THREE IN A ROW

Good afternoon everyone!  Don't pass out but, I did it!  Woo hoo!!  It's about time.  And I am having a blast. 

For starters, yesterday I went to a fabric shop in Litchfield, Maine (The Busy Thimble).  It's an awesome fabric shop.  She has a wide variety of fabrics.  She also quilts alot!!!  She offers precut quilt tops that are just ready to go home and put together.  She had some needlepunch kits as well.  Lots of fat quarters.  Tons of great goodies and she was very helpful and knowledgeable too.  I will definitely go back soon!!!!!!  These are a few pics of the two pieces of fabrics I bought to make two sets of bonnets and aprons.  I got the pattern for them here: http://gettysburghomestead.blogspot.com/   I am hoping to attempt making them next week.  Anyway here's the pics:

This picture is pretty bad but, I was trying to show you a close-up of the prints.  They really are beautiful.  So, now that I have them I need to use my walnut ink on them to stain them, right?!  Of course.  The trouble is, I paid more for this fabric than I have ever paid for fabric.  Don't get me wrong, it is well worth it.  But, the overwhelming fear of ruining it took over.  When I mixed up my walnut ink it looked very dark and scared me so I went extremely light as you can see:

If you look closely you can see a difference.  It just is not the difference that I am used to creating in my projects.  I tend to do everything on  the darker side.  Before it is said and done these fabrics will end up darker. LOL!   Just need to do it in baby steps this time, I guess.

This next photo is of my needlepunch that I picked up at her shop:

Yes, I know......wrong holiday.  But, if I start on it now I will have it done in time for the correct holiday.  LOL!!!!!   I just couldn't leave her shop without him and I so much enjoy doing the needlepunch.

Now, for today I did a craft from one of my most favorite bloggers Pamela at:   http://ourpioneerhomestead.blogspot.com/  I did one of her quick crafts of the day.  She just posted this I believe last week.  It really caught my eye because it's hard to think of handy little prim crafts to have in the bathroom and this one had EASY written all over it.  And with that I knew that it was one I couldn't wait to do.  On her supplies list, I couldn't find my paint rags at Wal mart as she did but, I went into Home Depot and foundn some that were perfect for the job.  They were a pack of 6 for I believe $2.98.  AWESOME!   Very inexpensive craft to do.  The rags that I got were in the paint section and they came in a package that looked like this

So, I took these rags and dyed them in the walnut ink and they came out a variety of shades of brown and tan.  I love them.  The different shades give them so much character. Now once these are dyed and dry you fold them in a little staack and wrap your rusty hemp cord (which I did find at Wal mart), around your bundle and add a little stained tag with 1804 Farmhouse written on it.  Mine looks like this so far:

In this picture you can see the different shades of tan and even brown.  Love, love, love them!

Here they are folded up and bundled with the hemp twine and tagged.  Now all they need is the little bar of soap on top.  I tried to find the soap that Pamela had mentioned in her blog but, I had no luck at all with that.  But, I knew that I wanted to keep this craft cheap so I found a bar of softsoap for a buck and it was a coconut scrub.  I thought that would be great with the little scrub bits in it.  It was way to white and bright to go up against these cloths as you can see here:

When I opened the box I was quite disappointed because the bar was white but also because it had "softsoap" engraved in it and it had a modern shape to it with the curved sides and rounded edges.  So, what's a girl to do.............

.......that's right.  She gets out her paring knife and does a little damage to her bar of soap.  I got rid of the name on it and I square it up more and left a lot of rougher edges and indents around it.  My next problem was how to darken it.  Simple right?  Spray it down with my walnut ink.  So, I did;

But, I wanted browner soap not dirty looking soap.  Primitive....not dirty!  Yuck!  What now?  Paint!

