Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Finally....photos of the new shop

I know I promised to share photos of the new shop and I apologize for taking so long to share them with all of you. In the month and a half we have been open, we have had about 700 customers come through our doors and a lot of items going out the door, making it a little difficult to get any pictures. Right now the shop is a little empty, and will be even more emptier once several pieces that have already been purchased are picked up. Lupe and I are working hard to fill it back up with beautiful treasures. This first photo is actually a picture of a small vintage dresser that is going to be my new coffee table. I just love all of it's curvy, chippy sweetness. :)


This dresser went the very next day after I brought it into the shop. I love all of the inlaid detail and wood trim on the 2nd and 3rd drawers.



Here is the replacement for my dresser that sold.......Lupe's husband took an old dresser and revamped it into a beautiful cabinet using an old window for the cabinet door.


Our shop is located in an old house, this room used to be an enclosed porch, now it is our "Rustic" room. Love the open wood beams on the ceiling.


This view is from the bedroom looking towards the front door.


The bedroom. Sorry it is dark, the sun was shining through the window. Behind the headboard is a vintage door with a full length mirror and a beautiful vintage dress.



Looking towards the "Rustic" Room



The other direction, looking towards the porch (just through the door) Don't you just love the checkered floor??? This next week we will be working on changing things around as we are bringing in new pieces. I will try to have more pictures.


Until Later,
~Toni~







What was your favorite gift????

Christmas has come and gone, but the memories of family, great food, celebrations and traditions are still lingering. Part of the lingering is the happiness brought by the gifts received. I love everything my sons picked out for me, slippers, new gloves, perfume, bath luxuries, etc.....but the gift that really made my heart go pitter patter was the new set of tools from my SIL. My drill and sander were both on their last leg and I was tired of hoping and praying they would last for one more project! This year we drew names and Cindy drew mine. The set came with a drill, small circular saw (handy for picture frame projects, trim work, etc) and two batteries with a charger. I love that it says "starter set"! And she also bought me the sander that I have been wanting. Christmas night I had both batteries fully charged and ready to start working!! WOO HOO!!! What was your favorite present??


Until Later,
~Toni~

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Merry Christmas


I'm still "new" to all of this snow stuff. We had a little bit last week, then it rained and the snow was gone. Last year we had snow for Christmas and it was beautiful. I'm hoping and praying to wake up to a white Christmas. Of course, I'm still new to driving in it also, so I only want it for Christmas morning! LOL



It has been so very busy around my Tattered Cottage and at the shop, for which I am very thankful for, I sold all of my furniture except for one piece last week. This week I am finishing more pieces to take to the shop. I have a lot to be thankful for and I wanted to take a moment to thank all of you who follow my blog and those who have left wonderful encouraging comments. I truly consider you my friends and I want to wish all of you a beautiful holiday season filled with happiness, good health and family.



Merry Christmas to all and a Happy New Year !!
~Toni~

Friday, December 4, 2009

Yummy...Dreamy....Pie Recipe

Hi Ladies!! Just as I promised, I'm sharing the yummy, oh so delicious pie recipe that my sweet SIL made for dessert on Thanksgiving. She is such a sweetie that she made another one today and shared with me!! YUM!


Coconut Praline Dream Pie

1/2 cup chopped pecans, walnuts or almonds (your choice)
1/3 cup margarine or butter
1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 9" baked pie shell, cooled
2 envelopes Dream Whip whipped topping mix
2 1/4 cups milk, divided
2 packages (4 serving size) Jello Instant Vanilla pudding
1 1/4 cups (3 1/2 ounces) coconut
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:
Heat nuts, butter & brown sugar in small sauce pan until melted and mixture comes to a boil. Boil exactly 30 seconds. Spread mixture on bottom of pie shell and cool.

Beat Dream Whip topping mix with vanilla and 1 cup of milk in large bowl with electric mixer on high about 6 minutes or until topping thickens and forms peaks. Add remaining milk and pudding mixes, blend on low speed then beat on high speed for 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. With spoon, stir in coconut. Spoon mixture into pie shell and chill for 4 hours or until set.

ENJOY !

