Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint Update

I'm so excited to tell you that the Milk Paint has started shipping!

I have a FB Page which I have been using to post updates 
but I know some of you may not follow that 
so I wanted to give you a heads up about the 

Milk Paint status.

Homestead House produces the paint. 
They are located in Canada and are a family business. 
Shipping began a few days ago but given the distance 
and the nature of the company, 
will not be as fast as a large corporate operation might be. 
 This is a holiday weekend in the US 
so I'm not sure how that affects anything either. 
I'm pretty far from Canada so that may play into it as well. 
But still....IT'S COMING!!!!!

I am as excited as you are 
because I only have small samples of a couple colors....

none of which worked for the Frenchy armoire I have waiting in the garage! 

Hurry, Hurry, Hurry......

Today Marian posted another sample piece of furniture called

Grain Sack

 I think THAT might be the color I want to use for my armoire. I've added it to the color page in the header so go check it out.

There's a link in the sidebar for pre-ordering if you want to get some paint too!

Have a happy day!

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Should I Sell Tequila? Yes or No?

I struggle with selling.......
on Etsy....
in the shop....
on Craigslist......
on EBay......
I stick something out there and I begin to get crazy thoughts......

Target will call me and say they just MUST copy my apron and sell it internationally....

Someone will see my French China cabinet (with matching chairs no less!) on Craigslist and call and say they MUST carry my things in their huge shop....

A customer will spy my French chair in the shop and insist I make her a whole set.......

I will get emails from California or Illinois or Wisconsin or Texas....where all those fabulous markets are and they will want me to come set up a huge booth because they are sure I will be the next Joy or Rosemary or LaurieAnna or Amy....

I sit and think up 15 versions of aprons....... 
Just in case.......

But the calls don't come.....sigh...

Sometimes opportunities drop in your lap...
like Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint

Sometimes opportunities appear at the thrift store....
like last week when I saw this.....for $12

I could sell tequila! I bet I'd get lots of customers...especially if I gave out some shots!
I could put lemons and salt in the bins! In cute vintage containers, of course!
I could just imagine the calls I'd get!
You've sold out again in one day...when are coming to re-stock?
I have several people who want to order cases of tequila, how soon can you send it?

Unfortunately, for some strange reason, I cannot sell alcohol in my booth.
Another dream bites the dust.......
So, this will now become a much needed display area for me.....
And now I need your help!! What should I do?

I painted it white....now it looks all pickety fency and cottagey....

Now I have to decide what else......

Numbers?

Herbs?

Fruit?

Or something else?

The display will vary so I just want something to look nice but not indicate what is in the rack.

Here's where you come in......suggestions are needed!

What do you think?

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Primitive & Proper

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Lights, Camera, Action!

I have been trying to learn better picture taking skills.
I have a great camera now and that has made all the difference....believe me.
I checked out the tutorials at ShootFlyShoot.com and liked it so much I put the link in my sidebar so you could take advantage of it too.
We have a beautiful home and when my husband and I designed and built it, I spent HOURS and HOURS thinking of how I wanted to use the house and what was most important to our lifestyle.
We wanted an old styled home but newly built. 
Large rooms, lots of windows, porches, generous hallways, and lots of architectural details.

We achieved all that and are extremely happy. (more here)
Then, when I started blogging it became very evident by the pictures I took...
that this house did not have great light for photography.
I've struggled with this a great deal. 

This is the living room.....bad.

This picture is actually in my Home Tour! NOT GOOD

I envy all those gorgeous white and light filled spaces I see on other blogs. Design choices we made such as porches, wanting the kitchen and breakfast area to overlook the creek 
and the unchangeable fact that the creek is on the North side of the house have resulted in this photography issue. 
Now, don't get me wrong, these choices are right for living in the house. 
The porches create shade for the rooms in the summer. 
Having the kitchen and breakfast area on the North means shaded coolness in summer and sunny warmth in winter when the trees are bare. 
Old homes in pre-air conditioning days were built the way they were for these exact reasons. 
So, we got what we wanted.......but as is usual for most of us......we can't have everything! Who knew I would become a blogger?
Lately, I've had my laptop in the living room with me in the morning while I work. At the right time in the morning, the sun streams through the trees and into the kitchen and breakfast area. I sit and think....
I should take pictures when I see that....
but that means closing the laptop, putting down my coffee, going to get the camera....see, I'll never be a GREAT blogger because I'm too lazy!
So, I've procrastinated and , of course, we've had days and days of cloudy mornings.......sigh...
Finally...it's been clear, sunny and blue skies...so now I can show you what I mean......
I haven't done anything to these pics except resize, straighten a bit and frame them. I want you to see how interesting light and shadow can be at times.

You can see how dark the kitchen is in general.

 To the left of the sink is an ironstone display.

Much improved with a little light.
It changed to this in just a minute...

What a difference....a second later, the shade was back.
I've been bringing lots of hydrangea blooms in to dry lately and they are in the breakfast area....

The kitchen is way in the back...see the darkness?

Suddenly the sun came through...see the lightness in the basket?

The shadows can really help capture the textures.

Pictures speak volumes, and my very favorite blogs are those with amazing pictures...they just capture me immediately. I want my blog to have better pictures too and I would love to be able to take pictures in some of the darker spots of the house.
I hope to keep learning and improving!


