Polly Ann's... because there's no place like home...

New arrivals at Polly Ann's...

2012-02-03T06:04:00.000-08:00

We've been working hard in our workshop to clear out some of the projects so we can move in a storage shed full of fresh stuff to work on... here are some of the results...

sweet little red shelf... just the right size

This blue cabinet was a built in kitchen cupboard out of a sweet little cottage in Cedar Rapids. It originally had a base cabinet that it was free mounted above, but we made it into a little more of a free-standing variety with space underneath for pet bowl and storage. Wainscotting on the back and some sweet oilcloth on the shelves... the outside needs a coat of paint...

Another quick, sweet little shelf. This one with a new back. It's a great size and a great look in a soft aqua...

I absolutely love how this turned out... Bobby put a new top on it as it was just an opening and wainscotting in the back. I white washed the outside and made a quick set of cafe curtains with tie backs to spruce it up...

I filled it up with dolls and sweetness and it's sitting atop a french candy makers table with a glass top... I made a matching scarf... Love the little doll dresser on top...

Here's the 6 footer. I love how the legs turned out... such character. This is the last one he will be making for a few weeks. We have another project coming to the workshop. If you have been thinking about one of his tables, get your order in NOW as he is just about out of materials...

This is a sweet little bench that Bobby refurbished for me. Where we found it, there was another board sitting close by... one leg was totally rotted off, so we used the other board to make a new one. He also had to replace the support board in the back... it looks great... a fun primitive piece...

This is one of the projects going on in the workshop now... I plan to white-wash it and recover it. My fabric stash has too many fantastic choices, so I haven't yet decided which way to go... any suggestions???

This pink paint I found at the hardware store in the "Miss-Mix" pile. It's REALLY bright pink, but both of my daughters had a minor panic attack when they saw it. I asked if that was good or bad and they both said "good"... would be great in a "tweener" room or for that girly girl out on her own for the first time...

All I have to figure out now, is how to get the space under the dropfront to quit sticking to itself and peeling... as soon as I get it right, it, too will make it upstairs to the shop...

always interesting...

Polly Ann's... because there's no place like home...

The putzing paid off at Polly Ann's...

2012-01-27T18:05:00.000-08:00

The front room at Polly Ann's after three days of putzing...

I adore the color pink and am thoroughly in love with the combination of pink and green. Aqua is hangin' in there tight, too...

Centerpiece is Bobby's wonderful 8 foot long harvest table with two wonderful cement urns and the trees I got from Hill's Bank (the best bank around) for our store's 20th anniversary...

This sweet little corner is brought to you by the color "PINK"...

Wicker table with glass tops and layered cloths, 4 wicker chairs, a sweet little fireplace built by Bobby, a window project copied yesterday from pinterest, hankies, red glass, Haviland China, pink paper doilies and pink flashed beer mugs. Oh, yea... and don't forget the sweet little Typhoon pink pitcher on the center of the glass shelf for the window...

More pink on this unique fringed table that was once the center of attention at home wakes... you guessed it... it's a coffin table, thus no finish on the top and someone upholstered it along the line.... a great server!

Close up of the project from pinterest...

check out my pinterest page!

Mirror, mirror on the walll... Love the soft yellow wingback I did in a Ralph Lauren fabric with a red and white mini check for trim. Isn't the mantle Bobby built wonderful?

Did I mention I LOVE pink and green together? This display of roses plates and accessories makes me so very happy...

Pink and green Haviland and other European pretty dishes... and one of my favorite saying plates... "My favorite place is in your hug..."

A sweet colonial maiden on a really big plate with perfect fading around the edges...

Georgian Eggshell dishes by Homer Laughlin...

Polly Ann's... because there's no place like home...

A new slogan...

2012-01-23T10:10:00.000-08:00

Polly Ann's... because there's no place like home...

this is my new slogan for Polly Ann's... my 20 year old antique store... I'd love to know what you think!

So... this is the house that our house is designed after! It was Country Living's House of the Year in 1992... Someday ours will look more like this, but for now, we are on the 13 year plan and aren't finished yet. Our siding is vinyl and is a creamy color. Someday my door will be either magenta or red (haven't decided yet) and we will have close to the same design on our porch. I've got the stonework half finished (it's been that way since Bob's mom got sick in 2004). My goal is to get the porch and door done this summer. Wish me luck... So many projects, so little time!!!

Anamosa Antique Show Bound... This Sunday, January 22nd

2012-01-19T18:56:00.001-08:00

I've been framing prints like crazy and trying to put together a fun, feminine, romantic array of goodies for the show this Sunday. Bob made me the awesome display shelf from a couple of ladders and some salvaged wood. He'll have one of his salvaged materials harvest tables there, a 7 footer with walnut legs, and he made me three trenchers/troughs for the middle of a table. He's getting into this creative stuff, and I think he even actually likes it. That makes me happy.

Hope to see you there!!!

Another custom harvest table of vintage materials... made by Bob :0)

2012-01-06T10:44:00.000-08:00

My honey's latest custom harvest table. Another beauty! He's got two more orders in the works and then we have to sit down and evaluate how much of our wood stash we have left... she's a dwindling fast.

The tops and skirts of these tables are made from old floor boards out of a house in Lisbon, Iowa. I wish there had been more! The legs are old table legs that we have been stashing for years. We're getting low on those, too... time to go a hunting again ... my very favorite part of this business...

This one is just over 6 feet long... a very popular size. Doesn't he do nice work? :0)

Finally a new and perfect home for this beautiful set at Hope's Bridal Boutique!

2011-12-26T12:16:00.000-08:00

I've been wondering what this custom sofa and chair were waiting for... the perfect home! Their new owners at Hope's Bridal have finally come to find them. I can't think of a more perfect place for this girly, comfy set. The thought of mothers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters and best friends awaiting the big reveal while sitting upon these beauties makes me enormously happy.

The best part? Now I get to play, play, play house again in the front room at the shop. I believe the plan will include a wonderful pair of burgundy floral chairs and a deep aqua blue velvet sofa that has been hanging around in my front room at home. It will be so much fun to set it up and decorate with all the wonderful treasures I can choose from at Polly Ann's. Something fresh and new will be there after the first of the year... you should come and see!

some recent views....

2011-12-17T12:06:00.000-08:00

Pine Harvest Table ... all old materials

2011-12-13T19:40:00.000-08:00

This is the beauty that Bob just put the last coat of polyurethane on tonight... it's almost 3 foot wide and is 8 foot long. Oak legs from an old table, long dismantled, and floor boards from a house that was over 100 years old. So solid and such wonderful character in those floor boards. I can't wait to get it in the shop and play with it! Oh what fun!!!

Unless, of course, it sells before I get it in there! That would be just fine, too :0)
He can build to suit your measurements. We have several sets of legs to choose from. The floor boards will go quickly, and when they are gone, they're gone. We're always scouting for more materials, but it's always hard to find...

oh what a terrible blogger I am...

2011-12-12T16:27:00.000-08:00

I am so bad at this whole blogging thing, but I really do enjoy it when I take the time to post something. It seems like these days I usually post things to facebook on the Polly Ann's Antiques page as I already know how to do a mobile upload on facebook. I'm sure mobile blogging is quite easy, but I'm not sure I'm ready to sit down and figure it out.

Anyways.. last Saturday was Polly Ann's Antiques 20th Anniversary. It's so hard to believe that we have been in business that long, but we have! We had a wonderful day at the shop. Dad, Bob and I were there all day long together and it was wonderful to have people stop in and share in our celebration. We did a little impromptu sale and ended up having a fantastic day. I wish you all could have been there.

Here a little ditty I wrote when I woke up Saturday morning and was feeling a bit nostalgic...

20 years ago this morning, I left our little, freezing cold, rental house north of Martelle, Iowa as a scared, but determined young woman who wanted to find a place for herself in the world. Bob and I had worked hard, or so we thought, at the time, to have our little antique store ready for the public to see. My dad was anxiously awaiting the first day of what would turn out to be a new journey for him.

We had nothing, almost... be we were determined. I had left a job at the Collins Plaza Hotel where my only possibility for advancement was working every night and weekend along with the regular 9-5. In retrospect, there have been times when that would have been fantastic, but only at times.

So many people taught us so much along the way... Kim Wolfe who was, and still is, an incredible mentor of mine... It was in her store a few weeks before we opened that I stopped in to let her know there would be a new kid on the block, so to speak. She didn't waste any time in helping me get listed on the "brochure" that we still use to help our customers find the other antique shops in our wonderful little burg. She asked me right away what I was going to call the shop... I stuttered and said that I hadn't really thought about it. She said the brochure was going to print tomorrow and she needed the information right away. I said, "um, um, um... Polly Ann's Antiques, I guess"? She wrote it down. Next question, "what are your hours going to be"? I looked at her and said, "what are yours"? ... and so it went. She's been eager and willing to help me every step of the way. She and Carolyn Wellso are two women who have worked this business hard for more years than Bob and I have. They paved a way her in MV, and I feel so very blessed that they both chose to help me along the way.

From the moment we opened, we had traffic. We were so excited, and thought, after the first day, that our biggest problem would be making sure we had enough inventory. Ha! What we soon realized was that those first customers were the vultures of our business honing in on the new village idiot. We even gave them discounts on items that were so grossly underpriced that we still long to this day to have back. But each and everyone of those customers/vultures taught us invaluable lessons about what was to come. What was to come, was helpless and hopeless that winter. I mean, who opens a 350 square foot antique store two weeks before Christmas with zero inventory of their own and expects to make it? Well, we did!

From there we figured things could only get better if we worked hard and started to learn about what we were doing. At the time we opened I thought we would sell Dad's stuff for a 17% commission and that Bob and I would contribute "crafts" to the inventory. What a joke! We soon learned that we weren't very "crafty". We made it through the winter because Bob asked Rich Rockrohr for a job. Rich said he wasn't hiring, but listened to our story and told Bob where to be Monday morning at 8am. Thank God for Rich! I worked a part-time job at the Anamosa Journal-Eureka as, of all things, a sports editor. We had no kids, no money, a really drafty, but otherwise cheap, rental house and our tenants in the apartments we had finished the previous summer were all making their rent payments. It wasn't so bad.

