Teapots & What-Nots Now at 540 Mercantile!

We are so excited to announce that Teapots & What-Nots is now at 540 Mercantile in McKinney, TX!  Located on the McKinney square, this mercantile shop is a fun mix of of items...vintage finds, handmade bath goodies, refurbished furniture, and much, much more. 

Our colorful, new booth is stocked and ready for Spring!  Full of trendy colors, unique Easter items, along with our normal quirky vintage finds and neat refurbished furniture, there's surely something for everyone!

We'd love for you to stop by today...223 E. Louisana Street-- across the street and a little east of the Pantry!

Can't make it right now?  No worries...but be sure to stop by on Saturday March 30th for the big Grand Opening of 540.  Photographer Juan Carlos will be on site taking great pictures with live bunnies, duckies, and more!  :)  Who can resist all that cuteness?!

Second 2013 Goal: Getting Back My Office!!! {Phase One}

You know that TV show Hoarders?  Well, I officially feel like I should apply and be filmed, because THIS is what my office/craft room has turned into:

 

AHHH!!  Makes you want to scream/cringe/pass out all at the same time, right?!

Well, my second goal of this new year has been to take back my office area!  I'm envisioning a beautiful craft room where I can work on both things for Teapots & What-Nots AND for my classroom, too. 

So, you can't really fix something like this overnight.  (I mean, I wish I COULD just snap my fingers and *poof*, but, let's be realistic here...)

My first task to tackle was the desk.  Desk, you ask?  What desk?  Yes, I know, you might have missed it.  It was camoflauged in all the junk...

It's way too big for what I imagined and what I need, so it will eventually get a face-lift and a new home.  Instead of simply moving it out to the garage where it would become engulfed into the piles of furniture that need to be refinished, I though why not just refinish it now?  So that's what I did!

Old desk:

New desk:

Please ignore the divots in the vinyl.  We're sitting on carpet here, and Mannon and I are still trying to figure out the whole photography thing.  After all, I'm a teacher, and she was a stay at home mom (neither of which are trainer photographers!)  :)

I'm digging the dark dark "plum" (purple-ish brown-ish black-ish color), because let's face it, when desks get used, they get dirty!  And what better way to hide that than with a dark color?!  :)  I whipped up a batch of my homemade chalk paint (which I'll tell you about tomorrow!), sanded the desk down, and got to painting!  Then, I finished it off with a couple of 3 coats of polycrylic to seal it all.  Viola!  Simply adorable!

I have to admit, once it was done, I was crushing on it so hard that I really debated keeping it in the office...however, even with moving it along a different wall, it's simply not going to fit with our new vinyl backdrop, and the workspace in the middle of the room I need.  So, it's going to a new home!  Listed in on CL here, or if you're intereseted, simply shoot me an email at TeapotsAndWhatNots@yahoo.com! 

Happy Saturday!  Wish me luck on the rest of the office/craft room.  :)

~Jillian

First Goal of 2013: Enticing New Followers!!!

Okay, so we have to admit...we've been pretty lazy here on our blog.

One of our New Year's resolutions for 2013 is to step it up a bit and get our sad, pathetic, ignored excuse for a blog up and off the ground...and soon!  So what's a better way than to entice more followers than with a bribe?!  :)

Curious as to how we're planning on luring in new followers?!  Here it goes...hope I can explain well enough...: 

Step 1. Stop by our Etsy shop {here} and pick out your favorite item.  "Favorite" it through Etsy (the little heart on the side). 
Step 2. Then, stop back here and start "following" our blog!  (Really, you can do step 1 and 2 in any order!)

Teapots & What-Nots on Etsy!

