Still Learning New Tricks!

This past weekend was a joyful opportunity to do wedding and floral decor for a sweet couple. I really enjoyed working with them over the past several months and it's always a joy to see our plans come together for their special day. They had decided early on to use Sedums for their table centerpieces and wanted to incorporate them into other areas of the wedding decor.

By some standards, I'm relatively new to floral design. I've been doing wedding, event and floral design for the past 5 years working only by word of mouth. I received my advanced certificate just last summer and have done around 60 weddings and events. So while I've had lots of great experiences to learn from, I feel like I'm still learning. Using sedums in the Bridal Bouquet was a new experience for me. It's always fun to learn new tricks!

A Rose By Any Other Name

I've never seen a rose I didn't love. From the first blossom of spring, gently swaying in the breeze, to an intricately stitched needlepoint rich in history, I love them all. Silk roses mixed with a bunch of silk hydrangeas, gracing a vase on the mantle. Cabbage roses on a sugar bowl and creamer, brought out for a grandmother's tea. Colorful rose cupcakes scented as beautifully as they look.
Roses represent so many wonderful things and are often used to celebrate special milestones such as weddings, births and anniversaries. We might write a special announcement on stationery with long-stemmed yellow roses lying against a background of a French poem. Use white satin roses to create wedding memories in a vintage box.
Roses have also been used throughout the centuries in home décor. Like wild pink roses painted on porcelain china plates. A crystal bud vase embellished with a pink silk rose, ready to hold a freshly picked rose bud from the garden. A French ribbon rose attached to a crocheted cushion in the living room. Hand built ceramic roses to use as drawer pulls, or as a magnet to hang up a special photograph.
Milliners used silk roses to embellish the finest hats; perhaps one covered with embroidered lace and handmade millinery roses. Seamstresses stitched the richest brocade drapes adorned with roses. Grandmothers embroidered the most delicate rose patterns on tablecloths and handkerchiefs. Now we can give silky velvet rose pins a special corsage. For everyday occasions, you might wear a vintage pink rose apron or admire a rose-shaped pillow made of hot pink satin.
Throughout the years, famous artists have studied and painted every aspect of the rose. Antique lithographs and post cards from the 1800s grace our homes today with their everlasting beauty. From a rhapsody of roses printed on canvas and hung over a doorway to garlands of decal roses that make favorite items look hand painted, roses continue to gracefully fit every lifestyle and décor.
Join us at Forget Me Not Dreams and Make Mine Pink for Pink Friday as we once again celebrate our beloved roses!

Back to the savings...

Welcome back to the savings!

Before I get to this weeks deals, I came across a GREAT way to help out those in need with very little effort:
Go here
Click on the box to donate a box of Mac & Cheese to Feeding America
Next, fill out the email addresses of a few friends so they can do the same!


OK...on to the savings...


Albertsons 6/24 – 6/30

* There are 2 double coupons (up to $1) in the ad. You can only use 2 per shopping trip, but they can help save you some extra money.

Ball Park Beef Franks BOGO
$1/2 RP-6/7

Coke/Pepsi/7UP 12pks $2.60 each (+ dep) wyb 5

Lindsay Black Olives 4/$5
- $1/2 IP

Malt O Meal bagged cereal B2G1 Free
- $.50/1 IP

Powerade 32 oz. Buy 10, get 5 FREE ($.75ea or $.50ea wyb 10!!)

Shoppers Value gallon milk $5/3 (good for 2%, 1% or skim)

Tombstone 12” Original Pizza $3.99
Catalina coupon promo:
Tombstone 12" Original Pizza
Purchase between 6/19 and 7/12
Buy 4 and get $3 OYNO
Buy 5 and get $4 OYNO
Buy 6 or more and get $5 OYNO


HUGE Mix & Match sale...Save $5 for every 10 items you buy.
The prices listed are individual price/price wyb 10 items. Remember…you can mix & match, so you don’t have to buy 10 of the same item to get the $5 savings!!

