Tuesday, July 31, 2012

~*Early Work Mercantile Update*~

Hello Dear Friends!  Tomorrow is August 1st... and that means Early Work Mercantile Update Time!
 
MY PAGE has been updated with these new offerings...
 
Yes, all Jack~O~Lanterns!  I am in the mood for cool, crisp Autumn weather!  It is showing in my work!  Besides these cheery guys... I have finished stitching my Halloween Sampler... and have many more Jacks in the works!
 
My Halloween Sampler is my next goal.  I hope to offer it to you all by Friday.  That is my goal!!!  BUT... I still have an almost 10 year old at home from school for summer vacation... and something could come up to delay the release... but I am working hard to have it ready for you!  ~*SMILE*~

Also, works from the last update on Primitive Handmades Mercantile are still available... here is the link to MY PAGE.

Wishing you all warm smiles...
 
Betty

Thursday, July 26, 2012

~*Several Hours of Stitches*~

Hello Dear Friends!  Oh, I'm so happy to share with you... that I have been able to put in several hours of stitches... and I don't see it stopping anytime soon!
 
After showing you all my unfinished works... there was no getting around it!  Works need to be finished!
 
No, I still don't have them finished... but I am working on them.  I do I plan to keep focused on them!
 
The Halloween Sampler seems to be the most important... and I spent the entire day yesterday working stitches on it... while the kiddo and a friend played Guitar Hero on the Wii (You gotta know how much of a huge help that was to me!)...
 You can't see it all too well here... I know.  It is still to early to share the whole design with you, but it is about 2/3rds stitched.  I have some interesting ideas for the finish too... but will have to see how it all works out.  Hopefully by next week... the pattern will be available to offer.  That is my goal anyway!

I know Halloween will be here before we know it.  I just read from someone on Facebook this morning... that Christmas is only 5 months away... YIKES!  That is too soon!

I also worked on punching up these faces... and have them stained... with ideas for finishes too... but they will have to wait until the Halloween Sampler is done.  Although... Early Work Mercantile updates next week on the 1st... so I better hop to it!
 Wishing you all warm smiles...
 
Betty

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

~*FOCUS!*~

"FOCUS ON FINISHING THINGS, MISS BETTY!"

Hello Dear Friends!  Yes, that is what I am trying to tell myself.  Do you ever do that?  I just feel so cluttered... cluttered with starts and piles of things that need to be finished.  See...
 
A locker hooked rug waiting for a backing and several punches needing to be sewn into pinkeeps/pillow tucks or mounted on boxes... some of these are even designated as gifts!  Sadly too, some of them were even punched so long ago!  Why are they piling up?
 And you see... I have even more started...
 This is a buffet that Tony and I carried to the garage last week so I could get it sanded and painted for my booth at Ellie Lou's.  I'm thinking it will be a pretty Robin's Egg Blue... but so far, I haven't touched it.
 A Halloween Sampler that I designed in FEBRUARY!  It gets a few stitches here and there... but geeshhhh!  Betty Girl!  Get it DONE!
 And the next schoolhouse sampler... with only part of the border stitched!  ugghhhh...
 My goal this week is to find my FOCUS and get off my duff... and get to work... and get these things finished!

Oh... and then look what came in my mail!  What is a girl to do?
 Well, I am going to TRY!  At least I'll do it with a smile!
 
Wishing you warm smiles too...
 
Betty

Sunday, July 22, 2012

~*MiniMax Maiden Voyage!*~

Hello Dear Friends!  I hope you have had a joyous weekend!
 
We have enjoyed family time... and I did squeeze in some crafty moments.  For this post... I want to brag about my beloved husband, Tony.
 
You may remember many moons ago when I shared photos of him constructing his homemade~MiniMax.  Well, today was his Maiden Voyage!  Oh... I was so worried he would get hurt... even gave him a big kiss and a tight hug before he climbed aboard!  He was grinning from ear to ear... and was so happy... and I was happy for him!
 
I'm not a great camera person with the video... but you can see...
 
 
 His craft... on his home~made trailer... he can fix anything!

The MiniMax is basically made from two sheets of birch plywood!
 There are a few things he wants to change & make better... and he still needs to hook the steering up to the boat... but he didn't sink!  :-)
 It was a fun day at the lake... and great to see him so happy with his success!
 
