Wow....it's been a while......

I know, I know..........it's been F-O-R-E-V-E-R since my last post!!!! I really didn't mean to be gone for so long, but I had to step back and re-evaluate some of my priorities over the last year and honestly blogging was way lower on the list than making memories with my kids who are growing like weeds and that precious time I can never get back......Sage is 9 now and Chad, 6.......wow, where does the time go?? Even though I haven't blogged about it, I am still making my primitives and such..... 

I used to consign, but over the last year I have become a member/partner in a local seasonal store called 12 Days of Christmas and it has been great. I'm so busy making things for the store I don't really do much selling online these days. These are a few of the signs I stenciled and took in before we opened this weekend....check out our blog: www.12daysofchristmasshoppe.blogspot.com

 I also made this snowman kit.......it's one of Becky's patterns (Tennessee Ridge Primitives)...I love her patterns!

 I still make my dolls, but I couldn't resist making some critters, too......The cat on the left is one of Pam's (Soft in the Head) patterns. He is a Halloween design, but I couldn't resist making one with him all tangled in christmas lights.  The other is one of Stacey's (The Goode Wife) designs......aren't they fun??

Well, chickees I will try to post more often, but THANK YOU to the girls who sent emails checking on me during my "sebattical".......you know who you are! :0) I'm sooo in the mood to start decorating for the season and have some updated Christmas pics..........

Our prayers have been heard........

....and the Lord called her home to Heaven late this morning. It was so upsetting seeing her suffering and knowing all we could do was pray for her and try to make her comfortable.....I know we will see each other again when my time on this earth is done, but in the meantime I will miss her sooo, sooo much. She was such a special person to me ~ more than 'just my aunt' and brought me such joy whenever I was with her.....she always had a smile and a hug for me... I will miss our camping trips and sitting at the kitchen table visiting whenever we were in town, catching up on the lastest goings-on. I will miss our phone calls. I will miss hearing her laugh and watching her and Uncle Glenn joshing around with each other...... I will never forget after high school ~ before I started college, she let me live at her house when my parents moved away....that was a special summer and I will always hold all those memories close to my heart. I suppose that is why losing a loved one is so hard......knowing all you have left is the memories you shared and knowing there will be no more new ones to create......I just pray they never fade from my heart and mind....

Please keep our family in your prayers as we grieve...........Rest In Peace Aunt Joann, you meant the world to me.......

Please pray for our family....

.....and a special loved one, my Aunt Joann, who is losing her fight with cancer. She has chosen to spend her final days at home with family by her side. Please pray that she can be as comfortable as she can be before her journey to Heaven and that the Lord will give comfort to our family during this difficult time as we prepare ourselves for goodbye to a beloved aunt, sister, wife, mother and grandmother....We love you, Aunt Grizz, more than you will ever know......Truly one of the hardest things in life is letting go of the ones you love the most......

Christmas pics~ front room and entryway...

Ok, I finally finished editing these...whew! So here they are...not really in any particular order I don't think and I'll try to leave this post with more pictures than words, though there are a few things I wanted to share....like this wonderful red wall cupboard my local friend Jeannie made...

Isn't it a perfect fit there? Jeannie does Twelve days as well and when I saw this up there I knew I wanted it to come home with me. If you are local, you should head up to Twelve Days and check out her primitive furniture (if there's any left!). She also has some aged breadboards with shoo-fly screens and some other neat primitives, too. Twelve Days is up at Sunrise Mall this year in the old Flower Gallery space. They are open daily until Dec. 23rd....I believe their hours are 10:30-5:00 (could be 5:30~ can't remember for sure) Monday thru Saturday and Noon-4:00 on Sundays.....

I found this Christmas Countdown box at a second hand store...Its a Primitives by Kathy and sells for over $100 brand new. I only paid $20 and it has all its original ornies in each drawer. The only thing missing was the feather tree, but that was an easy fix.

See the sheep on the mantel? I got his wool penny rug blanket from Karen (KM Primitives) last year and let me tell you, her work is beautiful! I didn't realize when I bought it on her site that it is actually "reversible" until I got it out of the package at home. This side facing out has a Christmas feather tree to display for the Holidays and the other side facing the wall has a willow tree for everyday.

