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Greetings

Greetings from Boston, Massachusetts Postcard
Hi, Primmies... I stitch reproduction antique samplers and dolls. I also have lots of great artists and their sites featured as well as tutorials and some recipes for you to enjoy. Eventually we will have our own items for sale. Until then I hope you will enjoy the content, please leave a comment on any post you wish to.

Thank you,
Susan


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December 31, 2011

No Matter How You Say It...


To my very dear blogging friends, you have all made me feel like dancing this year. You've been here with
words of praise and words of condolences and also
encouragement when I needed it. 
So even though we won't be out tonight, know that
I will be dancing in my heart from meeting all of you
in 2011.
Happy New Year to you and your loved ones,
Susan

December 30, 2011

A Look At Life In 1871 From A New England Woman

Hi, Primmies, it's Friday and tomorrow  is New Year's Eve. I feel like my household is very disorganized right now. I know it's because we have tried to make 5 rooms fit into 3, so I'm going to
break a rule and make a resolution. I don't make them because I
usually don't keep them. But for 2012 I'm going to have a more
relaxed view on things. I got a kick out of reading advice to young housekeepers setting up their homes for the first time. I thought
you'd like a glimpse of how Mrs. Mary H. Cornelius would advise
you regarding housekeeping. The excerpts below are from her writings in Young Housekeepers Friend revised in 1871 from her
Newton Centre,MA home:







At least the servants didn't have to cook on Sunday.
And I wonder how many homes employed domestic help in 1871. I always had the impression that only a privileged few had that luxury. 
I also got a little treat from Mr. Glen Oaks. He found a copy of the first American collection of 'receipts' for
five dollars on Amazon. It's reprinted as The First American Cookbook from the original American Cookery, 1796 by Amelia Simmons. This is reported to be the first cookbook written by an American and
published in the United States. Amelia Simmons wrote her book in the spring time of 1796 where she
lived in Hartford, Ct.
What's fascinating is that a lot of her receipts were
"borrowed" from English cookery books most notably a woman called Susannah Carter. Copying another's works was acceptable practice during this time period and even much later on. Ms. Simmons herself was
copied from even after filing for the first Federal copyright law of 1790. The book was welcomed also
because English did not use ingredients that Americans used. So Ms. Simmons set out to right a collection of receipts for making meals that she had
eaten all of her life in America.
I will be scanning some pages from my copy and include them in another post. They are such fun to
read and the nice thing is that this book includes a
glossary with the meanings of 18th century phrases
and measurements.
Enjoy your Friday afternoon,
Susan

December 29, 2011

Thursday Tip : (Faux) Blackened Wax Fruit Tutorial~Thrift Shop Bowl Makeover

Good Morning, Primmies -
I love the blackened beeswax ornies and bowl fillers but I'm not set up to work with melted wax. It's not that I wouldn't love to make my own candles and
tarts, but we just don't have a good place to work
that wouldn't ruin our teensie kitchen. 
So when I came across this tut I thought, "Great,
I can manage this". It might not appeal to the most
purist of primmies but I don't mind a shortcut or two.


Rhonda of It's A Kattywhompus Life very graciously allowed me
to post her method of making faux blackened wax fruit. Click the either of the links to go to her blog post. Rhonda started with the above thrift shop wax fruit:
It's a Kattywhompus Life: (Faux) Blackened Wax Fruit Tutorial~Thrift Shop Bowl Makeover:

And she ended with this very nice 'blackened wax' fruit. Ta Da!
Read her post for the very small list of supplies that you will need, how she did it and her bowl re-finish.
I hope you enjoy this.
Have a good morning, Prims -
Susan

'via Blog this'

Free Cross Stitch Charts


Hi, Again Primmies -
I found another source for free patterns. The Drawn Thread has a list at this link for free charts to cross stitch. I like
this chart for Valentine's Day, I know a lot of you are already
working on Valentine and Spring items.
There are lots more designs on the site. Click HERE for the free charts.
Take Care,
Susan

December 26, 2011

A Surprise From 'The Dogs'

