On to a new season....let's try rug hooking again ...

Hey...I started another rug, it is actually a doodle from my Blessed Christmas Thyme booklet, but I changed the "Oh Holy Night " and added a date, and decided to do grass instead of snow...I've wanted to have a Church rug for myself, so this is for my home...there will be more color in it once I get to the sides and the grass...there is a pine tree on the other side of the Church also...

As you can see I have changed my background on my blog to Valentines, in preparation for a new season of crafting, designing. Christmas came and went so fast for me...I was so very busy with Family and Baking, but I really did enjoy it !
I never did get much further on the snowman rug I started. There was so much to do the last few weeks , I seriously couldn't have squeezed one more thing into the mix. I decided to take the snowman off the frame, fold it up and put him away till next Fall....Maybe then I can finish him before Christmas...lol
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We finally got some beautiful snow right before Christmas ( I had so wished we had gotten it weeks earlier )...I have a feeling it isn't going anywhere anytime too soon. It has snowed almost everyday since Christmas Day, it is snowing now, and calling for more snow for the next few days...Bring it on !!!
I snapped a quick photo looking out my old, rescued little window. My oldest , Ryan, put in for me when we moved in here..It is a little wooden 6 pane......I love it and it is on the small entry way wall .....
                 ( Notice the snowflake clings ?? I was prepared in case we didn't get snow, and I could pretend when I look at the window....lol..guess I didn't need them.. :) 

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When I began my rug, I wasn't sure about some of the wools I had for backgrounds ( those pieces not in the pic)and my golds, so I ended up pulling out my dye pot and "marrying" some of the pieces...they look much better...didn't get before pics, sorry.

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I wasn't on top of things , as far as my Christmas preparation goes, and forgot to buy Christmas cards. I was only sending out a few, so I had decided to make my own, I used a cropped photo of the painting I did of my Father Christmas doodle, burned the edges, and added a printed off edge.

Inside, I added a personalized greeting in a Christmas-y font, burned the edges and glued it on.

The recipients liked them, so I was pleased.

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I missed wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas, but I can offer you a blessing for the New Year ...May you all not only be blessed with God's love and grace, but be content in all of His wonderful provision !

Robin

Started to hook a snowman and a little Christmas around my "new' home.....

Hello all my lovely peoples ! I sure have become scarse of late... Busy as usual with the usual busy-ness.....lol.


I started to hook a snowman from one of last years designs... Having a little trouble quieting my brain long enough to come up with new designs...this house has a way of invading my creativity ...so much work to do still...but enjoying that aspect of my busy ness also....
If you look closely you can see I reverse hooked a small section on the lower left..I strted using a more white white and didnt like it, so I am using a more greyish, light tan and will just use a darker background...

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I finally finished decorating last weekend ( for the most part, we all do some tweaking afterwards...lol)
So here are some simple pics of the little bit I got done...pretty basic....

Forgot to get a pic of my tree.....maybe I will edit and add it....
night all !
Robin

Wanted to share this...

My mother was an artist..she loved Currier and Ives... .I used to sit and watch her sketch at her easel, then mix her paints to just the desired shades and work her magic with her brushes and oil paints.
    In school, Art Class  was my nemesis... I HATED art.... I hardly made an effort and when I did, it was really pathetic. But, sitting there watching my mother make a blank canvas become art, I was mesmerized.
 My Mother passed away when I was 15 years old, after 2 years of hospitalization, with a short stay at home, during which I was responsible to help my Father care for her, while she was on the waiting list for a county run Nursing home.
She was 36 years old and when she had her first major stroke that left her in a coma for weeks. When she did become concious, she was completely paralyzed on the right side, and could not speak at all...
She had to learn to use her left hand for communicating on a board with letter stickers on it, and point to each letter to spell out each individual word....Her mind was sharp as a tack, as many times, noone could keep up with her and we would have to ask her to please slow down, which would make her smile .
One of her biggest frustrations, was not being able to even write her own name legibly, let alone create any art ..... She began to have many strokes in succession and it was determined that she could no longer be rehabilitated, and so the search was on for a Nursing Home where she would be placed until she died....

