Trying to settle in...

Well folks, it is official. I am moved in. It feels really weird to have my own place that I can do with whatever I please.  I have always been used to military housing where you can't do much. You can't paint, you can't take down walls. You can't choose the style of your house. You get what you get and deal with it. So, this home owner thing is really very new to me. As soon as we moved in we began to paint. I mean we had too. The choice of colors were not my own and we wanted to feel like it was "our" house. And plus, I didn't want to wait until the furniture came only to have to move things around.
 As I am putting things away and placing things on the newly painted walls I notice something; my decorating style. I never really noticed it before but it is a blend of modern and country with a splash of colonial. LOL. I really want to be more colonial/prim but the old man won't let me. He says I decorate like an old lady. Uggggh! Men. But I am hoping once this mess is cleaned up I can take some pictures of my progress. And hopefully I can find my sewing machine. It is MIA right now and it's driving me nuts. I want to get back to making some things I have swirling around in my head.  That reminds me. I am going to be having a giveaway of sorts to celebrate my new house and new beginning in life.  I was thinking more of a "swapaway". I just have no luck at winning at giveaways and I know how frustrating it can be. So, my idea was to have one special person win my hand made item for the giveaway plus there will be a swap with the people who sign up in my giveaway. I know it sounds confusing but it is really simple. When I post my giveaway I will put a deadline for the swap. Once I have everyone I will give out swap partners and from those listed in the swap one lucky person will win my giveaway prize. So, in the end everyone will go home with something. :)  And for the swap it will be one handmade item of your choice. So, what do you think? Good idea? Let me know. And as soon as I find my sewing machine I will get started on the Swapaway. Hehe...



Have a great Monday everyone!

My new home!

Well folks, this is my new home. After me talking about it so much I thought I would finally share a picture with you. It's not the greatest pic because I am using my phone to blog at the moment. But I am hoping after the move and I finally get internet I will be back to normal blogging.


Thanks for taking a peek!

Gen

Just some thoughts from my mind.....

I know this post has nothing to do with prims. But I just wanted to write what was in my mind. I am actually writing to you from my phone because I still have no internet or house. Lol. I have been going stir crazy with not being able to create. I miss my sewing machine so much! Lol. But it has also given me so much time to reflect on myself and on others. I find with myself I need to challenge myself more artistically. I need to push myself more and not be afraid of what others may think or say. I need to stop being naive in believing everyone wants to be my friend. As I have learned quite the hard way. And that disappointments are a way of life. I may not be the most popular or the best artist there is. But hey, I know I am to me. And for now, that is good enough for me. Life is way to short to sweat the small stuff. So, I am not gonna sweat a thing.

On a brighter note..... We are looking to get into our house by the end of this month. I am really hoping to get things nice and decorated for my new picture trail. My goal for this year is to get into country sampler or a primitive place magazine. I am really hoping I can get my house featured this year. I can dream big, right?

~*hugs and blessings*~

Genevieve

Thank you!

I just wanted to pop in to tell you all "Thank you!". All your prayers and blessings sure helped me during this difficult time. I truly want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart. I can say I am doing much better now and am looking forward to the future. I am keeping myself busy with the closing on our first new home! I can't wait to post pictures of it. And I can't wait to have my stuff back so I can get started on some new projects. I have been finding some prim stores around here and they have inspired me to create again. It was so new to me to be able to walk into a prim store and pick up the items. They did not have any prim stores in Texas where I was. So, I almost fainted when I saw all the prim items in a store in person. Lol. I know that probably sounds really silly to most of you. But to me it was like I died and went to prim heaven. Lol!
But I just want to say thank you all again! And don't forget about me yet! I will be back to posting regularly again soon.


~*Hugs*~
Gen

A Truely Sad Day...

Sorry I have not been posting as often as I should be. But last night I lost one of the greatest grandmother anyone could ever have. It was very unexpected. I had just talked to her and visited her with the kiddos. And at midnight she passed away. I am at a loss for words right now. I was so happy to finally be home and to rejoin my family. I was so glad that my kids would be able to spend more time with her because that is what she always wanted. And we even finally found a house that was close to her. So, if she ever needed anything I could help her out. But now things have changed. Dreams are broken. And my heart is broken. So, I may need a little time to heal before I can start things again. I don't mean to disappoint anyone by not writing. But I am going to need a little more time. Thanks for all your understanding.

