Ho Ho Ho & Away We Go!!

The Claus family (who are personal friends of mine, and possible distant relatives on Mrs. Claus' side....ahem) have given me some hints about what items to expect under your tree and in your stocking this year! Aren't you lucky I'm sharing with you!?? :)

There will be some new computers and electronics, so it's a good thing several of Santa's helpers are cruising the inventory at Artifacts for desks to hold them. Several of these helpers are thinking outside the box & checking out interesting sofa tables and even this cool fold-out table

which doubles in size when you pull out the supports on each side & fold out the leaves.


These helpers are also checking out some of our unique chairs like the ones pictured below to work at these computer desks

There's still plenty of time to help Santa out and find a great gift of home decor, wall art, furniture, or great stocking stuffers at Artifacts! And don't forget, a gift certificate is always the right size, color & fit! :)

New Kitchen Items - UPDATED!!

I don't normally buy a lot of gifty type things, but it's nice to have something this time of year for those secret friend gifts, co-worker gifts, little happies for teachers, etc. So, when I saw these I decided to pick up a few!

They're measuring spoon sets with a decorative wall bracket to hold them! They come in hummingbird, rooster, flower & cross varities. The picture below is a 1 tbs. coffee measuring scoop in a heart design that comes with its own hanger.

Barbara asked for more detailed photos... so here they are -- closeups of each set !

Above: Funky Flowers
Below: Hummingbirds with flowers in bowl of spoons

Above: Crosses with "...and a dash of jog/hope/love/faith
Below: Roosters with sunflowers in spoons

Countdown to Holiday Open House!!!

It's just two weeks from tomorrow that we'll have the store turned into .... well, a furniture/home decor/antique store with Christmas decorations in it! HA!

We don't try to compete with all the great Bruce area shops with Christmas decor, just add a little bit to our furniture & accessories during the holidays. As I said in a recent newsletter, after you decorate your home and tree with items from other are merchants, you can find something to put UNDER the tree from Artifacts!

This year we're offering something a little unique. We have Christmas Wish List tags with which you can tag merchandise so your friends and family will know just what you really are hoping to find under the tree. A couple have already found their way onto some furniture items in the store! The deal with these is -- as many people as desire can "wish list" an item, but the first person (or person's family member, etc) who puts money down or buys it outright gets it and a "Santa has this item reserved for....." tag is added. All the other wish list tags are then taken off. All's fair in love, war & layaway, right!?

I hope to have new photos on the web page and facebook, (hello, all you facebook friends who like to see everything FIRST!!) after we finish doing some rearranging and remodeling this weekend.

Bookmark on your computer these VITAL websites! I try to cross-post pictures/information on all of them, but who knows what you might miss if you don't check them ALLLLLLL!

Artifacts Web Page (sign up for our email newsletter while you're there!)
Artifacts Blog
Artifacts on Facebook

Lots of new goodies in.... and they're *probably* germ free!

I've been sick since Sunday -- running fever non-stop -- so I've been mostly banned from the store. Mike & Brett have been busy rearranging and filling up the spots from the pieces that were sold or went on layaway last week. They've also unpacked lots of new home decor. I was allowed to go down today & point at what I wanted them to do!

If you check out the Furniture and Home Decor page on the website, or check out the September album on my Facebook Page you can see shots of most of the new things.

More furniture and home decor coming next week if nothing happens (and I stop running fever.... gah).

Heading toward fall

Don't you just love fall? I love the colors, the weather, everything. I have been dragging out my fall decorations and putting them around the house this week and it just has me in the mood for hayrides and pumpkin carving and.... well.... stuff like that. :)



This is also the time of year I think about where I'm going to move everything to make room for Christmas decorations and "do I really want that table anymore??" Seems like I do more fall cleaning/purging than I do in spring!

Also, not too early to start thinking about Christmas presents... I just hate waiting until November and December and feeling like everybody beat me to the good stuff! Just this week I've had emails or calls from three people planning their Christmas lists, so it might be a good time to get started on yours! Call me if you need help trying to figure out what to get ME... ha!

