Clearance Shopping

Just wanted to let everyone in on a wonderful sale Gooseberry Patch are having. They have pages and pages of markdowns. I stocked up wonderful items for gifts and 40 every occasion card set.
Blessings,
Jill
http://www2.gooseberrypatch.com/gooseberry/products.nsf/f.categorysearch?openform&definedsearch=sale::linkloc=epush&CMP=EMC-20081230

A Dog's Life

Boston Terrier's are Like Potato Chips, You can Never have Just One!

From Left to Right.............Odee 4, Daisy 8 & Kissy 1

Hope you have all had a Blessed Day!

Jill

It Feels Like Spring

Yesterday we had temps in the 70's here in eastern Kentucky! It felt so nice I opened my doors and did a little spring cleaning. I am hoping to tackle the "junk room" tomorrow. I was in such a springy mood I made this rabbit on a candle holder.
Today it's slightly cooler but still really nice out. I fixed a yummy supper of Turkey, mashed taters, fried corn, stuffing and gravy. I also made this yummy cake........hope you enjoy the recipe. Blessings,
Jill

Vanilla Wafer Cake

1 (12 ounce) box vanilla wafers, crushed

1 cup margarine, softened

1-1/2 cups chopped pecans

2 cups sugar

1/3 cup milk

6 eggs

1 (3 1/2 ounce can) flaked coconut

Preheat oven to 300. In a large bowl combine all ingredients, mix thoroughly. Spoon batter into a well greased 10 inch tube pan. Bake 1-1/2 hours or until done. Let cool 10 min. in the pan, invert onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing. I served mine with fresh whipped cream.

Christmas Has Come and Gone

Is it just me or did Thanksgiving and Christmas just seem to fly by. It was all gone before I knew it. All that is left today is the putting away of Christmas decorations, taking out the trash full of wrapping and doing laundry that accumulated during the festivities. Normally I leave my tree up until the first of the year. But it is so warm out today.....68 degrees......a Christmas tree light up and sparkly just feels off in this weather. We are supposed to reach the upper 70's tomorrow. I spent the day doing errands and packing up my special little ornaments I have collected over the years. I saved all my tissue from gift bags for packaging and I always save the gift bags that I receive gifts in.........well if they are really nice ones and I reuse them next year with a new name tag. We were blessed with good food and wonderful gifts this year...........sadly no snow though. My mom and dad gifted all of us with a platter of yummy candies of every kind. All home made! I just love those kinds of gifts. I made some more quilt candle mats to give to my family as gifts. I hope you all had a wonderful Merry Christmas........forgive me for not being able to tell each and every one of you in person.
Jill

A Busy Time

It's so hard to believe tomorrow is Christmas Eve. I think I can finally relax, I am done Christmas shopping and I have all my orders out that were supposed to arrive by Christmas. I have a few more gifts to wrap and a few dishes to make for our holiday gatherings. Tomorrow we open gifts at Mom and Dad's and Christmas day we will have dinner at Mom and Dad's. I found a bag full of old quilt squares at a antique shop and I made several candle mats with them. I just love the colors in this one.

As you can see Kissy is adjusting well to her new home. Daisy and Odee have accepted her too!

Winter Time

It's a cold Saturday morn here in Kentucky. We got about 4 inches of snow and it is beautiful outside. I have been busy working on new creations for Simply Primitives. I must say nothing gives me more pleasure than to be nestled inside my little warm home with my doggies while I sew away. I am looking forward to getting all my orders done this coming week and taking some time to do nothing...........which for me usually doesn't happen. Some extra time to clean out my "junk room" and to clean my workshop is much needed. Hmmmm Can you believe we need to start thinking of spring creations? My car has been mended thanks to my dad and brother in law.......whom are mechanically gifted. My wisdom tooth has ceased bothering me as much, I am hoping and praying I can wait until after the holidays to have it cut out. Especially because the hubby and I are both self employed and do not have dental insurance.......Ouch!

New Santa Orn............Don't you love his face? It was sculpted by Sharon of Homespun Heart Primitives.

New Mousie in a Old Shoe

A Quick Update

Hello everyone! I haven't fell off the face of the earth, I have just been super busy. On top of having lots of orders to get out for Christmas I have a impacted wisdom tooth...........yes it's ouchy! And my car is in the shop! Wow, what timing! Hope you are all enjoying this wonderful holiday season.
God Bless,
Jill

DRAwING WINNER IS...................

