Back in the Day Primitives

Where have I been all this time?

2009-09-20T21:40:00.000-07:00

I can not believe it has been 5 months since my last post! SO much has happened over the summer!
Over the summer, I changed the color of the shutters and front door on the house. It was tan siding with burgundy shutters and doors but it looked too stark for me. Way too much of a contrast so this time I went with a olive green and I really am pleased with the way it turned out. I actually just painted the garden shed with the same olive green so it would look nice beside the house. I will have to get some good pics to show you.

My kids also had their big birthdays this summer. My daughter, Miranda, turned the big 16. Planning a girls Sweet 16 party literally took me months for it all to come together. This is Miranda with a group of her friends. The place was so big I couldn't get them all together at one time!Miranda is the one is the front (with the Zebra print top) and that is me back there in the brown shirt (yeah, the oldest one in the picture). We are doing a line dance just goofing off. The DJ played it so we danced to it!

My son also had his 13th birthday this summer. His was a little easier. Invite a bunch of teenage boys, take them to a skate park, load them up on Gatorade and Water. Pick them up a few hours later, feed them hot dogs, they go home, SIMPLE!

I went to the beach a few times over the summer, twice with family and once was a well needed girls only trip. Needless to say, plenty of fun was had that weekend!

I am so lucky to have such amazing friends! We only went down for the weekend but I don't think we could have lasted much longer anyway!

Well, that explains why I left blogland for a few months! But I think I am back! Hopefully it won't me another 5 months until my next post!

Nicole

A morning full of yard sales!

2009-04-25T08:47:00.000-07:00

I finally made myself get out of the bed early this morning to hit some yard sales around the area. The paper was full of them so I had to go check them out! I feel like I hit the jackpot!

I usually only take $20 with me to yard sales. That is my limit. Only once have I found something that I had to have and went to the ATM for more money. That was an old antique quilt made from feed sacks - and he was only asking $30! I had to have it of course!

Well, today started off like most yard sale days. They are hit and miss. For the first hour I found yard sales that had nothing but clothes. UGGH! I hate shopping for clothes anyway so I just bypass them.

Then I hit the jackpot! I found a neighborhood having a Community Yard Sale. The first place I stopped I found this cute wooden sewing box. It is stamped "Made by Singer" on the inside. I loved it! It is going to be great beside my recliner to store my stitching goodies! The next one I came to I found this lamp - it looked pratically brand new! I think it is going to look great in the dining room on the piano! The lady gave me those adorable grapevine hearts too! I am going to find something to do with them!I also picked up a bunch of cute tart burners and candle holders! I found this really neat bench - It was covered with clothes but I seen it hiding under there - waiting for me to come along!

Is this not a great wall hanging? It has a place for pictures on it too! What a neat idea! Can't wait to hang this in my new bedroom (once it is finished!)

Finally I came to every prim lovers dream . . . a yard sale held by another prim lover! She had so many wonderful prim things I bought them all! I cleared the whole table!Love these great pillows! One is made from muslin and homespun and the other is an American Flag tapestry pillow. They look great on the sofa now!

She had a table full of candle holders, wax warmers, and this cute birdhouse night light. How could I resist right?

And finally, this was my FIND OF THE DAY! This is a floor lamp made from wood with these great saltbox houses on the arm. It has wooden pegs which let it slide up and down to adjust it to different heights. I couldn't believe it was sitting there all alone when I got to it. It really wouldn't fit in my car but I hung it out the window! (The things we do when we find a great item right?)

Well I hope everyone has a great weekend!
Prim Hugs ~ Nicole

Finally back from vacation!

2009-04-19T19:14:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it has been so long so I last posted! There has been so much going on!

During Spring Break, my son had plans to go with his best friend, Payton, and his family to Atlanta. Both boys are big into skateboarding so while in Atlanta, they were going to take them to Woodward Skate Park. Apparently it is the largest skatepark on the east coast. Who knew? He had been counting down the days since he was asked to go. Excited does not describe what he was feeling. With all of his Spring Break anticipation, it had me and my daughter a little sad that we weren't going anywhere and were just going to be at home. Then the thought hit us, A GIRLS VACATION!!!

We decided to take a trip to Myrtle Beach for a few days. Now we were counting down the days! It was me, my daughter, her best friend, and my mom. It had been about 5 years since my mother had been on any type of vacation so we made sure she had a good time.

I couldn't wait to share some of our pics with you all! What a beautiful view huh? I could have stayed out there all day!

This was the resort we stayed at.

We had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. It was so much fun but so LOUD!
This is a cute picture of the girls in front of the Giant Crab Seafood Restaurant.

We all came back a little sunburnt but it was well worth it. We are already planning another trip! Well, I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Prim Hugs ~ Nicole

What a busy week!

2009-03-24T08:25:00.000-07:00

Things have been so hectic for the past week that I haven't even had time to post anything! That is very rare because I look so forward to sitting at my computer and catching up on my friends out in Blogland! I am in the process of adding an addition to our home. We desperately need another bedroom so it has been in the works for a while. Now that it is warming up, I think we may have it finished soon! Every day it seems I am working more on home improvement than crafting and blogging.

I had a plumbing issue and the plumber told me that he would have to bring out his Bobcat and dig up the pipe (which is an additional cost of $300!). I quickly told him to give me a day and I would dig it up with my shovel and save me $300. So, I spent a whole day digging in the yard to get to the pipe that he needed. It was a lot of work but with every dig I knew what I was saving.

I had also been trying to come up with another color for my shutters and front door. The house is a tan color and they were already painted a barn red color but it was just too much of a contrast for me. It had been that way for 3 years and I had enough of it. Yesterday I went to Lowes and stayed in the paint section for over an hour looking at paint samples. I finally decided on an Olive Green color. I immediately came home and started painting and I LOVE the new color! I think it looks more like a little cottage now! So homey looking!

I have been working on a few projects lately though . . .

I made these Spring Birds for my booth at Curious Cat. They started as a Robins Egg Blue color and then grubbied. I love how they turned out!

I have also been working on some large prim pears that still need a little finishing touch. I still have to put on their stems and leaves and prim them up!

I found this vintage table cloth at the Waxhaw Antique Mart over the weekend. I just angled it across my table and put this old wooden bowl in the middle. It really lightened up my dark table!

