Rock River Stitches

Hiking in North Carolina

2012-02-11T20:30:00.001-06:00

I recently was in North Carolina visiting my daughter and her family. We were there to celebrate my grandson's first birthday which I didn't want to miss. We all had such a good time! On Sunday (Super Bowl Sunday) we decide to take a hike as the weather was beautiful, close to 60º. We drove to the Blue Ridge Parkway to see, one of the many falls called Skinny Dip Falls. And to also see Looking Glass Rock which was amazing!! I got my exercise that day!! And what a beautiful place to do it at!!

Blue Ridge Parkway

Looking Glass Rock

^ Click on the pic to read ^

Daughter and grandson in tow. Just about the whole trail look like this with rocks and tree roots. It was about a 1/2 mile hike.

This was a very interesting the way this tree was growing. I guess they call it the reindeer tree.

I loved the moss growing on everything!

Fungi growing on a tree

My Son in law and granddaughter peeking out from inside a hollowed out tree stump!

Made it to Skinny Dip Falls. And...no... there were no people skinny dipping! LOL

I just love this photo of my daughter and grandson!!!

Son in law and granddaughter climbing rocks

Cora the rock climber!

A little stream I found walking back to our car.

Dead mossy fungi tree

A lot of the trail was like this!

Loved the moss!!

So that was our hiking trip and I'm ready to go back and find another falls in the mountains of North Carolina. I guess there are many to be seen!

Birthday Party Time!

We had a celebration for my grandson who turned 1 and his great grandfather who just turned 93. They have the same birthday, February 1st !!!! My daughter always makes a fruit tower for her kids. A more healthy way to celebrate birthdays. We did have gluten free brownies for great grandfather and it was yummy! The best brownies I've ever had!

And another fun thing we did was go roller skating!!! It was my granddaughters first time on roller skates. She wasn't to sure about the whole thing first. But she finally got the hang of it later. It was so fun! Been like 20 years since I had put on some skates! I loved roller skating as a kid!

Cora with Robin who is a Roller Derby Mama!!! She is a friend of my daughters.

My daughter, Robin and granddaughter.

Fun times....I'm ready to go back to North Carolina, but I don't think it will be for awhile.

A few of my vintage feed sack birdies that I have for sale on etsy and ebay right now!!!

Primitive Vintage Feedsack Birds!

2012-02-09T20:39:00.001-06:00

You are probably wondering where I have been again. If I'm not sewing....I'm a traveling...a traveling to North Carolina! We went back again to be there for my grandson's first birthday. Can't miss that! Was there for four days and had the best time. I will be posting pics from the trip in a couple of days.

So for now I just want to let you know that I've been listing things today on my ebay and my etsy shop!!! <------Just click on the highlighted links.

Here are a few of the birds I have listed! They are all made from a hand stitched feedsack quilt top.

I'm totally exhausted and need to get my legs up! Have a wonderful evening!

Photo Contest Votes Needed!

2012-01-18T09:31:00.000-06:00

I've entered a couple of photos in a contest at photobucket and would love if you could please stop by and vote for my entries. No signing up required. The theme is "Winter"

To Vote Click on this link---> Cardinal

And here is my other entry

To Vote Click on this link---> Snowflakes

Thank You so much for your support if you choose to vote.

It's a bitterly could morning today, only 3º. At least the winds have died down and the sun is out. Good day to stay inside and sew!

Here are a couple other pics I captured on our snowy Tuesday.

Well...I must get busy and get something done today. Have a wonderful day! Stay Warm!

Thinking of Spring while the Snow is Flying!

2012-01-17T12:23:00.000-06:00

I started thinking a couple of days ago about Spring, with this warmer then usual Winter. So I listed this sweet goose doll last night.

She is made with a pattern by Doreen Frost who is a most talented artist!

Click here to view her on ebay-----> My Ebay

This morning woke up to a blanket of ice and snow. Now it's all snow as the temp has been dropping since this morning.

Captured some more shots of the snowflakes!!

These two pics were from this morning when it was more ice then snow that was falling.

And.....then a few hours later when the temperature begin to drop

I took these shots! You can see that they are a more formed snowflake now!

I'm having so much fun with my camera! OK...time to get back to my sewing!

New Items on Early Work Mercantile tonight!

2012-01-14T20:13:00.000-06:00

I've been so busy this week!! I have my goodies for Early Work Mercantile ready to list later tonight!!! Here are a few items! Click this link to be taken to my page-------> "Early Work Mercantile"

We finally got a good amount of snow this week!! Had great fun taking pics of the birds and snowflakes!

Red-Bellied Woodpecker

Nuthatch

A few days ago when we were getting a few snow flurries I thought I would try to take a picture of some snowflakes! I was amazed when they somewhat turned out!

Isn't this amazing!!

The first pic is my favorite!!!

Today I captured some winter shots by the Mississippi river.

Right along the Mississippi River. Casino is in the background.

On the Iowa side looking at Illinois on the other side.

Mr. Sea Gull

Well that's it folks for this Saturday night! Have a great wonderful rest of your weekend!!

Happy Belated New Year!!

2012-01-07T15:59:00.000-06:00

Wow...I can't believe it has been almost a month since I last posted on my blog! Well I have been busy to say the least! With Christmas then making a trip to N.C. the day after Christmas. Where did the month of December go!!! Hubby and I left before sunrise on Dec. 26 with perfect weather all the way there. On the way back home was a different story! 30 miles south of Indianapolis we ran into patch's of snowy weather. Where ever it was snowing there were accidents and tie ups, with traffic sometimes at a halt. Four times we had to slow down because of accidents. We saw a total of 25 cars wrecked and being towed away. It took us a hour and a half to go 30 miles!! People were going to fast for the icy conditions on the road. Thank God we made it home safe and sound and a little later then expected.

We had a wonderful visit with my daughter, son in law and grandchildren!!! Nice weather to boot! There is a neighbor below the hill from my daughter that has a interesting shed that is covered in some very prim items. I had to get a shot of this to show you all.

Look at all those rusty skillets!!

Here's a closer pic! Took this when I walked down to the end of the road to get my daughters mail out of their mailbox.

We made a trip to Asheville N.C. to The Grove Park Inn. It's a huge beautiful resort that I guess they shot a couple of scenes from the movie Dirty Dancing.

They were having a display of Gingerbread Houses

I couldn't believe some of these creations! Just gorgeous! I took these photos with my iphone so they aren't the greatest.

I think this would be so fun to be a part of something like this.

New Years Eve was awesome!!! I made a big pot of Chili and later had smore's around a big bonfire.

My son in law roasting a marshmallow

They live next door to a church. That's why there is a little blue cross in the background. It had gotten up into the 60's early that day. It was perfect!

My 11 month old grandson Max trying out his big sister's bike! Love this pic!

View from the front of my daughters house!

OK now back to reality!!! I've been working on a few new items for Valentines Day. So be sure to check back here in a couple of days.

Vintage Look Bottle Brush Tree's

2011-12-08T16:12:00.001-06:00

Had fun making these little trees yesterday! I wrote a tutorial on how to make these last year here. This year I made them a little different with painting them and attaching them to old wooden blocks. I really like the look I've achieved!!

I am now done creating items to sell for Christmas. I have my last Snowman & Tree Make Do set on ebay and my last 3 Tree's Make Do's there as well.

Link to my ebay Here

Link to my etsy shop Here

The other day we received a little dusting of snow and are expecting more tonight. I think around a inch or so. Here are a few photos I took.

Perfect little bird prints! Love it!

My watering cans Winter spot.

Last few leaves on the driveway.

My favorite Big Oak Tree Trunk in the backyard.

Have a wonderful Thursday evening!

Primitive Two Turtle Dove Ornies

2011-11-29T10:24:00.001-06:00

Finally after several days of clouds and rain the sun has come out! Had a wonderful Thanksgiving with my family this year. Daughter and her family came home from NC. The four days they were here was a whirlwind! Grandchildren sure can wear you out! They safely made their drive back home to NC and now it's time to get busy sewing again!

I listed this sweet pair of doves on ebay last night. It's getting closer and closer to Christmas, so I made this auction a three day listing.

Click Here For My Ebay--->Ebay

Sunday I made a trip to the antique mall with my sister. My sister who isn't a very crafty person has recently gotten hooked on pinterest and has found several Christmas projects and decorating ideas that she had to try. So off to the antique mall we went. Country Fair Mall is huge! It takes you a good 2 hours to walk through the place. I found a couple of goodies!

Sis bought this vintage cat door stop for me for my birthday, which is in a couple of weeks. I Love it!!!

And I just had to have this wooden spice box, which was the only thing I bought.

The robin is something I made years ago along with the nest. The sweet mouse doll I bought this past summer at a prim shop in LeClaire, Iowa when visiting there for the American Picker's weekend that they have every summer.

