Putting Together a Store

Hello! You saw my sign in the last post... I didn't mean to keep it a secret, but have been really busy. Anyway. Way back when I first started this blog, one of my first posts was a visit to a nearby furniture consignment store. I had been going there for years as both a customer and a consignor. One day, in February, when I went into the store I found out they were closing because the property they were at had been sold. Instead of reopening, the owners decided to Do.  Something.  Different.

 No.  Good.  I was at a point where my kids are growing up and leaving home and was looking for something to do.  I had interviewed at a couple of places...  This opportunity was too good to be true.  The owners were willing to sell their name, expertise, etc.  After talking with Darling Husband (and kids), we decide this was worth pursuing and doing! 

I had to find a space.  I've seen a couple of blogs lately that have found a cute space in a downtown looking area.  I'm in a basic (older) strip mall that has a lot of good foot traffic and a couple of the businesses have been there a long time, there are other consignment stores nearby.  I'm right next to one that's been there since the 1980s.  (Before consignment was cool!)  It is in an area that I, and presumably lots of other women, have to traverse frequently. 

Per the former owners' advice, I looked for a place with about twice as much square footage.  So my place is 2900 sq. ft. and consists of two units that I opened up to one another.

Consign DeZigns was on its way to being reborn!

I had some help painting!  A friend and Six-Foot Chick worked on the gold wall.  Fun-Sized Chick worked on the grey.  I did most of the green myself.  Darling Husband cut in near the ceiling for me.  I was working with a sprained ankle (with a boot and brace), so couldn't go up and down ladders.  (You may notice that in one of the units I inherited some "lovely" flooring!)

As a paint side note:  Budget, budget, budget was on my mind all of the time.  I went to my local Porter Paint store (where I purchase my Ben. Moore) to see if they had any 5 gal. OOPS paint--YES!  They did!  The warm grey was purchased as it was.  The gold and green they graciously tinted for me.  The price??????  The gold and green cost me $20 each, the grey cost me $30--for 5 GALLONS!  I checked with the other big box stores and they didn't even have 5 gal. oops paint! 

A wall was put up at the back of the main unit so I would have an office and receiving area.  The owner of the building installed double doors in the back for receiving large pieces of furniture.  (I actually like receiving all furniture back there, since it's easier than worrying about fitting through the single door.)

Because of the cheap price and (supposed) ease of installation, I chose plank vinyl.  It was not as easy to install as you may think!  Darling Husband, Six-Foot Chick and I worked on it one Saturday for 6 hours and made no progress.  Blessedly, a handy friend at church asked me how it was going the next day, when I told her our problems, she and her husband helped me for a couple of evenings in a row and we got it mostly all done.  When they weren't there, I plugged along by myself (I didn't wear my boot if I was doing floor work).  (I look like a Lone Ranger, but I assure you, I'm not!)  The trick to this was getting it started off right.  After that, it wasn't so bad--but you had to know the right way to line it up and snap it in.  Knee pads and gloves--essential!

Lastly, and these photos are not good, but you'll get the idea.  An old, funky, dated laminate reception desk came with the deal.  (The former wooden one was sold before the owners knew I was buying the place.)  Again, being budget minded,  I purchased wood trim and applied it with liquid nails.

Then, I painted the entire thing out with homemade chalk paint, using the grey wall color (and Plaster of Paris using Sherry's recipe).  It's not my dream desk, but it's so much better and will "do" until I can become profitable enough to get another one. 

Framing and Backlighting Lucite Art

This blog post brought to you on behalf of, "I couldn't find the info anywhere else."  I am happy to share this with you.  I looked high and low over the internet and couldn't find anything that was helpful.  Enter the knowledgeable salesman from Lowe's who helped me come up with this solution.

To start out with, I had a Lucite sign I wanted to frame and backlight.  From the new business I purchased!!!  The former owner had it mounted flat to the wall with a fabric swagged over it, then with a gold frame around it.

 The materials I used were:

• Lucite sign
• 1" x 2" boards
• Corner molding (See photo, I'm not sure the "real" name of it.)
• Lights by Mosaic flexible lights (I purchased an 8' kit.)  I found a 4' kit at Lowe's, but it was a better deal to order them on line.
• Two sets of corner brackets
• Wood glue
• Your choice of mounting brackets--I used two D-rings.
• Wood medallions (Optional, I needed to cover pre-existing holes.)
• Black spray paint
• Rub 'N Buff (Optional)
• Miter saw
• Drill 
• Mosaic strip lights*

In Step 1. I had measured and cut my 1" x 3"s to the size of the Lucite (The Lucite will sit ON TOP of the frame so measure and cut to the ACTUAL size of the Lucite.)  Notice, the 1" side will go toward the Lucite.  Spray paint (or brush) your frame.  Step 2, fasten the sides together.  I used corner brackets on both the front and back (I'm sure there are other ways to do this.)  Step 3, I used a wood drill bit to make a hole for the cord to come out on the middle of the bottom board.  In Steps 4 and 5, the corner piece was cut to fit over the top of the 1" x 3" frame.  In Step 6, you can see the space that was used to sandwich the Lucite in between.  In photos 4-6 the Lucite is already on the 1" x 3" frame.  Paint your upper frame pieces.  With the Lucite in place, attach your corner pieces to the sides of the 1" x 3"s with wood glue and clamps.  You can see the previous holes in the Lucite in photos 4-6, those were covered with small wooden medallions attached with hot glue and painted black with gold Rub 'N Buff added.  Add mounting brackets to the back of your "art".

