First Vendor Experience~ WOOT WOOT!

Sunday was very exciting for me. OK, it was exciting and kinda nerve wracking due to the fact I had never been a vendor before. I was given the opportunity to take part in a Sip N Shop at a local vineyard. I had been cranking out ornaments and wreaths for weeks and I wanted everything to be perfect. With not estimating my "loading" and travel time correctly I arrived a few minutes behind schedule to get my booth set up ready for shoppers. But yeah! I do better with a little fire under my butt!!

Here is my little booth- I used a tree branch idea from one of my recent articles to display my ornaments. The silver twigs are just so glamorous! And you wouldn't believe how easy they are to make! With a few funny looks from the hubs I headed off into the back yard with my branch cutter and got busy! I found tons of 3ft long branches to use so I carried back to the house and got to spraying. I used Rustoleum's Metallic Silver finish spray paint to create the high end finish. Hold on to the bottom of the branch and spray until all sides are covered. Total time for this project was 10 minutes tops! I have seen these in floral shops and craft stores for $10.00 each.... mine- $3.00 which was the cost of spray paint. Below you'll find the only downside of working with this spray paint.... metallic fingers.

The show was a success! Met some really wonderful women who were just as silly and creative as me.... and the wine tasting was a definite plus!!! Late I was walking around taking some shots of the lovely scenery and saw an old friend from high school! I was so jealous of his job! He gets to care for the horses and other animals on the farm/vineyard.... and he claims that he is the unofficial wine taster- SO JEALOUS!!!!!!

OH and before I forget the owner of the vineyard has chickens! I love chickens!! I'm almost ready to pack up the family and move out to the vineyard...I'm sure the owner won't mind.

"HUBS!" "GET OUT THE MOVING BOXES, WERE MOVING!"

Aged Ornaments

These little gems were so much fun to make. I knew in my mind what I wanted... just had to make sure I had all supplies to make it happen. Glass balls, Check! Ribbon, Check! Adhesive, Check! Aged Paper... hmmm, no check (frown). So off to the thrift store I go! I was sure there would be a huge stack of old books with a flashing sign pointing to it~ Here Bri~ We are right here!!!! Well.... It seems to me ideas in my head are always cooler than reality. Cause no flashing sign was found... not really any cool old books were found. I did however find an old novel/murder mystery tucked in the back.. SOLD! Which reminds me to tell you if you decide to tackle this project yourself- Please pay attention to the words you are putting on the ornament! Please- For goodness sakes, you do not want the words, "She has been dead for three days" or "he killed his wife" on your lovely, danty ornament. They may think you are trying to secret messages.. totally not the case, but I will say I came very close to letting that happen. Next time I will make sure I pick up nice books, with nice words written inside.

Once I started my ornaments I soon realized that if I just "wrapped" them in paper.. it would look odd. Not that you can't try this method, I'm sure if you pleated the edges it would be really nice. Hence the word "I" the previous sentence; If "I" wrapped them they would look odd. I'm an not the best pleater, (is pleater a word?) Anyway, I choose to tear the pages into smaller "workable" pieces to cover the glass.

As you can you see this project isn't for the clean freaks. Don't worry, because I am NOT a clean freak! After seeing this brush, can you even begin to image what my hands looked like?! I was even using my fingers to spread the glue around to make the paper lay flat.. Again, can you even imagine what my hands looked like?!.. I would have taken a picture, but it was too gross to photograph.

I know a lot of people out there who are Twilight fans so when when I took this picture of my very special glitter I could only think of Edward and how he sparkled in the sunlight. I couldn't help myself~ And if you were wondering- No I did not go and see the movie, I can barely get out of my house long enough to get coffee. So no late night movie adventures for me. OH before I forget, no editing of this picture of glitter was done after I took it. The glitter is made of German Glass and it's FABULOUS!!!!!!!! It ages... it turns.. it makes me happy!

Here they are.. not quite done yet. I wanted to add some black ribbon to set off the look. I had some really cool vintage transfers I was going to try on a few too.

I decided to play around with the glitter a bit more. I added a few transfers to a select few. But the result is fantastic! I went by the shop today and set up a tree and loaded it up with these!! SO PRECIOUS!!! A think this is a perfect gift for a book lover, or anyone who love vintage glam.

The detailed ones are $8.00 a pc. and the plainer ones are $6.00

Look for the Hymanl versions coming soon!!!

Today is going to be a busy day. Between loading up furniture to go over to the shop and getting my house ready for family to arrive on Wednesday.. Oh and kids will be out by Tuesday... Please say a little pray for me that I can get it all done in time. OH Wait! The turkey!.. when does the turkey need to come out of the freezer?? Can't forget that! This 20 lb. bird needs some time to thaw.. oh boy.

Can't seem to get out of my pj's

To be completely honest, I have had gloomy day.. It's raining and I can't pull out the big guns and start new projects just yet. We lost a really close family friend yesterday and I am feeling sad. It doesn't help that I am still in my pajamas in the middle of the afternoon.... Do you ever have one of those days where you just can't get going? I wish I could call my BFF over(who is 600 miles away)sit feet to feet and talk. OK OK... I will move on from this pity party I am having for myself... Let's get to know this new little gem I got a few weeks ago. She was rescued from a little town outside of Lynchburg called Altavista. She had no problems, just was lacking something. She was just down right plain. Not that there is anything wrong with plain... Some days I prefer a turkey sandwich- plain. Do I dare say a doughnut? (I do love doughnuts)but I like them plain. I could go on and on about this (and doughnuts) but I'm pretty sure you get it.

I used my trusty Milk Paint and layered her in two coats of "Linen". I let her dry overnight and then the next morning after a good examination I decided she needed texture. I then dry brushed ASCP's "French Linen" all over.. Once the caulk paint was dry I applied a clear wax in sections. Sanded away the "thickness" and was very pleased with the results. I had mentioned on my Facebook page that I was kind of bummed about the weather and had no choice but to hold a photo shoot on the porch... I had originally pictured a "Beachy" scene... but it's November in Virginia!! So fall arrangement had to do.

Hope you liked it, I am off to finally get dressed and determined to have a better afternoon!