victor co under a blanket of snow...

looking down on historic victor homes.  many still heated with only wood and coal.  it's such a beautiful sight...this is why i love victor!

snow capped mountains in the distance.  this is sure different than fall in IN!

splendid treasures antique store...one of my favorites!

brrr...he looks cold!  beautifully restored city building in the background.

now 2 days later the snow is almost gone after a couple of beautiful sunny days.  even when it's cold, the sunny skies make it all seem so pleasant.

i love this door...

what could be more exciting for a picker than to find an old Victor CO police car door?  add a vintage wine rack, old thermoses and it has become my favorite display.  the old door was pulled out of a shed that's next to falling down.  those are my favorite places to climb through, none too small or too large...i'm not picky.

another great find was this old cash register.  the bottom of one of the drawers is stamped 'fortune club' 'victor colo'.  the fortune club building was built in 1899 as a brothel.  the rooms upstairs still have pictures of 'the girls' hanging outside their respective rooms.  notice i didn't say 'respected'.  it took my husband and i and one other young man to heft it up onto its current resting place.  i love to rearrange and change up displays, but this one won't be moving.

bundles of felted wool we call 'chubby nubbies' fill a vintage wire shopping basket.  people ask me what to do with them...my answer...just let them make u feel all warm and fuzzy.  several things got broken in our move from IN to CO.  one of which was an antique amish doll bed.  since it was already broke, i took it apart and painted both the headboard and footboard with chalk board paint and now they have new lives as advertising billboards for various displays in the store.  i like them this way better!

Snow Day...

a beautiful snowy day in victor, co!  and i only had to shovel my sidewalk 4 times.  when we were looking at our building to renovate, i loved the fact that it had alot of frontage when so many of the buildings were very narrow and deep.  well, it was summer and the thought of 10-12" of snow to shovel never crossed my mind!  this is a shot of a former assay office across the street from my store.  i love the advertisement painting on the side.  this is very typical of the buildings in victor.

every inch of space in my teeny tiny store has to be utilized.  baby bed springs on the bathroom door provide a great place to display winter caps, gloves and scarves.  stella the mannequin is dressed up in a vintage wool coat with creepy crawly candy bugs climbing all over her.  the school kids love to stop in after school and pick the bugs off of her.  she is named after a vintage alfred hitchcock episode entitled 'through an unlocked window'.  totally freaked me out as a kid and stella is the scariest name i could think of to give her.

 

the window decal turned out 'somewhat' like i had envisioned.  it was inspired by my grandmothers gold pin that belonged to her aunt who brought her to CO in 1909 so she could finish school after her mother died.  the pin is over 100 years old; pick, axe and pan with gold nuggets in it...similar to the decal image.

clara watson on her graduation day, 1911, southside denver high school.  she told me many times it was one of the happiest days of her life.  the long stemmed american beauty roses bouquet were given to her by her 'beau'. the diploma in her hand is framed and hanging on my wall.  she loved CO so much, teaching here for 3 years before returning to KS for the remainder of her life.  she would be so tickled with my store.  she always told me that i went at things like i was killing snakes...she was right about that.  i dedicate my store to her memory. 

Opening Day!

after several months of 2-3 am work days, Marigold Mercantile opened right on time, 10 am on oct. 24.  as with most every project i find myself in, it was right down to the wire.  too much to do in too little time...self imposed deadlines...again.

still lots of tweaking to do, i.e. unpainted door, but who will even notice when it's covered with coats.  however with a forecast for 8-10" of snow tomorrow, the coats may be gone by the end of the day.  after all the renovations, i'm sure not in the mood to paint again already!

  party section with shelved antique sled endcaps for kitchen linens.  every section in the store is 'mini me' size. 

laundry section uses an old galvanized washtub to hold detergent with small 2 tier bucket bench stacked on top to hold additional laundry items. 

the concept of having 2 distinct and separate areas in the store will work well.  the old fashioned five and dime variety store area will meet the needs of local and surrounding mountainous area.  it's a 45 minute drive to any real shopping.  the repurposed area meets my need to tear things apart and recreate.  a marriage made in Heaven!

taking time to play...

in the midst of the building remodel and settng up displays, i couldn't stand it any longer, just had to do something a little fun.  so right in the midst of saws, hammers and nails set 3 little pumpkins perched on old chair springs.