Wishing you warm smiles...
 
Betty

Thursday, July 19, 2012

~*Primitive Handmades Mercantile Update*~

Hello Dear Friends!  Once again... I feel the need to apologize for my absence.  Summer is really taking a tole on me... on my time... and my energy level!  We have been having extremely hot days with no rain.  We are just one state... from many... suffering with the horrible drought.  I am PRAYING for rain soon, but there isn't any in our extended forecast.
 
Our well has dried up... and we are thankful that we are connected to county water.  However, even the county is watching the water level... and has requested a voluntary usage cut~back.  So... my flowers are done.  Hopefully we can still get a few vegetables from our small garden.
 
Well... enough of that!  That isn't the reason for my post!  We are all feeling the heat of Summer... it isn't just here!  I'm sorry to sound like such a complainer... and for not posting in nearly a week!  I'll try to do better.

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My post is about the PRIMITIVE HANDMADES MERCANTILE update!  My page has been updated... and several of the other artists have worked on their pages as well... and those that haven't, will be tonight or by tomorrow morning.  Please visit if you get a chance!  You will be delighted that you did!

Here is what I've been working on...
Some needlepunch... and one of my primitive, prairie dolls!

CLICK HERE to go directly to my wares.

My days have been busy lately with Summer... but I have been working on crafty things every chance I get.

Thanks for letting me share!

Wishing you warm smiles...

Betty

Friday, July 13, 2012

~*Friday Finishes*~

Hello Dear Friends!  Happy Friday!  Oh... again, I am so sorry for my delays between posts.  I really do have wants and desires to chat... to keep you updated... to talk about crafty stuff.  It just seems that Summer is keeping me very busy... or is it a certain 9yr old (almost 10yr old) boy?

Well, before I go on with my post... let me apologize for the awful pictures!  Let's just call this the post of BAD PHOTOS!  They aren't desirable... they aren't pretty... but I guess they do get my thoughts across... maybe.

The kiddo had a few play days this week that didn't require my full attention... so I did get a little painting done.

These are some old, icky salad bowls that were in a box from a recent auction.  Well, they aren't icky now!  They were before I painted them!  I lightly sanded each bowl to get the old shiny finish off ~ then gave them each a couple of thin coats of regular craft paint.  Once that was dry, I lightly sanded to scuff them up... then gave them a nice coat of Johnson's Paste Wax.  Now they look like old, cool wood bowls!  Don't ya think?

I'll be taking them to the booth at Ellie Lou's to add to my inventory.
This is what they looked like before.  I was right... icky!
During painting.
Okay, so I know those pictures weren't that bad, but this one is!
This is a vanity I found at a garage sale not too long ago.  I wanted to paint it up and take it to the booth too.  I put the white paint on it during one play date and was able to finish it off with sanding and paste wax last night while the kiddo was at a friend's house for a sleep over.  However, I couldn't move it to a great spot for a photo shoot being home alone... so you get to see it in our ratty, old garage!  (We don't have rats in our garage... just clutter.)

At least I can show you a few close~ups...
I used the same knobs that were already on the dresser.  They aren't anything fancy, but since I'm offering it for sale at the booth... I needed to keep cost down.

I love the trim over the mirror!
Here is what the vanity looked like before... laying in the back of my pick up.  Again... I was home alone & didn't get a good photo.

Check out those cobwebs & spider eggs!  EEeeeeewwwww!
The vanity is on metal caster wheels.  They are still in great condition... and roll without too much of a squeal.

I have been working on some cross stitches late at night... and a couple of needlepunches too.  I don't think we have too many plans for the weekend... so maybe I can get more done!

Wishing you all warm smiles...

Betty

Friday, July 6, 2012

~*Friday Finishes*~

Hello Dear Friends!  I do hope you all had a glorious holiday!  Happy belated Forth of July to you!

We had a fun one!  Each year there is a grand celebration in my parents' neighborhood.  It begins with a large, long running annual parade and then folks celebrate with picnics in their yards.  There are always good times and smiling faces.

