2014 in review
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 1,500 times in 2014. If it were a cable car, it would take about 25 trips to carry that many people.
Christmas Canning Jar Craft
Here’s quick craft that can be used as a last minute gift or a Christmas dinner favor for your guests.
What you need
m&m’s trademarked candy, canning jars, Christmas tags/small ornaments, twine, printed out m&m poem(found on the internet)
Directions
1) Cut twine long enough to go around the neck of jar and to be tied into a bow
2) Attach tag or ornament to bow
3) Fill with m&m’s(the candies have to be m&m trademarked candies because of the imprinted “m”)
4) print out m&m poem, making sure font is small enough for poem to fit on round canning jar lid
5) Cut out poem
6) Glue poem onto canning jar lid
A fun and yummy gift to give to that special someone!
Christmas Crafts
Christmas is only a few days away but there is still time to a few crafts for the Christmas tree or to give as little heartfelt gifts. Decorating the Christmas tree doesn’t have to be with expensive baubles, though they can be beautiful but a tree done up with handmade ornaments from loved ones makes a Christmas tree just as beautiful and will also hold a special meaning. The following are a few …
Snowman Face Ornaments
Items needed for this craft are- 2″ branch, small eyelet screws, ribbon, saw, adornments, paintbrush and white, orange, & black paint
Directions
1. Find a dry branch about 2 inches in diameter
2. Cut the branch into discs about a 1/4″ thick
3) Screw in the eyelet screws at the top of disc
4) Paint the front and back of the discs white, I leave the bark unpainted for a more rustic look
5) When white paint is dry, paint on snowman faces. You can also use paint pens to do this also
6) Tie ribbon through screw eyelet
7) Use adornments if desired
Here are a few other ideas for ornaments
Hand sewn and painted ornament
Hand painted glass ornament
Cinnamon dough ornament cut out with a cookie cutter
Hand painted bell
Painted salt dough ornament with the impression of a child or grandchild’s hand or foot
Salt dough ornament with the impression of your pet’s paw(be sure to wash paw after impression)
A Blessed Thanksgiving
As you come together today remember the blessing of family. Enjoy the time you have together. Know that each member of your family holds a piece of the story to your family tree. Have a Blessed Thanksgiving!
Hip, Hip, Hooray for the Grand Old USA
Happy Birthday America! I hope everyone is enjoying the patriotic festivities with family , friends, and of course food(not to mention the fireworks). In honor of the great Red, White , & Blue birthday I am going to share the directions to make my version of primitive wood fire cracker ornies.
Materials needed are:
1. a 1 inch diameter wood dowel
2. red, white, and blue paint
3. silver cord or twine or sinew or candle wick (your choice, I used silver cord)
4. drill with small diameter bit or screw driver with small diameter screw
5. diluted walnut colored stain
6. coping saw
7. Tacky Glue
8. clean cloth
Directions:
1. Cut dowel into 4 inch pieces with the coping saw.
2. Drill a hole in the tops of each dowel piece about 1/8 to 1/4 inch deep, if you don’t have a drill use a screwdriver and small diameter screw to make the hole( just be sure to take the screw back out)
3. Paint the top with the hole blue and paint the blue down an inch from the top. Let dry.
4. Paint small white stars around the dried blue painted part of the dowel making sure the stars are spaced evenly. Let dry.
5. Paint the bottom 3 inches of the dowel white. Let dry.
6. Paint Red stripes down the white painted bottom part of the dowel. Making sure that the red stripe is evenly alternating with the white. Let dry.
7. Paint the whole painted dowel with the diluted walnut stain then quickly wipe off the stain with a clean cloth leaving the painted dowel looking “old and dirty”. Wipe as little or as much as you would like depending on the look you are wanting to achieve. Let dry completely.
8. Cut your cord, twine, sinew, or candle wick to your desired wick length, I cut mine around 3 1/2 inches. Then use your Tacky glue and put a dab of glue in the hole that you made in the top of the dowel and insert your wick material and let dry.
