Bittersweet Design Studio

Matching Stains - call me the Mixologist

2012-02-02T19:01:00.000-08:00

My project for today was to try and mix a stain that would match 1950s? pine cabinets. The client isn't in love with the cabinets - but has other places to spend his money right now (don't we all...?) A friend put up the crown molding for him - and he has been looking at it for two years like this :(

This dark, orangey pine color will not be easy to match - because of the depth and range of color - also stains don't really come in this particular color. The other issue is that the cabinets have aged over time to this deeper color.

I suggested painting the cabinets a yellow ochre color - this would certainly solve the stain problem - and it is a possibility down the road - but stain it is!

So here is my little chemistry set - I wear a double layer of the transparent gloves, stir the stain - or shake it really well to get the solids off of the bottom - and mix away. OK - well it really is not that easy.

I start with a small amount of Minwax Golden Oak, mix in some Cherry, and some Red Mahogany. The result is above on the 1 foot section of crown. Because I have about 20 feet of molding to stain - I have to make sure that this 'cocktail' I am mixing up will cover - perhaps 2 coats. The color is not bad - but it needs more red or yellow. Again - not the easiest shades to find in stains.

I have to go to the hardware store - Nichol's Hardware on 21st Street in Purcellville is my choice. I pick up another small can of Red Mahogany - but also pick up a stain color I am not familiar with, Red Chestnut - sounds like it might be a winner - but sounds nothing like 'Pine', does it? I pour a healthy portion of the Red Chestnut into my mix - and give it a stir. I use an old cotton sock to rub it on to some quarter round that was taken off of the cabinets. Looks like it matches pretty good. Now to stain the molding in situ. My husband Bob has some 'fixing' that need to be done to the molding first. It wasn't quite installed properly. I'll let you see it when we finish!

My Knitting Resolutions

2012-01-26T17:14:00.000-08:00

One of my goals this year is to use up all of this fabulous yarn that I purchased a while ago from an awesome yarn shop up in South Central Pennsylvania called The Mannings - http://www.the-mannings.com.
Going into their yarn shop for any level of knitter is like being a kid in a candy store. Irresistible! And I didn't! I bought all kinds of fantastic yarns, knitted some up into scarves, and purses - and then had to stop to make & create other things for my shop - so I put the yarn away. Now it is time!

I started right before Christmas and knitted a loden/olive/ochre mix scarf as a gift for one of my friends Jennifer.
The next scarf - right after Christmas - had a similar color mix for my daughter's friend Sophia.

Scarf number three - seen above - I'll add a better photo later - was a scarf for me - loaded with saturated color - which I love - to work with a j.jill hot pink print shirt I had, and to do double duty - to work with an acid green jacket my daughter gave me for my birthday. Yes - I have them both on here :) This is a pic of my daughter (rock star) Ginna and me at the SCAD Art Museum.

This scarf was started on the ride home from Savannah, Georgia - yeah - long ride!
I love the smooth glossy tape yarn, blended with a soft, nubby boucle.

The next scarf sold before I took any photos of it. It had the same awesome tape 'yarn' that is in the scarf above - but had burgundy boucle blended into it.

The next scarf had a lime green fur like yarn blended with a blue/green/white twist, and a cotton/lycra light green yarn. This one is very soft.

Scarf number 7 is made from a blend of a lime/blue bulky boucle, a hunter green cotton/lycra, and a denim color fine boucle. This one has fabulous texture.

My first scarf for guys - a soft twist merino in teal and moss - blended with two shades of a variegated cotton. One half of the scarf is moss, the other teal. It is nice and bulky - and has a great hand.

Scarf # 9 - in shades of lilac - a mix of one tape yarn and 5 other thin novelty yarns - in process...

For all of these scarves except the man's scarf I used the same technique - which I love to use with awesome yarns. I knit a few rows and then knit a drop stitch - the drop stitch really showcases the unique yarns - which I love featuring.

So far so good - I'm gonna just keep on knittin'!

My list

2012-01-06T16:56:00.000-08:00

I know my life is REALLY busy when my calendar is empty - the same goes for my blog...
Mid November the snowball started and just got bigger and rolling faster as the month progressed and turned into December. Welcome to retail!

Sorry to have left you out of the loop - here is my list:

November 10th - toy time:

Two, five shelf units stocked with vintage style toys and ready for sale at Everyday Elegance in Purcellville.

November 11-13 - bazaar time:

Father Bob saying a blessing at the start of St. Mary's Bazaar

Just one of the many tables loaded with beautiful treasures

November 19 - movie and dinner time:

Our perennial outing with my daughter and some of her friends to see one of the Twilight movies for her birthday

November 20 - sermon time:

Youth Sunday at St. Peter's in Purcellville, VA. Ginna gives the sermon - and does an amazing job - more on this in a blog post to come

November 21 - set up time:

Christmas in my space at It's Bazaar on 21st Street in Purcellville, VA

Making candy sleighs and trains for Christmas sales

November 24th - Thanksgiving time:

I call this 'the groaning board' - dessert after our wonderful meal

November 25 - birthday time:

Ginna's breakfast of choice - a 'turkey turd special' - a nickname my husband came up with a million years ago to describe her favorite donut - chocolate iced with sprinkles, and an iced Chai Latte. (Yes - best mom EVER drove into town very early and picked up fresh donuts and the drink xP)

November 26 - party time:

2 fire pits, the 'big screen' mounted on our back porch for movies, copious amounts of wings, pasta salad, a tiered brownie cake, and more

Great friends, great food, great weather - all good, all around!

November 28 - order time:

More candy trains in the works

A custom order for two Tab Top Pet Collars completed

December 3 - chaperone time:

LVHS History Club hosting it's Annual Victorian Ball - set 2 weeks before the beginning of South Carolina's secession

December 4 - award time:

Academic Excellence Awards Banquet for the top 5% of the students in Loudoun County. Very proud of Ginna - the tall one in the vintage teal velvet dress.

December 6: creation time:

A custom order for Tab Top Pet Collars - but for Toy Breeds. This was a mind bender - but I was very happy with the finished results - as was the customer!

December 7 - meeting time:

Every year since 1997, I have been making 30+/- ornaments for our Compassionate Friends Meeting held in December. I do this to honor and remember my second daughter Michaela Anne who died at age 5 weeks from a very rare genetic disorder.

This year I used pre-made clouds. I drilled holes in two spots. These hang from anodized wire that I cut to length and twisted through the holes. The ornaments always have enough room to be able to write a note your child.

December 8 - decorating time:

Lights on the house and our outdoor tree

December 8 - ribbon time:

My patriotic ribbon wreath - the 5th of the year. I will be donating $40.00 to The Wounded Warrior Project for sales of this particular wreath. This one was a generous 26" across.

December 8 - sock time:

A special order - this little girl only wanted two things for Christmas. One of them was a pair of socks decorated Santa and his reindeer.

December 9 - play time:

LVHS Drama Club puts on a great rendition of 'Taming of the Shrew'. Ginna was Baptista - the woman in green - in the center.

December 10 - surprise time:

My friend Janis has a surprise 50th birthday party!

December 12 - shipping time:

23 pairs of custom painted socks

December 16 - delivery time:

30" across, over 200 vintage glass Christmas balls

December 16 - tea time:

Some English Breakfast tea with a heart cookie :) a welcome respite amongst all the busy'ness'

The consummate tea hostess, my friend Patty

December 17 - birthday time:

Sorry no photos - drove 4 hours to bake Christmas cookies at my Mom's. Oh and the birthday was mine ;).

December 20 - cookie decorating time:

Lots of fun decorating cookies at our new friends from Texas - the Wades

December 24 & 25 - Christmas!

JoY!

December 27 - jewelry time:

Coin pearls and sterling - pendants and earrings - for the bridesmaids in Amy's wedding on New Years Day.

December 28 - paperwork time: - FAFSA ugh, paper work and taxes over the holidays?! YUK!

January 1, 2012 - wedding time:

All of our best to Amy Reynal and Jason Moore!!!

Thank you for reading my list. Happiest of New Years to all of my loyal readers. See you soon!

Vintage awesomeness for gifts all year round!

2011-11-25T15:01:00.001-08:00

http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/don’t-give-them-plastic-40-vintage-gift-ideas-for-people-who-are-sick-of-crap

The most wonderful time of the year

2011-11-21T16:39:00.001-08:00

Happy Holidays! I realize it is a bit early - but I wanted to give you a heads up on my space at It's Bazaar in Purcellville.

And to tell you the best part of all of this - is that my husband Bob took his morning to help me move all of the boxes, and other goodies into my space. It gets even better - he also helped me set it all up. He put together both of the trees, and hung ALL of the ornaments. He put together the display for the candles and potpourri below, and then took all of the boxes back out to my truck when he had to leave. What a great guy! Yes - I remind myself of that every day. I do know how fortunate I am.

A display of my yummy smelling Holiday Joy Potpourri. Also some fabulous smelling candles from Amy and Kathy at Herbal Star Candles.

A rack of toys - perfect for Stocking Stuffers!

The smaller tree filled with Vintage ornaments, a vintage greenware ceramic Christmas tree, and two fabulous light filled bottles with a winter scene on them.

This little tableau will have some snow for a base tomorrow. The greenware tree on the left is HUGE and very cool - it has snow tipped branches. The little white tree sits on a star base, the 'log' house and tree are a vintage commercially made item - but it rocks!

The tall tree - filled with all of my handmade ornaments. At the base of the tree are some lit glass block 'packages'. - They are stunning. These and the bottle lights are made by Millie Gallahan and her sister. So pretty...

And the overall view of my 'Christmas Corner'. On the wall - some of my 'Glittery Goodness' Christmas Wreaths - I didn't realize I only had this many - time to make more of these!
Also in my space - but not pictured - I have at least 8 of those wonderful glass platters that are vintage and Made in USA - they include trees, Santa's face, wreaths, candles and more.

I hope you have a chance to stop by and start your shopping for the holidays!

November

2011-11-10T08:18:00.000-08:00

November is my most special month. I have always loved Thanksgiving, and it was made even more special when my own little Butterball (Ginna) was born on that day (25th) in 1993, and again 2 years later when Callie was born on the 26th, a dear friend Carter on the 27th. Then Bob and I were married and son Nathan's birthday is the 9th, grandkids Nick, the 19th, and Savannah, the 20th. Makes for a very busy - but celebration filled month!

My sideboard in the living room dressed for early November. Just wait until the turkeys come out in a week or two. The two pieces of stemware were purchased at a Pfaltzgraff sample sale when the company was still deeply entrenched in Pennsylvania. The lights on the side board once belonged to my Mom. They were on her piano for years. When she sold the piano to my cousins, the lights got packed away. Some how the glass hurricanes disappeared. I was fortunate to purchase a pair (matching the originals) enough years ago at a glass company in Star City, WV.

My pilgrims! Love them! They are Gurley candles from the 1950s. Tiny turkey on the left is a Wade figurine from Red Rose Tea, the one in the middle???, and a little Shaker carrier from the Waterford Fair - from when I was juried in years ago. The little marbled pink squirrel is from the Chicago World's Fair 1933, and is made of rubber with a painted surface.

My tray that takes center stage is a 3 section antique box bought at an antique show when I was busy on that circuit. It holds all of the tiny things I love with out having things look too cluttered. The first section holds some antique marbles, a vintage flocked moose, some acorns, glazed greenware ears of corn, a hand carved mouse.

