Willow Ridge Primitives

Catching Up

2011-12-30T22:03:00.002-05:00

You Snooze, You Lose!

Well, I wasn't exactly sleeping but I have been very busy with x-mas decorating and shopping and adding a new member to the family in the midst of it all. I just can't believe the whole season has come and gone and I didn't get any x-mas pics posted. I began snapping some pics but I didn't get very far. Any way, here's what I did get, better late than never right?

"The Guest Room Tree"

The Tree Topper

Beneath the Tree

(standing in antique doll buggy)

Full of Jan Hagara's and little bears and lots of rusty ornaments and stitcheries in between.

The diningroom including my new vintage drop leaf / gateleg table from Craigs List for $95.

I love this little Santa which I got on Ebay. I was paying close enough attention to the description though. I was just thinking he was the size of one I got from the same artist last year. Wow was I surprise when I discovered I bought a Santa the size of my thumb for $26 + shipping, LOL. But I still love the little guy. And he is perfect standing on one of my plaster tarts.

The Livingroom Tree

And the frosting on the cake, my adorable grand daughters opening their presents on x-mas eve.

I had a little after x-mas shopping fun. Not in a mall where the crowds go, but to the antique stores.

I got a great scoop, the perfect size and color for my big 'ole bowl. $18

Some wonderful little kitchenwares for hanging on my diningroom tree which is full of chocolate molds and cookie cutters, etc. $1 - $3 except for the adorable little funnel. I splurged and paid $7.95 for that one. I am so ashamed, LOL.

(I added the homespun for hanging)

And the best of all........ I love antique baby shoes. At our last stop I found a giant basket full of "single" unmatched baby shoes. I have long wanted to put antique baby shoes on my guest room tree. I was like a kid in a candy store. I only wish I bought a couple more. I definately got the best though. priced $3 - $5 each.

A wonderful early baby slipper. I would guess mid-late 1700's. A little worse for wear but perfect in my eyes.

Turn of the century strappy shoe, the tiniest of the lot.

Golden Brown velvet shoe with white leather trims and pearly buttons

Tiny plaid fabric and leather lace-up boot. Like no baby shoe I have ever seen before.

Lace-up with red lining inside the ankle and fold over front to reveal the red lining.

I did get some heartbreak on my shopping trip. Nob Hill Antiques at Washington Square (Holland, MI), my most favorite antiques store EVER, closed. A sign on the door said "Thank you for 11 great years" and there are for sale signs in front of the store. I am crushed!!!! It was the one store that specialized in primitive and you always knew you were walking into a treasure trove when you came through the door.

Wishing you and yours a happy, healthy, warm & cozy, bright & sunny, perfectly primitive, and prosperous 2012 filled with much love and good friends to share it all with.

Happy New Year!!!!

If I were rich

2011-11-07T11:32:00.007-05:00

If I Were Rich

Yesterday was such a glorious day for the month of November in my neck of the woods. Sunshine and mid 50's and there were no chilly breeze's whispering "winter is coming" in my ear. Hubby was working and I just couldn't waste the day sitting aroundd the house. So I hopped in my cube and headed south 2 hours to Amish territory. Destination Shipshewana, IN. In the past, I have always gone on weekdays when it's a much quieter scene. But I didn't even mind the crowds yesterday. It was just good to be out for a spur of the moment adventure. And there was even an antique show in town. Perfect timing! The roads were full of horse-n-buggies and bikes as the menonite and amish were all out enjoying the day as well.

I had precious little fun money to spend (saving it up for a big prim show next weekend). Anyway, antiques in big tourist areas tend to have higher price tags on them. So, I invented a new game for myself. It turned out to be "almost" as much fun as spending money. I call it.......

If I Were Rich

(things I would have brought home if only....)

an early antique corner cupboard $2,495.00

dropleaf night table $295

single drawer night table $149

ladderback rocker $249

There's always room for more crocks

incredibly long trencher $495

20" wooden bowl

Adorable little dolly dresser

I did manage to buy a few little goodies though.

Yummy maple frosted cinnamon rolls & a pumpkin roll.

From the antique show I got an old biscuit cutter and pie crimper to hang on my diningroom x-mas tree with some checkered homespun. Also a little old mold. I spent a whole $4.00.

At the prim shops in town I bought a string of the tiniest silicone x-mas lights I ever saw, a rusted metal angel ornament, & some battery operated prim taper candles.

Mostly it was just a lovely day of walking and looking and appreciating. Oh, and a little bit of wishing I were, well.... you know...........

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

A Willow Ridge Halloween

2011-11-01T19:30:00.001-04:00

Happy Halloween

from Willow Ridge Primitives

Yep! It's the day after and it appears I missed the boat. But actually.... I don't decorate out of doors until the big night. So.... here are the pics of my spooky (and not so spooky) decor, inside and out, for both Halloween and autumn.

"The Family and Dining Rooms"

I really need to find a Halloween picture for my mantle. Serene seaside doesn't quite cut it.

I made these pumpkins years ago when I did wood crafts for consignment in the 90's but I still love'em.

"The Living Room"

"The Front Porch and Welcome Garden"

I just love ornamental kale and mums in the fall. And, purple and yellow together in the garden are my fav combination. The pumkins in the mix are just the frosting on the cake. :o)

My sisters newly adopted puppy mill rescue came from Atlanta to meet me.

"The Spooky Stuff"
which comes out the day before Halloween -

My weathered porch chair moved off the porch so the skeleton would have a place to rest his weary bones after decorating. After dark he was lit up with the first of 4 strobe lights.

A dollar store skull with the bottom cut out. Then he was placed over a cheap solar light to make him glow. We had six more but hubby lost them in his garage somewhere.

A huge tree limb I pruned out of my tree a month before and hung onto for Halloween. And a pair of dollar store crows. I brushed some black glitter glue into the limbs and on the crows. The second of 4 strobe lights was flashing into the tree and making the glitter glow. The fountain running made a great sound effect with the Halloween decor. Like trickling water through the rock walls of a cave.

The cemetary with iron look skull gates flanking the opening. The cemetary had strobe light #3 flashing on it.

Homemade plywood tombstones. The skull on the stone was a re-sale find for $1.50. It has motion sensors in his teeth and his eyes light up and follow you as he talks.

Spooky ghoul has a light up head that glows from blue to purple to green.

After dark.....

Very large spooky ghoul hanging in the maple along side the driveway. Strobe light number 4 was flashing up into the tree at him

My lounging skeleton with a huge rusty lantern shining down on him.

In the picture window, behind the cemetary I hung a big transparent Grim Reaper. Hubby placed a spoooky blue light on the floor behind him to make him glow and there was a smoke machine hiding behind the skull stone.

and the best of all, the cutest trick-or-treaters EVER!!!!!!!
Pretty in pink - Ava (age 2) the butterfly and big sis Sienna (age 4) as a princess of coarse.

Thanks a bunch for stopping by.
Till next time...........

A-Z

2011-10-24T21:37:00.000-04:00

Willow Ridge Primitives A-Z

Time to join in some blogland fun. I found this on The Cranky Crow's blog who found it on 1890 Gable House Musings blog who found it on A Primitive Place blog who found it on Renee's blog. Sorry to say I'm not familiar with Renee but give me time, LOL. So many blog's, so little time.

This is a list from A -Z to let your blog readers get to know you better.

A - Age - 50. Oh man that hurts to say!

B - Bed - A king sized Drexel Heritage rice carved 4 poster. It was a Craigs List steal cause I could never afford anything new from Drexel Heritage. When we went to see it we discovered it belonged to our long time local Chief Meteorologist Craig James. Actually kinda geeks me out knowing he slept in my bed, LOL.

C - Chore you hate - Dusting, it's endless.

D - Dogs - Mr Bean and Lola Puddles and next month we will be adding a rescue yorkie to our hairy little family.

E - Essential to start my day - Hmmmm, I don't drink coffee or soda for a caffeine charge. I rarely use an alarm clock. But when I wake up, well, I can't get to my potty fast enough. :o)

F - Favorite color - in clothing / black, in the garden / purple combined with yellow, and in decorating / dark dark reds and browns. I hope that wasn't cheating, LOL.

G - Gold or Silver - gold

H - Height - 6'1"

I - Instrument I play - I learned to play the recorder in the 4th grade. never touched the horrid thing again.

J - Job Title - once upon a time - JCPenney Customer Service (uh, that was an interesting job, LOL) and most recently, mail carrier

K - Kids - Just one, a daughter, now 31 with 2 adorable daughters of her own

L - Live in - West Michigan, a short drive from Beautiful Lake MI

M - Make of Car - Carribean Blue Nissan Cube

N - Nick Name - Goof

O - Over-night hospital stay - only once, 31 years ago when you stayed a minimum of 3 nights after having a baby.

P - Pet Peeve - Droopy pants. Pull 'em up already! And stupid people.

Q - Quote from a movie -

Teacher says, every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings. (It's a Wonderful Life)

R - Right or Left - I'm a righty

S - Siblings - Brother (7 yrs older), Sister (5 years older), Me, and a sister (9 months and 2 weeks younger). Someone told mom you couldn't get pregnant while nursing, LOL.

T - TV Shows - Oh dear me, this could take a while. Survivor, Big Brother, Swamp People**, American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, Design Star, Project Runway, Sister Wives, Hoarders, Moving UP. Thats right, I'm a reality Junkie!

Greys Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, Private Practice, Two and 1/2 Men (missing Charlie though), Everybody Loves Raymond, Andy Griffith Show (I want to live in Mayberry).

U - Underwear - duh, YES!

V - Veggie you hate - Brussel Sprouts - mostly because they are hubby's favorite and they give him gas, LOL. But they do taste like dirty socks. :o/

W - What makes me late - Lola who dawdles when she is put out for a last minute potty before we leave.

X - x-rays - dental, mammogram's, MRI, CT scan, utra sounds, knees, back, chest trauma, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc. It's a wonder I don't glow in the dark.

Y - Yummy food I make - Coconut Pecan Rum cake. Yummy!!!

Z - Zoo - Just makes me sad to see the animals penned up.

And finally, 1890 Gable House Musings added an extra topic for Halloween - "What Scares You?" (besides the normal fears with life)

Well, I am plagued with phobia's, LOL. But my number one fear is heights. Not roller coasters (love 'em). Not trams, or ferris wheels, or glass elevators. It has more to do wiith climbing and having faith in my own 2 feet to get me there. Stairs and hillsides are bad. But ladders and (the worst) escalators will literally cause a panic attack. I can go up but I can't come down. No way, no how. I tried to learn to come down an escalator once. I got one foot on and then did the splits when the second foot froze. It wasn't pretty. I ended up with a sock and shoe filled with blood after getting the back of my leg all chopped up like hamburger. Now don't I paint a pretty picture?

