Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Summer has flown by!

Three months have flown by since our spring Friends of a Feather sales event and it's been two months since I have posted on our Friends of a Feather blog.  I have been enjoying my sweet grandson Max and anticipating the birth of my new little granddaughter and time has just gotten away from me!  You can see that this little guy could be a little distracting...in a very good way!! 


Though we are not planning a Fall Sales Event at my home, a couple of my Friends of a Feather and I are still collecting some wonderful things to repurpose or to sell at our next gathering ~ we will keep you posted when our next Friends of a Feather gathering will be... 

Until then, you can find unique and primitive finds, repurposed and refinished furniture in Cheryl's quaint little store on Santa Fe Drive in old downtown Overland Park called Now & Then.  

Nicole is the artful master at refinishing and repurposing furniture.  She makes an old piece of furniture breathe new life again in a very nostalgic way.  She sells her one-of-a-kind pieces in Cheryl's store.



We headed South from Kansas City...took two cars and two routes...Mom and I in one car, Cheryl, Helen and Nicole in another...Mom and I meandered along our route stopping and taking photos of flowers and other things that piqued our interest as we passed by. We love old worn structures that remind us of days gone by. This old school house was a beauty...





 As Mom and I were enjoying our route...the other girls on the other hand, who left earlier than we did, and took an alternate route, ended up with a flat tire...and had to wait for AAA to rescue them and take them to the nearest town with a Walmart to get it fixed!  All they wanted to do was to get some where to start digging for unique and wonderful treasures!!! 


Finally, we met up at one of our planned destinations, and after several stops that were almost a complete bust...which is so disheartening when you have money to spend and you are just itching to find that perfect something...we eventually found this amazing antique store!


All of us Friends of a Feather LOVE primitives...and this store was chalked full of wonderful finds at excellent prices.  We all piled up our found treasures in preparation to take them home with us!




 We are all cubby horders...Nicole found this green beauty that she has to keep for herself!



 Helen and Cheryl both have short hair...Nicole found a wig in the antique store that had a similar style...so she couldn't resist putting it on...the Three Musketeers!!  We were rolling with laughter!


You know when you go antiquing and find things that you just LOVE and you get the wonderful feeling of attachment and excitement...ok...we were wetting our pants...needless to say...we were on Cloud 9!


The woman who owned the primitive antique store directed us to a pole barn full of unique architectural pieces that could be used for repurposing into some amazing one-of-a-kind pieces...



 Old doors...who doesn't love them?  
The blue paint on the one we found is scrumptious...


We are all anxious to find another road less traveled soon...to build our inventory of great finds to share with all of you other Friends of a Feather out there!!

Monday, June 14, 2010

Little Houses Collage - Friends of a Feather - Creative Retreat

Mom and I hosted a 
Friends of a Feather ~  Creative Retreat 
this past Sunday.  The gals who joined us got busy right away preparing their frames before deciding what theme they wanted to make their "Little Houses Collage."


The possibilities are endless...I have an enormous collection of inspiring pieces of art to use in a project of this kind.  Everyone was enjoying "playing" with ideas...coming up with the perfect choice for them!


Each of the girls had the choice to add a few special embellishments 
to truly make it their own...using buttons, lace, 
bingo markers, old rulers, scrabble pieces...
Amy added some additional layers to her little houses.
Jennifer decided to use Paris themed art...with memories of 
her trip to Europe with her husband last summer 2009...
~ ~ ~
Mary and Debbie are two friends who joined us to share in the 
creativity...they enjoyed their girl-time making something together.
  
Everyone who participates in a Creative Retreat is given a 
"Friends of a Feather"
~ Friendship Token ~
For this retreat we made little tags to give the girls...
just a little something extra to take home with them!
As the girls finished their projects, we served little cheesecakes with 
fresh berries, almonds, raspberry tea and coffee...delicious!
You can sign up for our newsletter at the bottom of this blog...
so you won't miss our next Creative Retreat!

Monday, June 7, 2010

Friends of a Feather - Our Spring Gathering of Like-Minded Souls...

I apologize for the delay in posting about the Friends of a Feather sale...My husband Brian and I left town after the sale with our immediate family to renew our wedding vows in the mountains of Colorado - May 31st was our 30th Anniversary...so happy!!

Anyway... our Friends of a Feather Spring sale was an enormous hit...again...thanks to all of those who stopped by to shop our antiques, repurposed items, and our handmades...to enjoy lunch...to share in the friendship of like-minded souls...

We expanded our selling area into my garden courtyard where we featured wonderful iron garden gates, bird baths, stepping stones, stained glass garden ornaments and flower plantings in unique containers.
We created a "Handmade Boutique" in my vintage home for our featured artisans to display their unique treasures for all to enjoy and purchase.

Always a baked goodie to enjoy on hand!


There were wonderful items to choose from that came from several new "Friends" as well as the old, that we displayed on the driveway...we had originally reserved a big pole tent that was put up on the lawn...but, due to the rain the day before the sale, the yard was a bit soggy...so we opted to put everything on dry land!
 





My husband Brian is always ready to dish up a lunch that he prepared for anyone who needs a little nourishment!
A brother and sister enjoying a snack on the little rocker that was for sale...waiting for mommy to finish up her shopping...
Thanks to my sister Cara and my Aunt Carol from Boise, to help keep the sales "ringing."
From right to left: My sister Cara...Mom...Aunt Carol...Me (Lauri)...my niece Alexandra.
I can't forget to mention my newest little customer...my new grandson Max!  
He came to see what Grama Lolli's sale was all about!