Foraging for Mountain Laurel

Hello and Good Thursday!

Here in Stuart, Virginia we are enjoying an absolutely glorious day. Yesterday, was much the same and I have to say I am ready for these warmer temperatures. 

The past week was filled with a good bit of sunshine but between the high winds and the deep drop in temperature during the night it was basically chilly. It didn't make me desire to do much outside or gardening. I'm glad today is another story.

What I've had on my mind today was Mountain Laurel. If you travel here in the mountainous south you will see it hanging over a rock wall or peeking out the side of an old country road. It's especially glorious on the Blue Ridge Parkway. 

It strikes a genuine heart-note for me. I love it! I love to see it. As a child many days was spent in it; making playhouses or playing hide-and-seek. For quite sometime, I have been wanting some of it here at the house;

mainly here, at this patch of ground between 

our driveway and the neighbors driveway.

I got a little stand of hostas started from some when my sister split hers a couple of years ago.

I was a bit stingy with it. I spread it a little thin as I put it all the way along the whole side of the driveway but it's starting to make a pretty good show of itself. 

I really want this to take on a look as if it just came along on it's on anyway. There's some rambling rose and some forsythia that blooms here as well. As it probably shows I don't really do much in the way of maintaining. At least not like a bona fide flower bed. The mountain laurel should work real nicely to help and a little more privacy and backdrop. 

Once Jack was on the bus, I finished my cup of coffee and gathered my tools to take to the woods to dig up a stash I found a few days ago.

My short(broke) handled shovel, limb snips, and my trusty maddox .

The maddox is my go to tool!

I will remind you to be sure not to gather your plants off the side of the public road or out of any of the parks.

You would stand a good chance of being fined.

Here a nice pic of Rhododendron which also grows wild here in the mountains and foothills. I wish I had found a good patch of it 

but 

I had to go with what was here. 

It can be somewhat mistaken for each other but side-by-side pictures you can see how much smaller the leaves are.

I will say they both grow quite towering and full.

This is a small little bunch and a little scraggly

but I think it will come along.

I start my easily raking the leaves and sticks away to start to determine where the root is running. It's not really as much digging as it is pulling away the dirt. 

You wouldn't want to take a big swing or plunge right into you root and cut or break it off. 

Looks at my little find as I pulled the leaves away.

That leads me to another caution.

Do be mindful of other reptiles such as snakes before just reaching in to grab.

They really don't want any part of me and I don't want any part of them either but these are the kinds of places they like to be.

Pulling the dirt away deep enough you can see 

I've found a good strong piece of the main root. 

When I went to plant back at the house, I  dug up this old license plate from 1955.

I thought that was kind of neat so I wiped the dirt off and scrooched it in here with one of the plantings.

I do hope the next year or to I can share some pictures of my  little bank filled with blooms of roses and mountain laurel.

I also want to thank you for stopping by for a look at my cheap and come along gardening style.

Be Blessed!

A little Americana

Good mornin'!

Well I've been at it again. 

Have you ever just did something on the whim and wasn't sure how it was going to go over with everyone? 

Well that's what this one was.

I've had this eagle above the sink for a couple of three years but when I repainted the cabinets it seemed like he just needed something else. 

So..I added a little Americana to him.

More stenciling and a sharpie; then a little sanding.

I thought about a little more sanding but I stopped.

I may sand some more.

If the Ole Man shakes his head when he comes in it may be  a lot of sanding and maybe some repainting.

It's a little more distressed than you can tell in the pictures above.

I think I'm liking it.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks for stopping by.

Be Blessed!

Farmer's Market Sign-DIY

Good Mornin'!

Hello to all those out there in blog-land!

Here in Virginia this morning it is a chilly Spring morning; the kind that makes you nervous for all the plants and trees budded out. Freezing temperatures have got me moving and covering up plants I had put out a few weeks earlier when it was warm like a nice summer day. One ole fellow in the community referred to it as Dogwood Winter. I had never heard of that saying but it sounded neat to me so I wanted to share it with ya'll.

For some time now, I have been hankering for one of those beat up old country type signs that are so popular in Farmhouse and Country Decorating.

 So this morning I have my Farmer's Market Sign to share with you.

I started out with this slab of wood I brought home from work the other day. 

