q is for quandie

antiquing in Boulder City.

Published on March 21, 2014March 22, 2014 by Quandie1 Comment

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I was in search of a fabulous vintage shop to visit in Las Vegas. I tried a google search and ended up finding a handful of vintage clothing stores, but that was about it. I also tried fleaquest and they had nothing listed in the Vegas area. I then looked for a Miss Mustard Seed retailer in the area. No dice (Vegas pun, get it?). Finally I resorted to searching for an Annie Sloan chalk paint stockist. And Bingo! (another Vegas pun, I crack myself up)

I found Bloom.

This is their location in Boulder City. If you are heading out to the Hoover Dam (as many tourists are inclined to do), I strongly suggest that you build in a little extra time and stop off in Boulder City. Not only will you find Bloom, but you will also find Goat Feathers Emporium, which is a really fun antique mall with a little bit of everything. Not every booth met my exacting standards, ;-), but there were some fun ones, like the Rusty Bucket’s booth.

Boulder City is very charming. They are obviously working to market the town as an antiquing destination. The are some very hip, retro drive in motels along the main drag, and quite a few more traditional antique shops in addition to Bloom and Goat Feathers.

I have to confess that the only thing I purchased in the antique shops was a handful of furniture keys. I try to grab a few of these whenever I see them. Oftentimes they will work on a piece of vintage furniture with locks on the drawers. Aside from the keys, I found the prices to be much higher than what I am used to in the Midwest. For instance, I saw several large vintage blue canning jars priced over $20! Yikes!

I did buy a few things at Bloom, some fab stencils to use on future furniture projects, some samples of Annie Sloan paint so I can see first hand what all the fuss is about, some fun Cavallini paper and a vintage alarm clock because I couldn’t resist the color. I bought the clock despite its cracked face. I was feeling a bit silly about buying a clock with a broken face, and then, ironically, that same evening I read a recent Miss Mustard Seed post where she did the same thing! So there. Not silly at all. If Miss Mustard Seed can do it, so can I, right?

It was fun to bop around the town on a gorgeous sunny afternoon with my sister.

Now that I know about Boulder City, you can be sure I will make it a point to spend an afternoon there the next time I visit mom.

One last little sidebar story. I’ve mentioned before that I come from a long line of scrapbooking women. My grandmother was an avid maker of scrapbooks. Way back in 1953 my mom, her parents and an aunt & uncle took the quintessential road trip. They were gone 21 days and they drove across the country from Minnesota to California. They hit all the highlights, the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite and so on. They even went to Tijuana, Mexico for a day. My grandmother chronicled the entire trip in a scrapbook, including information on how much money they spent. $123 in gas, $38 in hotels (yep, no kidding, for the entire trip, although they did stay with relatives some of the time). My mom was 12 at the time. I asked her if she enjoyed the trip, and she admitted that it wasn’t exactly fun sitting between her aunt and uncle in the back seat of a car with no a/c for 21 days! Imagine driving through the desert in the middle of summer this way! While reading the scrapbook at mom’s house, I found a blurb about their visit to Boulder City! Of course they visited the dam, which was built in the 1930’s. My grandmother had included a brochure from their visit that talked about the “modern” city of Boulder and how all of the buildings were “artificially cooled”. I had to laugh at seeing the city being promoted as modern in 1953, and now it is clearly being promoted as vintage in 2014. How times change.

garage sales, vegas style.

Published on March 19, 2014March 18, 2014 by QuandieLeave a comment

As much as I enjoy visiting with my mom and sister and the warmth and sunshine in Vegas this time of year, there just is no way I could ever live there. The garage sale scene is just entirely too dismal.

It’s not that there aren’t any around, there seem to be plenty, but the selection of items for sale is pretty pathetic. I have a theory about this, I believe that probably 80% (unscientific guesstimate) of the people living in Vegas moved there in the last 20 years. They moved into a brand new houses and I’m also guessing that many of them bought all new furniture when they did so. In other words, there is a lot of bad 90’s furniture in Vegas garage sales.

I am a die hard garage saler. I’ve been to a LOT of garage sales, so I know to expect some junk. But usually you find at least one or two cool vintage items, even if they aren’t something that you want. My sister and I went to probably about a dozen sales, and out of those there was only one that was even slightly decent.

All of that floral china is no longer my cup of tea, but at least it wasn’t cast off free coffee mugs from the casino. This gentleman also had some very lovely paintings. And in fact, I did buy a small one that would fit into my suitcase (more on that in another post).

Other than that, the only thing I purchased was a John Sanford book to read on the plane for 75 cents.

To round out our thrifty morning, we also stopped at the local Goodwill and Salvation Army stores. Again, nada. Zip. Zilch. More bad 90’s furniture and tacky casino freebies. My sister did find a lovely blue carnival glass bowl (she collects it) that was tempting, but it was priced at $18.99. Not exactly an amazing bargain. Plus she was worried about getting it home in one piece.

