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!

Our New Year's Resolution- Selling Online!

What a face!
 I love this vintage portrait I found in it's original oval frame

We hope everyone is happily ringing in the New Year this evening- Denise spent her New Year's Eve day cleaning out the garage- which was much needed and will make cranking out fun / funky / fabulous pieces all the more easier!

We hope to spend all of next week reworking our two store spaces.

Our resolution for this year - selling our artwork and vintage finds online. We opened up an etsy store about a year ago and have yet to list one item! We hope to learn from friends/vendors how to network more on facebook too, so a much needed push into the 21st century is coming our way!

I took some photos of our Rustic Sparrow booth today, we've added a few more finds.

Denise came across this vintage blanket chest circa 1919 a few days ago - it's great because it still has it's pullout shelf

Denise hand painted this face vase a few years back,
it's really fun and whimsical

It wasn't until I hung this metal soldier head on the wall
that I noticed the great horse on his helmet

Our Rustic Sparrow space this month

We will be sure and post when we begin our online selling venture!

We had a great 2011 and look forward to even more fabulous finds and creative endeavors in the New Year! - Best Wishes for a Great 2012!

December Vintage Marketplace

Our Booth at the December Vintage Marketplace in Rainbow, Ca

We survived another Vintage Marketplace this weekend - barely! It was a ton of work getting ready for this event this time around - I think we just spread ourselves a little too thin! I'm posting several photos from our booth. Denise did another fantastic mannequin, he's definitely one of my favorites!

The Hunter
An Assembled 'Man'nequin by Denise Chafin using vintage & new embellishments

A side view

Close up of The Hunter with vintage eye glasses, an old cigarette case and pipe

Santos Cage Doll atop a Birdcage all on an assembed pedestal

Denise finally got to set up this old iron bed, she's been wanting to do this idea in our Rustic Sparrow booth space but we just haven't had the time or the room

Denise found this great set of pink vintage dishes

Several people liked our TeaTree - we thought it was a fun way to display a place setting for 8

A few distressed furniture pieces

This was a neat assembled piece with a vintage pipe, stamp & feathers in a nest under a dome

Denise picked up this old plant stand with cane sides last week and did a fabulous job giving it new life with the Annie Sloan Chalk paint 

I did some new paper figure designs for the show and thought they looked fun displayed on old silverware in creamer and sugar pots

Rita Reade & Christie Repasy once again did an amazing job as creators/organizers of this event and it's always great to see familiar faces and catch up with such sweet, fun people!

We won't be returning as vendors to the March 2012 Vintage Marketplace, but we look forward to returning as shoppers and as friends supporting a wonderful group of women artists!



Our Holiday Vignette at Vignette's

Our holiday vignette at Vignette's on Newport Ave in Ocean Beach is currently a work in progress, but with the addition of Denise's beautiful Winter Wonderland Mannequin and Dresser this week- the space is definitely getting there! Denise is working on a few more festive pieces to add before the Vignette's Holiday Open House on December 8th from 3:00-8:00pm. But here's a few photos of some of our newest items...

Denise gave new life to an old dresser with a touch of Annie Sloan chalk paint

Atop the dresser are some of our assembled pieces along with some of my Mexico City Flea Market finds.
The metal military hat is actually an old Prussian Cigarette Dispenser

This vintage shoe mold was another find on my trip- very cool and quite heavy

Yet another Flea Market find - this one is probably my favorite - I bought the hand made altar and the old doll  from the same vendor on two separate days- Denise had the metal cup in her treasure of trinkets- it's fun when things come together and work

Since we did some rearranging in our space I was able to take a better photo of Denise's cool Bergere Chair -
I think she did a great job with the paint and the upholstery



Here's another look at Denise's Winter Wonderland Mannequin- she's beautiful- and I love how all of her mannequin creations have a similarity as well as a uniqueness about them. One of my favorite pieces she's creating is almost finished - it's a definite 'man'nequin and he's awesome, probably my favorite - I'll post pics as soon as he's done- so keep checking back!

Next week is the big Vintage Marketplace - December 2nd & 3rd in Rainbow, Ca - we're excited to see all of the vendors and the fun stuff they bring to the show. I'm excited to see what fun stuff we're bringing to the show too - just kidding - we have several new pieces with Denise's special touch & vintage pieces too that will be filling our space- can't wait!

Winter Princess

The newest addition to our dress form family has moved into the window at Vignettes in Ocean Beach.  It used to be so easy for me to name almost everything I created and Ashley used to find it amusing that I gave everything a name.  For some reason, all the dress form divas, or darlings, seem to remain nameless.  Maybe they are waiting for the new owner to give them a name, or identity, once they find their new home.     

The soft palette of beiges, creams and whites, plus the icy beads applied to the bodice stayed within that wintery feeling.

There were glorious icicle wings planned for her, but the grandeur of the back didn't call for wings.  She will not be given the power of angelic flight with magnificent wings, but will remain grounded as a royal winter figure.

Thus, the headdress...wintery forest, why not?