saying yes.

Published on by Quandie34 Comments

I am a little startled to realize that I don’t actually have a ‘real’ blog post for today.  Apparently I have been slacking off.

Well, not exactly.  I had hoped to share a dresser that I’m working on with you today.  But then after I added the last coat of clear sealer and waited for it to dry, I realized that the sealer was drawing the tannins (or maybe it’s the red stain, I’m not sure) through my paint.  Sometimes this can happen (more on that in this post).  Your paint job looks great before you add a topcoat, no bleed through, but shortly after applying a water based sealer, bang!  bleed thru!  Ugh!  So frustrating.  Even after 25+ years of furniture painting experience, I still don’t always judge the bleeder situation correctly every time.

So it will be back to the drawing board on that piece.

I’m also working on two pairs of planters that are getting the rusty treatment from Dixie Belle’s Patina Paint.  But I ran out of paint and had to order more.  I’m waiting for that to arrive.

And then there is the set of wrought iron garden furniture I’ve been working on.  A couple of the pieces are done, but one isn’t finished yet.

So after all of that, I’ve managed to leave you guys high and dry for a post today.  On top of that, I’m heading back out to see my mom tomorrow.  She fell recently and broke her ankle, so she is in need of some help.  Both my sister and I are going, and neither of us is looking forward to the forecasted 112 degrees we’re going to find there.  Yikes!

But I also don’t have any blog posts lined up in advance for next week, so that means the blog will be silent all week.

Here’s the thing though, since retiring I’ve decided to say ‘yes’ to more things.  When my neighbor wants me to help her put a new liner in her pool, I say yes.  When Ken’s wife needs help getting her garden planted, I say yes, I can help.  When my mother-in-law invites us out to see her field of daisies in bloom, I say yes to that too (that’s what I’m up to today).

And when my sister and niece ask if I want to head to a state park and hike to the waterfall, I definitely say yes.  Even though it might will rain.

We headed to Nerstrand Big Woods State Park last Sunday.  According to our guide book this park is known for it’s spring wildflowers, and we did see a lot of pretty woodland flowers.

It may have been cold and rainy, but that meant that everything was green and lush.  The pitter patter of drizzle on the leafy canopy of the woods was really peaceful as well.

The weather also meant that there weren’t a lot of hikers out that day, so when we arrived at the falls we had them all to ourselves.

That was fun for picture taking.

That’s my niece and her dog, Jade.

On our way back home we decided to stop at another waterfall, Vermillion Falls in Hastings, MN.

Viewing this one didn’t require much in the way of hiking, it’s in a bit more of an urban setting.  It was still fun to see though.

We wandered around the area and I was surprised to discover that they have a love lock bridge near the falls.  Who knew?!

I’ve written about this phenomenon before.  Mr. Q and I locked up our love in Prague way back in 2011 and so far it’s still working.

I feel like Tim & Stacy might be taking things a bit too seriously though …

They’ve doubled up their locks, just in case … and added a bit of a morbid P.S.

I wonder if they are still together?

Ultimately, I figure you guys will forgive me for deciding to prioritize spending time with friends and family over blogging.  Right?

I should be back to posting on June 20th, so be sure to stay tuned!

for the birds.

Published on by Quandie19 Comments

Last weekend was a big garage sale weekend around here.  There were multiple neighborhood sales to choose from, and I went out three days in a row (this retirement thing kicks ass).

I went to three different neighborhoods; Roseville, Highland Park and Nokomis (Minneapolis).

On day no. 1, which was Thursday, I went to Roseville with a fellow Reclaiming Beautiful vendor, Lisa.  Lisa has been flipping vintage finds for decades and she’s a pro.  I figured if nothing else, I could learn from her.

Actually, I should give a shout out here, Lisa is having a sale at her own home in Houlton, Wisconsin this week starting today!  For more details on that you can check out her Facebook page for Dahlia Cottage.

As it turned out, Thursday was absolutely the best day for finds.  I came home with loads of toolboxes!

