Let the {JUNKIN} Begin!!!

Hello friends!! Spring is definitely in the air now..YEAH!! Pretty much all the snow is gone..birds are chirping and we had some warm sunny days..You know what that means don't you?? It's {JUNKIN'} season!!  You ready for Flea markets to open..garage sales..& auction time!!!  I know we are & we hit a few Sales already and are finding Treasures that just need a little {BEAUTIFUL JUNQUE} LOVE.. Here are just a few goodies we scored at our very first garage sale of the season!!!

 

Never can pass up old doors!! So many fun things a person can do with them!!

Just could not leave this sturdy chair behind..We love the shape of it and the color and the floral pattern of the material..add a little lace throw over it & it is adorable!!!

 

We also got a chance to hit up for just a couple hours Fargo's Cleanup week.. now what an experience this was!! First off we had my two girls in the car (it was right after a dance competition) and they were wondering why we were going up and down streets looking at peoples' piles of "junk"..  Girls, girls, they should know Mom by now..another persons Junk is {MOM & GRANDMA'S} treasure!!! So we loaded up our car as much as we could..and made a note to ourselves that next year we need a truck and a trailer..there was some awesome "junk" thrown to the curb!!! Here is a sampling..

 

 

 

We had so much fun & could spend all day looking for treasures on curbside...but after a little complaining from the "backseat"..& a car full we knew it was time to stop the treasure hunt..but before we headed home..we got to see that we were not the only one's finding Treasures that day..these group of boys found their curbside treasure & were having a great deal of fun driving it around!! Made us all {LAUGH}!!!

 

 

Hope this puts a smile on your face like it did ours.. & remember only 17 days until the opening of our Little Shop out at Shady Hollow Flea Market!

 We got our Keys to our little shop last week..Time to put our own touches to it!!!  Hope to see you all soon @ the Flea!

 

Happy Belated {MAY DAY}!!!

 

Blessings,

Alicia & Carol

 

 

 

 



Spring Has not {Sprung} yet...But Projects are still {Springing} About!!!

 

Where does time go?? Last time I blogged it was Easter..now it's almost the end of April...Yikes!!! Well even though {Spring} has not really {Sprung} yet..we gals at Beautiful Junque have been {Springing} about..& many things have {Sprung} up since our last visit!! First off..more & more progress continues to be done on our Barn Work Studio/Barn Boutique..I know it is taking a while..but we are excited about every little thing that is accomplished along the way..Why do we get so excited about every little thing you may ask?? Well, that brings us once step closer to having a functional Work Space to {Spring} out more Creations & one step closer to our first ever Barn Boutique Sale projected for sometime this Fall!!!

 

If you look back a couple blog post you will see our last update on the Barn Boutique Progress..Here are some more snapshots of where we are at now..

Thanks Uncle Demcy for all your Hard work!!!

After my Uncle(mom's brother)..got the wood walls up it was Barn Painting day!!
Now some thought we were just {Crazy} for wanting to paint the Beautiful wood walls..But our walls have to match our name {Beautiful Junque} & our motto.."Be Inspired by your Surroundings"  Therefore..we had to paint them white & age them to "look" old..That is what inspires us!!!  We used the "Chalk Paint Method" that one would normally use to age furniture..but why not walls too!!  With many steps.. & weird stares from different workers..especially when we were applying Vaseline to the walls...call us crazy but it worked..and we got the look we wanted!!

It went from plain wood to "Beautiful Junque" Loved the aged look!!!

 

Here is my mom in action..after we got the aged look we wanted we went over it with Furniture wax to seal & protect it!!  Below are pictures from our work studio..the first is the flooring that is going to be laid..The second is the view of our ceiling!!  I am in {love with how our ceiling turned out)!!

 Work Studio Flooring

Work Studio Ceiling

 

Here is a little snapshot of what our doors & trim look like..I can't wait till we get it all done..slowly but surly I keep telling myself :)!!