Monday Make-Over

2011-10-23T12:07:00.000-04:00

Monday Make-Over
on Sunday
I have a full day ahead of me tomorrow. Hubby is 2 hours north today, plotting out where to set up his deer blind and camp site for the opening of deer season in a couple weeks. So, I decided it was a good time to get my blog post done.

I got my antique market windsor chair done and I love love love it!!!!! It turned out just as I pictured. It is so well made and authentic but was shiny finish, dark dark stain, and the painted floral design on the back were all tragic.

I sanded it all down to bare wood, mostly with my orbital sander on the lowest setting and some bits by hand.

Next I painted it with a little sample size jar of valspar paint from Lowes. They have tiny little 7.2 oz jars of base paint which can be mixed to any of their paint colors for just $2.99. After sitting in my poolhouse with approx 12 different shades of aqua I decided on a color called Evening Stroll.

Once painted I sanded it all down again, leaving just enough paint in just the perfect places. Then I added a simple little white stencil across the back and sanded that down too.

Next step - I rag stained over it all with minwax's Special Walnut oil based stain. I gave it 24 hours for the stain to dry and then gave it a water based satin clear finish (Repco).

We also got our free Craig's List cupola placed on the roof this week. I just love a cupola!!! One of my favorite historic home tours ever was the Cupola House in Edenton North Carolina. Gorgeous! And don't ya know the diningroom was all painted in aqua?

Of coarse my cupola isn't that big or that beautiful (and neither is my house). But it was free, LOL.

And here is my cupola - finally off the driveway and placed on it's new home.

From the front -

And from the back yard -

Now if only I can find a free weathervane by next summer. Probably not going to happen though. ;o)

Now I need a make-over on my computer. Somehow my picture file is no longer working. I thought I had lost all of my saved photo's (probably 1/2 are saved on a memory stick). I did find them. Somehow they've been moved to epson print studio. Beats me how all this happened. Even new pics are being loaded there. Guess it's a trip to the computer doctor to see if they can get my photo program restored. System restore did naught. So if you are wondering why I have some pictures un-edited here today, that would be the reason. If it's not one thing it's another when it comes to computers.

Monday Makeover

2011-10-11T00:10:00.000-04:00

Monday Make-Over

I have been working over-time trying to get some projects wrapped up while this incredibly beautiful weather lasts.

First up is the poolhouse with barnwood ceiling I have been slaving over. We got the ceiling put up and the walls painted this week. Still need some flooring and trim work and (next spring) run the electrical out there.

This is a plastic grocery bag dispenser I have seen a lot of in the re-sale stores. I use all my plastic bags for trash as well as for poopy scoopin'. I made-over this bag dispenser to hang in my garage so they are readily handy for those "outdoor" jobs. It is a mustard stencil over dark country red and then stained.

Before

After

I have a small antique table that needed some serious lovin'. I got it free 3 years ago and am finally getting to it. I spent yesterday working on the table and a windsor chair I recently picked up at an antique show. They are both nearly stripped with just a little touch up to do tomorrow. Then the table will get some replacement stretchers (as 2 of them are missing) and some stain and clear coat. The chair (a very nicely made 70's reproduction with super shiny finish and terrible painted accent) is going to get a weathered crackle dusty aqua over white paint job and probably a small white stencil on the back. Maybe, LOL, we'll see about the stencil.

Of coarse Mr bean is always right in there trying to help.

This one does'nt look like much now but it was an awful lot of work. I sprayed a lot of vegetation killer in the area and then hubby tilled it under for me a couple days later. Then I rolled the old broken down hay wagon into the bed, planted some false indigo, coreopsis zagreb, some clematis to climb on the wagon, and somewhere around 250 bulbs (giant daffodils, blue scilla, and some big blue hyacinths). Next spring I'll be adding a couple hosta, a bunch of pachysandra, and some bird houses. I already have some big old porch posts to mount the bird houses on.

So far I have planted 406 bulbs and there are another 50 coming. If you ever want to plant bulbs in large quantitiess be sure to check out Van Engelen Bulbs. Awesome company with amazing wholesale prices for the general retail public.

Next week expect pics of a completed chair and table as well as my autumn garden. I am just waiting for the mums to open.

Frugal Friday

2011-09-30T17:37:00.000-04:00

Frugal Friday

Ahhhh......... Fall, my favorite time to get out and about and do a little shopping. Last Sunday was the final Allegan outdoor Antique Market. My favorite. I finally bought myself an antique butter paddle ($12). I'd say thats about the going rate in my neck of the woods. Heaven knows I waited long enough in hopes of finding a cheaper one, LOL. I also got a reproduction birdcage windsor for $25 at the show. It's a great shape but not a great color. That'll be a future Monday make-over. Here is my butter paddle pictured with a basket I found at a garage sale last Saturday for .25 cents.

This morning I went for a country drive to an orchard and pick up some farm fresh cider, some spies, & several little boo's along with a couple other pale colored little gourds to fill the basket. Their mini gourds are .50 cents ea.

From there I went to Changing Thymes antiques and decor. Lucky me, they were having an anniversary sale. Discounts in every booth and plates of goodies and hot cider all through the store. Cookies, apple bread, red pepper spread on home made french bread, brownies....... Oh My!!!!! That was my lunch today, LOL.

I bought the beige berry sprig that is in the basket for 20% off ($3.20) and an adorable little sampler (pictured below) stitched in 1988 for $10.80. The frame has got to be replaced. Better sized and maybe heavier. But I love the sampler!

The lantern above is electrified and very weathered. I just love it! I got it off ebay for only $15 and $5.95 shipping. A steal. My hubby, the electrician is going to rewire and add a plug with switch for me since I haven't figured out a good place to hang it. If only there were 2, then I would know right where to put them.

I am still at, buying up wool clothing, cutting it up, and storing it away. Much like a squirrel storing up nuts for winter, LOL. So the last tuesday of the month is always 1/2 price day and I tend to go "a little" crazy. I hit the jackpot this week with some really fabulous colors I didn't have yet - rusty oranges, olive green, eggplant, plus lots of brown and tan - great fall colors.

Finally, I wanted to share some pictures I took last night. We had quite the storms move through west Michigan early last night. As the storm came in it looked like armagedon. The clouds were so black and foreboding and they came in so fast. Then the 40+ mph winds hit followed by hail and heavy rains and some wild lightening. It was an awesome show out the window. But then....... the grand finale. A full double rainbow. I grabbed the camera and ran out the door in my bare feets. Brrr!!!!!!! And there I stood on cold cold wet slab stone along side my pond, in total awe! Rainbows always seem to fade away so quickly and I was snapping away. But that rainbow lasted and lasted and gave me lots of time to just stand and drink in the majesty of it.

Then I noticed everything had a strange glow. I turned aound and looked to the west and this is what I found.

Now I guess it's time to go pick up those branch's and twigs that are spread across the lawn in the wake of it all.

Make-Over Monday

2011-09-26T21:53:00.000-04:00

Make-Over Monday

It's been a busy month around here. For starters, I finally re-finished a dovetailed box I got for $2 at a garage sale earlier this summer. It had a very unattractive label and a lot of paint splatters on it.

The sanding went super fast with my orbital sander. It's a crafty girls best friend.

I sanded it down just enough to remove the label, paint, and the old finish. But, not so much that I removed the character and age of it. It still has it original saw marks and all it's scars, bumps, and dings. Then I restained and varnished. It is gorgeous if I may say so myself. The pictures just don't do it justice.

We finally got the outside of the pool house done.

This is a picture of the area when we first moved in.

The unsightly chain link, over grown shrubs, and hosta were pulled out as soon as we moved in and the fence re-used elsewhere in the yard, behind a wall of Junipers and out of sight. Then replaced with hydrangea's and evergreens and a split rail fence.

The view from the road. We put in the half round window to match the arches above the bedrooms windows on the front of the house.

The cupola was ordered on-line from Annapolis Weathervanes and Cupola's. It's definately the frosting on the cake.

We are still working on the interior. The drywall needs a little more mudding and then paint. The ceiling is going to be paneled in some old barn wood.

It was ReaLLy ruff so we ran it through the planer to clean it up.

Next I rolled on a light coat of flat, thin, cheap, white wall paint that we got free after re-bate from Menards.

When the paint was dried I took my trusty orbital sander and sanded the paint way way down. And then I stained over the top with an oil based wood stain.

And set them all out in the sun to dry.

And now they are sitting on saw horses in the garage waiting to get installed. I sure hope I like it after all that work which included 1 day of planing, one day of painting, 2 days of sanding, and 2 days of staining.

Till next time (hopefully with a finished ceiling).................

2011-09-26T20:25:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday!!!!

My adorable little Grand Darlings celebrated their 2nd and 4th birthdays this week.

My Sweetie Pie, Ava, turned 2 today. She's a pip!

And my Honey Bunny, big sister Sienna, turned 4 on the 20th.

Sienna and her bestie, Hannah, were born just a day apart. This year they got to share a princess party in the park for all their little friends. It couldn't have been a more beautiful September day and prince and princess costumes were worn by all as Princess Liz read them princess stories.

They are growing up so fast. Too fast in fact.

Frugal Friday

2011-09-09T10:00:00.000-04:00

A Fabulous Frugal Friday

Make-Over Monday

Combo Day

Busy, busy, busy!!!! Now that it's too cold for swimming the mad push is on to get all our outdoor make-overs done before the snow fly's. A free Craigs List fence to install, a house to paint, finishing the new poolhouse, pruning trees, refinishing an antique dining table and a small end table. Work, work work.

We've been in this house for just a little over 3 years now. One thing I have wanted to do since we moved in was to put a cupola (or 2) on the roof to give my 70's ranch a little personality on the outside. In an ideal world I would have 2 smaller cupola's - one for each end of the house. But I would have settled for one larger cupola centered on the house as well. I discovered cupola's don't come along everyday (or every year) on Craigs List and if I was going to ever get one I'd have to pay. So, giving up on the dream to put one on the house, I ordered a smaller 21" cupola for the poolhouse (according to hubby, still too much $$$). Then, 2 weeks after placing my order, what do I find? A free 36" cupola, copper roof and all, on Craigs List. I quickly e-mailed my request, certain I would never hear back. But, an hour later the phone rang and the cupola was mine. Out of 48 other e-mails I was the lucky winner. So this is, for sure, my most fabulous Frugal Friday EVER!!! A new 36" copper topped cupola would be $1,000 + shipping. So while it isn't exactly the cupola I would have ordered, I couldn't be more thrilled with my find. It is about 40 years old. Hubby re-braced the inside. I scraped and sanded. This weekend (when I finish painting the house) it will get painted. And then............ up to the roof it goes.