This is kind of what I did:  first I took that tealish looking green and mixed it in with the tan paint and painted the soap bars (I made up two sets--one for each of my baths).  It came out okay but looked to neat or monotone maybe.  I didn't like it.  Then I thought.....it needs some texture to it duh!  While the paint was still drying I added some cloves on the soap bars.  I let that dry and then painted over it.  Now they not only look good but smell amazing too!  I think they came out perfect but you be the judge

I wanted my soap to stand out a little from the cloths that is why I used some green in my paint.  You could use any color you wanted and as much or as little.  The good news with this is;  you can keep repainting until you find what you like.  I wasn't 100% about the green in it until I placed it on the cloths and then I knew it was exactly right for me!

Okay so after I posted this I went to put my stacks away and I pulled off the little twine that was attached to my shipping labels.  I didn't need them because I had threaded the hemp through them already.  I didn't want to throw them away and I was thinking I'll just wrap it around the bar of soap.  I did and it looked pretty neat but, then I thought "oh my gosh, I'll put a little sweet annie in it"!  So, I did and ........tada!  I think that it looks even better now.  It makes it look a little more feminine I think.  Hope you like it  too!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for checking in with me today.  I hope that you all give this one here a shot and if you do and have some photos I sure would like to see what you did. 

I hope to be crafting alot next week but, it seems that when I make a commitment something always comes up and throws a kink into my plans so, no promises. 

See you next time.  Have a wonderful afternoon and evening!!!

Warm primitive blessings to you all.

prim_bug  

Quick Craft

Hi everyone. 

I know, don't pass out.  Two days in a row?!  Well, I wanted to show you all a quick finish that I had made last week while I was MIA. LOL!!

I had gone onto Pamela's blog at:  http://ourpioneerhomestead.blogspot.com/  and went under her tutorials for a quick fun craft.  I made the Colonial sugar cones.  These were probably one of the quickest crafts to whip up that I have done so far.  The longest part was the two to three days of drying.  But, the actual hands on was short and sweet (literally, that brown sugar is tasty).  Here are a couple of photos of how mine turned out.

Sorry that it is blurred.  I wanted to show you a close-up.  Guess that wasn't such a great idea.

I like this photo much better than the first.  I think that this came out pretty good.

This was the other one that I did.  I really like this one too.  And, I naturally had to try to write out different tags for them.  I couldn't decide which one I liked the best so I decided on both. 

Okay so, just a few tips for these that you might find helpful:

     1) Make sure that you only use 3/4 of your brown sugar when you mix in your water like the directions say to.  If you add too much water (like I did) you will have more sugar to add to your mix to dry it out.  In the end I ended up using all of my brown sugar.  Well, everything but what I ate!

     2) When you are putting the mix in your cup.  If it doesn't come out because it is too sticky, rinse your cup out and wipe it dry before you try it again.  I kept refilling mine and it wouldn't come out.  I couldn't figure out what was wrong.  Then I finally thought about how sticky and moist the inside of the cup must be.  I decided to wash it out and dry it and try again.  This time it worked.  I really got frustrated while trying to figure this out so, hopefully I can save you a little aggravation. 

     3) I bought my weird shaped glass at the Goodwill for a buck and I had the other glass from McDonald's (hubbys Shrek glass).  The next time you go to Goodwill keep in mind the different shapes of sugar cones that you might want to create.

I hope that you give these a try.  I found these to be fun and really add alot of character to your cupboards, tables and centerpieces.  Bonus:  these are totally edible,  just sugar and water.  Yummy!

I have more to share but, I have to go now.  Hopefully tomorrow.  I will try to shock you all and blog 3 days in a row.  Just don't hold your breath on it.LOL!  I always have the best of intentions but, you never know what might come up and throw a kink in  my plans. 

Warm primitive blessings to you all.

prim_bug

TEMPTATION TUESDAY ON WEDNESDAY

Hey everyone.  I am so sorry that I missed yesterdays post.  My bad for sure.  I have been gone forever it seems.  I am trying to get straightened out but every time I take a step forward it seems like I go back two.  You all can relate I know.

So, Monday was the hubs and my 13th Anniversary.  Hooray!!!!!  We didn't do much but, we didn't have to.  Sometimes that is even better.  When he got home from work he brought these in:

The picture doesn't show how beautiful the package was itself.  But, this here shows how beautiful the inside was:

Just look at all those beautiful bright colors!!!