Until later,
~Toni~

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Transformations

How is everyone doing??? I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving :) I had a great Thanksgiving, my SIL cooked everything, WOO HOO, all I had to bring was my Broccoli Bake! And let me tell you, she is a fantastic cook!! My SIL made a new pie this year, a coconut cream with a praline bottom....Oh it was sinfully delicious! I'll get the recipe and share with all of you.

On Thanksgiving the local theatre was having a $5 any movie, any time special. So my two boys and I went to see the new Twilight movie "New Moon". GREAT movie......I felt like a teenager, that Edward is so scrumptious! I'm definitely for Team Edward :) My kids are all into the Twilight series and have read all the books. I'm a little behind, I just watched the first Twilight movie the day before Thanksgiving, now I can hardly wait for the next movie in the series! LOL

This weekend I was working on some transformations. The vintage dresser I picked up about a month ago at a great price, but with the opening of the shop, I hadn't had time to redo her. I LOVE all of her curves, she is definitely a girlie girl. After removing about a 1000 years worth of paint, dirt and grime....she was ready for a new dress. I knew she would love blue, so I painted her with Kelly Moore's "Simply Heaven". And I think she looks heavenly :)




We couldn't have her perfectly shiny and new (considering her age) so she received a little bit of distressing. And of course some new baubles. She originally had glass knobs, but I thought white porcelain would look better with her new shade of blue. I think she looks lovely and is ready for her close up at the shop :) Of course there is a little part of me that doesn't want to let her go, she has captured my heart with her new smile.....


This was originally an ugly picture in a gold frame that I had picked up at the thrift store. I knew I wanted to make her into a more useful object and of course turned her into a chalkboard. A lovely coat of Heirloom White then replaced the ugly picture with a new blackboard and Voila!! Another new piece to take to the shop.


A close up of her detail. I think she looks so much better. Trust me, it's a big improvement. (Again, I forgot to take before pics, sorry)




Have a great week,
~Toni~

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Grand Opening, Setting the Stage, Fall Cooking

WOW....what a couple of weeks it has been! First the Grand Opening of Sisters 'N Things went really well!!!! We sold a lot of items, which makes me very happy and excited!! The shop was only open 3 days that week and I was ready for a little rest, but I couldn't because I needed to sand, paint and get more items ready for the shop. Trust me I'm not complaining, I was happy that we sold a lot and needed to bring more to the shop! And we wanted to have Christmas items displayed also, so we have been setting the stage this last week. I'm so happy how the shop is looking, and have been having so much fun decorating for the holidays!! I'm even starting to bring out my Christmas decor for my home. I couldn't have ever imagined how much I would love having a shop and having an outlet for my creativity. It takes a lot of time and work, but I am loving it so much. So many of you made me feel like this was a good choice for me with all of your encouragement and well wishes. I want to say a big THANK YOU to all of you and say I so appreciate your support. Bloggy Buddies are the BEST!



Since I have been so busy lately with shop and even before our Grand Opening I decided to take today off and visit with my friends in blogland, work on redoing my bedroom and a little fall cooking. It has been tradition in my family, since my boys were little, to bake pumpkin pies on the day we turn the clocks back. Well, my youngest reminded me that I hadn't done that this year yet, so today I baked 2 pumpkin pies to celebrate Fall. Since we had snow this morning (which didn't stick) I thought today was perfect!





Don't they look yummy???






I hope my boys can wait until they are done cooling!






Cool days just seem to be perfect for baking and cooking. The house fills up with delicious aromas and feels so cozy. One of my favorite Sunday dinners is to bake a whole chicken in a baking bag (no mess) rubbed with butter and seasoned with lemon pepper. I usually serve a tossed green salad and broccoli bake with it. My boys really love this comforting meal. I'll share my broccoli bake recipe with you:

Broccoli Bake
2 boxes frozen chopped broccoli
1 cup lite mayonnaise
1 can of cream of celery soup
8 oz grated mild cheddar cheese (about 2 cups)
2 eggs
2 tbsp. chopped onion

Topping
1 stack of Ritz crackers
1 cube of margarine or butter

Cook broccoli according to package directions, drain and place in large mixing bowl. Stir in mayonnaise, soup, cheese, eggs and onions. Place mixture in ungreased 9x9 glass baking dish. For topping, crumbled Ritz crackers in a mixing bowl, melt butter and pour evenly over crushed Ritz crackers, stir to moisten crackers. Evenly top broccoli mixture with cracker mixture. Bake in preheated oven @ 350 for 30 - 40 minutes. Dish is done when you see the corners starting to brown.