If you are looking for a Christmas gift for that hard to buy person, why not a custom made calendar! This quality made calendar is made by me with all my wonderful nature photos!! I have a link on the right hand column of my blog that takes you directly to the purchase page. Be sure to click on the link that shows you all of the pages of the calendar so you can see what each month looks like.

I'm giving these to all my family and friends this year for Christmas. I think they will be surprised!

Primitive Vintage Style Bird Ornies!

2011-11-22T18:25:00.001-06:00

What a day!!! It was a no sewing day today! Spent the day cleaning and cooking! Just a little more cleaning for tomorrow and baking two apple pies. Daughter and family will be arriving tomorrow from NC and can hardly wait to see the grands!!

I listed a couple new items on ebay last night. I have another one of my Snowman and Tree Make Do sets for sale. And have something brand new too, my little prim vintage style bird ornies!

Selling them in a set of 6. I think these would be perfect on a nature decorated tree. I have these displayed on my 2ft. twig tree which isn't included in the auction. Had fun making these little guys.

Today was a perfect slow cooker day with me being so busy. I made Slow Cooker Cheesy Potato Soup! It was so good and I've decided to share it with you. I got it from Betty Crocker newsletter that I get. Super easy to make with a bag of frozen hashbrown potatoes!

Slow Cooker Cheesy Potato Soup

1 bag (32 oz) frozen southern-style diced hash brown potatoes, thawed

½ cup frozen chopped onion (from 12-oz bag), thawed 1 medium stalk celery, diced (1/2 cup) 1 carton (32-oz) Progresso® chicken broth1 cup water

3 tablespoons Gold Medal® all-purpose flour

1 cup milk

1 bag (8 oz) shredded American-Cheddar cheese blend (2 cups)

4 medium green onions, sliced (1/4 cup)

In 3- to 4-quart slow cooker, mix potatoes, onion, celery, broth and water. Cover; cook on Low heat setting 6 to 8 hours.

In small bowl, mix flour into milk; stir into potato mixture. Increase heat setting to High. Cover; cook 20 to 30 minutes or until mixture thickens. Stir in cheese until melted. Garnish individual servings with bacon and green onions. Sprinkle with pepper if desired.

Instead of using purchased bacon pieces, cook 2 strips of bacon until crisp, then drain and crumble.

Southern-style hash brown potatoes are diced instead of shredded. These work best in this recipe.

Click here for link to the recipe online to print out---->Cheesy Potato Soup

I used a half a pound of bacon in mine. Next time I'm going to try diced ham instead of the bacon.

Wishing you a Wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

New Patterns are Ready!

2011-11-19T18:05:00.001-06:00

I finally finished up the two patterns, Kitty Angel and Tree Make Do's that I mentioned, I think last week. I have them for sale on Pattern Mart right now. There are links in the right hand column on my blog now. Im headed over to etsy and my website to get them listed there too.

And I'm hoping I can get a set of these little bird ornies finished to list tomorrow night!!

Have a wonderful evening!!

Primitive Christmas Make Do's

2011-11-18T20:57:00.001-06:00

Busy Busy!!! I have so much to do!! Daughter and family is coming home for Thanksgiving and I've got to get the house in order!! Will be so good to have them here! And then I'm working on 2 new patterns. I'm thinking they will be finished by tomorrow. And I did manage to get a couple new items finished today to list on My Ebay tonight.

So there you have what's new for today!!! Have a wonderful weekend my fellow bloggers!!

Primitive Grungy Snowman & Christmas Tree Make Do's

2011-11-16T18:17:00.001-06:00

A little something new listed on etsy tonight. Finished up these two make do's that are being sold together. The snowman is made using a pattern by T.F.C Folk Art. The tree is my design. I plan on making a pattern for the trees tomorrow. Will post a link here on my blog for PatternMart when its finished.

Click---> for my etsy shop

And tonight my Kitty Angel Doll ends on Ebay

Click---> for my Ebay

Tomorrow is going to be a pattern making day. I will be working on this Angel Kitty pattern as well. Be sure to stop back on my blog for a link to my patterns for Pattern Mart.

Early Work Mercantile Update Time!

2011-11-14T19:11:00.001-06:00

It's that time again! Can hardly believe that next week is Thanksgiving! Christmas will be here before you know it!!!

So here are my items I'll be listing on Early Work Mercantile later tonight. Please visit the other artist there. We have a great group of talented people!

Have a Great Evening Everyone!!!!!!

Need to get back to sewing!

No Stopping Me Now!!!

2011-11-09T20:32:00.001-06:00

Love it when I'm on a roll! The ideas are flowing and my house is a mess! LOL I'll try to get a little cleaning done tomorrow. Wish hubby would learn to pick up his socks! And also Jupiter the cat who loves to bring up socks from the dirty clothes pile in the basement. At least I do have my laundry done for this week.

OK...So here are a few new items. All have been listed on ebay I really need to work on my new items for Early Work Mercantile coming up here next week! I wish the days would slow down just a little. Never enough hours in a day.

So there you have my latest works of art! Time to get back to sewing!! I will make up a pattern for the Angel Kitty Doll if there is enough interest. Have a wonderful evening!

Another Primitive Snowman

2011-11-01T19:23:00.000-05:00

Happy first day of November!! Hope everyone had a wondeful Halloween! I think we had more trick or treaters then what we usually have. The weather was perfect, around 50º.

I've been so busy with patterns and snowmen! I did manage to get another jingle jangle snowman ready to list on ebay tonight. He's dressed up in his winter woollies hoping to stay warm this winter!

Click on my ebay <-----link to go to my auctions

Also I have one more Snowman Make Do left in my Early Work Mercantile page.

He's $23.00 plus shipping

Click on my Early Work Mercantile <---link to go to my page

So that is about it for tonight. Need to get back to sewing more Christmas goodies!!!

Meet Mr. Jingles and Mr. Jangles!

2011-10-27T19:26:00.001-05:00

I'm having great fun creating these snowmen guys!! My favorite part is making their outfits! After I finish one I think....should I keep him? They get under my skin once I bring them to life. The one in the brown and tan houndstooth outfit, will be listed tonight in my ebay. The one in the blue plaid was listed last night.

Can you believe that November is almost here! Yikes! How the year has flown by. Time to get started on Christmas shopping!

I have these 2 little snowman make do's still for sale at my Early Work Mercantile blog if anyone is still interested. It's funny, I thought these 2 would be the first to go but their two other brothers did first. Click HERE for my page at Early Work Mercantile. They are $23.00 each plus shipping.

To all my blogger friends, Have a wonderful evening!!

Blessings!

Primitive Christmas Stocking

2011-10-24T19:10:00.000-05:00

I'm in full force mode for Christmas now! I finished this stocking the other day and it is now listed on ebay. It's been awhile since I've listed anything there. Click HERE to go to my ebay listing for my stocking. I will be making more items, so be on the look out.

Saturday morning I went to a primitive and antiques sale at the Red Barn. Have to tell you this was my kind of sale! Lots of old worn rusty primitive stuff! I guess they have sales once a month from April through October. I will be waiting anxiously for when they start up again next year. Here are some treasures that I got!!

Hog Scraper, Early crock jug, Miner's lunch box and 3 spindles.

Here's my spindles after hubby cut them for me. Can't wait to use these to make some make do's!

Then on Saturday Hubby and I did some hiking around on the trails at Blackhawk State Park. This place has the most amazing huge oak trees. I didn't like the way my pictures turned out because I left my polarizing lens at home. So I went back again today and got some amazing shots. And it seems the leaves have turned more since then too! It was a gorgeous day. I think it was close to 70º.

I think these are some short of wildflower. The bees and little green flies were all over them.

Do you ever just look up when you are under a tree? Amazing isn't it?!!

I don't know what these flowers were, but they were kind of stinky. Pretty, but stinky LOL

Some very cool fungus growing on a old dead tree.

Don't ya just love all the colors here!!!

And here's a statue of Chief Blackhawk who the park was named after. He was the leader of the Sauk American Indian tribe who were in this area a very long time ago.

Primitive Halloween BOO Stocking

2011-10-17T19:09:00.000-05:00

Happy Monday to all my blogger friends! I'm officially done creating for Halloween for this year! I finished up this stocking yesterday for a customer. She wanted a Halloween stocking, so I just kind of put things together that I had already had made that were in my finished but not finished box. I made the stocking and added them. I think it turned out quit nice!

Here is a little something I did today with some of the gourds from my fall display from last year. I dried a few gourds that I liked the best in my garage over the winter. I took my moldy gourd and under running water I scrubbed it good. Then let it dry for a few hours.

Couldn't get very much of the mold spots off, but that is OK because I painted it with acrylic paint, to look just like it was last fall! Don't ya think it looks amazing!!!