Now deciding where to put it. I really always pictured a smaller one on the garage and a second smaller one over the brick end of the house. I'm thinking it is too big for the brick end. And, the solar heating for the pool is on the garage. So now it is between centering over the picture window or the above the front door. Hmmmm............

Now this brings us to Make-Over Monday. We had no plans of taking on this project, but when we got the free vinyl fence for the front of the house it just sort of snowballed.

So this is the house before (ewww) -

and after -

Still needing new front windows, a couple large rocks, and 2 mugo pines but we've come a long, long way.

The garage before and after (the walk-in door is another Craigs List freebie) -

and the hideous bedroom windows -

After -

I still have the back of the family room to get painted and hubby has one peak to paint on the end of the house. I leave him the ladder work as I won't climb higher than my 2-step stool. But I definately have, by far, the most area to cover. So, off to Lowes now, to buy my 4th and final gallon of paint. I just love their Valspar paint.

Monday I'll share my completed poolhouse with it's new little cupola.

Frugal Friday

2011-08-26T00:01:00.000-04:00

Frugal Friday

It's a frugal Friday "on" Friday. What do ya know? LOL! Looks like hubby has returned to a five day work week. No more Friday's off. Ah well, nothing lasts forever. It was nice while it lasted though.

So early in the spring I posted a nice little lantern I which I hung from my limbed up pine tree. Well since then I found 2 more little mini lanterns for $1 ea. I used the green check hopespun gift ties from my Primitive Heartstrings pear pinkeep to hang them in the tree.

This is the original lantern I got in the spring that started it all. I just can't turn down a lantern of any size.

This vinyl fence was a great Craigs List find I got last saturday. I was the 3rd caller but callers one and two didn't have a way to pick this up. Caller #1 dared to aske the guy if he would deliver the free fence, LOL. It's 2 sections of vinyl picket plus the 3 posts and post caps. It's exactly what I wanted for the front of the house but didn't plan to spend the $$$ on till next spring.

I've got mixed feelings on this next one. My hubby's co-worker asked if we would like to have it "free" for our grand daughter's since his children have outgrown theirs. We are making great use of it for sliding into the pool but....... it certainly isn't very pretty to look at out there, LOL.

Sewing Room Progress Report

I made a lot of progress on the sewing room yesterday. It was too cool and breezy to swim so what the heck.

But here is the most impressive part of todays efforts

A clean and organized craft closet.

and closet doors I can actually close all the way

and here I am all ready to post Frugal Friday with 2 minutes before Friday has even arrived. Now to sit and wait for Friday to arrive so I can post .......................................................

Pear Pinkeep Arrives

2011-08-25T13:09:00.001-04:00

It's Here!!!!!

The gorgeous velvet pear pinkeep I won on the blog giveaway from Julie at Primitive HeartStrings arrived yesterday. Can you believe it is even more beautiful in person? I never would have thought to use velvet but it was a perfectly amazing choice of fabric. And the little berry hanging from it is adorable. Julie even included the cutest little ball of darning thread, a thimble, and some buttons and everything was wrapped in brown tissue, & tied in homespun. It even smelled wonderful, like cloves I think. It was like Christmas morning!

So, now the confession, those were the pictures of the clean shelf. Below is a peek at what the rest of the sewing/ craft room looks like. Humiliatin' ain't it? A combination of too much time buying second hand "projects", too little time working on said projects, and too much (if there is such a thing) in the pool. Actually, I was standing in the middle of this mess, cleaning away, when the mail lady arrived with the pear. I was making great progress. But when I opened the door to Cam Lin to recieve my parcel I discovered how hot and humid it had gotten. So...., I took just enough time to open my pear, oooh and aaaahhhh, perch it on the shelf, and then.........Splash!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, back to the project at hand.......... cleaning the sewing room. Who knows what forgotten treasures I might discover under that pile?

All my thanks to Julie at http://primitiveheartstrings.blogspot.com/
for the beautiful pear and the much needed inspiration to clean up my mess. ;o)

All is Well

2011-08-19T08:45:00.001-04:00

I just wanted to drop a quick note to say "disregard" the request in the post below please. Julie from Primitive Heart Strings found it last night. Whew! Just in time for me to get a good night's sleep, LOL. I just don't want her to get a flood of notices about the giveaway now. You should drop by and check out Julies fall pumkins. They are gorgeous and displayed perfectly in an old prim tool box. http://primitiveheartstrings.blogspot.com/
So you know what this means? I must go and clean up the sewing/ craft room for my new pear. I'm afraid the closet in there erupted (a couple months ago) all over the room. This is just the boost I need to go in there and face up to my mess.

Hello. My name is Mary, and yes I am a craft supply/ fabric hoarder.

I Can't believe I won!

2011-08-18T20:16:00.002-04:00

I Won! I Won!!!

In case you haven't already heard...... I WON!!!! I won the pear giveaway from Primitive Heart Strings!!! As a great blogger (Cranky Crow) once said to me (and I have found myself saying it every since) "Oh My Heck"!!!! I never win anything. Well, almost never. There was that beautiful ruby and diamond ring I won once (20 yrs ago)

but otherwise, nothing. And now my finger is too fat for the ring and in photgraphing it I realize just how old my hands are really looking, LOL. I even use to get my house all spotless and gussy myself up on Superbowl Sunday just in case Dick and Ed turned up at my door with a camera crew and a giant check from PCH. I didn't want to be caught on camera braless in my robe. But they never turned up. Anyhow, I'm sure the only reason I won is because I rubbed Robin's lucky crow when she wasn't looking. ;o)

Now, I can't begin to tell you what a frustrating and disappointing day this has been. I had wonderful plans to start my day at a season end sale at the nursery and then spend a hot sunny afternoon in the pool with my gorgeous granddaughters. The pool is perfect and the weather is perfect and the construction mess is almost cleaned up. And then.......

My day began - with an early morning phone call while I was laying there stretching and contemplating getting up. It's never a good sign when the phone rings at an unreasonable hour. I won't go into the who, the what, or the why. But, I had to cancel my glorious day. Especially painful because it had been so cold and rainy that I hadn't been in the pool in nearly 3 weeks. By the time I do get home to swim it is nap time for the grand daughters, so they won't be coming.

I have a very late lunch, suit up, and I am on my way out the door for a late swim. Again the phone rings. UGH!!!! Foolishly I answer it. Then.... I turn around and go get dressed to run off and handle catastrophy #2. No swim for me today.

So I get on the computer and decide to visit blog world since I hadn't been on in over a week. And what do I find? I can hardly believe it! I actually won a blog giveaway! Julie's primitive pear is just gorgeous and will be positively perfect in my sewing room (or maybe even my diningroom). Right away I go to comment and leave a Woot! and a thank you on Julies blog to tell her how this has been the one bright spot in my very dismal day. I click to post my comment and I get "Your current account (MaryOs@comcast.net) does not have access to view this page". I try signing out and back in. I comment again. Again it says no access to view. I went and commented on a friends and a cousins blogs to test. No problems. Back to Primitive Heart Strings - rejected! I click to send an e-mail. I get a message my mail client default is not set. No surprise because I get it every time I click on an e-mail link. Hubby comes home and we spend an hour trying to figure out how to set it properly. We fail. I reached that point - Do I laugh or do I cry. Well, I did neither. Instead I decided to blog about it, LOL. So, Julie, if you see this, I am beside myself with joy that I won. I am also beside myself with grief that I can not contact you to claim my beautiful prize. My only solice is that I am in good company. My bestie has the same trouble not being able to comment on my blog for a few weeks now so I know it isn't just me, LOL. Because...... I HATE when it is just me having an internet issue. ;o)
So, if anyone is passing by Primitive Heart Strings you might want to mention this post by poor me and that I even included my e-mail here for her. I just don't know what else to do.

Frugal Friday

2011-08-06T15:02:00.001-04:00

Frugal Friday

Ok, I know, it's Saturday. Once again I missed the boat. Hubby has been working 10 - 12 hr days, Mon-Thurs for the summer. That sometimes screws up my Friday posting. So I either wait till he goes to bed and post late or, if he is working Saturday for over-time, I wait till then.

So this week I got an amazing steal at the re-sale store. I had been eyeing this trench coat for a couple weeks. But, it was a size too small and $15.00. But, this week they were having their season end sale and all clothing in the store was $1. So I was standing on the door step when they opened Monday, LOL. Really, they should have held on to it to put out with the fall/ winter clothing. It has a wonderfully soft warm flannel zip out lining and will be plenty warm for winter errands, even in MI. It's so well made with lots of nice little details and looks as though it was never worn. Now I just need to stop eating ice cream and get back to business on the diet. I am down 30 lbs and one size but I have a ways to.

I was complaining to my hubby one day that it had been much too long since I got a curbside special. Don't ya know the very next day, while garage saling, I find a weathered old wicker chair!!!!! I couldn't wait for hubby to get home so I can show off my new treasure.

I planted a clematis along side the chair. Hoping next summer or maybe the year after it will climb up on the chair. The ox yoke hanging above the chair is a garage sale find I got for just $10. It is in pretty rough shape but then it wouldn't be prim if it wasn't, LOL.

When hubby got home he was pleased as punch. Not because I found the chair but because he found me 2 old divided wood windows. I have to say they are terrible color but I love the size of 'em. Just means I will have to paint and age them myself. I am going to print off some pics of the grand babies in sepia tones, put one in each of the window panes, and hang them in the new pool house above a daybed once I find one I can afford. I would go out and take a picture of the windows but it hasn't stop raining all day and they are out leaning against the side of the house. Instead, here's some craigs list beds that are priced a bit too high for my budget or are too far away. But either one would be perfect.

Only $160, but three hours away and needs a custom mattress.

But I LOVE it!!!!

This one is local, $300, and it's great too with new custom mattress included. But, too much $$$ for my frugal budget.

And this is the pool house in progress. Very slow progress. One day it will turn up on a Make-over Monday edition.

Thanks for stopping by!

Till next time.........

Aunt Betty's Garden

2011-08-02T18:31:00.001-04:00

Auntie's Garden

Last week, after my shopping spree at Saltbox Farm, I drove over to my aunties house who lives just a country mile from there. She has always had a green thumb for both veggies and flowers. I wanted to get a look at her garden in all it's summer glory.

2011-08-01T21:44:00.000-04:00

Make-Over Monday

Finally!!!!! This project has been a couple years in the making. I was about to give up hope.

Before

This is a picture taken of the built-in china hutch the day we moved in. Yikes! I lived with this for a year. A very very loooong year. Then hubby let me hire a cabinet maker to make me a new door. Yeah!!!

During

I lived with the new door and no shelves for over a year before I convinced the husband that I needed it done. It's maple and he HATES working with maple.