~*Hugs*~

Out with the old and in with the new....

That is my new motto for this year. I am clearing out a lot of negativity in my life. I recently read a post from my friend Tracy over at her blog The Prairie Patch. It was a very poignant post which opened my eyes to the other side of the prim community. You can read it HERE.  It is very disheartening to know that there are a lot of you who are so catty and mean.  And I hate to admit it but I too have felt the shunning from others in the prim community. Why? Aren't we all grown women. Doesn't the high school dramatics stop after you leave high school? I guess for most people they can not get past being bullies or "mean girls".  While your antics will not stop me from doing what I love, it will hinder me from participating in forums. I have removed myself from a few. I feel they are no longer a place of enjoyment.  I will just be doing my blogging and Etsy. I just can not surround myself with such negative people. I just want positive creativity and people to surround me in my life. I just wanted to get this off my chest and I thank you for taking the time to read. I hope you too can find peace and positive creativity in your life.



~*Big Hugs*~

Trying to get back into the loop.

Well, it has been a pretty slow process of finding a home. I can't do any of the things I want to do like make some easter themed items. I really want to get back into selling my items. But sigh....all my supplies and materials are packed up in storage.  All I can do is dream up some things and hope I don't forget what inspired me.  :(  But before we moved I made something up real quick. And I just had to take it with me. I couldn't bear to see it go into storage. I wanted a free standing bunny. I improvised a pattern by using a pattern I already had. It was the snowman pattern from The Wooden Nail. I just free handed a rabbit head and "Ta Da"! A bunny.

I think he turned out alright. He He.....

I want to upload more pictures of him but this internet is giving me problems. So, I will try again a little later. I also want to thank all of you for your wonderful comments about my finally making a post and on finding a home. Your thoughts and prayers are so needed right now and I thank you all so much!! If I could hug you all I would!

Have a great weekend everyone!

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

I am back!!!!

Hello dear friends!!! I made it with all my hair still on my scalp to New Jersey. And yes, the animals did great. So much better then I thought they would do.  But we are all still trying to settle in. It is going to be so much different now that my husband is out of the military. I can't wait to start living in ONE place. And I love knowing that my husband will no longer have to go overseas for months. I love having him home :).   For now, we are house hunting and haven't found anything as of yet. We did put an offer in on one house that I absoultely adore. I hope we get it. It is so perfect for us. But for now, we are still looking around to find our forever home.
And as for crafting....well I can't do anything and it's driving me crazy! I feel so behind on all the crafting blogs and forums. I don't have a very good internet connection and sometimes I can never get on. So, please bear with me. I hope to share as much as I can with you all. And once I get a house I am planning on a giveaway. A really big one. So, stay tuned. Thanks for all your wonder comments! I always love to read them. They make my day.

~*Prim Blessings*~

An update to my Topiary tutorial

I have another example of a super easy way to create a prim topiary. I actually came across this way on accident. I was going through my floral stash to see if I could get rid of some things and I had a lot of stems with a few flowers or berries on them. I looked at the stem and thought to myself, this would be great for a topiary. So, with my scraps I created this little gem.

I used a stem from a faux berry branch that I had stripped of berries. A few stray sprigs of greenary. And some brown floral tape.

 I first cut the stem to the size I needed. Next I took the stray floral sprigs and floral tape and taped them to the top of the stem. Stuck it in a pot I already had and added some grass to the top.

And there you have it. A cute little prim topiary that was SUPER EASY to make. And all you need is some scraps you may have laying around like I did. So, save those floral stems!!!!

~*Hugs*~

 
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

One year anniversary celebration giveaway going on over at Prim Pals!!!

Good morning fellow bloggers! This may be one of my last posts until the move. We have already gone through most of our stuff and purged whatever was not needed. Now I am starting to put things away in boxes. My house is starting to look strangely empty. :( But it is on to bigger and better things.(I hope)  So, I wanted to make a last post with you. Who knows, I might make one one before we leave if I am able too. So, on to the good stuff.......



