Folk Art Signs

I painted 2 folk art designs yesterday. They are designs by Kim Klassen. You will see more of her designs here as I simply love them and love painting them. This sign is painted on a 1x10x22 piece of pine. I have listed both signs in my Etsy shop. You can find my Etsy shop by clicking on the rabbit picture on the left.

My husband and I are off to Norfolk, VA today. Our daughter Aly goes to college in that area. She's moving closer to the college and her work so of course mom and dad are showing up just in time to help her move. Maybe we will find time for a walk on the beach.. We will be back home sometime on Saturday. It's nice to get away occasionally. Please excuse any mistakes, I'm in a rush to post this and finish packing. Enjoy your day! Pin It Now!

Recipe holder

This is a recipe holder I cut from 1" pine. The legs are concrete nails and the tail is a finishing nail. I made these to give to my customers. They are easy to cut out and easy to paint. Have you ever had a day where it seem like nothing was going right? You make one mistake after another? I had one of those days yesterday. I broke an item I was working on; it happened so fast I'm not sure how I broke it. Then, I picked up the can of spray sealer to spray one of these sheep. It didn't have the top on it but it was a brand that I only buy the sealer in, not any other paint or primer. Well, a couple of weeks ago I bought some grey primer in that brand. You guessed it, what I thought was clear matte finish was grey primer. I quickly wet a rag to wipe it off but it was too late. I hurried into the garage and applied some paint remover to a rag and rubbed the primer with it. Hey, whatta ya know, it did the trick. Took that primer right off of there. I love happy endings. I expect today to be a better day. I hope you have a wonderful day too. Pin It Now!

Market Place Monday

Good Monday Morning Friends. I hope you all had a fabulous weekend. I don't know about you but our weekends here seem to fly by.

For my Monday Market Place I want to introduce to you Doreen of Privies and Prims and showcase her wonderful talent. Doreen is an artisan of the Etsy Group The Old Farmhouse Gathering. I am sharing an interview that Doreen participated with at the Farmhouse. Please take note of other places you can find Privies and Prims at the bottom of this post.



What is the name of your Etsy shop and why did you choose that name? Privies & Prims has been my business name for about a year. I started out in a shed at my home on Blue Rock Rd., so I named my little shop Blue Rock Country Crafts. I had my first storefront in Burnsville, NC in 2000 and named the store Privies & Perches. I was making lots of outhouse bathroom decorations and my dad was making lots of prim birdhouses, so I changed the name. Inspired by God is all I can say. It just popped into my little brain!




How long have you been on Etsy? Had to go look at my profile for this question. Seems I started in February 2008.

What type of items do you offer? Penny rugs, prim stitcheries, primitive & folk art dolls, punch needle embroidery & patterns, outhouse stuff, candle mats, prim wreaths, Americana prim t-shirts, wood signs, ornaments, & photographs of old barns and outhouses. I think that’s it.




How long have you been crafting? As long as I can remember. I used to sit at the kitchen table and trace the designs on the napkins. In high school, I made a macramé hanging large enough to cover a window! We also did pottery and leather working. My special leather project was a framed image of a Michelob beer bottle add. We used wood carving tools and I stuffed the “bottle” from the back with sawdust to give it dimension. At the time, it was my boyfriend’s favorite brand. Personally, I can’t stand the taste of any kind of alcohol. Just give me my McDonald’s sweet tea!



Who or What inspires you? First, I must give God the credit for my talents. He puts ideas into my head as I go along. I start out making a doll like the pattern photo, and then God gives me ideas to make it my own. Sometimes, I think it’s a curse. I’m always seeing stuff and thinking, “I can make that!” So, that’s why the list of things I make is so long. I just recently added punch needle embroidery to my list and I’m “hooked”. I’m designing patterns that I will sell as kits and will soon be designing prim doll patterns also that will be modeled after the mountain folk where I live.
I get inspired by PatternMart.com’s monthly newsletters, looking at others creations online, visiting prim shops, looking through catalogs, and the list goes on and on. Gosh, everything I see inspires me! I look at people in restaurants and think of making a doll to look like them!




