My Bag Is Packed - I'm Off Blog Touring

New Slipcovered Chair and Flea Market Finds at Must Love Junk

When Susan at Must Love Junk asked me to join the Blog Tour, I was ready, willing, and able.  I had been following several threads from one blog to another and had met some very interesting bloggers.

Since I love Susan's blog, I am happy to do anything she asks just to continue to see her fabulous finds and the delightful ways she styles them.



You can find Susan's Blog Tour post HERE.

Visit her Etsy shop HERE.

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We are supposed to reveal answers to four questions.

1.  What are you working on right now?

Visit the baskets here.

I have been busy transforming ordinary baskets into my Prairie - Plain & Primitive style.  I have several furniture projects to finish. 

I am purging several collections while thrifting at the same time. 


 


2.  How does your work differ from others of its genre?

Pink and Distressed here.

My blog does not seem to fit easily into just one genre.  

I have posts on vintage finds, DIY posts, painted furniture, and craft ideas.  I occasionally include  my assemblage art pieces.  

I do attempt to use humor in each post.  

If I bring a smile to your face while reading, I am a happy camper.  My husband grudgingly comes along for the ride though I think he secretly loves being mentioned. 

If you are a regular reader you know if something is perfect, I am going to distress it. 



3.  Why do I write/create what I do? 

As for as creative abilities, I blame it all on my family. 

My father painted, fired ceramics, and hooked rugs.  My mother painted and sewed.  My grandparents were creative at repurposing all kinds of things.  My brothers were both talented and their children continue the family creativeness.

My first two loves:  Rust and Crust!

I was a creative writing teacher.  After I retired, I missed the daily journal writing the students and I did.  

I continued to keep several journals, but I needed the sharing part.  I had been following several blogs and thought one day, "Hey, I can do that!"  


And I did.  

Even though I am a complete techno-idiot, I created my blog in three short hours.

It wasn't pretty, but I listened to all of you and I learned. 

 





4.  How does your writing/ creative process work?

I work on projects for my booths, myself, and my Etsy shop all week.  I think about if the project would be interesting to the readers.  

Then I sit down and write.  

And write.  

And write.  

Then comes the hard part.  My posts are usually very long, and I am brutal at editing.  I slash and delete until I have a finished product.

Voila! A blog post.

And now it is my pleasure to toss the baton to two more bloggers.  Ones I follow and love for their creative spirit and writing style.  Plus they have great photos!  Go visit next Monday when Tuula and Melissa will publish their Blog Tour posts.

First is Tuula at The Thrifty Rebel.  We have been friends for years.  Well, over two years anyway.  Give her a pile of china and sparkles and she can create a great piece of garden art. You would not believe her furniture transformations.

Read HERE how to make a beautiful teacup lampshade.

I'm Tuula, and I blog over at the Thrifty Rebel. I live in an 1890s house in rural Ontario, Canada with my husband John and 4 feline friends. I work full-time and also have 2 etsy shops, Spoonfuls of Whimsy and Thrifty Rebel Patterns. I love decorating, crafting, thrifting, and gardening, but most of all I enjoy repurposing things in unexpected ways.

Second is Melissa from Melissa's Antiques.  A new friend who buys more than I do and that's saying a lot.  I keep telling her she needs a bigger truck. 

Melissa started the garage sales season with THIS!

Hi, I'm Melissa of Melissa's Antiques.  I started Melissa's Antiques back in 2009 right after I graduated from college and bought my first house.  My first job out of college was boring and didn't pay a whole lot, so I combined my love of auctions and thrifting and started selling things on eBay to make extra cash and keep my creative juices flowing.  That eventually grew into 2 online etsy shops: one for Christmas and one for everything else.  Well, like most of you, my buying got a little out of control ("but it was SUCH a good deal!") and I eventually opened a booth in an antique mall.  Hopefully in the future you'll see my name on a building in the Indianapolis area.  Come visit me on my blog or Facebook!

melissasantiques@gmail.com

facebook.com/melissasantiques

melissasantiques.blogspot.com

melissasantiques.etsy.com

 

See y'all! 

Swap & Tell Link Up
Every Wednesday Starting August 13!

Use this discount code to receive 10% off your purchase at the Distressed Donna Etsy store:

DISTRESSEDDONNA14

SHOP HERE! 

