Needed a new end table!!

Hi Friends,

It is getting colder here in Kentucky! We started our first fire in the wood stove to take a bit of the chill off! I have been putting it off as long as I could. I love heating with wood, but I usually am in no hurry to start. Ed on the other hand is ready to start fires as soon as the temps dip below 70 degrees. :-)

Well Ed is away right now, and I decided I needed a new end table for one end of the sofa in the family room, so I did what any self-respecting, self taught crafter would do... I made it myself!!! Now normally I leave all the furniture making up to Ed, but when I decide I need something, well I need it right then and there! Is anybody else like that?
Ed is going to be gone for another 2 weeks, and there was no way I was waiting that long to make a new end table. I can't really buy any wood furniture. I mean I do from time to time, but then I have to hear about how "He" could have made it for me, so I have learned to be patient enough, and wait for him to build me something I have seen, and just have to have!














I figured I could tackle the job of the end table, and knew exactly what I wanted it to look like, and plus Ed just bought a pneumatic nailer, and I was dieing to get my hands on it. ;-) I had Ryan help me hold the boards while we glued and nailed the pieces together that I had all cut out. It is a pretty simple design, and it went together like a charm. I painted the bottom lamp black, and stained the top of it. It is far from perfect, and I know Ed would have done a much better job if I could have just waited for him, but I must say I am very pleased with how it turned out, and thought I would share it with you all.










Well that's about it! Just wanted to real quick share my end table with you all. I need to finish my cleaning. I got the whole downstairs done, so now I can head upstairs and tackle that.
Thanks for looking, stay warm and have a blessed day!

Pictures of Stepback Cupboard

Hello Prim Friends,

Just wanted to real quick put up some pictures of the finished cupboard.
This is the one I told you about in my last post... the one Ed had finished to go on the wall next to the fireplace in the kitchen.

I had to use my flash, so the color looks a bit brighter then it actually is. I painted it Country Red using Olde Century paints, distressed it a bit, and then finished it using an antique staining gel from Olde Century. I am LOVING it!!

It is pretty much your typical stepback. I had seen an antique one online and it had the slanted top, so that is what I asked dear sweet Ed to do with mine. I just love that detail!

Please pay no attention to my displays. I real quick threw a few things up, so I could take a picture for you all. The displays will not stay the way I have them now. I do NOT like it at all. ;-)

If you look close you can see part of the beadboard ceiling we started in the kitchen. We have not put any molding up yet, but it gives you an idea of what the painted beadboard looks like.

Well that's it for now my friends. I have a ton to get done today. Ed left this morning for another month long business trip, and I need to try and stay on top of it all. Still haven't done my cardio workout for the day, which I like to get done and out of the way early. Have a very blessed day!

New Booth And Other Ramblings

Hello friends,

I haven't updated in awhile because there really hasn't been much to update. Ed is back home, but leaves again next week, and will be gone the whole month of October.
We have been busy trying to get some things done while he is here, but sometimes it feels like we never get anything accomplished. ;-) We actually do, but when there is so many projects going on and you can only get to the ones you can get to it makes it seem like we didn't accomplish anything.
He did manage to finish up my new cupboard that is going on one side of the kitchen fireplace! It turned out absolutely perfect. I love it! I now have to find the time to get it painted, distressed and antiqued! I'll post pictures as soon as I get that project done.

We had also decided to open a booth at a local antique mall. After scaling way back on our internet sales, we thought doing something locally with items that we have already made would be better for us. I also can put the wholesale items I have in storage in the booth too. Ed finished up a new coffee table, and hanging shelf last night for the booth. I'll make sure to take pictures of them too when I get them all painted and finished. I'm not sure if we will offer them on the website or not. Ed is the one who builds all the furniture, and it makes it difficult when he is gone a month at a time. I've added a photo of one side of the booth. We are still working on the other side. Don't you love the wall paper? They won't let us change it either! :(






We are putting up wainscoting in the kitchen just like we did on the dining room ceiling, but instead of staining it I am painting it white. We have put up four sheets so far, but have another 12 to go... ;0 I don't think the rest will get up until he returns at the end of October. We are going to get the walls primed and painted this weekend, put up the trim work, and hopefully get the one cupboard painted. On the other side of the fireplace he is going to build me a corner buttery.
That is the last piece of furniture he has to build for the sitting area of the kitchen, and it is going to be a monster!! That is why he has saved it for last!

