BWADA Antique Show

If anyone is interesting in shopping at the antique show this weekend, here is the flyer. Thank you Terri for reminding me to tell folks.

Sorry, this is too blurry, so I will give you the details.

Saturday April 2, 2011 - 10 am- 5pm (Admission $4.00)

Sunday April 3, 2011- 10am - 4pm  (Admission FREE with donation of cash or food for local foodbank!)

New Haven High School

57700 Gratiot Ave (M-19)

New Haven, MI  48048



Visit our website: bluewaterantiquedealers.com

What Came First...

The Bunny or the Egg??? What were you thinking Janice? I did warn you all before...I LOVE BUNNIES!!!

I found the bunny material at a garage sale...put him together, primmed him up and made some prim fabric eggs...added them to a prim basket I found at another antique store in town...and added a little greenery, and just made my own little Easter decoration for my kitchen.

Which brings me to a little funny story that happened on Easter morning about 26 years ago. Both my mom and sister took a candy/ chocolate making class a long time ago... They got really good at it and started making chocolate for craft shows, co-workers and gave to family as presents during the holidays...but most importantly my mom made the chocolate for all of the grand children's Easter Baskets. She did chocolate foiled eggs and bunnies, bunny suckers, and coconut clusters to name a few. I would only add the peeps and jelly beans to my son and daughters baskets.

Well one year on Easter morning...my daughter Michele..she was about 4 years old then...she got up early (like all kids do) to go find her basket...in our house the Easter Bunny hid their baskets...well she found her basket and with basket in hand, immediately woke me up wanting to call her gramma...I asked her why she wanted to call gramma so early in the morning. Well, my little Michele put her Easter Basket down and put her hands on her hips and said" I have to call gramma, because the Easter Bunny stole her candy"!

Well needless to say, my mom stopped making candy for my kids Easter Baskets..and I had to start buying chocolate from the store...sure was not the same though. LOL!

My daughter will be 30 in April this year...time sure does fly by.

Here is my FAT FREE Easter Basket in its new little spot. To the left is an early sap bucket and to the right is a wood cabbage carrier and below are two early dry measures and a wood bucket. An early huge pie peel is propped up against the wall in back and the entire grouping is on an early bucket bench. Even though the bench does not have its original paint, I was drawn to the color. The bench actually came from an old farmhouse in Allen Park Michigan. 

These next few days I might not have much time to post..getting ready for our antique clubs semi annual antique show. I believe we have 42 vendors that have signed up, so it should be a good show! Unfortuantely, our chairperson for the show is very sick and now needs a liver transplant..so please pray for her if you can...so now Bob (hubby) who is our VP for the club has to take over...and tomorrow we have a pre-meeting.

Until next time...
Janice

     

Going the Distance

Last Friday Bob got a call from our sales clerk over at the store asking if we would hold a few pieces of furniture as someone saw our Facebook page and was inquiring about them. This customer had been into our store last year and wanted to know if two particular items were still available that Bob had posted to our Facebook page. Our clerk wanted to know if we could hold them until Saturday and the customer would purchase them and take them home. They indeed were still available and Bob agreed to hold them for 24 hours...we do not normally hold items, however in this case...this particular customer was driving from Kentucky!!! Can you believe this??? When Bob called me, I could not believe someone would drive that far for some furniture...the things our customers will do...

Shirlee and her sweet hubby drove 7 1/2 hours one way from Perryville Kentucky, which is over 400 miles. Unfortunately only one of the pieces of furniture she wanted would fit into their van...the pot belly Hoosier cabinet...and then Shirlee told me that she would be back in two weeks!!!??? I kind of thought she was nuts when she said that..but she then told me afterwards that she would be stayin with a friend of hers that lived close by for a week...whew...I felt a lot better hearing that. I can't say I have ever driven that far for an antique...but when I see something that I really want...well, I'm with Shirlee...you just gotta have it! Thank you Shirlee...you sure made our day..and in case your ears were ringing...you were the talk of the shop for the rest of the weekend.

Sundays as you know is my crafting day...well I ended up making more carrots for the store, plus was working on something for the house...I'm not done..cause I cleaned and did laundry in the morning and spent most of the afternoon watching movies...something I don't get to do very often...finished up tonight though and air drying overnight, so I should have a picture tomorrow to share.

