Saturday, July 24, 2010


Happy Saturday Everyone,

Hope y'all are keeping cool today...We are in for another 105 day with heat index of 110ish!! Lordy it's hot.
The news showed someone trying to bake cookies on the dashboard of their car! And it was working! How wild is that.

Well, I've been staying in the a/c working on some new things, one of which are pantry cakes!!
Look at how nice these turned out!!
I used black candle wax, pored into some old round forms I purchased at a yardsale,
then grungied them up with cinnamon spice.
I grungied the little flicker candle with cinnamon also.
I took a few of them to my craft booth to see if they would be a hit.


Speaking of my booth. It's famous!!!!
The owner of Shenandoah Valley Flea Market used my booth as one of the featured vendors on their brochure!!!
The very first picture is of my booth. How cool is that!!!


Have a Great Weekend and Thank you for stopping by,
Prim Blessings,
Jean

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Fall pumpkins, corns and scarecrow.....oh my.....

Hey there, hope everyone is having a GREAT Wednesday!! Can you believe it, I'm posting twice in one day.Lol.
Well I got some things done so I figured I'd share really quick.
If you did not read my earlier post - Free Tip for the prim crafters, you might want to try it.
The following Fall crafts were all primmed using that nifty item!!!!

Li'l Jack Pumpkins!!
I made these cuties using muslin, then coffee/paint stained, sanded them using scotch-brite pad.
They are 2" tall and oh so plump!!



Same with these cool cuties!!!
The large one is 7" and I added a cheesecloth tie with rusty pin and bell. Then I added a prim tag. The smaller ones are 4". Just left them plainly primmed.

I just love how this cute scarecrow head turned out!!! He would be great plopped on top a straw filled body - of an old flannel shirt and pair of jeans.
The pattern is from The Olde Country Cupboard. Sandy is so tallented.   

Well that's all I have for now. It stopped rainning and now the sun is shining and it's soooooooo hummiddddd out, I guess I will stay in and make some more fall crafts, or maybe some snowmen!!!! heeheehee.

Thanks for stopping by.
Prim Blessings,
Jean

Free Tip for the prim crafter:

Good Morning All:

We are finally getting some much needed rain here in the valley. It's been so hot and dry here that there is a high threat of brush/ forest fires. Every little bit of rain helps.

Last night I was working on some prim candy corns and pumpkins that I had painted, but needed to sand to age them up.  I did not have any more sand paper, so I went to my cupboard and seen a scotch-brite pad laying there. I thought, well it does a great job scouring pans and such, I wounder if it would work to sand my crafts. lol...

Guess what? It works even better than the sand paper!! And not as messy as sandpaper can be.

So, next time you need to sand one of your pieces to prim, try using a scotch-brite pad!!! I promise it really works great.


Hope to share some new pics of what I've been up to later.
Thank you for stopping by.
Prim Blessings,
Jean

Monday, July 19, 2010

Scarecrow Dolls and a giveaway:

Happy Monday!
I finished some of the scarecrow dolls this weekend.
Turned out pretty cute! Can't decide if I like the one with the hat or without.
I made quite a few of these back in the 90's for craft shows and they always seem to sell very well. I think they would would look nice with one of the pumpkin ornies sitting in their laps. What do you think??




Raspberry Lane Primitives is having a giveaway.



Patti over at Raspberry Lane Primitives is having this wonderful giveaway. You must be a follower and have posted a comment previously on her blog. Go on over and visit, she has a great blog.
Click on title above to go to her site. Drawing is Aug 7th.



Well got to get more things done this week.  Gonna try my hand at some sugar cones and pantry cakes. Time flies when you are having fun.lol.
Thank you for stopping by.
Prim Blessings,
Jean

Friday, July 16, 2010

Rumbling and some rambling......

Hi Everybody,

The news this morning reported we had a 3.6 earth quack about 5 a.m. here on the East Coast. I did not feel it but apparently people north of Shenandoah did.