Working six days a week at the shop was getting old when I was working Mondays in Anamosa. Just then Mary Swan from Mount Vernon Antiques (at the time her shop located in what was called the old IE Building) walked a dealer down the street named Phyllis. Mary would be closing her store and Phyllis was looking for a new place in Mount Vernon to have a booth. What a novel concept, I thought! I was honest and told Mary and Phyllis that I hadn't really thought about that. Mary said to rent her a space for $1.00 a square foot and have her work a couple of days a month. That was music to my ears! So, Phyllis Shutt was our first "dealer" at Polly Ann's and it meant that I was going to get out of there for at least a couple days a month. We finished another room and Phyllis moved in about the time I got a call from a lady named Peg Burke from Coralville. She was a professor in the athletic department at Iowa. She wanted space and was willing to work as well. And so it began, we became a mall. Francis and Betty soon followed, along with Dee, Barry and Eileen. Things were starting to happen. My dad and all of those dealers, excepting Phyllis, who retired from U of I hospitals and moved, and Barry, who passed away a few years back, are still with me. Many people have come and gone over the years, but we've had such wonderful people helping take care of both our store and us. We are so lucky. I still charge $1.00 a square foot and every dealer at Polly Ann's is required to work as part of their booth rent.

I borrowed $70 from my dad in the spring of 1992 and I started buying and selling antiques myself. I now have a store that is ten times the size it was when we opened and have inventory stored all over the place in storage sheds, garages, machine sheds and often in the middle of my living room if we have a show coming up.

I love, love, love what I do and I get to be with my partner and best friend every day... not to mention getting to know my daddy along the way. Bob and I do the antique thing full time now. Bob also runs a Blythe Cottage Inn... a bed & breakfast, from our home. We do about ten antique shows every year. We've got three wonderful kids now and, with 20 great years of experience under our belt, I think we're starting to get this thing figured out.

The past 20 years has been a wild ride, but one I would go on again in a heart beat. If I only knew then what I know now...

Custom vintage reupholstered couch and chair fixed!

2011-06-10T13:38:00.000-07:00

Just in case the gal is out there who fell in love with the looks of the couch and chair, but not the springiness of the old springs... I had it fixed. My upholsterer took the springs out and put in a firm foam and a board... now it is fantastic and doesn't sink like it did. Always a tough call with the old couches... I took his word for it that the springs were good and they weren't... now it is good to go and oh, so comfy...

Here's the custom vintage couch and chair... I LOVE it!

2011-05-24T16:50:00.000-07:00

I had him make several pillows to go with it... I think it turned out wonderful... pinks, golds, greens and creamy whites... simply YUMMY!!!
I know I'm a really bad blogger this time of year, but we've been crazy, crazy busy with purchasing the estate and yet another funeral today.... Our small community is still going through a really rough time. We had yet another teen kill themselves last week and his services were today... three in the last seven months and two in the last month... we're spent and are just trying to stay focused these days. I hope you'll all forgive me to being so absent from this platform... I would love to hear what you think about the couch and chair set...

Stay tuned... Polly Ann

I got it!!!

2011-05-03T18:07:00.000-07:00

We signed the contract today! I get to start my treasure hunt tomorrow... no wait, I have to work tomorrow... anybody wanna work for me? Shoot, I have to work Thursday, too... Come to the shop and see me :0)

Need prayers and good thoughts today...

2011-05-03T05:13:00.001-07:00

Today I am going to meet with a family about their mothers' items. It would be a nice buy for me if I can get it accomplished... lots of fun stuff, but TONS and TONS of work. I made my offer and drew my line in the sand... the family muddied my first line pretty badly and I backed away. Today, round 2... the final round for me. Wish me luck and say a prayer for me that the answer will be cut and dried... I'll let you know how it turns out. Thanks bunches...

Polly

Projects and springtime...

2011-04-27T06:20:00.000-07:00

This was one of the projects I completed yesterday. Have I ever mentioned that I have hundreds and hundreds of frames and hundreds and hundreds of prints. Sometimes I don't know where to start, but yesterday these two little girls spoke to me... maybe they remind me in some way of my own girls. This was a magazine cover from July 1934 that someone had saved in a scrapbook. I couldn't find a frame quickly that would fit it just right, but I had this black one and I knew it would make it pop... then I need to figure out how to bridge the gap. I didn't want to mat it as matting somehow makes it look too new for me, so I dug out one of my old wallpaper sample books and found this sweet little floral print that brought it all together... for me anyway. I hope you like it, too!!!

Have a fantastic Wednesday and may the sun be shining where you are, cuz it sho ain't shinin' here!!!

Oilcloth ... one of my very favorite things at Polly Ann's

2011-04-19T17:45:00.000-07:00

...as a shelf liner

...as a table runner

...as a cover up for yucky kitchen cabinets

...the obvious... as a tablecloth

... 15 patterns available at Polly Ann's... almost all retro and vintage designs

... shopping bags, beach bags, the possibilities are endless

... precut in 36"X47 1/2", 47 1/2" square, 47 1/2" x 60", 47 1/2" x 96", and 60" rounds

... how fun!

...the Oilcloth trademark...

"A new oilcloth makes the whole family happy."

This is for the birds... and the cats and dogs...

2011-04-19T17:34:00.000-07:00

Mr. Polly Ann... aka Bobby, built this little window cabinet for me and I just love having fun displaying different things in it...

This is for the birds...

and the cats and dogs...

Upholstery Project...Coming soon!

2011-04-17T18:16:00.000-07:00

This is a before picture of an upcoming project... I have about 5 different fabrics in rose, cream, green and gold that will be adorning this beautiful set. I just have to figure out how it will all come together and I'll be sure to share pictures when it's done.

Views from the Collector's Eye...

2011-04-13T06:11:00.000-07:00

Found 'em!

2011-04-07T07:21:00.000-07:00

Ready for the Collector's Eye...vintage wallpapered bins and more

2011-04-07T06:05:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was a really fun day for me. Normally I work every day with my honey and we get a lot accomplished, but all day long I have to listed to country music and have someone who is constantly keeping me on task and needing to be kept on task... Bob worked with my brother on a project yesterday and it left me to myself... doesn't happen all that often, but I LOVED it (just for a day is enough without him with me, though). These were a few of my many projects that I got done yesterday.

I acquired these vintage calf milk powder cartons and decided to use some of the old wallpaper I've had for years and see what I could do. It's an easy project if you aren't a perfectionist... thankfully I am NOT! There are many wrinkles and bubbles, but they don't bother me a bit.

Step 1 - supplies...

Step 2 - do the work...

Step 3 - stand back and say YES!...

My favorite is the floral one, of course. I wish I had other paper that would have worked going sideways... most of it was very one directional. The stripes are fun, too. I think the two that are rather plain may see some decoupage before all is said and done. Great storage and could even be used as an end table with a piece of glass on top... somewhere in that mess we call a garage, I have a piece or two of that glass... off to find it...

Oh yea... I painted the screen and put the panels on it yesterday, too... made some pillows, mended some tablecloths, priced some goodies for the show... ... ... ... ... ...

My goal at the shop to day is to fill all these boxes with my greatest stuff to take to the show... any requests??? ;0)

See you at the show... Midwest Antique & Art Show and The Colletor's Eye... this Sunday, April 10th from 10am-4pm at the Hawkeye Downs main building on 6th Street SW in Cedar Rapids... BE THERE!!!

Better late than never... Collector's Eye, Cedar Rapids... here we come!!!

2011-04-06T07:01:00.000-07:00

This is what you would see if you pulled up to my garage and hit the opener button... not a pretty sight, but wait...

This is what you would see if you opened my kitchen door and walked out in my garage... another not so pretty sight, but wait...

This is what you might have missed if you didn't look closely... Treasures upon treasure lurk in the aftermath of a quick dig through the chaos...

Vintage gardening items, complete with a vintage metal tool organizer/sign...

A pair of gnarly old windows with the opaque star print "bathroom" glass... 6 panels of it each! Even a pair of oars... just in case your ship comes in and you need to row it home :0)

And an already found and loved chair rescued by Miss Barb simplyiowa freshly returned from a rebuilding and spring tying at the upholsterers...waiting to be taken home to be loved one again... it's been a while for this beauty...

I wonder how many of these lurking treasures will find their way to the trailer sitting at the bottom of the drive already busting with great stuff that will be heading to the show this Sunday... I can't wait to see how it all turns out... hope you all will come and see...

Late UNI-Dome show shots...

2011-03-22T10:59:00.000-07:00

A few random shots of what was left at the show on Sunday morning. Pack up was lickedy split as we had nothing big left. Things went very smoothly and now I just have to empty the boxes into the shop over the next few days.

My friend, Amy, at had a big sale the last few days and I bought a bunch of stuff yesterday. I'm going to go to the shop and send dad home early today and get to work pricing and cleaning those things up. One of my dealers moved out yesterday and I have a booth of lovely emptiness just waiting for me to go to work on. I absolutely LOVE having a blank spot to work with. I've got some plans, but most of it will work itself out as I go along. I am thinking that I am going to move the stuff in the baby area so that I can move my big cases into the area where that display is and open up some new possibilities out by the counter area. It's really going to be a lot of shoving, but my hips have taken on plenty of padding (unfortunately) these last few weeks so I'm thinking I can handle it... wish me luck!

I'll try to post some before and after shots over the next few days... make sure to check back...

Until next time - Polly Ann

Dad is doing great & Waterloo shoppers rock!!!

2011-03-19T18:24:00.001-07:00

My daddy had his carotid artery "reamed" out on Wednesday. The doctor came out and told us he scraped a bunch of gravy and some "debris" out of there. He has a large incision which is glued shut on his neck and has quite a bit of swelling, but is otherwise doing GREAT! He is NOT happy about missing the show at UNI this weekend, but if he does what the doctors say he'll be out and about in no time flat. He was in the hospital overnight and this picture was taken about 12 hours post-op. He's at home and is doing great with ZERO pain killers... what a guy!!! Continued prayers are always welcome... thank you !

