common ground : seed box

Showing posts with label seed box. Show all posts

Thursday, November 7, 2024

Tweaking a Seed Box Display for Thanksgiving

A few weeks ago I put together a fun late October seed box display on the farm table in the Garden Room. I've really enjoyed it and wanted to keep the basic elements, but give it a re-boot for Thanksgiving. It was an easy fix with just a few pieces.

October Seed Box on the Farm Table

Oh October, my favorite month!!!

We don't have many changing leaves yet; it's been a two month dry spell, so I don't know if we'll have anything too pretty for leaf peeping. But I'm trying to make up for the lackluster outside viewing by having some fun with the inside fall décor.

Cottage Review: Vintage Birds

Hi Friends, welcome to the Weekend Cottage Review, where I share a bit of what I'm up to this week, some ideas and inspiration, and a few bits of past posts that are seasonal...

May is Bird Month around here. I've really enjoyed watching and feeding the birds at this house since we moved here 4 years ago. This house has been unique in that we have a back porch that is so fun and perfect for hanging feeders and the ability to have stealth viewing...

St. Patrick's Day Seed Box Vignette

Hi Friends, so glad you came by for some extra special St. Patrick's Day inspiration! Today I'm joining a super fun group of gals sharing some amazing Tablescapes, Vignettes, Crafts, and Irish Heritage posts celebrating "All things St. Patrick's Day."

Vintage Cottage Weekend: Blooming Seed Box Display

Hi Friends, thanks so much for coming by our (Amber and my) new weekend get together where we are sharing our thoughts, ideas and inspiration for vintage cottage living and decor.

Thanksgiving Seed Box on the Baker's Rack

Hey Friends, Happy November!

I think most of us who blog do so partly as a photo "diary" of sorts. As much as to share with you all what and how we're decorating our homes and what we're up to in life, we do blog as a way to remind our own selves about what our life looks and feels like through the seasons and the years.

Late Summer Baker's Rack

I gave myself a little challenge...

and that was to create a late Summer/ early Fall Baker's Rack using colors of the season,

without using Pumpkins. So instead of any kind of squash or gourd

I used another Fall Favorite; Pears.

Late Summer Seed Box

August will be here before we know it, and with August my decor palette changes with the season. I start thinking about the beginning of Fall and all the subtle color that comes with it, but for now I'm still in Summer Mode. Today I'm sharing a staple of my vintage Summer decor.

Spring Bouquet and the Baker's Rack

Taking photos in the Kitchen and Kitchen Sitting Area can be a little tricky. The light comes from the South and Southwest, so it's often harsh and blinding. I try to wait for a cloudy day, but even then the pics can be lackluster. Late this afternoon I grabbed my camera and changed the lens to try to get a few close-ups with better color... a little better...

Late Summer Kitchen Sitting Area

I've piddled around with this kitchen sitting area post so long,

that if I don't show you all soon,

I'm going to be ready to change it up to be the

"Early Fall Kitchen Sitting Area".

Summer Seed Box

...and the Decorating Domino Effect

A few weeks ago, I brought in a small white antique desk/table to the kitchen sitting area. I knew it would be crowded, but I was needing a change up in here and thought that would do the trick. I had it right where this chair is now sitting and it was so fresh and cute, not to mention another flat surface to decorate. I had fun with it for about a week, but then I realized that it was way too crowded in here, and the door to the deck bumped it each time we went out.

Styling a DIY Seedbox for St. Patty's Day

All it takes is a few sunny days where the temps are 50 and above and you'll find me puttering around with seed boxes, seed packets, and some old gardening tools. This week will be the "official" start of Spring so I'm having fun bringing a little green for St. Patrick's Day onto the Baker's Rack in the kitchen sitting area.

Make Your Own Vintage Seed Box

Vintage garden goods have always been a favorite of mine. Give me some old hand tools, a wicker floral basket, flower pots, and some vintage seed packets, and I'm a happy girl.

If you're into vintage at all, you likely know and share my love for vintage Seed Boxes. Even if you're not a gardener, the wonderful graphics that advertise the individual Seed Manufacturers will grab you, and soon you'll be on the hunt for these prized collectibles.

And that brings me to my post today...

where to find these treasures and then...

finding them at affordable prices.

I mentioned making our own Seed Boxes several weeks ago, but with all the out-of-town Ear Specialist visits for my hubby, anything DIY had to be put on the back burner. When I put this Easter display together my boxes were setting nearby; they've been waiting patiently for their makeovers.

