Crazy Idea

SO, I have been saving all my pennies for the past year to buy my very first car. I said it, my very FIRST car. I am 22 and have never owned a car. Yes I know how to drive, and I have my drivers license, I guess I just really never needed one. I got around just fine at school on bikes, and whenever I needed to go home I just got a ride from a friend.I adore my two bikes, a bright red cruiser and a blue road bike. This has kept me in shape, and saved me tons of mula. I highly recommend getting a bike!

It has been a little nicer with Gavin letting me borrow his car. Although, this has meant TOO many trips to the thrift store, I used to bike to the thrift, haha GEEZ its so far away I'm silly.

Anywho, I have a reasonable budget of about 2,500.( I wish I didn't have to buy a car, but I will desperately need one once I move back home, too bad Birmingham has a non existant public transportation system) I envy those of you who live in big cities and can rely on public transit.

Yeah I bet your thinking what the POO is 2,500 going to get you. Well, my friends I have been searching craigslist and kellybluebook high and low like it is my job. And let me tell you, the only things you will find for those prices are SCAMS, and maybe some decent cars with over 100,000 miles and smoke smell or dog pee stains.


So here are my two radical considerations.


Idea #1 Buy an old (but running) VW van

(i found this beauty for 1,500$ I am seriously crazy right)

...but what she could look like


or Idea # 2 Buy a Vespa

(craigslist 1,200$ 60mpg- beauty)


or i could just combine the two ideas... brilliant!

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who said this had to be a practical decision...i don't
think you can beat 60 mpg
What was your first car?

Happy Monday- eat your veggies and buy local!

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Happy Monday Everyone!
I have been so busy this weekend. I came home to visit some family and relax a little. Gavin is out of town:( so I have been keeping myself busy. He took the camera to Boston, so I wont be able to share pics from the garden...but if only you could have seen the feast my little sister and I shared for dinner last night. We went out late Sunday afternoon to pick tons of veggies from moms garden. Here is a small list of the goodies we gathered:

new potatoes (red and golden)
onions (red and yellow)
purple cabbage
carrots
beans
spinach
tomatoes
basil
dill

and what did we make you ask?
A delicious soup of course!

But you don’t need a farm to grow fresh vegetables, herbs and fruits. You don’t really even need a garden, check out some of these neat tricks to grow your own veggies, trust me they will taste WAY better than the ones in the store.

I tried to find some pics of super pretty gardens, maybe to convince someone to start to grow there own veggies.

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(look at the pretty glass covers for the lettuce)


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Look its a roof garden!


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Oh and here are some super funky accessories for the garden,
found on etsy




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anyone have any secret recipes or tips for the
veggies we picked? I adore new recipes.
I'd love to add it to my recipe box.

AppleSeed Shop Update

Get ready for some adorable vintage dresses and tops popping up in the AppleSeed shop tonight. Here is a tiny peek at what what you will find. Remember the new set up I was practicing with Gavin? Well, here they are! Hope you like.

Have a super Wednesday.

New Glasses and Cuckoo Clocks

Check out these AMAZING glasses I found at the thrift store on Saturday. Well, my boyfriend Gavin really found them, but somehow I seem to have them in my possession. If only I did NOT have 20/20 vision. I know this sounds bad, but I really am jealous of those who get to wear glass. what an adorable accessory!

I like to think up stories of where my thrift finds come from. These particular glasses came from an old man named Freddy. Freddy lived in Selma, Alabama. Freddy had a pretty wife named Sue, and two wonderful children named Petuna and Angie. Freddy was a blueberry farmer by day, and a cuckoo clock creator by night. He needed these very specific glasses to see the tiny nobs and buttons on the clocks. They served him well for 45 years, and now they happen to be in my possession.




Here were some of the Cuckoo Clocks Freddy fixed!


but this on ETSY!


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Do you ever make up stories, or think of who owned your vintage beauties before they were vintage?

AppleSeed Vintage booth at Druid City Art Fest

AppleSeed Vintage made the front page of the Tuscaloosa News. Check out the article here. This past weekend I held an art booth at the Druid City Art festival. I had so much fun, it was unbelievable. I sold more than half of the items I brought out, it turned out to be a huge success, and I cant wait to do it again very soon. My sister Lily, and I held down the fort as the wind tried to blow over our display every chance it got. After I had completely duck taped down the mannequins and clothes rack I could get back to selling beautiful vintage clothes and handmade jewelry.



Here are a few pictures from the event.