Well, guess I am off to deal with more Home Improvement issues! UGGGHH! Wish me luck!
Prim Hugs ~ Nicole

Weekend Thrifting!

2009-03-15T15:35:00.000-07:00

We have had such a rainy weekend! I did not even attempt to find any yard sales. I know there were a couple that were advertised as Rain or Shine but I guess I just wasted dedicated enough to go out and find them! I did, however, go to a few Thrift Stores and the local Goodwill. I found a few things that I couldn't wait to blog about!
The first item was this great wooden slat ladder. It came with a strand of grapevine tied to it.

I think I am going to use this to display some vintage towels and linens that were my grandmothers. I just have to find the perfect place to hang it!

My next find was this big green chippy basket. I put it on a side table and filled it with pinecones for now. I have to find the perfect filler for this because it is so big!

I am going to leave it as it is too - I love the paint chipping off!
I also picked up some great prim fabrics but the batteries died before I could get a picture of it to share.
This week I have been working on a few Robins Egg Blue fabric birds and a few prim pears. I am trying to wait until Wednesday to share. (As long as I don't get washed away with all of this rain!)
Have a great week!
Prim Hugs ~ Nicole

So great to meet some blogging buddies and a walk around town!

2009-03-10T19:38:00.000-07:00

On Friday, I had decided to take a few finished projects down to my booth at Curious Cat. I stopped by the computer to check my emails on the way out and I had one from Pam at Antique or Not. She told me that she was closing her store so that she and her hubby could make the big move out of state! I always love going to her store to pick up Pip Berries and Swags! She told me that she was having a big sale - everything was at 30% off!

I quickly decided to stop by her shop before going to my booth. Pam and I chatted for a bit - she always takes the time to make you feel so welcome when you come in. I picked up several pip berry picks for Spring and a few burgundy ones for year 'round. I also found a few primitive blocks and a great basket hanger that holds about 8 baskets!

Of course, I found a lot of other things that I wanted but I am going to have to come back for! I hope that I can make it back to her store before she closes. I love all of her things and she promises to keep her website and blog going after she moves. Good luck Pam!

I worked in my booth all day Friday but had a few larger pieces that needed to be moved in. My friend, Sandy, helped me on Saturday bring in an old prim farm table and 2 old rockers that I had in storage. I still have more work to do on the booth to fill it up but it is coming along nicely I think.

A lady came in to the market while I was there and asked me did I bring my rabbits. I thought to myself "they are in the car but how does she know I had rabbits made?" That is when she told me she saw them on my blog when I had listed my Spring goodies and she thought they were so cute! I sold 2 rabbits before they ever got to my booth!

While at the booth on Saturday, I got the chance to meet Susan from Primitive Preachers Wife. Her family stopped into Curious Cat to do a little shopping and we had talked a bit before we realized who we both were! It is funny that we are on each others blog all of the time but we didn't know we were talking to each other at all! Her family is so wonderful! Her husband, Jimmy, was as excited about the yard sale finds as she was! (Not my husband, he just grunts!)

I have met the greatest folks since I started blogging - I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world!

The weather was so beautiful today! It was over 70 degrees here! The kids and I decided to take a walk around town so that we could enjoy the weather (and I wanted a little exercise!) We walked along the main highway so that I could get a few pics of some remodeled Victorian homes in our area.

I remember playing along the sidewalk in front of this house when I was little. I was just remodeled and looks great!

This house is now the location for a Photography Studio in town. I love it!

I couldn't resist taking a few of the kids while on our walk. The sidewalk wraps around this old tree so it just seemed to be a perfect backdrop!

By this point they were getting annoyed with my picture taking! But I love this old porch!
I had the best time just walking around town with the kids. They talked about things that happened at school, I talked about things in my day, I can't tell you how much I enjoyed it. Of course now, they want to make it a daily walk around town. As long as my legs and big butt will allow me to go, I am definitely up for it!

Prim Hugs ~ Nicole

A day at the DMV

2009-03-05T18:55:00.000-08:00

My daughter finally finished Drivers Ed at school and could not wait to go for her Learners Permit. We had snow on Monday so school was closed. She was so upset! Tuesday she went to the Guidance office to get her driving certification and . . . the Guidance Counselor was out that day! Now she is even more upset!

Finally, she gets everything she needs from school. I show up around 1 pm to pick her up to take her to the DMV. I decided to go ahead and pick my son up early too because I wasn't sure what time we would make it home. We make it to the DMV and we don't have the right forms - the birth certificate I have is the "Mothers Copy" and is not the "Certified Copy". Upset is not the word for what she is at this point.

We run to the courthouse to get the Birth Certificate and . . . you guessed it, I forgot my ID. I had to call my mom who lives nearby and ask her to come to the courthouse and bring her ID.

At this moment, my daughter is freaking out! "I'm not going to get my permit . . . It's going to be another day!"

We get the Certificate, race to the DMV, (they don't take anyone after 4 pm) and get in line. She gets called back to take her test and they tell her she can not miss more than 5 on the test. She is so nervous! My son and I are waiting in the lobby for her and then finally she pokes her head out of the testing door. SHE PASSED!

Thank goodness too because she would have wrecked my nerves if she hadn't!

So was so excited to get to drive us home from the DMV. Not me, I was a bundle of nerves! She kept this smile on her face for hours after we left. I can't believe my daughter is driving me around town! I think I have aged 10 years in the past 2 days!

We went by Lowe's tonight and I picked up a gallon of paint. I love the color - it is by Olympic and it is named "Green Tea Leaf". I think it is a great prim green! I am going to paint some shutters that I have at Curious Cat this new color. They are now a barn red and I want to change things up for Spring.

I have a few pieces around the house I want to paint too! It's like I have a new box of crayons - everything is going to get a new color!

Have a great weekend!

Prim Hugs ~ Nicole

Thrift Store Makeovers

2009-03-01T18:06:00.000-08:00

The weather in my neck of the woods has been yucky for the past few days. It has rained so much that my yard looks like a pond! Then to top it off, today, we have started with more winter weather. As of now, it is snowing and sleeting!