The forum I belong to Prim Pals is having an anniversary giveaway. And this one is a really good one ladies!!! And I am not just saying that either. It really is. Here is what it includes:

*****Please feel free to share this button on your blogs, facebook and even tweet it if you have twitter ! These are the rules to enter Prim Pals 1 year anniversary celebration giveaway....*****

YOU MUST be a forum member

YOU MUST post or posted an introduction in the NEW MEMBERS SECTION ( we will be checking )

YOU MUST have at least 20 POSTS

YOU MUST comment over in the giveaway section at Prim Pals that you would like to be entered

YOU WILL get an extra entry for the prizes by Posting this on your blogs or facebook pages. PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT OVER AT PRIM PALS THAT YOU DID SO WE CAN CHECK and give you credit.

Winners will be announced March 8th

One GRAND PRIZE winner of a 25 dollar gift card and 5 mystery gifts will be awarded for a total of 6 prizes !




So, what are you waiting for!!!!Head on over and join in this wonderful giveaway. This is truly too good to miss!!! And tell them I sent ya!


Have a great rest of the week!

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Rosemary Topiary Tutorial

Hi All! Wow, these past couple of days have been horrible for me. The day after my birthday I had to go in to have my wisdom teeth removed. And from then on I have been in some pain. Plus, after which I started to experience some major headaches. Yay! Lots of fun. But I am recovering now and am slowly starting to get my crafting groove back. So, as promised here is the tutorial I said I would share. Enjoy!

What you will need:

• A small pot or bucket or box for placing your topiary in
• some moss or grass for covering the top of the pot
• some fake rosemary sprigs or a similiar fake sprig of greenary
• stick from the yard
• hot glue and glue gun
• drill and small drill bit
• styrofoam for inside the pot to hold the stick in place

First you will want to place your styrofaom into your container of choice. If it doesn't fit you can always resize it by cutting away some of the edges.
Next, after finding the right stick from your yard, place some hot glue on the bottom of it and place it directly into the styrofaom.

Then you will take your rosemary sprig and start to take some of the braches off of it. Take your drill and small drill bit and start to drill a small hole into your branch. Do not go all the way through. If you do, that is ok. Don't worry about it.

 I like to start with three branches and make a triangle shape on my branch. This way I can see how to fill it out. It makes it a lot easier to know where to put branches.( I want to add that I would push down some of the lose leaves towards the middle to fill the middle and hide the top of the branch) I also, like to bend the branches up a little to give it a more natural look.

Once I think I have it full enough, I go ahead and start gluing the moss and/or grass.

Please make sure you use caution with the glue. It can get quite hot and I know from experience that it hurts like heck. So, watch your fingers please.

After you finished gluing your moss down you're finished! And now you have your very own topiary that you can display in your home for years to come. And it was easy! So, I hope you enjoy this tutorial and make one for yourself or for a friend. The only thing I ask is that if you do share this tutorial you kindly give me credit for it.

~*Hugs*~

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

This is an Awesome Giveaway!!! Don't miss this one!

Dan over at Yesterday Once More is having an awesome giveaway. Don't let this one go by! Dan is celebrating his one year blogiversary and is having a giveaway for it. In this giveaway is a one year subscription to the APP magazine!!!!! Isn't that awesome. And if you already have a subscription you can still enter too. You will get an extra year free!!!  How cool is that. So, I had to spread the word. This is too good to pass up. So head on over and sign up!

New Giveaway Going On!

Casey from Olde Spoon River Homestead is having a wonderful giveaway in honor of having reached 100 followers. And this one is a really good one! So, don't miss out on this!

Included in this giveaway is: Jar lamp that says " live well, laugh often", Love much". It has painted saltbox houses on it. A candle holder . And a Primitive candle ring with cute little prim candles on it.

So, hurry on over and sign up for this wonderful giveaway hosted by Casey!

Wow....been gone too long!