My younger sister was only 7 when my Mom died, and I cared for her for the 2 years my Mom was hospitalized, until my Mother passed away...My Dad remarried shortly after that, and my Step mother was a sweet lady, allthough you can imagine the grief I gave her just because I was still greiving for my mother , and noone was going to take her place !!!
One day, while my sister was helping my Dad organize his basement( has was since divorced from my step mom), she came across this painting...My Father didn't even remember it being put down there.....
Of course they both knew I would want this for myself, as I was the one who was my Mom's shadow as she created her paintings... My Mom, at age 13 had contracted strep throat,...it wasn't treated properly and then led to Scarlet Fever that in turn had damaged the Mitral Valve in her heart. As an adult she had many closed and then open heart surgeries and was one of the first people to ever receive an artificial valve, which at the time was created by the DOW company...It had the non-stick surface invented by Dow, to prevent the valve from scar tissue building up on it......Teflon ....
A short film was made of my mother's last open heart surgery, in which the artifial valve was inserted.
.......
This painting was created while my Mom recuperated from her surgery...She had an old calendar with Currier and Ives paintings for each month, and this is the one she sketched out and painted....
I remember her not feeling well at the time, she was weak and tired, but happy to be sitting in her home, at her easel with her shadow ( me) at her side ....
I've had the painting put away. Why I've never framed  and hung it, I don't know for sure, but I think maybe by doing that, it would take away from it's " Specialness "...( is that a word ???...lol) It would begin to just be another piece of decor in my home, like all the other things on my walls , instead of the labor of love that it really was at the time.
 I would never , EVER have imagined myself doing anything REMOTELY related to any type of art in any medium..... funny....I never even began designing and creating dolls till I had Grandchildren..
Now my Grandsons sit and watch me do my humble drawings and  needle works , and it reminds me of when I sat and watched my Mom...
Bless You All,
Robin

Better Late....New Folk Art Painting on PHM

Hello folks !! Here is my new Folk Art Painting using the PHM Freebie Newsletter Doodle.

I struggle till late  Thursday night( or should I say early Friday Morning) to get a decent picture ...Bad inside lighting and not great camers, plus I am a horrible photographer..
Busy day yesterday so didn't get good pics ( plus I used up my battery on my camera and had to charge )...Well got decent pick last night, but decided to get a better picture in DAYLIGHT...Much Better !! Here is a close up:

The painting is curently up for sale on my page at Primitive Handmades Mercantile Here.
Have a Great weekend !!
Robin

Primitive Handmades Mercantile Update and a Contest you won't want to miss !!!!

Just a little bit of inspiration for Christmas.... this was looking out my sunroom door Tuesday morning...

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I've been absent now for awhile....Busy as can be, but once again it is PHM Update Time  @ Midnight......Now , you've got to get over and sign up for the Monthly newsletter if you haven't allready !!
This months contest is actually a drawing for a $75 Gift Certificate to spend on any goods by any of the artists .... The drawing will be at Noon on Black Friday ( Nov. 23) .... You've got time, but don't be a procrastinator like me, or you might forget.
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One more thing ...this month , the Freebie Doodle that I drew for the Newsletter, was Emailed out a while ago to all of the artists in the group...The challenge was to use the doodle in any form, and use as one of the updated items for sale on their page...I'm not sure how many have done it, but I'm excited to see everyone's creation !!!
                           

Punching, a pup and peanut butter .....

I've been working here and there , punching up my reindeer Freebie Doodle. I also decided to save time and a little bit of weaver's cloth, and I traced a design from my " Blessed Christmas Thyme " Doodle Booklet from last year ( available on my sidebar) ----->
I am always amazed at how different the backside looks from the front...it actually looks much nicer until you start to get some background filled in....

As usual, I have my fur baby buddy either on her chair behind me, or right down by my feet...gosh I just love this pooch soooo much !!!

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I made something on a whim today, and I think it turned out so well, I may enter the actual recipe ( my own concoction ) in some recipe contests online...Hey you never know...And...there are plenty out there and prizes of cash or goodies to be won !!!

I call these sweet treats ..." Salty Sweet White Chocolate Peanut Butter No Bakes"....lol

I may need to shorten the name, but I just want so bad to make sure all of the goodness in them is right in the name !!!... :)

Hope everyone gets lots of cute Trick or Treaters tonight...I love seeing all the different costumes...

I will have to post pics of my Grandkids dressed up....

Hugs,

Robin

Christmas FREEBIE Doodle and look what we got stuck doing today!!!!

Ta Da !!! My first FREEBIE doodle for
Christmas ! I have it on the sidebar with red as the border color...Just changed it , but it didn't fill in right...oh well.....
Here is the plain line drawing :

Remember as always....feel free to use for stitchery, wool applique , punch needle or rug hooking...all I ask is that you give credit to me as the designer in your descriptions....Thank you much !!

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As most of you know, Hurricane Sandy is making her way up the East coast...I live in NW Pa. but we will be getting  some nasty weather related to Sandy in the next day or so...It has already been raining non stop since yesterday, even though it hasn't downpoured yet, but steady nevertheless.

