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Mother’s Day Market 2013!

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We may be expecting snow by tonight, but we have every confidence it will be firmly in our rear view in two weekends when the Mother’s Day Market arrives, May 11 and 12 at the Smith Douglas More House in Eden Prairie!

Grab your mom or your gal pals for what we’re confident will be a special outing on the sun-dappled lawn!

Along with junking partners Sara Smith of Salvaged and Rescued ArtJane Hall of Mustard Moon and Eydie Campbell of Moss and Marigolds, Lark Nest Design plans to bring you a rich selection of vintage and new home furnishings, decor, one-of-a-kind finds, herbs and other botanicals!

Did we mention a riot of color? Lark Nest has been painting, sealing and recovering a bounty of furniture pieces (lots of pillows, too!) in preparation for your shopping pleasure!

(A special onetime partner, Emily Hedberg of the Painted Clasp, will sell the jewelry pieces she began making as part of her therapy while recovering from breast cancer two years ago. On Mother’s Day, a time when we celebrate survivors and battlers of breast cancer, we are pleased to include Emily and her work. For each piece she sells, she will donate one to a woman undergoing cancer treatment at a Twin Cities hospital!)

Ann Schuster, proprietess of the Dunn Bros. in the SDM House, has special brunch items and Mimosas on tap for Sunday, as well as her regular complement of coffee, wine and fine potables for shoppers!

WHEN
Saturday, May 11
9 a.m. -4 p.m
Sunday, May 12 Mother’s Day!
9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
WHERE
 Smith Douglas More House Dunn Brothers
8107 Eden Prairie Road, Eden Prairie, MN 55347
ADMISSION
Is free!
MORE INFO
612-334-9746

Hope to see you there! Watch this space in coming days for preview items!

Kim

Modern Glam at the Junk Bonanza Weddings Lab!

 

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Yes, I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted!

While this blog is supposed to be a bulletin board of sorts for ongoing Lark Nest Design projects, it sometimes falls to the bottom of the list when I’m looking to take just one more
“before” or
“after” photo, or thinking, I’ll just wait until I’ve completed the project.

Famous last words, as you can imagine. My other day job is marketing the Junk Bonanza, the twice-a-year intersection of fabulous junk and glorious shopping at Canterbury Park. It’s the enterprise of gal pal and businesswoman par excellence, Ki Nassauer of KiNassauer.com! The first Spring show just ended, and I’m quickly re-entering the world of client work and getting back to refurbishing projects in the garage.

So while there are plenty of project posts stacked up like the proverbial cordwood, I thought I’d share a glimpse of the Modern Glam look I styled, along with Jane Hall of Mustard Moon, at the Bonanza’s Weddings Lab!

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Modern Glam was one of four looks at the inspirational Lab, where brides-t0-be could collect ideas for decor using repurposed and up cycled castoffs, or see how items found in great quantities in thrift stores or flea markets could be employed for down-the-aisle style!

This jeweled bouquet was the work of Upsy-Daisy in Mounds View!

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What  constitutes Modern Glam? We used silver, gold, copper and bronze along with woodland accents and a lot of glossy white! This handsome stag, formerly brass, was stenciled with a gold number as a table designator!
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Reader’s Digest condensed volumes wrapped in faux bois paper made for easy pedestals. The bases of glasses from Arc’s Value Village were dipped in opalescent craft paint, and the rose bowl vases were faux mercury glass, made from Looking Glass paint and water.

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The inimitable Catherine Polacek of Printerette Press was our letterpress partner for the Lab; her invites and menu cards were in all four Lab areas!

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We needed to keep the sightlines clear for the participants on the other side, so our backdrop curtain was a net panel from Ikea, embellished with stripes of chocolate brown silk. That’s metal adhesive tape from the plumbing department at Home Depot along the edges of each stripe. The hanging decor? Slide carousels from Goodwill, painted in gold, bronze and copper and fitted in the center with hand mirrors!

WLadam3Even the cake was glam; vanilla bean with edible white glitter from the fabulous Ross Sveback at RossSveback.com!

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Here’s the baker extraordinaire with his creation!

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Simple green and white flowers were by Ashley Fox Designs in Chaska. Gilded antlers were used as table decor. That console table? Decoupaged in tin foil with black gel stain rubbed over the finish for the look of hammered aluminum!

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Vintage prints served as a looseleaf guestbook on a bed of reindeer moss in a keepsake metal tin!
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Here’s another back off, where our cowhide peeks from underneath the couch. You also can see lamp bases repurposed as pillar candle holders, large birch branches sprayed and arrayed inside a hollow architectural column, and an antique frame repurposed as a seating card board once retrofitted with galvanized tin.  The chandelier is outfitted with mod, round bulbs! There’s a mini cloche sitting on top of the chinoiserie chest, with an itsy bitsy white enameled deer on a bed of reindeer moss on a little gold tray, too. Loved that!

OK, so we had more than 12,000 people through the doors in three days, and it was a bit tough to keep it all looking tidy. Add my subpar photo skills and the pix don’t quite do the Lab justice! It sure was fun, though!

