Hello Summer!

Hello Summer! Today marks the official first day of summer, although its felt like summer for a while now. Any who... we are celebrating summer's arrival and the arrival of some new items in my shop!

Summer is all about sweet tea - sprinklers - chasin lightning bugs & daydreams - guitar nights under twinklin stars - sunshine - flip flops - porch sittin - back roadin - and dancin with the one you love. 

I was printing and transferring the images to fabric this week and Jeff said "what if you could make a wrap fit a Mason jar?" Hmm, let me check on that...

Well guess what? With the addition of one extra strip of Velcro, the same wrap will fit a quart jar or a 30 ounce tumbler! Pretty cool, right?!? Versatile and fun - because while we love ice tea in Mason jars, hot summers require stainless steel tumblers, if we are going to have cold beverages in our cup for any length of time! Plus the tumbler fits in our cup holder while on the road. Seriously, I don't leave home without my tumbler full of ice water or tea, my purse, and my planner notebook. The three must haves! 

 Here's my favorite place to drink tea, daydream, listen to the sprinklers, watch for lightning bugs, and do a little porch sittin'!

I printed a few large images and created patches for a couple of denim shirts and vest. I am very tempted to keep this first one for myself! I love the cut of this vest plus it has pockets and I've got a pink sleeveless shirt and turquoise jewelry that would so match this! For the moment it is online, unless I change my mind! 

There's also a larger version of the Summer graphic on a distressed denim shirt. 

All of these items are in my etsy shop and can be shipped or I'll take any available to the next Mineola Antique Fair on July 13-14.

So tell me - what's your favorite thing about summer???

All Because Two People Fell in Love

All Because Two People Fell in Love - you know, that's what this little handmade business of mine is all about! Celebrating the two people who fell in love, whether it's weddings, new babies, big life events, or honoring the lives of those people as their families say farewell. 

Last week, I did a rush order for a lady who is celebrating her 50th wedding anniversary, this week. She wanted a sunflower bridal bouquet and coordinating boutonniere for her husband. They were decorating with mason jars, lights, and sunflowers and she ask if I could make one of the mason jar tin signs with the saying "All Because Two People Fell in Love". 

1. A fiftieth anniversary is a big deal and should be celebrated! 

2. I love when customers ask / suggest new things, because that lets me know what you want and I can help bring that to life for you. 

3. I don't mind rush orders and always try to be accommodating. In fact, deadlines are quite motivating! (I will add, that for all orders, I don't ship till payment is cleared, so echecks or Paypal funds that come from your bank account are not recommended on a tight time frame, as they take 3-5 business days to process.) 

Jenny said  "you epitomize all I hold near and dear..." as she looked around my shop and decided to add the heart with wings tin, if I could add a quote to it. Well, y'all all know that I love the quote "What if I fall? Oh, but my darling, what if you fly?" -e.h. and I was happy to paint it on there for her. As soon as the paint dried, everything was packed up and California bound! 

I was able to cut out some additional signs this week and added more Welcome Y'all signs in a mini and regular size, plus I left one mason jar blank, that way it can be personalized with your name, favorite quote or short saying. 

And since I loved what Jenny suggested, there's another one of these signs ready to go and it's appropriate for so many occasions - wedding shower gift / wedding decorations, anniversary party, celebrating a new birth, or just because... two people fell in love.

P.S. I'm working on lots of new wedding bouquets in different styles and fabrics and a couple sneaked in these pictures! Big reveals coming soon! 

Creating Signs from Old Tin

Hey Y'all! I've been having fun creating these rustic tin signs recently and I thought I would share some tips on how I cut out the tin shapes and attach them together! I've made tin mason jar signs, rustic Shasta style campers and old trucks, hearts with wings, and bird yard stakes. This week, I had a custom request for a fifth wheel camper and truck combo from a lady on etsy. She loved what I made and ask for a second set! As I made the second set today, I took lots of pictures and thought I would share about the process to make the signs / wall decor. (I may even do a live Facebook video this weekend, if the weather and time cooperates.)

First, you need a pile of scrap tin. In our case the five ribbed tin has been salvaged from my Granddaddy's old hay barn. So sad to see it coming down, but I'm glad I can repurpose some of the short pieces into scrap art for someone else to enjoy.  

Next, a little motivation from my pencil "Get it Done!"

Tools required to do the task:

• electric cutter
• wizard tool with grinding wheel
• drill and drill bit
• rivets
• pop riveter tool
• additional hand tools such as pliers, wire cutters, and occasionally a hammer to flatten tin
• sand paper to clean surface of tin
• pencil
• oil for cutter

Confession: I have no idea why that paint brush is included in the picture!

2nd Step - have husband use his calibration tool, thingamajig (not pictured) to get the spacing right on the blades for the thickness of the tin. May also require google and a calculator  to do the mathematical conversions to get right spacing. This electric cutter is pretty nifty! It doesn't make tight turns, but its does a smooth job of cutting the tin compared to tin snips. 