I may not get to making these over any time soon, but I’ll have a great stash to tide me over with winter projects this year.

I also found some fun garden items.

It’s a little hard to see details in that photo, but those two tall pots are metal and I’ll be giving them the rusty treatment.  I also found two tall metal obelisk trellises that are going to fit perfectly in those pots.  That was pure kismet because they came from different sales.  The shovel in front will get cleaned up and then I’ll turn it into a Christmas decoration by adding a stencil to the bottom (sort of like I did with this one).

There is also a cast iron birdbath buried in that photo.

It has been drilled with holes because the former owner used it as a plant stand, so it doesn’t hold water.  It’s a bit shallow to plant directly with most plants I think, but I have a plan to give it a rusty patina and then plant some creeping thyme in it.  I think it’s going to look amazing.

I also brought home some smaller items on day one.

Some of these are seasonable sorts of things that I’ll hang onto until the appropriate season such as the lamb mold, the hunting dog platter and the wrought iron angel.

I always nab those glass cannisters when I see them at a reasonable price (in this case, $3).  I use them to store craft supplies.  And copper is a really good seller for me currently, so I try to pick up good copper pieces.

I had to purchase that little enamelware bucket.  It has a blue rim, which makes it perfect for adding a blue I.O.D. label transfer.

I also purchased a larger enamelware coffee pot and added a transfer to that as well.

There happened to be an estate sale going on in Roseville that Thursday as well, so Lisa and I stopped in.  She found a big pile of amazing goodies.  I ended up with a few fun things including some old Christmas ornaments.

And this totally adorable set of vintage toy kitchen items …

We had such good luck at Roseville on Thursday that Lisa and I decided to head back there on Friday.  Not all of their city wide sales were open on Thursday, there were over 20 that weren’t open until Friday.

We had a slow start on Friday, but once again Lisa found lots of stuff.  I came home with some fun items too including this old metal pie safe.

I like to pick up certain craft supplies when I see them such as pretty ribbon …

and of course I snapped up a pile of wooden knobs for $2 total.  These will make their way onto cupboard door signs (like these).

After starting out in Roseville on Friday and not finding as much as the previous day, Lisa and I moved on to Highland Park where I found this set of books in a homemade horse head bookshelf.

We also ended up at a sale that had Department 56 Dickens Christmas Village pieces for $5 each.  Although I swear I don’t collect these, and I’d never pay full price for one, I do have a growing non-collection of them that I’ve purchased exclusively at thrift stores and garage sales.

Five dollars was such a fabulous price, so I couldn’t resist picking up a few more.

And speaking of non-collections, I also picked up this pretty vintage tablecloth on Friday.

The price was right ($3) and I loved the combination of the teal blue and chartreuse.  I’ll add this to the stack in my pantry.

On Saturday my sister and I headed to one of our favorite neighborhood sales, Nokomis.  This was the site of the amazing vintage camera find of 2015.  But it’s also the neighborhood that our parents grew up in, and we have fond memories of visiting both sets of grandparents here.  We always swing by both of their old houses while we’re in the area.

But this year Nokomis was a total bust.  I made one purchase of a small metal plant stand that’s not even worth a photograph.  My sister purchased three Disney pins (for pin trading when we visit the parks again this fall, those of you who are Disney park fans will know what I mean).

And that was it.  I would say that 95% of the items were simply junk, and the 5% that were things I might have purchased were way overpriced (for me anyway).  Since when did $10+ become the average garage sale asking price?

I have a rule of thumb when purchasing items to flip.  If I can’t re-sell it for triple the price I paid, it’s a no go.  I’m pretty sure I couldn’t sell this copper tea pot for $45.

What can I say, sometimes garage saling is for the birds.  We called it quits early, went and got some donuts at Mel-O-Glaze and then ate them on a bench overlooking Lake Nokomis.

My friend/picker Sue also found a little pile of goodies for me last week, including a much more reasonably priced copper tea pot.

