Swap Goodies ~ Lilies & Herbs

Hello friends~ I hope you're all doing well and enjoying some warm summer weather. We finally had a nice little stretch of sunny days to get outside and enjoy but we're back to rain again today.

I had joined in one of Char's fun swaps a while back and the theme was Patriotic, soI thought I'd share with you the Patriotic Swap goodies that I got from Dani from Old Homestead Peddler. Dani was so much fun to e-mail with. She's a hoot and has a great sense of humor. She's also very crafty!



When the box arrived, I was beside myself with excitement and anticipation. I absolutely loved everything she made! It was great because I had been wanting to make some of the pinwheels that I've seen some gals making and I had also seen an article on making them in the Create & Decorate magazine but I hadn't gotten to make any yet. What a fun surprise when I opened the box to find a cute, cute set of patriotic pinwheels in there! I also loved the painted softball. My son has been playing baseball for 14 years and even though it's a softball, it still is special to me because it brings two things together that I love, watching him play baseball and the beautiful Red, White & Blue colors of our American Flag. The stenciled blocks are wonderful and so are the fabric covered firecrackers~ They're made out of toilet tissue rolls! How clever, Dani! She also included a yummy scented bottle of room spray and some Prarie Cake scented wax crumbles that smell so good you could almost eat them. In fact, my daughter was standing near them and smelled them and when she picked up the bag she thought they were a treat! Teenagers will eat anything!!! Thanks so much Dani for everything, I truly appreciate your kindness.

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Since we've had so much rain this year, it's really been taking a toll on our flower and vegetable gardens. We've had a lot of our flowers just rotting from all the rain. As was the case with my lilies. I look forward every year to the bright colors of the lilies that grow so tall. In fact, here's a picture of them from a few years ago when they looked really good.



We've had so much rain this year that the leaves and the stalks were starting to rot from the bottom up so we decided to cut the flowers off and enjoy them inside so we could cut the ugly stalks off and get them out of our garden. Here's a pretty picture of them after I put them in an enamelware pitcher.



I'm glad we can enjoy them inside especially since today's rain probably would have finished them off in the garden.

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I've also been playing in the kitchen with some herbs from the garden.



I had some lavender buds that I've been wanting to use in my crafting so I picked up some lavender scented essential oil and made a couple of rolled lavender pillar candles. They smell so good, I can smell them every time I walk by them.



While I had all the wax melted and all my supplies out, I also made some Lavender~Mint soy wax tarts.



I used an old muffin tin (pictured above) that I had as a mold. They smell so fresh with just a hint of mint.... Mmmmmmmmm......

Besides that, I haven't been doing too much. Enjoying some down time at the beach with my daughter and some friends, while the sun was visiting us here in Maine. The sun has moved on for now, but hopefully it will be back again soon. Until then, have a great week! See you all again next week. God Bless~ Birgit

Sweet Annie~ A Prim Crafter's Best Friend

Hello fellow bloggers and prim crafters. Since my last post, many of you e-mailed me or left comments with lots of great information about preserving Sweet Annie. Some of you asked where you can find seeds to grow the sweet smelling herb and also how to use it in your crafting. This post is going to be all about a prim crafters best friend, Sweet Annie.



Sweet Annie is also known as Artemesia Annua or Annual Wormwood. It is grown in herb gardens for its aromatic foliage as well as for medicinal puposes, so it's appreciated for much more than her crafyness and sweet scent.

Leaf tea can be used to treat colds, fevers, and diarrhea, while poultices can be used externally to treat abscesses and boils. It's also been used in connection with Malaria and intestinal parasites. Sweet Annie is an excellent deer deterrent, so planting a hedge around your garden will help protect your veggies and it will smell good while weeding. :)

You can find seeds for Sweet Annie (Annual Wormwood) at many sites online.


Here's a few that I found while preparing this post.
Botanical Interests
Penny's Seeds
Pinetree Seeds

Sweet Annie is an annual that's easy to grow from seed. Simply sow the seeds after danger of frost has passed. She likes full sun and average soil. No extra attention is really needed except for occasional watering during dry spells but don't overwater. Sweet Annie is a tall gal, she'll grow up to 6 feet tall so be sure to plant her in the back of your flower bed. Some might call this a noxious weed and it can become invasive, but Sweet Annie attracts bees, butterflies and birds. In late summer, watch for the development of “beads” ~tiny yellow flowers along the branches. If the branches are cut too soon, they will be of poor quality, so wait until the blossoms open, giving the plants a yellowish cast.

To harvest Sweet Annie, simply cut the stems off close to the ground. The stems will be thick and woody so use a heavy pair of lopping shears to cut them with. Then cut the smaller branches off the main stem and group them together in small bundles, wrapping the ends with heavy twine or rubber bands. Be sure to leave some stems in the garden if you want it to self sow the following year.




Hang the bunches in a warm, dry, dark location with good air circulation for 1 to 1 1/2 weeks to dry; garage or attic rafters are ideal. When the centers of the bunches feel completely dry, hang them in a dark, dry place to store them or place them in a cardboard box.