After

Then I broke it to him that I really wanted crown moulding above the cabinet. Yep! Another year he kept me waiting. When he finally realized that a happy wife equals a happy life is when I got the crown moulding. There's a trick to cutting the stuff and it took some trial and error to get it right. But got it he did!

I told him now that he got it figured out it's time to start warming up to the idea of crown moulding in the livingroom. Afterall, we don't want his new found knowledge to go to waste. ;o)

And just so you don't think he is doing ALL the work, he does the cutting and I do the sanding and stain and poly finish. Then we install together. All's fair in love and war, and remodeling! :o)

Frugal Friday

2011-07-30T01:11:00.001-04:00

It's Frugal Friday!!!

I had such a great week. I got the most comfy new sandals ever. Might not sound like much to you, but with feet like mine it's a miracle. I wish I could say they were part of frugal friday, LOL. They definately were not frugal. Some things are worth paying more for and happy feet are one of them. Maybe not the cutest sandals I ever had, but these were more comfy on the first time out than my broke in Brooks running shoes.

The hot steamy weather has returned for the weekend. Five glorious hours spent in the pool today. I guess that could be a frugal moment since I swam in an $80 swimsuit I got for $24.00. I saw it at $80 but I held out and hope and prayed and it paid off. Yeah! Now if only the suit looked like that on me. Too much ice cream on my hips, and thighs, and backside. Oh well, not exactly a primitive subject anyway.

In re-sale I got a lovely light blue tablecloth that looks like new for $1.50. A nice spring color for Easter Sunday or Mother's Day. I also got a little mini prim basket for .25 cents and a little tin watering can for .25 cents. I hang these baskets on one of my x-mas tree's and the watering can's and mini garden tools go on my easter tree with my chocolate molds. No pics though. not exciting enough to bother. ;o)

Those things were hardly worth a mention after my spree yesterday though. I have to say it was a bitter sweet day. Sharon of Saltbox farm was having a bit of a fire sale. Her beautiful shop burned last month. Everything she could salvage and then some was being stored in her barn and needed to be cleared out so she could do a remodel in there. Perhaps this is where she is relocating her store to? Anyway, she had some amazing deals and steals and I did my very best to help her clear it out.

First up, I had admired this beautiful little stenciled chest on a couple of my visits to her shop. I was beside myself when I saw it. There wasn't a tag on it and when Sharon told me $25.00 I think my jaw hit the ground. "SOLD!!!!" I say.

I bought a couple woven placemats by American Heritage. One in navy and another in brown. Just $5 each. I just can't get enough of their stuff and the placemats are great for putting baskets and trenchers and bowls.

Now here's proof I love American Heritage. Or maybe it's proof the price was too good to resist. I bought 3 brown woven swag valances for my livingroom. Maybe I should mention here that I have a huge hideous window in there that these swags will not work on at all. But someday, when I finally do get new windows (3 double hungs) I will be ready!!! Regular $45 a swag, they were priced just $10 each. I think I have scabs on my chin from my mouth hanging open and dragging as I shopped. These are the folded swags with a pile of votives and melting tarts I bought for .50 ea. The house smells like hot buttered rum at the moment. Mmmmm...... Hubby came home from work and thought I was baking something.

I also bought 2 punched tin tart burners to use with the tarts. Regular $20 and $24 for $10 each. The small lantern here is the one I put in the bathroom. The larger lantern is a prior saltbox purchase. It was in a clearance bin and it was mustard.

And here's the second tart burner on my new table/chest along with 5 packages of 1803 flameless candles. Regular (I think) was $6, sale priced $2 ea.

I've wanted one of these spikey iron hangers for my mantle forever. Now I just need to figure out where my mantle hooks got put away at. It's going to be perfect hanging next to the lantern I bought at her Summer Fest 2 weeks ago.

And finally, the one thing I had in mind I HAD TO HAVE when I drove the 50 miles to the sale, a bundle of twigs. I had seen this at her summer faire and didn't want to carry it around. I had planned to grab one when I was done browsing. Well, half way home (25 miles away) I realized my blunder and that I forgot to grab it. Ugh! So yesterday I was lucky enough to get one of the few remaining. It's the coolest thing. Each twig is held together with a series of tiny nails. It all pulls out and spreads (kinda like those old accordian cup racks). When it pulls out in a continuous circle it becomes a perfect holder for a big bowl for a bird bath. Now I just need a big bowl, LOL. Regular $5 for $4.00.

After I spent more than I knew hubby would approve (because I've been spending a LOT lately) I took my camera and toured the beautiful gardens there. Wow! Sharon has so many wonderful ideas in her prim garden. The visit before, my aunt and I just walked and oooo'd and ahhhh'd and wished we had a camera. So this trip was a wonderful opportunity to get some pics. Here's just a couple of my favorites.

The picture above is genious! That little flower pot is holding a little sprinkler head up. Looks cute as can be, makes it easy to find the heads, and keeps the lookyloo's like myself from stepping on them. Genius I tell ya!!!!

Here's the Saltbox Farm Picture trail link to see some of Sharon's own photo's -

http://www.picturetrail.com/saltboxfarm

So here it is once again, after 1:00 am. No longer Friday. Perhaps if I had spent less time in the pool? Nah............ Better late than never.

PS - I already have Mondays make-over complete and photographed so I might actually be on time with my Monday posting. Till then..............

Make-Over Monday

2011-07-26T00:57:00.001-04:00

Monday Make-Over in the Garden

Hmmmm........ It's getting awfully close to Tuesday. By the time I finish my post I may have to change the title to Tuesday Make-Over. I was editing away on my photo's earlier this evening. I was forgetting to click save between each edit. Suddenly the screen faded and a message popped up that said photo shop needed to close unexpectedly. Unexpected was right. Almost every pic for this post had to be edited all over again. And being the hot head I sometimes am, I had to go out and pull some weeds and dead head some flowers before I could begin again. Worked off some frustration in the garden, LOL.

So today's make-over is a garden make-over. When we moved in 3 years ago. I brought 40+ hosta and daylilies with me from my last garden. The yard was unfenced (cept for some chain link around the pool) and there was no garden. Immediately we got the fence up for the dogs. Then, in went the garden to get the hosta all planted before they died on me.

This pic is the first summer right after the hosta first went in, before it got mulched. The bench should be on a frugal Friday because I found it in someones trash about 12 years ago. It was electric blue and splattered with white when I found it. Ewww!

The bed now.

This spring I filled the flower/ hosta bed with pink and white impatiens. The windows were $5 for the pair at an antique show 2 yrs ago. They've been sitting in the basement every since. The wreaths were picked up for 50% off at Hobby Lobby. I love that place! I wanted to hang window boxes below but they would have been much too low so I found some inexpensive big pots at Walmart.

I also got an old cultivater at an antique show this spring and hubby was going to throw out the old wood crate. So I threw it into the garden and filled it with flowers as well, LOL.

The little birdhouse above the crate is the broken down rusty windchime birdhouse I was given at a garage sale this spring, hanging on a dollar store shepards hook.

Below is one of my bottomless baskets (.25 cents) planted beside the bench in the garden.

I also picked up a couple items to hang from the bottom branches of a pine we limbed up beside the hosta garden.

Mini rusty votive lantern - $1

Mini Decorative birdhouse - .50 cents

Here's a couple more nooks of the garden below -

the patio beside the gate

The chair also came from a curb - over 20 years ago. Most of it's original green paint is worn away now and the seat was splitting so badly I had hubby screw a steel plate to the bottom to hold the seat together. The rusty finial was actually painted green. I gave it one of my spray paint jobs to look rusty. It was 75% off at Hobby Lobby.

The garden angel hanging was another garage sale find.

Another nook in the garden.

The birdbath was suppose to have a base which was missing at the store so they sold me the $45 dollar birdbath for $10 anout 12 years ago. I mixed up some concrete and threw it in a pot lined with bubble wrap to make it more uneven to make a new base.

And just as I suspected, it is now Tuesday at 1:00 am. Better late than never right?

Frugal Friday

2011-07-22T12:31:00.000-04:00

My bad! It's been so long since I posted I aparently forgot what to do. I got typing away, all the way to where I was ready to add a pic, when I realized I forgot to change up the font. Well, better late than never. But given my rather slow typing skills I am going just ignore the fact, LOL.
I have not been a very good blogger. I have not been a very good dieter. I have not been a very good crafter. But man am I great great swimmer, LOL. Once pool season hits I forget about pretty much everything else and live in the pool. June was cold and rainy and there were only 2 days spent in the pool Then July hit! My favorite month of the year.Turn up the heat I say. I am lovin' this heat wave that has everyone else complaining. And I dare not talk about the weather around hubby. He is not a fan of summer and he gets very grumbly. Of coarse he is allowed to celebrate when fall arrives and when the snowflakes begin to fall. Carries on about how much he love winter. But guess who does most of shoveling - if you guessed me you would be correct. And guess who goes out to scoop the doggie poop in the snow - you betcha! So, hubby has gone on strike in the back yard. He began building a poolhouse. He assured me it would be done in just 2 weeks and long before hot weather hit. Not!!! Everyday, while floating in my pool, my view is the 2x4 framework for the house. I am planning a b-day party for my mother in the backyard in a couple short weeks and there sits this mess. In his defense, his project buddy has been unexpectedly tied up with some family matters. But, perhaps if he started in May instead of the July 4th weekend ........ Just maybe, I am just saying.
But I digress. I thought I would hop on here today, while it is rainy and cloudy and share a few goodies I picked up here and there since my last post.

Some antique lace-up boot $20

Smaller sized Chippendale Mirror $7.00

Lantern $2.00

Crock $7

Salt glazed stein w/ pewter lid $5

Pewter tankard $2

And Finally I wanted to mention my buys from the Saltbox Farm Summer Faire last weekend. If you are not familiar with Saltbox Farm, it is my favorite prim store in MI. Sharon, the proprietor, put her heart and soul into her shop. She had several open houses, special events, and sales through out the year. They were always something special to attend. In fact, I made the 50 mile drive many times over to attend. Well, last saturday was nothing different. Except for one thing. Sharons shop suffered heavy fire damage back in June. It was a complete loss. Well, Sharon decided to put on a brave face and carry through with her summer faire in spite of. It was a gorgeous day. She had a bunch of goodies for sale in her barn and several other prim antique sellers turned out with their tents and antique fineries to make the day a great event. I wish I had brought my camera (I say that a lot) because her gardens were just beautiful and packed with garden prims. My Aunt Betty and I just ooo'd and ahhh'd all the way through. Well, no camera, but here is what I bought whilst there -

an old lantern $42

and some adorable little black and white shoes for $20

Till next time..................................... (soon I hope)

A Wonderful Prim Witch Giveaway

2011-06-22T21:55:00.000-04:00

A Rusty Thimble Giveaway

Ok, it's not often I post twice in a day. In fact I'm not sure if I ever have. But, I wanted to tell you all about a fabulous giveaway I found this afternoon. Brenda from A Rusty Thimble is offering one of her wonderful primitive witch dolls as a giveaway on her blog. I don't tell you this out of the goodness of my heart. Oh heck no! I am only sharing to increase my chances of winning. I even included a button on my side bar for yet another chance to win. So what I am really saying is "Please ignore this post and do not go to visit http://www.therustythimble.blogspot.com/ because the doll is really not that wonderful. Quite plain and dull in fact. Forget you ever saw this. Please!"

