Red Trucks and Birds

You may recall me saying "All I want for Christmas is a vintage truck..."

Well, my sweet sister-in-law and family got me one for Christmas! Only this red truck is a bird house and feeder! I hung it from the gazebo and filled the bed up with bird seed. Seems as if the birds finally discovered it while I was eating my lunch yesterday! I looked out the window to find a mockingbird perched on the truck, so of course that meant I had to get my camera out! 

I'm not sure what this first little bird is (can anyone help me out?) I knew if I went out the door, it would scare him away, so I shot through the glass door.

I called this one "You looking at me?"

 Our "screen door" is missing its screen. I was able to raise the glass and still stay in the house to get a few more pictures, so I wouldn't scare the birds away. I was able to catch the mockingbird's picture this way.

 I got the stink eye for telling her she was "an over-sized load!"

Love all of the birds expressions! I had fun watching them for a few minutes and capturing a few pictures, before I got back to work. The tree limbs around the yard added to the blurred effects on the pictures.

They just about emptied the truck bed this afternoon, so it looks like I need to load her up again soon! There was several more birds in the yard this afternoon and their was a line to take a turn in the red truck! It'll be fun to see the activity and maybe I'll get a cardinal picture.  Hopefully this spring, we can also get pictures of someone nesting in the cab of the truck.

Do you feed the birds? It's been a while since we've put out seed in a feeder, although judging by the bird population, they have been finding things to eat and shelter in our yard. 

Things we love...

We only make and collect the things we love! As the final days of preparation for the Backwood's Marketplace are underway, we've got lots of things to finish up and tag, before we start loading the trailers. We are drawn to the things we love and make us happy and hope you will love them too. If not, well I guess I'll just have to bring them home and keep them in my yard. 

This time, we have added some plants to our area. Angea and I picked up a truck load last week and now we keep saying "oh, this would look good here... I need that chandelier...and those chairs..."

Can you feel my pain?!? I mean these chippy chairs and gorgeous plants look right at home in my yard! I'm thinking we should have got more plants, because we want to keep half of them. We may be like BlueBell Ice Cream - eat (plant) all we can and sell the rest!

I mean this succulent chandy fits perfectly under my tree. For years I've dreamed about having trees large enough to hang things from them and its finally happening. Bird cages, chandeliers, and lanterns can hang from our trees in the yard. 

But I must remember we are Flower Peddlers and must share our pretties with all of you! That is why we've been junkin' and collecting things for months. This old bike is one of our recent finds. I even found an original bike basket that attaches to the back of it, so it will hold several plants! 

I've been having fun using my new cutting tool to cut out fun shapes and repurposing random items into yard art! Jeff even let me use his riveter, so I have been able to attach the pieces together. 

Tin campers, truck, wings, birds all created from reclaimed items. 

Some buckets that we found at a farm estate sale. - Some will have plants in them! 

See - I love the chandeliers hanging from the trees! Now, do understand why I say it's going to be hard to load some of these items? 

These items are already loaded in the camper, so they will be there! 

Angea and I will have an Americana and Texas themed section of our area with flags, wreaths, cemetery pieces, art work, baskets arrangements and the such. 

Rustic frames made from reclaimed lumber and vintage lace will hold old photos or documents. The wood camef rom my Granddaddy's old barn

Sunshine is always Welcome and this wreath is cheerful yellow! We will have wreaths in an assortment of colors and styles. 

Roots and Wings... more things I love and hope you will too. 

So the details: 

~Backwood's Marketplace 

~April 8-9 Saturday 10:00 till the last customer leaves. Sunday 1:00 to 4 ish

~Beautiful spring weather forecast for a wonderful weekend! 

~That's us on the poster, with our booth from last spring. ( And when I say "booth" I mean camper and two tents with stuff spilling out everywhere!) We've got lots more items this time, so come see for yourself what all we will have! 

~What you won't find - mass produced items being pulled out of a box from foreign countries. All items are handmade or repurposed by all the artist and creators. 

~FREE parking and admittance! Bring a chair and enjoy a day in the country! 

From Ms. Carla Blackstone about the Market -

The Backwood's Marketplace is a group of artists, designers, crafters, and collectors who come together twice a year to sell their work at the old Blackstone Ridge Homestead. They have been juried to maintain the quality of the show and their work reflects this. The marketplace is not what you expect to find at a common craft show, it is so much more. Each one of the group sets up large areas in a themed atmosphere. It almost looks like an outdoor mini-mall. The theme for this marketplace is "yester-year in the backwoods."

A group of western Upshur County family and community researchers set up in front of the research room. They have books of old documents, pictures, and family histories for you to go through. If you have deep roots in this area, you will want to bring a chair and spend awhile visiting with this group. The Outlaws, a cowboy group, will be at the old homestead from 1-4 on Saturday afternoon for "conversations" about this area and picture takin'.

