More Dress Forms, Birdcages & Summer Finds!

Sophie created this Whimsical Dress Form, she pieced it together in a half hour and then
spent about 2 days stitching it all together

We're having a Happy & Healthy Summer! Denise has been back in production mode, recently creating new pieces, as well as loving Pinterest, with all of it's networking and fun ideas- I'll take some pics of her newest creations and post soon.

Just before we took off for our summer vacation back east we left our beautiful window space at Vignette's Antiques on Newport Ave. in Ocean Beach- we really enjoyed our time in Lori's store and the best part was meeting and working with her and her staff, as well as all of the amazing vendors in Vignette's that never cease to amaze us with their creativity and skill in finding really beautiful pieces for the home and garden! So a Huge Thanks to Lori and Vignette's for all of their support!

These latest photos are some of the pieces we've worked on this Spring & Summer...

Sophia working on her Dress Form- it's pretty cool to watch her design- she's
 the one teaching me 

Close up of the dress form torso; she pieced together a bustier, vintage tulle skirt, vintage chains,
necklaces, broaches along with hand-made flowers and ribbons 

She did a fabulous job with attention to detail on the entire form,
 and I love the sweet influence from one of her favorite designers- Betsey Johnson  

'Time Flies'
Denise and I both worked on this piece- we used different clock and watch parts, faces and metal embellishments-
The birdcage is new, as is the artist model- we stained it to give it an aged look

The clock shown here can keep real time, or
I like the idea of setting it to a memorable time in your life, like the birth of a child -
time flies, but in those special moments time stands still

Rare Hendryx tear drop shape birdcage? I bought this at the Irvine Flea Market from the
sweetest vendor named Betty, she knew Denise loved Birdcages and offered it to me
right as she was unloading it from her van, she said she had never seen one like it
and we were eager to research it online but haven't been able to find much info on it-
the stand is not original, but the paint and patina look to be original

The Hendryx logo plate on the tear drop birdcage

Denise painted this sweet pair of French side tables with Annie Sloan Marie Antoinette 

This was our last dress form to display at Vignette's, it's a vintage corset, slip and
a pair of pantaloons underneath,
they all fit beautifully on this old dress form

Altar Cabinet at the Rustic Sparrow in June

My favorite new piece is this hand made large altar with a bell, columns,
glass panels, light, and beautiful detailing-
This would make a beautiful display for a religious relic or an art piece

I was running late to set up at the Rustic Sparrow one morning and forgot to stop
and pick up some 'S' hooks to hang this light, happy accident -because I think it
works on the old patio chair- I wonder how this composition would look hanging from the ceiling?

This lovely long bench would look great by a window, the foot
of a bed, or any space that needs a unique touch - it features beautiful soft colors and fun patterns,
customers love the unique pink vintage lampshade also shown in this photo

More and more photos to come and hopefully Denise will get back into the blogging groove again too! She's  been able to work on her artwork more and more every day and it's nice to have her back out in the garage- hammering, painting and drilling away!

This week we are busy adding our pieces into the Knorr Candle Factory and Gift Shop
off of Via de la Valle in Del Mar, Ca!
Knorr's is adding several vendors to their store and we are very excited
to showcase our work in this beautiful location- I'll post pics and info soon!

Lovely May Days

Sweet 3 piece dining set friend & artist Carol Rea helped us paint and distress with Annie Sloan French Linen Chalk Paint

Close up of distressed chair; cream base coat with French Linen top coat allowed to dry,
then wiped off in areas with damp cloth

With Denise feeling better and slowly getting back into the swing of spring, we've been busy painting, cleaning & creating!

Our Vignette's Booth

The window display for April; a little vintage mixed in with a little new

The vintage iron patio furniture we painted in Annie Sloan Aubusson - a beautiful blue. The vintage mirror on the chair is updated with a coat of Annie Sloan Paris Grey. Also in the window, vintage Italian tole ware, new stone birds & crown, and a great pair of wings Denise painted with Annie Sloan Old White

This square birdcage is a great size & happens to fit nicely on this high wooden pedestal

A whimsical addition to old silver pots & tea sets- a nest & egg

Tea Anyone?
This Vintage Meriden tea set is unique in that it features two tea pots

This weekend, Vignette's is hosting a Breakfast at Tiffany's themed event for a special group of customers, so Denise and I added vintage ashtrays, a pair of crystal lamps, black gloves, and little bling to our space.
We found this great large print of Audrey Hepburn from a scene in the movie which helped to tie it all together nicely

Our Rustic Sparrow Booth

This old wheelbarrow sold this past week, it has great patina and will make a great piece for any garden

Love this pair of heavy wrought iron petite vintage patio chairs,  the old green vinyl seat cushions were a little too distressed so we covered them in burlap, an easy 10 minute project with charming results

I finally found another baby Jesus to put in this old altar from Mexico City, the original baby Jesus sold to a doll collector and I had to wait until my latest trip to find another one. The St. Francis statue is a newer resin statue that I painted with rust paint, I like the faux age and wear

Old Escondido Clean-Up Day

We've loved getting to know the town of Escondido, home of the Rustic Sparrow and many other wonderful shops, restaurants & historic sites. I wanted the girls to experience the importance of helping out in a community so last month our friends and fellow vendors Carol & Doug, graciously allowed the kids and I to ride along and help clean up the beautiful Historic District of Old Escondido. It's an annual event they do each year where they rent large dumpsters for neighbors to come by and throw out any items. It's wonderful because those things that still have a little life left in them are saved and sold in the Old Escondido Rummage Sale. 

