The Fruit of her Hands

New Fall Designs

2008-09-05T08:45:00.000-07:00

BeWitched Ornie
Primitive Hanging Pumpkin Head Doll
Available Retail and Wholesale

I finally got a chance to work on some new fall designs. I feel so icky today; I still have a lingering cold that just will not go away! It's makes it a struggle to get anything done with a stuffy nose, headache and sore throat. On a positive note we are expecting cooler weather and RAIN over the weekend! Hope you all have a wonderful Friday.

Blessings,

Jill

Some House Progress

2008-09-04T08:40:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! We made some progress on the house; as you can see we got the footer poured. Next we will do the walls for the foundation. My house is going to be VERY small! I plan on taking more of the hill out behind and building on later. I have it all pictured in my mind of just how I want it to look. I am sure ready for summer to go away. We are still in the 90's and its so dry.

We have got the dirt pushed up around the footer since these pics were taken.

The dogs sure had a good time playing in the dirt!

Till next time may God Bless,

Jill

Church, Country Bob Review & Pie!

2008-08-31T17:32:00.000-07:00

Our Little Country Church

Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce

I was asked to review this product; I was very pleased with it!
My daddy and I had some pulled pork that he had canned. I mixed a little of Country Bob's Sauce in with it and it made a very yummy BBQ sandwich. Yum Here is the website on the bottle www.countrybobs.com

Olde Fashioned Vanilla Pie

1 cup sugar

3 egg yolks (save whites for meringue)

2 cups milk

4 T. flour

1 t. vanilla

Mix everything together except the vanilla and cook until thick over medium heat; stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Pour into your baked crust; whip meringue with sugar. Pile high on pie and bake in the oven for about 5 min. or until brown.

This pie has been a family favorite for years! Someone always brings a vanilla pie to any get together we have!

I hope you all had a nice Sunday. Back in the good ole' days Sundays were a day of rest. A day reserved for worshiping God and visiting with family. Some how the world has gotten away from that. I try my very best not to do anything related to work on Sundays. Sometimes if I am in a real time crunch I will stuff while watching tv or package an order. For the most part a day off to refresh for body and mind is much needed. I always feel sorry for those people (I am married to one) who are always in a hurry. Sometimes I am late; I try not to get so caught up in life that I forget we are not in control and there is really no need to try to be. In a blink of an eye our lives can change and it's really all in God's hands.

I realized I had never shared a pic of our church. It is so quaint and small; my dad also my pastor just recently added a bathroom to it. I had the pleasure of using the out houses and I can do without that experience again!

A Blank Slate

2008-08-29T21:47:00.001-07:00

I thought I would share with you guys some pictures of my soon to be home. You know how they always say "home is where your heart is". Well this place has always been my home. This is where I was raised and where I have longed to be ever since I left. I wouldn't admit it to my husband but I cried for a week when we first got married.........I was so homesick. Lol, I just live five minutes away but it's still not home. I thought maybe eventually I would get used to my new home but I never did. I moved here eight years ago and I still miss the peace and quiet of "home". As you can see its off the beaten path up a little gravel road. Most of the locals refer to it as a "holler" or "hollow" but technically it isn't because a "holler" or "hollow" comes to a dead end. This road has no dead end but any way there is little (almost no traffic besides my family) and a little creek runs alongside the road. My dad was raised up this road and my mom was raised right across the creek; when they married they lived a few other places and then settled back here. After my sister got married this is where she settled as well.

Ahhhhhhhh Look at my view! My house will be on top of a hill within walking distance of my mom and dad's and my sisters.

That's the mountains of Eastern KY in the distance. My front door will be facing this view.

This will be the view from the back door. Hope you enjoy these pics!

Awards

2008-08-29T21:30:00.000-07:00

I am so honored to recieve this award from the sweet Cheryl from Tidy Mom and dear Sharon from Salt Box Farm! Thank you sooooooooooo much :)
Just recieved this award from the very kind Merrie as well! Thanks!
Also recieved this award from http://theprimitivecornishhovel.blogspot.com/ Thanks!!!!