Well...our backyard is graded soooo wrong !! When we moved in here first of all it was a jungle all the way around the house..A friend came in with a back hoe and pulled all the growth away from the house.The basement dried up so nice and we scrubbed it and it actually smelled good !...We had wanted to have him come back and re-grade the yard, but so many other things took precedence...

we ended up with a waterfall coming in the cellar wall in the back of the housebecause the grade in the lawn is on a downward slope right to the back of the house...part of the reason the house was so mildewy and moldy when we first started making it livable, but, we didn't get any torrential  or at least steady rains...till now !!!

Here are some pics of what we did today, as a temporary fix, and hoping to avoid bigger problems when the rains and winds get even worse tomorrow and Tuesday...

I didn't take a pic of myself...I looked like a big orange polar all dressed up warm and dry in 3 shirts, orange rain jacket, 2 pair of pants, 2 pairs of socks and hubby's boots....lol..and yes, I actually did SHOVEL and PICK some of these little ditches...love that kind of exercise in the cold weather...I don't even mind getting wet, I only hate the heat....but give me cold air, I'm out there in it !!

Here is Handsome Hubby

Look how wet and muddy back there ...

Here is right off the back sunroom doors....Wow...so much work to do in the spring...a patio, walkway ...etc etc....

PVC pipe sticking up out of the ground is where we had to dig the well cap up when we moved in to treat the well water with chlorine...and a filtration system in the basement on the well pump...

We had to divert the water from the gutter temporarily, into the ditch we dug....
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Just imagine this with a falling down HUGE Greenhouse filled to the top ( about 15 ft. high) with JUNK and trash ( remember I said the folks who lived here were hoarders..)
The overgrowth was horrible, there were plants and trees and weeds and BAMBOO , growing everywhere..AND trash and junk and more trash and junk, all the way back as far as you can see here to the edge of the woods on all sides...yup, we cleaned all of it up !!! More landscaping to come in the spring of course. Oh and I got to bring my little shed from the old place here ( the place where we purchased it moved it here for us at a discount )...

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                         ( this is the freebie , mirrored , traced on weaver's cloth and on the hoop )

So, that was my day, and now, it's time for hot bath, jammies and start working on my freebie doodle...I'm doing up a punch needle piece...I don't have enough ink to print it out enlarged enough to do a hooked rug..

Have a good sunday evening everyone !

Robin

New Punch Needle Pattern...gifts in the mail and busy hands....

I have finally finished the pattern for this punch needle ...It has only taken me since June....lol
If you are interested in buying the pattern just go to PatternMart Here ...or if you would like to purchase the finished item, it is up for sale on Primitive Handmades Mercantile Here ....
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I received the most awesome gift in the mail the other day !! After posting the picture of the box with sections that I found in the basement here and cleaned up and painted, I got a lovely email from a sweet lady named Myra...She said she had been following my blog forever...Well, she had moved into a new home , and she had never put out her tin cookie cutters and cut out for dispaly, and said she had no need for them...she asked if I would like them, to fill up my box...Well yessssss Maam , I certainly would !!!....lol
she sent them out lickety split, and when I opened the box, I was so thrilled with all the tin goodness !!!

                                                         Thank you so much Myra....!!!
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Well, I've been keeping myself busy here and there...Remember the Black Walnuts ?? I made 2 huge bottle of walnut ink from the first batch and used the nuts for some Banana Bread..
Hubby boss gave him MORE... I sat and cracked open nuts for 4 hours last night and this is all I got:

Black walnuts are really hard to get into...The Shells are amazingly strong !! and, the way the meat grows inside is not exactly like regular english Walnuts... There are alot more little spaces and it is really difficult to get the actual nut out without breaking it in small pieces..
they taste a little different than english walnuts, but are so yummy and super dee duperty good for you !!!
My goal is to get enough nuts to use in my Christmas baking, so that I pnly need to buy half the amount of english walnuts than usual...things are tight, prices are outrageous and I bake a TON of cookies that call for nuts ...I have a large family and they DEMAND MOM to bake the usual cookies every year...they usually help out with the supplies too, though...but, nevertheless, I have a goal to reach !....lol
                             Here is the tool of torture I use to extract the little rascals..Oh, and I now know why some places charge $13.99 lb. for shelled Black Walnuts !!!

Hugs and have fun, creative, productive weekend !!
Robin

Primitive Handmades Mercantile Update and long post ....

