PresentPast Collection

Shop Keeping

Still working away at updating the website. There is still much more to come. I've added lots of gorgeous mercury glass for those of us who like a little glamour.

And these are my favorites! This set of Mercury Glass Hurricanes are so classic with their cylinder shape and timeless white floral detail. Together they make a substantial center piece for an outdoor table or coffee table.

You can see all the recently added items by clicking here and I'll be sure to let you know as I get more stocked. Luckily the weather here has been fantastic and is perfect for taking photos so I'm sure to stay busy. And we've been doing lots of dining on the patio in the early evenings. The beginning of summer is just the greatest!

A Quick Little Embellishment

Here's a real easy way to add a little pizazz to your average vintage tin that can be picked up at just about any flea market, yard sale or antique shop. Punch two holes on each side of the tin and run a wire through it to create a simple handle.

Next, wrap the outside of the tin with another piece of wire and twist tightly to secure. Be sure to leave about 6-8 inches of length on each side of the wire.

Then the fun part is just adding a few special items you already have on hand. A string of buttons, an old millinery flower and a few rhinestone buttons are just a few examples. Use your imagination to add whatever strikes your fancy. After you have embellished your tin, wrap the loose ends of wire around a pencil to create "vine tendrils". Voila! That's it!

Filled with flowers grown from your own garden gives it a fresh country feel. I like mixing in some herbs like lavender and mint as well as a few sprigs of ivy. But if you don't have those in your garden, fill it with fresh greenery or daisies or whatever is blooming in your neighbors yard. Just kidding, only if you are very good neighbors!

Shop Happenings

Thanks so much for all the kind comments on my booth space and adventure. Being able to do what I love means so much to me and seeing that I am able in some small measure to inspire you as well is the icing on the cake! Just know that I treasure each and every visitor and comment you send my little way.

I've been slowly settling back into my normal routine. I've got an article due in the next few weeks and I'm going to get started on some major overhauling of the website. I'm planning on removing several of the categories/products that I carry and begin adding fresh new items. I made dozens of  Vintage Trinkette (tm) bottles for the antique show and had a few left. Those are up on the website right now, you can see them here.

And, as requested, I added some of my handmade bling. As I mentioned before, they were so much fun to create and I might start adding new pieces to my Adornments category. I hope you like them as much as I do! They are like my little babies and I adore each of them. Sure wish I could keep them all, but it's nice to share.

The gorgeous Antique Inspired Crowns have been restocked. This time around they are slightly larger than the original ones offered on the website. I feel these are much more suited for displaying on a shelf or table, a perfect size.

Look forward to many changes coming by way of Present Past Collection. I'll try to keep everyone up to date on the happenings! Wishing you all a very Happy Father's Day weekend!

Farm Chicks...Part Two

As I said before the highlight of doing the Farm Chicks Show was meeting all the incredibly talented and friendly people. Most of you know who these two sweet gals are. If you can believe this, they made 480 homemade cupcakes to welcome all the vendors, in their spare time of course! I thought it was such a thoughtful gift knowing how busy they were putting together the show. Now, enjoy the Linkapalooza!

Here's a parade of fun vendors, shoppers, and bloggers who I had the chance to visit with. Here is Joy on the left and Lisa on the right. They are so much fun to be around, lots of laughs with these two and their booths were both full of can't resist vintage treasures. Lisa's booth partner Isabele was there too but I didn't get a photo of her in her cute braids.

Next up we have Cindy who's booth was so beautiful. She's a very charming lady with loads of talent and I loved her displays. She also had some handmade journals, albums and gift tags in addition to her well chosen antiques.

Here's a few photos from her displays. Just lovely!

This is the adorable Adrienne who makes gorgeous charm necklaces and jewels fit for a queen. Her space had a sort of Marie Antoinette feel to it and I think her use of the gilt frames really looked perfect with her wares.

I had the most fun meeting lots of blog readers. Here is Tiffany wearing one of the beautiful necklaces she made. I loved her sweater! She was so friendly and a joy to talk to, another kindred spirit.

And the cutest shopping cart award goes to Martha. She made the liner herself, so much creative talent out there. She shopped on both days and it was nice being able to visit with her and hear about how much she enjoyed the show.