Hi, Primmies -
I hope everyone had a beautiful day yesterday. 
If I hadn't read Karen's of My Colonial Home post
on Christmas eve I never would have known about
this fun website. If you haven't yet seen her 
Christmas eCard please watch it. It's so adorable.
So, I laughed and laughed and then went to the
site and made one for my daughter Ashley and
Tim from the dogs. Click the link below to see their dogs' Christmas card to "Mumma and Daddy"

Opie,Lily and Toki Sing Rockin Around The Christmas Tree

I've got to get myself in gear and start stitching.
I'll give you a hint, it's hand stitching, on linen,
with floss, can you guess?
'Nite, everyone -
Susan

December 23, 2011

A CHRISTMAS STORY


Dear Primmies,
I thought about what I wanted to write as a Christmas
letter to all of you, and I realized that I was not fully
into the spirit of the season. As I went thru my reading
list, I came to Jennifer's The Country Mouse blog and
she wrote to us about her Christmas memories growing
up as a child in Kentucky. Well, by the time I was
finished reading, I had the true spirit of Christmas in
my heart. 
I have had the most incredible 7 months due to my
discovery of blogs and then beginning my own blog.
I have met people from all over the United States and
the world. Some people don't comment, that's ok if
they just read along and learn about new places and
new things. Some people comment on every post, and
some of you and I have become friends. Many of you
expressed such caring and thoughtfulness when we
had our trees come down in October. Many of you
sent such kind and beautiful comments and emails
when my daughter Ashley lost her second baby. The
outpouring of genuine kindness brought me to tears
of happiness. Some of you still send your prayers and
continue to ask how she  is. I am humbled by your
thoughtfulness and my heart is filled with gratitude.
For anyone struggling this year with illness, physical
pain and limitations or emotional pain please read the
post below from Jennifer. If you are happy and feeling
blessed and pleased that you have done everything on
your list, please read it anyway. You can't feel too much
happiness, right? 
I am looking forward to reading along with all of you
on your journeys and continuing to write along with.
Merry Christmas, Primmies... 
As many of you can probably relate to living in a rural area things are not always readily available when you need them.Well 40 + years ago living in this small town things really were hard to come by for most folks.There were only small mom and pop type of grocery stores and no big department stores either. Our big department store was a small Ben Franklin that went out of business many years ago.My dad and mom were farmers,mainly tobacco and a smallish dairy farm.We, like a lot of the area grew up in a time when you grew  most of what you ate and I can remember momma making a lot of our clothes ,and thinking back I consider those the good old days.Christmas was always big at my house ,because through out the year there was not a lot of toys or gifts bought ,times were tough and it just did not happen .It was not that my family was poor but you just used your money for things that were more important .As a child I had all the necessities and  had plenty of toys don't get me wrong .We were a  happy family and always took joy out of the smaller things in life ... going on a picnic down by the creek ,playing ball out in the yard or on hot  summer evenings just sitting out in the yard on a quilt looking up at the stars listening to momma and daddy talking about their day. Oops ! I started to ramble to much, now getting back to those Christmas memories.... At Christmas we always had the same tree ...it was daddy and momma's first tree.Wow, is it ever special,the lights screw directly  into the end of the  branches and momma has lots of the antique German glass ornaments.They were paper thin when I was a tiny thing so you can imagine how fragile that they are today.That tree is still the family tree ,it gives me such a warm fuzzy feeling when it goes up for the holidays. It was an old tree when they bought it at a second hand store.

As those of you that grew tobacco know ,December is usually the month that you sell your crop if you are blessed to have had just the right conditions to get it processed for market.Well daddy  and momma usually managed to do just that and it meant  that they could give their kids a big Christmas  and that is what happened most years.They always managed to make our wishes come true,but it wasn't about the gifts it was about the winding down of all their hard work for the year and joy of sharing . Momma always cooked yummy things  and cleaned  the house till it was gleaming . When it came time for the tree to be trimmed, daddy would get the limbs straightened out and  the bubble lights burning, then mom and all of us kids would gently hang the ornaments. Just seeing a bubble light today brings a smile to my face.