None the less, it was lovely being out in the Vegas sunshine and scouting for garage sale signs. My sister was a good sport and played along. It just whetted my appetite for garage sale season in Minnesota, which is probably still more than a month away. Sigh.

the real McCoy.

Published on March 17, 2014March 11, 2014 by Quandie2 Comments

I collect vintage pottery. You may have already noticed that from the pictures of my living room. I used to collect any I could find, but now I have limited myself to white and aqua vases. But sometimes I can’t resist a planter too, if it’s the right color.

I like the ones that have a definite art deco feel to them.

And I love the ones that have a little texture to them.

McCoy, Haeger, doesn’t matter to me.

Most of mine have come from garage sales. Occasionally I find them at antique shops, but they are usually priced too high for me there. Sometimes I even get my friends to dig them out of the neighbor’s yard (right nnK?). My friend Sue has an eagle eye for these things. She collects white, but she’ll pass the aqua ones on to me.

The tall aqua vase here is a Haeger.

I don’t care about a few chips and dings. I’ll face that side to the back.

I’m looking forward to summer when I can actually put some flowers in these. Pink peonies look especially nice in them. Maybe I’ll have enough tulips this spring to fill a large vase. Spring will be here soon, right?

sweet little writing desk.

Published on March 14, 2014March 9, 2014 by Quandie12 Comments

I am still off enjoying Las Vegas, but don’t think I forgot about you guys! I scheduled a post so you would have something to see on Friday.

Two weekends ago, I sent Mr. Q off for a writing desk. It was a bargain, and even though it wasn’t special and it didn’t make my heart skip a beat or anything, I still thought it would be worth a quick trip to Minneapolis and a bit of paint. It was listed as a ‘beautiful antique writing desk’ which may have been stretching things just a tad.

When Mr. Q got it home, I was a bit bummed when I realized there were some major flaws that definitely weren’t apparent in the craigslist ad. Beware of this people! Some photos are very artfully arranged to hide the true nature of an item (how does this still happen to me, clearly I should know better).

To begin with, the top was leather. Oops. How did I miss that? Oh, now I remember. In the ad pics the top was totally covered with crap. Papers, books, etc. Uh huh. Don’t know if that was on purpose or not.

Even more disheartening, the bottom trim on one side was completely broken off leaving a jagged edge under the bottom drawer.

My heart sank as I contemplated these flaws. However, I should not have underestimated the power of the Ken; handyman neighbor extraordinaire! He came over for a consultation, came up with a plan, took measurements and headed back to his workshop.

Several days later, he appeared at my door with new trim pieces cut to match the center drawer for both sides of the desk. Like magic!

As for the leather top, I decided to just try painting it. I’ve had success painting suitcases, and books, so why not a leather topped desk? After all, my friend Lori painted her cowboy boots with MMS milk paint! I don’t know how well it will hold up to a lot of wear and tear, but my philosophy is that these things are meant to look distressed, so a little more here and there just adds to the look, right?

I debated painting it turquoise. It’s been a while since I used a true turquoise, and this would have been amazing in that color. But that leather had some red ink stains. That could have been a bleed through nightmare, so I went with MMS Typewriter, which seemed apropos for a writing desk.

I added a french address to the front of the desk to give it a little more personality. And look at those charming drawer pulls. Love them.

All in all, it turned out to be a sweet little writing desk. It’s sure to inspire anyone who sits at it to write their memoirs or perhaps just pay their bills.

Before I leave you, here are some handy tips I learned from this desk.

No. 1, if you are selling a desk on craigslist, be sure you pull the drawers out and check behind them for paperwork! These sellers left a lot of personal information behind including pay stubs and medical bills. Luckily I am not an unscrupulous identity thief.

No. 2, if you are painting with black paint, at night, in your living room that has wood floors … and you manage to splatter paint everywhere despite your numerous drop cloths … and you don’t see it until daylight hits it the next day, don’t despair. A magic eraser cleans it right up from both the wall and the wood floor. Good to know.

what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.

Published on March 12, 2014March 11, 2014 by Quandie1 Comment

I am off to Vegas! Leaving Mr. Q at home to man the fort. This may lead you to conclude that I am a party girl who likes drinking and gambling and staying up all night without my husband. Au contraire. In reality, my mom lives in Vegas. Once a year or so, both my sister (from New Jersey) and I fly out there at the same time to visit with mom and hang out where the sun always shines and there is no snow on the ground.

I probably have a very different Vegas experience than most. I like to visit favorite stores that we don’t have here in Minnesota. That would be Steinmart and Hobby Lobby (although now I do have my own Hobby Lobby). Plus there is an Anthropologie near mom’s house, and I never find time to get there at home. I’d love to find some fun vintage shops to visit, but have never had much success in finding any out there. Perhaps the locals are too busy gambling and they don’t care about vintage. Does anyone know of any? If so, leave a comment, I’ll be checking!