My daughter is so upset because she finished her last drivers ed class on Saturday. She has to get a paper from the Guidance Office and then she is off to the DMV for her permit! Problem is, now there isn't school tomorrow so she can't get the paper! I have never seen a kid more unhappy about snow and a school closing in my life!

I have been cooped up indoors trying to be productive with my thrift store treasures. The first item I have finished was the wooden tray. This was the before shot: I painted it a tan color and then added some stain to it for a prim look. I then covered the middle of the tray with a piece of Spring fabric. I think it is going to look great filled with bunnies or eggs!

The other item I finished is the candle box.

I painted it black and added a rusty star!
I can't wait to add my grubby pillar candle to it and hang a homespun napkin from the drawer!

I have a few more pieces in the works but nothing completed yet.

I hope to get those finished and posted this week.

I was in such a Spring mood and now I have the blahs! I hope to get over them soon and get back to work on my goodies!
Prim Hugs ~ Nicole

Whatcha Working on Wednesday

2009-02-25T19:42:00.000-08:00

I have been busy trying to get a few things completed this week. This is the first time I have gotten to participate in Leslie's Whatcha Workin on Wednesday for two weeks in a row! Shocker huh?

Well, as I have been mentioning, I have been bitten by the Spring bug! Last week I started making some prim rabbits. That of course led me to making prim carrots and eggs too!

I still have to draw some little faces on the bunnies. I am going to tie some homespun around their necks once I get it coffee-stained. The eggs turned out cuter than I could have imagined! I have them in great Spring colors too (but of course, had to "dirty" them up!"

I just have to put the green "tops" on these carrots and they will be finished. They are actually a lot more "grubbier" in person but they came out looking bright in this photo.
I am also working on a few before and after projects that I will post about later in the week. I have also been busy painting some of my thrift store finds that I posted yesterday. I can't believe the difference a little paint can make on some things! I bet if folks knew their goodies could look like they do after us gals make them over, they would have never parted with them in the first place! Lucky for us, they don't - so shhhhh!

Prim Hugs ~ Nicole

Thrifting Tuesday

2009-02-24T21:16:00.000-08:00

I had to run into town today to take my son to the doctor. He seems to have a rattle in his chest and a terrible cough. He has had lung issues since he was born so he goes from fine to pneumonia in no time flat! The doctor said he had Bronchitis and Pharyngitis. He now has in inhaler, some cough syrup, and an antibiotic. He went to bed earlier than usual because he was so tired from being up all night coughing.

Also, today was my daughters first day of actual driving in Drivers Ed. It was weird because while we were in town we actually drove right past her! I couldn't believe that my "little girl" was behind the wheel and without me! (Seems I am having a little trouble with them growing up!)

Since we had time to kill while waiting for the meds to get filled, my son and I popped into a thrift store to see what we could find. I didn't have a lot of time to spend so I just picked up a few things..

I love this wooden candle box. I will probably paint it black. The other is a sign that was painted with a Noah's Ark design. I think it is cute put I will probably paint over it. I am sure it will be something with stars on it!
I got 2 wooden candle holders on the left - need to be painted but look very prim already. The tray in the middle is alright but I am going to paint and put some fabric in the middle to cover up the carving. In front of the tray is a little ducky sign with ribbon that I will completely redo - it was only $ .49 - who could resist! The last item is an iron hand towel holder. This is going to look great in my updated bathroom just as it is! It was only $ .99!
I will try to get some things in the works for Whatcha Workin on Wednesday but I have been a busy gal and already have a few things up my sleeve this week!
Can't wait to share them with you all!
Prim Hugs ~ Nicole

My Fortune Cookie Inspiration and Booth News!

2009-02-22T23:27:00.000-08:00

What a crazy weekend! My daughter and I spent time with my mother on Saturday. We took a trip up to Charlotte to pick up her winnings from the Marvelous Mom's contest that I blogged about earlier. After that we hit up a few home decor stores. My mom wants to redecorate her home so we were out getting ideas. I immediately headed to the clearance isles and found some amazing deals.

My mom found a quilt marked down to $15! I also picked up a few quilted pillow shams for $1 each! My favorite find of the day were 2 HUGE barn stars for $8 each!

Today the family decided that they wanted to eat Chinese so we just called in an order. I picked my fortune cookie and guess what it said . . . "It's a good time to finish up old tasks"! Do you think that this fortune cookie writer has been to my backyard and looked in my building full of unfinished projects? Is this God's way of letting me know that I have started a fire hazard with all of the things piled in that building? Either way, I figured I better listen.

I bundled up and went outside to the building - what a bunch of junk! (That is what the dear hubby thinks!) Not me, I see potential in each and every piece. You know, we have learned to "think outside of the box" but I think sometimes my husband would like to throw me into a box! He goes junkin with me but when it comes time to find a place for it in the building, we have issues.

Needless to say, here are a few of my makeovers.

I had a bag of wooden stars that I found in my craft room clean up. I decided to make a small arrangement using the stars instead of flowers.

I wanted to put them in an old milk glass but I didn't have one so for now I am using an old Clorox bottle that I had on a shelf in my kitchen. I may just tie a piece of homespun around the neck and call it finished.

This is a tall cheese box that I have had for 2 years or more. . . BEFORE . . .

AFTER . . .

I love the stars - I am a sucker for stars! This would be great for umbrellas and things!

I had a childs desk that was a bland red color. It had those "lovely" hearts cutout in the legs and some scroll work at the bottom. Of course, the hearts HAD to go so we decided to amputate . . .

A fresh white washing and amputation of the heart legs made this piece into a great lap desk! I was too excited that I forgot to get a before picture!
I also am in the process of painting an old shelf but I figured that was kind of boring so I didn't get a picture of that either!

After careful consideration, I have decided to expand my booth at Curious Cat. Starting March 1st I will occupy all of booth #20 inside the Market. As I mentioned earlier, I have a lot of things in my building and they are doing me no good in there. So I might as well get busy cleaning these goodies up and filling up my new space! After I made my decision on Saturday, I couldn't sleep for redecorating the whole booth in my head! That is also what led to the makeover session between me and my building today.
I am very excited and can't wait to get back to the Market. I will be filling our truck up with all sorts of goodies and piling everything into my newly expanded space. As always, I will have my camera on hand to share with all of you the finished project.