I remember when I was about 7 years old, living in Harford Co. MD we had a pretty big earthquake. I can remember standing in the kitchen with my mom, sister and brother, when all the sudden the house started shaking and things started falling from the walls. It only lasted a second but it left us feeling terrified.

Most of the people the reporters interviewed said they thought it was a big truck going by their house. The West Coast people are probably laughing at us for making such a big deal out of a little earthquake. But we don't experience things like that.

Ok, on to some other things. Hey any facebook followers out there?? I now have the facebook widget on my blog so y'all can follow me too.....

I have been surfing other blogs to catch up on the crafty gossip and boy are you all busy bees getting geared up for fall.  So many wonderful things being created. I am totally jealous.
 
Well, I have been doing some pumpkins, acorns, apples and scarecrows. I don't have pics of the scarecrows but will post once I get them finished.


These are 5" and 7" tall pumpkins. I really like how the leaves I made turned out.  I used old grapevine for the stems and rusty wire for the vines. 



 These bowl filler pumpkins are 7" and 4.5" tall. The tall ones have grapevine stems and rusty wire vines. The small ones are all one piece with cloth stems. I then tied green homespun around the stem. 

 




 These apple bowl fillers are very cute and nicely prim. They have smaller grapevine stems and a prim leaf. They are about 4.5" tall.







 Look at these acorns. Oh so prim. They are about 4.5" tall. I first made the nut and then the cap. The caps are hand sewn onto the nut. Can you guess what I used for the caps???? Hint, you wear them when it is very cold outside. I had some old ones with holes and new what I could do with the material. Give up?? Longjohns!!!!! How great is that!



Oh yeah, I have shut my Etsy site down at least for now. I am a little peeved that both Etsy and Paypal take there fees out of the cost of shipping.  I don't mind paying the fees on the the price of a purchase but they should not charge on the cost to ship. That is why you have to put your prices up. Just not good business sense to me. Anybody else notice this??

If you see something you would like to purchase send me an email. I'd be happy to hear from you.

Hoping everyone has a great afternoon and weekend. Got to get back to crafting.

Until next time, Prim Blessings,
Jean

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Check out this cutie

Look at this adorable prim raggedy fall cupboard doll.
She is being given away over at Sew Many Raggedies.
Oh, but don't bother going over to enter, cause I really want her. Lol.
Rene needs 100 followers before she gives this sweet doll away. Go on over and make a new friend. Click on the link just below the picture.
Prim blessings,
Jean

Friday, July 9, 2010

Lately I've been dreaming and wishing........

Yes, I've been to Maui.
Back in Aug. 2004 I saved up money to go on an adventure vacation.
I had always wanted to go to an island and experience all its glory.
After researching and cost comparing I wanted to go to Maui, Hawaii.
Absolutely BEAUTIFUL.
I took my Aunt Robin with me on this adventure.
After a 13 hour plane ride with two layovers we arrived at the most beautiful place I had ever seen.
Once we got settled in our adventure began.

The top pic to the right, was a Hawain yard sale!
 Look at the little birdie having breakfast at the table across from us. Pic to left.

It was like looking at Mars once we got to the top of the volcano. I know I keep repeating, but it was beautiful. 




We toured the town of Lahaina, drove the  Hana Trail, seen tropical plantations and drove up to the top of Haleakala National Park.
What a beautiful, rememberable adventure. I long to go back and would probably stay forever.

Prim Blessings
Jean

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Give our Soldiers a break!!

I just had to post this. I was just watching the news and they showed a youtube video of our US Soldiers letting loose and having a little fun, If you want to see the video go to http://www.youtube.com/ and put this in the search bar at the top. Israeli Soldiers Dancing ft. Kesha - TICK TOCK (Rock the Casba in Hebron)

The reporter said that these soldiers are now facing disciplinary action for having fun on duty. I think that is just ridiculous myself. These guys and gals face immanent danger every day, so what if they decided to have a little fun!! They only put them selves in danger and I do not believe they would have done the video if they were in danger.

