On Wednesday evening, before the Strawberry Patch Barn Sale began on Thursday....things were just a bit crazy. The books were delivered, just in the nick of time, that night...
Rolls and rolls of ribbon were required for embellishing...
The all occasion note cards...
had been packaged with shrink wrap, and they needed accompanying little envelopes...much counting...and then more ribbons...
At this point, I was getting quite excited and pleased with the results. But goodness, it was a late night, running on adrenaline, wrapping ribbon around Eliza recipe card sets, hoping everything would be ready ...and then....oh dear, a price list....I needed to make a price list... Tim said I couldn't just give everything away... which he knows all too well, I would have...
Of course, no sleep was to be had...even though my body was in the bed...my mind was not!
The car and the U Haul were packed and loaded and we made the hour and a half drive out to the middle of nowhere...the most beautiful spot I had ever spied..in the middle of nowhere. Rolling hills....with cows grazing peacefully... a beautiful pond...and a large open air hay barn. In my mind, I wondered who would come to a sale...all the way out here....
I had no idea the number of women, dressed in all sorts of cuteness, who would converge on this vintage market barn sale!
We began the set up...it reminded me of last June, moving into our tiny cottage. Where would everything go? We had a 12 x 12 booth. After taking a moment to catch my breath and focus...I remembered what our Tia (Xavier's mommy) had told me the night before, in my frantic state, "Christie, everything will be wonderful. I know you. It will be perfect." She was, of course, using my own words against me...I reminded her of this...and she laughed..."Yes, I know!"
I looked up and saw this sign...
That was MY name under THOSE words... had to pinch myself...goodness gracious...
So this is what we came up with in the hour and a half before the sale began..
The antique display case was filled with props I had used in my artwork for the greeting cards and the books...
The teakettle...
The teapot (pictured on the tea table in the Eliza book) and Anne of Green Gables (2 of my Greeting Cards have Anne Shirley quotes)
The ancient telephone
A is for Annabelle by Tasha Tudor, a yellow ware bowl that had belonged to our dear Tasha, the balls of yarn Xavier loves to "fool with", the hand-dyed silk ribbon, and Grammy's sewing basket...it's all there...
And this is what it looked like ...all together...
A few vignettes on top of the display case....
It was so windy...Tim said, "You better tuck Eliza in somewhere safe or she'll be blowing out into the field with the cows!" She had been sitting atop her jar of Tasha Tudor's Spring Bouquet Moisturizing Cream..now she was tucked safely in her daybed;)
That morning, I had stopped in at the antique store William Powell, in Franklin to pick up my purchase of the most darling circa 1800's doll buggy, that is illustrated in my book The Fox Family of Franklin (a whimsical tale of our storybook town) ....it is the perfect display for the sweet books...
It will also be perfect for my Annabelle doll, created by Sheryl Williams, for it is very much like the doll buggy pictured in the A is for Annabelle book, by Tasha Tudor. We were so tickled to find this treasure right here in our home town.
I also came upon another sweet find in the days preceding the barn sale...a woven bassinet, so very
similar to the one I had painted for my baby cards...it made the perfect display, as well...
The gate to our antique fencing (that was being installed while we were away) made the perfect place to clip my greeting cards...with old-fashioned clothespins.... Tim has the best ideas, and I was so grateful to have him with me. I needed an objective pair of eyes, to see things I was missing...and to give suggestions as each day started, afresh.
Mother and Dad brought the vase of gorgeous (Purple Wellie shade) iris to match the display at the opening of our booth...
I knew sweet Natalie at the Rookery and Ramblings would be so excited to see our beloved wellies:))
...and you would not believe how many gals asked if they were for sale! I kept telling folks..."you don't understand...those wellies are FAMOUS!" Oh we had so much fun!
Here is the booth...ready to receive guests...into Grammy's House...
You can see the Hoosier cabinet filled with Eliza Mouse-Making Kits, and Old Gal sporting my Rose Water Pink Tasha Tudor cottage shawl. The fan atop the Hoosier....that kept Grammy from suffering horribly through the many many hot flashes...had many folks asking its price. Grammy said no amount would be enough... for she would not survive without it!
The last day, there was no wind...just bright sunshine...all....day....long...along with 85 or so degrees...whew...we were melting! But again, we were having so much fun...it didn't matter...
The Tasha Tudor type wheelbarrow held the baskets of books and Eliza recipe cards....
and Eliza's little cottage door...
We made so many friends, caught up with old friends, laughed until our sides hurt, sold books and kits to Gigi's, Neenee's, Ya-Ya's, Mama Jo's...the most loving gals. ....gave to those who couldn't afford... witnessed the child-like heart of a 70 year old woman, who still loves her baby dolls, have her wish come true...traded the pants I was wearing with a woman who was going on a cruise to celebrate 30 years of marriage...(the truest version of the sisterhood of the traveling pants:)
and felt more blessed when we pulled away than when we had pulled in...that, my friends, is a successful barn sale!
The rest of the weekend, if you can believe, got even better.... but that post will have to wait... as this one has been long enough, for one sitting.
