BARN LUMBER DISPLAY RACK

I needed something old and country themed to display my Country Sampler magazines in at my Booth #555 at the Peddlers Mall.

 

I took some short pieces of some aged barn lumber we had, and simply cut and pieced them together. In a type of form that he thought would house magazines.  And, in my opinion it’s ok!

After taking the photo, I sanded it down with some sheets of coarse sand paper and then sealed it with some craft sealer. I didn't want anyone to get splinters while reaching for the magazines.

I wish I'd taken a photo of it finished. If I did, I can't find it yet.....

And by the way, after being in my craft booth as a display item only, I had calls from the store that people wanted to purchase this. So I priced it for only $9.99 and it sold immediately. 

Here is a photo of the second one he made:

I loved the first one better, but with old barn lumber, hardly two are ever the same.

ROLLING PIN IDEAS

A few weeks ago, I had an idea after watching an "Everybody Loves Raymond," episode. If you haven't seen the show, over at Raymonds Moms' house, she has a rolling pin on the wall that holds mail.

So I went and bought a handful of rolling pins at the Dollar Mart for only $1.19 each, the wooden ones. And I tried my hand at making them. Well, turns out I'm not great at cutting the back off of the round rolling pins to make them flat against the wall. And the cuts to hold the mail.....well, they turned out awful. Take a look:

See how the lines came out all uneven? I had used a table saw for that and apparently it wasn't the right tool. lol.

And anyhow, I then came up with an idea to use some country homespun fabric and cover up my mess. That way I could try to salvage the wooden rolling pins. And here's what I decided on doing:

As you see in the photo above, I cut a piece of fabric to fit over the pin itself. Then I used a hot glue gun to glue it around the pin. I only glued the back of it. And it has held fine like that.

I also painted the handles in a flat back with some craft paint from Michaels. It just gave them a little bit more prim look.

And I took some craft wire and attached a metal star just to prim it up a bit more.

Lastly, I attached a sawtooth hanger on the back, which is the flat side, to make for easy hanging. I nailed in the small tacks that came with the kit. The kit was found at the Dollar Mart also, for only $1.19.

And that was pretty much it. After taking the pics, I decided to take some sand paper and rough up the handles a bit more. And they did look better after that. And that's all there was too it.

It was a craft fail that actually turned out salvageable. lol.

Happy Crafting Ya'll,

~Lisa

RED and WHITE Speckled COUNTRY EGGS

Today I thought I'd share how I make my Red and White Speckled "Graniteware/ Enamelware" Looking Country Eggs. I do both the white based with red specks and also the red base with white specks. I love them both!

I was thinking that some people may want to make these for display with Easter right around the corner. But as for me, I keep mine out all year long. They look awesome with the red and white speckled "graniteware/enamelware" themed other items I have in the kitchen also.

First, I start off with some basic, crafting plastic eggs. You can find these at Michaels or sometimes you get lucky and run across a bag of them at the Dollar Mart! These are not the type that you can pull apart, they are full eggs, in one piece. They are plastic and hollow inside.

I was lucky enough to find these in huge bags of 40 for only $1.19 at the Dollar Mart last year. My buggy and arms were full! And please note that I did buy them all except for one bag. Which I left in case someone really needed them. lol. Some of mine in the tote are dented due to being stored at the bottom of a huge stack in the garage. lol. But I am still going to use them.

The next step is to simply spray paint them with a base coat. I use the $3.00 red from the Dollar Store and the $1.50 white. The little bit higher red tends to cover better than the dollar kind. Do not try to paint them on something like a plastic bag. They will stick and get lines....I tried.

The best thing I found to paint them in was a cardboard box lid. The gift box type. Once painted they can even roll around and it will not mess up the paint too much. I do a box full of both white and red as the base.

Then let them dry a bit, roll them around and spray the other sides. Then just let it all dry again.

Now comes the toughest part....but don't worry, it's still not hard. It's the time to add the "speckled look." And getting it just right is not necessary. But here's a trick. Practice over something like an empty box until you get the hang of it. I just barely.....and I mean BARELY press down on the spray button on the spray paint to just make it kind of "spit" the paint out in little specks. And I hold it over top the eggs. Probably about 2 foot or so above. That way you will get the little dripping effects.

You can see some of the big drips that also fell in the box. It hit a few eggs to, but even they still looked kinda cool in the end.

I forgot to take a pic of the red based ones with white specks, but they are just the same as above, but vice versa colors.

And here's how I package them up to sell them in my Peddlers Mall Booth #555:

I put them in these clear bags and just add a label and sometimes a string of homespun to make them look super country. I do sets of 2 for only $1.59 or sets of 4 for $2.79. The sets of 2 go faster than the sets of four, I am guessing because of the $1.59 price. And that people may add them to their own groups of eggs they already have.

Here's a few more pics of them packaged and ready to go:

And here's how I display some in my own kitchen. They are all nestled inside of a wire chicken frame that I found at a yard sale for only $2.00.

