Opening soon for the 2015 season!

We are going to be open on Monday, April 13 for the new season. We've been working hard on some great new things! I've been making handmade cards, aprons, pillows, and lamps for the shop. So along with our great souvenirs, you can find a one-of-a-kind souvenir to take home with you.

 We've got some colorful new handmade pillows, upcycled from T-shirts. This one is a wonderful Route 66 design. The backs are almost as fun as the fronts with interesting mixes of fabric and exposed zippers (similar to the ones featured on clothing this season). These pillows are great for a man cave, family room, or even the car.

Back

Here's one upcycled from a Harley shirt.

Here's a peek at the aprons. They are handmade and handpainted. Never hurts for the cook to look sassy in the kitchen! Soon I'll be making some full length vintage inspired aprons too.

We have other new things in the shop as well, and some that are currently being printed up, like our new custom T-shirts. 

Another great addition to the museum complex is the Walldogs Museum, which has moved in next to the shop. The Walldogs Museum will open at the beginning of May.

"Route 66 in Illinois" Book Signing

 On Saturday, authors Joe Sonderman and Cheryl Eichar Jett will be here signing copies of their new book, and chatting about Route 66. This book is chock full of great photos of Route 66 in Illinois back in it's heyday!

Come downtown to Old City Hall Shoppes on Saturday, 10-noon and 2-4pm to meet Joe and Cheryl!

Santa on Route 66!

I took this picture last night as I was leaving the shop. Santa's house is on the square in downtown Pontiac, ready for Santa to arrive during the Light Up Parade on November 29th. If you've never been to the parade you should come downtown at dusk and see what you've been missing! Many great floats, all made out of lights, will be escorting Santa Clause into town.

If you've never been to our Old City Hall Shoppes page on Facebook, please check it out and "like" us. I regularly post cool things that are going on in Pontiac and at the shop.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas..........

 This display is over our Main Street door and includes lots of vintage toys.

 Necklaces, bracelets, sachets, and also vintage items on an antique dresser. 

 Go Bears! This year, I've been watching more football, and the displays got some orange and blue action.

 Vintage quilts, touches of black and red, and a whole different kind of Christmas tree, cut from a local farm and painted white.

 Red and black instead of red and green. Nice!

 Glowing Christmas tree decorated with ....

vintage photos and snowflakes.

 A simple old nativity.

Little touches of red and Christmas items on a dresser.

New Jewelry

Today, I've been pricing some pretty new jewelry. These are made from stones such as malachite, amazonite, peridot, lapis, rose quartz, and amethyst among others. The prices range from 6-12 dollars....a great way to spice things up for not much cash! They make nice stocking stuffers too!

Fall...Autumn Decorating with Antiques

 Check out our "witch's boots." OK...maybe it was a witch...you never know!

 We amped up the fall colors and added some jack-o-lanterns made from gourds, and a few blackbirds.

This lamp is unusual...handmade by a Harry Potter fan, I bet. The books, globe and glasses are all part of the lamp itself. You don't find one like that everyday!

Amber and orange and black dishware.

Vintage purse in beautiful fall colors.

Lots of black and red and orange. It's not cool out there yet, but pretty soon we'll be breaking out wool blankets like these!

Route 66 Bags

 I've started creating bags from some sweet Route 66 fabrics. So far I've got a box bag that is a great size for make-up or shaving kit, and wristlets. All the bags are fully lined with no exposed seams.

I've got tote bags and aprons in the works as well, and several other cute Route 66 fabrics, so stay tuned!

Route 66 Wine Glasses

Julie Yeager had these glasses made up for all the wine lovers traveling Route 66. Her profits benefit the American Heart Association. Perfect for your summer picnic on the deck!

$14 for large glass/$12 for small glass

Ironstone!

We've got some nice pieces in the shop today..including a few bowls, which are hard to find!

Jewelry from Button Town USA

 Pam Biesen stopped by and showed me all the great jewelry she has been creating lately. There are some amazing pieces in here! Pam upcycles all kinds of bits and bobs, and especially buttons, into the most amazing creations.

Several of the pieces I bought for the shop today have a Route 66 theme, like this bracelet. Teepees, Route 66 buttons, toy police cars, tiny diner dishes...so sweet! These will be up for sale at the shop.

Books By Local Authors

Homegrown & Handmade by Deborah Niemann   $22.95
Swygert by Jeffery Harold Utterback   $17.95 softcover, $27.95 hardcover
Route 66: A Photo Journal by Michael Campanelli  $45.00

Come on in and check them out. They make great  reading for yourself or as a gift for a friend.

Homegrown and Handmade Book Signing

Deborah Niemann, author of Homegrown and Handmade, will be signing books at Old City Hall Shoppes on Sunday, Dec. 18 from 1-3pm. Deborah moved her family from Chicago to Livingston County in 2002 to be able to raise their own organically grown food. Deborah has since become a sought-after speaker on the topic of sustainable living. This book would make a great Christmas gift for someone on your list!

Read more about Deborah at her website.

Santa's been here...

and he bought this doll's house. He says his name is Amanda, but I'm pretty sure it was really him!

Merry Christmas!

 

 We have many vintage items in the shop which can be used in your Christmas decorating! And some ideas to take home with you as well. This year we printed large letters on old book pages to spell out holiday wishes. The tree is one cut from a friend's woodlot, and we painted it white. Burlap adds some nice texture too...you can easily use it at home for a rustic tree skirt or ribbon on a wreath.

  I've seen book pages used as wall paper, but we just used a bit of tape to make a backdrop for the Christmas season. By using several different books, we got lots of shades of mellow whites.

Springs from an old crib or bed make a great way to display Christmas cards and photos.

 Lots of shades of white, and lots of little white lights! Put some little lights in your house plants too!

 Crib rails can be used for magazine racks, trellis, towel racks, or use clothes pins or office clips to display your holiday cards. Antique cribs make great display pieces, but they are not up to today's safety standards, so we find lots of ways to use those wonderful old metal pieces.

 Vintage bottles, mirrors, prisms, and frogs

 Book pages, skates

 Vintage lace and glassware. Pull out all the red and green, and cut glass pieces. 

They sparkle in the Christmas lights!

Pennants and Prisms...

 

 Rah, rah!

  

I don't know what these prisms were a part of, but I like them...one side is mirrored and they reflect the light so nicely! Heavy too. They'd make great paperweights.

Thunderbird....

Gee..our visitors drive the coolest vehicles. This one was sitting out front when I came back from the bank. It really would be a kick to travel Route 66 in this!

 Such a dashboard...love that speedometer.

Traveling the old road...

This weekend we've had lots of international travelers on Route 66.

 The rain finally stopped and we have blue skies!

Mary Wolf is now selling her handmade bracelets at Old City Hall Shoppes. She can make them in whatever colors you like. In the last few days I've sold them to visitors from Sweden, France and Japan! So fun to meet people from around the globe who love Route 66!