Let me give you my card...

 

Check out our new business cards!  Aren't they fabulously adorable?  We are so excited to finally get them.  We had Business in the Bag design them for us.  If you are need of anything...cards, stickers, bags, ribbons, tags.... you have to check them out. They have the greatest stuff and the sweetest designs. 

This is how they arrived. They were packaged so beautifully...it felt like we were opening a present.   

Here's our card laying atop of their personalized ribbon.  See the snap at the top of our card?  We are going to add a small ribbon or string there just for some extra flair!

Thanks again to Business in the Bag!  

 

Birds Nest Jar

As you know, we have been very busy crafting away.  Mom has put together some adorable jars filled with bird nests and other fun things.  The pictures aren't great, but you get the idea. 

 
The two large ones in the back are great vintage jars!

 
Mom actually made all the nests herself.

 
 

We will be selling these at the Illinois Garden Club show....or stop by the shop in late April to see them!

Marche' Tags

We recently made some adorable gift tags, which we are calling Marche' Tags, or Market tags.  They are over sized, and are gifts in themselves.  Each one is a unique design.  We have made many tags in the last few years and always find new ideas and inspiration. 

 
Nests and Birds are so popular right now for spring.

 
I love finding new ways to use vintage jewelry!

 
This used to be part of an antique brooch which was broken.  We gave it new life.  It turned out adorable.

 
On the dragonfly tag, I added an antique compass charm.  I find these often, they must of been a bubble gum or cracker jack toy long ago. 

 
Here they are all lined up.  How did we do?

 
They are filled with vintage this and that.  Images, fabrics, jewelry, and what not.  We will be selling them in the shop in Barrington, as well as on line at our Etsy shop.  Save on postage and come see us in Barrington!

There is much more to come this week as far as crafts go.  Mom has been busy making adorable things with vintage jars, bird nests, and moss and other nature inspired items. I'll post some pictures soon. 

We are off yet again headed back to Iowa.  We just love it there, and the auction houses' love us!
 
 

New website!

We've been working on our new website.  We aren't very computer savvy, so it is still pretty rough, but we wanted to get one site where you could find our shop info, schedule and link to ourblog and Etsy shops. So check it out and check it often to find out what's going on at Tattered Tiques.

www.tatteredtiques.com   or click the "website" link on the navigation bar at the top.

St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day to You!

May your blessings outnumber

The Shamrocks that grow.

And may trouble avoid you

Wherever you go.

 
County Mayo, Ireland.

 
 
Cliffs of Moher

 
 
Vintage fruit crate label.  So cute!

 

 

It is safe to say, when I go to Ireland for the first time, I will probably take a million pictures of the sheep.  They are adorable.

 

 

These vintage postcard images were taken off the internet.  They are great to use in crafts.  For more free vintage images check out http://vintageholidaycrafts.com/free-clip-art/.

 

May the luck of the Irish be yours!

 

 

 

 

 

Moving Right Along

We have been very busy at the shop getting it ready for April.  We have finished all the painting, including the floors.  We have hung a large curtain to hide all our unfinished inventory, and have even squeezed in a trip to IKEA for some lighting.   Also, a special thanks to mom for all her sewing.  She not only made the curtain, but also made long burlap panels to conceal some of the upstairs view.  Here are some pictures of the updates. 

 
Not the best picture, but doesn't the floor look cute?

 
This is going to be our makeshift checkout counter.  It would make such a great kitchen island. I think it would be even better with legs added to the ends. 

Well, I can't wait to get the lighting up, and our Tattered Tiques sign.  Thank you to Matt for helping out with all that.  If we could just get rid of that telephone wire behind the counter.  I wish I knew a telephone guy. 

Furniture Bonanza

Last weekend we took another road trip.  This time, we had an new partner.  Anne's husband Matt went along for the ride.  Actually, he drove the whole way, and packed the Uhaul beautifully after the auction.  It was nice to get his take on the whole experience.  I think he digged it!  The reason I wanted to blog about this particular trip was because it was an auction that was FILLED with antique furniture.  It was held in a huge pole barn, with two separate rings going the whole time.  If you love antique frames, and furniture, and architectural pieces, this would of been the auction for you! 

 
Can you believe these two huge flats of frames.  All old frames and pictures.  Unfortunately, we had to be in the other room with the furniture.

 

There were beautiful antique dishes.  This plate is absolutely gorgeous!

 
These all went very high, but were probably worth it.  They were really cool.

 
Beautiful blue dishes with gold accents.

And then there was the furniture.  Tons, of it!

 

 
I have never seen so many antique chairs as I did at this auction.  These ladies were all lined up ready to go to their new homes. 

 
More beautiful dishes. 

