Makin Jam!!

Got up early this morning to make up some strawberry freezer jam! I picked up the berries yesterday (the key word there is UP....I DID NOT pick these myself....can't do it...or just don't want to do it...it was my very first "real paying" job as a young teen and I grew to loath picking berries...we got .10 cents a quart....even back then in the early 80's I new that was a rip off!! lol!!) Anyway don't they look delicious???

I found a place last year ...COOKS STRAWBERRIES in Monroe. I bought a big ole bucket and there wasn't a bad berry in there. It made the BEST JAM so I was excited to go back this year and they didn't disappoint....perfection again! (after I took this pic I confess I ate about 4 of um....they were all nice and warm from the sun.....yum!!)

I really like using the Ball No Cook fruit pectin. SUPER EASY and great results. I highly recommend giving it a try.

Here is my "secret weapon" when it comes to mashing the berries....a PASTY CUTTER!! It doesn't see much action cuttin pasty so it feels terribly important during berry season. You gotta go with what works.......................!

And here ya go.....the final product! Ever put this on ice cream????? It is heaven on earth I swear!! This was from 4 quarts of berries , two packages of the pectin and 3 cups of sugar total. I will probably do up another 4 quarts to be sure I have some to share! Now off to the freezer to hunt for the ice cream............................:)

THRIFT STORE GOODIES...YA GOTTA SEE!!

Yep.....it has definitly seen better days BUT I loved finding this old high chair.......espicially because of .....................................THE PRICE!! check it out!!!!!

NOT $ 1.50 .......BUT $ 1.51!!! WHAT THE HECK??? So without a care in the world , I coughed up the extra penny like I was Mrs. Got Rocks....livin large!!!

This framed puzzle is by artist Charles Wysocki. I have always loved his Folk Art style. The thing is HUGE!! I can just picture it over a dry sink or a fireplace. If you click on the pic to make it bigger you will get to see the price.........in case ya can't see it good....it really does say .99 cents......get out!!! I know what you are thinkin!!!

And here is my FAV FIND (and I don't even know what it is!) the little screen box thing. Any ideas out there??? The old muffin mold will make some great pantry cakes(I am gonna give them a try) and the enamel lid is going to fit on an old pot I have ..... the pottery is from Salmon Falls. It is a garlic keeper I think because it has holes in it....and the candle is a cotton scent from Kohls never used (retail price tag says 18.00!!) whoa Nellie!!! BUT WAIT>>>>>>>>>>>>>>are you ready for the total on all this . I mean you better be sittin down because I cannot possibly be responsible for any injuries when you faint, fall over, get lock jaw, feel dazed or confused.....you get the picture right???? Okay here it goes......drum roll................................................................................$ 9.48 PLUS TAX...I SO SWEAR!!! I bet you won't guess what the most expensive thing was...................guess again................nope.............keep guessin....................THE MUFFIN TIN!!! I know....hard to believe huh! That thing was 4.25 and normally I wouldn't pay that much but I have been looking for one for awhile and there it was just sittin pretty among all the cookie tins and since I was feeling like money was just no big deal....I would just go dig up another can of it in the back yard....I plopped it in the cart and felt like I had just scored BIG TIME! It was a good day. I was homesick this afternoon and when I go thriftin it seems to help!! The best part of all this haul is NOTHING NEEDS A MAKEOVER!!! YIPPEE!! I can enjoy it RIGHT NOW and it won't sit in the garage waiting for me....taunting me...calling my name....

Well enough of all this....while it is still light out , I better go get a shovel and start diggin!!!!

TEA-DYIN ON A TUESDAY!

It is a great day here....sunny with a little breeze...PERFECT TEA-DYIN WEATHER!! I sell tea dyed fabrics at the shop and on ebay and my stock was way down after the spring open house and I had orders to fill for ebay. Today the line if full of cheesecloth, osnaburg and muslin. My clothline is an Amish style that runs on a pully system...one end is attached to the tree in the background and the other to a post on the deck. I can load this thing up! On that note......I wonder what my neighbors must think when they see all this hanging out there......"she needs to change her detergent" or "how DO they get so dirty???" or " she keeps tryin to get those stains out but they always look the same. " or "she is always makin stuff look dirty for her shop...maybe she actually sells that too?!!".....I can only imagine what goes through their heads.

