We got so much done today! I was able to finish 3 small end tables, a chest, and a tiered wire basket. Now that we are starting to complete more and more projects, I can really start picturing how our booth will come together. I can't wait until we get everything in there and displayed.

My favorite piece of furniture is probably this mint table. I love all the curves and the subtle mint color. It wouldn't be complete without all the distressed finishes.

This robin's egg blue chest is another one that I'm really pleased with. I really like the painted hardware with the worn edges. The light wood showing through adds a lot of brightness to the chest. It looks kind of beachy - and will be a great display to put some linens in. Our booth will have plenty of vintage linens including tablecloths, runners, doilies, and pillow cases.

This grey end table is Cody's favorite. He wanted to keep it at the house but we really don't have a space for it. It is a really heavy piece that has a door on the front for extra storage. I chose a dark brown paint for the hardware to complement the natural color of the wood underneath. 

 

The antiqued yellow tiered stand is another great find! I loved the shape to the piece so much, but couldn't leave it the metal color as it looked too new and wouldn't work with the rest of the items. I dry brushed it a vintage yellow color so it will contrast nicely against doilies that I will display in it.

This final table is a classic shabby chic piece. I painted it an off white and lightly distressed the edges so the natural wood pulled through. I didn't get too crazy with distressing the chalk paint - I wanted this piece to be simple yet elegant. The two tiers to this table along with the curves give it enough character on its own, so I wanted a classic color.

I'm so excited to finally be sharing some finished pieces! My next journey is a hutch that I'm refinishing in the off white color. There were glass doors on the hutch but I removed them and will be putting chicken wire in place instead. It will be the perfect country furnishing to display all sorts of decor.

We've got about 1 week before the opening and still a ton of work to do! Our garage is a chaotic mess with unfinished projects in every corner. Although we still have a long way to come before we're ready, we already have accomplished a lot. I have several furniture pieces that are in the various stages of being refinished. I can't wait to actually get them completely finished so I can post the before and after photos! I'm hoping to have several of them completed by the end of this weekend so I can share my progress.

The Beginning

This weekend was very exciting for my husband and I! We were able to secure a spot at Snider's Hill Theatre Antique Mall in Hillsboro. Our first official day will be September 1st - the countdown begins!

Our space has just enough room to display a few pieces of my shabby chic furniture along with some great vintage finds we've accumulated over the past few months. Shopping for our space is extremely fun, so I hope that customers will enjoy the pieces enough to buy some. We named our business The Mint Cricket. There isn't really a reason for the name, other than the fact I love the color mint and a lot of our pieces feature that color. Cody misheard me when I was throwing around booth names and he thought I said cricket (I really said picket) and we liked the sound, so we decided to go with it!

Now the next  two weeks will be full of refreshing furniture pieces and finishing up various projects. We definitely have our work cut out for us! I will include more blogs about refinishing furniture and the techniques I enjoy most. For now, here are some photos of us beginning our journey into the world of antiques!

This is a chair that I got for a steal at only $1! I am painting it a grey color and will distress it. It would be perfect to put in an empty corner and throw some decorations on. I'll take more photos when it is complete.

Cody took a photo of me starting to refinish this great end table. I've painted it a soft grey and distressed it to give it that perfect shabby chic feel.

Here is a pile of goodies awaiting cleaning and pricing. So far we've got a pretty good start to our inventory.

Even more items awaiting some extra TLC to be display ready. I'm thinking I'll just sand down that white chair to distress it. The end table will probably become a vintage yellow color.

More finds that need to be cleaned and priced prior to the 1st.