Well its past 10pm and 5:00 comes awful early, so good night everyone.

Monday Montage

Growing up on my grandparents farm meant wearing jeans in the Winter and shorts in the Summer...and always a pretty dress for Easter mass and a new Easter Bonnet! I always enjoyed looking at all of the pretty hats the ladies would wear at church..and the men would have on their hats too...just not inside the church.

I always felt that I was born too late in time...as I enjoy watching the old black & white movies or going through old sepia photographs paying special attention to what folks back in the day were wearing...nothing like today...our ancestors would probably have a heart attack if they saw the fashion of today.

I recently purchased a gentleman's spring hat from the 1920's and an early 1900's bodice that I decided to hang over my early dresser in our bedroom. Looking at this hat the other day reminded me of the fancy Easter Bonnets and gentleman hats of my childhood. so I decided that would be the first Monday Montage. Below is a montage of my bedroom and another one of some fancy ladies hats!

Now it is your turn to take pictures of your Easter Bonnets!  

http://primsbythewater.blogspot.com/

Please comment with this post to lead us to your EASTER BONNET display, and remember to mention my blog. 

Cannot wait to see everyone's favorite Easter Bonnet Montage..any hat that you have whether vintage, antique or new that you would consider to be an Easter Bonnet...and remember to comment so that you are entered in my giveaway once I reach 50 followers...

See March 25th post for rules on the giveaway. Good Luck everyone!

Pickin Time

This week we got a call from one of our customers...he wanted to get rid of some of his antiques...this is music to our ears...we feel like Mike and Frank from The American Pickers..only we don't drive in a Mercedes van..LOL. We did upgrade though from our truck to a cargo van...you should of seen us pile up that truck..if I only had pictures. We really did look like the Beverly Hillbilly's back then!

We decided to take these items to our antique show next weekend...but I thought I would share with you some of the items we were able to buy. If you double click on each picture, they should enlarge...I did say they should...

Carnival targets from the 1920's. Pictured are a Duck, Bulls Eye, Squirrels (back) & Roosters (front)

Carnival knokdowns- The Green Cat from early 1940's and the Black Americana ones are from 1920.

Another small knockdown and the wood milk bottle game with the original balls. I found out why you could never win at this game. The carnival would pound a nail through the bottom so the bottle would not fall down....CHEATERS.

This 1880 Barber Pole is made from wood. This is an awesome piece with the chippy paint.

Bob posted more pictures on Facebook if you would like to check them out.

Don't forget, the Monday Montage starts tomorrow...tell your friends.

Monday Montage

Monday is the hardest day of the week for me. Once the alarm clock goes off at 5:00am, the first words out of Bob’s mouth are “I’m staying in bed” (which is what Bob tells me every day) LOL…

Besides owning our own antique store...which at present we only get to work at on weekends; Bob and I each work full time jobs…when we retire though, our store will be our only job…the job we both LOVE to do…but right now, since I have to work, I am not particularly fond of Monday’s.

To make my Monday’s more interesting, I decided that I would like to start a display chain giveaway called Monday Montage. This is really easy to do. I will give you a word(s) and my own picture(s) for each week’s montage and your goal is to put a picture on your blog with that Monday’s theme, and add a comment on my blog…easy enough…  

                                                          

My followers will have all week to post their pictures and comments. Once I reach 50 followers, I will have a giveaway…this giveaway will be for both my US and Canadian followers. Yes Sandy, if you win, I will ship to YOU! This giveaway will be a secret…hint… those who like prims and crafts should like this…

OK, here are the rules…

1. Since I work on Mondays, I will post the word(s) for the week on Sunday sometime.
2. Everyone who is a follower by this Sunday (March 27^th, 2011) before I post the first pic…will be automatically entered into the giveaway...only fair since you are already following my blog.
3. Your Monday Montage must incorporate at least ONE item for the theme that week….no cheating as I will check out your pictures…
4. Each WEEK if you post a picture of the Monday Montage on your blog, mentioning the giveaway with my blog name, and also comment on my blog, you will be entered into the giveaway. I CANNOT check everyone’s blogs to see pictures unless you send me a comment…I just don’t have enough time...but remember, before I add your name, I will look at your pic.  
5. No comments or pictures from previous posts will be accepted into the free giveaway…only current ones, so no cheating.
6. You may post as many pictures as you like for that week, however only one picture each week will be entered into the free giveaway
7. If you become a Facebook fan for our store (Back Porch Antiques) you will also get an extra chance to win…just send me a comment that you did.  For those who already have liked our Facebook page, please send me a comment too, as Bob takes care of our Facebook page…   