As I said earlier there were not any big grocery stores ,so soon after Thanksgiving there would be vendors sitting up tables usually on main street selling holiday fruit ,candies and  such.My dad hardly ever went to town, he was content to stay at home and do his farming duties but at Christmas time  you just knew he would be going to town .He and momma would go shopping and oh  the treats they would bring home!One thing I can say about them ,they always treated us kids equally.They made sure that we each had a favorite  fruit or candy by the time that they came home. My parents always bought a car load of fruit and candy, not just for us but so that when people dropped by house  that they could send  fruit and candy home with them ,they always  shared what they had with others. I learned early on that Christmas was about giving not receiving.Our home was open to all at Christmas time.

Back when I was a child, Kentucky would get snow and lots of it, that doesn't seem to happen much these days.Some of my fondest  Christmas memories are of us all bundling up late in the evening and going for car rides to look at Christmas lights .There was just something magical about being in the back seat of a car,  with your brother and sisters on a cold winter's night watching for Christmas lights,squealing there are some..Daddy would dress our house and outside trees  up with all kinds of lights and momma took care of the inside.It was such a  special  feeling then and even now as I wander down memory lane.

There is a memory of one particular Christmas morning that has always stood out in my mind.It is of me (probably 5 years old) sitting in the doorway of the kitchen coloring .I had opened up a new coloring book and one of those big boxes of crayons and momma was cooking breakfast.I can still feel the warm feeling of love I had sitting there watching momma cook for all of us .I was happy as a lark ,with just my crayons and book.See folks it is the little things that matter.Momma's smile that Christmas morning still warms my heart today.

As a child, a favorite Christmas treat was to have an orange fixed momma's special way.She would make a hole in the top of an orange with a knife and insert a stick of candy ,you know the old time sugar cane sticks, and we would use it like a straw to suck the orange juice from the orange. A triple treat in one ,a sweet stick of candy ,slurped orange juice and then the yummy orange. Looking back I wonder if she did that so that we wouldn't be so messy while peeling the orange.LOL! Can't say I would blame her with four kids in the house.

Christmas day was a day spent with the family at home.We would be up early, have breakfast ,open our gifts and always have a wrapping paper fight till we just about giggled out. Cleaning up the mess was never as much fun as making it.LOL! By the time we had that done momma would have our Christmas dinner ready, we all loved chicken and dumplings so you knew that along with the turkey and fixen's  there was going to a big  old pot of dumplings.I  can still see daddy standing at the stove stirring the pot for momma.

To me this is what Christmas is about... the loving  memories that families make together and the true reason... Jesus.It is not about driving yourself crazy to buy that one perfect gift or worrying yourself silly that someone is not going to like what you have bought.Don't misunderstand,Christmas is about being generous,caring and wanting to bring others happiness too but you don't have to spend money to do it.How about a homemade Christmas gift ,giving a hug, visiting someone that is house bound , and yes even a simple smile can make someone's life a lot brighter.I am not a scrooge and don't have a problem with gift giving ,in fact I love to do it but Christmas should not be such a stress on people.It has become far to commercialized in my eyes and thus a lot of people have lost that special Christmas joy.So I have said all  that to say this ...let's enjoy the day for what it is really about ..our family , friends and Jesus!My family is missing one of it's key elements with Daddy being gone but I know that with my memories he is still enjoying the day with us.

To all my blogging friends ,I wish you the Merriest of Christmas's ! If you are traveling to be with family I pray that you have a safe and happy journey!Thanks for wandering down my lane of Christmas memories with me. God Bless You All! Hugs,Jen
 Thank you, Jen for allowing me to reprint this lovely story.

December 22, 2011

Samantha's Accessories Is Having A New Year's Giveaway

Hello, Primmies!
How is everyone doing this afternoon? Hey, I'm posting during the Bold & The Beautiful. She how much I love you all?

