Baskets & Robots

I had a pile of baskets that needed to be stained and this past Saturday was beautiful! (I even got a sunburn on the back of my neck) I sat on the deck, finished up a couple of baskets and then stained several with boiled walnut stain. I use this stain on baskets that don't have color in them, more antique looking, prim baskets. All of the baskets that have colored rows in them are stained with my "secret" recipe stain, I mix a couple of different Minwax stains together to create a custom color.

My favorite one of the whole bunch is this 10" egg basket. This is stained with walnut dye. I love how the reed takes the dye differently, some areas are darker than others. Very Prim.
Our youngest had to make a Rummage Robot over the weekend. The halls at school are now over run with all sorts of robots. All the items used in the robot had to be recyclable materials. This back view shows the jet packs(Saline solution bottles) that Daniel had to include, all robots need jet packs!

Front view of "Flash", AA Batteries for his antennae, 9 volt for his ears and pop tabs for his teeth. We found a round plastic plate that we glued to his stomach and Daniel filled it with items that can be recycled; bits of newspaper, batteries, plastic. Not a prim project, but a fun one never the less.

Hope you are all having a good week. ~Ann

My "New" Dry Sink

This is my newest treasure! I actually bought it a year ago and moved it into the house in October '08. I am totally in love with this piece. The first several pictures are the before - Unfortunately this end was beyond repair and DH had to replace it completely. We have no idea why the holes were in the end.

Loved the warm red paint on the inside of the sink. The base of the sink part was also beyond saving, we had to replace that as well as the top part above the drawer.

This shot is pretty good to show you how dilapidated it really was. It leaned one way and was over an inch shorter on one end than the other. Do you see the patch on the far left side? It serves NO purpose, just a strip of wood nailed on with over a dozen nails. This makedo patch is my favorite part of the whole thing.

DH said the whole thing was a "pincushion" for nails, they were pounded in all over with no purpose. DH took the entire thing apart, we sanded what we could salvage and then coated it with a wood hardener.

I found this at a garage sale, debated, went on with my errands, stopped back and it was still there. Since it was in such bad shape, I called DH to see if he was up for a re-do, "go ahead and buy it" was the response. I still didn't buy it, but went home and picked him up to go back. I'm really surprised that we came home with it...when he saw it he told me he didn't realize it was THAT BAD!

I wanted to keep the mouse holes in the doors. You can see on the right door where we had to replace the frame, I need to figure out how to darken this up to make it match the rest of the front. I did replace the drawer pull, I didn't like the porcelain one that was on it when we bought it. It now has a wooden knob.

I covered the new end with a feed sack. Found this one at the Elkhorn Wisconsin Flea Market - if you've never been there and live anywhere near you need to go. The feed sack advertises a Wisconsin company (my sister lives in WI) and the feed sack was made in Toledo Ohio (I live in OH, an hour from Toledo). My ideas for decorating this were immediately squashed! Frito the cat decided that it was a perfect height to look out the front windows and spends almost every afternoon sunbathing in it. The kids make sure he's comfy - it always has at least one fleece throw in it for his comfort. Spoiled rotten cat!

Hope you enjoyed my re-do. ~Ann

Recycled Denim Throw

Good news! I'm back online with my fingers crossed until Friday when the permanent Internet line is put in. I still don't have a phone, but I have Internet - Yeah!





I put this throw together a couple of years ago and included it in my Procrastinators Challenge in January, but didn't finish it. Let me tell you a little about the throw and my inspiration. Our middle child, 1st boy, was extremely hard on the knees of his blue jeans. It was always the same story, first the right knee would blow out and then the left. When he was little he loved Thomas the Tank engine and has a ton of Thomas track/buildings/engines. He would spend hours playing on the living room floor with layouts that his Dad would design for him every night - he'd wake up to a new track most days compliments of Dad. I really think Dad had just as much fun as Matthew! DH would spend an hour on a complicated track layout, which I never understood, because Matthew would play with it as is for a while and then make "upgrades" to the layout. All that crawling around was hard on the knees! Whenever I would see another hole I always said a prayer of thanksgiving that I have healthy children who are able to put holes in their jeans. I digress, back to the throw...I cut squares from the jeans that I'd saved from when he was little, sewed them wrong sides together and then sewed the strips together. By sewing them together wrong sides together, the seams will fray in time and look more worn. I decided on a few of the squares to add embellishments - a back pocket, a knee patch with a hole

And a label from another pair. Some of the squares I cut so the leg seam is centered down the square, anything little to add a little "flair" to a boys' blanket.

