the farmers market ladder.

Published on by Quandie

My niece Kris salvaged several of these ladders for me from a shop she worked in briefly.  They aren’t old, and they were never meant to actually function as ladders.  They were used for display only.

I decided to paint this one to give it a little more personality and since I seem to be on a green kick this week, I dug out one of my favorite shades of green milk paint, In A Pickle from Sweet Pickins.  It only took one coat of paint to cover the ladder.  Once dry, I added some farmers market stencils in an off-white craft paint.

Then I sanded to distress and added a top coat of Miss Mustard Seed hemp oil.  I brushed on the oil with a cheap chip brush and then wiped off the excess with an old black t-shirt (I didn’t want to leave any white fluff behind).

Hemp oil adds a bit more richness and depth to darker milk paint colors than wax does.  You can really see that with this shade of green.

But here’s a tip for you, although the hemp oil changes the color of the milk paint quite a bit, it does not change the color of the acrylic craft paint.  So keep that in mind when choosing your colors on a project like this.

By the way, how do you like the ‘q-tip’?  It was Mr. Q’s idea and I thought it was pretty clever.  From now on I’ll try to remember to give you a q-tip every now and then.

I added a basket to the ladder and put a potted lavender plant inside along with some vintage gardening tools.

Totally off-season for September I know.  I’m supposed to be sharing fall themed stuff now, right?

Well, one last hurrah for summer?  We’ve got two more official days of summer left, so I say let’s make the most of them.

I brought this ladder to Reclaiming Beautiful last week and it sold within days, so there must be some other green lover out there!

I still had one last ladder, so I painted it in Miss Mustard Seed’s Flow Blue and added the same farmers market stencils.  My sister was thinking she’d like to have this one for her house, but she really couldn’t come up with a spot for it, so I’ll most likely take it into Reclaiming Beautiful as well.

I think the ladders make great magazine racks, especially when one of the magazines displayed happens to be one that I am in!

Wait, what?!  Did you read that right?  Yep.  There is a story about my non-collection of vintage ornaments in the Fall 2017 issue of Vintage Holiday magazine!

Somehow we’ve gone straight from summer to winter today.

But seriously, my preview copy of the magazine just arrived yesterday and I couldn’t wait to share it with you guys.  I’m super excited and flattered to have my work in a real magazine.  The irony that it’s an article about my vintage ornament collection, despite the fact that I try so hard to deny being a collector of anything, is not lost on me.

The magazine is full of great vintage holiday decor, so be sure to watch for it on newsstands near you and pick up a copy.

 

46 thoughts on “the farmers market ladder.”

  3. Congrats on your non collection being featured. Kudos to Mr Q on the Q Tip idea. Way to clever. Your tips and insights are always helpful.

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    1. Thank you Diane! I’m glad you find my tips helpful. I seem to learn everything the hard way (by making mistakes), so it’s nice to save others from that same fate.

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  4. I burst out laughing on the non collector comment! Aren’t we all non collectors of some sort? Anyway…. congrats on the magazine! That is too cool! I love how you painted the ladders especially the green one and love Mr. Q’s q-tip suggestion. You’ve got so much talent and it shows in every post. Great job!

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    2. I took a picture of the magazine so I can remember which one to pick up! How cool is that? Well deserved! I hope other magazines will notice the beautiful photography and that will get you more business on the photography end of your blog. Love the q-tip idea too….Mr. Q is one smart cookie.

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  6. I love the ladders painted. Your painted projects always come out looking wonderfully vintage. I will need to look out for the ‘in a pickle’ green by sweet pickins. I tend to buy blues, but I need to branch out to the greens. Congratulations on the magazine inclusion, they know you deserve national recognition! And the Q-tip – perfect. You should draw a stylized cotton swab and use it as a sub header so we know when a tip is part of your post. And maybe we can search your blog based on Q-tips?

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    1. Great ideas Laura. I plan to use the Q-tip photo as a sub header of sorts. I’m not much of an artist when it comes to drawing, I can only laugh when I picture what a drawing of a Q-tip rendered by me might look like. I will have to figure out how searching for Q-tips might work, but I’ll definitely look into that. As for In A Pickle, here are a couple of other pieces I’ve painted in that color (here, here and here). It’s a vibrant, saturated green.

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  7. Love the ladders. I’m sure the blue one will sell as quickly as the green. Mr Q seems to be as clever as you. Congrats on the article! Well deserved.

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  9. Great idea to stencil a painted ladder. I may try that one. I didn’t know about the Vintage Holiday magazine. I hope I can find a copy in Canada. As you are my favourite blogger I would like to get a copy of this article.
    Thanks for being part of my day!

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  10. Congratulations on your magazine feature!! How fun to have your work showcased in this way. Your blog is such a joy to read–thanks for the inspiration.

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  11. WHAT?!!!!! That’s awesome!!! Can’t wait to see the feature! I’ve been waiting for a publication to pick up your photos. May this lead to many more. Congrats Linda! Love, love the ladder. I can see them being quick sellers for you. So many uses…towels in the bathroom, blankets in the living room, magazines, of course baskets with plants in them 😉 Maybe Ken could fashion some for you, too, since they don’t need to be functioning?

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    1. Thanks Meggan! And great idea about that ladders. That might be something Ken enjoys working on in the winter. He likes to have smaller projects to work on in his snug and cozy basement workshop. His space is fairly compact, so it has to be items of a manageable size.

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  14. Congratulations for being in a magazine! I love both the ladders. Charming. The. Q-Tip information is a great addition to your blog!

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  16. I took a picture of the magazine so I can remember which one to pick up! How cool is that…you are in a national magazine!!!? Well deserved! I hope other magazines will notice the beautiful photography and that will get you more business on the photography end of your blog. Love the q-tip idea too….Mr. Q is one smart cookie as well.

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  18. This is one jam packed post! Love the ladders they are such a versatile accessory. I’ve always liked the idea hanging over an island for copper pots. Had to laugh out loud at Mr. Q’s witty “Q-tip” idea brilliant! Congrats on the magazine so very much deserved! Do let us know when it hits the stores.

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  22. Love the ladders, love the Q-tips, but especially LOVE your exciting news! Congratulations on being published! That is so awesome. You can add another feather to your cap .. I’m binge reading all your posts which have been waiting for me in my in box. I’m busy, but I didn’t want to delete any of them. So there you go. You’re just like Netfix or Hulu! Congrats again! Cynthia

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  23. Pingback: jodie’s house, part 1. – q is for quandie

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