"Summer is Near...Let's Have Fun!"

Well Summer is Near...Soon as "Memorial Day" Comes I Think the Next Few Months Fly By! I Am Always Entertaining and Enjoying Each Holiday Season, Whether With Friends or a Client, Even Making My Folk Art Creations Themed (Of Course!) I Try To Enjoy Life More and More. So Come on Summer I Am Ready to Have FUN!
I Did an Article for "Nashville Lifestyles Magazine" ~ Summer Party Spectacular. "Red and Blue Are a Hot Summer Party Theme, Even Beyond the Fourth of July.

   Summer's Here-We Know That From the Heat. Why Not Plan a "Picnic Party"-Without Burning Sun, Bugs or Stress? With These Simple Tips and a Few Great Accessories, Everyone Can Have a Super Summer Party.
Nothing Makes You Think Summer Like a Picnic with a Red, White and Blue Theme, and you Can Enjoy This One Indoors.
Remember Years Gone By When We'd Pack a Quilt or Tablecloth in a Basket, Along With Food and Treats, and Head Out to have a Great Get-Together? Just Plan It with a Twist- Use Your Memories and bring them Inside for a Spectacular Event.

Jason's Summer Party Tips

Tablecloth or Quilt-
Use These Simple Covers for Your Table or Buffet. Soften Up The Look- Instead of a Stuffy, Starched Cloth, This Makes Summer More Carefree and Comfortable.

Baskets or Crates-

Great for Holding Napkins, Dinnerware, Fruit and Finger Foods. Use an Old Strawberry Square Basket to Hold Cocktail Napkins or Groupings of Fresh Fruit for Your Guests' Enjoyment. There Eisier to Carry Around than Cocktail Plates, Too.














Vases-

To Create a Simple Centerpiece, Pull Out a Grouping of Vases and Use Electrical Tape (Found at the Hardware Store in Red, White and Blue ) To Make Them Looked Like Striped Fireworks. Just Tape On Varying Stripes and You Have an Amazing, Quick Party Trick! You Could Even Style Your Drink Glasses This Way, If You Really Want to Have a Festive Look.

Signature Drink-
I Really Think That Nothing Is More Refreshing than Lemonade. Fresh-Squeezed ( Or Even Pink ) Lemonade Can Be Spruced Up with Fresh Cut Strawberries or Lemons- With or Without the Vodka, Depending on Your Guest List. Or, Serve a Little of Both! Also, Fix a Big Pitcher of Water With Fresh Mint. Very Soothing.

Party Favors-
A Box of Sparklers, AN Old Fashioned Nut Cup Filled With Fruit Instead of Candy, Packaged Gourmet Brownies or an Adorable Patriotic Bunny in a Clay Pot Would All Make Charming Gifts for Your Guests to Take Home to Remember Your Party.



Pillows-

A Good Way to Make Your Home or Porch Look More Summery is to Place Some Appropriate Pillows out. Star Shaped Designs in Ticking, Stripes or Outdoor Fabrics Make a Patriotic Impact.

Enjoy This Summer and Show Your Patriotic Spirit- Throw a Picnic Party in Red, White and Blue- Its a Guarenteed Great Time!  Pull Out The American Flag for the Front Porch and Enjoy a Glass Of Lemonade and Reflect on "Day's Gone By!"

Jason Parker Counce

http://www.jasonparkercouncedesigns.com/

Photography by Amy Meyer-

Amy@AMeyerDesign.com

http://www.nashvillelifestyles.com/

Please Check Out My Storefront Shop When in Nashville,TN. at "Gaslamp Antique and Decorating Mall".
I Have Just ReDone and Put Out Some of My Patriotic Creations, Booth #309. Thank You.

http://www.gaslampantiques.com/

Have a Great Day!
Jason

"Less Is More..."

Well I Thought I Would Say That I Always Love to Go To A Great Antique Tag or Estate Sale...Less Has Always Been More Exciting! Then This Year I Was Asked If I Would Come to An Estate in Kentucky To Appraise it and Do An Estate Sale, I Said "Why Not What Else Did I Have To Do!" 

Let Me Just Say When I Got There I Didn't Know What To Expect, My Mouth Almost Dropped...There Was So Much Good Stuff My Heart Was Jumping For Joy!!! This Was a Mass-Collection of Over Three Generations; A Treasure Trove of Antiques and Wonderful Reproduction Furniture, Fine Art, Oriental Rugs,Silver Serving Pieces and Flatware, China, Glassware, Lamps Quilts, Antique and Modern Decorative Accessories Galore! The Gentleman Had Great Taste, Although I Never Had Met Him; I Could Tell He Was a Character, Liked To Entertain, and Have Extremely Nice Things Around Him.

