Sunday, December 23, 2012

Summer Cottage Antiques in Petaluma

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The book signing that my husband and I attended was held at
I love the old town of Petaluma, so it was easy to head down there and for it to also be in one of my favorite antique stores was a bonus!  I will share some of what I saw while I was there.

Here is Miss Mustard Seed  doing a little shopping herself!

This space belongs to my friend Julie.  I love her beachy style.

Spools of vintage ribbon all lined up so pretty.

Pretty old seltzer bottles.

I loved these wooden spools in the bucket.

If you are in the area and need Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, they carry it at Summer Cottage.

I can't resist a dress form.

A glass aquarium  full of metal letters.

This dresser was done in Miss Mustard Seeds Milk Paint .
I like how the mirror reflects the paint.

What an awesome cabinet!

And once again here is Michelle and I.  She is the owner of Summer Cottage Antiques.  She is so sweet, go visit her store!

Terry (one of the bricoleurs)


Monday, December 17, 2012

Miss Mustard Seed Book Signing

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Last week on December 11, my husband and I had the opportunity to go to a book signing at
Marian a.k.a. Miss Mustard Seed
 was signing her new book
We traveled part way down the evening before and the next day hit a few shops before the book signing.

You might be asking why I would travel almost two hours to meet Marian.  Well, about 3 years ago I was introduced to her blog by a friend.  I have followed Marian's journey of building her business.  Her story and projects were very inspiring to me.  I was interested in starting my own blog but was a little overwhelmed at the thought.  I wrote to her a few times and she very kindly answered back, encouraging me to go ahead and do it.  She told me all I needed was a few pretty photos and a brief sentence or two, and that it would help to grow my business.  So when I heard that she was coming to Ca. and not too far away from us, I was anxious to go.  It was also nice to meet and visit with fellow bloggers.

Here we are together in front of a display selling her line of Milk Paint.

Marian with Gen from Gracefully Worn  who stocks the Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint at Summer Cottage.

Michelle (owner of Summer Cottage ) & I.


Even the husbands enjoyed visiting with each other telling fish stories and sharing building tips.  This is Jeff, Marian's husband and my husband, Danny.

And finally, here is Marian, signing my book.  If you have not had the chance to purchase your copy, I highly recommend it.  It is full of beautiful photos of Marian's home, tutorials and words of wisdom.

Thank You Gen and Michelle for hosting the book signing.  Thank You Marian for all the inspiration.  Thank You Maria and Kate for your blogging examples.  It was so good to meet many others that night, including a few (Michelle & Maria) who are where I was a few years ago and want to start their own blogs and businesses. If I can do it, anyone can. 
And Thank You Danny, my wonderful husband and business partner for the chance to work together every single day!

After almost 2 years of writing my own blog and owning our own store for a year, we are so happy to be able to be following our dream.  Please visit us on our Facebook page and like us there, Follow us here on the blog and come see us at our store,
The Vintage Bricoleur
3750 Taylor Road
Loomis, Ca 95650
Inside the High Hand  fruit sheds.

Soon I will share some photos of the beautiful store Summer Cottage Antiques in Petaluma.

Terry (one of the bricoleurs)


Thursday, December 13, 2012

More of the TVB Anniversary

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This has been such a busy month!  
With the One Year Anniversary, The Sacramento Antique Faire, busy days at the store as people prepare for the holiday and meeting Miss Mustard Seed in person.  
All in the first 10 days of the month!
But...
First things first, I want to share the rest of the photos from the Anniversary Celebration.






Our T-shirts are now available in the store. 
 Are you a bricoleur?  You might need one of these.


The front of our little store, people in-and-out all weekend long.












This is just a sampling of what we had available over the Anniversary weekend.  Many of the items here have found new homes.  
Thank you all for supporting us this past year.

3750 Taylor Road
Loomis, Ca 95650
Inside the High Hand fruit sheds.

Next up...

Terry (one of the bricoleurs)




Sunday, December 9, 2012

A Small Mantle Finished in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

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This is the story of a Small Mantle.
 