Aside from shopping, we’ll probably go to the movies, eat out a lot and in the mornings I’ll drink coffee and enjoy the sunshine because with the time change, I’m always awake 2 hours earlier than normal.

Usually I don’t even bother with the strip, but this time we are going to a show! Mom has connections and got some free tickets to the Bee Gee’s tribute show at the Excalibur.

Making their exciting debut in Las Vegas the talented tribute band brings the music of the famous Gibb brothers to the Las Vegas Strip. The Australian Bee Gees Show - A Tribute to the Bee Gees has become the world's leading Bee Gees show.

Most of all, I’m looking forward to 5 days away from the day job. Probably not long enough, but I’ll take it!

Don’t be surprised if I’m surfing craigslist from afar and sending Mr. Q off to pick stuff up even during my absence. It’s a sickness, I can’t help myself.

I will miss is my blog though (well, and of course I’ll miss Mr. Q). My mom doesn’t have a computer. I don’t own a laptop. Just my smartphone. I’ll be able to read comments and surf craigslist, but I won’t be posting long commentaries of any kind.

Try not to miss me!

another quandie quickie.

Published on March 10, 2014March 9, 2014 by Quandie4 Comments

After painting the petite buffet with MMS Ironstone milk paint, I had a little paint left in my jar. Waste not, want not. So, I decided to paint a few clay pots.

Here are the tools of the trade. Some MMS milkpaint in Ironstone, some 7 gypsies and Tim Holtz rub-ons, and let’s just pretend those pots aren’t painted yet 😉

I needed 3 coats of paint to get solid coverage, which is what I wanted. But this paint dries so fast you can do 3 coats in no time. I’d paint a coat, go fold a load of laundry, paint another coat, go surf pinterest, paint a 3rd coat, pour a glass of wine. You get the idea, just multi-task while your paint dries

I did not, however, take time to take photos during the process, so you’ll just have to use your imagination.

Once the paint was dried, I sanded the pots down a little, to give them a distressed look. Then I just added the rub-ons. Who doesn’t love a good rub-on? You can find the Tim Holtz brand at Michaels and Hobby Lobby.

After making sure the rub-on was adhered properly, I went over the entire pot with just a little MMS furniture wax.And voila. Some sweet little painted pots.

rue henri petite buffet.

Published on March 9, 2014March 8, 2014 by Quandie11 Comments

Sorry, there is no before picture of this little buffet. Honestly, that is mainly because it was just simply so completely boring that there was no point. Picture a typical oak finish, not a single embellishing feature and boring brass knobs. No real damage to be repaired or anything like that, just not even exciting enough to call ugly.

But, boring no longer!

I had a moment with this one where I didn’t think I could combat the blahness of it.

I started by painting it grey with MMS Trophy milkpaint. It’s a lovely shade, but it just didn’t do much for this one. No chipping at all. More blah. But I was texting with Lori, and she said “hey, why don’t you try the hemp oil resist?” Duh. Why didn’t I think of that? Well, truth be told, I had thought about layering color on this one, but it seemed like a lot of work and I was feeling lazy.

But, a hemp oil resist could be fantastic. I knew she was right and it had to be done. Clever girl. So, after the base coat of grey was dry, I swiped some hemp oil in strategic locations and painted Ironstone over it and crossed my fingers.

And it was so worth it. Just look at this chippy, crackled fabulousity (I made that word up, but yes, you can use it too)!

I added some knobs that I picked up during my Hobby Lobby knob nirvana buying frenzy. Aren’t these amazing? They look 50 years old.

I used what is becoming my favorite stencil on the doors.

You’ll notice that I staged this buffet with an amazing vintage hat box that I just picked up last week. I stopped in at a local antique mall, just killing some time on my lunch break. I wandered into a booth that was full of vintage hats, but way up high where you would hardly even notice them, were stacks of hat boxes. The color on this one just sucked me right in. A lovely pinky coral.

Kind of reminds me of Miss Mustard Seed’s new color Apron Strings. I’ll admit, I haven’t been tempted to try this color yet because I just can’t imagine it on an entire piece of furniture. But I’ve seen people using just touches of it, on the inside of a roll top desk, or just on the drawers. I’m definitely tempted now that I have the amazing hat box to match.

So. There she is. Isn’t she lovely. She will be making the trip to Junk Bonanza. Hope lots of people show up in the mood to buy furniture!

sweet dreams dresser.

Published on March 7, 2014March 7, 2014 by Quandie12 Comments

Remember the fab mirrored dresser that was calling out for a stencil? As a reminder, here it is.