Inspiration in a Box & Apple Pie

2008-08-29T12:03:00.000-07:00

Look what my mail lady brought me this morning! This wonderful box full of yummy fabrics! Makes me want to create new things. I got the fabric from http://www.colonialcrafts.com/ I belong to their birthday club and the whole month of your birthday you get 20 percent of each items. So I just had to order more fabric. Lol, like I need it. I also baked this yummy apple pie for our family dinner the other night. Every one commented on how yummy it was. The crust was the best I had ever had. I got the recipe here http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/12/p-p-p-pie_crust_and_its_p-p-p-perfect/

Smile Award & What's going on here!

2008-08-28T17:50:00.000-07:00

Thank the Lord we finally got some MUCH needed rain. It also cooled the temp down a bit. I have been so busy yesterday and today! I have been working on completing some pretty large wholesale orders this week so I can ship them tomorrow. Seems I got backed up all the sudden? Not sure how that happened but it seemed I got several orders at the same time. I love this time of the year. I especially love when its busy and it's hard to keep up.

I recently started doing a lot of freezer cooking. I never really used my freezer much before except for frozen meals and frozen chicken breast. I am trying to completely eliminate frozen meals from my diet because of the high sodium content. The last time I went to the doctor my blood pressure was a little high and the doc told me to watch my sodium intake. Hypertension also runs in my family; my mom has had it for years. But any way I have been buying the large rolls of ground beef and making hamburger patties and then freezing them. I also go ahead and fry the hamburger and put one pound in each freezer bag. It makes it so quick and easy when you need to add it to a meal. I also stocked my freezer with home made veggie soup, spaghetti sauce and more apple pie filling. As well as corn and green beans and pie crust. I am hooked! It makes throwing a meal together effortless.

My dad and I finally got started today clearing out the land and getting ready for the foundation on my house. I am sooooooo excited! I will be posting pics this weekend of the blank space and the view :)

Thanks so much to dear Lisa from http://blacksheepprims.blogspot.com/ & dear Kathy from http://sweethomegardens.blogspot.com/ for giving me this great award!

THE SMILE Awards rules are:

1. The recipient must link back to the awards creator (it's right on the award)

2. You must post these rules if you receive the award.

3. You must choose 5 people to receive the award after receiving it yourself.

4. You must fit the characteristics of the recipient of the award (see below.)

5. You must post the characteristics of a recipient.

6. You must create a post sharing your win with others.

7. You must thank your giver. (s)

Characteristics for the Smile Award:

1. Must display a cheerful attitude. (not necessarily at all times--we are all human).

2. Must love one another.

3. Must make mistakes.

4. Must learn from other.

5. Must be a positive contributor to blog world.

6. Must love life

7. Must love kids.

The 5 people I chose all make me smile: These are in no particular order..........it was so hard to pick............but I tried to pick the ones of you whom I love whom hadn't already received the award

1. Lori from http://theoldeprimitivehouse.blogspot.com/ i just love her inspiring blog and those great lights she makes :)

2. Kim from http://simple-needs.blogspot.com/ I just love her inspiring blog and recipes too

3. Merrie from http://wheretheblackbirdssing.blogspot.com/ I love her blog and I want her dogs soooooooooo bad!

4. Jennifer from http://rusticgoods.blogspot.com/ I love her wonderful blog and great pics!

5. Tiffany from http://tiffanysprimitiveplace.blogspot.com/ I love her blog and to see all the goodies she's working on

Canning and a Wonderful Purchase

2008-08-25T20:16:00.000-07:00

What a busy Monday I have had! I didn't get to do much in the crafting department because all my efforts went to canning today. I did get the rest of my Tansy cut and I went to the post office and did some errands. My mom and dad and I (well pretty much mom and dad) canned beef, apple pie filling and salsa. My favorite meal in the world is canned beef with gravy and biscuits. It doesn't get any better than that. Thought I would share the apple pie filling recipe with you guys; it came from a Amish cookbook. Apple Pie Filling

12 cups of peeled, cored and sliced apples (Golden Delicious or Grimes work best)

5 cups white sugar

6 T. Tapioca

3 cups Water

Mix together and cold pack for 15 min. Don't make jars quite full.

