Valentine's Pillow Pattern

Hello friends. Well, today was my first day back at work and my feet are certainly paying the penalty right now. LOL! I know that it will take me some time to adjust to being on my feet on a concrete floor all day as it did last year too. It really felt good to have a purpose for my day though.
Some of you have been asking about directions or patterns for the pillows I posted about in my last post so I thought I'd share the one I have and let you know where you can find the other pattern.

The bunny pillow

is a pattern from the June 2009 issue of Create & Decorate.

The Valentine's pillow


is from a free pattern that I found online that I believe was meant to be a stitchery pattern. I don't remember the website but I'll post the stitchery pattern since it was free. The pattern is from Quilt N Sew Studio. Hopefully they don't mind if I post it. I'm not really sure on the legalities of posting someone else's free pattern. If I'm in the wrong, please be kind and let me know and I'll remove it. Don't forget to right click on the pattern image and save the full size file to your computer.

Sorry this is a short post, I just wanted to get post this for those of you who are wanting to make one before Valentine's Day. Hugs to you~ Birgit

A Few More Projects & Going Back to Work!

Hello prim lovers! It's a beautiful sunny day here in Maine. If I wasn't living in Maine I'd think that spring was nearly here, but I've lived here all my life and know that spring is not to be expected until April. Anyway, I'm enjoying the sunshine and milder temps.
I've been working on some projects to try to keep myself busy this wynter. I generally feel a bit of wynter depression that usually comes after the busyness of the holidays and this year I have tried very hard to keep myself busy so that it wouldn't happen. It started with our bedroom makeover.


Then I've moved on to some smaller projects. Here's some of the newer projects just completed.

I got this great "East Street market" stencil from Crooked River Stencil Co. I just love how it came out so I put together this cute litte arrangement with some things I had on hand.


Remember this picture of the wool felt bunnies?


I made one into a pillow and I'm looking for an old frame to put the brown bunny in.

Here's another sign I made.


Here's another little wool felt pillow I made for Valentines. I don't really do a lot of decorating for Valentine's Day, but Amanda's birthday is also on Valentine's Day so I decorate a little just for her.

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

Also I've got some good news to share with you all. I'm going back to work part time forPine Tree Seeds, the same company I worked for last spring. I'm very excited about this, as it was just what I was hoping to do this year to help keep me busy until I can get outside and work in my gardens again.

That means I won't be around much but I'll try to pop in and visit all of your wonderful blogs when I can. So bye for now! Thanks for visiting me! Hugs~ Birgit

Simple Wynter Pleasures #14, Tweaking & A Sneak Peek

Hello friends! I hope you all had a good weekend. We had a beautiful weekend with a bright blue, sunny sky on Saturday.


It was the perfect day for a snowmobile ride before being hit by rain on Sunday. It's still raining today so I've got the woodstove going and have been working on some crafts. Since it was such a beautiful day on Saturday and we had such a great time riding, I thought I would use that as my topic for my Simple Wynter Pleasure post for today.
Snowmobiling

Here's our dog Hunter laying in the snow as we get ready to go.

He likes to stay outside with us right up until we leave our driveway, then he goes inside and waits for us to return.


Here we are on the power lines. Look at those nicely groomed trails. We cut a trail from our back yard to the pipe line which leads to the power lines, not far from our house.


Here we are waiting for Christopher's friend Jesse, who will be joining us on our ride to Poland today.

The riding was magnificent, smooth and sunny all the way. What you don't see in any of these pictures is the beauty that we see when we're riding through the snow covered woods. Trees still covered with snow and the sun just peaking through the limbs of the trees. The beauty of nature untouched on either side of the trail. You can see footprints from rabbits, deer and other wildlife along the way. As we were riding out of the woods into a clearing, we came upon a gathering of wild turkeys. They hustle along from the sound of our sleds and finally take flight. Don't worry, we never drive to endanger anything! We take it all in and just enjoy being outside in God's creation. At one point, I was in the rear and came upon a snowy white bunny sitting in the sun. He wasn't even afraid when I stopped my sled right beside him. I keep my camera in the back of my sled so I couldn't get any pictures of the things we saw along the way. I sat for a moment, talking quietly to him and then took off to catch up to the others. The bunny just sat there as if to say, "thanks for stopping by to visit me!".

