Spaghetti Sauce Jar

As many of you know..... I just recently received some labels and I am totally enjoying the fact that I can spice up any old jar or container and give it a whole new prim look. Well, would you believe that this jar once held spaghetti sauce? Yep, my husband thinks I am crazy for saving all of these jars, but who wouldn't find something neat to put inside the jars and then spice them up to give them a whole new look. I decided last night after making my dried potatoes that I wanted to put my potatoes in an old wooden bowl that I had so I took my rosehips, cinnamon sticks and dried oranges out of the bowl and placed them in this jar. That left my bowl free for the dried potatoes. *If you haven't checked out my previous post them be sure to do so because it shows my dried potatoes and I am of course so proud of the way that they turned out* Anyway, I placed my label on the jar with some hodge podge, put my potpourri mixture inside and then thought to myself..... now what in the world can I do with that lid. Well, I decided that I was going to definitely paint the lid black after sanding it a little bit, but as it was drying, I thought I would try something to see how it turned out. Well, I added cinnamon and nutmeg together and just before the black paint started to dry..... I sprinkled the lids with that spice mixture and this is what I came up with. OMG, I was so excited with the way that they turned out. They look old and rusty and I am loving the look. I also had some old homespun that I coffee/tea stained and then added an old rusty start to the homespun that I used to have on one of my old cranberry garlands. Good thing I kept those rusty stars because they came in handy and well I love the new and improved look to my jar. So, what are you all thinking? Don't you love it? Oh - I think I finally found the perfect item to place with my other antique items that I bought when I was visiting my Mom and Dad last weekend. I think these 3 items look great together!!

Dried Potatoes - A Perfectly Prim Decoration

I have seen in alot of magazines where primitive lovers are drying potatoes for decorations. Well, I decided that I would try my hand at it and I thought they turned out pretty neat. My original plans were going to put them in a jar with one of my prim labels, but then I found a wooden bowl and thought that they would look great in the bowl. They were very easy to make, but time consuming so if you plan on trying your hand at them then plan on being home all day long. Basically, I mixed up 1 cup of boiling water to 3 heaping tablespoons of instant coffee (instant is the key). Cube your potatoes into 1 inch pieces or larger if you would like. I did mine a bit larger since I heard that they shrink. You can also use sweet potatoes, but I used good old regular Idaho potatoes. Let them soak overnight in the coffee water and then mix cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg (equal amounts) into a bag and shake each potato in the spice mixture, place onto a cookie sheet and bake all day long on 200 degrees. I noticed that the smaller pieces did shrink a little bit, but the larger pieces didn't as much. I didn't cube all of mine because I wanted them all to have a different look. I also kept the skins on my potatoes and they turned out perfectly prim!! Check out my pictures below. I think the next time I make them, I will probably string some, but beware that they can be messy after they are done baking/drying in the oven.

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My Prim Home

We have had plenty of snow here in our little town in Ohio. Enough snow that we could sell it by the truckloads. We even have ice if you all would like any. Anyway, the schools have been out of session pretty much all week long which is nice because my husband gets to stay home since he is a teacher. He has been enjoying the time with us and we have been enjoying our time with him. I decided to post a picture of my home so you all could see all of the snow that we have. My DH has been out using the snow blower quite frequently and then of course he chips away at the ice too. I hear we are suppose to have more snow next week which is not what I wanted to hear at all, but I guess I have to roll with the punches. I guess I am just ready for spring time. I have lots and lots of perennial beds so I love being able to get out in my flower beds and work with my flowers. If you ever wanna check out some of my flowers then you can head on over to Lisa's Ohio Flowers and check some of my other pictures out. I definitely have some beautiful flowers if I do say so myself and I even decorate my flower beds with some cute primitive items. Oh, how I love prim things!! Oh, be sure to check out my shutters on the front of my home..... they are from Amish Country (imagine that - right?). I love how they have little stars cut out of them and they look great with my black prim star. Yep, I love it!!

Oh - ignore our Christmas decorations still being up. It has just been so cold to take them down, but the first chance we get when it warms up a little bit then we will definitely be heading out to take them down.

Labels, Organizing and Re-organizing

One thing I love about nap time for my 2 year old son is that I get to play around the house with all of my prim decorations. I am still working on a few things, but here is what I have. This probably isn't going to stay the same. I am probably going to end up moving my black cupboard next to the doll out of there and moving something else in, but I am not sure what yet. I have another idea for that black cupboard so it will definitely have a new home soon in another area of my home. The bucket is definitely going to stay and same with the doll, but I need to find me something else to take the place of that black cupboard. The bucket will probably have a label added to it that says KITCHEN NEEDFULS and my rolling pins and towels will stay as is. Let me know your thoughts. I don't know why I am having so much difficulty with this one.

