Matchbook Sewing Kit Tutorial

This is another adorably easy creation from the Brag Monday entries on The Graphics Fairy blog submitted by Sue at Creative Try"Als.
If you need a quick and unique gift or little bonus to a customer's order, this would be perfect.

Here's the link to the tutorial:
Creative "Try"als: Matchbook Sewing Kit Tutorial
I'm off to make some!
Warm Regards,
Susan

Christmas In July At The Olde Country Cupboard

Sandy of The Olde Country Cupboard will be having her Christmas in July starting July 1st. See the sidebar for two examples of her wonderful patterns. She and her daughter Samantha, who has her own
blog and selling site, will be offering new e-patterns, oldies, tips and freebies, but you must be
a member to take advantage of some of her specials. So be sure to sign up to their blogs. Here is a
link:The Olde Country CupboardSee you there!
Warm Regards,
Susan

Late Saturday Nite & Another Rainy Sunday

Hi,everyone...I haven't been feeling well for the last 5 days. I'm sorry I haven't blogged before now. We're up very late (or very early depending on your perspective of time) watching Gunsmoke on Netflix. Did you know that show was on for twenty years?We're watching Season Eleven right now. I'm pretty sure we are addicted to this show. I watched this when I was a young girl. We didn't have a whole lot of shows back then to choose from and only in black and white (Ashley cringes when she hears me say that). I finally put some pictures on here. There were going to be more from the yard and family but they seem to be hiding somewhere right now. The blog is starting to look a little cluttered to me, I liked it when I first started and I'm not sure now. I'll play around with arrangements later when I feel better.
I need to get busy this upcoming week. Mr.Glen Oaks' mom Iris is coming to town for July 4th. After she
visits, my sister and her husband will be joining us later in mid-July. Then, Iris returns in August
to bring back Juan's son for a visit before school starts in New York at the end of the month. I don't expect to be able to take time to be in the workroom beyond this week, so this is it. And, I still don't feel well. This virus just lingers, and now it's making it's rotten way through the rest of the house.
We have to be careful of Mom because she's 85 and though she's a tough nut, she still doesn't need to be sick if we can help it. And with company coming, well you know how that goes. I'll just have to see how I feel day to day. Ashley is dropping by tonight. I hope she brings the Granddogs.
Warm Regards,
Susan

Redware pottery and slipware by Rick Hamelin of Pied Potter Hamelin

If you have an interest in American Redware or Slipware, please visit Rick Hamelin's website.
He also has upcoming program events throughout
Massachusetts. Click below:
Redware pottery and slipware by Rick Hamelin of Pied Potter Hamelin

New Offerings

Goodmorning...
On my right sidebar is a pic of a new e-pattern offering from one of my very favorite designers and crafter, Sandy from The Olde Country Cupboard. She creates delightful, whimsical dolls and I have
many of her e-patterns and her FREE e-patterns which you can find if you scroll down to almost the
bottom of her blog. Her patterns come with full color picture and very thorough, easy-to-follow
instructions. You can click on the image in the sidebar of the Prim Angel MakeDo to go to her
blog and see her pattern offerings.
I finallyhave the pictures I wanted of Ashley,her husband and "the Dogs". Bear with me while
I figure out how to get them on the blog and arranged to fit in the sidebars.
I'm going to work on this now. We're settled in the living room and watching movies on Netflix. If
you don't have Netflix, Get It!because it is the best deal I have ever discovered. There are
at least 100,000 movies, documentaries and TV shows that you can stream instantly to your television or computers. I don't even want cable anymore. So I'm blogging and Mr. Glen Oaks is perusing his wood-working catalogs. We have huge oak trees and there are a few that have to come down before a good storm takes them down on our little house. So he's excited about taking the trees down and keeping the wood to use for his furniture and small accessories. Ok, this movie looks really good so I'll be back later this morning...Warm Regards,Susan

