Antiquing at a Fave Spot

I know I've mentioned how much I love hitting up antique and junk stores. You just never know what you'll find. This week, Junk Bonanza, will be taking place in my home state of MN. While I'm super disappointed not to be making the trip (Mom, I've got the Spring dates already on my calendar! Can I sleep on the couch?), I had some time last weekend to do a little digging here in St. Louis.

What's that over there?

I thought these plastic cups were cute. Mostly, I loved the packaging and marketing. "Add sparkle to your get together." These cups are break, scratch and chip resistant. Something I definitely need.

The Sociables

This leather briefcase had just the perfect amount of wear and tear.

Vintage Leather Briefcase

Dress forms and mannequins are really popular right now...but, usually pretty pricey! I thought this one was wonderfully vintage.

Dress Form

This old time card organizer would be perfect for outgoing bills and letters.

Time card organizer

This vintage horse bike was too cute. What little kid wouldn't love riding around on this? Even I was tempted to take it for a spin!

This set of hot air balloon plates would be great for a party. What mini desserts could I put on here?

Hot air balloon plate

I continue to look for printer trays and I found three on this hunt! But, for some reason, I just haven't pulled the trigger and bought one. I might just go back...

Printers tray

 I came across a whole basket of these old shoe stretchers. Totally cool. And at $3 each, an inexpensive addition to a vintage collection.

Antique wooden shoe stretchers

This galvanized basket would be perfect for bottles of wine. Or, maybe some empty bottles filled with flowers for a centerpiece?

Galvanized basket

My suitcase obsession has continued. I picked up the one that is second from the top. We have some cool plans for it....stay tuned!

Vintage suitcases

Finally, who couldn't love this little guy. I think I heard him say "Fill me up with your favorite chowder!"

Mini chowder bowls

Surprisingly, I only walked out with a suitcase. But, after seeing all of these finds again, I think I have to go back for that briefcase and galvanized basket. And, maybe a printers tray....

Coffee Table with Hairpin Legs

After waiting a month, we finally got the hairpin legs we ordered! Here's the final product. He can't wait to go to his first show!

We also ordered a set to use for a side table. I'm loooving this look -- I think we'll definitely be doing more like this!

Antique Dentist Box Update

I'm pretty excited about this latest project. I loved it the minute I saw it -- it's the perfect desktop or jewelry organizer. Even on sale, it was a bit more than I wanted to spend. But, I knew once I spruced it up that it would be a great piece.

The tag said it was an antique dentist box. You can see on the top where there might have been a handle. A quick Google search brings up some that are similar...but don't quite look the same.

Antique Dentist Box

Antique Dentist Box

The door on the bottom is not original and the inside was covered in a nasty green "carpet" -- which I ripped out. Then I got out my Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. The first layer is French Linen. The second is Pure White mixed with some of the dark soft wax. Clear wax and distressing ensued.

Then I broke out the Mod Podge and added some pages from an old book for the bottom of the drawers.

And, here it is today:

Since the bottom drawer isn't original, I decided to leave it out. It's a great space to put larger pieces. We'll be bringing it with us to Strange Folk -- I hope others love it as much as I do! If not, I have just the spot for it ;-)

Linking to: Monday Muse, Make it Pretty Monday

The Faces Behind RDFCo.

The RDFCo. team was busy packing up another table tonight, so I'll make this short. Shipping our tables across the country can be very time consuming. We take great care in packaging up each shipment so it arrives in the same condition it left us in. And, it's usually a team effort -- so I wanted to introduce the faces behind the Red Door to you:

Creative Director/Blog Manager/All-Around Bossy Pants

That would be me! I primarily handle all of the social media, marketing, sales opps and blog posts. In addition, I love to search for and create unique home decor items, and, of course, paint furniture. I typically do this all with a stylish necklace and glass of wine (as you see in the photo above).

Chief Designer/Master Builder

Jeff. AKA Sparky. He built the first Red Door table many years ago...way before it was RDFC. It's that original table that we are basing our Signature Collection on today. He has final say in all of the doors, design ideas and product. He also gets to operate all of the heavy equipment.