There were so many other great ladies I had the chance to meet like Liz who had a booth across from me filled with aprons and other handmade treasures, Teresa selling her illustrated cards, Jill who brought her apothecary line, Lisa and her delightful daughter who loves seashells, and a few blog readers who gave me their cards Kelly, Sue and Laura and a wonderful mother & daughter who gave me a little pillow that says blog, so sweet. Thanks so much for all of those who stopped by to shop and say hi. It was wonderful meeting all of you!

And last but not least we have my dear friends who were right next to me for the entire weekend. To say that they made the experince an absolute blast would be an understatement. These ladies are supportive, kind, funny and generous spirits and I will treasure my friendship with them. Here is Bari and her vibrant and colorful booth full of her handmade bags, belts and accessories. I can tell you that the quality of her bags is impeccable, better than any I've seen.

And here is my dear friend Tammy on the left, who I met last year. She is beyond funny with the most infectious laugh you will ever hear. People walking the aisles would laugh just listening to her! Loved hanging out with her.

With her is the Decorating Diva herself, Deb. Her personality is so outgoing, bubbly, and energetic that you can't help but enjoy being around her. In addition to her cottage garden booth she was also working on a video project interviewing vendors and the Farm Chicks.

When I get more information on when it will air I'll be sure to let you know. Kind of nerve racking with two cameras and 6 people crammed into a small booth. I'm just saying.

This is the one lady who saved me this weekend. My dearest friend Kimberly whose friendship I have treasured for over 20 years. She lives nearby in Idaho and came to help me the entire time. She's like a sister to me and I can't say how much I appreciated her help and spending time with her.

And I can't finish without telling you how much The Man helped out. He's truly my best friend and is so supportive and always willing to offer a hand or encouraging word. I kept telling him he was my man candy for the event, the one to lift the heavy items and help haul all my stuff in the trailer. He's such a good sport and was the best company a girl could ever ask for. LOVE him! People even recognized him from the blog and stopped to ask him if he was "The Man"? He sure got a kick out of that! Fun stuff I tell ya!

Farm Chicks...Part One

Hello everyone! Boy have I missed you. It's been a whirlwind of adventure around here. We finally made it home around 2 am this morning and I can't wait to share the excitement of the Farm Chicks show with you. The vendors were spectacular and you wouldn't believe how many people stood in line in the rain waiting for the show to open. Here's a few shots of the Present Past booth, packed to the brim as you can plainly see. Next time around I think a bigger space might be in order.

My next post will be about all the amazing vendors, shoppers and blog readers that I met. The entire event was an absolute blast and meeting so many great people was the highlight of my trip. Right now I've got to dig through my luggage to find their business cards so I can share their websites and blogs with you. I know you'll enjoy meeting them too!

Roadside Stop

One of the best things about going on a road trip are the great places you find along the way that just scream at you to pull over. This adorable Danish bakery was one of them. The patio in front has a view of the city park just across the street. And take a look at what they deliver their baked goods in!

I know, adorable. Doesn't it make you smile? I bet the employees love driving it around town. And if you need to make a call, non-cellular, they have you covered.

They wouldn't allow any photos inside the bakery and I decided to be good and obey this time. But believe me it was just as cute. There were racks and racks of fresh baked breads, homemade jams and sweets and we heard they also made delicious sandwiches. If you are ever in the city of Bishop be sure to make this a pit stop!

Bella was bummed that they didn't sell any dog treats and as you can see, she's ready to hit the road. Chat soon!

PS. No, this isn't our car. Just a prop outside the bakery and I couldn't resist sticking her in it. You can see she was thrilled.

Rescued Rhinestones

One of my favorite parts of scouring flea markets is digging through all the boxes of tattered jewelry. At one time or another someone loved those pieces and probably wore them often. I thought I'd show you a little sneak peek at what I've been doing with the ones I've picked up on my outings. All of these are headed to the Farm Chicks show and will hopefully go home with someone who will love them again.

I'm by far an expert in jewelry making but have certainly enjoyed just jumping in and learning. I still don't know how to solder and certainly don't know about all the incredible places to find unique findings and chains but it hasn't stopped me from trying.