Prim Hugs ~ Nicole

Whatcha Working on Wednesday

2009-02-18T18:43:00.000-08:00

In honor of Leslie over at My Country Home, I am happily getting to participate in Whatcha Working on Wednesday! I have been showing my Spring makeovers throughout the house in my last post so I don't have too many changes today.

I have recently finished this cute little basket of eggs.

I found this bird nest basket at a yard sale a few years ago and just pulled it out of the storage building. It is now part of my table centerpiece.

I heard my hubby and son in his bedroom banging and pounding, so I had to go check it out. My son is big into skateboarding and has been wanting to hang some of his old skateboard decks on his wall. Of course, the bottoms have to show. This is where the graphics once were but have been scraped and scratched off with the "grinding" of rails and stairs. (Didn't I sound like I knew what I was talking about there?)
Apparently, the hubby is still in a home improvement mood so tonight the two of them finally hung the boards in my son's room.

Doesn't look much like art work to me but, hey, my son likes it and is proud of the condition of these boards! He usually gets a new one for his birthday and Christmas so he has been holding on to these for a while so that he could display them.

My daughter has been waiting for this day for a while now! Her class ring finally came in and she picked it up at school today. The picture isn't that great but she was so proud to show it off!

She picked a silver ring with some sort of purple stone. She had me write her name in cursive on the form so that my handwriting was on the inside of her ring. I thought that was so sweet! It is hard to believe how fast they are growing up! She is currently in Drivers Ed and has recently been getting letters from Colleges and Universities! I can't believe it! We are in the process of planning her Sweet 16 party already. Her birthday isn't until June but we are trying to do a little each week so that we are not crazed at the last minute - although I am sure we will be!

Prim Hugs ~ Nicole

Tuesday Tweaking!

2009-02-17T20:01:00.000-08:00

What a great day! The hubby had the day off so we decided to go out for breakfast this morning! This is rare for us! We aren't exactly what you would call "morning people!" We usually wake up, mumble a few words to each other, (I just usually grunt - it takes a lot less effort!) and go on about our day. Usually around lunch time we phone each other to see how the day is coming along. Not today! We woke up and decided to head into town for a bite to eat. After breakfast, we stopped at a small grocery store in town that we had heard ran pretty decent deals. We've never been to that particular grocery store so we just stopped in and shopped around. There were a few things that I found cheaper, so I picked them up, but not much of a savings overall.

Once we got home, I guess we had been bitten by the home improvement bug. We were going to work out in the yard but it was a little too chilly and my hubby is still recovering from Bronchitis so we didn't want to take any chances! He looked around the house and said "Honey, get my drill!" Boy, what great words! You know what that means ladies - a few things are getting scratched off the honey-do list! YEAH!

He hung my new towel holder in the bathroom, put in a new door stop behind the bathroom door, fixed a cabinet door in the kitchen that was loose, worked on a drawer that was sticking, changed out the ceiling fan in the living room, changed out the light switches to white ones (some of the rooms still had the ivory ones), and worked on the back door that seemed to have a little drag to it. WOW! That was a lot of one afternoon!

Of course, since he was busy, I started working on my own to-do list. I pulled everything out under the kitchen sink and organized it, organized the computer desk area, cleaned curtains, and then it started . . . I began tweaking. I started moving this thing to that wall and that thing to the other shelf. Before I knew it, I started bringing out Spring items from the attic!

So here are a few pics of my Tuesday Tweaks!

This is the top of my entertainment center. The old yellow jug was my grandmothers. It sat in the hallway for as long as I can remember!
This is my new little hand towel for my updated bathroom! I love it! I found it at K-Mart over the weekend. It matches my bathroom colors perfectly!

I just love these bright yellow flowers in my grandmother's old pitcher!

Now I can sit back and enjoy my Spring-filled home! Even though it is still cold outside, the heater runs constantly, and I am always wrapped in a blanket . . . at least it LOOKS like Spring!

I may start my own tradition . . . Tuesday Tweaking! I am constantly changing things around but maybe I can keep it to once a week! The husband would be so happy if I would just leave things alone - but, that is probably not going to happen! *wink wink**

Prim Hugs ~ Nicole

My thrift store makeovers and my updated booth!

2009-02-15T18:19:00.000-08:00

A few posts back, I showed you my thrist store finds. I was needing a cabinet or shelf to show some of my goodies in my booth at Curious Cat. I messed with it all week - trying to get it to prim perfection! It was the standard glossy stain color - nothing fancy. I painted it white and then brushed dark stain over the paint once it dried. I then came along with a tan paint and brushed it on - then took a sponge to wipe some of the paint off. After all was dry, I sanded and scuffed for the worn look. What do you think . . .

Before:

After:

I love the way it turned out! The stain and paint really brought out the detail in the molding.I also had picked up a wood medicine cabinet. I gave it the same treatment as the shelf.
Before:

After:

I wanted to put it in our newly updated bathroom but it was too big! So, my daughter and I took it to my booth at Curious Cat.
You know how when you move one thing around, it triggers an entire makeover? That is what happened yesterday. We spent a few hours rearranging the booth so I wanted to show you all how it looked when we were finished.

I just finished the star pillow sitting in the blue basket. I forgot to take a picture of it! I have to put some more goodies on my new shelf. I had run out of "tweak" time by the time we had moved things around. You know, you really never have enough "tweak" time anyway!
Have a great day!
Nicole

A craft area redo and a vet update

2009-02-12T22:42:00.000-08:00

A few years ago, I installed some wire shelves in our hallway. It was a recess in the wall which housed the furnace at one time. Since then, it was a place to store our towels, sheets, and extra blankets. Now that I was finally finished with the bathroom, I had a better place for all of these. Yesterday afternoon I decided to make my former linen closet into a crafting storage area.
Over the past few months, I have realized that I had crafting supplies scattered from one end of the house to the other. Everytime I wanted to start a project, I had to hunt down my supplies. Sometimes I would give up and just go buy whatever I needed. We can't afford to do that anymore so I was on a mission . . . to find all of my crafting supplies and get them organized!

