The sun will come out, tomorrow . . . .

Hi Everyone,


That Annie chick knew what she was talking about, that's for sure. 


At 4:00 AM Sunday morning, it was cold and damp but as we sat up, in the dark I might add, it started getting brighter and brighter and we ended up with a beautifully warm, sunny day. Yea ! It didn't rain again til we were on our way home. That I could handle.


People came by the droves, local people we found out. This is a very popular event for Allegan County every year, and rightly so. We were so busy all day that my only 'sight seeing / bathroom break journey' was limited to that building and back. But what I saw was fantastic. Beautiful antiques, great primitives and food. Tons and tons of food, nearly every person that came by our booth, was either eating or just finishing. Apparently part of the Allegan Antique Market experience according to most.


We had a fantastic day, met some great new friends, sold lots and lots of things and thank goodness I grabbed these pictures when I did because a couple of these tags are no more! 


First, was the raven tag

 the 'kisses' tag

the industrial tag

the Sherlock Holmes tag

Everyone seemed to love the tags, glitter clothespins and burlap flowers, so much so that I have a date with a roll of burlap and a jar of glitter as soon as I finish this post.


Tomorrow I will be sharing the new addition to our Industrial Tassel line. "Silky' was hugely popular on her debut and I think you will agree when you see her.


Til then, here's the mission impossible schedule and tour . . .  LOL!

May 5 & 6   Kane County Flea Market, South Trades Building, Space 28, St. Charles, IL

May  10   Indie Wed Bridal Show, Harley Davidson Museum, Milwaukee WI


May 12 & 13   Grayslake Antique and Garden Show, Grayslake IL

May  18 &19   NA DA Farm Barn Event, Esmond IL 

May  20   'The Pec Thing'  32nd Semi-Annual Pec Thing Antique & Flea Market, Winnebago County Fairgrounds, Pecatonica, Illinois 

May  27   Allegan Antique Market, Allegan County Fairgrounds, Space 101, Allegan MI


June  2 & 3    Kane County Flea Market, South Trades Building, Space 28, St. Charles, IL

Suz

the muze

our Etsy address  All My Musings 

our Facebook address  All My Musings

Uh . . Houston, we have a problem . . .

Hi Everyone,


Back in Michigan again and we have a problem.

Yep, that rain on my window while the DH tries to close up the tents. ( I am drying out inside the car!) We have arrived, got the tents up and have to stop. It is pouring down rain. Water is our worse enemy, paper and fabrics just don't play nice in these conditions. Come to think of it, neither do we! 


Stay tuned and see tomorrows weather situation.

Here's the rest of the shows,

May 5 & 6   Kane County Fleas Market, South Trades Building, Space 28, St. Charles, IL

May  10   Indie Wed Bridal Show, Harley Davidson Museum, Milwaukee WI


May 12 & 13   Grayslake Antique and Garden Show, Grayslake IL

May  18 &19   NA DA Farm Barn Event, Esmond IL 

May  20   'The Pec Thing'  32nd Semi-Annual Pec Thing Antique & Flea Market, Winnebago County Fairgrounds, Pecatonica, Illinois 

May  27   Allegan Antique Market, Allegan County Fairgrounds, Space 101, Allegan MI


June  2 & 3    Kane County Fleas Market, South Trades Building, Space 28, St. Charles, IL

Suz

the muze

our Etsy address  All My Musings 

our Facebook address  All My Musings

Welcome to Michigan

Hi Everyone,


It was 2 PM on Friday afternoon and this was the scene, 

what have I gotten us into now?  


The ladder is part of our display but the dirt was part of the FLOOR in the building we showed  in Ann Arbor MI at the Ann Arbor Antique Show. We have never been to an antique show with really rare antiques and as a friend of mine asked today, "You didn't touch anything did you?" Yes, I have really great trusting friends . . .  No, I didn't touch anything nor did we buy anything, yea, sure ! I had never seen a chest of drawers for $ 12,500 before in my life. Beautiful to look at but not taking it home!


And then there was us, the burlap kids. Hmmm, think the neighbors were thrilled? Well, 1 out of four was really warm and welcoming and the other three kept questioning things, like 'coffee bean bags, are they kidding?'  It was funny to say the least.


Now the clients were a whole different story. They almost bought the fixtures as well as all the merchandise. Apparently, they really liked us, regardless of the dirt floor.


The first thing to sell out was all the new flowers in our brown paper line.


This was the new burlap rose with baby seed pearls,

just cool but my favorite was the new loopy daisy that didn't quite make past the first two hours of the show,

Yes, that is a rusted nut and pearl center, just to die for ! ! !  Officially, this flower is named after one of my good clients from the Grayslake show Heather Lowery, the HL daisy. I was working on the prototype at the show and she gave me the suggestion of the rusted nut and pearl to go along with the look of our new industrial tassel line. It was the best idea, don't you think ? So here is the HL daisy. They were gone in under two hours, guess I didn't make enough. The same story for all of the tassels I took with us. Gone . . . 

