Chalk it up!

I found this fantastic frame at a recent estate sale. It was in terrific shape sitting all alone in the basement of this house; covered in dust and crying out to me... save me!!! I just love the curly lines and how girly it is. 

Instead of the typical mirror, I thought why not make this into a chalkboard? Can't you just imagine it in some fancy mudroom?? Well here it is all finished...

And here with a quote by Hal Borland: 

No Winter lasts forever;

No Spring skips its turn

Have you made a fabulous chalkboard? We would love to hear about it!

The Sandbox

I found this sandbox while out shopping one afternoon.

It is from the 1940s or 1950s I think. It has wood sides and a metal bottom. The seats are wood too. The paint is all original and the seats have toy soldiers across them. The metal is in such great shape... no rusting at all! This was obviously kept in a covered location ... maybe even indoors? I can't imagine that this ever saw the Chicago winter. Well I was thinking what could I do with this and I decided to turn it into a bookshelf. I can just imagine it in a little boys room. I added the shelf in the middle with help from my handy hubby and then put a wire across the back to hang it. Here what it looks like now hanging on a wall in our shop:

Here is another picture:

What do you think? Tell us what you have repurposed lately??

Robin -- Our shop mascot!

I wanted to introduce to you all the latest addition to our shop: Robin! She is our official shop mascot and the brainchild of my very creative partner Alison. She bought a dress mannequin on one of our shopping trips but really wasn't quite sure what she was going to do with it. After a little internet research she decided she would decoupage it. Here are the photos of the awesome results! Be sure to look closely at all the amazing detail...

Here is the mannequin at stage one...covered in plastic wrap!

Robin complete and standing in the shop welcoming shoppers!

Handcrafted nest necklace! Look at the ruffled collar!

Corset-styled back with ribbon closure!

Our Shop

We thought a cool before and after would be for you all to look at our shop space before we arrived and since we've arrived. Here is a look at the space before:

A lovely view of the garage door!

First thing we did was cover the wall on the left and pink room divider with burlap!

They used to use the space as storage! There is a skylight which is a great feature especially if it doesn't leak during a big rain!

Now here are a few photos since we have arrived:

Valentine's Day!

A vignette in the Fall

We will be showing tons of photos of our booth as we change it often. Thanks to all the shoppers out there!

Please let us know if you stop by... we would love to know what you think!