The most recent show has come and gone.

It was hot, and humid, and not too busy. I'm not complaining, it's the end of May in Southwest Florida; hot, humid, and far less busy is the norm (and why we go to the beach, early in the morning). The hope, of course, is that it'll be busy anyway. This weekend, unfortunately, didn't prove to be the exception.  I did do a fair bit of networking, learned of some good upcoming show prospects, and made some new friends. Onward and upward.

Prep for this, and future, shows included a day of shopping. I wanted to go to IKEA. I knew I'd find what I wanted at IKEA. I knew I'd be happy at IKEA.  But I convinced myself that Old Time Pottery was just like IKEA, and two hours closer to home. Yeah, it was NOT like IKEA. At all. So the day was spent searching thrift stores for some types of somethings to hold handbags, a key fob holder, and a good display for bow tie barrettes. Oh, and a plant shelf type thing for folded onesies. Some serious out of the box shopping.

I found a black plate or album rack for handbags for $1 at a secondhand shop. A bit of shiny white spray paint and I had a white metal piece that would keep handbags from falling over. The jury is still out on the success of this one. It certainly did what I wanted it to, but I wasn't overjoyed by the look of it. I'm leaning now towards a baking pan, painted white of course, or maybe a serving tray ... something with sides so I can "shelve" the handbags and keep them from blowing over in the wind.

I found a decorative metal napkin holder for the key fobs. After painting it with a high gloss white spray paint I purchased a few packages of small S hooks to complete the project, and then turned it on its side. The key fobs, unfortunately, were too long for the display. Back to the drawing board (I have a plan, but am not sure how it'll work, so I'll share that another day if it's successful). As an aside, is it odd to pick up a few cans of white spray paint "just in case" when you go to Home Depot for something completely unrelated?

No plant shelves to be found. At all, not even ones I didn't like. I have a feeling that if I hit a couple garage sales on Saturday morning I'll find just the right shelf unit.

At a local Goodwill I found a great freestanding framed mirror, table top sized, and fell in love. Unfortunately, the way the edges were shaped I knew it wouldn't work for me for barrettes.

I moved on to Salvation Army and found a rather unattractive gold-coated plastic frame. But it had good bones and potential. I took it home, primed it, and painted it ... glossy white. Of course. Painting it made the details look more antique and more subtle, rather than just gaudy.

After the paint dried I filled the frames with sales information for the barrettes and ponytail holders and reinserted the now cleaned up glass.

I then got out the hot glue gun and added strips of 1" wide blue ribbon, with the ribbon glued right onto the back of the frame.

Total cost for the bowtie barrette holder?

$1. Yup, $1. I think it looks pretty darn pretty for $1. I already had the paint and ribbon, so only had to pay for the frame.

Total time invested in the project was about 30 minutes, not counting paint drying time. The painting was the only part that took any time, once that was done I just had to print up the signs and add the ribbon.

The barrettes look so pretty on the frame. They're really easy to put on and take off. And the frame adds a bit of character to the booth, more than a typical peg rack would.

I am not selling the barrettes online at this time, but if you're interested in them let me know.


If I had a bigger frame I could run the ribbon horizontally and use clothespins to attach the bow tie ponytail holders I made recently. The two frames next to each other would create a stunning display.

bow tie ponytail holders

Do you have any out of the box decorating ideas to share? I'd love to hear them.

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