Barrel Redo

Hi, everyone. Hope you are having a good day. I just wanted to take a minute and post a thrift store redo for you to see. I bought it last week. I first had intentions of putting potted plants into it this summer. I think now that it is done, it will probably stay inside. I used tan over black and then gel stained it. I wasn't sure how it would turn out because it was actually kinda yucky grey looking before the stain. I think now it looks like a weathered old barrel. The color goes well with my crocks. So here goes....

Before:

After:

Because it was a popcorn bowl, it came with a plastic bowl inside the barrel. So for it was a 2 for 1 deal for $2. I was very happy. I also picked up a couple more frames at the various stores I went to. Someone needs to keep me from the frame section. I think I will be stitching until I'm 90 trying to use up what I have. I have begun to limit myself to smaller ones or square ones. Those seem to be harder to find.

Well, I'm off to try to list some clothes on ebay. Not really the fun stuff I would rather do. My girls went through closets last week sorting what doesn't fit anymore. My daughter Emily has lost quite a bit of weight in the last few months so she had a huge stack. All of it was less than one season old and in very good shape. So if you or someone you know needs some new duds, check out my listings in the next few days.

Thanks for stopping by.

~Melissa~

Old Fashioned Soap Balls

Good afternoon, ladies. It is sunny and very pretty today-a little cold but the sun makes up for it. My attention span has been challenged today for some reason. Do any of you feel this has happened to you? I have such good intentions to get something done and before I know it, I am so far way from my plans I can't find my way back!! All it took today was a trip to A Primitive Place craft tip section.

There are several "recipes" listed. Primitive soap balls caught my attention today. I haven't even been looking for this little accessory for my house, but soon caught myself gathering ingredients-a bar of soap, oatmeal, and water. I added cinnamon oil and some ground cinnamon to make them smell a little better. Within just minutes, I had them finished and setting in my bathroom. Way too easy!!!! I can't take credit for making them, so go check out how to do it for yourselves. Have fun!

Over the weekend, I went to a little shop close by and came home with this cool bucket. I think it will look nice on one of our porches this summer.

I also got out the few Easter decorations I have this weekend. I am still in the process of finding just the right spot for them. Hopefully in the next couple of days I will post them. I am also working on one so hope to have that finished.

The only workers we have left around the house are the masons. We have a field stone front porch and much of the outside around the foundation is also field stone. All of it was getting badly cracked so we are having them fix it up. I think they only have a couple of more days. I keep waiting for the scaffolding and people to be out of the way for pictures. Stay tuned....

Well, the kids will soon be home and the "second shift" will start. Better go get back to what I was doing. If only I could remember what that was.......

Thanks for stopping by. Have a wonderful evening.

~Melissa~

Goodwill Site and Lime Sugar Cookies

Good morning. I'm sitting here trying to get some ambition to get some work done. Does anyone have any...ambition...not work? Our local news featured a story about Goodwill. Did anyone know they have a website that is just like ebay? I checked it out and it looks pretty neat. I even bid on an item but was outbid each time I tried so I gave up. Didn't really need it that badly anyway. So now when you can't get out to your local Goodwill, you can still check them out.
I'm getting some spring cleaning done now that the outside work is done and the dust has settled...literally all over the inside of the house. I have been moving some things around also. It's amazing how changing a few little things gives everything new life. I will post some pictures of the outside of the house in a day or so. I am waiting for it to be sunny out to get pictures so you can see it better.
I am baking another batch of cookies today. These are Lime Sugar Cookies. I will admit when my daughter found the recipe and wanted to bake them, I was skeptical. They are good. The original recipe calls for a packaged sugar cookie mix so that would be much easier. We just added the lime to our regular sugar cookie recipe.

Lime Sugar Cookies
1 c vegetable oil
1 c butter
1 c powdered sugar
1 c sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 T grated lime
1 T lime juice
5 1/2 c flour

Mix well. Scoop onto greased cookie sheet and press flat with glass dipped in sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

I won't be baking as much once the workers are gone. Cookies in the house are too dangerous!!

Have a good day and thanks for stopping by.

~Melissa~

Chocolate Chip Cookies and Kitchen Reveal

Good morning everyone. It seems we are back to winter here-cold and windy. A good day to stay in and try to get to work done. I am baking peanut butter chocolate chip cookies right now. I have been taking treats out to our workers--trying to keep them buttered up and warm. They will be finishing up today or tomorrow so this is probably to last time to make them something. The cookies are smelling really good. It is a recipe from my DH's grandma. They are one of the few cookies I can make that turn out great every time. I will share the recipe with you.

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

1/2 c butter
1/2 cup Crisco (I use butter flavor)
Cream together and add:
2 eggs
1 cup peanut butter
1 tsp. baking soda
2 cups flour
1 package chocolate chips (either semi-sweet or milk chocolate)
Mix together. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-13 min.

ENJOY!!

Now I am glad to FINALLY show you our finished kitchen. I took the pictures at night and like many of you have said how hard it is to get a good picture. It was kinda dark but hopefully you can see it okay.

This picture gives you a little better look of the color. It is Olde Century Cranberry.

Here are a few of the settings I have in the kitchen. These are on top of the fridge. I was proud of myself because I remember to plug in an extension cord behind it when we moved it out to clean. Usually I think of those things after the fact.
These are around on the counter tops. The corner bread cover was a redo from last summer. It hides lots of things...candy, cell phone cords, everything but bread.