On this photo you can see the back material - a navy blue flannel. I did not use any batting, with the flannel and the denim it is SO heavy. I thought it would be too hot with a batting, not to mention the weight of the thing. I had planned on putting it together one way and bought enough material to put an edging strip on the front and then sew it to the back, turn it right side out and tie with yarn. I waited until my Mom was here last weekend - do you ever run across a project where you need your Mom? I just needed to talk this over with someone else with sewing experience and wanted her here for moral support! We decided to forgo the border strip and I simply sewed the front to the back with the wrong sides together so the edge can fray like the squares. I did tie every other row with a cotton yarn that was variegated to match all the blues in the throw.

Thanks to Mom for her help, I finally have this item off the list of things to do. Now I'm just waiting for boy #2 to ask where his is!

~Ann

Isn't Technology Great?!

Since Thursday I have been without my Internet, cable and phone. All three are bundled with one carrier - maybe this is a mistake... My DH called the company Thursday night, they said they would send someone out Friday morning and that our line had a dead spot in it. Well that technician fixed everything!!!! Not. DH spent another hour on the phone with them Friday night, to no avail. All I have now is the cable guide listing - I can see what I'm missing on TV, still no phone or Internet.

I've come to the conclusion that I'm addicted to Blogging, I can't believe that I've missed so much and have to catch up. If I have to be addicted to something I guess this is a good thing! Hopefully by Friday our new carrier will have everything hooked up and I'll be back with all of you. Until then - take care. ~Ann

Jar Lid Pinkeeps & Play Dough

Thanks to Robin for the tutorial for the jar lid pinkeeps. I didn't have any zinc lids, but had saved some candle lids thinking that they would be good for something - someday. Another reason not to throw anything away! I used osnaburg for the black lid pinkeep and a dark brown/navy homespun for the rusty lid. My grandmother was a rug hooker and I found the perfect antique buttons from her stash to use. I have a large firkin full of buttons that she cut off wool clothing that she was going to use in her rugs. My sister and I always had a good time stringing the buttons when we were growing up and now we both use the buttons in our crafting. Everytime my sister is here she digs into the stash and takes what she wants. My sister makes the coolest button magnets using some antique buttons and some new buttons. I'm sure that Kack would be happy that all those buttons she saved are being used. Up close photo of the black lid - SWAN CREEK CANDLE CO. The perfect prim use - make do or do without. Will someone in 100 years appreciate the fact that I used a jar lid from a candle? One less thing in the landfill!

I want to share this recipe with you - for anyone that has small children, this is the best playdough recipe:

3 cups flour

1 1/2 cups salt

3 cups water

3 t. cream of tartar

4 T vegetable oil

Mix ingredients together in a stockpot. Heat on low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture "lumps" then turns into a dough consistency. Store in a plastic bag or air tight container.
Makes a nice large batch and it lasts a long time. I made a batch and sent with my kids to deliver to their cousins yesterday.

Speaking of recipes did anyone else try Char's Shoo Fly cake recipe? I made it over the weekend and it was wonderful. Tastes just like Shoo fly pie - yum! If you've never had Shoo Fly pie, it's an Amish recipe using only a few ingredients, molasses being the star of the show. When I make it again I will add 1 teaspoon of salt. Thanks Char.

~Ann

Cross Stitch Challenge

I finished my entry into Robby's Cross Stitch Challenge. I used both peacocks, but decided against the basket. I actually stitched it in and then ripped it out. As a nod to my love for anything Shaker, I added "Simple Gifts". I LOVE that song, my middle child plays it as a practice piece on his violin, love it! I added the year, 1742 since that is the year of the original sampler that we are basing the challenge on.

The frame is so happy! Can you hear it saying "finally out of the attic where I have been living for over 20 years". I bought it at an auction in either '86 or '87. My future MIL and I went to this auction and the frame is the only item I bought. I knew someday I'd find a use for it. I did brush a dark brown paint over the frame as the gold was not quite to my liking. I did try my piece with the mat that came with the frame, but decided against it, not primitive enough.

I'm very happy with how my entry turned out. Now I just have to find the right spot in the house to hang it.

My kids are going with my Mom to Milwaukee until Friday. They left this morning on Amtrak (the train was 3 hours late). My sister lives near Milwaukee so they will spend the week with them. I have a nephew who is 3 1/2 and a niece that is 2. With my three mixed in and a grandmother my sister should have a wild week! I'll be spending my week preparing to open the basket shop at Sauder Village, we open up on April 28th for the season. ~Ann

Punch Needle Bunny

Thank you to Betty for this cute pattern. I decided to punch needle the design, but left off the date - I have a hard time with dates and letters, I guess I need more practice. I did use all DMC floss for this design, but mixed a couple of different tans for the bunny to give him a more realistic look.



Live and learn, but next time I would use a lighter blue for the sky, it's pretty dark in "real" life. The photo makes it look lighter than it is. When done with the punching and tea staining, I stitched a homespun to the back and made it into a pillow. I did find the perfect home for the pillow, this little shelf is in the downstairs half bath.

I'm looking forward to the next week, we have spring break here, I have lots of projects in line to complete. ~Ann