I Can See the Finish Line!

This craft trailer is so close to being complete that it's making me a giddy. Here are the latest pictures.

 

The sanded, finished, completed work table. I cannot wait to start working on that great expanse!

 

 

The closet doors are reattached, primed, and...

 

painted! Just need to add the handles. We're still discussing which handles to use.

 

 

All of these drawers had to be decoupaged. 

 

I got about six done before Christmas.

 

I finished the rest of them last night, and Roger installed them today. The handles and pulls are all from Ikea. Unfortunately, we didn't buy enough when we were there in October, so we are three handles short. And, Ikea doesn't sell them online. And, the Kansas Ikea doesn't open until sometime next year. I'm looking into other sources, but if anyone has three extra red Ikea Satta handles that they'd like to sell, let me know!

 

 

There are four doors that go along the very bottom of my cabinets. I found these awesome animal pictures in a Child Craft book from the 70s. I decided they'd make a nice pop of color. These are my doors in various stages of drying. This is how I've spent my New Year's Eve. Yeah, I'm pretty hardcore...

 

Tomorrow, I am going to start sorting and packing my craft supplies. It's hard to believe that I am finally to that stage! There is still some touch up painting to do in the trailer, a couple of doors for Roger to build and install, and the broken windows still need replaced, but it is ready for me to dust, sweep and start moving in! So, you know how I'll be starting 2014!

 

Happy New Year!

Looking like the real deal!

We had beautiful weather in Kansas today. Roger took the opportunity to do more work in the craft trailer. I can't believe how incredible it is looking. And the major components are all falling into place!

Check out these cabinets! The ones at the far end will be drawers. The white ones will be open and the bottom of the nearer cabinet will be doors.

We've collected old refrigerator drawers to fill the top spot in the white cupboards. This end is also intended to be used as a fabric cutting area. (I'm sure I'll manage to cover it with all kinds of stuff when I'm not cutting fabric!)

This yellow section will have drawers. The plan is to decoupage the fronts of the drawers so they match the reading nook area. Decoupage is my area of expertise, so I need to get to work on those!

My table is finally up. This is so exciting, because, let's face it, this is where I will be working the most. The table top is pine and will be finished with some kind of varnish or whatever. The drawers on the side were purchased at Michael's. Roger had to cut the table top to fit the curved end of the trailer. (That weird looking leg in the middle is not permanent.)

So, a fair amount of the work still to be done needs to be done by me! Decoupaging all those drawers and doors will take some time. Roger does still need to hang the closet doors and make doors for the storage area under the reading nook.

Wouldn't it be amazing if it were done by Christmas? I'm not holding my breath, but it's a nice thought.

Unique Antique Market

Roger and I spent Sunday in our booth at the Unique Antique Market in Wichita. So many gorgeous booths and lots of great stuff! Since it was an indoor show, I finally got to wear my vintage-style red dress.

We sold stuff, but I'm most excited about what we bought! Our neighbor had some awesome stuff. Roger bought this Royal Crown sign.

 

I countered by buying this adorable shooting target toy. I love those little crows and their hats!

 



We added these two beauties to our collection. Both have gorgeous frames and curved glass.

 

These Scotch tape tins will be perfect for storing bits and bobs in my craft studio.

This fabulous red suitcase was in Olive and Mickey's booth. And, I had a blue suitcase in my booth that I knew Teresa (goodness, I hope I'm remembering her name right!!) had been admiring. So, we swapped!!

My most favorite purchase was this gorgeous handmade pin cushion by Lori Casey. The detail and workmanship is divine. I'm so happy to add this to my collection.

 

And, I didn't buy this, but I snapped a picture because it's the best creepy cool thing I've seen in a while! And, it's that time of year!

 



Happy Halloween!


Find more great stuff at Thriftasaurus!

Working on the fun stuff!

Things really are starting to come together. Even I am beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Roger and I both took last week off from work, and Roger spent a fair amount of time out in the trailer. We also took a trip to Menards and found the perfect material for the counter tops.

Last night I went looking for the perfect fabric for the curtains. I came across this one on my local quilt shop's website. My thought was that I would go browse the store today, measure tonight and buy tomorrow, but when I got to the store today, I found out that this fabric had already been sent out to their discounted fabric store on the other side of town. I took the fact that it was discounted as a sign that this was definitely the perfect fabric. So, I hightailed it out to the outlet mall and bought all they had - 12 3/4 yards from a 13 yard bolt.

I bought this, too. Because who the heck goes to the fabric store and only buys one thing??

The picture doesn't do justice to how bright and vivid these prints are. I'll probably use them for a pillow. Something that really shows off those cute little dollies.

Anyway, we also went down to San Antonio last weekend for a short vacation to SeaWorld. On the way there, we passed an IKEA. Just think! I could pick out my IKEA stuff in person and we wouldn't have to pay shipping. We could just haul it home with us! So, on our way home, we stopped by and had a great time buzzing though the store and picking up just what I wanted. (Our kids hated it. Our son has ranked it number four on his list of most hated stores. Right after Dillons (grocery store), Lowe's and Menard's.)

