open this weekend

Hey guys!  Circa Dee Brick & Mortar is OPEN this weekend.

Saturday & Sunday 12-4 – 1814 Valley Forge Road, Worcester, PA

Circa Dee: Brick & Mortar - featuring occassional sales & events

We won’t be open at all in May so stop in now to see what’s new and say hi!  I’ll be posting preview pics on facebook later this week.  Help us make room for all of the treasures we plan to bring back from Brimfield next month.  (we’re still looking for more pointers if you’re a seasoned Brimfieldian)

We’re also expecting a big shipment of Miss Mustard Seed’s milk paint just in time for the weekend.

Speaking of milk paint, I’ll be doing a demo on Sunday evening at Serendipity Shops of Doylestown – our other local retailer.  Perhaps you want to see the paint mixed in person…

milk paint demo

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tell me everything you know

About Brimfield.

Friends, May is on the horizon.  And it’s going to be phenomenal!

For one, we’re getting hitched.  I will have tons of details and pics to share here on the blog afterwards.  Can’t wait!

And speaking of after the wedding…you may have guessed we’re taking a honeymoon.  And our honeymoon week just happens to fall on Brimfield week.  Honestly, I didn’t plan that although one of my dreams has been to visit Brimfield and take it all in.  The antique wheelin’ and dealin’ mecca of the universe!  What better way to spend a romantic week as husband and wife?  Our first romantic week as husband and wife for that matter.

junk sign

Ok. Ok. We’re not spending the entire week in Brimfield.  I haven’t completely lost my mind.  It is a pit stop on the way to our real honeymoon in remote Nantucket.  A location that we both have always wanted to visit.  We can’t wait!

ocean

So tell me what you know about both Brimfield and Nantucket.

clawfeet

What are must sees and dos in Nantucket?  We’re planning on lots of bike rides around town in matching cable-knit sweaters casually draped over our shoulders with fresh baguettes resting in our woven bicycle baskets.  Yes, seriously.

Beach Cruiser

And some fishing.

For Brimfield, we’ll be arriving in the beginning of the week so I’m hoping to watch the magic unfold while avoiding the late week traffic.  What fields are musts?  What are some local eateries that we should hit up?  Tell me everything you seasoned Brimfieldians!

pile of vintage

And yes we’re bringing a truck to stock up.  And perhaps His & Hers flea market carts.  Pure romance.

stool sample

Honestly, I couldn’t think of a better title for this post.
Today I want to share a sample of what happens when mixing milk paint colors.

milk painted stool & vintage counting board

But first a little eye candy from the Circa Dee space at yesterday’s Clover Market.  We had an amazing day.  I can’t thank everyone enough!  The crowds were out in full force and were snatching up lucky finds like crazy.  Here’s a bit of what we had to offer with more booth photos posted on facebook

Clover Market April 2013

Clover Market April 2013

Clover Market April 2013

Clover Market April 2013

Clover Market April 2013

Back to the post at hand…

milk painted stool & vintage counting board

Last Thursday was the first milk paint workshop where we tackled mixing the paint, using it as a stain, wash and using hemp oil.  I used this little plywood stool as a sample applying ironstone milk paint to the top.

milk painted stool & vintage counting board

At the end of the class we got crazy and mixed up the remaining colors which introduced this magnificent mauvey pink color.

milk painted stool & vintage counting board

Tricycle + Mustard Seed + Kitchen Scale + Ironstone = Mauve

milk painted stool & vintage counting board

If you want to walk on the wild side with us this week, there is still time to join.  On Thursday we will be focusing on using the bonding agent to produce a controlled, opaque finish.  And next week, we’ll be getting chippy!

I know there is an interest in a Saturday workshop.  I hear ya loud and clear my milk paint loving friends!

Let’s shoot for a date in June where we’ll do the entire workshop series in one day.  Don’t quote me just yet but what does June 15th look like for those of you that are interested?

I’d like to schedule something before everyone starts taking off on summer vacations and May is pretty much out of the question for me with the upcoming nuptials and all!