Note: To cold pack means to put the filling in the jars cold. Make sure you get plenty of the juice in each jar so that it will seal properly :)

Mom's Salsa

Mom & Dad's doggie Frieda!

Look what I got in the mail! Isn't it lovely? I purchased this wonderful baby quilt from http://www.auntpollysattic.com/ . I originally bought it to put on my coffee table but I just love the way it looks on my old pie safe door. It's so nicely made..........Thanks Teresa!

Pumpkins Painting Made Easy & a Easy Cheesy Dip

2008-08-23T13:25:00.000-07:00

Thank you every one for your well wishes! I do feel somewhat better today. Last night I watched a countless number of lifetime movies and made pumpkins while I did. So this morning I awoke to a table full of them ready to be painted. Every year I make hundreds of pumpkins; seems I sell more pumpkins than anything. I found the easiest way to paint my pumpkins is using this method..........
Mix orange paint with water in a deep plastic tub. WEAR GLOVES! After your paint is well mixed test one to see if you like the color. You may need to play with it to get the right color. And remember they dry much lighter.

Submerge your pumpkin in the paint and wring the paint out and submerge again and wring out. This is the easiest way to get in the sculpted cracks of the pumpkins which are very hard to do when hand painting.

Place on aluminum foil (the pumpkins won't stick to it) and sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake in a 200 degree oven or do what I did and sit out in the hot August sun :)

I am also working on these......they will have
stick arms and legs and most likely hold something or other.

Now for the dip! I got this recipe off a cream cheese box last year and I LOVE it! It takes about 5 min or less to make and you probably have the ingredients on hand.

1 8oz. block cream cheese, softened

1 can of chili with beans

1 c. or more of cheese (I usually use cheddar or a colby/jack blend)

Spread your cream cheese in a microwave safe dish. Spread the can of chili on that and top with cheese. Microwave for about 2 min or until cheese is bubbly and melted. Serve with Ritz or Townhouse crackers. YUMMY!

Sick

2008-08-22T14:41:00.000-07:00

I have been telling myself all week that I wasn't sick that it was just my allergies. However when I did a house cleaning job yesterday I realized it was more than allergies. I chilled all night last night and had a stuffy nose. So I have to admit to myself that I have the dreaded common cold. Today I have did almost nothing. Other than fixing myself a frozen pizza to munch on throughout the day. Every time I get up and "try" to clean the house or do something I get weak and end up back on the couch. Thankfully the hubs is going ATV riding and will be gone all night. So I can just lie around and be a bum. It's times like these that I really miss being at home with mom and dad. Mom was the best nurse! She always brought me soup in bed and could always fluff my pillows just so to help me breathe better. It's funny how things like that from childhood stick out in my memory. Mom and Dad always (and still do) have a way of making you feel extra special on your birthday and when you are sick. Come to think of it; this is the first time I can remember ever getting a cold in the summer............the heat makes it worse. Lol, does that mean I will not get sick this winter?

Part 1 Apple Head Doll Tutorial

2008-08-21T15:33:00.000-07:00

Where o where is the rain? My yard looks like the Sahara desert, not to mention my allergies are killing me! They are making it hard for me to get the day to day things done let alone work on anything else. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better more productive day.
These dolls were played with by early American children. Long before Barbie hit the market parents and children had to be creative and make their own toys. They used things that they had readily available. An apple from a tree and some scrap fabric would provide a child with hours of entertainment. If only children today were so easily entertained. The book I have explains how to air dry the head, which I will share with you but I will also let you know how I did it. I was not willing to wait 3 to 4 weeks for the head to dry!
Early American Apple Head Doll Part One
Goodes Needed:
A firm apple such as a granny smith
lemon juice
spoon and knife
Let's begin by peeling our apple. Then dip the apple in your lemon juice. To carve your face; make the marks with your knife and then go back with a teaspoon and take out some of the apple. Make sure to carve the cheekbones higher and don't forget her ears. It doesn't need to be perfect! Remember this is a primitive doll.

