Getting Ready for Fall at Both Locations!

Denise Handpainted this Wonderful Moon for our Holiday Displays;
 He's currently in the Rustic Sparrow window

Our favorite time of year is just around the corner and it's always fun getting ready for fall! We started a bit early this year and created a few new Halloween items, one of my favorite is the giant moon Denise painted- he looks awesome among the tree and merchandise!

 

Denise worked an entire day creating this beautiful masquerade pumpkin, we took it to Knorr Candle Factory
right at closing time yesterday and it sold first thing today!



 

 

I think my mom's imagination lives in a place called Wonderland and she has a best friend named Alice, because I know she secretly wishes all pumpkins & birds wore crowns- and people too!

She worked really hard on creating this masquerade pumpkin so it's very sweet that he sold so soon-

 

Colorful Hat - Steam Punk inspired - fun for Halloween-
New Years- or just to Display

 

I recently worked on a few of these top hats, they are pretty fun to create and you can use many of the materials you already have- The hats are common now at party supply places and I tied ribbon around the base, used playing cards(this one happens to feature a joker), clock parts, handmade ribbon flowers, leaves, metal embellishments, feathers and netting. I shouldn't joke about Denise living in Wonderland because these look a little Mad Hatter now that I'm looking at it!

 These would be fun to wear at Halloween with just a plain black eye mask

 

This Victorian Bench already had some beautiful detail in the metal work, but the old tapestries that
Denise covered it in really added to it's unqiue charm- this sold within a couple of days of being at Knorr

Like with everyone who does what we do, we put a lot of heart and soul into whatever we work on and it's always nice when a piece sells and you know it's moving on into someone else's space for them to enjoy!

 

Sweet Crystal Lamp Denise Assembled from different parts,
it's beautiful when it's on and off

 

This lamp was a labor of love, matching up the pattern of all the different crystals, it turned out beautiful though, the base features these lovely griffins and the lamp is assembled from metal parts, vintage and new crystals

 

I had been looking for a dresser to try this finish on and was excited to spot this old one!

 

 A while back online I found artists- I believe in Arizona- that paint a lot of pieces with color on just the cabinets and not the drawers- so I had been on the lookout for a piece to try it on and I happend to find this huge old dresser with a beautiful finish on it already- so with some help on the color and paint via friend and artist Carol Rea, I was able to do this in one morning- it's a lot easier when you have less surface to paint!

Looking forward to cleaning out more of the garage and finishing more projects in the next few weeks- I'll post more pics soon :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Our Space at Knorr in Del Mar

White Horse Relics in Knorr

We've been busy these last few weeks setting up shop in the beautiful & historic Knorr Candle Factory & Gift Shop, located off of Via de la Valle in Del Mar

The owners and staff have been amazing & welcoming

Our space features some of our favorite pieces as well as some new items we've worked on just for this space

Denise hand painted the b&w stripes on the vinyl cushions for an updated look

Can't take credit for painting this lovely piece, it was done by fellow Knorr vendor Carol Rea
of C.rea.tivity

Denise's latest handpainted furniture piece- a vintage desk with great detailing

She worked qutie a few days on this one- but I think it turned out beautiful

With the holiday season just around the corner, we are thrilled to have this space to showcase pieces that we love to create and find

Next up for us is continuing our move into Knorr as well as creating our Halloween window at the Rustic Sparrow

Knorr Candle Factory is open Tues-Sun 11-5:30 and is located off of the 5 freeway at Via de la Valle just past the polo fields in Del Mar

The Rustic Sparrow is open Mon-Sat 11-5, Fridays 11-9 (Until the last Friday of September)

located on Grand Ave. in Escondido 



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!