~~I've got dreams in hidden places~~
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Friday, July 31, 2015

~Jammin Time At The Cabin~



My berry patch is full of sweet juicy blackberry's
coming up ripe for eaten, cobblers and "jam".
Time for Blackberry Jam

Last year we lost over  half of our crop to those
nasty black birds. We picked every other day, those
birds were still beating us up.
So this year we invested in bird netting, now I thought
this was going to be a waste of time.  You can just imagine
the grief it took putting that fine netting over the berry bushes, 
not to mention that at every pickin you had to crawl under it!

So far so good, the blackberry's are in tact, 
the birds are confused and I am a happy jammer!

Today I made my first 2 batches of yummy blackberry jam!
Why is it that July and Jam makin always occur 
at the same time.
Bad enough it is 95 in the shade in southwest Missouri, 
then heat up the house even more with steamy hot
 boiling berry sauce.  

My of my that savory smell, the first
warm taste from licking the spoon...
makes me giggle with delight and proud
that I still continue the family tradition
of Jammin in July.

Come December when the days are short
with a cold chill in the air, I will wrap my jars
of jam in pretty paper and deliver them
to family, friends and neighbors.

My body, soul and spirit is warm again .

Thank You for visiting today
                Connie

Friday, July 10, 2015

Playtime

We all need empty hours
in our lives
or we will have no time
to create or dream. 

I managed to find a  few hours
of playtime,
and my oh my was it ever fun.
Showing off two make overs...

Before Pic
Vintage side chair with nice lines, tapestry seat
and carved floral inset.
After Pic
Sanding to take off the glossy finish,
continued with 2 coats whitewash technique
then dry brushed on the third coat
using a latex flat white paint. 
Seat cushion covered with cotton fabric.
Since this fabric was cotton I went right over the
tapestry fabric, easy...

Before Pic
Vintage 6 leg side table.
After Pic
After sanding I painted
two coats of latex flat white paint,
sanding after each coat.
I liked the results of the whitewash technique
 much better, "no sanding after painting".
  The table top was left in it's natural finish
adding only a coat of minwax paste wax.

 







 This is a redo in progress, 
updating my guest bedroom.  
15 years ago I added the wallpaper and
floral border to grey paneled walls.
 I like the grey walls and decided to
work around the wallpaper
( I was not going to tackle stripping the paper)

"Vintage Farmhouse Country Guest Room"
As you know I like to decorate with  items
as true to the time period as possible.
The room is almost completed and will
continue to update you on it's progress.
I am still working on getting Mr B to remove
the carpeting. I know there are wood floors
or maybe board floors just waiting to be
exposed and painted a pale shade of grey. 
"One can only hope"

This is my first project since back surgery
last February.  I have to take it slow,
the ole back lets me know when it is time to stop.

I will end this post with this thought...
 
My childhood may be over,
but that doesn't mean 
playtime is!

                       Connie