IDEA HOUSE

 A while back I mentioned that I had been to the Idea House in Mpls where Bachman's Floral Gift and Garden Store and Ki Nassauer had teamed up to share ideas on decorating with repurposed.....well, what should I call it...." lots of old stuff!" I think Ki calls it "junk".

 I met up with a friend, Christy, and two of HER friends, Bev and Bev. It was a wonderful afternoon! We had a great time trying to discover what each item was made from!..."Oh, look! This fishing bobber is really an old bowling ball!!" We were allowed to take pictures and I was even told I could  put them on my blog!  Woo Hoo! Of course in true fashion I had to go and forget my camera and had to borrow Christy's! Thanks, Christy!!  This whole post wouldn't have been possible without you!! : )

The Idea House will be featured in Ki's second addition of her new magazine, Flea Market Style. I have only a few of the ideas here on my blog so you'll want to be watching for the magazine to see ALL  THE FUN IDEAS that were in the house!

Ki started Junk Revolution, a place to "hang out, gather ideas, and connect with people who share your passion for junk". This is a fun place so go check it out! She also runs Junk Bonanza which will be held in the Fall. I'm going to this for sure!

And Bachman's will be having another Idea House in the Fall! I plan on going there as well! ( Memo to self.... don't forget camera)

 So much to do and so little time....            But now, let's get started with the fun...

                  These are (sprayed gold) graters, with flower jewelry on them and then turned into... hanging vases!

                                             One of many towel rack ideas! I think they're pastry cutters.
                                                    

How about an old bowling ball painted to look like a bobber for a fishing- themed boy's bedroom? At first glance I really thought it was just a REAL GIANT BOBBER!

This is a napkin holder made of old croquet mallets and half of a croquet ball to hold the napkins in place! How cute is that?

                          A thermos made into a lamp for the boys fishing themed bedroom again.

                    Croquet mallets on a board magically become... a towel rack! The croquet game set was a popular theme. If I had a lake home this would be in it for sure!

Old mailboxes made into flower pots. 

                               Christy standing next to an old oar made into a standing clothes rack. Notice the Minnesota map hanging on the wall.

Hose nozzles are now photo holders!

                             What's this?  A sprinkler turned into .....  towel racks? They really looked cute!

                                                Whimsical chandelier made with old juicers.

Fun picnic set with pepsi box holding napkins and silverware and pop bottles with flowers. Great idea for the 4th of July!

The four of us in the garden next to a flower trellis.

Of course I HAD to have my photo taken with THE CELEBRITY HERSELF, Ki!   "The JUNK celebrity" Ky corrected me. Thanks for taking time for the photo Ki!!

CORNER CHAIRS

I often purchase things for my Hob Nobber business and then think maybe I should keep it! It happened again! I found this at one of the local thrift stores. I believe I'll keep this for a while but I wanted to share it with you.

It's a cute little CORNER CHAIR! I pulled it out of the" corner" to take this photo. It has beautiful  legs with a "like new" seat cover.  I just sold an old white wicker corner chair at our last sale. You might have seen it on a post  here. I had never seen a corner chair before and now in a matter of months I've found two! This one is short and just the right size for our 20 month old grandson, Charlie, who climbs into it and sits back with his arms on both arm rests thinking he's a BIG adult.  I did some research on corner chairs and  they were also known as " roundabout " or "writing" chairs and often smaller "sample" chairs were made so that people could order from the sample. This seems so small it might be one of those sample chairs but I'm not sure. Corner chairs started in England in the 1800's and then moved to the U.S. Anyway, it was a "fun find" and it's a KEEPER!

And this was the other one. Do you remember it? It sold at our last event. 

Think I'll scout out some more!

Bloggers Sorority

Well, here I am again....LATE FOR THE PARTY!  Since I waited until the last minute to get a photo I came upon the problem of.... worn out batteries. I had put the photo in a vintage frame and had a plan to get me in there but then no working camera! Aaaaccckk! So I had to finally settle in using the camera on my laptop. A bit tricky.

Not so creative but at least we're up here! Whew!

These were done on my computer. It wasn't easy! Anyway, I''m looking forward to "meeting" everyone! So now I'm off to see YOU!

While you're visiting, take time to listen to the video in the post before this one. I think you'll be inspired!