I hope this encourages some of you to try your hand at something you've wanted to create but hestitate to because you don't "know how". As that famous commercial says, Just Do It. And if you're feeling like jewelry making isn't your forte, you can purchase some lovelies from this talented gal, or this one or this one too! And when I get back from the Farm Chicks show, I'll post some of mine on the website if you'd like.

Tomorrow we're heading out on our road trip. The Man has been busy packing up the goods and I've been working on my gigantic To Do list and can hardly wait until it's a To Done list! Our little Bella has been nervously following us from room to room because she isn't sure what's going on. If only she knew that in the morning she'll be heading on an adventure with us!

The Love of White

Yesterday I took Sweet Girl to lunch for a little mommy & me time. She and I have both been very busy lately and we needed some time to catch up with each other and just sit and visit. While we were waiting for our food to arrive we decided to play a little game of What's your favorite?. I'm sure you've played it many times with your loved ones too. It's basically going back and forth asking favorite questions. The trick is knowing what the answer is before it's said. When I asked her what her favorite color was she said "green". Which I knew. Next she asked me mine....."white". She responded, "White's not a color"! I tried to argue it with her by showing her the different shades of white on the napkins, plates, etc. But nooooo, she was having none of that. She wanted a real color.

Fast forward to this morning as I was ironing and preparing all the white linens for my booth at the Farm Chicks show and I thought to myself how beautiful all the colors were. Pale white, bright white, creamy white, blue tinted white and even the old faded white of the antique tea towels. And I'm standing firm. It's still my favorite color and I'm not going to be changing my mind anytime soon.

Just look at this beautiful rainbow of white. Absolutely lovely.

Antique Painting Technique

Here's a quick little tutorial on faux antique painting. I picked up this cast iron urn for a song but didn't like the dark rusty chocolate color and decided to give it a fresh look.

I started by applying a coat of white paint with a sponge brush. Love sponge brushes by the way. The 2 paint colors I used are available at Michaels craft stores. Just a plain bright white and the second color is called Beachcomber Beige and is a gloss.

After the first coat has dried somewhat, maybe 10 minutes, I come back and sparingly apply the Beachcomber Beige.

I like the way adding the gloss gives it more dimension and sheen. And notice how I didn't completely cover all the darker brown underneath? The last step is adding Faux Antiquing Glaze which is available at Lowes.

I pour some out on a paper plate and water it down to a thin consistency then use a paper towel to dab it on small sections.

There we go, much better. Now it looks like it's been around for years and years and has a more time worn feel. Perfect for my petite kitchen herb garden.

Yummy Lobster Recipe

I think I might have mentioned a time or two about The Man's passionate hobby of scuba diving. He actually considers himself more of a dive hunter than a recreational scuba diver because he dives with purpose. And 6 months out of the year his sole purpose is to bring home lobster. Lots and lots of lobster. We sort of laugh around here because we eat lobster like most families eat chicken. And like most women who prepare the family meals I'm always looking for a new way to cook chicken lobster. So I thought I'd share with you this delish recipe I made over the holiday weekend.

Lobster Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce

1 1/2 pounds penne rigate
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 pound mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
4 cloves garlic minced
1/2 white onion finely chopped
1/2 cup pinot grigio or similar dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 can crushed tomatos (15oz can)
1 1/2 pound fresh lobster pieces
1/2 cup heavy cream
Handful of fresh chopped Italian parsley or chives
Handful of fresh grated parmesan cheese

Cook penne rigate according to package directions, al dente. To prepare the sauce heat olive oil and add the mushrooms, onion and garlic and saute for about 5-7 minutes. Next deglaze the pan with the pinot grigio and reduce for about 5 minutes. While this is cooking, season the lobster with salt and pepper. Then add the chicken stock and tomatos and bring to a small boil then add the lobster and cook until just firm and opaque.  Lastly stir in the heavy cream and toss with the hot pasta and top with the chopped herbs and fresh parmesan. Bon Appetite!

Recipe inspired by my favorite guy. Doesn't he look like he means business? Hard to tell from the photo but trust me, he's having fun. Right now lobster season is over and it's time to start diving for halibut, which I prefer. I love making grilled fish tacos with all the fixin's. And it's usually a great way to lure family over to visit!