Raised In Cotton

~Welcome Summer~

I have been very busy but a good busy the last few days. Friday Phyllis and I spent most of the day hitting estate and garage sales. We found lots of fun things that I will post later in the week~on days that we go out searching for goods, I am really glad that I still own my big gas hog SUV. Yep I managed to put about $60 dollars in it before hitting the sales but I also managed to fill it with all of our days treasures. I have been tempted to sell it and buy something more economical, but where would I put that awesome garden table and four chairs I bought for a song?

I made this little flower arrangement using a basket that is made for holding a bottle of wine. It has a long leather strap just perfect for hanging.

  More shell decorating!

Old Glory draped on a table~Welcome Summer!!!!

Beach Style Decorating

I found a bunch of old and not so old boxes covered in sea shells and needed to make a vignette at the Shop. Since the boxes were to new looking for my taste, I antiqued them with some tobacco glaze to tone down that early K-mart look. I placed them on top of an old table painted a great vintage aqua color. I layered white sand and more shells inside of glass jars. Decorating inspiration from a visit to the beach~

~Flag Day~

June 14 is Flag day~I have collected US flags since my early primitive style days. Around Memorial Day, I always bring out my collection of old flags and bunting to drape on my fireplace and around the house and the porch. Nothing else reminds me of Summer then seeing a beautiful flag gracefully flying in the breeze. The centerpiece I made was from a found iron pedestal,small flags and a tarnished silver bud vase. I took the flags and tea stained them to have more of a aged look then set them in the Sun for several days.

My flag collecting has spilled over to postcards too, anything with a US flag is fair game for me.

~On Golden Pond~

Wanted to share some pictures of a Vintage Show we did at Denise's house (one of my buddies and Shop partners) it sits on 10 beautiful acreas with a lovely pond. A wonderful gazebo is at the entrance of the water.  The gazebo has openings all the way around to view the pond and a high wood beamed ceiling. Just a perfect setting for the show~

I used lot's of antiqued lace curtain panels and hung them ever so softly in the openings. Not wanting the panels to blow into the candles and chandeliers, I used small sea shells to weight them at the bottom.  I further draped the tables with some old floral fabric and  curtain panels.  When evening came, the light from the candles and lanterns provided a lovely glow.

I hope you have a perfect weekend!

~Silver Bella~

I am so excited to have been selected to be a Vendor at the "Sparkle Event Of The Year" In case you don't know, Silver Bella is a Paper and Arts Event that features nationally known Artist who teach workshops to all of us creative wannabee's. Take a look at the website for more info.  In the coming weeks, I will be posting more on what I will be bringing to the Show!!!

~Hunting Vintage~

I have to  say "Thank You" to all of our wonderful customers who continue to support our Shop.  We were able to turn over almost all of our Spring buying trip inventory the month of May.  Our goal is to keep 75% vintage and 25%  new inventory on hand. One of the main reasons we opened Raised In Cotton was our love of vintage style decorating. While going to market offers a good supply of "new to look old" inventory, it still does not produce that heart pounding excitement that you get when discovering a vintage piece that I think would be good for the Shop.  As you can imagine, the three of us who own Raised In Cotton are out almost on a daily basis "vintage hunting" Yesterday I was lucky and experienced one of those wonderful treasure trips.  I was able to fill my truck with some tables, chairs, a chandelier, two lamps and some smalls.  Not all my trips are successful, but it just makes those heart pounding days all the more fun. For a wonderful post on "Finding The Goods" check out Deb's from Curious Sofa's Shop Blog.

I also enjoyed all of your perfect comments regarding my "Graceful Ritual" post. I hope you have a beautiful weekend and don't forget to relax!