The concession area is always a great area to sit and enjoy the "country atmosphere", while enjoying some great food.

The marketplace will be open 'til dark or after (until the last customer leaves). The old homestead is so pretty and cool in the late afternoon.

This FREE event is made possible by Blackstone Ridge Small Engine Center L.L.C. It is located at 9553 FM 49, nine miles west of Gilmer, Texas. 

We love being a part of this group and being able to take part in something like this that is only a few miles from our home. (Less than 10 minutes through the backroads!) We do hope you can come out and say hi! 

I'm For the Birds

If you've listened to Miranda Lambert's newest album  The Weight of These Wings, on repeat like I have, you've probably heard the song 'For The Birds'. I've decided it fits me pretty well and has inspired a spring line up of items, that you'll find at the Backwood's Marketplace April 8-9 and available online after the market.  

I'm against the days
When the skies stay bummer-grey
And the cake just tastes okay, okay
Well I guess I'm anti-yuck
Against the stuff that sucks
Pulls the life out of your soul 
And shuts it down

(Yes, yes, yes...bummer-grey skies are so depressing - I'm definitely solar powered by the sun and who wants just okay cake? I've never been a big fan of the color grey and I think its because of bummer-grey skies. I try to avoid the stuff that shuts down my creative soul, which is one reason I listen to music while working and not the television.)



I'm against the doc
Letting good tomatoes rot
Being someone that you're not, when you're not
Well I guess I'm anti-hate
Cause that ain't what it takes
It's love that makes this crazy world go round

(Be yourself and this world is way too full of hate right now.)

I'm for the sun, I'm for the breeze
Old dogs sleeping at your feet
I'm for the girls with the curls and the curves
I'm for questions
I'm for freedom
Celebrating every season

(YES, on all accounts - I just wish I has some curls!)

For the bees and the trees and the dirt
I'm for the birds (I'm for the birds)
I'm for the birds (I'm for the birds)
I'm for the birds (I'm for the birds)


I'm against the notion
Of drinking with cheap potion
And causing big commotion
You know son
I guess I'm anti-confrontation
I'd rather have a conversation
About nothing in particular at all

(I prefer the drama free, no confrontation, discussion about nothing  in particular at all...)

I'm against them feelings
The once that get revealing
Slamming hearts right in the ceilings
You feel me
And I guess I'm anti-tears
I'd rather sip an ice cold beer
Listen to some country music until dawn

(I'll sip on ice cold tea...)

'Cause I'm for the sun, I'm for the breeze
Old dogs sleeping at your feet
I'm for the girls with the curls and the curves
I'm for questions
I'm for freedom
Celebrating every season
For the trees and the bees and the dirt
I'm for feathers
I'm for wings
I'm for Tweedle-deedle-dee-dee-dee

For what it's worth
For what it's worth

I'm for the birds (I'm for the birds)
I'm for the birds (I'm for the birds)
I'm for the birds (I'm for the birds)
I'm for the birds (I'm for the birds)
I'm for the birds (I'm for the birds)
I'm for the birds (I'm for the birds)
I'm for the birds (I'm for the birds)

Tweedle-deedle-dee-dee-dee



Take a listen to For The Birds audio from YouTube

Since the album came out and I've fell in love with this song, I've been finding bird related items on all our junkin' trips, so it all just seems meant to be. We will have a collection of wings, bird cages, bird houses, art work, tin birds, etc at the Backwood's Marketplace along with a lot of other items and our spring garden center!

Roots and Wings at the Backwood's Marketplace

Roots and Wings ~💗~

Our Roots ~ make us who we are, those ol' timey community churches we were raised in, our history, our story, our family... 

Wings ~ you can know where you're from and still want to fly....

We are working on some new items for the Backwood's Marketplace, April 8-9. Our area will have a Roots and Wings overall theme and also feature a spring garden center! Yes, you read that right, we will also have plants for this market! 

 

Roots to plant and Wings to decorate with!

There will be items repurposed from the barns our grandparents built, vintage treasures from our past, paintings of churches, with long standing history in our local communities, and of course lots of fun junk!

So far, I have paintings of  5 different historic churches, all located within Upshur County. The painting is Hopewell Church, (I've actually got two different versions of this church) located just down the road from the market. It reminds me of a Little House on the Prairie type church and one room school house. 

The one on the board is LaFayette (pronounced luh-fet, not like the town in Louisiana) and it's the community church, where my family comes from. Our roots... I'm calling this collection "Another Sunday in the South" and the art will be available in several different mediums. 

