Coolin Days Show - Memorial Weekend

 It was a gorgeous weekend in Coolin Idaho, up at Priest Lake.  We had a nice little spot for the Coolin Days Show and settled in comfortably.  Our neighbors were super friendly, and we had a good time getting to know each other.  Sorry for the iced coffee in the pic, lol.  Best Buzz coffee was right across from us, so I was a happy camper!!!  Honestly, I think they did the most business of anyone at the show!

This is my business signage when I don't have access to electrical for the Marquee sign

 Our first day, we were a little short on shade.  Our current set up doesn't have a roof, so I will say, it did get a little warm.  Thankfully, my sister had a bistro style umbrella she lent us for the show.  That gave us a spot to go when the sun got to be too much.  I wore a big 'ol straw hat, so that also helped immensely!   Mike had an idea for providing that much needed shade for Sunday, so when we got home on Saturday evening, he set about gathering up some materials (salvaged, of course!!!) to create a roof.  This is the booth before Mike made the roof:

 And here it is with the much needed shade of a roof:

 At one time, we had a pop up canopy, like most craft show vendors do, but I left it up one day when a massive thunder storm blew through, and well, it became a mangled mess.  The piece Mike used for the roof was one of the side walls, and the pipes were from a carport type canopy that collapsed from ice and wind a few winters ago.  They are really light weight, so they worked perfectly for this.

It really made a huge difference in the comfort level on Sunday!

Here are a few pics showing some of the new items I've been working on:

In this picture, you can see the potting table I made that has a cute vintage sink dropped in.  It's in working condition, so it's a nice little spot to wash off some of the dirt from a day in the garden.  I know it's kind of hard to see with all the stuff on it.  Here's a picture I took right after I put it together:

I've added 3 old bed springs holding cute little terracotta pots, across the top rail of the picket fence

Here's a pic of the beverage center.

It was an old sewing cabinet I've had sitting around for years.  I finally decided to do something with it.  We don't have a lot of visitors out here at the ranch, but when we do, we tend to grab a wash tub or something and fill it with ice for drinks.  I've always wanted a "beverage center", and this is what I came up with.  I have a few other designs in mind, and will work on them as time allows.  

This baby worked great!!!  We had ice cold drinks for the entire weekend.  It got a LOT of attention, but I think mostly for people that have an old cabinet of their own laying around, collecting dust.  I wish them luck.  Honestly, I do.  I bled more making this project then anything else I've made!!!

Here are a few of the new signs I've made for the Coolin Days show:

There are so many more sign designs I've made lately that I don't have pictures of.  I'll try to get some of them photographed as soon as possible and be them posted.   

I'm taking a break from the shows for a little while, but I have some big plans for the future.  I'll fill y'all in on the details shortly. 

As always, if you have questions or comments, please feel free to post them here on the blog, or email me directly.  

 

A work in Progress

A Diamond in the Rough

As usual, I forgot to take any pictures before I started taking it apart.  I don't know why I never can remember to grab my camera (or phone).  Anyway, this is almost a before pic, lol!  At this point, I've already removed the vintage sewing machine (set aside for another project) and all the other "guts", and started working on the top.  When I decided what I wanted to do with this piece, I had a choice to make.  The veneer was pulling away,  as you can see in these pictures:

I could try to re-glue it back down, or I could try to strip off the pealing veneer.  I chose to strip it off.  Everytime I do a project like this, I convince myself that the offending veneer will come off, in one or two large pieces, easy-peasy.  HAHAHAHA!!!!

This is a portion of the top after about 2 hours of peeling, and scraping:

And this picture shows the entire top.  The arrows show my customary blood splatters.  I kid you not, I manage to stab, slice, or nail myself on pretty much every project I work on!

I this instance, I stabbed my finger when the scraper slipped.  I've never been known to be graceful, or for that matter, particularly careful.  Thankfully, the cut is pretty small, and really, this picture shows how little it actually bled.  I must say though, 2 hours after cutting myself, my finger is really sore, and seems to want to keep bleeding.  I've cleaned it well, so I'm not worried about it. 

I guess my little accident came at about as good a time as possible today.  It was time for me to get my evening chores done, and the critters were letting me know it was time I got to work doing my "real" job, lol!  Here at the ranch, the critters come first, and all other projects line up behind.  Let me tell you, it's a REALLY long line, lol!

So, that's all I have on this project for today.  I'm hoping to have a reveal of the finished piece in a day or two.  It all really depends on how much veneer removal I'm going to have to do.  I think you'll like the "After" pics when I get this little beauty finished.

Here's one last look at the "Before"