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Announcing the Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

Drum roll please…

The winner of my first give-away of 2012 is….Melissa!

There were a couples gals named Melissa who entered the drawing so this was Melissa’s entry:

Melissa

January 7th, 2012 5:15 pm

I love the hope and promise of a fresh new year and your post was just what I needed to read today! Well, this may sound silly but my husband was deployed to Afghanistan for almost the entire year of 2011 and he sent me a Keurig machine from Amazon for my birthday and it was the best gift ever! Homeschooling with 6 children is exhausting on the best day so those quick yummy coffees really helped me out and perked me up. I also love Burts Bees baby shampoo and WOW worship CS’s.

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Congratulations  Melissa!!   You have won a darlin’ ROOTEN-TOOTEN BOOT BRACELET from my sista Sherry from Glamarella Junk, and the SIMPLE COUNTRY WISDOM BOOK, the 52 THINGS KIDS NEED FROM A MOM BOOK, PHILOSOPHY’S YUMMY SHOWER GEL, and the fabulous pair of JOYCE CHEN KITCHEN SCISSORS!!  I just know you’re gonna love all of these goodies!  I’ve contacted you through email so you can send me your address. Thank you gals for all joining in and for sharing your favorite products!  It was so fun to read all of your comments and thoughts!

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A few posts ago I mentioned that I had rented a booth with my sister-in-law Linda at The Feathered Nest in Ozark, Missouri. If you’re ever in this area you just gotta come see this adorable shop! It’s filled to the rafters with such beautiful things to make your house cozy and you’ll always come away feeling inspired to go home and feather your own nest! Here’s the Shop info:

The Feathered Nest

1603 South 3rd Street

Ozark Missouri

417-581-5090

www.thefeatherednest417.com

Anyhoo! I’m having so much fun junkin’  and finding treasures to sell in my little O’ booth  and  I lOVE thinking of things to create. So I thought I would share some of the things I’ve been up to!

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It ain’t no secret I LOVE Farmhouse Style!

So of course I’m always on the hunt for ideas that make home more

Farmhouse-y!

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(image via google)

I’ve always loved the hanging mason jar idea. The internet is flooded with gorgeous photos of them, used in so many different ways.

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My daughter-in-law Tiffany used them as flower holders for her and my son’s wedding  last June…so simple yet so beautiful!

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(via google)

And how stunning is this photo…a canopy of glowing jars for a summer evening event!

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So I thought, golly! I ought to try making a  few for my shop. Along with the wire to hang the jar, I decided to give it a Romantic Farm-girl embellishment. I tied a torn strip of well worn, sun-dried cotton and added a jewel from a pair of earrings for a little sparkle. Sea Salt was then poured in the jar to give support to the candle.

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Fresh. Clean. Pure. Sweet. And easy as pie!

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Another thing is that I’ve been on the hunt for inexpensive silver trays to turn them into magnetic chalkboards. This one above, sold within 20 minutes after setting it out! Instead of leaving the chalkboard blank, I added the vintage spoon adorned with a jewel and added magnets to the back, the old timey photo, and the fun saying.

This craft has been quite a learning experience for me! I found out that not all “silver” trays are magnetic. In fact many are not because real silver is NOT magnetic. Fortunately this one in the photo was. So all I had to do was paint the center several times with chalkboard paint and then add my vintage magnet spoon. Another tray I purchased, although cheap, was not as easy because it wasn’t magnetic. For that one I bought Magnetic Paint. After painting several coats, it just was not strong enough to hold my vintage silverware magnets. So I ended up gluing a flat piece of metal (some kind of electrical plate/cover–from Home Depot) on the back. That proved to be too much of a hassle and added cost, so now I keep a magnet in my purse so when I’m out junkin’ I can easily find out if the tray is magnetic. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy!

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I suppose I could just make the non-magnetic trays just a chalkboard but I think the vintage silverware makes it more special.

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I had an old rusty bucket that I scrubbed clean and painted the interior creamy white. Then I glued some vintage lace from a damaged tablecloth just under the rim. Painted some chalkboard paint in a ribbon-style for a label. This would be a fun carry-all for favorite magazines,  yarn, Bible Study supplies, craft projects, a picnic, whatever! It would be cute set at the bottom of the stairs to collect stuff that need to go upstairs.

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Since the inside is painted white it gives it a fresh clean look and makes it more inviting to store stuff in.

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Little Southern Boy 1898

There’s a huge Southern influence here in Southern Missouri…which I love! My favorite vacation of all time was taking a Paddle-wheel Riverboat down the Mississippi River and stopping at several the ports… Natchez, Vicksburg, Baton Rouge, to name a few.  I fell in love with the down-home people, southern cookin’, the majestic beauty of the ancient Oak trees dripping with moss and southern charm… and of course, the southern hospitality! I like to say, “I wasn’t born in the South, but I got here as fast as I could!”  I guess that explains why some of my crafts have a little southern flair to them. I sure hope this little rusty shovel that I filled with southern goodness finds a good home!

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Oh honey!

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Next on my list of goodies for my shop is this dress form I found to showcase a layer of aprons and some necklaces. I named her Daisy Mae…because…she needed a name! I also made a jewelry display from an old lamp shade that I trimmed with vintage lace. I clipped the necklaces on with glittered clothespins.

img_5227Just in case you’re wondering if any of what I sell is available online…unfortunately I’m not set up for that at this time. But I would like to show you how easy it is to make your own hanging Mason jars! Come on I’ll show ya!

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For the wire, I used Jewelry Stringing that I found at Michael’s in the Jewelry section. It’s SUPER pliable and soft, very easy to work with.

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You just wrap the wire around the rim once and leave a little tail.

Then loop the amount of wire you want over the jar to create your handle. Clip off excess leaving another little tail.

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With flat nose pliers, pull the wire out so you can tuck the other “tail” inside.

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Then bend the tails up and wrap them around the wire handle on both sides.

You now have your hanging Mason Jar! See, wasn’t that easy!

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Now you can embellish it if you want! I just tied a piece of ripped cotton strip around the top. Then I decided to make a rag rose. Starting with a piece of felt cut into a circle I put a puddle of glue in the middle (you can use a glue gun too).

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Tie a knot at the end of the strip and glue it to the middle of the felt circle. Twist the cotton strip and wind it around the knot gluing as you go. You can find demonstrations on how to do this on Youtube, but really it’s so simple…if I can do it anyone can!

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So with my rose finished, I found a jewel to glue in the center then attach it to the bow in the jar.

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Fill with a little salt, light the candle and hang it up!

img_5270It would be fun to use a broach or earring of your mom’s or grandmothers to make this a special keepsake!

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Use with a candle or fill with fresh flowers!  Mason jars have a million uses!

Don’t those Tulips look so delightful?

Now I’m dreaming of Spring!

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Well, Sugar Pies, thank you so much for stopping by! I always, ALWAYS appreciate your comments!!

They keep me doing what I’m doing! In fact it’s all of YOU that INSPIRE ME!!

If you have any questions for me the BEST PLACE TO ASK is on FACEBOOK!!

God Bless your darlin’ hearts!

Aunt Ruthie