The Flea Market : Day 1

Kane County Flea Market:

Laura Bright - Whimsical Perspective

Christie Carter - Carter's Cottage

Sherrie Larkins - A Ruffled Nest

Rachel Polly - My Vintage Verve

Day One of Kane County is under our belts and we are exhausted!
We arrived at 8:00ish this morning to wait in a very long line. 

 At around 9:20 we made it to our space and began unloading. It always surprises me how much stuff we bring and how big of a mess we can make. ;)

 After about an hour of arranging and rearranging, we were set and ready for business. Christie Carter is truly the queen of staging. She see's things differently that I do and her way is prettier. :)
Here is how she was able to blend all of our styles.

Beautiful! We sold a good amount today but still have some amazing items left. I am also bringing a truck load tomorrow. There may or may not be a lavender dresser in there. ;)

I also did a fair amount of shopping. I will show and tell tomorrow.

I was "That Girl"!

You know what girl I am talking about. The girl they talk about around the water cooler. 
"Can you believe she did that?"
"I would never do what she did!"
"I can't even look at her right now!"
"How did she even get herself involved with something like that?"

That's right...WORD VERIFICATION!!


I always giggled when I would see word verification on other's comments. "I am so glad I don't do that!" I would say, or "I don't have time for this!"
Well...I was "That Girl" and I didn't know it.
A wonderful woman left me a nice comment yesterday and said..."By the way, did you know you have word verification on?"
I gasped!
I think I have now fixed the problem.
I didn't want to be "That Girl."
Blog World...for this, I am sorry.     :)

Pinterest Who?

Hi. My name is Laura and I am a magazine junkie. It took me a while to admit it but I finally made that first step. Each week when a different magazine arrived, I would run to the mailbox with such joy. 


Ok...Still do. I love to snuggle up with the new Better Homes or Flea Market or Cottage Style.  For each month I would feverishly flip through the magazines searching every photo for inspiration. If I found something, I would fold the corner in. In a month or so, when I knew I had exhausted every inch of the magazine, I would go back and cut out the pictures that I wanted to keep. 


Kids, this was before Pinterest existed. We used to have to walk up hill in the snow both ways to get a good inspirational piece. 


Here is what happened to my photos:

I organized the photos into 3 different books: Our Home, Whimsical Perspective, My Look Book.

My Home book contains items for our houses. It is interesting how many ideas that worked in our 1950's house now can be tweaked to work in our 1918 house.

My Whimsical Perspective Book contains ideas for crafts, furniture pieces and staging ideas. I look through this at least once a week. This is by far my most useful tool.

My Look Book contains outfit and accessories. I love this book. Once upon a time, I wore clothes that were not covered in paint. I would buy beautiful garments and use this book to help me put my outfits together. I am not doing that as much anymore.
Now I store these items in a place where they are always easily accessible.

 Pinterest is great but my system is close to my heart. I love the feel of a paper book in my hands. That must be the teacher in me. :)

Spring Break Project: Getting Crafty

Spring Break!!!!! 45 Degrees?
Last week in Illinois, we had record breaking high temperatures. I even got a bit of a sun burn last weekend. 
Today I had to wear my stretchy pants under my jeans. Burr!
I decided to take a break from painting and return to my jewelry-making roots. I headed down to the local bead shop just blocks from my house. I went in with the intention of purchasing enough to make about 10 pairs of earrings. Some intended for me and some for the shop and my etsy page. Well...30 minutes later I left with enough to make about 50 pairs of earrings. I love getting the creating itch but it can be a bit costly. ;)
Earrings are a quick and easy project for a cold rainy day. Here is a glimpse of what I worked on today:

Thanks for looking!
Linking up to:
Chic on a Shoestring Decorating
My Romantic Home
The Shabby Nest
Finding Home
Funky Junk Interiors
Mod Vintage Life
 Coastal Charm
Savvy Southern Style
The Rooster and The Hen
DIY Home Sweet Home

My ETSY Page: Updated!

I visited my local bead shop today to purchase a few tiny projects for Spring Break. I used to be a jewelry girl but I had fallen out of love with making it. I am now in love with it again. these earrings are available on my ETSY Page, at Carter's Cottage and also available with a wholesale option. Please feel free to contact me for more information.

