Challenge Reminder

I just want to remind everyone that you have until March 15 to turn picturess in for the destash challenge. I will be showing some of my items tommorrow that I have made. I have been really busy destashing some of my piles in my craftroom.LOL If you haven't signed up yet, just let me know and send pics by March 15.
Check my sidebar for the first picture I got for an adorable penny mat from Kendra at Stonehouse Prims and she made the entire mat from things she had in her stash! Way to go Kendra! I lov ethis penny mat. So join in the fun ladies and if you have any questions feel free to drop me a line at valerie999@comcast.net

Monday Morning Merchant

I don't know what happened to last week but somehow I got nothing done.LOL So today I am featuring two PAFA artists for my Monday Morning Merchants.
The first is Carol from Firecracker Kid. Carol named her shop Firecracker Kid Primitives because she was born on the 4th of July! She and her husband, Tim, have been making unique woodcrafts for over 25 yrs and have been selling on Etsy since 2008,
I was lucky enough to win one of Carol's Chicken Nexting boxes so I can tell you first hand that Carol and Tim make top quality products. Tim designs all of his woodworks with no pattern so they are all basically one of a kinds.
Here is one of Carol's Rolling Pin Dough Bowl slelves and I love this style!

And I love this Wood Herb Rack

Here are the links to view all of Carol and Tim's woodworks. So head over and check out all of her awesome woodcrafts and know that not only are you getting top quality woodworks but you are buying U.S.A products!
http://www.firecrackerkid.etsy.com
http://firecrackerkid.blogspot.com
http://fpwoodcrafts.blogspot.com
http://woodshopshanty.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1817572815&ref=tn_tnmn
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Firecrackerkid-Primitives/106316589410283
My second Monday Morning Merchant is Brenda from The Rusty Thimble. Brenda has been in business for over 30 years but has only used The Rusty Thimble as her business name for 3 years. Brenda gets her inspiration from all sorts of places and has just started Pinterest.
Her style is prim, country and folkart and she makes all her crafts from fabric but uses vintage itmes such as buttons, lace, etc. to give her creations a personal touch.
Here are a couple of my favorite items in her Etsy shop.


Brenda is also the team captain of PAFA and is always eager to help anyone. She has helped me with Facebook, picutres and so much more. I don't know where she gets her energy but I wish I could find some.LOL
Here are the links where you can find Brenda's adorable creations so head over and check out all her items. And remember when you purchase items from Brenda, you are supporing made in the U,S.A!
http://therustythimble.blogspot.com/
http://www.etsy.com/shop/RustyThimble
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Rusty-Thimble/150163381680858
http://pinterest.com/rustythimble902/
Here's a reminder that PAFA is having our Spring Celebration Giveaway so be sure and head over to the PAFA blog and enter to win one of 33 adorable giveaway items donated by members of the PAFA Team. The giveaway ends Feb. 29 so hurry oveer and enter. I donated this duck stitchery.

We are also having our Spring Celebration through March 9. There are some adorable Easter and Spring items listed in our Celebration. Here's one of the items that I created for the celebration.

To view all the celebration items type SFPAFA in the search bar at Etsy.
Check out my other listings in my Etsy shop at www.yorkiesprimitives.etsy.com

New Etsy Listings

I have listed some new items in my Etsy shop. first is Benji, a rabbit make do.

And something I just started is a Boggin Toilet Paper cover Loom Knitted.

I will be listing new items all week so be sure and check back.

PAFA Celebration Giveaway

PAFA is launching our Spring Celebration with a giveaway of 33 handmade items! There will be 33 lucky winners in this celebration!! So head over to our blog and enter to win one of these adorable creations donated by very talented artisans of the PAFA Team! The drawing will be held on Feb. 29.
Here's what I am donating for the giveaway.

Be sure and check out the rest of the goodies in this giveaway. Just click on the celebration button on my sidebar to take you there.

My Birthday

Well I hit the big 60 yesterday and I had a wonderful birthday!LOL
First I went to Hobby Lobby with the gift card that the ladies from children's church gave me and was thrilled at what I got!! I wanted an Easter cartridge but they are not to be had.(sad) But just before I left I checked the sales ad and found they have their totes on sale 50% off! So this is what I got for $35.00!

I couldn't believe it! Now I can store all my Cricut products together and not have to dig for them.LOL And it rolls with a handle to pull it so I don't have to lift it.
Then Britt took me out to lunch and we had a great time talking. Next Chester surprised me with an adorable resin bunny! This is so out of his character but I love this bunny. Isn't he just adorable?

Finally Laura Kay cooked supper for me and we had meatloaf with potatoes and green beans. Good food! And Mike surprised me with chocolate covered strawberries!
So I had a wonderful birthday and now it's back to the normal daily chores.(very sad)LOL
Hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Challenge Update

I'm sorry I have confused everyone with my challenge. Let me try to explain again.
We are destashing our craft rooms by making items out of items we have on hand. If you would like to join in on the fun, just make items from your stash and send me the pitures. You can make as many or few as you like. I will post the pictures with links on my blog and then we will have a vote from viewers. There will be 3 prizes for winners that I will send out. Feel ree to contact me at valerie999@comcast.net if you have any questions. This is open to anyone and can be anything that you make, example, fabric, wood, glass, clothes, etc.
Join us in the fun.

