past, present and future....

Tying up loose ends in the attic...

The Past:

I mentioned a few new friends that I met while I was at the Custer Show.

They picked up lots of goodies from me for their individual shops, so I just wanted to brag a little about these adorable young women for a moment.

The first is Jenny from Retro Pony. Don't you just LOVE the name of her shop? It's located in Winthrop, Washington, which is a little tourist town in Northern Washington. She came into my booth and we started chatting like two long lost friends! (She actually had a booth at Custer's and was selling her own beautiful handmade jewelry.)

I want that t-shirt: "Chicks dig Hicks".

 She went home with lots of my treasures, and then called me two days later to order more! 

Thanks Jenny!

My other new BFFs are Holly and Becky of All That Glitter, in Spokane, Washington. We have all been vendors together at the Vintage Barn shows in the past, but this was the first time we actually got to meet. 

They always have the cutest booth set-up - filled with all sorts of fun display ideas....

...and lots and lots of pink!

Holly's church is re-vamping their bookstore, so she bought lots of goodies from me to sell there (the proceeds go to outreach programs and I'm a sucker for anything mission related!)

They are also going to put a few items of mine in their shop in Spokane, so if you are in the area, stop by and tell them Pammy sent you!

The Present:

We have a winner! I had lots and lots of you write me with the correct answer to my question last week....

Santa Baby Bubble is going to-o-o-o......

Jane!

(Jane of Mamie Jane's, who happens to be one of my all time favorite creative bloggers!)

Congratulations - as soon as you give me your contact info, he'll be on his merry old way!

The Future:

Monday, December 13th is the next project Monday!

Remember my *challenge* from the last one?

Here's a hint....

You do not have to work with these roses to participate, but I thought it would be fun to see all the different creative ideas you come up with using this paper rose.

Just sayin'....

Happy creating!

xoxo

Looking back on an almost perfect day.



The only reason Thanksgiving wasn't perfect was because my children and their families were so far away :-(

However.....

We had a lovely day spent with wonderful friends who are like family.

Here is my photo album...

To welcome our guests...



A warm fire to greet them...

the setting.

the table.



for each guest I stamped a wee tag and attached it to a rustic little wreath.

 


(if you're interested in that wreath, you might want to come back for the next Project Monday!)



As I reflect on the day, I am filled with gratitude.

For good friends, long-distance holiday telephone chats, great food, a warm fire, laughter...

And a husband who helps with the dishes.

As you venture out today into the world of Black Friday crowds, don't forget to enter for a chance to win this:

For more details, click HERE. (you only have three more days...)

Stay warm!

xoxo

giving thanks.

You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing and grace before I dip the pen in the ink.

 ~G.K. Chesterton

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;

Praise Him, all creatures here below;

Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.


xoxo

who wants to be a winner?

It's time for another giveaway!

In honor of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, I am giving away this:

Here's all you need to do:

Go to the Pammy's Attic wesite....

 (click HERE)

Find this guy:

...and tell me what he is called!

(for those of you who are fans of Pammy's Attic on Facebook, I may or may not have posted a hint yesterday....)

Just leave me a comment telling me what I have named him, and on Cyber Monday, November 29 I will announce the winner.

Easy as pumkin pie!

Happy searching...

xoxo

Why I went to sleep last night grinning from ear to ear.

When you are a Bear of Very Little Brain, and Think of Things, you find sometimes that a Thing which seemed very Thingish inside you is quite different when it gets out into the open and has other people looking at it.

                                  -- Pooh's Little Instruction Book, inspired by A. A. Milne

I never know what to expect when entering a new show.

Will the masses see in my creations what I see???

Are my designs appealing only to me and will I be laughed at behind my back?
("Who does she think she is, calling herself an artist???")

I go through this before every.single.show.

All I can say after a lo-o-o-ong weekend of smiling muscle cramps and very little sleep is....

"They like me! They really LIKE me!"
(move over Sally Field)

Thank you to everyone who came out and introduced yourself to me (us).

Thank you to all our friends who have encouraged and supported this endeavor.

Thank you to my new BFFs Jenni,  Holly and Becky,  Laura (and your cute mama), and Chrissy  for your enthusiastic support and amazing opportunities...more on all of you later in the week...

 Thank you to the Custer folks who were positively the most organized and gracious staff.

Thank you to Dave and Teresa for taking such good care of Monkey - especially in this brutal weather.

But most of all....

Thanks to my helpmate (of 36 years - this week!) Dennis for creating the most incredible space for us - it just would not have been the same any other way....

Until next year...good night!

xoxo

the life of a carnie.

After months of preparation.

Planning.

Blood, sweat and tears.

Toil.

The 34th Annual Custer Christmas Arts and Crafts Show has arrived.

We are ready.

I think I will let the pictures speak for themselves....



from this....

to this....

(yes that is snow you see coming down....ug)

to this...

 

to THIS!

If you are within a day's drive of the Spokane Fairgrounds....

DO NOT MISS THIS SHOW!

XOXO

somebody please stop me.

I have become a raging, tea staining maniac.

After I completed my sign project, I decided to also tea stain some little white lampshades I had for the buffet lamps in our booth - then added a couple of strands of do-dads I got at a wonderful local business here: Christmas At The Lake.

I had designed curtains from cheap muslin for the entrance of the "room" and of course had to stain those as well.

The vat o' tea still sits in my laundry room because I can't bring myself to throw it out.

You never know....

Thursday we load in the show!

The ads are beginning to run on local television and radio...

Will I see you there????

xoxo

ps: make sure you come back for the befores and afters - you won't want to miss it!!!!!

Join me in a cup of tea?

Think we'll both fit?

Old joke. Sorry.

You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.  ~C.S. Lewis

Hmmm. I may not agree with Mr. Lewis.

I have been up to my ears in strong, black tea.

I am creating vintage looking signage for our booth. I want it to be crystal clear and visable from a great distance. 

And I definitely want it to match the cool vintage vibe Dennis has already created.

No better way than to use tea to get a really authentic look.

I had a custom stencil made by Wallwords and have been dying to use it.

Here's what I did:

I bought a 6' x 9' painter's drop cloth canvas from Home Depot, folded it in half length-wise and sewed along the bottom edge. It is now 3' x 9'.

Perfect.

On to the vat 'o tea....

 Kind of looks gross in the picture, but that's a huge tea bag I made out of loose black tea and cheesecloth. (I also threw in any extra tea bags I had in my cupboard - I wanted this strong!)

I placed the tea bags, hot, (HOT) water, and the canvas into a 5 gallon bucket.

 Out to dry after a good long, two day soak.



this stuff' will grow hair on yer palms...

 I made some even STRONGER tea to spray here and there as it was drying.

After it was completely dry I laid it out on the floor.

I took my stencil from Wallwords and centered it on the canvas and taped it down.

 Then peeled back the paper backing revealing adhesive - no slipping and sliding here.

 Peeled off the front paper to expose the voids where paint will go.

Just to make sure there would be no leakage, I sponged on a layer of gesso to seal it.

Now the fun part!

first the brown...

...then a dark, dark metalic bronze around the edges to create age and depth.

Once I was satisfied with the painting, I tore off the vinyl stencil.....

 How cool is that?!

I finished sewing on the ties and ironed the entire canvas to "heat set" the paint.

Here it is at the top of my attic stairs.

But....
...next Thursday we set up shop at the Custer Christmas Arts and Crafts show in Spokane, Wa. and I can't wait to see how it looks in place, lit up, and all decked out!

Please keep checking back with me - I guarantee you won't be disappointed!

This is going to be a great show....

xoxo