Twirl!

Happy Pink Wednesday!! Remember in my last post I talked about kicking our feet up for awhile? Well, that went by the wayside zippity quick!! It's been full speed ahead!!

For starters we're still trying to fit all the furniture from Flourishes and Mt. Pleasant into this house. This is proving to be a monumental task! A cartoon image runs through my dreams of a house bursting at the seams with furniture...finally exploding and sending Minnie and Mickey flying into the pool! ACK!! Keeping this in mind, Sunday, Bill and I went junking. Go ahead, hand us the idiot stick! But hey now...we found great stuff!! .....a fabulous old pine farm table, a sofa table and a wonderfully large french country plate rack. Not to worry, they can all stack on top of each other. Too the rafters.....and beyond!! Ha!

So, here it is, Pink Wednesday and I still haven't been in the studio much. Oh wait! I did put the finishing touches on a couple of little bears. I should list those! No time today. My mom is coming over from Bend for more testing at OHSU. You know what that means? That's right.....time to clean house!! Oh my goodness. You should see my list of things to do!!

I'd better get after it. Make it a fabulous Pink Wednesday!!!

Warmest bear hugs,
Aleta

P.S. The photo is of the newest image I made into a card. Sweet! I titled it Twirl. It's my new fav!! Okay, see ya bye.

Barn House!! You should have been there!!

What a grand day!! Oh My Gosh!! Flea Marketers were out in force yesterday for the Barn House Market. Joe and Jermonne gathered tremendous talent....something for everyone. A little primitive, a little romantic, some garden delights, americana, cottage, retro chic.....all represented. If you didn't find something at this market, you were moving through with your eyes closed!!

It was SUPPOSED to be a cooler day with temperatures only in the low seventies. The weatherman lied. It was warm....verging on down right hot! I think a lot of vendors, and even some marketers, went a way with a little pink flush to their skin. I was glad to have one of my paper polka dot parasols to keep the sun off my shoulders.

At the end of the day we were pleased. We'd sold all the big cabinets, the sweet little dresser with the french details and a large bookshelf that I was sad to see sell. Darn. However, silly us bought another big cabinet....a fabulous shabby chippy pie safe with the original dirty cream colored paint and peely tin panels!! That's going to Monticello Antiques in September to be part of my fall collection. Fall collection.....how awfully grand and pretentous that sounds! Sorry, I didn't know what else to call it. Fall display sounded like I was just going to display lovely things. The goal here is to collect lovely things for people to BUY! :o)

Oh, and hey! I don't think I mentioned that we'll actually have a booth in Monticello. We got the nod last week. YAY!!! We'll start moving things in in a couple of weeks. We're soooo excited!!

Today though, we're kicking our feet up a little. I may even spend a little time in the studio working on bears. That, for me, is relaxing. :o)

Here are a few more pictures of the day. It was so busy all day I barely got these photos! I wish I'd been able to get more. The booths were all so amazing!! Next year.....as soon as Joe and Jermonne set the Flea Market day....plan to be there!!!





Warmest bear hugs, Aleta

Barn House or Bust!!

The countdown is on!! The Barn House Flea Market is Saturday!! Wahoo!! Here's a tiny sneak peek of the "bones" of my booth. Friday we move it all. And Saturday......WE SELL IT ALL!! Hot diggity dog!!
A bit of white, cream, taupe, browns, black and a smidge of pink. It is, afterall, Pink Wednesday!! Did you think I forgot? Nah. I'm squeeking in at 11:17 pm!! Been just a wee bit busy today!

Warmest Pink Wednesday bear hugs, Aleta

Summer fun and moving furniture.

First, the summer fun!! It's such a joy to have friends over. Especially when they have kids that truly enjoy a pool. I think the boys had every water toy we own in that pool yesterday. I didn't realize we had so many noodles!! Ha!
Ah, the colors of the summer garden. And all you thought I had in my garden was pink!!
The first part of the weekend was spent moving furniture. And moving furniture, and moving furniture. Even with a four car garage, we still have furniture and display pieces spilling out onto the driveway. What to do? We're stuffing the house like a sausage!! Ha!!
It's a good thing this room is so big! An armoire, chaise lounge, a bed, two nightstands, a drop leaf desk and three dressers. Hopefully it won't look like this for long.
There are two rooms in the house that I have to have everything in it's place. The livingroom and the diningroom. All the rest of the house can be packed to the gills but these rooms are my calm spot. Here the French cabinet is finally in it's place. It replaced the armoire that is now in that upstairs guestroom. It's going to be a game of musical chairs (and cabinets, and beds, and desks) for awhile. I see a whole house decorating makeover in my future!!

Today though, I'm concentrating on getting everything ready for the Barn House Flea Market this Saturday. My kitchen table runeth over with things that need to be priced and packed to go.

Have a fabulous Monday!! Warmest bear hugs, Aleta

Closing Flourishes at Mt. Pleasant

(Deep breath) I've started and erased this post several times over the last few days. I think I just needed to wait until I could get through it with some sort of positive note in the end. I'll just get straight to the point. Bill and I are closing Flourishes at Mt. Pleasant and moving back to our home in Happy Valley. All remaining Flourishes events at Mt. Pleasant/Washougal are cancelled.

Remember the bear incident? That Saturday morning I asked God for a sign before heading outdoors. The past few months had been a struggle financially. Two house payments were becoming difficult to manage when builders weren't paying their bills, or filing bankruptcy so they wouldn't have to. Flourishes was taking an exorbitant amount of time and money and there weren't enough hours in the day to work on my bear design business too....a business which had to fund Flourishes. Then came news about having to lower the price on our Happy Valley home $100,000 - $200,000 just to get interest again. Excuse me?! "Lord, are we meant to continue with Flourishes? Please give me some sort of sign so I know what to do."