Middle section has some great artsy clothespins, a thimble with a hedgehog on it, handmade cinnamon pumpkin, a glittered acorn, a sweet pine cone, a pine cone weight from a cuckoo clock, a cute handmade chipmunk.

The end section has a bottle brush squirrel, a horse chestnut, another cinnamon pumpkin and glittered acorn, a huge hand turned acorn - with my favorite color as an accent!

One of the finest forms in nature - the pine cone. A vintage hand cut squirrel. I think Fall brings out the best in natures 'ornaments'. I love the way the side board looks lit up with the tiny candles. I hope you have enjoyed another of my collections! Liz

Handmade Holidays

2011-11-08T07:49:00.000-08:00

Join me and all of the other handmade, vintage and indie sellers out there - and take the pledge!

Waste not Want not Simple Sundays making an eco friendly hand scrubber

2011-11-06T09:30:00.000-08:00

While I am waiting on some stuff out in the kitchen to dry - I thought I would pass along one of my 'thrifty tips'. Why am I thrifty? I'm not sure - but perhaps it is because I am reincarnated from someone who lived through the depression ;)
I have a soap saver from the 1930s hanging in my bathroom. It 'fits in' quite well because my house is from 1909. Whenever bits of soap get too small to wash our hands with - they go into the soap saver.

When the soap saver is full, I bring it into the kitchen and fill my 'hand scrubber'. My hand scrubber is made from an empty mesh fruit/vegetable bag.
How do I make one of these? Easy! Take a mesh bag and turn the side with the metal clip to the inside.

Fill with a bar of soap - or in my case - the scraps of soap.

Twist the open end tightly against the soap, and then turn the open end of the bag over the soap filled section.

Do this back and forth until you have just enough of the bag left to tie it closed.

I twist each side a bit - which leaves me with 'tails' to tie closed. And here it is - ready to scrub your hands clean from the garden, painting, whatever dirt you get yourself in to!

Here is my soap saver, all scrubbed up and ready to be put to work once more!

St. Mary's Church Bazaar

2011-11-05T18:30:00.000-07:00

It's almost here.... said with joy and anticipation :)) It's that most wonderful time of the year...

Saint Mary's Church Bazaar
309 South George Street
York, PA
Saturday 11/12/11 8 am - 5 pm
Sunday 11/13/11 8 am - 1 pm

Here are the crafty ladies that are in charge of making wreaths, arrangements, ornaments, painting and decorating all sorts of holiday items; knitting baby blankets, scarves, hats, mittens and more; making jewelry, gift tags, and I could go on - if I remembered everything they make - the list is only limited by your imagination!!

Front to Back - Ginny (my Mom), Joan (Aunt), Ann, June, Ann (cousin)

L to R - Dolores, Virginia (daughter), Jane, Lin, Dale

My daughter Virginia and I love helping out every year. If we are lucky, when she has off in the summer we will have had the chance to come up and make Christmas 'stuff' when the ladies get together on Thursdays. We did get one chance this year. Otherwise, we come up on the Friday before the Bazaar to help them finish pricing and setting up. Saturday and Sunday we put our business acumen to work and sell, sell, sell. Then it is all organizing and tearing down - all to be put back in the Craft Room for refurbishing or tearing apart to create something new. This is one talented group of ladies. And they are so much fun to spend time with!

Just one shot of the Attic Treasures area. This area includes all kinds of goodies from the Saint Mary's Thrift Shop. They bring in household items, jewelry, and lots of Christmas goodies. One of my favorite ladies in this department is Millie - she is on the left.

This is the Book Nook - boxes and boxes of all kinds of books. They are all wonderfully organized thanks to the hard working ladies who work in this area.

This is the Crafts area again - showing some of the hand embroidered linens and knitted items.

The front side of the Crafts area showcasing lit glass blocks decorated like packages, and decorated, lit Christmas trees. Lovely!

The Silent Auction - they auctioned off this furnished doll house last year, as well as a quilt that you can see two photos down - it is on the left of the photo.

The Baked Goods area. Always hard to resist - so why bother! The ladies bake, bake and bake some more. I always buy at least one pie and one cake to bring home to my husband Bob. Delicious. (The rest we eat there ;] )

On the left - just past the Baked Goods area is the Homemade Candy Table. YUM! Behind the Candy Table is the quilt that was auctioned off. Beyond the Candy Table is the Secret Santa kid's shopping area where they have nice, affordable gifts for kids to buy.

On the far, upper right are round tables set for lunch/dinner. The ladies in charge of the lunch counter usually have homemade Chicken Corn Soup, as well as Hot Dogs, Hamburg Barbeque, Egg Salad Sandwiches, and other goodies.

There is also a room that has pre-made Gingerbread Houses with all kinds of icing and candy to decorate them. Fun for the kiddies - but fun for the aspiring adult architects too!!!

And to finish it off - of course there are Christmas Carols playing, Santa usually makes an appearance, and last year there was this really big Elf that showed up. I think she'll be there this year too!!

This is a fun bazaar with amazing items to take home at bargain prices - and you are helping a good cause to boot. All of the money goes to help the church with their various outreach programs and more.

Hope to see you there!!

Why The 3/50 Project broke up with American Express

2011-11-03T05:36:00.000-07:00

Why The 3/50 Project broke up with American Express

Click on the link and have an interesting read. The 3/50 Project is a great Indie Biz promoter. Their 'motto' is "Saving the Brick and Mortars our Nation is built on". If you are an Independent business you should consider joining up. It is a Win Win situation!

Winter Magic

2011-11-01T15:37:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T17:08:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween! Sorry it's been a bit - I guess I needed a break.

Since my last post I have:

visited my Mom on her birthday

painted some tin tiles

did some house cleaning

laundered my linen living room curtains, and kitchen curtains

rehung the kitchen curtains

hung some 'winter' drapes in the living room

hand washed some vintage wool sweaters that I had listed on Etsy

priced a ton of hand knit scarves, and other knitted items

displayed them up at It's Bazaar

cut hydrangeas off of one of my bushes because it was going to snow

played in the snow

I know...... SNOW!!!amazing huh?

The hydrangeas have gotten some beautiful color from the cool nights we've had - but I knew they wouldn't last through the predicted snow that we were going to have this past Saturday. I picked enough to fill this antique wicker hanging basket.

Here's my antique sideboard with my Halloween display.

On the left - a stoneware squirrel feasting from an antique tart pan filled with tiny cinnamon hearts and pumpkins

On the right 2 Gurley items - a hollow wax pumpkin - I've never seen one of these before, a Gurley witch candle, and a new - but too cute crepe paper, accordion pleated pumpkin.

A Henn Workshops pumpkin basket with a cloth black cat.

A Halloween from long ago "Little Rascals" style. Ginna is 'Darla', with our former neighbors, the Knisley boys - Dylan is 'Spanky', Hunter 'Alfafa'. They won an award at the Michael's Shopping Center in Leesburg for best costumes!

Another wonky cat - I believe made by Ann Vaughn, who use to have a business called Christmas Creations, and now co-owns The Cottage in Leesburg.

A hand made wool mat with some scary pumpkins.

Two more 'gourd' baskets by the Henn Workshops.

The larger is a mustard color, the smallest is a dark mossy green.

Sally the snake. Made by a WVU Math professor who was also a blacksmith as a hobby. I watched him fashion her from a piece of rebar. She has been with me since 1985. He was demonstrating his craft at Friendship Hill - the residence of Albert Gallatin. http://www.nps.gov/frhi/index.htm I had to take her home with me - she had such a cute face - and I am not a snake person!

So here is my total vignette, my tribute to Halloween!

Cali says BOO!

Ladies Board Rummage Sale Friday Sales

2011-10-14T18:35:00.000-07:00

This little fellow was one of my finds at the Rummage Sale. I just had to start with him because he is so darn CUTE!!!

The most delicious lunch in Loudoun county is served in this little building on the Morven Park property.

These are just some of the women who do this for over 500 volunteers every day for almost a week. We gave them a huge round of applause today during lunch.

Our one year old, deaf kitten Inkblot (aka Inky) is checking out his new crate. Another great find at the Rummage Sale! We had a larger one in our kitchen but it really had to go - it just took up too much room. Inky was use to being tucked into the crate every night to go to bed. After we took the crate down, he was inconsolable. He cried every night. Luckily I found this nice small one (I did have a small budget as well). Now he feels nice and secure at night - no more crying.

This was the beginning crowd - the Early Birds at 7:25 am. The 'doors' didn't open until 8:00 am. Before the doors opened at 8:00 am, the crowd had completely filled the open space you see here in the photo. There were also two other entrances where they could come in!

Sorry - the dryer just dinged! New or not - anything I bring in the house immediately goes into the washer and dryer. I had to go fold my brand new mattress pad ($4.00), and three brand new fitted sheets ($1.00). We found one groovy vintage flat sheet that Ginna may use as a curtain in her dorm room next year :)

I had to take some pictures of some hard core, but very happy shoppers. This lady had an amazing armload of clothes - but remained smiling!

This woman had a great idea - load all your clothes in the wagon. I think this might get a little unwieldy in some of our departments.
Enough pictures! I had to get to work. Socks .25 cents per pair, robes $3.00, new bras $2.00, new pantyhose $1.00, and so on. We were adding numbers in our brains, making change, and bagging lingerie as fast as we could. All of our customers were very patient, and we appreciated every dollar that came in. I can't wait to hear what the sale brings in this year.
We worked all morning long and then went off to an early (and delicious) lunch. Ginna couldn't get over the three bean salad that one of the volunteers made. It had water chestnuts and dill in it and was fabulous. Afterwards we took some time to ourselves and went to The French Room. This is where the designer and select clothes, shoes and purses are sold. Ginna found a pair of loden green dressy cargo pants ($12.00), I found an acid lime short swing jacket ($20.00) -Jennifer Huffman seal of approval, and an adorable 1960s, groovy, long floral skirt (to be sold on Etsy).
Then off to the Christmas barn - Jennifer says we are going to do 'flocking' - alrighty then! Ginna is working on her next art project for Art 4. It is a large 'A' from a commercial sign that she intends to fill with objects that begin with the letter 'A'. Here we found 'apples', and an 'angel'.
Next stop, the Toy barn. Here she found two 'arachnids', and two 'alligators', one 'army' man, and 5 Barbies. Wait - Barbies begin with a 'B'. - Sorry - already dismembered - 'arms' and 'asses' :0 !
I always know I am in trouble in the Book barn. We did get CDs for $1.00 each - not bad, and she bought some classic paperbacks. I tried to keep my book urge in check.
In the Sports barn I found a pair of men's ice skates, and a ladies bowling ball (gray and pink!). Don't even ask...
This is all for tonight. 6 am and my yard sale tomorrow will come awfully quick. I leave you with my failed attempt at being "Pretty Dress Police" for Ginna - as you can see - I was absent on the job! ($6.00)

Ladies Board Rummage Sale

2011-10-13T03:32:00.000-07:00

Tractor Trailers being off loaded at Sorting Area #1

Come with me on the adventure that is the 73rd Annual Ladies Board Rummage Sale.Go ahead, climb on board this is an amazing ride! This sale is to benefit Inova Loudoun Hospital. It all starts with people donating a few things to TWICE IS NICE the hospital thrift store...and grows from there!

