Burlap Cozies Make the Big Time!

I am honored beyond belief to have my burlap cozies featured on Beyond The Picket Fence's weekly linky party!   Every Thursday, Becky selects several items that inspired and/or caught her attention the week before and my burlap cozies were front & center!

Now, Becky is what I call a big-time 'celebrity' blogger.   With over 2000 followers, I'm sure her site gets hit thousands of times a day!   In fact, Becky herself is a VERY talented craftsman (craftswoman? ha) and makes beautiful things from mainly scrap wood.   I'm constantly going to her site for inspiration and to see all her creativity.

Please check it out; here's the link: http://bec4-beyondthepicketfence.blogspot.com/.

In fact, this isn't the first time I've been featured.   A little over a year ago, she featured my garden memo board!   (You can see that project on my sidebar to the right.)

I am just flattered beyond words and can't wipe the smile from my face.   Thank you Becky so much for the feature and for even just vising my little blog!!

Thank You Powell, Ohio!

Had a fabulous day at the Powell Street Market last Sunday.   The weather was fantastic and there was a steady stream of customers all day.   Even had one lady come back while we were packing up to buy one of my last plantstands!

Here's a shot of my morning set-up:  (click on pic for larger view)

Don't you just love the yellow aprons tied together across the back?   That really gives the illusion of a backwall and a 'stop' for your eye.   I saw this idea on someone else's blog awhile back and can't remember where, so I apologize for the lack of credit to you!

Even had someone ask if they were for sale.

We were blessed with a great spot, unlike our neighbors who had a sink hole right in the middle of their spot and grass about a foot high!   I felt bad for them but they ended-up having a good day too.   Here's some more shots:

I completely sold out of my garden fancies and only took home 3 plantstands.   I settled on the name 'burlap cozies' for my last project and even made a rhyme with it; ha!  see below:  (click on picture for larger view so you can read the little sign.)(you still might not be able to read it; it says "burlap cozies for your posies".)



Thank you to everyone who came out to the sale and made it a great day for us!    Now to get ready for the Garden Gala next month in Circleville, Ohio; more details to follow.    One last parting shot:

Thanks for visiting!!

2nd Mason Jar Craft, As Promised!

So after seeing the prices of old burlap bags, I decided to just buy a few yards at the store.  And let me tell you; working with burlap has it's challenges!   First, it keeps wanting to shift on you, then don't get me started with all the dust & remnants it leaves behind.   
But I'm so pleased with the finished product, I suppose it's all worth it.

First I cut the burlap into strips, then squares, then sewed up the sides.   (Why do I have such a hard time with the sewing machine?   I used to tell people all I could sew was straight lines but now I'm even wondering about that!   And my sewing machine is always giving me fits; constantly de-threading itself when I get started.   For those of you that sew, why is that?   What am I doing wrong?)

Well anyway, here's several little "bags" I finally got sewed up and am ready to sew on the straps.

Here's one with the lacy strap sewed on.  

I then hot-glued some old jewelry pieces on for some 'bling'.    These are just the right size for a mason jar full of fresh-picked blooms.   (or in this case, faux ones! ha)

Look how cute they are, displayed on this old window screen.

I'm really liking these.   They would also look cute on a door-knob, a wall hook, and really cute on a fence post or maybe on a gate in the garden?   

Now I need your help coming up with a name for them.   I was thinking burlap cozies?   (like cozies for your drinks?)  or mason jar huggies?    What do you think?  

Here's another quick project:   I turned-up the handle of an old kitchen utensil and attached it to a small piece of lattice.   So cute!   (and yes, those pansies are fake too!  Maybe I'll have to find some real ones for my next sale this Sunday; real ones would probably look better, right? ha)

Well, thanks so much for visiting!! and don't forget; I need those name suggestions!   If your suggestion gets picked, you win a prize!

