Prims By The Water Halloween Scavenger Hunt ~ Clues 3 & 4

Clue No. 3 in Janice's Halloween Scavenger Hunt:

"Going down anyone?

If so, please bring ice...."

Here's my answer.....

And Clue No. 4:

"I can be white, orange

Green and even black

Some folks call me a gourd

But I like to be called Jack...."

And my photo:

(This adorable guy is one of OLM's creations.....Thanks Marie!)

So....if you don't know what the heck I'm doing, scroll down a few posts....I'm having fun with Janice's Halloween Scavenger Hunt.....You can play too...

Just go to Prims By The Water and tell Janice you "got your Halloween on!!"

Happy Spooking!!!

(Angie....you out there??? ;o))



Prims By The Water Halloween Scavenger Hunt ~ Clue #2

Can you tell I'm loving this???

Here's Clue #2:

"This ole Gent

Sometimes gets Blue

But I sure do Love

His harvest Hue!"

 Man in the "harvest" moon....*

*The wonderful work of Diane from Tallowberry Primitives....

In case you don't know what I'm talking about...it's the Halloween Scavenger Hunt Giveaway at Prims By The Water.

Fly on over and check out the fun.....
(Beat ya Lil Raggedy!!) ;o)

Prims By The Water Scavenger Hunt....Clue #1.....

Janice from Prims By The Water is having a Halloween Scavenger Hunt Giveaway! Woo Hoo! Can you say "fun"?!!! I LOVE scavenger hunts!! (Yeah...I went to the University of Wisconsin in Madison....)

Each day or so she will be posting a clue or two....Your mission: To find the answer to the clue and post a picture of it on your blog. Once you have, you need to leave a comment on Janice's blog telling her you have solved that clue....

Clue #1:

"These fine ladies whether good or bad

know how to sweep

So don't make them mad."

Here's my picture:

 

To add to the cauldron of fun, Janice will be drawing a random winner from those who found all items on October 10th....and the lucky winner will receive some of Janice's wonderful hand-dids:

So let the games begin....and get your Halloween on!!



~Tuesday Display Chain~"Framed In"~Project Style

It's back....!!

The Tuesday Display Chain!

The lovely and talented Misi from 1890 Gable House Musings is once again graciously hostessing the weekly chain....But with a few twists this time around....

This time its a continuous chain lasting 4 weeks....We'll see how long I last!

Anywho...this week's theme is "Framed In" - Project Style....Misi left this one wide open....and left us to free to interpret it as we wish.

Hmmmm....You know mine would be a bit on the twisted side....

So, without further adieu, I'd like to introduce you to:

The Girl In The Mirror:

Take the image of one spooky little girl, and add to a purchased mirror, and you have some very fun and unusual Halloween decor.  (Love the empty eyes and the fingers on the side like she's trying to climb out....)

It's harder than I thought to take a picture of a mirror, but I think you get the idea....If you're interested in doing one of your own, it's really quite simple....Just follow these steps:

1.  Find a photo online that you would like to see staring back at you when you look in the mirror.  Cut it down to the size you like, leaving a bit of a border.  (For a spookier effect, the photo I used was also copied onto a piece of transparency paper (remember that stuff?) and then the transparency copy and the paper copy were placed on top of each other, with just a slight, slight, offset to give it a more ghost-like image, and taped together.)

2.  Take a Dremel or razor blade (razor blade actually works better) and gently scrape off the backing of the mirror (If the mirror has a cardboard or paper backing, you'll need to remove that first, or cut out a section large enough to accommodate the photo you are using).  Steel wool also works well in taking the backing off - but you need to use a GENTLE touch so you do not scrape the glass any more than you have to.  (Note - you may want to wear a mask while doing this....) Scrape the area to the size and shape of your photo.  (For the one above, I used an irregular oval shape.)  Occasionally, hold the photo up to the scraped part on the back to check your progress so you can gauge the correct size and shape.  You don't want to scrape too much, or you will have blank paper or blank space showing through.

3.  Tape the photo to the back of the mirror and, ta da! You have a person "framed in" your mirror!

How's that for project style?

Not your style??? Well, how about this project: 

Make your own Halloween cards!  Just scan a photo of a suitable candidate, and print out (or photocopy).  Layer with specialty paper, etc. on card stock and embellish with stamps, witch's hat, or whatever!  Too cool!

Ok....so something tells me this isn't, exactly, what Misi had in mind, but it's my interpretation - and I'm sticking to it!!

Go visit Misi for links to other members of the chain gang and see what they came up with!  (Maybe I should have done that first, huh??)

Happy Tuesday!

Magic From Misi and Mary....

Last week, two new, and very special, house guests arrived here in Nod....

Are these two not just seriously adorable???

They were the incredibly generous gift from Miss Misi at 

 1890 Gable House Musings in her Awaiting Autumn Giveaway, and are the creations of Miss Mary from Prairie Homeplace. 

Misi was welcoming Mary's wonderful handmades to her shop and selling blog, Gable House Goodes.

Mary's work can be found on her picturetrail:

 http://www.picturetrail.com/prairiehomeplace or at Early Work Mercantile:

http://earlywork-prairiehomeplace.blogspot.com/.

