~*Spring Break Has Begun!*~

 Hello Dear Friends!  Happy Spring!  Well... maybe it isn't here just yet, but it is here this week! 

 Another Pinterest inspiration... via a board from my Momma's pins!  She made one for her front door... and I knew I needed to make one too!  Hers is the one on the top... the much prettier one!  Mine is the simple one on the bottom.  

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My husband has a new toy!  A 'new-to-him toy!  He is now the owner of a 1979 RM125... and he is smiling like a kid!  He is so happy!  He use to own and race one of these many, many years ago.  He is now talking about racing again.  Oh NO!

 He & Trinity were having fun in the yard today...

 Trinity is getting too big for his small PW50, but does love to ride it!

 He had his very first lesson today on the KX80... a much bigger bike with way more power.  Oh NO!!!

 It is a good thing we live in the country... and have a 'country yard'!  They were marking it pretty good!

 While on the road trip to find my husband's new bike... we stopped by a few shops.  I was happy to bring home a few little trinkets for re~do...

 The two white shoes are china... the dark one is a lone, antique baby shoe.  I plan to 'pinkeep' them all!  The wood box has a large, unusual handle on it.  I'm debating whether or not to chalk paint it.  I'm going to line the inside with padded fabric.

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Speaking of Chalk Paint... I was asked about my mix.  It is so simple!  Use 2 parts latex paint (any - flat, semi-gloss, egg shell will work) to 1 part regular Corn Starch (yup, just like you have in the kitchen).  Mix it well.  If needed, or desired... add a little water to thin it, but is isn't necessary.

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Here is the finish of my old, chippy chair from my previous post...

 I took a wire brush to it to remove the loose paint.  Then it was coated with clear polyurethane.  Once dry, I wove the seat...

 The fabric is a good quality, homespun.  I ripped strips about 2" wide.  The vertical strips were put on first... and tied with simple knots to the underside.  Then I wove in the horizontal strips and tied them to the underside.  The tails were trimmed and tucked in.  This seat obviously wouldn't be used for a dining room - heavy use chair... but it can safely be used to sit in.  It is a strong seat!  And way~cool~cute~primitive too!

 For an added extra... I tied a couple of bows to the back...

Wishing you all warm smiles...

Betty

~*Friday Finishes*~... and progress

Hello Dear Friends!  Here is a super, sweet finish to share with you...

Ana Cristina made this one using some bits n' pieces from my ~*Spring Freebie*~... and it is darling!  The little bunny button really adds to the sweetness!

Thank you, Ana Cristina, for stitching & sharing!  Keep up the great stitches!

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I've been keeping busy.  The progress on my next Prim Sister's project is still in the works.  Sadly, I haven't gotten any other pattern progress done.  It seems I continue to burn the candle at both ends... and on the sides too!

On April 1st our new booth at ReRun's Consignment and Mall opens!  My SIL, Robin, and I are joining forces to fill up a 10 by 10 spot.  Of course, we have our Misters working on furniture pieces to help us out... they are so charming & helpful!

Today the temperature was in the mid 80s and SUNNY!  It was the perfect day to get outside to work on my collection of furniture.

I've been making my own CHALK PAINT!  I use 2 parts latex paint to 1 part Corn Starch.  It is cool stuff & gives a great finish!

These are not 'the best' pictures.  I don't have a spot in the house, shop/studio, or anywhere here big enough to get a nice background.  Hopefully you can see the goodness of these pieces...

A coffee table that was probably new in 1985... all re~done & purdy...

 It has this rosette design on both sides...

This paint was in the group of left~over paints recently given to me by my Momma.  It is called 'Watery Meadow'... can you see the texture achieved from the chalk paint finish?  I gave the table a coat of very light yellow as a base with the blue over top...

 I'm thinking this wash basin is an old 'Home Interiors' piece.  I plan to find some candles & a couple towels to finish if off... but LOVE LOVE LOVE the use of an old enamel pan for the bowl!  Don't you?

 This mirror isn't finished yet.  I still need to wax & distress it.  I was CRAVING a crackle finish on something.  So... I tracked down some Hide Glue... and filled my desire...

 I love the big OL' cracks the glue technique gets...

