Summer Camp for Vintage Junkies

Or...

 How I Spent My Summer Vacation at Meadowbrook Farm.

I only wish this photo belonged to me ... not to mention that kitchen!
If you'd like to pin this photo, please hop over to Meadowbrook Farm to pin from the original source. 

 

 

Welcome, camper!

Late afternoon arrival will begin with a walking tour of the camp followed by the evening meal* served in the vintage dining hall.

After-dinner Meet & Greet. 
Scheduled topics of discussion include blogging, the merits of chocolate pudding, Pinterest, Downton Abbey and sewing with vintage sheets: For or against?  (For.)

Lights out: Whenever. 

Day 1.

Morning.  Round table talks:  Photography, props & styling, creative process, and pro and cons of Hobby Lobby.

Break for lunch at charming local restaurant. Meal highlight is crazy good cheesecake.

I've got mail. My favorite summer camp junk acquisition.

Afternoon. Tour of antique shops which may include encounters with skittish local wildlife.**

Retire to camp for delicious dinner, vintage chit-chat, magazine viewing and Season 2 of Downton Abbey.

Day 2.

Morning. Chocolate muffin paired with vintage fabric show & tell.  This will also be the time for campers to plan future projects involving current and not-as-yet-acquired vintage fabric and will include a vintage fabric swap.

Please remain in your pajamas for this event as it will extend into the early afternoon and be spread out across several rooms.

An in-depth exploration of gingham begins at noon.

Break for a late lunch at yet another charming local restaurant. Dessert will be an amazing cream puff made entirely of 10 billion calories.

Afternoon of antiquing and thrifting along with wonderful driving tour of local points of interest.

Retire to camp for another delicious dinner, more vintage chit-chat, additional magazine viewing and the rest of Season 2 of Downton Abbey.

Day 3.

Cram vintage purchases, boxes of vintage fabric and fluffier self into jeans-that-used-to-fit/car and prepare for departure.

Next stop, Farm Chicks!

While driving, reflect on amazing moments the internet has brought about and the generous invitation that made attendance at Meadowbrook Farm Summer Camp possible.

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*at this camp, chocolate is incorporated into every meal.

**please maintain a calm demeanor if a semi-domesticated/crazed squirrel named Rosie runs across your shandal and straight up your pant leg at 90 mph while you are simply standing there, minding your very own business.

 

 

Putting away my tiara

Guess I won't be wearing my sundress and tiara for a while.

It's as though someone flipped a switch here -- suddenly it gets dark early, the distant mountaintops have a fresh coat of snow, I'm wearing socks and most telling of all: The yard sales are fading away.

Dahlias gathered last weekend at the local u-pick-'em flower patch

I'm also playing my favorite game of the season called "How long until the heater comes on?"

So far, so good. Because it's still summer if the heater isn't on.

Some of the summer yard sale loot that's been piling up is slowly getting photographed so it can be listed in my etsy shop.

My dining room has gone from this...

To this.

Someday I'll realize that just because I call it a dining room doesn't make it one.

And sadly, those hideous chairs have still not been recovered. 

Hello, Almost Autumn. Thanks for your colorful inspiration but please go easy on me. I'm not quite ready for you yet.

Really good goods

You may recall in the not too distant past, we all took a little stroll through Karen's beautiful home, that one that's filled with loads of vintage charm and lots of vintage details.

And a couple of sweet cats.

 a peek into Karen's shop window

{click photo to enlarge}

I wanted to let you know that Karen is now an etsy shopkeeper where she's selling her amazing vintage finds -- gorgeous textiles, fun vintage housewares, sweet embroidered samplers and more.

I hope you'll swing by her shop and welcome her to the neighborhood.

Karen is also a longtime seller on ebay with more of her vintage finds there too including stunning vintage quilts, vintage kitchen accessories and Cath Kidston fabrics. 

Karen's etsy shop:  CCAAPPP

Karen's ebay seller i.d.:  PIESAFE

Hope you're having a wonderful day so far. It's blue skies here in Oregon!

IntoVintagepedia

Burning questions. Sizzling answers. Welcome to IntoVintagepedia.

On moving, unpacking and getting organized...

ness said...

Q: I'm so glad you are back! We get a tour of the new house, right? 

I know these look like framed prints but I'm currently calling them 'bathroom curtains'.

A: Thanks Ness! Recently I brought home a little $5 table from a yard sale which I plan to put on one side of the guest bed once I tighten up the table legs and shelf, then primer and paint it. While I was thinking about the process for this little table, the bigger picture popped into my head and I had to wonder, "Will I be forever moving furniture around, painting, sewing and fixing? Will the place I live always be a work in progress?"

