For the Love of Old

Misi's Display chain was "Feature", it was left to us to decide what we wanted to display.  I wanted to say something about the father who gave me my love of old, and how it has affected my life.  This is the sign my father painted when I was little, it hung on his shop until he sold it when he became sick.  It was the only thing I wanted,  it brought back all those memories of working with dad, hunting all those items of old.  Dad didn't just find old items for his shop to sell, it was in his blood, he just loved each item, wondered where it had been and the stories it could tell, the more wear it had the better.  I am the same way, the more wear, falling apart it is, the more it seems it was used or well loved.

I love this old wooden winder with the early blue cloth with a mend in it, wondered whose hands had made it, and the little shoes, I have a growing collection of them, just makes you wonder who had them, and how many it was passed down to.

I love this old chippy blue cabinet so much I kept it, could not take it to the antique mall.  The old milk pitchers I have collected over the years.  The white one in the middle has a special memory, I had gotten it at dad's shop when I was in my teens, I had placed it among my keepsakes for my house when someday I would marry.

The cabinets here are not old, but the pewter collection is, I just love how it has darker with age.  The butter crock is special, it belonged to my uncle, who loved old things as well, my dad's youngest brother, him and dad where always on the hunt for the  old stuff.

This cabinet will always be very special.  In 2002 my dad bought his last estate sale.  It was an old house full of all kind of things.  I helped dad for two days loading two trucks making several trips to that old house.  This old wardrobe was in a closet.  I just had to buy it from him, it has been in my living room ever since, it has a mirror that pulls out and flips up so you can adjust your hat just right.  The little red rocker was mine as a child, it sits waiting for Oliver when he gets here and gets big enough to sit in it.  The love of old is something I will always be thankful for my father giving me.  I still miss him when I come across those very special old items.  I use to go by and show him what I had found, and sometime I would look out and in my driveway his truck would be there, he had come to show me his truck loaded with his newly found treasures.  Dad love of old was there to the very end, he had worked the flea market with his old wares just two days before he died.  Dad didn't leave much when he left this world but he left behind more than he could of imagined, a daughter that has his same passion, the love of old.  Vicky

Misi's Display Chain is Favorite Wall

This is one of my favorite walls because of the old stepback cabinet stands here.  This is right when you come into my den area were we sit all the time.  I tend to decorate it with the seasons.

I just got this new primitive doll yesterday in the mail.  She is one of Stacey's creations at Tattered n Torn.  She is just the  right prim touch for this old cabinet.

This part of the cabinet has one of my uncles ducks I had gotten after he died.  I have had the little red tobacco box since I started collecting.  The shelf with the shore birds reminds me of my many trips to Charleston, S.C. , one of my favorite places to visit several times a year.  It is just so relaxing strolling down the streets that have houses dating back to the 1700's with there little quaint gardens.  The John's Island sign is one of the islands down there.  The black lantern I picked up on one of my many antiquing trips down there. 

The little bird here is the one I had won on Madalynne's blog Pineapple Primitives, I just love it here were I see it everyday.  Love the old blue box with the cookie molds.  The little red shoes, which I have a growing collection of adds just the right amount of color against the blue and cream checkerboard, and the rag balls  are made from an old blue star quilt.

I fell in love with this chair when I had seen it at Amy's booth, Nanbrook Farm, at the Gibson Mill Antique Mall.  Just the perfect color of blue with a little cushion that reads, Cooper Mill 1876,  and the little doll I had gotten online.  So this is just one of my many walls I love to decorate.  Now I am off to check out other blogs to see your favorite walls.  Take care, Vicky

Settler's Crossin

OH MY GOODNESS, I jsut came from a new primitive shop that has opened this month in Ridge Spring S.C.  It was like walking into a little slice of primitive heaven.  Ann and the other ladies have done a fantastic job getting this old house ready for the perfect backdrop for all the primitive goodies.  There were lots of old primitive furniture, old bowls, bowl racks, primitive handmade dolls, candle holders and all those special little touches we all need for our primitive houses.  And of course I came back with lots of stuff, will post pictures later when I find the perfect spot for my bowl rack with bowls and one of my favorite things, prairie dolls and lots of other goodies.  So if you are in the area drop by and see all the neat primitive  items Ann and the ladies have to offer, you will feel very welcomed, like you have gone back home for a visit.  They are having their open house today and Saturday 10-5, located on 502 E. Main St. Ridge Spring, S.C. it was a beautiful drive through the country this morning,  a trip I will definitly be taking again.  If you don't live around here you can see their shop online www.picturetrail.com/settlerscrossin Hope everyone has a great weekend, now off to find the perfect spot for my new goodies.  Vicky

Spring Open House

Inman Antique Mall is having their spring open house this weekend.  I went yesterday and added a few items in of mine and items Ann of Country Heart had sent, and done a little tweaking here and there.