CONGRATULATIONS TO Mary Isabella and Kiley too!
Blessings,
Jill

Just a Reminder!

Did you guys have a nice Thanksgiving? We sure did, we all ate way too much and played Charades Thanksgiving night. Today we had a lovely church service. It's raining cats and dogs outside and I am going relax and watch a movie. Tonight I will be preparing everything for the ONLINE BLOG OPEN HOUSE. I have to take all the pics and so on. I hope you guys can all come, I can't wait to see who wins the door prize............and I can't wait to show it to you guys. Here's a couple of hints...........it was made from a Sweet Meadow's Farm pattern, it is wool and it hangs! Hope you all have a blessed Sunday. The open house will be tomorrow 6 pm - 12pm est.

Jill

Happy Thanksgiving

I wanted to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you all eat lots and are in good company with your loved ones. I will be eating Thanksgiving dinner at Mom and Dad's. I wanted to share this sweet picture of Daisy, Santa brought the kids a new bed early for Christmas. They like it but they don't like it near as good as the sofa!

I put the finishing touches on the tree. I decided to use popcorn garland that has been dipped in scented wax. I added all handmade ornaments that I have bought, made, or that a family member has made. I just love this time of year! May God Bless You All.

Jill

Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God:Psalm 147:6-8

An Award!

Thanks so much to Crystal from http://eweandmecreations.blogspot.com/ from giving me this wonderful award. As for whom to award...............I have no idea! I love all you guys and your wonderful blogs! Have a blessed day! Jill

Colonial Peanut Butter Fudge

Over the weekend I tried to do a little Christmas decorating. My new tree came that I purchased from QVC. Hubby asked if it was a live tree.............it sure looks live. The tree was pre lit so all I had to do was to fluff it up. Now I need to add my ornaments and garland. I am not sure what kind of garland I will do this year. I also made this yummy no cook fudge. The recipe is below and came from Cooks.com Hope you enjoy it! Blessings, Jill

Colonial Peanut Butter Fudge
4 c. Powdered Sugar, 1/4 t. salt, 1 c. peanut butter, 1/2 c. corn syrup, 1 stick butter, melted, 1 T, vanilla, 1 c. chopped nuts (optional) Mix together and press into a buttered dish; refrigerate.

Cold Winter Night Fare

It has been snowing here in Kentucky. The weather is chilly and only 15 degrees. I love winter and I love cold weather. I love snuggling up inside with my doggies, a good movie and a bowl of hot soup. There's just something about this time of year that evokes such wonderful feelings. Last night I put lights on my little tree and it puts me in such a holiday mood when stitching. Tonight I made some yummy chicken and rice soup and some Shaker Pumpkin Muffins. The soup was from a mix I had purchased and the Pumpkin Muffins were from a Shaker Cookbook. They are more savory than sweet; they are a perfect bread to eat with soup and other main dishes. Hope you enjoy this recipe.

Shaker Pumpkin Muffins

3/4 c. brown sugar

1/4 c. molasses

1/2 c. soft butter

1 beaten egg

1/4 c. pecans, chopped

1 c. pumpkin (canned or cooked & mashed)

1 t. soda

1/4 t. salt

1 3/4 c. flour

Cream sugar, molasses and butter; add egg and pumpkin and blend well. Mix dry ingredients; beat into pumpkin batter. Fold in pecans. Fill well greased muffin pans about half full with batter; bake at 375 degrees for 20 min. Makes 1 1/4 dozen

(These muffins may be frozen and kept until company comes)

You are Invited!

I would like to cordially invite you one and all to my very fist ever BLOG OPEN HOUSE! I am so excited about all the wonderful things I will be offering for sale. Their will also be a DRAWING for a door prize. Anyone who post a comment during the blog open house will have their name entered. I will be offering for sale handmade wares and wonderful antiques. The BLOG OPEN HOUSE will take place on December 1st at 6:00 pm - 12:00 pm eastern standard time. May God Bless You All! Jill

Brrrrrrrrrrrr It's Cold

The weather has suddenly turned VERY cold here in Kentucky! I have been busy finishing up some orders and haven't had time to work on the house. I am amazed at how fast time is flying by. Seems there are never enough hours in the day. I find myself always trying to multi task to get everything done. At this moment I have snicker doodle cookies in the oven and laundry washing. I made this sweet little snow girl today. She is a original design and is made from osnaburg. Hope you are all staying warm and cozy with the ones you love.
Blessings,
Jill

Kissy hanging out in the workshop anxiously awaiting when she can come inside!