And.... VOILA!

I was just about to post a photo I took of a new style baker's rack we got in today. I had actually purchased it for a customer who thought it might be the perfect piece for her home & I thought, what the heck, if it's not, it will be the perfect piece for someone else.

BUT.... she stopped in, picked up the piece and has already emailed me a photo showing it in her kitchen completely accessorized! VOILA!

Well, she may actually get angry at me for posting this photo so soon because she says she isn't finished accessorizing. This piece was perfect to hold her collection of cookbooks, and she needed to access a light switch so a tall piece was out. With this nice medium sized baker's rack she can still access the switch and has tons of room for her cookbooks. I can't wait to see it when she "does a little better decorating" as she said, because I think it already looks great!

There's ugly... then there's.... OOOOGLY.

And this year, we have a truely oooogly entry in the Ugly Lamp Contest at the Calhoun County Fair!! Yes, a lamp so bad it's hard to imagine why anyone designed it, then why anyone would make it, then why anyone would BUY it... :)

But first, here's a shot of all 9 entries (nearly TRIPLE last year's number!! woohoo!!)

The lamp below was the "born ugly" winner -- this lamp started life as a kerosene lamp base. And frankly, I think the right shade on it would make it kind of attractive. But, I didn't over-rule the fair judges on it!

Then, there's this little lamp, which clearly started life as a fairly normal lamp with a bit of a wild side to it - (note the animal print trim on the shade). But then, someone decided a little bit of a good thing is never enough & went full scale safari on this baby.... so this is the winner of the "made ugly" division.

And now we have the GRAND CHAMPION of Lamp Ugliness.... and I have to say, before you see the photo, this one deserved a special award for, um.... perhaps vulgarity is the word I'm looking for?? This is just too, too much. I think you will agree that pretty much everything that could be wrong about this lamp IS wrong.... from the glitter to the gold plate to the birds to the fringe to the... um... well, say we call it a medallion?? Just so, so wrong. And so, so OOOOOGLY. Somehow, I get the feeling this was a gift from a mother-in-law.....

I Love Follow-Ups!!

Remember the cute little cabinet makeover that I featured here on the blog and in the Artifacts Monthly Email Newsletter??? Wellllllllllll, here it is in the customer's home!
It looks terrific with a bold orchid on top and pretty botles and decanters inside. I think she has achieved a masterstroke of style by combining all of these slightly modern black/white/silver furniture pieces in a setting that is very traditional (wide-plank, dark hardwood floors, crisp white molding, and khaki-tone paint.)

These chairs are a nice solution for someone who wants that modern edge of black/white without going for the zebra print. It's the same chair frame, but even though it is bold, this graphic fabric still has a more traditional feel to it. LOVE IT!

This homeowner also selected a great little accent chest in apothecary style (I think that just means a lot of drawers! HA!) which worked great in a little off-set niche in her home. She has kept the mix of modern/traditional going by topping this piece with its strong graphic lines with traditional bottles and vases. Super work.

And now.... on to the bedroom! :) As soon as we get that sorted out, more photos!

As I said this morning....

... on Facebook, I spent the first half of the day cleaning, sweeping, rearranging and filling up holes left from things that sold earlier in the week. (And thankfully, I'm going to have more of that to do after today! YIPPPEEE!)



This is one of the last-minute things I did just before we left the store for the evening -- all black & white decor in the front window. I had grabbed it to move up there and was also going to put the last zebra chair back with it. BUT, the zebra chair had other ideas and left headed to Starkville (by way of Pontotoc) with one of its legs hanging out the window of an SUV!! We can fit practically anything in a car, I promise! HA!



Anyway, the zebra chair didn't make the front window, but these pretty black & white items did. What do you think??

Black stacking baskets on the left, a vintage milk glass "open lace" candy dish, a white ceramic tray, lamps with funky silver base and black/white flocked shades and silver candleholders. Would be sharp in a red or green room, I think. One of my customers has a black/white/lime kitchen that she has shared with me and it is gorgeous! I can also see these same accessories being cool and modern in a turquoise/blue-gray room. Let me know what you think. Everyone who posts a comment here on the blog will have a chance to win something!!

