First fair of the season....

Hi Everyone!  Happy Tuesday!  I hope everyone is having a great week.  It's Inventory time at work this week.  Fun!  So no days off this week.  I'll have to hit it really hard this weekend getting ready for the next craft fair which is October 15th in Clarinda.  It's the largest one I go to.  It is in five different buildings across town and it's almost too much for one day.  But it's the one that my things do the best at.  Hopefully that holds true this year.  I neglected to share with you pictures from my first craft fair, it was the one on Labor Day.  I did okay at it.  I like this one because I don't have to take any time off of work for it and because I generally have help from my brother setting up and then my cousins hang out until the end and help me put it all away.  So the extra help is wonderful!  I'll let you look at the pictures.  They aren't the best pictures because they were snapped in a hurry before the traffic started.

 

I don't take as much stuff to Labor Day as I do to the other craft fairs since it's outside and I don't expect people to carry it around all day or have to hang on to it at the parade.  Plus it's outside and some things just don't do as well in this setting.  Well, thanks for stopping by!

Storage bench...

Hi Everyone.  Do you remember the storage bench that my nephew and I made while he was here this summer? 

It called out to me wanting to be red.

 So here it is out in the shop after getting it's first coat of red.

 And here it is after getting it's second coat of red.  I used a very pretty red called Colonial Red in Satin by Rustoleum.

Here it is on display at the Essex Labor Day Market.

And here is Quinton sitting on it at the craft fair.  There was a lot of interest in the storage bench but it didn't sell.  The owner of the beauty shop where I have my items on display is wanting to have it in the shop so that she can make payments on it.  I'm going to take it to the craft fair this Saturday and if I have to bring it home once again, then I will take it to the beauty shop and strike a deal with her.  Well, thanks for stopping by.

Ethan Allen bench completed....

Hi Everyone!  Happy Monday!  I hope you all had a nice weekend.  I was busy finishing several benches and handpainted signs trying to get ready for the craft fair this coming Saturday.  I wanted to share with you the bench I finished for the Labor Day craft fair which was actually purchased by a friend of mine.

It is the Ethan Allen bed that I almost felt guilty for cutting apart (almost).  Doesn't it make a nice bench?

 Here it is in the shop just after I painted it.  I used Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint in Graphite.

 Then I sanded it and waxed it using both clear and dark wax.

 In certain lights it really looks grey and in others it has a blue tint.

 I used a stencil to add the saying to it.  I got this stencil several years ago and have used it so many times on so many signs and benches.  It's the perfect saying for a bench.  And since I have the stencil, there's no reason to hand paint the sign on this bench.

 This is just after we got things set up at the Essex Labor Day Market. 

There was a lot of interest in the bench and it sold to a friend that I used to work with.  He let me keep it in the space until after the Labor Day Parade and then a couple of football kids came and took it away.  I did get an order for another bench so now I'm on the hunt for more headboards since my inventory has been greatly depleted over the last month.  Thanks for stopping by.

Another Queen Anne chair....

Hi Everyone!  I hope you are all having a great weekend.  I've been busy getting ready for my second craft fair of the season that will happen a week from today.  But first I want to show you one of the chairs I took to the Essex Labor Day Market this past Monday.  It is one of the chairs that my Aunt Nancy gave to me.  Here's what it looked like when I pulled it out of storage.

A bit too dark for my taste.

 And here's how she turned out.  I used Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint in Country Grey.

 Then I sanded it and waxed it using clear wax.

 And I recovered the seat in my Mom's favorite fabric that I've used on a lot of my bench cushions.

I'm really happy with the way it turned out.  I have four more of this style to redo, but a few of them need a little TLC first.  I took this and the arm chair to the Essex Labor Day Market, but they didn't sell.  There was a lot of interest in them and one lady really wanted them, but her husband told her they were too fancy for them.  She almost looked heartbroken.  I guess it just wasn't meant to be.  Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Labor Day....

Happy Labor Day!  I hope you have all had a great weekend and a good Labor Day!  My brother and his family are here and will be leaving today to go home.  And today is the big Essex Labor Day Market and Craft Fair that I've been telling you about for the last few months.  Hopefully all of my hard work will pay off today.  I'll let you know tomorrow.  Enjoy your day!

Thanks for stopping by!  Happy Labor Day!

Modified headboard bench....

Hi Everyone!  I hope you are all having a great weekend.  I wanted to show you how my modified bench turned out.  Do you remember this?  I added the feet to the arms and the finials to the back after cutting off the wing shapes from the posts.  This bench was ordered by a client so she wanted it black and the name Jensen on the back.  It is a gift for her sister-in-law.

Here it is laying on it's back while I paint the letters on.

And here it is finished.

 Now that it's all uniform in color, the added pieces look more like they belong.

 And the cushion was made by my mother.  She refers to the work I give her as coming from Donna's Do It Shop.  Thanks Mom!  This fabric has been the most popular fabric for bench cushions.  And it's my mom's favorite.

My client came this week and picked it up and seemed very happy with it.  I just hope her sister-in-law likes it.  I hope you all have a great weekend.  My brother and his family are here.  But I will be busy getting ready for the Essex Labor Day Market on Monday!  I have a few things left to finish for that craft fair and then two weeks from today is the Red Oak Craft Fair that I have a whole big long list of items to finish.  No matter how well I think I have things planned out, it always seems like I'm in a rush the last couple of weeks.  And this year the three + week heat wave and the storm clean up didn't help my schedule.  Every year I try to avoid this rush to get things done and every year I can't avoid it.  There is always next year.  Thanks for stopping by.

Ethan Allen bench...

Hi Everyone!  Happy Monday!  I hope you had a great weekend.  I wanted to show you my latest build.  This bench is made from a full size Ethan Allen bed.  My favorite supplier of used headboards had this one for sale in his shop and gave me a great deal on it because of all the headboards I've purchased from him.  I almost hated cutting this one in half, but I'm sure glad that I did.

I love this detail on the leg.  I'm going to have to tape that off really well before I paint.

Now my only question is, what color should I paint it?  And what saying should I put on it?  What would you like to see?  What would you want to buy?  I'm taking this to the Essex Labor Day Market.  It's a mix of antique, flea market, craft fair all rolled into one.  Last  year I took a bench to this, sold it 15 minutes after the "doors" opened and took orders for 7 more benches.  So let's hope the selling god's are with me again this year.  Thanks for stopping by.