Air Wick Freshmatic mini $5.99/$5.49
- $4/1 IP (Go to Money Saving Coupons)

Air Wick I-Motion starter kit $5.99/$5.49
- $3/1 IP (Go to Money Saving Coupons)

Bagel Bites 7oz $2.00/$1.50
-$1/2 IP

Capri Sun $2.00/$1.50
- $1/1 SS-4/19 (good on Capri Sun Sunrise ONLY)

Carnation Instant Breakfast $3.99/$3.49
- $1/2 IP

Classico Pasta Sauce $2.49/$1.99
-$1/2 IP

Coffee-Mate creamer $2.99/$2.49
- $1/1 or $1.50/2 IP

Crystal Light On The Go 7-10ct. $2.49/$1.99

Dannon Activia yogurt 4 ct $1.99/$1.49
- $1/1 DND SS-5/10

Dannon Light & Fit Yogurt 6ct $1.99/$1.49
- $1/10 or any (2) Light & Fit 6-packs SS-6/21

Dole Fruit Bowls $2.49/$1.99
- .75/2 SS-4/26

Heinz 57 Sauce 10oz $3.29/$2.79
- $1/1 SS-5/17

Jolly Time Microwave Popcorn 6pk $2.49/$1.99
- $1/1 IP

Kashi TLC bars 6.7-8.4 oz. $2.99/$2.49
-$1.50/1 IP

Kashi Go Lean cereal 14.1-17.5 oz. $2.99/$2.49
- $1.50/1 IP

Kellogg's cereal - Frosted Flakes 14 oz. $1.99/$1.49
- $1.50/1 RP-6/7

Kellogg's cereal - Raisin Bran 15 oz. $1.99/$1.49
- $1/1 IP
- $1/1 RP-6/7

Kellogg's cereal - Rice Krispies 9 oz $1.99/$1.49
- $1/1 RP-6/7

Kellogg's PopTarts 14.1-14.7 oz. $1.99/$1.49 (Cheaper at Safeway this week...they have a similar deal...buy 5 save $5 making these $.99 ea wyb 5!)
- .55/1 RP-6/7

Kraft Easy Mac $1.00/$.50
- BOGO mfg 6/21 Parade magazine (from Sunday’s paper)

Kraft Mac & Cheese $1.00/$.50
- B3G1 Free (up to $1.29) (IP)
PLUS…There is a Catalina coupon that will print:
Kraft Macaroni and Cheese
purchase between 6/26 - 7/12
Buy (4) & get $1.00 OYNO
Buy (5) & get $1.50 OYNO
Buy (6) or more & get $2.00 OYNO
Good deal:
Buy 10 - $10
Get $5 off for mix & match deal wyb 10
Use 2 - B3G1 free (might only take off $.50, but may take off $1 ea)
OOP $4 or $3 & get a $2 OYNO

Planters Big Nut Bars $2.49/$1.99
-.75/1 SS-4/19

Purina Dog Chow 34 lb. bag $19.99/$19.49
- $3.50 IP

Resolve Carpet Cleaner 22oz $3.99/$3.49
- $1.50 IP

South Beach Fiber Fit Bars or Cereal Bars $2.49/$1.99
- $1/1 IP

Spray & Wash Bright & White Bleach Alternative 40 oz.
- $1.50/1 IP

Starkist Tuna & Tuna Pouches $1.25/$.75
- $1.50/3 pouches (this is a tearpad found next to the product on the shelf OR by the display in the store!)
There is a Catalina coupon for this:
Starkist tuna pouches
Buy 5 get 1.00 OYNO
Ends 7/14
Works in multiple of 5…get 2 - $1 OYNO wyb 10, & so on!
Good deal:
Buy 30 = $37.50
Get $15 off for mix & match deal wyb 10
use 10 - $1.50/3 coupons
OOP $7.50 & rcv 6-$1 OYNO cats!



