Throwback Thursday & 5th Anniversary Etsy Promo

We are so excited to be celebrating our 5th anniversary! 

We did a gift with purchase on Jan 24th & now, for a limited time we have brought back the first listing we put on Etsy! 

A "throwback listing" if you will.

Promo Listing

This was not only our first listing it resulted in our first sale!

We are offering these rustic vintage spoon markers for our original listing price of $5.00 each ~

You "pick" from the following 5 Styles:

BASIL
HERBS
MINT
SAGE
THYME

For fun I included a photograph used in our very first listing

I can't believe I used Papyrus font! LOL

Now I know the title here says "Throwback Thursday" and today is Friday... this post was scheduled to be published yesterday but things happen.

A day late and a dollar short. Have a great weekend ~

IKEA 2015 Top 10 Cabin Style Items

Who says Ikea is all Scandinavian Modern? 

They have cabins in Scandinavia don't they? LOL

OK, They do have a "look" but if you need a cowhide rug, inexpensive calico bedding or lighting and don't have time to search high and low, scour flea markets and such, you are in luck.

My picks for the top 10 Cabin Style Items from the new catalog~

Some are new and some are old favorites but all of these will add charm to the cabin without breaking the bank and are conveniently under one roof @ your nearest Ikea.

HERMINE

Throw Blanket Acrylic & Wool $19.99

KOLDBY

Cowhide $199.00

SVARTSJON

Towel Rail & Hook $4.99

HEMNES

Linen Cabinet $299.00

STOCKHOLM

Pair Walnut Nesting Tables $279.00

FRAKEN

100 % Cotton Bedspread Quilt & Pillow Covers $69.99

IKEA PS TRAY

Birch Tray Easy to Hang $9.99

APPLARO

Acacia Folding Chair $35.00

HEKTAR

Clamp Spotlight $14.99

HURDAL

Solid Pine Bed $349.00

BONUS

Because it's classic and how can you beat this Faux Sheepskin for $12.99?

TEJN $12,99

Check out the new catalog online HERE

Check out some Ikea Hacks HERE

LOVE on Etsy

As an Etsy seller I spend a lot of time cruising about the place. 

Today I was in a sort of rustic, upcycled, repurposed ♥ LOVE mood.

I hope you enjoy this collection as much as I do!

From the top

1. Reclaimed Wood Heart

2. Antler Ring with Rustic Silver Heart

3. Salvaged Wood Cut Out Heart

4. Bourbon Bottle Label & Wax Bouquet 

5. Hand Embroidered Bunny 

6. I Love You More Journal

7. Railroad Art LOVE Sign

8. Chain Art Upcycled Heart & Arrow

Anvil Designs 5th Etsy Anniversary January 24, 2015

Anvil Designs is celebrating our 5th anniversary on Etsy!

~also known as Etsyversary~

*We want you to celebrate with us*

Gift with purchase January 24, 2015 only.
**one per customer** 

One of three styles representing our best sellers will be tucked in with your purchase. Basil, Thyme or Herbs.

Hand stamped, rustic, vintage spoon.

Looking forward to the next 5 years!

~Thank you~

IKEA 2015 Top 10 Cottage Style Items

My picks for the top 10 Cottage Style Items from the new catalog~

UNDER $100!

Some are new and some are old favorites but all of these will add charm to the cottage home without breaking the bank.

SOCKER

Greenhouse $19.99

VETTRE

Steel Nightstand $49.99

FJALLJUNG

Ramie Cushion Cover $10.00

HOLMSEL

Rattan Chair $69.99

TANUM

 

100% Cotton Rag Rug $6.99

LEIRVIK

Steel Bed Frame $99.99

IKEA PS 2014

Corner Cabinet $99.00

DEKAD

Alarm Clock $5.99

TARVA

3 Drawer Pine Chest $79.99

KNODD

Steel Bin w/ Lid $14.99

~Bonus~

FOTO

Pendant Lamp $14.99

Check out the new catalog online HERE

Check out some Ikea Hacks HERE

18 Days and Counting ~ Guest Room Redo @ The Ranch

Day 1 - Saturday I moved all but the bulky or heavy pieces of furniture out.  

Day 2 - Sunday scrape popcorn off of ceiling and begin the long slow process of removing the wallpaper. This is the 4th room in this house I have removed wallpaper from and I still have 2 rooms to go. The master BR was pretty easy, it was a grass fiber fabric type and really soaked up the vinegar laced water. The small laundry room and hall took days. No amount of perforating, sanding, steaming and crying would get that paper off it was some sort of vinyl stuck on with what looked like wood glue mixed with Elmer's glue. It came off in emery board size pieces. This part was the most daunting because it was very similar wallpaper and I had a tight schedule.

JD Scraping off the popcorn

It took JD about 45 minutes to get the popcorn off. He told me he was starting and I walked out to the garage to get my pole scraper and by the time I found it and came back in he was almost half done!

About 10:00 am I started on the wallpaper. Luckily for me a friend came by about 2:00 and helped for a few hours. She had brought us dinner so I didn't have to stop to cook. I worked until about 8:00 and had almost half the room done which sounds impressive but included the closet and door walls so, not so much.

JD pulled off all of the baseboards and molding.

End of Day 2

I should mention this was a budget makeover. We did about 90% + of the work ourselves and wanted to stay at about $800 or less. At the end of day 2 we were still at labor only, zero expense.