UPDATE July 24, 2009: And the winner is.............. (everyone who commented on this post, I wrote your name on slip of paper & drew for the winner......) TYMPEL!

Congrats! In honor of this black/white theme we had going here, Tympel wins a pretty milk glass bird figurine so she can go off & start her own black/white themed room!! You can pick it up any time, Tympel!! :)

Big Impact Pieces

A giant flat screen tv ... a huge tv armoire in the den... an armoire in the bedroom....

With some of the overscale furniture in our homes today, groups of small objects as accessories can just look cluttered & lost. I have a hard time overcoming this tendency myself, but sometimes one BIG piece makes more of a statement than many small ones.

These huge charger plates in stands (whether they are metal, ceramic, or glass) with maybe one other large scale accessory (a pot, a candleholder, or tray) may be all you need to beautifully accessorize that large piece.

Ahhhhhhhhhhh, Sawmill Festival :)

I love Sawmill Festival Weekend. Why? Because I never have time to set foot on the square! It's always a super busy weekend for us and we also celebrate our anniversary during Sawmill weekend. We try to have plenty of new offerings in during this weekend and a two loads of furniture and home decor were due to arrive last week. Everything except one load of the furniture made it in time for the busy weekend, and it's a good thing it did because thanks to you, our customers, things really were flying out the door!

Check out the web page -- the furniture, home decor, and lighting pages have all been updated with new pieces that have arrived. Also check out the Sale page because our 4th Annivesary Sale Tags will stay up until the end of the month on any remaining items.

Congratulations to our doorprize winners -- Haley N. of Bruce for the $40 gift certificate, Debria P. of Calhoun City won the large clock, Jennifer R. of Bruce won the ceramic vase, and Ann H. of Springfield, IL (see why we love the Sawmill Festival -- you never know who will walk in!!) won the sugar mold.

THANKS everyone for keeping us hopping this weekend -- we're replenishing in order to be ready for your next onslaught! :)

Before & After

I am so glad I took time to photograph this curio before and after its transformation. It is now at home in the new condo of a customer and blends perfectly with her Hollywood Glam taste in decorating. She loved the look of it originally, but said the brown/gold tones would not work with the black/white/silver look in her living room.

Soooooo... I suggested I could paint over the gold swirly designs with silver and have a round mirror cut for the top (which is a removable tray) and for inside the cabinet. I also knew she had been lusting after some mirrored furniture from earlier conversations!

Here are the before/after shots and I'm waiting on one of it in her condo which I will add to the customer photos page of the website soon.





I put the crystal on it to show you how beautifully reflective the piece is now. I can't wait to see how the homeowner uses it with the graphic black and white chairs she purchased for her living room.

Note: I shared this "before and after" for this cute curio in my July Newsletter last week, but thought I'd add this story to the blog in case you don't subscribe (You can do that and make sure you get future newsletters containing decorating tips, bridal and gift registry information, and monthly recipes by going to this link: Artifacts Newsletter)

Whew!

I feel like I'm so behind I've almost caught up with myself. :) I still haven't gotten out a June Newsletter but I'll try to do better next month & I owe all my faithful newsletter readers 2 recipes to make up for skipping.

BUT, I do have three events this weekend to remind you about:

• Housewarming for Autumn, Jaret & Greysen Prestage will be Sunday, June 28. You can see their selections here: Prestage Housewarming
  
• Bridal Shower for Tammye Cook, Bride-elect of Mark Hill will be June 27 at Parker Baptist Church. You can see their selections here: Smith-Hill
  
• Emily Regis will marry David Chambers this Saturday, June 27. Emily registeredfor a few items with us at the request of her local friends. You can see them here: Regis-Chambers
  

A large load of home decor has just arrived. Planters, candlesticks, wall pockets, metal wall decor, "barn stars" and much more. You can see some photos on the Home Decor page of the website. Also don't miss a new photo on the Customer Photos page!