 

 

The Awesome Barn Star you see above was purchased from a vendor at last years Perham Craft show  & will be making it's home very soon at the Peak of our Barn outside!!  Can't wait to get it up there!!

 

So as you can see a lot has gotten done since our last post..but a lot more still needs to take place before we open it up to all of you & for that day we cannot wait!!..Even though this project has been keeping us busy busy busy..we still make time to Create..Here our some of our most recent signs we have made..which a few are available for sale in our Booth at Sulaines Antique mall..& more soon will be available at our new Shop at Shady Hollow Flea market!!

 

We hope you have a wonderful day & enjoy spring when it arrives...It is coming..Just like my friends chalkboard in her house states.."Spring is coming"!!! So when it Really does we better remember to enjoy each and everyday of it!!

Blessings,
Alicia & Carol

 

 

 

 



Spring..Easter...Birthdays...OH MY!!!!

Happy April Everyone!!!  I cannot believe it is April and how much snow we have still in our neck of the woods! I also cannot believe that Easter has already come and gone!  I hope you all had a very blessed Easter with family & friends!  I was not in the mood at all to do spring decorating this year..due to the snow and cold still...but alas I thought I better have a few little touches around the house..Here is a few pics of the simple decor I did this year :)

 This cutie above was a dollar store find!!

It's a tradition in our family for the kiddos to wear
their bunny years for pics Easter Morning..Here is there Nesting place!

 Here is a Print I found off of Pintrest..Loved it because
it tells the TRUE meaning of Easter!!

During this Easter season we were inspired to make some more of our {BARN WOOD CROSSES}
Here are a sampling of some below!

We just love the way these crosses turned out!  Each one so unique with simple beauty!
So now that spring is here..(kind of) & Easter is over..we are getting busy getting our creative hats on to bring you more inspiring things..we will keep you posted!  So kind of off the topic of Easter but still on the topic of celebrating.. April Fools day in our house is a very Special day ..we took it off to celebrate my oldest daughter Madison Faith Bowers 11th Birthday!!! We have been doing a lot of celebrating with Easter & her Birthday!  What a joyous time of year!  Here is my beautiful Daughter Madison..Where do the years go???

 

I hope all of you have had a weekend full of celebrating like we did!! Keep on the lookout for more updates on the Barn Boutique!  There is work being done out there Yippee!! 

 

Blessings,

Alicia & Carol

 

 



Barn Boutique Update!!

Good Almost Spring to Everyone!!! Yep it will be Spring on Wednesday and we are in a snow storm again...WHAT??!!!!  Kids are home today & we are stuck inside once again..I am getting a little antsy for some green grass, flowers, birds and all other things that come with warmer weather {FLEA MARKET},{BARN BOUTIQUE SALES}ETC...!!!  One must make the most of these days stuck inside..so the kids are cleaning rooms(with some resistances :) & I am working on some springtime creations to keep my spirits up that one day we will see {GREEN GRASS}!!!

 

Anyways enough with what our day is consisting of..I wanted to share with you a few more updates on the {BARN BOUTIQUE}!!  I know I had mentioned doing a spring show but...that is Not going to be a reality...But what is going to be a reality is a FALL SALE!!  Things just take a little longer then what I think in my mind..:) (My Husband tells me.. these things don't happen overnight you know..)  I know..but I wish I could blink my eyes like I dream of Genie and be all set up for a spring sale..But if you have not heard we will be having a Permanent home at the Flea Market this year sooo excited!  Here is the pic of our home..

 

 

Cannot wait to get out there and work!!!  So here is a pic of the last time I showed you the Barn Boutique Progress...

Here is some pics of what has gone on since this..

 

 The Barn is now divided into two parts...Front being the {BARN BOUTIQUE} Back

being for Hubby & kids and maybe a future Horse :)

 This is a pic of what will be a bathroom..

 This is a pic of what will be our Work Room..where we can

create away!!! I cannot wait!!



Another View of our work room!!

I did not get a good shot of what will be the Boutique area..but it looks somewhat like these pics but more open :)

Now it's just a waiting game to get in..waiting for electrician, plumbing and  all

the fun finishing work..Then it will be our turn to get organized & of course the funnest part decorate!!!