This picture was taken Wednesday night when we took a little time out before heading to Cedar Falls for the show on Thursday... I love this man... he's got it all! :0)

We're having a FANTASTIC sale at the UNI-Dome! I've sold so much and I just keep spreading out... Thanks to Susie from Minnesota for making a bunch of holes to fill :0) I am so sad that I didn't get a picture of a cupboard that I bought early on Friday and sold early on in the show. It was SOOOOOO sweet. Wanda (if you're reading this) I think you would have loved it!

I've been crazy busy with the show and never even got any pictures taken of my booth. Sorry ;0(

The shop almost always has a rough weekend when I've stripped it for a show, but not this weekend. We did some great business and have tomorrow yet to go at the shop and at the show!

I'm so grateful for all of the wonderful people out there I call my customers and my friends. It was so great to get all the hugs and well wishes from those who heard about my craigslist woes... I'm over it! I know in my heart that I did all I could do and whoever it was just likes to complain and step on others to make them feel better. I've prayed for them (thank you for the reminder, Miss Karen ;0)) and I will keep my chin up and always and all ways strive to do better in the future!

Life is good in my world!!! Love and thanks to all... bless you - Polly Ann

I'm really sad...

2011-03-14T19:09:00.001-07:00

Someone posted some really frustrating comments about my shop on craigslist... I'm not sure what to do... any suggestions?

http://cedarrapids.craigslist.org/atq/2265865995.html

A few of the past weeks' sales...

2011-03-14T16:36:00.000-07:00

These are just a few of the "finds" at Polly Ann's that have recently been "found" by their new owners. It's always interesting to watch some items wait around for the right fit. I truly believe that happens...

This clock FINALLY found a new home... thank you, thank you, thank you to the new owners!
My sweet friend Karen took this little treasure home to use in her new, tiny, bathroom to hide her hair dryer, curling iron, etc.
The stairstep shutter set behind the table went to a new home today...
This little children's writing desk went out last week.
A sweet gal named Amy from Monroe, Wisconsin is the new lucky owner of the shabby chic bedroom set. She's so excited and that makes me very, very happy. I love it when things find the right home.
This kitchen cabinet had a cool old red linoleum top on it... who know's what life now has in store for it... bye bye :0)
This is going to be a cherry red wine storage refrigerator in a retro red kitchen in Iowa City... I wish I could see it finished!

This one had lots of possibilities... the new owners were sure excited about it!

Rediscovered art and beauty...

2011-03-11T17:05:00.000-08:00

I am a girl with a frame and print problem. I have hundreds of each and I bought a bunch more just Wednesday... my husband doesn't get it, but all of them deserve to be given a new chance at life. The frames come to life again with the paper and glass and a little TLC and the print is so vulnerable without the protection of the frame. I have magazine covers and scrapbook pages that someone long ago found worthy enough of saving... I feel a compulsion to help them. I especially love the ones that are a bit rough around the edges... frames and prints. They tell a story all their own... I hope you enjoy them...

A few of my framing projects from the last few days... most of them on the right side of the display are relating to little boys, many with a fishing theme... the ones on the right are dedicated to the ladies...
Wonderful old ad for Cosmos from a seed catalog... I repainted the frame and it turned out great... wonderful colors. Love the little girl with the "loving wishes" sign, too ...
Sweet little girl with her bunny toy... the frame is missing almost all of its original silver paint... love it!
This is an unusual bunny print... you can't see it in the photo, but it has some sort of Asian symbol or signature in the lower right hand corner... great orange accent color...
This is one of my favorites... a little girl at the beach... it's a print taken from a Mother Goose book... "Seaside"... I used the little pottery basket in front as a sand pail with the little red shovel... so sweet... the little creamy frame has a wonderful little blue border...

Did I mention that I love putting prints and frames together. I could lose myself for hours in my framing studio... in fact... I did just yesterday. Bobby texted me sometime after 5pm and asked if I was working late... I lost all track of time and was sad to have to leave my projects.

More spring views...

2011-03-10T17:31:00.000-08:00

It's been a great month so far at the shop. We'd certainly love to have more traffic, but those who are coming in are enjoying themselves and are finding treasures to take home with them. I spent today framing and fluffing the shop. I'm so excited to get to play with my favorite colors again. I'll try to get some pictures posted this weekend of some of the framing projects. There are some sweeties!!!

I finally got a good one of these... I've had several clothes pin holders over the years, but most of them are threadbare and faded... not this little sweet heart. She's in great shape. So fun to play with...
A great batch of hankies and Easter postcards... $2.00 each... can't beat it!
I like this Georgian Eggshell pattern of dishes, but I LOVE this little covered creamer in Harker's Cameo pattern... isn't it adorable?
I love these little hoop skirt dress forms... I have two sizes... I put a bunch of dresden plates on for a skirt and it's OH so YUMMY!

Ahhhhhh.... the colors of spring!

2011-03-08T16:59:00.000-08:00

These photos are of the front room at the shop that Bobby and I have been working on the last few days. We have another show coming up next weekend in Cedar Falls at the UNI-Dome so I'll be tearing it all apart again. For the time being I'm loving every little detail of the spring colors and florals. It makes me happy, happy, happy!!!

I love these Nippon pieces... the colors are wonderful! I filled the chipped cup with one of my yummy soy candles... recycling at it's prettiest!
Mmmmm hmmmmm.... more Nippon and pretty pastel colors... my absolute favorite time of year right now. This is the time of year that I make sense... what I do actually makes sense...
Pretty and delicate hand made and embroidered pillows...
More for the birds... Isn't the mixer cover yummy?
One of the set of pastel chairs... I'm having so much fun playing with these!
McCoy and other vintage planters and pottery pieces... the two big planters on the top shelf are new but are WONDERFUL... love the aqua color!

A cute little corner of the front room with a wash station and medicine cabinet...

"Just Ducky"... sweet little Easter and spring shelf...

More images from the show...

2011-03-07T18:53:00.000-08:00

My son came along to help his Grandpa and his mom with set-up... we wore him out...

Love this little green wicker table... only $129

Pottery and linens sold very well at the show... my bell jar with the eggs sold right off the bat...

I love these old wash tubs... this one is in great shape. It made for a fun display piece... I played with it all weekend long... and then I brought it back to the shop :0(

I needed an upholstered piece for the show... I've been storing this one in my front room at home for a while now... no one ever sits up there... I LOVE this fabric... Ralph Lauren

Rock Island, Illinois Antique Spectacular

2011-03-07T08:19:00.001-08:00

A few glimpses of our booth this past weekend in Rock Island... we sold well, but not as well as I had hoped. I still have most of the furniture. Very few furniture pieces sold for the entire show, so it wasn't just me. Traffic was good and everyone seemed to love the "spring" theme I was sporting.

Dad's ice cream sign lasted until Sunday... the "Cabins" sign was one of the first items to go...

Can't understand why no one snapped up this little white bookcase/shelf... it's fantastic...

Sweet little tablescape... of course, my favorite little tablecloth on the table went to a new home... :0( I didn't get to play with it long enough... same with the little pink cubbies under the sofa table... bye, bye

My husband took this picture... wish I wasn't in it...

Really, Bob... really? I just wanted a picture of the booth!

On the move to Rock Island Antique Spectacular!!!

2011-03-03T16:15:00.000-08:00

Here's a photo from our Rock Island booth a couple years ago... this time I'll have garden, spring, pastels, patio, Easter, and florals... Can you tell I'm ready for spring? Hope to see you all there!!!

Linens for the Antique Spectacular this weekend... ey,yey,yey... so much left to do!

2011-03-01T21:10:00.000-08:00

Linens for the show this weekend... I've been ironing tonight, too... I love linens, but they are so much work... I have a thousand linens waiting to be finished if I have one and I'm NOT lying!

Anybody want a job?

Love this one... going to make it a valance...

Pillows that need to be sewn/hemmed... will she get it done... YES... SHE... WILL!!! (I think)

Tablecloths, tablecloths, tablecloths... love these darn things... so many have issues, but I love to layer them with other linens... cover the spot or hole with a doily or some other fun linen... the possibilities are endless with linens!

2011-03-01T19:06:00.000-08:00

This chair really turned out sweet... vintage barkcloth and trim... we cussed again, but we got 'er done!

Just sharing some of the fruits of today's labors... Framing projects... love the ones of the little boy and the little girl with their puppies

Updated photo of the chairs...

2011-03-01T05:59:00.001-08:00

I bought some wonderful fabric from my beautiful and talented friend Amy ... FourSistersInACottage... yesterday. I've been struggling for days to find the right fabric for these chairs... well, that was it. I LOVE it... has a burlap look to it, but is a nice wool blend. I made a table runner to go with it and I'm very pleased with how they turned out. There were moments when Bob and I were cussing and cussing trying to get the fabric on... don't turn the chairs over... it's not so pretty :0)

I keep thinking how great these would look with the stencil look they do on burlap pillows... I found these pictures on the internet to share... maybe the new owner will be so inspired...

In process for Rock Island Antique Spectacular show...

2011-02-26T08:03:00.000-08:00

I've been working on several projects for our upcoming show at the QCCA Expo Center in Rock Island, Illinois... the show is next weekend, March 4th-6th. Visit Melting Pot Productions for show hours, admission costs, etc. It's a great show. Make sure to stop by our booth in the way back corner and introduce yourself and say hello. My daddy and I will be there...

This is one of a set of 4 chairs that I am painting and upholstering in pastels. 2 arm chairs are pink and green, 2 side chairs are yellow and blue... white upholstery... I hope I can do them justice as they are pretty fun chairs.
This was a sofa table that was in really sorry shape when Bobby started on it... He built the leg braces and put the shelf under it and then painted it white for me... there was a stain on the top that kept coming through, so I decoupaged this fantastic piece of old wall paper on the top. I love how it turned out. What do you think?
This is about the most solid wicker table I have ever worked with. It was a terrible bright yellow when we started painting it... now a perfect pastel green. I don't think it will last long.
We sold several small pieces of furniture in the last few days so I had to do a quick rearrange in the shop yesterday... This was the result in the 2nd room...

