...Sick Days...

 

Boy am I grateful for sick days.  I hate to have to use them because that means, well, that I'm sick, but they sure are nice to have when you need them.  

 

I don't get sick, usually.  The allergies and colds and flu bugs and all those other grimy sicknesses that float around don't typically affect me...but they have sure knocked me down this weekend and week.  

But not before a little fall decorating was done.  

I woke up early Saturday morning, took the dogs out, spent a little time with the Lord, and set out to deck the halls with boughs of "fall"y so to speak.  I accomplished a little before this pesky cold-sinus-infection-possibly-the-flu-or-something-similar-bug really set in, but it was enough.  For now, at least.  

Amish in the air... and a Seasons change

This post really has nothing to do with the Amish other than this one picture of Amish friendship bread ...well and the painted quilt square, a big 3 foot by 3 foot piece of plywood with "True Burgundy" and "Antique White" acrylic paint.   

This is what happens when you don't spray or grease a non-seasoned pan well enough.  It's ok, more for me and the hubby...with a cake (or bread) that looks like this, you don't have to share!!

My intentions for this post were to show you how well I can make a cake...HA... that sometimes, things don't turn out quite like you'd expect, and that when this happens, well, it's the inside that counts. In this case, the deliciousness of the Amish bread outweighed the presentation of the loaf itself.

And this Amish bread would lead into telling you about this lovely quilt square project, that took me way too long to complete, and to tell you about its sweet and gracious recipient.  

However, something else is weighing heavy on my heart and what kind of person would I be to deny being honest with all of you.

The title of this post is Amish in the air...

A New Wreath for a New Season

Well first off...

HAPPY FALL Y'ALL!

We are beginning to transition into a new season here in small town Carolina and I am loving every single second of it.  The temperatures are dropping and my AC (and wallet) are LOVING it!  I know at every seasons start, I say,"This is my favorite..." but for fall, I really mean it!  

I mean, who doesn't love sweaters...

 and boots...

and campfires...

and pumpkins...

and apples...

and cider...

and hayrides...

and boots... (oh, did I mention that already?!)...(i really like boots!)

Any who...back to the purpose of these boots....I mean this blog...

I couldn't pass up the Feed Sack Wreath for fall, it was made for welcoming autumn and all of her darling guests!  And I have had so many questions and comments on this one that I figured I would try to include a more detailed tutorial for making it.

...GATHER...

Well, first things first, gather together your supplies.  For this particular wreath, I used three burlap feed sacks, two wire clothes hangers, a cheap plack from WalMart, paint and brushes, some wire, some satin fabric, a few gold pearls, my hot glue gun, and glue sticks.

Flatten out your feed sack wreath.

Cut the top, side, and bottom edges off of your sack.  Only one side, the side where the seam is, or where the sack has been sewn together.   On the other side that has been "folded over," cut down the middle, leaving you two separate pieces of burlap.

Now cut your burlap into three (or 4 depending on the size you would like) strips.  This will actually be 6 (or 8) strips.

Here are all of my strips after cutting the three sacks.

Un-wrap your hangers.

Stretch them out, overlapping the ends about 6 to 8 inches in the middle. 

Wrap these together with some smaller wire.

Here is a close up...

And now you just started feeding your sack onto the stretched out hanger...accordion style.  Once you have fed all off your burlap onto the hanger, bring your two ends together and twist!

I have to apologize because I realized that I got so excited when painting my cheap little plack, that I forgot to take pictures.  Basically, I just painted over it in a linen white, waited for the paint to dry, and then painted Autumn Blessings in burnt umber.  I then brushed on a few lines to spruce it up a bit.  

And for the flowers, I didn't include instructions for them because of the gazillion tutorials already online that are fabulous!  Here's one, and another, and another...just to name a few...