My Space at Carter's Cottage

Yesterday, I had the honor of working at Carter's Cottage in Downtown Dekalb, Illinois. I love working at the shop. We had so many repeat customers visit yesterday. It was nice to see familiar faces. We also had new visitors from the distant land of Wisconsin. ;)

Some of our new friends were just passing through and stumbled upon Dekalb while others planned a girls day to spend time in Dekalb's amazing small shops.


I worked hard to freshen my space and bring in many new items (a Jeep full to be exact). 
Here a few photos of my space:

 Many of my wreaths are on Spring Sale this week. Stop in for a visit and leave with a treasure for your home.

My Spring Mantel

I have been dying to decorate a mantel for many years. I have used buffets as display pieces and media cabinets to hang our stockings. It was pretty but never quite right.

Now that I have a beautiful mantel, I am so excited to use it to its full potential. Here is my first attempt - My Spring Mantel:

I decorated using an old door with many layer of old and beautiful paint. To add some height, I added my chalkboard painted garden tool. It has been fun to change up the message. I also sprinkled in some of my favorite smaller pullies.

 To add some texture, I used some handmade pottery that I won at a charity night a few years ago. Finally I sprinkled in some color using some vintage prints purchased from the print lady at the flea market. I love the splashes of turquoise.

I just love how clean and organized it is. I can't wait to start my summer mantel soon. If the weather stays like this...we make switch to summer sooner than planned. :)

 Linking up to:
Chic on a Shoestring Decorating
My Romantic Home
The Shabby Nest
Finding Home
Funky Junk Interiors
Mod Vintage Life
 Coastal Charm
Shades of Amber
Primitive and Proper
Savvy Southern Style
The Rooster and The Hen
DIY Home Sweet Home
Jennifer Rizzo

Whimsical Perspective is coming to a Flea Market near you!

Hear Ye, Hear Ye! Gather around.  I am pleased to announce that Whimsical Perspective (aka Me, aka Laura Bright) will be at the April Kane County Flea Market in St. Charles Illinois.  I will be joined by a few of my favorite girls:


Christie of Carter's Cottage

Sherrie of A Ruffled Nest

Rachel of My Vintage Verve

We are feverishly painting, crafting and collecting in preparation for our outing later this month. Here is a glimpse of what I will be bringing:

 

 This is a super cute accent chair in Paloma. It is finished off in a cute moody grey fabric. I also have been hoarding oars lately. I love the color combination.  Does that fabric look familiar to you? 

Two very different chairs. Two very different colors. One lovely fabric.

There will be a wide variety of desks, dressers, buffets, cabinets and smaller items. We hope to see you there.

Linking up to:
Chic on a Shoestring Decorating
My Romantic Home
The Shabby Nest
Finding Home
Funky Junk Interiors
Mod Vintage Life
 Coastal Charm
Shades of Amber
Primitive and Proper
Savvy Southern Style
The Rooster and The Hen
DIY Home Sweet Home

A Whimsical Makeover: The Paloma Dresser Edition

This is the lovely dresser I purchased recently at a local store. It was a good price and everything worked well. The only issue was the knobs but after a quick trip to ETSY, I found exactly what I needed. If you are an Annie Sloan Paint Lover...I bet you are drooling over the detail piece. My words were "That will really show off the paint!" 


I have been interested in branching out with colors so I chose Paloma to lighten this baby up!  This dresser almost gave me an ulcer but now that it is done...I will forgive it.  I might be obsessed with this dresser now. It is just so pretty. :)

 My wonderful husband attached the hardware before I got home from school today. Such a nice guy. He also decided to do the staging. I hope you like it. ;)

I love the way this paint shadows and textures. It adds so much dimension to the piece.

Thanks for checking in. 

Linking up to:
Chic on a Shoestring Decorating
My Romantic Home
The Shabby Nest
Finding Home
Funky Junk Interiors
Mod Vintage Life
 Coastal Charm
Shades of Amber
Primitive and Proper
Savvy Southern Style
The Rooster and The Hen