Pine Harvest Table

This is the first of several harvest tables Bob will be "harvesting" from the lot of five of those 12 foot workbench/tables we bought.


I love the character of the wood. I might sand a little longer on the next one, just to see the difference in the two.


I put it in the shop and set it with this wonderful set of dishes... the dishes sold in 20 minutes!


So I set it again with this set of dishes... still fun, but not nearly as graceful and elegant... more of a shabby look.



I love these "Merry Christmas" 3-D decorations!

I am truly blessed...

I'm so thankful for all the blessings God has touched in my life with... I have a loving, beautiful, healthy, huge family, an incredible home that my husband built for us, a group of friends like no other and so many things that I love and treasure surrounding me. I am truly blessed and thankful!

Cheer's to Miss Polly of Sassafrass! Check out my green wainscot cupboard!

There's another "Polly" on the blog block and she's from Sassafrasstuff!
Her blog about their float inspired me this week and I went to town on my own green cupboard. I think it turned out great and I wanted to share some pictures of it... I'd love to hear what you think! I love to read other blogs. There are so many talented and wonderful people out there sharing what they do for all to see. I am truely grateful to have found this little spot and to have so many great places to visit when I'm surfing from my favorite spot on my couch.
Here's to you Miss Polly of Sassafrass!!!

The mantle is for sale...

I had a question about the mantle from "Rita", but she doesn't have a blogger profile to reply to, so here's your reply, Rita, if you are out there. I have $295 on the mantle in the shop... my bottom dollar is $240. Thanks for asking!

Festive views of Polly Ann's

Just a few pictures of things I have been working on at the shop. I worked my fanny off today, but hardly had more than a handful of customers. Somethin's gotta give here. I don't like spinning my wheels, but this month seems to be about spinning 'em good. Tomorrow my plan is to make candles. I have had a request for "monkey farts", so tomorrow, monkey farts it is. (It really smells wonderful... just like sweet banana candy.)


The mantle keeps changing. I hope it sells, but it'll be a bear to undress!

A sweet little festive table for little ones...

This old santa mask has gotten lots of comments... most of them about a grandpa that used to wear one and it scared them to death as little kids!

I love these sweet little hand-crocheted animals. We have a mouse couple, a monkey couple and a bear couple. My mom had this crafter make a bunch of these and she always hung them on her tree at Christmas... something about her I will never forget...

I think this table turned out great... more of the traditional holiday colors than I sometimes use, but I couldn't resist!


Hope you all have a fantastic Friday tomorrow and I hope you will stop in soon if you can. Til next time - Polly

A festive fireplace mantle...

I love this old fireplace mantle! It came out of a house that was going to be torn down just east of Cedar Rapids... We rescued as many things as we could from the house, but the floors were literally rotting and collapsing underneath our feet. I thought about rigging up a pulley and rope system so I could cross the floor to rescue some things, but it was just too dangerous. This mantle reminds me of all of the times I have had these sorts of experiences in my 18 years of being an antique/junk dealer and rescuer. I've been in houses with LOTS of bats, LOTS of mice (dead and alive), mold, grease, grims and dirt of all kinds and, most frequently, houses where the owners lived through the depression and felt they were going to need the everyday items someday. Things like the styrofoam liner on the bottom of the pound of hamburger, things like cottage cheese containers, bread sacks, newspapers, coffee cans, etc. It's amazing how often I run into that...
Anyway, back to the mantle. I've been buying candlesticks and mirrors like crazy, because I LOVE this look. I wish the mantle was a little deeper so I could give it more dimension, but, alas, it's not so I guess it'll have to do the way it is. I used cedar boughs for greens and I love the smell of it. I sometimes wish that I could turn all the lights off in the shop and just let people shop by candlelight. The candlelight ambiance is so much nicer, but it really isn't a good idea in an antique store. One night a year I like to try it... just lamps, strings of tiny Christmas lights and candles. I haven't decided what night it will be this holiday season, but I'm sure looking forward to it.

Congratulations Barb at simplyiowa!

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A big "congratulations" goes out to Barb {simplyiowa} and her growing family. Barb became a grandma this weekend to a beautiful baby boy! I love all things baby, so I thought I would share a few things from my store... babies are so inspiring!

Trying to get motivated for Christmas...

A pretty bowl of ornaments... I'm starting to get motivated for Christmas, but need some more inspiration.

I sweet pair of vintage cherub lamps and a couple of sweet little chalk cherub wall ornaments... I love cherubs!

This is just a partial set of dishes... no cups and saucers, but the colors lend themselves to adding almost any color of depression glass and work well with moderntone pastels, too... this is a set I love playing with!

I love these three carved wooden singing figures. I'm not sure who made them, but I have seen others similar to these...great for Christmas!

I love letters!

Letters, letters, letters... I love letters!!! These little chip board letters (bottom bowl) sold well at 25cents each...the ones in the middle came from an old anagrams game... they sold even better at 50cents each. I never get bored when I have letters to make words with. Blocks are so much fun, too.

Thank you Sarah!!!

A big thank you to Sarah for carving this fantastic "Polly Ann's" pumpkin for me. She's such a sweetheart and it has been such a blessing to get to know her better each and every time we get the opportunity to hang out. Love you, kiddo!

So happy to be show free for a few months...

We had three great shows, but I can't tell you how happy I am that they are over now. I have spent the last two days working on putting the shop back together and getting the trailer unloaded. I'll be there all day tomorrow and all day Thursday and then I'm taking off for a few days. Next week I have promised my house a bit of my time. It's a wreck! We haven't eaten at the kitchen table in about four weeks... imagine that!
The last show we did was in Rock Island for Melting Pot Productions Antique Spectacular last weekend. I didn't sell as much as I wanted to (I never do... I want to sell it all so I can go shopping again!), but I did have a good show. I have to figure out how to work a bunch of stuff into an already packed shop. So far I've got most of the furniture in, but haven't even started on the boxes of small stuff and linens. That is tomorrow and Thursday's work. I'm actually looking forward to it. I've got a really nice selection in my inventory right now and am hopeful for the Christmas season. I wish more people would realize that a gift from an antique store is unique and welcomed. Our local "community development group" is sponsoring a "Postcards for Santa" campaign this season so people can come in the shop and fill out a "wish list" to be sent to their special someone. I think it is a fantastic idea. I'm hopeful that it will help to get a few more shoppers in the store for Christmas.
Once I get the shop in order I'll get some more pictures on here. If you see anything you want info about, just give me a shout.

Gearing up for Rock Island!!!

Bob and I will be unloading and unpacking and reloading and repacking for the Antique Spectacular in Rock Island, IL this Friday night, Saturday and Sunday. We've got a lot of work to do and I'll try to get some pictures posted later today of our progress. I think I'll be going with a bit more of a traditional theme this weekend... pretty plates, dishes, upholstered and refinished furniture. A more clean look for this show. I'm starting to get really excited about it. More to come...