Hmmm........... I was going to post a picture of the poor sorry thing but it keeps telling me the server won't allow. Well, the photo is on my side bar or you could just take a quick peek on Brenda's blog. That's http://www.therustythimble.blogspot.com/

rescues

2011-06-22T16:47:00.001-04:00

The Not So Humane Human Race

Maybe it's the hormonal imbalance of being peri-menapausal (like wanting another baby), or maybe it's just that I am a little more educated than I use to be on the subject thanks to PetFinder.com. But, I find myself spending hours scouring petfinders.com looking at all the lonesome little faces needing homes. More likely it's this video I just saw on Facebook of a puppy mill owner in this country, the great lengths taken to get her prosecuted, and the unbelievable injustice her poor dogs recieved in this nations court system.

I won't lie. This video is difficult to watch and I had to go back a couple times to get through it. But, I think it is vitally important for people to know where those darling little puppies in the pet stores and from on-line breeders are really coming from. Please do click on the link below and watch. It's the same footage a court judge saw before delivering his sentance. At the end they tell you the sentance this woman actually got for torturing these innocent animals to turn a quick buck.

http://bullmarketfrogs.com/blog/2011/06/where-did-your-puppy-come-from/

Please, please, please do not shop at and support any pet store selling pets. It's not just a matter of not buying a pet from them. It's important not to support their business in any way until they see the light and stop selling pets altogether. We must as nation, join together to make our voices heard.

If you have room in your heart and in your home please go to your local shelter, humane society, look for a rescue for your breed of choice on-line, or go to http://www.petfinders.com/ to look for that special new member of your family. There are thousands in need. Large and small, young and old, pure bred and mutts. They are rescued from puppy mills and hoarders, picked up as strays who have wondered from home, or turned in to rescues when their owners have lost their jobs & their homes. They come from homes where well meaning people didn't realize the commitment and from seniors who loved their pets but found themselves physically unable to provide after a stroke or alzheimers. Some come from loving caring homes and some come from abusers. Some are strong and healthy and some have special needs. The thing they all have in common is they need loving, caring humane human beings to take them in and make them a part of their family. And if you want to help in another way, you could give financial support to a rescue for all their ever mounting vet bills. Got a stack of old towels you don't need or a pile of dog toys your fur baby has grown out of? A retired pet bed or crate stashed away in the basement? These are all items pet rescues would love to have and will put to great use. As for myself, I have sent in an application to a rescue for the opportunity to foster an unwanted pet. I can only hope and pray to be accepted and be posting my new fosters photo here soon.

Thanks for letting me rant. But then, who would dare get in the way of a peri-menapausal rant, right? :o/

The Animals Savior by Jim Willis

*******************************

I looked at all the caged animals in the shelter...

The cast offs of human society.

I saw in their eyes love and hope, fear and dread, sadness and betrayal. And I was angry.

"God" I said "this is terrible! Why? Why don't you do something?"

God was silent for a moment and then he spoke softly,

"I have done something" he replied "I created you."

Make-Over Monday

2011-06-19T22:25:00.001-04:00

Make-Over Monday

Finally! I got a make-over on my garage door. I hated the big blank white slate on the front of my garage and wanted a new carriage door from the day we moved in. Hubby couldn't get past the fact the the existing door was in excellant shape and couldn't see spending $1,200 to replace it. Men!!! So short sighted! Then one day he came home and told me about a new product the company he works for was making. Not only that, but they were having a fair to introduce the new product and offering it to employees at 1/2 the cost. It's vinyl window frames with dark smoked plexi-glass behind to look like real windows. Just measure and screw in place.

Before

After

Here is a link to the web-site for the windows Just in case anyone is interested -

http://www.coachhouseaccents.com/

The garage looked so good I decided it was about time to get a better looking vehicle to park in the drive.

Before

the Plymouth Voyager I bought used and have been driving for 10 years now. The air had quit, the wipers only worked when they wanted to, the passenger power window died, there was a power steering leak, and every time I closed the sliding doors pieces of rust fell off. It was definately time for it to go.

After

The Nissan Cube

Brand new and under $20,000. The best, of coarse, is the mileage. It's rated for 27 city but so far we are getting almost 34 mpg city. After nearly 18 yrs of mini vans this is soooo much fun to drive.

My Garden - The Peonies are Blooming

2011-06-08T10:38:00.001-04:00

My Peonies

In my humble opinion one of the most beautiful flowers in the garden. If it rains the enormous blooms hang to the ground. In a heat wave the flowers only last a few short days. But what a glorious show they give when the conditions are right. Definately worth making a space at the back of the flower bed or set apart as a single breathtaking specimen.

These gorgeous bushes were one of the few plants on the property worth keeping when we moved here 3 years ago. The poor things were being choked out by landscape fabric and rock. I went around each one, pulled the 2" rocks back & cut away the landscape fabric. Then I created some planter boxes around their bases with some leftover cut rock from the walls of our koi pond we built.

Next I spread a nice layer of composted manure around each one. I suspect they have never been fed since they were planted. How could they have with all that rock and landscape fabric? And finally, I layed down 2 layers of newspaper and covered it all with some cedar mulch.

I detest rock used as mulch in the garden. It's so hard to keep weeded and clean and the fabric beneath always breaks down after a few short years, making an even bigger mess. And then there's the escapies. The rocks that somehow make their way into the lawn for the lawn mower to hit. My first project, after painting, when we moved into this house was to rake and shovel all that rock around the pool out of there and replace it with mulch. Well, it only took me a day to realize that I was definately not up to the task. I also realized that replacing it with mulch would create a real mess in the pool on windy days. So............... rock it is.

Don't forget, you don't have to be outside to enjoy them. They also make great cut flowers. Today is 90+ degree's and a thunderstorm is forecasted for later. So, when I got up, I went out and cut a bunch. A vase for my mother, a vase for a cousin recovering for surgery, and a vase just for me.

Frugal Friday

2011-05-13T21:54:00.001-04:00

Frugal Friday

I was truely blessed today with a warm sunny morning and some fabulous frugal finds on my first garage saling day of the season. The first sale of the day was the best. It turned out to be someone I use to babysit for 34 years ago. I could see her eyeing me and trying to figure out where she knew me from. She said "No way!!!! I thought it was you but then I thought you looked 20 years too young to be you". Well, that was it. I could have gone all morning and not bought a thing and been happy as a lark, LOL. Especially nice to hear as I turned the big five O this year. I ended up buying
an old weathered old porch post ($10) an old basket with the bottom rotted out ( .75 cents), and a crib quilt (.50 cents)from her - all for a mere $11.25. Then Pat pulled out an old bird house wind chime with the greatest rusty chimes and hardware and gave it to me so it would go to a good home.
This quilt is just appliqued and machine quilted but for .50 cents I thought it might be cute in my old cradle for a while.

Just as I was about to get to work planting my basket for pictures the thunder began to rumble. I love bottomless baskets for the garden. I just mound up some soil inside to keep the basket in place and plant some annuals into it. This basket just saved me the work of having to cut the bottom out.

The free weathered wind chime is going to hang in the lower limbs of the big pine we just limbed up by my hosta garden.

Unforetunately hubby took the trailer my post is in and covered it over with a load of cedar mulch. Men! The porch post is going to get a perfectly prim white bird house on top.

I came up empty on the next 3 sales but then I found a great sale where all the proceeds were going to send the daughter to Haiti on a mission trip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

an old quilt all hand stitched and in perfect condition - $4.00. I picture this over a wicker settee' in the pool house we are about to build.

I also got a dark red pendleton wool skirt for felting for $1

and another winter white wool skirt for .50 cents at the Haiti sale. The lady wasn't thrilled to hear I was going to felt and cut her beautiful skirts into worms for rug hooking, LOL.

To top off my fabulous morning of summer like temps and great garage sale finds, I managed to squeeze in a bit of gardening. It never looks like much when the annuals are first planted does it? But so worth the wait for the colorful show they will provide in a few short weeks. This is just a sneak peek of one tiny little corner of the garden - hot pink, lemon yellow and some accents of bright orange this year. After the cold wet spring we've had I was ready for some hot hot colors.

I hope your Friday was as fabulous as mine!

Make-Over Monday

2011-05-09T19:22:00.000-04:00

Make-Over Monday

Been busy busy busy around here. Trying to catch up the housework and the yard work from when I was under the weather. So much to do and so little energy. This week I managed to pull out the spray paints for just a couple of quick little make-overs between spreading wheel barrels of mulch and manure.

First is a lantern I got for $1.00 at a re-sale shop this winter. It was a cheesy copper color so I hit it with 2 shades of rusty brown and a very light over spray of black. Then I hung it on a short shepards hook in the garden by my very rustic pool shed.

Next is a hand woven egg basket plus a wall pocket. I paid a whopping .49 cents for the egg basket and .25 cents for the other. The egg basket had faded peach stripe on one side and a bright peach stripe on the other. I just painted over the entire basket with a nutmeg and then a light over spray of darker rust brown.

I'm also working on a little re-decorating in my bathroom. The fixtures and hardware are all a bright shiny chrome and brass. Dreadful!!!! To try and save a couple bucks I decided try sanding and painting the tissue holder and towel bar. I got the tissue holder done this weekend and it looks pretty promising.
Yikes!!!

After sanding it looked like brushed nickel. Already an improvement.

Perfect! Now if only I could just spray the ugly wall tile.

Next week's makeover - the built in china cabinet

Make-over Monday

2011-05-02T08:36:00.000-04:00

Make-over Monday

Ok, I take echinacea and vitamin D and I eat heaps of fruits and veggies. I never touch a grocery cart without wiping it down with an anti-bacterial wipe and I always replace my toothbrush after a cold. I am a finatic about wiping down the keyboard and mouse of the computer. But once again I have managed to get sick. So I am digging back for a make-over this round.

