& she is ...{No.7}

{I am getting real creative with my post titles :)}
A few weeks back Miss Grace turned 7!
 She had been talking about a "colorful" party
since this spring so...
{does anyone else find it peculiar that my littles
plan their party themes months in advance!?!}
Anyhoo... the way it worked out this year  was that
Mr.T's party was on Friday evening & Miss Grace's
was on Saturday eve...
which = very little planning & no-fuss decor...



Most of our littles b-day parties consist of them
picking the theme
{months in advance :)},
helping choose the menu &
deciding on the guest list...

{loved how simple & cute this cake pendant was!}

{Miss Grace practiced her sorting & color skills by dividing
up the skittles ;)- yep we homeschool!}

{fruit kabobs}

{Napkins picked out by the b-day girl herself}

{how did she get to be so big!?!}

{here she is on her 1st b-day !}

love, love, love this sweet girl!:)

& the "surprise" cake...
Miss Grace thought that this was the
best part of the party!:)
It was actually fun to make
& relatively simple...
{although if I make this again I would try
to use jello for the coloring instead of
food coloring...@ least it "sounds" healthier!:)}

& that is it...
birthdays are done for another year!
{well the executing that is ...
I have already been hearing "ideas"
for their next parties...}:)

--to everything there is a season & a time to every
purpose under the heaven...Ecc.3:1--

& he is... {No.5}

Every year I promptly go from thinking
about the French Flea to Birthdays...
{& parties...}
Somehow 4 out of 5 of us
have birthdays within a month of each other!



Mr. T. turned 5 this year &
excitement abounded!:)
He was determined to have a fishing party...

& he begged to spend the day fishing...
{all this from a boy that had only been fishing once before!}
ahh....the wonder of boys...

A kind friend agreed to take the accountant
& Mr.T fishing & since it was
men....& they were on a boat...
I opted to not send my camera along :)!
{nevermind that now I am wishing I had pictures of it!}
Anyhoo...they caught 5 fish
&  Mr. T caught 4 out of the 5...
{you can only imagine how thrilled he was at this!:)}

Mr. T is seriously a very sweet, particular boy...
{emphasis on particular!:)}
I adore him & just pray that his strong will
& particular ways will bless his wife one day ;)...
Anyhoo... he decided he wanted a fishing party,
told me exactly who to invite
{2 of his favorite people & no they are not his age!;)}
& he requested green fish on
coffee flavored cupcakes with blue icing...
{did I mention that I adore this boy?!?:)}

Well with 2 different parties within 24 hrs...
{Miss Graces was the next eve.}
decorations were put together really fast
the day of the party...
the planning & effort I like to put into parties was non-existent..

although Thankfully he thought it looked great!:)

Cupcakes were found here...
{courtesy of Pinterest!:)}

{did I say decorations were kept to a minimum?!?:)}
straight from Mr.T's new tackle box...

& here is the 5 year old with his birthday present..
courtesy of his father;), who knows how fun
it would be to explore acres of woods with this...
{now might be a  good time to point out that
his father was raised in a house full of boys...
& umm...I was raised in a house full of girls...}
I...am....not...prepared....for...this....
{truth of the matter is...I may never be!:)}

All judging aside...
Mr.T is pretty responsible &
he is highly supervised when riding...
{& did I mention that the four wheeler
actually sounds like a weed eater
& runs slower then our mower?:)}

As you can see....
he was beyond thrilled,
with this pleased little smile on his face for
several days...
{he told us thank you sooo many times!:)}

 I now have a 5 year old with 4 wheeler,
please keep me in your prayers:)...
--be of good courage & HE shall strengthen your heart,
all ye that hope in the Lord...Psalm 31:24--

Hortons French Flea {No.2}

& finally I am sitting down
to pull this post & my thoughts together:)...
I really wanted to post some pictures of our
space at the French Flea,
although it has been a few weeks ago...


Our space was {small}...
& I really tried to go up with merchandise...
stacking, stacking & stacking!

we have had this chair in the shop for quite awhile..
& I kinda like how it looks,
all stripped down!