Enjoy!

Until Later,
~Toni~

Sunday, November 8, 2009

I can let the cat out of the bag now!!

Oh my gosh!! It has been so hard not to yell it from the rooftops. I have never been really good at keeping good news a secret. Don't get me wrong, I am very good at keeping secrets that friends tell me, I'm like Fort Knox when it comes to that. But when I have good news of my own, I want to share it. And boy, do I have some great news that I haven't been able to tell all of my friends in Blogland for fear of jinxing it. I wanted to make sure the ink was dry before I said anything.

Some of you might remember that I mentioned when I first moved to Idaho I found a cute shop, "Sister 'N Things" which was owned by a really fun gal, Lupe. Over the past year I have shopped a lot, and I mean a lot at her store and we have become friends. The first vintage sale I did was with Lupe and then we participated in a local Barn sale together. We both sold our wares and made a good profit. It was after the last sale that Lupe asked me if I wanted to be a consignor in her shop and then recently asked me if I wanted to be business partners!! WOOHOO!!

Well, we found a shop! It's in a house, that once was a gift shop but has been closed for the past two years! We had looked at two other properties but for one reason or another they just didn't work. We have been working like crazy for the last couple of weeks and are almost ready for our Grand Opening on Thursday! I am so excited!! Exhausted but EXCITED!

I have seen many of you in blogland go for your dream and I have dreamed of having a shop for a long time!

I wanted to take a moment from sanding, painting and creating to share my news with you all. I will have pictures that I will share in another post.

Until Later,
~Toni~

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Oooo La La Chairs

I'm participating in Cheri's @ It's So Very Cheri Knock Out Party. You might remember these sad, worn out chairs I picked up at an extremely good price, well ok, GREAT price. They were very sad in their current condition. All 6 chairs were very sturdy but just needed some new threads :)




I removed the seats and sanded and sanded 50+ years of YUCK.

After a coat of primer, they are starting to look better with the first coat of paint.



While I was at JoAnne's I found some fabulous "french" fabric that I knew would be perfect for these chairs :)


I think they look Oooo La La Lovely.




Stop by It's So Very Cheri's to see more Knock Outs.
Until Later,
~Toni~








Friday, October 30, 2009

Happy Halloween


Happy Halloween to all my friends in Blogland and a BIG Thank You for those of you who joined my "BOO" Party! I have had so much fun discovering new friends and visiting their blogs. I hope all of you had as much fun as I did "BOO"ing everyone. And if any of you used the link I provided and "BOO"ed your neighbors, please leave me a comment and let me know. We "BOO"d a couple of our senior neighbors. Because they are seniors, we did not secretly boo them, we just put together the treat bags and poems and delivered the fun to them. They were surprised and very happy to receive their gifts. When my boys were little we lived in a neighborhood with alot of retired seniors and we would often bake treats and the boys loved to deliver the treats to our elderly neighbors.
I'm still making the rounds to everyone who "BOO"d and if I haven't stopped by your place yet, I promise I will :)
I hope everyone has a Safe and Happy Halloween! Watch out for the Goblins and Ghouls while your out and about on HALLOWEEN night.
BOO!
Until Later,
~Toni~

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Boo Party

Let's have a BOO Party!! A fun way to spread some Halloween fun and an opportunity to discover a few new blogs :)

Halloween has always been a big event in our household and I have been seeing a lot of fall decor and Halloween decor around Blogland. So, I thought I would share a little of our traditional family fun with all of you. This is something we have done in our neighborhood since my boys were about six years old. And typically it is done in secret, but since I can't figure out how to do it secretly, I have altered it a little bit for Blogland. My boys and I had just moved into our neighborhood when our neighbor Renate boo'd us on our first Halloween on the block (12 years ago). The boys loved it and had so much fun trying to guess who boo'd us. After we boo'd two neighbors the boys wanted to boo their teachers. They loved seeing it spread around our neighborhood and through their school. Over the years we have worked to expand the variety of treats we create for each "booing".

