Happenings at the Berry Patch

Good beautiful afternoon friends!  Spent the morning with the Lord in His Word, then in the beautiful outside.  I (along with Pepper, our miniature schnauzer) went for a walk along our country road.  Praising God for such a gorgeous day, beautiful blue sky and sunshine, wonderful breeze, pretty flowers to stop and smell along the way (as Pepper marked the trees, haha).  It is a gorgeous 72 degrees out there.  I'm not trying to rub it in, so sorry for those of you that are covered in snow.  I would gladly take some!!  We went all winter with only 2" of snow (at different times) that was gone by the afternoon.  You all stay safe, be careful out there!

It's been a busy time here at the Berry patch.  It's so important for me to be praising God right now because there are some things going on that I wish were different circumstances but I will praise God for whatever He brings our way!  While we still don't know what is going on with the American Airlines bankruptcy; after much prayer, Rich and I have decided it's best for me to go back to work part time right now.  I spent two weeks filling out paperwork and training to substitute teach at the 5 schools here in Catoosa.  I'm ready to go now... but my body isn't.  I have been sick for a couple of weeks.  I thought it was a really bad sinus infection and was treating it as such.  I would feel better so I tried to do things around the house and it would wipe me out. It was a continuous cycle, lol.  It's so hard to be down!  Rich finally made me go to the doctor yesterday, thank goodness!  I have bronchitis.  Ugh!  So after my first round of steroids and antibiotics, I am feeling so much better already.  But a very long ways to go to normal.  I'm also contagious so I have to stay away from the kids.  =[   Hopefully by next week, I will be doing well.  Gonna go talk to my old boss about working at Hobby Lobby again over the summer.  Not liking being sick, not looking forward to working again... it's so hard when there are 3 kids here to tend to and take places.  But I know this is what needs to be done.  Prayers would be appreciated!  Thank you much!!

Yes, there is still much to be thankful for and I will praise God for blessing me even though I don't deserve it~

I am really behind on showing you so many goodies that I have won and bought these past 2 months so I will break it up into a couple of posts.  First up is this awesome hand stitched Easter egg tuck that I won from Marilyn over at Fanciful Stitches!!  She is beautiful, such an adorable bunny!!  I have been following Marilyn's blog probably for a couple of years now and so very thrilled to have something made from her talented and creative hands!  She is such a sweetheart too, love that gal!  Go pay Marilyn a visit and see what she's stitching up.  Thank you again Marilyn, I LOVE it!!  Although all my Easter/spring is packed up, this sweetie is staying out.

Just look at the attention Marilyn pays to the little details!  Cute little butterfly embellishment on the front.  Beautiful vintage bead trim around the edge (wish I had gotten a close up picture of it), and such a pretty print on the back.

Marilyn has another blog that you all might like a little bit better for it is a prim blog: ~Harvest Moon Primitive~.  But I'm here to tell you that both of her blogs are wonderful!

Since I'm talking about blog friends, I think I'll share with you next what sweet Carole over at Prim n Raggedy gifted me with.  She did a post back in March about some lovely soap that she had made.  One was daffodil scented!  Ooooh, being a daffodil lover, that caught my attention right away!  I commented that I would love to smell it and asked her if she was selling it.  Gracious Carole said she would send me a sample in the mail.  For some of you this is no big deal, but I was pretty excited to receive "Royal Mail", hehe!

Rich was ever so curious, haha!  He thought that was pretty neat that Carole would just send me some of her homemade soap all the way from the UK.  I told him that's why I adore my blog friends so much!  Not for the gifts, lol... but for their ever so big hearts!!

Tucked away in these cute little bags were 4 different soaps that Carole made.

I mainly wanted them to display in my bathroom but Carole suggested I try it on my skin for they are made out of goat's milk.  Not to let the name fool you, because it smells SO much better than monkey farts (I don't know what they smell like but it can't be good).  I use the Monkey Farts scented soap in my bathroom when I wash my hands and it is wonderfully soft and smells so good!  Carole made sure that I knew that is the name the manufacturer uses, not one she came up with, hehe.

My daughter laid claim to this one.  Oh dear, I forgot which scent it was but it smells wonderful!  I think it was an Abercrombie scent?

With the Honey Wash scented flip flop, I shared my gift with my swap partner Linda.  I let her know where it came from and the details about it.  Isn't it darling?  The honey wash smells heavenly!

The daffodil scented soap is in my main bath with some other flower shaped soaps but none smell as good as this one!  It is wonderful!

Carole was such a sweetheart to send me some of her handmade goat's milk soap!  Thank you again Carole!!