Aren't they gorgeous?

I am not a florist by any stretch of the word but, I think they came out pretty good in the vase.  I couldn't just throw away the purple ribbon either, I had to put it to use as well.

When I got the mail today I received my order from JD Conwell for my black walnut ink.  She gave great directions on how to use it and she even gave a sample of what it looks like on  tags.  It's awesome.  I have only used the coffee/tea solution on all my stuff so this should be an interesting venture.  I will try to keep you up to date.

The picture doesn't do justice for the tag but, in person it looks amazing!  I think that I will be very pleased with this.

Okay now for yesterday, I had to go have a tooth pulled and if you have had one pulled before you know how I felt.  Unfortunately blooging was not top on my list.  It took me over 4 hours to find my tongue.  LOL!!!!  Believe me, I had to ask hubby if they had cut it out I couldn't find the thing in my mouth anywhere.  Lucky for him, he had a nice quiet day.  But, I am starting to come back around today.


Next I decided on a recipe for a cake my mom always made growing up:


SILVER WHITE CAKE

2 c flour
1 1/2 c sugar
3 1/2 teas baking powder
1 teas salt
1/2 c shortening
1 c milk
1 teas vanilla

Mix above ingredients and then add;
4 egg whites

Pour into non stick sprayed pan or pans and bake on 350 for 35 minutes.


PEANUT BUTTER FROSTING

3 1/2 c powdered sugar
6 Tbsp butter, softened
Mix together and then add;
1 heaping Tbsp peanut butter
1 teas vanilla
1/4 c milk

This is delicious.  I hope that you all enjjoy.  I have to go now my supper is beeping in the oven.  Hopefully I will be back tomorrow.  Not promising anything.LOL!!

Warm primitive blessings.

prim_bug

TEMPTATION TUESDAY

Hello again.  Sorry it has been a week since I was last on here.  Things have been quite hectic and seem to get busier each day.  Like you all don't know it and live it too! LOL!  Anyway, this will probably be the only post that I do for this week.  Tuesdays are really simple for me because all I have to do is find another recipe and post it for you all.  I hope that everyone out there is trying and enjoying these.  I have heard from some of you and they seem to be a success so far.  This makes me very happy.  I love to hear from you if you try something and love it or hate it.  Maybe you have a suggestion like Nancy did on the strawberries, she suggested trying other jello flavors as well.  She will soon be trying them in grape and I think that orange or lemon would be delicious as well. Thanks for the tip Nancy! 

Okay, so where last weeks double recipe day was a hit, I thought that I would put two more simple ones on for today.  I hope that you enjoy these.  We use both of them at alot of our get-togethers.  I hope that they become a part of your get-togethers as well.

CROCK POT KIELBASA

24 oz.  chili sauce
20 oz.  currant jelly
20 oz.  grape jelly
2 or more kielbasa  (I normally buy the turkey kielbasa and I use at least three of them)

From here the recipe starts getting real difficult;  put all your sauce and jellies into the crock pot and mix well.  Slice the kielbasa into desired size pieces.  Put kielbasa into the crock with the sauce and jelly, stir.  Cook on low temp for a few hours. 

I told you this was a tough recipe to follow!  LOL!!!!! 

Tip:  Before I put my jelly and sauce in the crock pot I give it a quick squirt of non-stick spray.  Helps with the sticky clean up.




EASY OREO TRUFFLES

1  16oz pkg Oreo's, divided
1  8oz pkg cream cheese, softened
2  8oz pkgs bakers white chocolate, melted

Crush 9 cookies in food processor to fine crumbs, reserve for later.  Crush remaining 36 cookies in food processor to fine crumbs and place in a bowl.  Add cream cheese and mix well, until well blended.  Roll into 42 balls. 
Dip balls into melted white chocolate and place onto wax paper.  Sprinkle with reserved cookie crumbles. 
Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
ENJOY!