Here are the Blogland instructions for participating in the the Halloween fun.

You have been Boo'd. Please keep the fun going by following these instructions

1. You have 24 hours to work your spell

2. Copy and post the Halloween Boo Poem with the instructions for playing.

3. Pick 4 blogs you enjoying visiting and tell why you enjoy visiting them, with a link to
their blog and remember to link back to me.

4. Be sure to ADD your "Boo" Post back to this original post (The Tattered Cottage) so everyone can join in on the fun.

5. Let's see how fast and far this spreads between now and Halloween.


You Have Been BOO'd

The air is cool, the season is fall,
Soon Halloween will come to all.



Ghosts and goblins, spooks galore...
Tricky witches at your door.

The spooks are after things to do,
In fact, a spook brought this "BOO" to you.
The excitement comes when friends like you,
Copy this note and make it two.
We'll all have smiles on our faces,
When we see who Boo'd who's places.

Ladies you have been BOO"d


Deb @ Garage Sale Gal

I love visiting with Deb, she gets the best deals on the wonderful treasures she finds! I seriously would go shopping with her if I lived closer. Deb is very talented and makes wonderful cards. My favorite card of hers had a pretty floral bra on the front with the phrase : "Your friendship is the most uplifting thing in my life without the underwire"!



Kim @ Bella Della

Not only is this gal lucky to live in a beautiful cottage farm house but.... she has her very own General Store next door!!! Yes, the property came with a general store!! She has filled her home with beautiful vintage treasures!! I turn green with envy every time I visit.



Beth @ Patina White

Every inch of this gal is pure talent. It shows in her beautiful home and how she has decorated it and it shows in her beautiful creations. It's magical the way she creates her masterpieces. I dream of going to her summer cottage or one of her events to be able to purchase one, okay let's be honest...LOTS of her beautiful treasures. If only she had an on-line shop :(



Deb @ Talking Trash

Love, Love this Texas Gal!! Her stories are the best and usually have me in stitches! And of course there is her better half "Cat Daddy" himself. I don't know how Deb handles all the women who always seem to surround Cat Daddy. She's a gal after my own heart, who has great taste...we both love big, gaudy jewelry. She is lucky I don't live closer or there might be a ring that could become MIA!!



HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Here is what you do to join the Linky Party. Have your Boo Party Post ready and link your Boo Party URL here on Mr. Linky. Be sure to ADD a LINK back to this POST so everyone can join the party.
~Toni~

(Here is a link for instructions on starting a BOO in your neighborhood.)



Thursday, October 8, 2009

I've Been Featured!!!

I am definitely doing the happy dance!!! Remember my headboard/foot board bench? Well, someone thought my little project was "chic & modern"!! That someone was none other than Stan Williams ( I could just die!!) aka The Elegant Thrifter and author of The Find: The Housing Works Book of Decorating with Thrift Shop Treasures, Flea Market Objects and Vintage Details. If you haven't picked up his book yet.......you are definitely missing a treat. You can buy it at Borders, Barnes & Noble, Amazon or Powell. I feel like I have arrived!!!



His blog "The Elegant Thrifter" , is full of wonderful treasures he has found (he gets the best treasures), beautiful tablescapes, and of course his videos, love his videos!



You can see his "Reuse & Repurpose" a feature he does on Thursday where my bench is featured here.



I'm sure I'm like a lot of people...... when I have an idea..... I'm excited about it & can't wait to get it completed. I love seeing my ideas come to life and then there is that moment..... that moment I wonder if anyone else will see the beauty in it that I see. So to have someone like "The Elegant Thrifter" , the author of the most fabulous book, that is full of reuse and repurpose ideas...I'm on Cloud 9!!! I'm sure I will come down to earth in a couple of days :) But for now, I'm doing the happy dance :)

Until Later,
~Toni~

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Another Before and After

Remember this bench that I had made out of a old headboard and foot board??? She wasn't looking too good when this picture was taken. I think she was a little undressed.




Here she is with a new coat.....of paint that is. And a thrifted pillow in one of my favorite fabrics. A black toile with.......of course......a rooster in the center :)



I have a couple of choices of finials that I want to add also. I just need to decide which style I want. It's between a fleur de lis and a rooster. What do you think would look better???