Sweet Annie has been used for a long time as a natural room air freshener. Folks in the old general store would hang a bunch of Sweet Annie from the corner of a room to cover up musty odors. In the olden days, and most likely in many Amish and Mennonite homes today, Sweet Annie would be hung in the pantry to give a pleasing scent, but also to act as a pest deterrent. Hang a bunch in your bathroom or closet for a clean, fresh smell when you enter.

Sweet Annie will keep her scent for a very long time, even when not preserved. Preserved Sweet Annie will stay soft, hold its color and last for years. Air dried Sweet Annie will stay green when kept out of direct sunlight but will become brittle and shed, eventually turning brown over a long period of time. Preserved Sweet Annie is easy to keep clean (just blow lightly with a hair dryer) while air dried Sweet Annie is hard to keep clean, it is too brittle to blow the dust off from.

Preserved Sweet Annie ~ Not Preserved

If you want to preserve your Sweet Annie after it's been picked, stand it in about 3 inches of HOT water mixed with glycerin oil 2 to one and you will see in a couple days the color changing to a dark green sorta like spinach. Remove it from the mixture and gently dry it off or lay it in front of a fan to dry so it won't mold. It will be soft and fragrant but will have a darker color to it.
Another method of treating Sweet Annie is by mixing regular school glue half and half with water and spraying it on your sprigs. Some people have been known to use hair spray too. Whatever method you choose, you'll be able to enjoy your Sweet Annir for a very long time.

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CRAFTING WITH SWEET ANNIE

Aside from it's medicinal and natural repellent purposes, Sweet Annie is truly a primitive crafters BEST FRIEND!
Some people's skin may be sensitive to handling Sweet Annie, so until you know whether you are or not, you might want to wear gloves while working with it. It is great in potpourri's and sachets. I've seen many different wreaths and swags made using Sweet Annie.





Primitive crafts are great on their own but when you add a sprig of Sweet Annie to them, it just adds an extra little touch of something special.

Here's one of my heart shaped pantry cakes.


A beeswax cone


A sprig of Sweet Annie added to grubby pillar candles gives it a nice touch!


More of my pantry cakes.


Sweet Annie makes great carrot tops and when tucked in the pocket or arms of your favorite prim doll, is a great addition!

This doll is my friend, Betty's, creation.


This is a little pillow tuck with a clothespin doll I made for one of Char's swaps. See how adding just a little sprig of Sweet Annie here and there can add a nice prim touch?

When you're working with your Sweet Annie and little pieces drop, don't throw them away! Gather them up and sprinkle them on your carpet before you vacuum, it will leave a nice fresh scent. You can also roll warm candles in the Sweet Annie to grunge them up a bit and make them smell oh, so sweet. If you're a soap maker, I wouldn't recommend using it in your soap as it can cause a reaction on some people. But if you're up for the challenge of trying something new, try using Sweet Annie in your crafts. You'll be so glad you did!

I wanted to thank everyone who e-mailed me or left comments about using Sweet Annie. Your comments and the information I found while researching for this post has been so inspiring for me and I learned so much about the sweet smelling herb that I love to have in my flower garden as well as in my craft room. Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you got something to take away from todays post too. Hugs ~ Birgit

Prim Make Overs and Sweet Annie

Hello prim friends! I hope you all had a safe and fun 4th of July. Our 4th turned out wet and rainy so no outings or fireworks for us this year. We still enjoyed hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill along with lots of other yummy summer time salads and goodies. My nephew and his girlfriend came over as well as one of Amanda's friends and Daryl's mother all joined us so even though we were stuck inside, it was a nice day spent with family.

The sun came out on Sunday and we enjoyed another family gathering at my mom's house and the kids all enjoyed swimming in the pool. We're back to rainy weather today.
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I thought I'd share with you some things that I painted and primmed up.



I've had this green wooden bowl for a number of years now and have been wanting to repaint it for a while. Thanks to all this rain, I finally got it done along with the small bowl that I found at Goodwill for .99 cents.



I painted the large bowl with a base of black and left the small bowl natural underneath and then painted them both using a Colonial blue color and then rubbed over them with a dark walnut stain.



The large bowl is now in the center of my table filled with old wooden spools along with some patriotic pillows and ornies (top picture). The small bowl I've put in my stepback cupboard to store some homemade soap bars that I made, till we use them.



I played around a bit with the small bowl and it's the perfect size to hold the beeswax pantry cakes too. I'm not sure really, where it will end up or what will be in there.



I've also had this set of paper mache stacking boxes for quite some time and I think they're dated and needed a new look. Here's the before:



Here's the after:



Much better!
I used Rittenhouse Ivory on the bottom box, Colonial Blue on the middle box and Wisteria on the top box and went over them with the same dark walnut stain.

I also did a couple pairs of candlesticks but they're not quite finished so I'll have to post them another time.

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This spring I planted some Sweet Annie seeds in my front garden and they're up about six inches now!



I'm looking forward to fall when I can harvest it and use it in my crafting.



I'm looking for directions on preserving Sweet Annie. If any of you know how and wouldn't mind sharing the directions, could you please e-mail me using the link on the top right? I'd appreciate it so much!

