I am loving having a booth at the Hamilton Antique Mall. Every day, I wonder how many people pass by. I would love to know what is going through each person's mind when they wander through and see our products for sale. Do they see where they could put the offerings in their own homes? I know when I see things I love, I ask myself, "where does this belong in my life"? 

I am always thinking about the next stage in my life and where I want to be and what I want to have in my home, garden and community. For my husband and I, our next move is related to our retirement. I see my new home with mostly repurposed and handmade furniture. We'll be living in a VERY rural area, so I'll want to up-cycle as much as possible. I see things like what are in our booth to put in our home to enjoy for many, many years to come. Here is one example of things I love. The hutch on the bottom is a perfect coffee bar station that I can put pretty much anywhere - a guest room, a games room or an office. The small end table can go in the living room, a bedroom or basement TV room. We really strive to ensure our products can serve multiple purposes in a home. 

I can see everything here in more than one room our a home. How about you?

Vintage Cedar Chest Makeover

I am so happy with the way this cedar chest makeover turned out. I used a number of chalk and mineral paint colours (Dixie Belle Cobalt Blue and Kudzu, as well as Annie Sloan Provence and blended them. I have to be honest, I was really worried about how bold these colours were and how they would blend together. I have never done a project this "out there" before. I chose the colours based on the peacock transfer from Prima Re-design. I had a heck of a time finding the perfect transfer to use so this sat in my hubby's work shop (aka the garage) for a while. 

Here is the chest open. It has a lovely additional box on the left side for smaller items. 

This photo and the next one are the sides of the chest and I decided to add a smaller peacock beneath the handles. The quality of these photos isn't the greatest - sorry about that!

 

I really tried to capture the vibrant peacocks so decided to have the lightest colours in the centre. I took a risk with the cobalt blue on the top and bottom of the chest. All of the You Tube videos I watched started with one colour at the top and ended with a different colour on the bottom. 

Here is the whole chest. I sealed it with Annie Sloan Clear Wax.

When I picked up the chest, it was locked and I was told there was no key. There was something inside but I initially couldn't open it. I had a feeling that MDH (My Dearest Husband) would be able to MacGyver this open for me.  He did and guess what was inside? Yup, you guessed it, the KEY! I have noticed that most vintage cedar chests don't have a key any longer. 

Here is the before:

I'd love to know what you think of this. I love it, but I could be a little biased. 

Such Exciting Times for Champagne Shabby!

We may have been quiet as mice, but we've never stopped playing with our paints.  In fact, we decided at the beginning of the month to take a booth at the Hamilton Antique Mall!  We're so happy to be able to share our goodies with you in one place, so be sure to visit us on the Lower Level, Booth 01C.  

We're just thrilled with the response, and have been back to restock a few times now with pretty pieces we're really proud of.  We want to bring to you beautiful handcrafted and repurposed home decor items to enhance your home.  Let us know what you’re looking for so we can be sure to keep our eyes out.

Donna and Veronica