Trinity was super excited to be in the parade this year.  This is his first time to be in it... normally he is stoked to be on the side~lines gathering up gobs of candy.  This year was a different story!  He wanted to show off his rat~bike~chopper!  And show off he did!

We decorated it with streamers and flags.  I found him a patriotic head wrap that seemed to 'fit' his chopper theme.  He is very proud of this bike!  It is super~cool!  And so is he!
In this photo, he isn't blocking the blaring sun... he is saluting a WWII vet that was riding in the car next to him. He ALWAYS stops to salute the military when he sees them! *smile* 

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There is a beautiful ~*Friday Finish*~ to share.  The photo above was sent to me by Connie in Rogers, Arkansas.  Connie does such lovely work!  She has sent in numerous finishes... and I'm always so happy to share them.  This is her finish of my latest pattern... ~*Strawberry Sampler*~

This is what she wrote about her finish..."The sampler was stitched with Weeks "Pine", GAST "Harvest Basket" and "Wood Trail", and Crescent Colors "Used Brick" (a very favorite red) on a scrap of Weeks 30 ct Parchment fabric.  It is backed with an old piece of a Blackbird (Moda) fabric that was the inspiration for the colors."

Truly lovely!  Thank you for sharing, Connie!

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It has been very hot here in Kansas the past couple of weeks... too many days over 100 degrees... and HUMID TOO!  The heat is getting more and more of a struggle... and I feel too exhausted to get much of anything done.  We desperately need rain too.  Oh, I know it could be worse... my thoughts and prayers are with those affected by the recent forest fires.  

I know I shouldn't complain... and I do try not to.

I did find the energy to finish my chairs & stools, but I didn't get a very good picture of them.  They were taken to my booth and priced for sale yesterday.  My camera was in my purse, but did I remember to take it out & snap a better picture of them on display?  No!  Goodness!

I did decide to give them another coat of white paint and I didn't sand off much... and I didn't add any more walnut stain.  To fix the seat issue (the new wood circles were too small... by about 1/4 inch), I cut new foam slightly larger than the circle and used a different quilt. They do look wonderful now!  Also finished, are my two stools.  One has the same quilt as the chairs.  The white circle in the round stool top was fixed by adding a vintage crochet piece found in my stash.  I'm sorry you can't see it very well... but they are all sweet & priced to sell at Ellie Lou's Thrift Emporium.  

Thank you to all who gave comments & left suggestions for the finishes. 


Another finished project... with another not~so~good picture (taken in the work space behind our garage)...
This one is a keeper!  Tony made it for me!  I found this old metal bed at an auction last weekend... and asked him to make me a bench.  He did... and that is another reason I love him so much!

He cut the foot board in half for the side arms and used the mattress beams to hold a piece of plywood for the seat.  I purchased another cutter quilt at the auction too. I used it to make pillow cases. They hold standard size pillows... for the bench cushions.  The bed was an ugly gold when I brought it home, but after he did the cutting and welding... I gave it a nice coat of Periwinkle paint.  The bench will find a permanent home in the studio once I can get the rooms cleaned up and organized... there has been a major storm of crafting frenzy going on over there.  That is where I'll be for the rest of the day though... cleaning, organizing, and re~arranging... in the air conditioning!  (I'll try to remember to get a better picture of this to share once it is in place.)

Wishing you all warm smiles...

Betty

Sunday, July 1, 2012

~*Early Work Mercantile Update*~


Hello Dear Friends!

Oh goodness... it has been a full day.  As I'm typing, my eyes are beginning to close... so bare with me.  Hopefully I won't have a post full of typos.

We did have a nice day.  It was spent at a local consignment auctions... but it was too hot... and drug out a bit too long.  (Well, a lot to long really.)  We did enjoy our time though and came home with a few things.  Tony was pleased with two bikes... or choppers, as he was calling them.  I'm sure he will do his magic on them and we will all have fun riding around on them.

My items are now listed on for this month's update on Early Work Mercantile.

I've put the three pieces pictured above up for offering... three needlepunch, prim pillow tucks.  I've designed them all to appear as old as I could... giving them instant 'antique' appearances... from the motifs to the punching and distressing.

Well... it is time for me to find my pillow.  Thank you for allowing me to share.  

Wishing you warm smiles... and sweet dreams if you are reading this post tonight... 

Betty