You probably remember this Griswold Cast Iron Cornbread mold that I posted about. I love this antique and was thrilled when I found it for such a great deal. I thought this was a perfect place for it. It is in the perfect place here in my kitchen.

Here is my bench that I found at the antique mall. I decided to move things around and here I added some of my favorites.... Carrot Socks Bunny, a favorite picture with a very special saying and also my Noah's Ark.

Here you will see part of my Amish made cupboard that is in my kitchen. Please be sure to check out my jars with my labels that I received today from Susie @ Yankee Lane Primitives. Yep, I love her labels and I am sure you will too so be sure to check them out and get ordering.

Here is a close-up of my labels that I decided to use on my jars. Yep, I filled up my jars too with black beans, flour and pinto beans. Of course it is all for decoration, but don't you think they look great? It was so easy too and it gives it a great new prim look!! Yep, I am addicted to putting labels on everything (lol).

Here are just a few other labels that I received. I am going to have to search for more containers for my labels. Trust me..... you will love ordering from Susie. She is so sweet, her labels are great and you receive 16 of these labels for a very reasonable price.

Well, be sure to leave me a comment and let me know your thoughts. I love to hear them and if you have any suggestions on decorating or changing things around then be sure to leave that info to. Thank you!!

My Mom's Prim Home Decoration Slideshow

Here is my Mom & Dad's Home. I know that my Mom takes alot of pride in her home and decorating. I think it is tastefully decorated with all of her antiques and prims..... mostly prims, but I am sure you will love them. For the most part, they are all Amish made seeing as though she is only 20-25 minutes from Amish Country here in Ohio. She also has quite a few Dru Ann McCarty items...... bears and the radishes to mention a few. Well, I hope you enjoy your visit at my Mom's prim home. She was so excited I was going to post pictures of her home on my blog!!

~* UPDATE - If you click on the slideshow, it should enlarge the pictures for you!*~

Amish Country Findings

What a wonderful weekend!! There is nothing better then spending time with my parents. We packed up our car early Saturday morning and off to my parents we went. They live about 2 hours away, but it was worth the drive just seeing them. We got there and sat down to visit with my Dad a little bit and then we headed to Amish country for a day of shopping. We ate at my favorite restaurant..... Rebecca's and the lunch was just so tasty! I had a ham and swiss quiche with a side salad and her herb dressing (my favorite) and then we finished it off with a 7 layer carrot cake. Yep, it was very very good and my Mom treated us to the tasty lunch. Wasn't she so sweet!?! Well, after lunch we headed to the antique malls because that was the only place I wanted to go to. I pretty much found everything that I wanted and MORE. Yep, did you hear me? I said I found more . Here are a few pictures of the items that we brought home from Amish country.

This bench is something I just fell in love with when I first saw it. I just love how old it looks and trust me..... it looks great in my entry way!!

Here are some old rolling pins that I picked up. They look so cute in an old bucket that I bought.

I went to Amish Country with one of these in my mind and was thrilled when I found it. Haha, now I am just not sure where to put it. Isn't that funny!?!

I also went to the antique malls with this in mind..... I found 2 of them and one was $12.00 and the other was $36.00. Hmm, you wonder which one I picked. They both looked great and just alike so I am pretty happy that I found the cheaper one.

I was pretty happy about finding this as well, but once again..... I have it and I am not sure where to put it. I do that all the time and so does my Mom. I guess I inherited that from her (lol).

Here are my Mason Jars that I found and fell in love with. I ordered some labels from Susie @ Yankee Lane Primitives and they should arrive sometime this week. Once they arrive, I will be decorating them with the perfect label and filling them up with some goodies that will look perfect in my kitchen. Don't you just love the jars and the lids?

Be sure to stay tuned because I will be showing updated pictures of how I use all of my old antiques around our home. Oh - I will also be putting together a slide show of my Mom's home. My Mom is such a decorator when it comes to primitives. She has such great taste and well I guess you could say that I am quite proud of her and her home. It is beautiful and I love all of her decorations!! She could definitely be the next hot topic in Country Sampler. So, stay tuned!!

Cinnamon Creek Cabin

If you haven't checked out Cinnamon Creek Cabin and all of Dru Ann McCarty's handmade originals then you definitely need to. This is a little bear that I bid on during one of her evening shows. Isn't he just too cute? I am not really sure where to put him at this point, but hopefully he will have a home soon. Right now he is on one of my shelves, but I am thinking about totally re-decorating my cupboard in my kitchen and I think he would look too cute on there, but we will have to see. I will have to keep you posted on his new home.

Amish Country Here I Come.... With A List!!

