Country Living and Making Do, Part 2

Last week I shared a rustic cedar log bench that Roger made. We've been getting some use out of it already. If we get up in time before he has to go to work, we walk down to the patio by the stream, sit on the bench, and drink our coffee. It's beautiful and peaceful... we listen to the birds sing, hear the squirrels chattering away, and see the sun begin to peek through the trees. We also go down there in the evenings after he gets home from work and we are finished working in the yard and garden.

This week I wanted to show you the little herb garden... well, it's not an herb garden yet... but I see it in my mind! :) We haven't had chickens in several years and we decided to tear down the old chicken wire fence and attach the log fence to the chicken coop... which will make the perfect little garden shed!

The little overhang on the back and the cage will be taken off soon.

Roger's looking it over after we removed the chicken wire.

Roger used several small cedar trees to make a rustic fence for the garden. The photos above and below are in progress shots.

Just a little more work and the fence will be finished!

My sweet autumn clematis has had a rough time for several years, getting moved numerous times, but it's finally in a place where it can stay and thrive

What you don't see yet is this: Roger has tilled the topsoil in areas where we want a walkway and I have shoveled it out of the path. We will pour a walkway using a Quikcrete Walk Maker form. I'll have more photos of that later.

We are having to take a break due to medical necessity... Roger's having carpal tunnel surgery tomorrow and will be out of commission for a while. When that hand heals and a few months have passed, he'll have surgery on the other hand. Then, when I can, I will most likely have the same surgery on my hand. I already had it on my right hand several years ago and my left hand is getting much worse recently.

I still have more photos to share of other lawn and garden projects we've recently done. I'm just filtering them through a little at a time.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Blessings,
Lana


P.S. Due to so much going on, I won't be opening my own website as planned (at least for a while longer). Instead I am re-opeing my Etsy shops. Links may be found through tabs at the top of this page.

Country Living and Making Do, Part 1

Remember the damaging ice storm in February? I talked about it here. And it happened just after we came back from a wonderful trip to Florida that I shared here. After Roger got over that horrible bacterial pneumonia and everything finally thawed, we set to cleaning up the mess. And we are still cleaning up the mess. The photo below shows about 1/2 the firewood we have cut and stacked, many more trees in the background to cut up, and a huge brush pile to burn. I lost count of how many brush piles we have already burned over the last few weeks.

If you know me and my folk art, you know I like to recycle and repurpose items quite often. Roger is the same way... he is always thinking of new ways to repurpose something or make something out of what others would think was a total loss.

For example, see the cedar tree smack dab in the (top) middle of the photo? That's how it looked on my birthday in February. It's starting to lean toward the road.

This is how it looked 3 days later after the ice storm... blocking one lane of the road. See photo below.

And... drum roll please..........

this is how it looked after Roger made a rustic log bench...

Don't you love it? I do!!!

The log was long enough to make two benches. He'll make the second one in another week or so.

So, even though the ice storm was rough and there was a lot of damage to our trees, we did what we could with what we had. I think that's all part of growing up in and living in the country.

Wait till you see what Roger did with smaller cedar trees and my old chicken coop. I am really excited about that project!

There's even more to share... more projects done using mostly things we find on our property. Be sure to come back and see the rest.

Blessings,
Lana

Cloth Rabbits, Velvet Carrots, and Mini Quilts

I recently joined Early Work Mercantile and will be listing new items the 1st of each month. For May, I finished 2 hand painted cloth rabbits, inspired by the Arnold Print Works lithograph printed rabbits. I figured they'd need some carrots to munch on, so I made up a few more velvet carrots. These are made from vintage velvet and recycled wool. They are filled with sand to mimic the antique pincushions that were filled with emery.

You may find all of them here. Email me if you are interested in purchasing.

I also made a mini quilt sampler... sort of a patriotic prim look. The make-do hanger was made from a piece of vintage frame, clothes pins, and steel wire.