The new butterfly,

was also a huge hit.

We met so many new friends and clients, laughed a lot, ate really great meals and if it hadn't rained up a storm Sunday, we would have had an almost perfect time, sans the dirt floor.

We promised everyone we would bring the booth back there in June so we will see you all then.

In the meantime, we are taking the next weekend off the road schedule to get ready for two very  special large events. We are so honored to be included in the Indie Wed show at the Harley Davidson Museum in Milwaukee on May 10th. It is a premier bridal show  where only hand crafted artisans are allowed to present their lines, so our bridal boards are traveling to Wisconsin for that show. So I expect to see all of our Wisconsin fans, especially the brides at this show.

We have the Na Da Farm Barn Sale coming up on May 18 and May 19. Click the link for a map and directions. Like I have been telling everyone, try to make it Friday evening, 5 - 8 PM for two reasons, early bird selection of all the fabulous goodies and to experience the farm as nightfall approaches. Breathtaking is the best description. You just have to do it. This is the best event we do all year and can't wait to see everyone again, even that darn cat who loves to play in our tent at night.

So, we are creating and planning up a storm here. So many new items will be debuting for those two events as well as all of our regular stops like Grayslake Antique Show and Kane County Flea Market. Boy, I'm tired just typing that . . . . . .

Here's the rest of the shows,

April  29  Allegan MI Antiques and Flea Market, spaces 101 -102, Allegan MI

May 5 & 6   Kane County Fleas Market, Trades Building St. Charles, IL

May 12 & 13   Grayslake Antique and Garden Show, Grayslake IL

May  18 &19   NA DA Farm Barn Event, Esmond IL 

May  

I am off to create some more, 

Suz

the muze

our Etsy address  All My Musings 

our Facebook address  All My Musings

there isn't enough burlap in the world . . .

Hi Everyone,

I am sitting in out hotel room, thank goodness, after an incredibly busy day at the Grayslake Antique show today.

The only draw back to doing an indoor show is that you do not have a tent. I love our tents. That sounds sad to type but then you have to know our tents. The walls are burlap fabric, warm, inviting and they surround you so that you do not need to see your neighbors. Hence my comments today.

I did not pay close attention to the announcement that this weekend was 'a vintage clothing show' at Grayslake. Normally, what ever promotion they are doing doesn't effect what we do . . .  until yesterday.

Our side neighbors set up before we arrived to do our set up yesterday afternoon.

This was what we saw upon arriving in our space.

All I could think was there isn't enough burlap in the world to make our booth warm and cozy with this on the side and in back of us. So let the layering begin.

After hanging our normal backdrops, we then hung extra coffee bean bags, (yet another use for these versatile items) and finally shut the vintage clothing colors out of our space. Our other neighbor, the the third side, is an industrial/primitives dealer and we always look great together. But vintage clothing, not so much. LOL! It was a heart stopper for a minute or two.

I did grab a couple of phone pics to share. Fortunately, DH grabbed the new jewelry board pic because it sold one minute after we opened. Guess what we are doing next week?

Here is the category I am going to call repurposed garden.

First up, the rake

This also sold immediately at opening, we kinda had a good day.

The shovel

love this piece!

A new  box



sorry can not get that to adjust . . .argh . . .

rainbow slipcovered journal

button heart slipcovered journal

lace heart slipcovered journal

So, just a couple of the many new items we had to show today. A great big thank you to all the friends and customers who simply stopped to say hi. It is such a cool thing and we so appreciate your time in doing so.

The pillow here is calling my name, til next time,

April 13, 14 & 15   Gordyville Flea Market, Gifford, IL

April 21 & 22  somewhere at a flea in WI   (details to show up soon!)

April  29  Allegan MI Antique and Flea Market


May 5 & 6   Kane County Fleas Market, Trades Building St. Charles, IL


May 12 & 13   Grayslake Antique and Garden Show, Grayslake IL


May  18 &19   NA DA Farm Event, Esmond IL 

Suz

the muze

our Etsy address  All My Musings 

our Facebook address  All My Musings



It was the best of times . . .

and the worst of times . .  .


I'll take Charles Dickens works for $400 Alex, the question is What is Tale of Two Cities . . . 


Hi Everyone,


Well, what a weekend we had. The weather wasn't bad, there was never really any sunshine just overcast and the folks came out by the hundreds and hundreds. It is fun to be busy, your day goes by sooo fast, and you are so tired at the end. But you end up with a bunch of new friends.