Day 3 - Monday JD went off to work and I spent the day between filling orders and packing boxes for my Etsy shop and scraping wallpaper. By late afternoon I had about two thirds of the room done including the biggest wall! JD came home and we took out the rest of the carpet and much of the padding. We felt pretty good but had encountered a few problems.

1. The closet doors which we were going to keep temporarily as we knew we wouldn't get the new doors built in time had to go. The framing out of the closet was done by someone who must not have owned a level or any proper tools. The track was ruined because of poor installation and the framing being off. It was decided after trying to reset the track and doors after having removed the track to get the carpet and pad out it was a waste of time. About an hour wasted.

2. The walls needed a lot of work. I knew from the other rooms that the former owners had wallpapered because they didn't want to finish the walls. This room wasn't as bad as some, but I would need a full day or more to fill, sand and smooth the walls.

3. With the closet going south we figured we would not get the ceiling done in time for our guest. 

15 days and counting ~

Measure Up ~ Upcycled Assemblage Earrings for Carpenters, Contractors, Remodelista's & DIY Queens

Yesterday I was working on a custom order and staring back at me from my workbench was this piece of broken tape measure. 

It had been sitting there a long time, a couple of years I'd say, patiently waiting... So in the middle of the custom order it said "marry me to that piece of tin shed, earrings would do". 

Seriously, I stopped what I was doing and set to work on this marriage!

"Measure Up"

Available on Etsy $36.00

I had the sense to grab my camera because heck, how often does a broken tape ask for marriage to a broken shed? 

The white tin is the destroyed shed I also use to harvest my LOVE letters. The white is part of the shed trim. The large red bead is coral that I have had for many years and the ear wires are oxidized sterling. I felt the dangles made enough of a statement and a simple wire would show them to the best advantage.  

Shout out YAY for Milwaukee Tin Snips!

I had a lot of fun photographing these too ~

Have a great weekend!

Guest Room Redo @ the Ranch

So PJ was coming for Christmas and was pretty much going to have to sleep on the couch or in my vintage trailer "Ethel". At first I didn't think much of that because I was so excited she was coming! We hadn't seen each other since I visited her last Christmas... 

Also, Ethel is also know around here as "The Guest House". Some guests love Ethel so much they take "first dibs on Ethel".

Ethel

A little over 2 weeks before she was due to arrive on Christmas eve I realized that it was ridiculous that we didn't have a comfortable place in the house for a single guest due to every room being either under construction or being used as storage for stuff removed from construction rooms. Sigh.

This house has nine rooms and six are in various stages of either "renewal" or "total makeover". Double sigh. Worse, some of it has been under construction for much longer than most would consider normal...

So on 12/6/14 eighteen days before PJ was to arrive I decided that we were going to have a decent guest room for her to stay in!

This is what that room looked like on 12/6/14

You cannot tell in this picture how horrible the wallpaper is and the wallpaper border isn't shown. The carpet is at least 14 years old. The ceiling is icky popcorn. 

This had been my office for years and I hadn't done anything to it. It was as is from when I moved in. It was a room I went in, did my business and went out closing the door. In the greater realm of well laid plans I always thought this room would be the last to get done.

What had changed besides PJ's impending arrival was I never liked this room as an office. One of the two windows was under the patio cover. Dark except for a couple months in the winter (shown in this pic, looks so bright). The other was a western exposure that every afternoon was unbearable from the sun. I pretty much never opened the blinds on that side. It was perfect for the guest room because most guests only sleep in there! 

I had moved most of my office to a corner of my bedroom and frankly I was much more comfortable there.

The light was better. The mood of the room was somehow better. I was more productive here. Perhaps because this room was mostly done and I LOVED it! 

Next post, 18 days and counting...

Antique Reed & Barton Mystery Knife

Reed & Barton Victorian Era Mystery Pattern 

I'm looking for help identifying this Reed & Barton pattern. 
It looks Victorian to me and I have tried the following sources without any luck. 

Reed & Barton

Replacements.com

Silverpattern.com

I did find some info on Reed & Barton purchasing blank stock from Rogers Bros so I researched their patterns as well. 
Still no luck.
It almost looks hand chased, it's so gorgeous~

Detail

Thanks in advance if you can identify this pattern!

Road Trip Series Assemblage Necklaces #3

Road Trip

3rd in the series

Flat Tyre 

found object, vintage toy car, rosary style, mille flore, skull, turquoise, glass, ceramic, shell & copper assemblage necklace by Anvil Designs / Barn Swallow Studio

May only your jewelry get a flat tire ~

Road Trip Series Assemblage Necklaces #2

Here we have the second vintage toy car in the Road Trip series.

The Road Trip necklaces are available in Anvil Designs Etsy shop and on anvildesigns.com  

Barn Swallow Studio is a little shed on my property where the swallows build their nests in the eves. One day it may be a proper artists studio and retreat, heck it may even become it's own shop. For now I use it for my vintage assemblage pieces.

2nd in the series

*Highway Star*

Assemblage necklace using a vintage diecast "TOOTSIETOY" (as found) as the focal piece. 
Also features beads of Freshwater Pearl, Lampwork, Swarovski Crystal, Crystal & Glass. 
Handmade findings and vintage rosary sections.
Car is marked TOOTSIETOY - Chicago USA - 2
Car is 2 1/2" long - Total necklace length is 26"
One of a kind~

Available on Etsy

Full Shot

Clasp Detail

$95.00 on Etsy

I love it, I need it, I bleed it ~