In the past, many products came housed in a wooden box. Cigars, teas, and a number of other items could be purchased in bulk, contained in amazingly well crafted wooden displays. I think the boxes I found for this project might all be cigar boxes from the late 1800's, to the 1940's, but each one under $12. Much less than any Seed Box out there...

Authentic Seed Display Boxes run anywhere from $100 to $400 depending on their condition, rarity, and inside graphics. I have two vintage ones that I treasure and use from Spring to Fall in my vignettes, but they are getting harder and harder to find. Even ones in poor condition with no color graphics will set you back a pretty penny. Here's where we can come up with an almost exact "look" for literally a few dollars.

I'm a paper hoarder, and sometimes wonder why I keep all the stuff that I do. If it's antique or vintage ephemera, or even looks like it, it will go into my stash. I love calenders and for the last several years I've purchased ones that are reproduction images of Seed Catalogues. So I chose to use these reproduction images for my Seed Display Box makeovers.

As you can see the dimensions weren't quite large enough, so I decided to add on to the sides to give it more of a complete look.

I cut out pages of a reproduction ledger journal for the months of March and April. I have some old ledgers, but wanted a heavier stock of paper.

So here it is after I Mod Podged it all on the back.

Such a beautiful day on the sunporch.

Gotta show the helpers...

Why is it that cats want to lay directly ON your project?

OK, back to work, now on a smaller box...

The outer lid of this one was pretty scratched up, so I used some "Old English" furniture polish on it and it cleaned up pretty well. I thought of painting it, but the original seed boxes were all wood, not painted.

Since I had flowers on the larger one, I wanted veggies for this smaller one.

I used the calender graphics, but if you do a search on Etsy you can find tons of old Seed Box and Seed Packet images that can be used. The Graphics Fairy is another site where you can download your own, just make sure you have a heavier paper stock.

This is the third one I wanted to transform, but I wanted something with more ""Fall-ish" colors, so I could use it with Bittersweet and pumpkins later in the season.

Isn't this little garden-girl adorable?

I wish I could have used more of her image,

but I wanted the "Burpee's" name to show.

Now you're ready to style your boxes and vignettes...

Have fun with this.

I'd love for you to let me know

if you try making your own "Vintage" Seed Boxes.

I think I might have started another "obsession"...

Also, don't forget that The Marketplace is live all week, so check back in to see new items being listed. Just scroll down to the previous post.

Joining in on these parties this week:

Debbie's Pin Party at Debbie-doos
Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style
Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson
Open House Party at No Minimalist Here
TTT at Stone Gable
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Treasure Hunt at From My Front Porch to Yours
The Charm of Home
French Country Cottage

Redoux Interiors
Inspiration Gallery at Craftberry Bush
Romantic Home Show and Tell
Mod Mix Monday at Mod Vintage Life
Between Naps on the Porch

xoxo,

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Can you?...

I've been "Fallifying" my sunporch and that means tweaking the vintage "Seed" box that I keep on my bakers rack. I love old promotional recipe pamphlets and cookbooks and wanted to share this great little canning book from Atlas Jars dated 1952.

So, have you ever "canned"?

(google images)

My mother-in-law (not her picture, above) had a big garden each year and did lots of canning. We always looked forward to her yummy green beans, relishes, refrigerator pickles, jams and jellies. But somehow I just never got in on the ~~hard work~~ fun.

Recently we've had to go to a low salt diet due to some inner ear problems and vertigo my hubby has had. So many health issues are brought on by a high salt diet. I'm not just talking about taking the salt shaker off the table, but actually drastically cutting out salt by researching food nutrition labels. You just will not believe all the salt that's in our foods. Boxed and canned foods are just crazy. So I've had to rethink all our food choices. It's not been fun, but when you think that the average American eats 4500-5000mg of salt a day, when we should only be having 1000-1500mg a day, you can see why we have some tricky health problems brought on by high blood pressure. Anyway, don't want to get "preachy" here, just a "Public Service Announcement" with a happy face. All this has made me realize the importance of natural and organic foods and preparation for staying healthy. I don't know about you, but I need all the help I can get!

So am I canning?

well....

no, not this year, but seeing all your gardens out there has made me realize a raised bed of green beans and tomatoes might be a good idea for next year. At least that way I could control the amount of salt in our tomato and spaghetti sauces, and then hubby's nightly green beans.