To dry the head the old fashioned way; run a wire through it and hang it in a cool dry place for 3-4 weeks until it is completely dried out. Or if you are impatient like me place it in a 200 degree oven on a cookie sheet and dry out completely. Note: This took me several days to do. When I was home I turned the oven on and let it dry and I turned it off when I left. So be prepared to have your oven going for awhile.

To be Continued..............

I ask that you do not sell the directions to my tutorials. Feel free to share them freely with your friends as they were freely given to you. If you make these to sale online please give me credit for the original design.

Blessings,

Jill

Award and So On

2008-08-17T17:07:00.000-07:00

Thanks ever so much to Tiffany from Tiffany's Primitive Place for giving me this award! http://tiffanysprimitiveplace.blogspot.com/
Now for the rules of the award. They are as follows:

1. The winner can put the logo on her blog.

2. Link the person you received your award from.

3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.

4. Put links of those blogs on yours.

5. Leave a message on the blogs of those you’ve nominated.

So, here is who gets my "I Love Your Blog" Award in no particular order: (I apologize if you have already been awarded) I LOVE all you guys! I just tried to pick those of you whom hadn't already been awarded.

1. Soft in the Head http://softinthehead.blogspot.com/

2. My Country Home http://sweets-mycountryhome.blogspot.com/

3. The Olde Hollow Crow http://theoldehollowcrow.blogspot.com/

4. Where the Black Birds Sing http://wheretheblackbirdssing.blogspot.com/

5. Dee's Closet http://deesclosets.blogspot.com/

6. Simple Thyme Primitives http://simplethymeprimitives.blogspot.com/

7. The Olde Primitive House http://theoldeprimitivehouse.blogspot.com/

On another note hubby and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary today! We enjoyed a steak dinner at a local restaurant and watched a movie at home :)
Note: Thanks also to Merrie from Where the Blackbirds Sing http://wheretheblackbirdssing.blogspot.com for awarding me with this award! I am so honored :)

Gail Wilson Doll Completed

2008-08-17T16:53:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I finally finished my doll made from the Gail Wilson Kit. It was hard to get a good picture of her face however hopefully you can see that I penciled it in very lightly and then gave it a light sand. I drew her hair on as well. Her little kitty and shoes are my favorite..........lol and her time consuming hands. This doll sure was a challenge for me and some parts I left out as I prefer the simple dress to the one with tucks and I also prefer the penciled face to the embroidered one. Geeeeeeez I can't ever follow a pattern exactly; I always change something! Hope you all had a lovely weekend. For supper the hubs and I are eating bacon fixed outside over a fire and some cornbread and beans on the side. It's so yummy!

Country Beans and Ham

2008-08-15T12:23:00.001-07:00

It's another busy day here. The washing machine is going, things are drying in the oven, I have beans cooking on the stove and I am making more laundry detergent. Hubby and I are going to watch Mirrors tonight at the theatre. I just LOVE a good scary movie. Hope you all enjoy your Friday.
To make the most divine beans you need to soak your pinto beans overnight in water. When you are ready to cook them rinse them well and fill your pot with water, add your beans and a ham bone (save those ham bones, they make yummy soups and stews) bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer several hours until your beans are tender and soup is thick. This is the most economical meal I know of..........but one of the tastiest.

Shredded laundry soap...........lol looks like cheese :)

A New Pet?

2008-08-14T10:20:00.001-07:00

The weather man said this morning "has anyone seen August?". You will hear no complaints from me! I love this weather; It's hard to stay inside when its so beautiful out. But there are meals to fix, clothes to wash, floors to mop and dolls to sew. The house smells of sweet potatoes drying in the oven.
Look at this sweet little guy! This is my sister's new baby Chance. He is so adorable.