I love the style of this old iron bed...

Time to re-vamp and get ready for Spring at Polly Ann's!

2011-02-23T05:49:00.000-08:00

Well... we had a fantastic sale weekend and I'm so pleased! I'm already looking forward to next year. Our actually anniversary is in December, but that seems like a crazy time to have a "sale" with Christmas coming, so we moved our sale to February. This coming December will actually be our 20th anniversary, so I'm thinking we'll do an anniversary celebration before Christmas and have our 2nd annual "GET THIS OUTTA HERE" sale in February.

Although I didn't have as much success getting rid of some of the furniture pieces I had hoped to unload, I have holes to work with. I go tomorrow morning to pick up a load of treasures that I just purchased and will be working them into the shop Thursday afternoon and Friday. Some of the items will go straight to the Rock Island Antique Spectacular with me next weekend.

I'm looking forward to the show and having some fresh merchandise and a "blank canvas" to work with. I'm painting a set of chairs in varying pastel shades and am looking for just the right

fabric to tie my idea together... this month's Victoria magazine (pictured below) was my inspiration.

Everyone that knows me and/or know my shop knows that SPRING and pastels are what speak to me and motivate me. It was a longish winter, but now that spring is on the horizon, I'm running, running, running so that I won't be late for it's arrival.

The shop has already started transforming with bunnies and chicks, pots and planters poking up all over the place. I'll be getting more and more of it "springified" over then next few weeks.

I have some really fun smaller pieces and three larger cupboards that I will be getting to play with very soon. I can hardly wait!

Come join the fun at... Polly Ann's Antiques, 1 block east of the stoplight in historic Mount Vernon, Iowa... you won't be disappointed!

Fantastic first two days of our anniversary sale!

2011-02-19T16:03:00.001-08:00

Thank you, thank you, thank you! We had a fantastic first two days of our anniversary sale and, according to the gals that worked today, many of the customers are planning to come back tomorrow. We sold such a huge variety of stuff! I'll have a few nice, big holes to fill next week. I went shopping today and bought three new cupboards that I can't wait to play with.

These are a few of the things we've sold in the last few days that will be leaving sizable holes...

chimney cupboard... SOLD!!!

2 piece creamy white cabinet... SOLD!!!

sweet little blue metal desk... SOLD!!!

We still have a great variety of wonderful things left... I hope you'll all stop out tomorrow from 10-5 and check it out.

Have a great Saturday night!... Polly Ann

The messy front porch at Polly Ann's

2011-02-19T06:02:00.000-08:00

Nice long bench... a great look!
A wide variety of children's chairs! was $25, now 25% off!
This grey bench wants to come home with you and get a new bright paint job and be your potting bench... could be yours for like $30 (can't remember exactly how much I marked it down)
Another sweet kids chair... this one folds up, too... was $34, now 25% less than that~
This is a set of 4 metal ice cream chairs... they've been sitting outside all winter and their shabbiness is just screaming to be discovered. If they don't sell, I think they are going to get a good wire brushing, a nice spray of color and new seat covers... how about you come take them off my hands so you can make them just how you want them?
Here's another nice workbench that would be great in a kitchen or as a potting bench...
I can't believe this table is still around... was $110, now $75... it's the size of a harvest table, for cheap!
Wicker fernery... again... screaming for paint!
White wicker table... was $129, now $85
Another one... was $105, now $75... COME GET ME!!!

The second room at Polly Ann's... more great deals!

2011-02-19T05:17:00.000-08:00

Great buffet. Would be great as a TV stand or in a hallway. Tons of storage... was $259, now $200
Cute little victorian oak bookshelf...

A sweet little sized slant front desk... was $95, now $50... top lifts up for storage... a fun little work space... put a little brace in the lift top and level it off for a super functional side table.

I grabbed this metal cabinet the other day when I sold my oak breakfront and needed to fill in quick... was $75, now $55
The commode has a towel bar and is nice and sturdy... another candidate for pastel paint! It currently has a grain painted oak finish... most likely a maple underneath... was $189, now $150!

I love this comfy rocker... the reupholstered seat pops right out... I think if it doesn't sell, I'm going to paint is some pretty pastel color... Yummy!!!

Was $99.50, now $80... sturdy as heck!

This bench had a really rough arm that we filled, sanded and then painted... It could easily be painted to your liking... pink, perhaps? Now only $100
A fun storage box with a hint of red... great for a coffee table, toy chest or storage at the foot of the bed... was $69, now $55.
Round oak table with three leaves in refinished condition... can't remember what I marked it down to, but it's a great deal...

Bob just reglued the four chairs ... they aren't a perfect match, but they work together great! was $160, now $125...

More great anniversary sale deals from Polly Ann's...

2011-02-18T04:50:00.001-08:00

Beautiful, electrified Aladdin lamp... was $195, now $145

This primitive three drawer unit has nice deep drawers for tons of storage... was $95, now $75

Here's the 4 ft pew... was $229, now $195

This solid, heavy pine three drawer dresser is priced to sell... was $165, now $120

Set of 4 solid, shabby chairs was as good deal at $169, now unbelievable at $125

Bob just finished this sweet little cupboard... inspired by the old basement window he used for the door... on sale this weekend for $129... a perfect size

5 ft long Church pew... was $229, now $195

Perfect for an entry way to put on your shoes... even room to line them up underneath...

Also a 4 footer available

Great old workbench... was $439, now $375

Not sure why this beauty is still hanging around... was $359, now $310

This fun little table is only $40, each chair was $29, now $22

A sampling of sale prices at Polly Ann's...

2011-02-17T19:25:00.000-08:00

I'm having a big "get this outta here" anniversary sale this weekend at my store. You all should come and check it out and bring your friends and a truck!!! Here's just a sampling of some of the sale prices. All of my small items priced under $200 will be 25% off. Every dealer in the store is participating in one way or another, most discounting 15-20%... Daddy and I are going 25% off on our small items. Come and check it out... you won't be sorry!!!

4 red primitive chairs... was $119, now $85

Round oak table... split in top... was $145, now $110

sink and cabinet... was $300, now $240

Wainscot wardrobe... was $199, now $150

Neat old fridge... as found... was $189, now $140

Vintage Napanee kitchen cabinet... was $129, now $100

2 piece enamel top skinny Hoosier type cabinet... was $169, now $120

Fun kitchen base cabinet with red top... great storage... was $75, now $55

One of my favorites... was $429, now $329

Anniversary Sale at Polly Ann's... Photos

2011-02-16T20:18:00.000-08:00

Behind the chair is a matching full sized headboard with coordinating fabric... a guest room, perhaps?

What fun! Spring is coming... I'm tellin' ya... it'll be here before ya know it!

A different view of the white pew... It's so fun... pefect for an entry hall to take off/ put on your shoes or boots... just right!

Just when you walk in the door at Polly Ann's!

Bobby built this cabinet with the old basement window for a door as inspiration... PERFECT!

Coffee, tea or me?

I put together a bunch of spring colored and floral tablecloths on this display rack!

A fun little primitive table... a 4 ft. pew and four fun hoop back chairs... pink and green dishes,

to boot!

This is a 5 ft pew... I wonder what the sale price will be?

An awesome old workbench... all decked out with SPRING ideas!

Can't figure out why this pink legged harvest table hasn't gone home with someone yet... it's only $359...

I LOVE to set tables!

Inspirations for Valentine's Day at Polly Ann's...

2011-02-12T11:35:00.000-08:00

Check out this link to my facebook album... lots of fun ideas

Anniversary Sale next weekend at Polly Ann's!!!

2011-02-11T12:35:00.000-08:00

More to look forward to...

2011-02-11T05:34:00.000-08:00

More pictures from spring last year... I simply can't wait!

I hope I'm able to find more of these little tables and chairs to offer... check that... I'm GOING to find more of these little tables and chairs to offer... :0)... that's better, Pol!

I just love how shabby this set was... SOOO much fun to play with!

I've expanded my letter collection by the thousands and have a container for each letter so it's so easy to put together whatever you like. I have the racks, too!

Springtime, colorful dishes make me so very happy!

Fear not!... Spring is coming! ... it's already arriving at Polly Ann's

2011-02-08T11:46:00.000-08:00

SO... officially we have "booger freezing weather" here in Iowa today, BUT... I'm not worried! Why not? you ask... WELL... I've made it past the 1st of February, Valentine's Day is just around the corner, the sun is shining beautifully today and we've seen quite a bit of it lately. The days continue to get longer each and every day and I've got myself surrounded at the shop with pastels and florals in nearly every nook and cranny, corner and shelf! Best of all... it's supposed to reach well into the 30's and possibly even 40 over the weekend!

If you are worried about whether you are going to make it through, take a few moments to peruse the pictures below and on our website and close your eyes and feel the warmth of the bright sunshine. Better yet... stop by the shop and see all the pretty spring colors yourself and take home one of my hand-poured soy candles in our signature French Market scent and each time you walk past it and get a whiff of the wonderful springtime scent, you'll remember to "Fear not!... Spring is coming!"

Polly Ann's Antiques, February, 2011...

2011-02-02T09:29:00.000-08:00

Upholstery and Slip Covered Chairs

Beautiful bedroom set... it's waiting for a little girl to make it her own

My happy dishes section

Floral hankies and pretty floral plates... Blue Ridge too

Dutch kids hot pad holders

Pretty pillows

gnarly dishes...

can you tell I have a passion for pretty dishes?

Ironstone transferware

Can you say roses?

Vintage ladies hats...

Buttons, buttons, who's got the buttons?

Spring is coming!

A Valentine Tea Party!

Oh what fun! Tea anyone?

Wire display tree and fun little word ornaments... hand made by me :0)

will take custom orders...

A small sampling of the variety of letters we carry...

more valentines

vintage valentines

Passionate kisses candles in heart shaped containers... heavenly!

