A Thanksgiving EVE Post.....!! :-D

Ok, dear friends/followers.....DO NOT faint dead-away at seeing another post from me in the same week!!!  I'm sure this is a one-time occurrence in my blog-life, and I'll be back to my normal self -- procrastinating and outright forgetting about posting, and all will be RIGHT in blogland again!

For now, I am FINALLY sitting down (it's 9pm!) after several hours of pre-meal preparations.  It would have gone more quickly, but I had "HELP" (my favorite thing....) from my daughter tonight.  Actually, at just 16 now, she really IS helpful....when (IF) she listens to me.... *sigh!*  Oh, and when she's not poking me (just for fun, and because I tell her not to). 
Ah, the sweetness of a daughter!!! LOL
Actually, at 16, if those are the most difficult things about her -- that she wants to be with me in the kitchen, and that she giggles herself silly over poking me again every time I tell her to stop -- I'll TAKE IT!!!!  I could have gotten a bit annoyed (I could feel it creeping up!), but I just let it go and played along with pretend glares and then giggled along with her.  It was fun!! :-)

So here I sit, everything is finished (except one load of laundry that I hear spinning out), and she's back in her room to skype with her best friend!  Aaaahhhhh!!!!!!  It felt SO good to sit down.  In the silence. :-D

I am cooking again for just our family this year, which makes me VERY SAD....this is the only holiday that I deeply miss my sisters and brother and parents.  Growing up, we had extended family around EVERY YEAR on Thanksgiving, and to be honest, without that, it just feels like another meal around here, only bigger and with yummier food.  Last year I had vowed it was the last year I would stay home, and had big plans to either travel to Mass or out to Kansas to see my little sister's family.  I even started a savings account to pay for it!  THEN....Brian cut his fingers and was off for 4 months, and that plan was ruined.  That savings account is LONG gone! :-(

What is that old saying...?  "If you want to give God a laugh, tell him your plans"...??  Well, I'm going to set that savings account up again after Christmas, then wait and see what God has planned for it next year! :-)

So anyway, THIS YEAR.....
I will be making two turkeys with my Nana's special (to us!) Yankee stuffing recipe.  It has remained unchanged for years and years, and she got it from HER mother, who, I think.....and I might be stretching this a little (Amy??)....got it from her mother-in-law, a dyed-in-the-wool Yankee!! :-D  (I'm going to check on the true accuracy of that with my mom and get back to you guys....)
Anyways, it's YUMMY and so simple!
Of course we will have mashed potatoes, gravy, mashed butternut squash, and baby green peas.
We ALWAYS have cranberry sauce, and I LOVE the "jellied" kind in the can!!! LOL  It's delicious!  BUT....this year I found a recipe on Pinterest that I HAD to try, so I made some of THAT, and I'll let you all know how it tastes....I'm a little scared of it, because it called for wine to cook the cranberries (and blueberries!) in, and I substituted that with red grape juice and a little vinegar (because we don't drink at all, so I didn't have any wine).  So I was too scared to take a big taste of it after I cooked it!  The vinegar was very strong-smelling when I was cooking it, so I hope I didn't use too much...!  I'm hoping a little mellowing of the flavors went on this past week in the fridge!!
I will also put apples in the crockpot in the morning, so we have fresh, hot applesauce for the meal!!!!  Oh-SO-yummy!!!

But wait, there's MORE..... :-D
The last thing I'm serving, besides rolls, is called Tennessee Honey Corn Pudding, which I made last year and was a yummy HIT with all of us!!!!  Also found on Pinterest (and also calls for alcohol, but much less, and I bought a teensy bottle for it in advance). 

I will be sure to share pictures and links (and critiques!) tomorrow or the next day -- DEFINITELY don't pass out when THAT happens! LOL

I haven't decided exactly what I want to make for dessert, I'm going to figure that out tomorrow.  Usually, everyone is way too full to even think about eating dessert, so I can make it after the meal, and no one will mind! :-)  I already have two "Harvest Loaves" -- which are pumpkin breads with mini-chocolate chips in them and a cinnamon glaze on top (also a family-favorite recipe), so maybe Swedish Apple Pie, or Brian's favorite - Chocolate Pie....decisions, decisions!! (the BEST kind! LOL)


SOOOO --- this week, we DID work a little on my cabinet, but Brian has promised to do almost all the rest of it this weekend (while we hide-out from Black-Friday shoppers!), so I'll wait to post my pictures until there is more to show.
What I DO want to show you guys is something I quickly made a few days ago -- SO simple, yet SO LOVELY!!!!