One more picture for today, this post is already too long, with too much of my rambling, lol.  I was so excited to get out and go antiquing with a friend last week, on one of the days I actually felt decent and thought I was better.  I had $$ to spend so you can probably guess what happened... it was a bust.  =[  I should have left my money at home, then I would have found all kinds of awesome things, haha!  I found a few pieces of homespun for super cheap, a little Americana box (with some of those old flag stickers still inside) that will go on my old school desk, and an old very worn out Amish doll that I felt so sorry for and had to bring her home for a buck.

I was afraid someone might throw her in the trash so I thought I better rescue her.  I was going to throw away her bonnet, but she can't have a new bonnet with an old faded dress and worn out stockings so she will stay like she is.  She was well loved!!

Sorry for such a long post friends.  I appreciate it dearly if you stayed with me till the end.  =]  Remember... there is always, ALWAYS something to be thankful for~

My First Ever Swap!!

I have an exciting post today... well exciting for me, hehe!  After all these years of blogging and watching you all swap away, I finally joined my first ever swap!  It was so exciting, yet SO nerve-wrecking, lol.  I'll admit... I was very nervous and so anxious to hear from my blog partner whether she liked my goodies or not.

I joined Tammy from A Primitive Place's envelope swap last month.  My swap partner was Linda from Country Pickin's.  I had been already been following Linda's blog for awhile and let me tell you... I was nervous!!  Linda is a seasoned swapper, haha!  Thankfully, she is also a true sweetheart and instantly made me feel comfortable.  Thank you Tammy for pairing me up with sweet Linda!!

Look at this adorable bunny made by Linda!  Her name is Hester.  See how much I love her... she has a special place in my chair!  =]

I love her so much Linda, thank you!!  She is my one and only prim stuffed bunny!  A close up of her little apron, isn't it darling?

A beautiful saying on this wonderfully prim plate and stand that fits perfectly on my old sewing machine cabinet in the family room.

I mentioned to Linda that I am changing over my living room to primitive patriotic and she made this awesome pillow!  Love the colors and the saying!  Again... perfect Linda, thank you!!

Also to go in my living room, this beautiful penny mat!  Just right, don't you think?  Linda did great!  =]

Linda also made these wonderfully delicious smelling tarts!
Caramel Apple and Cinnamon Roll... YUM!!  Not only do they smell delicious, but they are packaged so cute!

Thank you Tammy for pairing me up with Linda!  Linda, thank you dearly from the bottom of my heart for such a special swap!  You have made my first swap experience such a wonderful treat, I appreciate you girl!  Thank you for everything, it is perfect and I LOVE it all~

Chair Clean-Up

Spring is my time for cleaning up, painting, and distressing all the finds I picked up over the past year.  So I have another wood clean-up project that I just finished up, took me less than an hour (I was interrupted by rain or else it would have been quicker).

I told Rich a couple of years ago that I'm going to start buying chairs for our home because when we have company over, out come the ugly metal things that I despise.  Well ever since I told him that, I can not find good ones at a decent price.  I came across this beauty at a garage sale last year for $10.  It was very sturdy and the right price so I brought it home.

This chair is older than I thought.  See how it looks like there are cracks in the chair?  They are actually pieces of wood that are dovetailed!  I didn't notice that until I started working on it, cleaning it up.

Gotta love the before, during, and after pictures.  Well, I do anyway so here goes.  The seat before...

The seat during, just look at that difference!  Like I said before, after all these years this still amazes me lol...

Here her seat is finished.  Isn't her patina such a pretty sheen?  Love that!

That's one less metal chair brought in from the shop this Easter dinner, Yee Haw!!  The finish...

I bought the beautiful chair mat last year when I was in Illinois at Tanner's Orchard in Speer.  Hmm... I just realized I never shared my goodies that I bought there.  It's too big for the chair but it's staying for now.  Hopefully it will fit the next chair I bring home, hehe.  Oh, one more picture.  In my last wood clean-up post with the ironing board, Melinda from Merry Wind Farm inquired about the product I used.  I shared with her that it is a product made right here in Oklahoma.  She found their website and bought some.  Melinda used it on her cherry cabinets and some other pieces in her home and she loved it!  So there's another testimony for you.  =]  Here it is if anyone is interested.  It goes a long, long way and definitely need air ventilation to use.

Thanks for stopping by.  I pray that as you are celebrating our Savior's Resurrection with family and friends, that all will be reminded what our God sacrificed for us.  I want to end with a precious and touching video that I'm borrowing from a fellow prim blogger, Loretta from Under the Wild Cherry Trees.

