Primitives from Above

Surprise ~ Long Time, No Blog!

2011-12-07T20:34:00.001-05:00

Can you believe that I am blogging?!? For the first time in several months, I thought that I would take a moment and update you on what is happening in my life. First and foremost, I want to say “Thank You” to all of you that have emailed me questions and told me that you have missed my blogging. I personally miss blogging as well, but with me being a working Mom… it leaves me very little time to spend blogging. I am still working for the cardiologist office and enjoy it for the most part. Things are especially difficult right now because Cameron has been real sick. We took him to the ER on Monday for difficulty breathing and they diagnosed him with asthma. My poor little man must get that from his Momma. Anyway, he is doing a little better tonight and is due to go see the allergist/pulmonary doctor on Monday. He is also scheduled to have tubes put back into his ears on Jan 10th and also have his adenoids taken out. So, as you can see, I have my hands full.

It has been especially hard to see him having such a hard time breathing. I know what it is like and it is down right scary. He is now on his 5th round of antibiotics, 2nd round of steroids and round the clock breathing treatments/inhaler treatments. So, you can imagine how miserable he has been and how tired we all are. If you could just keep him in your daily prayers that would be so appreciated.

On the flip side…. I thought I would share some recent pictures that I took of some primitive goodies. As you noticed, I did change my header of my blog. That beautiful crock bowl was left to me by Shawn’s grandparents. They both passed away not too long ago, and his grandma made sure that she put my name on it. Isn’t it gorgeous?!

I was also left this old clock. I loved it when I saw it in their family room and I instantly thought to myself that it must hold a story. Oh and did it ever hold a story. It came from Harpers Ferry, WV. I was told by Shawn’s grandma that it came over in an old covered wagon. Pretty neat – huh?

Here are a few other pictures. This is my favorite winter decoration this year. I bought this at Sara’s Herbs and Everlasting. This snowman caught my eye immediately. I walked in the front door and fell in love with him. Just look at that face!!

What do you think? Pretty stinkin’ cute – huh? I just loved him and his place where he stands is right on my kitchen table. That way he will bring a smile to my face every day.

Here is a new light that I picked up at Sara’s as well. I am thinking of either putting it in my laundry room or my half bath. I will have to keep you posted on that.

Here are a few other random pictures that I thought I would share with you. This first one is a picture of my front door. I didn’t have any ribbon, so I thought I would use dried oranges. It added a little something, but it wasn’t too much. I thought it was a pretty good idea for not having any ribbon or homespun laying around (lol).

Here is our Christmas tree this year.

And here are some random pictures of my little man, in happier/healthier days. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do. Blessings to all of you as the holidays approach. It really truly has been nice blogging again. I have really missed this.

Love, Prayers & Many Blessings to each and every one of you!!

Hot & Humid

2011-06-06T21:52:00.001-04:00

I didn’t realize it had been such a long time since my last post until my Mom told me. Where does the time go?!? It especially goes by fast anymore and I just can’t stand it. I guess maybe it is because I feel like we never had spring. Oh trust me…. I am not complaining about the sunshine, but the cool weather was never here. It was COLD and then HOT. We had tons of rain and now we have the beautiful sun, but is it ever warm.

I haven’t done much with my home since I have been working. I guess I never have the time nor the energy by the time I get home. I would like to do a garage sale soon, but I am not sure when I will ever have the time to get ready for it. So…… I guess we will see if that ever happens (lol). I just have so much stuff to sell and so little time to get it out and get it ready. I have however been working in my flowerbeds. I have been staying busy with weeding and planting a few flowers here and there. Here are a few pics for your viewing. I purchased this window with window box a couple years back. I thought it would look great hanging on the back of the house and this is what it looks like.

Here are some pictures of my painted daisies….. I just love these!!

Here is a picture of my clematis. I have several, but this one was especially pretty this year.

Weren’t they pretty? I just love how it wrapped around my birdhouse this year. Very pretty. As for things done inside my home….. I did FINALLY hang my tobacco basket. I also decided to hang a few other items on the same wall. Here is the picture of my tobacco basket on the wall.

I will leave you with this today….. a great picture of none other then my most precious gift ever!! Yep, if you guessed a picture of Cameron then you were right. He is now done with school and enjoying a summer with Daddy. Talk about breaking Mommy’s heart….. I remember last summer we were playing together and now Mommy is at work and Daddy is home. Oh bother……

Blessings to you all…….

Tobacco Baskets

2011-04-27T20:21:00.001-04:00

Last weekend my hubby took my Mom and I to The Simple Goods Show. It is the second time we have been there and had a great time. I came across several items that caught my eye, but this was on item that really peaked my interest. I actually fell in love with it when I first saw it, but wasn’t really sure where I would put it. I though that I could take something off my wall and then hang the tobacco basket up or just find a new spot. Well, I have three particular spots in the running for this wonderful tobacco basket, but still have yet to make up my mind. Do you ever find yourself buying things and then trying to finding a spot for it. Yep, it must be a “prim” thing (lol). Anyway, I thought I would share some pictures of my tobacco basket and a little history about them.

Some baskets “might” be antiques, but believe it or not some were used all the way up to 1980. These basket were used to display tobacco taken to market. The leaves are normally picked by hand, starting at the bottom of the stalk. In the old days, the leaves were then carried to the tobacco barn where they were hand-tied onto sticks about 3 feet long. The sticks were then placed in tiers in the tobacco barn. A fire was lit and the leaves were cured to a rich golden color in the barn. When the sticks were removed from the barn, the leaves were then sorted by size and original location on the stalk of tobacco. Tips are from the top of the plant; cutters, about half as long as your arm, are from the center of the stalk; lugs are from the bottom. There are 216 different grades of tobacco. After sorting and grading, the leaves were tied into "hands." A hand of tobacco weighed about 1 pound if made of tips or lugs and about 2 - 3 pounds if made from cutters. A hand of tobacco is a group of leaves tied together at the stem end. The end is wrapped in another cured leaf. The hands were then laid in the tobacco basket in a circle with the stem ends pointing to the outside. The baskets were then loaded and taken to the tobacco warehouse where they were sold at auction. At the warehouse, the baskets would be stacked about two high to reach a pile weight of 250 pounds of flue-cured tobacco. The baskets were made from hand-rived oak, primarily in Yadkin County, NC. The oak strips are nailed together. The open spaces in the center of each side are to allow room for a hook to be attached. The hook was used to pull the baskets onto the scales and to load the baskets into trucks after the sale. The baskets were owned by the warehouse or the Board of Trade, a consortium of tobacco companies. The company name was stenciled onto the edge of the basket. Baskets are no longer used in the warehouses of the south. They have been replaced by burlap sheets. Baskets are still used in the markets in Maryland. You are now more likely to encounter a tobacco basket in an antique store or see one hung on chimney as a decorative device. Some baskets are hung on walls inside homes and used to display memorabilia or flower arrangements or other decorative items.

So, are you ready to see some close up pictures of my tobacco basket?

I absolutely LOVED the red and blue on the end of the basket. I thought it would match my colors in my family room perfectly. The basket isn’t perfect by any means, but that is what makes it unique. Don’t ya think?

Wouldn’t you love to know the history behind this basket? You wonder where it has been and who carried it? I always think about things so in depth sometimes. I guess my mind is always wandering and that makes it hard to shut it down (lol).

I pulled these pics off the Valley Voice website. Aren’t they so neat all piled up? Gotta love all the different colors!

You wonder why the different colors? Guess that leaves more time for my mind to keep thinking (lol). If I find out or you know then leave me a note. I would love to hear from you. Well, I hope you all enjoyed the pictures. I leave you with one last picture of my tobacco leaves.

Do you have an old tobacco basket? If you do then you should share some pictures. I would love to see it.

As for endorsing tobacco products…. I am not a smoker, never have been a smoker and never will be a smoker. Oh and I will never be a chewer either. Eww, yuck!! I guess you could just say that I enjoy the history behind it and decorating with it.

Until Next Time ~ Blessings, Lisa

The Simple Goods Show

2011-04-24T20:53:00.001-04:00

My Mom and I went to The Simple Goods Show yesterday and we had a great time. We were hoping the rain would hold off and luckily it did. I can’t even remember the last time the sun was out. Geesh, I was beginning to think we would need to take a boat to the show. Hmmm, maybe I would have had more room for goodies in a boat (lol). Anyway, it was a fun time and my sweet hubby was such a sport carrying all of our purchases out to the car. I love you honey!!

Anyway, here is the back end of my CRV. As you can see it is packed and there wasn’t much room for anything else.

I have alot to share with you, but I wanted to first of all let you know that I met some great gals. I met Angie Sutter from Love The Prim Look and Lesa Cook from Brier Creek Primitives. I have had the great opportunity to get to know these gals mostly through Facebook and they are so sweet. Not only are they sweet, but they put on a GREAT show at Simple Goods. Here are some pics that I had taken with them. Here is Lesa Cook and myself…..

Here is Angie Sutter and myself……

Here are some of my show purchases. I bought this from Lesa. Don’t you just love it? It is a hanging pie safe. I absolutely love the blue!!

I also purchased these items……

So, what do you think? I absolutely fell in love with my tobacco basket. I will share more pictures of that in a couple days, but wanted to share all pics with you now. It definitely was a fun time and we actually were able to get in and look freely without running into people. The crowds were down from the fall show, but I am sure it had alot to due with it being Easter weekend. I did see Kris Thomas from Simply Prim, her hubby and her daughter Kory. Talk about a sweetheart. Her daughter was just a gem of a girl. I also saw Vickie from North Shore Primitives and her friend and co-worker Becky. It is always nice seeing those gals too. Aren’t we so blessed to have such wonderful prim girlfriends!?! Gotta love each and every one of them.

Well, that is all I have to share with you today. I hope that you all had a very blessed and Happy Easter. I leave you today with this pic of my little man.

Much Love & Prayers!! ~ Lisa

Country Hearth Primitives

2011-04-17T20:14:00.001-04:00

Do you ever search craigslist and come across some neat items? Well, I came across a neat store just by searching craigslist. This place is located in Grove City, Ohio and it is called Country Hearth Primitives. They sell a mixture of antiques, primitives and a few other items as well. Of course the antiques and primitives are right up my alley. I took my Mom there a couple weeks ago and we loved it. I found so many goodies and by the time we left there, we felt like we were eating the dash board because we didn’t have much room left in the car for us (lol). Here are some of the items that I came home with.

I absolutely loved the bowls. They looked so old and look perfect in my kitchen. I also found these…… She said that they were old spinning wheels and I thought they were very unusual and very neat.

I absolutely fell in love with this big huge barrel as soon as I walked up to the front door. Isn’t it great? I ended up putting it on my front porch. I have so been wanting a large barrel for awhile and when I came across it…..well, it was easy for me to decide on it.

I then found this and had to get it. I thought it would be perfect in my bedroom or my family room. I just loved the picture when I came across it.

I bought this to hang on my fence……

AND this was probably my best purchase of the day. A very old bed which she called a “hired help” bed. I did some research on this bed and found one just like it for sale online and that particular one said that it from the late 1800’s. I thought it would be great in my flowerbed. The neat thing about this bed is that it folds up. It is very neat!! Are you ready to see it? Yep, I was crazy over it when I first saw it. Here are some pics…..

Very neat – don’t ya think? Well, I hope that you enjoyed my new finds and most of all the goodies that you can find at this wonderful and very unique store.

Have a great week everyone.

~ American Pickers ~

2011-04-02T15:00:00.001-04:00

Awhile back my hubby took me to this place in Springfield that had tons of old barn wood, old windows, doors and the list goes on. Well, awhile back I decided to head back over there and look around while my Mom was with me. I forget the name of the place, but they said that they were in the process of changing the name again. Anyway, it so reminds me of a smaller version of American Pickers. If you are looking for some old stuff for your home then you are definitely in luck. Let’s take a look. Here is a picture of the front of the building. The front of this place is normally loaded with anything and everything wood. Looking for something made out of wood then you will find it here.

Did you see all the old windows and doors? What about all that barn wood and did you see all of the old chicken coups piled on top of one another? I just couldn’t believe how much more stuff they had behind the store. Tons and Tons of stuff!! Here are a few pics that I took while inside. Just imagine some of these old doors inside an old farmhouse. Yep, I just need the money and the house and I think I could get started with refurbishing one – how about you?!?

There were tons of these. The gentleman that helped us said that he got them out of an old theatre and that someone had already purchased each and everyone of them for $40.00 each. I thought they were neat, but I would have no idea what I would do with one (lol).