I took an art print image that I LOVE and had it printed at Office Max -- they use laser printers so the ink burns onto the paper, and doesn't "bleed".  I found a good-sized image, so I was able to have them make it 11x14, and it still was nice and clear.  Look at it!!!!....

Isn't it beautiful?!?! :-D
It's a painting from 1810, and if you look closely, you can see white specks on the image -- these are on the original image, I'm sure from age.  I don't mind them!  I didn't have to "age" this print at all myself!! :-)
In this picture, I've glued it to a canvas frame (a few dollars at Hobby Lobby).  You can see the white canvas around the edges because I forgot to PAINT the edges before I glued it on!  Oh well, no trouble.....I just did it next. 

I painted the edges (and over the paper edges a little bit, too) with a similar color to the background, then when it was dry I painted the decoupage glue over the whole top, paper and painted edges!
THAT'S IT!!!  Ta-Daaa......

WONDERFUL!!!! :-D
The lines you see that look like wrinkles are also part of the print, so they must be part of the original as well, and I don't mind them at all!
I can't wait to find a place for her!!!

See how easy to make these??
That's my super-easy-awesome-result Craft Tutorial of the week!!!! LOL

I hope everyone has a WONDERFUL day tomorrow!!!!  We all have SO MUCH to be Thankful for!! ^-^

Hello....??? Anyone Still There.....????

I have been away SO LONG!!!  I don't think I've missed THIS much time EVER since starting my blog....!  It's truly been 2 complete MONTHS since my last post....!!! :-O
Did everyone give up on me....???  I hope not, I AM still here, I've just been spending ALOT of time on the new forum, and my life has taken a crazy turn, so there is just not enough time in the day to do everything that I really want to do!  I'm SO sorry!! :-( 
*Sigh!* If only I had that stop-watch from the Twilight Zone!!  Remember?.... he could click it on, and time just STOPPED until he clicked it off again, and he was the only one who knew it and could move around while time had stopped!  I've always remembered and loved that episode, because I would LOVE to have a stop-watch like that!! :-D
If only.....

Well, since I don't, I need to just commit to posting regularly if I want to really have a blog -- there's just no excuse for letting weeks go by without posting!

The main reason, though, is the new forum.  It's coming along really well (as those who joined know! ;-D), and I feel very responsible for it, like it's my baby, kind-of!  I feel like I need to be there to respond to people and make sure things are working right, and to post fun ideas or projects, etc.  We have quite a few members, but most of them DO NOT post....it's kind-of sad!  It would be so fun if we could make more friends to chat with here and there, or have others come up with fun ideas, etc.  WHAT keeps people from posting and joining in, I wonder??  I mean, is Facebook really that much more fun to be on everyday???  I'm sure for some people it is, but for everyone...?  It can't be!!
Well, we'll see.....maybe it will grow bit by bit! :-)

SO....I am VERY sorry to have been neglecting my blog, and all my special readers who I appreciate so much!  I love my blog, and it's important to me to make it a bigger part of my life!!  I PROMISE to do better!!!! :-D

In all this time, we have gone through Fall and right next to Thanksgiving -- WOW!!  Where does the time go????

For those who are NOT on the forum, I will show you what I've been working on.... :-D :-D :-D

MY FAVORITE CABINET!!!!
Remember how I posted about this so long ago....??  Well, I finally got it started!!! :-D (with Brian's help, of course!)
He helped me shape and cut the sides.....

Then we had to glue wood pieces together to make the shelves the right size.  We used a NEW TOOL for that, a Biscuit Cutter (fun, fun, fun!! :-D).....

That last picture is all three shelves glued and clamped (with waxed paper over/under the glued joints in case any glue leaked out).

Then I added the shelf supports to the sides.....

Then I painted the inside shelves.....

That's the color I picked for the inside, and to layer with the dark blue that I'm going to paint the outside of the cabinet.  These still have to be sanded and stained, so they will look old and worn!  And I added a closeup of the chipped edge of one shelf -- I purposely saved that side to be in front so it will add to the "oldness" of it, naturally!! :-D  Well, that's what I HOPE it will do! LOL

So that's as far as I've gotten on it!  Today, Brian cut the supports for the back of the shelves and he cut the back pieces to the right height.  I'm using the rough-cut 1x6 fencing boards that Lowe's sells for CHEAP (!!) -- they will be perfect for this, and look just right! :-D

We are going to try to get the sides, shelves, and back boards put together tomorrow -- I have quite a bit of sanding to do first, so I hope we CAN do that!  Even with that done, we'll still have to make a door (with the Biscuit Cutter again - yay!!), and nail the front pieces on (EASY!), and then paint and distress the whole thing (HARD and scary...!).  I am NOT good at that whole process, I fret and stumble through it every time!! :-(   And HOW, HOW did they get that "water-damaged" look on the door.....can someone explain that to me???  *Sigh!*  I know I'm not going to be able to create the antique-ish look that I want with mine, so that's why I'm not looking forward to TRYING to....!!