9. Decorate, decorate, decorate!
I hope everyone has a safe and sane 4th of July, enjoy and remember what this day is all about!
Happy Dad’s Day
Happy Father’s Day to all the dad’s every where! Enjoy your family, the day, and all the blessings that comes your way.
Happy Mom’s Day
To all mother’s young and old…Have a blessed Mother’s Day!
Wooden Christmas Stocking Tags
Wooden Stocking Tags
Here are some Christmas stocking tags that can be used year after year. The materials needed for this Holiday project are: preformed wooden tags(or if you are real crafty, you can cut your own design out of Balsa Wood), names printed out on regular paper, craft paint, paint brush, decal applicator, razor knife, and Mod Podge.
Paint edges and back of wooden tag and allow to dry completely.
Don’t forget a dog bone design or a fish design for your favorite dog or cat family member.
Cut out name paper with and razor knife to fit tag design.
Brush Mod Podge over entire front of tag and place cut out name paper on the wet Mod Podge. Use decal applicator to take out bubbles. Let dry completely.
Cut away excess paper Paint personal embellishments on the tag.
Brush Mod Podge over entire tag and let dry completely. Do the same to the back of tag and again let dry completely.
Add twine and tie to Christmas stockings.
Enjoy!
Wooden Portraits
This is another version of the photo blocks but on a larger scale…
Wooden Portraits
Materials needed for this project are 2 X 8’s (cut in 9 1/2 inch lengths), 8 X 10 photos printed on standard paper, craft paint, paint brush, decal applicator, fine grit sand paper, picture hangers, and Mod podge.
Cut 2 X 8 down to size and sand edges smooth.
Paint sides and edges with selected paint, allow to dry completely.
Paint back and allow to dry completely.
Cut photo to fit board. Brush Mod Podge over entire top of board and place photo in wet Mod Podge. Use decal applicator to take out any bubbles in photo.
Brush a top coat of Mod Podge over entire photo and sides, allow to dry completely and then Mod Podge the entire back of painted board and allow to dry completely.
Attach picture hangers on the back of board.
When finished hang on a wall or just set them up on a fireplace mantel.
I hope this is another project that you will enjoy doing!
Wooden Photo Blocks
Here is another craft that I really enjoyed doing…
Wooden Photo Blocks
Materials needed for this craft is 3 inch wooden blocks(bought from a local craft store), scrapbook paper, personal photos printed on normal paper, craft paint, paint brush, decal applicator, and Mod Podge.
Paint all the edges of the block in your chosen color, allow to dry completely.
Cut photos and scrapbook paper to the size of the square block.
One square at a time paint Mod Podge over entire square and place photo square onto it. Use a decal applicator to get all air bubbles out. Allow to dry completely and repeat until all squares are done.
When all squares are completed and dry, apply a top coat of Mod Podge over photo, allow to dry complete and continue until entire block has a top coat of Mod Podge.
When dry, enjoy decorating with them.
I hope you enjoy this craft as much as I did!
Handmade Snowglobes
These were fun to design and make and extremely easy to do! Just gather together some old or new Christmas ornaments(without any metal attachments), mini figurines, and bottle brush trees or anything thing that you can imagine as long as it is waterproof and can be glued in the confines of the interior diameter of the jar lid. Next get a Mason, Ball, or even an empty jar out of the fridge and its lid. Other materials needed are a glycerin, glue gun with plenty of glue sticks, glitter, clear & white silicone in a tube, a glass candle stick holder( I found mine at the local dollar store), purified water, ribbon, bells, and any other type of embellishments.
Gathered supplies
Glue items onto the center of the lid, making sure that you glue it to side that will be on the inside of the jar when finished.
Put the lid ring around the candle stick and then glue the candle stick to the bottom of the lid.
Add white silicone around glued object so it looks like snow, being careful not to get any silicone around the seal. Allow to dry completely.