I our bedroom, I had 3 (yes 3!) of those plastic storage things on wheels. Each one had 3 drawers in it and it was the home for the bulk of my stuff. The rest was scattered in the dining room (which is where the sewing machine was), beside the recliner (I had a basket there with things that I work on while watchin TV), and in various drawers.

I pulled EVERYTHING into the living room. Fabric, buttons, paint, sanders, candles, floral stuff, all of it! Needless to say it was a MESS! I didn't want to go buy more plastic bins so I took the drawers out of the ones in my bedroom. This eliminated a lot from my bedroom and I didn't have to spend any money!

It took several hours but I got it finished. I know it doesn't look like a lot but it is all packed in there! Everything except my fabric. I have it stored in a cabinet in the dining room.

Living in a small house means that you don't have the storage that you would like. I have had to find creative ways to store things so they aren't just lying out for everyone to see.

I have so much stuffing and batting that I needed a place to "hide" it. This was my solution . . .

Can't even tell it's in there, huh? It works great because I don't have those big bulky bags showing! Since I became organized - I have started on 3 more projects. I am not a one at a time type gal! I'll try to show you those projects later.
I think one day I am going to do a post and show off my hiding places! I have things hidden everywhere since there is not room to store them!

We took our English Bulldog, Cane, to the vet yesterday. He loves going because he gets to visit other dogs. We got to sit near the scale so he thought that everyone was coming to see him as they were going to weigh their animals. We knew he had an ear infection because of the way that he was acting. Turns out, he has a bacterial ear infection, skin allergy, and Entropion in one eye. Entropion is an inward rolling of the eyelid edges. He said it is a painful condition because the hair on the lid constantly scratches against the cornea.
They gave us meds for the ear infection and he got an allergy shot for his skin. We also got a cream to put in his eye to help with the discomfort but he has to have surgery. We were not expecting that at all!
The vet said that other than the eye, Cane was very healthy. At least we got that good news! So we hope to have his surgery scheduled in the next few weeks.
Right now, he is in the recliner snoring louder than my husband! Makes it hard to watch TV when they are both dozing! I think the curtains are gonna pull off the windows! I am gonna record it one day!
I hope everyone has a great day!

Nicole

Finally . . . A completed bathroom!

2009-02-10T23:24:00.001-08:00

I have been mentioning my bathroom remodel project in my last posts. It has been a long time coming but I can finally say that it is finished! We live in a older home that belonged to my grandparents and it has one small bathroom. When we first moved in, it didn't even have a shower! I remember taking long hot baths in that little bathroom over the years. It still had the old cast iron plumbing so let me tell you, it took FOREVER to fill up the bath! I would start the water, go finish my homework, and then get in the bath about 30 minutes later! Seriously! The water ran that slow!

After we inherited the house, the plumbing was the first update we had completed. We had that done before we ever moved in. I knew there was no way that the four of us would ever be bathed at that rate! We had a shower/tub installed at the same time.

In the corner of the bathroom, we had a chimney. Back then, it was the chimney that went to the furnace. When I was a teenager, my grandparents had the furnace removed and installed Central Heat & Air. Boy, we thought we were something then! The chimney remained and was eventually painted the same color as the bathroom. You really couldn't even tell it was a chimney. It was in the corner and you basically just passed it by when you came into the bathroom.

It is a small bathroom with the basics . . . toilet, sink, tub/shower. However, there was no place for towels or all of your bath essentials. The entire house didn't even have a linen closet. My grandmother kept all of the towels and linens in a hutch.

Fast forward several years when we moved in. I thought to myself, "We could remove that chimney and build a cabinet in that corner to store our towels and stuff!" Sounds easy right? OH NO! REMOVE A CHIMNEY??? WHAT WAS I THINKING! What about all of that soot? Chipped cement? No, I never asked myself that. That would have made way more sense than I had at the time I guess!

The hubby and I go into the attic and start taking apart the chimney. Luckily, it had been capped off years ago so it didn't go through the roof. Brick by brick, my dear hubby chipped away at the cement - breaking them apart so we could get them down the attic stairs (yes, the pull down kind) and out the door into the bed of his truck. We had an assembly line going. He broke them apart, I took them to the stairs and passed it down to Miranda, she passed the brick to Colton who took it out the door and threw it in the truck. It was a little messy up in the attic but not too bad. We get downstairs and get the chimney 1/2 way down. Then we seen it. Black soot was packed full almost 1/2 up the chimney. PACKED FULL! We started shoveling it into trashcans. Sucked it up in the Shop Vac (BAD IDEA) Needless to say, by the time the chimney was gone, the bathroom was black, we were black, the CARPET was black, the porch was black, the poodle was black and the children were black!

In the weeks to come, we had to rip up the carpet and put in new flooring. I had tried everything to clean the carpet but nothing would get that oily soot out! We cleaned ALOT of molding and walls. Had a poodle BLEACHED! Then we built the cabinet for the bathroom. Once that cabinet was in place, I didn't want to be anywhere near that bathroom for awhile - seriously, awhile! Because of the disaster that I call, Hurricane Nicole, we have been working on cleaning up for about a year!

That brings me to the bathroom makeover. I finally got up the courage to give it another try. My daughter and I worked on it over the weekend. We got the old molding torn down and painted. I painted the ceiling a bright white to lighten it up. The rest of the house has more prim colors to it but I wanted something light and bright because of it's size. I still try to bring in some prim pieces so it doesn't look like it completely belongs to another house. Once we got it painted, the hubby helped me hang the wainscotting and new molding. I am very pleased with the results!

Today was cleaning day for the bathroom! I put my hair in a ponytail, put on some sweats, and went at it! The floor still had remnants of black soot! That stuff was in every nook and cranny! I felt like Cinderella . . . not the cute gal heading off to a ball . . no . . . the one with her bucket, on her hands and knees, scubbing the floor. That was me today. Can you picture it?

The hubby cooked dinner tonight so that I could clean the bathroom. (Not sure if he was being nice or if I was being punished! lol) So, after over a year of waiting . . . it is done. I spent the past hour decorating it and moving things from other rooms. I still have a few things to buy to give it that finished look but it was so clean, I wanted to show you before my kids wake up tomorrow and there is toothpaste on the walls! lol

Keep in mind that this bathroom in small so I could not stand back far enough to get the entire picture so I had to take them in sections.

