~Tomato Creek Prims~
A simple life...Stush and I, the kids and the grands♥

Friday, July 11, 2008

~My Mantel~

Here's my work space out in the garage:) Stush doesn't mind me being out there with him, so this morning I decided to put some stain on a sign I had made last year, I had it up above my kitchen window but for some reason you really couldn't see it very well. After I stained it I thought about where to put it , it's not the best done sign in the world but the wording is special to me:) It's the name of a store that used to be in a town called Charleroi back in the 50's, I used to go there when I was a little girl with my mom, from what I can remember they sold fabric, thread,lady's slippers, hankies and I just think it was a store for ladies. What always facinated me was the way they took your money....they would put it in a cylinder of some sort then with a pulley they would pull on it and away it would go up to the second level of the store to the cashier, he or she would make the change and send it on down in the same way:) I thought it was an old fashioned way even back then:) The name of the store was Kirk & Clark's and I have fond memories of mom and me there, mom loved to shop too!
So I decided to put it above my mantel...the mantel that is so hard for me to decorate, it's so long:) I always feel like I have to much stuff up there but it doesn't look right to me if there is only a couple things. As you can see I took down the black painted mirror, didn't look right there,

so I put up this breadboard that I bought years ago at the fleamarket instead, I've always had it on my hoosier but this is what I've been doing ....moving things from room to room to give me a fresher look. I hope you all have a great weekend!


13 comments:

  1. I love the sign Rondell! I also like the way you have the entire mantel decorated!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Very cool sign... I've seen people use their mother maiden name and make up a sign like that. I like that you used an actual store name though.

    Just post a recipe don't worry about a pic if you would like to.

    Mary

    ReplyDelete
  3. Your mantel looks so nice that it inspired me to redo one of our mantels here at the shop. I'll post pics of it on my blog tomorrow. And I loved your story about shopping with your mother...how sweet!

    Pam
    http://blogspot.antiqueornot.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. The shop you described sounds so interesting, especially the way they handled the money. And I love how you had the sign made to remind you of the shop and the days spent shopping with you Mom.
    Have a great weekend! :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Mantel looks great and love the sign. I think i am gonna redo mine today too! Have a blessed weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Long spaces are hard to decorate. Sometimes you need to add something soft when most things are hard so you have some different textures. Like some homespun under something but alos haniging over the edge a bit. I ma having the same issue with my mantel in the family room I just finished painting. I have the same stack of round boxes on the end too. Now I need to take my own advice! LOL

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love your mantel it looks so prim and homey!! You did a great job on both the sign and mantel!! Have a great weekend!~Wendy

    ReplyDelete
  8. I like your sign and the story, things have so much more personality when there is a story:O)
    Blessins'
    Shayne Louree

    ReplyDelete
  9. Rondell -

    As promised, I redid one of my mantels and posted pics on my blog. Thanks for the inspiration!

    Wish you were close enough to pop in for our mini-sale...I'll bet you'd find a treasure! LOL

    Pam

    ReplyDelete
  10. I really like how that long sign just pulls all those smaller pieces together. It looks great!

    Isn't it nice how just the name of a store can tug at the heart of your memories? When I was growing up there was a little store in West Virginia called Hazels. Dad would takes us there, give us $1 and we could pick out 100 pieces of candy that all got tucked into these tiny little paper sacks. Someday maybe I'll find a sign that says Hazels Country Store. I just love that idea!

    So glad you shared that with us.

    Blessings,
    Lea

    ReplyDelete
  11. What a lovely gathering of treasures and memories! You personalized it which makes it even better. Nice job..it looks great! ( I too will post mine. It is in my kitchen and has items that mean something to me. My sign says Gradmas house...the name of the craft shop my mother ran for years.)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Rondell,
    I somehow missed this post! I love your sign and I think it's really neat that it has a special place in your heart as a fond memory from when you were a little girl! I love conversation starters like that in decor!

    Your mantel and fireplace always looks nice and prim! And it's fun changing things around too, isn't it?

    Have a great week!
    Tammy

    ReplyDelete
  13. Rondell,
    I just thought of this sign today....I thought I sent you a comment but maybe I didn't get the word verification right and it didn't go through and I closed? Anyway, have you lived in that area most of your life? I'm asking because you mentioned Charleroi and my Uncle, Gram's brother, lives there! My Great Grandparents had a farm...a dairy even! Dad keeps asking me to keep an eye out for an old Milk bottle from them so we can have it. They were Hayden's.....

    ReplyDelete

Love to read each and everyone of your comments...thanks for taking the time to stop by for a visit... your always welcome♥
Rondell