My shop name and banner...

I have just finished my first draft of the banner artwork for my esty store. It's within the required dimensions so I was a little bummed that I couldn't make my retro gal stand out more. If you click on the image, you might see that I put a halftone dot on her, much like the comic books but it's just lost in the banner. Now, I'm thinking I'll have to start a blog with my shop name and larger version of my 'banner' and a link to my store. More work to do. This just better pay off but even so, what a great exercise. 

Whatcha think? My vintage gal came from a magazine I purchased. A 1958 Rawleigh's Good Health Guide / Almanac and Cook Book. 

New-to-me 40's Mirror

Recently, I took a drive to the Bouctouche Dunes to see what level of damage was done to the dunes themselves. I knew the 2 km boardwalk was taken out in places but only heard the 10 km stretch of dunes were broken up into three parts. The day I went was sunny, but windy and cold. I didn't get much of a look but I tried. You can see some of the damage here....

I only wanted to know about the sand dunes themselves so I gave up on doing a beach walk and headed home. Better days ahead for that. My favorite little antique shop along the way (which I blogged about last year) was due for a visit so I dropped in and had a pleasant visit with my gal pal, Cheryl and her friend who was visiting that day. 

I love vintage mirrors. I never find them within my price range and I'm all about finding the best deals. So, I wait till a great and affordable thing comes along. If I pay full pop it must be a "I can't live without it, it's too good to be true" sort of deal. yeah.. so, anyway...

Well... she had so many new things and, of course, I had to take it all in. And guess what she had there! A 2 ft x 2 ft 1948 mirror at a price I knew would be twice the city price. I had to have it. But... would it suit my retro red room and the vintage prints that reside on that wall... the ONLY wall where my new-to-me mirror and prints can go?  YOU be the judge. I think it's OK as such....

Dog Sitting

Last fall, I had the 'experience' of doggie sitting a beautiful Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever named Tofu. I was certain he would be Mikey's new best friend because Mike is the lover of all dogs and Colby Blind Guy is just too much energy for most other dogs. I was wrong. This video is a glimpse of how much of our weekend went (actually, it was three days).

I have a photo booth!

Things are progressing along at a snails pace with my online vintage store. I'm hung up on a name but I have something I can see in my mind's eye so I'm not telling till I can show it. If I pull off what I have in mind, then the name will suit the graphics. The name by itself is not getting much in the way of "Oh... that's a nice name." It has to be seen and I might create the banner and go YUK!, thus starting all over again.

My photo shoots to date have not been satisfactory... well, some are OK. I tried to re-shoot some of my vintage wares using my kitchen table and white fabric and still not happy. I had issues with glare or shadows, wrinkles in my fabric (gasp!) and fuglies showing up in the background because my backdrop was not high enough. Hubs went googling on my behalf and told me he'd build me a photo booth. And he did! See?

I purchased the two black lamps for $12.99 each (had that yellow one for years), the card stock from the dollar store was only 25 cents per sheet so I have a couple in white and a blue one, the white fabric came from a sheet purchased at a thrift store and the wood was on hand. 

I'm planning on recycling my books at a thift store but glad they came in handy for adjusting the height of the lamps. My only issue is those fluorescent bulbs I put in are too warm (soft white) and I need higher wattage. They put a yellow cast on all my photos regardless of my settings (which I suck at in the technical sense). I'm in a learning curve here but learning is good exercise for the brain, right? These two examples are not tweaked... I will be using my photoshop skills to crop away empty space or even remove some cast or lighten some shadows; however, removing yellow cast from every photo is not going to happen.

Too yellow

This is better but was taken on my kitchen table.

I'm still going ahead with this venture but not rushing. My work schedule has picked up some and I'm so behind on spring cleaning and keeping it current, which would really make the work load lighter if spread out everyday. And I need to make time for exercise. It's becoming a real necessity because I'm feeling the effects of not being in shape. My knees... I strain them and don't even know how, then it's a slow healing process. Red flags waving!

My vintage shop needs a name!

 

Assaisonné Trésors 

        

 or...              Classique Trésors

Arrgghhh!!! This has been hard. I see so many cute and original names and I haven't been able to come up with one that isn't already used. I'm thinking I might go with a French name seeing as I'm living in a French community and all. Besides, French is a beautiful language. And I'm French, but not in the cultural sense but so what? 

Using an online translator sure wasn't the way to go. French is a difficult language. I knew I wanted something like "Seasoned Treasures" but the generated translation didn't seem right. I was getting "Trésors Épicés" (spice) so I asked around and got some local help. One lady who learned the language but not versed, per se, came up with "Mûrir Trésors" but it means something like Ripe Treasures (rotten fruit?). Finally, I asked a facebook friend who said it reminded her of fruitcake and she suggested either Classique Trésors or Assaisonné Tresors. I think I like the latter one and when I asked her what it meant exactly, she said Seasoned Treasures. Ahahaha! Right back to where I started. On second thought, I kinda want the name to be basically understood for us English folk, which takes me to Classique Trésors. Or I might scrap the whole idea and start over. (pulls hair out)

So... honest opinions are most welcome. Done up nicely with some artwork and elegant font (not necessarily the one shown), how does it work for you?

So, it's kinda like this....

All my attempts at pretty much everything have been faced with a let-down lately. Nothing too major. Just enough to suck the life blood out of me and leave me feeling like I'm stuck in the muck. 


We're having a major snow melt right now so that might be a contributing factor. It's a mess out there in our back yard. Not a great time for the dogs or me, the master cleaner of dirty dog paws. Some hopes dashed recently aren't helping, either. (big sigh)


I really, really want to gather all my vintage lovelies to sell online and actually get them posted. I did get photos done of several items and I have much more to gather and photograph. And then... what venue to use for dumping selling my vintage lovelies. In all seriousness, I don't wish to sell junk. I love to collect so I figure I can collect for others who might have like interests and for reasonable prices. I can do this! I can. I know I can. I will. I want to... just as soon as I get my feet out of the muck.


Soon. There IS an end to this long, messy, chilly, damp, oh-so-blah winter. And my spirits will soar. And I'll have more energy. 

Has anyone seen my 'Get up & Go'?

So, I'm excited for spring. Who isn't? This past winter in most parts of the Maritimes was brutal. The only good thing I can say about it is that it's pretty much over and looking back on it, I'm thankful the bulk of our snowfall is over a two month period and not a four month period. Still... it sucked the enthusiasm right outta me. And I expect I'm not alone in feeling this way. So many harsh storms and I'm seeing snow falling outside my window as I write. Pooey! 


I can't get excited about anything. My motivation is dried up and I have plans on the back burner that keep getting cold. As soon as I get excited and geared up to start putting my plan in action, something puts a damper on it. Pooey!


But... better days do lie ahead and I'm not a quitter so I will focus on that. Spring tends to breathe new life into a weary soul so I rummaged around in my photo albums to remind me that there is a fresh new outlook to look forward to, to grasp hold of and motivate me to keep a positive outlook. Yahooey!