I picked up this shower curtain a few months ago at Curious Cat for $5! It has been sitting in a box every since then.This is the pan I have hanging over the commode. I bought this from Beth at Olde Tyme Marketplace. She has a booth at Curious Cat also and this little gem was there calling my name!

I am going to use the blue jars for my essentials . . . Q-tips, cotton balls, and tweezers/fingernail clippers. I just thought they fit perfect with my new blue! I am going to get some brown fabric to put them on. Just to break up the blue and white. I guess something with texture.

I put this little gathering together on top of an old wood hamper. The brown pitcher belonged to my grandmother. The set of shutters are another of Beth's treasures!

Just a close up of the old wooden hamper. I love it! It holds our sheets and things (shhh!) I am going to put more brown fabric here to cover the hamper lid.

This is the vanity that we purchased last year. I think it is so cottagie (I know that isn't a word!) I allows some storage underneath - thank goodness! Also, see the Maple candle on the sink - another of Beth's treasures! The best smelling candle . . . EVER! I hung this wreath over the wooden hamper. Great brown against the blue!
I took down the medicine cabinet and hung this mirror instead. It was a wedding gift from my Aunt Dot. She even wrote "We love you" across the back. It was a centerpiece at our table during the reception. She had it covered with lit candles and flower petals!
Yes, this is a picture of our floor. Nothing special - except it has NO SOOT on it anymore! Can you believe it! I also wanted to show you . . . it really is a small bath huh? I was not kidding! Thanks so much for taking the tour of our bath remodel! Sorry for the long post but I really felt I should explain why it took so long to remodel our tiny bath! I am sure I will be tweaking it in the coming weeks - but for now . . . IT IS FINISHED! (You should see the dance I am doing about it!)
Thanks to everyone's well wishes for Cane! He goes to the vet in the morning so I'll be sure to let you know how it goes!
I hope everyone has a great week!

Some Thrift Store Goodies . . .

2009-02-09T18:53:00.000-08:00

I had to show off some of my weekend Thrift Store finds! The hubby and I took off early Saturday morning on a mission. I needed a piece of furniture to display my handmades at my booth at Curious Cat. We actually found so many good deals that I couldn't pass them up! The first store we came to had a lot of great things sitting out front. I immediatly pulled in because I seen a hutch top sitting there all alone. We got it and a great bathroom cabinet! It is solid wood and looks great! I can't wait to slap a little paint on it!

The second store we went to had a lot of old prim looking pieces tucked in behind the newer stuff. Everytime I go there I have to look back behind the "nicer" things to find what I am looking for. This time I found this old metal bin - it has a great pull out door on it. It is made like a tater bin (just so you can picture it). It looks like it went in a bathroom or something. I am going to research and see if I can find out what it was for. It is the white cabinet above. I had to have it - only $5!
I found a table that had a handful of wood picture frames - had to have those - $1.00 for all. I use them for my stitcheries - that way I don't have to charge an arm and a leg for the finished product!
Last but not least, I found an old porcelain coffee pot. It is perfect! In great shape - just needed a little cleaning.

All in all, I think it was a great bargain day! I am going to get my finds "prim-tastic" hopefully this week.

We have been making a few changes in our main bathroom. It is a little small so we needed to brighten it up. My daughter worked until late last night repainting. We had a custom built cabinet installed but I never got around to painting it. Miranda took care of all of the white painting - the door, trim, and the cabinet. I decided to go with a lighter blue. It is not really prim but I wanted something a little more lively in there. It always seems so dark and gloomy - had to brighten it up! I will take a picture of it when it doesn't look like such a mess! Hopefully, later on this week I will share it with ya.

I have to take our dear doggie, Cane, to the vet on Wednesday so I won't get a lot done that day! He isn't feeling well lately. I think he has some type of ear infection. He is still running and playing but we want to get it checked out before it gets worse.

Better safe than sorry I guess! I take him to a vet about an hour away because they are a lot more affordable than the ones around here. They have seen Cane since he was a puppy so that way they know his history.
I hope everyone has a great week. I will share my bathroom pics and my thrifting makeovers as soon as I can!

Marvelous Moms

2009-02-06T19:55:00.000-08:00

A few months ago, I sent in a letter to a local radio station for a contest they call "Marvelous Moms". I told about my mom who has always worked 2 jobs to take care for my brothers and I after my father passed away. As with a lot of mothers, she sacrificed a lot to care for us and make sure we had what we needed. I had forgotten all about writing the letter until today. I received a phone call from my mom. I could tell she had been crying. Of course, a thousand things ran through my mind as to what was wrong. She asked me about what I sent to the radion station . . . it took me a minute to remember. She said they had called her and told her she was this week's "Marvelous Mom". They read her the letter I had written.

At the moment she called me, I was sitting inside the pharmacy waiting for my husbands meds to get filled. He is diabetic so this takes a while to fill all of the testing supplies, needles, and medication itself. I wasn't sure if they had played it on the radio yet or not so I tried to get out of there as soon as I could.

About 15 minutes later, I had escaped from the pharmacy and made it to my car. My husband and I were going through the bag to make sure we had picked up everything we needed and about that time, he announced, "Now it is time for this week's Marvelous Mom!" I was so excited! I was actually getting to hear her response!

They told her they were with WSOC and asked if she knew me. (At this moment, I know she was thinking . . . should I admit it or not!) They told her that I had written a letter and asked her if they could read it to her. As they read, she was very quiet. When they got to the end, they told her that they were honored to get to meet someone like her. As she tried to thank them, I could tell she had been crying. The guy reading the letter said that he had tried to read it 2 other times but had to stop because he was choked up. (Now, that must have been a good letter!)

She won a gift certificate to a auto shop for an oil change, a $60 gift certificate to Cabet Cheese, and a certificate for pamering at Massage Envy!

I was so glad that she had finally received some recognition for all that she had done! It got me thinking though - I had wrote that letter several months ago on my lunch break at work. I submitted it online and had forgotten all about it. It never dawned on me that my mom had no idea that I looked up to her so much! She was in shock that I would take a few minutes and write something great about her - like she hasn't done a million things like that for me over the years.