Now I can keep it to bring out every year!!!

I'm working a new more new Christmas items, so stay tuned for those updates!!!

Have a wonderful evening!

Update on Early Work Mercantile

2011-10-15T15:15:00.001-05:00

I just updated my page late last night at Early Work Mercantile. Stop by and see what I have along with some other amazing artist there as well. I'm starting to get into the Christmas mood now that Halloween is almost here. Have to keep one step ahead of the game. Here's what I am offering this month.

"A" and "D" have been sold as of today.

And Mr. Jingles is still for sale.

Last weekend Daughter and grandchildren were visiting from NC while her hubby was at a seminar in NY. My daughter was here to go to her 10 year high school reunion. I can hardly believe that it has been that long. They grow up so fast. But it was great fun having them visit. They totally worn this grandma out! Harder now with 2 grands visiting, especially with a 8 month old crawling everywhere!

Here's my little Max just after he woke up the last morning they were here.

We did manage to do a lot in the 3 days that they were here. We made a trip to the pumpkin patch at Country Corner. They had a small petting zoo which my granddaughter loved!

Couldn't resist taking some pics of the goats. I'm a big goatie fan.

Miss Cora sitting on top of one of the giant decorated pumpkins.

Cora with her one apple she just couldn't wait to eat along with a wagon full of gourds and pumpkins.

And here is a little display I made up when I got home using a wagon that was my two daughters when they were little. I love my orange mums blooming in the background.

A Little Prim in my Home

2011-10-04T07:40:00.000-05:00

I've been reluctant to post pics of my home because it's nothing like some of the primitive homes that I just adore. So here goes. The house we live in was my hubbies grandparents home which was built by them in the 1930's. One really cool thing, is that only family have lived in this house. We are the 5th family to do so. And another is when I was a kid, I used to draw pictures all the time of a house that looks very much like ours with a curvy sidewalk that runs from the house to the street. Every house I drew...curvy sidewalk was a must. Almost like I knew what house I was going to live in when I grew up. I know...I'm weird. LOL

The kitchen. I just took a loaf of bread out of the bread machine. hehe

Dining Area. Love the built in corner cabinets on either side of door. You can't see the one on the left.

Secretary Bookcase with curved glass door.

Big oak card catalog file. Got this many years ago at a flea market. Note the none prim lamp. :)

More Crocks

Parquet wooden floor in the entryway my father in law made. He cut each tiny piece of wood himself. And installed it like a puzzle. I treasure this the most in our house. He came from a family of wood craftsmen from Germany.

So that's a little bit of prim in my home. Hope you enjoyed it!

Fall Color Is Starting

2011-10-02T16:27:00.001-05:00

Lately I've gotten addicted to a site called Pinterest. Pinterest is a virtual pinboard. Pinterest allows you to organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web.

You can browse pinboards created by other people to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests.

While looking around there you can find some amazing photos and ideas to decorate your home. I happened upon a photo which had a link to Country Living website on how to make crow silhouettes that you can print out on your printer! Loved the idea, so I thought I would give it a try. Click on this link--->Bird Silhouettes for the tutorial. The directions call for you to use static cling decal sheets that you get at Office Depot, which you can only get if you go to their store. Can't get them online. I tried to find them. So I ended up buying something similar to print the crows out on. I used a product called Clear Decals For Windows by Avery. And the only way I could find this was by ordering it through Amazon.com. These decals are a little different from the static cling ones. They are a little tacky on the back but they can be peeled off and stuck back on. The crow on the bottom left was a little large for this window. I just wanted to show you the three different crows you can print. I was amazed at how well they turned out!!

Just noticed yesterday that the leaves are turning here in NW Illinois. In about 2 or 3 weeks they will be at their peak. I have several mum plants and one is in full bloom right now.

And I harvested my so called "Apple Gourds" What a disappointment they turned out to be. I contacted the farm that I bought the apple gourd from last fall about what happened to them. I sent them photos and they seem to think that the seeds that I planted, from the apple gourd that I dried over this last winter, had been cross pollinated with a snake gourd when it was growing. The lengths of these gourds were 22", 20", 17" and 13". I have no idea what to do with these giants. Let me know if you have any ideas. So I will be trying again next year. Not sure what kind of gourds I will be growing then. I have all winter to think about that.

So that is what I've been up to lately beside orders. I've been trying to keep up. I really need to start saying no to some people. I don't have time to work on new projects! And I will get absolutely nothing done when my daughter comes back home for her 10 year high school class reunion with my 2 grandchildren the end of this week!

Make your own Fall Corn Husk Wreath

2011-09-17T17:03:00.000-05:00

This is a little something that kept me busy today. I saw this idea on one of my favorite blogs, from Suzanne of Chickens in the Road Blog.

My wreath turned out looking a little different then hers. I made mine basically the same way as my twig wreath that I made a year ago.

Here are the things you need to get started.

Dried corn husks
heavy gauge wire or a wire coat hanger
twine
scissors

First you have to have dried corn husks. About a month ago after eating sweet corn, I saved the husks and dried them outside in the sun. That took a couple of weeks. This wreath was made with a dozen ears of corn husks. It probably could have used a few more husks, but that was all I had. This wreath is around 14" wide.

Gather up a few husks at a time and wrap your twinge around them a couple of times, pulling really tight. I tried to overlap the bottom end of the husks to cover up the tied section of the husk before that one.

Just keep overlaping as you go.

Finished!

I just tied some rusty wire on the back and hung on my back door.

I found this single black oil sunflower growing in my big pot that I have my prickly pear cactus growing in the other day. Those pesky chipmunks must have buried some seeds in there from my birdfeeders. They are always doing this in my potted plants.

2012 New Nature Photo Calendar is Here!!!

2011-09-14T19:19:00.000-05:00

For the last month I've been working on creating a calendar with all my nature photos. And I received my copy in the mail today, and have to say I'm very happy with the company that made it for me!! In the photo below is a shot I took of October which is my favortie of all the months.

If you would like to purchase a copy for yourself, just click on the grey colored link button at the top of my right hand colum that says, Buy Now Lulu <----Click here. The cost is $15.00 plus $3.99 shipping. Once you order it you will receive it in the mail within 4 or 5 working days.

Im getting ready for the Early Work Mercantile update for tonight!!! So be sure to stop back later at Early Work Mercantile to see what I have new for sale!!

Fall is Creeping Closer

2011-09-08T14:23:00.001-05:00

Wow...Here it is September already. I'm a little sad. I'm never ready for the cold weather. Still working on orders and Halloween goodies! I finished up my bat garland banner yesterday and listed it in my etsy shop last night. I don't know about you but I think bats are so cute!

And I've also been working on little barn wood Halloween wall hangings. This is a newer one that I listed last week.

I'm still keeping busy with raising my Monarchs. I let my 3rd one go on Saturday. But he didn't make it. It emerged on Saturday morning. I tried to let it go early afternoon but he didn't seem ready to fly away because he flew into the side of the house. So I put him back in his jar and thought I would wait till later. Well... later it started raining pretty hard and it didn't let up before it got dark so I put him outside under one of my hosta's out of the rain. That was a bad idea. The next morning I checked and all that was left of him was one wing. Some little critter got him for sure.

Monarch #3

I have Monarch #4 in the chrysalis stage right now. It should be coming out in a few days. I also have a two eggs that will be hatching into caterpillars within the next couple of days.

This is just a shot I took riding in the car other day. I love clouds!

Ok...well that's about it for now folks. Need to get back to the old sewing machine.

New Primitive Goodies!

2011-08-25T20:48:00.000-05:00

Gonna make this short tonight. I'm beat! Took advantage of the beautiful weather we had today and worked in my flower gardens and mowed the yard! I certainly got my exercise today! I used to mow all the time. I'm really out of shape. Then I finished up a couple of wall hangings that I made out of old barn wood a friend of mine gave me. Melanie was so nice to give me the wood when they were tearing down one of the barns on her farm. At the time I didn't know what I was going to do with it. I knew I could think of something. I just listed this two cute hangers in my etsy shop!

Then the last couple of days I've been getting some amazing shots of the hummers!

So darn cute!!!!!!!!

This one I just love! He was stretching and puffing up after he got soaked from a rainstorm we had earlier that day.

Oh and almost forgot! My Monarch butterfly came out of its chrysalis on Sunday!!! It was so neat to see it take its first flight. I was kind of sad and happy at the same time.

Here it is drying its wings

Another shot just before it took off. I wonder how it's doing out there in the big world.

I will have more butterflies emerging in about a week or so. I have 2 chrysalis's and 2 caterpillar's right now. Nature is a beautiful thing.

New Items on Early Work Mercantile!!