Walgreens 6/22 - 6/27

I haven't really done a lot of Walgreens deals, but thought I'd start doing them since there are some GREAT deals to be had. They have a program (right now anyway...heard a rumor that it will be replaced possibly in July by something else) where you get a RR (Register Reward...like a catalina except Walgreens calls it this!) wyb a specific item. There are a few "rules" you need to know:

1) You can only earn ONE RR per item, per transaction. (Ex: If you bought 2 Aquafresh in one transaction, you will only receive ONE $3RR. BUT, you can purchase different items that produce RR's. I've been buying Aquafresh & Zyrtec & have been receiving a $3RR Aquafresh AND a $5RR Zyrtec)

2) You can't use the RR you earned to purchase the same item because your new RR won't print. (Ex: Aquafresh is $3 this week & has a $3RR wyb it. If you use your $3RR from Aquafresh to purchase more Aquafresh, the $3RR won't print out. BUT, you could use your $3RR Aquafresh to purchase something else that produces a RR...like the Zyrtec.)

3) The amount of manufacturers coupons & RR's can NOT be greater than the amount of items you have. (Ex: If you have 4 items & have a mfg coupon for each item & you also want to use a RR , you'd have to add a cheap "filler" to your transaction so the RR can "attach" to that item. I generally buy something small...right now, the little Johnson & Johnson Baby powders are $1.29 or $2 wyb 2 (must buy 2 for that price!) and are producing a $1RR...great way to use a "filler" and also earn most of your money back! OR, if you have 4 items & have 3 mfg & 1RR, you would not need a "filler" since your coupon total matches the total number of items you have...make sense??)

4) They generally expire 2 weeks from the date you earn them. Each week they have something that will produce a RR, so I generally "roll" my RR's to other items...making sure the item I'm buying with a RR is not from the same manufacturer that produced the RR.

OK...on to the savings...

Accu Check Meter $14.99 (get $5 RRs)
$14.99 MIR on the box
= $5 MONEYMAKER after MIR and RRs

Aquafresh Advanced Toothpaste $3 (get $3 in RRs)
$.75 SS 6/21
$1 IP
= $.75 MONEYMAKER - $1 MONEYMAKER after RRs

Band-Aids $3/2
$.50 5/17
$1 RP 3/15
$1 RP 4/26
= $.50 - $1

Bertolli Dinners $5.99
$1 RP 6/7
$1.50 IP
=$4.49 - $4.99

Chex Mix or 2 Liter Soda (includes 7UP, Sunkist, A&W, Canada Dry, or Hawaiian Punch) $4/3$.50/2 Chex SS 6/7
$1/2 Chex SS 6/7
= $.83 - $1.08 each

Coke product 12-pks $13/4 (get $3 RRs wyb 4)
= $2.50 each after RRs

Cover Girl Cosmetics B1G1 50% off
$1 P&G 6/7
$2/2 P&G 6/7
= varies

Cutter Insect Repellant Twin Packs $6.99
$2 SS 5/31
$2 June All You Magazine
= $4.99 each

General Mills Cereals $7/3 (get $1 RRs wby 3)
$1/3 SS 5/31
$.55 Cheerios, Lucky Charms or Reese’s Puffs IP
$.75 Fiber One IP
$1 Cheerios IP (if you sign up for this now, you might get it by the end of the week)
= $1 - $1.67 each after RRs

Glad Trash Bags $6.99
$1 IP
= $5.99

Huggies Little Swimmers - 10-12 pack $6.99
$1 SS 5/17
$1.50 printable
$1.50 SS 4/19
= $5.49 - $5.99 each

Kotex Pads, Pantiliners, Tampons, and Maxi Pads $2.99 (get $1 RR wyb 2, $3 RR wyb 3)
$.75 SS 6/14
$1.50/2 IP
$1.50/2 June All You Magazine
$1 IP
$2/2 IP
$1 SS 6/14
=$.99 – $1.24 each after RRs wyb 3

L’Oreal Feria or Excellence-to-Go Hair Color $6.99 w/Walgreens WFC
$3 RP 5/17
=$3.99

Lysol Disinfectant Sprays $7/2 (get $2 RRs wyb 2)
$1 SS 6/7
$2 SS 6/7=$.50 - $1.50 each after RRs

Lysol Neutra Air or Airwick Fresh Matic Ultra 50% off
$4 Airwick IP
$4 Lysol SS 5/31
= varies - at least half off with and additional $4 off (this should be a pretty low price.)