Tractor Trailers being off loaded at Sorting area #2

I have attended the Rummage Sale since 1989. At that time it was held at the 4H Fairgrounds just off of Dry Mill Road. The different departments were all set up in the various animal buildings. I don't remember what year they moved to Morven Park, but it was because a small tornado came through and destroyed some of the animal barns at the fairgrounds. Need I say they have grown to fill this new space and more!

Years ago - when I was donating items for my neighbors (I had the truck), I took all of my items to the Nichol's barn over in Purcellville. Then they started having tractor trailers available in the back lot at the hospital - and you would make an appointment to off load your donations into one of the trailers.

Sorting Area #1

I think volunteering is an important thing to do while we are on this earth. When my daughter was in Elementary School I helped there in various capacities. Then came a time when I was so busy with Bittersweet Design Studio that I didn't have much time to give. I did manage to design a garden and get that established over at St. Francis De Sales Church in Purcellville, but that was really it for a few years. Then my friend Lesli asked if I would like to help at the Rummage Sale. We try and take time to go thrifting together, although we haven't had a chance in some time. Lesli was going to be working in the LINGERIE Department and they needed people there to help sort and hang everything. OK - so this might sound a lot more glamorous than it really is. But that's ok! It needs to be done - and we do it!
Lingerie is probably one of the smaller departments - and we have 12 boxes of categorized socks, 8 boxes of sized bras, 6 boxes of girdles, panties, briefs, and specialty items. Then hanging racks 8 feet long each filled with robes, gowns, pj sets, tops only, bottoms only, swimsuits, cover ups, slips, camisoles, and scrubs.
With all of this - you can imagine if we are one of the smaller departments - what the other departments must be like! Let's take a look:

Men's wear

Women's Sportswear

Women's Dresses, Suits and Coats

Children's Department

Jewelry
This was just the clothing area - and I didn't even show you Handbags and Scarves!

Crafts

Gifts and Accessories Department

Housewares

There are over 500 volunteers that spend 6 days organizing all of this and of course this doesn't include the countless hours spent gathering stuff throughout the year! And the amazing thing here is that I have yet to include the remaining departments - Furniture; Frames, Pictures an Lamps; Electronics; Shoes; Antiques; Christmas; Toys; or the French Room! MORE NEXT POST!

A Beautiful Sunset Treasury on Artfire

2011-10-11T15:49:00.001-07:00

A BEAUTIFUL SUNSET

Curated By: SpiritualBeauty

ArtFire.com

Handmade Gifts

Isn't this a lovely collection ? My vintage leaf brooch is second row down, center!

AND what is even better - I just got this curated collection in MY email!!!! This means that it was sent to thousands of people!!! WOOT!

Curb Appeal - via Yard Sale Signs

2011-10-10T07:48:00.000-07:00

So - do you want tons of people to come to your next estate/tag/yard/garage sale???? My friends David and Jennifer have a running joke about yard sale signs - and so they 'critique' everybody's signs. And it's true! - is it legible - can you read it?, did the lettering run and drip because of rain or heavy dew?, is it too small?, is it flopping over because you didn't back it with something or use stiff enough cardboard?, is the contrast between the sign and the lettering strong enough for people to read it????
David always says that his sign is going to be HUGE, Neon and Purple :)) Not a bad choice if you want to attract attention!

This year at Purcellville's Town Wide Tag Sale - we had more people come to look at our treasures because of our great signs. Did we think they were great? - sure - but even better - our customers thought they were great, We kept them at our sale - buying, because we had a variety of great stuff at good prices - or because we were willing to negotiate.

This is 'Miss Directed'. She is wearing a Mark Shale 1980s dress with a Peter Pan collar blouse, as an under layer for modesty. She was in charge of getting everyone's attention and sending them down the street to our sale - which you could NOT see from the corner. She is definitely attention grabbing, the words are legible, good contrast, concise, and tells you exactly where the sale is. We only had one of her - but she was at the corner of Main and Maple and 'looking' towards where most of the sales were happening further in town.

This is my lady, 'Miss Bittersweet'. She is wearing a sleeveless 1930s house dress with a 3/4 sleeve, round collared, 1980s eyelet blouse - again modesty! I added a ruffle at the bottom of the dress to make this a bit longer and actually wore this while pregnant at two different craft shows that I was juried into years ago - East Berlin Colonial Day in East Berlin, PA, and the Waterford Fair in Waterford, VA. These two shows required 'period' costuming to exhibit and demonstrate there. Hence wearing this 'get up'.

There is also Jennifer's lady, 'Miss Lucketts', who for some reason or another didn't want to come out of the barn this year :( But here's her photo: She is on the left - wearing a very pretty, handmade, floral, floor length gown.
Miss Directed got everyone to the sale, Miss Bittersweet caught their attention as they drove down the road, and the large sign 'Best Tag Sale in Town' just told it like it was!

We had used our 'ladies' and the large 'Best' sign three years ago when I did my first sale with Jennifer - and pulled them of 'mothballs' for this sale. And yes - I made them - of course! The large sign is an old piece of metal that I repainted. The color and 'typography' on it matched the ladies signs that they held. For the ladies, Jennifer said she had some great 'blow ups' of old photographs, and wouldn't it be fun to use them somehow for the sale? I cut them out, glued them to Luan (a thin plywood), and then used my jigsaw to cut out the shape once more. Then I screwed their head and shoulders to a piece of wood I had around (really - you had wood hanging around?) and then screwed the signs to their chests. Then of course I let them rummage around in my costume box so they could pick out their outfits. They may like a change for next year - maybe Halloween costumes, if you don't think it's too early for that???

And I end this post with two more photos - a Haphap happy customer in his NIB - [new in box] Stetson :)

and a shot of our AWESOME customer service - Jennifer and David delivering a lovely buffet down the street for the O'Connor family.

Many thanks to Jennifer and David Huffman for drinks, snacks, wake up coffee (a.m. and p.m.), their great location and fantastic front yard, and all of their help, unpacking, display, packing; my husband, Bob Pickett - who loads and unloads with nary a complaint; my daughter, Virginia Theerman, who helped through the weekend, and my 'sister' Jennifer Bowders, who came and pitched in all day Sunday. It only took us an hour to pack up - Yes we almost sold it to 'the walls'.
Was there a piece of jewelry, clothing, beanie baby, hankie, or antique that caught your eye - but you didn't pick up? Google Bittersweet Design Studio for our location - our town Paeonian Springs - west of Leesburg, VA; east of Purcellville, VA, is having our own small town version this coming Saturday October 15th. I will be set up in my yard next to my shop, and several other neighbors throughout town are combining forces and will have yard sales as well.

Look for Miss Directed, as well as Miss Bittersweet. Stop and say HI!

Town Wide Tag Sale Day One

2011-10-08T17:30:00.000-07:00

Good evening! WOW! Long day. What incredible Autumn weather we are having for this tag sale. The only thing we might find to complain about was the heavy morning dew, but who could complain about that?

Jennifer - smiling as usual!

How fabulous is it, to have a friend lend you their front yard for a huge sale like this, and help me out to boot? Pinch me!

Jewelry off to the left, a great buffet and castle painting on the right.

The fun table - full of vintage style toys - these are available everyday ay Everyday Elegance, 600 Main Street, Purcellville,VA.

A great work table of Jennifer's - filled with lots of my vintage kitchen smalls.

A beautiful farm table of Jennifer's - with hours and hours worth of my Mom's knitting. All of the proceeds of the knitted goods will go to Saint Mary's Church in York, PA.

Two adorable blue and white pieces - a chest of drawers and a dresser with a mirror.

The Man Cave area. A cool whirligig and Red Eye sign, club chair, deer head with hoof hooks, English riding saddle, and light up fireplace logs (my fav)!

The 'Primitive' section - a popcorn popper, wood fruit crate, a great 1930s side table, 2 sweet hand painted chairs, milk cooler (you remember - when the milkman delivered milk to your front porch?!), a cute, primitive kid's table, and lots of spindles, and bobbins from a textile mill.

The cozy Christmas area - a few chairs, a Victorian love seat, oriental runner - and of course - some Christmas decorations!
It was a busy, but fun day. We had lots of happy customers, kids and adults alike.

All closed up for the evening! We covered everything tonight - so less morning dew to deal with tomorrow. If you get a chance - stop by and say HI tomorrow.

We would love to see you at "The Best Tag Sale in Town".

Our sign claims it, and our customers confirmed it!

More Vintage Earrings (surprise!)

2011-10-04T08:04:00.000-07:00

Here are the rest!

In my previous post: http://bittersweetdesignstudio.blogspot.com/2011/09/vintage-jewelry-anyone-earrings-to-be.html
I mentioned that I had carded all of ROY G BIV earrings, but that I still had to card up all of the 'neutral' colored earrings. My made up acronym for those is now WBBR PSGC. That stands for White, Brown, Black, Rhinestone, Pearl, Silver, Gold, Crystal. This side consists of 52 pairs of earrings.

Here are the White, Brown, Black and Rhinestone.

Here are the Pearl, Silver, and some Gold.

Here are the rest of the Gold, and the Crystal.

WOW! That was a lot of work! But they do look much better when they are organized and on uniform cards.
These will be available at the Town Wide Tag Sale in Purcellville, VA. this weekend. Also eventually on Etsy and up at It's Bazaar on 21st Street in Old Town, Purcellville, VA.

Now to finish pricing those Brooches, and start to price the bigger stuff.

Vintage Jewelry anyone? Earrings to be Specific

2011-09-29T11:48:00.000-07:00

I always seem to sell jewelry at the shows that I do - which these days, you can probably count on one hand. I am continually drawn to vintage jewelry. I always wonder - who wore it? to where? who gave it to them? was it for an anniversary? lots of wondering.

I have just started selling some of my vintage jewelry up at It's Bazaar on 21st Street in Purcellville, VA. I have sold it on line for a few years now - but I never really listed very much; and I was not allowed to sell it at Everyday Elegance, where I consign some of my items, because they already had a jewelry person.

This caused me to have quite the 'back up' of vintage lovelies. I have shown you these jewelry boxes before. This was the beginning of my 'jewelry sorting chore' in the living room. Believe it or not - the boxes were over flowing by the time I was finished.

So far, all of the necklaces have been priced, the brooches are in process - wow - were there a lot of them!, and the earrings are about halfway finished. I am through the ROY G BIV part. Now I have to move on to the white, cream, brown, black, gold, silver part. Can I call that WCB BGS? :)
Here is the ROY G BIV part:

The screen the earrings are hanging on measures 3' tall x 18" wide.

Before, when I put the earrings on cards, I used leftover postcards from my open houses. Because I didn't have a ton of earrings - having the cards mismatched didn't seem to really matter.

But I knew, when I went to display all of these earrings together - it was time to make it look cohesive. This would make sure that when you look at the display - the earrings would catch your attention - and not the various bits of miscellaneous card stock. Well OK - hopefully now the entire display is attention getting as well! My daughter says it makes her happy :)

For my templates, I took two pieces of 8.5" x 11" paper and folded them. The first was folded to create 12 sections; 4 across the 11" length, and 3 down the 8.5" dimension. This size card would be for the larger earrings. Then I folded the second piece to create 16 sections. This would be for the smaller size earrings. Then I used the dimensions for both cards, and I transferred them to another sheet of paper. One half would have markings for 6 of the larger cards, the other - 8 of the smaller cards.
Then, I took one of my tiny alphabet stamps and spelled out VINTAGE up the left hand side of each earring card template, and stamped 'screwbacks' or 'clip ons' across the bottom. This way some one can immediately identify what type of earring it is. Because you know - we all have our preferences :)

This jewelry display is kind of neat because the earrings shown here span nearly a century. We are pretty sure that the fabulous red and brass dangles in the upper left corner are late Victorian; and those round purple earrings - third row up from the bottom - 4th from the left - are all 1980s! The price range is very wide as well.