And this tutorial wouldn't be complete without a picture of the 

organized 

chaos 

in my living room...

i spy with my little eye... Aren't Sunday afternoons fabulous?  While the hubs watches football, I like to do something productive...like make a mess of my living room!  And, being the multi-tasker that I am, there is usually two or more projects going at a time.  What else am I suppose to do while I wait for the paint to dry?

Now, tie or hot glue your signage in to place, hot glue your flowers onto your wreath and Ta- Dah!  I must mention that I just typed that so quickly...making it sound ever so simple.  This part took me more time than the entire project...and I don't believe I am exaggerating when I say that.  I placed that sign all over that wreath, slanted to the right, and then to the left, or maybe cockeyed at the bottom...or top.  I hope you get where I am going with this.  It had to be placed in just the right spot, is anybody with me?  And the flowers...well, that's a whole other story...

Funny thing is...they all ended up where I placed them the first time around...so sad and almost a waste of time.  Well, sort of.  Now I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are positioned where they look their best!

So, what do you think??

 May all your sweaters be cozy,  your boots be fashionable, your homes bearing fall's warming scents, and your front doors be dressed with autumns welcome...God bless you dear ones!


        

Autumn Blessings

“The Lord bless you
    and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you
    and be gracious to you;
 the Lord turn his face toward you
    and give you peace.”

-Numbers 6:24-26

In a Girlie Mood

It is officially AuTuMn... HAPPY FALL YA'LL!!

It seems I would be crafting fall tonight to celebrate this special day, right?...wrong. I was feeling extra girlie and shabby chic tonight and it showed in my creations.

You know how much I have been loving wreaths here lately and I decided to make another Folded Book Page Wreath, the one I created a tutorial for a few weeks back. (If you click on the link, it will take you to the tutorial) I had been keeping a pile of pages that I have been folding in my spare time and decided it was time to put them to use...



I thought about adding some kind of a bow or fancy flower or spray, but I think these are beautiful all on their own...so chic!! LOVE IT!
And they are so fun to take pictures of. You can get so many angles with them! I guess you can tell I'm slightly obsessed, huh? I'll work on that!

I guess I should figure out how hard it would be to find a box to ship these cuties in so that I can start listing on Etsy. I'll probably take a couple to some of the craft shows I have coming up too.

................................................................................................................................
I also made a jewelry holder from an old picture frame. I had spray painted it a while back and just now gettin' around to doing something with it. I just stapled twin to the back of the frame and some pretty floral fabric behind that, and Voila!!

What do you think? I think you'll be seeing a lot more of these!

Goodnight!

...

HAPPY FALL YA'LL!...I know I have about 3 more weeks before I can officially say that, but today has been a lazy Labor Day Monday...and what better to do than begin decorating for fall!! Today brings summer to a close, at least in my neck of the woods. The lake and my back yard will hopefully be a lot quieter. And as much as I love the summer and that good ole southern sunshine, it's kinda nice to transition into some cooler weather. It's been a hot one and my garden is beginning to dry up. I've eaten and put up more than enough of my share of squash and zucchini this summer, I have cucumbers and pickles coming out of my ears, and I am ready to start canning some of that good tasting apple butter. The mountains will soon be calling me and I cannot wait to bring back that sweet crisp fruit...mountain apples!!

Well, I just wanted to post a few things I've been working on lately. I've been trying to focus my time on things that would go well at craft shows plus Christmas gifts and goodies. I've been crocheting up a storm trying to get several dishcloths made. Folded up and stacked, three of these little beauties tied together with some jute string make a fancy little gift. I personally love the warmer colored yarns; red, brown, rust... which are also perfect for the season we're about to be entering.





After crocheting a few of these babies, I finally figured out the right size. The first 3 cloths were quite a bit larger than I would have preferred, so I rolled them up and tied them with a piece of string. These turned out cute, too, and would look really nice, rolled up in a gift basket, with a few homemade canned goodies and maybe a loaf of warm fresh-baked bread?!! Doesn't this time of year just get you excited?! What can I say, I'm in the autumn spirit!!