Once I hit 50 followers, I will have the drawing…in the evening of course

This is a way for those of you to get creative and show me how you decorate your homes. At my store, I am constantly asking my customers what they plan on doing with their purchases and this display chain will also give me an idea of what everyone likes to collect. Good luck everyone!

Remember, I will start on Sunday night....

The Ditty Bag

Recently I have been noticing many prim crafters creating Ditty Bags....looking at these bags, I thought these may have been used by women on the prairie as a small purse to carry....I was wrong on that assumption. The origin of the ditty bag was circa 1860 and was used by sailors to hold small articles such as tools, needles, buttons and personal items. These canvas bags had a flat bottom and were about 6 to 7 inches in diameter with a length of approximately 14 inches and closed using a drawstring which was usually made from twine. See picture below.

Do you see where I am going with this???....so last Sunday I decided to make my own version of a ditty bag...only mine will be used for decoration...and all hand sewn...which is why this took me so long. 

Tell me what you think about this one?

                

I seem to be on this violet and bunny kick...LOL. I hung this on the wall to take the picture, and with the sweet annie tucked in between the violets, the sheer green ribbon is not that noticable...if you look close, it is under the button.

If you have a ditty bag you would like to share. Please send me a comment and post to your blog..

I would love to see more creations. Until next time....

Think Spring!!! 

Janice

Hello Mother Nature

I think my Redwings forgot to tell Mother Nature that it was Spring already as we are getting blasted with snow right now...arghhhhh.

These are the pictures of the ice in the river from Saturday. Across the river is our neighbors from Canada. As of tonight there is still ice in the river and the visibility is practically down to zero. We are sure to hear the foghorns tonight if any freighters pass by. Lisa from the Moonlit Stitch told me that her husband use to sail on the freighters. I would love to know which ones Lisa, cause I am somewhat of a freighter freak. One of my neighbors use to sail on the Boland. I read the vessel passage link on boatnerd.com to find out which freighters are in the river when I am home so I can watch them go by. 

Saturday at the store we had our smallest visitor to date, and she was a welcome guest and can come visit us any time. Here is little Mia with her mommy. Isn't she so cute!

Well I am almost done with one of my Sunday projects...so here is a little tease of one of them.

Brown mottled fabric, plaid fabric, green and cream striped fabric and winter white wool.....

oh yeah...I also have added some felt, floss, buttons and maybe ribbon...stay tuned....have to go back to work and finish it..

Until tomorrow, to all of my Michigan friends, drive safe if you have to go out in this mess.

Take care,

Janice







Well Spring is officially here…

Saturday morning, the Spring ice thaw was flowing fast down the river and jamming up just South of us where the river splits into two channels before meeting Lake St. Clair.  March 25^th is the opening day of the 2011 shipping season, and the Coast Guard cutters are busy cutting the ice so that the mighty freighters can get through.  Bob took pictures of the ice flows and I will try to post some tonight if I can.

Growing up on the farm I learned a few things from my grampa H.  Every March is when I think about him. Even though I was young when he passed, he instilled a few things in my brain that I will never forget. One being that the first bird to look for as a sure sign of Spring was not the favored Robin that everyone looks for here in Michigan…the bird grampa H would look for and/or listen; was the Red Winged Blackbird. You see, he would tell me…. Robins usually come back in February, and some even stay all year round…but when that Red Wing comes back, you know Spring is just around the corner.  Last Friday, I heard my first Red Wing, and Bob saw one driving through the marsh on Saturday morning,  so Spring has truly come back to our little area we call home!     

                                                                  

Grampa, the Redwing is back, and Spring is finally HERE!!!

I tried taking a picture of that Super moon on Saturday night, but it came out all fuzzy…to be honest with you,  I could not tell the difference. Then again, it was probably just me. Did anyone else look at it and notice a difference?

