Fluffy Flowers

another visit to my antique booth

 

Y'all, I have got to say that I am truly having a fun time with my new antique booth.

It's only been a couple of weeks but things are already hoppin'!

 

I've had to bring in more stuff the last two weeks.

 

Which means I've had fun digging through all my treasures and finding those I could part with.

Including a ginormous cauliflower container :)

And some are almost too cute to send out into the world.

But I figure there are oodles of other folks out there who will enjoy them too.

 

Plus, I added some of my handmade bags.

This is so much fun!

my first Antique Booth

One of the things I love to do is poke around in antique shops. You never know what groovy treasure you may find!

So when a new shop opened up in an old house near my neighborhood I hotfooted it down there to check it out. Ladybug Antiques is cute as cake and stuffed full of delightful things. On a recent visit I got to talking with owner Janice Simpson. One thing led to another and I suddenly found myself signing up for my first ever booth! So after a week of preparation, yesterday I got busy setting things up.

Boy was it a lot of work, but oodles of fun too! Here is the left side of my booth during the setup process. At first I thought I may have brought too much stuff.

But it started to come together after I got things organized. This is the left side of my booth after I finished setting up. You can see some of my handmade pouches on top of the table.

It took a lot work to squirkle things around to fit into the small space in a pretty way, but that was half the fun! It felt like part decorating and part like setting up a booth for one of my craft shows. Really, it was the best of both those worlds.

This is the right side of my booth after setting up. I really like how the curtains accent the wall. And you can see some of my handmade creatures on that lower shelf.

My booth is packed with bits of treasure everywhere just like some of my favorite booths I've loved to shop at. Plus, I've gotten a lot of shop setup ideas from the quite inspirational blog Garden Antqs Vintage.

Here's a shot of my finished booth standing in the room and looking towards the door. I've gotta say I really love how it came together.

And here's a shot of the other side of the completed booth. I can't help thinking it looks adorable!

Y'all, I really love it! It was so much fun to put together. Hope all you local folks come stop by for a visit.

antiquing

 

What a fantastic holiday vacation I had! Managed to squeeze in oodles of fun. Unfortunately, I didn't photograph much of it since I was too busy having fun :)

 

But I did manage to snag a couple of shots of an antiquing day trip to the Church Street Antique Mall in Covington, Georgia. 

 

There were lots of cute treasures here!

 

And the town was pretty as a picture.

I was so sad when the Old Buggy Factory closed down a couple of years ago. It was my favorite antique mall.

 

But I discovered this cool new one, The Shops at the IceHouse Underground, in Madison, Georgia that is crammed with groovy stuff. And they even had a friendly kitty greeter outside.

Part of the challenge of antiquing is to not buy every single thing that is cute. I left these sweet glasses behind! Ugh.

 

I adore this pretty setup.

I visited this shop before last year. Can't wait for another old junque shopping day out!

road trip

I was in Columbus, Georgia last week for a couple of days.

Stayed in the super fabulous Rothschild-Pound House Inn.

It was a delightful little bed and breakfast.

It was surrounded by cute little cottages.

And I got to stay in one of those sweet little places.

It was prettily decorated.

Complete with fresh flowers.

And lots of books to read.

With extra spots to stash guests.

And pretty little garden spaces.

On the last day things turned a little ethereal.

But before leaving town I was sure to wander by Gina's Junk.

Just as the sign on the front door promises, it was crammed full of useful junk. This place is not to be missed! Lots of selection, good prices, and clean, unbroken stuff. Loved the place.

Slumber Party

Welcome folks! A big ol' Happy Birthday to Phyllis over at For the Love of Vintage who is hosting this Slumber Party to celebrate her forty-six years.

Come on in folks and get outfitted in your comfy PJs because we're about to head into some serious Slumber Partin'! I'll be sharin' some fab stories about some awesome vintage treasures and I hope you'll chime in with your own stories too.

First off I'd like to introduce you to some awesome folks and point out your lovely accommodations. Madeline and Puppy Cheese have already made themselves right at home.