This recipe was one that I got off the internet a few years ago.  It is absolutely scrumptious.  Don't say that I didn't warn you that these are highly addictive though. 

Tip:  Whenever you melt white chocolate, make sure not to get any water in the chocolate.  It will freeze right up on you.....talking from experience here-trust me.  I also have seen on pkgs where it says to add a little oil in with the chocolate while it melts and I have done that before and it seems to work well. 


I hope that you will all enjoy these and have a great week.  I hope to be back next week with some new crafts and get back on track.  Tomorrow is the first day of summer and I hope it starts off well for all of you out there! 

Warm primitive blessings to you all.

prim_bug

TEMPTATION TUESDAY

Good morning everyone.  It is Tuesday again.  I can only make this a short and sweet blog again this week.  I have to work the elections in our town today so, this will be a short one.

I sold The Pampered Chef for a short tim a few years ago and while doing so I came across quite a few yummy recipes.  This one here is one of our family's favorites.  This too, is quick and easy and great for a hot summer night. 

Some of the directions and amounts may be different than the original recipe calls for but, this is how we make it:

TURKEY (OR HAM) CLUB SANDWICH RING

2 pkg (11oz ea) refrigerated french bread dough
              cook both breads in a fluted (bundt) pan
1/2 lb bacon, crisply cooked and chopped  ( I use the whole pound)
3/4 c mayonnaise
1 tbsp chopped green onion
1 lb. shaved turkey or ham
2 med sliced tomatoes
2 c shredded lettuce
sliced cheese

To cook the bread you take both pieces of french bread and pinch the ends together to make a ring first. and place in fluted pan.  I spray mine down with non stick spray first.  Bake as directed on the package for the bread.  Let cool.

Mix together the bacon, mayo, and onion for a spread.  Cut the bread in half to make into sandwich ring.  Spread mayo mix on both rings and then layer remaining ingredients.  This is so yummy.  I hope that the directions were clear enough.  If you have any questions be sure to let me know in the comments or through email.  I had to do this quickly so I do apologize if I let something out.

Have a great day all and don't forget to vote!

Warm primitive blessings to you all.

prim_bug

A Gift and The Back Window

Hello everyone and Happy Thursday to all.  Yes, it's almost Friday, woo hoo! I wanted to show a few quick photos and send out a special thanks to my very dear friend Nancy.  Last night when Nancy came, she brought a gift to me for my bday.  She bought me this awesome gift below.  I have seen them but had never purchased one for myself even though it would have been sooooo handy many a times.  That being said here's a photo of the gift and I Thank-You again Nancy.  I absolutely LOVE it.  I am only having a hard time deciding which project I will store in it to take with me now!  LOL!!!!

I am sure that many of you stitchers out there have one of these for yourself and I bet you just love it.  I can't wait to fill mine.  Here's a look at the inside before I fill it with all my goodes:

Pretty sweet and it will be so handy on days when I take sis to doctor appointments....like tomorrow!!  Perfect timing Nancy, thanks again for all you do!

This next picture is of a Goodwill find that I got back in the winter.  I just came across it and decided to re-do it with a quick do over.

Did I say quick do over?  Someone else got the last laugh on that.  Besides who would want to redo this little beauty, right?!  Actually, someone put alot of hard work into this thing.  I think maybe it took me longer to pull those little bees off of it than it did to put them on.  My husband laughed at me.  It truly was amazing how they wound the ribbon so tight into the little screen holes.  It amazed me anyway.

The new and improved version, to me anyway.  This is a big shoo fly screen.  I was elated to get it for .99 and then it was half off that color ticket if I remember right.  It did end up taking quite a beating though with me trying to remove those darn bees.  It just makes it looked used and even older, yeah, that was exactly what I was trying to do with this.  All of those bends were done intentionally.......of course they were!  And I'm stickin to it!  LOL!

Aside from that I have just been pretty much watching my dining room window television.  And this was what show I was watching:

Do you see all three of them?  They are not the only ones there though.  Keep looking at the next photo:

Do you see Chippy?  I just love him to pieces.  He's so cute.  I always think that he is a snake in the grass when I first spot him.