I've also been feeding a new obsession I have -- spray painting anything to make it look like stoneware or redware!!!!!  It's addictively FUN! :-D  And you wouldn't believe the super-cheap bottles I can find at the thrift store!  Just LOOK at the fun stuff I found over the past several weeks......

As I was telling the ladies on the forum, I got ALL of these items for LESS THAN $15!!!!  I think it turned out to be $13-something! (from a combined 3 trips)
And see those hideous canisters with the hearts in the last picture....??  Just wait until you see how I turn them into stoneware-loveliness!!! :-D 
I also love the little ink bottles - what GREAT shapes! - and the big drawer chest!  That cost $3.50!!  I cannot resist little drawers of any kind! LOL

That's kind of where I'm at with projects.  Of course, there are about 100 floating around in my head too! Haha!!  *Sigh!*  I told you, I need that stop-watch! :-D

The rest of the time, I've been doing ALOT to help my late friend Cheryl's children.  Her son has been here every day, and her daughter has been needing my help with some things too.  They are YOUNG -- Cheryl had them when she was 39 and 41, so they are still teenagers.  Her daughter is only 16.  They are living with her oldest son and his wife, but I am the one they call when they really need something.  I spent the day before last with her daughter at the doctor's office checking on some abnormal symptoms she was having that were making her nervous (it turned out to be nothing).  I couldn't be sure if her brother's wife COULDN'T take her, or she just wanted ME to be the one with her, but I am grateful and so willing to do anything I can for either of them!  But it does take up alot of time running around for FIVE teenagers (mine, included)!!!  Some days (like Wednesday) are just completely taken up, and I can't get anything done around the house like I planned! :-)
But think of the impact I am making on two young people who will take with them the memory of what I am doing for them, and my truly willing, caring attitude -- for the rest of their lives they will have my example and my care for them in their hearts and minds!  Not to mention what my own children are learning about how we treat others who need us!  I am influencing how they will all be as adults, and maybe MY example will be what causes them to help someone else in the future who needs THEM!  Imagine that! -- My small, easy sacrifice might have a far-reaching positive effect on people I will never know!!!  And of course, even without that, I feel so HONORED that these two young people trust ME when they need something or want something, or when they can't count on anyone else to care about what's going on with them....I just cannot refuse. :-)

So that's what has been going on around here!  I have been cooking some yummy things too, but I'll save that for a later post!!  I PROMISE to post again with my cabinet progress!  And I promise to get better at posting in general -- hey, Christmas is right around the corner, and I have some fun ideas of things to make, so I don't want to miss that!! :-D  Maybe I should have one day a week be a "tutorial" post....?  Or every-other week....??  Hmmm.....something to think about....!! :-D

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!!! ^-^

Let's DO IT!!!!! :-D

Ok, I'm just letting it go!!!!  If I wait until I have everything "PERFECT".....I'll never be done! :-{

I did a few little messages for registration and then under "Forum Policies", but that's all....so far!!  Like I said in my comment to Karen, *I* am the administrator -- so if we want to add anything later, or change anything as we go along, it will be EASY PEASY for me to do it!!!! :-D  Just let me know! (that has become my mantra these past several weeks, I think....LOL)

I've unlocked it, so it's ready to sign up to and post on!!!!  I haven't added anything at all, except under "Forum Policies", and my signature/avatar.  It was pretty simple and typical, so there shouldn't be any real problems for anyone.  I have to get off the computer to make dinner and work on a few housecleaning things (BLEGH!!), but I'll be back on later to see who has joined and if anyone needs me for anything.

Hopefully.....I did everything correctly and it will be easy to get on and post....MY FINGERS ARE CROSSED!!! LOL

Here's the link...... (eeek!!!) (haha!)

http://agatheringofprimlovingfriends.freeforums.org/


GOOD LUCK....!!!  I'll be back on after dinner! ^-^

Forum Update -- FINALLY Getting It (I Think....!!)