I need to go back and add a touch of that fake nesting grass under the eggs. Ah, I'll get to it one day.

Well, I hope this gives you some ideas on what to do with those plastic craft eggs you may have laying around. I'm pretty sure this will also work on those left over Easter eggs as well. They'd just have the seam in the middle is all.


MORE IDEAS:
And if you are looking for a more primitive, country theme to do on plastic eggs, check out my recent post here: PRIMITIVE "COUNTRY THEMED" EGGS.

 

http://www.booth555.com/2012/08/primitive-bowl-fillers-country-eggs.html

OLD GLASS CREAMERS REUSED

I won a large, old gray enamel cooking pot full of these old little glass jars. I am guessing they were used in some old diner or something as little creamers that sit on a table. Not positive, but I think it's a pretty good guess.

Here's the before pic of a couple of them:

And here's the after pic:

I tried to make it look like it did have "milk" or "cream" in it still with a price.

I took a can of regular, $1.00, white spray paint from WalMart and slowly sprayed it inside. I held the nozzel right inside the edge and sprayed. Till enough got in that I could tilt it on it's side and roll it around and cover the entire insides.

Then I just took some red craft paint and a tiny paint brush and wrote "milk" 5cents, on the front. On the next one I think I will write "cream."

I like how it came out and it adds a lil something something to the plain little jars instead of just being empty.

I am going to put these in my Peddlers Mall Booth #555 for about a $1.50 each. That will be a good profit considering I only gave like $2.00 for the entire lot of about 30 of these little jars.

CRAFT BOOTH MAKEOVER FAIL

Welcome ya'll! This is my 100th blog post! Awesome! Thanks for sharing this exciting moment with me!

Well, It's official.... I am already hating my new booth theme of the pink/gray I chose last month for my craft booth at the Peddlers Mall.

If you missed that post, here's a snapshot of how it originally was (the way I loved but got tired of):

and here's how I changed it up last month:

And I am already hating it.... The colors are really pretty together, don't get me wrong. I love the gray/pink/white combo but I just miss my primitive theme super bad.

So at the end of this week, I am repainting it and going back to the primitive theme that I love!

I am going to choose a dark red and white theme. And have lots of gingham check patterns, hopefully. I will also add back the grapevine and wood furniture. I am leaving out a fireplace, for a while. At least until the end of summer, for now.

At least I went ahead and gave a major change a try. I just didn't like it. But one good thing came out of this for sure. I am super ready to start making more and more primitive crafts to share here! I have to, to get ready to fill up my booth with them next week.

So watch for primitive posts coming soon!!!!! And a super big thanks to all ya'll that still follow and read my blog here! This post was my 100th blog entry. And the pages before this are filled with primitive crafting ideas. So please be sure to click back through them, if you haven't already and find some inspiration! And if you have a great idea, please send them to me. I love hearing about all the new stuff out there in the primitive themes!

Happy Crafting Ya'll!!!!

NEW LOOK FOR THE NEW YEAR

First I'd like to let everyone know that I have definitely not given up primitives! Primitives are my passion. This blog isn't going to change. So If you are following it and like it, don't worry, I'll still be posting! :-)

 

Making primitive crafts, hunting for them, re-doing them, that is what I love. And I am going to continue with primitives soon. But as for now, I have changed up my actual Booth #555 in the Morehead Peddlers Mall. Just for a little change. I have remade it into a girly themed booth.

 

The reason for this change, mostly, is that we do not have any local Bath and Body Works stores around. We have to drive a little over an hour to our nearest one, located in Lexington, KY. And my sisters are always pestering me to get them some. lol.

 

So, with that in mind, I decided to open up a girly booth, stocked full of Bath and Body Works. Instead of renting a new booth to do this. I redone my 4 year old Booth #555 that focused on primitives. It was time for a complete makeover. As the walls were full of holes and such. And so while I had it all cleaned out and empty. That was the time to go with a fresh new theme.

 

And here we have it. It's not completely done. But this was it as of yesterday. I still have a bit to go before it's completely ready for the weekend shoppers.

 

 

But as I said before, I'm not quitting my primitive sales. I am going to re-open another booth in the same mall. It will also have the same Booth # 555. I wanted to keep that number because it is tied to my crafting blog site here! It was my start. I've had that same primitive booth for 4 years now and counting.

 

I already miss having primitives at the Peddlers Mall and it's just been down for five days now. lol. And within 3 months I will have another one stocked full! I just could not go very long without making some primitive crafts. It is in my blood! :-)

 

Here's a look back, before I go, of how it was, and how the new booth will be: stacked full of primitives!

 

 

 

 

And just to give you more insight, this is one of the aisles inside the peddlers mall:

 

WORLDS Best Hot Cocoa Recipe

I know this isn't a craft post today, but heck, crafters get cold! lol
I don't always drink hot cocoa, but when I do, I do it right. :-)
So here's my all time favorite way that I drink my hot cocoa on these single digit, blistery cold days!