The other side of the screen will have the WCB BGS color range - when I get them on on cards and priced (that'll be tonight - right?). Then they will be ready to sell at the Purcellville Town Wide Tag Sale, next weekend. I will be at 311 South Maple Street - You might recognize this sign from a few years ago:

We'll have the sign out once more - so look for it on the right side of the road as you go south on Maple Avenue. Hope to see you there!

Pin and Tuck Message Boards

2011-09-28T09:14:00.000-07:00

I have been busy every minute of the day pricing and getting ready for the Purcellville Town Wide Tag Sale. But in the meantime here are some photos of another style of message board that I have created.
They are called 'Pin and Tuck'.
You can use push pins to tack notes/photos on the board and tuck the same under the ribbon along the edges.

This one is made from a contemporary fabric in a pale sage/blue with brown. Birds accent the corners, buttons and tacks run the length of the ribbon in between.

This one was made from a damaged, vintage kitchen tablecloth. I love the color in this one - it is so bright and cheery!

This board is covered in a piece of fabric that looks like Blue Willow china.

I love the fabric on this board. I have a self designed garden smock made from this fabric. The vintage buttons are decorative and functional. They hold the ribbon tight - so you can 'tuck' your photos and notes under it.

And last but not least, the MOD message board. I thought of my brother when I made this because his favorite color is orange. This is some groovy 1970s fabric, isn't it?

Until later, Enjoy! Liz

MOO Cards and Stickers

2011-09-23T07:51:00.000-07:00

I just took advantage of an offer by the company MOO www.moo.com the other day.
Through an Etsy and MOO combined promotion you could get a set of 50 free business cards. The only catch - Etsy and Moo's branding is on there as well. But no big deal!
Okay the other catch - is that I also bought 2 different sizes of stickers.

But really there is no catch! These are fabulous!! You can upload any amount of your own fabulous photographs and have them made into:

Business Cards! Fabulous! The paper is sustainably sourced and has a smooth matte laminate finish. And printed on both sides :)

Stickers - these round ones measure 1.5" I think I chose about 15 images for these...I purchased a set of 104.

These measure 7/8" - I purchased one book that holds 90 stickers. I will use these for 'branding'. I will probably make magnets with these and include them with my Etsy sales on bittersweetdesign and MissingHeirloom.

The cost - I thought very reasonable at about $30.00. I received them in about a weeks time. I am a very happy customer.

The Bluemont Fair and a Bee

2011-09-21T07:37:00.000-07:00

Bob and I went out to the Bluemont Fair this past Sunday to enjoy some time together, shop a little, and eat some great barbeque.
Shopping included:
Handmade goods - however - at 50 neither of us needs anything...
rummaging through the Antiques area - much smaller than when I did the fair 15+ years ago,
into the E.E.Lake General Store for Baked Goods - Bob always needs baked goods...
trying to buy some Local Honey - fail - too many people taste testing
the Plant Shed - hey I need new Lavender Plants!
and the Round Hill United Methodist Church for lunch.

What we found: Bob picked up these two Almanacs for $5.00 each - one is from 1935, the other from 1942. How cool is that?

OKAY - I was really good and didn't look at any jewelry - until I saw the $1.00 basket. I found a stunner buckle with rhinestones and pearls, a red, white and blue arrow pin, a leaf and pearl choker, and two pieces I will take apart for my making my new line of bracelets 'Betty Ann's Jewel Box Bracelets'.

Lunch from RHUMC was delicious as usual - North Carolina (my Fav) barbeque on a bun, coleslaw, baked beans, and apple crisp, and a water. This is where the Bee comes in... I was enjoying the apple crisp when this little fellow flies up and says"I wants me some!" I shoo him away - and in the shooing - the air current knocks him right down into the syrupy morass.
UGH! There are only a VERY few bugs I kill - these little guys are not on the list! I fish him out, put him into one of the other compartments on my 'dish' and put a little water on him, trying not to drown the little guy. His antennae curl up, his legs curl up, Bob says "He's dead". I think maybe he is just trying to recover...and hope. We gather our trash, I close the bee up safely in a napkin and we go back to the truck. I leave him laying on the napkin, on the seat, in the sun. Bob says "He's dead". On our drive home - Bob says many times "He's dead".
We drive to Purcellville to see if anything is happening with my new intsallation of vintage jewelry at It's Bazaar. Back at the truck, Mr. Bee is still curled up and still. Bob says "He's dead". I keep hoping... We discuss what we are going to do the rest of the day, if we are eating dinner (ok - if I am eating dinner - and what I am making for Bob).
As we pull up into the drive, I look down and what do I see? Mr. Bee - moving. :) I exclaim "He's alive"! Bob is amazed. Mr Bee is shaking his wings dry, stumbling around a little and getting his bearings. I am happy. I wrap him up in the napkin, carry him to the garden and weight down the napkin so he can hide underneath and recover. My little victory :))

Sparkly Crystals never look a gift horse in the mouth

2011-09-17T18:00:00.000-07:00

One of my Mom's friends who once made jewelry, decided she wasn't going to any more. She knew that I made jewelry and so very sweetly gave me this stash of beads stored in a Tupperware container. I had no idea what I was going to do with it. Two boxes of gold and silver backed crystals in all colors and sizes, plastic pearl rosary chain, googly eyes, loose plastic pearls - no hole, gold colored ice pick bails and spring clasps. If you know me - not much of that sounds like me. However - again - if you know me - you know I'll probably hang on to it for a while.
Eventually I'll find a use for it. And I have.

These are some fabulous Christmas pins - some were missing crystal rhinestones - well whaddya know! I have some of those!!

Here's that little treasure trove. I have gone to this box, more often than not, to match a pearl or a crystal for a brooch, bracelet, earring - you name it! I have yet to have to go to our local Ben Franklin, Michael's, or Jo Ann's and buy crystals - which are pricey by the way - especially when you may only need one - of a certain color or size.
Thank You Dolores!

The Power of Three:

2011-09-16T17:33:00.000-07:00

Three Girls, Three Rooms, Three Hundred Dollars.
This is a story about the Power of Three.
About new beginnings, friendship, and a short stretch of hard work.
What it equals = change, some peace, and lots and lots of love.
Jennifer and I have known each other since I dated her brother in college. She was 11 years old at the time, and I was the object of her affection. She is the youngest of his 3 siblings, and when he and I parted ways - she was determined to hold on - and I am so glad she did. We are no longer friends - we are sisters.
Jennifer has lived in her home for about ten years. She had done a lot of work on the house already - but there were rooms that had yet to be done. This is an adorable 1950's house. The living room, dining room, and kitchen have been redone. But the bathroom, den, and upstairs dormer-ed bedroom still needed attention.
She had spent the summer away - and when she returned - it was time...
Off to Sherwin Williams to find some paint colors - and a call to me that said "Too many color choices - I have them narrowed down but I'm not sure I can have the paint ready - because I'm not sure which colors to go with"!
DAY 1:
The chips were taped all over the den and bathroom walls when Ginna (my daughter) and I arrived, around 11 am on Wednesday morning. Perfect! We chose wall colors for each of the rooms, and a ceiling color for the den and bathroom. After our color decisions were made - we went to Sherwin Williams to buy the paint and necessary supplies. Then off to the grocery to buy lunch and breakfast food, back home again for lunch - and then to get started!!!

The bedroom was a dark cornmeal color - it was the deadest yellow I have ever seen in all of my designing days. Who knows how long it had been on the walls. It didn't reflect one ounce of light! You can see it here on the right. It didn't photograph quite true to color - but close...

At opposite corners of the room, knotty pine closets had been built. Very functional, but they stuck out like a sore thumb. The top layer of flooring is a 9" x 9" tile - we believe there is heartwood pine underneath. We'll deal with that another day.
We started with the walls. Be forewarned - I am NOT a taper. Don't even show me that blue stuff. When I get ready to paint - I want to paint! We threw some drop cloths over the bed, the antique dresser was safe over in the other corner - it would be a while until we got over there.
The color we chose for this room - Watery SW6478 in a satin finish. The white trim is the SW stock white in a semi gloss. I am a die hard Duration fan for house, wall and trim paint. It was the first of the paints on the market 8 or 9 years ago (they actually call it a 'coating') to have primer already in it. It is marvelous.

Yes - we painted wood - ack!! Sorry for those of you who don't like painted wood - sometimes a girl's gotta do what girl's gotta do! It took three coats of our trim color SW stock semi gloss white to cover the knotty pine. This is coat number two. I did the cutting in of the wall color, and painted the trim work. Ginna and Jennifer were the super rollers for the day - 2 coats of paint turned those drab walls into fab walls.
*** Just FYI - as much as you may be tempted - don't stop at one coat of paint for your walls. No matter what color you are covering - the new color you chose, will have so much more depth and be so much richer, when you do coat number two.*** It also goes on faster than the first coat - no kidding!

Okay - isn't this just the prettiest thing?? Turn on the ocean sound from your white noise machine and you would think you were beach side! I'll show more photos when we put the finishing touches on the room. We finished this about 11:30 pm - not bad considering we didn't start until around 2 that afternoon!

DAY 2:
We were on a mission this morning - we wanted to get at least one coat of paint on the ceiling in the den before our 9 am. 'appointment' to surprise my Mom at crafts. Every Thursday from April through November, the 'craft' ladies meet at St. Mary's Church. They will hold their Christmas Bazaar this November on Saturday the 12th from 8 to 5 and Sunday the 13th from 8 to 1. It's the best! We had to get moving - we were going to spend our next three hours being creative with the crafty stuff!

The den was a painted a pale peach color. It didn't have a lot of personality - and felt 'cold'.
Our colors du jour in the den are Recycled Glass SW 7747 for the walls and Snowbound SW 7004 for the ceiling. This is a great white - it is not too white - but it really isn't pink, gray or yellow. The same trim white that we used upstairs was used in this room too.

While we were painting, Jennifer was clearing items out of the bathroom. Ginna was a brave soldier and started to roll the ceiling - my job - start 'cutting in' again. Then it was off to 'crafts'. It was great fun surprising my Mom. I helped her decorate a candelabra, and created a forest scene with some tiny deer and a tree. Ginna made a gilded wreath and an arrangement. Jennifer folded pages in a book and just soaked up some craftiness.

Jen doesn't know this - but we painted some some love on her wall...with a teddy bear :)

Here it is - we need some more furniture in here - but the color is lovely!

These pictures were originally up in the bedroom - as was the black cupboard. We were busy shifting furniture all over the house! Nothing was safe.

The bathroom is quintessential 50s. The wall tile is a pink that has the slightest bit of peach tint. Some of the tiles have a 'doily' or 'spirograph' pattern on them. Adorable! Jen's dream was to paint the walls a chocolate brown - I seconded the motion.