This is NOT as easy to understand as I thought!!!! :-P
But I think I'm getting the gist of it finally, and I've been writing notes to try and keep it straight.
(SOOOO funny -- I used to be able to understand complicated Calculus formulas in high school, but I can't understand how to set up Forum Categories!)(*emphasis on USED TO!!*)

Well, in my defense (as much as anyone might want to listen to it...), the site didn't really do a great job explaining any instructions or what the words they used actually symbolized! :-P
But after doing it WRONG several times, I think I am clear on what "Categories" actually means to them!! LOL

I have MOST of the Categories and Boards set up now (I think!), so I'm going to post a screenshot to show you what I've created.
BUT....BEFORE I DO.....I want to repeat something I put into a comment the other day --- I'm definitely NOT personally connected to anything about what I'm creating, naming, picking, etc! So if there's anyone with better ideas of names or anything, I WELCOME that -- let us all know, and if everyone wants something changed, I'll happily change it!!!! 
This isn't "MINE" for "ME".....this is for ALL of US, I'm just doing the put-together of it. So anything, ANYTHING that one of you might really want to change or add, just let me know (here or in an email) -- I'm open to any and ALL suggestions!!!!

PLEASE keep that in mind when you look at the forum picture, and if anyone has an opinion about anything, I want to hear it! :-)

Here it is! (I can't seem to get it any bigger! :-P  Just use the "Control" key and either the "Page Up" key or scroll-up on your mouse to bring it closer) (STUPID Blogger!).....

***I FIGURED IT OUT -- Click on the picture, then in the next screen, RIGHT-click on the picture and click "View Image", then LEFT-click the picture again, and it will get HUGE!  I knew I made it big enough!!***
Just a little history on THIS style....I GAVE UP on the other "Free Forum" website with the confusing CSS-thing, and used this site -- I could only pick a preset style/frame, with all the colors and fonts already picked out and unchangeable.  All I could do is upload my "Logo", which is the picture you see on top.  I think I can also upload "Logos" for each category, if I wanted to, but that's the extent of the CHANGES that can be made on this site.  THANK GOD!!!!!  That CSS was killing me! :-P  LOL

I DO wish I could change the size of the forum title, which is in tiny blue words just to the right of the logo on top.  Maybe sometime I'll make a Logo with the title in it.....maybe...! LOL

So after looking at the general "LOOK", check out the boards I have, and let me know if I missed anything.  Or maybe it's too many....???  I DO still need to add a board for Seasonal Decorating, I think -- Christmas, Fall, Spring, Summer -- and I could put them under the "Decorating" category, OR, I could put them in their own category ("Seasonal Decorating").....

*SIGH!*  SOOOO many decisions....!!!!

Anyway, that's where I'm at after tonight!  I'd LOVE to hear any thoughts/opinions/ideas....!!

Now I'm off to ~VEG-OUT~ for an hour before I try and fall asleep!  I'll be checking back in the morning!!! :-D

HELP!!!....or, Forum Update (LOL)

Ok, I'm down to the final details of this forum, and I'm STUMPED!!!  Here is where I need some input, ladies!!!! :-D

I need to set up CATEGORIES for the posts, but I'm not sure what they should be!  I almost always posted in the "General" category on the APP forum, but I remember there being lots of other subject-specific categories on there.....I just don't remember what they were!!!!

So I'll list what I could think of, but I'm not going to set any of these up without input from everyone who wants this forum -- I truly have NO idea if these are good, helpful topics or not!

General (of course)

Decorating Ideas/Advice

Crafts

Tutorials (but these would probably be in Crafts, right??)

Recipes

Gardening

Prim Projects

Pinterest (would we even NEED a special category for favorite pins or ideas from Pinterest??)

Home Pictures (I can't think of what it was called on APP, but where people posted pictures of their decorated homes)

Links/Favorite Prim Places

Members (where we could all put our names and a small intro/blurb about ourselves that would always be available for other members to see)

That's what *I* could think of -- but I'm not even set on having these, I was just trying to remember what the other Prim forums had.
And I never really liked having to post in certain categories on the forum, so maybe we only need 2 or 3 categories??  Or maybe more categories helps people find what they want to read about, and we need more??

So PLEASE.....everyone chime in with their thoughts and ideas about "Categories" -- did I miss anything?  Should there be more or less?  Is there anything that you would like to see discussed on a Primitive forum that we could make into a category??  Should these be titled differently?