What is your favorite item in your shop and why? My favorite creations are my primitive dolls because I love giving each one their own personality. The favorite ones I’ve made are 46” dolls from a Prim & Proper folks pattern.





Other places where you can be found:

Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/priviesandprims
Website: http://www.priviesandprims.com/
Blog: http://priviesandprimsblog.blogspot.com/
Photography Etsy Shop: http://www.thenandnowartphotos.etsy.com/. Pin It Now!

Ye Olde Recipe Box and Coconut Cake

I found this recipe box at a local TS. I had been looking for a wooden recipe box for a while and finally found one. It has been sitting on my studio shelf for a while because I couldn't decide what to paint on it. I thought about ginger people, Annies or bunnies but wasn't happy with any of these ideas so it kept sitting on my shelf. A couple of weeks ago I finally took it down and set it on my studio table; I opened it and closed it, turned it this way and that, you know, I studied it. I'm not sure how it happens but sooner or later an idea pops into my head for a piece and I go with it. This is a folk art design by Kim Klassen. I love it when a discarded piece and a design come together, even if it does take a while.

I love coconut cake, it's one of my favorite desserts. I hope you will try this recipe. It's been tested over and over again by my family and it turns out delish each time.

Coconut Cream Cake

Ingredients:
1 (18.25 ounce) packaged white cake mix
3 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup water
2 teaspoon coconut extract
1 (14 ounce) can coconut cream
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 cup flaked coconut
The coconut cream is found in the mixed drink (cocktail drinks) aisle of the grocery store

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.
In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix, eggs, oil, water and coconut extract. Hand beat for 2 mins and pour into the floured pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

In medium bowl, combine the coconut cream with the sweetened condensed milk and stir until smooth. When the cake comes out of the oven, poke holes into it in even rows using a large fork or chopsticks. Pour the cream mixture over, and allow it to soak into the cake. Allow to stand at room temp for 30 minutes and then refrigerate several hours or overnight.

In a large bowl, whisk whipping cream until soft peaks form. Add sugar and continue whipping until stiff. Spread over cooled cake. Sprinkle top with flaked coconut. I like to grate some chocolate on top of the whipped cream.
You can use Cool whip for the topping if you prefer.
Note: I use only half of the cream mixture. The full amount makes the cake very heavy but very good!! Pin It Now!

sniffle, cough, hack, sniffle, sneeze, blow, cough...

I should have known this was going to happen. First my Sweetheart starts sniffling, sneezing, blowing, coughing, and moaning. Then my daughter in law starts sniffling, sneezing, blowing coughing, moaning. Washing my hands, spraying Lysol and using my fingers in the shape of a cross did not keep this nasty, yucky chest cold away. First it started with being cold for 2 days even when it was warm in the house; then a tickle in the back of my throat, followed by a tickle in the bronchioles. I have been tired to the bone, now the aches have set in. With all the modern advances in medicine why can they not figure out how to prevent the miserable common cold? Personally, I think God has engineered a few things that man will never solve so that man will know he is man and not God! Let a genius come down with the common cold for 7 miserable days and he should realize, if he is indeed a genius, that he is a mere mortal man.

I have a post scheduled, typed up and ready to go, so I’ll be resting and working on feeling better for the next couple of days. Don’t get to close to screen, I don’t want you catching this mess. Acccchchooo…sorry. Pin It Now!

