Comments on Candy Cane Giveaway

Hey Everyone! I think I have fixed my comments problem. I have been getting emails saying that my comments link isn't working and they have been having to comment to me on my email which I know is more of a hastle but I do thank you all that have taken the time to comment me in that way as well as notify me of the problem. I hope to have more followers by Christmas time so that I may be able to have a candy cane giveaway and possibly be able to have other giveaways before and after that if I can swing it with our Stores Open House's coming up. Thanks to you all and Please, PLEASE...DO leave comments. I love contact with the outside world while I'm crafting and such. Being an at home mom doesn't allow for much human contact outside of playing Barbies and such with a 4 year old..LOL. Not that I don't love that...LOL. But you know what I mean.

Working on Candy Canes

Here are the candy canes that I have been working on for Christmas. I have a couple of small bundles of them that I will be doing different variations with. Let me know if you like them!

I'm thinking of giving a set of these away on this blog a little closer to Christmas after I get a few more followers. Somewhere around Thanksgiving I believe. I'm not quite sure how many will be in a set just yet but if its a smaller amount then I will be adding a few of my other items with that particular giveaway. Be sure to become a follower and check in with me for more details on when the giveaway will be.

Candy Canes by Brittany Jo of Prim Hollow.

A Primitive Journey's Orange and Clove Pomanders

(photo courtesy of APrimitive Journey's Blog)

As you all know, I love to blog hop and find really neat ideas and things from other people that I think are worth a good meantion. I also use them as a reference for myself as well as for all of us. I hopped on over to A Primitive Journey's Blog for a bit this evening and found this cute recipe/idea. Orange and Clove Pomanders. I have always wanted to try these! So here is her recipe almost word for word... Go check out her blog by clicking the links above!!

Ingredients

6 oranges (or lemons)

whole cloves

decorative ribbon

The Spice Mix

4 tablespoons ground cinnamon

4 tablespoons ground cloves

2 tablespoons ground nutmeg

2 tablespoons ground allspice

1/4 cup orrisroot powder (as preservative)

Directions

1 Combine the spice mix ingredients.

2 Wash oranges.

3 Insert cloves into oranges in a decorative pattern (stripes, swirls, whatever strikes your fancy!).

4 Roll cloved oranges in the spice mixture within 24 hours and set in a warm place to dry, turning fruit daily.

5 Drying takes from two weeks to possibly a month.

6 Pomanders are completely dry when they are hard.

7 Remove pomanders from the spice mix, dust off a little, and tie with decorative ribbons. Set out in a bowl, or you can use as Christmas ornaments.

(I do not take credit for the photo as well as the recipe/directions. These items belong to A Primitive Journey's Blog. Please give her a visit.)

Heaps of Pinkeeps

Hey everyone, I have been working on a few things besides my 2 challenges that I have in the works. Here are a couple of the pinkeeps that I have almost finished up. They aren't quite done yet so I appologize for them not looking exactly prim yet. I hope you like them.

I also have been working on a few other critters. Take a look!

Little squared off honey bees. These are going to be really cute.

Here's a kitty that I will soon be finishing up.

Coaster Makeover

(Photo courtesy of And Baby Makes Five)

How cute are these! Colleen over at And Baby Makes Five gave these coaters a prim makeover after seeing a posting from 3 Guys, a Girl, and a Prim Place. These are GREAT! Why couldn't I have thought of this. By the way, you should really check out 3 Guys, a Girl and a Prim Place to see the makeover she has done on the little stools that she found for her son. Adorable!

Ornamental Gingerbread Dough Recipe

(Photo courtesy of Behind My Red Door.)

I was hoppin' around on the internet again through some of the crafting blogs and happend upon this recipe from And Baby Makes Five. I found it while looking at Behind My Red Door's Blog. So I thought I would grab the recipe and a photo of them as a reference for us all.

(I do not take credit for this recipe or photo. They belong to the 2 blogs above. Please be sure to click on their blogs above to give them a visit.)