Polly Ann's Antiques, February, 2011...

2011-02-02T08:52:00.000-08:00

Here's a link to a ton of pictures of the shop... check it out! It's on Facebook, so I'm not sure everyone will be able to open it. I'll work on posting the pictures directly to by blog, but there are 47 of them... could take me a bit...

Polly Ann's, February, 2011

My husbands newest creation... already sold!

2011-01-25T05:34:00.000-08:00

This is what my honey created from some of the left over seats of the church pews... he's amazing! The set sold right away at the show in Anamosa last Sunday. He does such fantastic work... I wonder what he'll make next.

A very sweet bedroom set that needs to be painted... it could be wonderful!

Happy Winter Solstice!!!

2010-12-21T12:16:00.000-08:00

Soy Candles at Polly Ann's... 43 scents currently ready to go!

2010-12-15T08:30:00.001-08:00

Winter and food scents... holly berry...frost & snowdrops...country christmas...eucalyptus...cranberry balsam...sugar plums...kickin' hot cocoa...santa's sugar cookies...cinnamon sticks...peppermint pattie...pumpkin pie spice...banana nut bread...french vanilla...blueberry cobbler...cinnamon buns...creme brulee...creamy vanilla...oatmeal, milk and honey...chestnuts & brown sugar...sugar cookies...snickerdoodle...hot fudge brownies...southern home...wild berries...black cherry...fresh raspberry...fresh peach...

more scents...twigs & berries...best friends...fresh linen...butt naked...baby shampoo...indian summer...patchouli...monkey farts...passionate kisses...

when you're ready for a hint of spring try...spring rain...sweet pea...lilac blossom...hyacinth...tiger lily...lavendar...

and the very, very best scent in the entire world... our own signature french market

Prices range from $2.00 to $20 in a variety of containers... I try to use as many recycled containers as possible... it helps the environments and helps keep my costs down.

You won't be disappointed in a soy candle purchase from Polly Ann's

It's a Magical Night tonight at Polly Ann's!!!

2010-12-02T05:44:00.000-08:00

Christmas Open House and Hometown Holidays in Mount Vernon, Iowa

2010-11-28T10:36:00.000-08:00

Join us this Thursday evening for festivities and our Hometown Holidays celebration in Mount Vernon, Iowa... from now until New Years we'll have hot cocoa and goodies every day for all of our shoppers. We love this time of year at Polly Ann's...

More randomness...

2010-11-18T15:04:00.000-08:00

Random shots of Polly Ann's Antiques... downtown Mount Vernon, Iowa...one COOL small town...

2010-11-17T20:35:00.000-08:00

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

2010-11-11T16:57:00.000-08:00

Yummy harvest table in progress for this weekends Antique Spectacular at the QCCA Expo Center in Rock Island, Illinois

2010-11-02T17:10:00.000-07:00

So, I bought this great harvest table with awesome pink legs and apron last week at the Collector's Eye show at Hawkeye Down's in Cedar Rapids. It had "great bones" as the legs are solid oak and it has a nice drawer with glass pulls, BUT... it had a gnarly (not good gnarly) linoleum top on it. It was all dry and rotting and no one I know would have wanted to serve dinner to anyone on that top... SO...

...today I tore that gross top off of it, only to find another layer of linoleum covered by a piece of really tacky (dual meaning there) contact paper. Under the three layers was the usual felt paper backing that I had to use stripper to get off. I wish that would have been it, but it wasn't... there was this strange, thin layer that I have no idea about... it was a blue grid pattern on grey... it wasn't paper, it wasn't paint and no stripper I tried touched it... SO...

... I got out the good ol' trusty orbital sander with some heavy duty sand paper and I went to town... FOR THREE HOURS... sanding the darn thing. I haven't gone over the fine grained fir/southern yellow pine top with fine sandpaper yet... my arms are like noodles and I just couldn't do anymore today. It's coming, though... it's coming.

Look for me, the table and more great stuff at the Antique Spectacular this coming Friday night, Saturday and Sunday at the QCCA Expo Center in Rock Island, IL. Daddy and I will be there with all kinds of great finds. It's a really fun show with 70 dealers and we'll be in the way back corner, opposite the entrance.

COME SEE US and make sure you say hello and introduce yourself... see you there!

Halloween at the Blythe house...

2010-10-31T11:34:00.000-07:00

Lisa and Kiki donned their outfits last night for trick or treat night in our little burg... they posed completely impromptu for this photo. Little Kiki almost made me pee with her little rapper peace signs... too funny!

The sweetest little cake cover EVER!

2010-10-29T16:42:00.000-07:00

I absolutely LOVE this little cake cover. I paired it with a fantastic green chop plate that my dad had and I can hardly wait to unpack it at the Antique Spectacular next weekend in Rock Island. Oh so much fun!

Collector's Eye... A Success!!!

2010-10-27T06:26:00.000-07:00

The past weekend was a whirlwind for me, but we made it through with flying colors! The wedding was beautiful and my kids did a great job. We had a blast at the reception and made it up oh so early in the morning to go finish setting up for the show. It wasn't exactly as I would have liked it to be, but I think the booth looked pretty darn good for the amount of time I had to offer it. I didn't sell the big sorter piece, the breakfront or the rolling workbench piece, so I will still get the pleasure of playing with those items for a bit longer.
Next show... Melting Pot Productions' "Antique Spectacular" in Rock Island at the QCCA Expo Center next weekend, November 5-7, 2010. See y'all there!

Busy Day preparing for Collector's Eye set up tomorrow!

2010-10-22T06:05:00.000-07:00

Oh may, but it will be a full and busy, busy day today. The trailer is getting full...very full, but I know I can squeeze some more in there. I spent last night marking two huge baskets of textiles for the show. I've got some great stuff and am so excited to get to play with much of it for the first time. My good friend Amy from FourSistersInACottage is planning to come and help me set up as my beautiful niece, Erin, gets married tomorrow afternoon. We've got rehearsal and dinner tonight then tomorrow morning I'll have to get all my ducks in a row for ironing everyone's clothes and making sure the last minute stuff is done for the show, then set up starts at noon... for like two hours for me (HA), then home to get ready for the wedding, then wedding and reception, then an hour of two of sleep (HA #2) and then back to setting up. We'll see what miracles Amy can perform when we empty the trailer and let her loose. She's amazing and I'm looking so forward to working with her. Make sure to check out her website and her blog at

Well... off to it. Wish me luck in keeping my sanity this weekend. I'll be ready for some much needed R and R come Monday... no, wait... I get to work in the shop on Monday... make that R and R on Tuesday :0)

Me and my "little" boy...

Some better pictures of the sorter and such for the Collector's Eye and Midwest show...

2010-10-19T17:39:00.000-07:00

Loot for the Collector's Eye show this Sunday in Cedar Rapids...

2010-10-18T17:42:00.000-07:00

Just the pictures I happen to have of these few things I am planning to take to the show... Hard to see the sorter, but it's really cool. Not sure yet what I am going to put it on to display it, but I'm sure I'll figure something out. I LOVE the pumpkin color on the base of the workbench. Bobby got the stepback cupboard all varnished and is ready to put it back together.

Some fun vintage kitchen pieces from Polly Ann's!

2010-10-18T17:29:00.000-07:00

Even though it's fall... I still can't resist the pastels!

Love this little yellow cupboard... it was once part of a secretary desk. A wonderful size. Perfect for displaying this collection of forest green glassware from the 40's and 50's. LOVE IT!

What a fun old refrigerator! I would love to see it painted cherry red or '57 Chevy aqua... a real find!

Look what Bobby built for me. I had this old sink and ask my honey to build a cabinet for me. I think it turned out great! What do you think?

Don't faint... Collector's Eye Show

2010-10-13T05:49:00.000-07:00

Just wanting to check in and tell you all about our next show coming up on October 24th in Cedar Rapids...The Collector's Eye will be another awesome show this year. I've got a few things I'm really excited about bringing. I'm heading out this morning to put another coat of varnish on a great workbench/kitchen island piece on wheels. It's got a mahogany top and the back is painted a wonderful pumpkin color. I'm also working on refinishing a beautiful mixed woods step back cupboard. My most exciting piece is a 10 foot long divided feed store bin/sorter. It's missing a lot of it's original paint, but what's left is green and pumpkin colored. It would be so awesome in a quilt store filled with fat quarters. I soooooo wish that I had all sorts of vegetables, gourds, pumpkins, etc. that I could put in it. It would be fantastic at a farmers market like that. I should really call my friend at Bass Farms and see if she has a need for anything like that. It would be fantastic!!! I'll try to get a picture of it up today. My camera is pretty much toast, but my new phone should work.
Have a fantastic week... I'll be at the shop Wed, Thurs, Fri this week... yikes... that's today, better get moving!

Heading for Kane County this weekend!!!

2010-07-30T08:48:00.000-07:00

Bob and I are gearing up for a weekend together... at Kane County Flea Market... sleeping in the back of the truck and hanging out together. I've already decided that we are going to sell out. Maybe we won't even have to stay all day Sunday, cuz we will be out of stuff to sell. I'm going to take a bunch of odds and ends with concentrations of kitchen (my favorite), garden and vintage laundry.

I'm actually really excited about getting away for a day with my honey. It's been a long summer with the kids. It's hard to have a conversation without one of our kids calling or settling a fight or having to run someone here or there. We're hoping to actually be able to relax a little.

Hope to see some of you there...

Flower Garden Explosion!

2010-07-08T15:51:00.000-07:00

My original name for this room was... "the flower garden threw up!", but my much wiser, older sister had a better name... "Flower Garden Explosion!" A perfect name for the 4th of July Antiques Extravaganza we had this past weekend. The room sold very well and was quite well received. Almost everything in the room had a flower on it somewhere. One little girl walked in with her grandma and said... "look Grandma, it's just like a tea party!" I took that as a good sign.

July 4th at Polly Ann's...

2010-07-07T05:01:00.000-07:00

More pictures and details to come...