This is Gabby telling me I have taken enough pictures and to let her out. I hope you enjoyed my pictures. It is such a relief to have it done. Now I just need to give the walls and floor a good scrubbing. Since it is cold out, that is today's plan. Have a great day and thanks for stopping by.

~Melissa~

Cupboards...DONE!!!!!

Good evening. Hope you all have had a great weekend. Just wanted to see if anyone heard the cheer as we finished up our kitchen cupboards today. We have to put a few doors on yet and rearrange things, but the painting is done. Wow is it a good feeling. Once I get it all put together, I will post some photos. The outside of the house is also coming along really well. By mid-week they should also be done. Yeah!! I changed my post picture to one that is a little more springy. No more snow and a little green grass. So glad spring is here. I checked some of my flower beds around the house to make sure things weren't trampled too badly by the workers. So far they look pretty good. Thanks for stopping by. Have a good week. ~Melissa~

Spring Tulip and Bunny Sampler

Hello. Hope you all are doing well and it is nice outside for you. It is sunny but cold here--still beats cloudy and cold!! They have started to put siding on the house. It looks nice. I'm sure they will be just as glad to be done as we will. They put a new front door in a couple of days ago. We still had the original skeleton key door and I absolutely loved that door. Even though wind and sometimes snow would find their way in around it. Anyway, I couldn't part with it so I had my husband put it in the basement He wasn't exactly thrilled but did it anyway. Someday I may come up with an idea for it. Don't know what that might be. The new door is nice and is very airtight--it's just not my old door!!

I have been working on a tulip and bunny spring sampler while waiting for my girls at dance. It was a freebie at Patternmart and it is by Primitive Stitchin' by Shelley Auen. I stitched it on osnaburg and put it in one of my garage sale frames. All I had to do was rub a little Briwax on it and it was all set to go. Can't beat that!!

Because it is awfully small, I put it on my little shelf in the kitchen. I have a small Maple City Pottery pitcher/mug on it as well as four mini pottery pieces. I probably should have them somewhere a little safer, but I like how it looks. That is all the spring stuff I have out. Hopefully I will get some more made and out as time permits with all this painting and redoing. It seems like I get a whole lot of nothing done some days.

I have given Briwax another shot. I am still not sure if I'm sold on it. It seems the gel stain goes much more quickly. Although I do like how it makes the wood look and feel. I found a cutting board at a garage sale and have it on my stove with some prim goodies. It was just gel stained but today I put some Briwax on it. It made it look much richer I think. I would love a big noodle board to put there but knowing that most of my family would grumble every time they had to move it, I will stick with my little one for now!!

Lowes was just here this morning delivering a new washer and dryer. Not our choice to buy them now but the ones we had were going bad and would die on us here soon. We chose a front load washer this time with matching dryer. We have never bought a set--always whichever one we needed. We went with black to match our kitchen appliances. So far after 2 loads, I really like it. They say you either love them or hate them. My DH told me if I hated it we would replace it---in 10 years. Isn't he sweet!! Does anyone know about painting appliances? We have a large deep freezer in the utility room that is white. We would like to paint it black to match everything else. Is there paint available for this?

Well, better go for now. We have a busy weekend with our 4th grader having 2 days of basketball tourneys. Hopefully we can squeeze in some cupboard painting in between. Have a wonderful weekend. Thanks for stopping by!! ~~Melissa~~

Progress Being Made and a Redo

Hello. Oh, my it has been so long since I last posted. I have been busy trying to get something accomplished and I am reporting that we are getting there. The new windows are all in, stained and varnished or painted, and all the trim put back on. They are done working inside the house. Yeah, no more dust and mess!!!! Although I think the layer of dust added a nice prim touch to the house. With all of the dirt floors they used to have, they had to have had dust, right?? We have most of the painting in the utility room done--windows, cupboards,molding. I am waiting on the floor trim primer to dry right now and I have three doors to do when all of the outside work is done. I say we because DH has joined in and helped. I think he was getting tired of my slow pace. I am glad to have his help. When we have finished the utility room, I will post some pictures. Outside, they are very close to beginning the siding. I didn't realize all of the little jobs that need to be done before.

I have stopped at a couple of thrift stores recently. These are a couple of my finds. Pretty, huh?? I have painted them both navy and antiqued the cutting board with Briwax. I haven't done anything else with the tissue box yet. Briwax was very different to work with. For those of you who use it, what are some tips? Can it be used on something that has been painted and sanded or does it work better if there is no paint? Also, how long does it have to dry before I buff it? I am impatient so I was buffing almost immediately. It turned out well and I am happy with it. Just didn't know if there were tips to make it easier next time.

Anyway, here is the after of the cutting board. It is kinda dark, but my flash made the picture way too bright. This is in the corner of my kitchen. I have a small kitchen so there are not too many areas for displaying things besides the counter top. Everything is on top of a 20 gallon crock my parents gave to us. The slaw cutter, tin ladle, and wooden were all auction and garage sale finds. My friend Ann from A Hole in The Basket Primitives used her DH's drill to drill holes in my candle. I then rolled it in darkened beeswax and added battery tea lights. I think the cutting board has found a home--for now. Never know when it will feel like moving.

Well, I hear floor trim calling me. Better get to it so I can cross that off my today's to-do list. Take care. Thanks for stopping by!!~~Melissa