Coming Soon: I want to share a blog post with you about the conversion of a table we recently accomplished for a customer! It was so much fun and I have before and after photos of the table in the store and she has promised to send me a photo of it in her home as well!

New furniture in this week!

We received two load of new furniture pieces and lamps last Thursday & Friday. Several of them (a sink, and two jewelry armoires) have already sold, but we still have lots of pretties for you to see like the chair and table with crocodile top. Go check it out on the Furniture and Lighting page on the website and check them out.

Also, don't forget the Shower for Dr. Jonathan Collins and his bride-elect Nicole Epema. Jonathan stopped by Artifacts on his way to Missouri and bought some furniture from us and we are delighted that he & his fiance have used the website to make some of their selections for the shower this Saturday, June 20 in the home of Mrs. Cheryl Hendrix.

You can see the Epema-Collins selections and several others on the Gift Registry page.

Shower Reminder - Anna Stepp & Devin Cooper

Shower for Anna Stepp, Bride-Elect of Devin Cooper will be this Sunday in the home of Mrs. Lori Longest of Bruce. You can see Anna & Devin's selections HERE.

Cha-cha-cha-CHANGES!

Mike says I don't move furniture around at home as much any more because I get my fix doing it at the store. Maybe that's true because I do get to rearrange things when pieces are sold or put on layaway and we need to "fill up the holes"!

Nearly every time I rearrange the mantle area in the front room I think the current arrangement looks just perfect -- far better than the one I had there before. I guess I also scoot the old arrangement out of my memory bank because people will say, "You know that piece you had under the mantle a few weeks ago??" And my mind will just be blank and all I can imagine being there is the one that's there now!

That said, here is the latest under-the-mantle piece -- which is just perfect, don't you think? :)

Traditional, Transitional, and Contemporary!

These tall floor candlestands just arrived and I love their clean, crisp lines mixed with the curve at the bottom. This is a perfect example of a "transitional" piece or transitional style. If you have more traditional furniture and accents in your home, look at them and you will see that most of them have curves, swirls, loops, a certain softness about them.

If you have more contemprorary furnishings and accessories they will have clean, straight lines, more geometric patterns and shapes instead of those from nature.

These candle stands artfully combine both styles and would work with either style decor. If I think about it this afternoon, I will photograph them with a contemporary piece and a traditional piece to better illustrate what I mean!

Okay... here they are with the contemporary pieces:

And with both:

And with traditional:

Busy Weekend

Whew... is it Tuesday already? We had a great, busy weekend at Artifacts. The Cart Barn Inn had a full house and they sent them all to see us, everyone was looking for Mother's Day and graduation gifts and gift certificates, and those who couldn't work in their too-wet yard also came to see us!

Mike and Brett were kept busy rearranging furniture to fill up the "holes" and we were able to create a small break in an aisle in the middle room. We're going to try it for a while and see if it continues to be as handy as it was Saturday! You'll have to stop in and give us your opinion.

Still no progress on the camera front -- mine is being repaired and Brett's new one is stuck somewhere in customs because we bought it from a Canadian ebayer!! Duh -- should have looked at that before we bought it! As soon as we do get a camera, we'll post photos of some of the new furniture. We got most of the home decor shipment on the website using a borrowed camera, and many of those items completely sold out this weekend. Going to update that right now... remember to check the webpage often: www.artifactsbrucems.com

Also, some new bridal selection shots are up for Amelia Tunnell, too. Some that you can actually identify what she has selected, not like the earlier shots we had from the cell phone! Just bear with us while we work in the visual world of the internet without visuals.

Mother's Day Coming up May 10

And just in time, we have received a new load of home decor items. Some really nice crosses, vases, metal wall pieces, cookbook holders.... Ladies, this is the time to send your men in to buy you a gift!!



Just a reminder -- don't forget your own mom. We have plenty of more traditional pieces she would love like an accent chair, a nice print, a mirror....