 This ol' chair was already painted  a mellow yellow... but oh~so~chippy!  I simply took a wire brush to knock off all the loose paint... and slapped on some Polyurethane.   I'm going to weave a fabric seat for it with some blue homespun fabric... (still on the agenda for this evening!)

 This LOVELY dresser was a recent auction win.  It looked like this when I won it & brought it home!  It is already the sweet, mellow~yellow!  The finish isn't a chalk paint finish... but it is sweet enough!  I've washed it off & have fresh kitty liter in the drawers to pull the musty smell out.  I researched how to make my own scented drawer liner... and plan to get that done this weekend.  I was lucky enough to buy a roll of unused wallpaper at the Goodwill store yesterday to do it.  Oh... and in the garage our two BIGGEST kitties keep me company... Tommy is the yellow one... and O.C.  (Oreo Cookie) the other...

 Check out the detail at the top of the mirror...

 These ice~cream chairs were another recent auction win.  My Mister will be doing a little welding repair on them this weekend.  (one has loose slats on the back).  Other than that... I'm leaving them as they are... rusty & yummy!

 Can you see the holes in the seat?  Too Cool!!!

Wishing you all warm smiles... and a fun weekend ahead!  Happy St. Patty's Day!

Betty

~*Council Grove Hooking*~

Hello Dear Friends!  Yesterday I had the pleasure of hooking with some wonderful girls in Council Grove, Kansas.  It was a delight!

These girls have been meeting together for many years, and I am thrilled that they have invited me to hook with them each month.  They are a bunch of sweet, beautiful, intelligent, and extremely friendly ladies!  (I honestly can't say enough good things about them!)  They meet on the 2nd Tuesday... usually at Melanie's home.  (Who I had the pleasure of meeting for the first time yesterday.)  Last month I did hook with a few members of this group, but several were away on vacation.  Melanie was one of them... she was off skiing.  So we met a the historical society in Council Grove that time instead.

This month there were 6 of us hooking.  Melanie was the host (and always is when she is home)... and boy what a host she was!

 This is the view from the room we hooked in...

 In fact, EVERY room in her home has a fabulous view of the lake!  Melanie lives in a cabin on the Council Grove city lake.  It is such a wonderful, homey place!

She severs the group lunch each month for the meeting.  And she goes all out!  Look at this delightful table setting!  Flowers, china, and cloth napkins!!!

 The lunch she cooked up was so awesomely YUMMY too!  It was a chicken lasagna, with fresh salad, string beans, homemade bread and sponge cake with black cherries.  Well, I wasn't able to eat it all because of my gluten-free diet... but what I could eat was outstanding!  I didn't want to tell her I had a strict diet, because I was a first time guest in her home... but the other women remembered we had talked about it last month.  Melanie said next time she would do a GF meal and insured it was not a big deal... she said she is happy to do it.  I'm tickled that she would be so considerate... and am so appreciative.  Thank you, Melanie!

Would you like to see some beautiful rugs?  Of course you would!

These first few are Melanie's...

 a close-up of her butterfly...

 Melanie loves birds... and has a very nice collection of them... along with some fallen, real nests.  Her home is very tastefully decorated and her collections are amazing.  I'll try to get more pictures of her bird collection on my next visit.  This rug she plans to make into a pillow...

 Minnie is a new hooker.  She is a quilter... who Melanie recently introduced to hooking.  She seems to be hooked...

 Barbara is hooking along at her Main Street rug.  Isn't it the sweetest?

 Georgia is filling in the details on this darling Judy Cripps pattern.  I LOVE the blue Hollyhock in it!

 And a close up of her birdie is cute too...

 Cheryl wasn't hooking yesterday.  She was busy cutting wools for another rug.  She did bring along a few of her projects to share though...

 This poinsettia piece is so detailed!

 And my own rugs for the day... well, they were just something quick I threw together the night before.  These will be two simple little mats that I plan to offer for sale in our booth...

 Speaking of our booth... I'm not sure if I shared the news with you yet.  We are taking our booth in Ellie Lou's down... and moving to Reruns Consignments and Mall in Council Grove!  This change will take place April 1st.  I'm so SUPER excited about this change!  My sweet SIL & BIL... Robin & Jimmy... and I are doing this together.  We have rented a spot that is much larger than our current booth.  We plan to  have re~purposed furniture, our 'antiquey' junk, and our handmades.

