Bird In The Hand Primitives

Primitive Folk Art Designs and Finished Items
By: Robin Leuschen

" Who you are is God's gift to you........ What you do, is your gift to God !"

Monday, December 29, 2014

A NEW Year, but some catching up .....



 

I hope that everyone had a really great and Blessed Christmas....if not, then I'm praying for all of us to have a sweet new beginning full of peace, prosperity and health !
                      The picture above is from the day hubby and my son in law, Shaun, put our new kitchen floor in...it was so exciting i just kept oohing and ahhing as little by little it was completed.
                               
Here are a few pics I took after the floor was in and trim was added...

Now ....fast forward a little bit...here are a few pictures of Christmas decorating. If you want to get an idea of the work that's been done, just go back a few posts to see what the kitchen and living room looked like before....lol


A little design I drew on my chalkboard plaque in the kitchen entryway.




And, this is the only picture I have of the bathroom before anything except the tearing off of wallpaper was done....it even has my Dads shower chair still in the tub....lol
the bathroom had a medicine chest over the sink, that had a flourescent light attached to the top of the metal and mirrors...there was ONE outlet in the light, with which to plug any electrical device into....
I am beyond the moon thankful for a husband that is so knowledgeable in all the areas of construction !! He added to outlets to the bathroom one on each wall, and hard wired my new light over the vanity.



This was taken right after my Father had passed away.       



Here are a few quick pictures I took of the bathroom...it needs the new tub surround, tile is coming off the walls and we will be putting up wainscoting / bead board ....new sink and faucets and new flooring...







                                         
                                                                   I will get going for now...but hopefully I can keep up with my Blog a little better in the coming New Year .... It is on the top of my list of needed changes ...
Hugs,
Robin

                                              

Monday, December 8, 2014

New Punch Needle Pattern all fixed ....

I was so exhausted when I added my pattern to Patternmart last night, I totally forgot to actually up load the PDF file...Soooo....i fixed the problem and here it is available for purchase...


Christmas Merrie Folk

Christmas Merrie Folk


Wouldn't these three fellas look wonderful on your tree ? Or sitting in a grouping.... This pattern ...

Price: US$7.00

Click for details


Sunday, December 7, 2014

A NEW Punch Needle Pattern





Hi everyone...Well, to say I've been busy would be an understatement ! I have pics for you of all the work that's been completed on the house... but first I wanted to let ya know about my newest pattern. It's been 2 years since I've actually come out with a new Christmas pattern... I don't know how I managed  to get it finished and squeeze it in....by the Grace of God ....
So here it is ...Thanks for taking a peek !

Christmas Merrie Folk

Christmas Merrie Folk


Wouldn't these three fellas look wonderful on your tree ? Or sitting in a grouping.... This pattern ...

Price: US$7.00

Click for details

Saturday, November 15, 2014

I have re-added my Patterns for Sale on the side bar.....

 
Merrie Christmas Thyme Doodle Booklet

Merrie Christmas Thyme Doodle Booklet


Great for stitchery, rug hooking, punch needle or wool applique, these 5 designs including the ...

Price: US$6.50

Click for details

I have finally gotten around to re-adding my patterns for sale on my sidebar....I am adding my freebie doodles back next..
Of course, they will all be Christmas ones...wow, the holidays are fast approaching !
More progress of the house coming of course, which is almost complete...I am VERY happy with the results so far I must say !!
Hugs,
Robin

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Been Gone Too Long Again



Hello friends ....
Not too much excitement at the moment ... We managed to get all of our moving out and in here finished on time, but now are living in an unfinished home. Yuk ! 
I'm not going to complain any further , it will get finished little by little. 
Now, as I write this, I'm not 100% sure if I have all the pictures on my phone here. 
I don't get on the computer much so I'm making this post from my iPhone again. 
A few things were done on the outside, I'll try to put the before and after photos. 
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The shrubs in the front of the house were planted when I was about 7 years old. I would have kept them but they had started getting bare and  turning brown a few years before my Father passed. 
This year we noticed they had some kind of disease killing them. A weird mold or fungus. 
So they got pulled out and I got a good deal on some small box woods to plant there. 
Here is the only pic I can find on my phone of the front of the house with the old shrubs 
The shrubs arent planted yet in this pic , but you get the jist. 
We also pulled out the old concrete steps. Hubby and my oldest son tried to level them. They were sinking on the one side. But years of moles undermining the soil and the concrete was old and crumbly we just decided to get them out. 
My son had an excavator for the day so that just picked them up out of there. We have a lot of woods in the back. He dug a HUGE hole in the woods and buried them. 
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This ugly little shack in the back yard was a major eye sore for me. 
It blocked my view of the back woods from my perch at the kitchen table. 
Since we had the excavator and I had 4 of my growing and very strong healthy Grandsons here, the shack was COMIN' DOWN !!

