Needing some laundry room advice please!

I worked in my laundry room yesterday and I need to know what you think.  I'm thinking about moving the Apothecary sign up a little.  I'm still working on it.  I have a couple more things to put on the shelf and I also have a jar full of my waxed clothespins to add.  A few of the old sewing notions that I recently got at a garage sale will make their appearance here too.


I have been on the lookout for some old ironing boards.  I want a big one to lean against this cabinet and a smaller one to set on top.  I found a few of the big ones at my favorite antique mall, I just couldn't decide which one to bring home with me.


I am so blessed to own two of my mom's dresses that she wore when she was a baby.  They are at least 75 years old and still in great shape!  I treasure them so very much!!


Along with my mom's treasured dresses, I am so honored to display some precious handmades by some of my sweetest blog friends!

• Adorable little cupcake pinkeep that I won last spring from Lucy over at The Farmer's Attic.
• Neat wooden spool with antiqued tape measure ribbon and waxed clothespins (that started my wax obsession!) that I won last year from Darla over at The Prim Patch.  Thank you Darla for getting me hooked on wax, lol!
• Darling little baby shoe pinkeep that I won last year from Linda over at Parker's Paradise.  Sweet Linda also recently gifted me with the wonderful ditty bag hanging on the peg.

Don't you just love surrounding your home with wonderful handmades by dear friends?  I see these things on a daily basis and my friends immediately come to mind... even over a year later.  Thank you dear friends!

Okay, now that I took a walk down memory lane... please be brutally honest with me and tell me what you think I need to do.  I am going to soften it up a little with some greenery and of course I have to add some berries in there somewhere to stick with my Berry theme.

Looking forward to antiquing with some friends all day Friday and then scrapbooking with them all night!

Thanks in advance for your visit and help.  I wish you a blessed week~

Fabric and sewing goodies

Goodness girls, I have received and bought lots of things this month.  I can't even post it all in one post!  First I want to share some goodies that two of my dearest, sweetest friends that I have never even met have blessed me with!

First off, I'm sure lots of you know our sweet blogger friend Linda from over at Parker's Paradise.  She is always blessing someone with goodies that she makes, finds, or makes over!  I received a "just because" package from her.  When I saw who it was from, I knew it was going to be jam-packed with good stuff and she didn't disappoint!  Oh my word Linda, you are so awesome!!  Thank you for all these wonderful goodies!  It was like Christmas... the ditty bags all had something in them, so much fun to unpack!  =]  

There are wonderful ditty bags, adorable heart bowl fillers, fabric covered eggs in a cute little wooden bowl, a sweet little pip berry wreath and best of all is the piece that it is all laying on.  I used this as a runner for my table... perfect for spring!

As if that wasn't enough, Linda also added these cute note cards that I had to hide from my daughter, haha!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart Linda for your friendship!  I am constantly amazed at the prim friends that I have made since I first started blogging.  Even though I have never met a single one of you, I consider you to be some of  my dearest and bestest friends!!

Another dear, sweet friend that blessed me this month is my facebook buddy Micki Groom Creamer.  She is a doll!  Some of you may know that I have a great fondness for old sewing notions.  Micki had some wonderful pieces that I fell in love with last year.  I found myself going back to her pictures often to get another glimpse.  One day she contacted me and asked for my address because she was getting rid of her needle books and wanted to share them with me.  I was so excited when I received them in the mail!  I search for these every time I go treasure hunting!  Be still my heart!!  Thank you so much Micki! 

What sweet friendships I am so honored to have!  Thank you dear ladies!

Yay for garage sale time!  I was so excited to find this aida cloth for cross stitching for 50 cents a roll and some vintage fabric.

I felt like I hit the jack pot when I stumbled upon this lot of "craft supplies" for $3.00.

There were even some vintage sewing notions and patterns from the 70's, yay!

This large box was a great find at 50 cents!

Well that's it for this time.  I have much more to share and my newest obsession, lol!  This week I am going to work on my sewing half-bath and laundry room because that is where most of this will be going.  Can't wait to finish that area.

Thanks for always stopping by for a visit!  I appreciate you dear friends more than I can ever show you!

Have a blessed week~

Painting and cleaning

Prim friends, I have been so busy... too busy to keep up with blogging.  I miss posting and I really miss seeing what all you are up to!

This is what I am in the middle of right now... painting.

Here is one of my dining room walls before.

Here it is after one coat of dark red paint, and still wet too.  Only one coat!  I couldn't believe how well it covered, I was seriously amazed!