I listen to music as I work and it inspires me. (I seldom turn on the racket of the tv.) If you've listened to Miranda Lamberts newest album, you may recognize the lyrics from her song "For the Birds" 

Cause I'm for the sun

I'm for the breeze

Old dogs sleeping at your feet

I'm for the girls with the curls and the curves

I'm for questions

I'm for freedom

Celebrating every season

For the trees, and the bees, and the dirt

I'm for feathers, I'm for wings, I'm for twiddle-le-de-de

For what it's worth, for what it's worth

I'm for the birds, I'm for the birds, I'm for the birds

I'm for the birds, I'm for the birds, I'm for the birds

I'm for the birds

Twiddle-le-de-de

Part of our booth will feature all things "For the Birds" - tin bird yard stakes,  bird cages, houses, artwork, wreaths with birds, etc. Every week, I find something bird related, while we are out junkin' and of course it goes with the spring garden theme! 

Wings...several different styles of rustic tin wings will be available at the market and they have roots in my past. The tin was salvaged from my granddaddy's hay barn. The mangled pieces of tin no longer work for roofing, but they will carry on in new ways. I certainly plan to add a pair of wings to my yard decor this spring. 

We've got about 9 million projects in the works, ok, maybe not quite that many, but I've got lots of things to finish up before the market, so stay tuned to for more sneak peeks and make sure you mark your calendars for April 8-9! 

I'll Take the Dirt Road...

Monday morning, back in the "factory" (my studio), cranking up the tunes on my phone, and getting busy on wedding orders...

The first song up on my random playlist was The Dirt Road by Sawyer Brown. What a great way to start the day. With a few exceptions, I like old country way better than the new stuff! 

"Daddy worked hard for his dollar, some folks don't, but they don't know which road to follow, because an easy road may lead you astray. I'll take the dirt road, it's all I know... 

I've been walking it for years, its gone where I need to go.... It ain't easy, but it ain't suppose to be..."

Next up: Old Sh!t by Miranda Lambert:

"Red man tobacco, grandpa's two cents... old timer... one man's trash is another man's treasure...If it's out of style, sure drives me wild... hand me down tools, black and decker... singing hymns... I'm a fan of it, old sh!t..."

Next up on the random play list: I Hold On by Dierks Bentley

"It's just a beat up old truck, some say that I should trade up... but what they don't understand is its the miles that make a man. I wouldn't trade that thing in for a rocket. What they don't know is my dad and me drove her out to Tennessee and she's still here and now he's gone, so I Hold On...

To the things I believe in, my faith, your love, our freedom, to the things I can count on to keep me going strong, yeah, I hold on, I hold on..."

As I worked and the words got to me and I realized these songs describe my life and that doesn't bother me one bit! 

I'll keep on loving and working with old stuff,  holding on to and preserving the history of things I hold dear to me and walking the dirt road called life, because "I've been walking it for years and it's got me where I need to go."

Here's each of the songs, that I found on Youtube. Hope you take a listen and enjoy them too. 

The Dirt Road

Old Sh!t (performed live. warning -they don't sing old "Stuff" )

I Hold On

Summer Sale - Wedding Bouquets, Home Decor and Pillows

Hope everyone's summer is off to a great start! I think it is about time for a SALE! I have marked down prices on several items in my etsy shop, as I am trying to make room for more new stuff to come (I'm already thinking fall and Christmas!) The sale is limited to Ready to Ship Inventory, including several styles of Burlap and Lace Bridal Bouquets, Wreaths, Home Decor and Pillows. 

Several of the bridal bouquets have been marked down $10.00 to $25.00 off the regular price and

 no coupon code is needed! 

Rustic burlap and lace bouquet with turquoise and pearls

There are several styles of the burlap camper pillows in turquoise and pink still available, along with a couple of winged pillows and some of the vintage grain seed sack pillows. They have been marked down $5.00 to $7.50 each. 

burlap glamper pillows for your vintage camper

vintage seed sack pillows and pink burlap and lace glampers

I have a few wreaths marked $10.00 to $15.00 off.  Several of the bouquets and wreaths are pictured here or you can see them all in the ON SALE NOW section of my shop or you can see the pillows in the Roots and Wings section. 

Rustic grapevine wreath

Billow blue, tan and white burlap bridal bouquet

Spring pastel bridal bouquet

blush burlap bouquet with navy and cream burlap and vintage lace

gold birdcage with blush and pink floral arrangement

lavender burlap and palm wood bouquet and boutonniere

grapevine wreath with terra cotta and blush flowers, greenery and feathers

bright, tropical colored burlap and lace bouquet

white and cream burlap and vintage lace bridal bouquet 

***All sale prices are limited to certain Ready to Ship Inventory. Any request for custom bouquets and reproductions of these items will be at regularly marked price. Discount has already been applied to the particular listings and no coupon code will be required.