More and more, we are running into customers from past markets and shows from last year. It is so much fun to see all of them and catch up with what is going on with them. Everyone was so complementary about all the new items and we sold out of so much. (more on that in a minute)


The best thing was a first that happened on Sunday. I recognized a couple of gals, couldn't remember if it was last month here at Kane or another market but knew they were customers. And then it happened.


Meet Kelly and Erin, a couple of cool chicks.

That's Kelly on the left and Erin on the right. As I was showing them around the booth and talking about all of the new creations, Erin says,"Oh, I saw that on your blog". I froze. No one has ever told me, (outside of family and close friends whom that I insist that they read this) that they follow my blog. I was overwhelmed for a minute, partially due to shock and the bigger part due to sheer exhaustion. She actually reads my blog. It was so cool to hear those words. A picture had to capture the moment. Thank you Erin, you made my weekend for sure.

Take a look at this next picture.Be prepared to cry and then laugh It is so sad. It definitely qualified as the worse thing that happened.

We have these wonderful antique crates all over our booth and I use them to display our handmade goods. Usually chocked to the brim with handmade goodies. Well, due to the overwhelming response to everything we brought, all I had left was a whole lot of empty crates and a couple bundles of our 'naked books' and so I put a set in all four crates. It was pathetic, I actually had a friend tell me I should have been ashamed to have a display look so pitiful! It was so funny at the same time. I couldn't make a single bundle of books look good no matter what!

So this week, it is create, create, create. I will post the other new goods as well. So much work and so little time.

Thank you to all of you who go out of your way to stop and say hello, we are truly blessed to have such kind souls in our lives.

April 7 & 8    Grayslake Antique Show, Lake County Fairgrounds, Libertyville, IL

April 13, 14 & 15   Gordyville Flea Market, Gifford, IL

April 21 & 22  somewhere at a flea in WI   (details to show up soon!)

April  29  Allegan MI Antique and Flea Market


May 5 & 6   Kane County Fleas Market, Trades Building St. Charles, IL


May 13   Centerville MI


May  18 &19   NA DA Farm Event, Esmond IL

Back to work, 

Suz

the muze

our Etsy address  All My Musings 

our Facebook address  All My Musings

Fat furry obstacles

Hi Everyone,


I eluded last post that our show in Barrington was very successful, so much so that I spent all three days while sitting at the show, working on our wreath collection. We brought them back in to the booth at Grayslake and they started selling, really fast. And the continued selling real fast at Barrington, six of them in three days.

So I started making them in between customers and still came home empty. Needless to say, this week I am making even more wreaths before we go to Hastings.


Imagine my surprize this evening when I noticed one of our 'fur' kids was missing and went looking for Lige, our 30#plus, longhair, angora farm kitty.

Apparently, the center of an 18" wreath makes a perfect bed, after all he had his choice of three and he seems to be leaning towards the all burlap style. Glad to see he has good taste!


Well, I need to go remake a wreath, I have one that has found a new use . . . We are off to Hastings MI this weekend if the weather holds, so far they are predicting thunderstorms, but hey it's still early for the weather to change.



Rest of our schedule for the next couple of weeks:


March 24  & 25  Hastings MI (we are still hoping!)

March 31 & April 1  Kane County Fleas Market, Trades Building St. Charles, IL (let's all pray for warm weather as the buildings are NOT heated)

April 7 & 8    Grayslake Antique Show, Lake County Fairgrounds, Libertyville, IL

April 13, 14 & 15   Gordyville Flea Market, Gifford, IL

Back to work,

Suz

the muze

our Etsy address  All My Musings 

Tired and Empty

Hi Everyone,


This is short and sweet today. We had a great time in Barrington at the Antique and Garden Show, met really nice new customers and even got to see a couple Grayslake regulars. We sold tons and tons including the 6 new wreaths I actually made at the show!


Have some new things we are trying to put together before we head to Michigan this weekend so I will try to post before we get on the road. Also, the actual name of this event, still tentative as it will be our first outdoor tent showing since last October and I am watching the weather like a hawk. So we will see . . . 


Rest of our schedule for the next couple of weeks:


March 24  & 25  Grand Rapids MI (we think!)

March 31 & April 1  Kane County Fleas Market, St. Charles, IL (let's all pray for warm weather as the buildings are NOT heated)

April 7 & 8    Grayslake Antique Show, Lake County Fairgrounds, Libertyville, IL

April 13, 14 & 15   Gordyville Flea Market, Gifford, IL

Back to work,

Suz

the muze

our Etsy address  All My Musings 

New additions

Hi Everyone,


Well it had to happen. Monday afternoon the proverbial elephant that sits on your chest with a near bout of pneumonia arrived, weighing in at about 450 or so and stayed thru Wednesday. Now that I can breathe again and am only coughing up one lung at a time, I am much, much better. I did learn a very valuable lesson though. Always pack an additional winter coat in case you need to walk a half mile to the ladies room in a snow storm . . .  Never a dull moment around here I tell ya.


