anything you may want in there!!

Buttons, ribbons, grab bags....I could have bought them all!!

Get the picture??  If you are a mixed media artist or just want a HUGE dose of eye candy, pay a visit to Red Lead!  They do have a website, too!!!