Raised In Cotton

Kindred Junkers Unite

I spent the weekend with Mr PracticalPants who happens to be my favorite driver wondering around the southern part of Missouri chasing more junk. After the last post, I can tell there are tons of you that are my kindred spirits and LOVE the thrill of a good junk hunt!!! Would we have a BALL just junking together?  I have actually been obsessed the last few weeks trying to find a few needed things for the farmhouse.
In a couple of weeks this sweet lady will be coming my way to photograph the farmhouse for her exciting new book project due out in Spring 2011. I am looking forward to sharing some of the book details with you in the upcoming months~including the magnificent title!

But in the meantime~I hunt and this sweet bench is what Mr PracticalPants picked out for me as we were driving the country roads in the southern part of our state. It has that great rustic charm and I placed it beside the fun pedestal I found at Jim's sale last week.

 

 

Speaking of rustic finds, I guess not everyone shares in our love of Junk~check out Deb's latest post on a note that was left on a chair that she had sitting in front of her store~

Chasing Junk

  

Does your heart skip a beat when you see a sign like this? Mine does along with the other physical reactions of itchy palms, shortness of breath and a generalized feeling that if I don't get out of my car in time to investigate, I just might faint. 

On Monday, I along with two of my friends decided that we needed to chase some junk and headed to Northern Missouri for a day of much needed fun. I had not been hunting since before moving to the farmhouse and I can tell you I was ready and hopeful of filling the truck. Missouri much like many of the Midwest States has some great antique malls and flea markets to find a wealth of chippy and rustic primitives. Or there is always those side of the road stops with great possibilities.  One of the heart stopping moments on our trip was when we came upon this Glorious Field Of Junk~

What a fine line up of Junk!

Check out this incredible iron headboard~

 

Loved this old pump~

One of the best finds of the day was this heavy metal cabinet with the best faded pink paint~Oh My the drawers!

 

Of course we also ran into one of our famous Midwest storms, but it did not stop us.

We had the shear delight of ending our trip at Jim Ingraham's house who is my very favorite antique dealer ever!  Jim who was holding his first sale in 10 plus years filled a two car garage with his magical display of vintage pale. I can tell you that Jim has always been a design trend setter and was doing creme, white and tarnished 20 years ago! His sale was in a word AMAZING and so sorry I could not get photo's the crowd was also AMAZING. The 110 degree's in the garage matched the fever frenzy of the crowd. One lady complimented me on my "glistening skin" Nope that was plain old sweat but well worth it as I did score some great stuff! I had a ball and loved running into all my antiquing buddies:) Thank You Jim:)

Mr. PracticalPants and I will be headed out of town on Friday to hit the Southern part of Missouri for more Junk Chasing!

 

I am going to frame this photo as a memory of the great day:)

Presenting Abby Kerr Ink

One of my primary blog goals is to always try and “pay it creatively forward” meaning the sharing of ideas and information that can hopefully help those of you that visit with me in some small way.  Maybe it’s due to my Nursing background, but I have always been one to want people to succeed in life, especially when following a dream or passion.  Sometimes when trying to land that dream you need a little help and direction in achieving those goals. 

Let me introduce you to Abby Kerr who has combined her previous successful retail and teaching background into Abby Kerr Ink.  Abby offers a number of services to help you project a more professional business brand.  With her Vision. Love. Phraselogie (for a niche-y enterprise) as building blocks, Abby will provide a plan to help you reach those business dreams. To the point, Abby speaks our entrepreneur language and then is able to concisely write those words down to succinctly reflect an individualized business identity.  Here in Abby’s own words is a description of her business~

"I created Abby Kerr Ink to help other creatively entrepreneurial people connect with their right people online, in print, and in person. This might mean that I write search engine optimized web copy for a crafter that will speak to her website visitors {and to Google} in just the right way, or it might mean coaching an indie retailer through a custom-designed marketing plan that will get her business closer to where she dreams it can go. This is all about helping creatives make their dreams come true. It's about helping people find that pure place where their true and natural excitement originates, and where they're operating out of their best stuff, their natural giftings. And it's about giving voice to what you do and who you want to serve, a voice that is authentically yours and totally appealing to your right people. I'd like to invite your readers to visit my new site, AbbyKerrInk.com, where I'm blogging around the issues of creative entrepreneurship, indie retail, marketing for niche-y business, and more."