Have a wonderful day, dear kindreds,
Christie
P.S. A dear sister-in-law is coming this evening to help us get our Amazon storefront up and running so you, my dears, might order some of these goodies yourselves:) Keep your fingers crossed and say a prayer for this technologically challenged Grammy!
Rolls and rolls of ribbon were required for embellishing...
The all occasion note cards...
had been packaged with shrink wrap, and they needed accompanying little envelopes...much counting...and then more ribbons...
At this point, I was getting quite excited and pleased with the results. But goodness, it was a late night, running on adrenaline, wrapping ribbon around Eliza recipe card sets, hoping everything would be ready ...and then....oh dear, a price list....I needed to make a price list... Tim said I couldn't just give everything away... which he knows all too well, I would have...
Of course, no sleep was to be had...even though my body was in the bed...my mind was not!
The car and the U Haul were packed and loaded and we made the hour and a half drive out to the middle of nowhere...the most beautiful spot I had ever spied..in the middle of nowhere. Rolling hills....with cows grazing peacefully... a beautiful pond...and a large open air hay barn. In my mind, I wondered who would come to a sale...all the way out here....
I had no idea the number of women, dressed in all sorts of cuteness, who would converge on this vintage market barn sale!
We began the set up...it reminded me of last June, moving into our tiny cottage. Where would everything go? We had a 12 x 12 booth. After taking a moment to catch my breath and focus...I remembered what our Tia (Xavier's mommy) had told me the night before, in my frantic state, "Christie, everything will be wonderful. I know you. It will be perfect." She was, of course, using my own words against me...I reminded her of this...and she laughed..."Yes, I know!"
I looked up and saw this sign...
That was MY name under THOSE words... had to pinch myself...goodness gracious...
So this is what we came up with in the hour and a half before the sale began..
The antique display case was filled with props I had used in my artwork for the greeting cards and the books...
The teakettle...
The teapot (pictured on the tea table in the Eliza book) and Anne of Green Gables (2 of my Greeting Cards have Anne Shirley quotes)
A is for Annabelle by Tasha Tudor, a yellow ware bowl that had belonged to our dear Tasha, the balls of yarn Xavier loves to "fool with", the hand-dyed silk ribbon, and Grammy's sewing basket...it's all there...
And this is what it looked like ...all together...
A few vignettes on top of the display case....
It was so windy...Tim said, "You better tuck Eliza in somewhere safe or she'll be blowing out into the field with the cows!" She had been sitting atop her jar of Tasha Tudor's Spring Bouquet Moisturizing Cream..now she was tucked safely in her daybed;)
That morning, I had stopped in at the antique store William Powell, in Franklin to pick up my purchase of the most darling circa 1800's doll buggy, that is illustrated in my book The Fox Family of Franklin (a whimsical tale of our storybook town) ....it is the perfect display for the sweet books...
It will also be perfect for my Annabelle doll, created by Sheryl Williams, for it is very much like the doll buggy pictured in the A is for Annabelle book, by Tasha Tudor. We were so tickled to find this treasure right here in our home town.
I also came upon another sweet find in the days preceding the barn sale...a woven bassinet, so very
similar to the one I had painted for my baby cards...it made the perfect display, as well...
The gate to our antique fencing (that was being installed while we were away) made the perfect place to clip my greeting cards...with old-fashioned clothespins.... Tim has the best ideas, and I was so grateful to have him with me. I needed an objective pair of eyes, to see things I was missing...and to give suggestions as each day started, afresh.
Mother and Dad brought the vase of gorgeous (Purple Wellie shade) iris to match the display at the opening of our booth...
I knew sweet Natalie at the Rookery and Ramblings would be so excited to see our beloved wellies:))
...and you would not believe how many gals asked if they were for sale! I kept telling folks..."you don't understand...those wellies are FAMOUS!" Oh we had so much fun!
Here is the booth...ready to receive guests...into Grammy's House...
The last day, there was no wind...just bright sunshine...all....day....long...along with 85 or so degrees...whew...we were melting! But again, we were having so much fun...it didn't matter...
The Tasha Tudor type wheelbarrow held the baskets of books and Eliza recipe cards....
and Eliza's little cottage door...
We made so many friends, caught up with old friends, laughed until our sides hurt, sold books and kits to Gigi's, Neenee's, Ya-Ya's, Mama Jo's...the most loving gals. ....gave to those who couldn't afford... witnessed the child-like heart of a 70 year old woman, who still loves her baby dolls, have her wish come true...traded the pants I was wearing with a woman who was going on a cruise to celebrate 30 years of marriage...(the truest version of the sisterhood of the traveling pants:)
and felt more blessed when we pulled away than when we had pulled in...that, my friends, is a successful barn sale!
The rest of the weekend, if you can believe, got even better.... but that post will have to wait... as this one has been long enough, for one sitting.
Have a wonderful day, dear kindreds,
Christie
P.S. A dear sister-in-law is coming this evening to help us get our Amazon storefront up and running so you, my dears, might order some of these goodies yourselves:) Keep your fingers crossed and say a prayer for this technologically challenged Grammy!