Wowzers! I have been away from my blog for too long. Well, I do have a good excuse. We are currently in the process of moving. Where? I don't know quite yet. But we are moving and in fact have to be out of here by March. Yikes! So, I have been a busy little bee and have been getting rid of junk and things we no longer use.  But, since I am an artist I need to create. Otherwise, I get cranky and miserable. No one wants a miserable momma. So, I made the excuse to go to Hobby Lobby.  I actually had to go to get posterboard for a project my son has to do. And I figured why not pick out a few things to work on?! I have been drooling over those primitive rosemary topiaries. I see them all over people's blogs and websites. But to me, they are way too expensive. I figured I could make one. No prob. I will just look around the web to see if anyone has a tutorial on how to make one. Nada....nothing. Oh, poo. What am I going to do. I really want to make one and if it turns out awesome make one for my sister. Thank goodness for Prim Sistas! My friend Debbie over at Prim Pals came to my rescue! She sent me great links on topiaries. Following what most of them said I came up with my version.

It's not the greatest. But I like how it came out. And best of all it cost me less then 20$! I am hoping to get a tutorial together to show you all how I made it. It was really easy peasy. So, when I get a chance this weekend I will post it. Thank you all for your prayers and thoughtfull comments! They mean the world to me!  And thanks again for reading! Can you believe it? It will be almost a year soon since I started blogging! Wow! I never in a million years would have guessed anyone would want to read my ramblings.  But thank you all who do! You get a big hug from me! Oh, almost forgot. I finally did get that pie safe! Yay! It isn't in the greatest condition but it has good bones and my husband said he can refinish it. When that will be is another post. LOL. I may have to find a place that will help me accomplish that. But I will post pics of it in another post. Right now it is in our garage and I can't get in there. It's a maze of boxes.  But I promise to post pics as soon as I can get in there.

~*Blessings*~

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Wow...I am late! Warning this may be very long.

Hello all! I just want to say Happy New Year to you! Boy, my holiday was sure busy. I hope yours was too. I have to update you all on so many things. Where to begin? Well, for starters, my husband and I purchased P90x for Christmas. We both want to lose some weight badly and thought this was probably the best way to go. Let me tell you.....it is no easy workout. I am still sore! And I am only on day 5. Not only are the exercises challenging but there is a meal plan too. I am all for fish and veg and lean meats. My kids and husband, not so much. So meal time is a little tricky.

 Also, we celebrated my middle son's birthday on the first. He turned 6! Where has my baby gone?! They are growing up way too fast! And soon after I slowly took down all my Christmas things. It is so depressing. I really miss not having the Christmas decorations up. I am still working on taking the outside stuff down. I have to put the lights away and it is such a chore. Who wants to do it for me? LOL.  After putting things away I started tweaking my other things around. Plus, I have to make room for something I am going to pick it up on Saturday. I don't want to say what it is yet. I don't want to jinx it. I'll post pictures of it when I get it. But I am sooooooooooooo happy to finally have one!!!!!! It's my birthday gift. Well, my pre-birthday gift. My birthday isn't until the 27th, but who's counting?

Primitive and Folk Artists

Plus, I am super excited to announce this awesome Etsy Team I have joined Primitive and  Folk Artists (PAFA). It has a group of very talented ladies and you are invited to join too!!! It is a great team with lots of ideas and promotions to get your shop and items noticed.  So, tell your friends. Have your friends tell friends. The more people the more exposure your shop and items will get. Just click the name and it will take you directly there. I hope you do join!

And in closing( this post is getting long, I am afraid I lost a few of you) I just want to ask for your prayers for me and my family. As you might know, my husband is getting out of the military(Yay!) And currently he is trying to find a job for when our time here is done. So far, it is not looking very good and the stress of this has gotten to him. I just ask for your prayers that God will grant him with a job and security for when we depart from here. Also, I ask that you say a little prayer for me too. I too have been going through some personal struggles and would love your spiritual support. Thank you all for reading! You are all so wonderful!



~*Blessings*~

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Merry Christmas to all....And to all a goodnight!