When we moved into our 70's ranch almost 3 years ago it had a tiny livingroom which was separated from a front hall by some waist high walls. The livingroom had navy carpet that showed every bit of shedding pomeranian and lint and the hall had stick on laminate tiles. Last year we pulled it out, 1/2 walls and all, including the baseboards. I found a great great web-site called True Hardwoods http://www.truehardwoods.com/home.html that offered hugely discounted wood floors. Without them I could never have afforded hand scraped, wide planks. The retail price of the flooring was $8.99 and Real Hardwoods price was $4.90. And get this - the cost of shipping was less than what I would have paid in MI state sales tax. What a difference!
Before

During

After

Now if only True Hardwoods sold doors, windows, and crown moulding I would have this room complete.

Frugal Friday on Saturday

2011-04-30T20:43:00.001-04:00

Frugal Friday

My fabulously frugal finds this week. Unforetunately I was hit with the flu on Friday so this week it's Frugal Friday on Saturday.

My lovely auntie has a beautiful rose garden. Whenever someone she knows is sick or in the hospital during the summer months she brings them a little vase with some of her roses. So, when I come across a good deal on a pretty little vase I pick them up for her. She has MS so getting out to shop is getting harder for her.

.25 cents

The perfect size basket (.75 cents) to fill with a pot of flowers on my old chair plus a second covered basket (.25 cents)

that looks like it was made to match. They may or may not get painted. The nest on the chair is the robins 3rd attempt to build a nest on my porch light. They got this one mudded before I discovered it.

I have an open back 8x10 frame that I needed a piece of non-glare glass for. And who knows what I might do to the dreary little sampler to make it usable. I've already started picking it apart with a seam ripper.

.50 cents

I have been looking for quite a while for a staight sided, cut glass vessel with pretty design to make some colonial shortbread cookies that I came across while surfing blogs.

http://thepastoraldollmaker.blogspot.com/2009/12/dear-heartes-pressed-glass-shortbread.html

$1.99

I thought these little pieces might also make some pretty cookies. I just love this 1st one.

.25 cents

A little copper colored lantern in need of a makeover

.99 cents

And of coarse some more clothing for my wool collection. From the white one down, I got them all cut apart. Everything above still needs pulling apart.

.49 - $1.50 each

Monday Make-Over's

2011-04-25T13:25:00.000-04:00

Monday Make-Over's

It's that time of year when the weather is warming up, the snow is gone, the garage sales are beginning, and I am itching to get out for some re-sale shopping and country auctions. Warmer weather is also the time for some messy make-over jobs that are better done out of doors. My big plan was to start posting a new make-over every Monday. Then, don't ya know, the batteries in the camera needed a re-charge and I couldn't find the battery charger. Hard to post a make-over post with no pics. Luckily I found it the charger while cleaning some drawers this week and now I am back on track. So, this week I am sharing my bedroom make-over.

We have been in this house for 3 years now. Before we moved in hubby promised we could take out an inconvenient bedroom window. So, I have been waiting and waiting for that window to go away before I stenciled. I have finally given up and found a new solution to work around that window.

"Before Pictures"

"After Picture's"

The bedroom make-over also includes a gorgeous new Drexel Heritage 4 poster rice bed from Craig's List for $350 and I got them to throw in the night stand for free.

As for that window that has been holding up the stenciling? It is right behind the left side of the headboard - out of sight. I bought new window treatments for the other window but not for this one since I "believed" it was going to be gone soon. Well, that will be another Monday, hopefully sooner than later. A cliff-hanger to be answered by summer's end - finger's crossed.

Easter Egg Hunt

2011-04-25T12:36:00.001-04:00

THE GREAT EASTER EGG HUNT

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Planning outdoor activities for Easter in Michigan is always tricky. You just never know until the morning of what the weather will be. I think our weatherman changed the holiday forecast 5 times in 7 days. First sunny and dry, and then rain. Then cloudy and dry and then windy with rain. Then cloudy and dry. Surprise! It was 60 degree's and dry and partly cloudy. Thats about the best you can ask for in these parts this time of year and, believe me, I was asking Jesus on a twice daily basis for good weather. So, prayers were answered and the grand babes had a terrific egg hunt! They are such wonderful fun at this age.

Miss Ava - age 19 months

It was a trick keeping her interested in the eggs once she found the flowers. And of coarse Mr Bean is always right there to help. Ava is his favorite person on the planet.

Big sister Sienna, age 3 1/2.

A little teamwork.

Time to open all those eggs and see whats inside.

Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!! The pay-off. A Russell Stover chocolate covered marshmellow bunny.

Make-over Monday - the Sampler

2011-04-04T13:14:00.000-04:00

For a month I have been fighting colds and coughs and bronchitis. Luckily I got 4 good days in between fevers just in time to hit some big sales at my favorite re-sale shops. First up was an end of season bag sale. For $5.00 you got as many clothes as you could manage to squeeze into a paper grocery sack and $4.00 for each additional sack. I, of coarse, went in the day before the sale and cased the joint. I knew right where all the best wools were. I was first in the door and filled my cart in record time - wool slacks, skirts, jumpers, and blazers - 28 items for $17.00.

3 days later was my favorite re-sale sale where the last Tuesday of every month is 1/2 price day store wide. Another cart full of wool clothing at only .50 cents each. I literally doubled the wool collection I had been working on all winter.

My Wool Haul

The Entire Collection

I love hunting down wool. Some days are more successful than others but this was by far the most successful week ever. But as excited as I get finding a great color wool it doesn't compare to my next find.

For just $2.50 I found a wonderful sampler. It was stitched by someone named Leora Peterson in 1982. Unforetunately it was framed in a very modern, narrow, copper metal poster frame. The sampler is huge and was going to cost a fortune to have a custom frame made but I remembered seeing a very large frame in the other re-sale store 3 days before I thought might work. As it turned out it was an inch too narrow and about 5 inches too tall. Luckily my hubby was able to cut down the height to proper size. I had to remove the sampler from it's original frame and cut down it's very generous border. Then cut down the acid free board it was mounted on and re-stretch and mount it. It was sooo worth all the effort. Definately one of my favorite re-sale finds of all time.

Sampler as found

Sampler Re-framed

I just wish the beauty of the wood in the frame showed here. It's a gorgeous pecan color with little worm holes. The gold border is far less shiny than the flash shows and picks up the camels and golds in the needlework just beautifully.

Mr Bean

2011-02-08T16:15:00.002-05:00

There is a contest going on in a forum I am a member of (Delphi's Primitive and Rustic). There are a couple of different subject matters we can choose from. I decided to enter the pet photo contest because my pets are such a huge part of my life. My first thought was to do a photo essay of my lifetime of pets. That added up to an awful lot of pictures. So I narrowed it down to the current love of my life, my Baby Bean. Still a lot of pictures, LOL.

The Life and Times of Mr Bean

The face mum found on the internet that said "I'm the love of your life, come get me pleeeeze".

Cozying up to my new big sister Daisy, trying to win her over.

There's a dog hiding somewhere in that ball of fluff.

Looking like the Lion King

Tug-o-war with my other sis Lola.

Mum went all the way to Alabama to get me. When she arrived she saw Lola. The breeder told her Lola had been abandoned there and if mum wanted she could have her for free. Of coarse mum couldn't say no. And that is how Lola came to be with us.

An occasional shampoo to keep my coat beautiful.

And a nice long nap to re-charge for some more puppy antics

Mum likes to dress me up from time to time. Sometimes I enjoy it but mostly I just tolerate it.

Re-covering from luxating patella surgery with a nice new chew toy so I leave my bandages and staples alone.

I love to help mum with the spring planting

I love love love the grand babies!!!!!

I nap with them.

I play ET with them

I kiss on them every chance I get

And I sneak into every picture with them that I can

I spend a lot of time hangin' out with mum

(actually I'm her constant shadow)

I even get to sleep in the big bed. I always get a good long belly rub before I will go to sleep. I got mum wrapped around my little finger.

PS - Lola doesn't get to sleep in the bed because she snores too loud and insists on waking us all up at 4:00am to be let down on the floor anyhow.

Mum lost an older fur sister, Fluffy's Tubby Zoey Bear, before I came along.

Mum and Daisy were so so sad at her passing. She and daisy were the best of friends.

Then one day mum saw my little face on the internet and knew I needed to become a part of the family. Mum cried herself silly the first time she held me. It wasn't exactly love at first sight for Daisy but I took to her immediately. No worries, I soon won her over. Mum told me that it was me who helped to heal both their broken hearts.

I only got a year with big sister Daisy.

She was 14 yrs old. Lived a long and happy life. But her kidneys began shutting down and she got awful awful sick. Mum spent the whole last day and night she was with us cuddled up in the recliner with Daisy sleeping on her chest and her nose nuzzled up in mum's neck. I just layed quietly with my chin on mums toes, knowing Daisy wasn't well. I don't know how mum would have got through losing another baby just 13 months later if I hadn't been there to cheer her up, making her laugh with my puppy antics and being there for cuddles when she cried. Frankly, I don't know how anyone gets through life without a fur baby to love.

These are some of my favorite pics of my big sister.

Snow Snow and More Snow!

2011-02-04T19:51:00.000-05:00

Blizzard 2011

It was quite a scene to wake up to yesterday. More snow than I have seen in years. We got an official total of 19" in my neck of the woods. Hubby's employer annouced the day before that they would be shut down for the day of the storm. Of coarse hubby volunteered to go in along with one other fella to work on some projects while the plant was idol. The half hour drive into work took him an hour. And then, a block from work, he got his 4wd stuck in a 2 foot drift. When he called hioome to tell me he made it in I asked why he was so out of breath. He had quite a walk through the knee deep+ snow and drifts. It didn't help that he had knee surgery just a month before and was still feeling some pain. Men!!!! He just had to go in to prove he was tougher than old man winter. When volunteer #2 finally arrived he was able to plow a path into the plant and get hubbies vehicle unstuck. I'm sure the testoterone was flying along with the snow out there, LOL!

Being home alone, I decided to go out and give the shovel (and my back) a workout. First I needed to shovel out a patch for the dogs in the back. Then I tackkled the drive way. Oh My! I opened the walk in garage door first. My pom went to run out the door and plowed right into the drift that was piled up against the door. he looked dazed and confused, LOL. Then I opened the over-head door. Yikes! An even higher drift. I began chipping away at the mountain where hubbies tire tracks were barely showing. I shoveled for an hour and only cleared about 1/8th of the driveway. It was daunting for sure. I ended up going inside, defeated. Took me a little break and an hour later went back for more. Hubby finally arrived home and got out the snowblower. He blew the deeper stuff and I shoveled up the packed down stuff behind him. Ahhhhh, team work!

