My holiday-ed up space at The Two Sisters Antiques and Gifts in Dunnellon, Florida

I had not been to Dunnellon in a few months to pretty up my space.  I had been so busy with family, the wedding/vacation trip to Rhode Island, and painting, painting, painting for The Fancy Flea that I had to let something go and with my 1 hour and 40 minute trip up there, it is what gave.  I know you're thinking I am crazy for traveling that distance to be in a shop, but I want you to know first, that my Mom lives in Dunnellon, so I always have dual reasons for going up there and a place to stay if I need more time to clean and stock.  And, secondly, when I started with the two girls, Brenda and Cheryl, I was living in Tampa and the trip was a wee bit shorter.  The girls initially opened their shop by renting a little house on one street back and I had the sunniest little room on the right. After a year or so, they decided it was time to buy their own property and reopened on Pennsylvania Avenue right in the heart of the historic district. And, I have the sunniest little room on the right! I have so enjoyed being with the girls all this time and we have quite a few regulars who come to see what is new that I even know a few by their names. The shop is different from the other shops I am in...it's more Victorian...and I feature a lot of my pretties here...a lot of glass, pretty porcelain, and nice antique furniture. I had not photographed my room in a while so I thought that after being up there to get ready for the holiday season and Dunnellon's own Victorian Holiday this past Saturday that I thought it was a good time to feature my space in their shop.  I have to apologize as I am featuring only my room since it was dark and late by the time I got around to doing this.  Next time, I will feature the rest of the house so you can see all that the shop has to offer. If you have not been to Dunnellon to shop or to take advantage of the tubing or kayaking activities then you're missing out.  Take a weekend to go enjoy this wonderful little town.  There are a few motels in town if you want to stay and make the best of it. Call the Chamber of Commerce and they will be happy to help you out. And, be sure to stop by The Two Sisters Antiques and Gifts and check out my sunniest little room! Enjoy my photos.


Entering my little room:

See the Johnson Brothers Rose Chintz dinnerware I just found.  Service for 8! Goes well with ruby red glassware!

 I just brought in some Fostoria amethyst wine stems...and some other violet and green pretties.

 The holiday scent, Snow Lily, is packaged in a pretty blue and looks nice with this little grouping.

 I brought back this set of Royal Albert Flower of the Month teacups and saucers from Rhode Island!

 And, I just brought in this hand painted charger size cabinet plate with beautiful pink roses. Add a plate holder and they make the prettiest art on your wall.

 My corner cabinet is filled with gorgeous vintage glass...most of it is hand cut and it sparkles with the mirrors behind it. This is one of the only painted pieces in my room right now and everyone wants to buy it...sorry, it would be too hard to replace. It makes for a wonderful display piece.

 More glass:  I carry a lot of Princess House and Fostoria American.

 I have a pretty English bone china tea set...complete with luncheon/snack plates and cups, sugar and creamer and teapot. It has pretty bud roses on it.

 This bowl of holiday scented mini soaps was overflowing when the shop opened. I filled it again and by the end of the evening it was down low again.  I left all that I had with me.

 I also put most of the demitasse cups and saucers that I find here at The Two Sisters.

 Here's an up-close of the Princess House...I price it real reasonable.  Looking for anything?  I just stocked tumblers, coffee mugs, stem wine glasses, and a wine decanter all in the Heritage pattern.  I also had a couple of spooners, but they sold the day I put them in.  I have another set I will be bringing in, in their original box!

 Here's better picture of my tea set and also check out my pink milk glass cake stand!

 I hate that I have to have a locked case, but unfortunately it's a must. I feature all of my little treasures, fragile, and pricier items in here.  By the way, ALL of my FENTON is 20% off.  I have quite a selection, some in this case and others throughout my space.

 Mmmmm...the wonderful soap I carry.  Sometimes it's the only thing that sells...and I wonder if I should just be in the soap business!  The are beautifully packaged and they make great gifts.  My room...okay, the shop, smells so nice because of my soaps and powders. I also carry body lotion in some of the scents.  I am doing a deal on my everyday scents just for the holidays:  Buy a lotion and a powder and get the bar of soap free!

 Three of the 7 holiday scents that I carry.  I carry the mini bars as well as the larger bars...make great stocking stuffers, or gifts for teachers, secret pals, and office workers.

 This dresser top was filled with ruby red punch cups that sold Saturday night. They had a wonderful turn-out for their annual Victorian Holiday, always the Saturday eve following Thanksgiving.  Check them out this Saturday for their First Saturday event....starts at 8 a.m.!!!

