antiquing in berlin, maryland

Emma & Nana at the Hotel Atlantic

While on vacation this summer near Ocean City, Maryland we found a new place of interest to throw into our mix of days lounging on the beach and nights overeating the most unhealthy food imaginable: Berlin, Maryland. The quaint little town is quite close to Ocean City Maryland, just 9 miles from the Route 50 Bridge, near the intersection of Route 113.

It has a traditional main street (and it is even called Main Street) lined with Victorian brick buildings, and just beyond, has white clapboard homes that scream "small town America!". So much so, that the town has been the location for two Hollywood movies requiring a small town America backdrop: Runaway Bride (1999), with Julia Roberts & Richard Gere, and Tuck Everlasting (2002). And believe me, the town hasn't forgotten it. Posters and mentions are allover the local deli, Rayne's Reef. I just glanced at the Tuck Everlasting trailer since I wasn't familiar with it, and it takes place in the 1800's with horses and carriages, so they must've had to bring in dirt to put on the streets to make it look old. That would've been fun.

Fun for me, though, really means rummaging through old stuff, and there was plenty of it on Main street. There are two antique malls: Town Center Antiques and I think the other one is called Stuart's Antiques, but I'm not positive. I even bought something there, if only I could find the receipt. There is also Culver's Antiques specializing in Victorian light fixtures, if you're into that kind of thing, and Toy Town specializing in vintage toys. There are probably more that I missed because I had limited time. Darn kids wanted to go to the beach, but I did manage to get some pictures.

I was looking everywhere for a life size doll before I found Penelope, my vintage department store baby mannequin, on Etsy. (I'll take a picture of her in my booth when I go to Crafty Bastards next month).

Perfect for my imaginary beach cottage!

Happy travels!

savoring the change of seasons at terrain

mums

We had gorgeous Indian summer weather this past weekend after the tropical storm passed! Perfect, because we had family visiting, an outdoor wedding to attend, and time to go exploring as well. The day after the wedding festivities, we took in the Brandywine Festival of the Arts, then decided to see what the Terrain at Styers garden store had on display.

Terrain is owned by the same group that owns Anthropologie. Need I say more? You know the displays are gonna be good! A few years back, they purchased the venerable Styers Nursey in Glen Mills, PA as an experiment, then transformed it into the stylish purveyor of plants, furniture, accessories & gifts that it is today. There is even a cafe featuring local organic fare. There are supposed to be more stores in the works based on this flagship.

one of the outbuildings

Some people miss the old Styers which was more of a hard core gardener's nursery with a huge selection from the common to the exotic.

sedum, etc.

The plant selection is definitely pared down now, but what I like about the place is how they make even the most common plants look good through thoughtful pairings and compelling displays.

asters and anemone

Mums, pansies, asters, and sedum never looked so good!

coleus & potato vine

A feast for the eyes!

rustic shovels

white pumpkins

 Inside the main building is where most of the accessories & gifts are found.

dried flower & herb wreaths

velvet pumpkins

a coffee table book

one-of-a-kind stool

cast iron acorn

It's all notoriously pricey, but we always manage to walk out of there with something ;)

fall festival season is here!

With hurricane Irene passed (we had a crazy night evacuating the studio) and a definite shift to cooler weather this week, I am excited for fall and the shows I will be exhibiting chirp & bloom in soon. I am very proud to have been accepted into the Crafty Bastards Arts & Crafts Fair in Washington DC! I attended the 2009 & 2010 shows as an enthusiastic shopper/blogger and am still processing the disbelief that I will be a vendor this year on Saturday October 1. I feel like the geek who just got invited to hang out with the cool people. The last two years, the weather was Indian summer-like on the 1st weekend of October, so let's keep those fingers crossed for a 3rd year of the same!

After having so much fun at the Clover Market in Ardmore, PA last June, I signed on to do 3 more shows with them this fall ("them" being Janet Long and her wonderful group of volunteers). Read about how the market got its start here.The shows are one Sunday per month starting on September 18th. Next is October 16th, then November 6th. Even if I weren't going to be a vendor, I'd hop on over there to shop anyway. It's a great group of vintage & antiques dealers mixed with handmade sellers set up in a parking lot along the up-and-coming main street. It's not actually called Main Street, though, it's East Lancaster Ave (12 E. Lancaster Ave, Ardmore, PA, 19003 if you want to program that into the GPS).