Add 2 tbs glitter to jar, also add a few drops of glycerin and about 3/4 full of water.
Insert glued object into jar and carefully fill the jar with the water until you can tightly screw down the top without over flowing the water yet making sure the jar is completely full.
Using the clear silicone, put a bead around the edge of the lid where it is screwed onto the jar. This helps prevent any leakage.
Use the ribbon and embellishments to decorate the rim of the lid.
This can be made for all different kinds of occasions just by changing what you put inside the jar. Have fun and enjoy!
Happy Thanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! Enjoy this day, take time to embrace family & friends and be blessed with good memories of days past!
Not So Primitive Candles…
A primitive candle just like in the colonial times…well not quite but a little close. I was given a bunch of those battery operated window candles that have the gold colored plastic candle stick base with the white molded drippy look plastic candle and the light bulb on top. I am not one to look a gift horse in the mouth so to speak but these weren’t exactly the type of decor that I have in my home, but I accepted them graciously and appreciated the thought behind the gift because my home is filled with candles. It didn’t take me to long before I decided to use a grunging technique that I have used on my hand sewn fabric candle ornies. So I set out on my prim candle transformation and gathered my cinnamon, Mod Podge, and a can of black spray paint(Automotive Trim Black is what I used due to the color is close to Lamp Black). Now, I will say that this was a spur of the moment project and I forgot to take photos through out the project, I just have a photo of the finished product but I will give step by step instructions on how I did this-
1) Take a scotch brite pad and scuff up the candle stick base part only, wipe off scuff dust
2) Tape off the white candle part and bulb completely, so no black spray will get on it
3) Spray candle stick base black, let dry completely
4) Un-tape the candle part and bulb
5) With a paint brush, brush on Mod Podge completely over the white candle part, making sure the white is completely covered and being careful not to get any Mod Podge on any of the black base or the bulb
6) Once covered with Mod Podge, immediately dust cinnamon completely over the wet Mod Podge, carefully blow or tap off excess cinnamon and let dry completely
7) When cinnamoned Mod Podge is dried brush another coat of Mod Podge over all of cinnamon(some cinnamon will mix in the Mod Podge but that is okay). Make sure all of the cinnamon is coated with Mod Podge and looks wet, again make sure that none of the Mod Podge gets on the black base or bulb
8) Once they are dried, you can leave them as is or go one step further and silicone the bulbs
My not so primitive…primitive candle!
BOO!!
Have a Happy Halloween everyone. Watch out for the Goblins and Ghouls and the occasional princess! Enjoy!
!!PUMPKIN PARTY!!
Feeling fall festive, thinking about a get together? Why not make it an Autumn themed party… like everything PUMPKIN! Invite your friends and their pumpkin pals over for a carving contest and have everyone vote on the best, with the winner getting a pumpkin themed prize. Have eats & drinks made from pumpkin. There are a myriad of pumpkin recipes that can be downloaded from the internet like Pumpkin Punch, Pumpkin Lattes, Pumpkin Cake & Cookies and of course the seasonal favorite Pumpkin Bread. Not to mention casseroles and soups that are made from this fun orange gourd. A fun idea would be to make a handmade Pumpkin Recipe Book to give to all your guests as a memento of the party. Another take on this would be a “Pumpkin Potluck” and have your guests bring a dish made from pumpkin and the recipe to trade with everyone at the party. You could also do a kid friendly version of a Pumpkin Party by having a bunch of pumpkins strewn around your yard (like a make shift pumpkin patch). Have the children go pick their favorite pumpkin and paint a face on it. Then hand out a ribbon prize to all the contestants. The ribbons can be made with a different saying on it like “Most Scary”, “Best Funny Face”, “Most Colorful” and so on. Have the children play pumpkin themed games. Some ideas are “Pin the Nose on the Jack O Lantern”, “Musical Pumpkins” using big pumpkins instead of chairs, “Pumpkin Walk” a cake walk using pumpkin related goodies instead of a cake, and “Pumpkin Roll” using a big pumpkins to roll a certain distance the fastest. What ever you decide, just take time to have a good time with friends and family during this fun autumn holiday season.
