May the Force be with you...

Does this lil' critter totally look like Master Yoda...I just couldn't resist this shot as the hapless creature looked out of her cage pleadingly...
isn't she just the cutest lil' chihuahua mix...LOL!!!

OR...
is she looking for Taco Bell...
Total transformation...lil' Cloe has her summer clip and has completely changed face...
I prefer this little cutey with her wild fro,
but it is what it is in the wonderful world of dog grooming!!!
Mom rules!!!

...OPEN...

Finally, the day we've been waiting for...however, many things remain to be finished, like the painting of our front doors...and black will be the paint Du jour...simply elegant...

The original 'Shed' sign now hangs in the front window...
beckoning...

Piper's friends are now anxiously arriving, they all have candle anxiety from the two weeks of turmoil...MOVING!!!

...the settings are starting to take shape, as we try to find a happy medium for all the displays...

...but you know me...the 'Queen of Cram'...you can never have enough stuff...and more will be coming in today...heehee(sorry Piper)...

...as Sweet Repose makes it's fragrant debut at the mall, more and more scents are on the agenda...

The sign I had made for Piper for Xmas one year will hang in the side window inviting you to come in and browse...

Our mall manager, Tony, says she's been bombarded with requests to occupy spaces and tells us that a national store is coming(but won't tell us who)...so maybe this little move was a good thing for us...we already know it was a good move!!!

Customers and mall rats...I mean sweet, adorable kiddies(heathens)will soon be regulars at the new location of...
Friend's Candles Shed
Muscatine, Iowa

I'm baaaaccckkkk...

We are finally finished clearing out the old shop...and wowza, what a job!!!
Almost 10 years in the same location , one tends to collect along the way.
The cancer benefits given during Piper's husband's illness accumulated tons of glass containers donated and all had to be cleaned and sorted...
many others dropped off doors and windows and screens
and funky junk that we all use in display or for the creation of inventory.

Well, I've been in this biz long enough to know that nothing gets thrown into the trash...
I'm a real stickler about recycling anyway...AND...
you never know what might be there waiting to be created...sooooo...
this is what my yard looks like right now...argh...
I have no garage or any storage of any kind, all but my trailer and let's hope I don't have to use it real soon!

So, today we will be officially open for biz...the water has been turned on...the printer will have new ink, we will be ready to roll!
Tomorrow, pics of the finished product!

Shadow Shot Sunday...the trolley...

my hay trolley...

At the very top of the hay loft, a track or rail was suspended. From that track, a metal device with wheels (called a trolley) moved freely from one end of the barn to the other, pulled from the overhang above the door to the back of the barn with a large diameter "hay rope", draw by a team of horses and later a motorized tractor.
A set of four long steel "hooks if you will" were inserted into a clump of loose hay or group of hay bales on a "hayrack" or open wagon. Also attached to a tripping mechanism on the hay hooks was a lighter rope, controlled by the person inserting the hooks. This rope was both used to "trip" and dump the load of hay as well as manually retrieving the hooks, trolley and hay rope.

But like Granny used to say...don't lettum kid ya, the good ol' days weren't so good...as anyone who's worked the hayfields...it's the hottest days of the summer, hard, hard work for little pay, but oh what a workout...who needs a gym, just help out on a farm and feel a part of the history of the family farm...and families working together.

Check out the rest of the shadow shooters over yonder at Harriet's place...it's FUN!

A project 's'...

Well, I wasn't gonna paint this lil' piece I bought from Sandy's shop, it was painted black...but then I got to looking at it and thought...hmmmm...
French grey...cute huh...

Now I have major projects in mind...our former landlord sells and repair sewing machines and has given us a few of them to play with...
what ta do, what ta do...

...check out the details of this machine 'to die for'...

Have never seen one like this before, but would make a cute side table...huh...

...another grand old dame who's outlived her usefulness, but what a charmer and in excellent condition...I may have to find a semi-permanent home for this one...
hmmmmm...maybe white...or black...
or my fave...
FRENCH GREY...
whatayathink...

My life's blood...soap...

CHECK IT OUT...
Now this is a soap display...yummm...
My friend Sandy Newkirk is selling my soaps in her darling shop in the Amana Colonies...

I had to take this shot from my truck...did I mention the torrential downpours ALL DAY!!!
Sandy's lil' shop,'Amazing Grace Antiques and Gifts' sits back in by The Amana Bakery in a cute lil' niche brightly decorated with wonderful spring flower baskets and primitive antiques.

Wonderful displays fill the shop's nooks and crannies at every turn...

Sandy also carries various gifts for those not so inclined to buy antiques...can you imagine...
the nerve!!!
So please visit Sandy and her new shop, you'll love it...Sandy managed the Noe House where Lorie and I had a booth space...that is until they sold the building.
You won't find Sandy sitting and waiting for something to come around,
she is off and running...again!
Good luck girl!!!
Thanks for the soap order...AGAIN!!!

soooo, I also tweaked my own lil' world at Sisters' while making my deliveries...
sold a parlor table and a plant stand, so tweaking was in order...

Rainy, blustery days in Iowa...
I LOVE MY TRUCK!!!

Things...and things...and a little me time...

...a yard sale...

...a new trellis for a newly awakened Autumn Clematis...

...a before...

...and an after...

...and a looking glass image...
much closer than it appears,
in my life...

Almost there...

Settings are finally starting to take shape, as we find all the stuff packed away in boxes...

I've been crazy busy making soaps too, trying to get the shelves all filled before our June 5th open house...not to mention the orders that are filing in from my friends out of state
and those in the area.

We are having way too much fun arranging, you know how it goes and having a new space to work out of, really makes the creative juices flow.
We had quite a few curious souls walk in yesterday afternoon, some seeing the marquis sign, which surprised me, but after listening to what they are saying, they really want the mall to come alive again.

Many of these women walk the mall in the winter months, out of the weather...
we got a comment from one saying we broke her stride, as she couldn't resist taking a sidetrack through the shop...
yeah, that's what I'm talkin' about!
Having the dance studio right across the hall, gives us a lot of visibility to those socker/dance moms that are waiting on their kids.

We are open today for biz, so stop out and say high to Pipes...
I'm home makin' soap...
See ya there...

A trip to Sisters...

I hadn't been to Sisters' in two weeks...stop my heart...with the move of our store, there was no time to spare...but just look at this iron garden table...again,
stop my heart!!! ($125.00)

...drawers...

...twigs N tables...

...old father time piece...

...perty posies...

...wicker whites...

...pink...

...metal...

...ironstone...

...woods...

All in a day at Sisters' Garden and Bloom, Kalona IOWA...
...aren't you just green with envy...
heehee...