Spring has sprung

The weather outside and for the past couple of weeks has been amazing! There are birds already building nests in our bird houses and the crocus have bloomed in the garden. I feel a real sense of joy and renewal when we move into spring. As I write this I have my back door opened and can hear the birds , what a fabulous sound!
This past weekend I put up my Easter decorations and changed some of the decor in my house to reflect a new season. It always gets me excited to change things up and have a new look to my rooms. There is nothing better than to put away the dark fabrics and lighten everything up.

kitchen finally done!

Well it has been a while since I posted, my last post was about the reno being done in our kitchen and it is finally completed YEAH! I am so happy with our new kitchen, it is just what we had envisioned. My husband and our friend did a super job putting in our cupboards, without the help of friends it would never have gotten completed. I have posted pictures of my beautiful new room so hope you enjoy it!

Reno Mess

We are presently in the middle of renovationg our kitchen and although it is a small space I can't believe what a mess it is! Who knew that what was supposed to be a small, simple change could generate such a disaster! We have an older home so there were plaster walls and ceiling that needed to be fixed in the kitchen. The repairs turned out so well that we ended up deciding to get walls in the rest of the house repaired " as long as the guy was here" was our thought. Well now almost every wall in our house has been touched which of course means dust everywhere. Plus the dining room table had become my kitchen when the reno started so now all that had to be moved so the workmen could get at the dining room walls and that became a domino effect as I just kept moving things from room to room, it actually got to be pretty funny!! I know the kitchen and the rest of the house will look good once it is finished but I am starting to realize that no matter how much you think you are prepared for a reno you never are!

Christies

It was once again time for the amazing Christies antique show which happens twice a year in Dundas Ontario. It is the best, although expensive show that we have near us and is so worth going to. The weather was perfect, sunny and hot and my friend Ruth and I met some great people. I managed to spend all the money I brought and got some great little treasures to use with my bears. My best find was a turqoise wooden doll bed which my teddies are going to sit on. When I figure out where to put them I will post a picture.
On the way home we stopped at another favorite antique mall so it was a full day of looking at our favorite stuff! I can never get enough of antiques!

Back to Blogging

It has been over a year since I last posted, I knew it had been a while but didn't realize it had been that long! I decided it was time to get on track and start up the blog again. I will start with my latest venture which is a booth at an antique mall in a little town east of me called Orono, Ontario. The mall is called Main Through Church and it is a wonderful place if you are into antiques. I have an assortment of items in my booth at the moment but would like to focus on mainly primitive and shabby chic style things. I like to find interesting things that perhaps you wouldn't see everywhere. I've only been at it for five months and so far so good! I have called the business "Older Than Dirt" and you can find me on facebook where I have been posting pictures of new items when they go into the booth. So if any of you are in the area check out my booth and let me know what you think.

Christies antique show

Well its that time of year again, the big Christies antique show. It is only here twice a year and I look so forward to it! There are vendors from all over Canada and the US so there is always a huge amount of stuff to look at although it is a very pricey show. I did get some great fabric, some old linen that comes on a roll and an old grain sack that is monogramed. I am going to create pillows with the grain sack or open it open and put it on my dining room table as a runner, haven't decided yet. I also scored an old lightening rod for $40, they usually cost much more so I got a real deal on that one! I am posting some pics of the show and will post some of the grain sack when I decide what to do with it.

cottage days

I have recently come back from my friend Ruths cottage. It is on a beautiful lake called Mirror Lake. I feel such a sense of peace and calm when standing on the deck and looking out at the cottage. Ruth and her husband are in the midst of building their new dream cottage and it has been quite the adventure for them! I had the privilege of helping with some of the building while I spent a week there. You don't come to the cottage in the middle of a project like this and not be involved in the construction at some level!! My husband even helped with the deck on the day he came to pick me up. It was exciting to be involved and feel I had a small part in Ruths dream and I can't wait until next summer when I come up and will be staying in their new abode!
Ruth has done a great job of building a garden, and I'm sure some of you who have gardens know the challenges of building one at a cottage. She has put some great decorative elements in and I always admire how she has set things up.
The joke was on me this cottage trip. I kept trying to get nature pictures and all the animals were eluding me!! My saying all week was that nature was mocking me!! Ruth kept telling me that the blue heron always landed on the dock, chippies always came onto their deck and there were always bears at the dump but this week it was not to be, maybe next year!!