then there was the issue about what to do with a huge hole in the 3 layers deep brick wall.  ideas have been swimming in my mind for months.  i'd almost settled on putting an old door over it when i remembered a little galvanized garden table that i had recently bought and it seemed the size was about right.  i couldn't believe it when i slipped it in the hole and it fit perfect.  because of the irregularities in the old stucco job, i had to use a little foam sealant to fill in the gaps, but it will hardly be visible once it's touched up with paint.  and what a bonus, since it's magnetic it will make a great display for the hand crafted primitive magnets my mom makes.  oh, and by the way, here's her clever business cards...front and back.  she's awesome!

the time has flown by since renovations began on the building, and opening day for Marigold Mercantile is just around the corner...oct. 24th.  sometimes i have to pinch myself to realize that my dream of having my own store, in my favorite place on earth is about to come true. 

Psalm 37:4  delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Thank you Gracious Father!



i guess it's my mission...

after watching an episode of 'american pickers', i was reminded of what my husband keeps telling people.  he says we had to move from IN to CO because i had picked the area clean.  and as i look around at the mountain of 'junque' i still have to work my way through before my opening day of oct. 24...i think he's right.  darn him...he's always right!

and of course, i couldn't leave the IN amish heartland without bringing a load of hand loomed rag rugs.  so, one display almost done and a bazillion to go.  after trying to adjust the color on my photo, i think i just made it brighter...hope you're wearing sunglasses!

since i really hate to iron...

what to do with an old wire mesh ironing board?  well, tear it apart, of course, and turn it into a great jewelry display...or maybe attach shelves to it.  why does finding an unwanted, discarded, former utilitarian object start the wheels turning in my head?  sometimes the wheels get rather 'gummed' up...but a new found treasure always works like WD-40!  there's just nothing like seeing something through my 'junk eyes' and envisioning a whole new creation. 

thank you Lord for giving me a portion of your wonderful creative Spirit!

burlap or bust...

after scratching my head for several days wondering what we could do to finish the ceiling out 'on a dime' i ran across 2 bins of new burlap bags at a yard sale while we were in az and the light bulb went off in my head...perfect!  and, only $2 for all of them! 

so we transport them all to colorado and when the time came to start putting them up, i start unloading the bin and find about 6" of concrete instead of bags at the bottom.  no wonder that one was so heavy!  that required a little change of plans i.e. buying more bags but it all turned out just great.

after putting up almost 1200 sq. ft. of burlap bags, the big guy is happy to be putting up the last piece.  this is the one he was looking for!



the treasure hunts continue...

as i'm driving by my favorite thrift store, my mind is telling me "keep driving, you don't need anymore projects!"  but the 'j' chromosome says "turn in!"  (and the 'junk' chromosome always wins).  and wouldn't you know it, what do my eyes behold as i walk in the door but this great old trunk.  probably too expensive i'm telling myself.  but as i look at the price tag, it's a mere $3!  so then i'm thinking...no way the tray will still be inside for that price.  but woohoo...there it is!  it has the original embossed tin, leather handles and hardware.  not so original is the vinyl wallpaper that completely covers every inch of the trunk.

of course, i couldn't wait to start ripping it off.  as i started to peek under the wallpaper on the lid of the tray, i could see the original surface was still there.  so i carefully peeled away the vinyl top layer and got a warm wet cloth to lay over the paper backing that was still attached.  it loosened up to where i could easily lift it up.  and there underneath, i found a woman's name, date, town and state written. 

mary e nickerson  jan 1 1910  monett, mo

so now my inquiring mind wants to know more about mary.  i have a feeling it's going to be another late night on ancestry.com as i search for clues as to how this trunk ended up in victor co!

makin' it look old...

old bead board retrieved from the basement of building...

i couldn't have made it look more random and aged if i'd tried...

a little muriatic acid on new tin does the trick!

after hours and hours of grubbin' around in the basement for old lumber, scrubbing off 100 years of dirt and grime, the front of the store is finally complete.  well almost, the front doors patiently await their 'lipstick'...a nice coat of barn red paint.  we ran across an old door with several men's names and dates from the 20's-30's.  just for fun, i looked one up on ancestry.com and found his occupation to be, what else...a miner.  oh, if these walls could talk!