As much snow as there was out there, I have seen worse. Much much worse! My junior year of high school was the year of the blizzard of '78. Of coarse the snow removal equipment was not as powerful 33 years ago and there were'nt the de-icing sprays we have now. We actually had about the same amount of snow fall then but it came down faster and the winds were much stronger, creating wave after wave of enormous drifts. It didn't help that we had had a snow storm just the week before and nearly double the snow already on the ground before the blizzard. We were completely snowed in then, our streets had to be cleared by front end loaders and the piles of snow along the roadsides completely obscured the houses along the street. Backing out of the driveway was a terror because you were completely blind to any traffic on the road. And the roads were so narrow it was frightening to try and pass another car. Schools and many businesses were closed for a week.

Blizzard 1978

Dad standing in the middle of the unplowed road amoung the snow mobile tracks.

After the plows came through leaving us with a one lane road. You prayed you didn't meet up with another car.

After the front end loaders came in and widened the road creating mountains of snow.

Blizzard 2011

The sorry little patch I shoveled out.

This one was sorry she insisted on coming out to help.

The drifts hanging off the roof

Hubby firing up his enormous snowblower. Too big and heavy for me to even move. Notice he is not wearing a jacket? CraZy!!!!! It was cold out there! Somehow he never gets cold while I am always cold.

All cleaned up!

Hoping no one has trouble with their cable or phone because the box is buried to the right of this ornamental grass under the higher peak of snow.

Hubby blew out the sidewalk to the front door but we were both too pooped to shovel out the porch, LOL. No matter. No one really comes to that door but salesmen. This could be a good thing! We call it the path to no where.

We finished up just in time for the sun to for the sun set.

Make-Overs

2010-12-23T12:40:00.000-05:00

After a lot of hemming and hawing I have finally done a couple of make-overs on some of my re-sale buys. My favorite day to shop is the last Tuesday of the month whenb a chain of World Mission re-sale stores in the area have 1/2 price day. I have a field day between shopping for make-over projects and wool clothing for rug hooking.

Who wouldn't love to have a dirty

old Mr Peanut wheelbarrel bowl?
Well, me for one. So, I unscrewed the
base and stripped the peanut away. It
cost a whole .34 cents. I didn't do a
thing to the .34 cent scoop

AFTER

This next find wasn't terrible for the .39 cents I paid. But........ what I needed were some things to set on a shelf we will be putting up next week (fingers crossed). So I pulled the corny built in candle holder off and filled the hole with wood putty and hubby cut the bottom bit off on the table saw for me. The brass candle holder was a quarter.

After

I just love how this little hand made basket came out. I sprayed multiple coats of light and dark sage and brown. It has some beautiful detail in the weave but the colors detracted from the workmanship. Baskets are .25 cents each or $1.00 for 10 every day at Love's Treasures re-sale.

After

This one isn't a make-over but a craft I found in one of the wonderful tutorials on The Pickled Pepper Patch blog. These little pantry cakes are made of plaster. They really don't shine at all but you know how it goes with a camera flash sometimes.

This next one was torture. I found this little high chair at an antique show over 2 years ago. It was originally finished in an appaulling pale yellow enamel paint. Then someone who was clueless when it came to refinishing furniture, spray painted over the high gloss enamel with a flat black. No sanding, no prep. It was a mess with the black rubbing off and the yellow enamel showing through everywhere.

I "thought" I was going to strip it down to bare wood and simply stain and varnish. But, that old enamel was tough as nails and nearly impossible to remove. Hours of sanding and scraping and bottles of stripper and I finally gave up. I announced I was going to just paint the thing over to make it usable for Christmas dinner. Hubby decided to give it one last tackle. He sat and patiently chipped and chiseled for 2 nights. It was far from complete, but it was finally good enough that I could imitate a Dimes chair I had seen. I stained the portions I wanted highlighted and paint and distress the rest. You don't have to look too closely to spot some bits of the yellow enamel peeking through the distressed black. But, it is what it is and........ beautiful despite the yellow chips. At the very least it is now a safe and usable chair for little ones.

After

Finally, here's one last wish for

a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

The Stockings Were Hung

2010-12-09T17:21:00.000-05:00

Christmas at Willow Ridge

Tis' the season for another x-mas house tour. A lot of it is the same as last year's tour, but there are some little changes here there. Some new sconces from our craZy & eventful trip to Lancaster. Another year and I might even be able to laugh about it. :o)
The biggest change outside is the reindeer in the flower boxes. Purchased for 80% off last year, they were bright gold and glittery and made to hang. I drilled some holes in the bottom, added dowels, and spray painted them with 2 shades of brown and a very light mist of black.

Livingroom
The livingroom saw the greatest changes this year. The waist high walls torn out between the livingroom and the front entry hall, the awful navy carpet replaced with beautiful hand scraped hickory floors, new high profile maple baseboards, and a new to me chandelier. Next summer I'm hoping for new windows and crown moulding. I also found the windsor chair on Craig's List for just $100 and picked up an adorable early tavern table at an antique show. If you are looking to install wood floors in your home (also engineered and laminate floors) be sure to look up www.TrueHardwoods.com . My flooring would have been $8.99 a sq ft if bought locally. Thru True Hardwoods it was just $4.19 sq ft. No, I do not have ties to this company. Just passing on some very valuable info.

The Teddy Bear Tree

The Family Room

The Homespun Tree

Diningroom

My hubby made me a new bowl rack this year and I got to order a new hand crafted, tri-corner lantern from "Rob Miller Lanterns" for mother's day. You can find a link to his web-site in my fav web-site list.

Master Bedroom

The Guest Room

The Bath

Thanks for dropping by and taking the tour of my little house. We've just been here for 2 1/2 years so it's a work in progress but it's coming along. And, of coarse, I'm having the time of my life planning for new windows and deciding which wall to knock down next.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!!!!!

2010-11-05T07:49:00.016-04:00

MY FALL DECOR

I've never been one to decorate for fall. Just a couple of the usual pumpkins on the porch and that was about it. I always hated the thought of having to store it all somewhere. Plus, because I have soooo much Christmas decor I usually get started putting up my first tree on Halloween. But this year I came across a couple things I just couldn't live without and so it begins, LOL.

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THE FRONT PORCH AND WINDOW BOXES

It's about time to get those mums in the ground. I have some new landscape this year with some nice big empty spots just waiting for them.

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THE FRONT ENTRY WAY

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THE LIVING ROOM

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THE DINING ROOM TABLE / BOWL FILLERS

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THE FAMILY ROOM

The cage witch doll is what started the Halloween decorating for me. I made the crackle finish pumpkins in the early 90's for a craft sale - left overs. I never displayed them and several times they nearly went to a charity store. The plan was to have an antique postcard enlarged to frame and stand in the middle but it never quite materialized. Next year for sure!

I started out with a basket full of apples until, one day, when I saw a fruit fly buzz by. Now the basket serves as an ideal spot to dry my gourds. They are in plain view so I remember to turn them every day. These are the only 2 gourds the darn rabbits didn't decimate. Next year They'll be growing on a trellis. Uh huh!

Now the thing that always strikes fear in my heart. Hitting the Publish Post button. I always struggle with this. Spending all afternoon taking pictures, cropping and editing, and then arranging everything just so. And then.................... and then I click publish and everything scrambles and re-arranges and nothing is where it belongs. Yesterday was especially bad and, after pulling out all my hair, I deleted my post & turned off the computer for the day. Does anyone else struggle with this? Well, I guess I better click that button and get on with my day. I am taking my 76 yr old mother to the hospital for knee replacement surgery today. Time to replace the replacements.

2010-11-02T12:54:00.007-04:00

My Favorite Trick-or-Treater's 2010

A couple of extra special spooky little goblin's dropped by to visit their gramp's and Nonee. Sienna is now 3 yrs old and her little sister is 13 month's.

Procrastination

2010-10-15T17:33:00.006-04:00

Procrastination

I have a sister is has always been the queen of procrastination, a personality trait that has always annoyed the heck out of me. But lately, I see myself procrastinating more and more. Half finished projects piling up, housekeeping can always wait, and the grocery store will still be there tomorrow. I figure I need to do something about it and start getting busy around here. But where to start? Maybe I better think about it a while, then maybe I’ll make some lists and schedules to keep me on track. I finally decided the place to start was to clean out the sewing/ craft room. This room looked like what you see on the tv show "Hoarders". It had become the dumping grounds for things I need to attend to. So, I took pics of the mess and posted them on my face book. I figured surely, if I outed myself and my mess, I would have to do something about it. That was about a month ago. I got started but then slacked off and piled more things in there. Good grief! Enough is enough. Yesterday I finally got in there and got busy and this morning I woke up early and went right to work. Piles of DMC, patterns, fabric, and buttons to sort. Lots of things to be filed, tossed, donated, and cleaned. Well I am almost there. Just a handful of things left to find homes for. But I found the floor and the recliner and the desk chair. Nearly forgot what they looked like. I can use the scanner and the sewing machine again! Hooray!

So one of things I couldn’t do while the room was in such disarray was a blog challenge by Delphi’s Primitive Rustic forum. They asked us to go to our blog’s and post a picture of an item we made that we are most proud of. Well, not only could I not access the scanner but I couldn’t find the picture I wanted to post. So, better late than never, I found the picture, got it scanned, and am answering the challenge.
This is a cross-stitch I did 26 yrs ago for my sister. It took me over a year to complete this cross-stitch. I wish I knew the dimensions but it is large and done on hardanger (22 stitches per inch). When I purchased the fabric, the sales woman said that was a mighty ambitious project I was tackling and maybe I should re-think things, LOL. I had found a book of seashell patterns. Each pattern intended to be done as individual projects. But I couldn’t decide which shell I liked best so I used nearly all of them on a single wall hanging. Sis, who is big on nautical and ocean life, must have liked her gift because it has gone through a couple of long distance moves and been hanging on her walls every since. Except now it is hanging behind a beautiful comb back windsor with a artist made mohair bear in a sailor suit seated on it.

2010-08-25T00:42:00.002-04:00

It's Been a While

In fact, it's been so long that I checked in and found my background had been removed and for the life of me I can't make my font larger or find how to change some settings in the layout. I feel like I have to learn all over again.

Well, I haven't been resting on my laurels at any rate. With this gorgeous steamy weather we have been having this summer I have been spending as much time in the pool as possible. Usually 3-4 hours although some days as many as 6 hours. I'll be crushed when it is time to cover over the pool for winter. I have also gone vegetarian in my search for a healthier life style, although I do still eat some fish. Between the new diet and the swimming I am down 20 lbs in under 3 months. I am joining the gym this month while they have a special and taking the bike down from the garage rafters so it will be ready once the pool is closed. I haven't been a bike since I got my drivers license at 16 so we'll see how this goes. It's a very nice bike I got free off Craig's List last winter. Anyone who knows me knows I LOVE Craigs List. Today I found an add for free pears. We fill a tote with pears and will be canning in a few days after they ripen.