I remember I would find silly notes in my lunch - simply telling me to Have a great day! In college, she would send me post cards from my home town (which is literally 45 minutes away) saying "Wish you were here!). For every birthday, I would get a card with a heart felt note written inside letting me know how much she loved me. But she never expected me to do the same for her! She told me that it made her day. She had been a little down in the dumps lately so it came at the perfect time too!

I tried to find the link so you guys could hear it but the station hasn't posted today's podcast yet. And of course, I couldn't wait to share it with all of you!

I hope everyone has a great weekend! I have some Goodwill Hunting to do!

A New Look For an Old Hat

2009-02-06T01:43:00.001-08:00

Since we all love searching the Thrift Stores and Goodwill - I thought I would share this really inexpensive makeover of a 90's classic. We all remember them . . . the straw hats that we used on the front door to greet guests. The ones with lace and flowers . . . you remember right? Everytime I am at a yard sale or bargain hunting, I run across a few. They still have the lace and ribbon on them, usually covered in dirt and dust and lots of missing flowers.

I seen this at a friends booth at Curious Cat a few years ago. She actually brought life back to the straw hat! I have to give props to Gladys for coming up with this idea - I loved it so much I bought hers right off the wall and have had it hanging in my dining room for 2 years now!

She stripped the hat of all it's 90's goodness. No more lace and ribbon - goodbye rosettes and wire!

Materials needed:

Straw Hat

Piece of Cardboard - size of hat

Small piece of ribbon

Wide ribbon for "band" on hat

Mossy Grass

Small Bird

Twig or small dowel rod

Hot glue

Instructions:

First step is to lay the hat on a piece of cardboard, trace around the hat and cut out. Then she cut a hole towards the bottom of the hat - not very large. Just about the same height as the bird used. She turned the hat over and stuffed some great mossy grass inside. Now you will glue the cut out cardboard piece to the back of your hat. **Be sure you can not see the cardboard from the front!** You can go ahead and hot glue a thin piece of ribbon or wire to the back in a loop in order to hang your hat. Once all has dried, turn your hat over and we can start working on the front! You will hot glue a twig or small dowel rod to the bottom of the hole (this will be the birds perch). You may have to use your fingers to pull some of the mossy grass towards the hole opening. You want a little sticking out from the hole to cover the opening. Once the twig is stable, glue your bird on to the top. Then take your wide ribbon and wrap around the hat. Tie into a bow at bottom. Be sure to hot glue the ribbon to the hat so that it doesn't slide off.

Viola - you've gone from an out of date straw hat to a cute country bird house! This whole project will cost you less than $5!

We've got to get Gladys up and running with a blog - she has the neatest ideas out of some household goodies! I am going to try to get over to her new store and take some pics! I'll be sure to share them as soon as I can!

Whatcha Working on Wednesday

2009-02-04T21:05:00.000-08:00

Technically it is after midnight so I guess it is Thursday but I wanted to get in a post on Leslie's Whatcha Working on Wednesday. It has been forever since I have gotten a Wednesday update in - I barely made it this week!

I have been stitching a lot lately - I enjoy that because I an sit in the living room with the family and stitch while they are watching TV. I hate being in another room sewing but then, of course, if I move it into the living area, they can't hear the TV! I am trying to work on some Spring items for my booth but, it is hard to think of Spring, blooms, and flowers when we woke up this morning to SNOW! I apparently hadn't been paying attention to the Weather Channel because I had no idea it was on it's way! The kids got up for school today and the phone rang. It was the School System calling to let us know that school was cancelled. We looked outside and there was snow all over! Talk about a shock. We all just went back to bed. Nobody even felt like taking pictures or going out to play. We have all been passing around the flu for the past few weeks so we are still trying to recover.

The first item I finished was a Spring Pitcher stitchery. I added a few buttons for flowers and lightly colored in the pitcher with a dark blue colored pencil. It reads "Bloom Where You Are Planted" along the bottom. I am working on sprucing up the frame but it hasn't dried yet. So far, this is what I got . . .

I have had this two part frame since last summer. I picked it up at a yard sale along with a bundle of wooden frames. I finally decided to stitch something just for this frame. I found this stitchery and thought it would be perfect!

It reads: "No matter what, no matter where, it's always home when love is there". I just stitched a Saltbox house to go on the other side. Added some prim to the frame and viola . . .

I also worked on a few hearts for Valentines. I had some red ticking left over from Christmas and thought I would use some of that. I picked up a wooden box with an iron gate like backing to it at a thrift store. I filled it with some white pip berries and my grungied hearts.
It turned out to be perfect for the space I needed to fill!

I am just glad I got to share in the WWW this time. It may be months before I get to do it again they way my memory is!

Nicole

Unique Handmade Pendants!

2009-01-29T22:32:00.000-08:00

I have been a lover of all things handmade for many years. When I get the opportunity to meet a talented crafter or designer, I feel very blessed. I firmly believe in the "Buy Handmade" campaign because there are so many talented folks in this world who deserve to be successful!

I first met Janna, when I had my store here in town. She came in one Saturday and bought a few items. After a few minutes of chit-chat, we realized that we both love Primitives and the love of junking. We also shared a mutual friend who has a WONDERFUL prim store, Beth at Old Tyme Marketplace in Marshville, NC.
Janna had mentioned that she made jewelry. Now I am not what you call a jewelry buff - I usually only wear my wedding ring and my earrings so I didn't think too much about it. She actually was wearing one of her pendants and when she showed it to me, I fell in love with it! She uses old vintage buttons as the base for her pendants. This particular one had an old vintage key attached! I was hooked!

She has a booth at Curious Cat as well as one at the Waxhaw Antique Mart which is close by my house. I would stop in there often to see her newest designs. These pendants are gorgeous! They have a unique vintage look to them and I have not seen anything like them. On my last trip to Curious Cat, my daughter and I stopped by Janna's booth. Believe it or not, my daughter also fell in love with her pendants! Normally my daughter and I do not agree on jewelry so this was a first. It is very rare for the mother and teenager to agree on fashion. I couldn't believe it! She is now saving her money so she can buy more! She loves the fact that they are unique and they have been a hit at her school.

Janna's company, Artsy Fartsy, also accepts custom orders for her pendants.

Can you see the vintage keys on some of these pendants?