Here are a few more pics of a close up of the porch area.

I ended up leaving with an old barn door, some old glass jug jars that I bought for $1.00 each, a Clabber Girl tin, 2 old lanterns and a rusty old can. My hubby asked me what I was going to do with an old rusty can, but I couldn’t really answer him. I think I will work on that as the weather gets warmer so be watching for more posts. Here are the pics of my new items.

Gotta love old and rusty things!! For all of those items…… I only ended up spending $13.92. Pretty good deals don’t ya think?

Well, I better go for now. Keep checking back frequently because I just recently checked out a new shop and can’t wait to show you my new purchases. Blessings to you all.

Hugs, Lisa

Is Spring Around The Corner?

2011-03-13T23:03:00.001-04:00

I am not sure about you, but I am definitely ready for spring. I went this weekend to take pictures at North Shore Primitives for her Spring Open House. If you aren’t ready for spring then head on over there because it really gets you in the mood. I didn’t need much help at all, but after going through Vickie’s shop and taking pictures for her site….. well, it made me even more anxious. Her shop was loaded with flowers ad greenery for any type of arrangement. She had some beautiful wreaths, lots of bunnies and she even had some new pieces of furniture which were amazing. I left there thinking once again that I needed a larger home and more money (lol). Here are a few pictures from her shop, but for the full effect…..head on over to North Shore Primitives.

Did you see the fake fern that I posted? Well, I just loved it when I saw it in the store and ended up buying some of it. Here is what I did with some of it.

What do you think of my old wooden crate that I had posted in my previous post? I thought it looked great in front of my couch. With the crock, the fern and the towel…… I thought it looked prim perfect!! Speaking of prim perfect. I made a few other purchases while I was at North Shore Primitives. I bought a couple candles and a few candle holders. I saw those as soon as I walked in the front door and loved them. Here is my favorite……

Here is the other one……

Here are a few other pictures that I took. I changed my family room around so hopefully I will have some pictures coming soon.

Well, it is getting late and with this time change…… if I don’t get to bed soon then I won’t be able to function tomorrow. Hope you all have a blessed week.

Until Next Time ~ Blessings, Lisa

New Antique Additions

2011-03-06T20:47:00.001-05:00

Went to the Logan Antique Store over the weekend while I was visiting my sister. Anymore I just love shopping in the antique malls. You never know what kind of treasures you will find. I often wonder where it came from, how old it is and then I wonder what the story is behind it. Are you like that too? Seeing as though I am working now, I don’t have the opportunity to go out shopping that much. I use to frequent the thrift stores, the primitive shops and the antique malls, but not so much anymore. I guess I find myself spending all my time with my boys. Anyway, I went around that antique mall several times. They probably thought I was going to rob the joint, but I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss a thing. Gotta love it when tax return money comes back (hahaha). So, are you anxious to see what I found? Here is my first item that I grabbed up. Ok, well actually my hubby carried it for me, but I am sure you get the point. It was all mine as soon as I found it (lol).

Not sure how old it is, but I just loved it. It looked pretty old and there was some old looking writing on it in red paint. Oh and the chew marks on the side were an added touch (lol). Here is what it looks like with the lid open. Don’t you just love it?

I have decided that it would be perfect in front of my couch. I will show you pictures of it once I get it decorated, but I thought it would be perfect as a coffee table. More pics of that coming soon so be watching.

Are you ready for my next purchase? I have been looking for one of these for a long while. Have never come across one of these until Saturday. I was actually pretty lucky that I even found it because it was hanging on a hook behind a whole bunch of other stuff. When I picked it up, my Mom looked at me with such jealousy (lol). Yep, she was just waiting for me to put it down so she could snatch it up. Eat your heart out Mom (hahahaha). Here are a few pictures……

Do you know what it is? Any guesses?!? Well, if you guessed an old primitive candle maker then you were correct. That is exactly what it is. Here are some close up pics of this prim beauty.

Pretty neat – don’t ya think? Here is where it sits. I am not sure that it will stay there, but at least you can see where I placed it for now.

Do you remember this scale that I purchased from my Mom’s friend?

I finally was able to get my hubby to hang it for me. Here is where it ended up.

Here is a picture of what all surrounds it. I was debating on putting it there or more into my kitchen and thought it looked best here. You should’ve seen me…… I kept having my poor hubby hold it here, there and everywhere. He was such a good sport (lol). Anyway, I thought it looked best right by my bowl rack. Let me know what you think. I would love to hear from you.

I will try to get a better picture soon. So keep an eye out for those. Oh, one last thing….. do you recall my last post about that old antique chair that came from my Dad’s side of the family? Here is a picture of it stripped down to the bare wood.

It was in pretty bad shape look wise, but very sturdy which was nice. I ended up staining it a dark walnut and was really pleased with the way it turned out. Let’s take a look ~ shall we? I thought it turned out beautifully. Yep, I am in love with this chair!!

Isn’t it gorgeous? Don’t you think it turned out beautifully? I am definitely pleased with how it turned out.

I will leave you with a couple pictures of my pride & joy. Yep, you guessed it right….. here are some recent pictures of Cameron. He is feeling much better which makes me so happy. If we can now make it to spring then we will have it all made. Enjoy these beautiful smiles!!

Well, I better wind it up for tonight. I sure do hope you all are staying healthy and warm. Have a wonderful week and be blessed.

Until Next Time ~ Blessings Always!

♥ ~ ♥ ~ ♥ Lisa ♥ ~ ♥ ~ ♥

Long Time No Blog

2011-02-20T16:21:00.001-05:00

I knew it had been awhile since I had been on my blog. I didn’t realize that it had been since January 23rd. Wow ~ you all probably thought that I forgot about it. Well, to be honest, I have not forgot about all of you, but I have been busy. It has been a rough winter for us. I have been busy and since this is the first time Cameron has ever been in pre-school/daycare he has been sick non-stop all winter long. He starts getting better and then for some reason or another he gets sick again. It has definitely been a challenge to say the least.

Some good news to share with all of you is that my follow-up ultrasound that was done on my right ovary turned up nothing. I was so relieved and gave all the glory to God for those results. I also had a follow-up appt. on the spot that they found on my lung and my pulmonary doctor said that she is 99.9% sure that it is a benign nodule that the majority of Ohioans have on their lungs. She said that there is something in our dirt here in Ohio that creates these nodules on our lungs. Since I don’t smoke, never have smoked and don’t ever plan on smoking with no history of lung cancer…..she said that they will just continue to monitor it and watch it for awhile. So, I was relieved over those results as well. God is good!!

So, do you remember my previous post? My sister gave me this cupboard and she wanted me to re-finish it. I was happy to re-finish it for her and these are the results.

BEFORE

AFTER

Big improvement ~ don’t ya think? I thought it looked so much better.

I also wanted to take a moment to share a few other things with you. I just recently purchased an old scale from my Mom’s friend Sara. If you haven’t checked out Sara’s Herbs & Everlasting then be sure to do so. She has changed her shop up a little bit and is now selling lots of antiques. She has plenty of great goodies. Here is my scale that I purchased from her.

Here is a close-up…..

Gotta love the rust!! I know that when she posted the scale on her site….. I quickly sent her an e-mail and told her that I wanted it. Now I just need to find a stud to put it in. I will be sure to post pics of it after I have found the perfect spot. Stay Tuned!!

My last item that I wanted to share with you was this beautiful chair. It came from my Dad’s side of the family. It was found in an old barn many many years back. It was in awful shape, but my Dad kept it and stripped the varnish off of it. I plan on re-finishing it by staining it with Dark Walnut stain and then displaying it in my bedroom. Don’t you love it? I just think it is so pretty and the detail on the chair is just prim perfect. Let’s take a look ~ shall we?

It was in pretty bad shape and you can see where there was some water damage, but I think once I stain it then it will be as good as new. Wow ~ just look at that detail.

Well, stay tuned for the make-over on that beauty. I am sure it will be amazing!! Hope you all have a blessed week. Until Next Time….. Lisa

Another Makeover in the Making

2011-01-23T20:36:00.001-05:00

Things have been crazy around here. January has definitely been an interesting month for us. I was in the ER for discomfort in my chest and found out it was anxiety and then I was in the ER for kidney stones which was not pleasant at all, Cameron had the flu bug, bronchitis, and then got the flu bug again this weekend and my hubby has had nothing but problems with his sinuses. It has been quite interesting to say the least. I will be happy when January is over and hopefully February will be a much healthier month for us. I did hear from my pulmonary doctor about that spot that they found on my lung. She states that it is a nodule that they need to keep an eye on. I don’t smoke, never have smoked and I am young so hopefully that is a bonus for me regarding that spot. They want to repeat the scan and just keep an eye on things and make sure it doesn’t get bigger. Lately…… it seems like it is always something, but I definitely have to stay positive and can’t let anything get me down. At least not yet (lol).

Other then dealing with health issues, work has been keeping me busy. I absolutely can’t tell you enough how much I enjoy my job and the people I work with. It is amazing how much I love going into work. It has been a blessing to say the least. I have very little free time, but I manage to sneak in a little bit of crafting time here and there. Here is my latest project.

My sister bought this little cupboard at the thrift store for $6.29. She asked if I could re-finish it for her and I said “absolutely”. I thought it had great potential and the inside already looked decent, but the outside definitely needed a paint job. So, this is what I am currently working on. On my next post…… I will be sure to post the after pictures. Just trust me ~ the transformation will be amazing.

Until Next Time ~ Blessings, Lisa

First Makeover for the New Year & A Trip to the Emergency Room

2011-01-01T21:32:00.001-05:00

Hope you all enjoyed 2010 and are ready for 2011 because it is here. Happy New Year blogger friends!!!!! I must admit that 2010 went out with a bang. I ended up in the emergency room with some chest pain/discomfort and it was pretty scary to say the least. I was in the midst of working, experienced a sharp pain in my chest, followed by sweating and a cold sensation and a slight pain in my back. I had my blood pressure checked and it was just fine, but my pulse was too high. I contacted my doctor and he said to go to the ER. Good thing I work at a hospital because they got me right in, did a whole bunch of tests and tried their best to get some blood. Not only do my veins like to hide, but when someone finds them, they hide. So, after many attempts to get blood…… they were finally able to get some. Luckily, my test results came back ok. I was to follow-up with a stress test which I did in between working (gotta love working at a cardiologist office) and was blessed enough to have the results before this long weekend. Everything came back ok and I was informed that it was probably stress and anxiety. I didn’t really think that could be it, but when I was told that being away from Cameron for the first time in a long time, being back in the working world and having a hard time being away from my normal surroundings could have an effect on it……well, then I realized that it could be anxiety. So, they prescribed some anxiety medicine for me and after being on it for just a couple days….. I am feeling much better.

I did tackle a few projects today. I thought you might be interested in seeing them. Yep, my first project was to paint my Mom’s stovetop cover. So, I applied the black paint, sanded and stained it.

Do you all remember this ugly little antique chair that I picked up at a second hand store? Well, it was $4.99 and I thought it had great potential. I had to do a little repairing on it and a bit of sanding and then I applied the paint. Wow, what for this transformation……. it is absolutely amazing!!

BEFORE

Do you see that little crack on the back of the chair? Well, I sanded it down and then applied some wood filler to it, sanded it again and gave it a new coat of paint. Here are a few other pictures.

AFTER

So, what do you think of my very first AMAZING makeover for 2011? Didn’t it turn out great? I am definitely pleased with it. I knew it had perfect prim potential…… it just needed a little TLC.

Well, I better sign off for now. Until Next Time ~ Blessings to all for 2011.

~Lisa

Christmas Has Come & Gone

2010-12-26T16:10:00.001-05:00

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas. We had an enjoyable one and I was just happy to have an extra day off of work to spend with my family. I feel like I never get enough time anymore, but I definitely took advantage of that time and spent it wisely. We spent the day with my parents on Christmas Eve. My sister and her family came for a visit and we enjoyed a wonderful dinner and opened our gifts. My parents bought me a new set of cookware. It is the Paula Deen cookware and I absolutely love it. Here are a few pictures of it after I took it out of the box. There are quite a few pieces and I got some great bonus pieces as well. I love it.

Our time of gathering was cut short after Dad started experiencing some facial droop, numbness in his face and a few other issues. We took him to the ER to be safe due to past heart issues and were told it was Bells Palsy. Talk about an interesting evening sitting in the ER and listening to all the drama. Ughhhh. Here are a few other pictures that were taken with my family.