So far the second coat has been applied and I could really stop there, it looks so good.  But I haven't used near the paint that I thought I would so I am going to put on a third coat tomorrow.  Can't wait to tear off that blue tape and see that dark red against the wood.  When I'm done, I'll be back with some more before and after pictures.

This is what else I've been doing... spring cleaning in my kitchen!  I was debating on whether I should share these pictures with you or not because I don't want you to see my messy kitchen haha, but I am going against my will and hoping that this will spur some motivation in someone.  I opened every single drawer and cabinet in my kitchen.

I spent two full days taking every single thing out, wiping out each drawer and shelf.  Then re-organizing every single small appliance, dish, and utensil.  As I finished that drawer or cabinet, I closed the door.  That was a wise thing to do because although it was a very tedious job, it was so nice to see that I was making progress!

I'm actually amazed it only took 2 days but once I got going, it was so fulfilling to finally get things organized!  I am a Pampered Chef junkie (also a Scentsy junkie, lol) and have bought a lot since we moved into our home 4.5 years ago so it was very nice to get everything together now instead of all over the kitchen wherever I could find room.

I'm so excited that I now have sections for: baking, entertaining, and holiday items.

Other than these home improvement projects, I have been extremely busy with my kids and their many school projects.  I will only bore you with one of the projects.  My daughter and her friend took 1st place at their school with their Rubber-band Vehicle in Science.  The top three advanced to the Tulsa Engineering Challenge that is put on by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.  They went up against many, many boys and they were the only all girl team and guess what?  Those girls got 1st place in their division and won $100 (to share)!  We were so very proud of them because they built it, my husband was just there to supervise.  Amariah is the one on the right.

Oh, I've also been antiquing on a weekly basis and have so many things to share... as soon as I can get to it all and get it unpacked!

Have a delightful week my friends~

For Sale

Please send me an email at berryhomespunprimitives@gmail.com if you are interested in buying.  I accept Paypal and money orders.  I do combine shipping.


Thanks for stopping by for a visit.  I always appreciate you!



These primitive Ditty Bags would be perfect hanging on a peg hook, an old chair, or from an old cupboard door.  You can also display them in old wooden bowls or on your primitive shelves.  Just add grubby candles, lavender, sweet annie, or hang it as it is.

Reproduction 19th Century blue and tan floral print fabric with a muslin hand embroidered patch that says "1842".  This piece is heavily tea stained with vanilla and cinnamon also.  Ditty Bag itself measures 5 3/4 x 7 1/4", not including the twine hanger.  All handmade by me.  $4.00.  Shipping in the US is $1.25.

Reproduction 19th Century blue and tan floral print fabric with a muslin hand embroidered patch that says "1847".  This piece is heavily tea stained with vanilla and cinnamon also.  

Ditty Bag itself measures 5 3/4 x 7 1/4", not including the twine hanger.  All handmade by me.  $4.00.  Shipping in the US is $1.25.

Reproduction 19th Century barn red, black, and tan floral print fabric with a muslin hand embroidered patch that says "1847".  This piece is heavily tea stained with vanilla and cinnamon also.  Ditty Bag itself measures 5 1/4 x 6 1/2", not including the twine hanger.  All handmade by me.  $4.00.  Shipping in the US is $1.25.

Reproduction 19th Century barn red, black, and tan floral print fabric with a muslin hand embroidered patch that says "1842".  This piece is heavily tea stained with vanilla and cinnamon also.  Ditty Bag itself measures 5 1/4 x 6 1/2", not including the twine hanger.  All handmade by me.  $4.00.  Shipping in the US is $1.25.

Homespun barn red and tan with a muslin hand embroidered patch that says "1842".  This piece is heavily tea stained with vanilla and cinnamon also.  Ditty Bag itself measures 5 1/4 x 7 1/4", not including the twine hanger.  All handmade by me.  $4.00.  Shipping in the US is $1.25.

Homespun barn red and tan with a muslin hand embroidered patch that says "1847".  This piece is heavily tea stained with vanilla and cinnamon also.  Ditty Bag itself measures 5 1/4 x 7 1/4", not including the twine hanger.  All handmade by me.  $4.00.  Shipping in the US is $1.25.

So far this month...

My dear friend Katie and I went shopping in a little Amish community down the road from here.  Our first stop was The Amish Cheese House for some chicken base, jelly, and yummy snacks.  Lunch was delicious at The Dutch Pantry.  It is homemade buffet only and those noodles are oh, so yummy!  Then we hit Cherry's Antique Mall.  We have yet to make it all the way through the mall, lol!  I adore this vintage white bowl that I found for $4.  It has some characteristic cracks in it and stamped Ohio on the bottom.  We bought a bag of molds, cutters, and scoops for $6 and split it so this is my $3 worth.  It's so much more fun shopping with a friend!  =]  Oh, I just realized my cutters aren't in this picture-- they are in my cutter bowl.