Yes. Yes it will.

I can't imagine that the day will come when I'll look around and think to myself, "Whew. That's all done." So to answer your question Ness, yes I will, pending the completion of some (any!) projects around here. 

~*~*~*~*~

Barbara at Oodles and Oodles said...

Q: Organization is a wonderful thing. Have you read "Homer and Langley"? It's a novel based on the real-life story of two hoarding brothers, and indeed, heavy equipment did need to be brought in to find one of ... oh, I don't want to spoil the ending. But you can guess.

A:  No, I haven't read that but you had me at 'heavy equipment.' 

~*~*~*~*~

Teresa said...  

(This is a question two-fer)

Q:  Are those iris I see out your window? Oops, sorry. I know this is an inside post, not an outside post. Can't help it. 

  A: Teresa is mighty observant because yes, those tiny, blurry, lavender blobs are indeed iris. And not to worry, I do that all the time. Someone might be blogging about their favorite cheeses and all I see is the vintage tablecloth the cheese is sitting on. 

Q: I have to say I'm quite impressed at your organizing speed. Are you totally settled? It's been ten years for me and I'm barely settled.

 A:  Totally settled? Did not know that was an option. As in every last box is unpacked? No.

No. No. No. 

At this point, I've discovered how unopened boxes make great end tables or nightstands or just about anything else you can think of. If you're expecting company, simply toss a vintage tablecloth over it and you're good to go.

~*~*~*~*~

Regarding that slipcover I keep talking about...

Sweet Bee Cottage said...

Q:  Do you have a Home Fabrics near you? If so, you should go check it out. Of course, you might already know about this fantastic place. "My new love" fabric for my kitchen (which I haven't done anything with but take a photo) was $3 a yard there! Yes that is not a typo -- $3 a yard for upholstery fabric.

A:  Sadly, I do not have a Home Fabrics near me. I suspect this is the universe's way of keeping me out of trouble knowing that if I had access to $3-a-yard upholstery fabric, I would be drawing up plans and buying fabric to slipcover every-dang-thing in the house. And your photo of your fabric puts you miles ahead of me as I don't even have any slipcover fabric to photograph at this point. Except for these swatches. Which don't count.

All I have so far is a lot of slipcover talk. And construction plans for an outbuilding.

~*~*~*~*~

  

barbara said...

Q: I think the worst is over, now that the math is done. Are you sure you're planning to make a slipcover and not something more complicated? Possibly constructing an outbuilding or something?

A:  It's true. I've somehow managed to turn a simple slipcover into the equivalent of a small barn-raising.  

  Looking forward to the holiday weekend and maybe even a little sunshine. 

other people's kitchens

With a doily factory full of sewing to do, as-yet-unplanted flower pots outside and an overall lack of interest in the nearly life-size dust bunnies which are now shadowing me around the house, this seems like the ideal time to take a break and explore some more of Karen's home. You know, where things are tidy and neat and vintage.

The Kitchen

This is the photo that started it all. Karen sent it to show me where she was using some pillows I made for her, never suspecting I'd end up driving a virtual tour bus through her home. Everybody wave at Karen as we go by!

I love the vintage details in Karen's kitchen including these cookie jars and canisters and I can only imagine how much fun she had finding all the right pieces -- the hunt is half the fun, isn't it? The cherry canisters are my favorites although the Nestle hot chocolate tin is a close second. Did you notice the chicken wire in place of panels on the cabinet doors?

Here's Karen's vintage tablecloth stash, stored where she can enjoy them even when they're not in use. She uses hers and I use mine too. If you look closely, you can see all of the switchplates have been covered with vintage wallpaper.

The Laundry

Even Karen's laundry room has been thoughtfully filled with vintage finds, from vintage canisters stacked high on the cabinet tops to the tiny vintage porcelain plate hanging over the framed cover of a vintage Good Housekeeping magazine.

More vintage prints and magazine covers and one of Karen's 27(!!) embroidered vintage samplers, all of which are on display throughout her house.

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The Hoosier Nook

And now, please take a deep breath because we are headed to see The-Hoosier-That-Was-That-Color-When-She-Bought-It. I know! Can you believe it? Lucky Karen!

This little nook was originally destined to become a computer work area until that fateful day when Karen came across this Hoosier cabinet which just happened to fit into the space perfectly ... size-wise and style-wise.

Proving inspiration is everywhere, Karen got the idea for this hankie jar from an eBay seller who told the story of her grandmother who kept a jar of hankies by her front door so visitors could choose one as a gift when they left. Karen's hankies are from her Granny too but they're staying put for now.

While waiting to be hung, framed pieces of vintage fabric sit above a vintage coat rack from an old school. They may have to wait a while longer because they look good right where they are.