Samantha of Samantha's Accessories blog is having a giveaway
for New Year's. You have until December 31st at midnight to
enter. Please go to her blog HERE to sign up and see how many extra chances you can get. Here's what she's giving away to 3 winners (and maybe a 4th winner!):


The first prize is the 1st photo and 2nd photos, a basket of lollipop tart melts and room spray.
Next is one of her fabulous aprons in Country Pear. Adult apron that is one-size-fits-all.
3. A bunch of 2 oz. tart melts. All bakery type scents. And I can tell you that her tarts are yummalicious and fill the entire room with awesome scent. I have some!
So head over when you have time to sit and stay today in
your very busy day. Oh, I didn't mean to do a rhyme, just wanted you to take some 'me' time and do you favorite thing, BLOG of course!
Merry, Merry Christmas All,

Susan

December 21, 2011

Bloggers' Crafting Goodies

Hello Again,
I just have a couple of photos today. Ashley will be back in a few days and I can ask her if we took all
the pictures or if she just missed a couple over the
emailing.
The first one is (and you can tell I took it) from
Brenda at The Rusty Thimble. It's one of her Santa
Make-Dos that she posted earlier in the month on
Etsy:
Great, I cut off his hat. Here's Brenda's photo (much better). He is mounted on a vintage beehive bobbin and his wool Christmas tree has a big rusty star tree
topper. He's got rusty bells on his coat and the tip of his hat. This is Brenda's photo of the Snowman makedo that I purchased. He's (she?) has a big rusty bell on the end of it's green wool army blanket hat.
When I received the snowman in the mail, the box and the makedo is covered with all of this wonderful sparkly mica. It's so pretty in person.


Here's my photo on the mantel (I don't know why I
subject you to this terrible photography):


 P1012730.JPG
The rest of the pictures are going to be from Brenda's
Etsy Shop.
These are ornaments I bought for Ashley and Tim's Christmas tree:
                         Santa in Wool Stocking Ornament
Our Santa has a red wool cap but otherwise he is like this one. His beard is curly sheep's wool.
                         Santa Head Ornament
A Santa head ornament with tea stained face and wool hat and sheep's wool beard.
                         Primitive Santa Ornament, tuck, bowl filler
A prim black Santa Ornie with white button eyes,
a red painted hood and coat trimmed in faux fur.
He has a pinch-stitched nose and flax beard and
rusty bell on the tip of his hood and a jute rope belt with tiny pine cones on the ends of the belt.
This next photo is also Brenda's from her Etsy Shop.
 Snowhead Ornament
My ornie is not quite like this one. I have a green
polka dot print with a dotted ruff but mine also
has a bow under his ruff made from white tape
measure ribbon with green numbers. It's adorable.
Thanks for the photos, Brenda.
I had sent Sheila of Seasons of Thy Heart blog some
bittersweet for autumn since it reminds her of her
time lived in New England. She graciously sent me
this in return (I know I got the better deal!):
Sheila is known for her trademark "rusty can" florals and she has a process for doing the rust and then
applying the 'vintage' labels with a special layer over that (I don't know how she does it but they are awesome!). Here's a close-up of the can:
See the little strip of homespun tied around the lip of the can? It had an awesome special prim tag with it
but Nana Glen Oaks said she remembered doing
'something' with it but what that is she doesn't know
(ok, she gets a pass for being almost 86). I'm still
peeved tho. It was very pretty.
I'm going to close up for now. I hate to say it but I'm
fighting off another cold.  Just going to make supper
clean up the kitchen and get into my chair and watch
TCM if it's a good nite, otherwise it'll be Netflix.
Mr. Glen Oaks finished the rear shocks and replaced a shackle on the right rear. He came in soaked to the
skin and shivering. Poor bubba, he ate bacon, eggs and English muffins and is doing his office work now.
He's so easy to please.
Stay Prim, girls
Susan
    Thank you TheGraphicsFairy for the vintage image



I DIDN'T FORGET...

Hello, Primmies,
I didn't forget about posting the rest of my photos today.
They are going to be of some treats from two bloggers
that I'm in frequent contact with. The treats are going to
be Christmas gifts. And, I'm done! The only gifts I had to
go  out for were for the two boys (stepson and my SIL's 
boy Tyler).
Forgive me, but The Young and the Restless is on and
then B&B. If you remember me mentioning it, I've watched
these shows forever. I know, silly but I have my vice and
the soaps are it!
So I'll be back a little later...
p.s. thanks for understanding!