Scars: Lessons from a cutting board

Encouragement can come from the strangest place and just when you need it most. Isn't it funny how that happens? I bought this cutting board at one of my favorite local antique shops. Like most cuttinging boards it is well used, showing lots of cuts and knicks. If it had been smooth and unused I would have passed it by. Its well used, marred, distressed, worn look is that special something that I am looking for when I go to the antique store. I will crawl under benches, and dig through boxes, move stuff out of corners to see what is hiding close to the wall; I'll stretch to reach the barely reachable top of a shelf and will step back, not to see the whole area, but to see individual items that I can't see while I am standing surrounded by so many pieces. Stepping back allows me to focus in on one piece among so many. Yes, I will search high and low to find those well used and scarred items. As I painted this board, I admired the roughness of it, the wornness, the scars and it brought to mind Christ's work in me. Like this piece I was scarred, forgotten, used, tossed away. But He saw me, one among so many lost and discarded souls, and He bought me when I was worthless; purchased me for a price I could never repay. As I watched the scars on this board change into something beautiful as I applied the paint, I thought of how He makes all things beautiful in His time; not removing the scars but using them to enhance the beauty. He would know about scars, He has scars made beautiful too.

When I was finished painting, I ran my hands over the scars on this board and was pleased with it. I hope when He is finished with me, He will be pleased. If you have scars that only remind you of failures, hopelessness, hurt, pain, loss; give those scars to Him and see what He will do. You will be surprised. After all, He will crawl under benches, and dig through boxes, move stuff out of corners to see where you are hiding; He will stretch to reach the barely reachable top of a shelf and even stoop to the lowest place just to reach you. How do I know? Because He did it for me. Pin It Now!

Coffee Thyme.

I am a big time coffee lover. I have been drinking coffee since I was a teen-ager. I won't tell you how long that's been but will say it's been a few years. The smell of coffee, the best smell in the world (aside from the sweet fragrance of our children and our spouses), I love it! I love going into coffee shops and looking at all the different flavors and blends of coffee that are offered. And I usually leave with a bundle of different flavors. I love buying coffee mugs, but have become more selective about it since I have so MANY. When our son and his family moved here, our daughter-in-law loved opening my coffee/tea cupboard and showing guest all the coffee I keep on hand. Hey, I need an assortment to make me happy. Are there any other coffee fiends out there? You have to have your coffee or there's no telling what might happen? When comfort food is mentioned the first thing you think of is coffee?

Remember the old percolators? Remember the old Maxwell House commercial that went...pop, pop, pop, pop,pop,pop,pop (imitating a pot perking)? If you don't have the rhythm in your head with this, then you don't remember the commercial. I found this vintage percolator at one of my favorite antique stores. I adapted a Terrye French design and added some of my own elements to fit this percolator. After a ton of snow, this Spring design is just what the doctor ordered to chase away the winter blues...speaking of blues, I love the blue in this, it’s so springy! As always, thanks for stopping by my neck of the woods. I always love your visits. Pin It Now!

Spring Fling Celebration

Here we go again. Mr. Weatherman says we are in store for more snow today. I'll be rushing later to the grocery store and filling the car up with gas. I start to long for Spring right after Valentine's Day. That longing is right on time. I got up this morning and looked out my window, what did I see? Snow, the snow that fell in our area February 6th. What I hoped to see was green grass, robins, tulips and all things Spring. What's a girl to do when she's longing for Spring but everything still looks like Winter? Here's what I did this morning. The Old Farmhouse Gathering has started their Spring Fling Celebration. Visit their blog to see all the wonderful artisans that are participating in this event. Looking at their work will certainly give you a fresh warm Spring breeze. You can visit their blog at http://oldfarmhousegathering.blogspot.com/ Pin It Now!

This vintage Eagle oil can was so much fun to paint. I can’t wait to do another one. I painted a Terrye French design on it and added a prim tag with a strip of homespun. What a wonderful Spring piece, it certainly picks me up out of the Winter doldrums, especially with all this snow we’ve had.

I found this piece at one of my favorite antique shops. It has been well used and showing its age with a few dings; you know me, I think those dings add character. I love these oil cans. I remember playing with one of these in my Dad’s workshop. I loved to push the bottom of it and listen to that pop, pop, pop sound that they make. I would pretend to be Dorothy in the “Wizard of OZ”, oiling the tin man. I’m sure I put oil where it didn’t need to be in that work shop. The dog probably got a few squirts of it too.