Finally, although I am not an exhibitor, I will probably head over to  Brandywine Park in downtown Wilmington (next to the zoo) on September 9th/10th to take in the Brandywine Festival of the Arts. I attended last year and thought it much improved over previous years now that local arts mogul Barry Schlecker has taken it over. It will be a fun activity to do with the relatives who will be staying with us that weekend for a family wedding.

Come out in the nice weather and support your local arts!

sewing a flower girl dress

In the spirit of the new season of Project Runway, I challenged myself to make Emma's flower girl dress (for Aunt Dana's wedding) in 1 day. Well that's not including the test muslin and I didn't make the pattern from scratch, but I succeeded in sewing a layered, lined, crinolined formal dress in about 11 hours!

We got all the bridal fabrics on our trip to Fabric Row in Philly last month. I normally like to sew with cottons & linens because they don't slip & slide all over the place. I don't love using tulle and having to gather miles and miles of it. I've never even tried sewing beaded and embroidered organza, but I was willing to try it because it was so incredibly gorgeous!

One time consumer: removing beads along the seam allowances and tying off the loose threads so the remaining beads stay secure.

Another time consumer: hemming the bridal satin underlay by hand. It just wouldn't look right done by machine. The raw edges inside were finished off with the serger.

On the outer layer, french seams in the organza overlay completely hide the raw edges.  To make a french seam, sew a 1/4" seam with wrong sides together. Trim 1/8" off the raw edge, then flip inside out. Sew another 1/4" seam with right sides together next to the previous stitching, enclosing the raw edge inside.

You wouldn't think a simple sleeveless lined bodice would be tricky to sew, but if you've ever tried it, you know what I mean. I've always sewn the shoulders first, then attached the lining to the bodice at the neck. Then you have to try to do the armholes after the bodice is flipped right side out which requires strange contortions especially if the shoulder is narrow. It's almost easier to just put a sleeve on. I decided to follow the directions that came with the pattern (discontinued pattern Butterick #4117) which calls for sewing the shoulders last. It worked well but still required some hand sewing to close up the armhole at the top.

Clipping and backstitching the neck and armhole seams is crucial to keeping the lining from peeking out the edges. I go one step further and trim 1/16-1/8" off the armhole and neck edges of the lining before sewing, so the pieces are slightly smaller than the shell and more likely to roll to the inside. I do this on collars too and it works great.

Finally: the skirt. I didn't think it was that full until I did my 2 stitch lines at the top and started to gather it in. It's always a challenge to gather that much fabric and attach it neatly to a small bodice. I basted it on by hand first to keep it from shifting and bunching. The less handling the better though, because boy does that bridal satin fray!

Help me! I'm drowning in tulle!

And then as if that weren't enough ruching, there is an attached crinoline underneath that gets gathered in to the same waist seam and has it's own ruffle of tulle- a 250" ruffle to be precise! It's absolutely necessary, though, because the poufiness that results is so fabulous!

On deck next: dapper little vests and dupioni silk neck ties for the 3 little ringbearers...

more shopping in duck, nc: boho finds

I guess you could say my vacation shopping cohorts and I spent a long time in the Urban Cottage store in Duck, NC. I already showed you the lovely sea glass-hued beach house decor they were featuring on one side of the store.

curtain panel

On the other side? Boho. Maybe I don't get out enough, but I get excited when I find pretty decor shops that are NOT Pottery Barn.

I believe most of these printed items are by Karma Living, which reminds me of the Karma Design booth I drooled over in NYC at Christmastime.

These bright spicy colors make me happy.

Nearby in the same shopping complex, we stumbled upon  Confetti Clothing Company.

These cheerful sundresses by Flying Tomato are designed to look made from vintage linens.

Bucket o' summer scarves.

Some of those smocked dresses that are also skirts, by Hessi, I believe.

That's all the prettiness for now!

shopping in duck, nc: urban cottage

I've often fantasized about owning a vacation home if only just to decorate it. Never mind all the hassles and expense involved or that our year-round home isn't exactly "decorated" either! For now we are serial renters of large generic homes that suit the needs of our group. On one afternoon of our recent stay in Duck, North Carolina, the womenfolk took a jaunt over to the shops of the little town.

Mixed in with souvenir and beachwear shops, we found Urban Cottage, a home furnishings store run by Amy Chrisler.

I'm always a sucker for appealing decor shops.

The cooling colors of sea glass evoke the beach without screaming.

I love these rug samples by Dash & Albert.

An interesting linoleum mosaic table top.

Beachy terrariums! There's no reason you can't bring a little beach home with you!