I think she is looking pretty good in her new coat (of paint) and even better with some new finials and a new cushion.



Until Later,
~Toni~

Before & After Photos - Bathroom

In my house, everything is always a work in progress. And the bathroom my boys share is definitely a work in progress. You can see what I started with here. It was a 1970's mess!! I'm currently renting, so that limited me as to what I could do to improve it. But I am happy with the results so far.


The next couple of photos show the beginnings of the improvement. I love the shabby black vintage cabinet. I had it for about three months before I decided to revamp the bathroom, the vintage round mirror , metal basket and white rooster were all thrifted finds.





The new "Classic Taupe" paint color by Behr. And a blank wall just asking to be "dressed"





And here are some of the finishing touches I have added. What do you think??



The Paris rose picture I picked up this past weekend. and the candle sconce (I forgot to put the candle on the sconce before I took the picture) awhile back at a yard sale, the new little bird on the tank of the toilet has the perfect blue on it :)



See the new blue pedestal plate? LOVE IT!! I have had my eye on it for THREE weeks at the local thrift store waiting for it to be marked down. I stopped by yesterday and it was finally 1/2 off!!!



Close up, isn't she a beauty??




My sweet little bird with the perfect shade of blue...






I really am very happy with the way this bathroom is starting to shape up, but I still have some more to do. In this last picture, there are two frames that I bought for this bathroom with the idea of having something hanging in the center of them. As you can see I have hung them up, but I can't decide what I want to go in the center of them. So I'm asking you wonderfully talented ladies to help me out. Please give me some suggestions...what would you do???




Until Later,
~Toni~

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Some Treasures and a True Beauty

Have you found a wonderful "Thrifty Treasure"? If you have and you want to share with everyone in Blogland, stop by Rhoda's for "Today's Thrifty Treasures" and share with us, all your thrifty treasures.


I was busy with "Miss Gracie's & Friends Vintage Sale" this weekend, but I was still able to find some beautiful treasures. In between participating in the sale, I was able to pick up some treasures. Of course, I couldn't pass up these two beautiful roosters, you all know I have a small obsession for roosters and these two are great examples of ones that put a smile on my face.


Three very shabby looking frames to add pictures of my sweet boys. I think these will definitely go in my bedroom.

I love this little pedestal and I will soon be painting it white. I already had the glass dome.




This next purchase is a true BEAUTY. I LOVE it! And she already has a place in my bedroom. I have been looking for a mirror and knew I wanted one with some curves. It's always nice to have a mirror to check to see that everything is in it's place before you leave the house :)


Close up of her details. She has a little more antiquing than I want, so I will be touching her up.



Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and a successful one finding treasures :)
Until Later,
~Toni~


Sunday, September 20, 2009

Presto Chango & A WINNER

This is definitely a record for me!!! Remember this darling candelabra I showed you?? I brought it home Friday night and in less than 24 hours.....I transformed it!! WOO HOO! I am so proud of myself. This is the first piece that needed a change and didn't just come home and sit in my project pile. There is hope for me! It was cute in it's former self.....but I had plans....







PRESTO CHANGO!!!..........She's now ready to star in my Fall Decor. Lovin it!!!







I'm going to put this little dark darling as the star of my table. She will be the centerpiece with a few little added adornments around her.





A close up of her sparkles. I am REALLY happy with her now.



And now on to the WINNER of my Giveaway. First I want to THANK all of you for participating, posting about my giveaway on your blog, being a follower, I appreciate it and to those who became followers...I hope to have posts you will find interesting :) Truly, from the bottom of my heart,I wish I could give all of you a present. I have had so much fun being a part of the Blogging world!! You are the GREATEST!! I am in AWE at all the wonderful talent out there in Blogland and the friendships I have been blessed to receive from all of you.


With my calculations of comments, followers, new followers and for those of you who posted about my giveaway the total was 66 entries. It really was hard to pick just one winner, but I used "Random.org" for the drawing (I wish I knew how to show you the results, but I'm not that tech savvy) and the winner is....drum roll, please....number 34, Twyla & Lindsey @ Two Crazy Crafters
A mother & daughter blog devoted to their love of crafts and vintage goodies. Stop by and visit their blog, I love their Barbie Wednesdays. CONGRATULATIONS!! Twyla & Lindsey. Please email me your address and I will ship your prizes right out to you.