Ornamental Gingerbread Dough
3 T shortening

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup molasses

1 tsp. baking soda

3/4 cup water

3 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp. each: ground cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg

Beat shortening and sugar together until light and fluffy. Stir in molasses. Mix dry ingredients together. Stir them into sugar mixture and gradually add water. Dough will be very stiff. Refrigerate overnight.Heat oven to 350º. Cut dough into three pieces. Roll one piece at a time (between two sheets of waxed paper) to a thickness of about 1/4 ". Cut out desired shapes and patterns. *** If you are planning to hang these ornaments, poke holes in the shapes now with a straw or toothpick.*** Bake for about 20 minutes. Allow to cool and harden for several hours or overnight.

Finished ornaments can be painted, sealed, or dipped in melted wax. The possibilities are endless!

(Recipe courtesy of And Baby Makes Five.)

I can't wait to try this out!

Art works lately..

It's about that time again! YAY! Fall and Halloween crafts are starting to pour out! I will be making another set of witches stockings and a few more witches boots again this year. These were my last years batch.

I have been trying really hard to finish up quite a few items that I have started in the past. Here is one of my unfinished Annie dolls. I have handsculpted her head and given her a cloth body. She is in brown tones but I decided not to let you all see her in full color yet because she needs to still go through her aging processes and such so that she becomes as primitive as she can.

Here is the next lil' gal I'll be working on. She's is going to be wonderful!. I have something beautiful pictured in my head. Now, hopefully I can get my hands to pull it off.

Sa-weeet Annie

I found a really great blog post from The Primitive Country Bug's Blog on how to preserve your sweet annie. And since I have been wondering myself how in the world people keep it green when mine turns brown... I figured that I would post this for myself as a reference and possibly for you all as well. (So here it is almost word for word and I have used some of her pictures as well so I can't take credit for any of those. And please if you would like to visit her blog for the full Sweet Annie Post - Click the link above. ) Sweet Annie is an annual(for some reason mine acts as a perinnial-BrittanyJo) that's easy to grow from seed. Simply sow the seeds after danger of frost has passed. She likes full sun and average soil. No extra attention is really needed except for occasional watering during dry spells but don't overwater. Sweet Annie is a tall gal, she'll grow up to 6 feet tall so be sure to plant her in the back of your flower bed. Some might call this a noxious weed and it can become invasive, but Sweet Annie attracts bees, butterflies and birds.

What to watch for: In late summer, watch for the development of “beads” ~tiny yellow flowers along the branches. If the branches are cut too soon, they will be of poor quality, so wait until the blossoms open, giving the plants a yellowish cast. To harvest Sweet Annie, simply cut the stems off close to the ground. The stems will be thick and woody so use a heavy pair of lopping shears to cut them with. Then cut the smaller branches off the main stem and group them together in small bundles, wrapping the ends with heavy twine or rubber bands. Be sure to leave some stems in the garden if you want it to self sow the following year. How to hang them to dry: Hang the bunches in a warm, dry, dark location with good air circulation for 1 to 1 1/2 weeks to dry; garage or attic rafters are ideal. When the centers of the bunches feel completely dry, hang them in a dark, dry place to store them or place them in a cardboard box.Sweet Annie has been used for a long time as a natural room air freshener. Folks in the old general store would hang a bunch of Sweet Annie from the corner of a room to cover up musty odors. In the olden days, and most likely in many Amish and Mennonite homes today, Sweet Annie would be hung in the pantry to give a pleasing scent, but also to act as a pest deterrent. Hang a bunch in your bathroom or closet for a clean, fresh smell when you enter.Sweet Annie will keep her scent for a very long time, even when not preserved. Preserved Sweet Annie will stay soft, hold its color and last for years. Air dried Sweet Annie will stay green when kept out of direct sunlight but will become brittle and shed, eventually turning brown over a long period of time.

Keeping it clean: Preserved Sweet Annie is easy to keep clean (just blow lightly with a hair dryer) while air dried Sweet Annie is hard to keep clean, it is too brittle to blow the dust off from.