How do you like my screen door?  It leads from the dogs backyard fence area into my little bird or should I say critter sanctuary.  I love this so much.  Some people would probably not care for it but, for me it is AWESOME!!!!!   It is so relaxing watching all the beauties out back.

This little guy here we call Lil Red.  He is almost as busy as Chippy.  If I don't open my bag of sunflower seed soon enough they both end up chewing a hole in the bag and basically I watch them "dumpster dive" in and out of the bag until I fill the feeders.

While hubby was working I went junking on the sides of the field and found some of these great porcelain bowls with rust holes in them.  I wasn't sure what I was going to do with them at the time.  Then I decided they would make great bird...err critter feeders.  Hubby drilled a couple more drainage holes in the bottom of the bowls and I went to Wal mart and got a plant hanger chain kit in the hardware department for about $4.00.  The kit came with the three chains, three small s hooks, one large s hook and the screw to put in the top.  It was awesome.  The best little flying dinner bowl that these guys have ever seen.  Around here that is.  LOL!

This is the other end of the little critter playground.  My husband had made me an old wall to separate one of our larger rooms into two.  We had the two that you see in this photo with the windows in them and we had the screen door in between.  It looked really cool.  But, like everything after you look at things for so long you want to have change.  So, we took the wall down and put it against a wall in the office for a few years.  (Yes, I said Years)!  I finally had a thought after seeing some garden arbors.  And voila!  I like the rough wood, and things done with what we have on hand.  And that is what makes our critter playground so perfect.

I hope that you enjoyed the pictures as much as I was enjoying watching them.  We also have alot of Hummingbirds and off to the left of this picture is another post which houses the Blue birds nest and I believe that she has eggs in there now.  They are very protective of the house right now.

At some point this summer I would really like to transform this area with some mulch on the base and alot of beautiful flowers.  I doubt that it will happen due to the fact that my to do list grows bigger and bigger each day.  I just am not sure what gets the attention first any more.  The same goes for all of us I know.  Never enough time in a day to get everything accomplished is there?  I am just thankful that I get to wake up each morning and try to start crossing things off the list.

I hope that you all have had a nice day today and get to spend the evening with your family maybe watching the same channel that I am.  That critter station is pretty entertaining.  LOL!!

Warm primitive blessings to you all.

prim_bug

TEMPTATION TUESDAY

Good morning again everyone.  It's Temptation Tuesday already.  It seems like I just posted one yesterday.  That tells you how fast time flies by me right!  Oh well, so it does.  Anyway this will be a short post I have some stuff I need to go and do this morning.  I also want to send out a good luck wish to someone special and she knows who she is and what this is for. 

So, for the recipe for today, I have decided on doing actually two small recipes.  One is for a dip and the other is one of my husbands favorite treats his mother always made around the holidays.

CRAB RANGOON DIP

8 oz cream cheese
1/2 c shredded swiss cheese
2 tsp garlic

Mix these ingredients and then put them in the bottom of a small microwave safe bowl.

Add;  2/3 c sweet n sour sauce

Add; 8 oz can of crab meat

Microwave until bubbly; then stir.

This dip is delicious with crackers but would be even better with won ton strips fried up.  YUM!!!


STRAWBERRIES

1 7oz. pkg. sweetened coconut
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 pkg strawberry jello  (you will need two sm pkgs jello total)
confectioners sugar

Mix first three ingredients above and add confectioners sugar until you can handle the mix.  Form into balls and roll into another package of strawberry jello. 

Place into a container and cover so that they can be refrigerated.  These are so yummy and this is the time of year when everyone is awaiting the fresh berries.  this should help tide you over until the fresh one's start to come up.

Tip:  Try this recipe using other flavored jellos as well....orange, grape, lemon, lime, mix and match.

I hope that you all enjoy these recipes.  Have a great day and I hope to be back tomorrow.

Warm primitive blessings.

prim_bug