Misi is one of the most talented artists I've had the good fortune of meeting (in a "virtual" sense).  Among other things, she makes the most wonderful things of wax and her "smell goodes" are a little bit of heaven....She is one of the most creative and generous people I know....Besides her amazing talent, she's funny, artistic, beautiful, and everything I want to be when I grow up.  As for Mary - well, these sweet folk speak for Mary's talent more articulately than I ever could....Thank you so much Misi (and Mary)!!! Every year these two will await autumn with me with special thoughts of your gifts, talents, and generosity.

******************************

And while I'm here....I want to also include a little, but very sincere, note of appreciation for another one of my favorite blog buddies....The ever-sweet and kind Pam from basketsnprims.  Pam is one of those people that if you know her, you can't help but love her...but if you didn't know her, you probably wouldn't like her because she is so stinking talented, it makes you a wee bit green.

See Pam kind of does everything....she stitches wonderful stitcheries, she makes wonderful beeswax creations, and is an amazing basket maker....Plus she has a very cool home, family and garden.....she also skateboards on occasion - but I wouldn't bring that up right about now... ;o)  Anyway....I digress....

Pam recently listed these fun little candle lights (made in zinc canning jar lids) on her selling blog, primitive basketcase, and I had to have one (ok....two....)

And.....

Well....and....

And Pam, the sweetie pie that she is, sent me this:

THANK you Pam!!! You're a for sure and for certain sweetheart!! (Hope that arm is doing better!) ;o)

I have truly been blessed with amazing blessings...of a material and of an even more heart-warming kind....

More Halloween Magic In The Mail!!

WOO HOO!!

(Or is that Woo "Hoot"???)

In any event, my mailbox has, once again, been a very special place! First off....

This wonderfully fun "witchy pumpkin gal" comes from The Vintage Polka Dot, a magical place where whimsy and grunge come to dance and play.  Brenda, the very fine and sweet proprietress of The Vintage Polka Dot, recently had a giveaway, and I was the lucky winner!! :o)

Isn't she the sweetest?? Brenda crafts the most beautiful dolls and folk art and has a great line of patterns as well.  You can find more of Brenda's creations on her Website.  Brenda also has another blog, Sankers Country House,  that contains updates on Brenda's booth at Spring Hill Antiques and decorating ideas and trends that strike her fancy. And, last but not least, you can find Brenda's work on Handmade Art Fair.

Thank you so very much Brenda! This gal just tickles my Halloween fancy! 

******************

I was also one of several winners in the recent giveaway at Primitive Folk Art Talk & Tea Ebay Group ("PFATT").

YEA!!!

I was fortunate enough to win this whimsically wonderful little jack o' lantern ornie from Diane at Tallowberry Primitives.

I absolutely LOVE him!!

Thank you so much Diane (and PFATT)!! You know how much I love your work, so this is a special treat!!

 

Hope everyone has a week filled with blessings and Halloween magic....Off to decorate some more.....

Farm Field Primitives ~ Some of My Favorite Things!

My favorite season is whispering.....

I know you hear it too....

And the magic has begun!!

I recently won (no spell casting involved - I swear!) an AWESOME giveaway from Farm Field Primitives!

Melissa sent me some of my most favorite things!! A sweet black cat, a stack of pumpkins, a beeswax pumpkin, a beeswax tombstone angel hanger, and some wonderfully primitive beeswax corn cob niblet bowl fillers:

What's not to love about this adorable black kitty and her punkin stack??

And OLM's lil witch claimed the beeswax punkin as her own (can't blame her - but she is an assertive little thing....Marie??? Think about sending your gals to finishing school before you put them up for adoption, hey?):

 

The tombstone angel:

Corn niblets:

Thank you from the bottom of my Halloween heart, Melissa!!! I love my new treasures!!! They are so crow-perfect and are truly some of my favoritest things!!!

You will LOVE Melissa's blog - it's full of prim wonderment (you have this crow's caw on it!!) And she has an amazing Etsy Shop too! I'm wanting one of everything she didn't already send me!

Melissa's wonderful gift inspired me to "start...."  You know....that over-the-top fall and Halloween decorating thing I do.....(I don't think it's necessarily a good thing for your house to be called a "museum," do you???)

Anywho.....we all know....it starts with the ceremonial "changing of the rug:"

Ta da!

Let the fun and festivities begin!!!



Going Home....

I was 3 years old when my grandfather died.  Shortly thereafter, my mother and father purchased "the homestead" - built by my (maternal) great grandfather and his brothers.....

It was home.....

My father and mother farmed the land and both also worked outside the home....

My father was diagnosed with multiple myeloma (a cancer of the marrow of the bone) at age 47 and died at the age of 50.  When he passed, my mother made a very painful decision to sell "the homestead" as we could not keep up the farming operations.  My oldest brother had just turned 18 and was still in high school, and my younger brother had just turned 10.....That was 37 years ago....

This past May, the homestead was sold at a foreclosure sale.  Good people that we know purchased it and invited us back to visit.  This past Sunday, I took my mother home....