Flocking To Me

Thank you everyone for the welcome back.  I'll be honest and say I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders to be blogging again.  I know that sounds weird, but it's true.  I know that there are algorithms on FB for people to see your post depending on how many times you post.  I'm done playing that game.  I figure for those who truly enjoy my page and like to interact with me then they will take a few minutes to see what I'm up to here just like before. So, let's get on to what I'm up to.

Let's catch some of you up who didn't follow me on FB.  I love to paint paper mache figures.  I have been doing it, well, for probably 5-6 years.  I still can't believe it's been that long.  It all started with some Santa's and has grown from there.  I didn't paint to many rabbits this year because they just don't speak to me like Santa's and snowmen.  However, sheep speak to me.  You can leave them out all year.  So this year I tried a few different colors.  I tried a crackle finish and let's just say I am to impatient.  It didn't work because I rushed the 2nd coat of paint. Oh, well I like him just as well. 

I love being different and trying new colors. By the way the sheep on the right with the brown face was the fail.

Of course I have some regular black and white ones too.

 Big ones as well as small ones...

I also have an Etsy site if anyone needs a sheep. Just look up Gettysburg Homestead or click on the link on the right side of my blog. The little ones are $12 ea and the large are $24 plus shipping.  I simply can not keep them all. LOL.

I will be working on my tutorial this weekend.  Those take me a little longer to pull together.  The other night while I was trying to fall asleep I had a great idea I want to try making these strawberries.  It will take me back in time.  Of course even if it doesn't work out I will still show you.  That's how I am here on my blog.  I will show my fails so you don't do the same thing. LOL.  I have no shame in my game of keeping it real.  

Cleaning Wood Bowls

One of my favorite things to collect are wood bowls.  Let's just say I have more than I probably should.  I have them everywhere around here.  Most times I don't care what kind of shape they are in.  I have some with repairs, some that are vintage and not antique, small, large it doesn't matter.  I must have them all.  For the most part I leave them as is.  Meaning I don't clean them other than a quick dusting, which we all know dust adds to the primitive ambiance in our homes. LOL. However, I have some that feel sticky.  Like maybe they were in someone's kitchen around grease.  Yeah, yeah, I know some were used for butter. I'm talking fried chicken grease from 10 years ago that now has dust and dirt stuck to it.  Kind of like this one where it appears dark.  I'm not going to talk about the bowls I have above my kitchen cabinets because I'm sure they are bad!

Well, the other day I decided to try and clean the above bowls in the first picture.  In the past I have tried white vinegar and baking soda, Murphy's soap, Dawn, you name it I've tried it. They did not work like I thought they would.  Anyway, I wanted to try one more thing.

I'm sure many of you already knew how to clean your bowls, but in case you don't and you want to here is my secret.

Now, I have no idea how old this ammonia is, but it was in my house when I bought it and the people who lived here were in their eighties.  Ok, one had already passed away and the other was living in a nursing home.  But still I'm betting it's old.  I remembered back in the day when I was married, and we bought our first house, that my MIL and I cleaned the kitchen floor with straight ammonia on our hands and knees.  The what I thought was green linoleum was actually yellow when we were done.  I figured I might as well try it on my bowls.  Now, if you can't handle the smell of ammonia please do this outside and with gloves. I am a rebel and I did it in my kitchen with no gloves.  What I did was pour just a little bit of ammonia in the wood bowl and a little bit of water. I used my hand to "wash" the bowl.  Let me tell you that water was gross. I did that until I was happy with the result.  I did the same to the back of the bowl except I just poured the ammonia over top of the bowl and hand washed it.  Then I just rinsed the bowl with water and put it on a towel to dry.  They looked really dry and dull once they dried.

 So out came my Old English furniture polish and an old rag.  They got back their beautiful color and sheen seen below.

My other favorite go to is Howard's Feed-N-Wax.  I didn't use it this time, but you certainly could.

I hope this helps if you find a bowl that you have to have and it is gross to just buy it.  I have one around here that stinks like cat pee still even though I bought it years ago.  I think I might try this on it and see what happens. 

P.S. If you like my strawberries in the bowl stay tuned because that will be my first tutorial since I haven't done any for a long time.

To Blog or Not to Blog

I have been debating whether getting back to the basics of blogging is what I need.  I am growing tired of social media where people forget how to be nice and are constantly bashing each other.  I prefer to keep things light and positive in my life.  Besides this is where Gettysburg Homestead started.  For me, it was like a diary of my life.  At times my life was boring, but other times exciting.  I created tutorials, shared my thoughts, my dreams, and sometimes nothing at all other than something funny that happened.

Since I started this blog my life sure has changed.  I am now a middle aged 45 year old woman with 2 adult kids who still live with me, 20 extra lbs (yes, I am being nice because it is way more lol), 11 years post divorce, and a home owner. Oh and in case you didn't know engaged as of September 2019.  I am sure I will share more about him in posts yet to come.  We have a few things we are planning that are very exciting.  :-) 

In case you are wondering I still love my primitives and creating.  My style has changed over the years, but rest assured I will still share my passion with you. So, let's give this a whirl for awhile see where it goes.  I won't promise I will post everyday, but I will update on my Facebook page when I do.