We took the shelves out of this shallow 'closet' to make it easier to paint. Jen had taken the door off years ago - a great space saving idea for a small room!

Time to clean up and go out for a LATE dinner at The White Rose downtown. We were going to meet my friend Kerri. Our 'perk' for all of our hard work today. Good food, good friends and laughter. The perfect end to a day filled with accomplishments!

DAY3:
Up early - coffee and a quick bowl of cereal. We did a second coat on all of the brown, finished trimming out the white, and painted the ceiling.

The color we used here is Cobble Brown SW 6082. We tried for a pale pink for the ceiling - but it had too much blue in it. So we went with the Snowbound in here too. The trim is the semi gloss stock white that we used in the other two rooms.

We have plans for brown and pink towels. As you can see in the shallow closet - we are working on a vintage pottery collection in pink and white to hold all those bathroom necessities!

We also rearranged the living room, shifted some furniture in the dining room, and reorganized Jen's candle collection - which was quite a task all in itself ;)

We still have finishing touches to put here and there - but the bulk of the work is done. It just goes to show what you can do with a little help from your friends! Oops - sisters! ;0

A Day in the Life of a Self Employed Antiques Dealer

2011-09-09T09:17:00.000-07:00

This IS a cautionary tale...
When I opened my shop years ago (1993) and started having open houses, many of the women who would come by to shop, thought that what I was doing was so 'dreamy'. In many ways (that fall under the heading - A LOT of HARD WORK) it is 'dreamy'. In a very disciplined way. Some of them even followed me in to business - one started her own pick your own flower business on her farm and another bought a clothing and home decor store.

I thought for those of you interested, that I would give you a glimpse into one of the types of days that have.
The BUYING day:
4:30 am - get up and get ready to go - make coffee, have breakfast and get out the door by 5:00 am or so - because it is a 2 hour + trip to your buying destination. Pack some snacks, and the rest of the coffee - we'll need that on the way! Today my sweet husband has decided to forgo his plans, offered to drive, and help me shop. Our Pit Bull mix rescue dog Cali, rides in between us - her happy place. Luckily - I have purchased vintage stuff from Roxann before - so I know she'll have something for me to choose from. Otherwise - it's a crap shoot!
7:30 am arrive at destination. Start looking around, picking things up, and examining them. I have gotten to the point in my buying, that I only buy items that are in perfect shape (although I do slip up now and then). There, of course, is always an exclusion to the rule. If I know I can fix something, have the part (I just might!), or feel that it is rare enough to justify the purchase - then these guidelines over rule 'perfect'.
9:30 am this is what I have found so far. There are things I am absolute about - and others not quite so sure.

My friend Jennifer - that we hooked up with along the way - happened to 'touch' the fish sign, as well as the turquoise bowl in a curious sort of way - I snapped them up immediately.
PLEASE NOTE - I did not steal them out from under her. She was there just for the company and the fun of it. And she probably thought they were hideous :) I have long discovered that there is plenty of stuff out there for all of us - if someone wants it - go right ahead! The Icehouse sign was 'picked' by my husband - not a beer drinker - he probably liked the scene - he loves the cold! No, really, he knew it would be a cool addition to some man cave somewhere. The beige table down in front - I hemmed and hawed a bit over. I have enough to fix right now - but you can never argue with good bones. So - it will need a GOOD sanding, and then a paint job. Let's take a closer look at what else is on the table here.

From the top left: 2 white vintage planters -perfect for organizing stuff on your desk, a bowling 'trophy' bottle stopper, the fish sign - from a carnival, a bear and beehive honey pot, a Kodak Brownie camera and case - in mint condition, rooster salt and pepper shakers, a big golf ball - we'll look at that closer in a minute..., The umbrella - a Disney piece from the 1960s - Donald Duck is the handle.
back over to the left: some plastic picnic dishes, a jigger and cups from a travel bar, NOS (new, old stock) set of spoons, two different kinds of toy blocks - one kind my husband remembers playing with, the other has snaps all over them - to connect them to each other - way cute!
On the far right: A bunch of fabulous bronze pieces - way cool! These were from a jewelry store that had closed. Very old - they once had the ever popular pocket watch dangling from them! below that - some wonderful childrens' pots and pans.

as for that golf ball - well lookie there! It's the 19th hole. How kitsch is this???
On the little table I was dithering over:

A fabulous black floral carpet bag and white carpet bag change purse, a baby sweater and handmade flannel slip, the 1970s bowl - with a mink and ribbon hat - would make a great 'spider' fascinator for Halloween! I may have to play with carpet bag for a while - we'll see. It is pretty wonderful.

Other picks that have already been put in place up at It's Bazaar:

The hat rack was getting empty - so I added the peacock blue Peter Pan hat, the purple cloche, and the wool hounds-tooth.

Three fabulous picnic hampers - ready for your fall picnic or tailgating party :)

Two bedroom pieces - a little bit french provincial - one a dresser, one a chest of drawers - there is also a mirror - not shown here. These I added 'as found' - They have great lines, but I am passing them on at a lesser price. Take one home and use it - or have fun with it and paint it up differently!

10:00 am OK - now let's get back to my day... The furniture goes into the truck bed - we hear rumbling in the distance - hmmm... The rest of the smaller items get packed into the picnic hampers and these get loaded into the back seat - I have a crew cab truck - these fold down seats get used quite a bit.
Bob and I go back and forth a minute on how this will all be paid for, and finally Roxann gets a check, and some cash. We say goodbye to Jennifer - it was great to see her if only briefly! We take a different route home - very pretty and scenic. We're still hearing thunder as we drive along and decide it would be a good idea to get the tarp and bungees out to cover the furniture in back. Good thing - because as soon as we do - it starts to rain. The rain follows us the whole way home. Honestly, how many times does a weather front go from NE to SW?? Really?
12:30 pm Once at home - I unload the picnic hampers on to the front porch. Time for some lunch! After lunch I start washing everything, and going over it with a 'fine tooth comb'.
3:50 pm Time to start thinking about dinner - boy am I ready to sit down!

The next day we unload the furniture onto the porch. Thanks in big part to the flooding tropical storm, Lee, that is making it rainy all over the East Coast. I think I am going to repaint the blue pieces - but I change my mind. We re-load them back into the truck - No, Bob doesn't mind - isn't he the greatest?! and helps me unload them, putting them in to place at It's Bazaar. On Thursday I manage to get some suitcases, the picnic hampers, hats and some other smalls, packed up to take to It's Bazaar. Bill, the owner, gives me some good news - the gold 1880s sofa in the background behind the picnic hampers sold the day before. YAY - this is good - because I have had this piece since mid May (which reminds me about another "Day in the Life" post I could do...) I spend 5 hours, pricing and arranging these 'new' finds. All done, time to go home!

My DAY summarized:
Up at 4:30 am - finally 'done' around the same time that afternoon - 12 hour day. But wait, there were two of us. So that makes for even more man hours. And we haven't even taken into account moving the furniture into place, (have't cleaned that yet either), pricing, etc...
Did I make any money today? - NO
Did I spend any money today? YES
And more money - This truck costs a lot in gas these days - the bright spot was that we filled up at $3.49 a gallon - cheaper than it is where we live. Not to say I don't love my Crew Cab Chevy Silverado - I do! But she is an expensive habit.
The rest of my purchases are sitting on the kitchen table - most of them waiting to be photographed and listed in my Missing Heirloom shop on Etsy.

So there you have it. Just one of my days. Now it's up for you to decide.

Project 900 Sq.Ft. purging and organizing

2011-09-06T19:21:00.000-07:00

Soooo... at the beginning of the summer, my workroom organization, which was desperately needed - spurred me on to greater projects.

I have lived in my 900+ square foot house for over 20 years. I love my house - and had lovingly restored it when I purchased it in 1988; but I admit willingly, it has suffered at my own hands. (un)Fortunately I am in the business of creating things - and buying vintage to resell. I love what I do - but until I was recently able to claim my workroom space - I have always marginalized my work area. Of course my work, and my resell stuff eventually took over the inside of the house. It wasn't what I wanted to have happen - but it happened anyway.
I started my business, Bittersweet Design Studio so that when I was fortunate enough to have children, I could be a stay at home mom.
Life was busy - I had a little girl, a house to take care of, and I had my own business:
I had to get things made - wreaths, arrangements, and more, wash and iron vintage linens, wash vintage dishes, and other home decor and price all of the above. And I only had my little house to do it in. Poor house :(

So this is where I stand at summer's end.

Upstairs: I started with my bedroom - I needed to get rid of the clutter and I wanted it to be a restful and serene room. I still loved my curtains, bedspread, etc... So my friend Jennifer helped me rearrange it. Not one piece of furniture is in the same place - and some has gone away!

My beautifully restored Civil War Era bed - with Pottery Barn shams and quilt. The bed was left behind - intentionally, by the seller of a house my Mother bought in 1973. He had plans to restore it, never did and asked if it was OK that he leave it behind. We took it with us when we moved 4 years later, and then 8 years later I stripped and restored it while I was home on Spring break while pursuing my Master's degree in Public History/Historic Preservation at WVU. The quilt is hiding under a pretty Ralph Lauren sheet - because I do have pets - and they go where they want!

I've showed this space before - Bob's collection of goodies sits in this cubby.

This is his 'dresser'. It is an antique base to a stepback cupboard. It was tossed out to a barn or shed and forgotten. I purchased it at an auction in Pennsylvania in the early 1990s, and brought it home in the back of my Toyota Tercel. You should have seen the bevy of 'Old Men' watching me as I slid it in the back of my car. I think they thought I was crazy, they probably had odds going against me that it would go in! I first used it as a changing table for my daughter - over 17 years ago. At one time it was a 'fine' piece. The wood had all been hand painted in a wood grain pattern - and was beautiful. Unfortunately time, weather and rodents ravaged it. I painted the cabinet, scraped what I could in the way of white paint off of the doors, left the drawers alone - because you could still see the graining there. It had no back to it - it must have been a built-in - so I also added bead board to close it off. A bit of work, but well worth it with the use it has had over the years. I think I paid $18.00 for it - even better! More of Bob's toys sit on the dresser.

The top of our wardrobe displayed with antique luggage. The wonderful leather one was purchased at the St. James Rummage Sale a million years ago - for $1.00. The hat boxes hold my summer and winter hats.

We had two other dressers in the room - and they had to go. There just wasn't enough room. Not only did I get rid of things I didn't need - I also downsized - just for the sake of it.
My daughter took the one dresser - and this one will go too. I will be painting it and putting it into my space at It's Bazaar in Purcellville.

I traded both of them for this one - and I am so happy I did! See this post to find out what it looked like when I bought it: http://bittersweetdesignstudio.blogspot.com/2011/07/from-drab-to-fab.html Also - you can see here what I edited my transferware collection to. One milk glass 'goblet' holds manicure items, tweezers, etc... - the wonderful vintage Lucite purse holds my nail polish. Three milk glass compotes on the right hold my vintage bangle collection. I kept the red transferware pieces - a lid less sugar bowl for a candle holder, and two small dishes - a heart one from my dear friend Patty, and a pin dish. These can hold jewelry until I put it away :) Oh and the pink dish in the middle? My grandmother gave it to me as a little girl. We lived a block away from my grandparents - and one time when I had walked up to see them, she sent me home with this dish and a quarter. I couldn't tell you what happened to the quarter - but I still have the dresser tray!