This brings me to the finds of the day and there seems to be a bit of a bird theme.

For day no 1 in Roseville, the find of the day was a pair of brass pheasants.

I couldn’t seem to get a photo of them that did them justice.  They have long sweeping stylized tails, and they are heavy brass.  I’ll be taking them into the shop and someone is going to just love them.

For day no 2 in Highland Park, the find of the day is also a pair of birds.  In this case, some vintage folk art wooden whirligig birds.

If you aren’t familiar, a whirligig is basically an object that moves or spins in the wind.  In this case the wings on these birds will spin around, and if they are mounted properly the bodies can spin around as well.  They are often mounted on the roof of a shed, or on a pole in the garden.

All of these birds will be making their way into the shop where I sell on consignment this evening.  Unless a local wants to snatch them up first (sorry, no shipping available).  The pair of brass pheasants is $58 (SOLD!), the whirligig birds are $55 each.  But you’ll have to let me know quickly (you can email me at qisforquandie@gmail.com), or if you want to see them in person you can head down to Reclaiming Beautiful in Stillwater tomorrow.

What would you have called find of the day?

the flower and grain tote.

Published on by Quandie9 Comments

I purchased this large green wooden tote at the Linden Hills sales.

I love reviving these.  This one wasn’t a terrible shade of green, but it was a bit too shiny for my taste.  So I sanded it thoroughly and then gave it a couple of coats of Dixie Belle’s Drop Cloth.

Next I pulled out a small section from the I.O.D. Gregory’s Catalogue paint inlay that I used on the bench I shared last week.  They say you can re-use the paint inlays up to 3 times, so I thought I’d give that a try.

I’m not sure if you can tell in the photos, but the 2nd time around the color fades to more of a dark grey rather than the original black that was on the bench …

It’s just a bit more washed out.  That’s not a bad thing, but just something to be aware of.  Especially if you’re thinking about trying to use a paint inlay over again on the same piece.  Some areas would look more faded than others.  Still, not necessarily a bad thing, but something you want to be aware of.

I also found that the backing paper was a little flimsier the 2nd time around, and in fact I couldn’t keep one section from tearing into pieces, so a 3rd use is out of the question for this section of my paint inlay.  Keep in mind that I had trimmed the inlay down to fit on this tote, had I kept the entire sheet intact it would likely have held up better for a 3rd use.

I simply had to stage my photos with the last of my lilacs.

They are about done for this year.

If you’ve been following me for long you may remember the story of my lilac hedge fail (you can read all about it here).  Looking back at that post I realize that I’ve been working on my lilac hedge for 11 years now.  Man, talk about determination!  Or maybe I’m just unwilling to admit defeat.  Either way, this year we ripped out one more of the non-performing lilacs and then added three new ones at the end of the row.

But the lilacs in the middle of the hedge are looking great.

They are about 10′ tall, and a couple of them have filled in nicely.  Now I just have to get the rest of them to look as good.  Maybe in 11 more years it will be as I envisioned it.  A tall, dense hedge that completely blocks the view into our neighbor’s back yards.  Fingers crossed on that one.

Well, even if my hedge isn’t providing the privacy we want quite yet, it is providing some pretty lilacs for staging photos.

This tote is for sale locally, so be sure to check my ‘available for local sale‘ page for more details.

Thank you to Dixie Belle Paint Co for providing the paint and sealer used on this project.

go big or go home.

Published on by Quandie24 Comments

First up, congrats to Mary from Glass Horse Studio.  I drew her name to win my patina paint giveaway!

I don’t know how many of you check out my ‘available for local sale’ page on a regular basis, but if you do, you may have noticed that my furniture is not exactly flying off the shelf these days.

I’m not sure what the hang up is.  Earlier this year I thought maybe it was just the cold weather, but I can’t blame it on that anymore.

Then I thought, maybe white just isn’t ‘in’ anymore.  Several of my pieces are white including this stenciled dresser …

Or maybe the problem is that ‘farmhouse style’ is on the way out.