This will probably be my last post until after the holidays. I have been pretty busy. But I would like to share with you some family traditions that we do on Christmas eve and Christmas. It's mostly food traditions :) Having Italian blood on my father's side, we celebrate Christmas Eve with the seven fishes. My grandmother on my dad's side always prepared the seven fishes feast every Christmas Eve. And I have such fond memories of the smells and tastes of Christmas eve. The reason behind the seven fishes varies. My grandmother told me it was for the 7 apostles. But others say it's for the seven sacraments of the church. Or the seven days it took Mary and Joseph to reach Bethlehem. Whatever the reason it doen't really matter. Because the outcome is a wonderful family gathering of love and food. Now, I am no Grammy. But I do my best to keep the tradition alive. I want my boys to remember the same things I remembered on Christmas Eve.  So, what are the seven fish dishes you ask? Good question. Traditionally, we always serve baccala. It is salted dried cod. You have to soak it in water for a few days to get rid of the salt. But not too much. You don't want to lose that flavor. I am actually going to serve it three ways this year. I am going to do the traditional baccala in the red sauce, another in a white salad type, and Gazpacho De Bacalao a puerto rican salted cod salad.  And we will also will be having clams and linguine, shrimp, crab legs, fried calamri, and octopus. I don't think that's seven but it is a lot this year. I typically do smelts too but they don't have them in Texas. I asked and got laughed at. So, they are scratched off my list for this year. Oh, smelts by the way are these small fish that are fried and eaten whole. Well, if you were a real "man" then you would eat them whole. I can eat them either way. They are soooooooo good. 
 Now for Christmas, we celebrate my husbands Puerto Rican traditions. We will be having pernil, (which is a roasted pork shoulder), rice and gandules, tostones( Fried plantains), and pasteles. And for desert, flan. The best desert ever!
So, I thought I would share with you some of our food traditions we do. But of course the real reason for all of these traditions is for the birth of our savior. Sometimes with all the hustle and bustle we forget the real reason why we do these things. I try not to forget or let my children forget the true meaning of Christmas. But I just want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas, and  a Happy New Year!

*This post is dedicated to my Grammy. Who I love and miss everyday. Especially, on Christmas Eve.*












This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Prim Pal's "Be Mine" Ornie Swap!!!!!

Good Morning! We had such great response to our Christmas Ornie swap that we got together and decided to do a Valentine Ornie Swap. Many of us have little prim trees that we would love to decorate through the different holidays and seasons so here we go!




Sign ups are going to be taken from now until Sunday, December 26th.



For the Christmas swap we had three groups but this all depends on how many of us want to sign up. If you want to do more than one group, please let us know. A group will be no more than 10 to a group.



Names will be distributed on December 28th. Since this is getting close we decided that ornies should be mailed out NO later than January 15th. (confirmation is a must)



Postage of $8.00 should accompany your package. ($1.00 additional postage if you do more than one group.) Ornies do not have to be wrapped unless you want too BUT they should be signed so we know who made what.



Ornies will be sent out on January 22nd. With these time restraints this should give us at least two weeks to display. (the next holiday should be better)



How do you sign up?

Just go to the forum and sign up because we would love to have you join us!

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

A Great Giveaway!

Lori from theblackcrow is having a great giveaway. I don't know if I should mention it b/c I will spoil my chances of winning. LOL. But you should definately head on over and enter in this giveaway. It is too good to miss!!!



~*Merry Christmas*~

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Some Christmas Pics From around the house

 I must warn you. There are a lot of pictures. I wanted to post pictures of our huge tree in the living room but it is a mess. The boys love to leave their things lying around. So, for now I leave you with some pictures from my living room, kitchen, and hallway. Enjoy!

I made this star tree topper too. I wanted something different for the tree.

Almost all of the ornaments are hand-made. I received so many beautiful ornies from very talented ladies with the swaps I did.

"Cheese!"

My Christmas pudding. It's not real, but I wish it was!

These houses are actually my grandmothers. It is bittersweet taking these out every year. :(

I love my little partridge in a pear tree!

The mitten with the crow in it is a giveaway win from Tam over at Tammy A Primitive Place Blog!

The candy canes are also a win from Tam too!

Looks like one of my boys was "redecorating" my village. Some things have moved around.

The mints and ginger I received from Cindy for a swap I recently did.

Merry Christmas!

 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License