Being there in person with my contractor (Roger) made it much easier to figure out exactly what we needed in terms of IKEA's hanging rail system. You buy some cute rails like this:

Then you buy little things to hang from them to hold stuff. Like this:

Or these:

And, I've been needing a chair. This one is quite comfy. Granted, it doesn't have wheels, but since I question how level my trailer will actually remain, that might be a benefit.

Finally, the piece that I have wanted since the moment I laid eyes on it! This gorgeous rolling kitchen cart!

It's just as beautiful as I imagined. I can't wait to fill it full of stuff!

Yes, there has been more progress made on the trailer, but I haven't taken photos in a while. I promise to do it soon!

More Red!

Because I think all doors should be red, Roger painted the inside of my main door red to match the closets. He also did fixed the handle to make things easier to close and lock/unlock.

The little "back door" is now red, too. And check out that super cute book shelf! I love the little beadboard detail at the base. (It's actually covering the ugly wheel well that sticks out of the closet.) It's all about the details, right?

And, here is the back end of the trailer all nicely trimmed and painted. The underneath storage still needs doors, the majority of the painting is now done.

I found this delightfully chippy ceramic cat at the Kansas Barn Sale this past weekend. She'll be taking up residence next to the fireplace when all is said and done. Just another detail!

Home Stretch?

Roger says he feels like things are finally coming together on the trailer and that he feels like the end is in sight. I know he's out of his mind, because I can make a list a mile long of stuff that still needs to be done. But, it is starting to look like my dream space, so I can't complain!

 

 

 

The reading nook is looking amazing! It's all walled-in, trimmed and ready to be painted. 

 

 

The opposite end of the trailer is nearly done. We decided to paint all of the trim white, rather than a color. It makes the space look bigger, and I'll add splashes of colors when I do the window coverings. At this point, I'm going to do valances, rather than full curtains, because I want to use those window ledges as display space.

 

Next, Roger wants to focus on building the work table that will fit under the front window. I'm asking for a plain wooden table top. Something smooth, clean and easy to clean up. Something I can add my own character to.

 

Not sure how much work is going to get done on the trailer for the next few weeks. We will be participating in three shows in October, so I am headed in to preparation mode for those. Lots of things to clean, tag and pack. Busy! Busy!

Loot!

A few weeks ago, I was totally surprised to find out I had won a giveaway over at Andromeda Vintage! Let me tell you that Melissa over there knows how to put together a vintage goodie box! I was blown away by all the awesome loot I got!

 

Let's see if I can list it all! Cross stitched apron, potato chip bag, Bingo card, tea canister, pyrex fridgie, tennis playing santas, yellow melmac cream and sugar, knee hugger elf, thumbtacks made from vintage buttons, salt and pepper shakers, fans, notecards! That's a lot of stuff to fit in a flat rate priority mail box!

 

Keep cool, and be gay! The handle on this fan is so bright and the Japanese images are fantastic.

 

 

These two may be my favorite things from the entire package. A couple of cute little bell pepper headed salt and pepper shakers. Cute faces, and I really like bell peppers! Always have!

 

An Early American fridgie in perfect condition. I love that it has a cat on it. This will find a home in the craft trailer storing this and that.

 

I don't yet know what I'm going to do with it, but I love this unused vintage potato chip bag. I'll have to figure out a way to use it in the trailer. The colors are just perfect!

Go check out Andromeda Vintage! Seriously, she finds some of the best stuff!

Weekend Picks, Etc.

We knew we had an auction to go to last Saturday morning right in our neighborhood. How handy is that? While I was getting ready, Roger ran down to scope it out. He came back and told me there really wasn't much there, except some chrome and laminate tables. Now, he can say that sort of thing, but I like to see for myself. I'm pretty good at finding stuff that he overlooks. And, vice versa. That's why we work together on this. The auction didn't last long - less than three hours. We came home with a number of great things!

 

 

I picked up a flat and a couple boxes/bags of small Christmas décor. I love all these little angels. Especially the little cardboard ones with the wooden bead heads.

 

 

I could not figure out the point of this Styrofoam Santa, but how can you possibly go wrong with a Styrofoam Santa?

 

And, then my sister asked me if it opens....Oh my gosh!! It's a Styrofoam Santa cooler!! Why would you need a Santa cooler? Why not? I can hardly wait to start decking our booth for Christmas.

We also picked up a flat of baby toys. I probably would have passed them up at first glance, but Roger pointed them out, so I picked through them a bit more. It was the blue bear rattle that sold me.

I picked these two pillows out of some boxes of ratty blankets. They're pristine and obviously handmade. What is this pattern called? It looks like stained glass.

Remember the chrome and laminate tables? Yeah, we bought five of them. I'm not even going to tell you what we paid. It was criminal. What do you do with five tables? Stack them in your living room, of course! Hoping to get these out of here soon!

More great finds at Thriftasaurus!