Just a bit of Christmas...

I'm trying to come out of my shell a bit
.
when it comes to photographing mine and Mr Twig's home.

Baby steps here, so I snapped a couple of small Christmas vignettes
which are still very much evolving.

Keep in mind that practically anything Christmas-sy in these photos
was purchased at the amazing, incredible Dollar Tree!

 

 

 

More to come in the days ahead...in the meantime,
stay warm, enjoy family, and remember The Reason for the Season!

Happy Weekend!

Just a quick little hello before bed to wish all of you
a happy and blessed weekend!

My beautiful, brand new, 50¢ reindeer
wanted to make an appearance, too...

Dontcha LOVE him?!?!? And he's really BIG, too!

St. Vincent de Paul kicks A!!!!

Oh, and I redesigned my business cards, tell me whatcha think.

 

OLD CARDS:

 

NEW CARDS:

 

Better? I think so.

I'm working all weekend, so y'all remember pitiful me 

whilst you're out hitting the sales and just living it up in general!

Where THIS Woman Creates...

I'm not overly big on snapping and sharing all sorts of shots inside my home.
We have a very nice, roomy, comfortable dwelling,
but there are  aspects about it I'm dying to change....swap out the carpeted areas for wood floors, finally get moving on some window treatments, etc.

I also cop to feeling a bit intimidated by the absolutely mad decorating skills
of some of you ladies and gents! No need to name names, you know who you are...

There's a really wonderful publication called Where Women Create,
and it's filled with image after image of the workspaces of inspiring, creative ladies.
I'm always fascinated to see where my blog friends whip up their magic,
be it a studio, office, or like me, a desk in the living room
and a workstation in the computer room.

Today I'm going to give you a glimpse of my tiny little creative space
just off the front door in the living room.

 

Not loving the green carpet, but oh how I love this desk! 

Found at a garage sale about a month and a half ago for....get this...$7.50.  

I recall a tale from  Stan Williams, The Elegant Thrifter himself, 

of a much beloved desk he rescued in the early 80s for $10, which you can read about here. 

That's exactly how I feel about my utilitarian beauty, 

and I'm not even going to brag that I beat Stan by a whole $2.50! ;-)

This is really an amazing piece of furniture, 

heavy and sturdy and save for some wear on the desktop, in absolutely stellar shape.

The gorgeous chair was purchased from my bestest guy-pal junkin' buddy 

Troy of Junk Exchange, and I can't imagine 

another chair fitting quite so perfectly, can you?

My antique mail sorter, and I know for a fact that it is 

fo shizzle a true antique, this baby is OLD!

I use it to store craft glue, paper clips, stamp pads, glitter, and the odd tchotchke.

 

 

 

 

 

 

That's a bird's eye view of just one of the areas I like to spread my creative wings.

Hope you've enjoyed the tour!

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

The big move to the new and improved booth downstairs?
The one I talked about HERE not even a week ago?
Not gonna happen, at least not yet.

It's a long and circuitous story, but basically,
the gal whose booth I was going to take over downstairs was going to move
to a larger booth (which I don't want).
Her deal fell through, so basically, she's staying put in the booth I was going to move into.
The antique mall owners were very apologetic and said they'll let me know
the minute something else opens up.
No biggie, there's actually a part of me that's sorta relieved.
As much as I'm all for boosting sales,
I wasn't looking forward to transferring what amounts to the contents
of a small apartment downstairs in less than a month.
I think I'd rather wait until after Warrenton, if at all possible.

Ahhh yes, Warrenton.

Which brings me to part deux of what's been on my mind of late.

For those not in the know, twice a year, Spring and Fall,
these sleepy little (and I do mean LITTLE!) farming communities
become home to what is known as Antique Weekend.

This is an event of truly biblical proportions...it is a huge gathering of antique and collectible vendors from across the USA and even abroad. Tens upon tens of thousands of folks descend upon about a half-dozen tiny Texas towns at a point roughtly halfway betwixt Austin and Houston. Most of the shows are to be found along Hwy 237 in the towns of Round Top, Warrenton and Carmine, but there's much to be seen in the surrounding areas as well.

I think that there's a misconception that I'm a much bigger whoop than I actually am,
and maximus mea culpa for contributing to or perpetuating that notion.
Yes, I will be in Warrenton in the Spring. Yes, I will be selling.

But this ain't my rodeo. I'm hitchin' my wagon to the inimitable Effie,
who is a seasoned vet of the Big Show and hardly needs the likes of me to boost her sales.

That's me and Effie on the left, one of the absolute sweetest, 

most generous ladies I have the privilege of knowing. 

She is graciously allowing me to meet up with her in Warrenton, 

help her set up, sell some of my wares with hers, and BONUS, 

I get to stay with her at her Mom's! 