Yesterday I was a busy little beaver…working on many different projects at the same time….not getting any of them completed…I blame TCM for that…they were showing Going My Way with Bing Crosby….now I am aging myself. LOL…I simply love the old black and white Classic movies. They don’t make them like they use to.

So I was trying to make more carrots and bunnies for the store, and a new design..involving a bunny of course. Unfortunately, we are re- designing  one of our store windows tonight, so no updates tomorrow either on the new design. The reason being is that I also work a full time job during the week, and that only leaves me the evenings to work on my crafting.  I will try to post pictures of the ice later this evening.

Happy Spring everyone! 

 

This Little Shoe Of Mine

Hello everyone. So I hear tonight is the coming of our Super Moon...it will be the closest to the Earth since 1993...if you can, be sure to go outside and look at it. It sure was bright and big coming up over the river last night....sorry, we were driving back home from an auction and I did not have my camera. However, I'm going to try to see if I can get a pic tonight...if I remember that is. LOL

Back to my shoe story from the other night's post. This is the picture of the little shoe again.

Now here is what it is used for...Drum Roll Please....

If you said a Shoe Knife, then you were correct. Jim, our guest speaker has been collecting knives for over 30 years. He currently has over 600 with 40 that are his most favorite. I would not want to get on his bad side....Seriously, Jim is a great guy and very knowledgeable and he taught our whole group what to look for if we plan on selling knives in our stores...as there are many fakes out there...especially the Bowie Knife. He will not even buy a Bowie Knife, because 90% of them are fakes and he knows of only one person that can tell what the real one looks like...so if you ever want to buy a Bowie Knife...chances are you will be buying a fake.
                                               
Here is a better picture of shoe knife that I found  on the internet. They look just like a Victorian Shoe.
                                         
                                                      

The one Jim showed us was black. Pushing on the button by the heel opens it. His shoe knife was made between 1930 and 1940, and they were primarily used as advertising.

Here is Jim (on the left in wearing red) looking at one of the knives that Bob had brought in to appraise for us. Let's just say, Bob did not find the pot of gold at the garage sale he bought those knives at...unlike those folks on the Antiques Roadshow that bought something for $1.00 and its worth $10,000.00...but I still love him anyway.

Pictured from left to right are Jim, Sue Kane (she owns Kane's Townhall Antiques in Romeo, MI), Dee Kelley (she owns Kelley Antiques in Sandusky, MI), and Rock (owner of both Green Gable Antiques and the Atrium Restaurant which are both in Port Huron, MI)

In school History was my favorite subject...I think that is why I became an antique dealer...I love knowing about the history of pieces.

One more little shot of our store before I leave for work....

This is one of the little groupings that I did for St. Patty's Day. Time to change up again, so Heigh Ho. Heigh Ho, its off to work I go.....but this is one job that I really LOVE to do!!!!

The Moonlit Stitch Giveaway

http://themoonlitstitch.blogspot.com/2011/03/giveaway-at-moonlit-stitch.html

To all of my primitive friends....Lisa from The Moonlit Stitch is having an awesome giveaway. See the pic above...her deadline to enter is April 9th. Did you ever see a more adorable prim bunny! Bunnies are my weakness and I love this time of year. Please visit Lisa's blog (http//:themoonlitstitch.blogspot.com) and enter..oh yeah...do mention that you saw her giveaway on my blog. Good Luck!

How many of these shoes does it take to fill a closet....

I hope that everyone had a great St. Patty's Day...I had to go to the dentist and get a crown done...not fun...and I look like a chipmunk.

The frogs were singing away this morning and again this evening when Bob and I finally came home...a sure sign of Spring in our neck of the woods.

Last night we attended our monthly BWADA (Blue Water Antique Dealers Association) meeting in which Bob is the Vice President. We meet every third Wednesday in Port Huron, Michigan at the Atrium Cafe. This restaurant is owned by two of our members, Rock and Gayle (husband & wife team) who are great hosts. Their restaurant is simply gorgeous, and I wanted to share pictures with you all.

Actual lights from a church that was taken down.

These seats were from a movie theatre dating back to 1929. Rock and Gayle painstakingly had to remove gum and grime from every one and recovered them in a turquoise pleather.