I BORROWED A CHUCKLE

Good Mornin', Primmies,
I was laughing my head off last night when I went to
Vicky's Art blog. Vicky very kindly let me post this on
my blog for those of you that didn't see it already. Also,
it reminded me not to take holiday preparations too
seriously. We should be having fun!







December 20, 2011

My Online Christmas Shopping Adventures

Primmies, it was a fun couple of weeks while it lasted. I
decided to get my gifts this year from my blogging world.
My sister was born in Charleston, SC and she's a true
Southern gal. No matter where she lived her heart was
always in South Carolina. She's back there now and what
a gorgeous house she and hubby bought. Nana Glen Oaks
is living with them now. She missed my sister terribly and
we had many years together. Now she will enjoy the rest
of her time with us with her oldest baby. I got off track,
sorry. So this is a gift for my sister that I thought she'd love.
She's in the Daughters of the Confederacy so this is perfect:
This is the "Civil War Journal" by Jean of Primcrafts. The journal jacket is just like a leather well-worn journal that a soldier would have kept on him. There is a letter on 
parchment by "Abigail" to her beloved. Inside are more parchment pages antiqued to look like very old paper.
There is a real feather quill pen tucked inside the top.
It can't be described to do it justice. When you hold it you
feel like you really have a piece of history in your hands.
I love it Jean. You did a fantastic job.
Tomorrow I will post some more photos of work by our
favorite blogger artists. It will include a floral from
Sheila at Seasons Of Thy Heart. Be sure to see her new
offerings for the season  at her selling blog Country Impressions. And I also shopped for my Ashley with
Brenda at The Rusty Thimble.
I have to close now. I've posted my little prim heart out
today and read the blog updates and I'm pooped. Just
cleaned up the kitchen from dinner and I'm dragging
myself to the shower. I was in the rubble of my craft room
digging and looking for things and it hurt my back and
neck. So I'll stop for the day on a happy note.
Stay warm (or cool if you are South of me),
Susan

GINGERBREAD HOUSES ANYONE? AND THESE AREN'T YOUR AVERAGE GINGERBREAD HOUSES!

Ok, Primmies, for anyone out there that loves gingerbread houses like I do, this post is for you. Every single year since
I can remember, Nana Glen Oaks has made gingerbread houses. I got my own for years. Sadly, it stopped when I left
home (guess I was too grown up Mom figured). Then, woohoo! when Ashley was born they started being made every year at Christmas all over again. So you can see why they are special to me, besides the fact that they are doggone good to eat. I could never bring myself to eat mine, but Ashley never felt that way!
Here are some photos of gingerbread houses made by various people. You can find everything gingerbread houses by clicking the link at GINGERBREAD HOUSE HEAVEN
They offer templates for those of you that are challenged in
the  kitchen like me. They are for sale but they also offer some FREE TEMPLATES HERE. You can get lots of ideas
on decorating them and places to get your supplies, I think
that you can get pretty much everything at your local stores.
Enjoy the post, it's picture heavy:
                                                Photo copyright Gingerbread House Heaven
                                                Photo copyright Gingerbread House Heaven
                                                 Photo copyright Gingerbread House Heaven

Photo Copyright Gingerbread House Heaven

                     Photo copyright Colette Peters and EdibleArt


                            Photo copyright EdibleArt


                              Photo copyright EdibleArt
I hope you enjoyed these ideas. Gingerbread houses can be as simple or as elaborate as you can imagine. I personally like the little gingerbread houses Mom always made. The roof was a little sagging and the walls were a little uneven
some years but they were full of love. And that's the best
kind of house you can make.
Merry Christmas,
Susan

Some Pictures Of My Giveaway Wins

Merry Almost Christmas, Primmies:
I have some catching up to do in the posting of giveaway pictures. I had to use the artists' photos to do the posts
of when I won (shame on me) but my camera stinks any-
way so it didn't really matter that it's gone to Kodak heaven.


