Raised In Cotton

Laundry

I am taking advantage of some beautiful sunshine that is finally gracing us in Missouri. Crisp white linens hanging in the Spring breeze that I misted with some lavender spray. Strung across the clothes line with the linens are some pink peonies in vintage milk bottles.

I love old baskets, especially this  white washed one on wheels. Growing up in the South, we always hung our bed linens out in the fresh sunlight. Wonderful sweet dreams~

I was mentioned on one of my all time favorite decorating blogs Decor8 the other day on Flea Marketing.  I have been a fan of Holly's blog for several months, she offers wonderful tips on finding the best decorating resources. Thank You so much Holly:)  Lastly, the website launch is still scheduled for May 1, keep your fingers crossed that I know what I am doing:)

Vintage Flower Containers

Combining my two loves~found Vintage and fresh flowers~Simple and Romantic~      

Rusty tiny watering can filled with roses and purple flowers, milk glass and old jar bouquets. Touched off by my favorite, a bit of raffia.

For a Spring luncheon~some table beauties

Or add to a rusty metal porch post

Milk glass salt shaker filled with flowers.

Angel greetings to your visitors

Flowers and Inspirational Friends

Flowers! Nothing better to keep your environment fresh and inviting. I consider them to be one of my all time favorite and relatively cheap decorating needs.  For the last several years, I have had a little business decorating for parties and weddings.  It started by word of mouth when friends would ask me to help them out.  Nothing on a grand scale by any means, trust me I am not a professional!  For me the simple beauty of the flowers combined in a vintage container or bouquet was perfect.  So in the coming weeks in addition to my vintage embellished tips I love to share with you, I am also going to be showing some of my flower ideas for you to try. Also, I have a wonderful project with super bud talented energetic Karla happening in May that I am very excited about. More about that later, but I can tell you that I get to use some great new creative ideas that I have been working on with her:) Also, I have to say a big "Thank You" to all of your heart felt encouraging words regarding the new website.  A special hug to Deb for your devine and inspirational business knowledge, Lidy for your VERY sweet email and lastly my Sparkle Peep, Heather aka The Homecoming Queen:) How lucky I am to be surrounded by creative friends and beautiful flowers.

Website Launch Date~May 1~

Can you see the sunshine finally kissing this little flower? Spring decided it might want to stay for a few days and we have had some warmer weather! Thought I would start my post off with that little breath of fresh air picture:) OK, now for some news~

After many, many long weeks of designing, learning and MUCH trial and error~The official launch date for the on line shop is May 1! Will I be ready? I hope so, but is anyone really ready for something that they have worked on for a long time to be unveiled for public approval? I had to say to myself, "just do it" and picked my Mom, Stella Mae's birthday on May Day for the launch. Let me share with you a little about the site~ When you arrive at the front door of www.RaisedInCotton.com, you will find the website is divided into four basic main categories~Home Goods~ Fresh Picked Vintage ~Her Apothecary~ Cotton Portfolio~ A clean Country vibe with a sprinkle of Romance is always on the ever changing list for your consideration of offerings in the Home Goods section. Close to my heart and one of the main reasons for doing the website is the vintage finds in the Fresh Picked Vintage category.  Her Apothecary will have a lovely line of beautiful soaps that I picked for the artisan quality and beautiful packaging.  I am very excited about the last category~Cotton Portfolio~a showcase for handmade inspiration. Here are a few photo's of things that will be offered~

 

What Did You Buy Carol?

Hope you are not tired of all the Texas pictures. I have had requests asking what I bought on the trip, so I thought I would share some photo's with you.

I love the contrast of sparkly and soft against faded and weathered.  Old jewelry is always on my hunt list and we were not disappointed in what we found. I also came home with some rosaries to add to my collection, this one has small milk white glass beads with the chain and medal still intact.  Just placing these faded sparkles on a vintage net skirt against a set of old french doors, made my happy vignette heart jump for joy.

Here is a vintage embellished tip for you~Crowns! OK, look for old lamp parts! Yep, these came off of some vintage oil lamps and they look like crowns. These are great to sit out on a table top and you can display a number of fun things in them~They come in all sizes. So don't pass up those old oil lamp parts! I also found a pair of old door plates, one in chippy pink too!  