And here are the stockings hung by the chimney with care...lol

This was another find of mine at Twelve Days this year....see the old rocking horse?

I have always wanted one but any I've ever seen have been out of my price range. (Like $400 and up....)I had some money saved up from some fall handmades I'd sold and I had just enough to buy him. And let me tell you I didn't even pay HALF what I've seen them go for....it was like early Christmas for me!

He's in really good shape, too. I mean his mane and tail are gone and the saddle is really worn and barely there, but he still has both his leather ears, bridle and jewel eyes and his paint job has held up well. I think that kind of wear shows he was well loved by many kids in his day, and he'll continue to be loved by this big kid, too...lol.

I hate this couch. lol. I think I would like it better if it was a different pattern or something, but its still in good shape and serves its purpose, so I will probably just make a slipcover for it or something.

I picked up this dough box coffee table below for $5 at the thrift shop. Another steal! It will be getting a makeover when the weather warms up, along with the other coffee table I still need to redo, too. lol.

I think all of the pics are clickable so you can get a better look...some of the whole room shots make everything look so far away.... I might sneak a few more Christmas pics on here this week of my kitchen, etc. if time allows. :0) And I will hopefully have some pictures from an ornie swap, but don't know soon cuz I haven't got them in the mail yet. Take Care!

A few things for sale....better late than never!

I just updated my picturetrail with a few things I've finished for sale.....I do have a few Christmas pictures ready, but I had a heck of a time with the lighting and ended up taking them at night instead of daytime. I know natural light is best, but they were all way too bright. I tried overcast days and sunny days~ same result. Oh well, the pics at night still turned out pretty good I guess........ I have to finish editing and then I'll post again when they're ready. :0).

~Jody

Time for another giveaway!

The PFATT blog is having their winter giveaway starting at midnight tonight! Be sure to go to their blog anytime from Dec. 1st thru 7th to enter! Click ~HERE~ to go there! Here is a peek at the handmade I am donating:

Sorry for my absence again. I have been sooooo busy getting things done for Twelve Days of Christmas here. They are open for shopping now and I have finally been able to relax a little and just yesterday started getting my Christmas stuff out of storage~ still have lots to finish putting out but I will be back with pics to share again this year. :0) I'm also working on a few things to offer for sale online as well, so be sure to check back. I'll be back soon, I promise! :0)

~Jody

And the winner is........

I used random.org to pick our winner. There were 16 comments left, but two comments were left by one person, so that made 15 entries.......and the #3 comment was Denni! Congrats Denni! I'll be getting a hold of you and get your goodies in the mail asap! Thanks everyone for entering and following my little place on the web! :0)

~Jody

Finally...the owls are ready for their appearance...

The owls are finally ready to make their appearance~ sorry it took me a few days to get them on here. I didn't have a chance to take their pics until just yesterday. I had made nine, but three have already been spoken for so now its down to six. I've added them to my picturetrail.

I also made up a few of these....also another Chestnut Junction pattern. They make up quick and I even made an extra for myself. hee hee. A tad more dirty/grubby than what I normally do, but I really like the look. These are also on my picturetrail site if anyone's interested.....

~Jody

Fall signs done....check!

I finally got the photo uploader to work for me today and here is one of the signs I have on my picturetrail for sale..... Click here to go there. I only made 5 and I won't be making any more as I need to get cracking again on my things for christmas~ the shoppe opens in less than two months and I still have a lot to get finished. So the signs and other Halloween/fall goodies will be sold on a first come/first served basis. My hootie owls are drying from their coffee bath and I should have them ready and listed on my site tomorrow. Remember, you still have about a week to enter my giveaway! I need to scoot so I can get some more things done. Toodles!
~Jody

Faux Candy Apples Are Ready....

Ok, out of the two dozen I made for this last batch, I only have nine leftover~2 red ones and 7 green ones. I added them to my picturetrail site if anyone is interested. I should have my hoot owls and fall signs done tomorrow and will add those there as well when they are ready. Toodles!
~Jody