The day actually warmed up with the sun shining this afternoon. The snow is beginning to melt off, but it has a long way to go before it’s gone. It will probably take a couple of weeks. It was warm enough for me to prime a vintage coffeepot outside. I have found that my family doesn’t like me spraying primer in the basement, hmmm, I wonder why. I hope to paint the coffeepot this weekend. I’m also working on another give way to post at the end of February. You will have to stay tuned for that one. Again, thank you for stopping by, I’m grateful for your visit. Pin It Now!

The Perfect Storm

Saying we have had a big snow wallop in the past week is an understatement. 30 inches last weekend for this area and more piled on top of that Tuesday and Wednesday. My Sweetie didn't go to work Wednesday since the DC area was taking a pounding with white out conditions. The Metro and Metro buses quit running. It was a mess. Corridors of I-95 were closed, I'm sure it has happened before but not while we have been here. The most amazing thing of the day was my Sweetie and I got out and went to the post office; I needed to put some orders in the mail. We braved the roads out of our subdivision, very scary since there are 2 very steep hills and then the town bridge to cross. We arrived safely at the post office a few minutes before 4PM and to our amazement the post office was CLOSED. Honestly, I don’t ever remember the post office being closed due to weather.

"Neither snow nor rain nor heat
nor gloom of night
stays these couriers
from the swift completion of their appointed rounds"

This is the New York City’s Postman’s Creed posted on the James Farley Post Office in NYC. I guess Front Royal, VA has a different Postman’s Creed. With all fairness, the weather condition and the road conditions in our area have been perilous. Whatever mail needs to be delivered is not worth the life of one of our mail carriers. I have been surprised over the years at the extreme weather they have trudged through to carry the mail to their customers. Bad weather means a longer delivery day for them as well. I appreciate our post carrier, she always leaves goodies in our mailbox for holidays and brings our packages up to our house rather than leaving a note in the box.

I must say as much as I love snow, I have had enough for this season. The grandkids have been home for almost a week and I think the parents are ready for them to go back to school. I worry about my husband’s commute when the weather is messy like this. Plus we are all experiencing a little cabin fever. I’ve been watching for signs of weather psychosis in our family. I witnessed a glimmer of it Tuesday night in my Sweetie. On his way home from work he stopped at Target to buy some wiper blades for our 4 wheel drive. He called me on his cell phone and told me he had seen some perfectly shaped snowflakes, like the ones I make in my crafts. When he arrived home he came charging into the house to show me the “perfectly shaped snowflakes”. “Look” he said pointing to the sleeve of his coat. Hmmm, I didn’t see anything. As I inspected his sleeve more closely, it occured to me, holy corn ball, he’s losing it. He then opened the door to the back deck and asked our daughter-in-law to come see the “perfectly shaped snowflakes”. The look in her eyes said it all; no way was she going out there. I could see that she was afraid he would push her out the door and slam it shut. A nice hot cup of Earl Grey warmed him up and put him in his right mind. LOL, I think Spring had better arrive soon. Pin It Now!

Vintage Prim Enamel Skillet And A Big Thank You

I wanted to thank each of you who visit my blog and those who leave comments. I often forget to thank you and I'm sorry for that oversight. I would say "you don't know how much it means" to me that you visit and leave a comment but most of you have a blog and you do know how much it means. When you visit my blog it tells me you have taken time (that is precious) and given that precious time to me, it's a gift! So, thank you bunches and bunches!

This is a vintage enamel skillet I found at the antique shop, of course. It's beautiful red exterior and navy blue interior grabbed my attention. It has a couple of small dings on the bottom that show it was well used by the cook of the family. I wonder if it hung above the stove to show off it's lovely red color. I can imagine the meals that were cooked in it for the family. Mmmmm, bacon and eggs or omelettes; fryed potatos or pancakes; grilled cheese sandwiches. I love this pattern by Terrye French, it is one of my favorites and I never tire of painting it; she is such a prim gal and she makes me smile. If you think you have seen this pattern before, you have. I painted it on a vintage breadboard and posted it last week. This one is on its way to England, but she will be showing up again on another vintage find. Pin It Now!