While this all dries, I am off to Lowe's to get stuff for another project......hint hint..it's for the garden. Promise I will take pics!! Have a sunny day!!

P.S. I have received some emails asking me about where to get the recycled concrete I used for the garden path in the last post.....we went to a local paving company. When they go to repave anything and they have to take up the old concrete they grind it up. So just look in the yellow pages for a local concrete and or paving business and give them a buzz to see if they have it! It is very affordable!!!! aka.......CHEAP!

MY WOODLAND GARDEN!

I really am excited! Let me tell you why..................this woodland garden has been in the making for 3 years. When I moved here, the first spring I had the idea (after drooling over countless country garden mags) to make this ugly patch of dirt into a divided shade garden. Mr. OTM (Russ) was totally on board with the idea and was more than willing to help. AND BOY DID I NEED IT! To start with I needed to figure out exactly how to divide it and we both came up with idea of doing four sections. Next we went and got some recycled concrete to use as the path.THIS STUFF IS GREAT and I highly recommed it. It packes down like nobodys business and weeds really don't have a chance to grow up through it. That was quite a job hauling wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow full of it to dump on the path. Then we mulched and stood back and couldn't believe how great it looked.....neighbors were coming by on their golfcarts to see, the compliments were flyin....THEN SCREECH>>>>>>>>>we came to a complete hault! Since starting the garden we have gone through a frost and I lost a good amount of stuff I had planted, slugs ate every hosta I put in there and we had a MAJOR drought and I had to deal with my first MANDATORY WATER BAN and couldn't water anything! It was sooooooooo frustrating to say the least. Welllllll FINALLY this SPRING is the first real honest to goodness time that the garden looks to show some promise!! YIPPEE!! We have put down tons of BLACK KOW.....I love me some good cow poop.....some mushroom compost and Mr.OTM surprised me with a bag of 10-10-10 the other day( he truly knows the way to my heart...LOL!)

All this lambs ear came from the driveway!! My neighbor has wonderful flowerbeds that border our driveway. Last year all these little baby lambs ears had sprouted up in our driveway so I transplanted them to border the path.

See MR. OTM's wood star on the fence? I snagged one out of the shop cuz I knew it was the perfect spot! The hostas come from a local gal who always sells them at this antique show I go to. She sells them two for $5.oo and I can always divide them up and get about 8 to 10 of them to spread around.

The flora bunda roses in the corner here were $1.00 on the Lowes junk cart. This area gets enough sun and they love it there. I was so happy they made it through the drought. Well I hope you enjoyed a peek at my garden. I am headed out there right now to water. I Hope your day is great!

GARAGE SALE FIND + ANTIQUE SHOW FIND = THIS!

This pound of Melt and Pour soap was at a garage sale for .25 cents....................
I put it into an old sauce pan to melt.......................

Poured it into this AWESOME OLD ROOSTER MOLD ( holds 10!) I found at an antique show...$20.00. My friend Lisa told me to spray it lightly first with Pam >>>>>(great hint Lisa....thanks!!) After it sets take the end of a butter knife to pop them out. OH>>>>> his agent requires that I mention that Mr. OTM was the hand model for this photo shoot....LOL!

AND HERE THEY ARE!!! They were VERY EASY to do but kind of a pain because you have to keep re-melting the soap in order to be able to pour it. The directions instruct you to do this with a microwave but ours is on the fritz so I did it on the stove top. Anyway, I love how they turned out and can't wait to try it again once we get a new micro!! (hint hint Mr. OTM...with the royalties from this photo shoot he should have plenty to get me a new micro....don't you think??......lol!)

SO.......... I have $20.25 invested in to this project . My plan is that after I make and sell a few of these I will come out ahead. Sounds good right?? I plan on doing some cinnamon wax bowl fillers and stuff too so I think it should work out. (I just have to keep telling myself this becasue I wanted the rooster mold so bad and in case Mr. OTM reads this I have a legit business plan in effect!! LOL!) Have a great day!!!

ON A ROLL....MORE MAKE-OVERS!