 
This old spool cabinet when for $2,000.  Can you believe it?  I have never seen one go so high. 

Now for the best part.  Would you believe this was ALL from one estate?  Yes, it was.  Unbelievable I know.  The woman who's estate this was, was obviously a huge collector.  She had great taste too!

We are off yet again this weekend on another adventure.  In the mean time, we will be working on getting our warehouse ready.  We will transform the floor next. Also, we have been working on lots of crafts lately, so I will post some pictures of them soon.   

 

Goodbye Mr. Frizzle, Hello Lady!

I hated to do it, but I had to get rid of Mr. Frizzle, my beautiful rooster. He was starting to crow a lot, and to keep the neighborhood from ousting me, it was the only choice I had. Luckily, I found a FABULOUS home for him up in Sharon, Wisconsin.

This is his new barn. Fabulous right?  He actually will stay in the little side shed in the picture with his 10 new ladies.

Here he is meeting his new ladies for the first time.  He had to make a big scene to show them who's boss.

His new owners, Melissa and Elbert, are the nicest people. She showed my whole family around their beautiful old barn and introduced us to all their other pets.  This is one of their sweet sheep.

No barn is complete without some barn cats! This one came out to see what I was taking a picture of. Turns out, the picture looks much better with him in it!

 

Elbert took me to the top of the barn to show me how beautiful and spacious the upper part was. I LOVE seeing the inside structures of old barns.  The work is so gorgeous.  Elbert told me the barn is sprinkled with white boards and mismatching boards because the barn was built during a war and it was hard to get lumber, so the man that built it used any wood he could find locally. Even pieces from old houses and such.  Interesting.  Looks like this barn may be housing more than chickens and sheep....

                       Here's what Elbert was talking about...see the white boards.

 

No trip to the country is complete without a chicken purchase.  Meet my new gal "Lady".  She is a blue Cochin.  She has fabulously feathered feet.  Nothing makes losing a pet easier to deal with than the purchase of a new one.

Goodbye Mr. Frizzle!  We will miss you, but you are in good hands!  Thanks to Melissa for being so welcoming to my family and giving Mr. Frizzle such a great home.  We will be back up to visit you soon!

 

 

Big News for Tattered Tiques!

Tatttered Tiques has very exciting news!  We are renting space for the summer to hold our sales out of.  Yes, it's true, we are opening a shop!  It has been a few years since we had our last space in Crystal Lake, Il.  That space was a large garage unit, we have upgraded to a warehouse.  It is located in Lake Barrington, IL.  We have already started transforming the space.  After we get done with it, it will be fabulous.  I wanted to share some before pictures with you so you can see the progress as we go along. 

 
Remember, it's a warehouse right now.  But will be transformed into a chic little shop!

 

 
There are also two offices attached to the warehouse.We will probably only use this front office.  It has a nice window to give our customers a sneak peak at what's to come in the upcoming sales. 

 
As you can see, we already had a small room removed.  That gave us much more room in the warehouse area.

 
Here's mom and Anne just starting to paint that massive wall.  Let the games begin!

We are really excited.  So much to do to get ready for the grand opening.  We are thinking that the shop will be open twice a month, for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday of the chosen week. The Grand Opening will tentatively be on April 21st, 22nd, and 23rd.  We will also be doing the Garden Clubs of Illinois Convention on April 18th, and all the Elkhorn Antique Markets this summer and fall, and maybe a Grayslake here and there.  We will be very busy.  Let's not forget all the junking trips we will be taking in between.  We have been gone every weekend for the last month and a half in search of great antiques, shabby, vintage farm and industrial to pass along to you.  I hope you join us in the next chapter of Tattered Tiques!

 

Birthday Orchid

It was recently our Aunt Peggy's birthday, and since I haven't seen her yet, and will see her later today, I wanted to bring her a gift.  I made a quick card out of the stuff I had on hand, just like my French Birthday Sheets.  Since I was giving her a beautiful purple speckled orchid, I wanted the card to reflect the gift.  I used a vintage orchid birthday card image I had found on the internet a while back.  It turned out really cute. 

 
This little orchid is so colorful.

 
Its closeup.

 
The card could not of been more perfect! 

 
Ready to be wrapped up and delivered.  If you would like any vintage music sheet cards, let me know.  We have sold them on etsy in the past, and I would be more than happy to add them again for you.  They come in handy for so many things, and some are a bit thicker than paper. 

And now I'm off to get the three pigs, sorry, kids ready to go see Aunt Peg and Grandma "O" for a visit.  Our Grandma Novello, is a big blog fan, and always sits and reads the blog when she is in town.  So Hello to you Gram!  And a Happy Birthday to you Aunt Peg!