I’ve sold so many of these washstands, they are perfect as nightstands or side tables.  I can’t imagine why this one isn’t going.

Desks are always a bit of a tough sell, most people simply don’t use desks in their homes anymore, so not being able to sell the desk isn’t a complete surprise.

Black has always been a quick seller for me, so I went with simple black on this next one.  No transfers, no stencils …

And I still have it.  What’s up with that?

This pretty shade of blue green has always been one of my personal favorites, but maybe it’s no longer so popular?

Or maybe it’s the french writing that’s holding this one back?

I have all of these pieces advertised on Craigslist and on Facebook Marketplace and I’m not getting even a nibble.  On any of them!

And that brings me to the bench.

This bench goes all the way back to December 2020 when Ken created it out of an old 3/4 bed frame.  I had painted it in DB’s Sawmill Gravy and added re.design with prima’s Cosmic Roses transfer.

I had it listed for about 9 months, and then in October 2021 Ken and I decided to revamp it a bit to see if we could get it to sell.

Ken cut down the posts at the front of the bench because he’d thought they looked weird from the start.  Then I repainted it in Dixie Belle’s Drop Cloth and added that french transfer to the back.  If you’ve been following me that long, you may remember that I wasn’t happy about the repetitiveness of the transfer (cakes and pastries, cakes and pastries, cakes and pastries).  I didn’t even notice it until I already had it half applied.

Anyway, another 7 months have gone by and I still have the bench.

So I decided to give it one more try.

I consulted with Ken and we decided to remove the circular do-dad from the bottom of the bench.  It kind of draws the eye and looks a little … well … kind of nipple-y really.  It popped off fairly easily, then I sanded that area a bit and touched up the paint.

Next up I sanded off the transfer and re-coated that area with more Drop Cloth.  Then I applied I.O.D.’s Gregory’s Catalogue paint inlay.

Go big or go home, right?

This paint inlay isn’t playing around.  It’s big and it’s in your face.  And I love it.

I actually purchased this particular paint inlay to create a sign for myself, something that would hang on my carriage house … or maybe on my front window box.  I still plan to pursue that project, but for now, the inlay was kind of perfect for this bench.

Several of you have commented that the paint inlay process seems putzy or complicated, but I have to say that applying this one to the bench was easier than applying a transfer of the same size would have been.  Or at least it took far less arm strength (all of that rubbing with transfers!) and less time (not including dry time, but less actual working time).

As long as you pay attention and follow the directions (see my tutorial here), these are quite easy to apply.

Before I let you go, we just have to talk about that gorgeous purple petunia for a minute.

That is the Proven Winners Supertunia Mini Vista® Indigo.  The color on this thing is so gorgeous.  It’s probably going to entirely take over that pot and consume the topiary behind it, but I don’t care.  It makes me smile every time I see it.  I just had to share that with you guys.  I’ve seen lots of photos of this plant online and they seldom do justice to the actual color of it.

So the question remains, will this bench finally sell?

That remains to be seen, but I’m cautiously optimistic.  I think it turned out pretty fabulous and I really wish I had a spot for it myself.

If any of you locals are interested, be sure to check my ‘available for local sale‘ page for the details on this bench as well as the other pieces that are still in my inventory.

As always, thank you to Dixie Belle Paint Co for the paint and clear coat used on this piece.

itsy bitsy, teenie weenie.

Published on by Quandie21 Comments

It’s not a yellow polka dot bikini, but it’s definitely itsy bitsy, teenie weenie.

It might be difficult to judge the scale based on that photo, but I can tell you that this little guy is 2 3/4″ tall by 3 1/4″ wide.  The knobs appear to be beads that are just glued on.

Here, maybe this photo gives you a better idea of the size.

I believe this probably qualifies as 1″ scale, if you are familiar with such terms (as in 1′ is reduced to 1″).  Way smaller than yesterday’s mini.