I'm not moving forward with the forum until I get everyone's feedback so I can be confident it's being created the way everyone WANTS it to be.....

......So HELP!!!, my Prim-Forum Sisters!!!!! :-D

Well.....

Ok, I'm a day late with my "update", and actually.....I HAVE NO UPDATE!!!

So many things have conspired against me this week, and now I'm having BROWSER problems....!!!  UGH!  SO annoying, but I'm hoping that my much-loved (computer-nerdy, er...."savvy"!) brother-in-law will give me some direction about how to FIX it today.... (Amy....?? Are you reading this...?)!!! :-D

So in the meantime, my browser keeps freezing ("not responding") constantly, and then CRASHES!

But that's not the real thing holding up my forum creation ---- I'm STILL NOT FINISHED with the little yarn mutants!!!
However, I am ALMOST done, and after posting this blog entry, I'm going to crochet until finished!!

Here is a picture of the last few I have made.....

And once I finish the purple one, I'm DONE!!

Cheryl's comment on my last post made me laugh out loud! :-D  But I wanted to clarify about the women wanting these -- there's actually only 9 of them (I think...), and they have two different sizes of dogs: small and smaller!! LOL  The craziness started when I made the first three, which were identical to the biggest pink one in the middle -- that woman wanted one and her sister wanted two -- and she brought her dog to her Bible study or something like that and all the other women with little dogs wanted one or two!  Three women asked me to make (huge!) ones for their larger dogs, but I wisely declined THAT "adventure" -- modifying and then crocheting a person-sized sweater for a dog....??  WAAAY too much work for me right now!  They are buying the yarn, but I'm doing the crocheting for free (just because I want to).  And even if I was paid, I don't want to make huge ones!! LOL

Anyway, I wanted to share some fun things too!  Well, fun FOR ME...! :-D
I saw and pinned this MONTHS ago.....

It's from an Early American Life magazine article about Windsor Chairs, but what caught my eye was that STENCIL!!!!  Look at it -- it's gorgeous!  I've never seen anything like it in all my stencil resources and searches over the years, and I love it!!
The problem is, it's too small of an image for me to correctly draw and cut it for myself!  I even own the issue that this is from, and the picture in the magazine is zoomed in a bit more and cuts off the stencil! :-(

So for months, literally, I have been looking everywhere for this stencil design -- I've done Google and Bing searches, I've looked through every stencil website I know of (and others I never heard of), I spent hours pouring over Pinterest pins of stencils, I've scoured all my many books and magazines and stencil catalogs -- nothing!  NOTHING!!!   BOOOO HOOOO!!!!!

Where did this come from???
I was almost ready to contact EAL directly to get any info I could from them!  But then in my third book scouring, I noticed a book I had forgotten I owned, and it had been accidentally put away with my Christmas books in the back of my craft closet....."Early American Stencils on Walls and Furniture" by Janet Waring" -- it's a GEM of a book, and I can't believe I forgot all about owning it!!  It's a Dover book published recently, but it was originally published in 1937 after the author went all over New England looking at old houses with original stencils, and even to the descendants of Moses Eaton who gave her his stencil kit!!!  It's a wonderful book!

It's the book on the left, and the other two books are also TERRIFIC and filled with color pictures of stencils from walls and floors.  Janet Waring's book has TONS of pictures, but they are mostly black and white, which doesn't matter to me!!  I can still copy the stencils easily if I wanted to!

I had already checked (and double-checked!) the other two books for that stencil, but two nights ago, I became obsessed with finding it again, and dug further around here (after a 2 hour internet search), and when I found that book I was so excited, even if it didn't have my stencil!!
BUT.....IT DID!!!!.....

THERE IT IS!!!!!  I LOVE IT!!!! :-D
I think I'm going to use it for my bedroom, when I get to it!  Yay, Yay, Yay!!! :-)

Here are some other images from the book....

See how the lack of color doesn't detract from the gorgeous stenciling....SO amazing!!  I think I want to have a couple of these stencils! :-D

Look at Moses Eaton's actual stencils.....

WOW!!

See what a wonderful resource this book is?

The other two are equally as wonderful.....

Look at the last picture -- there is a whole section in that book about the stencils used and found on coverlets and quilts..... for real!  I had never heard of that before reading it in that book!!  As someone who has never quilted (and is a little afraid of it!), I love LOVE the idea of stenciling on fabric to make an authentic Early American coverlet!!!!
Something to think of for a future project.....! :-D

Lastly, remember THIS....