We celebrated Christmas with just the three of us on Christmas morning, but headed towards my in-laws in the early afternoon. There is where I was given a stovetop cover that my father in-law made for me. I absolutely love it. He found the old red barn wood at an antique shop close to him. He put it together and that was it. He didn’t have to do anything and either did I. Talk about a great gift and I love how it looks so old. Take a look.

My father in-law did say that he would be willing to make one for anyone that is interested. Just let me know.

Alot of you have asked how work is going…… it is going wonderfully. I enjoy it a great bit and have wonderful girls that I work with. It is very rewarding, but I continue to miss Cameron a great deal. I come home from work and he rarely wants to sit with me and rarely wants to do anything with me. So, to say the least….. it is very hard on Mommy, but no one would understand that unless they were in the same shoes at one time. I hope that within time he will not be so upset that I have to leave him and things will smooth out. With all of that being said…. here are some pictures of him during Christmas morning.

Can you tell it was a Toy Story Christmas here in our house?

Hope you all had a great Christmas and I wish you all a Happy, Healthy & Blessed New Year!!

Speaking of healthy……yes, just in case you wondered, Cameron does have pink eye yet again. That happened during Christmas as well. It is always interesting and there is always something happening during the weekend or the holiday when nothing is open.

Until Next Time ~ Blessings, Lisa

Where does the time go?

2010-12-08T18:31:00.001-05:00

Time seems like it flies by anymore. My new job is going well and I really do enjoy it, but must admit that I miss being at home with my little boy. Talk about heartache…. I find myself thinking about him at certain times during the day. I think to myself that I would be picking him up from pre-school at this time, hearing all about his day at this time, enjoying lunch with him and maybe even possibly taking a nap (lol). Wow, what I wouldn’t give for a good nap right now and more time during the day. Don’t get me wrong….. I love my job and I work with some great girls, but I sure do miss being at home and being that stay at home Mom. I flip through my favorite magazine A Primitive Place during lunch time and think about what I could be doing with my house, look at my pictures on my cell phone and think about when I took that certain picture with my little man and my heart just aches. Did I really think it was going to be that difficult? Sure I did, but I guess I just thought that maybe I would be getting use to things. It is only day 3 of my 2nd week so maybe it will take more time. It will certainly take more time to mend my broken heart, but I pray every single day that it will get easier for me. Cameron on the other hand is doing great. He is preparing for his Christmas play and it sounds like he will be singing We Wish You A Merry Christmas and Jingle Bells or at least that is what he has been singing so I think that will definitely be on the list. I myself can hardly wait and will be in the front row with my camera and extra batteries in hand. Yep, I am one proud Mommy!!

Did I mention to you all that I received yet another award? This award is from The Guide to Art Schools and my blog was rated as one of the Top 50 Antique Blogs. Pretty neat ~huh? If you go to Guide to Art Schools then you will see that I am rated # 38. So, thank you very much for all that voted for me and for my blog. It means alot!!

I know alot of you have sent me e-mails lately and if I haven’t responded in a quick manner then I apologize. Things have been hectic and I am sure you understand, but I get so frustrated that I can’t get back to everyone as fast as what I would like. Anyway, be watching your mailboxes and hopefully I can respond back to everyone by this weekend. So, have you been anxious to see what I am working on or what I have found lately? Well, I recently finished up my last order for this year. Effective immediately I will not be taking anymore orders until the New Year. Here is my latest…..

A customer and sweet friend was looking for a game-board for her sister. She stated that her sister loved George and Abe so I thought of this and put them both together to make one great game-board. Oh and wait til you see my latest and greatest find. I picked this up at a 2nd hand store and though it had great potential of course after a great paint job (lol). Here it is and can you believe I only paid $4.99 for it?

Yep, with some black paint and a little repairing on the ladder back part of the chair…. it will be as good as new and perfect for one of my prim dolls. So, do you think it is a keeper? I sure do think so. Well, I better get off this computer for now. I have to get a little boy in the bath tub and tons of other stuff and I totally feel like the clock is right by my ear going TICK TOCK TICK TOCK. So, I am going to sign off for now, but I will be back soon. Sure do miss talking with all of you gals.

Until Next Time ~ Blessings Always!

It’s About That Time

2010-11-28T15:20:00.001-05:00

Today is my last day to enjoy before heading back into the working world. A couple weeks ago I decided that it would be in my best interest to go back to work especially since this great opportunity more or less fell into my lap. So, tomorrow morning I will get up with the chickens and head into my new job. I have orientation tomorrow and I will find out tomorrow what the rest of the day holds for me. So, I guess we will see and learn more then. I am a bit nervous, but I am ready. I worry about my little man, but I am sure he will do just fine to be honest with you or at least I hope he does.

This past week was spent packing away my Fall decorations and pulling out my Christmas decorations. I didn’t get all of my stuff out. I went with a more simple, but elegant look this year. I only got out a few things here and there and used more greenery and lights. It looks so warm and cozy to be honest with you. I am definitely pleased with the way it turned out. Here are some pictures that I thought I would share with you.

I thought that looked great in my half bath. It added just enough color and the right amount of Christmas cheer. Here is what I did in our bedroom….

Here is my entry way…….

My family room…..

I also decided to do a little with my kitchen and here is what it looks like in the dark. The picture is of poor quality, but it gives you an idea.

Doesn’t it look warm and cozy?

Do you all remember this picture from my previous post?

Well, this is what I did with that cloth.

Yep, I thought that since I did my stenciling that I definitely needed some curtains that would pull out that red. So, I changed my curtains out and put these up. I love the new look. What do you think? I even thought that they would look great in the family room so I pulled them into the family room and took out all of the mini blinds. Ugh…… I hate those mini blinds. I had tons of holes to patch up and luckily I still had some paint so I just fixed it right up.

So, did you all have a nice Thanksgiving? I always enjoy getting together with my family. There is nothing better then spending time with your family and enjoying some yummy food. We had some great “family food”. What is “family food” do you ask?!? Well, it is food that we always use to eat with my grandparents. Food that we have enjoyed for years and years. Here is a look at some of the foods that we enjoyed.

Talk about starchy foods. One item missing from this plate was green beans. Once some of that food was gone, I went back for some of those and boy oh boy were they good. To be honest….. I could have ate more of the sides and none of the turkey (lol). Yep, I am a major side dish kinda gal. My hubby and Cameron made the homemade noodles, I made my family favorite cracker dressing and I also made a yummy sweet potato bake. Yep, I think I could have hate the whole sweet potato bake…… it was so yummy!! Here is a closer look of the noodles while be rolled out and cut and also a closer look at the sweet potato bake.

Lots of noodles ~ huh? That would be a dozen worth of eggs and lots of flour!! Here is my sweet potato bake….

I thought I would leave you with this picture of my little family that was taken on Thanksgiving Day. Hope you all enjoyed a wonderful day of thanks and enjoyed your family time as well. Hope you all have many more.

Until Next Time ~ Blessings Always!!

Inside Projects

2010-11-19T10:33:00.001-05:00

Well, I start my new job on the 29th of this month. I am pretty excited about it, but I am sure I will still worry about my little man. Between us ladies or maybe I should say “us Moms” don’t you feel like no one can do as good of a job raising your children? Don’t get me wrong….. I think my hubby is an outstanding Dad, but sometimes I just feel like I am the only one that can make my little guy happy and safe. That is totally not the case at all, but that is how I feel. Why do I feel that way? Anyway, it will be a difficult day for me heading back into the working world, but I am going to embrace it with all that I have and try my best to be strong. Oh my….. I can’t talk about it for too long or else I start to get emotional (lol). Silly ~ huh?

So, with my start date around the corner, I have been tackling alot of indoor projects. I finished painting my family room and even stenciled the walls myself. During my last post, I shared just a small peek of my stenciling, but today I thought I would share some more. I even changed some things around and decided to give a few of my prim things a rest. So, without further delay I say we take a look at my newly painted family room.

So, what do you all think? Like I had mentioned…… I changed things around a bit and added new things and decided to give old things a rest. There are still a few areas that need work, but they are coming along.

There is one area that I KNOW needs improvement and that will be coming real soon. I suppose I could give you a little hint if you are interested. Here is the hint……….

So, do you have any ideas? What do you think it could be? Well, once those changes are made then I will be sure to post pictures again. Stay Tuned!! Hope you are excited because I know that I am.

Speaking of indoor projects. I bought myself a dehydrator at Wal-Mart the other week.

I thought it would be great to dry some oranges and use them on my Christmas tree this year. Not only could I use them on my tree, but I could make some garlands too. I just love how they turned out.

I just love the look and they will look even better on my tree when Christmas rolls around. Here is a garland that I made. I thought they looked great next to my dried green beans and okra.

Well, that is all that I have to share with you today. Hope you all are enjoying some indoor projects as well.

Many Blessings Always ~ Lisa

Before & After

2010-11-16T19:25:00.001-05:00

Do you all remember this piece? It belongs to my Mom and she wanted me to paint it. She wanted it red to match her couch and chair in her family room. Here is the BEFORE picture.

Well, I found the perfect color and painted it a little while back. I just remembered that I promised that I would share after pictures and I never did. So, here is the AFTER picture of her cupboard that I painted for her.

I decided to give it the two tone look and after seeing the picture, I am glad that I did. I changed the gold knob to a wood knob and then gave it 2 coats of paint. Yep, I think Mom did a great job decorating it. It looks beautiful and it matches her furniture perfectly.

Until Next Time ~ Blessings, Lisa

Missing in Action ~ Where are you? News to Share with you…

2010-11-16T19:10:00.001-05:00

I have so much to share, but really have no idea where to start. I haven’t been around blog land in awhile due to so many things happening in my life at once. I am recovering from yet another round of bronchitis and laryngitis. This round was pretty bad because I was without my voice for 3 days. Talk about difficult. I love talking so when I don’t have my voice, it makes it quite difficult. My hubby on the other hand was probably enjoying it (lol). The doctor put me on prednisone (steroids) and a nasty antibiotic that has made me so nauseated and sick. The medicine works great for my chronic bronchitis, but the steroids create some nasty side effects. I have been hot and sweaty, down right evil and eating everything in the house that I can lay my hands on. It is just a really hard drug for me to be on. I just hate how it makes me feel. I am definitely NOT a mean or evil person my any means, but when I am on that stuff, I find myself snapping at my poor hubby and just going off for no reason. So….. after today, I have decided to stop both meds and get back to my normal jovial self. Trust me……. I have missed being myself.

I also thought that I would take this moment to let you all know about a very important announcement. Nope, I am not pregnant, but I am set to start a new job at the end of this month. It was a hard decision, but I am sure that it is the right move. I spent alot of time with God, I prayed alot and I searched my heart and after alot of soul searching, I decided to head back to work. I have enjoyed being a stay at home Mom for almost 4 years and I couldn’t be happier and more blessed that I had the opportunity, but I am sure that this is the right step for me and my family. With the way that the economy is today, I am positive that this is the right move. Cameron is enjoying school, he loves going and seeing his friends and I think that he will fit in perfectly with the daycare as well. Talk about pulling on your heart strings!! I can’t imagine him being in the care of someone else other then me, but I need to trust God and pray that he will stay safe. He does wonderfully at school and I think he will be just fine. LOL ~ Yep, I sit here and type this post and my eyes fill up with tears. It has been such a hard decision for me. I can’t believe that I will be going back to work!! I am excited about the job…… don’t get me wrong there, but I am also a bit nervous. Heck, I worked for over 10 years with one job, quit to stay home with my son and now I am heading back into the working world. What is a Mom to do? I guess I will make money and buy prims (hahahaha).

What else has been happening in my life? Oh, all sorts of stuff. I have been busy making changes to my home and finishing alot of unfinished stuff before I start my new job. If you have followed my blog for awhile then you probably remember me painting my entry way and hallway not too long ago. Well, I decided to carry that same color into my family room and it turned out great. I feel like I have been going 180 mph while on these steroids so I took advantage of that energy and painted and stenciled. Yep, I did it all with a little help from my hubby. I can’t really say that I would be interested in stenciling again anytime soon, but I am definitely pleased with the way it turned out. Here is a peek.

Do you remember what my walls use to look like? They were painted a mustard color called Buckskin Pony. I absolutely loved the color, but since there was one wall painted and stenciled coming into my family room…..well, it just didn’t look finished. So, now it looks complete and boy oh boy does it ever give it a different look. It brightened up the room that is for sure, but it brightened it up in a good way. The stencil that I ended up doing just kinda softened it and with all my prims….. it looks good. I did make some changes here and there as to where I put my prims and those pics will be coming soon. So stay tuned!!