Now you may have thought that I should just leave this one alone, but you know me better than that by now, right?  Of course I painted it!

And of course I found some itsy bitsy transfers to add to it.

This is a mash up of transfers from I.O.D. , re.design with prima, and Tim Holtz.

I had the little tool tote and the bucket in my stash of dollhouse décor from back in the day when I had a pretty fabulous dollhouse (you can see it here).  I ended up sending that dollhouse out to my in-law’s place because I didn’t have a good spot for it, but I hung onto a handful of little things.

The tool tote was in the attic in my dollhouse …

But clearly it needed a coat of paint and a transfer as well.

Both the dresser and the tote are painted in Dixie Belle’s Drop Cloth.

The bee transfer on the tote is part of a re.design with prima knob transfer with some bits trimmed away.

Naturally, I had to line the drawers with some pretty paper as well.

I had to dig to find some scrapbook paper with a small enough floral design to look appropriate in these drawers, and that floral paper was perfect.

Seriously you guys, how frickin’ adorable is this thing?  I can hardly stand it.

I’m definitely going to have to hang onto this one for now.

What do you think?

the historic styles mini.

Published on by Quandie12 Comments

You may remember that I picked up this little mini dresser while garage saling recently.

I knew it would be a fun one to restyle.

I started by sanding it lightly, cleaning it and then painting the outside in Dixie Belle’s Drop Cloth.  Then I added some bits and pieces from I.O.D.’s Label Ephemera transfer to the top and front.

I really wish someone would come out with another typography transfer.  I just love this one, but I am getting a little tired of re-using the same wording over and over.  And of course, it also is retired so eventually retailers are going to run out of their inventory.  It would be fun to have something new, wouldn’t it?

I gave it a pop of color on the inside by painting it with Fusion’s Laurentien.  I wanted to use an all in one style paint, like Fusion or Dixie Belle’s Silk for durability.  After choosing some October Afternoon scrapbook paper to line the drawers, I decided that the Laurentien was the perfect color to go with the paper.

Rather than flipping up on hinges, or having a top drawer, this little dresser has a lid that comes off.

This piece would be fantastic as a jewelry box, but I chose to style it with crafting supplies.

I mean seriously, how cute would this be for keeping some of your crafting supplies organized?

But using it as a jewelry box would be a valid option as well.

I definitely prefer the ‘after’ version, how about you?

This one is for sale, so if you’re local (I don’t ship) be sure to check out my ‘available for local sale‘ page for more details.

bees and queens.

Published on by Quandie27 Comments

As you may remember, when I was out at my mom’s a while back I purchased another of the I.O.D. stamps called Kindest Regards.

At the time I mentioned that I don’t know why I let myself get sucked in by these stamps. I’ve never been happy with the way stamps look on anything other than paper or fabric, so I don’t do a lot of stamping.

I do love the results on paper …

I used the I.O.D. Crockery stamp on those packages.

I also think stamps work great for fabric (as long as you can lay it flat on a hard surface to apply the stamp).  I used stamps from two different sets of IOD Décor Stamps on a pair of chairs; the letters and no 2 are from the Alpha II set and the wreath and the crown are from the Grain Wreath set.

Sidebar note:  although I used Ranger Archival Ink on those chairs, I would not recommend that brand for fabric.  It fades quite a bit over time.  Instead, use a permanent fabric ink.

Well, I got sucked in again while at my mom’s house the 2nd time and I purchased the I.O.D. Queen Bee stamp.

What is wrong with me?!

The thing is, I was hoping that I could figure out how to make the stamps look good on painted items.  Because I can’t keep buying the re.design with prima Classic Vintage Labels just for the two small bee transfers that come with it.  Or their Lovely Ledger transfer just for the crown.  No matter how much I love them!

If I can get a stamp to look this good, I can add bees and crowns to everything!

So I decided to do a little experimenting with various products to try and find a combination that would work.