My new furniture for the fireplace area is suppose to be here the beginning of November, and I so wanted that part of the kitchen finished when the furniture arrived. Looks like it will be very close, but Ed has promised that it will be finished for the holidays... and then we get to move onto the rest of the kitchen, hallways, bedrooms and bathroom! It will be a busy winter for us! :)

My hope is that we will have everything done within 6 months! Not much pressure there, honey! This remodel has been going on for 2 years now, and I am so ready to have it done, plus now there is some added pressure. I got a call from Bill Mathews from Country Sampler. I was very flattered that they saw pictures of our dining room and wanted to put our home in their magazine, but as you all know, the dining room is the only room finished!! :0 I told Bill that it would be another 6 months before we finished up the rest of the house. He said that sounded great, and he would be in contact with me in 6 months!!!! I am excited about the prospect of being in Country Sampler, but the pressure just got turned up a notch or two!


Oh, I almost forgot! I did finish up these two projects yesterday. Nothing huge, but I love them! Simple projects to do, and I had fun making them!






Well that is about it for now peeps. I hope you all are enjoying this beautiful fall day wherever you are. It's going to be a gorgeous day here in the beautiful state of Kentucky, and I plan on getting out there and enjoying the heck out of it. I LOVE FALL!!!

Where have you been?

Hello all my blog friends!

It is hard to believe that it has been over a month since I last updated my blog... Actually it is going on almost 2 months. :(

Well my only excuse is that sometimes life has away of getting in the way of our plans.
Like most of us know, life can get rather hectic at times, and it has been beyond hectic in our household these past couple of months.

We are a homeschooling family, and we start our new school year in August. Ed travels a lot, so that leaves me as the sole parent to take care of it all. It works out for us in the end, but it can get rather daunting to say the least. I also was trying to run our business while Ed was away, and came to the conclusion that something had to give, and seeing as I have strived for the past 21 years to try and keep my priorities straight when it came to raising a family, I knew that I had to make a decision about the business. My children have always come before anything else in life, and I felt that they were getting the short end of the deal, so I scaled way back on the business, and that has helped immensely.

I also have been struggling with some serious health issues that I really did not want to face the reality of.
I think there may be many of you ladies out there who may understand or identify with the sacrifice of self. I have spent the last 21 years raising 5 beautiful children who I absolutely adore. It was not and is not in me to have these children and leave them to their own devises. I was and have been a complete and total hands on mother. I have stayed at home to raise them. I have played with them, read to them, snuggled them, laughed with them and cried with them. I gave them all the love, time and attention that a person can give, and to that I have no regrets.
The thing that I failed to do... was take care of me! I spent these past 21 years totally neglecting myself, and now I am facing the consequences of that neglect.

Last winter I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and put on oral medication. Well if that wasn't enough my lab work also came back with triglycerides through the roof, and now another medication. Within a month of starting the meds I started experiencing bad headaches. Another trip to the doctors confirmed what I expected... High Blood Pressure, and more meds. Within a few months of that I was then diagnosed with Anemia and was put on iron supplements and progesterone pills to try and combat the blood loss that was causing the anemia. :(
I sit here today now taking twice the amount of medication then my 70 year old mother! It has been a struggle to say the least! I have always had great health, and this seemed to come from nowhere... But did it? No, I have been heading here for the last 21 years. There is a reason why they call them the silent killers.