2011-08-14T20:05:00.001-05:00

Can you believe that August is half way through already! Please.... Summer slow down. I'm getting ready to list some new fall goodies on Early Work Mercantile! Thought I would show you a little preview here! I will be listing these awesome pumpkins I made with a pattern by Tickled Primitive. Great fun to make!

The pattern comes with three different sizes. I only made the medium and small one. They are a pretty good size pumpkin.

Next I will be listing my favorite little ghost make do's, made with my own pattern.

And last item is this Witch Pumpkin and little spider friend make do that I just made up.

And I'm working on another Witch Moon Make Do to have finished, to list tomorrow night in my etsy shop.

So I've been busy making these items along with several orders. And taking care of my flower gardens and raising monarch butterflies from caterpillars that I find on my milkweed plants. I have one caterpillar that just turned into a chrysalis on Friday. So it will be 2 weeks before it transforms into a butterfly.

Here is the Mama

Here's the caterpillar right after I found it. It was about a half inch long.

And this is it 5 days later!!! Amazing isn't it!

And here it is 4 days after the last picture! It's in it's chrysalis stage. It will stay like that for 2 weeks before the butterfly emerges!

Isn't it gorgeous! You should see it in person. The metallic gold on it is amazing! It's hanging from the inside of a big glass antique jar that I have. I took the lid off to take a picture. I also have another jar with another caterpillar that is about a 1/2" right now. So I have to feed it everyday with fresh milkweed leaves.

And I got some amazingly funny pics the other day of a couple of young squirrels playing around in our backyard. I just started snapping pictures as they played and got some crazy pics of them!

They look like they are dancing!

And this one really cracks me up! Looks like he is laying back and laughing!

And this one is "Tag Your It!"

They played none stop for quite awhile. So fun to watch!

And the goldfinches are loving my Zinnia's right along with all the butterflies and bees.

And every morning this baby robin and it's parents are out when I am watering my flowers.

Well I believe that's about it for now. Have a wonderful Sunday evening!

The Great Outdoors

2011-08-03T21:09:00.001-05:00

August already!! Where has the summer gone. I am not looking forward to winter. I think we are finally going to get a little cooler weather soon. Yesterday was just terrible. It was in the 90's with heat index, I think of 112º. The humidity was so bad it seemed like it was hard to breath. I'm really trying to get my orders done. I worked on one all day today, should have it done tonight. Also made a turtle for a fundraiser we are going to next week. I used a pattern by Crows Roost Prims. I just love the way my turtle turned out.

I don't know if any of you heard about a guy that goes up and down the Mississippi river cleaning up all the garbage that people throw in the river. His name is Chad Pregracke and he is from our area. He has been on the national news several times. He started cleaning up the river when he was just a kid and now it's this huge non profit organization. Once a year they have a big barge party where they serve up a Fish Fry and Shrimp Boil Dinner along with live music and a art auction. So I'm donating my sea turtle. Should be lots of fun!

I had someone on facebook suggest I make a calendar with all my wonderful flower and bird photos. So I have that in the works right now. It's going to take me awhile to gather up and edit my pictures. So watch for my calendar sometime in the late fall. I'll post on here, where and how to buy it! I'm really excited!

So with that here are a few photos from this week that may be in my calendar!!!

New Guinea Impatiens

Swallowtail Butterfly on my Zinnia's

Swallowtail

Mr. Bumble Bee loving the Zinnia's

Another shot of a Swallowtail.

Monarch Butterfly that I got a shot of on Sunday. It was flying around my milkweed plants laying eggs.

And then today I found this newly hatched monarch caterpillar while I was pulling weeds around my milkweed plants!!! I'm so excited! I could not believe how tiny he was. He was about a 1/2" long. I'm going to try to keep track of him. Can't decide if I should bring him in and watch him transform. My daughter did that one year in high school, for her science class and it was the most amazing thing to watch it turn in to a beautiful butterfly.

And here is a sweet hummer that I was able to get a shot of this morning!

That's all for now folks.

Heat Wave!

2011-07-21T21:54:00.001-05:00

So it's been in the upper 90's all week and I'm loving it. You may think I am crazy, but I wait all winter for warm weather. I hate being cold!

Just want to make sure you all stop by Early Work Mercantile to see what I have newly listed!! Remember that I always list new things the 15th of the month. You also have to check out the other artist there! Fantastic group of primitive artist!

Just have to show you this picture I took yesterday of a cardinal that was at my window feeders. He caught my eye as I got up from my computer, so I grabbed my camera which I was so glad that it was right on my computer desk and snapped a few pics. The poor thing had lost just about all his feathers on top of his head and part of his body. I checked online to see what could be his problem and most likely it was from mites. He probably scratched so much he lost his feathers. I don't think he will be getting any new girlfriends anytime soon. If you look close you can actually see his ear below his eye!

And have to show you my petunia that is growing like crazy in all this heat! It's not a wave petunia, but it sure is growing like one!

And these flowers (Gazania) are so bright and cheery! I picked them up from Kmart a couple of weeks ago. Here it is July and I'm still buying flowers!

I might be buying more tomorrow to replace a couple of my tuberous begonias that have about bit the dust. I think it might be the heat. All my other flowers are doing wonderfully!

Oh and got to show you this fountain I got about a month ago. I just love it!!!!!!!!!

This past weekend we made a trip to Chicago which is about a 2 1/2 hour drive from where we live. We drove for a hour and hopped onto a Amtrak train and rode into the city. It's the best way to visit Chicago as there is not place to park and if you do its so expensive! Hubby and I met up with my daughter and her family who flew into Chicago from NC for a Chiropractic Seminar. We were the official babysitters! We had the best time ever! Did a little sightseeing with our granddaughter.

We walked to Millennium Park and saw "The Bean"! You've got to see this if you ever visit Chicago!

My granddaughter Cora!

The view out our motel room!! We were on the 25th floor! That's the Chicago River below.

Lots of boats going up and down the river!

Thousands doing their Saturday morning workout doing Zumba in Millennium Park!! This was so cool to watch!

Yep we are in Chicago!

My grandson Max! I was so happy to see my grandchildren!

And we had to get a Chicago Style Stuffed Pizza! It was amazing!

Veggie Stuffed Pizza!

I was so in awe of all the tall buildings!!!

And had a foot long Chicago Style Hot Dog!!!!! Yum! Hubby and I split it!

I am so ready to go back to Chicago. There is so much more I want to see!!

Ahhhh Summer

2011-07-08T17:11:00.000-05:00

Wow...I can see it's been awhile since my last post. Being a little lazy these days. So I've been doing a little sewing and getting ready for some Halloween items that I will be listing on Early Work Mercantile next week!!! Halloween is my most favorite holiday to create for! Here is a little something that I just listed in my Etsy Shop a little bit ago.

My gardens are doing so well this year! My only problem right now are the Japanese beetles and the deer. I read online that the best way to get rid of those pesky beetles is to pick them off by hand and throw them in a bucket of soapy water. Do not get those beetle traps you see at your home improvement stores. They make things worse by attracting the beetles.

Here is one feasting on one of my Zinnias

Cone flowers are blooming!

I wasn't to sure when I took this picture what it was, then when I loaded the picture on my computer I discovered it was a baby katydid!!!! It was so tiny, just about a inch in length. Please click on the picture to see a bigger view.

One of my new daylilies! I just love this one!

My Hydrangea is blooming! I almost killed this poor thing a couple of years ago with fertilizer. I was trying to change the color to blue with Miracid. I'm so happy that it decided to bloom this year after it's close call. It's a small plant with one bloom but it's doing just fine now. I'm certainly babying this plant now.

And these are very tiny flowers that are blooming on my sedum that I have planted in the cracks of my garden edging. So pretty.

My first green pepper!!! woo hoo!

And my little wren just singing away this morning. He's been very busy building a nest.

And yesterday My daughter, her boyfriend and I went to see the Oscar Meyer Wienermoblie at our local grocery store!! I always wanted to see this when I was a little girl and I finally got to! I got a wiener whistle and a sticker which I will be giving to my granddaughter when I see her in a few weeks. I wish that she lived here so I could have taken her to see the wienermoble.

My daughter sent me this picture the other day of my granddaughter after she opened a package I mailed to her with her pink bird that she requested, that I sent her. The blue one I made and sent to her about a year ago. Now she wants a purple one! hehe I think she loves her birds! I can hardly believe she will be 3 years old in a couple of weeks!

Well that's about all for now I would think! LOL Enjoy the pics!

Summer?

2011-06-23T20:37:00.000-05:00

The calendar says it's Summer but it sure don't feel like it. It was another day of only being in the 60's!!! Tomorrow will be sunny and in the 70's. All of my flower gardens and potted plants are growing like crazy!!! We've been having plenty of rain too!

Zinnia

Teeny Tiny Cucumber!

Chocolate Cosmos

Copper Dahlia Pinwheel in my garden

Someone is building a nest in my apple gourd!