The Smell of Pumpkins in the Air…
Awe, you gotta love the smell of pumpkins in the air. Well, I guess that is a little far fetched but by now everyone knows that I have this strange affliction… uhh I mean affection for this plump orange colored fruit(yep, it is a fruit). I admit I have pulled the Harvest decorations down from the rafters, dusted them off and even put a few out with a lot more being put out for my family’s viewing pleasure over the next couple of days. And yes, the gourd purchasing has commenced. It is a little disconcerting though decorating for the Harvest season in 85 degree weather. I have this unnerving feeling that we will be wearing tank tops & flip flops and working on our tans when we make our annual pilgrimage to the pumpkin patch rather than wearing the customary Autumn attire of sweaters and boots. But what ever the attire is we will have a wonderful Harvest season because our family will be together and our Grandson will be visiting the patch this year under the power of his own two feet and this Grandma is going to have fun watching him go forth and pick out his very own pumpkin! May every one take time to enjoy the colors of the season, have an Apple Cider or a Pumpkin flavored latte and pull out the sweaters because I am told that the chill of the season will eventually come…
An Afternoon Ride to Issaquah, Washington
Nestled in the foothills is a nice little place called Issaquah, it is a very pretty town combining old architecture with new. Issaquah was an old mining town, then turned its sights to the lumber industry and it became an official city in 1892. From where we live it is a short jaunt but well worth it and it is only about 20 minutes out of Downtown Seattle on I – 90 East. There is literally something for everyone to do in this town, they put on Art Walks, they have a farmers market, a historic railroad depot & museum, a salmon hatchery, a chocolate factory, hiking, shopping and so much more. Make sure when you visit to take time and visit the unique shops in Gillman Village located on Gillman Blvd, this is also where the antique gallery that I visited is. The antique gallery is a must to stop & shop, they have many vendors located under the one roof. Which means there was a wide variety of items including glass wares, furniture, primitives, Americana and more. The pricing was varied.
Issaquah also has a renovated antique barn from the 1800’s that is able to be rented out and if you are lucky enough when you visit it might even have a craft fair going on in this really cool old barn. Another must stop is The vintage XXX hamburger & rootbeer stand, make sure you at least get a nice cold rootbeer while you are there. They hold old fashion auto shows in their parking lot that beckons back to the fifties. In fact the day that we rode through they had a motorcycle rally and show going on.
All in all, it was a fun day of antiques, motorcycles, and cold rootbeer on a warm day, what more can you ask for!
Next Stop: Sumner, Washington
Okay, I have to admit, I like this little town. Two of my favorite shops are located here, Folkart Gatherings and The New England Saltbox, they have everything you need for primitive home decor. The shop keeps are pleasant and the pricing is fair. The old part of Sumner is located on Main Street and it packs a lot into that street. It has Antique shops, Primitive & Folkart shops, and quite a few restaurants with down home food all within an easy walking distance. Sumner is a little over 34 miles from Seattle going south. Easiest route from Seattle would be the I5 South to I405 to WA-167 South to WA-410 East and take the East Main St exit. The town has festivals and art & wine walks through out the year including their Rhubarb Festival in July. Sumner has more than 9400 people living within its boundaries. In 1853 Sumner was settled and was known as Stuck Junction. The town was finally platted in 1883 and in 1891 was incorporated with its new name of Sumner. I would encourage a visit, I know I visit Sumner about 10 or more times a year!