Looking back on it now, I see Larry the Cable Guy dropping from a string in the sky holding up a huge placard in the shape of a bear with "Here's your sign!" printed on it. Ha! Yes, I am finally finding humor in the whole bear incident.

So, that leads me to where we are now. A downsized version of Flourishes will be in attendance at Barn House on July 26th. Click here for sneak peeks! One booth!! I can do one booth! We're also on the waiting list for booth space at Monticello Antique Marketplace. A space at Monticello had originally been planned as advertising for the Flourishes/Mt. Pleasant events. At some point though we hope it will be a little home for Flourishes instead. It's not like it would be a hardship....it's only one of my favorite places on the planet and a place you will find me at least once a week anyway!! Oh, and they have fun seasonal events too!! We'll see though. Being one of the best shops in the area, there is a waiting list.....and we've been on it for awhile. (sigh)

There is a lesson to be learned for us. Life the way it was before Mt. Pleasant was enough. We don't need any more grand projects. Little projects are okay though.....right? The red paint (Red!...but that's another whole ball of string!) in the familyroom is really bugging me. ;o)

Warmest bear hugs, Aleta

Shades of Pink Wednesday!

Come take a walk in my garden and I will show you the many shades of pink. A new introduction last year was this vibrant Echinacea with pink and orange petals. I can't remember it's exact name but it has Sunset in it. Another newbie is the Sun Goddess Hydrangea pictured below. It didn't bloom last year and the tag only showed the golden yellow folliage, which is why I bought it. What a fabulous surprise to find it blooms pink!!



Happy, happy Pink Wednesday with bear hugs, Aleta

Sweet Silly Bears!

This little bunch will be listed on my website shortly!! Please meet Simon, Lila, Marcella, Willis and a sweet little unnamed Tuck-In. I also have three more that just couldn't decide on dressings and bows. Those will list in the next few days. It's back to the business of bears once again!!

Warmest summertime bear hugs, Aleta

BIP and other Projects!

There is much going on behind blog doors right now! New little bears are reaching the finishing stages.
A lovely french iron settee is awaiting a seat cushion and pillows! This sweet piece will become part of my diningroom set. I think. ;o)
This cabinet is destined for my studio. It needs a fresh coat of paint...the 70's avocado just doesn't do it for me.....and I'm trying to decide whether to choose glass or fabric panels for the doors. Hmmmm. Do I want to see what's inside or obscure it? I guess it all depends upon what I put in it!! Ha!

Bears first. Then the cabinet....gotta make room in the garage! Lastly the settee. And this, is just the tip of the iceberg of summertime projects!! Whoohoo!!

Have a fabulous weekend!!

Warmest bear hugs, Aleta

No Fail Pink Roses.

Carpet roses. They come in pink pots at the big box stores. I kid you not, these are the easiest roses you will ever grow. I have grown them both in large containers and in the ground. I've neglected them, cut them within inches of the ground, transplanted them mid-season and they still come back year after year....bigger and prettier! . Of course, our Pacific Northwest climate might have a little to do with their happy little selves. ;o)

Warmest Pink Wednesday bear hugs, Aleta

Wake me when the coffee's ready.

Does anyone else feel this way after a long holiday weekend? Good grief. It took me three cups of coffee just to clear the cobwebs this morning!! I think it comes from too many days of sleeping in!!

It's high time I get back into my normal routine! Enough lollying around already!! I'm rested and relaxed and I've made some decisions.....one of which is cancelling Flourishes August 16th Flea Market. There is simply not enough vendor interest to move forward with it.

Instead, Bill and I will participate in Joe and Jermonne's Barn House Flea Market on July 26th!! We are really looking forward to setting up one single booth in Flourishes style rather than eight so-so looking booths just to fill up space. That was a learning experience.....and it was nuts!! We're also looking forward to someone else running the show for a change. Yippee!!

Mark your calendars.....July 26th!! It's going to be a great time!!

Warmest bear hugs, Aleta

P.S. That's Mr. Fancy Pants with a pedigree, Walker. He's not keen on having his picture taken. Neither is Gracie. They both give me this face whenever the camera comes near them. Picture poopers!! ;o)

Warmest bear hugs, Aleta

Stars and Stripes and Bears, Oh My!

Wishing you a safe and happy Fourth of July weekend. Make it a great one!!

Cheers and warm bear hugs! Aleta

I'm resting.....really! (wink, wink)

Looking at some of the pictures on my blog, my family has been telling me if I ever quit designing and making bears that I should think about becoming a photographer. Silly, sweet family! A photographer I'm not. For starters, my camera is idiot proof and I just like to take pictures. Some turn out well and others hit the recycle bin pretty quickly! I'm sure you've noticed, if you are a frequent visitor to my blog, I like taking pictures of flowers, the occasional weed and my cats. With a little prompting, I decided to print up a few of my favorite pictures and put them on cardstock. Fear not, I'm not ready to quit my day job! It has been a fun little diversion though!!
Another little something I've been making is pillow slips from my antique linens. I have a passion for pillows. White pillows especially. Don't ask me why. I haven't a clue! ha! My particular favorites are those with heavily embroidered intials and scalloped edges. Just so you know, I don't cut up my pristine linens. Nope. Nope. Nope. I only use those with issues....rescuing their salvageable parts and making what my have ended up in the bin, something beautiful and useful once again.

So there you have it. And you thought I was just resting by the pool all day. Nah......just enough to say I rested. Ha! Actually, creating pretty things is what I truly find to be most restful. Don't you think so too?

Happy Pink Wednesday bear hugs, Aleta