Thank You For The Input On The Flower Cart For The Polka Dot Flea

Thank you for all of your input on my post

"Should I have a fresh flower cart at the Polka Dot Flea"?

I am sooo glad I put the question out to all of you because you made so many great points!

The best point was......."Will people be going straight home after the Polka Dot Flea?   It will be June..... and it is Florida....Its 180 degrees in the shade that time of year!   People usually purchase flowers at the grocery store..Why..Because they are going straight home.

You gave me such great alternative ideas...Potted flowers, herbs, and succulents..... Vintage vases and mason jars...Dried lavender and lavender buds and sachets

Sooo....I think dried lavender is the way to go....Why didn't I think of that!? You guys are genius!

 I can wrap the stems up cute with ribbon or paper or both.  There is no chance of wilting and they will look so cute in the flower cart

So...Dried lavender it is!  Thank you sooo much for your input!

Billie loves (To eat) fresh flowers.....How am I going to break this to her??

Happy Creating

Carol

Polka Dot Flea Website

2015 Polka Dot Flea Poster

I am so excited to unveil the poster for the 2015 

Polka Dot Flea!

I love it!  Do you recognize the Vintage Bike?  It is the one I painted last year for the Polka Dot Flea.

My vision is to pile the bike up with vintage finds like on the poster, so when you walk into the Polka Dot Flea it will be the first thing you see......Ah..Lets see if I can do it, I will keep you posted.

For new blog readers you can read the complete story of how and why I started the Polka Dot Flea HERE.   

The cliff notes are; That after being rained out as a vendor I decided I wanted to be a vendor at an indoor/air conditioned show right in the heart of Orlando.  Since there was no such thing...I started The Polka Dot Flea last year in Orlando and it was a huge success.  

Last year I dipped my toes in with 40 vendors at a one day show.  

This year there will be 100+ vendors.....

..... In triple the space (21,000 sq ft) 

And the show will be 2 days...Yikkes, I am already working on it full time. 

It will once again feature the "Best of the Best" in friendly juried vendors with attractive, well thought out booths.  Since vendors are the heart of the show they are pampered, supported, and know they are appreciated.  It is a well organized event with plenty of Polka Dot Flea support staff.

You can see more pictures of last years event HERE.  

Interested in being a vendor at this years show?  

Apply @PolkaDotFlea.com

Thank you for all of your helpful input on my last post where I asked you "if I should sell fresh flowers at the Polka Dot Flea this year".  

Let me save that for the next post.

Happy Creating

Carol

Should I Have A Flower Cart At The Polka Dot Flea?

Would you buy flowers at a vintage sale?

These shots were taken inside my storage unit I use for the Polka Dot Flea....You are going to have to use your imagination with the clip art flowers and look past the mess

I've always wanted a flower cart so, when I saw one for sale at the Polka Dot Flea last year I bought it.   

My booth at the Flea will be by the front door Soooooo.....I was thinking, I have a wholesale florist near my house.....What if I sold flowers, people could grab a bouquet on the way out the door.

I found white garbage cans at the dollar store that would be perfect for holding the  water and bouquets.

I was all excited until I shared the idea with a girlfriend.....And she didn't quite get my vision.....So now I am second guessing myself....

If you were at a summer sale like the Polka Dot Flea (Indoors/ air conditioned), would you ever entertain the idea of buying a bouquet of flowers on your way out the door?  Or should I just use the cart as a display piece......Be honest!

Thank you.....I know you'll steer me in the right direction!

Happy Creating

Carol

Recycled Wicker Chairs

It's a New Year and New Projects! 

I upcycled two wicker chairs and made box cushions.....Box cushions were a first for me.  Doesn't it always seem that the thing you dread doing the most....Usually out of fear...Turns out the best?

I started with two wicker chairs from the Habitat Re-store that had great bones

I brush painted them with chalk paint...A little tedious.  Then after a light distressing I finished with first, clear Minwax, then clear wax mixed with a small amount of Annie Sloan dark wax....I did'nt want it too dark.

Time for the cushions.  I read everything I could on making box cushions before I started.  Since I wanted a vintage farm house look I chose to use drop cloth for the fabric.  I even put a zipper in!

......I didn't trust my sewing skills enough to put in welting around the seams.....CHICKEN lol!

One tip I picked up in my research was to cut the fabric the SAME size as the foam, that way when I sewed the seams the fabric was smaller than the foam making a nice tight fit.

The tutorial on the stenciled pillows is HERE

And there you have it......Two farm house chairs.

I've also been busy working on the Polka Dot Flea.  It is only 5 months away!  And crazy me....We are going to blow this thing out....Triple it in size and add a day.

Yohoo...I'm in high speed heading into the New Year!

Happy Creating

Carol