You can find her work by checking out her website, Artsy Fartsy Finds. She, also, has her items available at several retail locations throughout North Carolina. Be sure to check her out! I think I may get her to make something for my daughter's upcoming Sweet 16! When I get it, I will definitely post a pic and share it with all of you!

New Quilting Shop in town

2009-01-24T21:37:00.000-08:00

A few months ago, a great new Quilting shop opened in downtown Waxhaw! I am so excited because it is a great place to pick up beautiful fabrics and kits! I have stopped in a few times and met the owners, Beth and Kim. These ladies are wonderful! The name of the shop is The Quilting Nook. They had a sign in the window for a few weeks before they actually opened and let me tell you, Waxhaw was buzzing about the new Quilt shop! No one could wait for it to open so we could get inside! The building was the Grocery store back in the early 1900's and these ladies put in a lot of time and effort to keeps its "old" look but updating things to bring it up to date!
They carry full lines of Robert Kaufmann, Hoffman, Moda, Clothworks, Timeless Treasures and Fabriquilt Fabrics. The walls are lined with many bolts of fabrics and there are lots of completed quilts hanging on the walls for inspiration.

They also offer classes from the inexperienced (like me) to the more advanced. They even offer classes like the Little Diva's class where our kids can jump on the quilting bandwagon.

Isn't this place amazing? I feel right at home everytime I walk in! I just thought I would share this little corner of my world with all of my blogging buddies! Too bad you all don't live a little closer!

Our Snowy Tuesday

2009-01-21T15:40:00.000-08:00

The family and I sat around on Monday night patiently waiting for the snow to come. It was the biggest story on every local news channel - the Big Snow of 2009. The kids were of course looking forward to it so that school would be cancelled and so they could have a little snow fun! Bedtime came for the kids - still no sight of snow. I sent them on to bed and promised that if I saw any snow I would wake them up. Finally around 1 a.m. we started see a few flakes. I rushed off to the kids rooms to wake them up. By that time, my daughter didn't care what was falling from the sky but my son woke up and was so excited. Well, as excited as you could be to be just woke up!

We finally made it off to bed. The next morning, we looked out and this is what we saw . . .This was the view from our front porch. If course, school was cancelled and both my husband and I had the day off due to the weather. I know, a lot of you have much more than this and still go to work but here, everything shuts down with a little snow! My husband and kids took a trip into a local town to run a few errands. My daughter took a few more pictures with her new phone she received for Christmas.

Isn't it beautiful! It snowed on and off all morning on Tuesday but by the afternoon, it was all gone. By the evening it had started melting and there were only a few signs that we had snow at all! At least we had one day I guess!

The snow is on it's way . . .

2009-01-19T18:26:00.000-08:00

Well according to the National Weather Service, the snow is finally headed to our part of NC! I have had fun looking at everyone's pictures of the snow in their neck of the woods but haven't had any to share myself. They say that it will start tonight around midnight (I will have to take their word for it, cuz I will not be up to see it!). We don't see much snow here so when they say we may see some snow, everyone around here goes CRAZY! They flood the grocery stores and stock up on the essentials, breads, milk, eggs, things like that. The problem is, we only have snow for a few hours, then it melts. We have never been snowed in or came anywhere close to what a lot of you have. I think if you guys came here and seen our little snow, you would laugh at the craziness! I went to pick up a dozen eggs, just because we wanted breakfast for dinner. This lady acted like I had taken her only child! She was so upset that there weren't more eggs. I thought we were going to get into an all out brawl over a dozen eggs! I try to be a nice person but I went home with my eggs. (Kind of mean of me not to offer them to her huh? Oh well!)

This weekend my daughter and I decided to spend the day together. It is strange but as she gets on up in teenage years, she WANTS to hang out with me more! My son had made plans for all day skating at a local indoor skatepark. It is a great place where kids can go skate with their skateboards without having to be out in this weather. We went from noon to 10 pm. My legs would have been jello by then but he's only 12 so it doesn't affect him yet. The hubby decided to go mud bogging. Yes, mud bogging. So my daughter and I spent practically the whole day by ourselves.

We started the day by grabbing some lunch. We rarely ever go eat without the guys joining us! It was a great time to gossip and chat. We then went to Curious Cat which is where I have a booth. Let me just say that I love this place! There are so many great vendors and everyone has their own niche. The gals are always so nice and helpful too! I recently had some things to sell so I needed to update the booth a little and bring in some of my latest goodies. My daughter, Miranda was such a big help. We worked on the booth for a few hours until time to head to the movies. We decided we wanted to go see "Bride Wars". What a great time! There were a lot of her friends there (it seems like she knows everybody) and she didn't seem to be embarressed by hanging out with me! How great was that!

Since it has been so cold, I started working on a few Valentines items for my booth. I made these cute hearts out of red ticking. It seems weird to be working on Valentines and Spring items with the temperatures around 15 degrees! I hope to start on a stitching or two this week also.
I also finished up a new batch of primitive sachets. These have great scents and look so prim!

Well, I am going to go cozy up with a blanket and thumb through some stitchery patterns. I hope you have a great day!

Lookie what I got!

2009-01-16T12:33:00.000-08:00

What a cold week it has been here! I woke up this morning to temperatures around 15 degrees! I am not a fan of the cold weather AT ALL! It seems like I can't get warm enough to be comfortable! We still haven't seen any snow - unlike a lot of my blogger buddies out there! Over on Farmchick's blog, she has posted some great pictures of the kids sledding in her snowy fields! It looks like a lot of fun, but we don't anything like that here.

Anyways, enough complaining! I came out of the house on Saturday morning, went to get in my car and found these great old planters sitting next to my porch! My dear father in law had stopped by and brought these 4 old mule drawn planters!

He had come across these somewhere and knew we would love them. I couldn't believe it! I had always wanted one of these in my yard, among flowers in the garden, ya know . . . can't you picture it? Now I have 4! The handles are worn from years of use - so many memories with these! I have a fairly small yard so I am not going to have room for 4 so I will have to figure something out for a few of them. They may have to find new homes since I can't keep all of them. Sad I know but we already have an old set of wagon weels and an old red wagon so believe me when I tell you, there is no room for all of these!

Have a great week!