This Home Was Converted From Originally Being a Church in the 1800's, First Walking Into The Parlor With The Large Carved Wooden Door. With A Sitting Area That Has a Baby Grand Piano and All These Great Needlepoint Chairs, French Tables and an Empire Mahogony Center Table with White Marble Top. Then We Moved To The Dining Room, With A Handsome Double Pedestal Mahogany Dining Table With Banding and Eight Chippendale Style Chairs. Then I Look Up, To My Amazement There Is A "Waterford Crystal Chandelier" ;and A Ton Of Cut Glass and Silver Candleticks on the Table. A Fine Antique Reproduction Sheraton Style Sideboard Held A Silver Tea Service, Etched With A Monogram.
Let Me Say That The Artwork Collection Around The House Is Astounding, With Oils, Lithographs, Watrcolors, 50's French Oil Paintings (Lucien DeLarue, Maggie Cazau, Antoine Blanchard) and 70's Sterling Strauser Paintings ,Too - All From A Famous Gallery in Nashville "Lyzon's".
Moving On To The Kitchen Where Cabinets Were Filled To The Brim With Over 100 Waterford Glasses, Sets and Sets of Dishes- Coleport, Noretake, and Haviland Limoges,Too! Then to the Living Room, There Were Many Styles of Furniture Victorian, English Georgian, American, Primitives, and Asian.

Now Onward to The Two Bedrooms Where a Stately Spool Bed Sat In One, and a Depression Era Bedroom Suite Sat In The Other...All In Pristine Condition.
Then I Was Asked If I Wanted To See The "Upstairs" This Was Like Stepping Into A Movie, It Was An Etire Room Packed To The Ceiling With Three Generations Of Items All Perfectly Packed, Placed and Preserved in Time! There Was an Early Wardrobe I Opened Up And It Was Full, Class Candlesticks, Old China, and Quilts. Then Turn Around to See Over 100 Lamps of Every Era! Then I Saw Old Trunks and Was Anticipating the Unearthing of It, First One Had Old Memorabelia, Pictures, Notes and Victorian Clothing. The Next Steamer Trunk Opened To Find A Perfect Crazy Quilt and Matching Sham All Handsewn and Beautiful.
That Was Just The Initial Visit or Two...Then Came The Reinforcements, I Had To Call In My Friends for Help! I Told Billy Phillips He Was Going To Help Me, and Asked Barbara and Dann Wells To As Well. So That Was The Beginning To This Story, Now A Month And a Half Later We Are About to Have The Sale This Week!

ANTIQUE ESTATE SALE
520 West Park Street
Guthrie, KY. 42234
Hours:
Thursday, April 22nd 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. - Price As Marked
Friday, April 23rd  8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. -  25% Off
Saturday, April 24th 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. - 50 % Off

We Have Moved, Hauled, Cleaned and Transformed This Estate Sale To Be Better Than Anyone Of Us Have Been To! First Off We Moved All Of The Furniture Downstairs, Then Unearthed Everything Upstairs and Placed It In The Appropriate Spots Down Stairs. Making Each Room Look Better Than An Antique or Decorators Shop! 
Hope To See You There and See All The Amazing and Wonderful Collections of Years Gone By!
Have a Great Week-

Jason

"Should I Fall Behind...Wait For Me!"

Yes, I Can Honestly Say I Had To Take Time Off For "Good Behavior!" These Past Few Weeks Have Been Busy For Me and Fun All At the Same Time. I Have Had Many Friends and Followers Ask Me This Past Week...Why Am I Not Blogging As Much? I Can Only Explain What I Have Been Doing...

I Helped Billy Phillips Get His "Springtime Open House" Ready, and It Was Such a Big Sucess! I Was At The Opening That Friday Night To Sign All Of My New Folk Art Pieces I Made Just For His Shop- "Phillips General Store" in Bell Buckle, TN.

Then Early That Next Saturday Morning Headed To The Airport To Take A Well Deserved "Get Away". Went Down To Tampa, Florida...Then To Siesta Key, Followed Up At Universal Studios For Some "Big Kid Fun", As Well! My Heart Almost Stopped When We Were Driving Closer and Closer To Universal...I Could See In The Distance The Tip Tops Of The Buildings That Will Be The "Harry Potter" Area...It Will Be Amazing, I Have To Go When It Opens Up! It Was So Exciting To See What I Saw Over The Years In All The Movies Come To Life Right In Front Of My Eyes, WOW!
Also In This Mix of Busyness...I Have Taken On An Estate Sale To Top All Estate Sales. ( I  Will Be Posting About That Later This Weekend!) Working For Weeks Trying To Compile and Pull Together Three Generations Of Antiques and Stuff ! I Had To Call For Help, So Billy, Barbara and Dann Came To The Rescue and We Will Be Putting It On Next Week!
Oh Yes, I Am An Uncle Now...My Sister Amy Had Her First Child Named Owen Matthew Meyer...He Also Is The First Grandchild So My Mother and Grandmother,"Mama2" Are Beside Themself With Happiness, As Am I ! I Was So Excited I Had To Go And See What High End Coutour' Baby Bags I Could Buy For Me...I Have To Look Stylish When and If I Take Him Out! Hahahahaa My Sister Allready Told Me That She Bought The Most Modern Orange and Chrome Stroller for Him ~ Just So I Could Play, Too. Well Lets Just Say He Will Be Spoiled Rotten, Just Like Me!
Well I Have Rambled On and Caught Up For Lost Time...I Was On The Treadmill Earlier, Listening To My Ipod When A Great Song Came On..."Should I Fall Behind...Wait For Me!" By Faith Hill ~ BREATHE  That Was What I Felt Like And Hope You Will Wait When I Catch Up!
Have a Great Weekend!

Jason

"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