Getting my blood sugars under control has been a difficult thing to accomplish, but I think I am finally there. Yeah, me! That means no insulin shots!!!! :) I will probably always have to take the oral medication for the diabetes which really bums me out, but that is so much better then having to give yourself two shots a day. Been there, done that, and I hated it.

Now I am working on weight loss through both cardio and strength training. Making healthy food choices, and taking time for MYSELF!!!! That is such a strange concept for me. After 21 years of putting everyone and everything before myself I found it difficult to think about myself. I am slowly learning that it is OK to say, "Please get out of the bathroom while mommy takes a bath". In the past I could not have said that without feeling tremendous amounts of guilt. I give myself an hour a day for my workouts, and the children have come to learn that it's "mom time", and I am not to be disturbed. It took a week or so to make them understand that we meant this and the older ones are great to help with the younger ones if needed.

My goal and hope is to get off as much of this medication as possible and be as healthy as I can. It is a long road before me, and I know there will be good days and bad days, but I know I can do this. I have the most loving and supportive family anyone could ask for.

I know this post has nothing to do with primitives,remodeling or anything close to what you all probably would prefer to read, but it is where I am at and why I have pretty much been absent these past two months.

I can't promise that I will be posting anything new everyday or even every week, but as I am slowly getting things under control I will be posting projects that I am working on or have finished, where we are at with the remodel, and anything else that may pop up.

Thank you to all my blog friends for your many emails and concerns. I have missed catching up with you all. Have a very blessed evening!

Floor & Ceiling

Hey Ladies,

Just wanted to post real quick. I have had a number of emails about the ceiling and floors, and I thought it would be easiest just to post on here.

The ceiling was done using bead board, and we covered up the seams from the butted ends using 4X4's. We used a hatchet and roughed up the sides a bit and stained them both with Early American stain by Minwax. It really was a pretty easy fix for that nightmare of a ceiling.

The floor was done using 1x10 pine boards... Yup, that is right. Pine Boards!! It's funny because we tend to think of wood floors as hardwood, and when I started researching old wood floors I found out that our ancestors used pine for their flooring. I would not have thought of pine on the floor because I always assumed wood floors were hardwood, but they are not always hardwood. If a home that is 100-200 years old still has it's pine wood floors after all these years,
then I think my pine floors will last through my lifetime. :)

We made sure to biscuit join one board to another for a nice tight fit, and Ed screwed each board to the floor joist to help with any shifting and buckling. We then used wood plugs to cover the screw holes. We sanded the floor, and then I applied one coat of the Early American stain. I put on 4 coats of the floor poly as the manufacturer suggested. That stuff was easy to apply and I only had to wait 2 hours in between coats. After the last coat I had to wait 24 hours before I could walk on it.It dries to a nice hard protective surface and there is very little shine. I don't like shine.. :)

There is a number of ways to lay wide plank flooring for the average DIYer, and this was the easiest way for us to do it. If you do a Google search you can find directions on how to lay wide plank pine floors.

I cannot say enough how much I love these floors. I have always wanted wide plank floors, and figured I would have to settle for the narrow hardwood floors that you buy at your local home improvement stores until I started looking into it!!!
Pine floors have so much more character then hardwood floors do. Don't get me wrong, I love hardwood floors, but the look I was going for is better achieved with the wide plank pine.

Thank you all for your kind and encouraging words. I really do appreciate you all taking the time to look and leave comments. Enjoy the rest of your Monday!

Before & After Pics Of Remodeled Dining Room

Happy Sunday Morning,

The Dining Room is finally finished!!! YIPPY!!!
Well at least 99% of it is finished. If you would all indulge my ramblings, I would love to give a bit of background on our remodel and share the before and after photos with you all. WARNING... This will be a long read. You can skip to the pictures if you want, but I hope you will take the time to read. There is a lot of blood, sweat and tears that go into a do-it-yourself remodel.