Well, hidee , ho good neighbor !! Surprise , surprise !! I added items to the update on Primitive Handmades Mercantile this month !!! Wowsa....I surprised myself !! I did just get the final item on today, though...
Here is another item up for sale.....

Please go take a peek at my items and don't forget to browse all of the other super Artists goods up for sale !!
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I haven't managed to decorate the inside of my home for Fall yet, but I did just finish adding all of my pictures and shelves etc. from moving in...so I would like to put a few things out for Thanksgiving at least, maybe this weekend....but for now, here are a few pics of my living room :

**Notice my Granson Keegan's playpen...Yup, after 36 years of marriage and raising my own kids, just can't get away from Baby items as part of my decor !!!...lol **

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I've been so blessed with my new home, and have found some really super cool old, interesting or antiquey items around here to re-do and make my own...here is an old divided box that was found in a section of the basement all yucky and moldy ( we did super cleaning out of  the basement including bleaching, spraying etc etc )

I scrubbed it up, painted, sanded and stained it...I'm hoping to aquire more antique cookie cutters to add to it...:)

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I also wanted to show you the really awesome OLDDDD antique medicine bottle my sweet friend of 32 years, gave me from her Mom's collection she recently acquired...This is the good stuff baby !!!....lol...no, really, look at those ingredients..... hmmmmm

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Just have to finish by showing a picture of my poochy baby Hayden...Here she is, not being all lovey dovey like at first you would think....she wants her chair back from my oldest daughter Ashley.....lol

Because...we all know, she has some important protecting and other "bidness" to take care of from her perch....like this......

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Have a great evening and weekend all !!!

Robin

Lots of Fall Happenings Around Here.....and Fall Goodies Sale !!!

I did a little Fall decorating over the weekend, with hubby's help...( shhh...mostly hubby's work ).
Here is the entry way to my craft room...and here is one at night:

Here is a shot of the fence in front of our home...Rememeber , this house still needs alot of work , and outside painting or siding, etc. will need to wait till Spring next year...it does need a good power washing , though...so much work inside still, but maybe before snow flies, we'll manage to get that done....this fence was longer, but not in the best shape...we cut off a section from both ends and scraped and painted....looks much nicer...

Here is the very front door of the home, which noone uses...We are in need of a storm door there, and we are looking for a nice used one on Craigslist......

I thought I'd add a shot from the small hall leading into the garage...It is right past my studio...This is a "spare" room and is in the process of being re-finished.....I took the pic looking in from the hall through the French door to the room...i started painting the door, and I am not a tape- er off-er painter...I paint then use my widget to scrape my mess off the glass.....lol

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Rhonda of Back Road Treasures took advantage of my buy 1 get 1 free pattern sale and one of the patterns she purchased was "Twas The Night Before Christmas" Wool Applique Pattern. Here is a pic of her awesome finish !!

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NOW FOR MY SALE !!!
I have just finished moving in really, and just don't have the gumption to take everyday goodies down after I just got them out and hung, etc...so, I am thinning out my Fall items and decided to sell a few of my handmade dolls first...
Ok,  PayPal Only   Cost of Shipping is INCLUDED in the price of the items .... Email Me Here  if you want to purchase an item.... I will be adding more items hopefully throughout the day.. I will email a PayPal invoice if you are wanting to purchase an item.

                             Harvest Moon Angel Doll
This is from my Harvest Moon Angel Pattern. she measures about 18" tall....
                               $28

Punkin Guy and Kitty ...he measures about 16" .....I never did make a pattern of this guy..
                                                   $28

                            Fall angel Hanging doll..This gal has no legs..she just hangs...
Her face is partly painted and partly stitched. My original design and handmade by me. about 17" tall.

                                                                   $24
Forgot to say...I have some really cute Halloween Honey and Me fabric I'll be posting on here so watch for that.

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I wanted to show you what else I've been doing...I was given some Black Walnuts from my hubby's boss...so I am going to use the peels to make Walnut Ink......

black Walnuts are really hard to harvest, hence the reason why they go for about $8.99 a lb. ...But here are the ones I have that I am going to be cracking open to try and extract some meat from. I will get more from hubby's boss , so if all goes well, I may be able to have walnuts for my Christmas baking...I know I'm going to be needing ALOT more than this, but remember this is just a trial run for me....lol

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One Last Thing........
I REALLY did do a small bit of crafting !! I finally finished this punch needle I started months ago... It needs backing and staining yet though.....I have written all the steps and floss colors down, so I'm hoping. God willing, to get a pattern made up of it....

                                                              
Long post I know...but just had to play " catch up" with you all...lol
Hugs,
Robin