Bella Rustica and a Junk Challenge!

My purchase for the day. I loved this old roll-up map turned chalkboard!

Bella Rustica for me was-a-last-minute-hop-in-the-car-why-not little trip. I found out about the show a week before and then had so many people saying I HAD to go! Fellow junk lover, Beth Bryan, from Unskinny Boppy literally tagged me on facebook saying it was a Lucy Farmer match made in Heaven! I knew that moment, nothing would stop me. I posted that I was heading up there and my cousins from Hendersonville, TN said they would meet me! Yay!! Tracy and I are kindred spirits. We could hang out for days and get so many projects done. Leigh is her younger sister and loves a good project, herself!

My business card basket

As I was driving up, I took the scenic route. (and made business cards) The land in Tennessee is so beautiful. The rolling hills and farms make me want to slow down and enjoy the ride. The tractors you get behind help the slowing down part! Traveling down the one lane dirt road to get to the barn was comical. I was a little worried that for one, everything would be gone (lots of people were leaving), and two, how would I ever get out of there!

The barn itself was worth seeing. It was a big, green, well taken care of barn. Several stalls had merchandise and the artists were sitting outside working on projects. As you passed the stalls it opened up to a bigger area and the vendors created their own "stalls". Gorgeous booths created by very creative vendors.

photo: Rhoda, Southern Hospitality

I made it to 3 booths before Funky Junk Donna was going on stage. I skipped the rest, ordered a BBQ sandwich and sat down for the lecture. I missed quite a bit of it....the line for the BBQ was LONG! I made it in time for her to introduce the Blogger Junk Challenge. Donna invited several bloggers she asked to help with this segment. She needed a couple of volunteers from the audience. I was chomping at the bit to get up there! Tracy and Leigh looked at me and screamed GO! I jumped up and before I knew it I was hauling tables and lamps around to create a vignette! Of course, I loved it! It was very similar to my stint on the Nate Berkus Show. They wanted us to create a room from things we found from the booths outside!

This is Rhoda, Sandra and myself pulling it all together. Did I mention how hot it was that day? We were steamy!!

Photo: Rhoda, Southern Hospitality

Rhoda and Sandra already had a table they wanted to use. It was definitely our inspiration for the look. We had a bit of a struggle with no backdrop. We were outside, there was a tree and a lot of bumps in the grass.......not to mention, the natural slope of the ground! We found this wood screen and pulled and pushed things around to get it out of it's home and into our space!

Before:

After:

This is the final outcome! It really came together great at the end! We had so many beautiful things to choose from. I had a blast working with these two. They really have great ideas. We all had similar taste and I think that helped. I want those lamps!!

The other group had the inside room. It was pretty dark inside the barn and the light was bad because it was behind them. I loved what they did. It was very different from ours and perfect in so many ways!

Did I mention both volunteers were Lucy? How crazy is that? 

Left to right: Lucy, Donna, Angie and Myra

Thanks Rhoda for letting me borrow your photos from Bella Rustica! Otherwise, they would all be blurry and dark!
We would like to thank all the vendors that let us "borrow" their wares for our room. I linked up their facebook pages. Go ahead! Check out the goods and like them!

Lamps: Blue Goose Linens
Wood Backdrop/Screen: Carters Creek Station Antiques
Bird Painting and pillow: Maxine Q Jewelry
Table and large bench: Olde Things New
Turquoise frame, 2 iron chairs, silver tray: 2Storeys Antiques
Pillows: Vintage House Dressing
Blue Bench: CeCeCaldwell's Paints

Disclaimer: this information is to the best of our knowledge and there might be an error.....or 2!

Papa's Barn

I have a little workshop in the basement. There are cool pieces of trim down there, a jigsaw, a drill and a lot of little pieces of hardware!! I've struggled with getting down there and playing because the jigsaw can't cut everything I want it to cut!!
Tracy came in town for a few days and called me one morning to say she was at Papa's barn making stuff. I dropped everything and went over!! I just wanted to see what she was making and see what is in there to play with!

The discovery was so fun! There are coffee cans full of pulls and knobs. Drawers and cubbies full of nails, screws, bolts, and all kinds of fasteners! It's very organized. Do you need a band saw? table saw? chop saw? He has one! He also has sanders and a room to spray furniture! I might just move in! I didn't bring anything to play with. I had to scour the place and get a little creative. Susu made everyone frames last year for Christmas and used the glass from these 5x7 dollar store frames. So, the frames are just hanging up not being used. I grabbed 6 of them and started looking for screen to make a jewelry holder! Papa found some for me. He doesn't want us to use the table saw without him there. He cut a piece of trim for me and showed me how to use the band saw.
This was Wednesday. We went to Southern Accents on Thursday. Friday I got the call from Nicole about being on Talk of Alabama on Monday!! I went back to the barn Saturday morning. I made 2 jewelry holders and wanted to stay all day! I need to get back over there!
I can't believe I have waited this long to go over and play. Now that school has started, maybe I can make more time to go over and learn. The Hansel and Gretel house has a barn! It has electricity! I can't wait to move in!! 2 more weeks.......I've only been saying that since the middle of July.