Happy Monday!

a new display

A couple of weeks ago I posted this photo on instagram…

before

Gross.  I was in a dungeon rescuing this little piece of American history.  Is that too dramatic?

antique card catalog

I posted for feedback on whether or not I should strip it back to its original state – solid oak and brass pulls.  Finding a card catalog has been on my wanted list for quite some time!

antique card catalog

According to my very official poll, most people liked the color.

antique card catalog

And while I was on vacation in New Orleans, my antique factory shoe cart sold which was serving as a display piece.  That’s a good problem to have but it did leave me scrambling a bit this week!

antique factory shoe cart

I scrubbed away the filth on the card catalog keeping the history in tact and revealing the nice blue-green paint.  I think it makes for a really unique milk paint display with great patina.

antique card catalog

The history is also pretty cool.  It is a turn of the century 20 drawer card catalog from Penton Kelly Co. which was located in downtown Philadelphia.  It was a printing firm and this catalog seemed to house client information.

Ultimately I decided not to strip it.  I needed to turn it around quickly and figured I’d leave the restoration project out there should someone want to take it on!  Painted pieces are all the rage right now anyway, right?

This sucker is heavy!  You can see that solid oak peeking out.  Each side of the cabinet has a 4 pane panel.

antique card catalog

I just love these old pulls.  Check out the brass showing through.  I wonder why someone painted over the brass.  I guess we’ll be asking ourselves this same thing in the future about everything that is currently being painted.   Gotta love trends!

This guy is up for sale and display at Serendipity in Doylestown.

antique card catalog

I am trying something new with my watermark.  I always thought it would be fabulous to have my logo instead of text but I’m not sure I like it!  Thoughts?

Back to preparing for Sunday’s Clover Market…

out with the cold

As I write this post it is snowing outside my window.  The wet kind of snow that you don’t mind in January because it brings a cold, gray day that you want to spend entirely fireside with a cup of warm hot chocolate in your hand wrapped in a warm blanket with your dog snuggled by your side watching a My So called Life marathon or something as equally 1990′s (read that all in one breath for the full effect).

But it’s not January.  And I’m over it.

I am dying to open the garage doors and start working on a little chest I just picked up this weekend.  I want the sun shining on my back while the palm sander buzzes in my hands.

Wilson is over his winter attire too.  He’s pretty much stripped his snowflake fleece off for the season.

Wilson Collage

With temperatures creeping up into…wait for it…the 40s a few days last week we managed to score some new junk and sell off some old.  We had an impromptu garage sale where we shed some old dishes, furniture and projects on Saturday making room in the garage for new ones.

Here are a few of the new treasures and projects that wait for Spring…any day now.

You may have caught a glimpse on instagram of this fabulous turn of the century card catalog that is from a now defunct printing company in Philadelphia.  Don’t worry all of the drawers are there.  It is a 20 drawer oak cabinet that was long ago painted green and has been sitting dormant for quite some time.  It needs a good cleaning and then I will decide if the paint stays or gets stripped.  What do you think?

antique oak card catalog

From the same printing company, I turned up a few large type drawers.

vintage printing type set drawer

What do you think of this funky stool?

repurposed oak stool

It was love at first sight for me.  It makes zero sense and that is probably why I love it so.  Someone long ago repurposed the base of a bar or count height stool by putting a wood seat on it.  Now the stool is low to the ground but the chrome foot ledge is still in tact.  Randomness.

repurposed stool

And our big treat of the week comes in the form of a large and in charge 1940s retro dinette set complete with this stunning bench also featured last week on instagram.

6257e318934b11e2b16122000a1f9e61_7

We pulled this bad boy out of a friends house.  It was a custom built in for their kitchen back in the day.  Oddly enough our house has a very similar layout to theirs.  However, we are not putting this in our kitchen.  We’ve decided to keep it and add it to our sunroom as it creates the perfect little breakfast nook.  table

I can’t wait for it to stop snowing so we can enjoy ourselves there while we listen to the birds chirp (if they ever come back).

chair

Who knows maybe I will be sitting here when I publish my next post!

feeling green

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

In honor of the holiday, I rounded up some of my favorite green treasures and projects from the archives.  Some of these pics are going way back to the beginning of the blog 2 years ago! It’s fun to see the progression in my style of decorating, blogging & photography.  Anyway, links below where applicable.

St. Patrick's Day

Moss wreath, Ladybug, Hooked rug, Art deco lamp, Zinnia farm, Child’s cupboard c. 1920, Swiss ammo bag, French Cabinet, Lunch pail, Mixing bowl

Hope you have a lucky day!