I finally finished painting mine two weeks ago -- I struggle when trying to create a two colored, layered paint look, but I did ok I think.....

Layer one..... (I LOVE this color!!  I almost didn't want to cover it! LOL)
And......

Layer two, plus sanding and staining, and it's all done!!!  It looks better in real life, but you can still see most of the details -- I tried to keep the drawer imperfections (in the wood) exposed, and I think it came out alright....I stressed over it enough! LOL
It looks great in my kitchen!  Now to clean the counters so I can see it better....! :-D

Ok, so I will be working on the forum ASAP (tonight, maybe??), so hopefully I'll have it ready by the weekend, or by the end of the weekend at the latest!!
Don't worry about me "working too hard" or being too stressed over it -- it's NOT difficult at all, it just requires time, that which I don't have at the moment! LOL  But once I get to it, it won't be hard for me at all......besides, the outcome/reward will be SO FUN and WONDERFUL, it's all worth it!!! ^-^

A Forum Update....

I was REALLY hoping that I would be posting with a NEW Forum for everyone by now, but things aren't going as smoothly as I thought they would, unfortunately!
I'm having some trouble understanding how to get the framework of the site set up, so I'm having to search and read about CSS coding and post questions to the forum-site-creator's FORUM (LOL!), all of which is taking me more time than I have right now! :-P

AND THAT'S BECAUSE.....I was volunteered (by my darling husband) to crochet little doggie sweaters for the wives of some men from his work -- BLEGH!!  I agreed unenthusiastically at first because it was supposed to be "a few", but that turned into 15 within a few hours of me agreeing!  I wouldn't mind, really, except that they all want them made with florescent colored yarn that is ACRYLIC.  I know lots and lots of people love acrylic yarn, but I can't stand it!  I intensely dislike the feeling of it in my hands, and when you couple that with the colors that I have to look at..... well, not only do I not really WANT to make these, it's actually detrimental to my spirit to make them!!!  Haha -- a teensy over-dramatic, but I have been struggling with these repulsive little eyesores for the past 2 weeks.... I've GOT to get them finished this week, not least of all because I want my life and creative joy back! :-D
So I have bounced back and forth between struggling with this forum creation website to attacking another little yarn monstrosity!!  If I could just FOCUS on setting up the forum, I would be done by now I bet!

So this is just a quick little update so you guys know I'm on it for real .....and I'll post again by Wednesday with another update.  I plan on crocheting these little MUTANTS continuously until finished, which should take me 2 days, tops!  Then I'll crack the CSS code and get the forum online, and our group fun can begin again!!!! :-D

SORRY it's taking me so long!!! 
Keep your fingers crossed, and I'll be back by Wednesday! ^-^

Monday Morning......

OK, my computer wire is fixed -- YAY!!!
Yesterday, I wrote this post on my daughter's computer -- it was nice to write a lighthearted, fun post for a change......

Oh, what a beautiful morning....!!! (you can read that as the song, if you are old enough to know it!  OR, if you are an Old-Movie-Junkie, like me!! :-D)

I'm sitting here by my living room window - which is open - before anyone else is up, and it's in the mid-60s and slightly breezy -- YUMMY weather!  For the past week almost, it's been in the mid-90s and muggy, so this morning the change in the weather is definitely Autumn-ish -- even the breeze smells different!!!

This summer has flown by!  Partly because we've had the mildest summer here in NC since I moved here 11 years ago, partly because I haven't done a lick of gardening this year, partly because Brian has been home recovering this whole time, and I'm sure partly because of the grief I've been carrying around -- I haven't really "looked up" to notice anything going on in my life except whatever was right in front of me.... I've been living in the moment, you might say.

I'm feeling very reflective this morning, because it's the first morning without Brian sitting next to me in FOUR MONTHS -- it's his first day back to work since hurting his fingers.  And actually, I'm feeling really lonely for him.... *Sigh!*  I am not the kind of person who EVER gets bored or annoyed or tired of my husband being around, or any of my loved ones, for that matter, but especially my husband.  And I am SOOOO blessed by God to have Brian who feels the same way!  I know many couples look forward to, and enjoy, time away from eachother, and even men more than women, but not us!!  We've only been apart ONE night since we were married, and we were miserable! LOL

My family (especially my sisters....except for Karen!) thinks I'm crazy and a little annoying, and they always make fun of how Brian calls me every day from work on his breaks, or when he's home and runs to the store how he calls me when he gets there, or when he's on his way home!  They've said that would drive them crazy.....but not ME!!!  Hahaha -- I love it!!  I wait for all his calls when he's not home (even for only 15 minutes! LOL), and I actually carry the house phone around with me so I don't miss them! :-D

*SIGH!*  SOOOO, that's the long way of saying I'm a little lost this morning without my husband home!  It will be nice to get back to his normal income, though -- I have a very delicate thread of finances arranged for us, and this slightly broke that up, but I can get that all put back together properly in two pay-weeks, I think.

