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!

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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!