Friday, September 19, 2008

Country Living Fair Finds and Our House


As promised I took pics of all of my FABULOUS Country Living Fair Finds so that I could share them here :)
First ~ one of my ALL TIME Favorites, This AMAZING collage by Cheryl Kuhn(above).
Her booth in the Earth Angels toys tent was mind-blowing!!! I was having the hardest time making up my mind about which one of her creations I would take home with me.
And then i saw this couple, so sweet and it just clicked with me.
I feel so lucky to have one of her pieces and I even got to meet her!!!
What a fun day!


This vintage giant red "C" was just so neat, I had to bring it home. Even though
no one in our family has a name that starts with "C"~ it is so great. And when I was fretting over
buying it, the ladies in the booth were naming "C" words that it could stand for~ we had a good time coming up with them!
Crafty, Cute, Classy, Country Living Fair...and some not-so- G-rated ones as well LOL.
It's been a fun conversation-starter as you can imagine.


This cottage-style shelf was such a FIND at the Broadway antique mall in Lebanon, Ohio. One of our favorite shops of all time! It is huge, 4 ft. x 2 ft.!!! So perfect!! It must have been a cabinet at one time because there are some left over hinges on the bottoms. I love wondering where it has been and all the things it has stored. And don't you just adore the scalloped top??? That is what made my heart sing when I saw it. And what a steal for only $40!!!!

Also in the Earth Angels toys tent was Kitty Babendreier, another one of my ALL-TIME favorite collage artists!!! She was so sweet and I took tons of time looking at all of her ORIGINAL shadow boxes~and these are the 2 that I just had to have.
As soon as I saw them I pictured them hanging in this old frame. I got this old frame forever-ago at a local antique mall and painted it creamy white. I have tried using it several ways but nothing ever stuck. But I knew it was meant to be when I hung it up to add more definition to these tiny little collage boxes.
Also, in my opinion~ one of the neatest things about Kitty's collages are the tags that she hangs from them, they have little phrases on them, and they almost give the collage a "voice."
I think they are just so special.
Check her out at Earth Angels Toys.

Naughty Obsessive Decorator confession #1
After we painted in May, I never hung ANYTHING back up on
our walls..till this past weekend!!!
I just couldn't decide what was going where and I knew I wanted to get some new things and get rid of some older things...yada, yada, yada~ it's been a long summer~ and now it's September and we finally got stuff back on the walls!

So, to share our new DECORATED walls...
Here's some Dining Room Pics...

~Pink shelf was a flea market find~
Featuring: Cody Foster mini-putz houses in sugary colors and the
old photos are "adopted" relatives from different garage sales.
The little bird cage was a CL Fair find from McMaster and Storm.

I know I showed off this vintage carnival-prize chalk ware figurine way-back when I picked her up at the Strasburg antique mall AND I showed off this drawer that I shabby'd up a while back too~ now they are together forever on our dining room wall.
I actually got this drawer on the day I got the figure, knowing that eventually I would make her a house out of the drawer...she's finally at home.


These are 2 AMAZING prints from Dollface Design, a favorite etsy-shop of mine.
They are printed on antique ledger paper, how cool is that???


And now onto our Family Room...

This black shelf hangs above our couch~
I finally gave a home to these 2 sweet Black Apple prints that I got forever-ago.
The N's stand for my maiden name. I pick em' up whenever I see them which isn't often and they aren't a fortune!
I just got the little white one at the CL Fair.


This sits next to our couch~
just a little corner of things I like to look at~
dried hydrangeas, wedding memorabilia, and a cabinet with old family photos.


This pie safe, OH My, this pie safe! Where do I start???
It has been in every corner of our dining room and family room and I
think I finally like it here.
Or is it just that my husband refuses to move it yet AGAIN??
maybe one more time because...
I plan on painting it this Fall~ I was thinking a light pastel color.


Earlier this year I started picking up silhouette pictures here and there~ when they wouldn't break our bank~ speaking of which, has anyone else noticed that since these have been featured in Martha Stewart and Country Living the prices on them have been going up at the antique malls???
Anyhoo~ these were all purchased at garage sales or estate sales for under $5 each!

(I stopped posting to pet my cat, Stanley)

Okay I'm back...This cabinet holds my Halloween collectibles, it sits in our family room.
I also want to paint this one~ I am thinking white.
The window on top was a curb-side-freebie and I lined it with antique ledger paper
I bought on etsy. The old wedding photo is of "adopted" relatives.
I got it at the Shoe Factory antique mall (Lebanon, Ohio) for only $3!!!
I was drawn to the cute young couple and their kinda awkward
best man and maid-of-honor. When I picked it up an old note fell out of the back that said
"my mothers wedding" and it kinda made me sad.
How did it end up in some dusty booth at an antique mall when
someone so lovingly marked it with a handwritten note?
I guess that is the why I love flea-market style and decorating with old things,
it's not just that the objects themselves are neat and beautiful but the stories behind them are yours to make your own too.

I hope you enjoyed my little house tour.
Have a great weekend!!!
Happy Crafting!

9 comments:

Cathy Santarsiero, "The Christmas Corgi" said...

So happy to have found you from Emily's blog....

dollface design said...

your home is BEAUTIFUL!!!! i'm so honored to have my ledger collages hung in such a gorgeous space and i LOVE how you matted and framed them, you've made them look amazing! thank you so much for including me in this lovely post and for your kind words, i appreciate it to bits!
xoxo
layla

Anonymous said...

Love the tour. I collect silhouettes as well, primarily children. Enjoy the simplicity of them...I even have one of my husband when he was a kid.

totally jealous of your attending the country living fair...totally JEALOUS!

helamonstr said...

I love all of your photos!!! What a great idea with the window frame - I have several that I will finally put to good use thanks to your pics!!

Rosemary said...

Wow,
Great, and pretty things. Love the cabinet full of Halloween.
Rosemary

Christina J. said...

Oh my, you have such beautiful things in your home! I've been looking for a large "C" and haven't come across one yet. I like yours a lot! I'll find one someday...

I love how the silhouettes look, too. I've had my eye on a few at a local antique mall - maybe I should take the plunge!

SadieLou said...

Awesome!! Your house is so pretty!
I loved looking all that these nooks and crannies--thanks for sharing!!
~Sadie Lou
lollishops@gmail.com

Lolly said...

Hi there! Hope you are well! Your house is lovely. I love all your pretty vignettes throughout! Thanks so much for your sharing all of your fun stuff with us!

~Lolly

Anonymous said...

What great finds, your home is beautiful!