Stormy Friday

Goodmorning!
It's about to pour buckets here in Western Mass. That's a frequent occurrence here in June. I found some great "old" patterns in my stash last night. Dolls, bears you name it, I have it. Some go back to 1993
when I was doing home parties with my friend Vanessa. She painted folk art primitive style and I did
dried flower wreaths and arrangements and dolls, snowmen, angels, santas. Do you remember the vacuum cleaner covers? I was laughing at some of the things that were "hot" in the eighties and nineties. I
remember candlewicking was popular. I did pillows and a marriage sampler. I have a floorcloth that I did in a class. Wow, the classes I went to. Tinpunching, basket weaving, pierced lampshades, painting and I can't remember anything else right now but I know there was more. Surprising to me was that I really didn't start making bears right away. I was a little intimidated I guess. I have the ones that I bought from 1989-on. I took a really cute bear into the birthing room I had when I has having Ashley. He was my "focal point" from Lamaze classes. It worked, too. Having her was really a breeze and I remember the midwife asking me "see you next year" and I told her "I'll be here". Unfortunately, I couldn't have any more children. But I could have birthed lots more babies! Anyway, I digress...
I said in an earlier post that I was uploading pictures to the blog. I haven't found the cord I need
and the memory chip is missing from the camera, otherwise I could just pop the clip in my laptop. I'm going to take pictures of some of the old bears, too. I have quite a few vintage composition Patsy dolls but they are all undressed except for one. I have some vintage baby clothes that I hope will fit at least 1 or 2 dolls. The dresses are the common white batiste type with exquisite sewing details. I'm really getting into the hand sewn needlework techniques. Google eBooks has tons of old needlework books that are all in the public domain. I love reading these books. They range in date from the late 1700's to the 1920's. After that, you take a chance that they are still copyrighted. I see lots of ideas and things to make. The instructions are very limited. They were written at a time when ladies knew how to sew and it is assumed that you know what to do. The terminology is sometimes
unknown in today's time. So I use Wikipedia and most of the time I find the word.
I've been concentrating on learning HTML and code so that I can do additions to my blog myself. I like it so much that I'm going to school online to learn web design.
Well, this is quite enough for today I think. I'll feed the birds and change their water, pick more peony blossoms (they have exploded on this plant) before it really rains. If I come across any good
items from other blogs, I'll post them here as I usually do when I think you might like them.
Warm Regards,
Susan

Another Great Technique For Inspiration

Here is yet another great tip from Deanna Rio from her blog It's Just Me.
Also,check out her June 15, 2011 post for a really pretty makeover on a
Butler's Tray table.Click the link below to go to "French Pizza Board".


It's Just Me: A Pottery Barn Inspired Pizza Board for $0.25

Hillcrest Home Prims: A GIVEAWAY!!!

Tricia at Hillcrest Home Prims is having a "surprise" giveaway. Click below for details.
Warm Regards,
Susan

Hillcrest Home Prims: A GIVEAWAY!!!

Rusty Rooster Vintage: Make it rusty paint technique

Here's the link to the rusting technique that I mentioned in the previous post:

Rusty Rooster Vintage: Make it rusty paint technique
Warm Regards,
Susan

Joggles Newsletter

The current Joggles Newsletter just arrived in my inbox.
It's full of new books, items and of course the Spring Into Summer sale is still going on with a
13% discount on your total order. They even carry the spray paint used in the rusting technique I posted a few days ago (see older posts). Just go to www.joggles.com.
Something for all crafters.
Have a great day.
Susan

Prim Nest: Primitive All American Kitty Doll

The Prim Nest is a great place to list and sell your goods. They advertise the new additions like this for you with a link to your for sale items. Check out the many talented artists of The Prim Nest.(Just a reminder: my blog is still "under construction").Click on Prim Nest link below my name.
Susan
Prim Nest: Primitive All American Kitty Doll