The only other thing I bought were these beautiful vintage graphic valentines, I delight greatly in them!  They were so super cheap!  I bought all 10 of these (in both pictures) for $4!

One has a ripped head, hehe, but they are so neat.  They are for "Odelia" and have the years 1926, 1929, and 1930 written on them!  I am AMAZED that they are up to 85 years old and still in near perfect condition!  I can't wait to decorate with them next Valentine's Day.

Speaking of old... this is a Leisure Arts leaflet I bought in 1993, 18 years ago and still haven't completed!  Could I be the queen of good intentions, lol?  Well, I finally picked it up again and decided to work on it while "sitting in line" to pick up my three car rider kids from school.  Yes Brenda, this is "the big one" that I've been working on for years and can't seem to complete, haha!

It says Country Kitchen Sampler, but mine will be a Primitive Kitchen Sampler.  =]

I'm still deep cleaning (yes... bleh!), going to some scrapbooking crops (finally started my 15 year old son's baby book... yah!), and finally trying to decorate for Spring.

I hope you all are enjoying your March so far.  Have a delightful week my sweet friends~

Show-off Time

I finally got around to taking a few pictures of some recent goodies.  Well, in all honesty... I guess I should say I finally got around to doing some dusting before I could take these pictures, hehe!

Don't you just love this adorable bonnet that I bought from Lecia over at Farmhouse Prims?

I was so shocked to learn that she has only been creating and crafting this past year!  Her bonnets are wonderfully made and primmed!  Lecia was so sweet to let me pick out what color I wanted and how primmed I wanted it to be!  I love it and I knew exactly where I wanted it to go... on one of my favorite family heirlooms.  This awesome highchair has a lever on the back that can lower it to become a carriage!

I will share more of the highchair later, that will be a post for another day.  I love the beautiful mustard color of my bonnet!  Thank you so much Lecia, I love it!!

My sweet and beautiful friend Katie gave these adorable little vases to me "just because".  Love them and love her!  I am going to get some single spring flowers to put in each one.

Katie is my one and only friend that lives near me that is getting into prims, YAY!  Finally someone to share prims with!!  She doesn't know it yet, but she will be starting a blog hopefully soon, hehe!  We are going to the Amish community down the road from me tomorrow.  I can't wait to eat at The Dutch Pantry, shop at The Amish Cheese House and hit the antique malls there!

I also received a wonderful box of goodies from winning the giveaway that Tricia over at Hillcrest Home Prims was hosting.  This adorable little shirt is going in my laundry room as soon as I get a peg hook board made for it but for now it looks right at home with my little Amish collection.  It's so sweet with its little cinnamon stick and homespun hanger and it is primmed perfectly with little holes and stains, love it!

I really love this beautiful throw but I'm not sure where to put it.

My daughter got the bright idea to put it on the school desk and since I'm too lazy right now to move everything off of it, this is where it will stay for awhile.  I will probably end up draping it over the desk instead of laying it across it.  Thank you Tricia, I love them both so much!!

Lots of deep cleaning going on here at the Berry Homestead.  Trying to get as much done as I possibly can so I'm not stuck inside when we reach that 70 and 80 degree beautiful, sunshiny weather!

I hope you all are having a blessed and delightful week so far!  Spring will be here in a few weeks...

*Smile*

Hospital Baskets

Instead of the usual Christmas party with yummy snacks and fun white elephant gifts, our Sunday School class chose to do a service project instead.  I'm so glad too.  It was wonderful to be doing something for others instead of fighting over some useless object... which I will admit is pretty fun.

We decided to put hospital baskets together during our class time so we could have pot luck and fellowship after church.  It was so nice to just sit and visit with friends during the craziness of Christmas.

We collected items that would be nice to have for a family that has a member that has to stay in the hospital.  What an abundance arrived the day of the party!

It was set up buffet style.  We have four prayer groups within our class.  Each group was responsible for putting together 2 baskets.  You traveled down the table, filling up your basket.

Of the two, one basket stayed at the church for when a member has to stay in the hospital.  The other basket went to a hospital that day... some went to certain people, others went to waiting rooms.  We were able to bless a church member that day that had been in the hospital for a few days.  Also, a basket was delivered to a member of our own class the week after Christmas.  What a rewarding feeling to know that something you have been a part of is such a blessing to someone you know.

What a blessing it was... we were able to fill 13 baskets!!  More than what we set out to do.  So 8 baskets were delivered, 5 were stored at our church, and many items were left over to fill more baskets in the future.  YAY God!!