Mason Jar Fun

I just love mason jars.  They are so versatile and have a way of giving any area an instant country feel.   I pick them up whenever I can, especially the old blue ones, if the price is decent.

Here's a quick project to combine an old mason jar with a piece of old, chippy trim.

I drilled two holes about an inch apart in the center of the board, at the neck of the jar.   Then inserted a long piece of wire through each hole thru the back and wrapped around the neck of the jar to hold it in place.

Drilled two more holes at the top for more wire to hang it with and you're done!

This is a project you can sit down with and easily whip-out 5-6 in no time.   Here's another one.

So super-cute!   I have another project involving yet more mason jars but this time mixed with burlap, so stay tuned!

Flea Trip & Finds!

Well, the Lucasville Swap Meet a couple weekends ago was a bit of a wash-out.   It rained off/on all day but that didn't stop the crowds!   I couldn't believe how many people there were.   Just check-out this parking area and this was just one of many parking areas.

Here's a few animal shots.   As I mentioned, this is mostly to buy and/or  swap poultry of ALL kinds and even some small animals.  

(aren't these birds purty?)

This amish man had the most unique and cool garden items.   One of his items went home with me; can you guess which one?   hint: you can just make-out part of it in this picture.

Here's a few junk tables; always fun to root thru.   That's my daughter in the zebra-striped jacket.   She was easy to spot among the crowd!

OK, I know you can't wait any longer.   Here's the item that came home with me:

Isn't it cool?   I love all the chippy paint and vintage look of it!  

Here's a bottle tree I bought.   It came with the clear coke bottles and I want to eventually swap all of them out for solid colors.   I had the green bottles on-hand.

Here's my $5.00 garden bench.    Yes, it was only $5.00 at a small flea last year; some of the wood is starting to rot but for just $5.00, I can at least enjoy it for a year or two before it gets thrown on the burn-pile.  I think it's so super-cute!

Well, I'm getting all ready for my next show on May 6.   This is an outdoor show with over 125 vendors scattered through-out the historic section of Powell, Ohio.   I'll be sharing with you over the next week a few new items I'm bringing so stay tuned!

Shopping Cart Liner Found!

It didn't take too long to find a nice liner for my vintage shopping cart!   This army duffel bag was found at the Caesar Creek Flea Market and even though it's not as old as I would have liked, it works for now.   (I'll still keep my eye out for an old one; maybe even an old postal bag!)

To attach it, I just wire-tied it thru the grommets directly to the cart.   (I would have liked to use some old big horse pins but don't have any.....yet! ha)

The bag is also a bit longer than the cart but rather than cut and resew it, I just pulled in the excess and that will double as padding for all my finds!    I also attached (with a clothespin! ha) a small old bank bag from my old hometown bank to hold all those wonderful smalls.   (I know, a clothespin isn't very secure, so maybe I'll add a few staples.)

Now I'm all ready for a big weekend of flea-market shopping at the Lucasville Swap Meet/Flea Market this weekend!   Held at the Scioto County Fairgrounds three times/year, the April weekend is huge!   Also known as poultry days because you can buy and/or swap all kinds of birds, chickens, geese, you name it! ha!  It can be quite a hilarious site!  (and noisy too!)   I'll be sure to take lots of pictures!   If you're in the central/southern Ohio area, you should check it out!

 

Super-Cute Watering-Can Makeover!

I picked up two of these watering cans on clearance a couple years ago and finally got inspired to do something with them.   I'm always up for a quick project (one that you can actually get done in an evening!) and this worked out great.

Here is a before-shot.   (I actually forgot to take the before shot but since I had two of them, this is the second one! ha!)

I simply brushed on some flat white exterior paint; it took two coats.



Then I glued on a piece of burlap, then a piece of muslin on top of that after I stenciled the number 7 on it.  

I tied some tea-stained eyelet trim around the handle, added some faux daffodils....

and ta-da....   super-cute!

Now on to the second one!   Have a Wonderful Easter Everyone!