Hope you all are enjoying the updates and are excited as I am on having our first Barn Boutique Sale out here!!!  We have a goal of setting the date for a Fall sale for sure by mid summer..so we will share with you when we know what that date will be!!  I will continue to keep you updated as more progress is accomplished!!  Until then Stay warm and think SPRING..maybe that will help get old man winter out of here once and for all!!

 

Blessings,

Alicia & Carol



Country Roads Take Me Home....

Hello My Friends, well I have been M.I.A.(missing in action) from the blog & facebook world for a week! My sister and I went on a Sister Trip & had so much fun!!  She lives in Las Vegas so I flew there to visit and then we traveled to L.A. Area for the weekend and back to Las Vegas!!  While in California we got to visit many wonderful little boutiques..Go visit the Wineries in Malibu & go to L.A.'s Melrose Trading post (large Flea Market)..  I told you that I would share what treasures I found while on my excursions.. well first off I found MANY TREASURES.. the thing is I could not take them home because of the lack of space in my suitcase & the new 40lb limit for that suitcase grrr...  Next time I am going to have to drive out with a truck!!! Maybe I can drive out with one like this..  I fell in love with this truck at a winery in Malibu..

 

 

Needless to say this truck was not for sale...but if it were I may have been driving back to MN!!! After visiting the wineries in Malibu we took an Adventure to Venice Beach & Santa Monica Pier where we got to visit many little Boutiques!  Here are some pics of the inside of one of my favorites..

I Just loved all the layering they did with this Boutique & they even made use of the ceiling space!!! I was truly inspired by this shop space!!!

On our last day in L.A. we had to hit up the Flea Market(Melrose Trading Post).. So many treasures I could of loaded up if only I had a pick-up truck there!!! Here are just a few of the things I was inspired by while shopping there!!

 

Loved all the spring colored Frames & the vintage lace behind the frames..What a wonderful idea(I will be trying this!!)

 

I just loved the old tub as well..would this not be fun to have at a country home and bathe under the stars  :)

 

And alas...here are my two small treasures I actually took home that could fit in my suitcase..

The top is a vintage sliver bracelet that I found in a boundless pile of bracelets..I loved the flower pattern and it's patina!!! The bottom is an "infinity" scarf/shawl.  I loved it's spring look and that it could be worn so many ways & of course that it was handmade!!!  As you can see by my two purchases I am partial to flowers :)

 

So there you have it..although I saw many many treasures I took home only a few..but the real treasure was all the wonderful memories I will have with my big sister..that kind of treasure though not tangible is "PRICELESS"!!  One of these memories was of my last night of vacation and we stood in line for American Idol Tickets & scored some awesome seats for the first LIVE show that aired this past Tuesday night.  Here we are seated by the the male contestants..so much fun!

 

 

I am the blond clapping my sister is right next to the contestant in the red coat :)  We got pretty good air time LOL!!  Like I said my biggest Treasures will be the memories we made on this trip!!!

In conclusion to my trip summary I discovered that I truly am a "COUNTRY GIRL" at heart... this was affirmed while sitting in endless amounts of traffic in a cab while in California...While sitting there this country song popped into my head "COUNTRY ROADS TAKE ME HOME TO THE PLACE WHERE I BELONG!!" Though these places are fun to visit..there is nothing better then going down my country road to the place where I belong!!!

 

Blessings,

Alicia & Carol





 



CrEative FieldTrip!!!!

Happy Weekend everyone!!!  Well this last week flew by with no school for the first two days and then a blur from there!!! I did not get to work on a lot of Beautiful Junque needless to say...but I did get to go help chaperon my oldest daughters 4th grade class field trip!!! I know this is kind of off the topic of Beautiful Junque..yet this field trip was all about artist & creating so I thought this would be so appropriate to share!  It was a day filled with learning, fascination from the children(and adults) & history!!!  Where did we go you ask... Well the first stop was Concordia College to listen to the Fargo Symphony!!  What an awesome concert we got to experience & the kids were mesmerized at all the different instruments and how they all came together to play such wonderful music..(they especially liked when they played music from Harry Potter)! 