Antique Show

I was excited to go to the antique show that is held near me twice a year. It is the largest and only show that I get to go to and it is fabulous! It is called Christies and is in Dundas Ontario. They have the greatest collection of dealers from all over Canada and the US. If you are into primitive furniture they have it here although it is not inexpensive. I usually go with a friend who was unable to attend this year so my great husband said he would go with me. He likes antiques but a show this large is not his cup of tea but he was a trouper!! I have been looking for cut glass wine goblets and was able to find some here that were a reasonable price which was very exciting. I however have no pictures to show as I forgot my camera but the show is on in Sept so I will make sure I get some great pics then.

summer day and new work

Yesterday and today have been beautiful summer days which is really quite unheard of in my neck of the woods. We don't usually get this kind of weather until June. It was so beautiful yesterday that I sat outside under our gazebo and read my book, what a treat! The tulips are blooming full steam in the garden and everything is starting to green up. It was so relaxing to just sit. The day before I had finished up a pile of work that is destined for the stores so I really felt like I was free to relax. I had a lot of fun with my new crop of bears and loved how the multi-colored ones turned out. I am going to make some more of them I loved them so much.

grandchildren sitting

I recently returned from taking care of my grandchildren while their parents were away for a week. It was fun but exhausting at the same time. One night as I was sitting watching a little tv after they had gone to bed I started thinking about how I had done all of this when my children were little and wondered how I had managed. It hit me like a ton of bricks, I had been almost thirty years younger then. How can that be that I am this old! Wow I don't usually think about how old I am and here I was faced with it. I spent a couple of days thinking all this over and found myself dwelling on the whole age thing. I have never wanted to be that person so decided I needed to let it go. You can waste a lot of time thinking about stuff like this and for me, it can make me depressed. I allowed myself one last thought on the subject and that was how quickly time had rushed past and how I had failed to enjoy a lot of it. My new life plan is just to enjoy as many moments as I can and not let the age thing get in the way.
Margo

Easter goodies

Well here are my new Easter goodies that I just finished. I love how everything turned out but especially love Red Rabbit. I think I am addicted to anything red! I had so much fun doing the vignettes that I am inspired to keep on with them and am excited to see what I can come up with next. I find myself constantly looking at every container wondering how I could make it into a vignette! Enjoy looking!

Life changes

Well it has been a while since I have posted, things just got so busy around Christmas as I'm sure it has with most people. Our Christmas was really great, we had a houseful, including grandchildren which was really fun! We had one tragedy which was that our tree fell over and most of my vintage ornaments were smashed. I was so upset I got really teary eyed. My wonderful son helped me clean everything up and gave me a shoulder to cry on. The next day that same wonderful son went to a local antique store and bought me three boxes of vintage ornaments!!! Ladies there is hope for men out there!!! I was amazed at his thoughtfulness. I always knew he was a kind soul but didn't think he would even know where to go to get Christmas ornaments. That same son got a new job in January in a city about an hour from where we live. He is my youngest and it is hard to believe that he will officially be gone from our home. I have been back and forth with my feelings around this event. On one hand I am happy to see him move on with his life but on the other hand it is sad to think he won't be around. I will miss chatting with him about a multitude of subjects or sharing a tv program that we both love. I am putting on a positive face for him and getting excited about his search for a new apartment. I am excited to see what this new year will bring him and happy to be able to continue to be involved in his new life if only from afar.

Halloween goodies

I have finally finished all my Halloween items and got them off to the stores last week. I have posted pictures of some of my favorites. I enjoyed working on each and every one of them but never the less was glad to be done. I seemed to be far behind this year with my work but am not sure why, I think life just interfered! I really enjoyed doing the vignettes this year and want to do a lot more of them particularly for Christmas. Hope know one starts screaming at seeing the "C" word in print considering we haven't even got throught Halloween yet. I actually spent some time this weekend brainstorming some ideas and making some lists for Christmas although as of now I only have decided on what pieces I am going to use for my vignettes but not what I will actually put in them. That will be my job for today, going through my stash of stuff (which I love doing). Hopefully I can get in the Christmas frame of mind!!

Christies Outdoor Antique Show

Last Sat. my friend Ruth and I went to The Christies Antique Show in Dundas Ontario which is about one hour from where we live. The show happens twice a year and it is fabulous! The venue is a beautiful conservation area and they have about 300 vendors from all over Canada. I always find great stuff to use in my work and since I am usually looking for small items I can cart everything around easily although this trip I found some great architectual pieces to use as bases and they were quite heavy so I had to make a trip back to the car. At the very end of the day we ended up at a booth with great furniture and great prices. I bought a cornor table, something I had never seen before but I knew it would work in my living room. Then I caught sight of a great green cupboard that I wanted for my kitchen. It has five shelves and tons of room for storage. It took some negotiating to settle on a price and to work out a delivery plan but my cupboard is being delivered today and I am so excited! I have posted some pictures of the show, and my cupboard. Sadly the next show won't happen until next spring but that will give me plenty of time to dream about another fabulous find!

first blog

This is my very first entry and I am excited to enter the world of bloggers! So many people have told me I should get a blog but I just never found the time to do it but now here I am. You can find out a little bit about me in the About Me section. I am presently working on Halloween items for the two stores I sell to in Toronto. This weekend I am attending the largest outdoor antique show that we have in my area. I am going with my friend Ruth and we always have such a blast! I will post pictures of the event and also pics of my Halloween items next week. Here's to a great weekend.
Margo