Monday Morning MarketPlace

Good Monday Morning Bloggers. I would like to introduce you to one of The Old Farmhouse Gathering's artists. Her name is Brenda, but in blogland and on Etsy she is known as The Rusty Thimble. I don't know if her thimble is rusty but it certainly is busy. To get to know her a little better I am sharing with you some questions that she has answered for an interview and showing some of her wonderful creations. Check out the side bar to find 2 fabulous giveaways that Brenda is offering on her blog. Is that generous or what? Please take note of the other places you can find Brenda listed at the bottom of this feature.


1. What is the name of your Etsy shop and why did you choose that name?
The Rusty Thimble
I come by the name honestly, I even had store named this in Texas. I ask my husband almost every day if you find something rusty today please bring it home to me.

2. How long have you been on Etsy?
Just a few months now.


3. What type of items do you offer?
Primitive Handmade items dolls, critters, tucks, make-do’s

4. How long have you been crafting?
I remember as a child making doll clothes and watching my mother sew. I made all of my own clothing in high school. I have made my creations and sold them since the age of 18 and I am now in my 50's. So I guess I could say I have crafted almost all of my life.


5. Who or What inspires you?
I get my inspiration from so many places. I live at a lake and love to go to the water and sit. I love color and all things I can get my hands on that are VINTAGE to use in projects. Old quilts are my favorite, my grandmother and mother always quilted. My mom is 88 and she stills quilts; that is enough to inspire anyone. I hope I am still doing this if I reach that age.

6. What is your favorite item in your shop and why?
Right now that would be my Cone Rabbit. It is an original OOAK no two are ever alike. I often make this using old sheet music for the cones.

7. Other places where you can be found (Ebay, webstore, blog)
http://www.etsy.com/shop/RustyThimble
http://therustythimble.blogspot.com/
http://www.simplyprimitives.com/artisans/rustythimble.html
http://shop.ebay.com/therustythimble/m.html?_dmd=1&_in_kw=1&_ipg=50&_sop=12&_rdc=1 Pin It Now!

This photo is from last Wednesday. We had an overnight snow that brought 4 inches of snow. It was a wet snow, just perfect for making this snowman. My Sweetie and I hiked and then set to work building this guy when we got home. By the next day he melted enough to topple over so he is buried underneath the snow we received Friday and Saturday. We ended up with 2 feet of snow and some reported almost 30 inches in our area. Hey, where's the other 6 inches of snow that didn't show up at our house? My poor Sweetie! He got out with the snowblower to clear off our driveway and parking areas. I had twisted my back from a near fall on the snow on Wednesday so I wasn't much help to him. I usually use the shovel while he drives the snow blower. He had to do it all yesterday. I felt so bad for him. I don't mind shoveling snow. I always make a game of it by throwing a shovel full on Sadie (my Border Collie), she loves it and understands it's playtime. But my husband doesn't think it's playtime if I throw a shovel of snow on him....party pooper! Can you believe Mr Weatherman says it is going to snow again on Tues and possibly Thursday of this week. Ol Man Winter is really kicking up his heels before retiring to his rest. Pin It Now!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

Boy, oh boy, the sky is certainly emptying its store house of snow. The white stuff came down most the day Friday and didn't let up overnight. We have 17 inches of snow and it's still falling. I might have to say UNCLE on this one. I love the white stuff but too much of anything is not a good thing.

This is a photo of a birdfeeder I have on our back deck. It’s on its last leg; I will need to buy a new one this spring. It’s been dropped a few times but fortunately it hasn’t been taken off by a bear. Every spring we have bears come up on our back deck so we have learned to bring the feeders in at night. It has seen it fair share of squirrel attacks. I thought I had it high enough but the squirrels are good jumpers; they land on it, hang upside down and empty the feeder in a matter of minutes. Our Border collie, SadieMae, sits at the deck door and chases them off. She has a doggy door that lets her out onto the deck. When she’s on patrol no squirrel in its right mind comes up on the deck.