While Brian was home, he wasn't able to do any kind of house-projects until this past month, but *I* have been a PROLIFIC CREATOR since my friend Cheryl went to stay with her friend before she died.  I had been spending so much time with her and doing things for her, that when she didn't need me like that anymore, I had nothing to do!  Well, except THINK and WORRY, which I wanted to distract myself from, so I started making things.....LOTS of things!

So....I am going to show some pictures of my creations, but only the finished products -- NOT the step-by-step pictures (YET!).  I can post those another time, but I still want to dazzle you all with my new "OLD" creations!! haha! :-D

HERE THEY ARE.....

 This is one of my very first creations.....

I got the design from an old "The Country House" catalog -- this is probably around 7yrs old!  I never liked how it turned out, so it got buried in my boxes of STUFF.  When I found it a few months ago, I sanded it and waxed it with dark wax, and suddenly I really liked it!!  Now to find a place to hang it....! :-D

Here is something I've wanted to make for SO LONG, this is the original (from PINTEREST, of course!).....

Isn't it GREAT...?!!
So I made one.....

*Sigh!*  Again, not-so-great....! :-(
BUT, Brian pointed out that the original is actually made of resin, not wood, so it's made from a mold -- I could never duplicate THAT.  So I sanded it and waxed it with my dark wax again, and voila! ....I liked it!  This picture doesn't capture the depth of the wood grain that makes it look so nice, but you get the idea!

This small chest I looked at for months....I couldn't close the page! LOL.....

And here is MINE.....

I ordered the rusty hinges online, and the latch is from Lowes -- it was gold, but I spray painted it with rust-colored, then brown textured paints, and it looked PERFECT!!

Remember me talking about hollowing out my own log....?

Here's what I came up with -- it took ALOT of work!!  Brian cut out the insides for me, but trying to sand the ridges in it was VERY hard!  It's another creation that I'm not really happy with, but after my dark wax, it grew on me a little more.

THIS was a fun project.... BEFORE.....

....and AFTER.....

Some black and then  "stone" textured spray paint turned my little thrift store find into a stoneware crock!!! :-D
I'm SO happy with how this came out that I have several other things I'm going to make into "stoneware"!!!  I can't afford a REAL collection, so I have to settle for these! LOL

Here are two other thrift store gems that were transformed with paint....

I LOVE the table "riser"!  It looks so nice anywhere in my kitchen!!
The salt box isn't as bright as my flash made it, and I didn't get the wooden pegs I used instead of hinges for the top -- I love pegs now!! :-D

Here are my "Redware" plates.....

These were HARD for me to do!!!  I am NOT a good free-hand draw-er!  I had to re-paint the top one because I could not get that pattern right!  I have to either use a stencil (like in the middle picture), or draw the design lightly in pencil (like the last plate).  I still have to "distress" these -- I'll sand them and add some dark paint specks to them, and maybe wax them (I'm just loving that wax!! LOL).
I have a few more plates that are spray painted and waiting for their "slip" design, so I'll have a collection of FAUX redware when I'm done! :-D

And the former APP Forum members will remember this.....

And these.....

See the paper picture in the top pic...?  I'm going to make her next, I guess part of my "Home-making" series!! LOL  I can't help it, I LOVE those pictures of women working in their homes! :-)

This one is wonderful..... a FAVORITE!!
Here are the Pinterest pictures that inspired me.....

They are salt boxes!  I love this second one the best!!
Brian had been working on a lathe that we got him for Christmas - it was the one tool he could use when his fingers started healing! -- and he was making all kinds of "practice" bowls and things.

Well, without even SEEING these pictures, one of the pieces he turned was perfect, so all I needed to do was add a back, and a lid.

I LOVE IT!!! :-D
For the lid, I had him cut off the bottom of his little "box", and I attached it with little metal hooky-things I made myself (so they would look like the old wire hinges of the originals!).
SO FUN!!!!  Now I want him to make more! :-D

Here's a drawer box from Hobby Lobby that I modified.....