It was wide but thin and it being so light weighted it would be easy to hand it. 

It was good and rough as well which made for less distressing.

Yesterday, I gave it a swipe or two of white paint I had left over from painting my kitchen cabinets. 

The rough, porous wood soaked it up quite well.

I used a stencil I already had. 

I don't have a had for doing lettering so some kind of aid is a must for me.

A sharpie worked fine for me.

The Ole Man may cringe when he sees I screwed it right up with a couple of black screws I had in the junk drawer but I thought they added to the utilitarian look of it all.

I hope you enjoyed this project

and 

you are inspired to make one of your own.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit.

Be Blessed!

Making the Sofa Slipcover

Good Monday Mornin'!

I finally tried my hand at making a slipcover for our old sofa. I have been covering our sofa for some time now. Honestly, from the time we moved from our old home to this home. When I bought this sofa I was really into a red, white and blue kind of theme and it also went well with the other house but this home's interior. Our present home has several rooms with and old gold-in-tone wallpaper. I do love the paper but it has definitely made for some changes in my color choices and sometimes it's been downright hard to match.I have also had a whole brew of kids that have piled onto the sofa along with a few dogs along the way. 

I have lusted and longed for a new sofa on different occasions but something has always come up or got in the way about the time I would have went through with a purchase of a new one. Many years, I have used a fairly inexpensive one I had bought from a big-box store and it served it's purpose but with wear and tear has gave out.

So, I have found myself joining the slipcover craze!

I truly like the look of slipcovers and find it to be a great option for me. I started out slip-covering the dining table chairs, then my husbands recliner...yes, it was worn out too. Now I've ventured to the big girl, the sofa.

For a first go of it I'm pretty pleased.

The sofa pattern before.

I have been fortunate in finding a large quantity of this beige fabric. It isn't burlap or linen but it has a very natural feel and a pretty hardy texture. I'm thinking it's going to hold up real well. It's also super cozy for sitting and t.v. watching.

I took a cheating way with these pillows. My pillows always seem to take a beating so I opted to not spend to much time on theme. I simple covered them with fabric a little larger than the pillow itself and tied knots all the way around to secure it. I can easily change them to something else when I wish.

The sofa pictured here looks a bit frumpy. I gave my self some wiggle room when I patterned out my pieces. The thing I had noticed with whatever slipcover I had used in the past was that if it was too fitted it would basically wiggle itself off  or the ones that weren't fitted ended up looking like an unmade bed.

When it was all sewn and done I'm quite satisfied with the way it turned out.

Thanks for dropping by. I wish you could sit a spell.

My best hopes for you on your projects as well.

Be Blessed!

Prim Black Cat

Good mornin & a fantastic Friday to y'all!

I'm probably making one of the laziest post I've ever done. Truth is I've been pretty lazy altogether when it's comes to my blogging lately.

I thought I'd share a picture of my crazy crafting I did yesterday.

LOL. .I'm posting while trying to get my steps in. .I know I'm probably not the only one who has fitbit struggles. I've thought several times to do a rant about what I think about fitbit but I try to not be negative but I get kinda nasty when I think I'm starving. ..we'll maybe talk about that at another time.

Directions for my Prim Cat go something like this:

1. Get a piece of black fabric and lay it doubled.
2. Draw a cat with a silver sharpie and cut it out just outside your drawn lines.
3. Sew along your lines leaving enough opening to stuff your cat.
4. Start stuffing. I'm very cheap so I stuffed mine with my leftover fabric. When you think you've stuffed him enough stuff alittle more.
5. Sew your opening closed.
6. Make him some X's for eyes.

Voila! You're done!

p.s. mine is good and lumpy. That's the beauty of primitive style anything imperfections is perfection.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit.
Be Blessed

DIY Cover-Up

Hey there! 

This morning's cooler air has put me in the need of a little something for my shoulders. My summer dresses a tops are just needing a little more. So I decided to make this little cover-up.

My inspiration came from a cover-up purchased by my daughter earlier in the Spring. I have looked at it many times on the hanger thinking I needed something similar for myself and also at how easy it would be to mock it.

The material I chose to use wasn't a lace but it was very sheer and kind of gauzy material.