All of this work also made my daughter want to change her room too. We pulled the wardrobe off of the back wall and into the room. The dresser she took from me is in it's place.

We recovered her desk chair, and she spray painted her 'valet' chair, and we recovered that seat too!

Downstairs in the Living Room:

Some of the remainder of the Living Room chaos. Between making jewelry out of new stuff, out of vintage stuff, selling vintage jewelry, and fixing vintage jewelry - there is a lot of stuff to sort!

Necklaces sorted in the first, earrings sorted in the middle, brooches, single shoe clips and rings sorted in the third.

We got all of the non jewelry areas cleaned up and 'edited'. Some of my favorite things are on top of this amazing antique cupboard - all keepers!

So there we are... not done yet - but very close. Stay tuned - and I'll show you more!

Etsy sales for the week

2011-09-06T11:48:00.000-07:00

From Missing Heirloom:
These are the coolest canvas storage bags. They have such a great 'industrial' look! I think they are from a bath house at the beach. But they could also be from a hotel, I suppose. They hang on a wooden hanger, and have a number stamped on them. The 'bag' itself was meant to hold a pair of shoes, and some clothing - either inside or over the 'bag' on the hanger itself.

Aren't they the greatest? I have a number of them - I'll just have to make sure and save one for myself!

For the kitchen - this set of 1970s wood canisters

and a little jewelry (I did say little) - some sweet, tiny earrings!

From Bittersweet Design Studio - a 12" Patriotic Ribbon wreath - custom made and sent off to Hawaii - to be displayed on a door to welcome home a soldier returning from Afghanistan!

Now -- if I can just follow the directions to be able to post some of the recent treasuries I have made and been featured in - you'll see those...

Space Shifting...at It's Bazaar

2011-09-04T16:34:00.000-07:00

When I moved some of my furniture and smalls into It's Bazaar a few months ago they were filled to the gills with vendors. I was able to get a small space out in the middle of the room. A column anchored my space.

Many of the furniture items are from a friend of my Mom's. She was in the process of moving into a retirement community and needed to down size. Her husband had taken up chair caning and she bought him every chair that had a broken seat within miles :)
He did a beautiful job!

I stacked them tall - trying to maximize all of the space possible. The sewing machine cabinet is without a machine. It has all of it's drawers, and is in excellent condition. It would make a great hall table or sofa table.

On the left is my vintage 'dresser'. Bob made this for me to display my vintage hats, purses, and clothes. He made it from an old door - I added a pretty floral porcelain door knob - he attached a 1940s school bench. On the back I had mirrors cut to fit the two recesses in the door. This way you can hold an item up to see if you like it!

Some of the goodies for sale displayed on the fabulous 1930s Art Deco Vanity. I have sold a few ;} things since I started here - and the owners Rebecca and Bill are great!

Four months later...
Luckily for me some wall space opened up - and so Ginna helped me move everything on Friday.

Needless to say, it didn't take me long to put up all of my antique mirrors, my 'Tin Types' (antique tin ceiling tiles - brought back to life), 'Faded Glamour' & 'Window on your World' (my message /jewelry boards).

After one of the little tables sold - I stacked 3 suitcases to make a 'coffee table'. Now I just have these stacked against a wall. Yes - I do have more of these vintage beauties back at my own shop.

The cupboard was here for me to use. I will probably fix it up and paint it. It will make a great display piece - until it sells that is! I will be adding vintage jewelry to the mix in the next few days.

More pics to follow as I change things around. So what has been selling?? Vintage negligees, vintage hats and purses, as well as some smaller pieces of furniture, and art work.

Off to Paris, France this Autumn

2011-09-02T03:08:00.000-07:00

The sweet size 4 coat was found at a yard sale outside of Gettysburg, PA last summer.

The barrettes are vintage mid 1970s - and were mine in high school.

How cute are these?
This is what some fashionable little girl will be wearing in Paris, France this fall. I just shipped them off last week. Very exciting!

Vintage Etsy Society Street Team

2011-08-23T16:29:00.001-07:00

Vintage Etsy Society Street Team, a group on Flickr.

I am so excited - I just joined this Etsy Team!!

Here are the goods!

2011-08-06T10:24:00.000-07:00

This stash is destined for Missing Heirloom and Bittersweet Design online. Look for it SOON!

This group has yet to be sorted!

I'll be pricing these goodies for the Purcellville Town Wide Tag Sale to be held on October 8 and 9. Coming soon!!!

Jewelry organization

2011-08-06T08:05:00.000-07:00

These peg racks originally occupied another wall in the room. Since I was giving up some drawer space (remember - 2 dressers into 1) I needed to reorganize - as well as down size - my costume and vintage jewelry collection. Of course everything is in ROY G BIV order. You know Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet?

So where are the down sized goodies going? To Missing Heirloom for the vintage, Bittersweet Design, for the handmade, - some of these perhaps as early as today! (check the side bars on the right for the two shops), and the Purcellville Town Wide Tag Sale for the newer items.

2 peg racks - already owned, hold my beaded necklaces. 2 wrought iron bird and vine wall decor pieces (purchased at It's Bazaar, Purcellville, VA) have enough tendrils, etc... to hang bracelets and other necklaces.

I had a handmade primitive wall box that held my bangles - but they were overflowing. Time for another solution. I did have a mish mosh collection of Transferware on my dresser - but the pieces didn't work the way I needed them too, and the many colors were too busy. I edited the grouping down to 3 vintage Milk Glass pieces to hold the bangles - again organized - ROY G BIV. I kept 3 smaller Transferware pieces - (all in various red patterns) - a lidless sugar bowl for a votive candle holder, a heart dish - given to me by a dear friend Patty, and a pin dish. The 2 smaller pieces will be a good temporary place for 'catch alls'.

More later!

Keep it simple!

2011-08-05T17:41:00.000-07:00

Here is some more of the ongoing renovation! When I restored the house 22 years ago the bedroom ceiling was the same height as the hall ceiling - 6'2". Yes - I said 6'2". For the hall and eventual bathroom that height was fine.

But why were the ceilings so short?

1. People, for the most part, were shorter back then (remember built in 1909)?

2. The upstairs area was not a public area. When you went upstairs - you went to go to bed.

3. There was also the expense of making the ceilings another 2 feet taller - and this house was definitely built with economy in mind.

However I definitely wanted the bedroom ceiling taller. To do this all of the plaster was busted off the lath, then all the lath was removed - carefully - most of it was salvaged so that other areas in the house could be patched with it later. The ceiling joists were taken out one by one, sent out the window and cut to about a third of their length. Then they were brought back upstairs and re-attached as collar ties. So now I had a hipped ceiling in my bedroom! With this brought some design issues - both 'good' and "hmmm, what do I do with that"? The good was that I 'trapped' two of the attic windows into the room. The "hmmm" part was where the drywall was going to intersect on the interior of the house at the attic area above the hallway.

A stack of quilts were formerly in this cubby. These items were originally in the front cubby - now occupied by cool guy stuff. This area is smaller than the front cubby - so I think my collection might need to be edited.

So where did all this stuff come from? Most of the goodies in this photo are from my childhood. Two bears, Soup Bone and Brown Gravy - made by my Grandma Trulinos, my miniature Blue Willow tea set, A composition doll, Marie - my Mother's only doll - a gift to her at age 13. Also up there Sunshine, my puppy dog from when I was baby, a miniature Bell Telephone music box - from when my Grandmother Nolin worked at the phone company and some dresser jars from when my Mom had first taken up housekeeping.

Cool guy stuff! A few of Bob's favorite books, some vintage tools, and a toy truck from his childhood.

Bob had collected a few tools up to the time when we were married. After that I helped him :) One of the places that I found some neat old tools for Bob was on Carroll Street - Cannon Hill Place at the Old Granary in Frederick, MD.

Regarding the ceiling - there were of course some restraints - plumbing and heating vents had to be considered. I ended up creating a cubby or shelf just above the original ceiling level - and I still like the way it looks!

This is part of my 'reduce and pass on' theory to lessen my 'collection' load at home. Stack of quilts that once occupied the cubby. Look for these soon in my Missing Heirloom shop on Etsy. http://www.etsy.com/shop/MissingHeirloom

This stack of quilts came mostly from when I was buying and selling antiques to put myself through grad school. There are a few that are gems - and a few that are cutter quilts.

The quilts I'm keeping. Ratio is pretty good - about 3 to 1!

A sweet coverlet with a pretty hand stitched edge, a very worn in the middle - but good on the edges Cathedral Window quilt, A Flower Basket quilt made by Great Grandma Fanny.

Stay posted - more progress coming your way!

Etsy Vintage on Tumblr

2011-07-28T14:51:00.000-07:00

Wow how cool is this? I didn't even know Etsy Vintage had a Tumblr page.

Check it out - some of my fondue forks were featured here!

etsyvintage.tumblr.com/

From Drab to Fab!

2011-07-28T04:46:00.000-07:00

My continuing mission to simplify my life - is resulting in a new vision for my sweet 1909 home. Yes - this is all related to the workroom organization, etc...
I started with the Living Room and the Master Bedroom. The major work on the Living Room is just getting my jewelry/other crafting items out of there - and up to the workroom. Some of this has gotten done, but I have put that on hold so that I could make major changes in the Master Bedroom. My friend Jennifer came down for a few days - and we went to work! I love the overall look of this room - but it had been in the same basic configuration for 20 years. I know, I know! Some of this is because it it a small 1909 home and the room has windows/a door on three walls, and has NO closets. First we took the two biggest pieces of furniture - the bed and the wardrobe - and moved them into place. Then we determined that one cupboard would stay - but the two taller chest of drawers had to go.
I would have to find a low, 6 or 9 drawer dresser to take their place. That meant doing a wardrobe overhaul as well (as in making some of my clothes go away - ouch!). Luckily for me, Jennifer is one versatile girl!

Fortunately, within days of needing a new dresser - I found one at an estate sale for $25.00 (I loved that!). Ugly - but I saw that it had potential - hence the title of this post - from Drab to Fab!

Here it is - The top was all scratched and had paint splotches all over it - and the wood finish was questionable. It did, however, have dust protectors between each row of drawers, and was well built - even though it was only about 10 years old. It also had great lines or good bones - very important!!

The 'stuff' on top is just there for now - I am still working on what will stay and go - although I an pretty sure the transferware will stay!

I removed the hardware, washed the dresser inside and out, sanded where I needed to, and then gave it a first coat of paint - I wasn't sure what color I wanted, so I started with a blue/grey. The second coat was a cream color, ending with the top and base being painted a taupe color - a suggestion by another friend Jennifer Huffman, who sells awesome furniture and other cool stuff at the Old Lucketts Store. I shabbied it up just a bit, and then gave it a coat of Butcher's Paste Wax. The hardware was a really ugly color of dark/bright brass so I used a dry brush technique and hit it with the blue/grey paint, and then used the same light touch with the cream color paint. This whole process, from beginning to end, was done over the course of three days. So no big deal - Really!

I love the way it looks - and it was definitely worth getting rid of some clothes to trade out 2 dressers for 1!

More photos of the rest of the room soon!

Nuts and Bolts - and a new computer - finally

2011-07-23T08:49:00.000-07:00

Stacks of chenille, a 'tramp art' or 'make do' cupboard built from fruit crates, stacks of plastic drawers filled with trims, yarns, and vintage fabric.