Grungy Primitive Waxed Apples

Had a wonderful Spring Break with the family, some much needed quality family time for sure!  Lots and lots of laughs and of course late nights with sleeping in, hehe.  It's good to be back with you all, I'm quite behind on my blog reading... almost 300 posts, yikes!  Hope to get that caught up this week so I can see what all you are up to.  =]

As soon as we got home and started on the 10 loads of laundry that we created over the week, I jumped over to the stove and finished up some apple waxing.  I just listed these in my Etsy shop but I wanted to share them with you, hop on over if you want to check them out.  I really like how they turned out!  I am such a perfectionist and most times I am NOT honestly 100% happy with my work, I can always find something wrong that others can't seem to see, lol.  But these, I like!

I love them in an old wooden box, they look like they just belong there!

They look like they have been around for hundreds of years.

I love this close-up of one of the baby apples...

Sitting inside a pretty white ironstone bowl maybe?

Anyway, they were fun and it feeds my addiction to waxing.  Waxing is fun, right Steph?  Lol!  As I was playing in the wax, I was wondering Why?  Why do we dip things in wax?  If someone were to ask me, I honestly have no idea what I would say.  Is it because the wax/spice combination lends to the old, primitive look we love?  Because it transforms ordinary, everyday household items into pieces of the past?  That's gonna be my answer, I would love to hear the reason you play in the wax.  Hmm... maybe there's a story there that we can have our friend and senior writer of a A Primitive Place & Country Journal Magazine Dan Weaver (of the blog Yesterday Once More) enlighten us with, lol.  =]

Thanks for stopping by for a visit and seeing what I've been up to lately.  I always enjoy visiting with you.  I hope you all are enjoying a beautiful Spring, we are so far even with all the yard work.  Have a delightful week~

Front Porch Primitives' Easter Giveaway!

So many wonderful Spring giveaways going on right now, isn't it F~U~N!  I want to share another one with you.  Our sweet and funny friend Steph from Front Porch Primitives is having an Easter giveaway of some of her wonderful handmades!  So hop on over to Steph's blog and sign up for this delightful giveaway!

Been working outside every day/afternoon/evening that I can.  It's been too windy here to burn so I haven't started a fire at all this week.  But would you believe that the burn pile that I lit LAST Saturday is still smoldering?  We've even had lots of rain this week!  I put some more leaves/sticks on the pile with the intention of lighting it tomorrow and a fire just started up on its own, lol... crazy.

Anyway, wanted to share a couple of pictures of what I've been doing this week besides cleaning up the back yard.  Waxing!!  =]  No Steph and Karen, not my legs, hehe...

I have a few different sizes of apples that I'm working on right now.  These only have the first coat of wax.

A few more still to do...

Once the first coat is on, the rest of the coats go much quicker.  It's a good thing because all the pears and berries are patiently waiting their turn for the wax dip.

I only have four of the vintage quilt block sawdust pillows left in my Etsy.  I was amazed at how quick they went!  I need to get busy on the bigger sizes.  Goodness... so much to do.

Spring Break coming up this week.  First time ever in 16 years that my husband and the kids are both off the same week so we are going to spend a few days in Missouri with my parents and a couple of day trips here in Oklahoma.  Really looking forward to just hanging out, having tons of fun and laughs, and of course sleeping in!  =]

Enjoy your weekend, my sweet friends~

Drakestone Primitives' Easter Giveaway!

Hi prim friends!  Hop on over and visit Angi at Drakestone Primitives Country Cabin!  She is having a giveaway on one of her wonderful, beautiful handmade bunnies!  I have been watching Angi create the cutest bears and bunnies for a few years now and she is quite talented!  I am gonna have to hop on over to her Ebay and buy one of those precious bears!  They always have the sweetest faces and Angi pays so much attention to detail.  The winner will be drawn on March 25, the start of British summertime... I just love learning neat things about our friends from abroad!  I think you'll agree that he's a cutie...

Spent all afternoon into the dark of night yesterday in the back yard cleaning, raking, and burning leaves.  It's so nice to be able to get out there and finally clean up but oh, it's so much work!  I'm so very thankful that God didn't bless us with the 20+ acres that Rich and I wanted, it's such a chore to keep up with this 1, LOL!  I'm also thankful that I am healthy enough to get out there and do it!

This week is sent aside for waxing!  YAY, I'm so excited about it!!  I haven't waxed at all yet this year and I have a terrible itch to play, plus lots of fruit that I've been collecting.  =]

Happy Sunday dear friends, enjoy your week~

Have A Seat

Good morning friends!  I have about 20 ditty bags almost ready to list on Etsy but I broke away from them for awhile to play with some tags and a new stamp set I bought from my Stampin' Up friend.  It's called "Have a Seat".  Of course everything I play with has to be dyed in tea and vanilla so that came first.  I love the way these came out, such a fun project.

I wanted to keep some for myself because they are so cute but I went ahead and put them in my Etsy shop.

I listed them in sets of like chair.  But I'm definitely going to be making more and mixing up the chairs in the sets.

