Happy New Year

I came home from work on Wednesday and decided that it was time for the Christmas decorations to be put away. After the kids and I ate dinner we got right to work. They were such troopers...they were putting things away in the attic as I was busy packing the boxes and containers. Of course, everything has to be packed with care so that is usually my job. We worked until well after 10 pm but finally had it all put away! Whew!

Once that was done, I felt things looked a bit bare. Well, we can't have that can we? I then spent the next hour or so just moving things around and giving things a new home.

In September I was at a festival in Marshville and found this little gem in a ladies booth. I walked by and stared at it about a dozen times do the whole "do I NEED that....where am I going to PUT that.." but then I decided...what the heck. I have always loved the grapevine beehives and then said "but I WANT that" so as she was packing up her booth, I went back and bought it.

It sat in a corner for a while until I visited Beth at Olde Tyme Marketplace and picked up these cute lights with the brown cord. They were exactly what I needed! It's new home is in the dining room right beside the old white corner cabinet that my grandpa built 50 years ago. Love it!

Then as my mom and I were shopping a few weeks ago, I came across these cute little birds. They look old and chippy which is what makes them AWESOME! The look perfect sitting in the middle of the dining room table!
Then it hit me, I was gonna add more little birdies to the dining room. I went back to Olde Tyme Marketplace (can you tell I LOVE that store?) and picked up these oh so fabulous metal napkin holders with what else...Birds on them...

Finally, I moved this cute little hat that I bought years ago into the dining room. I reminds me of a hat my grandma used to wear so when I found one at a little shop made into a birdhouse, I just knew it was coming home with me! Well, that was a little tour of the dining room and all the little changes I made. Who knows what I will get into this weekend! I have started a mini bedroom makeover so...there is no telling what will get moved around for that!

Hope you all have a great New Years!

~Prim Blessings! Nicole ~

Christmas 2010

I hope everyone has had an amazing Christmas! I know I sure have! It has been a long time since I have blogged but I have missed it so much and finally wanted to take a little time this evening to show off some of my Christmas goodies.
For the past few years I have been making ornaments for my Christmas tree little by little. The goal was for a 100% handmade tree (except the tree itself of course). The final touch this year was some burlap that I cut and used as garland. I loved the natural look of it! A few of these items were gifts or swap wins from other bloggers that look oh so awesome on the tree! I used some red and white homespun as the tree skirt and loved how it all came together!

Also, I decided to make our stockings this year. I had been using primmed Santa hats upside down but wanted something that would coordinate more with the tree...so I made burlap stockings! I lined them with a softer fabric and added the cutest stars!

I had an old nail barrel that needed a little life to it so I bought a few cheap candy canes from the Dollar Store and covered them in some prim fabric. It was super easy... I just stained some fabric strips and glued them around the cane. Then I added some left over greenery and lights and there it was...I had a few extra strips of stained homespun left over so I just used it around a little tree that I had in my bathroom. I just put the tree in an enamelware bowl that I have had for years....

I made a few candy canes out of pine cleaners and sprinkled with Mica flakes, put them in an cute basket and added some berries that I had picked up from Olde Tyme Marketplace. Found the cutest place for it on an old scale.
I was really happy with how everything turned out this year! Kinda hate boxing it all up in the attic for another year!

I also wanted to share a few of my favorite prim gifts that I received this year! My mom found me the most wonderful prim picture. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Saltbox houses and this one was full of them...

Then my most wonderful boyfriend got me some things that any prim lover would DIE for! First is an old desk that he fixed back up ....
(See the snow falling on it!! We are actually getting a white Christmas here! It has been like 55+ years since we have had a White Christmas here! YAY!)

He also found an old mattress and cut me over 90 something bed springs! He had them in a wheelbarrow there were so many!

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! I hope to be able to get back to blogging...I miss you guys! Merry Christmas and have a very safe New Years!

Prim Hugs ~ Nicole

Where have I been all this time?

I can not believe it has been 5 months since my last post! SO much has happened over the summer!
Over the summer, I changed the color of the shutters and front door on the house. It was tan siding with burgundy shutters and doors but it looked too stark for me. Way too much of a contrast so this time I went with a olive green and I really am pleased with the way it turned out. I actually just painted the garden shed with the same olive green so it would look nice beside the house. I will have to get some good pics to show you.

My kids also had their big birthdays this summer. My daughter, Miranda, turned the big 16. Planning a girls Sweet 16 party literally took me months for it all to come together. This is Miranda with a group of her friends. The place was so big I couldn't get them all together at one time!Miranda is the one is the front (with the Zebra print top) and that is me back there in the brown shirt (yeah, the oldest one in the picture). We are doing a line dance just goofing off. The DJ played it so we danced to it!

My son also had his 13th birthday this summer. His was a little easier. Invite a bunch of teenage boys, take them to a skate park, load them up on Gatorade and Water. Pick them up a few hours later, feed them hot dogs, they go home, SIMPLE!

I went to the beach a few times over the summer, twice with family and once was a well needed girls only trip. Needless to say, plenty of fun was had that weekend!

I am so lucky to have such amazing friends! We only went down for the weekend but I don't think we could have lasted much longer anyway!

Well, that explains why I left blogland for a few months! But I think I am back! Hopefully it won't me another 5 months until my next post!

Nicole

A morning full of yard sales!

I finally made myself get out of the bed early this morning to hit some yard sales around the area. The paper was full of them so I had to go check them out! I feel like I hit the jackpot!