I can hardly wait. I am going to visit my parents this weekend and I am looking forward to a day out with my Mom. Yep, I am off to Amish Country and I am taking a list. After seeing all of you wonderful ladies with these labels, it makes me wanna get some jars, tins or anything that a label would look great on. I have a couple old jars that I had around the house, but why not look for more. I also have a few other things that I want to look for as well so we will see what I can find. I will definitely have to show you and tell you everything that I saw and all the great deals that we found. There are 2 antique malls that we plan on going to so I can hardly wait to see what kind of old antique treasures I find. I keep telling my husband that I need more money and a bigger house for all of my prims and antiques and well he just laughs at me. I guess a woman could wish - right?

Well, I am off to the laundry room to do some laundry and hopefully I will have it all caught up by the time we leave for my Mom and Dad's. We will see. Here is some old prim clothes that I have hanging in my laundry room window. Aren't they just too cute!?!

Mason Jar Safe

I love making crafts and I love it even more when they turn out the way I had hoped. I saw this great idea on Linda's site @ Behind My Red Door. I thought it was a great idea and I decided to make some myself. Linda used rice in her jars, but I decided to use oats in mine. Basically, you take a plain old Mason Jar, a toilet paper roll, a hot glue gun and your choice of filler. Clean and dry your jar out, put hot glue on the rim of the toilet paper roll and place it on the bottom of the jar. Once that has had a chance to dry then you fill the outside of the jar with your filler. I used oats, but you can use beans, rice, pasta or anything you want to put in your jar. Once you are done then you can decorate your lid however you would like. I took some old homespun and made them a bit grubby along with my tags and then added the homespun to my lid along with my tag. Below are some pictures that I included for you. The first picture is of the tags before I made them grubby.

This picture was taken after the tags were sitting in the grubby mixture

Here is what you can use the jar for. It is a great place for hiding money!!

Here is one finished jar.

Here is the other finished jar.

This label sat in the grubby mixture for 5 minutes. The mixture is basically 2 cups of hot water, 1/4 cup of instant coffee, 3 tea bags and a small amount of cinnamon. You basically mix the ingredients above, let the tea bags set for awhile and then take them out. Stir to mix up well and then soak your tags for approx 5-10 minutes. I went 5 minutes on my tags. Place the tags in a single layer on a paper plate that is lined with paper towels and microwave for approx 40 seconds. You want to go intervals of 40 seconds so they don't burn. VOILA - they are done and ready to use. Before microwaving them you need to sprinke with a bit of cinnamon. I myself seem to like the ones without the cinnamon, but you can pick because there are pictures of both. Once they are totally dry then you can stamp your label or hand write on them. Pretty simple if you ask me. The only drawback of working with this mixture is that your fingers smell like coffee for a little while and with me not being a coffee drinker.... well, it is just not the scent that I want to smell over and over (lol).

Crock Bowls - Family Treasures

We went over to visit my in-laws today and we had quite an enjoyable time. With the weather not being so great we have been staying in and not going out in the frigid temperatures. Anyway, my MIL fixed homemade vegetable soup and it was perfect for a cold day. She wanted to take some soup over to her parents and we thought we would tag along and go visit them. Cameron was pretty excited to see them as well. We had been there for awhile and my MIL knows me quite well so she decided to show me some of her Mom's antiques. Well, she decided to show me some old crocks, crock bowls, old trunks and her china. Well, her Mom has always told her and all of the grandchildren that if they see anything that they want then to put there name down on the piece of paper and write down what they want. Once they pass away then everything that is on the paper will be given to that individual person. Well, my MIL found the paper and wrote down my hubby's name next to the crock bowls for me as well as an old antique clock. I don't have any pictures of these particular crock bowls, but I can tell you that one is blue (a bit darker then the one pictured) and one is a mustard color and they are absolutely beautiful. I am so excited that she said that I could have them and it means so much that they were willing to let me have them. I am such a sentimental person and when I get items that are antiques from my family. . . well, they just mean the world to me. I treasure them!!

I attached a picture of what the bowls "kinda" look like, but these bowls that I will be receiving are much more prettier then this one. Oh, these bowls have so much detail on them and they really truly are beautiful. Just had to share my day with all of you.

An Old Window = A Great Picture Frame

Another great find at an antique mall in Amish country. Are you getting tired of hearing about Amish country yet or seeing all of my great finds? Well, I bought this old window for $5.00 and it still has the glass in it too. I decided to keep the prim look, but use it as a place for all of my pictures of my little miracle baby Cameron. So, I took some construction paper.....yep, it was the same color of my walls and added the pictures and then into the window they went. I thought it turned out pretty cute. I know that some people just decorate their windows with some rusty star garland or some greenery, but I thought it was a neat idea to use it for some of my many pictures that I have of my son. He is a very special little boy. After years and years of trying, a loss of a child in 2004 and years of infertility treatments, we conceived Cameron through IVF. He is the light of my life and my whole world. I indeed wouldn't know what to do without him. You can check out my other blog which is totally dedicated to living my life with my husband and our sweet little 2 year old boy.