The team wouldn't be complete without our assistants. For the most part, they serve as my wingmen wingdogs. They are by my side whenever I am sewing, Mod Podging or painting. If you can't find them in my craft room, they are probably out hunting for moles. Read more about them here.

Senior Designer

Design Apprentice

There you have it! These are the faces that dream, create, build, sell, package and ship all of the unique RDFCo. items. Some of us get paid in bacon treats. Others with wine. You'll never know who gets what.

Hairpin Leg Coffee Table - Part 1

If you've taken a look at our tables, most of them have square, wood legs. We wanted to switch it up on a few of them, so we've ordered these: 

Hairpin legs

I can't wait until they come in! We'll be making a coffee table and side table featuring hairpin legs. We both really love the look of this table:

Source: hairpinlegsforless.com

We knew this part of a door we picked up a few months ago would be perfect. It is super thick and heavy. We won't be trimming it out and will leave the edges raw. Here's what it looked like when we picked it up and what it's been thru since then:

Original State

Original State -- Dusty and Dirty!

Door gets sanded and cleaned

Signature coat of red paint is added to the back

And here it is today...just waiting for it's new legs! (Forrest Gump movie quote coming soon)

I'm hoping to have it done next week...stay tuned!

Stitched Paper Ideas

Happy Thursday! The weekend is almost here -- what crafting projects are you planning to do? Most of the time, a new project I find requires a trip to the store. This weekend, I'm vowing to use only what I have on-hand. And, create something that's on my to-do list for Strange Folk Festival.

Recently, I've been playing around with stitching paper. It added a pop of color to the thank you cards for our Etsy shop:

Red Door Furniture Co. Packaging

It's an easy and cute way to make my own little banner notecards from scraps of fabric.

I also created some garland out of old maps for a friend's baby shower (sorry for the pic...it's all I have!). It was some trial and error. One thing I learned was to set the machine on a straight stitch, to the longest stitch possible.

Last week I made some of these wine bags, which I plan on selling at the Strange Folk Festival. I want something unique to package them in and remembered a pin I saw recently. In just a few minutes, I created these bags using pages of an old book, a thank you stamp and scrapbook brads. The hanky wine bags fit inside perfectly!

Have a great weekend! Thanks for stopping by!

Red Cross Vintage Suitcase Tutorial

I'm currently obsessed with the Pacific Northwest and during one of my recent internet searches, I came across Seabold Vintage Market. It's located on Bainbridge Island in Washington -- and is exactly the type of shop I would love to have some day.

I absolutely love this Red Cross necklace they have:

Red Cross Necklace from Seabold Vintage

And this Red Cross pillow made from vintage linen...

Red Cross Pillow from Seabold Vintage

All the red cross symbols inspired me to do a make-over on an old suitcase I picked up for $15 at the antique store. It's the third suitcase and/or trunk I've picked up in several weeks. Jeff is questioning whether they are really a trend right now, or if I am just getting ready to move out. I like to keep him on his toes.

I've also been wanting to try out Annie Sloan Chalk Paint on a suitcase. They say you can paint anything with it...so, here's my victim:

It's really sturdy and the leather is rugged and worn. I hadn't even payed close attention to the plate on the front until Jeff pointed it out to me. Amelia Earhart Luggage. Very cool!

The interior was stained, so I ripped it all out.

I taped up everything I didn't want painted. 

Then, I took out my Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Pure White and gave the suitcase a nice thick coat.

I printed off the Red Cross symbol on cardstock, taped around the cardstock, removed the template and painted the exposed symbol with ASCP in Emperor's Silk.

Once it was dry, I pulled all of the tape off....and fell in LOVE!

Even Jeff said, "Wow!"

I still have to fix the inside (my Mod Podge plan was a BIG fail), but I loooove how the outside turned out. The paint took to the suitcase very well and totally transformed it! I would love to hear other non-furniture ASCP projects people have done...let me know!

Linking to