Here's the first truck and camper I made before the last market. 

And here's the flock of bird yard stakes, with bottle cap eyes and keys for wings!

This is the fifth wheel camper and vintage truck that I made for a lady this week. Mason jar lids form the tires and Altoid tins are rusted out and form the truck window. 

Since she wanted another set, I traced around the outline of the original ones. (I usually free hand my patterns. Only the birds have a paper pattern.)

Can you see a truck and camper here? I find it is much easier to cut the blob out from the bigger sheet of tin and then go back and give them shape. Like I said, tight turns don't happen.

Now they've got shape and then I dig through the scraps to find pieces to make the doors, windows, and awning. Rustier and striped pieces work great for different shapes. 

Now, its time to grind the edges (front and back) for a much smoother finish.

I use Jeff's Wizard tool with a grinding wheel. See how the edges are now a shiny silver, where I used the wizard?

Now, we've got to attach the pieces of tin together. I used pop rivets (thanks to Jeff for lending me yet another of his tools and showing me how to operate it.) I predrill a hole through both pieces of tin, then rivet them together. I use a smaller size rivet (1/8 inch, I think) and it takes 2-3 times squeezing the tool to get it done. A little advice - predrill and rivet one hole at a time! I promise, it just works better and you don't have to worry about the holes getting off.

Now it's time for a baling wire hanger - drill two holes for the wire to run through. If you've been raised on a farm, you know baling wire (and duct tape) are holding many things together! I'm sure there's a fancy tool for curling the wire, but I use an old Sharpie marker! 

Hangers are on and now its time to add a little raffia or ribbon to finish them off.

Ta-da!

As a little bonus, I cut this little mini Mason jar out from the tin above the bed of the truck and now I'm wondering what I should paint on it? Any ideas? 

So there you have it. They look pretty simple, but there are several steps and tools involved to get them completed. Which ones are your favorites?

(P.S. - if you don't want to DIY, the mason jars, small heart with wings, and vintage camper are available in my shop. There are 2 more mason jars, several birds, and a large set of tin wings at our Uniques and Antiques booth in Minola, Texas.) 

New Tumbler Wraps!

Fun new tumbler wraps are now available online. Show your Yeti some L-O-V-E with a new rustic sleeve, just in time for Valentine's Day. Of course, they can be used anytime and will fit other 30 ounce cups (mine is not the name brand)! I can't pick a favorite one. 

I mean pink Mason jars, leopard print arrows, heart with wings, lace, and jute - whats not to LOVE about all that?!?

Junk is Love, with fun furry fringe! And with some strange turn of events, I'm starting to like leopard print (but only in small batches.) 

 Gone Junkin' and Vintage trucks and glampers - see why I can't pick a favorite? Turquoise and now Hot Pink fringe options, after someone inquired about pink fringe on these.

 Fun and Flirty Vintage Cowgirls and Lace

 Or just a little rustic and shabby.

Seven new styles, seven days of the week...hmmm, maybe my tumbler needs a different outfit for everyday of the week! So tell me - which one do you LOVE the most???

Find all these and more in my etsy shop. 

Additional wraps and styles available in our Uniques and Antiques booth in Mineola, Texas

Sisters on the Fly and Glamper Update

Some days I don't know what to say or where to start...someone recently ask about my camper restoration, so here's what's happening. I joined Sisters on the Fly! I got my membership packet in the mail a couple of weeks ago and I'm Sister #4922. 

I got this cute mason jar welcome sign from one of my Instagram friends @kristywalters (Country Soul). 

The camper door was u-g-l-y, and had layers peeling up. My solution- staple turquoise burlap over it! I found the metal silver trim at Hobby Lobby. They consider it ribbon and it was 40% off! I was able to staple it over the burlap as well. 

Everything is better with mason jars, right? I found this string of cute lights at Bealls. They were 40% off, plus I had an additional 20% off coupon. I love a good sale! 

I keep adding layers to this curtain. I can't seem to figure out when to stop. I printed out some of my favorite inspirational #rhonnadesign pictures I've shared on Instagram and hung as a banner. 

My girls love to go camping with me! One of the main rules of SOTF is no dogs- these two will be upset if I hit the open road without them. 

The next biggest makeover project is painting the outside of Ms Gussie. Hopefully that will happen this fall. Oh, and seeing this picture reminds me- I finally got a title for the camper! I was told she had a clear title when I bought her. Turns out, it wasn't. Here's a helpful hint- don't sign and date a title in 2009 and never transfer the title to your name. I had to get a bonded title and then learned there were a few other options that could have been pursued.  Long story short, I got the run around from the TXDMV, but I know how it all works now. The bonded title process wasn't as difficult as I was led to believe, and all worked out fine. 

So that's what's been happening with my glamper this summer and now I'm ready to go camping again.