The blog address is http://lifewithinfertility-lisa.blogspot.com

Just a Few Primitive Pictures

I have tons of little pictures here and there and everywhere in my home. If I find a saying that I like then I simply have a friend stitch it up for me and frame it. The first picture is one that I saw in a cute little shop close to where my Mom & Dad live. This shop is called Sara's Herbs & Everlasting and she has so many cute things. Not only is her shop full of cute prims, but it is also full of dried flowers and lots of cute things that she has made herself. The last two pictures are ones that I had made personally. I loved the sayings and had a friend make them for me. I thought they turned out so cute. I have them in my family room and they look cute next to all of my other prims. Hmmm, what other sayings could I add to my collection?

Antiques & Decorating

One of the many things I love about Amish Country is all of the Antique Malls that I have to go through. My Mom and I normally go out to lunch and then we walk on over to an antique mall that is just on the other side of the parking lot. We pass by Amish buggy after Amish buggy, look at all of the antiques out on the front porch area and then cruise the isles just to find those perfect antiques that you feel like you can't live without. Well, awhile back I decided that I wanted to get an old ladder for my kitchen. I had looked through numerous magazines and saw where they hung the ladder from their ceiling and decorated it neatly with berries. Well, I did just that, but I took it a step further and decided to add a few additional antiques to it. I found some GREAT looking antique kitchen utensils and thought they would look wonderful hanging from an "S" hook. So, I purchased a few "S" hooks and made my way home. Once at home I decorated my ladder with some red berries, hung up my utensils and added a few extras here and there. So, here are my utensils that I felt like I couldn't live without and of course there is a picture of my ladder. It adds such warmth to my kitchen and I love this focal point.

Gotta love that grungy look

It has been awhile since I have been to Amish Country, but one thing that I got there last time was my recipe book holder. I just love it!! It isn't a great picture of it, but it kinda gives you an idea. I wish it was bigger and wider because I have so many more cookbooks then just these that are shown. The little drawer below is perfect for any loose recipe cards and any recipes that you might cut out of a magazine and not have a chance to right down yet. Anyway, I love the look.

This little guy was made by a friend of my Mom's. I just love him. She made him and created the grungy tag which I now have a recipe for..... would you really call it a recipe since you can't eat the tag (lol). Anyway, I found the recipe on the internet and I think I am going to try to make a couple grungy tags this weekend to attach to some mason jars that are full of my Grandpa's old marbles and my Grandma's old buttons. I thought a grungy tag would look cute tied around the lids. I have the jars currently displayed on one of my shelves.

This cute little elephant was made by the same gal that I had mentioned up above. She is indeed so talented and I personally think she should start up a business of her own. She makes all sorts of cute primitive animals, dolls and she also does alot of stitching. I can't even recall how many things I have had her stitch for me. I take a favorite saying and have her stitch it for me and then she roughs up a new picture frame to make it look old and sprays that grungy spray on it to make it look old and VOILA....... it is complete. Her husband is equally talented.... he is really handy when it comes to wood-working. He has made some beautiful shelves for me, stands and well the cupboards are beautiful.

Antiques

I am not sure about you, but I love going through the antique shops in Amish Country. I am always looking for something old, something real old that I could use for decorating. Awhile back when I went to Amish Country with my Mom we went through a couple antique shops and looked through all of the goodies. I bought quite a few old antique kitchen utensils and hung them from my ladder which is hanging from my ceiling in my kitchen. I also bought a few other things to display on my cupboard in my kitchen. I love my Amish made cupboard that my Mom purchased for me at Country Gatherings.... I decided to go with the black cupboard because I just loved the way it looked. You could probably click on the picture to get a better look at some of my antiques.....I have an old crock on the top of my cupboard along with an antique pulley and then I have a kraut cutter and a cheese grater just to mention a few. I love the way they look with my some of my other primitives.

My mother in-law gave me this old antique trunk. I have it at the end of our bed and I just love the way that it looks. Both handles are gone off the side and as you can see there is a bit of the front that was torn off when it was given to me, but other then that I just love the way it looks and was so happy when she decided to give it to me. Don't you love it? I love old trunks like this, but then again I love old stuff!! Just think of all the history behind this trunk.

I remember when I was younger and I use to go visit my grandparents. They had a walk up attic that I truly loved exploring. They had a couple closets that I would go through every single time that I would go visit. I knew that there wouldn't be anything new in there, but just the thought of going through it and looking at all of the Old Zane Grey books, Roseville Pottery, old photo albums and records was just something I truly enjoyed. Both of my grandparents have passed away and of course all of the old antiques went to my Mom. I am hoping that someday they will be passed along to me and then I can proudly display some of them..... if not all of them.