Wool Pumpkin Tutorial

I am like your worst nightmare!  I am back with a new tutorial.  I am on Facebook and one of you faithful blog followers asked if I would make a tutorial on my newest wool pumpkins I made this year.  So, as not to disappoint I am back! Albeit temporarily...  Although I may have another tutorial to share from FB...


Anyway,  these are the wool pumpkins I made this year.  All of the wool is recycled.  Meaning it came from thrift stores and was once your favorite blazer or skirt.  It is then felted by washing it in hot water and drying it to shrink it.  I will sometimes do it myself or buy off of Etsy.  I have not ventured into the world of hand dying yet.

Are you ready to get started?  Great!  Be aware I was working in my MESSY craft room aka basement with horrible lighting so the color is off.

1. This was once someone's favorite burgundy Blazer that I tore apart and felted.  You don't need a very big piece. 

2. Gather up the secret supplies.  Just kidding.  You will need something round.  This is a lid off of a jar that holds my buttons.  Obviously the bigger the circle the bigger the pumpkin.  You can either use a marker or colored pencil.  I used marker it is much easier to see. A pair of sharp point scissors and one pipe cleaner.  It doesn't matter what color.  I had brown on hand.  There will be a few more supplies later like polyfil, embroidery floss, and a darning needle.

3. Place your circle on the wool and draw around it. Now, I have not really cared which side is the right and which is the wrong side.  If you do, then draw the circle on the wrong side of the fabric. This will be your sewing line.  Double your fabric.  Just fold it over and sew on the line all the way around.  Be sure to lock your stitch.  I use my sewing machine, but you could hand stitch it with small stitches.

3. Now take the sharp points of your scissor and snip towards the sewn line every 1/2"-3/4" but be careful not to cut your sewn line.  I have found this helps keep the circular shape better and let's the wool relax once you turn it right side out.

4. Now for the magic part of turning it right side out since you sewed completely around the circle.  Cut an X through one side of the fabric only.  Do NOT cut both pieces.  Only cut it enough to turn your pumpkin right side out.

5.  Voila!  Take your finger and run it along the inside seam to pop out the sides and round it out a bit.

6. Now take your fiberfill and stuff it good.  Just like when you get a little too big for your jeans, but you stuff yourself in them anyway.  I know I'm not alone!  This girl loves her cake.

7.  Now pick out the floss of your choice.  I am going to use the darker floss that is comparable to 3 strands of DMC.  That being said I have used all 6 strands of the DMC and liked it just as well.  I just figured you could see the darker one easier.

8. It is all fun and games until someone gets their eye poked out.  This needle is HUGE!  Trust me you will want a longer pointed needle with a big eye (the better to see you with my dear lol) to push through all the polyfil.  Trust me.

9.  Unravel some thread maybe a yard or so.  I like having too much than not enough.  Knot the one end and then thread your needle.  Starting from the side with the hole push your needle straight through to the middle of the other side.  Pull the thread until the knot gets buried in there good.

10.  As best as you can eyeball the middle of the other side and pull the needle and thread through.

11.  Take the thread and wrap it around the pumpkin from top to bottom and push the needle back through where you started in the hole side and push it back up through the hole you just came out of.

12.  Like so.  Give it a tug.  You will need to keep tension on it as you take the next stitch so it stays where it is.

13.  Now, keep doing that all the way around trying to keep the strands evenly spaced.  You can do as many sections as you would like.

14.  Notice how I keep using the same hole to exit?  Ok, I'm all done with the sections.  I will tie a knot and stick it back through to hold the knot.

15.  We now have a pumpkin.  This is the top.

16.  My secret ingredient for the stem is a pipe cleaner.  I searched the web trying to find a good way to make a stem.  Some were too hard and some, well, kinda not me.  If you have dried out pumpkin stems those would look perfect.  I know you can buy them off Etsy and Ebay BUT I am too cheap.  Plus I already had everything on hand.  Ok depending on how long you want your stem bend the pipe cleaner to the desired length and twist it together.

17. Now take one end and hot glue it or in my case Elmer's glue it in the hole.  Sometimes there will be a tiny pocket you can slip it into, but I did too good of a job stuffing it. Hot glue will work best.  UGH!

18.  You will then need another piece of wool or regular fabric.  Mine is about 1/2" wide and is wool.  This is from the "I'm going to learn to rug hook days" And no I haven't learned yet. lol  I forgot to take a picture, but starting at the top of the pipe cleaner start winding the wool/fabric down the stem covering the pipe cleaner.  It may help to put a dot of glue at the top to hold it in place.  Just keep winding until you get to the bottom. 

19.  Once I get to the bottom I loosely puddle the wool to cover the opening using glue to hold it in place.  Look ma no holes!  I have not coffee stained or dyed any of them.  You could, but I like them as is. 