Let me know if you see anything you are interested in.  I hope you get a chance to visit Dunnellon sometime. Shop The Grumble House for antiques and wonderful gardening items, Always Something for antiques and other sweet finds, Aunt Bobby's for antique glassware and furniture, My New Old Chair for newly upholstered furniture, and for lunch, I highly recommend Abigail's. All are within walking steps from The Two Sisters!
Bye for now. denise

Back from Newport, Rhode Island...

We went on vacation to Newport to attend my nephew and his fiance's wedding and decided to make a week of it.  We arrived on Thursday and spent the day driving around checking out the area near Providence and then went onto Newport on Friday. Of course, we had to discover the little downtowns with their quaint little shops. This is the first we found...only because we were looking for that little restaurant by the water that the guy at the rental company told me about.  Lobster rolls and clam chowder...we could handle that for our first meal in Rhode Island...and it was a bit cooler than the weather here in Florida so a bowl of hot chowder sounded good!

This is Jarred's...I saw the sign twice and I finally insisted that we go check it out.

It was a cute little shop from the outside and we were excited to see what treasures were within.  See the nice little jeep we ended up with...I did priceline.com and got a standard vehicle for $15. day and when we arrived they didn't have that size so they upgraded us at no additional charge!  Wish we could have packed it full, but we had to be able to get our treasures on the plane! 

Look at the cool stuff here...the wonderful chest with the rose and swag decals...the mantle...this was definitely not your typical consignment shop. The prices were sooo good, but since we were flying there was no way to even consider buying any furniture...until she told me they would ship it!

Yup...I am a dealer...flipping the dishes over to see what they are.  I wanted to buy the green depression stems on the top shelf and the carnival glass pitcher and matching tumblers behind me.  They were so well-priced, but my husband (the guy with the camera) told me to keep in mind that we had a whole week....so I passed.

There's my Mom doing the same thing...flipping the tags to check the price.  I wish you could see that little cabinet behind that white fan...it was awesome.

There was a lot of painted furniture here for a consignment shop.  I liked the green china cabinet, the cool wine rack on the left and the white chairs there in the front.  There were a lot of pretty chandeliers but they weren't cheap...must be more popular than the furniture.

Anyways, we each bought a small treasure ( I found a pretty rose plate for $5.) and then decided to move on. We were ready for our lobster roll and chowder.  Not bad for our first stop!

I spoke with one of the gals on my way out...I think she was an owner... and she told me about their website.  So, here's the link in case you want to take a look:

Jarred's Homegoods and Consignments

Come on over...

to my facebook page to see my obsession of Wilendur tablecloths.  I am going to try this once to see if you will like me on my facebook page, too.  I seem to be getting more action there than on my blog so I made my post there and I am inviting all who read my blog to stop by.  Thanks.  Denise
Click here to go to my facebook page...

If you're going to Wildwood...

You know I have three spaces at Traditions Antique Mall in Wildwood.  We're 30,000 square feet big, so come for the day, enjoy the mall  and then enjoy the area.  The mall opens at 9:30 a.m. so come early and get your day started.

After shopping the mall, I highly recommend Cotillion Southern Cafe on Hwy 301 for lunch. It's only a mile or two from the antique mall.  They serve fried green tomatoes, and make the most glorious homemade desserts...need I say more??? 

On your way there you will pass by one of my favorite shops in town: The Red Door - Gifts and Home Decor.
Lisa Corrales, the owner, carries a wonderful selection of rustic iron garden decor, cement garden art, and outdoor garden furniture and accessories.  Inside the shop there is a wonderful selection of interior cottage and garden decor and gifts, hand painted furniture,custom florals, and of course, jewelry!  I'll let you peruse the pictures so you can get a feel for her inventory.  And, the cute dogs in the pictures...they are there to greet you and might even look for a little attention, but they're not for sale! Sorry!

 That's my Mom...she likes The Red Door, too!

That's my sister in the upper left, but don't tell her...she didn't want to be in a picture...

 That's Lisa...she's a pretty Southern girl!

 Aren't these little guys cute...they'll be at the door when you arrive...always a wonderful greeting!

 Here are the addresses you are going to need:
Traditions Antique Mall                                                  
3107 State Road 44
Wildwood, FL 34785-4048
(352) 748-6255

Cotillion Southern Cafe
101 North Main Street
Wildwood, FL 34785-4048
(352) 748-1223

The Red Door
207 South Main Street
Wildwood, FL  34785
(352) 748-2044

Lunch with Fellow Bloggers

                                                  Me, Carol, Kathy, and Sue.

