Spring Has Sprung!

Spring has arrived in my house! I couldn't wait any longer to lighten it up.

I just love adding whimsical vintage Easter decorations around the house. They are so hard to find anymore.

How cute are they?

Someone handmade those awesome eggs. I usually use doilies with an Easter/spring color theme now. Something with pastel purple and pinks like this crochet doily.

I also like to bring out the pale pottery vases to blend in with the pastel colors of the vintage decorations.

A pastel spring vignette in my living room. Even the tray has a spring theme with butterflies. I found that at a garage sale a few years ago.  Loved it too much and had to keep it!

Here's a close up of that darling vintage Easter piece.

Some nostalgia is in order. That rabbit candle was from when I was a kid. The basket holds an egg collection with some from when I was a kid to ones that I found recently. They fit in a vintage egg basket. Except I don't think anymore will!

The rabbit cabbage pottery piece always gets center attention.

I even redid the gumball machine to reflect an Easter scene. It's fun changing it around for the holidays.

In the summer, I found this really cute bunny pillow at a garage sale. It was never opened! Too cute to pass up.

 I saw this last week peaking out of my garden,

It's rainy and gray today, but at least the snow has been washed away.

I am busy preparing for the Vintage Shop Hop on March 2-3 and added spring to my space at the Carriage House.

Here's another side...

Here's a reminder of the Elgin High School Flea Market coming up on March 11. I'm in booth 180 in the gym. There are 170 vendors, new items and vintage treasures, set up throughout the school.

Happy treasure hunting!

In the Garden

Today I did a presentation for the McHenry County Home and Community Education group where 40 attendees, the public was also invited, heard me speak on Flea Market Gardening. It was so much fun. Attendees also shared flea market gardening tips.  This group presents different topics throughout the year through the Extension office in Woodstock.

I had presented this topic a few years ago at Gardenfest but there is such a demand now for this topic that I added even more pictures to my presentation. (Gardenfest will be on April 7 this year at McHenry County College in Crystal Lake IL. Our keynote speaker is Mark Dwyer from the Rotary Gardens in Janesville WI).

This was such a snowy weekend! Probably 12" inches of snow or close to that. I pulled out the patchwork quilt top that I bought recently to begin finishing it. 

I originally planned on selling it but just couldn't. I am using a blue/gray fabric on the back that has a Victorian charm to it. I know it will take me a while to finish it. 

I put on my snowshoes yesterday and trudged down to the garage to get the quilt rack so I could start quilting the layers together. I still consider myself a beginner quilter but I really do enjoy the whole process of making a quilt. 

Here is my newest addition to my cows in the barn. 

It was a birthday gift.

I didn't start out to have a cow collection but that's how it's starting to look. 

Happy Valentine's Day and Happy treasure hunting!

On This Snowy Day....

On this snowy day I was feeling creative.  Thinking of Easter and the warmer weather.

My cousin gave me the stained glass holder and I filled it with vintage Easter items and flowers. So cute! The other little "baskets" came out really cute also.  I love finding uses for all of the cute little items I come across.  It's so much fun!

I have been to a few really good estate sales the last two weeks. Full of vintage finds.  I have been lucky to find vintage linens and quilts.

Some of these quilts are cutter quilts but beautiful nonetheless. I couldn't resist!

Really nice fabric pieces and a quilt block.

A large roll of vintage trim.

I'm keeping that fabulous crochet throw. Right now its on a chair in my living room but I have thoughts of it draped over a table in the summer.

Look at it up close.  Fabulous!

The Carriage House will be participating again in the Vintage Shop Hop March 2-3. There are about 400 shops rights now participating in Wisconsin and Illinois. I will be gearing up for that sale soon. Planning for the start of warm weather wishful thinking.

Then, the week later I'll be here:

I got my booth #180 in the gym. I love this flea market. It's nice and early in the season and it brings out the shoppers. It's daylight savings time to I'll be a little tired but it's so worth it.  It's so much fun. My friend and I will have connecting booths so we can help each other.

I have been busy purging my house still and planning on having a garage sale hopefully in April. I really need to. The house is getting full of boxes for all of the different sales I'm working on.  But, I'm still looking out for those estate sales.

Happy treasure hunting!