Love the summertime pillow Ann had sent.

I changed this display out completely yesterday, its the first thing you see as you come into this section of the mall.  I love how my greencreek primitives sign turned out.  Also Mildred the bunny, just love her.

Another display area.

This grouping looks like spring.

This old pie safe makes a great display area.

I love the old pie safe used for the display here, adds that certain primitive look.

This is a closeup of Mildred the bunny, I just love the look of her eyes.

I took this at my house before she went to the mall, I think she turned out great, she is a soft in the head pattern, I thought the little story that came with her was cute. In th background you can hear the kids yelling, the dog barking and something hitting the floor and going "smash".  Then in walks "Mildred"!  Mildred, rhe resident housekeeper bunny for the McCotton's, oversees the chaos happening in the living room.  Just thought she was really cute and fun to make.  If you are in the area come by this weekend and check out Mildred in our booth.  Vicky

Misi's Display Chain is Redo's

Well I didn's think I was going to be doing Misi's display chain this week, our power went out from a storm last night.  But it finally came on, so here are a few places I have been working on.  I have decided to make my kitchen a little more primitive  Here I added some old things and the stump dolls I have just gotten from Becky at the Crows Nest.

Here is the shelf I had gotten from Nanbrook Farm, the little tin pitcher, I had gotten from my dads shop.

I just love this bowl rack, the old bowl was given to me by my dad, I have just made a few of these chicks this spring.  I am planning to redo my kitchen countertops at some point and paint my cabinets a more primitive tone.  We are getting new wood laminte floors hopefully by this summer.

I just love collecting old butter paddles, mashers and rolling pins.  I just love anything wooden.

Heres another view of the shelf I had gotten in Tn.  I have just found this sign when I went back to Nanbrook Farm, my dad had a thing for signs, I remember seeing him paint alot of them when I was growing up.  Thats why you will see alot of signs in my house.

This hutch is one of my favorite, a friends husband made it, he has made several things for my house.  I moved it to this wall and added the bread boards and a game board and sign.  Thought I would kind of make it like a tavern.  I am going to order a black punch tin light to hang over the table.

This was were the hutch use to sit, I decided to move it when we had trouble getting by it when someone was sitting at the table, our family is growing, not my dining room.  I love this sign, found it at Amy's, Nanbrook Farm, thats were I got the tavern idea.  But isn't it neat?

Here I decided to hang an old rack I found at Primitive Gatherings in Tn.  Hung a few of my whisk brooms I collect and a handmade maple sugar tester I found.

Another picture of that corner of my kitchen.

I love bowl racks, this one looks really nice ontop of that large hutch.

I collect these shoes, these are unique that they are made out of blue velvet.

I just love this grouping, the blue box I had found in an antique mall in Va. the little shoes have a brown fabric on them.  Well thats just a few of the things I have been redoing, I am in the process of doing more, will be showing more pictures as I finish.  I am going more primitive and loving it.  Vicky

Spring Awakening

I just love spring, the flowering dogwood looks like clouds floating on tree limbs, what a view to behold.

My Iris's are starting to bloom, usually the white start first.

White adds much to a garden, my mother-in-law had given me alot of my Iris's, her yard is full of them.

This is one of my favorite azalea's, my friend Ruth had gotten from someone who had used it in her house for easter and was going to throw it out, I planted it under my kitchen window.  I added the fence in front of it, it makes me think of the gardens of Charleston S.C. where I love to go and wander through them to get ideas.  My hosta is starting to come up, and I have added a bench behind it with one of many watering cans my aunt Dottie had given me.  One of my favorite places to sit in front of.

I just love this bird house, it sits in the corner of my white picket fence, in the summer the blue hydrangeas my husbands grandmother or as my son called her old nanny had rooted for me, they are very special now that she is gone. They make such a statement next to the white fence, which needs painting, one of my many projects. But don't you just love spring awakening, my favorite time of the year.  Vicky