This is a petunia that reseeded it's self in the crack of our driveway. I have a big clump of petunias that are growing from the seeds from last year. I don't remember having a petunia that looked like this last year. I think it might have mutated or something.

And lookie here! This little wren is building a nest in the bird house that my daughter gave me for Christmas! I'm so excited!

That's all for now!! Have a wonderful weekend my blogger friends!! :)

Jam Packed Weekend!

2011-06-20T21:33:00.000-05:00

I was a dragging today. So tired from going to the Air Show on Saturday to see the Blue Angels and then yesterday went out on my sister and brother in law's boat! What a full weekend! I not used to doing stuff both Saturday and Sunday. But have to say if was so darn fun both days!!!!! Had a blast.

Here's a few pics from the Air Show!

Never get tired of seeing the Blue Angels!

Cool Biplane doing tricks!

Another kind of Jet. If you click on the picture you can see the one guy waving!

Blue Angels Plane called Fat Albert! I love watching this thing take off like a jet! It's huge! I think its cool the way it's painted like a eagle!

And Here's some pics from our day out on the Mississippi River!

My brother in law Eric on the left and Hubby on the right.

Zooming down the river!!!!

My sister Lisa. She loves being out on the river!

Love Clouds!!

Some Garden Shots that I took today!

Isn't this an amazing coleus!!! I think it's my favorite!

This is my most favorite hosta!! It is just full of blooms right now! Love the crinkle leaves.

Daylily

Tiny leaf hopper on my daylily. Click on the picture to see his amazing colors!

OK that's it for tonight!!! Have a wonderful week!

Early Work Mercantile

2011-06-15T09:10:00.001-05:00

Time for a new update at Early Work Mercantile! I have a couple new items for sale starting today! I have my sweet little simple prim pig.

And one of my Primitive Crow Heart Make Do's

Be sure to check out the other artist there! There is some amazing work there. I'm proud to be among them.

The other day it was perfect weather so I decided to read the paper out on the deck. While out there I noticed a chickadee coming to one of my feeders continuously. It would get a seed fly up to a branch, crack it open and fly to a bird house that we have on our back fence by the lilac bush. Then fly back to the feeder. I then discovered that the chickadee's were nesting in there. I had no idea. This bird house is in such terrible shape. I'm very surprised that they are nesting in there. The roof has a big hole in it. When my hubby first put that bird house up around 12 years ago, all I got in it was sparrows for the first couple of years then nothing after that. I got my camera and got a few shots of one of the babies leaving the nest!!!!!!!

And also while out on the deck, I was able to capture a shot of a cute little chipmunk. My hubby hates these critters. They are all over the place.

And here are how my apple gourd seeds are doing. I planted 10 seeds and only 3 of them sprouted. Took them about 2 weeks to pop up through the ground after I planted them.

Here's a Tiger Swallowtail butterfly that landed on our hedges the other day. It was attracted to the tiny white flowers blooming. Why couldn't it have landed on one of my many beautiful flowers I have growing!??? It's poor wing (left) was pretty damaged. It didn't seem to have any trouble flying.

And here is a view of my side garden by our back door.

Click on picture to get a better view.

Well that's it for now. Need to get back to my sewing. Orders are awaiting!

Palette of Color!!

2011-06-10T18:06:00.000-05:00

We have had nothing but rain the last couple of days and it's threating again for tonight. One good thing its been usually late at night or very early in the morning. Things are blooming in full force now with all the rain and the heat. Here are a few pics that I took today! It's nice when we do get rain I don't have to worry about getting out and watering. It usually takes me a good hour and a half to get the job done. That leaves me more time to work on orders that I need to get done, and build up my stock of primitive bird make do's. I have several made in wonderful Americana prints right now. Check out my ETSY SHOP to see them!

Daylilies

Petunia

Hosta

Lantana

Astilbe

My Backyard

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!!

America Pickers Weekend!!!

2011-06-04T20:54:00.000-05:00

This weekend is American Pickers Weekend for us. I live just 25 minutes away from LeClaire, Iowa where the pickers are located. The town of LeClaire decided to have a weekend just for them once a year. Last year was the first time. This year I got to go! My daughter went along with me as hubby had to work. It was a pretty hot and humid day that's for sure! I think it would have been worse if the sun would have been out. Right now as I type this, at a little past 8 p.m. It's 81º!! Ok...so you are saying...lets get to the pictures!

On our way down to the Mississippi river levee to see Danielle and Mike. Frank wasn't able to be at the event today. He was busy doing something else. Not sure what.

On the way, we walk past Mike's dog Ruby. I believe that is Mike's girlfriend with Ruby talking to some friends.

My daughter Becky standing next to the big picker truck!

Standing in the long line for the autographs and pictures. Danielle and Mike are under the white tent. It took us about 35 minutes to reach them. Not to bad I think.

While waiting in line the riverboat Twilight was giving rides up and down the Mississippi river playing calliope music. Pretty cool!

And here we are!! That's my daughter Becky next to Danielle and me over to the right.

Me in front of the picker truck

Danielle and Mike's autographs! Wish that Frank was there.

My t-shirt I got!!!!

Time to go check out some of the shops along downtown LeClaire. As you can see Becky sticking her tongue out at me as usual. :)

The one and only primitive shop in LeClaire called Primitive Cottage. Really nice things in there.

This is Miss Mousey that I got at the prim shop!

This band was pretty cool. They were called Old 57's and they played honkey tonk music. They were good!

Here's another shot of the band playing on the lawn of the Grasshoppers Gift shop.

Then we walked down to Antique Archaeology

Me standing with the car!!

Mike's VW that he sometimes drives around town.

Love this shot of the car!

Me inside Antique Archaeology!

Stairs to the upstairs area

So that was my day today! They have more stuff going on again tomorrow. I'm so glad the rain heald off today. Woo! Hoo!!

The Beauties of Nature!

2011-06-02T18:43:00.001-05:00

Sometimes I can't believe how beautiful flowers can be. Especially Hibiscus!! I think I am finally finished planting flowers. Now to keep everything alive.

Haven't had a hibiscus plant in years, so I treated myself to one this year. I'm going to bring this one inside this winter and see how it does. I have a friend that has had one for 28 years!!

Here's a little succulent garden I have in a old enamel bowl, that I got at the antique mall a couple of weeks ago. It came with a small worn hole in the bottom. So that works perfect for drainage! That's my miniature hosta and regular size hosta to the right.

Had the most wonderful Memorial Day weekend. Hubby and I drove up to Wisconsin to meet up with my daughter and her family. They flew in from North Carolina for a friends wedding. Got to see the grand kids who I hadn't seen since Feb. We were the official babysitters as kids weren't allowed at the reception.

Next to our motel was a beautiful pond that had 2 families of geese.

This family had the older chicks

And here is the other family with the smaller chicks

It was fun to watch the chicks running around catching bugs in the tall grass.

Here are a couple of newly listed birds in my etsy shop!

Well that's it for now folks! Have a wonderful evening!!!!

A Little Wildlife

2011-05-21T20:48:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I spent a good part of the day outside planting flowers and cleaning up some of my other flower beds that I hadn't gotten to yet since winter. I like to take small breaks during my yard work. I get myself a glass of ice water and sit in my lawn chair and watch the wildlife in my backyard. Sometimes I get my camera and see what I can capture. I discovered not only do the deer like my hosta's but so do the rabbits!

This bunny took about 3 nibbles and then was on it's way.

Then I saw a wren checking out the new house listed on the block. I think it was only looking and not ready to buy yet.

Then saw this robin searching for insects and worms. It was finding quite a few from what I could see.

So the other day my hubby emailed some pictures from where he was working. He is a technician for a heating and air conditioning company. He was on a roof top of a huge building repair one of the air conditioner units and what did he find inside of that unit? A nest with baby birds in it!!! He said that he was there the day before and all he saw was a nest with light blue eggs. They had hatched overnight.

I'm pretty sure they are robins. I'm always hearing about robins building their nests in the most craziest places.

And here is a shot of one of the units like the one that had the nest in it.

And on that same roof not to far away he discovers another nest!!! Out in the open in the rocks. He saw the bird that the nest belonged too, but couldn't get a picture of it. He said it was freaking out. Doing a little dance like it was injured to scare him away. We looked up in my bird books to try to figure out what it was and it called a Willet. It's like a sandpiper. This building he was at was next to the Mississippi river.

click on the picture and you can see the 4 eggs better.

This picture is from the website All About Birds

Willet

I think hubby still has to go back there to do more work. I hope he can get some more pics of the baby birds.

And here are some flower pics that I took this week!!!

This is a Purple Columbine that I've had in my garden for many years. I used to have many, but I only have one left now.

And I just LOVE Coleus! Here is one of the more interesting ones that I planted this year.