All that for a rookie seller who doesn't even merit a first floor antique mall booth.  ;-)

 

(Hi Debra!)

So while I will be thrilled to see all my bloggy friends in Bar W Field, 

come primarily just to say hi to me, but to BUY from Effie. 

She'll be the big dog there, I'll just be the wet nosed pup hoping to learn a trick or two. 

Come Fall, God willing, maybe I'll break out on my own 

and set up my own tent during Antiques Week. 

Who knows, by that time I may have even been deemed worthy 

of that first floor space!

Toodles for tonight!

It's Poll Time Again, Kiddies!

I had such a fun time learning more about y'all during my last POLL
that I wanted to do it again.

Take a peek to your right ----------->>> and cast your vote!

So I was strolling through the local mall with a friend the other day,
as he wanted to buy a scarf for a gal pal.
I casually mentioned to him that I didn't really enjoy shopping retail anymore.
He gave me a quizzical look and said "Oh, so you're above it, eh"?
Ha! I had to laugh as I quickly corrected him, actually, I'm beneath it!

I explained that I take no joy in perusing aisle after aisle of
mass-manufactured, cookie-cutter wares these days.
My greatest treasures are unearthed in far less lofty surroundings....
other people's garages and driveways, out in a muddy cow pasture at the crack of dawn,
underneath a pile of moth eaten old textbooks in thrift stores...

So once again, it got me to thinkin' (uh oh).

Where do YOU find your heart's desire?

Is it at a retail outlet? Heaven knows I love me some Anthropologie, 

but given my druthers, I'll choose an estate sale every time!

Are you more of a crack-a-dawn garage sale maven, 

or are crowded thrift stores more your speed?

Or maybe you eschew paying altogether and fancy yourself a curbside pirate of sorts.

Do tell!

Anything and everything you've seen pictured in this post
was lovingly liberated from someone else's home and/or garage this past weekend
and is offered to you via Fiona and Twig on Etsy.

Have a great Tuesday!

And The Winner Is....

Many thanks to all the kind folks who entered my 100th Post Giveaway this past week!

Along the way I also picked up my 400th follower,
so in addition to the $25 Gift Card to Anthropologie
and the surprise from my Etsy Shop, I added one more little token of thanks.

And the winner is...

Heidi

from 

Fairy Footprints in the Sand!

Congrats, Heidi!

"Bob, tell Heidi what she's won"!

In addition to a wonderfully spendy $25 gift card from the one-and-only Anthropologie...

(Anthro Elsa Gloves. Be still my heart! Maybe Heidi will apply her card toward these?)

Heidi will also be getting TWO nifty treasures from my Etsy Shop!

My lovely creamy white finger vase

and...

Headed for my Christmas Shoppe tonight, 

but instead on his way to Heidi's house...

 

My kitschy cute Santa plaque!

Congrats Heidi, just send me your address a

nd I'll have the elves get your goodies out to you next week!

Now, where's that vino, hmmmm?  ;-)

Growing Pains

So I got word this week that what I had been hoping for
was likely going to become a reality, should I so desire it.
But do I? Decisions, decisions. Be careful what you wish for....

Since opening my booth in the antique mall a couple of months back,
I've been located in a nice size booth on the second floor.
It's in an okay location, but merely by virtue of the fact that it's on the second floor,
it gets waaaaay less traffic than the 30 or so booths on the first floor.

 

Well, this past week I was offered a primo, high-traffic space in the mall
after the first of the year for only a smidge more rent. 
I already know that I'm going to take it, my husband and I have discussed it,
and it makes sense to see if what they say is true,
that I can expect my sales to probably quadruple after the move.

I know it's going to be more work, but it's another one of those situations
where you have to acknowledge "Okay, I'm stretched a bit thin here....
full-time job, booth stuff, an Etsy shop which keeps me super busy,
a household and a husband....am I nuts???"

But (and there's always one of those, ya know) maybe this is my time.
Maybe this is the natural progression of building my business,
of establishing my brand. Warrenton is in the Spring.
Then what? So many dadgum questions.

 Am I excited? You betcha! Afraid? Just a bit. Worn out yet? Absolutely!

But I'm walking through that next door, 

the one I referred to in one of my very first posts 

here way back in August.... Remember?

 

I'm still carting around a lot of the same insecurities and fears, 

but I'm bolstered a bit knowing that I can do this. 

It's not some top secret, ultra exclusive club to which I am not welcome. 

That was my fear in the early days, that the likes of 

Theresa and Mindy and Debbie,et al would laugh at my feeble efforts 

and tell me to get the heck outta Dodge. 

Shoot, I still feel that way sometimes, 

but less and less with each small victory.

So......wish me luck! The adventure continues, 

and it just wouldn't be the same without all y'all along for the ride!