So many people were curious as to how I have collected so many vintage items. Years worth of thrifting, antique shopping, and searching through y grandmothers attic was the answer.



I designed a business card the night before, and had about 40 of them printed at FedEx. I ran out of them within the first two hours of the event, so I had to keep writing out my store website on a piece of paper and handing it out. Here is the business card I designed.




My incredibly talented younger sister created these treasure/shadow boxes that she had for sale. Every single one of them sold except for the one that kept breaking when it was thrown around by thee wind. Lily also worked on wrapped crystals during the event, each time she finished wrapping a crystal and placed it on the table it would sell instantly.

I though it would be neat for you to create your own custom jewelry stand at the event. I displayed a few of my plates and candle stands so guests could pick their own design. Lily helped me glue them together, then you could pick them up when they were dry. There were a few people who put together the most unusual combination, I wish I would have taken pictures of them all.


Lovely ladies checking out my booth.




lily gluing all of the jewelry stands.


I enjoyed thsis experience so much! I cant wait to find some more art festivals to display my work. Special thanks to my boyfriend Gavin who drove everything around, helped me set up and take down, and even brought lily and I lunch on that sunny windy day. And thanks to Lily!! I could not have done it all without you.

My very first Art Booth

This weekend I am attending the Druid City Arts Festival. I am participating as an art vendor. This will be my very first time to display and sell my crafts at an art show. I have always wanted too, but the vendor table prices were always too high, but for students it is free! What a perfect opportunity to test out my very first craft table. I have been looking for ideas for a while now to figure out how I want to display everything. Here are a few images and tips I would like to share with you.

I will be bringing two mannequins to my craft both display, so this picture really helped. I also loved that she thought to put boxes and frames even below the table. Good way to use up some extra space, I'm just not sure that everyone would be that height. I love the idea for a vintage lase table cloth. I might go to the thrift store today to try and find some lace curtains to use as a table cloth.
Image found from twitter.

This vintage trunk earring display is marvelous. Yet again another wonderful find! It looks too easy. There are DIY directions here. This article was taken from Richmond Craft Media Blog.

Here is a very clean look. I have plenty of baskets I could bring, if only i have paper crafts to sell. Darn. I also love the tree sitting on the left side of the table to hang bracelets or necklaces. Images found from Indie Craft Shows.

This is one of my all time favorite ideas. I once visited a craft fair in Asheville, and there was a women (I forget her name and shop name) who made bracelets out of recycled clothes and buttons. She had all of her jewelry displayed in old vintage suit cases. Perfect for storage and display. This is one of the most creative ideas. I have plenty of old suitcases, so I am very excited to try this out. These image were taken from Poetic Home blog.

This craft booth is so inviting. Red Marionette created the Red Marionette Logo out of "train" blocks and big red letter blocks, painted red then sanded for the "Old Toybox" look. This is such a great idea! I really love her work as well.


I love how she has added height to a simple table with window frames or metal racks. Beautiful and simple. This image was taken from Giant Dwarf blog. You can find her Etsy shop here.

Here are some great tips I found on how to set up an effective craft booth. I hope all of my research will pay off.
Ideas taken from Meylah blog.

Theme: Having a theme to your booth reinforces your brand. For example, if you sell linens, you could use vintage wire laundry baskets from a thrift store to display some of your items, or an old-fashioned washboard as a display holder for your business cards. It’s great to have functional props, so try and choose ones that can be used as levels or stands – you’ll be killing two birds with one stone!

Color: When planning your displays, choose colors that make your products pop. You don't want to your items to be washed out by a color that's too bold, or overwhelmed by busy patterns. Also, keep your theme and brand in mind when choosing colors. Think about the mood you want to create when people visit your booth. Think about the moods created by different colors.

Levels: Include interesting levels and depth in your displays to draw people into your booth. From far away, your booth will look empty and uninviting if your products are all lying horizontally (and facing the ceiling) on the table. Set them up to face the customer! If your booth turns people's heads from a distance, their feet are sure to follow.

Signage: Make sure you have a clear sign showing your store name. Make it interesting and unique – anything to make people remember your name. Another important tip: Just like when they're shopping at a retail store, people want to know prices. It can be a turn-off for them to have to ask you how much everything costs (what if you're busy with another customer?), so label each item clearly.

Keep it Subtle: Your displays should never outshine your product; they are there to make your product stand out. Even if you come up with the most beautiful, elaborate display in the world – it’s of no use if people spend all their time admiring your display, and don’t even notice your products.


Another good resource is flickr. Here are some examples of craft show displays.