Here is the completed Oatmeal Complexion Soap drying.

A Productive Day

2008-08-11T12:06:00.001-07:00

The good Lord has blessed us with another glorious day! The weather is in the 70's and a gentle breeze is blowing. I got outside this morning and did some much needed weeding. My dear sweet mommy took my packages to the post office for me, so I got to work all day in the workshop............look what my doggies do while I work.
Lazy Daisy.......................................

Look how Odee arranged his pillows to make him more comfy! Seriously he did that himself!

These always sell well for me at shows.............they are made from a SweetPea Primitives pattern

A new box full of pumpkins and a dried gourd.

New sock snowmen! These were fun to make! Hope God blessed all your days as He did mine.

Homesteading & My girl's Birthday

2008-08-09T18:31:00.001-07:00

Today and yesterday the weather was glorious! Seems fall is just around the corner. Tonight the air is even a little cool.............I can't wait.
Today my baby girl turned 8 years old! Wow I can't believe Daisy is eight. Seems like yesterday when she was a little tiny thing. It took a full year to successfully potty train her! She enjoyed her birthday with a long walk, some rolling in the grass and spaghetti.

My mom, my sister and I made a first attempt at making soap.........................

Had to make sure all the temperatures were right.................

And had to be super careful with the lye.

Yesterday we picked buckets and buckets of beans and canned them; Yum they will sure taste good in a pot of soup this winter.

Trash to Treasure

2008-08-07T12:51:00.000-07:00

This is "literally" a trash to treasure project! A few weeks ago my two outside dogs dragged this old nail apron into my yard. They probably snatched it from one of the neighbors (hopefully they are not reading this). But anyway being the frugal person I am I did not throw it away thinking I could do something with it. And today while bundling my tansy up to sell I thought it would make a perfect wall pocket........minus the blue Lowe's logo of coarse. The same thing can be done with a new nail apron just stain it up really good.
Cut a piece of calico large enough to cover the logo........................

Pin in place...................................

And hand sew on with some button thread.

Ta Da......................a rescued nail apron!

Some Wonderful Gifts

2008-08-05T21:00:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all of you for wishing me and hubby a Happy Birthday. I had a lovely birthday; I celebrated it with my family. We had pizza and chocolate cake. My sister made me this awesome primitive bee skep. It looks perfect beside my old bee smoker. Mom and dad got me a awesome red kitchen aid timer that matches my mixer. I also got cash from hubby, all my three sisters and my MIL. Hmmmmmm what I will buy?

Today we had a crazy day! We got a phone call late last night from my cousin saying he had two rows of corn ready to pick that he wanted to give away. So dad and I went this morning to pick the corn, we returned with a truck bed full! Needless to say we had corn coming out of our ears by the time we got it all cut off. We had already put corn in all our freezers from mom and dad's earlier harvest, so we had no room for this corn. We all went in together and purchased a upright deep freezer. Lol, we got it home and it didn't work! So we were sitting with about 40 quarts or more of corn and nowhere to put it! We finally made room for it between three freezers. We called Lowe's and they told us to leave it unplugged overnight and try it again tomorrow. I am keeping my fingers crossed that it will work.

After all the corn was taken care of we proceeded to make home made laundry soap. We made a huge batch and divided it up. This was the first time I had ever made it and I was VERY pleased with the smell and the results after using it. Seems to me things go so much faster if you help each other! Here is the link to the website I purchased the supplies for the laundry soap from. http://www.soapsgonebuy.com/

There are also recipes on here too. We made the powdered but you can also make the liquid. Blessings,

Jill

Happy Birthday to Me! & the last of the Shaker Village Pics

2008-08-04T08:33:00.000-07:00

Today is my birthday.......and hubby's birthday. Lol, yes I have to share my birthday. Hubby turns 30 and I turn 26. Here are the last of the Shaker Village pictures. I hope you guys enjoy them!