My most wonderful ebay find EVER!!! Mount Vernon, Iowa mini jug

2010-05-18T17:28:00.000-07:00

I bought this little beauty on ebay last week and I am so very excited about it. I have a Lisbon, Iowa beater jar and a pitcher from Jennie's Grocery in Mount Vernon, and a Lisbon, Iowa bowl from Stahl's Store (same as the beater jar). I feel very priviledged to have found these items and am so grateful to the gal who put the mini jug on ebay.

Thank you Sierra!!!!

What a find!!!

2010-04-24T15:16:00.001-07:00

I bought this wonderful little crock on ebay this morning. I have a big collection of "Polly" items and just a few "Polly Ann" items. This one will be a treasure right up there with my vintage book titled "Polly and Bob". I can't wait to get it in the mail and put it with my local stoneware advertising pieces. It's just perfect for me. I'm a lucky, lucky girl!!!

I didn't even get to play with it... :0(

2010-04-19T18:55:00.000-07:00

I bought this wonderful, vintage bamboo patio set this morning on a quick run to Cedar Rapids... got lots of great goodies... and I brought it back to the shop with no where to put it, so I plopped her in the driveway at the shop. The first folks sat and said they wished they had their room done, the second van slowed down, parked, got out and inspected closer and loaded her up. Wish it happened like that every day!

Great stuff at the shop right now, you really should stop by!

Wow, what a show!

2010-04-13T18:55:00.000-07:00

I guess you could say I cam as close to selling out as I ever have at a show... furniture-wise, anyway! We showed up at the show with a full truck, full trailer and full jeep and we left with two pieces to deliver in the truck and a couple things in the trailer. The jeep was empty and Bob was a little nervous about how things were going to ride in the trailer since things were packed so loosely. We sold all of our big pieces and I can not tell you how relieved I was about that as I honestly didn't know where I was going to put them if I had to bring them home. The shop is jam packed... with awesome stuff, of course, the workshop is full of projects and the garage at home has a tiny little path to walk through. What a relief to not have to be worrying about where it was all going to go.

I'm so excited about this season for antiquing. Shoppers have been out in full force and most of them are quite discerning and are looking for the best deal they can find. We're fortunate that we sort of specialize in affordable, functional things that have great character. Just about anyone can walk into our booth at a show or to our shop and find something wonderful and useful that they can easily afford. So many people commented about how reasonable our prices were at the show. Two women actually came up to me and thanked me for my reasonable prices. They said "we can really shop here".

I have to admit that sometimes my prices tend to creep up a bit. It's a supply and demand thing, just like so many things. I am pleased to say that right now is NOT one of those times. I have plenty of supply and am thankful that the demand is good, too. The turnover at the shop is good and I am really enjoying getting to "play house" and rearrange when there are holes to fill in.

Well, my kids are at it again... time to go crack the whip... later
Polly

Collector's Eye Preview

2010-04-10T19:06:00.001-07:00

Heading out the door...

2010-04-10T08:57:00.000-07:00

Bob, Robbie, Kiki and the truck and trailer just pulled away heading into Cedar Rapids to Hawkeye Downs to start setting up our booth for The Collector's Eye Antique Show... Runs Sunday (tomorrow) from 10am to 4pm.
I have the best load of stuff I've had in a long time for this show and I'm really excited about the potential that it has. It's a bit different from what I normally do, but I think I'll be able to put a few "Polly" touches on it and hopefully it will sell like crazy.

Come see us tomorrow and spread the word!!!

Quilts and a camelback...

2010-04-05T18:01:00.001-07:00

Bob and I went to an auction on Saturday and had a BLAST! We filled the trailer and the truck again and brought home a big ole' load of goodies... among them were this nice camelback sofa, a matching victorian walnut chair done in a mauve velvet that is really in nice shape, and these three quilts. I'm in love with the one that is soft pinks and greens. I think I'll have to find a place at home where I can enjoy that one for a while. The purple background double wedding ring one is in really nice shape, too. It's hand pieced and machine quilted as is the other one... anyone know the pattern name for the one with the cream background? It has appliqued blocks and has blanket stitching around the circles. It's an unusual one and I don't think it has ever been used either.
I'm hoping to get more pictures taken tomorrow and Wednesday. I'll post them when I can.

Friday morning I made a trip down to The Junk Asylum to get started creating my booth there. I haven't had great luck as a dealer elsewhere in the past as I'm not very good at getting there to service my booths. I'm excited about this one and am challenging myself to do a good job for Lorie and make it a profitable experience. She certainly gets good traffic, so if I'm not successful, I'll know that it is my fault and not hers. I got all of the furniture set and took a few linens and smalls, but I've got to take a load of smalls down on Wednesday.

Tomorrow my friend Conni and I are going to spend the day together to celebrate her birthday... a long overdue celebration, as her birthday was February 18th!!! Yikes! I have absolutely no business not working tomorrow, but I have put this off so many times and I just can't do it again. She's such a great friend and a huge help to me at the shop and with keeping me sane when my life gets crazy.

I've got a really busy end of the week as our set up is Saturday at noon for the Collector's Eye show. I have some really fun things that I want to take... in fact, the list I have is making me dizzy. There is no way that I can get all the cool stuff in that I want to take. I'm going to try to take the cream of the crop and make it a huge success of a show for me. Wish me luck. I'll be working in the shop on Thursday and will be cleaning and pricing new stuff that I don't get to after I get back from Lorie's on Wednesday. Friday will be devoted to getting loaded for the show and tying up loose ends with all my other craziness.

I'm exhausted and heading to bed early tonight. Look for more pictures in the next couple days, or, better yet, stop by the shop and the show this weekend and check it all out in person! If you do that, please make sure you introduce yourself to me!

Make it a good one... Polly

Milestones...

2010-03-31T20:27:00.000-07:00

Some of you may know this, and some of you may not, but a little over three years ago, I weighed in at my first Weight Watcher's meeting at 204lbs. (207 was my personal high, not pregnant). Tonight I weighed in at 145lbs. I wore a size 6 jeans to dinner tonight, but most of the time I am still wearing 8's. It was a true milestone for me. I'm tootin' my own horn here, but have to admit that I am really, really proud of myself. I've been working really hard and am wearing sizes smaller than I ever wore in high school. I feel good and I even think I look okay. :0) Today was a good day!

Tag sale mania!!!

2010-03-28T14:44:00.000-07:00

Barb {simplyiowa} stopped by Friday morning and let me ride shot gun with her to a tag sale in Davenport. I had NO idea what I had gotten myself into, but OH MY I'm so glad I did! We didn't get to the sale until after noon and we heard that there were over 200 people in line when it opened. It was a huge mansion on Brady Street in Davenport and the Free family had a photography studio there for nearly a century. There was so much interesting stuff. I bought and I bought and I bought. Each time I came back around toward the check out area, the ladies would say... "are you still here?" I was there for hours and hours, awed and mesmerized. Barb and I both found tons of wonderful treasures. She filled her truck and needed to come back for more. I knew in the first five minutes after we arrived that Bob and I would be coming back tomorrow with the truck and a trailer. Barb ended up having to come back again as well. We came back Saturday morning, trailer in tow, after hitting the Sharpless garage sale outside of West Branch on the way down. I found some great buys on small items there and was really happy with our little side trip. Kiki even got 4 new pair of shoes in the deal including a really cute little pair of cowgirl boots!
We got back to the sale about 10am on Saturday and pulled out around 3pm after making countless trips up and down winding stairs to the attic and basement... attic and basement... attic and basement! Bob wasn't so sure about it when we first got there, but he got into it quickly and started getting excited about some of my purchases. We were covered in 100 years of dust, dirt and grime and my hands still won't come clean from all the fine dirt that got into the dry wrinkles and crevises around my cuticles and work worn hands.
I hope you enjoy the pictures... they are all of the items where they sat in the house, unretouched photos, if you may! I can't wait to work on them and get them cleaned up and displayed. If you see something you might be interested in, just let me know.

Springtime decor...

2010-03-22T18:54:00.001-07:00

I just love the springy colors in this display. There is something about the beautiful, cornflower blue that just makes me wish I had more blue things to put in my shop right now. I think the next trip out I'll be on the hunt. They say that blue is making a comeback. I've always shied away from blue a bit because I had this little subconscious thing going on... my mom used to say that "she already went through her blue phase". I guess I figured everyone else had, too. I have always like the blues that weren't quite such true blues. The aquas and robin's eggs, the baby blue and, well, the cornflower blue. I have never been much for the darker colors at all... I'm a pastel girl, through and through. I did one chair's upholstery in navy blue and just didn't have any fun playing with it. I never gave it another try.

more upholstery...

2010-03-22T18:46:00.000-07:00

Springtime decor...

2010-03-22T18:22:00.000-07:00

For the sweet photographer with the little baby girl...

2010-03-22T17:57:00.000-07:00

Had a sweet gal in my shop today with her mom and her little baby girl. She's a photographer and was looking for some upholstered pieces to possibly use for staging photos. I told her that four pieces went out the door in the last couple of weeks. I've got two more at the upholsterers now, but they won't be ready for a bit yet. It sounds like she's looking for something a little bit edgy... I told her to check out my blog and my website to see the kinds of things I have done in the past. I'm going to post a couple pictures here for her just in case she doesn't find them on my site. {I hope you find something that will clue me in to what you are looking for... just let me know}.

Auction goodies and more...

2010-03-15T15:52:00.000-07:00

I've had a busy few days here in Iowa. I went to an auction on Saturday... it was the first one I have been to in over a year. Bob dropped me off and hung around to look at a little furniture. He ended up staying for a bit, just long enough to fill the truck once and then he headed home with the load. I stayed and bought some more. I called him and told him he better bring the trailer back when came to get me. We filled the trailer and the truck again. I spent over $1300, but I didn't think that was too bad for two trucks and a trailer full. I mostly bought furniture, but also got some fun small items to use as well. It seems that furniture is easier to buy at auctions than small stuff. I am one who waits until the end and buys the leftovers and tries to pass them off as fantastic stuff by the way I put them together.