I gotta tell ya.....I have been on a roll lately getting some of these things done and it feels great! This stool I just got this past weekened so it wasn't sitting around very long. I knew exactly what I wanted to do and had all the stuff to do it , so when inspiration strikes ....you better pounce!! (Ally doesn't look very optimistic now does she?????) Well.....what do you think?? I love it!!!!!!!!

This piece HAS been sitting around awhile and I have been putting it off because I knew it was going to take alot...and I do mean ALOT of paint (getting in the grooves and covering the painting and blah, blah, blah) ...well it didn't prove me wrong I feel like I would never stop painting but it did turn out nicely into ..................

THIS!!! IT WAS WORTH IT!!!!!

So glad to have that one done and Mr. OTM is super glad to have it out of the garage!Believe me....there is more where those came from so don't worry that I have run out of make-over pics.................far from it! (just ask Mr. OTM....LOL!!) Have a great day!!

YARD SALE PICS!!!!

Okay....let me start by saying that it worked out EXACTLY as I thought...........I spent more than I made!!! Soooo here is my yard sale booth....notice the excellent customer service I am providing.....I asked my friend Wendy to come "help" me watch the booth......where is she??????????????????????????? Oh.....here she is diving in head first into the massive pile of .25 cent kitchen linens ( who can blame her!!! ) My other friend Joanne is not helping the situation at all!!! I must confess....I had been all up in it too moments before this photo was taken!!! These items were all BRAND NEW and were salesmans samples for a rep. We scored BIG TIME!!! See what .25 cents can do to a gal?????.................

Just look at these smiles!!! We did have a great time rummaging through it all!!

I have to confess something else too.......I personally NEVER sold a thing!! Everytime something sold ...I WAS OUT OF THE BOOTH and Wendy sold it!! So she did decide to "help"out after all.....I sure did appreciate it !! LOL !! A great , fun day, with sunshine, friends and junk.....what could be better!!
OH....I finally updated my booth pictures at the Poet.....I posted them on JUNKIN ESCAPADES!! ...feel free to go snoop!

PRIM TABLE MAKEOVER RESULTS

UPDATE!!!!! TABLE SOLD TODAY!!....NO KIDDING!! :) here is the little table that was in the first photo in the last post. It was a quick and easy re-do with just some black paint and a bit of distressing and a new price tag! This is gonna be a quickie post cuz I decided to set up at the Sleepy Poet Yard Sale in the morning and I am on the prowl for stuff to take....I gotta make sure I at least make as much as I will probably spend...LOL!! So, I am off to the shed to see what lurks in there................................ !

HERE THEY ARE....THRIFT STORE MAKEOVERS!!!

Here we go with the before.....I have no idea what the thing on the left is SUPPOSED to be but here is what it turned into......................

TA-DA!! Now it's the coolest old prim lookin bowl/charger holder!!! keep lookin below..................

This is one of my favs!!! I love the little drawer. After I took this picture I was messing around with everything and made a display with an old cutting board set in the back and then I set a rolling pin in the grooves in the front.....O M GOSH!! Batteries went dead on the camera so ya didn't get a pic of that one...but you can see it right???

Here is the whole she-bang. EVERYTHING here was done on Saturday! I had alot of this in the beginning stages for weeks but I finally was able to get it done!! It was alot! I didn't get before pics of it all but it was all just plain ole wood.....try to picture it in your head. I have let it dry over the weekend and will be at the shop later today pricing it and putting it out!

See the big mustard "plate?" Well it is actually a lazy susan! I know you have seen them layin there in the thrift store...you get all excited cuz you see this big wood plate then you turn it over and see the turning mechanism and think "crap...I thought this was a plate" and you set it down!! WELL PICK IT BACK UP AND PUT IT IN THE CART!! First of all you can take the mechanism off OR leave it on....in this case the mechanism helped to add depth when I placed it inside this new FABULOUS PRIMITIVE BOWL/ PLATE RACK!! If you do take it off you can always fill in the holes with wood filler...but who is gonna see them anyway right????

Well there ya go. The table in the first photo is going to be finished today so I will take a pic and post it later. OH>>>GO CHECK OUT the other blog JUNKIN ESCAPADES for a really NEAT and EASY THRIFT STORE TOTE BAG MAKE-OVER!! Have a great day!