My Birthday Surprise

I teach Children's Church at my church and we had our Valentine's Party Sunday. Well I had told the kids that Valentines Day is my birthday 2 weeks ago and they wanted to know how old I would be so I told them I would be an old woman this year. They all thought that was soooo funny and laughed so hard. I have two women who help me with the kids because when an asthma attack hits, I run out the door. I don't want to scare the kids.
So yesterday I went to church to have the Valentine's Day Party and was surprised with a birthday party!! Alice and Missy had bought me a birthday cake from the kids. This is the first time anyo ne has done anything this special for me outside my family, so naturally it was a very happy surprise! They also got me a $30 gift card from Hobby Lobby (my favorite shopping place).lol
So I have to admit that I felt special yesterday. Here's what was left of the cake when the kids got through with it.LOL

Let's Have A Challenge

Ok, I know that there are others out there that have just a "wee" bit too much stash that needs to have something done with it.LOL I know that I do, maybe more than a "wee" bit.ROFLMBO!!
So here's the challenge.
Put on your thinking cap and make something with something that has been stashed for awhile in your home. This can be fabric, wood, scrapbooking or anything else that you do.
Make as many items as you like to get rid of your surplus. You just can't buy any new to go with it! It's ok if you need pins or buttons or screws, ets. but no new fabric or wood or any other basic materials. This is to destash, not add more.LOL
Drop me a line here to let me know if you are interested or send me an email at valerie999@comcast and I will put a link on my sidebar with everyone's name that enters with a link back to your shop or blog. I will also post pics of your items. You can sell them or whatever as soon as I get the picture.
This does not have to be crafts. It can be clothes that you make or household items or gifts. You get the drift. Just make something you like and use some of that surplus!
I will be giving away 3 items that I make from my stash a prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3d place. Votes will be taken from viewers. Although I will show items I make, I will not be in the vote. 1st place will choose what they want from my 3 items and so forth.
Since this is Feb. 10, I will put March 15th as deadline for entries. That gives a little over a month to create, create, create! Then we will take votes from anyone who wants to vote.
Invite anyone you know who you think would like to join in on this fun. They don't even have to join my blog on this one. Promote it on your blog or Facebook, ets. Let's have a big turnout and have fun while cleaning house.LOL
Here's one thing I made from my stash. I had the egg fabric left over from an Easter dress I made several years ago, the felt from my penny rug stash and the muslin I always have. The only thing I had to buy was the trim and buttons. I hope this helps you understand what I am trying to do.

I understand if you have to buy more fiberfill to stuff your items or paint or stain. Doesn't this sound like fun?
So you can enter now and start crafting and send me pics so I can upload them. Remember the deadline is March 15th. Voting will begin on the 19th and end on March 25th. I will put the prizes in the mail on the following Monday. Have fun and start destashing!

Easter Egg and Bunny Pinkeep

I just listed this Easter Egg with Bunny Pinkeep in my Etsy shop. Head over and check out my other spring listings.
www.yorkiesprimitives.etsy.com

Monday Merchant

I know it's Tuesday but I am running a day behind.LOL
I am participating in PAFA's Monday Merchant Circle and my Monday is Deb lives in Canada and named her business after the beautiful valley that she lives in. She has been crafting for about 20 years and has been selling on Etsy for 2 1/2 years.
She gets her inspiration from the beauty of the natural world. She creative style is currently prim and folk art but is always interested in learning new techniques!
Not only does Deb have wonderful items for sale in her Etsy shop, she also creates her own patterns that she sell. Here are two of the adorable Spring items in Deb's shop.


Here are two of her patterns that she sells.


I purchased this little owl pattern and love it. Her directions are so easy to follow.
Here is where you can find Deb. Check out any of these links to view Deb's items. She is a very talented person and is eager to help you in any way she can.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/paxtonvalleyfolkart
http://www.paxtonvalleyfolkartshop.blogspot.com/
http://www.paxtonvalleyfolkart.blogspot.com/
http://toletown.com/blogs/debriddell/ http://www.picturetrail.com/PaxtonValleyFolkArt

My Sewing Basket

I have wanted an old sewing basket for many years. But in my town they cost an arm and a leg so I never got one. Then last year at a rummage sale I found this basket for 50 cents and grabbed it. I'm not sure if it was a sewing box but now it is.LOL


Well I wasn't sure how to fix it but low and behold, last month Create and Decorate came out with a picture of an old sewing box and I loved it. I didn't want to spend a lot of time fixing it so I glued everything, but I wanted it to look old and it does.LOL
So I took coffee stained muslin and glued it to the bottom and and then put a layer on top, filled it with fiberfill and covered it with another layer of muslin.

Then I went through all my "junk" and found some of my old sewing needs and filled it up. Some have come from swaps and some I have bought on ebay. I still need to find my blue pin poke that I made but I love the way this basket turned out. I placed it on my fireplace on top of two cheese boxes that I covered with fabric.


This is just another way to turn an old item into a treasure. What do you think of my sewing box?

My Chicken Feeder

My chicken feeder from Carol at Firecracker Kid came last Thursday and OH MY GOSH, I LOVE IT!!! I tried to finish my chicken and hay and eggs before I posted it but my body decided not.LOL So here is a picture of the box and I found the perfect place to sit it! I still have to finish my chicken and add the extras but this is going to be my favorite thing in my kitchen. Thank You so much Carol for such a great giveaway. I still can't believe that I was this lucky!! I will post a picture when I get it finished so that you can see just how adorable this is going to be.
Carol also sent me two quilted hearts that hang from jute that joins them. (You can't see that from the picture) And they are adorable! But she also sent me a card that I love. You can't see what the insert says so here it is. "Always know in your heart that you are far bigger than anything that can happen to you." I love that phrase. Thanks Carol, sometimes I really need to remind myself of that!

Be sure and check out Carol's Etsy shop because I can honestly say that she and Tim take great pride in their creations!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/firecrackerkid