Until Next Time ~ Blessings, Lisa

Simple Goods Show ~ Part 2

2010-11-07T11:47:00.001-05:00

If you haven’t already seen Part 1 of my Simple Goods post then be sure to check it out. My weekend was absolutely wonderful. I was able to do alot of fun stuff and meet so many great gals. Do I plan on going back? Oh yes… every chance I get, I will definitely go back. It was worth the hour and half drive. There were vendors outside and tons of them inside. The crowd was heavy and hectic, but it was worth it. I ended up with alot of goodies and I thought I would share some pictures with you. So….. are you ready to see my primitive wares that I found? Let’s first of all stop by and take a look at the items that I purchased from Cabin in the Woods. I absolutely loved this vendor. They had so many cute things to look at and I of course went home with some of them. Here they are ladies. The first thing that I picked up was this cute little mouse. I don’t normally like mice, but I thought he was too cute. Trust me….. he will be the only mouse that I will ever let in my house (lol).

I also bought these beans. I loved the look of them. Definitely prim looking. I put them on this rack, but they won’t be staying there. It was just for picture purposes (lol).

They had plenty of other great items to pick from. They had some sweet potatoes that looked very neat, more dried beans, oranges, apples and lots of other great primitives. I was loving her booth.

My next stop was Arnett’s Country Store. I saw plenty of stuff at this booth, but ended up only buying some stockings. I was loving the Santa’s, but wasn’t real sure where I would put another one (lol). Here are my stockings. I went with the striped ones, but she also had plain red stockings as well. I bought 3 of these. Aren’t they great? I might end up coffee staining them a little bit more…. I like them just a tad bit darker then these.

My next stop was Lizzie’s Cabin Primitives. Her items were amazing and I must say that my Mom and I walked around her booth several times. We spent quite a bit there and the best news about her booth was that she took credit cards (lol). Not many vendors took credit cards so it was either cash or check. Here is what I found at Lizzie’s Cabin.

I absolutely loved her covered books. I plan on putting these on my school desk.

I also bought these other items.

Don’t you just love those greens beans? I want to try to make a special jar for those beans. Once I am done with it then I will let you know and of course post pics.

So, what do you think of my pheasant? I absolutely loved him when I saw him and now I just need to figure out where I am going to hang him.

I also wanted to show you these cute prim necklaces that Sandy Schutt gave me. It was the first time I met Sandy yesterday and to be honest, it was like I had known her forever. She was just so sweet and so thoughtful. Not only did she bring these for me, but she also brought some for my Mom as well. How sweet is that? I just thought it was so nice of her to think of us. Thank you Sandy!!

I loved my primitive doll necklace, but I think my favorite had to be my primitive bowl necklace. I love antique bowls so this was right up my alley (lol).

Aren’t they great? So, as you can see, I had a great weekend. I was able to share it with my Mom, my hubby, my son and lots of prim friends. It was indeed a wonderful weekend. If you weren’t able to make it to this one then be sure to mark your calendar for April or next year around this time. I am sure you won’t leave empty handed and of course you will be glad you joined us. Hope you all have a blessed week. I will be posting pics of my Mom’s refrigerator cover sometime this week. I just need to let the weather get a bit warmer then I can stain it and get it inside. It is a beauty!! Keep watching!!

Until Next Time ~ Blessings, Lisa

An Amazing Weekend ~ North Shore Primitives & Simple Goods ~ Part 1

2010-11-06T22:02:00.001-04:00

My amazing weekend started out on Friday. I was set to go and work at North Shore Primitives and arrived around 9am. I took some more pictures of her shop and then made myself familiar with the warehouse portion of her store. Yep, I must say that even the warehouse is nice (lol). Vickie had so many trees, wreaths, greenery, handmade items and the list goes on. The door opened at 10:00 am and once those doors opened, the customers came rushing in. I was running here, there and everywhere. It was literally on my feet from 9am-6pm. I went to sit in my car and go home and by the time I got home, I could barely move.

It was great being able to help out the customers, give them advice as to what would look great with what and of course do all the running for them (lol). I can’t even remember how many times I was running back to the warehouse, but it was good exercise. I met alot of great people and had several prim gals come up to me, introduce themselves and tell me that they always follow me and my blog. I was so happy to hear that and to meet so many wonderful gals. I must say that it feels great knowing that there are so many people that follow my blog and enjoy hearing from me. You never really know that what you are doing interests people until they tell you. So, I guess you could say that I get a passing grade (lol). Here are a few pics from North Shore Primitives Open House. Be sure to click on her shop name to check out all of the pics that I added to her site. There is plenty to see and I am sure you won’t be disappointed.

Isn’t her shop just beautiful? I thought that they had it so beautifully decorated and her handmade items were prim perfect. I absolutely fell head over heels in love with that Santa. The thing I loved about him was that he was pudgy (short & plump). Isn’t every Santa that you have ever seen been pudgy? I have seen plenty of prim Santa’s, but I don’t recall seeing any pudgy ones. Yep, he was by far my favorite and I told myself that if he was still there by the end of the day then I would buy him and take him home with me. Well, I guess it wasn’t meant to be because another gal picked him up from the table and walked toward the counter with him. Trust me when I say I was watching every move as my poor Santa went home with someone else. Yep, it was indeed a very sad moment for me. I kept thinking that this lady that took my Santa would feel guilty for spending so much money and come back with my pudgy little Santa, but I never saw that happen (sniff, sniff, tear, tear). I guess I can just hope and pray that he is happy in his new home and is being well treated (lol).

Today was an exceptionally fun day as well. My hubby took my Mom and I to the Simple Goods Show in Mt. Vernon, Ohio. Cameron went along of course and caught the eyes of many prim friends. Several of the gals walked up to my husband and asked where I was and of course my husband said “Over there somewhere.” You gotta love how men give directions (lol). I once again had several ladies come up to me and introduce themselves as followers of my blog. I was thrilled to see so many prim gals….. some that I had met before (Karen @ My Colonial Home, Kris @ Simply Prim, Stacey @ Farm Wife Primitives) and tons and tons of other gals that I met for the first time today. Have you ever noticed that even though you meet these prim gals for the first time that you already feel like you have known them forever?!? I love that about “primitive girlfriends”. I met so many new people today, but I literally felt like I could sit and spend the whole weekend with them. It is indeed a wonderful feeling. Nothing better!!

So, are you all ready to see some pictures of The Simple Goods Show? I wasn’t sure if we could take any pictures inside so I just took a few of the outside. Now…… sit back and look at all of these pictures and imagine it getting better and better around every corner. There were tons of vendors and tons of customers. It was crazy busy, but as the day went along, it started to thin out. We stayed for several hours and left with plenty of bags. Here are the pictures of the outside.

Alot of you might remember me asking several of you where I might find some long dipper gourds. Well, as I was walking up to the building….. I started to go crazy because right there before my eyes were several dipper gourds. They had looooong ones, medium and small and I wanted one of each (lol). I went through her gourds and found 3 that I thought would look great on my front door. Here are the 3 gourds that I ended up bringing home.

Goodness….. I never knew I looked like Vanna White (lol). Just kidding. Don’t you just love my gourds?!? I can hardly wait to get them up on my door. Once they are hung up then I will be sure to share a picture with you. Keep Watching! I also bought a few other things as well. The gourds came from Mill St. Mercantile and I must say that this was one of my favorite vendors. I absolutely loved her stuff. Here are a few pics of some more items that I bought from her.

This is actually an old gourd that she made into a bowl. Isn’t it just so neat? I love these two areas of this gourd. Can’t get anymore prim then this if you ask me for my opinion.

I also bought this ladle and it was made out of an old gourd as well and a stick. I just thought they were neat pieces!!

That is all that I bought from Mill St. Mercantile. There was plenty more from where that came from, but the only drawback is that most of the vendors didn’t take credit cards. So, if you plan on going in April or next year then you better take lots of cash or lots of checks.

Well, as much as I would like to share more of my goodies, it will have to wait til tomorrow. I am worn out for this evening, but trust me….. I will be back here tomorrow blogging about the rest of my goodies. Please do come back because I always look forward to seeing your smiling faces.

Until Next Time ~ Blessings Always!

~ ♦ Stenciling ♦ ~

2010-10-24T10:52:00.001-04:00

Not too long ago, I re-finished a cupboard that my Mom had. She wanted me to paint it red so she could put it in her family room. Well, I painted it and told her that since I was re-finishing her cupboard then she would have to stencil my entry way/foyer and a wall that goes into my family room. She agreed and she finally paid it forward the other day. It was out of the blue when she said that she was coming over to stencil. I was so excited and I am so happy with the way it looks. I eventually want to paint my whole family room and have her stencil the rest, but of course that will take a bit longer to complete. My family room is mainly a mustard color called Buckskin Pony. I love the color, but it has been that color for some time now and I am ready for a change. So, I thought it would look good if I continued the Bleached Wheat into the family room and then finish it off with some stenciling. That is the plan!! Here are some before pictures followed by some after pictures with the stenciling. My Mom did a wonderful job and I am so pleased with the way it looks. It gives it a much warmer and finished look. Take a look for yourself.

BEFORE

AFTER

Oh and look who it is….. my beautiful Mom right in the middle of stenciling. Isn’t she beautiful?!? I am so proud of her. She is such a wonderful Mom and friend and she indeed has the sweetest spirit. She is just a great person inside and out and I love her dearly.

As goes for that cupboard that I re-finished for Mom….. that will be on my next post. So keep watching out for more before and after pictures.

Until Next Time ~ Blessings Always!!

Taggs and More ~ Check it out!

2010-10-20T10:38:00.001-04:00

I have been trying to decide on what to share and what to wait on. I haven’t been doing a whole lot lately except for sewing. I finally taught myself how to do some simple stitching. I was pretty excited with some of the tags that I made and here are some pictures. I thought they would be so cute sewn on a towel or a ditty bag. What do you think?

If you see something that you are interested in then just e-mail me and I can quote you a price. I had so much fun making them and hope to be making more very soon.

Did I ever show you my dried pumpkins that I found at one of our local pumpkin patches?!? I thought they were neat so I bought five of them for $1.25. They look great with my gourds.

I also had to tell you that my Sweet Autumn Clematis finally started blooming. I absolutely love this clematis. I think that after a few years it will be gorgeous in the entry way through our gate in the backyard.

Can you see the small little white flowers? I first saw this clematis in Amish Country and thought it was beautiful. So…… I asked our local greenhouse to order me a couple and this is what it looks like so far.

Speaking of flowers…. here are the roses that my hubby bought me for Sweetest Day ~ aren’t they beautiful?!

I also had to share with you this picture. Yes, we received Cameron’s school pictures back this morning. Talk about bringing tears to Mommy’s eyes. She showed me the pics and I got tears in my eyes. Talk about melting my heart and instantly realizing that my little boy was growing up before my eyes. I couldn’t believe how grown up he looked. He looked so handsome and of course I was so proud. I have truly enjoyed staying home with him and it has been the best gift ever being able to enjoy his first 3 1/2 years with him. It has been a struggle, but so worth every minute of it. Anyway….. here is the picture.

Isn’t he too stinkin’ handsome?!? Wow, he is growing up. So wish I could hit the pause button, but I know I can’t so I will just continue to enjoy every single minute of every single day.

Until Next Time ~ Blessings, Lisa

Front Porch Pictures and More

2010-10-18T10:43:00.001-04:00

Well, I told you all awhile back that once I got done decorating my front porch then I would post pics. So, I finally finished it this weekend and here are a couple pictures. I also included a picture of our scarecrow. Cameron had fun helping me get him ready for Fall. Be sure to check out my chicken coup. I still would like to cut some boards off the bottom or the top, but still haven’t done it yet. So, it stays like this for now.

Talking about Fall….. I went to the pumpkin patch this weekend and here are a few pictures from our trip.

It was super windy so excuse my messy hair. Don’t you just love all the colors of Fall. I know that I do.

I also picked up some gourds at another farm market. I was so happy to see that they had these little gourds. I thought they would make a great little garland for in my window or around my chandelier. The larger gourds I plan on using on my front door next year. I really want to find myself some long handled dipper gourds, but if I can’t then I will just attempt growing them next year.