Nice Weekend

Hi,everyone...I haven't posted in a few days. I've been trying to get out of the house more. For those of you that don't know me yet, I have serious spinal issues. I've had four disc fusions and need another. As if that wasn't bad enough, I've had fibromyalgia and the operations for the last 18 years.
So my goal has been to get out and move around and start driving again. Anyone with back issues knows that the WORST place to be is in a car. But, I've become somewhat of a shut-in, only going out for
doctor appointments. And worst of all, no sewing or hobbies of any kind. That's just a sin not to be
in the workshop if you ask me. So I'm determined to stop sinning!
The temperatures dropped drastically since Friday. The ninety plus degree weather is over for now. It's 55 degrees right now, quite a difference. We got the quilts back out in the living room for when we
are watching television. My peony bush has bloomed. It's white with raspberry red streaks in the petals and the scent is incredible. Like a cross between lemon verbena and roses. Yummm... I have a blossom in a mason jar in the kitchen by the sink so that we can get a whiff when we're working in there.
I took pictures of the rhododendrons and the peony. I still have to get the family, dogs and flowers posted to the blog. Ashley is coming by tomorrow and she and I are going to transfer pictures from her laptop to mine so that I can do my uploading and posting this week. She took some gorgeous pictures on the Cape last weekend on her getaway.
Not much else to report from the weekend. We're wrapped up and watching old classics on Netflix.
Off to bed early so I can get some more work done in the shop tomorrow.
Warm Regards,
Susan

Citrasolv Transfers

This reply is to Margaret at The French Bear and anyone else interested in transferring images with Citrsolv:
Margaret, I just went to the website for them, you can click on their name CitraSolvFrom their home page click on the tab that says Artist's Gallery and you will find all of the
different mediums you can useCitraSolv with. I myself haven't tried it, but from the place I read
on someone's blog, I seem to remember them being very pleased with the results. I'm sorry I
haven't personally tried it myself to let you know how it is, but you could have some fun trying
it out.
Warm Regards,
Susan

ReCycle ReUse ReDesign: Honey Bee

Another Great Method For Transfer

This method uses Modge Podge which
is always a great, multi-purpose
product for so many things. This is
really great. Very similar to the
previous post I did tonight where
Liquitex from Michael's was used.
I'm going to try the Modge Podge
and I know I will use it more often
simply because I have an inkjet
printer and I won't have to pay
for a printed image (the other method
uses a laser image).
Click below to go there
Warm Regards, Susan
ReCycleReUseReDesign

Creative "Try"als: Image Transfer on a Can

I am crazy in love with this transfer method.
It couldn't be any easier and the results
are almost foolproof. The only thing it
probably won't work on is plastic but none
of us prim people use plastic anyway, right?
Click below to go to blog post tutorial or the link at the end of this post.
Warmest Regards, Susan
Creative "Try"als: Image Transfer on a Can

Gorgeous Day and Washer Woes

Goodmorning!

It's absolutely lovely here today in Western Massachusetts. The temp. is a
perfect 76 degrees with a slight breeze and none of our yuckky humidity for
a change. As I was having my morning coffee and reading my email my monthly
Joggles newsletter came. If you aren't familiar with this website store,
they have a HUGE plethera of everything for the doll maker and mixed media
artists. They have a new book on Handmade Dolls and another on how to make
dolls that are uniquely yours. Barbara is also having a Spring into Summer
sale of 13 percent off your order. There is no end date yet, it will be
going on for a while and she will give us ample time before the sale ends.Click
here Joggles
By the way, Bella Creations has FABULOUS groups to join for mixed media, ATC's, scrapbooking/tags, and tutorials on how to create and add to your blog.
I went yesterday to post a question to the group about clickable blog buttons.
Click BellaCreations
to join. Cathy and Heather are two of the warmest, nicest ladies you'll
want to meet. I'm off to Walmart later and then out to the workroom. I've
been spreading rumors that I've got to get
some things made and build an inventory to put on my blog and hopefully an
Etsy shop.
I'll be posting some pictures of my yard with our giant rhododendrons in
bloom. They just exploded this year. Our first spring and summer here was
last year and they fizzled. The house had been empty for over a year so
the poor things were neglected and lonely. We gave them all a boost of
MiracleGro and it burned them terribly. I thought, uh oh, there goes the
shrubbery. But, they amazed us this year. I'll also want to post pictures
of our angel cat and his nemesis our evil kitty. My daughter's dogs are
absolutely adorable. When you see one of the Boston Terrier's you'll
fall in love with him. His face is one of those, 'he's so ugly he's cute'
kind of faces (she doesn't appreciate it when I say that, so I hope she
doesn't read the blog today!). DH is in the basement (again, still) fixing
the washing machine. It probably didn't help that he threw the thing over on
the floor out of aggravation. He's a very quiet, calm man but this is getting
to him. It runs and something else breaks since last Thursday. We just
bought it Thursday and he struggled to lift the old one up and out and to
bring this one down by himself so he lost it a little. Hey, he's only human.
Warm Regards,
Susan