A LITTLE PIECE OF YOUR HEART.........

This post is kind of different.......I was talking to a very good friend of mine today and she was telling me that a good friend of hers (that I don't know) was walking her dog on Easter Sunday when someone pulled over to tell her that her house was on fire! Thank goodness she was out of the house with the dog BUT she lost everything. She lost all her favorite primitive decorations for everyday and holidays. I cannot imagine how awful...to lose all the things that helped to make your house a home. WELLLLLLL , I got to thinking.....I know soooo many of you in blog land have big hearts and care so much.....I would like to help this lady replace some of her decorations. If you would like to help her too, I would love it if you would share A LITTLE PIECE OF YOUR HEART! Little is the key word here...something that will fit into a small envelope so it doesn't cost you much to mail it. Just email me and I will give you my address and you can send it to me. I have a bunch of stuff gathered and I will just add it to that and send it out. Keep in mind it could be something you made even!! That would be most wonderful!! There are alot of talented crafters out there. It could be for any season too since she lost it all. Don't worry about colors...just think PRIM!!I will take pictures of the whole loot before I send it off. I will accept donations until mid May so that gives everyone some time. I can't thank you enough and I know the gal will be forever grateful. If you have any questions please feel free to ask!

EASTER BLESSINGS EVERYONE!!

HAPPY EASTER!! I HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A BLESSED DAY FILLED WITH FAITH, FAMILY AND FRIENDS! I HAVE A GREAT TREAT FOR YOU ON MY NEXT POST! I SPENT THE WHOLE DAY TODAY DOING TS MAKEOVERS AND I HAVE SOME GOOD ONES!! TOMORROW I AM TAKING A BREAK TO JUST ENJOY THE DAY! DON'T EAT TOO MANY JELLY BEANS! Christ the lord has risen today...hallelujah!!!!

EASY RECIPE..JUST IN TIME FOR EASTER!

Good Morning Everybody!! These are the cookies that I made for my open house at the shop. They are super easy and take no time at all to make AND you can use any flavor cake mix you want. Try Lemon (above) , Strawberry , and Coconut and look how pretty they all look on a platter...kind of like Easter Eggs!

COOL WHIP COOKIES...(YEP ...Cool Whip!)

One 8 ounce container Cool Whip
One box any flavor cake mix (not angel food!)
Two eggs
Powdered Sugar

Combine Cool Whip,cake mix and eggs and mix well. DOUGH WILL BE STICKY!! I find that if I chill it for at least an hour it really helps to handle it BUT it's not necessary. Drop by spoonfuls into the powdered sugar and coat evenly ...go crazy get alot on there.. then take and place them onto a parchement paper lined cookie tray and bake for 10-12 minutes at 350. Let sit for a few minutes on cookie tray then cool completely on wire rack! You will get about 36 of these little suckers!! DELICIOUS!

APRIL JUNK FINDS...WEEK 1!!

April has definitly started out on a colorful note! Most of these goodies here were last weeks yard, garage sale, flea market, TS, and Antique shop finds.Makes a pretty picture doesn't it?? I do have a few more pics of Metrolina that I will make you wait on.....LOL!! Everything this week seemed to go together so nicely! I love to display with red in the summer and I felt so lucky to get the table and blackboard! See the carved wood column in the pic???....look close...it is almost the only thing without paint on it ...anyway...that was a yard sale find and it is nice and solid and in great condition...the price tag on the bottom for when it was new........can you guess????.......nope still cold......keep guessing.......................$154.95!!! Who in the world paid that????? Let's just say that I paid NO WHERE NEAR THAT!! My goodness..........my head still spins on that one! If you see anything you "just gotta have".....I'll let ya....it's all for sale!!! " Just email me and I will give you the price! old wheelbarrow will make a great planter!!!!!!!

Primitive mustard shoe shine box has initials carved into it!

My neighbor was going to toss the old wire planter baskets out BUT decided to see if I wanted them first! How sweet is that! The red sled is one of my super favs! It's little and will look great at Christmas! The green box is the coolest color and made with old shingles! Love that!!!

P.S..........Want to see how I decorated the masterbath with some of my junkin finds??? Hop on over to JUNKIN ESCAPADES!!