I already have these gourds up and hanging and hopefully they will be dry soon. Here they are drying. I just have to laugh every time I look at them. My neighbors are probably thinking I am a bit strange since I have my gourds hanging and that I have really dirty towels always out drying. Guess they just don’t know prim ~ right?!?

I asked my hubby to fix something up so I could hang my gourds and he takes this trellis that was in the flowerbed, lays it across the deck and puts a big cement stone on it. Gotta love that it looks so tacky, but I guess it works. lol.

Well, that is it for today’s post. I have some makeovers to share with you so stay tuned for those on my next post. If you are lucky then I might post again later this week. Stay tuned!!

Until Next Time ~ Blessings, Lisa

A New Creation ~ Crock Collector Sign

2010-10-11T10:14:00.001-04:00

You all have seen my antique crock collection. Now it is time to see my new sign that I made to finish my display off. This sign measures 10x26 and is perfect for any antique crock collector. I will be adding it to my selling blog sometime today if anyone is interested in purchasing one. My selling blog is Londonberry Primitives. Here is my newest creation.

Here it is displayed with some of my crocks. I just love the way it looks!!

Don’t you love it?

Until Next Time ~ Blessings Always!!

A Trip to Waynesville & New Prim Shops

2010-10-04T11:00:00.001-04:00

We decided to take a trip this past weekend. My hubby’s parents were camping and they were going to the Sauerkraut Festival and I thought since we didn’t really have any extra money that we could go and walk around and even stop by some of the shops in Waynesville. Well, I was so glad that we went, but was upset because I didn’t win the lottery before I went (lol). I must say that Waynesville, Ohio is such a quaint little town. It is very clean and is full of specialty shops. There is definitely something there for everyone. We were on our way there and we drove past this old barn. I glimpsed out of the corner of my eye only to notice tobacco hanging from the barn. I was in awe and if my hubby wasn’t in such a hurry I would have asked him to turn around so I could get a picture. It was so neat to see the tobacco hanging up and drying. Just something I don’t see alot of. Wonder if they were selling it? Oh well….. don’t know why I am wondering when I didn’t have any money (lol). Oh well, I at least got me some pictures of Waynesville and now I can share them with you.

The first shop that I wanted to go into was the Wooden Sunflower. This is an old St Augustine Church established in 1877. It is 5900 sq ft. of Farmhouse Primitives, American Folk Art, Early Lighting, Gourmet Foods, Potpourri and Candles. They also specialize in custom made early kitchens, period wall, painted floors and custom furniture. This place was amazing!! I asked if it would be ok if I took a few pictures….. she didn’t seem crazy about the idea and reluctantly said “yes”. So, I just snapped a few inside and took the rest outside. Here are the pics that I took. Enjoy!!

I myself loved the cement pumpkins. They came in various sizes and of course various prices. Don’t forget that you can click on the picture to make them larger. It allows for easier viewing.

I wanted so badly to take a picture of the area right inside the front door. It was amazing. I can totally see why they named it the Wooden Sunflower. Right inside the front door is this amazing cathedral ceiling. Hanging from the sides of railing are tons of sunflowers that they have cut from the base of the flower and dried. They are long and they looked so prim perfect. I thought it looked very neat. Every single time I tried taking a picture….. there was someone checking out so that didn’t work to my advantage. Here is the area off to the right as you walk in the door.

Here are more cement pumpkins, but these appeared to be dusted with spices of some sort.

Look at this amazing kitchen area. It gives you an idea as to how wonderful it is, but you really should plan a trip.

I also found this other shop called Days Gone By. It was a pretty nice shop as well, but it didn’t have as much.

My other favorite shop in Waynesville has to be Olde Glory Antiques. I didn’t notice it until I was across the street. I stopped to look around to see what other shops were close by and noticed this one right across the street. I saw all of the cement pumpkins and then I saw the gourd garland in the window. Yep, I started across the street waving good-bye to my family as they sat on some rocking chairs. Talk about MAJOR drool factor. If you like primitive, I mean real primitive then you would love this shop. I loved everything about it except the prices. There was no way I could afford anything, but it was fun to look at and dream. Here are a few pictures.

I pulled these pictures from their website. Yep, their website is equally as wonderful as walking through the shop. You can check it out here, but if you can make a trip then I am sure you would enjoy it even more.

Hope you enjoyed the tour around Waynesville as much as I did. I definitely think it is worth another trip just so you can really take your time and look around. Maybe even make a few purchases. Christmas is right around the corner….. can you imagine these shops decorated for Christmas?!? Yep, I think I would need a bib if I went for another visit around that time (lol).

Thought I would leave you with these other pictures. The past couple days have been “perfect” weather for sweatshirts, jeans, grilled cheese and tomato soup. So, here is a picture of my grilled cheese/tomato soup buddy. I am so glad he enjoys it as much as me. Don’t you think he is enjoying it by the look on his face?!?

It was funny because he said he wanted to “slobber his soup”, but he meant to say “slurp his soup”. I thought that was too cute!! Goodness, I love that little man to pieces!! Here are some other pictures of Cameron.

He was reluctantly smiling because I came around the corner in the kitchen only to find him on top of the counter. Yep, he climbed up on top of the counter to eat the very last pumpkin cinnamon muffin. Luckily, I already had mine for the day, but that muffin was suppose to be left for Daddy. Uh Oh….. good thing he is cute because he got away with it.

Last, but not least I leave you with my new cut and color that I had done last week. I thought the new color would be perfect for Fall/Winter. It is close to my natural color, but with a few red highlights. So, do you like it?

Well, I hope you enjoyed my post. Hope you all have a blessed week.

Until Next Time ~ Blessings Always!!

Displaying Antique Crocks

2010-09-28T11:11:00.001-04:00

This past week has been quite interesting. The week ended with a great report from Cameron’s pre-school teacher. He had a wonderful week and was well behaved (whew). I am not sure I can take many more bad days (lol). We celebrated my Dad’s 65th Birthday on Saturday along with my nieces Birthday. Talk about alot of cake and ice cream. Sunday was interesting seeing as though we were rear-ended coming out of the parking lot at the grocery store. We got hit pretty good, but luckily we were all ok. Just a little whiplash which lead to soreness and stiffness the day after. The kid that ended up hitting us stood there and laughed about it and then admitted to us that he was busy changing the radio station. Gotta love idiots that can’t pay attention to what is going on in front of them while driving. Our van got scratched up pretty good on the bumper, but the police can’t do anything since it was on private property. I had never heard of such a thing….. what a stupid law. So…… that was our weekend. Definitely not as fun as what the APP gals had at The Walker Homestead. Talk about jealous……. I so wish I could have been there.

I myself have been busy with other things. For all of you prim loving stay at home Mom’s….. don’t you just love thinking about what you can do next with your home? Well, I have been doing just that. I have been wanting to find a way to display some if not all of my crocks. So…… I thought that the cubby that is supposed to be used for our TV. would be a great little area to use for my crocks. Here is a picture of what it looked like before I started working on it.

I knew that if I wanted to display my crocks in it then I would need and want for them to stand out once they were in there. So, I went looking for some paint to use in this cubby. I absolutely LOVE the color of that barn red shutter so I went looking for something of that color. I was lucky enough to find it at Wal-Mart. It is made by Kilz and it is called Barn Board. Here is the color.

Don’t you just love the color? I knew it would be beautiful. It is definitely a dark color, but it allows my crocks to stand out which is exactly what I wanted. Here is a picture of it after it was painted.

Don’t you love the way it turned out? Then it was time to get some “L” brackets and some wood. I decided that staining my wood shelves would be the best bet and I painted the “L” brackets the same color as the wall. I didn’t want them to stand out like a sore thumb. This is how it all turned out.

So, what do you think? Does it appear to be missing something? Do you like the crocks displayed the way they are on the bottom? If you notice with the pictures above….. there are 3 crocks on the bottom that are pulled forward. Here is a picture of them pushed back. What do you like better?

I have a candle behind the middle crock on the bottom to bring some light into that cubby. I wish I had a spot light or some sort of light shining down of them, but there is no electricity running through there except the plug outlets. What is a girl to do that knows not a single thing about electricity?!? Of course this is not all of my crocks so I thought I would share some more with you and how I have them displayed. Are you ready for the tour?

Why don’t you share your collection? I would love to see it. Until Next Time ~ enjoy your day . Blessings, Lisa

Taste of Fall ~ Homemade Applesauce

2010-09-22T10:24:00.001-04:00

Does Fall ever get you in the mood to bake or cook? Well, this is my favorite time of the year for baking and cooking. I enjoy going apple picking and I love making apple desserts. I just recently shared a tasty recipe with all of you and if you missed the Crunchy Caramel Apple Pie then be sure to check my previous posts. If you decide to try the recipe then be rest assured that you won’t be disappointed. I have received lots of feedback that it is now considered a family favorite. It can be yours too ~ give it a try!!

Speaking of recipes…. I have yet another one for you all to try. I have made several batches of homemade applesauce and everyone keeps asking me for my recipe. It is so easy and very tasty. Here is what you will need.

~ Homemade Applesauce ~

4-6 apples (peeled, cored, chopped) 3/4 cup water 1/4 cup white sugar 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan.

Cover and cook over medium heat for 15-20 minutes or until apples are soft (stirring occasionally).

Allow to cool and mash with a fork or potato masher. I myself use a mini food chopper and it works great.

Remember ~ the longer you keep it in your chopper the smoother it will be. I made chunky applesauce last year and loved it, but Cameron was not a fan so I made it smooth this year. Enjoy it warm or chilled.

The pictures shown contain more then just 4-6 apples. Feel free to add double the apples, but remember to double all of your other ingredients as well.

Have a blessed day!! ~ Lisa

Helping Others, Helping Mom

2010-09-18T15:12:00.001-04:00

Today was a day filled with helping others. Who doesn’t enjoy helping others especially when it comes to decorating. Primitive Decorating!!

I took Mom to get some gourds and pumpkins today and she really enjoyed herself. She hasn’t had so much fun in a long time. This home that we go to is located out in the country and this lady has great prices and lots of different gourds to choose from. She has mums and lots of them and the pumpkins are huge this year. We are going back in a week or two so I can get some, but we have to wait on the arrival of our money tree (lol). I told Mom to get some gourds that would be easy to dry so she picked a few out and bought me a couple as well. Here are the gourds that I picked out.

Cameron got a small pumpkin.

Mom asked if I could help her decorate her front porch and I gladly agreed to help. Who doesn’t enjoy helping someone else?!? So, I placed everything on her porch and this is what it looks like. What do you think?

Here are some closer shots of her pumpkins and gourds. I just love the colors of fall.

My sweet hubby even stopped in the country and grabbed me a few ears of corn. Gosh, I love him. So, I shared a few with Mom and kept some for myself.

Good thing we got them now because they were getting ready to pick them. I thought after the season was over I would take them off the ear, put them in a jar with a prim label that I bought from Yankee Lane Primitives. Sounds like an idea ~ don’t ya think?

Here is Mom’s porch completed.

Did you enjoy the decorating that I did for Mom? I thought it looked beautiful and I think she was pretty happy with it as well. Makes you wanna decorate ~ huh? It is funny because her porch is completed and I am still having a difficult time trying to figure out mine (lol). I of course will post pics as soon as my porch is done. Hope you all have a blessed weekend.

Until Next Time ~ Blessings Always!

Fall Decorating Underway

2010-09-13T10:35:00.001-04:00

Have you started your Fall decorating yet? I had my hubby get all of my totes out last week. I finally started pulling everything out on Friday. I have some stuff done, but still working on a little bit here and there. I am not pleased quite yet with my front porch so I won’t be sharing any pics yet. Here are a few of my entry way as you come in the front door.

I just love that corn that I have in my basket. I thought it looked great in my old market basket that I found at an antique mall. Here is a closer look.

I also did a little more decorating throughout my home, but I am not sure if it is going to stay there. I am not sure if you all remember the cubby in my family room. The cubby is actually suppose to be used for our television, but I don’t like it up there because it doesn’t give us a whole lot of options when we want to change our room around. So, I have the tv. on that Amish built cupboard that I re-finished a couple months back. Anyway, as I was sitting there watching tv. over the weekend, I came up with a brilliant idea. I have been trying my best to figure out a way to display my crocks or most of them. So, I thought I would re-do my cubby in my wall, add some shelves and display my crocks up there. What do you think? Here is what the cubby looks like now. Well, actually this is an old picture, but you get the just of it ~ right? Wow, that is really an old picture. So, can you imagine some of my crocks up there along with a “crock collector” sign above it? Do you all think I should paint the cubby a different color or leave it as is? So many decisions.