Skintimate or Edge Shave Gel $1.99 w/Walgrees WFC
$1 Skintimate IP
$1 Edge IP
$1 Edge SS 5/17
= $.99

Speed Stick or Lady Speed Stick $2.99 (get $2 RRs)
= $.99 after RRs

Splenda No Calorie Sweetener $2.99
$.75 June All You Magazine
$1 SS 6/7
$1 June All You Magazine
$2/2 SS 6/7
$2/2 IP
$3/2 April All You Magazine
=$1.49 - $2.24 each.

Zyrtec 30ct $18.99 (get $5RR wyb)
$4.00 SS 6/21
=$13.99 plus $5RR (net of $8.99 for a month’s supply!)

Don’t Forget the John Frieda June Deal:
John Frieda Hair Care (get $5 RRs wyb $15)
$1 IP
$1 SS 6/14
$3 SS 6/14= varies (at least 33% off, if you use the $3 coupon on the Root Awakening products you get each item for only $.33 each!)


Hoping to be able to add Safeway deals next week. Too many good deals at Walgreens & Albertsons this week...ran out of time! :)

Happy savings!
~Pam

New Etsy Shop Open, Come for a Visit!

As you know, we work closely with 4 other friends, to produce and particiapte in shows
together. We all have marched through the long hours of crafting in the wee hours of the
morning when our children were small, getting "real" jobs that were too confining for our
crative minds and personalities, always returning to our shows, selling our handcrafts and
now vintage finds. Of course over the years we have all built up huge inventories of fabric,
paint, brushes, wood, wiggle eyes, yarn, embroidery thread, more fabric... does any of this
sound familiar?

Well, most of our husbands aren't too happy with our piles, rooms and storage spaces full
of Stuff! So, our new Stitch 'em Up! site on Etsy will help our little group to sell some of our
exqusite fabrics, beautiful threads, supplies of all kinds... great STUFF! So take a minute or
two and visit us on Etsy, check out our STUFF so we can get out there and buy more
STUFF to share with you!

Have a great week!

Karen

Father's Day, Reflections on a Great Dad

I was stumped on what to write for today's blog. Father's Day is over, on to something new and different. But... is it really over until a year from now? No, every day is Father's Day in my heart. My dad passed away several years ago following a surprise battle with a cancerous brain tumor. There was barely time to say good-bye, but the little time that we did have left together blessed me with memories that fill my heart to this day.

We were best buddies. I loved sports almost as much as he did, so he taught me to play baseball, basketball and football just like the neighborhood guys. On his deathbed, he told me that a Little League Coach had asked if I could be on his team, my mom thought it inappropriate. He said that he was so proud of me and still was. He taught me to believe in myself and the talents that God had given me. He taught me to love the Lord with all my heart, to trust him with my hurts, joys, husband and children... now grandchildren. He was my role model, my teacher, advisor and friend. Today, my sons are great fathers because of what my father taught me and what he taught my husband. I can be thankful every day for a wonderful father who loved me enough to make a difference in his family for generations to come. My eldest grandson's middle name is John and my newborn grandson's first name is Hagen, my dad's family name. Tears of joy come when I see how his love is passed on. I love you Daddy!

You know that sudden flutter you feel when you discover a long sought after treasure? Maybe it's a piece of faux pastry delicately iced and trimmed with lace satin ribbon that takes hold of your imagination and makes you smile. Or vintage china pieces with hand painted roses that bring back forgotten memories. Crisp table linens, reminiscent of special teas shared with Grandmother so many years ago. A vintage rhinestone necklace and bracelet to put on for just the right occasions.A white painted cottage cabinet to be filled with hand-painted dishes, appliquéd tea towels, chenille bedspreads or vintage toys. Wrought iron candle sticks that dangle delicate crystal drops. They add an instant aura of old-fashioned romance.