Farm-Sittin

Today has been a cold, blustery, and rainy November day. My sister is gone on vacation this week and my mother and I have been feeding ALL her animals for her. Lol, it is quite a funny site when I drive up to feed them. Needless to say everything comes running ready to eat. Hope you all had a wonderful Saturday :)
Blessings,
Jill

I should have feed the animals then done there photo shoot because they were baaing, mooing, quacking, cackling, meowing, and barking the whole time! Lol, I must say the donkeys are the most patient of all!

A new Addition to the Family

The opportunity arose out of the blue to adopt this sweet little one year old boston terrier named Kissy. Her owner was no longer able to care for her and we went and picked her up today. I was hesitate about getting another dog.........as you know we have two on the inside and three on the outside. I thought it would be a little hard with the house building going on and all. But hubby was persistent wanting to get her as a future mate to our Odee. To make a long story short we got her home and realized she was in heat! We took her straight to the vet and got all her shots and he told us we had to keep her up for three weeks. She has the sweetest temperament and has fit right in with our little family. She has to stay in my workshop for three weeks and then she will be in the house with us. We are sure blessed to be gifted such a sweet little girl :)

God Bless,

Jill

Open House

My sister had her open house Saturday at her shop. We had a wonderful turn out and lots of yummy foods. I wanted to share some pics with you guys of the shop all decked out for the holidays. This weekend was a blur, I was so busy I didn't have time to blog. Today I sat around like a bum and did nothing! It felt pretty nice too. Hope you all had a wonderful Monday. God Bless, Jill

Christmas Time is a Comin

As soon as the Halloween decor is put away and the weather turns cool I always get in the Christmas mood. Last night I turned on my Christmas music in the workshop to set the mood and I began crafting away. My sisters open house is this weekend and I need to get busy if I am going to have any new wares for sale. The top picture is fresh cedar with handmade candy canes. Don't you just love the Merry Christmas ribbon? I got it at my local Dollar General Store! The second picture is of some grubby snowballs I made and a painted wooden breadboard I will be offering. Hope you guys are starting to get in the Christmas mood.

Blessings,

Jill

I've Been Tagged

Thanks so much to Julie for tagging me! As for seven people to tag back I have no idea...........If you are reading this and haven't already been tagged consider yourself tagged. The rules are to list 7 seven random facts about yourself and tag 7 people. Linking back to the person who tagged you. So here goes................
1. I am a bread addict......I could literally live on bread and mountain dew
2. I met my hubby when I was 15 and he was 19.....we dated all through my high school years and then got married as soon as I got out of school
3. I have been blessed, I couldn't have asked for better parents or a more perfect childhood.
4. My entire family go to the same church.......my mom, dad and three sisters.
5. Lol, I once took karate for about a month........I dropped out because the teacher had me sparring with kids!
6. I have a phobia about driving on high traffic four lane roads.......I avoid them like the plague.
7. Lastly I hate overnight trips............I'd rather be home with my dogs than anywhere in the world!

I will have some house pics hopefully tomorrow! We have the front complete and one end. I am getting ready to go work on it after a run to the post office. I have been so busy this past weekend I barely had time to sit down! Hope you all had a awesome Halloween and didn't eat toooooo much candy. Blessings,
Jill

A Autum Hike

My sister Cyndi and I went on a hike this afternoon in the hills behind my new house. We spent the day looking for greens to decorate her shop with for open house. The weather was nice and chilly and the trees were magnificent. I can't remember the trees ever being prettier than they have been this year. Hope you guys enjoy these pics!

Carvings on an old oak tree done by my sisters and I over 20 years ago!