My hubby and the kids made quick work of it. My son Ryan was a pro with the excavator knocking it down and the boys took it apart, separated the metal and burned the rest. It's gone and I'm loving it !!!
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I started organizing my craft room and managed to get rid of some junk. 
Here are a few pics of it. I've since changed up some stuff but don't have newer pictures. 





I hung a chair in the closet and stuck my wooden ironing board I. There. Lol
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Here is an area at the end of the hallway I fixed up. There's never really been anything there. I wanted a light there but no outlet, so I ran an extension cord around the corner from my room. Lol

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Here's me in my ratty tat work clothes busy organizing. Lol 
Till next time !
Hugs,
Robin

Thursday, July 17, 2014

If I had a hammer .... I'd hammer in the evening...


Hello folks.... Well hubby has a hammer and he used it good the other day. 
Remember I told you this house was built in 1963 ? Well, they did things different then.... And oh what a frustration that can be to my husband many times
 working on this house. Of course we are dealing with plaster walls instead of dry wall. The house has settled and it's out of square. Just so much fun. 
We got some things finished and I can't wait to show you. 
First off , the kitchen floor had ugly blue indoor/outdoor carpet. It wasn't original of course but it's been there for at least 25 years. Gotta go !!! We ripped that up and then started taking the counter top apart. I'm trying the old refinishing for that. Don't have the funds right now to replace it. Hubby also has to replace the water valves underneath, and we have a new sink and also putting in new faucet. 
Well, in the corner was a nice little lazy Susan. It's functional, but I needed to get it apart to clean it and paint it. 
Hubby's struggled for quite a bit to get it out and finally had enough. I gave in and said, " just rip it out, we'll figure out what to do with it after that "!
Handy Randy was more than happy to comply. 
Here is a pic of the kitchen before we did much. Wallpaper was off in a few spots and that was it. 


Then, some demolition began. Wallpaper removal, lights taken down, tile removed, you name it. 
We also began sanding and priming the cabinets. 


Ugly paneling !! 52 years of heavy smoking ... Nicotine imbedded in the wood. But I decided to scrub it and paint primer on it. It's still bleeding through a bit but I know eventually it will be ok. Just didn't want to deal with the holes that ripping it off a plaster wall would do. 






Notice lazy Susan in the corner. Lol



Lazy Susan Gone !!!

Now onto a nice finish. 
There used to be a small half wall in front entryway. Hubby removed that. We scraped the old linoleum and tar they used to adhere it to the floor with and sanded down to the hardwood. 
The wall behind the television had hideous plastic fake brick and wow. Talk about wanting it to not come off. The glue that was on this stuff was like gorilla glue in steroids !!! Nothing would take it off !! Tried mineral spirits, heating and scraping, sanding you name it. 
Finally decided to put up beadboard 3/4 of the way up the wall. Hubby then put skim coat over the rest of the wall with the adhesive. 
I'm so proud of my husband !!
We are on a limited budget, and we both wanted a nice ledge on top of the beadboard. 
We have some scrap wood and trim I've saved for projects , so we ripped a big piece down the center to make a 3 1/2" ledge. Then Handy Randy took his router and made a nice edge and sanded down     
We painted the wall and trim etc with a few coats of primer. 
Now, we've learned that prepping is everything. 
Spent an entire day taping of the living room. And then ta da painting commenced and was quickly finished. So here are some pics. 


Notice what is on the tv ? We've had the pleasure of babysitting my 2 year old Grandson while a lot of renovations are going on. 









All of the outlets, light switches and plates have been replaced. Also all of the vent covers have been washed, sanded and re painted. 
Then.... I took the ceiling fan apart and spray painted the hardware with a rubbed bronze and re painted the dark wooden blades. 


Now, on to the kitchen again. Bathroom is in progress also. Pics to come soon !!
Say a prayer we get things finished soon !!!
Hugs,
Robin

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

A few more items for sale ...

This is a little set I made from my own design years ago when my business name was Me My Shelf and I Designs. It was my first experiment with wool felt. 
The doll tucked inside was made by Robyn Regan and is a TFC FolkArt design. The stitchery pillow is also included. 


Paypal Only
Price: $20