After our bellies were full and we saw the abundance of food left over, it was mentioned that the cold, dreary day we were having would be a good day to deliver plates of food to the homeless.  So many, many plates were made up and a convoy of families drove to areas of Tulsa to drop off a plate of good 'ol home cooking to a less fortunate soul.  I wasn't able to go but my oldest son went with another family and he said he was glad he went.  The people were very thankful for their act of kindness.  This was most definitely the best Christmas party I have ever attended!!

I am grateful for my brothers and sisters in Christ who share the same passion in serving others.

Winter Blues giveaway winner!

Oh goodness, I was so nervous and so anxious to see who was going to win my Winter Blues giveaway!!  I couldn't hardly get all those pieces of paper folded and in the bowl fast enough!  But I had to play Santa... checking my list twice.  Well okay, I guess I am more OCD than Santa... I checked my list four times, lol!

I was overwhelmed with all the entries!  I want to thank each and every one of you that entered.  It warms my heart so to know that you would like to own something made by my hands.  Are you ready for the winner now??  Yeah, I know... I dislike when people ramble on and on before announcing the winner.  I usually cheat though and go to the end of the post to see who the winner is, then I go back and read the post, haha!  I know I'm not the only one that does that, am I?  It's like going to the last chapter of the book and reading it first to see how it ends, then going back and reading the book.

Okay, okay... The winner is...

My new friend, Kady of Stoney Hill Cabin!!  Thank you Kady!  I hope you like it!  Please send me your address at:  berryhomespunprimitives@gmail.com. 

Thanks girls!  This was lots of fun and lots of new blog friends to meet!  I really appreciate your visits to my humble little blog!

On another note:  Hobby Lobby has their realistic fruit on sale this week for 50% off!  Now is the time to get over there and buy some to try out the dipped wax on them.  It was fun and the end result was worth the mess I had.  Or if you would rather not make the mess... I will be listing them for sell here on my blog and on my facebook page soon.  =]

Have a blessed week my prim friends!  Stay warm and cozy inside your home and create away~

Waxed Fruit

Well I waxed some plastic fruit for the first time.  Not what I envisioned, but I think they turned out okay.  I'm happy with them.  I use the same method that I use when grunging my candles (the tut link is on my sidebar).

First, I started off with the bags of plastic fruit from Hobby Lobby.  $5.99, on sale half price for $2.99.  A bag of 16 pears and a bag of 16 apples equals out to 19 cents for each piece of fruit so if it doesn't work out, I'm not out much money.  I also bought 3 pineapples at the Dollar Tree but they are still a work in progress.

I didn't have coffee grounds so I added some coarse pepper to the wax pot.  Yep, pepper.  Honestly, it worked out great.  I used old Scentsy wax.  It was so strong that you couldn't even smell the pepper, haha!  See the texture forming?

I was impatient and just threw them on the mat as they came out of the wax like I do my candles.  But guess what... you have this when you do that...

So, after scraping that off, I threw them in the wax again for a second coat.  I tried just throwing them in the wax like they are, but the bump was still there.  They were still warm so it was easy to scrape it off.  Then they went for a cinnamon/nutmeg mix bath.

Side note:  I bought this 6.5 oz jar of cinnamon at the Dollar Tree!  That was exciting, now I don't have to dip into my cooking stash.

Look at the pears, aren't they so cute?  The fruit covers well and the texture looks great on them!

Two wax dips.

Spice dip.

Another wax dip.

Another spice dip.

One last wax dip.

Once they slightly cooled, I didn't dip them but lightly rubbed the spice mixture on them.

Here's how the pears turned out.

The flash made the apples look so much more red than they are.  They are actually more brown than that.

See the cute little rusty star on the one apple?  Well, the whole inspiration for waxed fruit came from the Early Spring '11 issue of The Country House.  I borrowed this picture from their website, aren't these just the cutest?  

Yours for only $15.99 for a set of 4.  Not a bad price, but my Dave Ramsey budget doesn't allow it.  So I dug out these sets of rusty star and heart garland that I bought at Hobby Lobby after Christmas at 80% off.  For 40 cents a package, I got quite a few little stars and hearts once I used my wire cutters and snipped the wire off each one.

I had a tough time getting my stars to bend just perfectly around the apples.  Then I pulled up their picture on the website to get a closer look and their stars aren't on tight.  I really like the brown colors of my fruit but the rusty star just blends in too much so I painted it black.  I think I am going to just put black stars on the larger fruits and leave the smaller ones alone.  What would you do if you were making them?

As always, thanks for your visit!  Don't forget my giveaway ends in a couple of days.