Preserving Methods: If you want to preserve your Sweet Annie after it's been picked, stand it in about 3 inches of HOT water mixed with glycerin oil 2 to one and you will see in a couple days the color changing to a dark green sorta like spinach. Remove it from the mixture and gently dry it off or lay it in front of a fan to dry so it won't mold. It will be soft and fragrant but will have a darker color to it.Another method of treating Sweet Annie is by mixing regular school glue half and half with water and spraying it on your sprigs. Some people have been known to use hair spray too. Whatever method you choose, you'll be able to enjoy your Sweet Annie for a very long time.

Cute use of those pesky fabric scraps!

I was hoppin' around the internet crafting world when I found this cute idea. They are corkboard pushpins. Click on the photo for a full tutorial.

My Weightloss Blog

Well I started my weight loss blog..which I have named Finding a Fitter Me. I don't think that's correct grammar but it gets the job done. Be sure to check it out and support me!

Click on the logo to enter the Finding a Fitter Me Blog.

Challenge No. 2- The AGGhhhhhh!! Challenge.

Alrighty, Now that I have challenge No. 1 set in motion...Challenge No. 2 needs to be right up there as well. Challenge No. 2 is the almighty weight loss!! (AggggHHHhhhh!!! shrieks of terror!!)I will be starting another blog to keep everyone in tune to my progress. I need all the support that I can get. I have tried and tried to loose weight and nothing works because I fall off of the wagon and there's nothing and/or no one to help me back up. So tomorrow morning, I'm going to try my best to fight the fat!! I am going to try to post pictures along with my weight, etc. (I'm sure some days... I'll forget(cough, cough) to get a picture)haha. In all seriousness, I'm really needing an intervention and I think that if I do this blog that I will feel the needed pressure to get to my goal. I feel like I'm a beautiful person inside but some days the outside doesn't look that great. Plus the fact that I am only 26 years old and over 200 pounds. I hate being so hefty that the heat gets to me, I can't do much outdoor fun with my little girl, my cholesterol is high, I'm tired of having to search for clothes to fit me (as well as fitting cheap!), I'm tired of being "The Chubby One" out of all of my siblings and especially of my sisters and I just want to feel good about myself again. So I'm gearing up for a more slender me.

Pray for me!!

Challenge No. 1

Ok, I have decided that it is time to get this place cleaned out! I have so much clutter that I'm sure it is part of my everyday stress. I can't come home after being gone and just relax or feel like I can have fun doing any of my favorite hobbies. There is so much EVERYWHERE!! So I am going to start getting rid of a lot of things that are just taking up space. I will be needing as many ideas as you can throw at me. I would love for all of you to give me some of your best organizing tips or advice of any kind.

For the next 30 days I will be on a misson to organize. I started today July 9th and plan to have this place ship shape by the second week of August. I got a nice bunch of clutter organized and sorted. (most of our problem comes from all of our linens, clothing, etc. Oh yea, and I'm a crafter... so... theres tons of that lying around too!) I buy tons of things from yard sales and thrift stores. I'm constantly buying to put THIS with THAT that I bought at an earlier sale... etc. etc.... well it's time for an overhaul!

Wish me Luck!!

Glass and Stingers

Well yesterday wasn't too bad. For most of the day I searched online for inspiration to go back to sewing. Sometimes I just get into a rut and need to see what other people are doing to just get back to finishing what I have started.

I also got to visit with one of my favorite great aunts and her girls. I don't get to see them often but when I do - I always feel like I belong. I'm such a plump, boisterous, bubble-y, laughing and rather extreme presence and thats them too. I just love it. Our little Dusty Attic Store walls were just busting with loud happy mouths! It was such a fun time.