And my petunia's. I was able to get some really cool new ones this year!!

This is Phantom

Black Velvet

Raspberry Blast

And this one I am so excitied to get it this year. It was a new plant last year.

It's called Pretty Much Picasso! Isn't it amazing!!!!

Apple Gourd Bird House

2011-05-14T16:53:00.001-05:00

I spent a few days this week planting flowers in my yard. And I still have much more to do. Also we had a record breaking temp this last week with a high of 93º!! Crazy I say!! Now today it's cloudy, rainy and only 52º!! The norm for right now is the lower 70's!!! I wish the weather would make up it's mind!!!

Today I got my hubby to cut a hole in my apple gourd to turn it into a bird house for me!! Here it is hanging in my burning bush! I think it looks like a pretty cozy house to live in! hehe

I thought about painting it, but decided I liked just the way it looks, al naturale. I couldn't believe how many seeds were inside when I cleaned it out! Call me crazy, but I counted them! LOL There were 320!! So I planted a few today and will see what happens!! Excited!! You can get them to climb on a trellis or they can grow on the ground. They just need lots of room to spread out.

So, since I have so many seeds I thought I would give them away. Just contact me via email tambo331@mchsi.com and I'll give you my mailing address. All you have to do is send me a SASE (self address stamped envelope) and I send your 10 free seeds!!!!

Here is what my apple gourd looked like last fall in my fall gathering!

And in other news..... Starting tomorrow I will be selling a few of my items at Early Work Mercantile! I start selling tomorrow May 15th! I'm very honored to be asked to sell among some of the finest primitive artist around!!!

Click this link "Early Work Mercantile" to visit some of the most amazing talent around!

Back Up and Running!

2011-05-04T17:42:00.000-05:00

I was without a computer for a few days. Mine took a dump on Monday morning with the death blue screen. Got it into the shop Monday night and got it back late this morning. Thank goodness it wasn't anything serious like a virus or anything else. Just had to replace the WiFi thingy on it.
While I didn't have my computer to waste time on I did manage to work on orders and take more pictures of wildlife in my yard.

White-Crowned Sparrow. Love these little guys with their black and white Mohawk

Another pic of him.

I've been getting loads of American Goldfinches!!! I had hubby attach another shepards hook onto the one I already had. So now I have 3 feeders and more goldfinches!

Just can't resist taking pictures of Mr. Cardinal in our big oak tree.

I hung up all my hummingbird feeders on Saturday and noticed them at my feeder on Monday. This is a male ruby throated hummer. The males always arrive 1 to 2 weeks before the females do.

Plump I think Mrs. Robin

All my feeders!

Mr. American Goldfinch

This was so funny. I was taking pics of the birds when this squirrel found a patch of sun on the deck and stretched out and laid like that for a few minutes. He almost closed his eyes and took a nap.

White-Crowned Sparrow

And last but not least, my half tail squirrel, Lucy!!!

And tonight my primitive chippy paint bird make do that I listed a week ago ends tonight on ebay. I will be listing these 2 new birds tonight on ebay.

Have a wonderful evening!!!!

Chippy Paint Bird!

2011-04-27T16:28:00.000-05:00

Was a little afraid to try this but I did it and it turned out awesome!!! How do you all like my chippy paint bird?? I think I'll be listing this guy on ebay tonight!

And last night I listed my Cardinal and Chickadee in my etsy shop

This is a short post for tonight, have to get busy with supper. Have a great evening!!!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-23T14:20:00.001-05:00

At last we have a day without rain!!! It's a bright beautiful sunny day, a little windy, but that is ok with me!

Just wanted to wish all my blogging friends a Happy Easter! Will be very busy all day tomorrow with family.

Here is a picture of my grandson Max with his bunny ears that my daughter posted on facebook. When I first saw it I couldn't help but laugh out loud. He doesn't look very happy about the situation. He tends to make that scowl look in other pictures too. But he is a very happy baby though.

Took a little walk around my yard on this nice sunny day and found these wild violets growing in my flower bed. They tend to pop up just anywhere.

And my hosta are growing fast now with all the rain we have been getting.

And here is Pepper taking a snooze with Mrs. Bunny in the doll crib today. He's my 20 pounder kitty.

Ok, It's time to get back to sewing. Have a wonder Easter!!!!

Bird Watching

2011-04-21T17:39:00.004-05:00

This time of the year we get birds traveling through the midwest that aren't our normal neighbors. This little guy, the White Throated Sparrow has such a sweet song. A lot of the time you will hear them before you see them. They like to forge around under bushes. He was on our deck this morning picking up seeds from my bird feeders that the other birds knocked out.

Here is a little youtube clip of them singing.

The other bird I saw was a Rose-Breasted Grosbeck (female) which I didn't get a picture of. She was at my window feeder for a minute.

Here are some other birds that I captured today with my camera.

Caught him with his beak open. He was eating a sunflower seed.

I love these little birds! They are hard to get a picture of. They move around fast. He kind of blends in with his surroundings in this picture. He was in the shady area of our yard where the grass don't grow very well.

And this is a youtube video of what a Wood Thrush sounds like

Mrs. Cardinal

My Bleeding Hearts are blooming!

And my Rhododendron's too!

I've been busy lately with custom orders. I've been selling lately on ebay and have found some new customers that way. These little make do's I just made for fun. I can't decide if I should sell them on ebay or etsy. I've got till Monday to figure it out, that's when I will have them up for sale.

Then a couple of weeks ago I was invited to sell my things as a guest at The Primitive Gathering this month!! Please stop by and see what I have for sale. Don't forget to check out the other wonderful artist there too! The Primitive Gathering

I have a new Lucy Angel Kitty for sale there.

That's all for now. Everyone have a wonderful Easter!!!!!!!!!!

Got a Little Side-tracked Today

2011-04-08T19:09:00.000-05:00

Today I was busy getting ready to paint some cardinal make do's when I needed my special pencil I use to draw patterns with, which was in the living room. Just as I picked up the pencil I looked out our big picture window and thought I saw it snowing!! It was like big flakes. I continued to watch then noticed it was not snow but feathers!! In one of the big branches of our maple tree was a bird I had never seen before!! And it was eating a red-bellied woodpecker!! I was sad for a few minutes because I love these birds.

Click on the picture to see a close up

So instead of painting my cardinals I rushed upstairs to my computer and hooked up my camera to look at the pictures. And I needed to figure out what kind of bird this was. I knew it was some kind of hawk, but not sure what kind. It was totally different from the red-tailed hawk I took a picture of a couple of years ago. This bird had red eyes and a dark colored back!! It turns out it's a Cooper's Hawk. The last couple of days I have been seeing a couple of hawks circling around in the sky above our trees and I guess that is what they were. I still think about that poor woodpecker, but I guess the hawk has to eat too.

So here is my cardinal that I eventually finished today. He is now listed in my etsy shop for all to see.

Love this close up pic of his face! LOL

Lucy And Her Antics

2011-04-06T20:20:00.003-05:00

I've been super busy lately with special orders!! I don't have anything made to show you today, but hopefully in the next couple of days.

But I did get a few pics of Lucy yesterday morning out on our deck. She was going to town in my big planters digging for acorns. She is my short tailed squirrel that I have written about before. Click on the pics to see larger views.

She looked just like a dog would look, digging a hole. Her little front paws were speed digging.

She never did find any acorns. I think someone else beat her to it as that planter looked pretty well cultivated before she got to it. All she got was a dirty black nose. LOL

When she got done digging, she had herself a nice scratch

And jumped up on the squirrel proof suet feeder once again to see if she could get a snack. It was zip for Lucy once again. Then she jumped down off the deck in search of acorns in our back yard. You should see our yard, holes everywhere from all the squirrels looking for acorns they buried before winter.

Our next door neighbors had Mourning Doves nesting in one of their hanging planters they left out over the winter. Looks like the babies flew the coop today. Here's a pic of them on top of their roof. They said that their were 2 babies. Don't know where the other one was when I took the pic. We tried looking for it but did not find it. I'll have to ask Mary next time if she had seen both babies that day before they left the nest. The mom and dad were busy giving each other kisses when I was taking the pics. I predict more babies in the future. :)

Lazy Saturday

2011-04-02T20:30:00.000-05:00

Here it is another weekend and before you know it, it will be over again. And now it's April!! That means April showers bring May flowers and I'm all for that!! Tulips are popping up and also comes the battle with the deer snacking on them.

I haven't shown you all my newest item that I made last week!! I do adore her. Didn't know if I should have let my Angel Lucy Cat doll go or not, but I decided to let someone else enjoy her too.

She is in my ebay right now! Click the "ebay" link <--------- The auction ends for her on Monday night. Only a couple days left!

