What I Have Been Working On Lately

I am winding down August with a few new projects. I was having lunch with my
Mom a couple of weeks ago and popped into the SPCA's Benefit Shop and saw a
few things that caught my eye. I went back last week to take a look again with hopes
of finding some things I saw to list on Ebay. This is what I came home with.....

 Hand painted Asian jewelry box with satin lining and brass hinges.

Hand painted high tea cups and plates.

A set of yellow cabbage leaf china from Portugal, $5.00 for the set.
On another note, a couple of years ago, I was given some furniture from a realtor who
no longer had the space to store it for staging. They were both in pretty bad shape so I
thought painting them would hide a the damage parts.

The mirror had a big chip on the corner, I used Waverly chalk paint in White to cover the mirror and
make the corner less noticeable, it has good bones.

This piece had some damage to the top and edges, I took the sewing machine out and
sanded the piece before painting it with Valspar Project Perfect Durable latex Enamel in Black Gloss.
I may add gold to the molding detail to the door and knob. It feels good to get these pieces done and
out for sale in my booth. I went by Michaels to pick up some wreaths and garland and then the Dollar Tree for ribbon and flowers and feathers for my Fall wreath project.

I used grape vine wreaths, a mushroom and berry garland with burlap flowers, pheasant feathers and
a little bird. One will go on my door next month and the other will be in my booth. And on a last
note, a few pictures of my flowers, these I planted from seed, so they are late bloomers.

 Zinias

The foxglove in the middle is not from seed, it is a biannual.

The Cleome is a flower that I love and the Hollyhock will reseed itself, you can see those little
brown round buds full of seeds. Looking forward to Fall, my favorite time of year.

Marching Into 2018

We finally made it to March, no major snow storms, a couple of warm days'
a little wind storm and we are counting down the days to Spring. While stuck
indoors i have made some improvements to the house, read past posts and am
focusing on the store spaces

 You may have not known this but going up I wanted to be an artist. I started taking
art classes at a young age in school and in the summer. I won a few awards, sold a few
paintings and studied graphic design in Atlanta for a few years. I have dabbled in painting
every now and then, a couple of weeks ago on my day off, I went to Michaels and bought
some canvases. Here is the result.....
LANDSCAPE #1

 Painting is very relaxing, I just let the day and start painting. I use acrylics and the gold
leaf frame is from Blick. I also reordered more candles, sachets and diffusers from the
all green company that i carry called Greenleaf out of Spartanburg, S.C.

It makes my space smell amazing and I added a new item from this company, they now
make soaps. All ready for Spring.

Fall Marbleized Pumpkins and More

I have been following a blog, Simple Details, on how to marble pumpkins.

The blue ones turned out better than the orange ones and it is easier to do with smaller
pumpkins. You drop a little nail polish into a bucket of warm water and dip the pumpkins into
it and there you have it. The pumpkins are half off at Michaels and I got the nail polish at
Target.

Here are my Fall porch decorations. the door basket I made came from the Dollar Store
and the pumpkins with garland came from Big Lots. And this beautiful Mum came from
my mother and sister.

One big decision I made after submitting my financials to a bank was that after almost
two years at The Factory Antique Mall, I am not making any money. I am actually losing
money, so I am slowly pulling things out.

My lease is up at the end of November, I probably spend more out there on purchases
and rent than I make. Time to make changes, save a little money.