We bought this house 3 years ago. It was built in 1970, and it has never been updated. The kitchen, when we moved in was done in that wonderful 70's Green!!! Ugly!!!!
The counter were green, the sink was green,the mini blinds hanging on the window over the sink was GREEN!!!! When we pulled up the floor, yes you guessed it, the linoleum under it was GREEN!! The cabinets were that real dark wood that was popular during the 70's.
Well, I saw potential in this never updated home, and it had good bones, and the possibility of the one thing I always wanted.......A Fireplace in the kitchen!!!

There was a little den just off the kitchen with a fireplace. I remember the first time we came and looked at the house. I stood in the doorway between the kitchen and den, and tried to visualize the wall removed, and the kitchen enlarged to include that little den with the fireplace! Yup, I was sold!! I can look past paint, and wallpaper. I can even look past walls that shouldn't be there...lol!!
I could see the potential of what this house could be.

We started the remodel about 2 years ago, but we didn't start with just one room....Noooo, we decided lets do the whole upstairs at once, excluding bedrooms..
I'm not talking paint a few walls, and change a few things in one room. I'm talking 4 rooms...walls torn down,stairs ripped out, electrical moved and rerouted, flooring torn up, and once the gutting was done, and we had a big empty shell for a home, we had to start the rebuilding. I tried to be realistic, and thought it would take us 6 months to a year to remodel..... lol... that is funny!!! Two years later and we now have one room finished. I am not complaining.... I am thrilled to have that one room done!!! After living with sub floors that you can't walk barefoot on, or you WILL get a splinter, sheet rocked walls with half finished tapping & mudding, that you can't decorate, light switches that don't work and the MESS.... Well lets just say I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, and it is worth all the chaos and turmoil.

I have the best husband anybody could ask for, and he is a pretty handy guy to have around. Ed has done all the construction of our remodel. He has had helpers.The kids and me! :)
He has had to make new stairs and cut a big old hole in my kitchen floor(talk about nail biting) for the new stairs, he had to take down a LOAD BEARING wall!!!! That was a very scary day! When he and Adam removed the last upright to put the braces in, that whole ceiling dropped a good 2 to 3 inches....For a split second I thought we were all goners. I really thought the whole roof was going to come crashing down on us all. Thankfully he knows what he is doing, and I just worry way to much.
Ed built another wall in our dining area with pocket walls, so I could have the pocket doors I dreamed of. He did all the wiring and rewiring for new light fixtures, outlets and light switches. He and the boys laid down all the wide plank flooring in three rooms. That was big job...They cut each board to length, biscuit joined each and every plank one to another,screwed the flooring down, and wood plugged all the holes. I got the job of staining and polyurethaning the floors. He continues to build all our kitchen cabinets, cupboards, island, and whatever else I dream up!!! :)

We have had our fare share of mishaps along the way, and the layout of our remodel has had to be changed a few times,but we have rolled with the changes, and I couldn't be happier with the way everything is finally shaping up.


I only have a few before pictures of the dining room, and they actually are not even before pictures. In these pictures Ed had already torn down the wall that separated the dining room and front room, built the pocket walls, laid down the floor, and did the sheet rock.

Take a look at this ceiling. I'm not a big fan of pop-corn ceiling. Please don't get offended if you are. Just not my thing, and that's what makes us all individuals. Now maybe I could live with pop-corn ceilings if I absolutely had to, but what I can't live with is pop-corn ceilings with glitter!!!!! Yes, I said glitter. I have never seen glitter sprayed into the ceilings before, and this house has it in just about every room!! There was NO WAY we were going to scrape these ceilings!! Could you imagine the mess, and the amount of time it would take? We debated putting sheet rock over the old ceiling like we did in the kitchen, but I had another idea, and I must say it was not met with much enthusiasm!!! I Love the finished look, and so does everybody else. What do you all think????

Before with glitter pop-corn ceiling..



During pictures...





After pictures...





Okay, here is a few more of the before/during pictures..