I worked at the shop on Sunday and was able to get the front room swapped out. I sold my bring green wainscot cupboard on Saturday and I had Bob and Robbie load it up and deliver it Sunday afternoon. My green couch and chair set wasn't moving, so I called a lady who had been looking at it and made her a really good deal and they loaded that up when they got back from delivering the cupboard and they delivered it to her today. This gave me lots of room to play in the front room. I set up a bed and brought in a small table and chairs and a commode. I rearranged the area where I used to have baby stuff and filled it with lots of ironstone and muted colors. I also put my big cubby hole rack in there and did a display with my candles. I have a ways to go with the final touches, but it turned out pretty good.

At the auction we bought a great sized oak table that is only 36" x 42" without the leaves, but has 7 leaves and stretches to almost 10 feet when they are all it there. It has 6 legs, too, so it is nice and solid. We bought a nice walnut dresser with hanky drawers, another maple dresser with a mirror that I have to clean up yet. A great shabby chic dresser that has been out in the barn for a while. It will be a fun one to play with. I bought three little corner shelves, a sweet little green cupboard that I am going to take with me to the UNI Dome this weekend and two old sets of post office boxes with the keyed fronts on them.

I worked at the shop again today and managed to get a lot of the small items from the auction marked and tried to tidy up a bit. We were busy with people early in the day, but I didn't have many this afternoon as it was so beautiful here. I came home to my littlest one riding her bike in a tank top and shorts... She came riding down the street from the neighbor's when I pulled in the driveway and didn't have her training wheels on (she's 6). I looked at her a bit perplexed and asked her when she learned to ride without training wheels. She smiled, shrugged her shoulders and said... "today". Bob came home and she was riding the neighbor girl's bike without training wheels and she asked him to take hers off of her bike. She's an independent one, to say the least!

I'll try to get more pictures taken soon. Enjoy!

Spring came early at the Expo Center in Rock Island last weekend at the Antiques Spectacular!...

2010-03-08T17:49:00.000-08:00

We had a really good show in Rock Island this past weekend. We sold a lot of stuff, but most of it was priced under $20. There was a record crowd and our booth was very well received. We've got another show coming up at the UNI-Dome in a little more than a week. I don't have such a huge booth there and it always makes me nervous when I am pulling things to take and I don't have furniture items to know what sort of display I'm going to do. Hopefully it will all come together nicely and we can have another great showing.
Anyone planning to be at the UNI-Dome show? What should I bring?

Fun with letters at the show...

2010-03-08T17:42:00.000-08:00

Time to load up the trailer tomorrow... Rock Island Antique Spectacular this weekend!!!

2010-03-03T19:27:00.000-08:00

We've been feverishly working to get ready for our show this weekend. I'm really getting excited about it. We did the show in Anamosa in January, but I have a pretty small booth there and it is hard to "show my stuff". Rock Island is a bit different. I have a big booth and love to set up little room settings. I don't have as much in upholstered furniture that I would like to take, as my couch and chair that won't seem to sell have already been there.
I'm planning a nursery display and have lots of vintage baby clothing, knick knacks, prints, blankets, dolls, bonnets and other toys that I can't wait to play with. I painted a baby blue wardrobe that I got just last Sunday and we wainscotted the sides. I think it will be adorable all decked out for a nursery. Bob painted another little cupboard today that is turning out so cute... it was a homemade gun cabinet that someone started trying to strip... it just needed paint, not stripped. We took out the insides, added shelves and a divided glass front on the door and it is so sweet... only a little over a foot wide, about five feet tall and has a great little storage drawer at the bottom. I'm so eager to do a display in it. We are painting it magnolia white, so it could be used in just about any room... the perfect little display case!!!
I'm just about exhausted, so I'm heading up to be for tonight. I'll try to get a few more pictures on tomorrow.
Come see me in Rock Island!!!

The finished display...

2010-03-03T19:25:00.000-08:00

Here's a couple of pictures of the wardrobe. I have to rub down the glossiness of the crown we did, but I think it turned out pretty good. I'd love to hear what you think...

I need motivation!!!

2010-02-25T15:37:00.000-08:00

I finally sold my fireplace mantle last week! February in Iowa has taken it's toll on my motivation. The mantle is the first significant piece I've sold this month... that's sort of typical of February, but not this bad. I finally have a blank wall that I can do something with. I've been bringing things into the shop, but nothing has been going out and that makes it really difficult for me to do my thing. I'm looking so forward to bringing up a big wardrobe out of the workshop tomorrow. I spent part of the day today trying to match some really old painting techniques on this wardrobe. It is missing its crown and Bob cut a new one and I tried to make it look better than it did without one. I still have a few more steps before it's finished... hopefully I can get it done quickly in the morning and Bob can haul it upstairs for me to play with. These are a couple of before pictures... I tried to make the crown match the mottled look on the door panels. I know it won't look perfect, but hopefully it will be a step in the right direction. I'll try to post a picture or two of the finished display when I get it done.

A few fun fotos from fabulous Polly Ann's...

2010-02-16T17:18:00.000-08:00

A sweet little bunny sleeping peacefully in the children's area...

The coolest yellow floral painted kitchen set...

What a beautiful pitcher & bowl...

The things I love surrounding me...

2010-02-06T07:03:00.000-08:00

I know, I know... I've been a bad blogger. Bob and I finally repainted the family room and kitchen area. We're going to start work on the front rooms today... our "formal" living and dining rooms. All this really means in that these are the rooms that we don't use very often... the rooms that get piled with stuff to keep it out of the way in our living space. I could fill hundreds of these rooms. Alas, today is cleaning day and that means tough work and decisions to be made about what to do with things. I have some wonderful things in those two rooms that just needs to find a home, but there is no room at the inn, so to speak, in this house... no real room at the shop right now either, which is why it all just continues to sit there. I have three shows coming up in March, so I'm hoping to get some of the items priced to take to the show. Then we can box them and put them in the trailer to "wait" for us to get to them some more. I'll try to snap a few "before" pictures before we start our little cleaning and painting project (that will likely grow into a very large and unfun cleaning and painting project before long). I'll share as we get a little further into it (that means when I need a break from cleaning and painting :0))

These are the "after" pictures of our family room. I redid my mantle after it sat empty after I cleared off the Christmas display. I decided to use some of my very favorite things. This display is a pretty good representation of "me"... Polly Ann Blythe is really just a little girl who likes to dream and wants to be creative, but finds it difficult to follow through on her intentions.

Hope you like the pictures.

Two of my very favorite painted plaques. I love the colors. The one that has the glare is of wonderful hollyhocks. By son collects chalk banks and this is one of my favorites from his collection. The little "made in Japan" doll speaks right to my heart and the little pointed feedsack ornament thingy is truly one of my very favorite things that I own. It embodies so many things that I love... all the colors and prints in the 1930's fabrics... the detail of the blanket stitching... the fact that someone took the time to make it and keep it all these years until it found a home with someone who loves it as much as its original creator. Then we have a little motto print... I love these things. The little dog is a pin cushion and is a representative member of a growing collection of pin cushions.

I bought this little house bookend/doorstop from my good friend Daryl. It ranks right up there with the little ornament thingy on the other side of the mantle. I WILL live in a little cottage like that one day. I'm going to have an arched doorway and the flowering vines climbing and the white picket fence and everything. I AM!!! The little cottage print tray is yet another representation of a bigger collection. I'm really into houses, I've discovered. My mother was in real estate and she, too, "collected" houses. I used to love to go to her open houses and critique each property. It was a nice common ground for us and now that she is gone I find myself missing that relationship. She always valued my opinions and often would call me when she was putting an ad in the paper for a certain property and needed my help with a description.
I love the little clown... he's a string holder and hangs from yet another, hand-made, crafty item, a pot holder holder. (I love saying that). The little girl with the bonnet hot pad needs a safety pin and she'll get hung up too... such a big chore, but I can't seem to get er dun! The pink feather tree is new, but is so very sweet and since pink and green are definately my most favorite combination EVER, I decided to put it up against the green ("Lettuce Alone" colored) walls. The little boy is wooden and an is a hat stand with a "pocket" in the back for a brush. He speaks to me too! You can also see another one of my cottage prints in the picture. That is the one that I bought at Barb's () fall sale. I LOVE it!

Maud Hallyer prints, cottage plates and plates with hollyhocks... what could be better. I love the thatched cottage roof on the bigger picture. Looking at that wall always makes me smile.

A close up of my "someday" retirement home...

My collection of matte McCoy pottery sitting atop my mother's kitchen cupboard, surrounding yet another cottage print. I love the subtleness of the colors of matte McCoy. One of the little shoes (the lavendar one) always sat on the back of my grandparents toilet... my grandma is 100 years old!

My husband collects R.A. Fox prints. For Christmas this year he bought me a "Fox" cottage print... the best of both worlds. Although the majority of his collection is in our bed & breakfast area in our lower level, we brought up a couple of garden prints to display with my new cottage print. I absolutely love the colors in these pictures against the green walls. Green goes with just about everything and makes me happy, to boot!

By the way... it was my husband's idea to paint. I am hosting my Bunco group this month and he, yes HE, decided that the house needed a bit of sprucing up before the big Bunco day... I wasn't going to argue. He's motivated and I'm determined to be there with the cattle prod to keep him going. He's a keeper, for sure!!!!

(Big sigh!!!)... what a week!

2010-01-24T16:29:00.000-08:00

This picture is of nothing that pertains to this post, but I think posts are sometimes really boring without a picture... so here's a picture!