Thanks again to everyone, you really are the GREATEST!!

Until Later,

~Toni~

Saturday, September 19, 2009

A little bit of Junk & a Reminder...

Finally. . . some much needed JUNK!!! I can honestly say that it feels like I have stopped at 100 yard sales . . . 97 of them were not worth the gas to get there! I don't know if any of you are having trouble finding any good JUNK, but around here it is slowing down! I was about ready to throw in the towel and call it an end to the yard sales for this year when I found one worth stopping at!





I picked up this great vintage door, complete with original hardware! Woo Hoo! Then I found the loverly blue bench, that is about 7' long! I love the chippyness of it :) The next two items in the photo made my little heart go pitter patter....an old Victorian lamp shade frame and a piece of vintage bead board! I picked up everything very CHEAP! Yes, I'm doing the happy dance :)






I picked up these little jewels this morning at a yard sale advertising "antiques". I love the three vases, especially the two white ones. I will probably put the blue one in the bathroom. And the roosters I will add to the ones I already have. Since I have more than 3 roosters, I can safely say I have a collection! :)





Here is the best part......I bought the vase on the left at a fantastic price and the gentleman having the sale said he would give me the one on the right for FREE because it had a chip! Ever heard of turning it around so the chip doesn't show?? LOL, that's what I will be doing with it :)





These next two items were bought brand new, I couldn't resist. . . adding to my collection of roosters. . . and both were 40% off!! Their original price was good but I won't complain about the better price!!

The candelabra I will paint black for the Halloween.





These loverly jewels were purchased at the thrift store. I LOVE the pear bowl and ceramic pear!! The big white bowl, frame and two plates were from one of my favorite stores and also 40% off !! and you can't see it but the plate in back has a rooster in the center of it!!! I admit it I love roosters!





Close up of my beautiful pears!! I'm loving the white of it all!!!






That is all the treasures I was able to get this weekend. I'm tellin' you, if I hadn't been able to find any junk this weekend. . . .I don't know what I would have done. Maybe it was the Junkin' Angel who was looking out for me :)


REMINDER. . . . . .My Giveaway ends tomorrow, Sunday Sept. 20th at Noon. I will draw a name at that time, so if you haven't entered, go here and enter. I have picked up a couple more items that I'm including in the giveaway. . . .they are a SURPRISE!!! Thanks so much for all the wonderful comments!
Until Later,
~Toni~








Monday, September 14, 2009

Woo Hoo - I'm Having a Giveaway!!!

I am so excited to have my FIRST Giveaway!! Woo Hoo!!

I haven't reached 100 posts, or 100 followers

but that's okay. I'm celebrating all the

wonderful people I have met in Blogland

and to all of you who are followers of my

little blog.

When I first started this blog I

wondered if I would have anything

interesting to share.

I look at all of your blogs

and am in awe by all the talent,

inspiration, encouragement

and prayers shared.

I am so happy you all

have let me be a part

of this wonderful world of

Blogging.

So, to say Thank You to all of

you, I have put

together

a few little items

that I hope you like.

Since Fall is my all time favorite

season, I have gathered some fun fall items.

It's easy to enter :)

1. Leave a comment and I'll enter your name

2. Become a Follower or let me know if you already are a follower and I will enter your name twice.

3. Mention my Giveaway on your Blog with a link back to me and I will enter your name again. Giving you three chances to win!

4. If 200 followers are reached, I will pick a second name and give away another pair of the two shelf sitters.
(Black Cat & Jack 'o Lantern)

I will pick a winner on Sunday September 20th.

The new Sept/Oct issue of Somerset Studio and the October issue of Create & Decorate craft magazine. Both have great ideas for fall crafts and decor.





Next are these two adorable shelf sitters. I love the vintage folk art look about them!



And last but not least is this sweet little harlequin Jack 'o Lantern. I think he is too stinkin' cute.



This is just a couple of the items that I am including, there is some that will be a SURPRISE! :)

Hugs,
~Toni~