Having our space at the Queen has been quite a ride, and I say this after only ~23 days of the experience. I have learned more in these last 3 weeks than I ever expected to.

On Wednesday, I spent several hours at the store. I dropped some things off at Audrey's from Shane, then I took some things from Audrey to the booth. I spent a lot of time wandering around the store, looking at the other booths with a comparative eye, rather than the eye of a shopper (which was what I was used to doing). I realized quickly that having a space that is attractive is the first step, and the second step is to have a space that has room for you to shop once you enter it. Afterwards, I used my observations and spent some time rearranging our space so that it was more shoppable (to me), and then I took some more pictures. That was awesome, eye-opening, and rewarding, and I like our space more than ever.

On Thursday I had a break through with the advertising/marketing avenues available to vendors from the Queen. They do all kinds of promotion on Facebook, and I finally figured out how to be included. At the same time, I may get The Painted Hammer invited to participate in some things that only active bloggers, Facebookers, Instagrammers, and Pinners get to do. More rewards there, and I like the store that our booth is in even more than before.

Those two things, however, were things that I knew I was after and wanted to make happen. I knew they would work out eventually and that I just had to figure out the pieces to the puzzle.

Saturday led to a new & unexpected discovery that I'm still delighted with. I knew that the Queen would post to Craig's List on behalf of vendors...it makes sense because the more we sell, the more money they make, and I assume part of our rent goes to promotion of not just to store, but to promotion of items in the store. What I didn't know is that there are two ways to get them to do a listing. The first way is to ask, and there are forms for that. The second way is to get something in your booth that they like, promote it through their channels, and once they know about it, they'll list it on Craig's List. Just like that.

I'm enjoying the partnership & services that the Queen provides to their vendors. I'm excited about what we'll be able to do together, and I love that they have our back. I'm off to learn more!

These hand-decorated mini loaf pans are part of our inventory on Etsy.

I got a great deal on a lot of mini loaf pans, and couldn't wait to try something I had learned from Pinterest (it took many failed experiments to get it right, and once I got it to work, it took a couple of tries to get the right colors & patterns). I wanted to decorate them!

So I found some old scrapbooking letter stickers, and applied them to the pan.

My first phrase was inspired by Alice in Wonderland.

Then I dotted around the stickers...

After I removed the stickers, I baked the loaf pans. And ended up with this delightful thing!

Since it worked, I kept going and made two sets of three pans. I love them and think they would be great for either entertaining or gifting!

I'm going to see how these sell. If they do sell, I can make more. If they don't sell, I'll use them for my own personal gifting! I love things like this that are fun to try out AND make me happy no matter the end result!

Wikipedia tells us that a paint wash is a painting technique in which a paint brush that is very wet with solvent and holds a small load of paint or ink is applied to a wet or dry support.

Essentially, you thin the paint before applying it. You can even apply more than one color to get a cooler look and feel. As usual, I didn't know what this was until Audrey advised Shane that she was going to put a wash on some things he built. I immediately looked it up, but then I started looking forward to seeing what Audrey's wash would look like.

So now here's what a paint wash looks like to me:

It's nice, isn't it?!

I may have alluded to this or even mentioned it outright before, but I'm no designer. Not only can I not design, but I'm also pretty sure that any designer I ever tried to hire would quit or fire me after a short span of time.

Working with a designer and a carpenter on this adventure has forced me to learn some things, and I'm going to share them back with you when there aren't projects & other Painted Hammer related things to go on about in this blog space.

Today's word from the world of design is patina. Merriam-Webster's online dictionary tells us this:
***
pa·ti·na
noun \pə-ˈtē-nə, ˈpa-tə-nə\ : a thin usually green layer that forms naturally on the metals copper and bronze when they are exposed to the air for a long time

: a shiny or dark surface that forms naturally on something (such as wood or leather) that is used for a long time

: a thin layer
***
I understand why designers use the word "patina" for this. Advertising something as "weathered" just isn't as inviting.

Remember these cedar photo holders from earlier posts?!

Shane cut Audrey some of these in pine, and she had a totally different approach. Which I love. You will too!

SOLD!!! One pair of gargoyles, formerly resting on the stone topped table in our booth (vendor code SLAW) at the Queen of Hearts in Alpharetta.

Why the excitement? What's the big deal? That's what these booths are for, to sell things.

Here's the thing: this pair of gargoyles is our very first sale from the booth. We are relieved, excited, delighted, and we are celebrating. Thank you, shopper, we hope you enjoy your purchase. Send your friends!!!

It took a week and a day, but it happened. Now we look forward to more sales. The more we sell, the more new things we can find & make. And that's what generates fun in this adventure.

Although these shelves are now on display & available for purchase in our booth at the Queen, I wanted to take a moment to share a kind of behind the scenes with you.

When I wasn't looking, Shane (aka Mr. Hammer) showed his sister (Audrey, aka Mrs. Paint) an idea he had seen on Pinterest from blogger FthatS (now blogging as A Green(ish) Life). He liked it, she liked it, so he went shopping for supplies.

When he started, I thought Shane was building a massive display unit.

But he wasn't. He was building a whole bunch of box shelves that can be used individually, in small groups, or as a unit (but with many shape options). I love this set.

With a little paint and some styling from Audrey, this project is no longer a project! We now have a gorgeous set of 8 modular shelves with an amazing distressed look to them. My imagination is running wild with the options this shelving set could bring to a home!

This pallet bench is another item that I delivered to The Queen for The Painted Hammer Booth...but I was sad to see it go. We just sold all of our dining furniture, and our dining nook is sad & empty. This bench would have filled that void, well this bench and a few others.

Audrey asked Shane to make this, but her request was pretty flexible. She asked for a pallet bench, and Shane handled the details. Notice, in the middle picture, that you have a lovely square with rounded corners on each end. That was an intentional design element. You'll also notice that the bench top has darker planks on the outside and lighter planks on the inside. Another intentional element. I like the work that these two do together. I'll share more as I witness it!

Pallet planters are awesome. However, it is 21 degrees outside as I type this. I know planters are great for succulents and that they're perfectly suited for herbs, but I'm going to focus on a great indoor use since it is so very cold right now: display & storage. My nephew's Matchbox car collection would fit perfectly in one of these. So would arts & crafts materials. Magazines or books too. The options are endless, and that's why Shane constructed three, all with different dimensions. Enjoy the snapshots!

A few weeks ago, Audrey ordered a wooden boards in a variety of lengths & widths with a variety of edges. He made them up and delivered them.

This past weekend, we got to see what she did with four of the plaques. Awesome colors, scripting, sayings, and look! We have a booth sign now!

As always, I look forward to seeing what she does with the rest of the plaques, and I promise to share them with you either here or on our Facebook page. Until then, we just have to show patience!