I sure haven't been a very good blogger these past few weeks. I saw a fun gal named Shirley, who follows my blog, at the Anamosa show today and she said she didn't expect to see me there, because she hadn't read about it on my blog. I can't believe I didn't get around to putting a post on about the show I was doing today! What an air-head I am!!! So, I did the show in Anamosa today. I have to be honest, I didn't put my best foot forward for this show. I've done it a few times in the past and had a lot of fun at it, but it was always just a convenient show to do... not one that I saw a lot of monetary potential in. Boy was that a stupid way for me to be thinking. The show was fantastic and there was a TON of traffic. I, on the other hand, was unprepared. I didn't bring anything great (other than the two wonderful pine tables my honey got ready for this show). I just took "stuff"... some fun stuff, but mostly just stuff. I've been really distracted this past week and simply didn't give it enough time or effort. I apologize to those of you that saw my "stuff" at the show. It looked cute and all, but it just wasn't what I should have done. My apologies to all who attended.
BUT... there was a good reason for my distraction, I assure you! I started a new book early last week. My sister loaned it to me and had told me little of nothing other than there was a tough part I would have to get through and that it was very much worth reading. Well... she was right! The name of the book is "The Shack" and it was INCREDIBLE to say the least. I was completely distracted by reading it and more often, contemplating it. I finished it Friday night and have continued mulling it all over in my mind ever since. I don't want to tell anyone anything about it other than what my sister told me. There is a tough part you have to get through and that it is a really great book. You all MUST read it!
So, that is my excuse for being a bad blogger this past week. I will do my best to be better this week! I have much to share, so stay tuned!

Fun was had by all!!!

2010-01-15T12:54:00.000-08:00

Barb and I had a great time on our little {14 hour!} road trip yesterday. I told her that if she could survive a 12+ hour day with me, she could do just about anything. We found some fun things at a tag sale in Davenport... when they made announcements before the sale, the sale staff apologized for the condition of the house and said that they had at least upgraded it from "disgusting to EEEWWW!" They weren't kidding... it was EEEWWW!
We stopped at several antique shops and consignment stores and went to Coal Valley and then up to the new shop in Parkview called the Junk Asylum. We had a lot of fun there! You can check that out on Sharon from Sweet Repose's blog at {sweetrepose}

We had dinner in DeWitt and sweet Sarah joined us for a cocktail and took us on a wonderful tour of her home. She and Matt are so sweet and have so many wonderful treasures. I even recognized a few things she got from me. I walked in the door and the smell of Polly Anns' Signature Scent candles tickled my nose and brought a huge smile to my face. It makes all the difference to someone like me to know that someone appreciates something they purchased from me or my store. Thanks for loving my candles, Sarah!

It's off to another basketball game for me and mine tonight (hubby coaches my son's freshman ball team). Wish us luck!!! Go Mustangs!!!

Excited for a day trip with Barb!

2010-01-13T20:08:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited! Tomorrow morning Barb {simplyiowa} is picking me up to head out for a little day trip... just the two of us. I am a lucky gal to get to have her all to myself for the day! I'll let you know what we find!

Valentine's Day is fast approaching...

2010-01-10T13:37:00.000-08:00

I modified my red and jade-ite green Christmas cupboard display for Valentine's. Red is such a motivating color for me... always happy, always energizing. Between getting to play with my beloved pink things and this lively red display last week, I felt a new energy that I'm hoping will help push me through until spring. This week I'm making it a goal to weed through my vintage Valentine collection. I absolutely love the colors and sweet little characters that enliven the adorable valentines of the 1930's through the 1950's. There seems to be something about almost all of them that speaks to me enough that I just can't part with many of them. I'll try to pick out a few of my favorites to share with you this week... but there are so many favorites I may just have to pick some random ones to share.
I hope you enjoy the pictures...

Quotable plates...

2010-01-08T16:01:00.000-08:00

I love making these plates. A fun way to take a plain little plate and make it something special.

"love"... "create"

"my favorite place is in your hug"

"you never really leave a place you love- you take a part of it with you, leaving a part of you behind"

"Love is not two people gazing at each other, but rather two people looking in the same direction."..."Grandma's are just antique little girls"

"There's no place like home"

My "tickled pink" pictures...

2010-01-07T15:35:00.000-08:00

I promised pictures of my pink display... I had sooooo much fun playing with the pink stuff again. I need pink to keep me motivated. I love so many colors, but the dark colors of fall just don't make me sing. Pink and all the colors of spring make me so much happier and I have so much more fun playing with those colors. I seem to surround myself with pastels and primary colors.

Tickled PINK!

2010-01-02T09:14:00.000-08:00

Phew! We had a wonderful holiday, but I am so glad to be getting things back to "normal" in my world. After Christmas the family spent three nights at a local hotel celebrating family and birthdays, swimming, lounging, hot tubbing, eating, drinking and playing euchre. We had so much fun. Then it was back to work for me. We had a fantastic Christmas season at the shop {thank you to all my customers reading this!} I spent the day on Thursday, New Year's Eve, "de-Christmas-izing" the shop. I sold a lot this year, but bought a lot, too so I had some serious work to do. Got 'er done and then went out for an amazing dinner at Granite City with my honey and our kids. I decided to open New Year's Day, yesterday. We haven't been open for New Year's Day for several years, but I wanted to get the shop spruced up for Saturday, so I decided to open as long as I was there working. People had to put up with my messes, but I had a wonderful group come in... a couple from Mount Vernon brought in some visiting friends from California. The young lady is a photographer and has two little ones, a girl and a boy, both toddlers, and she appreciates vintage children's things... she came to the right place. I think they had a good time. They made the day worth while by themselves, but we had other brave solds weathering the cold temperatures (today it was -15 when I took my husband and son to their basketball scrimmage... the car started, then died and I was needing the Jeep so I had to take them out early in the cold... aargh!!!) The day ended up fantastic and I got so much done at the shop. I think it looks great... got some Valentines Day decorating done and am SO INCREDIBLY HAPPY to be playing with pink things again!!! I even stopped a customer and told them just how happy I was to be doing a PINK display. I'll be good from here on out... I get to look forward to spring and working with the colors and textures I love. Fall and DARK are so hard for me... I don't do so well with that look. The shop feels HAPPY to me again and that makes all the differerence for me.
I'll try to get pictures posted tomorrow or Monday {kids go back to school on Monday and I'll have a much better shot}! Until then... HERE'S TO PINK! Cheers!

Trio of Treasures!

2009-12-21T19:35:00.000-08:00

I couldn't believe my luck when I found this little stuffed doll! She has the most angelic little face and has her original tag. She is a music box, but she got wound a little too tight somewhere along the line as she just clicks when I turn the base. I had a similar doll in pink {pictured below} that was not a music box. I had her in the shop FOREVER and she sold about a month ago... bummer, I would have loved to have had the pair of them. I will certainly have to keep this little sweetheart for a while. She's just so, well, "Polly"!

This old bear is a true gem. I just want to sit and listen to all the stories he could tell. He has obviously been well loved by all of his previous owners and I must admit... I priced him so that he and I might have a chance to get to know each other better. I'm still trying to decide if there might be a place for him to hang out at my house. For now, he'll greet you when you walk in the door at the shop. I'm smitten with him!

This Santa is so sweet. He stand about 30" tall and was screaming for me to take him home. His beard is starting to crumble a bit {I wonder if I couldn't try hairspraying it?} but he still has a lot of life left in him. As a kid we had one of these a couple feet taller when my parents ran our local grocery store. My dad says it was from the 60's and was part of a 7-up promotion. When my sister walked into the shop the other day, she instantly was drawn to this Santa and said "Why is he so familiar?" She and another sister came over tonight and dad told us that we indeed did have one of these growing up. Happy memories...

My dad and two of my sisters came over tonight. My dad had brought a batch of homemade caramel corn with him to the shop for our open house last week and we all went ga ga over it. I invited them all over for dinner and asked him if he would show us how to make it. Well, four hours later, we have these three HUGE bowls of homemade caramel corn to show for our labors. I was pouring the caramel over the popcorn on the first batch and bumped my arm into a wooden spoon full of some very HOT caramel. I couldn't drop the pan, so I just stood there going "hot, hot, hot!" My sister grabbed a towel to at least wipe the boiling semi-liquid off. I have a nice little blister on my arm, but it will be just fine. Well worth it! It is sooooo yummy.

Two of my very favorite artists...

2009-12-17T18:46:00.000-08:00

Charles Twelvetrees! His work is amazing. My little "Pudgy Polly" girl I use in most of my logo artwork is a Twelvetrees character. His characters scream to me and in my head each of them are a character in a story. I have an entire room in my store that I call "Pudgy's Place"... I like to imagine that Pudgy lives there. This little guy reminds me of a kid who lives on a farm and doesn't have friends close by, but loves music so much that he will do whatever it takes to make music. Isn't he sweet?

Chiara Ann Blythe! Her work is amazing, too. Don't you love the little beard she put on Santa? She's six and a half now and never ceases to amaze me with her talents. I have piles and piles of my kids' artwork. I wish I was better at letting it go so my kids could create all the time. I am always more concerned with the mess they are going to make, so I say no far more often than I say yes when they want to do a project. Maybe that should be one of my resolutions for next year... to let them create and just close my eyes 'til it's over and then clean up the mess. They always make such wonderful things.

The anniversary sale was a success!!!

2009-12-13T15:44:00.000-08:00

A huge thank you to everyone who came to support us during our anniversary sale. We had a wonderful few days and I feel so blessed to have such wonderful customers. I didn't get to be there for the whole things, but I need to thank Sarah and Matt {especially for the great hug, Sarah}, Daryl and Colleen {I didn't get to see these two wonderful people, but they came, they shopped and most importantly, they brought me chocolate truffles!!!}, Cindy {sorry I missed you}, Kathy {who stopped and shopped twice!}, Dorothy and her family who I was so very excited to see... there are so many more, but these I can recall off the top of my head.
My daddy was such a huge help and is such a wonderful guy. He's my biggest fan and I am so very blessed that he and I got a second chance as adults to be the wonderful friends that we are today.

I love my daddy so much!!!

Butter Pats for Connie May in Texas!

2009-12-10T15:21:00.001-08:00

Thanks for your inquiry and thanks even more for checking out my blog! Here's what we've got Connie... you can email me or call my cell at 319-270-0449 if you see anything you are interested in. A few have some damage or staining and are a little cheaper. Most are $3-$4 and the flow blue one is $12.50. I have others that are just solid creamy white.
Have a great weekend! Polly