Madeline is fairly new to the Fluffy Flowers household. She moved in last year after a trip to Athens, Georgia. It was on that same trip that a search for a fabulous yarn store landed us right next to an awesome old house antique shop. I spied this delightful hand sewn bed cover and pillow cases made from an old chenille bedspread and some oh so pretty fluffy flower fabric. It was marked at an unbelievable price but my wallet was low on paper money and high on the plastic. Unfortunately, they only took that old fashioned paper money!

One sleepless hotel night thinking about that groovy bed cover and the next morning I was at the ATM machine and down the road to claim that beauty for my own! Thank goodness it was still there and I don't have to tell this story as the one that got away.

Next I'd like to introduce you to someone near and dear to my heart. He's my teddy bear and his name is Puppy Cheese and, yep, even though I'm having a milestone birthday this year that ends with a zero, I still sleep with him every night.

You see, Puppy Cheese is actually a stuffed Dakin Panda Bear. He was given to me by my high school boyfriend (the infamous prom date who went on to become the quintessential rocket scientist, see here for details) when I was seventeen or eighteen. We found him at the gift shop at Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida when we went there to see the real live Panda Bears. It was the first time I'd seen those fabulous animals in person and I was enraptured.

For the longest time he was the bear with no name. Then one day, nearly a decade and a different boyfriend later, I was told that I clutched him in my sleep and mumbled something like Puppy Cheese. It seemed so extraordinary and hilarious that the name stuck and he's been Puppy Cheese ever since.

My treasured stuffed Panda Bear has stayed with me nearly every night of my life including those spent traveling. In all that time I only left him behind once, at a hotel in the town I now call home. It was a harrowing two weeks without him until I got him back, I can tell you that!

Oh, pardon my manners! I forgot to offer y'all some refreshments. Here in the Fluffy Flowers household we're trying to watch our figures. Ever since that mean ol' doctor pointed out that we're a little short for our weight we've been watching what we eat. But I do have a tall, refreshing glass of skim milk and some nice and crunchy graham crackers that I guarantee will hit the spot.

Oh, and if you don't want any eyes staring at you just go right ahead and turn that fluff ball to face the other way. She won't mind.

Oh, and don't forget to wave to Miss Holly. She's been with me a long, long time. Since I was seven, I believe, which was a few, ahem, decades ago.

Now what slumber party would be complete without a cottage and three bears? They look like they've got their ears all perked up for something. Wonder what it could be?

And what's that Madeline and Puppy Cheese are saying? They've been waiting patiently? For what, I wonder?

Oh, for a story! Well, of course! It wouldn't be a slumber party without a bedtime story.

Once upon a time there was a little girl. She was sweet and kind and nice but quite ordinary in every way. The funny thing is that extraordinary things kept happening to her. And even though she followed the rules and always did what she was told she usually found herself stuck between a rock and a hard place.

But what she discovered when she found herself in that place was that she didn't have to live with it the way it was. She could change it. She could change herself. She could paint the walls, or hang a shelf, or put up a picture. She could rearrange things and add to it or take away. She discovered that she could transform the world around her and by so doing she could make quite extraordinary things happen.

And so she did, which made her live very happily ever after.

Hum, doesn't quite sound like the story of Jane Eyre, does it? Ah well, the story still seems a bit familiar to me :)

Yawn, I think Madeline and Puppy Cheese liked that story, yawn, I know I did, yawn. Sorry y'all, yawn, sorry! I think I'm getting a little sleepy now. I think it's time to snuggle under the covers and catch a few zzzzzs. Thank you everyone for dropping by and especially to that fabulous Phyllis who set the ball in motion. Happy Birthday!

Fluffy Flowers Vintage

Introducing my newest Fluffy Flowers adventure:

Fluffy Flowers Vintage

Some of the beautiful things that I've lived with and loved can now be yours. The ultimate recycling. Passing my treasures on to be appreciated by others.

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