The Future Belongs to Those Who Believe in the Beauty of their Dreams - Eleanor Roosevelt

So much has happened in almost a year. The last post I made was in September of 2015. I'm not much of a "sharer" but there are so many exciting things happening with this hobby of mine that I actually feel like someone might be interested in reading abut it. 

So I'm not going by the name Three Roses Red anymore ... Long story but maybe for another post. My business name is Carolina Moon Vintage. I have thoroughly enjoyed having once a month sales since October of 2015. I was fortunate enough to set up shop in an old general store in Kipling,NC. I had 7sales in that building and each gets bigger than the one before. But my time there has come to a close and it's time to move forward. I am so excited about renovating  and expanding an old pack house on our property and turning it into my showroom/shop. Grand opening should be August 6th.  I want to post updates on the progress of the renovation. Thought I'd start with my "artist rendering" of some of my ideas. 

This is the outside plan complete with little bushes and patio lights. 

This is my idea for the checkout area!

So many ideas running through my mind. Can't wait to see if it all comes to be. If it's meant to be it will happen. Meanwhile... 

 School is almost out and I'm ready to do some serious junkin'. 

- Regina

The Story Behind the Name: Three Roses Red

People have asked me, "Why Three Roses Red?  Is that grammatically correct?  Why not Three Red Roses?"  Well, as with much of my life, the name is tied to a memory ... well actually a lullaby.

Let me preface by saying my mom is amazing.  I owe so much of who I am to her.  When people say they don't want to grow up to be like their mother, I just don't "get it".  I want to be just like her.  One of my favorite childhood memories with her was when she would tuck me in each night before I went to sleep.  She wrote me my own special lullaby that she would sing to me most nights.  I remember my clean sheets pulled up around my shoulders, her hands rubbing my hair away from my face, and her sweet voice singing words she made up completely out of love.

Today, I sing this song to my own son.  I have sung it to him since he was a baby and even though he is eleven and in middle school, he still asks me many nights to sing, The Flower Song.  I changed the story to include a little boy rather than a little girl.  I hope one day he knows the love for his children is far stronger than the worry of an out of pitch voice and that he too will sing The Flower Song to them.

The Flower Song

Once there was a little flower

that grew all alone.

It had no friends around it;

no one to call its own.

But then one day,

a little boy came running through the field.

He saw that pretty flower

and his heart beat with glee.

He knelt beside the flower,

and touched it tenderly.

He thought how pretty it would be

his mother it to give.

He picked that pretty flower,

and ran home so swiftly.

He gave it to his Mommy;

who smiled happily.

They went out to the garden,

and picked three roses red.

They put them with that wildflower;

who held up its pretty head.

But in that lovely meadow,

still no friends it would have

But now it has three pretty friends;

Three Pretty Roses Red.

Wait ...... that's not red! Is it???

One of my most favorite things to do when I was a child was to color.  Getting a new coloring book was like winning the lottery to me.  I colored everything in order and hoarded my favorite coloring books away from cousins that came over to visit so they wouldn't skip around and color the pages I was excited about coloring when I got to them in the book.  I guess my obsessive coloring book behavior explains my personality even today.  I still love to color/draw/paint/sketch (insert random art word here) today.  I even have my own crayons that I don't even let my own son use.  At my fingertips I have 152 crayons in the most beautiful colors Crayola could create.  Just to read the names of the colors makes me happy - Purple Mountain's Majesty, Wild Strawberry, Sunglow, Inchworm .....

Even though there may be 152 vivid colors to choose from in the box, the wrappers only come in 18 different colors.  Which brings me to the subject of this blog.  The color RED.  How many times when you were coloring as a child did you pick up a crayon you believed to be red and realized instead of coloring the little rabbit's umbrella red you were coloring it magenta?!?!  You began searching around for the one crayon with the shortest name in the box - only three letters - RED.  Like the black crayon, its tip was blunt and rounded and you had to peel the paper back to be able to use it.





I had a very similar experience with the color red yesterday.
I found a couple of 70's era wooden arm

chairs destined for the furniture graveyard.  They had been well loved.  Someone had painted them with black chalkboard paint.  I could still see faint pictures drawn by young hands all over the seat.  Their new life with me however was going to have to be in another form.  (I think I'll pass on chalk dust all over my pants.)  The chairs just seemed to plead with me, "Please paint us red!"  So ... I decided to go with it.  Why not?

I found the perfect shade of red - candy apple.  It was not exactly a simple process.  It took many color samples being held up for me to view at a distance (much to my son's dismay) before I decided on a red that wasn't too orange, too brown, too pink, etc, etc, etc....




With the first swipe of the brush I was doubtful.  It looked fuschia.  Exactly like picking up the wrong crayon!  I kept going.  After all,  I was painting over black so it was going to need a lot of coats .... right???.  After 4 coats I was still not convinced and was growing increasingly frustrated.  The color got even worse when I distressed the corners and edges to reveal some of the black and yellow underneath (I put a coat of yellow on the corners before painting red)  After sanding, I decided to wax them with antiquing wax. If this didn't work, then the next plan was to grab some 40 grit sandpaper and fire up the sander.  They could always be painted white.

I didn't even use soft wax first.  I wanted every groove in the wood to soak up the dark tint of the antiquing wax.  This was either going to be magical or depressing.  I began to rub the wax into the wood like I was moisturizing my legs in the winter time.  Voila!  Definitely magical - the perfect shade of red.  Exactly what I was looking for!

And I hope it is exactly what someone else is looking for.  These chairs will be part of my booth I will have at the Flea Market in Raleigh in September.  (exact date to be announced soon)  I have plenty of refurbished furniture and accessories to begin the transition from summer to fall in your home.  Even if the "perfect shade of red" doesn't fit into your color scheme inside your home, these chairs are affordable enough to greet any trick or treaters or Thanksgiving guests on your porch.  At only $30 each, you will have enough money to buy some mums to put on the seat and some pumpkins to put at their feet.