Well, thanks for stopping by! I hope you all have a great week! Hugs & blessings to you~ Birgit

Surprise Gift, Goodwill Finds, Gardening and Aging

Hello blogging friends! Thanks so much for stopping today. As I sit typing, it's again rainy and dreary here once again in southern Maine. The sun showed it's face, ever so briefly on Saturday. What a nice, and much needed surprise it was!

Speaking of surprises, I received a wonderful surprise in the mail from Charlotte, the winner of my first random giveaway. Charlotte is a quilter and very gifted and talented at that! She sent me this beautiful prim table topper that she made.


When I found this package in my mailbox, I knew I wasn't expecting anything and was so surprised by her thoughtfulness to send a gift to me as a thank you for the gifts she won in my drawing. I felt like I had won and I did. I received not only a beautiful handmade gift, but the gift of a new found friend. In her e-mail, she included pictures of some of the many quilted items that she's made and they are oh, so beautiful! I'm hoping she'll join us in blogland so you can meet her and see her incredible works of art. Thank you again from the bottom of my heart, Charlotte!

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In between raindrops, while shopping one day, I stopped in to my local Goodwill store and found these two items.


The stoneware jug was $4.99 and the cutting board was .99 cents. I don't know about your area, but I find the prices at our GW to be somewhat high, although it was a good deal for the jug. I've seen them in antique shops for much more. I've sanded down the cutting board and am planning on painting it (hopefully today). I've got lots of small projects that are in need of painting. I was waiting for the weather to dry out but I think I'll use my dining room table today instead. :)

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Since Saturday was one of our only sunny day in a very long stretch of rain, I did get outside to peek around in the flower gardens and get a little weeding done.



This little wooden step stool I rescued out of our burn pile last fall. My hubby brought it home from a job because it was unsafe to stand on but it's not unsafe to put a birdhouse on! As you can see, our flowers still haven't opened. The plant on the left is spiderwort and on the right is a daylilly.



This garden is only a couple of years old so there's still lots of room for growth. I planted some flower seeds in the front in all that blank space and though you can't see them in the picture, they are starting to grow. Hopefully they'll survive all this rain and not rot.



This is the same garden from the other end. It's a little more "grown" on this end. Our lily's will hopefully be opening soon too.



This little Eastern Bluebird was keeping me company on Saturday.



I think he's taken up residence in a birdhouse we have hanging in our weeping cherry tree.





These two gardens are in the front of the house outside our kitchen. The stone wall garden is still incomplete and it leads to our still incomplete pond. LOL! My hubby and I are the king and queen of incomplete projects!



This is one of my favorite planters and it seems to be holding up well to all this rain.



This is just the other side of the garden in front of the kitchen. Every fall and spring I dig stuff up and move it somewhere else. That's what happened on this side of the garden last fall, so this spring I've planted some sweet annie, moved some baby Japanese Iris' that were springing up all throughout the garden, some sunflowers that the squirrels plant for us each year and some green foliage plant that came out of another one of my hubby's jobs. I love to get other people's throwaways, even if I don't know what they are.

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Lastly, the part of my post about aging. As we enter into July which is also my birthday month, I'll be 42 this year. I don't think of my age creeping up on me and I'll never be one of those women who try to hide or refuse my age, but I have noticed that over the past few years my clothes have been "growing" because I have been growing! I used to buzz around the house all day, cleaning and keeping busy. In the past few years, thanks to depression and my ever inactive hypothyroid issues, I just don't DO what I used to do and the weight is overtaking me! I finally got to the point where I'm tired of having to go out and buy new clothes (especially in a time when $$ is tight and we really can't afford a new wardrobe.) I (once again) am jumping on the treadmill bandwagon to try to lose a few extra pounds.

We've had the treadmill for a number of years and I always seem to go in spurts with using it. Our road is not a safe road to walk on so I'm stuck in the basement on the treadmill staring at an all white concrete wall. Because it's concrete, I can't put nails in and hang things.

Our basement, like many other projects is completely unfinished so it's dark and depressing to go down there. I need all the encouragement I can muster up to make myself go down there each day. One day, I was walking on the treadmill, feeling like I just wanted to give up, the Lord's word, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthen's me" came to my mind. I repeated it over and over in my head and each time it had more power and more meaning to it. "ALL THINGS", not some things. I got so inspired to put a little eye candy and some words of encouragement into an old 16x24 inch frame that I had sitting in the basement.



If you click on the picture, you'll get a blown up image so you can see it better. The other scripture verses I chose are "Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that the Holy Spirit lives in you." 1 Cor. 3:16 And "Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You were bought with a price, therefore honor God with your body." 1 Cor. 6:19-20

So, if my body is a temple for the Holy Spirit who dwells in me as a gift from God, shouldn't I want to take care of it? I don't know about you, but this was exremely encouraging for me. I never thought of my body in that way even though I've read these scriptures before. I'm so thankful that the Holy Spirit finally laid the truth on my heart and helped me understand God's word better.

Well, I guess that's all for today. I hope you get to enjoy some warm sunny weather over the 4th of July if I don't talk to you sooner. Thanks for stopping by to visit me. I look forward to seeing and hearing from all of you! Hugs~ Birgit