Main Street
Visiting Port Orchard, Washington
The first stop on our Antiquing on Harley’s wasn’t on a bike but it was going to get one. So, I think we will let this one count. We swung into the quaint Mariner town of Port Orchard. It is located in the state of Washington in the Kitsap County on the Kitsap Peninsula. It’s a town with over 11,000 people living in it. To get there you take Interstate 5 to Highway 16 and follow the signs. Port Orchard is also accessible from Seattle by the Washington State Ferry System, which I will say is a beautiful boat ride. The town is nestled around the waters of the Sinclair Inlet and the town does have a public marina. The town has a boardwalk that they hold a Farmers Market at during the spring, summer, and early fall. The Antique stores that I found are on Bay Street. But, I would suggest to stop by the candy store there on Bay Street to pick up some yummy fudge or any of the other myriad of old fashion candies that they offer to eat while you walk through and browse the antique shops. Everyone we met in the various shops we went into were extremely friendly and helpful. All the antique stores offered a wide variety of items from primitive iron & wood, shabby chic, to vintage 40’s through the 1960’s. The pricing for the most part was low to mid range in value for the items that I looked at. In fact, I was lucky and found a large primitive table top slant desk for only $30.
This is the Table Top Slant Desk for only $30, it is in very nice condition for its age. Unfortunately, they did not have the key to it but it does still have the decorative metal work attached around the keyhole.
In a different shop, I found a hand carved Noah’s Ark with hand carved animals that was originally $20 and when the shop person saw me looking at it she lowered the price to $10, what a deal!
We had a great time wandering around this town, with its sights and the smell of the salt water in the air. It was very enjoyable.
Antiques & Harleys
Antiques and Harley’s, what a combination. My hubby’s hobby is riding his Harley and mine is obviously primitive antiques, so we decided to combine the two. The best of both worlds since I have to admit I like being the passenger on my hubby’s Harley and he has been known to enjoy our antiquing hunts. I have to say that there are times that we might be quite the spectacle rolling the down the road with the pack on my back brimming full of items that I have found or like the time we were antiquing in Eastern Washington and my hubby had to also stop by a winery and a fruit stand over there so he filled the back pack with wine and fresh jellies prior to us hitting the antique stores. Well, of course once we started scavenging the antique stores, I found items that i just couldn’t leave behind. So there we were rolling down the highway headed home and I looked like some kind of modern-day knight on his way to a joust holding on to my newly purchased 3 foot long primitive wooden stir paddle(like what a Halloween witch uses to stir her cauldron). We got some strange looks that day. After the fact we both decided that wasn’t the safest thing to do, so we are going to get saddle bags for the bike and on the bigger items we will just pay to get them shipped home. To further celebrate our antique runs on the motorcycle, I am going to post pictures of the the antique shops we visit and tell their story and the story of the towns they are located in. I will be adding these posts over the spring, summer, and fall so please check back often to read about the adventures!
Think Green!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day everyone and don’t forget to wear a wee bit o’green today!
A Valentine Wish
A Happy Valentine’s Day wish to every one! I hope this day is full of sweet paper hearts and chocolate for you and your loved ones. So, how did this day of hearts, chocolate and flowers come about? Well… to my surprise when I went looking (ie: Google & Wikipedia), I found that there were actually more than one St. Valentines to have lived but the Martyr Valentinus (Latin for Valentine) who was beheaded on the 14th of February in Rome by order of Emperor Claudius II seems to be the most popular. For he went against Claudius’s no marriage or engagement rule and married young lovers in secret. Though it is said that all the St Valentines were “outstanding lovers of God and people, able to hear and to support anyone who is in love”. The Feast of St. Valentine on February 14 was first established in 496 by Pope Gelasius I. There was also some 18th century English folks who thought due to the obscurity of what isn’t known about the St Valentine(s) that Valentine’s Day was invented by the church to supersede the pagan holiday of Lupercalia (a festival of love) which was held in mid February. With this now known I wondered how paper hearts, chocolate, flowers and the occasional diamond became iconic to this day? It seems that the romantic side of Valentine’s Day came about in the 14th century with the help of Geoffrey Chaucer. It is also thought that the the first Valentine was a note that was written by St Valentine to the jailers daughter before he was beheaded. In the 1700’s people started making handmade notes to give to loved ones on February 14th in honor of the Feast of St Valentine and by the 1800’s commercially made Valentine’s started to appear. In the early 1870’s a 19 year old American by the name of Esther Howland brought Valentines Day to America by commercially producing her own cards for the occasion. So, over the many following years flowers and chocolates became part of the Valentine’s Day giving festivities and supposedly in the 1980’s the diamond industries were said to have started promoting giving diamonds on this day of love. What ever the true story of Valentine’s Day is let us be thankful that we have a day dedicated to love but wouldn’t it be wonderful to show our love for our family and friends all year long.