First up, I’ve already learned that stamping on unsealed chalk paint or milk paint is no good.  I tried that on a pair of nightstands and met with disaster.  I did have luck stamping over Fusion paint (with its built in top coat), so I felt sure I could get the same result over Dixie Belle’s Silk Paint (this product also has a built in top coat).

So I pulled out a sample board that already had Silk Paint on it, and I pulled out various stamping mediums to test out.

I tested that same Ranger Archival Ink in Watering Can that I used on the nightstands, the I.O.D. Décor Ink in Stone Gray, Momenta permanent fabric ink in Black, and Dixie Belle Silk paint in Anchor.

And here are the results.

OK, so once again I achieved the best, most crisp, result with the Ranger Archival Ink …

The color I used, Watering Can, is a medium gray.  Perhaps I need to purchase this ink in black and see how I like it.

I applied the DB Silk Paint with a brayer, and I got mediocre results with that …

If you’re kind of a picky perfectionist (um, I might have to admit this often applies to me), this look isn’t going to cut it for you.  I find that I always get a slightly sloppy look when stamping with paint, it’s difficult to keep the stamp from slipping around.  I like the idea of using a paint with a built in top coat for durability, but I think it’s always a gamble whether or not you’ll achieve a clean result.

Hmmmm.  Clearly (pardon the pun) something went very wrong with the I.O.D. ink …

I had high hopes for their ink since they’ve designed it specifically for this sort of use.  The I.O.D. content creators that I watch on YouTube seem to use it with good results.  Was it user error?  Did I not shake the bottle enough before applying?  The ink seemed really watery to me.  I used a brayer to apply the ink to the stamp, maybe I need to invest in an ink pad to use with it?  If any of you use the I.O.D. ink please share some tips with me.

Last up is the Momenta fabric ink …

This one gave me a fairly good result at first glance.  However, after giving all of the inks about an hour to dry, I gave them all a smear test by dragging my finger over it.

Yep, clearly this ink is not intended for use on anything other than fabric.  This is the only one that smeared.

I also then let all of the inks dry for 24 hours and added a coat of Dixie Belle’s flat clear coat over them.  Once again, the fabric ink smeared all over the place.  The other three mediums were all good with the top coat though.

Since the Ranger Archival Ink in Watering Can gave the best result of the four options I had on hand, I decided to move on to phase II of my experiment using it.

Stamping over a hard, completely flat surface is all well and good, but most of the time I would be stamping on potentially lumpy surfaces and working around things like hardware and such.  So I decided to experiment on a toolbox.

Since I’d already painted the toolbox using Dixie Belle’s Sawmill Gravy, which is a chalk style paint, I had to start by sealing that with their flat clear coat.  Once that was dry, I started playing around with my I.O.D. stamps.

I started out with the Kindest Regards stamp on the sides of the toolbox.

As you can see, I ended up with some smudging, especially in the upper section where there are ridges in the toolbox.  But even the completely flat area ended up a bit smudgy in spots.

I thought maybe that I could better control a smaller sized stamp, so I attempted a few of varying sizes on the top of the toolbox …

and again on the front of the toolbox …

Unfortunately, in the end, stamping on toolboxes isn’t going to work for me.  If you’re OK with the possibility of smudging, and you don’t mind how that looks, maybe it’s workable for you though.

I ended up painting back over this one and turning it into this …

So for me personally, I’ll probably stick to mainly using my stamps on paper.  Just look how pretty this one is stamped in pink on some tissue paper.

So, leave me a comment and let me know, have you had better success stamping over painted items?  If so, do you have any tips that you’d like to share with the rest of us?  We’re all ears!

for the record.

Published on by Quandie10 Comments

My friend/picker Sue found this little case for me.

At first I thought it was a makeup case, but then I realized it was probably used to hold 45’s.  Oh boy, that might really be aging me.  How many of you now thinking “45’s?  What is she talking about?”

But I bet more than a few of you will know exactly what I’m talking about, records of course.

That clear handle screams record carrying case to me, sort of like this one …

Although the shape doesn’t seem quite right.

