The Last Few Weeks

The last few weeks have been busy! I've been catching up with friends and getting ready for the craft show. I'm taking a week of from my day job next week and my husband and I are going to visit his parents in Michigan. I'm hoping to find some relaxation there! I'm the type of person that doesn't fully relax unless I'm on vacation. Otherwise I feel like I constantly should be doing something around the house, for the shop, making plans with friends, etc.

Here are a few photos from the events these past few weeks...

One of my very best friends is getting married in September and we had a girls night out (just dinner and reminiscing, nothing too crazy!) and her bridal shower the following day. Her aunties put on a darling shower with mimosas, a choice of salads and sandwiches, cake and the most adorable cookies. I'm not sure where they got them, but aren't they almost too cute to eat? I did eat mine :) The coolest gift she got (in my opinion) was a hula hoop. One of her friends makes them and I'm not sure if she sells them online, but I will find out and let you know.

And this past weekend we had the craft show in Grand Rapids...


Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate and we had rain off and on the entire day. So the pictures have a blue tint to them from the canopy. As always, we met some talented people. We even met another shop that is run by a mother-daughter team! It was so much fun to talk with them and hear their stories of how they started and how they work together. Go visit their online shop heim-made. Their soap is fabulous! They suggested to get some other mother-daughter shops together and do a show, wouldn't that be fun?


I must say I have a tremendous amount of respect for people who do shows, especially the outdoor ones. It's not easy to set up a booth or a canopy. My muscles are still recovering. In the meantime I'm working on taking pictures for some new items in the shop, so look for those this week! I hope you are enjoying the last part of July!

Busy Sewing

Country Mouse and I are busy getting ready for our first outdoor show. It's less than two weeks away! We did a practice set up a few weeks ago and I am really excited to do the real thing now.

We needed some sort of sign or banner and decided to make one with a pattern from Meringue Designs and I love how it turned out! It was so easy to follow Cynthia's instructions. You can buy the pattern for a Happy Birthday Banner and then use it over and over each year. Or if you don't sew, she sells banners made from the best fabrics in her shop. But trust us, it's a fun and easy project - perfect for a beginning sewer.

We'll try to take lots of pictures during the weekend of the show. Hopefully it will be a nice sunny day (no wind or rain please!) Just a reminder, it will be at the Itasca County Fairgrounds in Grand Rapids, MN on July 25-26. Let the countdown begin!

Gone Fishing

We're packing up the dogs and heading to the lake this weekend. We'll do some boating.

Maybe even a little fishing.

I'll think about jumping in for a swim.

And we'll watch the sunset. Enjoy your weekend!

Table & Chairs - Before & After

Here's a little before and after project Country Mouse and I tackled the other weekend. Country Mouse has this old folding table and chairs set from 1970 or so. And it had seen better days...

Nothing that a few cans of spray paint, oilcloth fabric, and a stable gun can't fix! Here's how we made this sad looking table and chairs set happy again.

First we dug around in the man room (garage) where nothing is organized how we would organize it, so it takes a bit of time until we find the perfect fitting tool, yay! We take these little guys off all the chairs and the table so that the table top and chair seats are removed and ready to be covered with lovely new fabric. Then we removed all of the old staples holding on the 1970's cloth with a flathead screwdriver. Then it went in the trash, bye-bye 1970!

With the tabletop and chair seats removed and staples out, we just needed to wash and sand any rusty spots and we were ready to paint. We found a great color to match our fabric - Watermelon by Krylon (indoor/outdoor - metal-wood-wicker-all purpose spray paint).

How to spray paint...Country Mouse reminded me that the key is to apply light coats so it doesn't get all drippy looking. If you end up with a few drips, just let it dry and then sand it and try again. No biggie. It happened to me a few times. We had to apply several coats to get a nice even looking color.

While you wait for the paint to dry in between coats of spray paint, admire your fabric and imagine how glorious this will look when you are all done!

After admiring the fabric, grab your scissors. Lay the seat over the fabric (think about the fabric placement and how you would like it to show) and cut the fabric, leaving enough to fold over and staple.


Stapling...make sure you have the correct size of staples for the gun as well as for when you staple (make sure they are not too long and end up going through to the other side!) You don't want any sharp staples sticking up through your table top or worse yet - your seat!!

We stapled one time on the middle edge of each side and made sure the fabric laid nicely before stapling around the entire perimeter.

Once you are satisfied with your paint job and it has dried, attach your tabletop and seats. And step back to admire...

So what do you think? Are you inspired to break out the spray paint? There are so many colors to choose from, so don't worry if pink isn't your favorite color. Let's just say the boys won't be using this one for their poker games :) We will be using this at our show near the Itasca Country Fairgrounds in Grand Rapids on July 25th and 26th. There will be a vintage car show as well. Come say hi if you're in the area, we'd love to meet you in person!

Dinner at W.A. Frost

Did you have a nice long weekend? We celebrated by going out to eat at W. A. Frost in St. Paul. This was my first time and I loved it! It can be a little spendy, but they have a special where you can have a salad, entree, and dessert for $30. We started with the Tapas Trio for an appetizer, a tasty little variety with shrimp, pork and salmon. Then I had the goat cheese and berry salad, salmon, and almond tort with peppermint green tea ice cream for dessert. Mmmm, I wish I was having this meal now. Unfortunately I forgot the camera, so I don't have food pictures, but the presentation was delicious as well :) The patio is definitely where you want to be on a warm summer night and I highly recommend it if you're in the area. Just be sure to make reservations so you can get yourself a patio seat!

The rest of the weekend was spent sewing and photographing for the shop. I have so many things to list and pictures to take! I will do my best to get more goodies in the shop this week. I'll also share a little before and after project that Country Mouse and I did last time we got together. Hope you enjoyed your weekend!

images by: y entonces (first and last), studioloraine (second and third)

4th of July printables

I came across these party goodies from Paper&Cake and thought they would be perfect for a 4th of July party. And the best part? They are a pdf, so you can use them over and over again. And it's not too late to get them since they will be sent straight to your email, no waiting for a delivery from the post office.

I hope the sun is shining where you are (I'm still waiting for it to break through the clouds here). Have a nice LONG weekend!

Images by Paper&Cake

Blog Love

This week City Chic Country Mouse was featured on two wonderful blogs. You must stop by and check them out.

Heather from Gathering Spriggs has a vintage inspired design blog. She is constantly finding the best shops and interior designs with inspiring colors. It's always candy for your eyes when you visit her blog. And she doesn't stop at blogging...


She has two amazing etsy shops as well! Visit Gathering Spriggs for vintage and nature inspired homegoods, art, and more. And to satisfy your love for vintage, stop by Gathering Vintage. It's worth stopping by to enjoy the pictures of the items in her shops, she is an excellent stylist.

We were also mentioned on Quilting on a Budget. And I wondered, why hadn't I come across this blog before? I'm know as being thrifty and love blogs that share this value. Be sure to visit Quilting on a Budget if you enjoy sewing, quilting, being crafty and don't want to break the bank while doing these activities.

We are always amazed by the friendly blogging community, there are so many thoughtful bloggers and readers out there! Thank you all!