Ya know...not everyone gets it.  We decided it was nice to sit and chat with one another because we have similar interests and most of those that we know that aren't in the business just don't get it.  Carol even said her son refers to Carol's followers as her "invisible friends".  Well, they might be until we get together for lunch and we become reality. We met at BRIO in Winter Park Village yesterday for an awesome Italian lunch...the food was wonderful if you haven't been to one yet, and we enjoyed each other's company.  Carol is especially helpful and will share all of her secrets.  She is a shabby chic girl and loves to do all kinds of shabby chic and French-style crafts.  Check out her blog: The Polka Dot Closet. She has an etsy shop and also sells locally at Orange Tree Antique Mall in Orlando. And, she has been published twice in Romantic Homes Magazine!  I took a couple of pictures of some things she recently brought in. 

Carol found a ceramic pair of ballet shoes and covered them in mosaics. Aren't they cute?

Carol "won" this cute stool at an auction, painted the wood base, covered it in linen, and used an old stamp kit to make it Frenchy....it's priced at only $28.00 !!!

Kathy and Sue from Sue-Bees and Butterflies have a wonderful booth at Art Angels on S. Orange in Orlando. They do shabby chic as well.  Sue is the shabby girl and Kathy is the chic, but I think we're turning Kathy into a shabby girl, too!  I have to praise Sue for pushing me to get my blog rolling.  She has been blogging for a while and has a lot of followers and follows a lot of awesome bloggers. You can thank her if you're sitting here reading this!

Lastly, a bit of great news!  I was just informed that I have been accepted as a vendor at The Fancy Flea market that is held in Lakeland twice a year. Mark your calendars.  It's a one-day event, Saturday, November 12th from 9 a.m. till 4 p.m. on Kentucky Ave in downtown Lakeland. 

I have lots to do to prepare, but so excited to be participating.  I know there are a lot of wonderful vendors setting up this time.  Yes, they "get it"!  It will be awesome.  Come see me! Come see us!  Kathy and Sue will be there, too!

Another Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Story!!

A while back I posted a dining table for sale on Craigslist and I had a nice lady come to take a look.  Mind you, she traveled 40 minutes to get to me.  Anyways, she decided the table wasn't for her but she was amazed at all of the "treasures" I had stored in my garage. She asked if I minded her looking around and I told her I did not.  It was interesting to see how others viewed my "projects".  She eye-balled a cute vintage vanity that I had recently finished...it was painted in Annie Sloan's Old White.  I had sanded it all out but had not put a top coat on yet...I was trying to decide on whether to seal it with wax or poly-acrylic. She was in love and thought it would look great in her daughter's room...and she would be hauling it off to Philly if she bought it!  So she asked if she could leave a deposit and pick it up once it was complete.  So, I got the money I wanted for the table and double that when she picked it up! I wanted to share the befores and after now that it has been taken away to it's new home.

This was originally a Craigslist find. I purchased it with a matching chest of drawers.  The chest was in much better shape and it sold right away in the shop. This little baby sat in my family room for some time and my husband finally said it was long enough...and I had been itching to use my ASCP, so on with the project.  There is also a pretty mirror and harp but you don't see that yet....

Now, I didn't quite get that you're supposed to wax before you sand, according to Annie Sloan, so I promise that my next project will go in that order.  The little vanity spit out enough dust in the sanding project to choke a horse, but it was soooo pretty. And, in the end, I did end up using the poly-acrylic to seal it since it was going in a little girl's room.  What's my reasoning? Umm....no waxy feel? How do you feel about a wax finish?  Maybe I'm using too much?  I try to buff to get a nice smooth feel, but it still feels like a waxed finish. One day with all the extra time I have, Ha!, I am going to sign up for one of the paint classes and watch these professionals in action!

For the mean time, this is the results I get.

I had to find a cute pink fabric to cover the vanity seat.  I found two little tassels at the same store that I thought I could add to make it special.  I hung them on the left and ride sides of the mirror. I then lined the drawers with some Rachel Ashwell Shabby Chic drawer paper that I had here.  I forgot to get a picture, but they were very cute.  I sure hope her daughter loves it!

Onto my next project.  I have lots to choose from!  Until then... 

I will be visiting Sue from Sue Bees and Butterflies and her booth partner, Kathy, at their Ladies Night Open House at Art Angels in Orlando. They have a booth entitled Chic and Shabby. Kathy is Chic and Sue is Shabby!  They have a wonderful selection of vintage items.  And, they have some new dealers at the shop so I can't wait to meet them and view all of their treasures. I'll take photos! Bye for now.