One of the interesting things about a sale
{to me!:)}
is to see what sells...
& amazingly enough there is usually
1 or 2 hot items!
{& it is NEVER the same from sale to sale!:)}
{these pillows were a seller this time!}

We used ribbons to dress up the top of
the tent...
{although you can only do so much in a
10x10 pop-up!;)}

Our collection of vintage typewriters...
{we sold 2 out of the 3}

I am loving old crates...
{& apparently other people are too-
we came home with very few!}

--this sale was kind of bittersweet...
as some of you know , this was our last
sale for this year...
My life is {busy :)}
& although
I {love} having sales, setting up displays,
meeting sweet customers & packaging....
I have been feeling pulled & stretched at both ends.
 Building/moving, mothering, homeschooling,
barista {& many other things} seem to
be filling my days right now...
& that's okay!
There is a season for everything...
& this is the season for me to step back from
shopkeeping for a bit :)...
Next spring {after we move}I hope to re-evaulate
& make some more permanent decisions!
{I will keep you posted:)}
Until then...
If you are stopping by to read shop news
those post may be few & far between!
{parties, house design & life posts will be what its all about!:)}
If you ever want any of our merchandise,
 I still have stock & all you have to do is
send me an email
at
damaskdesigns@gmail.net.
{& there is a few things in the works as to
where else you can find our merchandise...
I will update you when I can!:)}

Of course I can not end this post without thanking
you for being such dear customers & friends!
It has been a HUGE blessing to
get to know each of you!
We are honored every time you shopped
one of damaskdesigns sales!
Thank you!

--to every thing there is a season & a time to every purpose
under the heaven...Ecclesiastes 3:1

Hortons French Flea {No.1}

Last weekend was French Flea Market
@ Hortons!
This was our 3rd year of setting up shop there
& as always it was a fun {& hot!} event!
I know that I am late in getting this post up &
pictures have been all over blogland but...
I still want to post for my own remembering ;)!..
so here goes...



The area where the French Flea is really a very
small area but it is absolutely amazing
at how much is packed in:)!
& the ambience is truly great...

{yummy food!}

Shambora Studio's booth...
We were privledged to be crammed in between
Jackie {from Shambora Studios} &
Hot House Market...
{needless to say we laughed quite a bit:)}

{Hot House Market's chair display}

{our cutest shopper....:)}

loved this pillow & globe together
{Shambora Studios}
thought that they would look really cute in T.'s room...
but alas they did not come home with me...

a sweet little note sent to us
{via another shopper:)}
from one of our loyal customers!
{she was out of town over the sale & could not attend!}

D.Reyne's booth...
we used a chalkboard wall for our backdrop
last year at this sale & it was so fun to see her
take on them!
{she found a easier way to hang them-
I am taking note of that!:)}

Donna always puts time & effort into her displays
& it is evident! This was her last year for helping Hortons
with this event {as creative director}...
{her creative touch will be missed!}

{ Unexpected Elegance's cute sign!:)}

This blue trug came home with me...
{for the boys' bedroom:)}

& as always Rebecca there....
{her displays of ribbons & vintage seewing machines
were lovely!}

Then there are all the things that I did not
capture with my lens...
MaryEllen from Reflections & her dear husband
who graciously checked in on us ladies through out
the day
{& kept us supplied with water bottles!:)},
Teresa from Time Worn Interiors,
dear friends that traveled to the event,
Karen Kay & Tim Horton
{who so kindly hosted this event & worked so hard
during it!}
& most of all - our great customers that came
out in the heat & supported us!
Thank you!

{stay tuned for French Flea post No.2}

--Gracious is the Lord & righteous...Psalm 116:5--

how sweet it sounds...

there are SO many things that I
need/want to blog about
{mainly for my own remembering :)}
but this tops the list!
this week little a. {on his own accord}
officially said...
"i love you mommy!"



that my dear friends,
is pure music to my ears!
I have been waiting 5 months
to hear these sweet words from him...

