Have you ever heard of a Canadian tuxedo?…No?  Well neither had I until Meredith enlightened me.  For those of you who are uninformed, a Canadian tuxedo is when one wears denim on denim or a “denim sandwich”.  Typically these are known as a fashion faux paus but Clar has been known to rock this ensemble from time to time.  She too was unaware of its clever name.  Luckily, Clar is just so adorable that she can make denim on denim cool.  Take a look at our photoshoot from this past Wednesday.

I don’t know about you guys, but I am about to start breaking out my denim!

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As my days of stripping (furniture) are coming to an end, I find myself reminiscing about all the oddities and treasures that I have come across in the past year.  Finding cool stuff was definitely my favorite part of stripping furniture.  Sure, most of the “stuff” I found in the nooks and crannies was junk or trash but every so often I would discover a cool thingamabob.  It may have been as simple as a Lego or a charm but it was the idea that it was someone’s Lego or charm that made it intriguing.  It made me start to think of what memories I would have found in the furniture that I grew up with.

After many hours of research, here is a list of the top 5 things that would most likely be found in a generously used piece of furniture:

1.) Loose change (no duh!  That one was obvious one)

2.) Food (usually popcorn, pretzels, and candy)

3.) Guitar picks (who would have thought?)

4.) Small toys or pieces of toys

5.) Nail files

Some of our less common discoveries have the best stories.  A while back we found an English newspaper from 1998.  I know that doesn’t sound very old, but that is nearly 15 years ago.  In the paper there was a sweepstakes to win a trip to New York City with a large photo of the New York skyline with the Twin Towers still in place.  It was rather chilling.

More recently, I found what might be the largest remote control I have ever seen.  By the size of it, I estimated that it must have been produced circa 1991.  It was so over sized that it was comical.  I bagged that sucker and insisted that it be returned to its rightful owner.  Upon receiving their long lost remote control, we learned that its disappearance caused several arguments.  This happy couple can finally close the case of the missing remote. I regret not taking a picture.

As a Sprucette stripper, my secret hope was to find a suitcase full of money buried in a cushion.  Sadly, that day never came.  Here are some of the things I found instead…

Meredith and Clar bringing back plastic barrettes.

All of the change we find really adds up!  Your contribution to our beer fund is greatly appreciated.

The goodies in these next few pictures were all found in one chair.  With every layer of fabric that i pulled back, I found more treats.

This was no ordinary deck of playing cards.  They were appropriately called “laugh-in playing cards”.  Complete with jokes and funny faces.

A “professional sample” of chewable vitamins.

As you can see, stripping furniture can be quite a thrilling experience.  I must confess that while I am bummed that my days of pirating through cushions are over, I am excited to be upholstering 5 days a week now.  Living the dream!

*** Just to be clear… I am not leaving Spruce.  I am only relinquishing my duties as the Sprucette stripper so that I can now upholster 5 days a week.

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We have been busy busy busy at the shop cranking out client and retail pieces, so our classes have been a welcome interruption.  During the past few weeks we have hosted a bench class and more recently a headboard class.  These two classes are pretty cool because you literally show up with nothing and leave with a special custom piece.  Before you arrive, our little elves (Clar and I) magically construct your headboard or bench.  People really love these classes because while they are simple, you learn tons of skills that you can apply when reupholstering other projects at home.

Check out some action shots from our bench class.

You guys did great!  This was such an easy going group and you really made our jobs easy.  I hope you are sitting on your new bench as you read this!

 

Last weekend we had our headboard class.  This class is truly one of my favorites because it is so rewarding.  The end product looks as though you ordered it from a magazine.  It is such a practical idea because once we teach you all of the tricks of the trade you can go home and go nuts making custom headboards for every room.

See for yourself…

See!…I told you they were awesome.  Not only did everyone leave with a pretty awesome headboard but we also had a good time and stuffed our faces with homemade king cake (filled with cream cheese…YUM!) in preparation for Mardi Gras!

I hope everyone has a relaxing President’s Day weekend!

 

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Listen up folks…If you love Christmas as much as Amanda and I do then you need to get your booty to the Palmer Events Center.  Starting today through Sunday, Spruce will be among the 200 vendors at the 36^th annual Christmas Affair.   We have been counting down the days to reveal some of our new Christmas merchandise.  Seriously people…I know I am biased but we have some awesome one of a kind stuff.  We have tree skirts and Christmas stockings made with designer fabrics, Spruce DVD and toolkits, adorable pom poms, new lamps and lampshades, sooo many new pillows, and SANTA WILLIE PILLOWS.  Come on….I dare you to find a Santa pillow anywhere else.

We will be parked in booth #523 waiting to see you!

Dates:
Thursday, November 17th noon-9:00pm
Friday, November 18th 10:00am-8:00pm
Saturday, November 19th 10:00am-7:00pm
Sunday, November 20th 11:00am-5:00pm

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I am excited to announce (to those of you who do not already know) that I will be contributing to Design*Sponge on a monthly basis for a new column, Upholstery Basics. Every second Thursday of the month, join me as I share step-by-step tutorials on a wide variety of upholstery projects.

I am such a HUGE fan of Design*Sponge and could not be more excited about joining the team. Check out my first Upholstery Basics column below. Have a great week!

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