And a single drawer jewelry box from the thrift store that was ONE DOLLAR....

That's the top, and the holes are where a brass railing-type decoration was.  That had to be pried-out immediately! (it was so ugly!)
I filled in the holes with sawdust and wood glue mixed together, and found the perfect Pinterest pic to inspire me (it's bigger than mine, but I loved the knobs).....

....and VOILA....

I'm SO excited about my single-drawer piece!  It looks great on my shelf!! :-D

I LOVE love any kind of drawer chest!!!!  I'm obsessed with them!  So when I saw THIS at the thrift store for $2, I had to grab it.....

I wanted ring-pulls and a better color for it, so this is what I came up with....

MUCH better!!  *Sigh!* I LOVE little drawers...!!

This was a fun, easy project I found on -- can you guess? -- PINTEREST! Hahaha!!....

Mine are the bottom ones -- she used metal around the outside, but I used twine.  I like the look of it better!  I will also wax mine like she did, because I love the dirty look of her husks!!

THIS spoon rack was haunting my thoughts (haha!).....

I love her decorations in it!!!
Mine gave me a hard time -- I kept measuring wrong, and Brian finally had to rescue me!

I can't wait to put Christmas decorations in it!! :-D

Remember the candle stand....??  I FINALLY tackled rusting and gluing the tin pieces, so it's finished!
Here is the original....

Here is mine.....

Of course, I don't have candles in it, yet (I want to grunge some up for it!), and my flash made the color too bright, but in reality it looks JUST like it!
But.....now where do I put it....?? LOL

*******************************************
Getting sick of all my pictures yet??  I'm getting sick of loading them all onto Blogger!
Don't worry -- I'm almost done! ;-)
*******************************************

I LOVED this neat tiered tray.....

(LOVE that cutting board, too!!)
So I gathered the supplies from ebay -- funnel, fluted tin trays/"candle pans" -- and put them together and spray painted them....

PERFECT!!! :-D  Of course, it doesn't lean in real life.....I'm not sure what's going on with my careless picture taking lately! :-P

And I found THIS in a Country Sampler magazine....

See that neat cupboard tucked under her cabinets??  I couldn't stop myself from immediately measuring wood and drawing sizes to make it!
Brian had to help me again with a couple of things, but most of it was done by ME!! :-D

I LOVE it!!!  I'm trying to find a spot on my counter for it, but it could go anywhere, really!

And last, but not least..... I love this picture from the book "Seasons at Seven Gates Farm"....

*Sigh!*  Soooo beautiful!!!  And can you see what caught my eye....?  Not the very-cool green drawer chest (which I would LOVE, but it looks a little daunting to make!), but on the next shelf up, the VERY interesting chest-thingy??  Well, whatever it is, I love it....

Oh yeah, that's a MUST-HAVE!!! :-D
But I've been caught in the middle of it.....

I've got the knobs on now, but it still needs to be painted!  THEN I'll post a picture!! :-D

Of course, maybe everyone is sick and tired of looking at all these pictures by now!!! LOL

This post has taken me HOURS and two days to write!  I started on my daughter's laptop yesterday morning, just typing everything out, but I had to wait for that plug wire to finish with the pictures on my computer, which is what I just did.
PHEW!!  I really need to get up and move around! LOL

What these pictures don't show is that while I've been making lots of stuff, I haven't been doing much actual housework -- haha!!
And that's because it's BORING! blegh!!  :-D
*******************************************

Well, before I go, I want to finish up with trying to figure out what to do about having a new forum.  No one has really commented about a preference of WHERE, so let me ask again -- would anyone object to a Yahoo group???  I went in to ProBoards after my post about it (earlier this month, before my computer went dead), and it looks like their forums are free because they have ADS in them.  I know I wouldn't like that.  Yahoo groups are EASY and FREE, but they aren't fancy at all, just a list of posts.  There are places that you can put images into files for others to look at, but no avatars or backgrounds or categories for posts.
Would that be OK with everyone?

I don't want to go forward with this without knowing if anyone objects to it!  Or maybe someone knows another forum-site we could use?

Let me know in the comments, and I'll get on it.

I hope you enjoyed my picture-filled post!  I hope I didn't go overboard with it....I still have BUNCHES of things in my head that I want to build, but if I do, I'll try to space those out instead of springing them all on everyone at once!

Enjoy these early Fall days while they last -- I've heard it's supposed to get to 90 degrees this weekend, so summer's not over yet! ^-^