My sister's mule loaded down with pine boughs, wild holly and cedar

God Bless,

Jill

Mini Cinnamon Crescents

The hubby was gone this evening helping a friend with a home project. Generally when I am home alone I feel lazy about cooking. I was craving something cinnamony and sweet so I whipped up a batch of these. They were soooooooo easy to make. Here is the link to the recipe http://www.pillsbury.com/Recipes/ShowRecipe.aspx?rid=15467
I make so many things with crescent rolls...........the possibilities are endless.
Thanks so much to everyone who responded to yesterday's post. I took the day off today as most of my orders are out. It felt nice to just sit around with the doggies. Although I did do some light housework :) We are having very cold weather, we even had some sleet yesterday. So needless to say it has been too cold to work on the house. Temps are fore casted to rise tomorrow so hopefully we will get back to work. Many Blessings to you all on this "winter like" night,
Jill

A Relaxing Sunday

I wanted to share this pic of one of my favorite treasures. It's a old bible that I picked up on my travels. I actually have several but this is one of my favorites. This is what the inscription says on the tattered cover. "To: Minerva & Hatch From: Father & Mother. Christmas 1922." At the bottom is wrote "God is our refuge and strength. A very present help in trouble." I like to flip through these old bibles and see where the person underlined or turned down a page of that one verse that had a special meaning to them. I like to day dream about where this old book has been and how many lives these words have changed. Who did this book give comfort to when they felt hopeless? But it makes me sad that somewhere along the line this book was discarded and put aside. I would have surely treasured this book even more if it were a family members.
I am enjoying a relaxing Sunday. The hubby is on a ATV ride so I am relaxing watching some old scary movies on tv. My mind has been filled with worries this week........some due to the house building and some other personal things. This has just been one of those weeks where everything has went wrong. I leave you with a few verses from the bible I so need to memorize. Blessings,
Jill
Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than the meat, and the body than the raiment? 26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, nethier do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
Matthew 6:25, 26, 27

A Rainy Day in the Workshop

Today we finally got a good soaking rain that has lasted off and on all day and night. Which meant work on the house came to a halt. I took advantage of the opportunity and worked in the shop all day. I completed some orders and started some new things. Hope you all had a wonderful day! Blessings,
Jill

Odee relaxing in his favorite spot in the workshop

Daisy looking for something to chew on

My new source of heat for the workshop! Works pretty good so far :)

Faux Log Cabin How-To

I have been getting lots of questions about my siding on the house. I wanted to share with you all how to do it. This is a picture of my workshop it was built about two years ago using the same technique. My genius daddy came up with this idea of how to make my workshop look like a log cabin using inexpensive pine sheeting boards. I have had several people stop and they get out of their vehicles to look and feel to make sure if the "logs" are real or not. Then they always ask "what did you use for the chinking?". I always giggle and say "it's just wood". This is what my daddy came up with; he used 3/4" thick pine sheeting boards. I think we paid like .50 per foot or something like that. He didn't do anything to the wide boards but for the chinking he cut a wide board into strips about 2 1/2 to 3 inches wide. We painted them white with exterior paint. You nail a board up and then a white strip and then a board and so on. I used a high quality outdoor wood stain on the wide boards. I discovered (or really sis and ma did) that if you stain over the white with your wood stain it looks better. Gives it a more aged look, I plan to go back and do this on the workshop. The key is to make sure you use galvanized nails......or your nails will rust and run down your siding! Hope this answered any questions any one may have had about the siding :)

We got the roof on the house today! And just in time as we are fore casted to get lots of rain this weekend. Hope you all had a wonderful day!

Jill

Buried Under a Pile of Work

Someway or other I have gotten behind in my orders. I guess the long days of working on the house till dark have slowed me down. I came home from church and sewed some dresses while the washer and dryer were going.
The rain came before we got the roof on the house. It was a minimal amount of rain........the floor got wet but no damage was done. Everything is back bone dry today. Daddy did more work with the dozer over the weekend and made more of a backyard and changed the driveway. We will be putting the metal roof on first thing in the morning. Hope you have all had lovely Sunday's.

House Progress

Boy am I ever tired! We put in some long hours today trying to get the roof ready before it rains. And it sure was HOT! The metal is supposed to be ready tomorrow..........hopefully! Here are some pics I took to update you on the progress.

This will be the bedroom
A work in progress

We got a few runs of siding up...........We did the faux log cabin look just like my workshop

This is a pic of the end of the house coming up the driveway