You can catch a peek of some of the other looks — Romantic Bohemian, Funky Geographic and Natural Elegance on the Junk Bonanza blog, also penned by yours truly, here!

OK, off to the garage to work on some new projects for the Mother’s Day Market May 11-12! It will be here before you know it!

Kim

Shop 501 Opens Today!

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Pals Jane Hall of Mustard Moon and Sara Smith of Salvaged and Rescued Art are among the vendors whose Shop 501 vintage collective opens today in Chaska! Lark Nest stopped by Wednesday to deliver two dozen orange and pink roses (already employed in the decor, above, right!) and good wishes.

(as well as to snap a few pix of vintage splendor for you!)

IMG_6174Loved this sign! Even on the first day of Spring, produce is still “freezin’”!

Along with Maria Leary of When We Were Young, Suzanne Theisfeld of Objects & Art and Betty Sorensen of Petunia’s, they’re rocking a new occasional sale, the third Thursday, Friday and Saturday of each month.

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They’ve stocked smalls in abundance!

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 You’ll find vignettes tucked into sunny corners…

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And beautiful vintage fabrics repurposed into clothes, furniture and accessories.

IMG_6179Sofas and colorful pillows abound…

IMG_6193…as does cheery, chippy furniture!

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Love Jane and Sara’s work here: They’ve repurposed an enamel table top and its drop leaves as a child’s picnic table top and benches!IMG_6205Take the measure of this cool shade that hangs over the checkout counter!

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Funky florals bloom everywhere!

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Check out these eyeglass rounds!

IMG_6186This swing set comes with a tray of sand beneath!

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Maria, Jane, Sara and Maria’s daughter, Katherine, were all smiles Wednesday on a break in the action!

Stop out to see them today, Friday or Saturday; the shop is at 501 N. Chestnut St.

They report they’ve already added a slew more inventory since my Wednesday morning visit!

Kim

A Taste of Spring!

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It’s been a long winter!

Check out this beautiful thatch of wheat grass and tell me you can’t imagine Spring around the corner!

Once it is gussied up, this grass is headed for Lark Nest’s  Spring Tabletop Workshop on Thursday night at the Dunn Bros. in the Smith Douglas More House!

My counters and worktable are overrun with projects and dishes that will be part of the informal class, conducted over wine and appetizers, and made possible by Dunn Bros. personable proprietess, Ann Schuster!

She advises there are still a few available seats. I’m promising some seasonal suggestions for a cheery tabletop, a hand’s-on craft and a fun take-home favor. And a taste of Spring!

Here are the details! See you there!

Kim

Hirshfield’s Launches Cottage Paint!

cottagepaintopenRegular readers will know I’ve been down for the count for about a month but am gingerly re-entering the working world, avoiding ice wherever I go!

You also know I’ve been experimenting with Cottage Paint, developed with assistance of Texturline and colorist and finisher Drew Beninati, who operates  the Minneapolis Institute of Fine Finishes, also known as Hirshfield’s Plaster Center.

It’s a low-VOC, self-priming chalk (not chalkboard!) paint with great bonding. In Minnesota, Hirshfield’s has distribution rights, and you can get a chance to be part of its launch!

See it demonstrated  (and give it a try youself!) Saturday at the Edina store as part of  the Plaster Center’s free demo of decorative finishes from 9 to 3.

In addition to the Cottage Paint, their personable experts will also show their Moire and Sedona finishes, which are similar to brushed silk and acrylic suede with metallic reflections, respectively.

It’s your opportunity to see how easily you can give some of your old furniture  a new look!

Grabbing a paintbrush may just help get you in the mood for Spring, too!

Kim

FULL DISCLOSURE: Mentions of these products are not compensated in any way.

I taught a series of paid classes for Hirshfield’s this fall on repurposing furniture called “The Art of Junk” and after those concluded was asked to test Cottage Paint and offer feedback.

Spring’s The Thing Market!


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Yes, we’re two weekends away from the Spring’s The Thing Market, March 2-3 at the Smith Douglas More House in Eden Prairie!

Neither flu nor snow n0r back spasms nor any of the other calamaties our junker group has endured this winter will stand in the way of our bringing you a foretaste of spring (which yes, officially, doesn’t arrive until March 20)!

Along with junker gal pals Eydie Campbell of Moss and Marigolds, Sara Smith of Salvaged and Rescued Art and Jane Hall of Mustard Moon, Lark Nest Design plans to bring you a treasure trove of vintage and new home furnishings, decor, one-of-a-kind finds and seasonal botanicals!

Get ready to see some pretty spring things!

Ann Schuster, proprietess of the Dunn Bros. in the SDM House, has coffee, wine and fine chow at the ready, to warm shoppers before and after!

By now we figure you know our cards advertising our events by their signature stripes and the beautiful vintage urn!

We were very happy to find this fellow…

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…to plop inside the urn for this sale!

Spring’s the Thing! Come out and see us Saturday and Sunday for a lovely shopping experience!

WHEN
Saturday, March 2
9 a.m. -4 p.m
 Sunday, March 3
9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
WHERE
 Smith Douglas More House Dunn Brothers
8107 Eden Prairie Road, Eden Prairie, MN 55347
ADMISSION
Is free!
MORE INFO
952-361-3282

Hope to see you there!