In this side room they have an antique movie projector built into the wall, that plays silent movies. I'm afraid these pictures do not do this room justice.
The main room is furnished in the Victorian era...forgot to take pictures...sorry.

Rock is the ever gracious host...Gayle was hiding.

We had a guest speaker last night and he showed us the cutest little....

Isn't this the most darling little shoe that you have ever seen! It is only two inches long. Looks Victorian and is black. Can anyone tell me what they think it is??? It even has a little buttons on the side which unfortunately you cannot see in this picture. Comments welcome...and I will reveal what it is tomorrow as I need to get some shut eye. Until tomorrow...this shoe was not made for walking....

Elusive Clover

One Summer day gramma B...bless her heart, told my sister and I about the story of the four leaf clover. "Just like finding that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow", she said. "Whomever was able to find a four leaf clover would have good luck and fortune...she really just wanted to get us out of the house as we were driving her nuts that day.

Being kids though, we were so excited that we could not get out of the farmhouse fast enough and ran to the nearest patch of clover...frightening the poor bunny that was trying to eat his/ her lunch. Sitting on the ground, we must have spent hours looking for a four leaf clover....more like 15 minutes...because I remember going back into the farmhouse telling my gramma that we could not find one and she swooshed me back outside telling me that I did not try hard enough.

For all of you that are reading this and have a younger sibling....you know that at least once you have made them do something that you did not want to do...am I right??? Well, I had several of those times...and this was one of them. In my feeble attempt to prove to my gramma that I had found that elusive clover, I gently ripped one of the leafs of a three leaf clover in half...making it become four....Yipee...I exclaimed, and told my sister to hurry and show my gramma what we had found. I laugh about it now, because my sister truly thought I had found one... only to come back out of the house telling me gramma told her to try again....alas we stopped looking and went and played with something else...outside of course.

Now with our antique store, Bob and I sell a few books. They have to catch my eye for me to even want them. Well this particular book I liked because we have customers who purchase black memorabilia, and thus the reason I have this one for sale. A few weeks ago, a customer came in on a Sunday and was flipping through this particular book. He came up to the counter with book in hand and wanted to show Bob what he found in it.
Lo and behold....

Our customer finally found my elusive FOUR LEAF CLOVER....

This picture does not do it justice, but at the top, the two leaves are almost pressed together. I did not want to split them apart for fear they would break.  

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone, and I hope you all are able to find your elusive four leaf clover!

Wide Open Prairie

Rosemary and John Husson(my paternal great- grandparents)came from France and secretly married in Canada before moving over to America. The reason they secretly wed was because they were first cousins...yes I did say that...I also failed on my Family Tree in High School, because my teacher thought I lied to get out of doing the assignment. It was not until my mom went to Parent- Teacher conference that he changed my grade back to an "A"

The reason for the secrecy was that Rosemary's side of the tree were well to do and John's side were the black sheep. Rosemary's parents felt the only way to get John out of their daughter's life was to whisk her away on a ship to Canada in 1873. However Rosemary somehow got a message to John and he sailed the next ship to Canada and they were married in 1874 and moved to Michigan. They had 9 healthy children and acquired enough land in their lifetime to give each of their children 350 acres. 

Grampa H (Charles) was one of those children and on his dairy farm he grew acres of alfalfa each year...enough to feed the livestock for the winter months. It was also in these fields where I would run far enough into so that no one could see me; then lay on my stomach with a piece of alfalfa in my mouth and read a book...daydreaming that I was Laura Ingalls on my own prairie...

Creating my Sunday project a few days ago, reminded me of my version of the prairie, so this is what I did with my bouquet of violets and how I displayed my creation in my home.

I placed my prairie doll next to my salt glazed crock that I filled with faux prairie grass. I had these vintage blocks stashed away, and was able to find the correct letters to spell out Violets...even though the letter "L" is very faint in this picture. What do you think? Looking at this doll, makes me wonder if my great grandmother Rosemary ever picked wild violets on her own farm.     

Vicky from Green Creek Primitives is starting to see her violets popping their little heads up everywhere, so hopefully this is a sure sign that Spring is coming....

Oh yeah, one more thing before I post this tonight. 

Now doesn't she look cute in the store just ready for someone to take her home! 