Please let me know your thoughts.

I also wanted to share this picture with all of you. This is a picture of my crunchy caramel apple pie that I make every year. It is a family favorite so we normally go apple picking and then make pie.

Here is the recipe…….

CRUNCHY CARAMEL APPLE PIE

Ingredients

1 pastry crust for a deep-dish pie 9-inch (homemade or store-bought)

1/2 cup sugar

3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp salt

6 cups apples, thinly sliced peeled

1 recipe crumb topping (see below)

1/2 cup pecans, chopped

1/4 cup caramel topping

Crumb Topping

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2cup quick cooking rolled oats

1/2 cup butter

Cooking Directions

Crumb Topping

Stir together brown sugar,flour, rolled oats. Cut in 1/2 cup butter until topping is like course crumbs. Set aside.

Pie

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt.

Add apple slices and gently toss until coated. I normally toss mine in a plastic ziploc bag so they all get coated nicely.

Transfer apple mixture to the pie shell (I normally use store bought crust and just unwrap it and place it into my glass pie plate. I think the crust normally has to set at room temperature for 15-20 minutes.)

Sprinkle crumb topping over apple mixture.

Place pie on a cookie sheet so the drippings don't drop into your oven.

Cover edges of pie (crust) with aluminum foil. Bake in a preheated 375 oven for 25 minutes. Then remove foil and put back in for another 25 to 30 minutes without foil. Remove from oven. Sprinkle pie with chopped pecans then drizzle with caramel on top. Cool on a wire rack and enjoy warm or at room temperature

Until Next Time ~ Blessings, Lisa

Antique Crocks

2010-09-07T13:49:00.001-04:00

What do you enjoy collecting? Alot of people enjoy collecting baskets which use to be a great love of mine, but lately I have really enjoyed collecting crocks. Yep, I add to my collection any chance that I can get and my collection just keeps getting larger. I am not sure if you remember me telling you about this guy that I found on craigslist, but he has been collecting for over 47 years and is now trying to sell all of his crocks, bowls, jugs and many other antiques that he has around his home. I have become rather good friends with this guy. He is just so nice and he is very reasonable with his crocks and the prices. Anyway, I went to visit him this past weekend and came home with quite a few new or maybe I should say old goodies. Are you interested in taking a peek at what I brought home? Ok, here is a peek.

I only heard you say that you wanted a peek. You didn’t say that you wanted to see all of my goodies so that is the only little look that you get for today.

Ok, ok don’t get your undies in a knot. I will show the rest of my very fine purchases and at the end I will even show you the items that my Mom came home with. Isn’t that a great deal? You get 2 for the price of 1 (lol). Here are the items that I came home with. Hold on to your seats……

The brown jug is very unusual. The brown glaze is actually very bumpy and rough feeling. It looks very neat in person. I liked it because it was unusual. The “crock man” said that it was probably an error in glazing, but I thought it turned out great. Here is a closer look.

I really loved all three of these crocks. Here is a closer look of the larger crock in the back of the photo.

I just love the size of this crock!!

Here are a few others that I came home with. Check them out!!

I totally fell in love with the crock on the left. It was the first crock that I noticed when the “crock man” sent me pictures when I first found him. The colors on that crock are just gorgeous. Do you ever wonder what the story is on each crock and where they originated? Here is a close up of my favorite.

Here are a couple others that caught my eye as I was looking around.

I couldn’t dare leave without this bowl. I just love it. The “crock man” said that it wasn’t glazed for some reason or another, but I love it. There is some special etching on the side, but it is kinda hard to see in the picture. It is very pretty!!

I was told I could have this for *free* since it had a crack and a chip and I was totally into freebies so I snatched it up and put a little super glue on the inside of the crock. No one will ever know there is glue in there unless I tell them and with it being my own little collection….. what is a little crack ~ right?

I plan on using this extra large Redwing crock for dog food. I want to make a wood lid for it and once that is done then it will be ready to use for Qbert’s food. No one will ever know there is dog food in there. I love it!! Did you notice the turkey droppings on the side of the crock by the # 10 ?

Speaking of Qbert. He finally went in for a bath and trim this past weekend. It is the first trim he has had in a long while since being neutered. I think he feels so much better and well he looks so stinkin’ cute.

So……. are you ready to see Mom’s crocks? She brought home less then I did, but her crocks were a bit more expensive then mine. I guess I like to have more for less then less for more. What would you prefer?

Here are a few close-ups. I absolutely ♥ all of them, but they were definitely out of my price range or at least those two smaller jugs. You should have seen us. Mom and I were fighting over who was going to get the #6 crock on the end. We both loved it and it already came with a wood lid so that was a bonus. As you can see…… she won over me. Here are the close-ups.

WOW ~ isn’t that one a beauty? It has major drool factor going on if you ask me.

Well, that is it for now. I sure do hope you enjoyed looking at all of our crocks, jugs and bowls. Nothing better then finding a great deal and if you haven’t yet checked out craigslist in your area then you should. You never know what you could find. We found great treasures with the “crock man”.

Until Next Time ~ Blessings, Lisa

Another Difficult Day

2010-09-01T10:26:00.001-04:00

His arms are stretched out, his hands are reaching for me and then I hear “Don’t leave me Mommy, please don’t leave me Mommy.”

That is what I heard this morning when I left Cameron at pre-school. What a heart breaking moment. I don’t know how long it takes for him to calm down, but those first couple minutes when I leave him are difficult to say the least. I absolutely have LOVED being able to stay home with Cameron. I have enjoyed every single moment of it, but it is extremely difficult on us when we are separated. He has really never been with anyone else, but his grandparents so I am sure you can imagine how traumatic it is for him. I have been making school sound like it is something great and wonderful. He will meet new kids, make new friends, play, color and learn. He is so excited until it is time that Mommy leaves. Surprisingly I did pretty good today. Then he started crying and my heart started breaking. Day 2 of pre-school has been difficult, but I am sure that with time, Cameron will love it and my heart won’t be aching as much.

In the process of waiting for that day to come… I will watch and wait and count down the time to when I can pick him up. Is it time yet?

Antique Mall Purchases & Corn

2010-08-30T14:42:00.001-04:00

What are some of your favorite things to decorate with during Fall? Could it be pumpkins? Gourds? Signs? Please do share. I would love to hear.

I thought that Fall was just around the corner last week. I was really hoping, but the HOT weather came back this week here in Ohio. The air quality alerts were back today and I could barely breath while outside. I think I enjoyed the cooler weather from last week. Fall decorating was on my mind, but now that it is HOT again…. I have put the decorating off once again. Have you all decorated yet?

Here are a few things that I am anxious to get out….. CORN.

Don’t you love the primitive made ears of corn? I wanted something that I could put them in and thought that a cute little market basket would be perfect. Well, I was in luck. I found one while visiting my sister. Her local antique mall was selling them for $4.50. Not too bad.

I also picked up the brown crock and this….. I have been wanting one of these for awhile now.

Do you remember from my previous post….. My sister gave me these olde feed sacks. I love them, but thought they needed a little coffee. So, I stained them along with a few other things and this is how they turned out. Better don’t ya think?

I stuffed them with some poly-fil and then placed them throughout my home. They look great and I love them. Do you have any olde feed sacks? What do you do with yours?

Until Next Time ~ Blessings, Lisa

Cameron’s First Day of Pre-School

2010-08-30T14:21:00.001-04:00

Here is a post that I wanted to share from my infertility website. Hope you enjoy it.

My little boy is growing fast……..way too fast! We got up this morning and I fixed him a nice breakfast for his first day of school. He requested eggs so that is what Mommy fixed. Once he was done eating…… I got him dressed, teeth brushed and then it was about time to go. Here are a few pictures that I took of my little man and his first day of pre-school. ENJOY!!

Seemed like yesterday when I was waiting to find out if IVF worked for us. Waiting for that call from the infertility specialist. Waiting on Cameron’s arrival. Waiting for Cameron to try new baby food. Waiting for him to walk. NOW… I am waiting for it to be 11:30 so I can go and pick him up from pre-school.

I left and was doing great until I got downstairs and then the tears started falling. It is so difficult being with your children from the moment they are born and then when it comes to school… you have to put your trust into the hands of a stranger. Someone you barely know and that is difficult. It was difficult on me and I knew it would be hard on him too. Just as I was ready to walk out the door… I heard him screaming for me. Talk about breaking your heart into a million pieces.

Once the clock said 11:15 am, I hopped into the car and off I went to pick him up. I was so excited that I could barely control myself. I was so happy to go and pick him up and hear about his day. I arrived and went inside. He was sitting at a table waiting for me. He was watching all of the other kids and parents and looked so sad waiting on me. Once he saw me, he ran to me and I picked him up. He squeezed me so hard around my neck I thought my head would “pop” off, but it was all good. He told me that he missed me, that he cried, but he also told me that he had fun. Nothing like more tears falling down MY face. Hope I get use to this soon because it breaks my heart when I have to leave him. I know it is great for him and I know he enjoys it especially after he gets use to it, but boy oh boy do I ever miss him when he is gone.

Until Next Time ~ Blessings to all BIG and small.

Posted from www.lifewithinfertility-lisa.blogspot.com

Excitement & Pure Joy!!

2010-08-24T10:10:00.001-04:00

What gets you excited? What makes you happy? What gives you pure joy? This past weekend was full of lots of happiness and good times for me. Of course I was able to spend time with my family and anytime I can do that is happy time for me. My sister and I haven’t always been the closest, but we are getting closer as we get older and it is such a nice feeling. I have enjoyed it tremendously to be honest with you. Anyway, she came to visit this past weekend and brought me lots of goodies from her antique mall close to her home. Here are the items that she brought.

I just LOVED the old feed sacks that she brought me. Of course I coffee stained them and they look even better now. You know me and my love for the dirty/grungy/primitive look. Yep, I love instant coffee (lol). She also brought me this cute little bottle. Now, I just need to find a label for it. You wonder what was originally in this little bottle? I just loved the lid to it. Who doesn’t love rust? (lol).

Oh……. by the way…… do you have A Primitive Place Cookbook? Well, this past week was the week to try new recipes. I tried several and this was only one of them, but definitely worth trying. It was a delicious recipe and was actually one that came from Linda from Behind My Red Door. If you like coleslaw then this is a yummy one. Asian Coleslaw is yummy and so easy to make. Give it a try if you have that cookbook.

I also wanted to let you know that I have a cute little prim light that I have up for sale on my selling blog. Check it out on www.primsbylisa.blogspot.com

It is in great shape, but I have not been using it so I thought I would sell it. Here is a picture of it, but for more details please check out my selling blog.

So, are the temps in your area cooling down? The past couple days here in Ohio have cool and pleasant. I have really been enjoying it and must say that I am ready for Fall. I think these cooler temps should just stay around for awhile. Of course the cooler temps allow my morning glories to stay blooming a bit longer in the morning and who wouldn’t love that. Aren’t they glorious?

WOW ~ I love the bright colors!!

I will leave you with one more picture today. This is one of the many things that make me happy, that bring me so much joy and most importantly love. This little boy is the light of my life and I can’t get over how big he is getting and how much I have been blessed. What a little miracle. Mommy loves you Cameron!!

Until Next Time ~ Blessings Always!!

For the Love of Crocks

2010-08-19T10:35:00.001-04:00

Well, if you have missed my blogging then I guess you could more or less say that “I am back”. My hubby went back to work today for meetings and a teacher workday on Friday. He officially starts on Monday with the students. So….. I will need to find something to do and blogging is one of those things that will help keep me busy. Of course I will also have laundry, cleaning, cooking and taking care of my little man until he starts pre-school at the end of the month. Wow, I will have all sorts of free time.

Do you remember my last post? Well, if you don’t then let me just tell you a little bit about it. I found this man on craigslist that was selling his very large collection of crocks. After checking him out, I made arrangements to go and see if there were any good crocks that I could pickup at a rather good price. Well, well, well there were tons of crocks to choose from and they were beautiful. You all know that I am on a rather tight budget since I am a stay at home Mom so I went with a few small crocks and a large one to start out with. Yep, I have more on reserve and will pick those up at a later date. Here are the ones that I picked up first.

I thought this cute little “salt” crock would be perfect in the kitchen. I won’t be using it for salt, but it does look very cute next to my stove.

I have several jug crocks, but I don’t have anything small so I picked this one up as well. Isn’t so cute?!?