 I just wanted to vent.

Prim Blessings
Jean

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Candles unmolded, Bargain finds, and a Pantry Keeper:

Hi Prim Friends,

I unmolded the candles I tried yesturday, they turned out very nice. I am in love with the bundt candles. I purchased this little bundt pan last weekend for .99 cents. I knew when I seen it what I would use it for.




I also purchased the two small apothacary jars with the clamp lids, the brown crock with clamp lid and the old melon baller. Each was .99 cents. What a find. They are all in perfect condition!!






Here are pics of the Pantry Keepers I made using a pattern from Piney Creek Primitives. It was in the Spring /Summer issue of Mercantile Gatherings. I just started subscribing to this magazine and am in love with it.

Anyone interested in purchasing a Pantry Keeper, please email me at prim.crafts@hotmail.com
Price: $12.00, plus fare to your home.

Prim Blessings,
Jean

Friday, July 2, 2010

A new respect for candle makers!!

Geezzz Louise, I did not think grubbying some candles would be so hard or so much work. I was reading a tutorial by KM Primitives how to grubby candles and thought I would try my hand at it. Didn't sound like it was all that hard.

First I got out some old pans to make a double boiler to melt the candle wax. Not bad, the wax melted very well. Then I got my foil pan I purchased at the dollar store to pour some of the wax in so I could roll the pillars and tapers in.

This is where it all went wrong.  I poured not a lot but just enough of the melted wax to coat the bottom of the foil pan. I rolled one of my tapers in the wax, then sprinkled with cinnamon. Ok, a little messy but not to bad. Then I rolled the taper again in the melted wax, which by now was starting to get congealed and not easy to work with. So thinking in order to keep the wax in a liquid state I would just place the foil pan on top of the double boiler to keep it heated by the steam. Not a bright idea!! I turned my back for a second and the pan fell off the boiler and face first onto my kitchen floor!!!! Oh no!! How in the world did that happen and how in the heck am I going to clean this mess up. Thank God for paper towels. I scooped up what I could, then painstakingly had to scrap, and scrap to get the rest up. What a mess.....

After cleaning up the mess; I did finish the rest of the candles I planned to grungy, but I am through with trying to grungy any more candles. I'll pay the prices in the shops.


So, if you plan to try this at home, take my advice either don't sit your foil pan on top of the boiler water or just purchase candles already grungy!!!

Have a great weekend.
Prim Blessings,
Jean

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Time flies when your having fun.......

Hi Everyone,
Boy how time flies by when your working and enjoying all the great things life offers in the summer time.

I made a new blogger header picture for Prim crafts. The plaque saying is Remember the days Blessings, forget the days Troubles. I found this plaque in a shop in Lancaster Pa a few years ago. Words we should all live by.

I finally finished the antique bench I bought at a yard sale awhile back. You can see the before pics a few posts down.
It really turned out nice. I love the fabric I picked out.  The floral print matches the carving in the back of the bench.

Not sure if I will sell it or find a place in my house for it. LOL. It's quite comfy to sit in.
Here' a close up pic of the fabric. What do you think? Is it prim enough? I think it set the chair off.

I also made another bucket bench.  The place where I sell my crafts had a lady interested in one of my bucket benches but needed it to be a specific size and wanted it in prim black. I do not like to take orders for things, because I just don't know if it will turn out the way they imagine the item.  I like to just make things and if it sells, it sells. I have to say once I finished it I was happy with it and the lady was ecstatic!!
I haven't sewn much but am gearing up to start on fall crafts. I love to make fall and winter crafts the most. I have quite a few new patterns and lots of ideas. I'll be sure to share pics once I get started on them.
It's just so hard to sit an sew when the weather outside is so beautiful.

Well, that's all I have for now.

I also want to wish everyone a Happy and Safe July 4th!!!
   
God Bless,

Thank you for visiting,
Jean