Store Spotlight: Sesame & Lilies

A couple of weeks ago, Jeff and I took a vacation and headed to the Pacific Northwest. Among our stops was Cannon Beach. It was our first time in that area and it was gorgeous!

During the planning process, I stumbled upon a home store located in Cannon Beach called Sesame and Lilies. I knew from the website that I would fall in love....and I did! So, I wanted to take you on a little tour of what I saw and offer suggestions on where you can find some of the same looks.

They have room after room of beachy, one-of-a-kind home decor, clothing, jewelry, bath items, kitchen items and much, much more. It was a little overwhelming!

Burlap and linen (natural looking fabrics) are still going strong. I love this paired with the tufted look! It really softens and dresses these fabrics up. Here's a similar tufted chair. And, the large mirror would be an easy DIY project...distress some lumber (or use barnwood if you are lucky to have some) and make a frame for the mirror size of your choice.

Sesame and Lilies Tufted Chair

The raw edged stitching on the cushions below would be easy for a newbie sewer like me! And, some DIY hand stenciled pillows are easy, too.

Sesame and Lilies Chair and Pillows

I can't get enough of driftwood (like the bowl below). And the mini, distressed buoys were too cute.

This chandy made out of recycled bottles was huge -- a great statement piece for a dining room!

Sesame and Lilies Chandelier

This collection of glass domes is a unique way to display and highlight items on a shelf or buffet. Grab the latest 50% off coupon and head over to Hobby Lobby to pick some up! And we are constantly seeing architectural pieces at shops around STL that would make a great base for a lamp. Definitely something I want to add to our to-do list.

Sesame and Lilies Glass Dome Display

These signs are all over the place. Make your own or pick one up.

These over-sized glass jugs are totally beachy...but, take up alot of room as a centerpiece. I love the colors and think I would try the same look with different mason jars.

Sesame and Lilies

Sesame and Lilies

 I'm always look for different chipped paint/distressed looks. Great color combs here, with the blue, green, gold and white.

Sesame and Lilies

Sesame and Lilies

Another room and another spectacular chandelier. This one looks like it had been painted. I have one in our basement that I'll be taking some Annie Sloan Chalk Paint to soon.

Sesame and Lilies

 Another great table scape. I spy a burlap runner, vintage bottles, antique glass insulators and
 rustic farmhouse table.  Swoon!

 Still seeing tons of antlers out there, even in the Pacific NW! I have these that I painted a few weeks ago.

Last, but not least, another perfect paint chipped table (piled high with sweet soaps, lotions and candles).

Sesame and Lilies

Thanks for taking a tour with me! I barely scratched the surface of what Sesame and Lilies has to offer. It's definitely worth a stop...just make sure you have an hour or two ;-)

Where is your favorite local home decor shop? Would love to hear about some of your faves!

Wet Distressing with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

I've been wanting to paint a gold picture frame ever since I took part in an Annie Sloan Chalk Paint demo in July. So, when I spied this large, old frame at the antique store, I knew it would be perfect.

The cracks and scrolls are calling out to be distressed!

First, I gave it a coat of AS Paris Grey.

One of the techniques we used in the workshop was wet distressing. Once the paint is just dry, take a damp cloth and wipe off the paint. This removed the Paris Grey, but didn't scratch the gold underneath.

Then I took some Pure White and brushed that on. I didn't completely cover every surface. That's one of the things I love about AS paint....you don't have to be perfect.

Then, some more wet distressing and distressing with fine sandpaper.

 After that, it was a coat of AS dark wax. It made everything POP! And, once the wax was rubbed in and polished, to is buttery smooth.

It has the most perfect antique French look! To finish it off, I'll be adding some twine to the middle section. It will be a cute way to display jewelry or photos.

It has great depth and looks like there are so many layers...yet it was really a simple process!

Linking to:

Farmhouse Style Dining Room Table

One of the things we are trying to start doing more is showing the process Jeff goes through when making our tables. This is one we brought with us to Strange Folk and were overwhelmed with the response. While it didn't sell (not many people expect to go to a festival and buy a dining room table!), everyone loved it. Which was great to hear.

It started off looking like this:

What I really like about what Jeff does with the large doors is that he trims them out. While they still look rustic and farmhouse style, they have a more finished look.

And, here it is today! We stained it a dark brown and added 4x4 legs (which can be removed). I painted and distressed the legs and gave them a coat of dark soft wax (the legs are super smooth...although they look rough). We opted to go with 5 small panes of glass over one large one (moving the large piece is really hard).

It can seat 6 comfortably...maybe 8. It's currently for sale in our Etsy shop and can't wait for its first Thanksgiving Day meal!

Hand Painted Deer Antlers

I've been meaning to show off my last quickie paint project. I'm loving the recent antler trend...and love the painted look even more! A few weeks ago, I taped off sections of these antlers and brought out my Annie Sloan Chalk Paint (Paris Grey and Country Grey). A light coat of spray acrylic gave it a glossy finish. I think it would make a great rack for jewelry or as a centerpiece. What do you think?

Linking to:

Strange Folk: How Do I Love Thee?

I don't think it's possible to even count the reasons why Strange Folk was awesome. This was our first show and I was told many times that this was the best of the best. It would ruin us for other shows. I have a feeling they were right.

We were so excited to be there. Our little tent was jam packed all weekend. My throat is still sore from talking so much! We loved sharing our tables, vintage finds and other handcrafted items with other people. And actually have them like it...and buy it! Some of my favorite things found new homes -- which is awesome. We were exhausted at the end of the first day...but, totally pumped to do it all over again for day two.

It's hard to put yourself out there for other people. For judgement! Everything we make or find is something we truly love. Our items are things we would want in our home. And, we hope other people do, too. I get very attached to the things we find and create. Take this little guy:

He didn't find a home this weekend. That's ok. I'm not entirely sure I was ready to part with him, anyway. He got alot of praise and pats on the back. Had someone wanted to buy him, I probably would have run a background check.

I'm not kidding.

We didn't have alot of time to visit other booths...here's just a few of the pics we snapped. Starting with Booth #206 (which I'm a little partial to):

Every booth was so uniquely amazing. The music was great. The gyros and cupcakes kept us fueled thru the busy days. Don't even get me started on the $3 beers. If you like jewelry -- this is the place to be! I could have spent a paycheck on the awesome necklaces and rings. Here's a few of our fave booths (and doesn't even cover ALL of the incredible vendors):

Everyone worked so hard to put this together. Not just the event organizers, volunteers and sponsors, but the vendors, too. I know we were up late. Painting, tagging and adding last minute additions to our tent. 

To have people ask if we have a retail store is unbelievable. That's our dream. We feel very fortunate to be in a community that supports that dream. At the end of both days, we were exhausted and collapsing on the couch. The feedback we got from everyone is what will keep us going for the next year. But, we would do it all over again...and we hope we can in 2013!