The Vintage Marketplace

I am not worthy.  Let the groveling and self-deprecating behavior begin.  I have had so much  good stuff happening lately, it’s hard to believe!  God is good.
First, I have been approved to stock Annie Sloan Chalk Paints.  I am thrilled beyond belief to add such an amazing product to the inventory at Hodgepodge. 
Then, as if that’s not enough, Tawnya Norton of C’est Moi, asks if I am available to help her represent Annie Sloan Chalk Paint at The Vintage Marketplace in Hendersonville, TN on Feb 2 – 4.  WOW!  (Note the  new badge there to the left of this blog post.)
This event is BIG stuff!  I was planning to go just to have the opportunity to meet some of my heroes . . . Sue Whitney of Junk Market Style fame . . . the creator of Urban Farmhouse, Lisa Maughmer . . . and Theresa Smith of Time Worn Interiors, just to name a few!
Now, I’m an actual vendor!   Tawnya and I are working on ideas for our booth—this is going to be a quick throw together, but Tawnya’s talents will shine through and I’m sure it will be wonderful.  As the emphasis will be the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint—you can bet there will be a lot of painted stuff!
Just make sure you mark your calendars and plan to join us—you will be glad you did!
Thanks for your indulgence,

ps--for the record, the best thing to happen in recent memory was having my mother come for Christmas and stay for a full three weeks!  I was so happy to have her here every evening when I walked through my door--ad not just because she had started (and often finished) dinner.  It was wonderful having her interact with my family for an extended period of time.  She is a very easy companion and I love her.  I'll revise my earlier comment . . .God is Great!

January 1, 2012

(My Leaf Chronicle article for January 1st.)
Happy New Year! I’ll tell you, I for one am happy to see 2011 in the rearview mirror. We have some great memories and I’ve had a lot of successes this year, but the bad stuff was really, really bad and it’s taking some time to work through it. Of course, we started out 2010 with a house fire, so I better go back and read my article from Jan 1, 2010—I may be asking for trouble!
I am sure many of you have already taken down your decorations and have no remnants of Christmas in your home. That is not the case at my house. I am still enjoying our decorations. Frankly, I didn’t get to see them much, so I need to leave them in place a while longer. I generally leave my staircase and mantel décor up well into January (which is why I had to replace it after the fire—hmm, you’d think I’d learn).
Each year I make an effort to weed-out some of the stuff we haven’t used in recent years to make room for the inevitable additions we’ve acquired. I always think I’ll have plenty of time, once I make it through the holidays; while January is a slower month for retailers, somehow or another, my free time is at a premium. I will get it done, though, the same way I decorated—I will un-decorate in small doses.
The challenge is keeping the house feeling cozy and inviting. It seems that once the tree and garlands are gone, it feels a little cold to me. I try to leave a few winter touches throughout the house. I leave my winter pictures propped or hung in various rooms. I leave extra blankets and throws tossed on the furniture—even in the kitchen (we’ve got an old, breezy—no I didn’t mean to say ”drafty”—house). The chairs near the fireplaces are generally the first ones claimed in any of our rooms. I also enjoy leaving snowmen, snowflakes and icicles on display through the winter months. My crystal snowflakes—an extravagant purchase during our first tour in Germany—need to be added to my kitchen window where they can catch the light of our gorgeous winter sunsets.
I generally exchange out my lush Christmas wreath for my very simple, plain grapevine wreath. This year, however I plan to add some branches which have a snowy look, as well as some silver feathers and a snowy nest. I think I’m not ready for a stark winter look just yet—heck, didn’t I just get the house decorated for Christmas? I’ll post a picture on my blog when I have it up.

(Seems I got the wreath done before I posted the article—hard to juggle it all, isn’t it?)
One of my favorite new ideas was borrowed from a friend who found my blog—then found my shop! (I am referring to Auny Bliss—find her blog here.)  She has been collecting vintage pictures of children in their snow attire. She displays them in frames, but I’m going to display mine on a garland on a fireplace, as I do not have enough surfaces to display our family photos, let alone those of children I’ve never met.