And for you male readers, don't forget the MOTHER OF YOUR CHILDREN!!! We have some special gift certificates printed up for Mother's Day and Graduation. You can see samples here.



Keep in mind the printed gift certificates look better than the stretched/squished versions I put on that page!

LOTS MORE PHOTOS on the store website. Go check them out! www.artifactsbrucems.com

Camera Crisis

As Brett went off to shoot the alumni game at Calhoun City Saturday night, he discovered the camera had died. Soooooooo, no pictures of the NEW GOODIES that have arrived. And we have lots of new goodies, so this is the point I'll have to ask my blog readers to use their imaginations!

We have in some new credenzas and cabinets from Stein World, new lamps, and due to arrive later this week lots of new wall decor.

I have also packed up our sick widdle camera and mailed it off to Nikon for repair. Keep your fingers crossed for a swift recovery.

What's Hot

Sugar molds, wooden bowls, and wood wall brackets -- that's what! I was thinking "why wood all of a sudden?" Then it dawned on me that people are ready for summer and more outdoorsy type stuff and eating on the patio or deck and making their dining table more informal and...well, I guess wood just fits the bill!
Metal wall pieces remain popular for outdoor and indoor use too and more are one the way soon. Some great wall planters and other wall pieces coming soon.

Shower Reminder - Jesi Rogers this weekend

Just a reminder that the shower for Jesi Rogers, bride-elect of Jim McCormick, will be this Sunday, April 19. Jesi registered for a large curio at Artifacts (t0 house her large collection of crystal she tells us!) and if you would like your name added to the list as a gift-giver, just give me a call (983-8481) or email me & we'll make sure you're represented at her shower.

We have several new furniture pieces in -- tables, credenzas, decorative curios, bombe chests -- and lots of new lamps. Also some great metal wall pieces that would look good inside or out. Come see us!

Lamps and More

We have several new sets of lamps in (because we're having a run on lamps lately -- with bridal selections and with people just needing to spruce up their homes for spring.) I thought these were especially pretty and looked good with this bowl & tray.

We also got in one of the prettiest credenza/console pieces we've ever had. I have to get the styrofoam it's shipped with out of it & get it up front so it can be seen better. Until I do you blog readers and web page browsers will get the first peek at it. I mean this piece would make a STATEMENT in an entryway! Would also be great as a dining room buffet, wouldn't it?

Shower Reminder - Chris Suber & Emily Rawlings

Shower will be this weekend... See all their selections on the Bridal Selections Page

Welcome Sign....

Another great (busy) weekend at the store, with lots of new stuff in to see on the webpage and on facebook.

Just wanted to post this picture of the large metal welcome sign that a local girl (who now lives away.... how dare she leave Calhoun County??) picked for her housewarming present from someone who told her to come in Artifacts and pick something out for herself. I was thinking she might use it in a foyer or a living room, but it looks great outside on her chimney! Way to go, Steph! :)

How Many King Men Does It Take....

.... to move one small corner cabinet!?? HA! That's the heading I thought of when I snapped this photo of both of them reaching for the same 1 pound shelf!

But then again... I won't fuss at them too much because they finished hauling 2 pickup loads of the Kimzey estate stuff, unloaded the pickups, unloaded the NEW STEIN WORLD goodies (See photos on Furniture Page) that came on an 18 wheeler (the driver asked if we had a forklift & Mike said, "You're looking at him...." but the driver was really sweet & helped them unload), and they also loaded some sinks for a new customer in Mathiston who is remodeling 2 houses, and made deliveries. I have a feeling they will be pooped when they get in!

Indiana Carnival Glass pieces

Posting this so a customer can see photos of the Indiana Carnival glass pieces I was talking to her about via email.

We have this bowl available in blue or gold:

And this pitcher in gold:

New Customer Photos Finally Up!

We have some gorgeous new photos from customers' homes on the web page -- here's a tease:

You can see lots more by going to the Customer Photos
page on the Artifacts website!

Plus -- we just found out that the company that carries our canister line has added dinnerware to some of the colors. Check out this dinner plate from the taupe line! To die for, right? :)