My plans for the All Media Arts Challenge "Nuts and Bolts" had to be shelved due to my attentions wandering on to more pressing matters - such as my work room. I started setting it up three summers ago. At the time, I had strayed from much of my handmade work and was uncertain as to the direction I was going to go. Over the years I have sewn, dried flowers, made wreaths and arrangements, painted, made signs, refinished and finished furniture, knitted, crocheted, poured candles, made jewelry, and I'm sure there must be something I missed!

Needless to say - all of these activities require a lot of items to keep them 'going'. I had no idea what to keep and what to pass on. Three years later I have a better idea of my direction - and the workroom is almost complete! Much of my supplies are in order and put away, thanks to my daughter, Virginia Theerman "Queen of Organization" and two of her friends Lauren Hunt "Queen of Christmas Balls" and Kristen English "Queen of Ribbon". I love to be organized - but sometimes in my scattered life, this doesn't always happen - but we're getting close folks!
This means workroom stuff *out of the house* and shop stuff *out of the house* - awesome! This will come 'hell or high water' by September.
My other task is to get the shop completely organized - I know - I may be going a bit too far - but it's good to have goals!

Cali gives the workroom her seal of approval - finally more than one place to lay down!

Look for me at Purcellville's Town Wide Tag Sale Saturday and Sunday October 8 and 9. Possibly Friday the 7th too. I will have tons of amazing stuff for sale!

Courtesy of Ginna my workroom has it's own name - "The Fledgling - where ideas take flight"!
The exterior even got a spruce up! Fresh white trim and my signature 'aqua' for the siding.

Stink Bugs - and one way to keep them from infiltrating your house

2011-05-28T07:13:00.000-07:00

Top side of the air conditioner - double taped with HVAC tape

Side view of the air conditioner

Here are a couple of photos - for those of you out there who use portable air conditioners. We were determined to lessen our chances of a stink bug invasion this summer - and here is our solution. The portable air conditioner is a great way for stink bugs to get into your home - all those huge openings!
After wiping down all of the sides (so the tape would really stick), we wrapped all of the sides of the air conditioner (s) with aluminum screening - and taped it down with aluminum tape. This tape seemed a better option than duct tape - because duct tape seems to get gooey, and then dried out, after time - when exposed to weather.

Bottom of air conditioner - the three drain holes need to be covered too - but they still need to drain!

We'll let you know how we fare - so far, with this heat - we have enjoyed at least one night of welcome relief!

Nuts and Bolts - and a borrowed computer

2011-05-28T06:51:00.000-07:00

Okay everyone - I am back for now. I hope to be getting a new computer in the next few days :) Here are two photos of what is in the NUTS and BOLTS bag. Now... What am I going to create? Frankly - and I may have said this in my previous post - the real challenge to me - is to use ALL of the items to create something - not just one item. SO - YES - I will be using them all.

Here is a list of exactly what was in my bag:
1 piece of 600 grit Wetordry sandpaper 4" x 3"
4 pieces of aluminum screen 3" x 3"
1 letter M stencil
2 wooden pegs 2.75" long
1 biscuit
1 split ring washer 7/8" in diameter
1 bolt with nut 2" long
1 tiny thumb screw .75" long
1 locking (?) washer .5" in diameter
8 washers .5" in diameter
1 little round metal 'thingy' - it looks like a round head with a birds beak - and measures 3/8" across - it sits just above and to the left of the split ring washer :)

The pegs definitely say something functional to me - and I am a rather practical gal. With that said - I also love whimsy, and silliness. So - here we go! See you soon with an update!

Nuts and Bolts update - Computer Down

2011-05-11T10:47:00.000-07:00

Sorry folks - you'll have to wait a bit to see what is in the bag for my Nuts and Bolts project... :(
I currently have a Dell Inspiron computer - from 2006. I know, I know - a Dinosaur! The port where the computer gets plugged in, appears to have finally given up - and no longer wants to charge up. SO - onto a new computer - when I have time.
Luckily - I have a Droid phone - so I can stay in touch - but the whole photo thing, and accessing the web from a handheld device - definitely leaves something to be desired!

I could really probably use the prize money from that Nuts and Bolts competition - It could go towards helping to pay for a new computer!

Hope to 'see' you soon!

Nuts and Bolts - come along for the ride!

2011-05-07T05:44:00.000-07:00

Always up for a challenge - this particular 'contest' sounded like my kind of fun.
This is an "All Media Arts Challenge" put on by The Franklin Park Arts Center.
The rules - sign up, pay 5 bucks, print out a certificate, take it to my FAVORITE hardware store - Nichol's in Purcellville. Pick up a brown sack filled with random hardware, use at least ONE of the pieces to create a 'work of art'.

So - what is in the bag? Check back Monday and I'll show you! My idea will be to use all of the items - seems to me that would be a tougher challenge than to only use one...So - come Monday - we'll see what's inside - I can't wait - good thing I'll be really busy over the next two days - and won' t be tempted to look! I'll be busy filling orders for Tab Top Pet Collars!

The Art of ReUse Contest Sponsored by Etsy and Green is Universal

2011-04-22T19:29:00.000-07:00

WoW, have the last two weeks been a wild ride! Two Fridays ago, I opened up my Etsy email, and saw this: Last Chance to Enter the Art of ReUSE Contest Calling all upcycling DIYers! Green is Universal and Etsy want to see your creative ReUSE project. Get the details and submit your project here for your chance to win. Last day to enter is Friday, April 8.

I thought why not take a chance? I have been selling my Tab Top bracelets for a couple of years now, and at my last show, a customer asked if I would make one into a dog collar. I said "Of course"!

This lead me to make one for my medium size Pit Bull Mix, Cali, and to give the design a run for the money.

I used snap rings from Tractor Supply,
and just clipped Cali's ID through the tab tops.

This was the only collar I had made at this point - so I took some pictures - and submitted my entry. I had to list and describe the materials, tell how it was made, and then talk about the finished product.
I didn't have a whole lot of time because I was supposed to meet my daughter Virginia, at school - we we going to hear Mary Badham speak. She is the actress who played Scout - in To Kill a Mockingbird. I managed to squeeze in submitting my Up cycled Feed Sack Totes as well http://www.etsy.com/listing/51606722/recycled-feedbag-tote-baling-twine but was informed, a bit later, that I was only allowed to enter one item per day. I chose to drop the tote, and keep the Tab Top Pet Collars.
We had a talk to go to that night, and then off to see Philadelphia University the next day, and then York, Pa to move a truck and trailer load of furniture. It was CrAzy!

So on the 10th, I thought to promote the contest on Facebook. I may have even tweeted it at some point. On Thursday I was having Virginia help me design some business cards on the computer (to take to a show that coming Sunday in DC) - and I stopped to check my email.

Go figure - I was told that my Tab Top Pet Collars were one of the products that were getting some buzz. I was asked if it was possible to send a collar to NYC. I said 'You bet'! Friday morning there was a FedEx label in my email - and I had 2 collars ready - one small size for a cat or small dog, and one larger, for a bigger dog.
I was PUMPED!

Off to Rockefeller Center, NYC

I took some pictures before I sent them off - and thought - I better get these listed in my Etsy shop! I was up a little later than usual that night - but I was good with that :) I had re-engineered the design somewhat - and am pleased with the more durable results that you see here.

On Saturday the 16th, Jessie Katz put together a treasury on Etsy titled The Art of ReUse http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4da9ca3e793e8eef851b14f2/the-art-of-reuse giving a nod to the TOP TEN - and I was in the TOP TEN. I was stunned!
Needless to say I was on a high all week long. The products were to be received in NYC on Monday April 18th. Of course the email said that breaking news would take precedence over our items being featured - but if they were to be shown - it would be during the 4th hour of the TODAY SHOW with Hoda Kotb and Kathy Lee Gifford.

I called my Mom Ginny, my daughter Virginia, my husband Bob, and a friend Patty - and told them to watch. At the top of the hour - I looked at the desk where Hoda and KLG were sitting - and there THEY were!!! MY Tab Top Pet Collars. I was SO excited!

There was all kinds of stuff they were talking about to start - and the banner at the bottom of the screen covered the top of the desk, and my collars (!) But eventually they got to the Esty (sic) (Hoda) Etsy/Green is Universal contest. First they talked about the jump rope made from dried up magic markers http://www.greenisuniversal-reuse.com/toys-games-gadgets/coloring-markers-jump-rope, then on to my Tab Top Pet Collars. Of course I took pictures of the TV - with Hoda and KLG holding them - trading them back and forth - and Kathi Lee said they were cute!

OK - so this is only Tuesday...but I am definitely floating on air. How awesome :)

Somehow I made it to today - I watched the TODAY SHOW at 10:00 every morning.
On Wednesday they showed the Firefighter Coat Turned Messenger Bag by Evon Cassier, and the sweater skirt by Brightly Colored Twirly Skirt of Upcycled Sweaters by Kelleyanne Wank www.Discordthreads.artfire.com.

On Thursday they showed the Flying Alumifish by John D. Richards JohnDRichards.etsy.com Cast Iron Claw Foot Bathtub Couch by Jill Morrison, ruffhouseart.etsy.com, and Weego the Scarecrow by Leslie Wilton, ZjhunkMetalArt.etsy.com

They didn't mention Re-Zip It! Zipper Brooch by Heather Sennabaum, or Gift Card Earrings by Jessie Katz or 20 Minute Dog Sweater by Jennifer Kerr.

So that was it, Friday was here - and I was ready. I spent the morning photographing and naming all of the colors of ribbon for my Tab Top Pet Collars. Getting collars ready for A show next weekend in Purcellville - Paint the Town Green - as well as for a shop in Purcellville - Everyday Elegance.

10 o'clock was fast approaching - and then I got THE email, at 9:36 a.m.: "Although you were chosen from among hundreds of other participants as one of our ten finalists, the judges have not selected your project as one of the final three winning entries. We thank you for your participation, hard work and commitment to ReUse".

OH WELL! I was still a winner!

I had the greatest ride for two weeks of my life - MY design/product was on National television - if only for a minute - and the judges Andy Cohen, Angela Matusik, Hoda Kotb, Kathie Lee, Lauren Bush, Martha Stewart and Tori Spelling all may have hands on my project.
And the most important part - people obviously saw merit in something that I created!

Thanks to Etsy/Green is Universal, the Today Show, AND everyone who supported me on facebook, twitter, Etsy, and in my local community.

It was a great adventure!

Bolognese Sauce from O Oprah Winfrey magazine

2011-04-21T05:22:00.000-07:00

Karl, here is the recipe I promised you! With pictures even :)

I am not much of a cookbook person, or a recipe person, or even a spaghetti and meat sauce person. But when I read this article and the accompanying recipe for Bolognese sauce - I had to try it. Family and friends are glad I did!

The smaller you cut up the celery, onion and carrots, the better.

I am also not much of a kitchen gadget person, but the Vidalia Chop Wizard
is perfect for cutting down the onions and carrots. It DOES NOT work well
however, on stringy celery!

I use the smaller gridded cutting blade to cut both.
This makes them about a quarter inch in size.
Cutting them this size ensures tenderness by the
time the Bolognese is done cooking.

I have 'rendered' the Pancetta (only Italians could make bacon look pretty)! The celery, carrots and onion are 'softening'.