Share Your Cup Thursday #113
Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage   

When Rabid Raiders Roam The Aisles

Every dealer knows THAT day.

The day when hordes of rabid raiders flood the store.

You welcome them with open arms.

They dig.

They pull out.

They plunder.

They buy and buy!

And then they leave.

Leave you with this.

One of the clerks did call me to give me a head's up about what would meet me last Tuesday morning which is my usual stock and straighten day.

So I packed my broom, work bag, and grabber thingy.

It was like pink exploded everywhere!

Of course you know it gets worse before it gets better.

Because everything has to come out of the booth so you can put it back in.

I threw things out willy-nilly until I could reach the distressed white dresser and drag it out to my front porch area.

(We have a two foot strip outside our booth to use.)

Then up, up, up, and away we go.

I do wish the turquoise dresser will sell soon - it has been marked way down.

I am wanting a gray, yellow and pink theme.

This is straight for me!

I took the vintage wire mannequin off her stand and stood her on the dresser with hankies and gloves clothespinned to her.





Yes, I do keep seasonal items out all year.

My bleached and dyed bottle brush trees sell every week.

Usually as soon as I move a large table like this one under all this stuff (no, you cannot see it), it sells and I have to move everything and start over.

We have absolutely wonderful ladies working the desk who move it for us if we are not around.

Thank you, Edie (owner), Judy (bookkeeper), Jackie, Karen, Kathy, Ingrid, Wally, Irma, and the men behind the scenes.

Sorry if I left anyone out.

Riverfront Antique Mall in North Augusta, South Carolina.

It is quite large - it used to be a K-Mart.

There is a beauty salon.

And a cafe.

I see I am down to just three rolls of vintage lace.

Paper towel rolls painted gold, wrapped with lace, and banded with dictionary pages.

Even if you do not use the lace, the rolls make excellent basket fillers.

Do we mind when the rabid raiders roam our aisles?

No, never.

We love our customers.

So I got the small booth all nice and straight,

BUT ...

And it is a mighty big "BUT"!

This is how I left the large booth.

I was just too pooped.

I should change the name to Plunderosa except someone already has that name!



If you miss me, I am shoulder deep in this booth trying to discover the floor.

I am sure there is space for at least half the junk crammed in my living room.

Yes, I am sure!


See y'all!

Swap & Tell Link Up
Every Wednesday Starting August 13!

Use this discount code to receive 10% off your purchase at the Distressed Donna Etsy store:

DISTRESSEDDONNA14

SHOP HERE! 

Share Your Cup Thursday #113
Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage 

Funky Fifties Figurines

While perusing the shelves at the local thrift store, I spied some funky fifties figurines.

I knew most people would think them hideous and might carelessly crack or shatter them.

I also knew if they made it to next week in one piece, the horror of the punishment of being left on the shelf would happen.

The punishment?

A worker walks down the glassware aisle and sweeps all of it into a giant trash can.

Yes, they are destroyed.




You are not allowed to save them.

This thrift shop does not believe in sales.

Yes, it is sad.

I could not let these defenseless funky figurines be punished for being, well, funky.

So Mr. Chinaman the toothpick holder jumped in my basket.

Mr. Turtle (who I personally think is cute!) slow-poked to me across the shelf.

I thought this was Mr. Mouse until I got him home.

It is Mr. Calf slicing one gigantic tomato!

I should have known by his tiny horns and hooves.

I can identify the squirrel and the bunny.  The other funky figurine is either a bear cub or a kitty.

They were meant for each other.

Okay, Maddie, I know your rule -

"No donkeys are left behind."

Both of these came home.



See what vintage finds Maddie and her mother found recently here at The Adventures of Two Pyrex-Crazy Thrifting Sisters 




All of these are Mexican pottery except the donkey with cart is Japanese.

All have been saved.

I am sorta attached in a curious way to some of them.

I may let them live here for awhile.

I promise to find them good homes.

See y'all! 

Swap & Tell Link Up
Every Wednesday Starting August 13!

Use this discount code to receive 10% off your purchase at the Distressed Donna Etsy store:

DISTRESSEDDONNA14

SHOP HERE! 

Thriftasaurus #98 at Sir Thrift-A-Lot 
Share Your Cup Thursday #113