For just 30 cents a piece I figure if they don't sell then I will have lots of fun playing with them =]

The stamp set only cost me $11.95 and came with an adorable Windsor settle bench stamp that wouldn't fit on the tags.  Click on this link to be taken to the Have a Seat stamp set in the Stampin' Up catalog.

Aren't they just so adorable?  I've had lots of fun playing with them this week... now it's time to get back to work and get those ditty bags finished.

Thanks for stopping by my sweet friends!  I always enjoy your visits~

Wooden Ironing Board Clean-Up

Hi all!  I have been seeing beautiful snow pictures from some of you and I am quite envious!  We went all winter without one good snow storm.  This is the first winter ever in my kids lives that they didn't get to make snow angels, build a snowman, or go sledding.  Of course, we all love snow days from school when we get to sleep in, stay in our pj's, eat snow ice cream, and play games all day.  None of that this year for us and it is quite sad.  Although... we have been having wonderful spring weather so I won't complain too much.  Today we are to hit 77 degrees.  It is so warm and sunny out there.  We like to take talks when we get home from school.

Yesterday I went rummaging through the garage to see what I could work on outside.  I have been wanting to get my old wooden ironing board in the house but it needed a good clean.

Every shopping trip I took last year, I kept an eye out for one.  They were running $28-$37 and most had huge cracks in them or were broken and didn't set up.  I held out because I knew "my piece" was out there somewhere and I will know when I come across it.  One day last summer, I was out garage saling and it was a bust.  I was ready to call it a day.  I came across one more sale.  I drug myself out of the truck and started looking.  Right there before my eyes was this awesome wooden ironing board that was set up and there were no cracks!  I thought I was gonna cry, lol.  Well not really, but I was so excited!  I was afraid to ask the price since everything else was priced... you know how that goes... it usually means it's more than you want to pay when there is no price on it.  5 bucks is all they wanted for it!  I whipped out my $5 and gave it to her.  Woo Hoo!!  I could hardly contain myself, hehe!

I continued to look around and someone about took my ironing board!  I had to literally run over there and tell them I already bought it and went straight to my truck with it, then went back to looking, lol.  I know they thought I was a nut.  But when you are on the hunt for a particular piece, that's what happens, well for me anyway... it turns me into a nut.  =]  

It is definitely worn and dry wood.  I was cleaning it up with my wood cleaner and it would soak it right up before I could even rub it in.  But just look at the difference!  This is yellow grease pencil.  Normally, it would need to be sanded off but I use a fine grade steel wool with my wood cleaner so it took care of it.

No sanding, just a little extra rubbing in that area and it came right off with no problem.  See the difference?

After all these years of cleaning and painting wood, I am still amazed at the change on each piece that I do.

I really wanted a wooden stand but for 5 bucks, I will settle for a metal one.  I actually like the green metal.  It's really hard to clean metal with chipped paint.  I took a bowl of Dawn dish soap and water and gently wiped it down.  A little of the paint flaked but I would rather it flake off outside than in my home.  Here she is all finished and pretty now...

It's in my laundry room (right by the main bath) leaning against the 3 hole cubby where each of my kids dump their school stuff.

I'm not sure how I am going to decorate around it.  The brooms were already there so I just put them in front of the board but they probably won't stay.  I have been admiring Cindy from Cynthia lee Designs' old wooden ironing board and how she decorated.  Click on her name and go check out her post, check out her whole blog... she is always inspiring me with her way of decorating!  I thought about draping one of my mom's dresses she wore as a toddler over it to showcase her dress (she'll be 77 next month) but I don't really like that.

I'll eventually get it figured out but in the mean time it'll be fun to play around.  *I am gladly open for suggestions*.  There's not much room here so it's not like there is a lot I can do.  I am thinking about adding a small crock (like Cindy did, hehe) to put all my wood bobbins in because this area has lots of old sewing notions to blend in with my main bath.  Oh, and maybe I can add an old label to the crock... right, Linda from Parker's Paradise?  I have this idea of Linda's on my mind and here's another one.  Thank you girls for sharing your ideas and always being an inspiration to decorating my home, I love that about our prim blog community!  =]

Winter is my sewing and stitching time but as soon as it starts to warm up, I am itching to get outside to sand and paint away.  It was fun to work with wood again.  I have lots more in my garage to pull out and play with.

The unofficial garage sale opening weekend is upon us!  I check the ads in our county paper every week and finally there are quite a few garage sales this weekend, woo hoo!  That excites this thrifty, makeover loving heart!

Enjoy your weekend with whatever kind of weather you have.... if you're snowed in, sit by the fire with some hot chocolate and stitch away.  If you have warm sunshine, get out there and dig in the dirt.  =]