(I’ve decided to make the winter garland I’ve mentioned here during our Winter Spectacular crafting event on February 18th.  You can sign-up for a full day of crafting or choose your activity.  More info to come in a day or two—just go ahead and mark it on your calendar!)
I hope your house and heart are warm as we welcome 2012!
Thanks for your indulgence,

running in place . . .

trying to take my mind off of things.

i've got so much to do before Darren returns (only 9 days!)--i'm overwhelmed. the kids and i want everything to be perfect. it won't be.

i've gotten a few projects taken care of--cleaned-up some of the gardens, added the fall mums, started to recover the dining room chairs, hung some art--that sort of stuff. the things that won't matter to Darren at all.

then there's this little event we've organized (Spectacular, Spectacular) in the hopes of having hundreds of folks clamoring for space in the classes we offering. no so.

wah--poor me. more to the point--poor instructors. i feel horrible that so many did so much to bring this event to fruition, but i couldn't get the participants to sign-up.

hope you all are making things happen! feel free to help me prioritize! feel free to help me!
Paige

other stuff at hodgepodge

Lest you think all we're doing here at Hodgepodge is preparing for SPECTACULAR, SPECTACULAR--I just thought I'd reassure you that business as usual is going on, as well.

Hodgepodge (and ARTifacts) are here for your shopping pleasure!

Halloween decor is moving quickly! We still have some fun stuff in stock, but it's dwindling quickly. Our Haunted Memories pictures are a hit again this year. If you haven't been in the shop to see them, you need to drop by. There are a few in the window. At first glance, they look like old, black & white family portraits, but a slight step to the left or right reveals their "inner beauty." Really, can't do them justice in words--they are a must see item! Mix them in with your family picture wall and wait for the reactions! We have other stuff you might want to see, too. Just take a few minutes to drop-in.

Don't know if I've mentioned or you've already noticed there is a Hodgepodge fan page on Facebook. There's a link on this blog--somewhere on the left. I often update that page with info about inventory, special discount offers, pictures and more. If you haven't already joined as a fan--I encourage you to do so.

I'm also tweeting now, too. Special offers are most likely going to arrive in a tweet, so you may wish to sign-up for those, too. Don't worry--it doesn't happen very frequently. I don't use my mobile device for any of that stuff, so you won't hear when I'm picking-up my dry cleaning or if I dropping the kids at little league. It'll be Hodgepodge related stuff. There's a link to that on the left, too.

As for other stuff here at Hodgepodge--please keep the 6th of November open. That's my Holiday Open House event for my customers. It'll flow over into Saturday, the 7th of November, but Friday night will include food and special discounts!

The weekend prior, Saturday, Oct 31st, will be Fright on Franklin, a trick-or-treating event sponsored by the City of Clarksville. More information to come on that later.

In the meantime, thanks for your indulgence.

Jenni Bowlin, Rebecca Sower and Kathy Thiessen at Spectacular, Spectacular!

I know I've mentioned this before, but I'm sure it won't hurt to mention again . . . Jenni Bowlin will be at Spectacular, Spectacular!

She will be teaching two classes only on Friday night, October 23rd--during our Big Top Event.

Visit this post on our Spectacular blog to see the projects in detail. Jenni and her creative team of friends will also have a booth in the Midway during the Big Top Event, as well as all day Saturday. The only day to meet Jenni, however, will be Friday night during the BTE--as she's got to run out the next day for a family wedding! (I still can't believe she's joining us!)

Next and truly spectacular news, Rebecca Sower will also be joining us for the Big Top Event!!! She will be bringing a stash of her creative items and have them for sale in a booth on the Midway. Again, this is one night only!

(picture borrowed from Rebecca's blog)

If you're not already familiar with Rebecca's creative work and gentle spirit, I encourage you take a minute to visit her blog. Once you do, you'll understand.

Last one to mention in this post . . . Kathy Thiessen. I met her for the first time two days ago when she stopped by the shop to give me this:
She was also dropping off a load of items for HER booth on the MIDWAY!