Then later in the evening we went out for a walk with our pups and ended up bringing a stray boxer home...lol. Not on purpose... he just wouldn't get the hint. On our way back to the house I must have walked across some broken glass and flipped it into my flip flops. UGGhhhh! (If anyone knows me-you'll know that if there is broken glass around... my fingers or feet will find it!!) I brushed the bottom of my foot with hopes that I would find the piece that got me and no glass. So I stepped a few more steps and found that I must have missed it because it hurt each time I stepped. Again, I looked and felt and no glass. I was hoping it wasn't way in there. So there I was following my husband and daughter with our pups ...prancing on my tip toes until we could get to the porch and investigate further. And sure enough... there was glass sticking up from my flip flops. I must have flipped the glass up into my shoe and then pressed it into it with my foot as I walked a few steps. Not fun. I kept thinking... ewww... I walk around in these flip flops for most of the day and who knows what gets onto them... AND NOW... I have a cut for all that junk to get into...blllluuuckkk! (I'm a germaphobe when it comes to cuts and open wounds. I don't know how I managed when I had my reduction-I'm sure I've blocked that out...lol)

Well after that we decided to out to Glen-o. (Glen O Jones Lake) and let Erica slide down the swirly slide thats at the park there. She's suddenly daring now and has decided that slides aren't as dangerous as they look. So she thought... Anyways, we went to the lake park and Leif and I were grabbin' the pups outta the back of the truck while Erica asked if she could go ahead to the slide. Leif said "Yea babe thats fine just be careful." We were only a few yards from her when we heard the most blood curdling scream that every parent dreads. Not once but numberous times. Leif ran to her as I was trying to get to them both (I was tripping and tangled in puppy leashes). He picked her up and asked what was wrong but she just wasn't calming down. The only other times we have heard these shrieks were when Miss Erica has encountered a bug of some sort...ticks, spiders, etc. Then he saw a red wasp kind of waddling along. She'd been STUNG! Her first sting and man was it a duezy. Her lil 4 year old baby fingers were swellin' up and red. All she could say is ... "OH momma... ohhhh mommma it hurts tooo bad! I can't move my fingers. Oh momma this is the worst day ever!! " Of course all of this was said blubbering. I didn't think she was ever going to stop crying that night. She would catch a glimps of Spongebob on tv and stop just long enough to remember that she wasn't thinking about her hand. Once she finally calmed down a little she said in a sad little voice... "Momma I think I need to sleep in your bed tonight so you can help me move my hand when I need to get my night night water... Oh yea and I think that if I watch cartoons in there, it might make it swell down better." We knew then that she was gonna be ok...lol!!

Today her little baby hand feels like a million bucks!

Puppies, Puppies, Puppies!

This week has been a lil' busy with puppies. LOL. Our new additions are actually starting to turn out to be great little learners. They are starting to mind well when out on our walks every night.
They are also understanding commands fairly well. We also have finally named our lil' gals. Corey and Dotty. Corey is the one who took on the German Shorthaired Pointer looks. She has the smaller nob on her head and bigger rounder eyes. Dotty is the larger of the two and is a lil less obediant. She is the spitting image of the Weimaraner breed.

They had a great time this past 4th. They got to go out to "Nana and PaPa's"(My inlaws house). They have a huge yard out in the country and their house has a huge wrap around porch with a gate. We put the pups on the porch for a bit so that they could run a lil' free for a while. BUT, the smell of ribs being grilled was too much for them. They found a way to break out! lol. We kept putting them back on the porch and then they would just be running around on the carport where the ribs were being grilled! I finally told my husband that there had to be a hole somewhere. Well there was. I blocked it off and to my surprise they were roaming the yard again!! I then decided to spy on them. To my surprise those long legged pups were just jumping straight over the gate..lol! So I then decided it was time for a little walk and then I let them be on their long chains together so that they wouldn't get out into the road. They were so happy to just be in the grass that they layed there playing together for the rest of the evening. Blluughhkk... I was so tired...lol Who knew puppies were so exhausting!! lol.

Pictured above: This is the male that we took in. I found him a home a few blocks away. His name is Milo now. Isn't he gorgeous! To the Right: Corey and Dotty Snuggled up as the fireworks went off.