 If you want to take your business to the next level, contact Abby and discuss with her your dreams and needs.

To “pay it creatively forward”, Abby has so graciously offered a special discount of 10% off to Raised in Cotton readers on any of her service packages if you book by the end of August 2010.  Just use the discount code CAROLSPINSKI when you contact Abby.  Check this link out for a list of Abby’s services. Also, do not forget to sign up for her valuable FREE newsletter~trust me, you will love it and Abby too.

Thank You Abby!  

Dried Flower Crafting

Instead of throwing away your spent fresh flowers, why not use them after they dry a bit to embellish with?  Drying flowers gained popularity back in the 1980's at the height of Country Style decorating craze.  I can remember gathering bunches of fresh flower's wrapping the stems with jute twine and hanging them upside down from my living room rafters and feeling really Country cool at the time.  Or even festooning every  straw garden hat I could find with a circle of dried rose buds and selling them at my local craft fair.  Recently I revisited my long ago craft and embellished a few things~

 

I added a dried purple flower to a handmade card that Karla gave me for the Ladies luncheon I hosted a few weeks back and placed it on a tray.  I also took a vintage hankie and embellished it with a tiny bouquet of dried flowers and cotton string.

 

This small wreath or candle ring was simply made with a piece of cardboard, tacky glue and dried flower heads. The trick for me when crafting with dried flowers is to use a light hand. Meaning don't pile too many of the flowers on top of each other~you really want to have a light and airy look. Not only did I use the flower heads, I also added green foliage for some contrast and once again to give the wreath a lighter feel. I did a grouping of wreaths a few years ago and tied them to the backs of chair's for a Wedding reception for a friend's daughter. Easy and budget friendly but beautiful. Try crafting a few for yourself.

Lush and Rustic Gardens

I have had the good fortune of late to be involved in some upcoming projects for future publications that have taken me to some incredible homes. This week I shot photo's of Ron and Ginger Schrader's rustic home and gardens. The couple are craftsman who for the last thirty years have held sales in their beautiful home. They started doing concrete and salvage art long before it was popular and their home sales were legendary in the Midwest.  Saturday, June 12, Ron and Ginger will hold a private garden luncheon for their former customers and friends. Here are a few photo's that I am able to share~The "wreath" is actually part of an old birdbath and the large  bowl is a frosted glass cloche turned upside down to hold a candle.

 

Handmade star paver's which I loved made by Ron. Check out these wonderful concrete planters also all handmade.

 

Lush and rustic make for a great combination don't you think? I hope your weekend is wonderful and see you next week:)
 

  
 

A Bouquet Of Blog Gratitude

Really nothing better then going to the local Farmer's Market and buying a bouquet of these~

Also nothing better then the lasting friendships that I have made through the wonderful world of blogging. You all continue to amaze me with your wonderful comments and that you continue to take the time out of your day to visit with me. If you are thinking of starting a blog or new to blogging I can tell you to go for it. The great thing about blogging is there is no rules or no Grand Blog Puba watching over your every written move. If you have a passion about something, share with others and chances are you will meet many new friends that understand your dreams and desires. Connecting is what this online journey is all about so don't be afraid to try it out for yourselves~you won't be sorry.

Thank You to Victoria for giving me this sweet blog award~please go say "Hi" to her.

Outside Room Plans

Next on my list of farmhouse decorating is planning an outside space for entertaining. With one acre of flat green ground and a number of beautiful old trees, you can imagine the ideas that are brewing in my head.

 

My outside room will be beside this tree and I am thinking of building a outdoor fireplace so the space can be used all year long. I have a harvest table and 8 bistro chairs to use along with a metal chandelier I placed in the tree.

Keeping the comfortable country feel to my outside room will be a priority in my design plans.

 

Do you have any ideas that you have used for your own outside rooms that you could share? I would love to know.

 

 

Show Your Colors

Over the holiday weekend, I hauled out my collection of vintage flags and started hanging them up around the farmhouse for my official Welcoming of Summer.  

 

 

 Old flags are still easy to find especially at flea markets, antique malls and even garage sales.