This is a Valentine I made up for a friend. This is simple to do. Just fill a canning jar with chocolates put the lid back on and tie a ribbon or jute around the neck of the jar. I attached small wooden hearts to the end of the jute with glue.
New Years Solution aka My Year Of Change
New Years…the midnight first kiss of the year with a loved one, a happy thing…a toast for health and prosperity, a happy thing…celebrating with family and friends, a happy thing…RESOLUTIONS (Ugh), an unpleasant thing! How come is it that at the beginning of every New Year we set resolutions for ourselves(with good intentions of course) but then they are forgotten by the end of January? I know I silently do this to myself every year, not that I can’t commit to something but with the hustle & bustle of the life that I lead, my resolutions slowly start falling down the priority list. So this year no more weight loss ideas, diets, exercise regimens, or make more money thoughts…I have decided rather than make a New Years Resolution, that I would have a New Years Solution! One word “SIMPLIFY” my life (well maybe that’s three words). Simplify, its a nice little verb that means “to make simpler”. The beauty to this word is that it can be something different to each person who uses it but to me it means de-clutter and reorganize. So in my spare time(which usually is when everyone is in bed or early morning), I am going to look at every room, closet & cupboard in my house and re-home or donate to charity all the items that just aren’t being used anymore which means when I go to the utensil drawer in the kitchen that the big green plastic spoon wont come hurdling at my face anymore because of the force that I had to use to get the overloaded drawer to open or opening that cupboard/closet door and have a tidal wave of objects come walloping down on me…sound familiar? Then when the weather permits, I am going to do the same outdoors. Gone will be the high maintenance foliage and in will be the carefree ornamental grasses and weeping trees. Rather than weeding, I’m going to plant a pretty ground cover. If everything is easier and cohesive, it means it will be a simpler and happier home! I’ll take that. So here’s to New Years Solutions aka My Year of Change! To everyone – A Blessed New Year!
Mason Jar Inspirations
Mason jars aren’t just for canning anymore. They make great decorations for your primitive, shabby chic, or country home and in some instances they can even decorate an urban or industrial prim home. If you look on the internet, there are so many craft ideas that can be done with canning jars, the inspirations are limitless. One of the my favorite craft ideas that I have seen just lately is how to make an old fashion snow globe. I don’t have enough time to make them for this Christmas as gifts for family, friends, and neighbors but I will be busy putting a bunch together this spring and summer for next Christmas. I will post a photo tutorial of the first one I make after the first of the year(so please check back). I just love these old jars, especially the antique blue ones. I have quite a few antique and new Mason/Ball jars scattered around my home, each doing their own unique job of decorating.
2 quart jar filled with pine cones and rusty bells tied with scrap of prim fabric and adorned with rusty bells and a faux candy cane
A regular mouth quart jar that is painted and has a glass votive candle holder inserted into its top. Add decorations around jar neck.
2 quart jars placed in an primitive wood tool carrier.
2 quart antique blue jars with flower frogs attached.
Canning jar with wrought iron candle hanger and a battery operated 4″ pillar.
Various size jars in an antique postal cubby holding crafting supplies.
Those are a just few of my ideas of how to use your unused canning jars. For more inspirations just type “canning jar ideas” into your internet search engine or just use your imagination…have fun & as always enjoy!
Yester Year Primitives 