 

One more sampler

 

Thanks for joining the tour today and please watch your step as you exit the bus.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

All photos were taken by our industrious homeowner and vintage collector, Karen. She has been into vintage for about 5 years.

Her ebay seller i.d. is PIESAFE.

 

Kitchen curtains are vintage and were altered to fit.

Found at the International Collectibles and Antiques Show in Charlotte, NC.

Laundry room rug from The Land of Nod.

Laundry room curtain is a shower curtain from Anthropologie.

Here's more info about vintage Good Housekeeping magazine covers.

Karen soaks her vintage samplers in Restoration, available at The Stitchery.

Vintage wallpaper from eBay store Rosies Vintage Stuff.

Wallpaper is decoupaged onto switch plate covers by etsy shop Fondue. 

Yellow cuckoo clock in Hoosier Nook is from Urban Outfitters.

 

arrivals and departures

Easter gal created by The Vintage Whisperer herself, Magpie Ethel

This giddy lady stopped in for a brief visit recently while on a roadtrip to her new home. She was certainly a lot of fun to have around and I almost asked her to stay on indefinitely but she wanted to be settled into her new place in time for Easter. Plus her arm gets really tired holding that shiny bouquet containing the world's tiniest Easter chick. 

A huge thank you to clever vintage crafter Barbara/Oodles and Oodles for this little family.

There's three of them so that makes an Official Collection.

This family just arrived after their long journey from the East coast. As usual, Jr still has oodles and oodles of energy but Mrs just wants a hot bubble bath while Mr says "Where's the remote?" For now, they're staying in a cozy teacup while they look for something with a backyard. 

And Mrs is just a little grumpy as it's tax time and she is in No Mood. 

Not to mention she can't remember where she put that box of receipts. 

They just need a couple days to get settled.

Then they can help with a giveaway here later this week along with more peeks into Karen's house. 

Hope you had a fun weekend.

other people's homes: Karen

Recently a longtime customer-turned-friend, Karen, innocently sent me a couple of photos of her kitchen to show me how she was using some pillows I made for her. Little did she know her kind gesture would turn into an epic photography project for her, complete with homework (fill-in-the-blank and essay questions about her home) as "May I show your vintage-inspired kitchen on my blog?" quickly turned into more. So much more. I'm sorry Karen! But thank you for sharing!

I might mention that Karen and I have never met in person and she lives on the opposite side of the country from me so I was especially excited to have this virtual glimpse into her kitchen (ahem) entire house. Today we'll start our tour with the master bedroom and bath.

Warning: While viewing these beautiful rooms with their vintage details, you may become disoriented and perhaps even feel that you are leafing through the pages of Country Living magazine. This is perfectly normal. 

the master bedroom (all photos can be clicked to enlarge)

Karen told me this room was specifically designed with the idea that the bed would 'float' in the center of the room to take advantage of the mountain views. 

"...of course I envisioned myself waking up each morning, sitting up while stretching my arms and gazing out at the beautiful mountain view...that's not usually how it happens, but it was a good idea anyway." A girl can dream...

The ladies on the vintage mantel are Karen's mother-in-law when she was class valedictorian and Karen's late Granny.

This entertainment center used to be a cabinet for a vintage radio/record player. Karen removed the speakers and record player, added a shelf inside (where the DVD player goes now), painted it and dressed it up with vintage fabric panels.

This piece was also a vintage radio cabinet that was gutted and painted and now stores some of Karen's vintage linens.

See the window framed by the blue vintage shutters? It overlooks the Great Room downstairs. Karen has a daughter who will one day be a teenager. Karen thinks ahead. 

the master bath

A pretty corner of the master bath with Charlotte Becker prints in vintage tin ceiling frames.

 'His' side is dark wood and masculine. See the peek of Jennifer Paganelli's fabric for curtains? Karen occasionally sells vintage fabric on ebay and one of her buyers turned out to be Jennifer Paganelli! It's a small world for vintage-fabric-people.

'Her' side is light and feminine. I love the little splashes of soft aqua.

 ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Here's some additional info about the resources Karen used for her master bedroom and bath along with a sneak peek of more of her home tour to come. Thanks for stopping in.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

All photos were taken by our industrious homeowner, furniture painter and vintage collector, Karen. She has been into vintage for about 5 years and also collects vintage linens.

Her ebay seller i.d. is PIESAFE.

Paint color for the entertainment center is "South Pacific" by Olympic. Available at Lowes. 

Vintage tin ceiling frames are from ebay stores Fragment Freaks and Vintage Home Accents.

Links for information about artist Charlotte Becker and fabric designer Jennifer Paganelli.