Of course I painted while the snow has been falling. I finished one project and began another. I am also working on getting a couple of new pattern packets done and on Aly's Room. I'm also working on a giveaway and a free pattern giveway. Stay tuned for those. {{{Shiver}}}}, this cold weather puts me in the mood to paint and create but mainly I am finishing up things I started back in December.

Bummer, looks like church will be cancelled tomorrow. It was cancelled last week too due to snow. The first of the month we share a meal together following the morning service. This month it is soup, sandwiches and of course dessert. I found a new recipe for a soup I wanted to take to the meal and had planned on taking a homemade (batter and all)pineapple upside down cake. It's not really the meal that I will miss but the fellowship of Believers and the encouragement from the Bible that our Pastor shares. I don't think the roads and parking lots will be cleared by tomorrow since the storm looks like it will hang on til tonight.



Pull up a seat, let’s watch the snow together. Doesn’t the seat cushion look nice and soft and all comfy. My back is still sore from shoveling snow from the snowfall we had Tuesday night. We will have to use the snow blower this time around. Old Man Winter is having his last fling before spring arrives. I hope everyone who has a front row seat to this blizzard event is safe and warm inside. Pin It Now!

Vintage Bread Board

I found this vintage bread board at a local antique shop, a place where I find many of the things I paint on. I painted a Terrye French design on it, added a vintage cookie cutter and some homespun fabric. This board was well used. I can imagine the cook of the family using this board to cut the veggies for dinner. When I picked the board up I knew I was holding a lucky find. This prim gal fits so perfectly on this board. It was a delight to paint.

I have finished preparing for the snowstorm; while the snow is falling my brush will be flying. I don't know what it is about snowy days, rainy days, gloomy days, they always put me in the mood to paint or clean. They energize me to move and be productive. With a forecast of 20 plus inches of snow due to arrive Friday and Saturday, I should accomplish a lot of things I have been putting off. I sure wish one of those things was organizing my studio. Who knows, it might happen. Pin It Now!

A Wonderful Recipe

After sharing that rich and wonderful cheesecake recipe yesterday, I thought I would share something just as sweet and with no calories. This is a photo I took of our youngest grandson and his pops. This is Tony (our grandson) and the other young fella in the photo is my Sweetheart of 33 years. We celebrated our 33rd in January. It's hard to believe we've been "hitched" that long, the years have flown by. The old adage "time flies when you are having fun" is certainly true. We've had a lot of fun in the 35 years we have known each other. My Sweetie was in the Air Force for 24 years. In those 24 years I had 12 different drivers license and somehow he managed to only have 4. We traveled and had fun everywhere we went and in those places we made a home for our family. We have put Christ first in our marriage and have lived by the Word He has taught us. I wouldn't have missed a moment of our life together. I like to tell my Sweetie that I want to share his place in Heaven, that way we can spend more time together and do the things we didn't do in this life.
We have had our ups and downs but we've been committed to one another since we said "I do", we've learned to work out our differeces and to grow by our mistakes.

I wanted to share this recipe with you that I found several years ago. A few of the ingredients have been changed to match our own lives.

Recipe For a Happy Marriage

1 cup consideration
1 cup courtesy
1 cup full of compliments
1 big container of faith and hope in God
2 cupfuls of praise
1 small pinch of in-laws
1 reasonable budget blended with a generous dash of cooperation
3 teaspoon pure extract of a humble I'm sorry
1 gallon faith and trust in each other
1 cup contentment
1 cup of encouragement
1 cup of daily forgiveness
1 cup blindness to the other's faults
A heartful of daily prayer for one another.

Flavor with frequent portions of recreation and a dash of happy memories. Stir well and remove any specks of jealousy, temper or criticism. Sweeten well with generous portions of love and keep warm with a steady flame of devotion. Never serve with cold shoulder. Pin It Now!