At one point we were stopped waiting to cross the road. I saw something from the corner of my eye scampering down the tree beside me. A little grey field mouse scooted down the tree trunk and into one of the snow tunnels at the foot of the tree. Now, if he were in my house I would have screamed, but outside they don't bother me as much. He was still fun to watch. Quick as a wink, he was gone and so were we.
As we continued to drive through the woods, snow would drift down from the trees glistening in the sun. It was so pretty! These are the pictures you don't see, but I hope you can see them in your mind. It's truly breathtaking!


About an hour later, we make it to our destination. Range Pond State Park in Poland. There were some snowmobilers out on the lake, but we didn't go on the lake. I'm so cautious about riding on lakes, as you can never be sure if it is frozen deep enough. Thankfully, my boys (my son, his friend and my hubby) understand that and don't even ask me if I want to go on. We all just take a break and enjoy the winter air and the scenery. Amanda feels the same way about the lake that I do so I know she doesn't want to venture out on it.




Look at this! A warm spot on the beach!



My hubby and Amanda coming out to see where I've gone off to. Amanda doesn't want her picture taken. ;o)


Here we are all lined up. That's my sled way in the back, then Amanda, Christopher, Daryl and Christopher's friend Jesse.

Here's a self portrait of ME! Do these snowpants make my butt look big?

I guess it's time to head back home.

See ya!

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

I also wanted to share with you a picture of one of the projects I finished the other day. It's one of the projects I had baking in the oven in one of my last posts.

It's a heart make-do. I got the pattern from one of my past issues of Create & Decorate.


I also finished taking down the twinke lights and winter decorations and did some tweaking here and there. Here's a few pictures of that.
Our Mantel


I changed up the arrangement above the entertainment center with something a little more springy and colorful.


I put out all the little tin molds that I use for making wax pantry cakes in.


And also changed out the arrangement in the cupboards above the stove.


And finally, a sneak peak at another project nearing completion.


Guess that's all for today. Thanks for stopping by for a visit.
Hugs & blessings~ Birgit

Simple Wynter Pleasures #12 & #13

Good morning friends. The snow has finally subsided and we're up to our elbows in fluffy white stuff. My kids have had mid terms all this week so they've been home when a break in classes allow. They are both getting out of school later this morning so we're hoping to go snowmobiling this afternoon. Sorry I missed my post for yesterday but I'll play catch up today and do two posts for Simple Wynter Pleasures since they're both pretty close to each other.

Relaxing with my favorite magazines
Gardening & Country / Primitive

Now is the time to start perusing all the wonderful seed catalogs that come out this time of the year. I truly enjoy relaxing and making a list of all the yummy fresh vegetables we'd like to grow this coming season. Having a garden is so rewarding and having an early glimpse of all the possiblilities is an added bonus!


I also have a confession to make. I could sit for hours looking at all the magazines we get. Well, I don't get a lot but the three must haves for me are Country Sampler, Mercantile Gatherings and Birds & Blooms. They are the only magazines I subscribe to but I could spend all day looking at each magazine several times before I'm ready to put it down. Along with that are all the magazine sales catalogs that I get for free from The Country House, Shaker Workshops, Circa Home Living and any others that find their way into my mailbox.
That's it for today, nice and simple post for my Simple Wynter Pleasures. Grab a cup of something warm and relax today with some of your favorite magazines. Hugs~ Birgit

Simple Wynter Pleasures #11 & Pictures of our room

Hello to all my friends, followers and readers. I hope you are all doing well. We're in the process of getting more snow so I'm staying snug and safe at home today. I was planning on going out to my Bible study that we have each Tuesday, but they cancelled it so I'm thinking of spending this extra time crafting. So, that would be my Simple Wynter Pleasures post for today

The smell of fresh, homemade projects baking in the oven!


You'll have to wait until I get everything done to see the completed projects but I'll be sure to post them in the near future. Here are some projects that are waiting in line to be bathed in yummy coffee stain and get sent to the "tanning booth", I mean oven.