 

 

Our next stop was the Hjemkomst Center! What is the Hjemkomst Center you ask?  Well it is a Museum that houses different showcases of history from Clay county & let us not forget the BIG piece of ART it holds which is the Hjemkomst itself  a replica of a vikings ship!!!  This ship was built on a dream & by the hand of Robert Asp who longed to sail it to Norway where his ancestors were from!! What a Dream and what an Artist this man was...forging forward hand making a  ship that would eventually take the actual journey from Lake Superior to Norway!!! 

 

 

What dedication..what beauty can come from perseverance and never giving up on one's dream!!  Thank you Robert Asp!!!

 

Next we got to go see the Featured exhibit & it was Awesome!!  It was all about Prairie Daughters "The untold story of WOMEN artist in Clay county " 

 

Now this was particularly fascinating to me & I am sure for all my other fellow "creator's" out there you would love to see the works of these extraordinary women!!

 

 

 

 

The first thing that caught my eye about these women artist that paved the way before us is that they were "Country Girls" that created extraordinary works of art!!  Just loved the above picture!!!  Then I saw the plaque below & just loved it!!! It reminded me of how much harder it was back in there time for women & how even then and always will ...WOMEN ROCK!!!!

 

Little did these women artist know that they would NOT be forgotten!!

They had collected paintings, sketch books, Scrapbooks etc..the scrapbooks reminded me of what we now call our Blogs...They were full of pictures and writings of things they loved just like we do now in our blogs!!!  There still is something to be said though for being able to actually hold something in your hand and turn the pages & did these women have a collection of pages to be turned!!!

I did take a quick snapshot of one of the still life paintings from one of the prairie women.. it is fuzzy because it was quick.  This one just caught my eye because of the colors and the beauty of it!!

 

Throughout this field trip I learned so much about art and artists & how important it is to be creative & share that creativeness with others...I am sure other fellow creators like myself have had their doubts on things they create...are people going to like this...what if they think it is dumb...self doubt can often creep into the minds of creators..Then I saw this quote by one of our Fellow women creators who paved the way for us  Annie Stein..It Reads "Please do not criticize this work too much for God alone was my master"  

 



 

 

WOW!!  This is going up on our craft room wall(when it is complete that is :)  Every Artist whether women or man should remember this wisdom form Annie Stein!!  Self-doubt is natural...but if we forge ahead like Robert Asp did..never giving up on his dream & if we remember what we create may get criticized but just remember God alone is our master!!!!!

Awesome..Awesome...experience that day with my daughter & her class!!! Thank you for letting me join in on the FUN!!!

 

Blessings,

Alicia & Carol

 



BaRN BouTiQue ProgrEsS!!!!

Happy Belated Presidents Day Everyone!!  I hope everyone Enjoyed there weekend..Ours was full of {dancing}!! My daughters had their first Dance competition this weekend & we had so much fun!!!  Yesterday was a day to recover from the hustle & bustle of all the {Dancing}!!  I proudly wore my {Dance Mom} necklace from Beautiful Junque's Collection @ the Competition..(just have to say if you have seen the show "DANCE MOM'S" I have not encounter any mom's like that so far..so not so much "reality" in that show :))  Here is a pic of the necklace I wore this weekend!!

 

After a weekend of Dance..my husband I think was in the mood to do some "GUY" stuff...so he worked ever so wonderfully in our barn. Here are a couple updates on the progress of {BEAUTIFUL JUNQUE'S BARN BOUTIQUE}

 







 

Since the last time I posted we have gotten the cement laid & The Ceiling is finished... Now he is starting on Framing up the different rooms!!!  So Exciting!! We can't wait to get into our new work room & Set up our Barn Boutique!!! We will continue to keep you posted on the progress! Hope you all have a wonderful week!!!

 

Blessings,

Carol & Alicia