& the greatest part is,
he has said it not once but
several times this week
{& yes- it nearly move me to tears
every.single.time!}

We are loving this sweet boy,
& can hardly believe that he has been home
with us for 5 months now!
{He is such a bundle of energy & smiles!}

Praising HIM for placing little a. in our family!

{Praise ye the Lord...Psalm 149:1}

getting ready...

My week has been filled with setting up, pricing & packing up

{well hopefully the packing up part happens today:)}!

damask is headed to Hortons French Flea this weekend, & truth be told

I knew if I didn't type up a post right now

{when little a. is taking a nap} it would not happen!

Just look at my barn sale posts...No.1 is all that has been typed up!

{sometime I hope to post No.2!}

anyhoo...

Here is a quick few pictures from my mock set-up...

 the theme this year is "Streets of Provence"

with touches of Lavender & Grey...

{or is it "gray"?:)}

I am not a huge fan of Lavender shades...

but I LOVE grey....

So I added a touch here & there & "tried" to take out

our normal color palette of pinks & robin egg blues!

It was fun to actually work with almost all neutrals

{which is what I normally gravitate towards anyways!:)}

Anyhoo...

We are looking forward to a fun few days

& if you need anymore information on

Hortons or the French Flea go here!

--the Lord is my rock,& my fortress, my deliverer,

my God & my strength..Psalm 18:2-- 

fathers day...

We had a lovely Fathers Day on Sunday...

This year was the first that the accountant had

3 littles loving on him:)...

{& loving on him they did, they seem to all think that

their daddy is the greatest!:)}

Every year I try to capture the littles with him...

here is a peek at a few older ones...

interestingly enough we have got into the habit

of taking them on our country road...

& here is this years...

little a. did not disappoint...

he is moving & yelling as always!:)

Here is hoping your day was filled with special times,

& if you were not blest to be able to spend it with

your earthly father, May your day have been filled with

thoughts of your heavenly Father!

{the accountant & myself miss our fathers

esp. on days like this but we are so blest

by dear men that the Lord has put in our lives!}

We spent Sunday eve.with one...

--HE is a ...Father to the Fatherless...Psalm 68:5--

Restyled Barn Sale {No.1}

& finally I bring you pictures of the
"Restyled Barn Sale"
This was the first we had ever set up at this
event! If I am remembering correctly I think
this was the first time that Sasha & Connie
{owners of Restyled}
had opened this sale up to other participants!
Anyhoo...here is our pop up shop...



I was one of the first participants to show up to set up
so Sasha let me pick my spot...
& although I like the outdoors,
{well kind-of;)}
with the heat & the plus of NOT putting
up a tent, I decided in the barn it was!

{Here is our space}

It was so different & fun to

spread out! Usually for an event your

space is limited to a 10x10 area...

We did most of our setting up
from 7-9 on friday morning,
the day of the event...

& if you know me at all,
you can imagine how
stressful I find that!
I tend to want to think through
setting up & a lot of times
I even do a mock set up here before shows.
{that wasn't the case this time!}

Probably because doing displays
& wrapping packages are 2 of my favorite parts
of shopkeeping & rushing through them  isn't fun! :)...

Anyhoo...this sale had a relaxed atmosphere
& we had a lot of fun doing it!
{thank you Sasha & Connie!}

Restyled specializes in Annie Sloan
Chalk Paint & I painted this cabinet
French Grey & White...
It was then waxed with the clear wax &
well.....I must say I am sold on the stuff!:)
{another post coming soon on that!}

{my 2 shop girls, who made the sale a comic event;)-
I seriously LOVE these girls!
& look forward to anytime we can be together,
the fact that they are hard workers helps too ;)!}
{thanks M & L for a fun 2 days!}

Thanks also to all of you that came to this event
& stopped by our booth!
 It was so fun to see familiar face & meet new ones!

--Now unto HIM that is able to do exceeding
abundantly above all that we ask, or think...
Unto HIM be glory...Ephesians 3:20-21--