This one is my favorite out of the bunch. I just love the colors in the glaze and the cobalt blue is what caught my eye. I absolutely love it!! What do you think of this beauty? Are you in love with it like I am?

Do you remember that scarecrow that I picked up at the Open House for North Shore Primitives? Well, as I promised….. here are some pictures of the one of a kind little guy that made my heart melt. I know that sounds weird, but when you see pictures of him….. you will see in his face that it literally looks like he could talk. I just love him!!

Here are some close-ups. Don’t forget that you can click on each picture to get a larger view. Gotta love all of the detail in this little scarecrow.

So, are you totally in love with him like I am? I just thought he was so cute. It was funny because I had several items in my hands and when I saw him, I put the other items down. He was enough for me. I just love that face!!

Alot of you have inquired about Qbert. Well, our little miniature schnauzer is doing great. It was a tough 10 days for him and for us, but he has recovered and back to his old self again. He had to wear this collar for 10 days and he hated it. I felt so bad for him, but it was best that he didn’t lick that incision from where he was neutered. So, we just kept him calm as possible and he did great…..well, for the most part. He would run into the doors, into our legs, drag that nasty collar on the cement patio in the back, run into the fence and well the list goes on. It was tough, but he is doing wonderfully. I have a few pictures to share with you. He needs to be trimmed so desperately right now, but he needs to wait just a little while longer. So….. just ignore his shaggy look right now (lol).

We bought a shovel, hoe and rake for Cameron this summer. Well, Qbert has decided that they are all for him. So, when we let him outside to go potty…. he thinks that he needs to carry around a shovel, a hoe or a rake. It is so funny!!

His favorite is the hoe. Normally he carries it and the handle is pointing straight up to the sky. It is so funny!! Oh, did I tell you that he also loves playing corn hole? We will throw the bags and he runs and gets them. It is hilarious. He will take them off the board and takes off. Here are a few more pics.

Last, but not least…….. I will leave you with a couple pictures of my little man. He is getting so big and literally brings me so much happiness!! I him to the moon and sunshine and back again!!!!

Until Next Time ~ Blessings Always!

Wood Boxes and Crocks

2010-08-11T19:16:00.001-04:00

I have found lately that I have a very weak spot for old wood boxes and crocks. Yep, every single time I go to a craft/antique mall or a yard sale then I find myself drawn to those two items. Well, this past weekend was no different and I can hardly wait to share what I found. I went to the Fall Open House at North Shore Primitives and found the most precious little scarecrow around. I also met a great fellow blogger (Bonnie from Slow Lane Ramblings). It is always great meeting bloggers and even more wonderful when it isn’t expected. She recognized me from my blog and came up and introduced herself. What a sweet gal and you gotta love her even more when she is shopping for the same prim goodies as yourself. Nothing better then having met someone that has the same love of primitives as you do. Anyway, I bought the scarecrow and all the ladies inside NSP asked me where I found him and if they had anymore. The neat thing is that he is one of a kind so I was lucky enough to find him and grab him first. I will post pics of him on my next blog so be watching for him. Once I was done there we headed to a craft/antique mall and I found some great treasures there as well. I found this wooden box and fell in love with it. It was a little dirty, but nothing a good spray with the hose wouldn’t cure. I got it home and sprayed it out and let it sit in the HOT sun and it was perfect afterwards. Here is a picture of it.

Don’t you just love the Statue of Liberty on the box? Here is a closer look on the side. I just love it!!

I also picked up this crock while I was there and you probably saw it in my previous post (Bathroom Makeover).

Here is where it ended up……

along with my other find which I bought at a yard sale for $5.00. This box…… yep, I told you I love old wooden boxes.

I also found this at the yard sale. It is an old chicken coup and yep I snatched it up real quick. My Mom has one above her washer and dryer and she filled it with lots of cute prim things, but she paid a much higher price for her coup then I did for mine. Are you ready for the cost of mine? Well, I bought it for only $5.00. Yep, you heard me correctly and it still has the rusty little feed cans in there that were used for the chickens. Neat ~ huh? I was talking to the owner and he said that he moved into his house many many years ago and he was only the second owner of the home. Well, he found the chicken coup in the chicken barn in his backyard and the family explained to him that it was over 100 years old. So, I have a great chicken coup for dirt cheap. I of course had to clean it, but after a good spraying with the hose….. it is as good as new. My hubby asked me what I was going to do with it and at the time I wasn’t sure. I tried hanging it in my family room, but it stuck out too far so I have decided that I will hang it on my front porch and with each passing season I will fill it with certain things for the season. Fall is right around the corner so it will look great with a prim sign and some pumpkins and gourds. I can hardly wait to get it up. Here is a picture!!

Don’t you love it? Yep, I can hardly wait for Fall now. It is going to be sooo cute!! I also picked up this cute little basket for only 25 cents. Pretty good deals don’t ya think?

I am also so excited to share with you that I FINALLY received my APP magazine in the mail last week. Talk about a GREAT magazine. This is one magazine that you can look at over and over and read from front to back. It is not loaded with tons of ads and it is jam packed with great and helpful articles and loads of prim perfect pictures. All the guys and gals involved did an absolutely wonderful job. Two thumbs up to all of you and if I had more thumbs then I would give you more thumbs up (lol). Kudos to you all.

My last very important piece of information that I wanted to share with all of you is pictures of these crocks. Some of the pictures are of poor quality, but I am sure you get the just of them.

Those crocks are just a few of what I found out on craigslist. This man has been collecting these crocks for over 37 years and is selling them. Well, me being the crock addict that I am wants to go and check them out. So, once this weekend arrives I will be heading over to his home with my Mom and hubby in tow to check out his collection and see if there is anything that I can find. I actually see quite a few that I could take off his hands, but of course the price has to be right. I asked him why he was selling his collection and he told me this……… “Last year my daughter went to the dentist for a root canal. Thru her open tooth she contracted mersa which migrated into her spine. Within 4 days she was paraplegic from the waist down. She has 4 children and limited income. I have been collecting for over 37 years and we decided she needs an electric wheelchair and other items more than we need to keep our collection. So in all I am more than happy to have enjoyed each and every antique long enough and am willing to part with them to someone who also will get to enjoy there beauty along with the history that each has endured.” Pretty sad and tragic story. It made me want to win the lottery and buy all of his crocks not only to help him, but to make my home look pretty too. So, if I can go and buy a couple this weekend, get paid again and buy a few more then that would help him and help my collection too. I would absolutely LOVE to take out part of a wall in my family room and make some shelves in the wall and then fill them with crocks and jugs. Oh geesh…… that makes me all giddy inside (lol). Hopefully someday soon I will have enough to do that.

Well, I will keep you posted on what I find out this weekend. Stay Tuned Prim Friends!!

Until Next Time ~ Blessings to all.

Bathroom Makeover

2010-08-07T14:51:00.001-04:00

I have received several comments from you. Many of you tell me that you miss my makeovers. Some of you tell me that you just miss my blogging. So…… I thought I would not only blog today, but also share a makeover. Yep, you heard me correctly. Do you all remember this cabinet?

I bought it for $2.92 right before our thrift store closed the doors for business. I bought it back in April and was trying to decide where to put it. I was debating my laundry room or my half bath. Well, I am pretty pleased with my laundry room so I thought the half bath would be great. I just knew that before I put it in my bathroom that it would definitely need a makeover. Here is a picture of it after I sanded it and removed those awful knobs.

I wanted it to be prim so off the doors came and out came the paint to match my cabinet doors that were already in there.

I decided on Olde Brick Red from Olde Century Paints. Here is what it looks like after the coat of paint and a couple coats of rubbed on Dark Walnut Stain. What do you think?

Looking good – huh? Well, I took an extra step with this cupboard. I knew it needed one more thing and I knew exactly what it was. It needed a prim coffee stained curtain. Yep, that is what it needed. I pulled out the sewing machine and went to work. I coffee stained some muslin that I had and started hemming my curtain.

Here is what it looked like when I was done with the curtain. I thought that the curtain needed something a little extra so I sewed on a homespun patch to match the cabinet. Didn’t it turn out great?

Looks alot better then this before picture ~ don’t ya think?

I can’t stand those ugly towel racks that they put up on the wall. They must put them on with cement. Anyway, after the cabinet and curtain was complete….. it was time to decorate. Here is the finished project!! I was real pleased with it and it added so much more to my bathroom.

The picture is a little crooked, but trust me the cabinet is up straight (lol).

Hope you all enjoyed the makeover. I have so much more to share including a new Fall purchase from the open house at North Shore Primitives, antique store finds and some GREAT yard sale finds. Those are all going to be happening early next week so keep watching.

Hope you all have a blessed weekend.

Until Next Time ~ Stay Happy!!

Changes in the Laundry Room

2010-08-02T20:20:00.001-04:00

Changes are taking place everywhere in my home. I have arranged, re-arranged, added, subtracted and the list goes on. I am taking advantage of the last couple weeks left before my hubby goes back to work. He is so great to have around because he watches Cameron which in return allows me to putter around the house and enjoy some “free time” without a little one running all around.

So, what have you all been up to? I had a great visit with Shawn’s cousin Stacey and her friend Stacey. They came for a visit and we headed to North Shore Primitives for a shopping excursion. It was lots of fun and they enjoyed it as much as I did. I had to nickname them Stacey 1 and Stacey 2 while they were here which was pretty funny, but we all had a wonderful time. Of course I invited Mom to go along and she enjoyed the time as well. What all did I buy? Well, I purchased some more Olde Century Paint, a couple towels, a mustard runner for my table and some gourds for Fall. It wasn’t much, but to be honest….. I didn’t need much. My goal is to tackle a cupboard that I have had for some time and get it painted before my hubby heads back to work. I want to take down my towel bar in the bathroom and then put the cupboard up above the toilet and fill it with some prim pretties and who knows what else. So…… be watching for pics on that soon.

So, do you wanna see some changes that I have made to my laundry room? I finally was able to hem my curtains above my washer and dryer. Wow, it is so nice being able to sew. I just love knowing how to do it when I need something so simple made or hemmed. Anyway, here are some updated pictures of my laundry room.

I also re-arranged my kitchen a little bit. I had some old antique glass jugs and jars that I put some prim labels on so I had to find some homes for those and I knew that they would be perfect in my kitchen. So, I moved this old wooden antique shelf from the top of my kitchen cupboard and put it above my stove. It fit there perfectly and I didn’t even need a nail. I filled my jars and then placed them on the shelf and this is what it looks like. I thought it added alot to that area.

My labels were just a tad bit big for my jars so I cut them down and burnt the edges to give them a more prim look. I thought they turned out cute!! What do you think?

Did you notice my new header on my blog? Well, that is what I did with my farm table in my kitchen. I bought those flowers at NSP when we went this past weekend. I just loved how they looked together and they are perfect for Fall. Yep, it is just around the corner. I haven’t brought any of my other Fall stuff out yet, but I am sure I will as August comes to a close. I was just sick of what was on my table and figured that it needed a change. Here is a picture for your viewing pleasure (lol).

Oh…… did you notice that little shelf in the background made out of old barn wood? Well, my hubby made it for me and I just love it. Here is a closer picture of it. I thought the cup and old forks really added to it. What do you think?

Well, I think that is all I have to share with you today. I hope you enjoyed my post and I hope to be blogging a bit more every week and then be totally back on schedule once Fall arrives. I miss blogging, but summer time is always my time to spend with my family and enjoy having us all together. Who doesn’t love spending time with their loved ones?!? I know that I absolutely love it.

I leave you with this…… have you received your Primitive Place Magazine yet? I have been patiently waiting since the 27th and I am not sure I can wait much longer. I stand at the front door, look down the street and wait for my mailman to pull up to our mailbox. I run out to the street, open the box and find nothing. OMGosh, how upsetting!! Today was absolutely different….. I about tackled my mailman, took his truck and rummaged through it looking for my magazine (lol ~ just kidding). Seriously, why can’t it arrive like today? I am so desperately waiting, I have been camping out at the curb and watching over that mailbox. Oh heck, I keep thinking someone stole it. Yep, this prim gal is just not patient at all. So, here is to hoping that it comes tomorrow. If not I am sending out the search dogs!!