I never actually had a case like that for my 45’s, mine looked like this …

It was so groovy.  Who else remembers these?  You turn that handle at the top and the blue pieces lifts off to reveal all of your 45’s.  I borrowed that photo from Etsy, so if you’re looking for one of these cases, they are out there!

Anyway, I don’t think anyone is going to use this case for their records now.  Especially now that I’ve given it a new look.

Let’s start with the inside though.  Unfortunately I neglected to get a ‘before’ photo of the inside, but it was a little beat up and tired looking.

I painted the inside black using Dixie Belle’s Silk Paint in Anchor.  Then I lined the lid and the bottom with some old scrapbook paper that I had on hand.

You might be surprised to learn that I decided not to paint the outside.  I rather liked that butterscotch sort of color and the original patina on the case.

So rather than paint it, I just gave it a good cleaning with soap and water and then added some I.O.D. transfers to it.

The florals are from their Floral Anthology transfer, and the wording is from their Label Ephemera transfer.

Oh, and the cute little crown is from their French Pots transfer.  I stole it from the goose …

I applied some clear wax over the case to give it a little protection, and then that was it.

I’m not sure what it is about that Lucite handle, but I just love it.

And I guess I’m not entirely sure that is Lucite either.  But it has a bit more heft than your typical cheap plastic handle, and it’s crystal clear which usually means Lucite.

But, for the record, I’m not sure if this is a record case and I’m not sure if that is a Lucite handle, but I am sure that it’s pretty cute now.

What do you think?

This little case is for sale, so be sure to check my ‘available for local sale‘ page for more details (sorry, I don’t offer shipping).

a real cold item?

Published on by Quandie29 Comments

Unlike the painted toolboxes, which are a real hot item, my painted suitcases can be very hit or miss.  I’ve painted quite a few suitcases in my day, you can check out most of them in this post from April 2021.

One of my favorite suitcases was this one …

Although I guess technically that one is not painted.  I just added some I.O.D. transfers to it.  It did sell really quickly though.

But lately my suitcases are mostly a miss, rather than a hit.

Last Christmas season I painted this one …

I loved how it turned out.  But you know what?  It didn’t sell.

I think it would be adorable just sitting under the tree, or maybe placed in your foyer to greet Christmas guests.  As an added bonus, you could store Christmas ornaments in it when you pack it away with your decorations at the end of the season.

I still have it available if any of you locals are interested.  It’s priced at $45.

More recently I painted this one …

This time I also spruced up the inside thinking maybe that would help sell it.

But last I checked, this one is still unsold (it’s at the shop where I sell on consignment).

It’s priced at only $35 if any of you locals are interested.

Due to lack of sales, I’ve placed a moratorium on bringing home any more vintage suitcases.  Well … maybe I should clarify.  The moratorium is on paintable suitcases.  I’ll still grab fabulous vintage suitcases for my own non-collection.

However, I still have a couple of suitcases remaining in my ‘to be painted’ inventory including this one …

So decided to go ahead and get this one painted up.

This time I used Dixie Belle’s Drop Cloth paint, and then I added I.O.D.’s June, Ode to Henry Fletcher transfer.

This was a super simple project.  I just painted the suitcase, gave it a light sanding with 220 grit paper, added the transfer and then finished with a topcoat of Dixie Belle’s flat clear coat.

Oh, and I did also sand over the transfer very lightly with 220 grit to give it a more worn appearance before applying the topcoat.

That is such a pretty transfer!  The last time I used it was on this toolbox …

It sold really quickly and one of my regulars missed out on it.  So when I finished up this suitcase, I shared it with her and she called dibs on it.  So today’s suitcase is spoken for.

But I wonder if part of the reason the suitcases don’t normally sell as well as the toolboxes is because they are often musty inside.  This one actually isn’t too smelly, but it is quite orange.