I can't say I have felt terribly inspired to craft. With all the crazy changes for sellers on ebay, the slow down in sales, and so many of the wonderful ebay primitive artists having left and moved on to other selling venues it's just not same. Ah well, it has given me more time to work on myself and get more fit and more time to spend on some of my own projects around the house that have been sitting and waiting and waiting and waiting............................... I bought a fabric stripper last spring so I could cut my own wool strips for rug hooking but then didn't find any wool at the garage sales to cut. Finally, the woolies are beginning to appear in the re-sale stores. I also discovered a new re-sale shop where all clothing is .99 cents ea. You can bet I had a field day and came home with a car load of skirts, jackets, and slacks. I bought a few other frightful items too. All "project" items that dearly need some make-overs. Just what I needed - more projects!

Well, just a word to let you know I am still alive and kicking. I have just been doing my kicking in the pool. Stayed tuned! I will be posting some before annd after photo's of all the "junk" I brought home today very soon - I hope. :o)

2010-02-15T00:22:00.002-05:00

And the winner of my One World One Heart giveaway is.............................

BEV COFFARO. Congradulations to Bev and thanks to all who participated in this years event.

2010-01-28T21:20:00.003-05:00

....................

One World One Heart Giveaway

In honor of OWOH and the Grand Opening of my new selling blog I am offering a set of primitive bowl fillers. This set includes 4 homespun hearts, each with a button tufted in the center. This set also includes a punch needled heart with a plaid homespun back. I have stitched a twine hanger to each heart so you have the option of using them as tree ornaments or removing the hanger to use in your favorite old bowl. As a surprise I am including one additional punch needled ornament which you won't get to see unless you win my drawing.

I only have 2 rules for you to follow to enter my drawing.

1 - You must have a blog account as this is a blog event

2 - You must leave a comment on this blog by February 15

then be sure to click on the pink ticket above to check out the other blog giveaways in this massive and wonderful event.

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Be sure to check out the Grand Opening of my selling blog at http://www.willowridgeprimitives.blogspot.com/

Before and Afters

2010-01-09T10:07:00.014-05:00

YYYYYYYYYYYYY

Before and After's

YYYYYYYYYYYYY

These are just a couple of the before and after's I worked on just before Christmas but didn't get around to posting. The little triangular table cost me a whopping $17.00 at Somewhere In Thyme (antique/ re-sale shop). The size and shape of the table were a perfect fit for my space but the maker fell WAY short when it came to the finish. I gave a good sanding, staining, and matt finish and added the pine top to give it a new life.

The little candle holder is faux pewter (sounds so much better than fake, LOL) that I got for $1.00 and the little tin box was all of .25 cents.

We put in a 9 ft bay area when we moved in 1 1/2 yrs ago. We couldn't (still can't) afford to put in all new carpet but we needed to do something to the ply floor in the bay. A friend of ours (BHL Woodworking) had a pile of old barn wood in his work shop he let us have. Hubby planed it down, routed the edges, and walla! Beautiful new flooring in the bay. Originally we thought of it as a tempory solution till we could get carpet. But, we love it and plan to keep it. Kinda of makes a nice little staging area for both my antiques and the koi pond outside the window.

This is tacky faux brass wall sconce I got in a re-sale shop for $1.00. I gave it a very light sanding and sprayed it with some matte nickle paint. Next I gave it 2 rubs of ebony stain. The finishing touch was a light coat of matte finish clear spray. I have to say, it is a pretty darn close match to the real pewter hurricane on the sideboard below.

This cheese box isn't a before and after, but I thought I'd post it here anyway. In my last post I pictured another little cheese box with 3 candles and some rose hips in it. This is one of the other boxes I got in the same lot from the free column on Craigs List. Great dove tailing and patina on these boxes. Now that she is out of the drawer, my poor little dolly needs a dress.

Well, I am off to see if an antique ladderback rocker I've been eyeing is still there. Hubby told me to go get it for my birthday pressie. He's the BEST! And I am a chair addict. Big and small, full size and miniature. I love the lines and construction of chairs and they make a nice resting spot for other antiques and prims to sit on. Also picking up some stripper so I can honor one of my New Years resolutions and finish all the little 1/2 done projects around here before I buy any more project pieces. I also need some linen for a mini cross stitch. It's sort of qualifies in the New Years resolution. I bought a little easel for .25 cents at a garage sale with the plan of putting a small cross stitch on it on the side board in my front entry. I'll be the evening project while I am watching tv.

Until next time.......................

2010-01-05T12:20:00.026-05:00

YYYYYYYYYYYYY

PARDON MY DUST

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It feels like we have been working daily to remodel "something" for the past 30 years. Always living under a blanket of plaster dust. First there was the big old house in town. Not the best neighborhood but it was our first humble abode. It got some new walls, loads of paint, new carpet and a new bathroom. It was a big, old (built 1920's), city house. Hard to heat and even harder to pay the heating bills. We installed a new furnace and built a chimney and installed a wood stove which helped a lot. But, it needed way more than what was worth putting into in that particular neighborhood.

Our next house was also our next project. A cuter, smaller house in a better neighborhood in the neighboring city. It too needed a lot of work. I mean a "LOT" of work. More knocking down and replacing walls and ceilings, gutting a bathroom and kitchen to the studs, new furnace, roof, windows, and siding. But that house had the most beautiful woodwork (which of coarse needed to be refinished), a great floor plan, double lot, and a small post war house in the backyard. We were able to keep that rented out to pay for all the remodeling. Then we leveled that funny little house and put in a goldfish pond. We might have stayed there forever but we had CraZy neighbors on one side of us and a CraZy pit bull on the other side. So, after 20 years, we decided it was time to move on, and out, to the burbs.

The old house of 20 years

Now we feel like we are living in paradise, except of course for the snow. No more 2 stories with flights of stairs to climb for every little need. No more CraZy neighbors with loud parties and domestic disputes. This is the neighborhood I grew up in and for the first time in 30 years I feel like I am finally home. But even 70's ranch's need remodels and walls knocked out, LOL. At least they do if I am going to live in them!

I couldn't even wait for the Christmas tree to come down before starting the current project. The livingroom was separated from the front hall by 2 perfectly awful half walls. For 18 months I've been dreaming of the day that they would come out. Any pictures I took of the room were carefully take, like tunnel vision, between the walls so they didn't show. And, of coarse you can't "just" remove walls and be done. There is always that snowball effect. Where the walls stood there are blank spots with no flooring. Hmmmm......... guess I must now replace the ghastly navy carpet and stick on tiles with a new wood floor. But the flooring should be the last thing we do so it doesn't get damaged. I guess we better wrap the plastered support beam with wood to look like a wood beam and install crown moulding around the room first. Right? Now if only the budget allowed for new windows. Oh well, maybe next year.

Goodbye Walls! Bring on the dust.

No more tunnel vision

photography

The beam that needs

to get wrapped

Now it's time to start shopping for the new wood floor and trim work. I'm realizing it's not easy to find an affordable wide width plank. I know now that it will definately be engineered flooring in order to get a wide plank but I'd rather go that route than settle for a narrow one. Personally, I'm so happy that the walls are gone that I could tolerate the floor just as it is for some time. Just don't tell hubby I said that.

It hasn't been all work around here since christmas. I got a nice little bank roll for Christmas between my mom and my in-laws. Mom, sis and I started out the day after Christmas looking for some bargains. Not seeing any in our first couple stops we quickly turned our attention to antiqueing. The black chair in the front hall is actually a nice early potty chair I found at my favorite antique store. It took my Christmas money and then some but it was very reasonably priced I thought.

This past weekend there was a really wonderful indoor antique show downtown. The entrance fees were a bit steep at $8 ea plus $7 for parking. By the time you pay all the fees to get in you are already broke! I always wanted a porringer table to set in front of the sofa. I couldn't believe when I found one for just $100. BUT - right beside the porringer table was this other little table that just captured my heart. It had been refinished (as all his pieces were) but he had left much of the character and charm in what hand been a very well used and hand hewn table top. As the snowball effect goes, I now need to find a pewter (or Armetale) tea set to go on it. The coffee set on there now is on loan from my mother.

This dove tailed cheesebox sitting on the table is just a lucky little find from the free column on Craig's list. I am a huge fan of Craig's List. I have several items I have either purchased or gotten free there. I have also sold and given a great many items. It's a great way save some money, clear out your clutter, and keep usuable items that you would otherwise throw away out of the landfills. I highly recommend it.

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2009-12-25T10:37:00.005-05:00

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Sorry to say I am way behind this season. But better late than never I guess. I've had the house decorated (mostly) and pictures taken. But, of coarse, photobucket keeps changing their format on me. Not being very tech or computer saavy this means I have to figure out how to work things all over again. On top of that, we have just been so busy building a new game room in the basement to have ready in time for the family holiday gatherings. We didn't even have plans to do so. Hubby got a free pool table from Craigs List just before Thanksgiving and put it in our completely "un"finished basement with hopes of one day having a finished mancave. Then we had the opportuinity fall in our laps to purchase a 42" tv for 1/2 price. I had just gotten a new sofa and chairs so how could I deny Hubby his big tv? Then the big Christmas ads started coming with great deals on game tables. Well, needless to say, that "free" pool table snowballed into a full blown game room with lighted air hockey, table shuffle board, dart board, "re-felted" pool table, and the big tv. We built the entire basement out with studs and drywall to divide the furnace room, storage area, workshop, and future bathroom (already plumbed), navy and white paint, and oak chair rails & door trims. We got some great white windsor bar stools from Craigs List and hung my old oak clock, an antique "style" working phone, an oak tavern shelf, complete with tavern puzzles to hang from the pegs. What a job and what a CraZy month to decide to take on such a challenge. But we got it done! Oh sure, there are some things still on the to-do list. A slip cover for the green SW sofa, new lighting, and (when the weather warms and the windows can be opened) a stain finish on the concrete floors. But what a change from that cold, empty basement with shocking dirty apricot pink paint on the walls to the best mancave on the block. No one can say we haven't done our part to turn the economy around this season!

PS - The best part of the mighty mancave is the giant Barbie House in the tv area, LOL. Mancave or not, the grand daughters come first! At least the house isn't pink.

Here is my annual Christmas Open House. Enjoy!

The Merriest of Christmas's to you and yours!

2009-12-25T10:33:00.001-05:00

2009-12-18T12:09:00.015-05:00

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My Beautiful Grand Babies

(otherwise known as Nonee's Brag Post)

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Posing Pretty for Nonee

Ava pointing out what she would like her 1st

grown up food to be.

Forget the peas & carrots!

Sienna pulling silly 2 yr old
faces for the camera.