I'm going back in order so here's my win from Margie at
Hungry Hook Primitives:
My win from Steph at Front Porch Primitives:
She sent me an extra two gifts:
This candle says Santa's Cider and smells wonderful. The tag reads Joy and has little acorns. Thanks so much, Steph!
She also sent me Peppermint Patties in a bag with a beautiful vintage image of Santa on the cover of Chatterbox,
a children's book from the 1800's.
Now,  for those of you that don't believe how awful of a picture taker I am even with a GOOD camera, here's Steph's picture of the giveaway:
My poor Ashley has inherited her mother's  picture taking
abilities. We don't know how to "set up" a good shoot. Oh well, something to learn next year ...
Here's Virginia, from Danice at Homespun Hannah's blog:

Her apron says Gingerbreadblessings.
Thank you to all of my wonderful blog friends for hostessing these giveaways. I love all of my things.
Just spending the rest of the day running to Hannaford's to get a roast of beef and a spiral ham before they are all gone.

Mr. Glen Oaks' son wants ham and my SIL Timmy doesn't like pork, thus the two. I'm glad, though, I haven't made a roast at Christmas since years and years ago. 
Mr. Glen Oaks is outside freezing his cute butt off installing
shocks on the Explorer. The poor guy can't seem to get away from working on our vehicles. He just came in for a kiss and
a chicken salad sandwich. I'm pretty sure the sandwich was
first on his priority list!
Merry Christmas,
Susan

December 19, 2011

A CUTE MOUSE IN SANTA HAT FOR YOU TO MAKE

Good Mornin' Primmies,
There's the cutest & easiest Christ-mouse In Santa Hat
pattern and tutorial offered as a freebie at The Primitive Pantry blog. Lynne has also made some cute prim tags for us to use. Click the link below to go to the post of the tutorial and the patterns & tags:


♥ The Primitive Pantry ♥: Christ-Mouse Pattern and Tutorial:

I hope some of you have the opportunity to make this
cutie if not for this year, you'll have it for next Christmas.
I need to set aside today for wrapping gifts. My sister and
mother will get their gifts after Christmas, it's all good
because my presents are wrapped but packed somewhere;
big sis hasn't unpacked all of her boxes from the move they
just made from Indiana to South Carolina. We laughed
yesterday on the phone about it. We're both kind of un-
prepared this year because of our houses being in various
stages of disarray. And I've got to find somewhere for
Mr. Glen Oaks Jr. to sleep. He's coming the day after
Christmas so we aren't going on our getaway. At least not this weekend. We have re-arranged things for after he
leaves on Jan. 1st. Oooh, that sounds scary and I don't know why. Where are the years going? It's the best time of my life and it's flying by. Whew, I look at our kids and
they are SO big and grown up. 
I'm thinking that 2012 is going to be a wonderful year for us. I hope you all are excited about the New Year.
Have a great morning,
Susan
'via Blog this'

December 18, 2011

Lots Of Primitive Christmas Eye Candy-A Peak Inside Primitive Christmas Homes

Primmies, if  you want to see some beautiful primitive homes and Christmas vignettes and decorating, click on the
LINK to A Simpler Time blog with Lynne.  She's on the staff
of The Primitive Pantry. On her blog she has lots of prim
tutorials. There are some beautiful photos on her post today.
                                                  Photo Copyright Lynne A Simpler Time
 
                       Photo Copyright Lynne A Simpler Time
If you click on her link you can see more lovely prim photos of rooms decorated for Christmas. 
If you go to The Primitive Pantry and navigate the side bar menu you can see members' homes decorated for Christmas.
Here's the direct  LINK to TPP Members' Christmas Homes photos. to the December 11th post of TPP Members' Homes.  There are more pages of photos if you look on the right sidebar for the posts. The first link I gave you takes you to the main page of The Primitive Pantry blog with some tutorials for Christmas. The photos start toward the bottom of the post and there are more in previous posts.
                                      Photo Copyright The Primitive Pantry Members' Homes
                                       Photo Copyright The Primitive Pantry Members' Homes
                                      Photo Copyright The Primitive Pantry Members' Homes  
                                       Photo Copyright The Primitive Pantry Members' Homes


Their online ezine/magazine is available now and Lynne says it features Christmas homes and more. The download link to the online magazine is HERE.
There are also archives to other previous issues.                        All I can say is, "Oooooh, I'm more in love with prim than ever...
Merry Christmas,
Susan
                              
                                  free vintage image vintagerio.com

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