Seize the Moment

This update about our Garden Party is a long time in coming! I apologize. It seems life gets crazy busy all at the same time. Birthdays, baseball, Cub Scouts, Garden Parties...it all comes simultaneously and I can really only focus on one thing at once. So right after our Garden Party, we got bombarded with other activities..and these pictures just hung out on my camera while I added more to them. So here goes...

this was our tea and scone table that greeted everyone upon entering the shop. Sue made a wonderful chai tea that I consumed entirely too much of and Sally made yummy scones, which again I indulged in.



This is so cool! I'm going to steal this idea for a centerpiece this Spring. Anybody else going to grow carrots in their garden this year? Carrots remind me of the Rabbit and the Hare. Remember the Rabbit thought he had to run a million miles an hour to win the race and the Hare just plugged along at his own pace. A lesson I should ponder everyday...



It didn't rain on our Garden Party, so we were able to have goodies all up and down the sidewalk.



This is our new Jail Bird House, pretty cute huh?



I stole Sally away from the shop so we could go check out the other businesses doing this Progressive Party with us. We plan these fun events, and we're always on the wrong side of the counter so we can't enjoy them from that perspective too. Well this time, we had so many helping hands at the shop, I coerced (I mean CONVINCED) her to go.

We had fun. These pictures are from Redouz at Sue's. Sue has her own shop that I'm very envious of.

And of course, many wonderful repurposed pieces as well as great vintage finds.

Everything was displayed so nicely, the photo ops were endless...

Look at these sweet mocassins sitting on the ledge, like they are frozen in time.

As you see, Sue takes after our hearts when it comes to painting furniture black, red, white...

I love this picture. The black in the background, the gleam off the canisters with the bright yellow lemons giving a punch of color.

On to Cathy's, Beyond the Garden Gate. It was so nice to see her smiling face. We're all very excited for our upcoming Vintage Gathering Flea Markets to begin out at her place. I'm just excited to see all my ever so talented 'junque girls' in one spot again!!

This was Cathy's prize for her giveaway. Purty cute!

See Sissy Sew participated in the Progressive Event too, and I'm ashamed to admit that we didn't have time to get over there. We'd told the gals helping at the shop we'd be gone an hour, and let's just say our time was well gone. I will get there to take some pictures, if you haven't been, it's a wonderful unique fabric shop in the new Battle Ground Village.

So, to leave you with this image...as I was rushing home from the baseball fields the other night to grab a pbj sandwich before heading off to Cub Scouts, I drove past our library. There was a mom who had parked in the lot and had her young daughters out, smelling the blossoms on the plum trees next to the road. That was a week ago, and that picture continues to linger in my head. So from me to you, don't pass by those chances you get to stop and smell the blossoms! Lisa :-)

Garden Party Giveaway

Look at how cute this basket is. This is our giveaway for whoever that lucky someone is, whose punch card gets drawn on Saturday at our GARDEN PARTY!!! Have I drilled this into you enough yet? By the way, we're having a GARDEN PARTY this Saturday :-) It's all about advertising...



A Garden bag full of goodies, gloves, garden tools, candle rings, little mini garden tools, all up for grabs at our GARDEN PARTY. (I like mini things, they're so....small!)...


Another sweet little basket with thyme and a bird's nest...to the left are some vintage mirrored name place holders....see all this at the
GARDEN PARTY this Saturday!


What would a GARDEN PARTY be without a birdhouse?..some terra cotta pots, a plant. I wouldn't mind winning this myself! I'm not an employee, I'm not a family member related to an employee, nor a family member related to a family member who's related to an employee..oh forget it..does this mean I can enter too?



Now this is not part of our giveaway but I had to show you this. I just took it into the shop today, another project by Sally and Lisa Inc., a.k.a Ruby Girls...this sweet thing is a greenhouse box. We will be putting real plants in it, but this gives you the idea...




I'm proud to say that we built this box from scratch to fit our window...for our first box, it rocks!



The sale that we've chosen to do is the infamous Monopoly money draw again. We'll have a pot full of Monopoly money and you'll be drawing your own discount...fun, fun, fun!
Oh, did I mention what we're doing this Saturday?? Hope to see you there :-) Lisa

Potting Bench 101

Well, that says it in a nutshell. Sally and I got this notion in our heads to build a potting bench for our "Garden Party" this Saturday. Everything we used to build it was repurposed materials. I was a little apprehensive at first. Could we do it? Did we have the skills? Did we have the patience? (with each other??) You be the judge:

Step 1: Ok, my husband helped me build a frame that we attached to this old window that I attained from an old display cabinet (without the cabinet). So Sally and I started with a hollow box.



Step 2: We first reinforced the bottom and then put the back on. I tell you what...the glass in this window is tough as nails...and the only reason I know that is because I tested it. :-)



Step 3: Don't get so busy you forget to take pictures of the process. Well, here she is, coming right along. I even managed to sneak away for 2 hours and go to CYT's Alice, Through the Looking Glass Girl (great by the way), while Sally labored on our project. I was hoping that she'd be done, um, I mean still needing my help by the time I got back.



Step 4:
Didn't Sally do an awesome job with the angles on those boards? I may see a future here....
Voila.....this project took us about 18 hours total. You know what the best part is? Sally and I didn't get irritated or impatient with each other (at least not to my knowledge!).



This baby will be at the shop in time for Saturday's Vintage Garden Sale available for purchase. To think of the things you can do when you put your mind to it. See ya Saturday! Lisa :-)

P.S. Make sure you're current on your tetanus shots before attempting this at home.

Catchy Title

Sorry if you're waiting for a story, I don't have much to say at the moment. It's 3:30 a.m. and I can't sleep so here I am. These are just some shots I took the other day of the shop.
Ahhhh, a dog's life. Milo, a.k.a. Mr. Ruby, a.k.a. shop mascot, must get kind of bored at times...he's not allowed to chew on anything in the shop. Bad for business you know.



The front room...looks like it's out of a magazine. Hmmmm, idea maybe? Naaa.





Doesn't this make a pretty picture?



Three lovely crowns fit for a mini king.



I like the way the light hits the glass.




I must say, this one is my favorite. I'm looking through the base of an old mantle clock without the clock. I got all three wabbits looking through at you! Silly ol' wabbits. I think it's time for me to go back to sleep. Goodnight all!
Signing off..Lisa :-)

Who Let the Barking Dogs In???

We did of course!

Welcome Jennifer of Barking Dogs Flea Market Style! The front of the shop looks T.E.R.R.I.F.I.C.!

I came all prepared to snap lots of pictures, my camera however had another idea.

The battery fizzled as soon as I turned it on...

WARNING: BATTERY EXHAUSTED.

Well, thanks for the timely warning. I'll get more pictures next time. For now... go to Barking Dogs and get the true view!

You Never Know

So Sally found this trunk at a sale, and it was locked. Not a particulary old trunk by any means, nothing real unique about it. Her daughter helped her pick the lock (no, they're not professionals!), and inside was a million dollars!!! Oh alright, not quite..but definitely someone's once upon a time treasure.



These Native American dolls are very old. Some are wood, some are cloth, some are homemade. Think of the little fingers that lovingly touched these dolls, smoothed the fabric on the skirts and talked in sing-song play voices for them. And yet there's more....

This album was in there too. I haven't researched to see exactly what the 'Official Government Photographs' meant for an album like this, but just to get our hands on it and gently look at the pictures.....

...well that's a treasure in itself. Many of the pictures have been dampened over time, worn with age and have lost their black and white images, however a few linger. People that will remain a mystery to us, but who once took the time to record their story and cherish it in a book like this.

You just never know.....