WORLDS Best Hot Cocoa Recipe

 

Simple, easy, DELICIOUS!

-1 PACKAGE NESTLE COCOA MIX
-3 OR 4 DARK Chocolate HERSHEY kisses
-6 oz. of hot water or hot milk

Mix powdered cocoa mix and water/milk in your favorite cup.
Stir in 3 or 4 Hershey Kisses and ENJOY!


Bonus: A few little marshmallows never hurt!

CANDY CANE WREATH with Instructions

Here's a cute candy cane wreath I made and the instructions are below.

I first saw this idea when my Aunt sent me a link on fb. Then I did a quick search and found it on Pinterest here. It looked super cute to be so simple that I just had to try it!

And here's how I did it.

First I headed down to the Dollar General Store to buy the candy canes, it takes 22. So I had to buy two boxes. And I needed something roundish to decorate the center and try to hide where they all come together. I didn't see anything I loved so I drove over to the Dollar Mart. And there I found the cute, clear and silver snowflake! It is simply PERFECT!

 

Then I got all my stuff together when I got home. 

You will need:

1.scissors

2.Hot glue gun and stick

3. Twenty two candy canes

4. A centerpiece (round is perfect)

5. Ribbon

6. And e6000 glue (optional)

7. White sparkly glitter (optional)

Okay so here we go. First, I laid all the candy canes out in sets of two, to form a circle,  like this:

And then just shove them together to form a "wreath" circle.

And next you simply just take some ribbon, I chose white, and tie them all together in sets of two, like so:

Simple so far, right!

Okay, next, after doing all 22 of these like that. I arranged them all into a circle again, and took my hot glue gun and glued them all together at the inside center circle. Each one to the next, to make a tight hold. 

I also did this to the top outer parts, where the canes form a heart shape. Just to make a stronger hold.

And then I got my plastic clear, sparkly snowflake and glued it directly onto the center of the candy canes with my E6000 glue, found in the craft section of stores. I'm sure you could probably just hot glue the star on, but I wanted to make sure it wouldn't fall of soon.

(this wasn't the pic I wanted to post, but I couldn't find the correct one where my canes were tied with ribbon! But this one will due.)

Now this e6000 glue takes a while to fully dry, but when it does, it has a strong hold!

Now you could finish up here, if you didn't want to take it a step farther like I did with the photo insert.

But since my Aunt had sent me a photo wanting this, and she recently had a son to pass away in a car accident. I thought I'd add a photo of him in the center for her. It'd be a great way for her to have his photo around during Christmas. And he use to always steal her candy canes off her Christmas tree too. So this is extra special for her.

I chose a photo from when he was younger and printed it off.
I then glued the edges of the photo to the inside of the clear snowflake, from the back side. 
I also smeared some extra glue around the edges on the inside and sprinkled all kinds of sparkly, white glitter in it.
I thought it was a good way to hide the edges of the cut photo, since the center of the snowflake was clear.

Also, this is where I found some little red pip berries in my craft box, and hot glued them to the white ribbon ties.
You could use jingle bells, little fake presents or bows. Just about anything to dress them up a bit.

And lastly, the final step was to simply add a piece of ribbon to the top, to be able to hang it by.

I just tied on a piece like below:

And that is all there was to it!

My Aunt loves it and it is a great way for her to keep her son's spirit around at Christmas.

Hope ya'll like it!

And by typing out these steps, it makes it seem way more complicated than it is.

Believe it, it's simply tieing two candy canes together, hot glueing them and assembling it all.

Very Easy!

If you do give this a try, I'd love for you to send me a link or photo of it!

I gave this one to my aunt but I'm making more that's on the way to my Craft Booth #555 and Etsy where they can be purchased as a great, unique gift!

See ya'll next time,
~Lisa

Old Crow Primitive Toolbox

These old looking toolboxes are a hot seller in my Peddlers Mall booth. Usually as soon as I make one, the tend to sale within 2-3 days.

I display them in ways to show how they are actually useful. Usually I tuck a handful of Country Sampler magazines in them. But for some of the cuter ones I've made, I tucked hand towels in them in the gingham pattern. A cute addition to a country kitchen, I thought. And you could also stash away some vintage kitchen utensils in these.

Anyways, I love making these little old looking toolboxes.  Keep in mind that I do not go by exact measurements on these. I just kind of wing it when cutting the boards. I think it gives a more prim look anyways.

And I almost always finish them off by stenciling on some type of design. For this one I chose the old black crow and black stars theme.

And here it is sitting beside a tobacco stick, tabletop tree with matching yellow pip berries:

Happy Crafting Ya'll!




You may also like these Primitive Crafts:

Primitive Tobacco Stick Grapevine Tree

Tobacco Stick Chair

Americana Tobacco Stick Flag

 

 

 

 

 

 

Primitive Barnwood Tool Box