And because April 1st is fast approaching... I have set up a make~do work spot in my basement.  These are two projects that I hope to have finished this week... because I have a storage room full of pieces needing beautified!

I'll share the finished pieces with you when done.

Wishing you warm smiles...

Betty

~*Easily Side~Tracked*~

 Yes!  Lucy and I both are so easily side~tracked!

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Hello Dear Friends!  Maybe side~tracked isn't a bad thing.  This time it has proven to be a positive for me.  Let me explain...

You see, it all began on Pinterest.  (Oh, I'm sure you can easily relate to that statement!)

Do you remember the recipe for the Miracle Lotion that I posted a few years back?  Well, it has been pinned and repinned numerous times.  It is great stuff!  However, my hands have still been dry, cracked, and bleeding... probably because I don't use the lotion enough... and probably because I do NOT drink enough water.  Well... while browsing Pinterest... I found the recipe (several actually!) for homemade body scrub.  I thought I would give one of the recipes a try... and then I thought about several gifts I would like to give... and then I thought they could be sold in our booth or in my shop.

I have made 2 batches so far.  The first was THIS ONE with honey.  I LOVE it!  Today, I wanted to make more... but was out of honey.  So I tried THIS ONE.

Would you like to make some of your own?  The recipe I used today didn't have measurements ~ so I made my own measurements.  Here is what I did...

~*Vanilla Sugar Scrub*~

 You will need...

1 cup white sugar

1 cup lightly packed brown sugar

1 cup Olive oil

1 TB Vanilla Extract

And some nice jars.  I picked up a box of 12, 4 oz. jelly jars...

(This recipe will yield 6~4 oz. jars.)

 Begin by mixing your sugars together well...

 Then add your oil and vanilla... mix well...

 I used a large ice cream scoop to fill my jars... this kept it clean.  One heaping scoop per jar filled 6 jars.  Don't over fill... you don't want the oil to seep out the seal of the lid.

 My jars are all ready for some ribbon decoration & pretty labels... (hopefully I can get to that yet today)

 This is not a 'true' before picture.  I have been using the scrub for about 3 days now.  My hands are still dry & cracked... but not as bad.  Not by a long shot!

 Here is how my hand looks immediately after using the scrub...

(I didn't want to show you my heels... but this stuff is great for feet too!)

And, as if there are not enough projects on my TO DO list... I measured the warp for another woven, rag rug the other night. Can you see Lucy? She is never too far away from me...

Wishing you warm smiles... and smooth hands/feet...

Betty

~*Friday Finishes*~

Hello Dear Friends!  I do hope your week has been crafty!

My buddy, Pam, emailed me a sweet, finish to share...

Pam crafted this darling bunny from one of no-longer-available needlepunch patterns.  She punched it for her granddaughter.  What a sweet Easter gift!  A chocolate bunny is gone in a jiffy... but a crafty bunny is an heirloom!

Thank you for sharing, Pam!  

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I should be cross stitching, but I've been drawn to my hook!  This heart rug was a special order.  It was finished last night... and dropped in the mail today...

 The needlepunch heart was also made by me.  I made several of them before Valentine's day... this was the last one left.  My SIL, Robin, called them "strawberry hearts".  *SMILE*

Last Friday night, the night before the Lenexa hook~in, I drew up this cat doodle on linen.  I hooked on it during the day at the hook~in... and finished it this week...

 Should I call him ~*Scaredy Cat*~... or ~*Scarry Cat*~?  He is quite frigfhtful!  Don't you think?  And he has such teeny~tiny ears!  Primitive?

 Today I stopped by a big, rummage sale at a nearby church.  Here are some things I drug home...

 some wool yarn... maybe I will whip the cat rug with some of it?  I've already given my Momma a shout out about the knitting needles.  She has claimed them... and says knitting is on her bucket list.

 vintage glassware, odd~old rooster, chalkware lamb... and some Buffalo China (my fav!)  (I have it mixed with my White Ironstone.)

and some WOOL!  It is in the washer now.  I'm thinking a day of dyeing is in the near furture!

Of course, I do need to get some cross stitches worked up!  You know I have patterns started and not finished!  

Wishing you all warm smiles...

Betty