Kathy is absolutely wonderful! I wish I had more time to spend with her, but I was busy (thank you Saint Anthony!) with customers. Since her all-too-brief visit, I've had time to take a peak at some of the items she's brought for her booth and they're GREAT! I've also had time to take a look at her book and I love it! I'll post more about it later, but I want you to know I'll have it here at the shop for your perusal. Kathy will have her books at her booth and will have a book signing during the Big Top Event.

So, in case you haven't figured it out yet, you don't want to miss the Big Top Event! Your registration for Spectacular, Spectacular is all you need to gain entrance to this special event. The event will be catered by Jane Burney of the Lovin' Spoonful Cafe, we will have live music (more on that later)--it will be a very festive atmosphere!
Don't forget to sign-up now for Spectacular, Spectacular--you'll save money and you'll be entered in a drawing for a $100 shopping spree at Hodgepodge! (See the previous post for details.)
Thanks for your indulgence!
Paige

Discounts, Deadlines and Drawings!

Okay folks! The deadline for registering for Spectacular, Spectacular! is quickly approaching, so here's an incentive for all of you fence-sitters:

Sign-up now (prior to October 3rd--NOT October 3rd--PRIOR to October 3rd) and receive a $5 discount on your registration fee. That's 4 days only folks!

But wait, that's not all!

Meet the October 3rd deadline and be registered for a drawing for a $100 shopping spree at Hodgepodge! That's right, $100 worth of Hodgepodge merchandise--yours for the choosing! (Shop my new markdowns and get 20 - 70% more bang for your buck!)

Add a link to your site, blog, or facebook and we'll throw your name in again! Do all three and you'll likely win for sure! (wink, wink)

If you do add a link, as suggested, please email me to make sure I know about it!

This is an event you don't want to miss, so just take a few minutes to visit the site--choose your classes, then look at your friends and say, "i've registered have you?"

Thanks for your indulgence!

Visual Aides

for this little event we've got planned . . .

Spectacular, Spectacular!

October 23rd & 24th

(This is an opportunity to work with and learn from

some of the most creative people one could hope to meet.)

Vintage Matchbox Advent Calendar

Count down the days with this imaginative calendar.
An Egyptian Spiral Bracelet

Make it in sterling silver or copper

Guardian Angels of Thoughtful Re-use

made of found objects and scraps of material,

these angels will watch over anyone who gives them new life!

Silver Soldering

--learn the technique while making a pendant!

Vintage Glitter DREAM banner

made with glitter letters and vintage bits.

Feather Your Nest Collage

your creative spirit will soar with this project

Japanese Book Binding for Journals

learn to make your own journals with this beautiful, ancient technique

Vintage Inspired Filigree Necklace

made with vintage-look findings,

this necklace will be something you can hand down to your kids!

Vintage Vagabond Junque Journal

put together this creative journal using vintage bits and pieces

Altered Book with Mixed Media

learn how to turn a book into your own work of art

Monogrammed Stationery Set

make a set for yourself or a friend

Button Bracelet

made using vintage buttons and beads

Vintage Inspired Christmas Ornament or Pin

make an heirloom-quality ornament or pin--or both!

Ceiling Tin Jewelry Holder

use it for your jewelry or to display keepsakes

There are also two classes being taught by the wonderfully talented Jenni Bowlin. Her classes are available for Friday afternoon only. Learn more here.

Shabby Framed Collage

Wonderfully Vintage Altered Collage


I hope you've found something you like here. I encourage you to visit the website for details and to register for the classes you'd like to take. Class sizes are very limited, so don't put this off! Register today.

If you have questions you can leave a comment here or email me at paige@hodgepodge-home.com.

Thanks for your indulgence!

making stuff happen!

A big thanks to my friend, Martha, for keeping me motivated this weekend! I got the first coat on a new shelving unit for the shop.Chose and purchased the paint for the apartment-wanna-be-classroom in ARTifacts. (Note to self--never, ever say to the paint mixer "I don't care--you pick the paint you'd use." Apparently, they pay the paint mixer at Lowe's top dollar! Or perhaps, on commission! Mind you, I usually by the "oops" paints--so sticker shock was inevitable!)