Here are some q tips for mitigating that ‘I’ve been closed up for 50 years’ smell.

no 1 – fill the suitcase with crumpled newspaper and close it back up for a week or so.  The newspaper will absorb some of the odor.  Repeat several times with fresh newspaper if necessary.

no 2 – throw a scented dryer sheet inside.  Maybe pick a nice lavender scented variety.

no 3 – spray with Fabreeze.

no 4 – give the suitcase its day in the sun.  Open it up and set it outside in a sunny spot to air out.

no 5 – if you’re really fancy, create your own lavender sachet to place inside the suitcase.

I’ve tried all of these options … well, except I’ve never made my own sachets.  Usually I employ several of these options at once.  But, I haven’t found a 100% fool-proof way of totally removing that musty-ness.  Once the suitcase goes back to sitting around closed up all the time, it will likely return.  For that reason, I use my own vintage suitcases to store things that won’t pick up odors like my glass tree toppers.

If nothing else, a suitcase like this one is just pretty to look at.  You can put it at the foot of your bed, or next to your dresser, or anywhere really.

Do you have any tips on freshening up the inside of a suitcase?  If so, please be sure to share them in a comment!

gardening small.

Published on by Quandie16 Comments

After taking some time to evaluate my garden after our recent hailstorm, I’ve realized that although some plants were quite damaged, some weren’t really impacted too much.  My large leaved hostas are toast.

At least the ones where the leaves were unfurled.  There were still a few varieties that weren’t up all the way yet, so that was an unexpected bonus to the cool spring we’re having.

My tulips all bit the dust as well.  Ironic, right?  They survived the winter, and then the deer, only to succumb to hail.

But for the most part, plants with small leaves, like the sweet woodruff …

and the brunnera were just fine.

Which brings me to my smallest plants of all, the ones in my fairy garden.

As you can see, the fairy garden fell victim to the hail much like the rest of my garden.  But it’s easy enough to fix a toppled birdbath when it’s only 3″ tall, and once the hail melted I could see that there wasn’t much damage done to the fairy garden at all.

This seems like a good opportunity for a fairy garden update.

My fairy garden lives in an old cracked bird bath that I purchased at a garage sale.  The crack meant that it would no longer hold water and function as a bird bath, so that made it perfect to plant in since it has drainage.

If you’ve been following me for long, you may remember that I gave it a refresh back in 2018.

Since then only two of the perennials have reliably returned each year.  One is the bright lime green mini hosta called Feather Boa, and actually it’s doing so well that it’s threatening to take over.  I’m going to have to pull it up and divide it again soon.

I keep trying other miniature hostas, but so far none of them have made it through a winter.  We bury the fairy garden in a big pile of leaves up against the house for winter to give it some extra protection from our ridiculously low temps.

The Berberis thunbergii ‘Concorde’, the dark purple ‘shrub’, has also come back each spring.  The Barberry has not retained that dark purple coloring though, now it looks like this …

I suspect this is because it doesn’t get enough sun.

I always add a few annuals to the fairy garden each year.  Unfortunately, I rarely know the names of them.  I buy most of them at Bachman’s (my local garden center) and they are just labeled as ‘pixie plants’.

I added a little vertical interest with this next one …

It will be interesting to see how that one performs.

I also added something from Stepables this year.  Are you familiar with them?  They are low growing ground cover plants that can handle some foot traffic.  They are supposed to be good for planting in the crevices of a flagstone walkway, for example.

This one is called Blue Star Creeper and I hope I can keep it blooming in my fairy garden this summer because those tiny blue flowers are super cute.

My little garden angel is getting pretty ratty looking …

I may have to do some experimenting with the Dixie Belle Patina Paint on him next!

If you like my fairy garden, you should see my in-law’s!  I’m going to make a point of getting some photos of it to share with you guys this summer.  But until then, do any of you have a fairy garden?  If not, I highly recommend it.  You can fit one in just about anywhere, it’s much cheaper, it’s much easier to take care of than a full sized garden, and apparently it won’t suffer much from hail damage.  So I say, garden small!