Hand stitched needlepoints, rich in history, combined with pastels silks for a treasured pillow. Tea cozies trimmed in Venice lace and satin ribbons and bows - stunning as any china teapot and just right for an afternoon tea party with friends. Favorite finds of all shapes and sizes, to fill each corner and to suit every whim, wait for you to discover on Pink Friday at Forget Me Not Dreams and Make Mine Pink.

Joyce Lucas, Founder Make Mine Pink

A Fresh Start on Monday

After working on our Farm Chicks show for so long, it's back to reality, back to work and onward to new projects and new ideas. We're ready for a fresh start, even if it is in mid June! We have lots of new listings to get up on our website, spotlighting new artists that have been close enough to bite us! We're excited to introduce our friends to you and fill a fun new catagory for us... Whimsy, with all of its fun colors and designs. I am hoping to finally get some of my photographs made into stationery so you can visit the English countryside, beautiful Oregon landscapes, Italian scenery and some funny personal shots with me. Since our aprons at Farm Chicks were such a hit, we are attempting to get more of those sewn so you can have your own, or purchase the pattern.

So keep watching our website for brand new items and our blog for new ideas and happenings. Who knows, another road trip may be in the plans soon!

Along The Garden Path

Delights and pleasures that make your heart beat a little faster await you along the garden path. Sights and sounds and smells that excite your senses and inspire your imagination. Perhaps it's the purple cone flowers, multicolored morning glories, fragrant angel trumpets, or the lordly foxglove, all grown from seed and tended with love, that line the path and remind you to dream.

Or the delicate shadow of a Victoria trellis supporting a new vine that takes you on a new flight of fancy.

In the early morning hours, or when the sun begins to set, a verdigris candle holder or metal scroll work lantern might illuminate the garden pathway. But it's the vintage metal buckets painted with floral designs and planted with overflowing flowers, that seem to light the way.

Along the garden path, a cherub garden sculpture, or a vintage cherub planter might welcome you to this less-traveled road. Ceramic plaques engraved with thoughts and sayings to brighten the day remind you of the peace you find when you walk here, and invite you to linger a while. Garden mushrooms greet you, as does the sparrow-song sung by tiny birds that have stopped to rest on bird-feeders shaped like perfectly opened petals and delicately formed tea cups.

A garden tea party...a hand painted table brought outdoors just for the occasion. Sparkling candy lights make this a fairy-tale place in the midst of an enchanted path. A Victorian cake stand filled with roses and sweets takes center stage, the vintage china tea cups and plates are set. In the shade, you can remove the sun hat that was created just for you, in a design that makes you smile whenever you catch a glimpse of it.

The garden scenery is reflected in a beautiful handmade cushion, stitched from fabric alive with pink blossoms, then placed on a nearby garden chair. A decorative vintage birdcage hangs from a weather hook. On the table lies a gardening book filled with inspiration and ideas to share. Later, you'll remember absent friends and lovingly write to them on note cards reminiscent of a favorite rose garden. But for right now, you'll celebrate with those who are here, and share the treasures you've found along the garden path.

Joyce Lucas, FounderMake Mine Pink

Memories of Farm Chicks

Sorry for the late post today. You know when you come home from a trip you just get slammed with everything...tons of shipping to do, laundry and catch up in every other facet of life! But today I'm running on sweet memories of Farm Chicks. Good times shared with priceless friends, and new friends made are the best of those memories. I loved the experience in every way. Even the hard part as my Mom use to say, "good hard work is of the Lord". Here are more pics that I promised I would post including some sights and stops on our trip home. Thanks for sharing our journey with us! I'm sure there will be another Road Trip on our not so distant future, because.....well, we must!


We were excited to meet Lisa and her friend Isabel whom we've been blogging with before the show! Turns out we live nearly each other and a lunch date is in our future! Their booths were to die for!
JohnBob Cool Junk

Jardin's awesome booth...such nice ladies!

Candywinkle...darling candy themed gifts!

A cool display at Second Childhood Friends.

We stopped in the tiny town and Connell on the way home and hit the jackpot...3 antique stores! We scored here...

Scored big time here...