Using the other garment as a guide, I folded my new fabric in half and laid  the other on top 

against the fold.

After cutting out. I ended up with a 12" X 33" rectangle.

My cover-up is sized small. If you feel you need a larger garment add a 1/2 to 1" to the size of your rectangle.

I chose a piece of satin material for the armholes and the edge. 

I cut 2 piece 4" X 18" for the armhole, doubled it and base stitched it.

For the bottom edge, I  cut 2 pieces 4" X 30" and also doubled and base stitched.

If you already had a piece of trim or notion you could definitely use it instead of the satin material.

Sew it along both long edges of the material and center it on the sides. 

When you're done you'll have something like this.

Fold fabric with right face together and pin and sew your side seams.

Turn it.

That's all there is to it!

I think I have another piece of lace that would work great for this garment.

I think I need at least one more.

Thank you  for stopping by and checking out my 

DIY for today.

Be Blessed!

Life-Size Board Game Birthday Party

Hey everyone!

Tuesday was Jack's birthday. As usual, we celebrated on the weekend. Birthdays for us is all about family. Well, family, friends, hot dogs, and potato salad. Jack's only request was potato salad. 

You know that's a country kid

Lately, Jack has been into making his own board games. That sparked Jack and his Dad deciding it would be fun to have a life-size board game. 

They cut out game pieces and made a big dice to roll and with some orange marking spray paint, they drew out their board. They called it 4 X 4. Everyone was a truck. It was full of obstacles like Stuck in the Ditch and  the Stump Jump.

I think everyone's favorite was Stump Jump!

Mine, too!

After crossing the finish line you had to holler out,

"Winner, Winner, Hot Dog Dinner!"

Needless to say,  we had a blast and a whole lot of giggles 

Thanks for stopping by for a little

4 x 4, some hotdogs and potato salad 

& 

Letting me share some of the birthday fun.

BE BLESSED!

Rag Wreath from Plastic Bags

Are you like me?

Ready to get Spring Started

& 

Ready for a Welcoming Spring DIY!

This is a Spring Wreath made from plastic shopping bags.

 I started my cutting myself a small ring from a piece of cardboard.

Then I pulled out all those plastic bags from their hiding spot. I especially wanted the lighter colored bags to offer up a Spring feeling. 

Then I just cute the handles off and also cut the bags in strips. I didn't try to be very careful at this point because I decided it would be best to trim everything down after the bags were tied onto my cardboard form.

After all the tying and trimming is done take your hand and just sort of rub and ruffle the edges.

Da-Da

I hope you find something you can DIY today.

Thank you for stopping by for a visit.

Be Blessed!

New Life for an Old Wreath

Welcome Spring!

I think this has been a long Winter for many folks and the first day of Spring, March Wind, and the bright sunshine makes us all feel renewed and looking for new life. 

It has initiated some Spring cleaning in myself and a want to breath some new life in some of the decor in my house.

I'm on an understated mission to redo our front room; I also have hopes of revealing the over all changes I want to accomplish but I guess I'm sharing these in little bits and pieces since that's how the transformation will take place.

This wreath has hung on the wall in our living room for quite a long time. It has become dried, cracked and well on it's way to falling apart. I have had it on my mind to just toss it out but you all know how that disturbs be so. 

You know the whole toss it out just goes against my grain. 

I don't think I've fell into the hoarder bracket but it is possibly a slippery slope.

With this almost forgot can of 

Rust-oleum Lacquer 

from out of the basement 

I'm going to clean the wreath off,

Give it a good solid coat,

and

find it a new home.

The spray version is such a good choice since the wreath is so dry and brittle that it might not hold 

up to a paint brush.

This area in the front room is odd. I can't honestly tell you why it was put here. It is a pain to clean and sound travel right into the room on the other side.

I had ideas putting  cork board over it to create message center and I also thought of putting picture over it. With old homes you either undo or cover up the things that you don't like or you except the quirks, embrace them and love them for being yours.

I suppose I'm embracing this quirk.

Placing a revamped wreath hung by a piece of brown ribbon and sort of dressing it up.

I hope you've found something to renew today;

if it is only renewing your spirit by soaking in the sun.

Thanks so much for stopping by for a visit

and 

most of all..

BE BLESSED!