Turtle Cheesecake

Turtle Cheesecake

Crust:
2 cups of chocolate graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup of melted butter

Filling:
3 pkgs of cream cheese (softened)
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
3 large eggs
1 TBS vanilla extract
1 ½ cups of chocolate chips
2 TBS chocolate syrup (Nestle)
2 TBS caramel syrup (the kind you put on ice cream)
1/2 cup of chopped pecans
¼ cup Nestle semi-sweet chocolate mini chips (used for the top of the cheesecake)

Grease 9 inches spring form pan and preheat oven to 300 degrees
Crust: mix crumbs and butter together. Press into the bottom of the spring form pan and up one inch on sides of pan.

Filling. Beat together the cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk. Add sugar, eggs and vanilla, beat well. Reserve 1 cup of the batter and pour remaining batter into the spring form pan. In a microwave safe bowl melt the chocolate chips. Microwave the chips for 1 minute and then stir. Stirring makes sure the chips melt well. If they are not completely melted, microwave for another 15 seconds. These will burn easily so make sure not to overcook them. Stir into the melted chocolate, the reserved cup of cheesecake batter. With a butter knife swirl the chocolate batter into the batter that is in the pan.

Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Once cake is done, remove from the oven and run a knife around the edge to loosen the cake from the pan. Allow to cool completely. Drizzle the chocolate and caramel syrups over the cake. Sprinkle with pecans and mini morsels. Refrigerate for several hours before removing from pan and serving.

This is the photo of the cheesecake I made for my Sweetie's birthday back in December. He is a big chocolate fan and the whole family enjoyed it. I prefer a strawberry or a pumpkin cheesecake but I have to say for a chocolate cheesecake this one was tops! Pin It Now!

Prim Bunny Sewing Drawer by theoldcupboarddoor on Etsy

Prim Bunny Sewing Drawer by theoldcupboarddoor on Etsy Pin It Now!

I'm wondering....

How many of you have to be in a mood to craft or work on items for your shops? To really enjoy painting or sewing I have to be in the mood. What happens if you have a shop and you are not in the mood to work? How do you motivate yourself to do the work? At the moment I am not burned out, I am mostly in the mood to paint and sew but I know that times of "not" wanting to do this will happen. I've experienced those times after putting in intense work and long hours while preparing for a craft show. Once the shows were done, I didn't want to paint for 6 months. I have no choice now that I have to stock my Etsy shop. It's pretty much become a job. If I find something interesting to paint on, it motivates me. If I find a pattern that I can't wait to paint, it motivates me. I suppose with these two prerequisites if I continually look for something to paint on and look for patterns or painting ideas that strike my fancy then I will stay motivated to paint or craft. But some days I had rather read a book or catch up on a movie, or spend the day with a friend. What motivates you? What revs you to sew? To paint? To craft? Are there times you are not motivated? What causes these times and how do you renew your desire to create?
This new piece was a labor of love, and I mean LABOR. My Sweetie said it took 40 hours to complete. It may have seemed that way to him but it actually ONLY took around 8 hours to do. But, that is too long for me! Combining painting and sewing does create a lot of work. If I am sewing something I haven’t done before, it seems to take longer since I have to actually read the directions and figure out what I’m supposed to do. For me, painting is easy and sewing is time consuming. I know many of you will say it’s the other way around for you. Oh, and this is one of those projects that I had sooo many interruptions on. That doesn’t help in the time department either. I have to say I feel like I am giving this away in my Etsy shop. I don’t feel that I can ask any more for it and it is what I would pay for it but it sure hurts to spend so much time and energy and not get that back. Ugggh, I hate complaining. I do try to keep in mind when I create something, I create it from the heart and with as much “good” as I possibly can. Too many of these “labor of love” projects and I quickly become very unmotivated. Do you feel that you spend too much time on your Etsy or Website items? Do you have a certain number of hours that you expect to put into each item? I would love to hear how you solve this problem.

This finished project is the sewing drawer that I blogged about a few days ago. Pin It Now!