I also bought the coolest old rusty iron garden chair. It has a leather seat and back rest that I am going to recover. For some reason, I was really attracted to old doors this trip. I got so bad that Heather and Shelly were telling me to, "step away from the doors" lolol. Along with the set of french doors (they still have the intact glass and great hardware) I found one with the best old robin's egg blue paint and a cream colored one. More about what I am going to do with the cream colored one in a later post.

Probably one of my very favorite and exciting buys was this~

It is a true antique seed box from the early 1900's. The best part is the paper dove graphic that is still intact and the tons of glass bottles that hold the REAL authentic seeds. My heart skipped many beats as I was able to purchase this beauty. But, I must admit it was one of those, "let me think about it" buys. I have to credit Shelly for slapping me into reality and saying, "you will never find anything like it and do YOU KNOW how many people would kill for those original seeds, what a piece of history." I am so glad I listened to her! OK, enough on my Texas High Horse but please take a look at Heather's blog for some more beautiful pictures. This was really a working trip for Heather as she was photographing for a future magazine article, but we still managed to save time for pie:)

Again~More Texas~

Things I found out about Texas~

1. Texas women have got to be THE nicest people on earth!

2. Fine hair is NOT good hair to have in Texas with 85 degrees in March!

3. Royer's in Round Top is truly a dining EVENT!

4. Don't try to wear FLIP~FLOPS when shopping the hundreds of antique booths.

5. PIE is a main food staple when you are antique shopping. You are required to have a serving with each meal.

6. PEACOCKS are not pretty birds at 3:00 am in the morning

7. Everything looks COOL in a huge white garden urn~deer horns to shells

8. Urban Industrial Chic decorating is THE latest craze~think rolling tables covered in zinc or metal.

9. You need dual wide wheels on your shopping cart to better haul all of your purchases.

10. The only speeds allowed during Dallas rush hour is 0 or 80 miles an hour. NOTHING in between.

Random photo's~

Blog Party~

   

 

 

Texas Rose Show~

Our ALARM clock:)

More Texas!

One of the BIG highlight's for us was attending the Marburger Show on Tuesday. Tent after tent filled with beautiful antiques and vignettes. I was in HEAVEN! Heather, Shelly and I woke up early with the roosters and a feisty peacock that loved to crow right outside our log cabin. We had our own farm yard alarm clocks to keep us on our schedule! This little guy "Buddy" was right outside our front porch~

Buddy is 18 months old and was raised by the owners of the Ranch from birth. He thinks he is a dog and you can pet him. Too sweet!  We arrived at Marburger and headed straight to Theresa Smith's booth. You might remember that Theresa and her husband's lovely Kentucky home were featured last year in Country Living Magazine~   

Another beautiful booth, Judy Hill's~

Of course we had to visit the Magnolia Pearl Booth~Magical~

I am painting my own car, Magnolia Pearl style after seeing this one!

More photo's tomorrow, hope you liked them:) Have a great Friday:)

Back From Texas

Well Hello Dear Blog Friends, I missed you:) Just returned from Texas early this morning and wanted to share pictures with you of our trip. It might take a couple or three postings to tell you about everything but let me start! On Friday, my niece Shelly and I picked up Heather at the Austin airport and headed straight to the shows. Upon entering Warrenton, we found acres and acres of dealers lining the streets and fields. Not to mention the dozens of shows we had on our list to attend and all of the many blogging friends we wanted to meet, it was unbelieveable. We did have a plan, or so we thought, the idea was to not miss anything or anyone!  Our first stop was Zapp Hall and to visit Theresa of Garden Antiques. I just have to say she has got to be the sweetest person in Texas, not to mention our Supreme Texas Antique Hostess. Here is some photo's of Theresa's fabulous booth~ 

We were delighted to meet and talk with the super creative Linda of Willow Nest. Her booth was simply breathtaking~I heard Rachel Ashwell loved it too! 

Linda with Shelly who is wearing one of Linda's beautiful soldered necklaces she had for sale in her booth. This picture was actually taken at the Leftover's Antique shop party held on Saturday evening. The Leftover shop is beautiful!

Junk Gypsies Booth at the Zapp Hall show~

More Zapp Hall pictures~

Heather and Shelly, a girl never knows when she might need a shopping six shooter:) More pics and stories tomorrow:)