The lights were simple to add.  They have adhesive tape on one side, so all you need to do is peel off the tape and add to the back of your sign.  In my case, I had four 2-foot strips that I connected in a diamond pattern to the back of my logo.  The cord comes down through the bottom.  The lights come with their own remote control, so you can set them to a particular color, or have them fade out, etc.  In my case, I could run the actual power cord through the wall instead of having it hang down--which I may do in the future.  I used the Mosaic lights instead of rope lights because they were lighter and I could attach them directly to the Lucite.

I think it came out very cool (Sorry, I don't have a photo without me in it!).  Best of luck if you do this on your own!

  

Paris Themed Party Games

Hello and Happy Spring! There are many of Paris-themed party and shower ideas on the Internet, I wanted to add my 2¢ worth, since I thought some of the ideas were worth sharing.  Recently, Fun-Sized Chick had her 14th Birthday party.  Here's a rundown of what we did.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Invitations:  I was going to order customized photo invitations from Etsy, but the date of her party kept changing, so I took matters into my own hands. I think we got a really cute result.

We purchased a beret and Paris themed scarf from eBay.  A friend went outside and shot a few photos.  I then used Picasa to add the party details.  They were printed within an hour at our local Walgreens.

Games:

Paris Bingo - I used landmarks, etc., and hand drew individual bingo cards.   They were topped off with a pink Paris stamp (which didn't scan).  When I called each symbol out, I had the explanation/history (copied and pasted from Wikipedia, mostly) that I briefly told the girls, i.e., a brief sentence or two on Marie Antoinette (1st picture, 3rd row down).

Pin the Beret on the Birthday girl - I sent one of the photos from the invitation shoot to Staples.  (You can do it through copy and print, choose an engineering print.)  We ordered the 24" x 36" size, at $3.49 and used sticky tack to adhere it to the wall.  We cut out pink and white berets before the party and the girls tried to stick the beret on Fun-Sized Chicks head.

Clothespin Butterflies - The girls made butterflies by folding a 3" x 5" index card in half, then cutting out a butterfly body.  Then they used markers and colored pencils and made their own creations.  Most of the girls made more than one butterfly.  The butterflies were then hot glued to clothespins.

Butterflies on the Eiffel Tower -

The girls added them to the Eiffel Tower (This wasn't a game, per se, but an activity.)

I cut out the Eiffel Tower using my jig saw and a thin piece of wood that was lying around the garage.  I tried to measure everything out, but ended up kind of free-handing the template as you can tell, if you look closely, that it's not really symmetrical.  Artsy Chick did all of the intricate painting.

Lastly, we did a "photo booth".  Nothing new here...Fun-Sized Chick made the lips, moustaches and eyeglasses.  We used an empty frame I had around.

I didn't go all-out, eye candy decorating, but I hung pom poms on the chandy and kept to pink/black/white accessories.  And, we finally conquered the cupcake icing!  All this time we've been experimenting and have had flat icing.  I Googled a recipe and found one that worked perfectly from Taste of Home.

Fun-Sized Chick made all of the picks using our die cutter and Paris-themed stamps (found at JoAnns, they are Fiskars, 12 Simple Stick, Paris motif), she also piped all of the frosting.

There was a lollipop bouquet that was part of the centerpiece.  I used the Tim Holtz Tattered Flower die.  I have made this before doing all freehand flowers, seen HERE.

Lastly, Treat Bags - We used plain white lunch bags, used rubber stamps on them, filled them with nail polish and candy that was part of the centerpiece, and the girls were able to clip them shut with their butterfly clothespins.

Thanks for stopping in, I hope I've inspired you!

 

Christmas Home 2012

Hi all!  I wanted to pop in and show you my Christmas decor this year.  I'm really rusty at posts, so please bare with me.  I'm adding blues to my living room, so it's looking nice and fresh to me.

 

I almost, almost, donated the Santa to the thrift store.  The wreath is just refaced with blues and Martha Stewart owls--Tip:  The ribbon was from florals, not the Christmas section at JoAnns.

You have not seen this trumeau.  It's done in chalk paint, and although it's been up since summer time, I haven't waxed it yet--oy!

One of my favorite new aquisitions, a jewelry holder from Target, festooned to resemble a Christmas tree.

Similar to what I've had here in the past--another NEWBIE--dark brown paint on the wall.  Vintage ornaments from the thrift store are in the glass vase.

Although, homemade tool boxes are all the rage, I broke down and purchased one (I know, "Gasp!", right?) from Home Goods.

For those of you who have hung out here before, you may notice that we've moved into the family room area.  This is my favorite new display this year--ornaments in  BIRD CAGE!  I got this idea either from a magazine or online this year, I forget.

This area suffered a little since I was getting ready for a party and ran out of time--there is now an oversized bow draping the boxes.  I'm going to make a note to make up wrapped gifts for the sleight next year.  This sleigh has been tucked away for who-knows-how-long? in a box in the garage marked "linen closet" that I opened up this summer to see what on earth was in it.  It was all Christmas decor.  The deer were a new purchase from Lowes.

I just love this little set up. I was going to give the sleigh basket away as a door prize, but found this little deer at Home Goods and used oversized candy canes for the runners.

I didn't mean for this post to be an ongoing commericial for Christmas products--I just wanted to let you in on my freshening up of the house.  Coming next...

This is a sneak-peek of my tree topper (hint:  Made from a sliced off oatmeal canister!).  The tree has been redone in blues, and since I didn't want to spend much, I hand made almost all of the ornaments.  I'm really excited to share one, in particular, with you, as I think you'll be able to use it for your own homes in the future.  Another hint:  I used the last of the coffee sack I won from Marty long ago!