First she had to get some repairs taken care of. The middle drawer was resting on top of the bottom drawer. The glider thingies had been completely worn down by time. Luckily Ken is crafty about such things, and he just chiseled a flat surface and added on to the glider thingie (what do they call these things?).

Problem solved.

Next, I really dithered about the color for this one. I was leaning towards yellow for the longest time. I still want to paint something yellow eventually, but it didn’t feel quite right this time. In the end, after seeing a gorgeous example of a dresser painted in MMS Eulalie’s Sky with a white wax finish on line, and then getting encouragement from Danielle at Finding Silver Pennies who had also used this combination on a lovely piece, I decided to go with it.

I am really glad I did.

As you can see, she has plenty of chippy deliciousness.

I stenciled with a French ‘sweet dreams my child’ message.

I highlighted some of the trim details by painting them the bright white of MMS Ironstone.

I debated changing out the hardware. I know that clear glass knobs would have been perfect on this one. But, the original hardware is gorgeous and I had all of it. I had to put it back on. I cleaned it up with a toothbrush and jewelry cleaner and added a coat of furniture wax to shine it up a little. Because, gee, what else does a girl have to do on a Sunday morning? LOL. My life is just that exciting! But, you just won’t find drawer pulls like this on new furniture. Look at the lovely detail.

Yep, she is a beaut.

Lovely. If I do say so myself.

the one, no make that 4, that got away.

Published on March 5, 2014March 3, 2014 by Quandie5 Comments

I had not one, not two, but FOUR dressers slip through my fingers last week. Ouch! That is hard to take. I didn’t move quickly enough on the first two and other buyers got there ahead of me. But what was even more painful was the second two. I had a pickup scheduled and everything, but then the seller texted and said she’d changed her mind about selling them and was giving them to a friend. That one was really disappointing. If my blog makes you think that this furniture gig is easy, let this post dissuade you of that notion. Sometimes it’s just extremely frustrating.

But let’s move on, shall we?

I did end up buying this guy this week.

I’m calling him the Cambridge because Mr. Q and I drove all the way to Cambridge to pick him up. On a freezing cold evening with wind chills around 20 below. The elderly husband and wife selling this dresser were the nicest people. I didn’t have the heart to negotiate the price, even though I discovered that the veneer was in really bad shape. We lost several large chunks of it just trying to get it loaded. I have to say, the seller was such a gentlemen that he insisted on helping Mr. Q carry the dresser to the truck. I offered to take an end, but he was having no part of that. I was worried he was going to have a heart attack right there in his driveway. He had to rest half way to the truck, but still wouldn’t allow me to take over. Who says chivalry is dead?

It’s a unique piece for sure. It reminded me of the Cokato pieces that I painted last year. I’m going to have to devote some time to repairing the veneer where I can, and removing it where I can’t. I also sent a drawer home with Ken to be rebuilt. There are some very lovely drawer pulls on this one though, and they are all there!

To be honest, this one is going to be a lot more work than I bargained for. I might have to just shove him to the back of the line for a while. But hopefully I can salvage him and put him back out there for someone to love.

just in case you were wondering.

Published on March 3, 2014March 2, 2014 by Quandie4 Comments

On the way home from work last Friday, I stopped off to stock up on wine at my local wine shop. For those of you who are local, that would be Bright Wines in North St. Paul. It’s the tiniest hole in the wall shop operated by just one guy, the owner, Dave, who sends out a weekly e-newsletter with lots of information about wine and a list of what he has in stock. I usually highlight my list, pop in and hand the list to Dave, who then pulls all the wine for me and sends me on my way. I’m currently enjoying a lovely syrah/grenache blend from the South of France called Grande Toque. Yum.

But, I digress. After the wine, I also stopped off at another North St. Paul favorite, La Garage. The best way to describe it is a clean and tidy garage sale in a store, but with slightly higher prices. I think that the owners get their inventory by buying estates, or something like that. I like to stop in on occasion and see what they have. On the day in question they had restocked their hard cover books, so I bought a slew of Danielle Steele novels for $1. Not to read, of course, but to paint.

In addition to the books, I also picked up this fabulous chippy wooden stool.

It was calling my name and I just couldn’t leave it behind.

Lest you all begin to think that I am a wine drinking, romance novel reading hoarder, now is the time to mention that I have taken my friend Lori up on her offer to share her Junk Bonanza booth this spring. All of this furniture I have been painting lately? Yep, it’s for Junk Bonanza. I’m also cranking out some painted books, and going through my stash of vintage goodies looking for things to sell. This fabulous little stool will be added to the growing pile of items headed for Junk Bonanza, along with the Champ de Lavande hutch, the Hudson dresser, the French cane back chair … and hopefully more.

I won’t be parting with my favorite vintage phone any time soon though, so if you were hoping to snatch it up, you will be disappointed. But if you are going to Junk Bonanza in April, I hope you’ll stop by and say hello!