This one was a "small mall"...spent $4! Too much fun!
Part of the Gorge are filled with Wind Turbines. You know Oregon and their "green" mentality! Pretty Cool! What could be a better ending to our trip than a gorgeous sunset!

Homeward Bound

The Farm Chicks Show is over and we are headed home today! It was a really late night last night by the time we loaded the truck, dropped it off at storage and found something to eat. But what a great time we have had! We have lot's more pictures to share with you after we get home so stayed tuned! Have a great day everyone!

Ready, Set....Sale IT!

We had a fantastic first day at the Farm Chicks Show! Tonight we thought we'd just share some pics from the show. Here's our group, the calm before the storm of customers! Everyone loved our aprons! We wanted to do something that would be memorable.

This one is a bit hard to see, but here is a pic of the line waiting to get in. Only take that and multiply it by three time! I couldn't fit them all in my camera lens!

Here are some of our customers waiting to check out. Our register was humming as fast as it could go for most of the day!

Here are some of our wonderful neighbors including our good friend Sue of Bella Shabby.

The guys at Barn House in Battle Ground WA. Cool Booth!

And Duchess of Vancouver WA! We'll be packing up tomorrow night at the end of the show, but we'll try to post more pics tomorrow night! Thanks for visiting our blog and sharing our Farm Chicks experience with us!
Eileen & Karen

Move In Day

Today was the big move in day! We pulled in the parking lot and knew we were in the right place! We had to wait right till 9:00 to move things into the building so we decided to get a jump on it and off load the truck as much as we could. We had everything labeled and organized…even the bags!

This is what our space looked like when we walked in…

and after we had our base pieces set! Our pre-staging and packing by sections paid off big time.

Take a look at our booth and let us know what you think!

Travel Day

We are sorry we missed a day of blogging. We were exhausted from only three hours of sleep the night before, and too many last minute things to do. So here is our catch up blog!

We always manage to have a great time on the road! With extra large Diet Coke in tow and girl time spent together! What’s not to love! Here are a few sites we saw along our trip from Portland Oregon to Spokane Washington!

Who knew there was another Stonehenge almost in our backyard!

We saw many Farm Chickers on the road!

What the heck...

We Are Off, But Don't Miss Pink Friday!

We are off! All these months of preparation and the Farm Chicks show is finally here! We are so excited and can't wait to share our adventure with you! We'll be on the road all day today, but will catch up tonight when we hit the hotel. Follow our Farm Chicks journey this weekend! But in the mean time, don't miss Pink Friday!

Please join us for shopping with a twist on Friday June 5, 2009 as we present "Something Old, Something New - A Perfect Time for a Summer Wedding!"
Something old, something new. something borrowed, something blue. The age old timeless phrase describes the perfect ingredients for a beautiful summer wedding.

I'm so blessed to work in the wedding industry too! I love helping my brides create their dream wedding day! We have a couple of oldies and a couple of new ideas too. Remember those on our mailing list get weekly bonus discounts or gifts, so we invite you to join our mailing list! We'll see you tomorrow!

Eileen

TUESDAY PACK UP AND LOAD THE TRUCK!!

It was a worn out group who met this morning at 9:00 to finish displaying the last few items and then start packing, mapping and tagging the finished totes. We slowly packed each section, including our display map photos in each tote and labeled each tote according to where it was to be placed in the display in Spokane.

Since we have a limited amount of time to re-create our display up at the fairgrounds in Spokane for the Farm Chicks show, we need to be very organized and able to pass our knowledge of the set up to our favorite "Roadies" who will be helping us unload the truck and accompanying vehicles in Spokane. There isn't time to be confused and slip into our "twirling" pattern that we usually do when tired and a bit anxious.

Slowly, section by section, we gained our working rhythm together and had almost everything packed up by lunchtime at 1:30. Totes were stacked and furniture brought to the front of the shop, ready to begin the painstaking pilgrimage to the truck. With dragging and weary bodies, we took a break and went to lunch. It was a very quiet meal.

Our empty truck! Doesn't it look like a deserted cave? The space seems to be endless until the packing begins.