More from Shaker Village

2008-08-03T17:45:00.001-07:00

More pictures from Shaker Village............some came out a little dark but hopefully you can still see them. I will post the last of the pictures tomorrow :)

Back from Shaker Village

2008-08-02T16:41:00.001-07:00

Shaker Village was such a magical place! It was so inspiring to see the simplicity of their lives recreated. There were so much to see! I took so many pictures that I will have to share them all in another post. I wish we could have saw everything but their were so many things to see it will take another visit there to get it all in. The food was divine. I was so hungry by the time we ate I didn't have time to take a picture. I dined on chicken and rice soup and corn sticks for my appetizer. The main course was a rib eye steak with roasted potatoes, green beans and rolls. I had ice cream for dessert. We ate by candlelight and enjoyed everything. They also brought us two shaker delicacies, salsify casserole and watermelon rind pickles. I was a little scared to try those but my sister tried the casserole and informed me it was similar to a potato. The following pictures are of the house we stayed in. We were 1/2 mile from the village totally isolated. Oddly my sister found a journal in the old secretary in the living room from several guests that had lodged in the house. The journal went back several years and several guests had documented seeing a ghost! Yes! A GHOST! Her name was Polly and she was a friendly ghost that was often seen in the room I was staying in no less. But thank heaven's I never saw Polly and she never made a peep!
The Tanyard Brick Shop

Dining Room

What awesome squeaky old wood floors!

The living room.............see the old secretary?

And I'm Off

2008-07-31T14:38:00.000-07:00

Thanks everyone for your well wishes for my trip! We will be leaving in the morning and lord willing we will return Saturday night. I just hope I can control myself and not buy EVERYTHING I see! Hope you all have a lovely weekend :)
Blessings,
Jill

New Offerings

2008-07-30T12:42:00.000-07:00

More Sock Kitties!

Olde Wood Carrier filled to the brim with Pumpkins

Kitty bowl fillers!

It's been another HOT day! We got some much needed rain but it seems to have only made the weather more humid and sticky. I have been busy tidying up the house and trying to get all my orders done before I leave. I have neglected my poor flower beds because I just cannot tolerate this heat. I still have lots to do before I leave and to all my customers if you place a order Fri-Sun for a in stock item it will ship first thing Monday morning.

I just know I will forget something for this trip; I made a list but something will get left behind. Lol, I don't realize just how high maintenance I am until I am getting ready to go some where. The must haves are my blow dryer, make up and flat iron. The rest no biggie if I forget them. I am almost dreading going now because the weather man said we were going to have a "mini heat wave" this weekend. With temps in the upper 90's. Oh joy! Blessings to you all!

Gingerbread in a Jar

2008-07-29T16:08:00.000-07:00

I know I know, It's like 100 degrees out and no one wants to turn the oven on! But these are so worth it. I saw these in a Paula Deen magazine a couple years ago and have been making them ever since. Who knew you could make cake in a jar? Who knew you could even can cake? But these last up to a year when sealed properly; and they make the sweetest most unique gifts. I am making a bunch of these now so I will have them ready for this fall.

Gingerbread in a Jar

1 T. melted shortening

2 1/4 c. all purpose flour

1 c. sugar

2 t. ginger

1 t. cinnamon

1 t. baking soda

1/2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

3/4 c. milk

1/2 c. melted butter

1/4 c. dark molasses

1 large egg beaten

1 t. vanilla

Preheat oven to 325. Brush 10 sterilized jelly jars with melted shortening. Place on a cookie sheet and set aside.

In a large bowl combine all dry ingredients with a whisk. In a separate bowl combine all wet ingredients. Combine dry with wet and mix well. Fill each jar a little less than half full. Bake for about 30 min or until knife comes out clean. If gingerbread rises over the top just cut off with a knife. Using a kitchen towel remove one jar at a time from oven, and carefully place lid and ring on each; screw lids on tightly. Cool jars on counter top. Once jars have sealed store in a cool dry place for 1 year.