Feeling way under the weather is not conducive to creativity at all, so despite my best intentions, we only have a couple of new goodies for the booth this weekend. Speaking of which, we will be at the Grayslake Antique Show with the wonderful Zurko family in a very warm, well lit building. I have a new and profound appreciation for them after last weekend. 


My newest creation is an antique/shabby chic/vintage bobbin complete with lace. These are handmade from all paper but very sturdy, able to hold any type of trim.

Just love all the shabby details, aged sheet music, a shabby gauze and eyelet  flower. These will be a perfect addition to the booth.

Also making an appearance is more of our naked books series, these have wonderful lace and aged botanicals on them. Sorry no pictures yet, I am just beat and still need to pack. maybe next post and then again, maybe not. It has been like that the last couple of days.

Our schedule:

March 10 & 11   Grayslake Antique Show, Lake County Fairgrounds, Libertyville, IL

March 15, 16 & 17   The Barrington Antique & Garden Show, Ice House Mall, 200 Applebee Street, Barrington, IL

March 31 & April 1  Kane County Fleas Market, St. Charles, IL (let's all pray for warm weather as the buildings are NOT heated)

April 7 & 8    Grayslake Antique Show, Lake County Fairgrounds, Libertyville, IL

April 13, 14 & 15   Gordyville Flea Market, Gifford, IL

Please stop by and say hi this weekend, I'm the chick with the tissues in her pocket ! ! ! 

Off to rest up,

Suz

the muze

The Cold Flea

Hi Everyone,


We heard at the very last moment that we could go to the Kane County Flea Market on Saturday and Sunday this past weekend so I didn't have an opportunity to post any of the new goodies that we took with us. We needed to get there very early to get in line, which I do not understand at all, don't ask. But, here we are with 200 of our fellow market vendors waiting patiently in the frostbite cold to start unloading. And it was snowing. And it was cold, did I mention how cold? And we waited for over 2 hours, in the cold!

Rows and rows of SUV's, trucks, cars and trailers all loaded with everything imaginable under the sky.


The attendance was very large and we met a lot of new customers and saw a couple regulars as well, which we always enjoy. One lady stopped by to let me know what happened when she purchased a couple of our handmade boxes a couple of weeks ago at a different show, I had hid the smaller one her daughter had said she loved inside the one that the Mom wanted and when they got in their car to go home the Mom asked her daughter to get the box out so she could see it again. Then she told her daughter to open it and when the daughter saw her box inside that she had wanted, I guess the daughter got quite excited. Her Mom said she loves her box as well! So that makes two happy customers. Love hearing stories like that.


A couple of new items that we took with us were some new designs on our pencil or supply cans done in french script and one in yellow striped paper.

They join the other designs and made for a nice display.


I also added a new design to our slip covered journal collection. It features a stained muslin wrap over lace over our heavy brown paper cover. I thought it was beautiful.

We sold the felted heart journal and I was happy to see it go to someone who loved it as much as I did! LOL ! ! !  It is almost like seeing your kids leave home!




Our schedule for the next couple of weeks is a bit harried, grab a pencil and jot down the dates,


March 10 & 11  Grayslake Antique Show, Lake County Fairgrounds, Libertyville, IL


March 15, 16 & 17  The Barrington Antique & Garden Show, Ice House Mall, 200 Applebee Street, Barrington, IL


March 31 & April 1, Kane County Fleas Market, St. Charles, IL ( let's all pray for warm weather as the building are NOT heated)


April 7 & 8  Grayslake Antique Show, Lake County Fairgrounds, Libertyville, IL

April 13, 14 & 15 Gordyville Flea Market, Gifford, IL


Wait till I post May thru November, I don't think we have a single weekend left. Better get busy creating new things.


Til next time,
Suz 
the muze

Sneak Peek

Hi Everyone,


Just a real quick post about a new slip covered journal I was able to finish up for this weekend's antique show in Grayslake IL.


I just love the idea of being able to slip a new blank journal in these covers and keep the beautiful artwork at hand. 


This cover features a hand felted heart made by a great artist from WI  we met this summer in New Berlin WI at the fantastic Hawthorne Hill Farm Event. We will be going back there this year and can't wait. To save my life, I can not locate the artist business card but when I do find it, I will post it and relate the poor penguin story as well.



Here's the slipcover . . .

The printed page section is an old Sherlock Holmes volume and I just love the feel it gives pieces like this.

Well, I need to create a couple more things before this weekend, pray the snow does not materialize that they are talking about. 

Suz

the muze