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

Our bedroom has been done for a few days now. I've been spending a little bit of time adding the little touches that make it feel cozy however, I don't have any window treatments up yet. I'm still in a quandry as to what I'm going to do but I think I might have it figured out now. I need to take the time to do it before I change my mind again. So, here's a few pictures of our bedroom makeover. Don't forget that you can click on the pictures to get a larger view.


The color of the trim is called Shaker Beige and the walls are Jackson Tan, both by Benjamin Moore. I wish I had a picture of our bedroom before. It was plain white wall with white trim and a country border so these colors really warm it up.


This little cupboard is one that I just did a makeover on. You can see what it originally looked like in the picture below. For the framed print, I printed off sheet music for the hymn "The Old Rugged Cross" and distressed it using Ranger Inks. I then matted it with a sheet of scrapbooking paper and again on black scrapbooking paper. The frame is one that I found at GW and I gave that a little makeover as well. The sewing goodies that are displayed on it are some that belonged to my grandmother. The adorable little wooden sewing box is filled with little wooden spools of thread that are original to the box. It's one of my favorite pieces.


Here's the before picture of the little cupboard. I like it much better in black.


This is on top of my dresser. The picture is the same one that's on my header. It's of my Oma's family in Germany. I don't really collects angels per se, but I seem to be gathering a small collection of them. The little angel girl with the cat was given to me when I lost my cat I'd had for 17 years and my son gave me the mother and son for Christmas one year. The Folk Art angel was given to me by a secret sister several years ago and the tall red angel was a gift from my MIL just this past Christmas. I guess I am now an official angel collector.


This frame was originally in my room but it was also white. I gave it several coats of flat black spray paint and printed off some b&w photos of my kids when they were little. Aren't they sweet! They grow up way too quick.








This is the view from the other side of the room. Projects still on the list of things to do are to paint my hubby's dresser in black and change out the knobs and also, get rid of the sauder entertainment center in exchange for a long dresser I have in the basement that I'm also going to paint black. All in due time, I guess. That's all I have for now. I'll be back tomorrow (Lord willing) with another Simple Wynter Pleasures post. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you'll take the time to leave a comment and let me know you were here. I get lonely during the day so I look forward to what you all have to say. :) Hugs to you~ Birgit

Simple Wynter Pleasures #10

A snowy good morning to you my friends! Yes, it's snowing here and so far we've gotten about 8 inches of beautiful, new fallen snow. I just love the fresh clean look of new snow, especially when it covers the old, dirty, yucky looking snow. Funny isn't it? We'd probably call that primitive snow! Anyway, I like a new snow covering and it's given me the opportunity for my next post on Simple Wynter Pleasures.

Bird Blessings



Here's some pictures of some recent visitors we've had at our feeders lately.



I like how this little guy looks like he's giving me a quizzical look. I think I disturbed his breakfast.









This last picture is brought to you by BIRDTV.
The favorite spot for sitting and viewing the birds. It's free entertainment for Adventure and Glory.

Don't they wish they could be on the other side of this window!

Thanks for stopping by today.
Hugs & blessings to you~ Birgit

Simple Wynter Pleasures & Painted Floorcloth Offering

Good morning prim friends~ it's a beautiful day here in Maine. The sun is shining and the day promises some milder temperatures (even though we woke to -4 degrees this morning). Todays post for my Simple Wynter Pleasures is

Makeovers

My sweetie found this bench at the (whispering)d*u*m*p. It was missing its top but was otherwise in good shape and very sturdy.

He attached a hinged cover so that means more storage.

Here is the finished makevoer.

I have it sitting at the end of our bed. What do you think?

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

Painted Floorcloth Class Offering

I also wanted to put a plug in for Lisa Curry Mair over at Canvasworks Floorcloths She is offering up an online class on Sunday, January 24th. I'd really like to take advantage of this class myself! Click on the class link above to see a picture of the floorcloth and find out all about this wonderful opportunity to make your very own painted floorcloth.
Have a great day! Blessings~ Birgit