It's also available here.

Come back later tonight to see all the things we've been working on here at home...

Blessings,
Lana

OttLite and Hand Sewing (Giveaway, too!)

I had planned on sharing more photos of my painting in-progress, but I set it aside to work on sewing projects. It's been a joy to work late into the evenings and still have good lighting! I am so appreciative of OttLite for sending me this one to use and review. They kindly offered to send one to the winner of my giveaway, as well!

And don't forget the GIVEAWAY is still ongoing! Click this link to visit the giveaway post and enter using the Rafflecopter forms near the bottom of the post.

I've been having more problems with my Pfaff Hobby 750 sewing machine and there have been days when I couldn't sew. It is several years old and most likely needs a tune-up. I haven't been able to finish a couple of orders and I haven't been able to work on my son's quilt. I'm hoping I can get back to those tomorrow. I have been drooling over a Juki TL2010Q. It is my dream machine... it's just not in my budget at the moment. Anyone know of a giveaway I could enter? ;-)

As for the quilt projects, I did get this one finished several days ago and listed it on eBay . I don't sell on there much anymore and it shows. I think the little quilt has only 20 something views after a few days of being listed.

See the vintage hanger?  Using this one as inspiration, I'm making a few using some vintage components... and I'll share those with you in a few more days.

Thanks for stopping by!

Take care and Godd bless,
Lana

OttLite Giveaway! 3-in1 Craft Floor Lamp

I have been a huge OttLite fan ever since I got a lamp for Christmas a couple years ago. I LOVE that lamp and use it when painting, hand-embroidering, and making my paper-cut love tokens. In my Facebook posts I'd mentioned using this OttLite lamp when painting, and one of the reps wrote to me, saying she loved my paintings (thank you!) and wondered if I'd like to do a review and a giveaway of another lamp... how could I refuse?

And before I get carried away talking about the OttLite lamp that you can win, let me share their Facebook page with you. Visit OttLite here to see what's going on, new products, deals, giveaways, and more.

Now, back to the lamp: I went back and forth, trying to choose a lamp to review and finally settled on the 3-in-1 Craft Lamp. It's versatility is what lured me in... you can use it as a floor lamp, or very easily convert it to a table / desk lamp, or use the clamp-on attachment. The base is hefty, so there's no worries about it getting knocked over. The adjustable clamp can hold reference photos, patterns, and even a book because, let me tell you, that clamp is heavy duty! It also has a magnifier, which is awesome when you need to see details of a photo or to read those little needlework charts... or move it over to your project for a close-up view while doing handwork.

I'm currently working on a new painting... just now getting the backgound painted but I'll share in-progress photos over the next couple of weeks while the giveaway is open. I'm using the lamp for extra light and to hold my reference photos. The difference in the light (lamp on / lamp off) is amazing and I won't ever work without an OttLite lamp if I can have one nearby!

Here's what you'll get if you are the winner:

3-in-1 Craft Floor Lamp:
A real multi-tasker
The 24w 3-in-1 Craft Lamp is designed for ultimate functionality with an adjustable magnifier and pattern clip. Three lamps in one, it comes with a conversion kit letting you easily convert from a floor lamp to a sturdy clamp-on configuration or table-top lamp to meet the needs of your workspace. A flexible neck attachment with sturdy clip securely holds pictures, patterns, charts, instructions and more — it’s like having an extra hand. An up to 5x optical grade magnifier also extends from a flexible neck for hands free viewing.

Product Dimensions:
Max. Height: 63.75"
Min. Height: 45"
Base Diameter: 12" x 8"
Weight: 12.9 lbs


Now, are you ready to win your very own 3-in-1 Craft Lamp?

Just complete the Rafflecopter entry forms and a winner will be announced on April 18th. The more entries you complete, the more chances you have of winning!

Good luck! :)

Lana

Giveaway ends April 18th @ 12am. Winner will be notified and announced within 24 hours.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


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