Stand By Me | Playing For Change | Song Around the World

I put this on my computer a year ago. You may have heard it but it's worth playing again. Listen and enjoy!  Sandy

A POTPOURRI OF NEWS

In summer, the song sings itself- William Carlos Williams

Doesn't that describe summer? Especially when you live in Minnesota where it seems you have winter nine months of the year and then you FINALLY get to SUMMER! I think we appreciate it even more! Remember to take time to "take it all in"....especially if you live up NORTH.

 Just Precious Vintage  Yesterday I mentioned Janis Mineart and her vintage notions business. Here's another photo of some of her treasures. Notice the punch bowl full of buttons where you may purchase a cupful. If you'd like to purchase any of her lovely things you can find them at Generations of Harmony in Harmony, Minnesota. You may also contact her directly at justpreciousvintage@gmail.com. She has many fun and beautiful items!

Living At The Plum   This post is going to be almost like a newsletter because I'm just posting a potpourri of different newsworthy items. Well, maybe some not so newsworthy. Like this one: I've decided to add a little section called, "LIVING AT THE PLUM". As many of you know, we live in a BIG HOUSE ( known as the Plummer House ) that we don't own. After living here 20 years, we've just come to call it" THE PLUM". It is owned by the city and we live in the WEST WING and oversee events, our official title being, RESIDENT DIRECTORS. It is a 49 room English Tudor mansion built and owned by Dr Plummer, a physician who worked closely with the Mayo Brothers of the WORLD FAMOUS MAYO CLINIC ( or the WFMC, for short ). The 49 rooms also includes our living area which used to be part of Dr Plummer's workshop ( our living room ) and servants living quarters.

Well, last night my, husband, Les, hollered up from the shower in the garage, " DO YOU WANT TO SEE A TARANTULA?" First of all, yes, we have a shower in the garage. The garages are all "indoors" and heated and one of the previous Directors hooked up a shower in it. We DO actually have a shower in the BATHROOM but my husband prefers the one in the GARAGE. Go figure! Back to the tarantula. To my knowledge ( and I could be wrong on this one ) we don't have tarantula's in Minnesota. But I decided to just go along. "I'LL PASS!", I hollered back. "No, you GOTTA SEE THIS GIGANTIC SPIDER!" Well, spiders and snakes are on my list of "Things I don't want to see" so I told Les to just KILL the thing because it was ON MY LIST OF THINGS I DON'T WANT TO SEE!  When I see a big spider I'm afraid to even step on it to kill it because I imagine ( and I have a great imagination ) putting my foot on it and it just runs away carrying me on top! Well,  I heard some slapping around down there and I THINK he got it killed. This is one of the bad things ( there are a LOT more GOOD things ) about living in THE PLUM; GIGANTIC INSECTS AND SPIDERS. I'm not sure why BIG HOUSES should have BIG BUGS but this one does! I figure they must live in the walls ( where no one can step on them ) for 20 years or so and then they grow and grow until they just come out BIG after all that time. Anyway, that's my LIVING AT THE PLUM story for today.

Yard Sales    Les and I were up in the Twin Cities recently and it being Saturday we noticed A LOT of garage sales signs. We hadn't planned on stopping but OUR CAR STOPS FOR SALES automatically I think. We found some interesting things like these old faux fur collars. I've been trying to find out what  era they might be from so if anyone out there has any information, let me know because I don't remember these being "in" in MY day and I go back aways. I might not have even picked these up but it was the last day  of their sale and it was "bag day" so I threw them in the bag. The sale was put on by a group as a fundraiser and the people there were elderly so I imagine they had lots of  interesting old things there the first two days.

                                                    This one's actually kind of creepy.

I also found this lovely bowl.

We found many other  interesting treasures as well, including a dresser and old oak coffee table. We came home with a carload and hadn't even planned on it! Can you relate?