Did a little yard work today of raking leaves. Will get more done tomorrow if the weather holds up. We are to get rain later in the day. And a high around 70º!! But then turning cooler on Monday.

I saved several of my gourds from last fall in my garage over the winter. I guess that wasn't the best place to store them. I think it got wet to many times in the garage during the winter with tracking snow in with the car, and my gourds grew the mold.

So I did a little scrapping and got most of it off and then used some fine sandpaper to get the rest off.

I think it looks pretty good!

I never intended to document this, but I left my camera sitting outside and my daughter came out and picked it up and took pics of me. Ha ha I think it would make a very good bird house!

Then today I got my wonderful hubby who will do anything for me to put up my new bird house that I got for Christmas from my other daughter. She lives in North Carolina and got it at a craft show, I do believe. It's handmade and I just LOVE it!

Already had a chickadee looking inside a couple of times!!

So I may be showing you all kinds of pics of who ever chooses to move into this new home. Can't wait!!! It's at a perfect place to view while I'm sitting on the couch in the living room.

I Figured It Out!!

2011-03-25T20:39:00.003-05:00

My mom years ago gave me a whole bunch of silver plated silverware, trays and a creamer and sugar set that she didn't want. For years I've been hanging onto the stuff not knowing what to do with all of it. Some of it is tarnished beyond polishing. Went through the box of it about a month ago trying to figure out for the umpteenth time what to do with this so called treasure. I took out the creamer and sugar and set them on my sewing table, everyday looking at them, trying to think of something. So yesterday I FINALLY thought of something to make!! I made nesting rabbits!!!

Their nests are made out of pages that I torn out of a very very old french grammar book that I got at a library in NC that was in the free for taking shelf. And I added a little bit of natural wood excelsior too. It was hard to get a picture to show the real size of them. The bunnies are only about 4" tall. I plan on listing them in my ebay Sunday night. Please stop by and see what I have for sale right now, by clicking on "my ebay" link in the last sentence. I have a wonderful Goose doll that has no bids. So that is what I have been up to lately. So until next time... have a wonderful weekend! Happy Spring!

Yay! It's Spring!

2011-03-20T21:41:00.000-05:00

Our first day of spring was a little wet with thunder. Then it was mostly to partly sunny later on in the afternoon with a high of 72º! This then brought the idea to grill out tonight, which we did. Nothing like the first grilled chicken of the season. We also had yummy sauteed mushrooms and a salad!

I spent a little time out on the back deck today with my camera in hand to capture some of my famous bird pictures. Didn't seem like there was much action, probably because I was sitting out there. The birds are going to have to get used to me all over again being outside instead of inside taking pictures through the window.

So this is what I capture today out on my deck...........

Little Junco's are still here.

Nuthatch being a acrobat

Red-Bellied Woodpecker. Looks like it's time to make some more suet. These guys are out there on the suet feeder all the time. They can't go inside the cage, but do get their heads all the way in and get big chunks of suet with that long beak.

Chick a dee dee dee

And....... This morning got on the Eagle Nest Cam to see how the eagles were doing in the rain. They looked misreable sitting there all wet. But I guess that is something they are used to. I took a few screen captures when the camera was doing some zooming in on the eagle.

Decorah, Iowa Eagle Nest Cam <------------- Link to the Nest Cam

Spring is so Close!!

2011-03-18T20:07:00.000-05:00

Was a little lazy today. Didn't do any sewing. I think I deserved a break. I did take the car in for a oil change. I don't mind going there because they have WiFi. I take my ipod with me and I have something to do. And they have a nice big flat screen to watch too, at the Toyota dealership.

Seeing some small signs of Spring coming. I'm seeing more and more robins everyday. And today got a shot of the American Goldfinches on my thistle feeder today. As you can see their feathers are changing over to the bright yellow. Sure sign that spring is almost here!

Tonight on the 6 o'clock news they had info about the Eagle Nest Cam that is not to far from where I live in North West Illinois. They have a web cam set up in the tree where there is an eagle sitting on a nest with 3 eggs in it. They are expected to hatch the April 1. Here is a link to the live feed of mama eagle. It just switch over to night vision camera now. Be sure to check it out in the morning. Just amazing to watch her get up every 10 minutes or so and turn the eggs and then sit back down.

Click on this link to view-------> Decorah, Iowa Eagles Nest Cam

Here is one of the screen shots they took today.

Please check it out especially during the day!

I added a few more items to ebay last night. I just love this little elephant which I made with a pattern by Betty of Square Nails Primitives. She has a picture trail website from where she sells her patterns but it doesn't seem to be working right now without having to put in a password. If you want to contact her let me know.

Have a wonderful weekend Everyone!!!!!

Spring is Right Around the Corner!

2011-03-13T13:41:00.000-05:00

One more week to go!! As you can see from my new header picture, I'm ready for Spring! That picture was taken last Spring while we were in North Carolina at the Biltmore House. If you are ever in Asheville, NC you really need to stop there for a tour of the gorgeous house, and gardens which are breath taking especially in the spring.

Hope you all remembered to turn your clocks ahead. I'm so ready for more daylight. Never ready to change all the clocks in the house though.

So here are a few things I'v been working on lately. They are currently listed in my ebay.
Click on this link----> ebay

Have a wonderful Sunday!

New Critters!

2011-03-06T15:57:00.000-06:00

I've got a brand new pattern!! You can download my piggie as an instand download from Pattern Mart right now! Just click on the link over there to the right. He will also be available in my etsy shop and on my website.

And I made this sweet little doggie a couple of days ago with a pattern from Betty of Square Nails Primitives. She sells her patterns from only her Picture Trail site. Wonderful patterns and so easy to follow too! I'll be listing this doggie in my etsy shop tonight.

Everyone have a wonderful Sunday evening! I've got to get back to sewing!

Sweet Bunnies!

2011-03-02T17:51:00.001-06:00

I have some more new items that I'll be listing tonight in my etsy shop!! I'm so excited about these bunnies. Just love the expressions on their faces! These guys were made with a pattern by Chestnut Junction. Check her out when you have a chance. Wonderful primitive and stitchery patterns!!

We had another beautiful sunny day, only today was a little cooler. Sure a big difference from the weather we had a couple of days ago with freezing rain. Here's a pic I captured the next morning. Love how the sun sparkles on the frozen drops on the branch! If you look close you can see bubbles frozen in the bottom drop. Pretty cool huh! Click on the picture to make it bigger.

This is short post for tonight. Have to finish up supper! Have a great evening!

New Pattern!

2011-02-24T16:57:00.001-06:00

Busy, busy that is what I've been lately!! I have to many projects going at once!! I usually don't do that. I like to work on one thing, finish it and then move on to another. My sewing table is a mess. I just don't want to take time to clean up before starting another project. Just aren't enough hours in a day for me that's for sure.

So..........I made a new pattern!! woo hoo! Meet Lucky!!!

It's always good luck when a elephants trunk is up! The pattern for this sweet guy is now for sale in my etsy shop, Pattern Mart and my website.

My friend Angie from Love The Prim Look requested a elephant pattern that had his trunk up. She has been making all kinds of prim animals and someone asked about a elephant with a up trunk. So here he is! After I made this little guy my 26 year old daughter almost ran away with him. She says she wants a pink one with silver sparkles. Will have to work on that. I'm sure it would be very cute for sure!

And....Here is another thing that I finished up today!!!

This sweet little Easter Chick, which will be listed in my etsy shop tonight, is made with a pattern by Victoria Lynn of Kentucky Primitives

Ok that is all for tonight. Just have to keep my fingers crossed that we don't get that 3 to 5 inches of snow they are predicting tonight!! At least that is what they said this morning. I don't know what it is now, been to busy to turn on the tv today! :)

Vintage Reproduction Feedsack Easter Eggs

2011-02-21T15:35:00.001-06:00

Happy President's Day, on another dreary gray day. I'm so ready for warmer, sunnier days. I've been seeing the robins the last couple of weeks. So spring can't be to far away. After all, Puxatony Phil said it was going to be a early spring and March is almost here!! I always get excited for spring to see everything come back to life.

So thinking about Spring has gotten me thinking about Easter. And I just love making these eggs with the feather stitching. This year I decided to make them a little different, with vintage reproduction feedsack fabric. I searched through my fabric stash from my days of quilting and found some great scraps to make these eggs. After I stained them, I thought they sure do look like have been around for awhile. This set of 5 eggs (minus my wooden bowl) will be for sale in my etsy shop beginning tonight.

That’s about it for this Monday. Everyone have a wonderful night!

Primitive Rocking Horse

2011-02-15T21:20:00.001-06:00

Since I made this little rocking horse and the pattern about a year ago I haven't made another since this last weekend for a special order. Now I am missing the little guy because I mailed him today. So I will be making a few more and listing them in my etsy shop. If anyone is interested in me making them one, let me know and I can cut out several at once. tambo331@mchsi.com I am asking $30.00 plus $5.00 shipping. He measures 8 1/2" tall by 9 1/2" wide. Glad I took pictures of him before I sent him away today. I almost didn't.