Eileen's husband, Randy, is the supreme truck packer. He likens it to a large game of Tetris...Look for the shapes that fit together with the least amount of empty, wasted space. Our job was to bring the pieces out so Randy could pick and choose according to what he needed to fill the empty space. Flat items against the walls of the truck, stackable surfaces together and then the all important filler. The filler completes the puzzle and makes the packing efficient.

Look at our empty shop with the cleared floors!! Yes, it is all outside. Thank goodness it wasn't raining like it usually is this time of the year in Portland.

We wait outside for Randy and our head Roadie, Garron, to shout out what shape and weight they need to fit into the next hole. Like Eileen says, the person in the truck works really hard while the rest of us stand around and wait for instructions. It takes a lot of time and effort, but the result is very much worth it. Tight packing gives us more room to take more product and it cuts down on breakage.

Here it is, almost completely packed. There will also be 3 SUVs packed full driving up in our convoy too. Tomorrow we will have the day "off", but all of us will be running around like the proverbial headless chicken getting last minute details done, get our own homes and families prepared for our absences and prepare websites for possible internet incapability. You never know with the hotels. Sometimes being the superwomen that we all expect ourselves to be is a tall order. Having this wonderful group of friends with many of the same interests has been such an incredible blessing for me. Not a day passes that I don't receive help, support, advice and love from each of them. They have become my family, my sisters. Each of them mean the world to me, a gift straight from the hand of God. We may be exhausted now, but by Thursday we will be renewed and ready to go!

Thanks for following our trek! Keep tuning in and we'll continue to give you photos and written details of our adventure!

Be happy and go with God!

Karen & Eileen too!

MONDAY'S MOCK SET UP FOR FARM CHICKS

And we're off! The week began today, Monday, completing our mock set up for our booths at The Farm Chicks Show in Spokane. We are able to use an empty space in our good friend's retail building, so previously we taped off the exact dimensions of our booth space. We have all been gathering pieces at estate sales and making items to sell, packing those in separate plastic totes which we have been bringing to the empty shop for the past few weeks.

This is our strategy center where we have the computer set up to log inventory, keep track of prices, search for information on marks and identification of antique pieces, make our tags, eat our healthy snacks (right!!), make our endless lists of things to do and what we need to pack and make plans for the actual trip.

We emptied our totes onto a few tables and sorted according to color and theme. Since we had so much, we had to sort several totes, then distribute our sorted product to the appropriate areas, emptying enough table space to unload a few more totes. This scenario continued all day.

While 3 of us emptied and sorted, another 2 team members arranged the furniture pieces to build the skeleton of our booth. Furniture pieces large and small were arranged according to color and theme with some pieces mixed to give needed height or depth to the skeleton. We also had to consider what the consequences of the appearance of the display would be if a large piece of furniture sold. What can we replace the sold piece with, how can we move things around to keep the design and cohesiveness of the display? Lots to consider.

After the furniture is set, we began the long task of filling in the space with the product we have sorted. Of course we all have a different idea of what looks good, what goes together to please the eye. Things are moved from one area to another, from the display back to the sorting tables. After a few hours, the frustrating chaos begins to take shape and "the look" falls into place. Husbands are called to announce that we are working late. Who knows what 's for dinner? Anxiety slowly becomes fatigue, then exhaustion. We start getting silly and everything is funny.

Wow, everything is funny until we decide that there will not be enough room on the truck for all of the furniture and totes full of re-packed product. How will we get it all to Spokane? What happens if we don't sell anything? What happens if we sell everything?? What if we run out of our best product? What if, what if??? Oh boy, it's time to go home and get some sleep!

Above is our green and natural brown section. This was the last section to come together. When it started rolling, it fell together very quickly, but we had been messing with it for several hours off and on. It's when you give up that everything comes together nicely. Below is part of our pastel cottage area. I always like this section the best because it is soft and quiet, light and relaxing.

Tune in Wed. to see photos of what we get done today, Tuesday. Our plan is to get the individual pieces wrapped and boxed and get the truck and the other vehicles packed so we are ready to hit the road early Thursday morning.

Until tomorrow!

Karen