Step 3. Send us a message either through Etsy or via email (TeapotsAndWhatNots(at)yahoo(dot)com) telling us that you're a new follower and letting us know which is your "favorite" item.
Step 4. We'll edit the listing to make it a custom reserved item just for you, and we'll also edit the price by cutting in IN HALF!  That's right...YOU GET ONE ITEM FOR HALF PRICE!!!  50% off!  (oh, forgot to tell you, though...this only works on regular priced items...the clearance and sale ones are already very heavily discounted)
Step 5. You go buy, we ship, and everyone is happy :) 
{but hurry, this fun little promo will be up on 1/6/13}


Clear as mud?  If you have any questions, please, feel free to just ask...I'm sure I'm not that great at explaining what I have going through my head :)

Finally, are you already one of our few followers?  Want a 50% discount, too?  No problems!  Simply just stop by Etsy and then let us know!  We want to reward you all, too, for being the first few to jump on board, even when we didn't have much to offer, reading-wise.

So, hope you love it, hope we love it, and hope it works well for everyone.  Happy first day of 2013!

Our FIRST EVER Year End Sale!

Okay, I'll admit, once Christmas ends, it's somewhat of a sad, "blah" moment until the New Year begins.  BUT, what's a good way to spruce things up and get anyone excited?!  How about A SALE!!!

That's right...Teapots & What-Nots is having our first ever "Year End Sale" from now until 12/31 at our Etsy Shop.  You'll find savings up to 50% off, and there are even a few items with FREE SHIPPING! 

So, perk up out of those "post Christmas blues" (this comment mainly applies to myself...), and click on over to start shopping the sale.  Happy "Year End" Shopping!

~Jillian

Our New Newsletter

Okay, so we're definitely not ones for "SPAM", but we ARE so excited for our brand new newsletter endeavor!  We're breaking into uncharted territory again here with another "somthing new".

I know the first thing I think of when it comes to newsletters in my inbox is the word: DELETE.  But, honestly, over the past few weeks, I can't tell you how many newsletters I actually open and scan through!  I just ordered 2 pairs of boots from 2 different websites, just learned about a no kill shelter, and clicked through another one to find out my "secret coupon" amount.  Wow! 

So why not use one for us?  We promise it'll be short, sweet, and to the point each time!  And the best part?  (My FAVORITE part...)  We'll add coupons and promotions to each email!  Because, who doesn't love some sales, discounts, and incentives?!  :)

Want to sign up and join our fun?  We used MailChimp to help us out, and they have made it super eadsy to sign up... just click below!

Subscribe to our newsletter

Fantastic Chair Find!

Do you have a Habitat for Humanity Restore in your area?  If not, I'm so sorry to tell you that you are missing out!  It is, by far, one of my favorite "junkin" stores around!  It's almost like a mystery to go every time...you will never know what you're going to find! 

On my most recent trip, I scored a set of fabulously vintage club chairs.  Yes, they do need a little cleaning and polishing up, perhaps even a new coat of paint on the legs, but for a little over $20 a piece, I couldn't resist!!!

And, the best part, since I'm only a little over 5'1", these small chairs fit me PERFECTLY!!!  I'm thinkin' they'll go great in my new office/workspace in the back room, once I get it all situated...

Can't wait to show you a pic after I get them all "spruced up"! 

A Vintage and Hand-Made Christmas

So, Thanksgiving has finally come and gone, and so has the rush of Black Friday and the Christmas shopping madness that accompanies it.  I'll admit, I did get out at 3 in the morning to snag some $15 jeans, however, I do deeply regret it!  So, this year,  instead of "big box" decorations and goodies, why not try some vintage and/or homemade goodies?  I am, and let me tell you, they're oh-so whimsical, oh-so unique, and really, oh-so special!

For example, this VERY retro "NOEL" candle holder set...


Lipper and Mann Ceramics from the 1950s!

Or, my fabulous new table runner...

ADORABLE "12 Days of Christmas"!  Sorry, just for me!  Not for sale :(

A little vintage AND handmade wall decor...

Or even a fun, handmade pillow...

Burlap and ribbon, topped off with a "Merry Christmas" from my Silhouette!

Now, don't you feel that this kind of Christmas is just a tad more "one of a kind" than the traditional cookie cutter, commerical Christmas even I have found myself in?  :)  Can't wait to continue decking out the house.  Will show tons more pics once I get close to finishing!  Happy Sunday!