Until Next Time ~ Blessings, Lisa

Busy Times

2010-07-26T13:40:00.001-04:00

Are you all staying cool? It finally cooled down here in Ohio and I must say that I am thankful for that. It is actually pretty nice today with a little breeze. Ah…… gotta love a breeze!! Anyway, things have been crazy busy here, but I have enjoyed it. I have been filling orders and making a few new items. If you are waiting on an order then please know that I have NOT forgot about you, but just running a tad bit behind. Dan ~ that includes you my friend. I have also been enjoying some family time with my two favorite boys. My dear hubby heads back to work the middle of August and Cameron is heading to pre-school. Yep, we enrolled him into pre-school and he will go 3 days out of the week. OMGosh, my little man is growing up too fast!! I know it will be best for him, but the thought of trusting someone else with my child is still hard to think about. I am just not looking forward to that day, but I know that God will watch over him and keep him safe.

Let’s talk about something fun ~ shall we? I just recently ordered a huge amount of prim labels from Susie at Yankee Lane Primitives. I thought to myself that I needed more jars, jugs or boxes in order to use some of these labels. I had a few jars that I kept, but the labels were just too big. I then found some old glass jugs at an antique mall and my sister’s fiance’ gave me a few more. I was pretty happy to receive those. Anyway, my mind was still thinking that I needed more. You know that it is bad when you are going through the isles of Wal-Mart looking for jars that could be used in your kitchen. I was going through each and every isle and then I came across the perfect jar. I stood there thinking to myself…… could I possibly eat all of those pickles and use that jar? Without further delay….. I grabbed that 1 gallon jar of pickles and put it into my cart. Good thing my hubby wasn’t with me or he would have been like “What in the world are you going to do with all of those pickles.” Well, ladies and gentleman…….. I have put my hubby on a very strict diet of dill pickles (LOL). He thought it was too funny that I bought that huge jar full of pickles, but he seems to be enjoying that diet. I told him no more regular food until the pickles are all gone and the prim label is slapped on the jar (LOL~ I am totally joking). Anyway, I have had 2 or 3 pickles, Shawn has had 3 or 4 and I gave a couple to my parents. If you live close by then please feel free to stop by for a pickle (hahahaha). Here is the jar that I am referring to. Won’t it look great with a prim label and some coffee stained cloth on the lid?

Gotta love how a prim gal thinks!! Don’t you think that jar has lot of potential? I know it does!! Here are pictures of my other jugs.

What am I going to do with all of these glass jugs and jars? Well, I am going to change around what I have on top of my kitchen cabinets. I thought these would look great scattered around up there.

I have also been busy re-finishing Cameron’s bedroom. He is totally obsessed with Toy Story right now so I thought I would re-finish it while I was able to take advantage of my hubby being home. I allowed Cameron to pick the color and he chose Candied Yam. Yep, it is a bright orange, but it turned out pretty and he absolutely LOVES his room. I went with decorating it the cheaper way. I purchased posters and puzzles from the Dollar Tree. Once the puzzles were put together, they were glued and put on a piece of wood. They turned out real cute and he loves them!! Here are a few pics of his room and Cameron.

Bright – don’t ya think? I like it…… I find it cheerful and it puts a smile on his face and that is the main thing. I love making him happy!! You know that I LIVE to make him happy!!!!

Until Next Time ~ Blessings, Lisa

♥ ~ Sewing ~ ♥

2010-07-10T15:56:00.001-04:00

I hope you all have been enjoying your summer. I have been staying busy like always, but it has been a good busy!! My hubby is a school teacher so I have been enjoying his company and the fact that I can actually get out of the house. Don’t get me wrong… I love being able to stay home with Cameron, but I also enjoy getting out and talking to adults (lol). It is funny because when I get together with my Mom or some of my friends then I just talk like crazy. Some people probably think that I never shut-up (hahaha). I guess I just enjoy talking to other people other then little children. I am sure you can all understand that.

I have been doing my best to try to stay cool. It has been in the mid 90’s, but the humidity is what kills the idea of actually going out. It has felt over 100 and that is just not what I like so I have been staying inside and keeping cool. What have you been doing alot of people might ask and my response is “sewing”. I just recently adopted my Mom’s sewing machine and I absolutely love it. I have been sewing and making a few things here and there. I love wood-working, but with the heat the way that it has been….. I tend to stear clear from the garage and my work-shop. Anyway. I thought I would share a few projects that I just completed. I will be adding these to my selling blog in case you are interested, but that might take a day or two.

I made the towel and the ditty bag for my laundry room. I did not sew the stockings, but I am sure that is something I could try my hand at. I purchased my ragg tags from Susie at Yankee Lane Primitives. Don’t you just love them?!? Here are some more creations!!

So…….. as you can see I have been staying busy. Alot of you have asked what my sewing machine and work area look like and here are a few pictures of what it looks like today. Messy, but totally enjoyable to be around.

It is probably a good thing I don’t drink coffee because if I did then I would be sick of it by now. I have been coffee staining fabric all day long. I made myself a make-do clothes line on our deck and it appears to be working just fine. My hands on the other hand are brown from the stain……. oh geesh, I hope that comes off.

I also had to show you a picture of my tobacco that I ordered from a fellow blogger and FB friend. Sandie was selling these tobacco leaves and I knew I just had to have some. They arrived in the mail last week. Don’t you love how prim they look?

As always I can never post after a long period of time and not share some pics of Cameron & Qbert. The boys are doing great. Cameron is just as sassy as ever and Qbert is so much fun. Good thing 4th of July only comes once a year…. our neighbors set off fireworks and poor Qbert has been scared to go outside at night to use the restroom ever since. Hopefully that goes away soon. They are best of buddies that is for sure.

Well, I better run for now. I have lots more to do. You all have a wonderful weekend and stay cool. Until Next Time….. Blessings Always!!

I’m Baaaaack……

2010-06-20T22:29:00.001-04:00

Sorry to have been gone for such a long while, but I have been busy to say the least. Things are just fine. Hubby is out of school for the summer and I have been enjoying his company. I love being a SAHM and being able to spend the summers with him. It is so nice!!

Anyway, you ask what I have been up to and I guess the question should be….. what have I not been up to. I have been really taking advantage of the warmer weather. I have been re-finishing a few things here and there, making some signs and my sweet hubby and I made some shutters for my bedroom window. They turned out prim perfect!! Oh, but I have so much more to show you so I am trying to decide where to start (lol).

Last weekend I went and painted my sister’s home. I painted her bathroom red. It is the same color as my kitchen if you all remember what it looks like and I then painted her kitchen area. It turned out great! Her home was so dark and dreary because it had that dark paneling everywhere, but I brightened it up and it is on the way to being prim which is what we all love.

While I was down there painting….. I stopped by the antique mall and found a couple great things. I picked up this old milk can and only paid $12.00 for it.

I also found this old jug for only $5.00. I love it, but I am thinking about taking that label off and putting one of Susie’s labels on it. What do ya think? I could always just coffee stain this one up a bit too. Decisions!

Well, I am sure you all remember this beauty……

Check out my previous post when I re-finished it in red over black. It just didn’t turn out the way that I had hoped for. It was just not what I wanted. So, after several weeks of staying away from it…. I decided to paint it a buttermilk and then stain it like my kitchen cabinets. I am happy to say that it FINALLY turned out the way I was hoping for. I decided not to put the doors on and just hem a cute little prim curtain for the front of it. I must say that I was the one that actually hemmed the curtain. Yep, I was so stinkin’ proud of myself for learning to sew for the first time. Enough of my rambling already……show us that cupboard. Here you go…… feast your eyes on this beauty!!

So……… what do you all think? I am pleased with it finally. I have had this cupboard since last November and it is finally finished. Don’t ask how many coats of primer or paint it has on it (lol). I am sure it is plenty!! The good thing is that it doesn’t stink!! Whew.

Doesn’t my little curtain look great? I was very proud of being able to sew that myself. My MIL got me started and then I finished it up. Yep, I feel like I wanna sew all the time now (lol).

Well, since you all have been waiting so patiently….. I thought I would share with you some new pictures of my bedroom. My hubby made the shutters for me and I helped a little bit, but he did all the measuring, cutting and of course put the hinges on. Wow, those hinges can get expensive!! Anyway, here are some pics. Enjoy!!

The more I look at that closet door….. the more I want to paint it red. What do you all think?!? It doesn’t hardly look like it fits in.

So, what do you all think? Aren’t they gorgeous? I normally just open the top and keep the bottom closed, but of course at night we close everything up. It gives us much privacy and really helps keep the light out at night from the street lights. A big “thank you” goes out to Linda from The Keeping Room. She was kind enough to share pics of her shutters in her home and even gave us a few pointers. Thank you Linda!!

Hope you all have enjoyed the pictures and the update. So sorry I haven’t been around, but hopefully that will change soon. Blessings to all. Stay cool!!

Until Next Time ~ Blessings, Lisa

Crocks, Friends & A Reveal

2010-06-05T21:10:00.001-04:00

Well, if you like crocks then this will be the post for you. I decided on the spur of the moment to take my Mom to Amish Country for an early birthday gift. We left Thursday morning around 7:30 and got home yesterday around 3:00. I must say that we had an unbelievably great time. I had the opportunity to meet up with a dear friend and fellow blogger Kris from Simply Prim. It is always nice to meet other prim bloggers and this was no different. Kris was just as sweet as could be and she fit right in with my Mom and I. Yep, I think she can hang with us prim gals any day of the week (lol). Anyway, we are planning another trip in late summer or early fall and I think we are going to try to get together with her again. She said that she would have more time since her daughter would be out of school at that time so that will be fun. Here is the picture that my Mom took of Kris and I. We were standing right out front of Country Gatherings in Berlin, Ohio.

Kris had told me about an antique shop that she just recently found. I was not aware of it since it is kinda off the beaten path, but it was easy to find and full of lots of goodies. Kris mentioned that if we like crocks then it was the place to go. Well, I am getting more and more into crocks every time I go shopping. This shop was jam packed full of them. Of course I found lots of them that were priced high, but probably worth every penny…… they were gorgeous!! I found some others that were just as pretty and priced lower and more in my price range. Here are a few that I found at that shop.

This one is my FAVORITE!

Here are a few other crocks that I found at other antique shops.

I picked up a few other things while shopping in Amish Country. I needed some pillows for my bed and once I got them home… I was glad that I did it. They look fabulous on my bed.

I think I am going to purchase some table squares next time I am in town and then see if my MIL will sew them for me. I thought the linen/linen would look great on my hubby’s bookcase. It would be prim and cover up his books all at the same time. Gotta love that!!

I also picked up this old feed sack for dirt cheap. I love it and thought it would look great somewhere in my home, but I am just not sure where to put it now that I have it (lol). Here is what it looks like.

Any suggestions? Here are a few other items that I picked up while in Amish Country. I found another witches hat punched tin light, but I picked one that was rusty this time and love it. My hubby just hung it for me tonight in the upstairs hallway. It looks great!!

You all probably thought that I forgot about the BIG reveal of that cupboard. Well, I didn’t and I thought I would share that picture with you tonight. I guess the reason why I haven’t been so quick to share it is because I am not at all pleased with the way it turned out. It is totally dry now, but it is dull, splotchy and just not what I had pictured when it was finished. So, it remains in the garage until I decide what to do with it. I have another idea up my sleeve, but I am not sure if I even have the energy to work on it anymore. Yep, it was that big of a hassle to say the least.

I purchased the paint and it was mixed wrong so when I started to paint it…… it was a pepto bismol pink and it was NOT getting any darker as it dried. I thought that maybe I didn’t shake it enough so I placed the lid on it, was interrupted by Cameron, went back to shake the paint and forgot that my lid was not down. Yep, it was a flipping mess!!!! I had paint all over me (arms, hands, legs) and all over the garage floor. I tried cleaning it up and I just smeared it everywhere. Oh, what a mess I had. I then tried to sand my cupboard after it dried and it was not sanding the way that I had liked. It was just one mess after another and it didn’t stop there. The staining was not working and then when it dried……yep, you guessed it ~ it was splotchy!! UGHHH………. you are kidding me!! I went through all of that and it still didn’t turn out!?! So, that is where it stands and that is where is stays or at least until I can stomach working on it again. LOL. I wasn’t going to put the doors back on because I thought that I could put some coffee stained cloth on the front of it and it would look just as prim. Hopefully I will have enough nerve to work on it again, but until then it remains in the garage.

Hope you all are doing well. I have been so busy working outside. I weed one day and my beds are attacked with more weeds so you will find me outside more now then in the past. As for other projects ~ I think I am taking a little bit of a break. I might work on something here or there, but right now I am just taking it easy and enjoying it.

Until Next Time ~ Blessings, Lisa