I hope you understand my directions and it inspires you to create some of your own.  If not,  you can always buy mine ;-)



Tessa Daves Sampler

I finally finished my latest band sampler.  This one took me awhile.  I love to stitch but sometimes my mojo comes and goes.  So when it comes to a sampler like this it can take me awhile.  I am the type of person who likes to finish one thing before I move onto the next.  So, even though I may be tired of stitching I will not allow myself to start anything new until it is done.   Yes, I still have a ton a UFO's which doesn't make sense.  The thing is they are done to the point of actually finishing them.  What I mean is I have quilt tops that haven't been made into a quilt.  I have stitcheries that haven't been framed or made into whatever.  I finish the project but not completely.  So, tonight I will show you one more finished but not project. LOL.

This one will join the others in a pile until I decide how to finish them.  I think it needs framed, but of course I don't have one to fit and to have it professionally done costs too much.  So I will keep looking for a frame when I am out and about.  One will show up eventually.

Now that this one is done I decided to start a new special project.  I needed to change to fabric.  I have missed sewing.  Tonight this is what my craft table looks like.

I am in a patriotic mood.  I had some fat quarters I needed to use up and I think this project might work.  I say might because I can't decide for sure.  Stay tuned because I may need your help deciding.

Drying Gourds

Since there have been several questions about my dried gourds since my last post I thought I'd share with you how I did mine.  I know there are different ways, but this is how I did it.

How do you go from this...

to this????

First question was did I grow my own gourds?  No, the gourds you see in the bottom picture were ones Mark bought for me at a local farm when I was decorating for fall when Country Sampler came.  I was very lazy (too cheap) to go buy gourds and pumpkins last year.  I was told that there would be pictures outside so I needed them in a hurry and told him to go buy some since I was stuck at work and they were coming the next day!  EEEEEKKKK  Truth be told Mark is not a creative guy.  He admits it so I can say it.  Anyway, after I told him what I wanted this is what I got.  I don't like perfect.  I like bumpy and warty.  He did a great job picking them out.  

Anyway,  all I did was lay the gourds in my planter boxes to decorate.  Nothing fancy.  Well, the weather turned cold and this gal stayed inside.  Fall turned to winter and the gourds were fine where they were.  I would just clean them up this spring and throw them away.  Yes I had gourds out for my Christmas decorating before you ask. LOL.  Winter gave way to spring and it was time to do a little clean up.  I had read awhile back that gourds can be placed on screens to dry or just leave them on the ground and they will dry there too.  So, much to my surprise most of them had dried.  They were black and moldy looking.  I did have a couple that didn't make it.  WARNING: The black mold on the gourds is toxic and can cause breathing issues!!!!  Anyway,  since I didn't take pictures of my process I found some on the internet that will help explain what I did.

First, I took a bucket and some bleach about a 1:4 ratio maybe a little more bleach than that and combined them OUTSIDE.  I then took a couple of my gourds at a time and threw them in the solution and let them soak for about an hour.  You will need to cover the top of the bucket with a damp cloth or weight down the gourds because they float.  I turned them occasionally to be sure all sides got in the solution.  I then used a kitchen scrubby like this to clean off the mold.  I actually used one of the dish sponge scrubbers on mine.  I could get into the cracks better.  If you have an old toothbrush that would work great too!

NOT my picture....

I then rinsed them off and laid them on a towel to dry.  I kept turning them over so all sides could dry.  If you left them in the sun to dry I'm sure that would work great.  I did not... I let them dry on my counter.

Some of my gourds were really moldy and I actually sprayed them with Tilex thinking it would remove some more of the mold.  I really don't know if it did, but I'm sure it killed some more of the spores. LOL  I scrubbed and scrubbed but because of the warts it was difficult to get in every crevice.

It did take some elbow grease to get some of the mold off and I do recommend using rubber gloves when you do it.  I do not want anyone getting sick.  I did not spray or put any kind of sealer on them but for extra protection from the spores you could.  :-)  Once dry decorate with them as you like!

So there you have it.  Pretty easy right?  

Redecorating

I decided after almost 12 weeks since my ankle issue it was time to clean and rearrange my home a little.  By the way,  the doctor has released me to resume normal activity on my ankle as of Tuesday!!!!  Woohoo!!!! LOL Over the weekend I did the living room and dining room.  Yes, I probably was not following the doctor's orders because I didn't wear my brace and was climbing on chairs to decorate. oopsie!!!!   I still have a few more rooms to go but I'm pretty pleased with result.  I am really trying to go simple.  There are a few things I just can't help but collect as you will see in the photos.  LOL. So today will be a visual post.  This is just the dining room because I took things off the wall in the living room and patched the holes.  I haven't sanded and repainted yet.  So, down the road you will see that too.

Anyway,  here is my new dining room look.  It looks different than it will appear in Country Sampler this fall.  Did I tell you that was confirmed last week?  If I did I apologize.  My mind is bouncing everywhere anymore.

OK OK I will quit talking and start posting.... Have a great day!!!!

The gourds in the bowl were ones I left outside all winter and just brought in to clean once they were nice and dry.

My dark secret... there is extra decorating stuff behind the closed door. LOL

Ignore the stuff on the floor I'm trying to sell it and have no where to go with it right now.

I love gourds... Can you tell?

I finally hung the corner shelf I bought before I broke my ankle. LOL

Another obsession... brown jugs and crocks....