After pictures... We still need to put up the ceiling trim, and I am still debating a chair rail. I have gone back and forth about the chair rail. I am leaning toward it with a small amount of stenciling above the rail, but then I think it will look to busy in there. It is a small room. Any opinions would be appreciated.






























We painted the walls Woodrow Wilson Linen, all the trim, doors are done in Country Red from Olde Century paint, and we used Early American Minwax stain on the floors and ceiling.


I still have some tweaking to do in here. I want to put a corner table below the hanging corner cupboard, either a rug or floor cloth beneath the table, and few other things I want to change around, but all in all I am very pleased with the finished product. Thanks for looking, and have a great week!

What you working on Wednesday..

Hi There Everyone!

Well I have been out straight trying to get the dining room finished. I posted about it a couple weeks ago hoping Ed would get a chance to finish up that one room while he was home. He did get a lot done before he had to head back out, and the boys and I have been busy the last two weeks trying to get it finished. I wanted to post some before and after pictures, which I'm hoping to do by the end of the week, so check back in a couple days. :)

Anyways, I have been trying to get my Make Do chair finished to put in the dining room, and finally got it all finished today.
I have had the ladder back for years and have been trying to figure out how to make the make do for about a year now. I did a lot of research, and really found very little on how to construct them. I study what pictures I came across, and thought I finally had it figured out. It was a bit difficult, but I am happy with the way it turned out. I made some mistakes on it, but will know better next time...if there is a next time ... :)















Well I think that's about it. I did finish up some bird pincushions I was working on too. I wanted them for the hanging corner cupboard in the dining room. I'll have to go take some pictures so you can all see them.
Thanks for taking a peek, and have a blessed day!

Okay ladies, I just took a couple pictures of my bird pincushions, and I forgot I finished up a hanging sheep over the weekend. I used a Kentucky Primitive pattern for the sheep.







I love all my birdies, but these two are my favorites!






Here is the sheep. Don't you just love his fat little body and stumpy legs!!

And The Winner Is.............................

As we wrap up our celebration of the 4th of July, we have one last thing to do, and that is draw the winning name for our giveaway.
I want to thank you all who participated. Those who are now followers, and those who blogged about the giveaway, and to all the wonderful comments that were left.
I wish there could be more then one winner, but don't worry, I will be doing more giveaways in the near future.




I had Anna Grace draw the name out of the bowl. She was so very excited about getting to draw the winning name. She was clapping her hands and squealing, and after the name was picked she wanted to know what present she was getting!!! lol.. :)
Poor baby... I had to go find a piece of gum in my purse for her, so she wouldn't be disappointed.
Anyways, on with the winning name.........





and the winner is Teresa M from Teresa's Primitive Treasures!!
Congratulations Teresa!! Send me an email with your mailing address and I'll have your flag, pinwheels and bowl fillers shipped out to you asap.

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!

Happy Birthday America!
Today we mark the 233rd year of our birth as a nation!






As we attend our barbecues, parades, firework displays, and parties, let us take time to remember what it is we are celebrating.
233 years ago we as a people Declared our Independence from Great Britain.




As we celebrate our Nations Birthday it's important we remember the sacrifice behind this great day...

Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died.

Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured. Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War.

They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. What kind of men were they?

Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated. But they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were capture.

These were not wild-eyed, rabble-rousing ruffians. They were soft-spoken men of means and education. They had security, but they valued liberty more. Standing tall, straight, and unwavering, they pledged: “For the support of this declaration, with firm reliance on the
protection of the divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.” They gave you and me a free and independent America.





Throughout the history of our nation brave men and women have given the ultimate sacrifice. They have laid down their lives for us all.







Let us remember their sacrifices, and the sacrifice their families have made also.
We enjoy the freedoms and liberties we have because of them all. Past, present and future..





Some of us take these liberties so much for granted, but we shouldn’t. So, take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July holiday and silently thank these patriots. It’s not much to ask for the price they paid.


Have a Happy, Safe, and Wonderful 4th of July!!!!