Take care everyone,
Janice

Sunday Crafting

On Sunday's Bob gives me the day off at the store so that I can catch up on housework and Crafting. If he gets really busy, I'm only seven minutes away to help out...once Spring and Summer get here, my day off will be gone as our Summer customers will be back. 

We live along the St Clair River which is the main river between Lake Huron and Lake St. Clair. It is a major water route for both domestic and foreign freighters from other countries. Most everyone who lives along the river has their favorite freighter. Mine is the Saginaw. 



The state park is minutes away from us, and we have visitors from all over the U.S. who vacation here just to view these freighters. We are so lucky that we have the luxury of being able to go out on our dock anytime we want and the blue of this mighty river on a sunny day is just breath-taking. Yesterday was the first day in almost two months that we were able to even see water....it has been jammed up with ice for miles...even stopping the ferries that go from Michigan to Canada...as across the river is our Canadian neighbors. 

Well, back to my crafting day. I have had Spring fever so bad, that I decided to make something else.

Here's a clue...some green wool, two shades of purple felt, yellow and purple floss, some rusty wire and floral sticks.... anyone have a guess???

I decided to make myself a bunch of Violets. Now I could not stop there....I got to thinking and thought...hmmm...these two fabric colors might look good together with these violets...

To be continued.... 

Easter Peeps- Sunday March 13th

Easter has always been my favorite time for crafting, as I love bunnies. While some folks collect chickens, frogs, cats, dogs and other things, in my house bunnies rule...well really Tanner and Squeaks rule...our two spoiled cats... but they are another story.

Well, I have been crafting for over 30 years now, and I still love creating bunnies, so I decided to make some Bunny Peeps for the store. You know, those marshmallow treats that go right to your hips.

Well, yesterday one of our regular customers Jeff wanted to know when I had made them and if they were still fresh?? I started laughing and told him that they were made out of fabric...which then made him laugh. Since I had wrapped them in cello bags, he thought they were real. I just love our customers!!!   

After painting them, I had sprinkled them with German Glass Glitter, which made them look like they had been sugar coated...these pictures do not give them justice. They sparkle and look good enough to eat. Just ask Jeff the next time you see him in our store!!!

For those of you that are on Facebook, Bob added more pictures of our store. Visit Back Porch Antiques. Make sure you like us and you will be one of the first to see our updates.

Until next time...don't eat too many EASTER PEEPS.

Janice

Debuts * Beginnings * Poczatki


With my first post, I thought it would be appropriate to start at the beginning. Since I am of French and Polish decent, I thought it would be fitting to have the word "Beginnings" in these languages too...thanks to my nifty translator.

My first encounter with primitives, were on my grandparents' farms. Each located in the Thumb area of Michigan. For those who are unaware of how we Michiganders locate cities with our hand, just put up your left hand and look at your thumb. Otherwise, you can find Sanilac county on the internet.

My grandparents did not live close by, and I was always happy when it was either Summer vacation or the Holidays, or any other weekend my parents decided to take the trip up. Note: the drive only took 1 1/2 hours, but to a kid it was FOREVER.

Before I go any further, I need to address my grandparents as Gramma/ Grampa H (paternal) and Gramma/ Grampa B (maternal). I hate formailty.

Now the main room of daily activity at Gramma B's farmhouse was the kitchen. In her kitchen sat a drysink in cream milk paint with an old pump on top. Here she drew water for drinking and cooking, and also cleaned up the dishes afterwards. Gramma B did not have running water until the new addition was put on the old farmhouse...which did not happen until I was a teenager. She was so excited about her new sink and  kitchen cabinets...but unfortunately all of her old cabinets, including the drysink were taken to the townships dump, before anyone in the family could say that they wanted them. I sure hope someone was able to rescue them. If she only knew that one day her granddaughter would want a dry sink in her own kitchen. she might think I was touched in the head.

The dry sink in the above picture was a great find that Bob and I found on one of our buying trips for the store. As you can see, this piece did not quite make it to the store. Don't you just love that chippy old paint!! I think it looks awesome, what do you think?

Well, on another note, I am so wanting Spring, that I have been adding touches of Spring to the store.

Until next time, you can hop on over to visit our store if you are in the area.



 Back Porch Antiques

550 Broadway St

Marine City, MI  48039

810-765-7122