A few months back as I was planning what I wanted for our Winter displays, I asked for a small mantle.  Something that looked vintage.  It just seemed that we needed one to complete the space in the store.  The other bricoleur assured me that it would be no problem to create one.  Well time went by and other custom orders were being completed and I still did not have the mantle.  By this time the first day of the celebration was approaching very fast. (like in two days)  He told me that he had started it but I did not see how it could be done in time.  So I started to think up a new display idea.


 
 
Well to make a long story short, The evening before the celebration, after we had been at the store for over 12 hours, we went home and finished it!  It really didn't take too long.  I sat on a stool while the other bricoleur worked away.  It took me back to the days when we were first married and we would stay up late in the garage building and creating things.

 
 
After it was built we took it inside to paint. (yes inside)  We laid out a tarp and painted away with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint - Old White. (The paint is very low VOC.) Now, this is another reason why I love this paint.  We did NOT sand or prime this piece.  We were also working with different wood surfaces.  Some had already been painted, some was raw and some stained.  It took only a few minutes to cover it.
 

  The next morning, we distressed it with some sandpaper and then gave it a coat of Clear Wax.  After a good buffing it was ready to go! 
We moved it into the space planned for it and opened the store doors about 30 minutes later!!!

 
So the piont of my story is, for one:
 I am married to a very capable and talented bricoleur. :)  He was sure of himself in knowing that it would not take too long to complete.  It turned out exactly how I had asked for it to be.
and two:
once again the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint was awesome!  By using it, it allowed us to complete a project very fast with beautiful results.

  
Also,
if YOU have a project that needs to be built, a custom order, a cabinet, shelf, farm table or mantle ;), contact us.  Danny (the other bricoleur) is very talented in creating just what you want.  Many times he uses reclaimed lumber, or wood that has been salvalged from an old barn.
 
And,
we sell the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint here in our store.  We carry paint, waxes, brushes, books, and offer classes.
Next Class, January 15,
Beginning 11-1:30
Intermediate 2-4.
 
3750 Taylor Road
Loomis, Ca 95650
Inside the High Hand fruit sheds.

Terry (one of the bricoleurs)


Wednesday, December 5, 2012

The Vintage Bricoleur is One

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The Vintage Bricoleur is One.
  We celebrated our Anniversary last wekend with 20% off most items in the store, some great Giveaways, refreshments and fun visiting.
 
I am still working on editing the photos from my big camera, but I wanted to share some random shots from my iphone.

French wire shelf hanging just outside the door.

We always have a chalkboard with the definition of "bricoleur" displayed somewhere.  Here is one hanging over a vintage chest done in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint - Old White.

 Here the mantle that  Danny and I were working on up to the last minute.  I love the way it turned out. I will share more about how we created it soon.

The vintage newspaper books didn't last long.  This was a fun display.  It has many layers.  As items sold we just made adjustments to it.
 
There were lots of pretty winter decorations.

This adorable little snowman found a new home.

Snowshoes, tree globe, red table scrarf, paper mache snowman, and snowball candle.
  I love it all!
 
 Headbands and necklaces from Bombshell Betty Shop.

These are some of her leather cuffs. 
 I love mine!
 
Sparkly tree topper.

Scrabble ornaments and a "Let It Snow" hoop.
 
Vintage sheet music wrapped boxes.

Paper flower gift tags.
 
It you notice, most of the items are handcrafted and repurposed items.  We try to carry that theme throughout the store.  Everyone was so creative!  Sheet music, game pieces, hoops, buttons, hardware, leather, sewing notions and burlap were all used.
 
The back of our T-shirts. 
 Available now in the store.
 
 
Thank you for your support this past year.  It has been a good year and we are looking forward to the next one!  Come visit us.
 
3750 Taylor Road
Loomis, Ca 95650
Inside the High Hand fruit sheds.
 
Follow us on Facebook.
 
Terry (one of the bricoleurs)