Nice Mother Daughter Day

Today my daughter Ashley stopped at my house on her way back from Cape Cod (she had to, she had to return my car that she borrowed!) and we talked all the way to her house about her weekend, her life, her school works. It was the first time in a long while that we had the chance to be together just the two of us. She has a fixer upper that we bought her and her husband and we are decorating Primitive style. My sweetheart laid the wide pine boards for them and stained them her color choice. It's sort of a golden brown. They came out beautiful. He used the square hand cut iron nails from Tremont Nail Company in Wareham, MA. She copied from our house in Plymouth where
she grew up. We are doing crown molding and chair railing like the Williamsburg style houses from the 1790's. The colors are going to be from Old Village Paint historical colors. So, lots to do and pick out and I'm so happy that she's "following in my footsteps" as far as decorating styles go. She's going to college and works 6 days a week. She's a go getter, my girl. I'm very proud of her.
Warmest Regards,
Susan

Débutant Blogs - Bella Creations

Hi, everyone...check out this great group
(one of several) for bloggers.
Débutant Blogs - Bella Creations

Vermont Harvest Folk Art by Doreen Frost

Vermont Harvest Folk Art by Doreen Frost

Between Naps on the Porch: Pottery Barn Office Renovation, The Journey: Welcome to the 124th Metamorphosis Monday!

Between Naps on the Porch: Pottery Barn Office Renovation, The Journey: Welcome to the 124th Metamorphosis Monday!

Miss Mustard Seed: Workshop Series

Miss Mustard Seed: Workshop Series

The Graphics Fairy - Crafts: Pretty French Paper Wrapped Soaps

Take a trip over to The Graphics Fairy to see these lovely French Label Soaps created by Jeanine from Okio B Designs!

The Graphics Fairy - Crafts: Pretty French Paper Wrapped Soaps

Mother Nature Isn't A Happy Woman

Well, we escaped the tornadoes yesterday. There was just a crazy microburst thunder and lightening storm like the typical ones we have here in Western Massachusetts. The wind was a little nasty, too but other than that, nothing out of the ordinary. Our poor neighbors in Springfield, Northhampton and Monson got the tornadoes. We actually had 3 touch down on the ground, making it the first time since I was born, I think. We haven't had the destruction like in the South and Midwest, but it's pretty bad for our towns, especially the little town of Monson. Most people here in Mass. haven't heard of Monson. What a terrible freak tragedy it was. The Emergency Management people and the Governor are all responding very quickly. It's just been a little over 24 hours since the touchdowns. If  you want to help they are asking for donations to the Red Cross of  just $10.00 and we are going to Springfield tomorrow to see if there's anything we can help with. The saddest tale is that of a mom that heard the tornado coming, she did what we were told to do and went into the bathroom with her daughter and had her lay down in the tub with her laying over her daughter. She saved her daughter's life but unfortunately she died protecting her child. That puts a lump in your throat and a pain in your heart listening to that story. It's so very sad and so typical of a mother's love and sense of protectiveness for her child. We consider ourselves fortunate and blessed that the storm cells passed around us here.
Warm Regards,
Susan