"Alice In Wonderland ~ Spring Open House"...

Well It Is The Morning Of The Annual "Spring Open House" I Have Been Doing For Many, Many Years Now At "Phillips General Store" in Bell Buckle, TN.
Billy and I Have Been Friends For More Years Than I Need To Count, Comming Up With Fun New Ideas On How To Make Our Open Houses More Memorable...This Season We Went With "Alice In Wonderland!"

I Have Been Obsessed Making "Tags" and Sayings to Tie Onto Everything! Bunnys On Boxes, Bases,Paper Mache' Eggs, Even On Mushrooms,Too. The Windows Were Done Earlier In The Week and Do They Look Good! One Is "Alice At The Bell Buckle Tea Party" and The Other "The Mad Haberdashery!" All Done With Antiques and Funnery...
I Thought For Over 30 Years Growing Up And Visiting This Fun Place; That Bell Buckle Was Such A Great Small Town...Now It Is Official! The Have Made It In The Top 10 "Single Best Town Contest" Sponsored By Kraft Singles and Disney!

I was visiting Disney Family.com

A Stitch in Time Single Best Town Contest Finalists...All We Need To Do Is Go On The Website, Sign Up And Vote Once Every 24 Hours To Help Them WIN! Forward This To All Your Friends, Lets Support Small Towns Everywhere!

http://family.go.com/best-town-contest/finalists/a-stitch-in-time-23703/

Now I Am Headed On Down The Road To That "Single Best Town" BELL BUCKLE For The "Spring Open House"....Hope To See You There.

Have a Great Weekend,Too-
Jason

"Spring Cleaning!"

I Went Out Antiquing and Found An Old Metal 1940's Sign That Said - "Washing"...Thats All It Took!

My Mind Started With All I Can Do With This,



 'Theme'. My Version of  "Spring Cleaning!"

I Could See Many Things Working Together, Clotheslines, Metal Washtubs, Old Wooden Clothes Pins and All That Would Be Washed...Then The Obsession Started, I Went Home and Started Pulling Together a Collection of Vintage and Antique Items. Quilts and Feather Pillows, Ticking Fabrics, Homespun Aprons, Old Transferware and Ironstone Dishes and Platters...Then to The Drawing Board. I Have an Over All Idea, Now To Make It "Over The Top!"

I Imagined Spring Flowers Starting to Bloom, Tulips, Daffodils and The Smell Of Ivory Soap. Brings Back Memories Of The Days Mom Would Hang Out The Quilts and Blankets Each Spring To Freshen Them Up. My Grandmother Always Used Her Clothesline In The Back Yard When I Was a Child, The Old Fabric Clothes Pin Bag Hung Out All Spring, The Wind Would Blow the Clothes Dry and Leave Them So Fresh and Earthy. I Always Loved The Back Yard at My Grandmother, "MaMa2's", Lots of Moss and Rocks and Every Spring Her Whole Yard Was Covered With Purple Violets-Her Favorite, And Yellow Daffodils Bloomed; Planted So Perfect Around the Bird Bath! This Reminds Me Of Spring...A Few Years Back She Gave Me Her Collection of China Dishes She Cherished So, Violet Pattern. I Will Always Enjoy Using Them Too...They Were Only Used on Easter Growing Up, So On Her Big Birthday I Threw a Dinner Party for All The Family and Used Her "Violet" Dishes To Set The Table...She Was Very Pleased! Commenting On; She Knew I Would Enjoy Using Them More Than Anyone-They Were My Favorite. I Know Now That If You Comment On Anything To Your Grandmother, She Listens and Never Forgets!

Now Back to The Springtime Display...I Gathered Up Blue Glass Canning Jars To Use As Vases, Along With A Trip To The Store...Old Dutch Cleaner, Ivory Bars of Soap, And Old Fashioned Bags of Laundry Soap, Too. Now To Pull It All Together, I Had To Finish Shopping for the Other Things I Just Didn't Have on Hand. A Few Wooden and Metal Washboards To Use as Trays, Old Wire Dish Drainers, A Few More Wooden Clothes Pins Would Complete The Look.
I Went to The Garden Store and Got a Few Forced Bulbs of Tulips to Use in Old Concrete Planters and My Glass Jar Vases,Too. Loaded Up The Car and Went To Create A Feeling of Spring at My Booth...Here's My Version of "Spring Cleaning!"


Many People Have Been Asking Me About Where Do I Sell My Folk Art I Make...Here Are A Few Spots on My Website http://www.jasonparkercouncedesigns.com/ "Look Under Retail Shops,and Also Try http://www.theprimitivegathering.com/ 


This Time of Year I Am Frantically Finishing Up the Orders For My Loyal Shops Across the Country and Here in Nashville Tennessee,Too! Working Late Hours Painting Paper Mache' Easter Eggs; Adorning Them With Old Ribbons and Millinery Flowers. Sewing Up Bunnys of Mohair, Cashmere and Old Cotton Batting... Making Them All Springy and Easter Styles,Too.

Hope Everyone Has A Great Week!
Enjoy-

Jason

"Wonderland in Bell Buckle - Tennessee..."

Well I Have Been Off in Wonderland...
Busy Creating, Getting Inspired, and Just Enjoying-"Having Fun!"
Getting Ready for Our Annual "Spring Open House" with My Friend, Billy Phillips at His Store in Bell Buckle Tennessee. Yes It Is an Odd But Quaint Town, Where Everyone In Town Knows Each Other...And Can Spot Us "Visitors" A Mile Away! This Time Of The Year When Spring Is In The Air, The Forced Flower Bulbs Are Comming Up To Greet Us, And Daffodils or Buttercups Are About to Bloom; It Is Time To Have The Spring Open House...At "Phillips General Store!"

Revisiting Yesteryear At The 1870's Dry Goods Store That Is Filled With Unusual Antique Treasures From Traditional to Whimsical. There Is Always Lots of Fresh, One-Of-A-Kind Merchandise Being Held Back, Just For The Spring Show. Billy and I Will Be Transforming the Store All Week In Anticipation of the Friday Night Opening...March 19th, 20th, & 21st 2010. The Theme This Season is "Alice in Wonderland!" We Have Been Anticipating This For Months and Months, Working on This Time Old Classic Tale We All Know and Remember So Dear.

I Have Been So Inspired Looking Through Old Books, Reading the Story Again, Even Shopping To Find Inspiration,Too. I Found An Oversized Coloring Book  from 1973...My Heart Started Jumping, I Was So Excited and Inspired, Just Like I Was a Child Again! This Whole Idea Billy Proposed To Me Many Months Back, Got My Thoughts Flowing. What Do I Remember About the Story? Everyone Has There Own Memory and I Think We Will Inspire You All In One Way Or Another. Just Wait Until You See The Two Display Windows...This Will Be Mezmorizing and Invigorating...

I Have Created My Own "Folk Art" InSpired By Alice Just For This Open House...Working On Rabbits, Alice's, Chesire Cats, Queens, Hats, Boxes and Much Much More...I Will Be In Town Friday Evening Signing All My Pieces Just For The Collectors Of My "One Of A Kind' Creations,Too!

Got To Get Back To Work....Or I Will "BE LATE..." For A Very Imporant Date!

Friday March 19th - 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Saturday March 20th - 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunday March 21st - 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Hope To See You All There!

Jason