Because this recipe takes a bit of time to cook, I usually make a double batch. It is well worth it if someone wants seconds, if you want to freeze some, have a larger family, or want leftovers!

Bolognese Sauce
'O' Oprah Magazine

MAKES 4 CUPS of SAUCE
1 medium Onion pinch of Allspice
1 large or 2 small Carrots 1 cup whole Milk
   2-3 stalks of Celery 1 cup dry white Wine
1 ounce Pancetta, very finely chopped 1(15 ounce) can diced Tomatoes and juice
1 pound Ground Beef (not lean) 1 pound Pasta
1 tsp. Salt, 1/8 tsp. freshly ground Pepper Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese, for grating

   1. finely chop onion, carrot and celery. In a heavy bottomed sauce pan or Dutch oven, over low heat, cook pancetta until all fat is rendered, and pancetta is just beginning to brown. Add chopped vegetables, raise heat to medium, and cook, stirring frequently, until onion is translucent and soft.
2. add ground beef, breaking it up with a spoon, 1/4 tsp. (to start), plus pepper and allspice.
MY comment: the AROMA, when the allspice is mixed in with the ground beef is Amazing!!Cook until meat is brown.
3. Add milk. When it begins to simmer, reduce heat to low and cook at a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally until milk has mostly boiled away, about 30 minutes. Add white wine and cook as with milk, until it has mostly boiled away. Add tomatoes and juice; bring to a simmer. Cover pot, reduce heat to low, and allow sauce to cook very gently at barest simmer, 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
MY comment:   at this point, I sometimes transfer the sauce to my large Crock Pot - on low, and cook all day.

4. Just before sauce is done, bring a pot of water to a boil, salt it generously, and boil pasta according to package directions. Drain, mix with a third of the sauce, then serve remaining sauce on top with lots of the grated cheese.
The rest of MY comments:
As I said earlier - I usually make a double batch. This of course changes the cooking time - especially at step 3. with regards to the milk, and then wine, cooking off.

Also as to ingredients:
I am the kind of cook that uses what I have in the house - or what I want to use. If you want to make this low calorie - use lean beef and non fat milk. I have made this with venison (very lean), and also have used all of the combos of 'fat' versus 'non fat' ingredients. I always err on the 'more' side when it comes to the veggies - especially the carrots and celery. The wine - as long as it is 'dry', can be inexpensive.

Although this recipe takes time - remember that the final hours can be done in a Crock Pot. This is absolutely DELICIOUS. You won't be disappointed!

Mangi!
If you have any comments of your own - leave them below!

Sorry I bailed on you...

2011-04-21T02:19:00.000-07:00

I'm back...

My Story:
Some time ago, someone was searching the web and came across some photos of my newly redone 1960s French Provincial furniture. They had similar pieces, and their furniture was in need of some love. They wanted some advice. To be able to share it with everyone - instead of just answering her questions privately...I wrote this great post, answering in great detail, how to redo this type of furniture.
Because Google doesn't allow you to be logged into your Gmail address while being signed into Blogger - and I was currently signed into my mail account - when I went to post this particular blog entry - I lost the whole thing.
I was so pissed off - I haven't posted since.

But I need Blogger - Facebook is great for the 'close in' circles - but I want the wider audience, and the ability to share more info - so -

So here goes... don't disappoint me... My first post will be for my Cousin Karl - he wanted my recipe for Bolognese Sauce :)

Pleasant Valley Fire Department Saturday Fun

2010-08-11T06:26:00.000-07:00

These are photos from last year - This year's event was held this past Saturday - August 7th and was great fun!

The event starts at 9 am and goes until ? They have a field full of sweet vintage and antique cars, a dozen or so flea market vendors, delicious chicken barbeque and great 'oldies' music piped in over a loudspeaker.

Ginna with her dream car of the moment - "But Mom - it's only $5,500"! OK - these days that's not a bad price - and what a sweet ride it is!

The flea market area with some fun finds.

Some of the great stuff I found from last year's show - many of which I still have to list! And I found even more cool stuff this year!

Makeover at Bittersweet Design Studio

2010-08-05T14:14:00.000-07:00

This is currently where my 'to be worked on' furniture is being 'held'. :(

The messy beginnings of my tools/supplies area - but hey - at least there is an area!

Shelf installed and filled with autumnal colored items to be added to my Etsy shop.

It has to get worse before it gets better.
Right - really it does, doesn't it?
This is the view just a foot or two into the shop, looking towards the back.
It actually looked worse just a week ago!

A lovely glass and wood display case for displaying beautiful items - however, now it stores shipping supplies.

OOPS! My shipping counter - which got cluttered up while working on the smaller room of the shop...
I'll fix it, I'll fix it - I promise!!!

The smaller room - where all of the vintage jewelry, purses, shoes, hats and clothes will be, as well as vintage suitcases and other accessories.

Number 2 clothing rack and shelf in place. This rack currently holds clothes from my daughter Virginia's 'mid-retail' experience. Cute stuff that is available for sale and will also be at the Town Wide Tag Sale held in Purcellville, VA the second weekend in October.

Number 1 clothing rack and shelf in place. This photo pleases me to no end! All of the vintage clothing (wait - I have to preface that - the clothing that was already out in the shop) is hung and organized. Some of this is listed on Etsy and some is waiting to be listed. From left to right: negligees, outerwear, evening wear, day wear, casual.

Back to the main room -- A cabinet that I found at My Mother's Closet in Keymar, MD. Look for a post in the future about how I 'restored' this pretty thing. It is filled with items that are already listed in my Etsy shop.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/bittersweetdesign.

Ten Good Reasons

2010-08-05T08:19:00.000-07:00

I am sorry it has been so long... I have been so busy juggling:

1. getting furniture sanded and painted and ready to sell at Everyday Elegance
2. doing the Lucketts Spring Market at The Old Lucketts Antique Store in Lucketts, VA
3. doing the White Elephant Sale at Everyday Elegance in Purcellville, VA
4. all the packing, unpacking and repacking that goes will all of the above
5. entirely reworking the bigger room in my shop by moving the display/checkout counters - to create an honest to goodness shipping area
6. clearing out the front of the shop - to be able to move furniture in and out of the double doors - so I can have a dry place to sand, clean and paint these items
7. getting enough shallow shelving to accomodate all of the 'smalls' I sell on Etsy
8. unpacking, cleaning and displaying all of those 'smalls' on said shelves
9. getting all of the seasonal items packed in boxes and into the little storage room
10. expanding the capabilites of the smaller room (formerly occupied by Moonshine Essentials) by putting up two 5' + clothing rods with shelves above to accomodate all of our vintage clothing, and arranging said clothing - now to be used by both me and V La Mode (formerly M.E.)

We have just finished #10 - and will be going back out to continue working on that room a bit.

I am so excited - I really was beginning to wonder if all of my plans that I had for this space would come to fruition this summer. We are getting so close to this becoming reality at this point I can hardly believe it!

SOOOOOO... Party with me!

CelebraTe ~~~~~ WOOT! ~~~~~ YipPEe! ~~~~ WooHoo! ~~~~

Pictures of the before, during and after will follow in the next post.

Easter Cupcakes - Cute made Easy

2010-04-04T10:18:00.000-07:00

Simple, easy, cute and taste good too! I used Betty Crocker Super Moist Vanilla cake mix - following the directions on the package. I used some cute Easter egg cup cake liners to line my muffin pans. After baking and cooling - I popped open a tub of Pillsbury Creamy Supreme Vanilla icing and got to work. I also had some pastel colored sprinkles on hand, as well as some Peeps, Jelly Belly jelly beans, and some of Brachs malted milk 'bird eggs' for decorating.
Put the icing on each cupcake as you work - don't do all of them ahead, as the icing will 'crust over' slightly and the sprinkles and decorations won't adhere.

Voila! Here is the finished product - ready to grace an Easter or Spring dessert table - and Enjoy!

Day Two of the Transformation

2010-03-04T15:51:00.000-08:00

Two days - two people and a dog - I would have never thought it possible. The transformation in the barn at Really Great Finds is complete! Of course I could add more - and will - but this is a great start!After the paint dried...We starting moving in furniture.

Our rescue dog Cali helped out both days. When she wasn't following us back and forth and up and down the stairs, she cuddled up on her bed by the heater.

TA DA!

A little further along - with a dining table and chairs, little red, kitchen cupboard, end table, and a large wood framed vintage mirror.

A corner of the room with a closer look at a great 1950s mod pink and grey tea or coffee set.

The cutest red hutch! Perfect in a cozy kitchen, dining room, or even the family room!

Cozy corner with some of my hand painted signs, a 1930s green painted one drawer table and more.

A beautiful silhouette of a bed with coordinating nightstand - vintage 1960s Ethan Allen.

My handmade 100% cotton cloths paired with yummy soaps - private labeled for me by Dick and Julie at The Parsonage.

So there it is - Fresh, bright and pretty - just in time for Spring - a breath of fresh air and new beginnings!

A Clean Slate at Really Great Finds

2010-03-02T17:12:00.001-08:00

Here's the latest news from Bittersweet Design Studio at Really Great Finds:

I am moving from the Garden Room in the big house - out to the upstairs back room in the barn. My husband Bob, pictured below, graciously painted the back and side walls (Sherwin Williams paint - color - Aqueduct), as well as the floor ($5.00 gallon of paint - Sand color - from the Re-Store - Habitat for Humanity's retail store in Purcellville). So here it is - a Clean Slate - just waiting for goodies from Bittersweet Design Studio. We will be moving in some furniture and smalls tomorrow. Donna Horton - who has tons of cool vintage stuff will be moving most of her goodies from the barn into the house.
Check back here tomorrow - we'll have more pics of our work in progress!

Spring Favorites

2010-02-21T05:38:00.000-08:00

Felted flower brooch:

http://www.handamade.etsy.com/ - featured my felted flower brooch in her lovely Spring Treaury - check it out! http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=87997

French Provincial Bedroom Furniture from Bittersweet Design Studio at Really Great Finds

2010-02-13T12:32:00.000-08:00

Vintage 1960s Bassett French Provincial Bedroom Set

Included in this newly repainted set are: a bed, chest of drawers, dresser, mirror, and night stand. Also available - a slightly newer (late 1960s!) coordinating desk. Dressing the bed and also for sale - two Pottery Barn toile shams and a spread, and an awesome 1960s/70s vintage flower power, spring/summer bedspread. Interested? Contact me for prices! bittersweetdesignstudio@gmail.com

Love is in the air

2010-02-12T16:58:00.000-08:00

Love Is In The Air from Betty's Blog - a 'too cute' blog full of recipes and visual goodness. Betty's was sweet to feature one of my vintage necklaces (above) along with some other wonderful items for Valentine's Day!

'Breakin' Up is Hard to Do Open House'

2010-02-11T18:06:00.000-08:00

'Breakin' Up is Hard to Do Open House'
Fri. and Sat. Feb. 12th and 13th
12 noon to 5 pm both days

We are going ahead with the final open house at our Paeonian Springs shop this weekend despite the snowfall!

Wear comfy clothes and warm shoes.

There will be limited parking in the plowed, but snowy lane out in front of the shop.

Please pardon the French Provincial Bassett furniture in front of the shop tomorrow - it's on the way to create a little girl's room over at Really Great Finds in Purcellville.

We hope you are able to stop by!

Elizabeth and Virginia