Where Bloggers Create   A big thank you to all the bloggers for sharing their beautiful spaces for the blog party, "Where Bloggers Create". And thank you also to Karen  Valentine for hosting this fun event. It has been very INSPIRING  and has given THIS new blogger and "vintage seeker" lots of ideas for creating a more inviting and lovely space to create. I try to look at a few blogs every day and am looking forward to seeing YOURS in the future. However,  in my excitement to begin following many of those blogs I've discovered, I accidentally DELETED all the favorite blogs I follow! HOW DID THAT HAPPEN? Now I have to go and try to get you all back on there so I can easily click on them and find you! So be patient. I'll find you! I haven't deleted you on purpose.  : )

Family    I hope you'll allow me a little indulgence now and then as a proud Gramma. Here's our latest little guy, Charlie. Big dark eyes and white curly hair at twenty months!

THANKS FOR STOPPING BY!

A BUSY TWO DAYS

Had a busy week with our daughter, Elissa, and her husband, Jon, being home from  China for a short stint. We celebrated Father's Day early as they had to take a plane out on Saturday. Friday morning Elissa and I took a quick trip to a small town nearby where they were having a vintage sale. This is what I purchased:

It has a vintage doorknob and hooks on it. I'm going to hang it in the guest room that Elissa and Jon use when they're home.

I also found a lovely booth owned by Janis Mineart.  She sells vintage linens, sewing notions, buttons, and lace. She was sweet enough to allow me to take photos of her beautiful things to share here but I forgot to take a photo of HER!

Janis rents space in a nearby shop so I'll be stopping there soon!

In the evening for Father's Day Elissa grilled steak kabobs, wearing her favorite vintage apron from our family collection.

Setting the table for Father's Day, Elissa chose some "new" and some vintage blue and yellow pieces. All the items were purchased at vintage sales, thrift stores, and yard sales including the damask yellow napkins which she tied with blue vintage ribbon.

The next morning we took Elissa and Jon to the airport in Minneapolis. After dropping them off we went to Bachmans to pick up the antique tablecloth ( below ) I had purchased at the Idea House but couldn't pick it  up until the event was over. 

    Notice the scalloped edging. This was an old quilt that was repurposed into a tablecloth. It is in great condition! Should I sell it or keep it???

After picking up the tablecloth we went to Bachman's little cafe and had a HUMONGOUS cup of coffee and some treats!

Ooooh. That coffee looks tempting! I'm going to go get a cup! Thanks for stopping by!

WHERE BLOGGERS CREATE II....THE ROOM

Karen Valentine is hosting a blogging party called, WHERE BLOGGERS CREATE II. This is my FIRST party like this. I mentioned in yesterday's short post that I was not ready to show you my INSPIRATION ROOM  but I decided to get some photos out there anyway. Read yesterday's post first.

If you're a BLOGGER.... WELCOME!  I've already started making the rounds and seeing all the wonderful inspiring places you've created out there. I love seeing all your beautiful spaces!

If you're NOT a BLOGGER... WELCOME!   Come see all the places where bloggers create their artistic work and their blogs. Go to the button like the one above on my side bar. You will go to the " host's party post". Then click on all the many bloggers that have signed up to show their fun spaces.

So here goes! I collect vintage treasures and "refresh" or "repurpose" them and sell them at three occasional sales a year. So my creative space right now is FULL of stuff I just recently collected and things I'm in the middle of fixing up so it's really a" workshop". We live in a 49 room historical mansion living in the "west wing"  and oversee events that take place there. My creative space is a room just off our laundry room. 

So open the double doors here and come on in....

The best thing about this room are the windows that open up to beautiful grounds!

Here's the other set of windows. As you can see Mary Englebreit has been one of my inspirations so I have a few of her things here even though they are not vintage. 

Get a closer look here...

And here...

This is an old rustic table and chair that I use when I need to do things sitting down. Stacked are some old cigar boxes that I store things in. To the left are some little things made with vintage music paper. I sell sheets of the paper and use them for wrapping gifts.

I have another old shabby white table I work on and here are some things on that table.

More old wood boxes and cigar boxes for storage.

AND READY OR NOT....a corner of vintage finds that need to be worked on. Yep, I've got work to do!

And in the other corner....   I can't believe I ACTUALLY SHOWED YOU THIS MESS!

Here's a little corner where I cozy up with my laptop to blog.

And here's another one. These both are guest rooms now that the kids have moved out. But when the guest rooms are full....

I might end up here in the living room on the "conversation couch". Tons of inspiring books and magazines on the table.

So these are the spaces where I "do my thing"!  Hope you enjoyed the tour! Next year I just MIGHT BE READY!