It's a great community project and we had tons of fun!



The Clean-Up Crew doing an Awesome Job



One stop shop; the Rummage Sale was conveniently held right next to the dumpsters, neighbors were able to unload unwanted items & shop for new treasures all in the same spot

Hopefully this chair found a nice new home in someone's yard,
it would look great with a big potted plant on the seat

 Denise is still working on a new dress form for spring/summer. Vignette's is hosting an event in June to kick off summer, it's a beach themed party so we'll be on the look out for ships & seashells.

Thanks to Everyone for their warm thoughts for Denise, she's doing Amazing and is outside working in her garden as I type this, so she's a happy camper!



Rustic Sparrow in April



Vintage Woodard Patio Chairs

The weather's been Beautiful this past week and we've been able to get a couple of vintage patio sets in our Rustic Sparrow space. Denise is feeling great and working on a new dress form as well as several bircages - I'll post pics next week!

Vintage Swivel Patio Chairs with Great Patina



Time to come check out the Rustic Sparrow!

I found this old Mariachi doll on my last trip to Mexico City

I sold this sweet swan of Denise's at the Granny's Attic Faire in March

Denise has not only been able to work on her artwork but her gardening too! 

 

 

Taking a Break...



Display of Vintage Toys in a fun Toy Museum in Mexico City

With Denise not feeling so great lately we've been on a bit of a break. I took a mini trip to Mexico City a couple of weeks ago and discovered this fun little museum with vintage toys dating back over 100 years, one collector had collected all of these pieces and they really did a fabulous job arranging and displaying the collection. Unfortunately, I didn't take my camera out and start taking photos until the last exhibit room, but here's a sample of some of the unique displays....

A large scale Mexico Taxi Bus with a Trolley Train running through it

Spaceship with mid 19th century robots

These beautiful horse heads were placed all along a wheel - maybe as part of an old carnival game?

Even though we've been taking it easy this month creating works, we still love finding unique vintage items for our Rustic Sparrow & Vignette's spaces. I'll be taking a few pieces to Temecula this Saturday for the Granny's Attic Outdoor Flea Market- March 24th from 8am-3pm.

 Several vendors from the Rustic Sparrow will be there with their fun & fabulous pieces too!

Our Rustic Sparrow space this week - Aye-Aye Captain!

I love the artist's use of light in this vintage painting -
it still has it's original label on the back - all written in Italian

I don't know what this old homemade box would have originally been used for, but the age and images are really wonderful

There are so many pieces of furniture and what-knots waiting patiently in Denise's garage hoping to one day soon turn into a fabulous find for one of our customers! We wish to not keep the furniture or the customers waiting too much longer and hope to be back in the swing of things soon!

We're into Domes...

My favorite new piece, this antique angel head with wings from the 17th-18th century

This Antique Angel Head with Wings dates from the 17th-18th century
I love his eyes - I think they are made of glass, his head and wings are wood
The lady I bought it from said it came from a European Theater

I think this Antique Angel's face - is one of the prettiest ones I've seen

It was a Vignette's Wednesday today, we headed down to Ocean Beach to rework our space.

I didn't realize until I uploaded the pictures for this post that we are apparently on a dome roll!

It's funny how you get into different phases. We're finding the large glass domes and having fun arranging unique items to fit inside.

We took this Marie Antoinette bust and blinged her up a bit and she happen to fit perfectly
in a vintage silverplate dish - we thought the tray and dome finished off the look



Denies painted this vintage desk - it's a great size and color that could fit just about any space



I bought this great collection of Vintage pipes from my favorite vendor at the Rustic Sparrow - Barbe
I don't know if it's the fact that the pipes remind me of my Grandpa or that I think they look really cool
in assembled pieces that draws me to them
This dome was fun to make and luckily I purchased these smaller early 20th century books from Barbe too
because they fit perfectly!





Speaking of the Rustic Sparrow, Heather - another one of my favorite ladies who happens to also
be the owner, sold us this Amazing Vintage Display Cabinet!
It features a light, 3 glass shelves, a mirrored back and appears to have it's original cream and gold paint
Thanks  Heather - it's a great addition to our space!

This vintage,ornate, carved wood mirror was a find!
It's obviously been painted white, but the original gold paint is starting
to show throughin several places.
I love the large size and the detailing - we are displaying it on an easel - which I think would
also be a great way to display it in a room!



I love this frame. Denise has had it in her own collection for several years, it's hand-made
with fun metal embellishments. I found the old photo during my last trip to Mexico- she's a cutie



We're currently collecting and photographing pieces to sell online which is great and probably long overdue!

We're loving Pinterest, there are so many great ideas - not just for decorating - but just things that can make your day go a little happier and easier - so definitely check it out if your not pinning already!