Kim

A Fine Little Footstool!

abeth1This piece is a lot smaller than many of my client projects, but this little item has a lengthy story.

My client’s mother’s well-used, well-loved footstool was so disreputable looking that she had grown tired of looking at it. She exiled it to the garage, where she wouldn’t have to think about its one loose leg, the scarred brown finish, the torn covering and muslin or its tattered, gaping fringe.

But, as my client said, “We’re all short people, and this is the perfect size for my Mom when she’s sitting down.”

She engaged me to renew it, as a surprise.

You’re looking at the “After” pix!

What did I do with the “Before”?

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Accidentally deleted it from my phone’s cameral roll, of course.

But this is what the material looked like after I stripped it from its carcass. You’ll have to use your imagination to picture its scuffed brown cabriole gams, one of which dangled precariously for want of a screwdriver and some wood glue.

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Here it is after its first coat of Cottage Paint, which I’ve been testing. It will be in Minnesota Hirshfield’s stores soon, and I’ll post more about my experiences with it then.) I used two coats, and finished with two coats of semi-gloss sealer.

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Here’s a closeup of the nailhead trim that replaced the worn black fringe.

 Because this project at was a surprise for the client’s Mom (who had no idea the stool had been heisted from the garage), I worked from photos of the mother’s condo in order to find the right fabrics that would work with her style and existing furnishings.

Her daughter, my client, snapped pictures surreptitiously, pretending to shoot family members with furniture in the background! It was a bit of a puzzle to get it just right.

Every decorator enjoys a good bit of cloak and dagger now and then!

Her furnishings were eclectic with global touches, with black lacquer and brass and a touch of Chinoiserie.

“Mandala” in Wine (a sturdy rayon/cotton/poly textured blend) seemed the perfect choice for this project.

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And because one yard was plenty of fabric for this tiny stool, the overage was deployed for neckroll and a 22-inch pillow, accented with black velveteen welting and end pieces. Here they all are at my house, awaiting pickup.

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That was earlier Sunday,and this just in: Mom is pleased and thinks it looks almost too nice to put her feet on!

I’ll be back tomorrow with news of the Spring’s the Thing Market, coming up fast, March 2 and 3!

Here’s hoping your next decorating project involves a bit of enjoyable espionage!

Kim

Charmed, I’m Sure!

monopolybracelet

Content alert: Today’s post doesn’t have that much to do with design or with junking (unless you count the cool turq strongbox above, purchased from Brenda at JB Knacker, a favorite vintage shopping spot in Gilbert, Iowa!)

Instead, I wanted to share this fun bracelet made of vintage Monopoly charms! It found its way to me for Valentine’s Day, a gift from the mister, who remembered my declaration of adoration for all charms Monopoly the day I learned Hasbro planned to retire the venerable iron charm in favor of a cat.

Cats rule at our house, of course, but retiring the iron? Heresy!

I figured the wheelbarrow or even the race car would be more likely to get the boot, and news organizations from the Star Tribune to the Wall Street Journal polled their web readers on which token should be added or which should be cast out.

(For the record, I said the battleship.)

In any case, my man’s Google search lead him to Lizzy Bleu’s Etsy shop, and soon this bracelet was headed from Ohio to Minneapolis in a tastefully appointed box.

It jingle-jangles fabulously, with not one but two Scottie dogs, shoes, race cars, battleships, wheelbarrows and thimbles, and one top hat and (previously retired) cannon and horse with rider. But no iron!

So my partly very old bracelet is already quite up to date!

Back tomorrow with a cool footstool rehab project, which I hope will charm you as well!

Kim

Spring Tabletop Class!

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Easter is late this year, which means there are several weeks in March in which to plot my holiday tablescape!

I’ll be giving that some thought extra-early this year! Lark Nest has been invited to host a workshop March 14 on creating a beautiful spring tabletop! (The cherries-on-a-pedestal art, above, anchors the posters advertising the event!)

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Ann Schuster, the style- and vintage-loving proprietess of the Dunn Bros. at the Smith Douglas More House, extended this generous offer. I’m still working on content, though I’ve promised show-and-tell, a hands-on craft, as well as a useful take-home favor (and I know exactly what that will be!)

Ann is providing wine and appetizers and I’ll bring the materials and, I hope, some inspiration!

Details:

WHEN: 7 p.m. Thursday, March 14

WHERE: Smith Douglas More House, 8107 Eden Prairie Road, Eden Prairie, MN 55347

FEE: $25 includes wine, appetizers, materials

TO REGISTER:  Phone Dunn Bros. at  952 934 0145!

Seating is limited! More details as plans develop. Hope to see you there!

Kim

On the Workbench…

Just a quick note to share this fabulous fabric with you!

Love this linen — it has a fabulous hand — adorned with a fabulous peacock and blowsy, salmon pink and deep red flowers.

It is going on the seat of this cool cane-backed vintage chair with two tones of Cottage Paint, Bimini and Slate, and a metallic gold highlight wax, as well as a natural beeswax.

More on the process later, but thought you’d like this breath of fresh air! Feels like Spring!

Kim