I usually only take $20 with me to yard sales. That is my limit. Only once have I found something that I had to have and went to the ATM for more money. That was an old antique quilt made from feed sacks - and he was only asking $30! I had to have it of course!

Well, today started off like most yard sale days. They are hit and miss. For the first hour I found yard sales that had nothing but clothes. UGGH! I hate shopping for clothes anyway so I just bypass them.

Then I hit the jackpot! I found a neighborhood having a Community Yard Sale. The first place I stopped I found this cute wooden sewing box. It is stamped "Made by Singer" on the inside. I loved it! It is going to be great beside my recliner to store my stitching goodies! The next one I came to I found this lamp - it looked pratically brand new! I think it is going to look great in the dining room on the piano! The lady gave me those adorable grapevine hearts too! I am going to find something to do with them!I also picked up a bunch of cute tart burners and candle holders! I found this really neat bench - It was covered with clothes but I seen it hiding under there - waiting for me to come along!

Is this not a great wall hanging? It has a place for pictures on it too! What a neat idea! Can't wait to hang this in my new bedroom (once it is finished!)

Finally I came to every prim lovers dream . . . a yard sale held by another prim lover! She had so many wonderful prim things I bought them all! I cleared the whole table!Love these great pillows! One is made from muslin and homespun and the other is an American Flag tapestry pillow. They look great on the sofa now!

She had a table full of candle holders, wax warmers, and this cute birdhouse night light. How could I resist right?

And finally, this was my FIND OF THE DAY! This is a floor lamp made from wood with these great saltbox houses on the arm. It has wooden pegs which let it slide up and down to adjust it to different heights. I couldn't believe it was sitting there all alone when I got to it. It really wouldn't fit in my car but I hung it out the window! (The things we do when we find a great item right?)

Well I hope everyone has a great weekend!
Prim Hugs ~ Nicole

Finally back from vacation!

I can't believe it has been so long so I last posted! There has been so much going on!

During Spring Break, my son had plans to go with his best friend, Payton, and his family to Atlanta. Both boys are big into skateboarding so while in Atlanta, they were going to take them to Woodward Skate Park. Apparently it is the largest skatepark on the east coast. Who knew? He had been counting down the days since he was asked to go. Excited does not describe what he was feeling. With all of his Spring Break anticipation, it had me and my daughter a little sad that we weren't going anywhere and were just going to be at home. Then the thought hit us, A GIRLS VACATION!!!

We decided to take a trip to Myrtle Beach for a few days. Now we were counting down the days! It was me, my daughter, her best friend, and my mom. It had been about 5 years since my mother had been on any type of vacation so we made sure she had a good time.

I couldn't wait to share some of our pics with you all! What a beautiful view huh? I could have stayed out there all day!

This was the resort we stayed at.

We had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. It was so much fun but so LOUD!
This is a cute picture of the girls in front of the Giant Crab Seafood Restaurant.

We all came back a little sunburnt but it was well worth it. We are already planning another trip! Well, I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Prim Hugs ~ Nicole

What a busy week!

Things have been so hectic for the past week that I haven't even had time to post anything! That is very rare because I look so forward to sitting at my computer and catching up on my friends out in Blogland! I am in the process of adding an addition to our home. We desperately need another bedroom so it has been in the works for a while. Now that it is warming up, I think we may have it finished soon! Every day it seems I am working more on home improvement than crafting and blogging.

I had a plumbing issue and the plumber told me that he would have to bring out his Bobcat and dig up the pipe (which is an additional cost of $300!). I quickly told him to give me a day and I would dig it up with my shovel and save me $300. So, I spent a whole day digging in the yard to get to the pipe that he needed. It was a lot of work but with every dig I knew what I was saving.

I had also been trying to come up with another color for my shutters and front door. The house is a tan color and they were already painted a barn red color but it was just too much of a contrast for me. It had been that way for 3 years and I had enough of it. Yesterday I went to Lowes and stayed in the paint section for over an hour looking at paint samples. I finally decided on an Olive Green color. I immediately came home and started painting and I LOVE the new color! I think it looks more like a little cottage now! So homey looking!

I have been working on a few projects lately though . . .

I made these Spring Birds for my booth at Curious Cat. They started as a Robins Egg Blue color and then grubbied. I love how they turned out!

I have also been working on some large prim pears that still need a little finishing touch. I still have to put on their stems and leaves and prim them up!

I found this vintage table cloth at the Waxhaw Antique Mart over the weekend. I just angled it across my table and put this old wooden bowl in the middle. It really lightened up my dark table!

Well, guess I am off to deal with more Home Improvement issues! UGGGHH! Wish me luck!
Prim Hugs ~ Nicole

Weekend Thrifting!

We have had such a rainy weekend! I did not even attempt to find any yard sales. I know there were a couple that were advertised as Rain or Shine but I guess I just wasted dedicated enough to go out and find them! I did, however, go to a few Thrift Stores and the local Goodwill. I found a few things that I couldn't wait to blog about!
The first item was this great wooden slat ladder. It came with a strand of grapevine tied to it.

I think I am going to use this to display some vintage towels and linens that were my grandmothers. I just have to find the perfect place to hang it!

My next find was this big green chippy basket. I put it on a side table and filled it with pinecones for now. I have to find the perfect filler for this because it is so big!

I am going to leave it as it is too - I love the paint chipping off!
I also picked up some great prim fabrics but the batteries died before I could get a picture of it to share.
This week I have been working on a few Robins Egg Blue fabric birds and a few prim pears. I am trying to wait until Wednesday to share. (As long as I don't get washed away with all of this rain!)
Have a great week!
Prim Hugs ~ Nicole