Ready for some Spring!

2011-02-11T17:19:00.001-06:00

I think the weather is going to try to warm up a bit this weekend. Maybe close to 40º on Sunday!!

This week I worked on a couple new projects! Both were great fun to make! They are up for sale in my etsy shop right now.

This is such a sweet gal that I made with a pattern from my very good friend Doreen Frost of Vermont Harvest Folk Art

And....

This guy is made with a pattern by Stacey Mead of The Goode Wife of Washington County

These two ladies are some of the most talented around. Stop by their sites to see what they are up to. You won't be disappointed!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone! Hope it warms up in your neck of the woods. :)

Home Again

2011-02-06T15:47:00.000-06:00

Hubby and I got home early last night from our trip to North Carolina. We drove straight through, which is a 12 hour drive from there to where we live in northern Illinois. We missed the BIG snowstorm while we were gone. I guess we got around 16 - 18 inches of snow. We had some pretty nice weather while we were in NC. The first couple of days it was in the 60's and the rest of the week in the 40's. That was heaven compared to the temps in the 20's and below here. So it's time to get back to normal life once again. I need to get working on my Easter items to list in my etsy shop and Bucktown.

Here are a few pics I took with my digital camera while I was in NC with my daughters family.

That's me and my brand new sweet grandson! Max is such a good baby. He did a lot of sleeping while we were there. He is so much calmer then his sister was.

And here is Cora and little brother. Cora is 2 years old and has lost her top front tooth already. A couple months ago while she was at daycare she was riding a little bike and flipped over the front of the it and chipped off part of the tooth. Then a couple of weeks later it got infected like they thought it would and had to have it pulled out.

Cora holding her day old baby brother. I love, love this picture!

And here is my daughter Tara with Cora and Max. I'm so proud of my daughter, she had a home birth and did wonderfully!!

And my hubby (Grandpa) holding little Max for the first time.

That's all for now. Have a wonderful Sunday everyone!!!

New Arrival!

2011-02-02T15:24:00.000-06:00

Maxwell Pierce finally made into the world last night, after being 8 days late. He weighs 7 lbs. 9 oz. , 20 1/2" long. He is my first grandson. He has a older sister who is now 2 years old, Cora. Mom and baby are doing just wonderfully! Little Max is just perfect!

When Cora first saw Max all she wanted to do was hold him. He was just a couple hours old here in this picture.

Here's my daughter, Cora and little Max!

Well that's about all for now. Will try to get more pics up this weekend!!!

Baby Watch 2011

2011-01-27T18:55:00.001-06:00

Well my daughters due date has come and gone. She was due on Monday the 24th. I jump every time the phone rings. She had an appointment with her midwife this morning and was told the baby is all lined up in great position. If there is no baby by this weekend she is going to have a non stress test to see if the baby's heart rate and movements are normal on Monday. We don't know what the baby is so I am super excited to see if it's a boy or a girl.

I haven't been working on to much lately. Went to a estate sale today and didn't get anything. Most of the stuff was priced to high. Then went to the Goodwill and nothing there either. Oh well. I was out running around in the snow and just came home and noticed all the birds at my bird feeders. So took a few pics and captured this Red-Bellied Woodpecker. He loves my homemade suet.

Homemade Suet

1 C. crunchy peanut butter

1 C. Lard

2 C. Oatmeal

2 C. Cornmeal

raisins, berries, birdseed

I keep those plastic forms that the store bought suet come in and pour the cooled done mixture in those. Pop into freezer. Works perfectly!

Well that's all for now folks!

New Primitive Mini Valentine Heart Wall Hanger

2011-01-17T19:45:00.000-06:00

Just a short post tonight. Just listed this little mini in my etsy shop. This mini hanger measures 6" tall from the top of the wire hanger to the tip of the heart. The heart itself measures 3 1/2" tall by 2 1/2" wide. The stick from which the heart is hanging from measures 4 1/2" wide. I plan on making a few more of these little hearts.

Have a wonderful evening!!!

Primitive Valentine Heart Make Do

2011-01-13T19:31:00.000-06:00

Was another very busy day today. Finished up this Make Do today. It will be listed in my etsy shop shortly.

Took this pic the other day of a Carolina Wren. He looks so cute upside down. He was looking for a way into my caged suet feeder.

Ok that's all for tonight!!

Loveable Prim Bear

2011-01-12T18:20:00.000-06:00

We are half way through another week! It amazes me how fast the days weeks and month just fly by. I guess that's what happens when you get older.

Made a couple bears this week. One will be going to the ARTery at Bucktown and the other in my etsy shop tonight. He is made from a pattern by Maureen of Sweet Meadows Farm. I have quite a few of her patterns. I made a couple of these bears several years ago and forgot about the pattern until recently. They just have the most sweetest faces. Working on a Big Prim Heart Make do, hopefully will have that finished tomorrow. I'll post pics here when I do get it finished.

The fabric for this little guy, I am not sure what it is. I bought this from the clearance table at Hancock Fabrics several years ago. Just thought it looked good to make bears with. Anyway I think he turned out pretty darn cute!

Have a great Wednesday evening my blogger friends!

A Few New Things

2011-01-10T18:40:00.001-06:00

Last night made up a pattern for my Primitive Simple Valentine Hearts Door Hanger. It's now for sale in my etsy shop, my website and Pattern Mart. Click on the link over in on my right side bar for a link to my Pattern Mart.

This past weekend worked on more coin purses. These are so fun to make and fast!! They will be up for sale in my etsy shop tonight after I get done here. They are the perfect size for your cash, credit cards, ipod, cell phone and what ever. They measure 4 1/2" tall by 5 1/2" wide. They are lined on the inside with cotton fabric.

I've been such a busy bee lately. Mailed off a order of 12 birds today and now I can work on some other ideas that I've had running through my head. My items that I've been selling at the local art gallery, The ARTery at Bucktown. I've been doing pretty good! I've been the top seller for the last 2 months! So this week working on more items to list there. Whew!!

More snow is on it's way tonight! IS IT SPRING YET!!!! Oh well...winter is a good time just to stay inside and create. And a few weeks I will become a grandma again for the second time!!! I am so darn excitied. Talked to my daughter the other day and she is so ready to have the baby. Very uncomfortable these days. She has not found out if it's a boy or girl, so we will be surprised once again. We will be making a trip to NC sometime after it's born. Can't wait to hold that precious little bundle. I love babies!!!!!

Primitive Simple Hearts

2011-01-03T18:55:00.001-06:00

It's a brand new year! May 2011 bring you all health, wealth and peace. I wish so much there were more hours in a day. There are just so many things I want to do. I finished up this little door hanger today and it's listed in my etsy shop now.

This is a short post for tonight. Need to work on a order of birds and other goodies!! Stay tuned!! :)

Happiest New Year!!

2010-12-31T20:25:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year to all my blogging friends!! I have to say that 2010 was a good year for me and I look forward to more good fortune in 2011. And the new year will start with a brand new grand baby for me in January! I can not wait for my second precious bundle to be born!! Won't be long now!

I haven't blogged for awhile because my daughter, son in law and granddaughter were here for Christmas. It was wonderful having them here. It was a short visit but it was nice none the less. Will see them again soon the end of January when the baby is born.

So my new suet feeders have been more popular with the squirrels then the birds. We just have so many squirrels around here. I thought I would write about Lucy who only has half a tail. This past summer she raised a family up in a tree right above our deck. I loved watching the babies come down from their nest to the ground for the first time. They would be so afraid of anything on the ground for awhile. She's been around our house I think for about 3 years. And she is a bossy little thing too!
Here's a few pictures of her.

I've been working on Valentines this week. Here is a little something I finished up today that is now listed in my Etsy Shop. Look for more new Valentines in the coming weeks.

Happy New Year!!!!!

Bath Time with Bonsai & Pepper

2010-12-22T17:59:00.001-06:00

Here are my two kitties Bonsai and Pepper who love to give each other a bath! They are best buddies and do this all the time.

Pillow Gift Box

2010-12-20T10:17:00.000-06:00

I have some jewelry to give to family this Christmas and don't have any small boxes to wrap them in. So I found this blog, Bird Cards with a template to make these cute and simple little boxes. These are just perfect for that handmade touch.

I used card stock and printed Happy Christmas with on one side and printed the pillow box template on the other side.

Cut out your template. Then with a bone creasing/scoring tool, score on the dotted lines. Then glue the long tab to the other side of the box. Let dry completely. Then fold in your curved ends of your box and there you have it!

Everyone have a wonderful Monday!! 5 days till Christmas!!!