Got a new curtain rod in the works (painted a 1.5" dowel, rather than buying a "curtain rod") to hide the stuff we don't want to see. I needed something 10 feet long; a ready-made rod, that long, isn't inexpensive! I did buy ready-made brackets and rings with clips, which will simplify the remainder of the process. You'll be shocked to read that I'm using burlap for these new curtains. I'll show pictures when it's done.

I added this grapevine garland to our back door. Darren is going to LOVE this. He adores the way I decorate with sticks!

I just wish we had an outlet outside this door--white lights would adorn this garland year-round! Don't you just LOVE that lantern though? It allows me to have much needed illumination AND it's gorgeous!

Final bragging rights: tons of work done on Spectacular, Spectacular! You guys are going to love this event!

Okay, gotta get to work. Just wanted to post this here because I'm so pleased to have something to show for my weekend!

Thanks for your indulgence.

another recycling option

a good dilemma--sold a table close to the end of the day on wednesday. a little bittersweet when that happens--all of the stuff that is displaced is one issue, but the fact that i rarely have something in the wings to take it's place (my store room doesn't allow for large pieces to be standing-by) is the real issue. so the gaping hole of this missing 6-foot-tooth needed to be addressed immediately.
fortunately, i've had the "makings of a table" in storage . . . a heavy, vintage door and two wooden pedestal legs, salvaged from another table.
i've had a "door table" in my house for seven years now. it's one of my favorite pieces of furniture. we brought back an iron table base from Germany--another weighty object adding to our already over-flowing supply of planned projects. shortly after arriving in our new home, i figured-out what i wanted to do with it. of course, using it as a table base wasn't terribly original, but i decided to top it with a door. again, i'm sure that wasn't an original thought either; without doubt, i'd seen many in my magazine stash and flea-market-style books. anyhoo, i found the door and had a large piece of glass cut to top it (a paneled door isn't a suitable surface for a glass of milk or bowl of soup--you need the glass).
so here's your tutorial for making a table of your own.
first, you'll need the legs. preferably, from a former table--you know they can do the job and they come ready to use (holes pre-drilled and everything!). these pedestal legs truly are the best and most commonly found. you can expect to pay upwards of $50 for legs.
you'll also need a door (one of my favorite decorating "accessories"). these doors are made to hang, by their edge, from a few hinges--they are perfect for table-use. when choosing your door, be sure to look for something wide enough to seat your crew with plates and serving bowl/platters. if you are lucky enough to have a Habitat for Humanity ReStore in your area, you'll find a wide variety of doors there. If you're in the market for a chippy paint finish with other flaws, you should be able to find one for under $50.
You'll also need a glass topper (so your milk doesn't topple). Take your measurement to a glass cutter--tell them you're using it for a table top, so they can recommend how thick it should be (I get 1/4" with sanded, not polished, edges)--you'll have to decide how to finish the corners. i go with a "quarter round" which means your corners will have the same curve as a quarter coin. Depending on the size of your glass, you can expect to pay upwards of $100 for this part of your table.

So, I tried something different with this table. I wanted to see if I could put it together without the screws/bolts showing. I tried lag screws first--two different sizes--two different trips to the hardware store, but that's another story. I figured-out that lag screws wouldn't work, but here are some pictures of that effort. The center of the door had a higher profile than the panels. The holes for the bolts were going to hit the panel, so I used shims to close the gaps.

I figured out I'd have to run bolts through top and bottom. Why? The lag screws only caught purchase on about a 1/4" of the door. It would work for a while, but after a few folks push back on the table, it'll start pulling the screws out. Trip number three to the hardware store. The bolts go all of the way through and are secured on the base with nuts.

I had to drill larger holes then I started with--the bolts were 3/8"--thank goodness I already had a 1/2 " bit, as the guys at the hardware store were beginning to doubt I had a clue about how to do this!

The almost finished product.

Tah dah!

Here's the table we've had in the house for seven-ish years.

Sorry for the fuzzy picture, I guess I had switched my settings by accident,

but I wanted you see the different base.

So there you go--recycle an old door and an old table base into a new table.

Have you got any recycling projects you can share?

Wait until you see all of the recycling projects we're offering at Spectacular, Spectacular! We've got some creative minds putting together some inspired projects for you!

Thanks for your indulgence!