Do you have difficulty with pictures too? Any photographers out there with suggestions for me?




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REALLY?

Yesterday was beautiful compared to the intense heat we've had.

It was in the upper 80's - low 90's and there was a breeze.....

practically Autumn in comparison!

It was a good day to get some of the garden beaten into submission....

speaking of beating into submission....I forced three of the children to help me.....

I know, I know

in this day and age, modern parents don't make children do manual labor

they have "people"

 cut the grass

clean the house

wash the windows

wash the car

modern children are much too busy

playing a sport

or

spending "quality" time with their friends

they are busy 

enriching their minds by playing challenging video games

widening their horizons on Facebook

learning new words through texting

understanding more about the opposite sex through YouTube

brace yourself....I'm not done.....

Good old-fashioned hard work is pointless.....

after all, our parents made us do it 

(if they were of a certain generation)

and what did it teach us?

That our kids will have a better childhood than we did and

they will all go to college ( even multiple colleges) so they can get a nice, 

high paying job in a nice environment with air conditioning 

and no overtime 

and two weeks vacation to start 

and bonuses that enable them to dress well and have all the 

important things they need plus

have enough money to honeymoon in France and then buy a 

REALLY big house when they get married (decorated completely top to bottom)

and drive REALLY nice cars 

and take REALLY significant vacations

 (NOT camping or even in the boring USA) 

to islands or Costa Rica with their toddlers so they can give their children a "worldview" of other cultures 

from the safety of a 4 star hotel while wearing expensive clothing artfully designed to look like "regular" clothing (holes and all) 

and all the while learning from their parents how to be a 

REAL and CARING person as they observe them treating "the help" with kindness and politeness 

which is MUCH more important to "people like that" than money....

 and feeling REALLY good that their children can 

ENJOY their lives instead of having to spend 

HALF THE DAY Saturday doing manual labor like 

mowing the lawn 

or washing the car 

or weeding flowerbeds 

or vacuuming 

or cleaning a toilet 

which is better left to people who REALLY need a job because in the end we not only want them to REALLY enjoy their life but we also definitely want our children to know we REALLY love them and are very happy to spend a LOT of money on vacations or outings so we can spend "quality" time together... plus helping them to realize that focusing our attention on them and their desires above other commitments is REALLY the most important thing ..... 

we know they understand we REALLY love them because we make sure they have their own :

TV, iPhone, iPod, iPad, Nook, laptop, bicycle (just for looks mostly), swimming pools, hot tubs, boats to ski and go tubing from, skateboard(s), scooter(s), cars, trucks, 4-wheelers, collections of CD's and DVD's, manicures, pedicures, salon hairstyles, highlights, personal trainers, private (fill in the blank) lessons, cute and trendy tattoos, belly button jewelry, piercings, more name brand clothes than we can fit into drawers or closets, 

thereby ensuring they will have REALLY good self-esteem.... 

and last 

but certainly not least.....

a REALLY generous allowance 

so they can feel "independent" and learn the 

value of money.....

which is to give their children a better life 

than you gave them.....

The economy is bad right now

Lots of people out of work.....

the hard-working and the not so hard-working alike....

I'll venture an opinion that the hard-working 

have been able to make do better than the not so hard-working.....

maybe because they have more experience with:

(I'm going to use a dirty four letter word here)

.....WORK.....

........as in hot, sweaty, sore back, sore hands, 

sore feet, bone tired, 

fall into bed and instantly asleep kind of work

This is just my opinion but I think a good work ethic is a REALLY valuable characteristic......

The kind of characteristic we should be worrying more about instilling into our children if we want them to REALLY have good self-esteem and be truly successful and truly happy......

yesterday, flowerbeds were weeded, hydrangeas were pruned, and unhappy children were forced to do "pointless" work

such is life........

at least around here........

Pointless?

Really?

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For Your Viewing Pleasure

I'm finally sticking my head out there and trying to do some of the
 "summer" things I've been missing while working on 
the garage
the shop
graduation parties
the yard
and all the other things that have kept me from the beach and the waterpark......sigh
So, there's not much time for projects!
But while I've stolen minutes here and there, I've tried to browse around to some new sites and find inspiration....

The Apothecary Shop

The Ribboned Crown

Dusty Lu

Petite Michelle Louise

Country Living

Enjoy your day!
Back to the garage for me!

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Hot Fun In The Summertime Party Picks!!

Well let me tell you that we girls had a REALLY HOT time hosting these parties in July!!
Lots of fantastically amazing wonderful creative people are out there
EVERYWHERE
All the other gals were telling me how hard it was to choose each week and no I get a chance to experience that!
And....it WAS hard
but here we go.........


The MOST ADORABLE little bench in the world was created by:

Deb at:

A Honey Bee Bench!

Not that I'm CRAZY about bees or anything!

I mean...how can you go wrong with black and yellow?

and bees of course

Puleese.....

You know I sew....a lot....

Breida.... who was trying her hand a sewing for the first time 

went right to my heart!

And look what she did!

Made the CUTEST baby quilt!

Yay to Breida with a B

Sew Breida...Sew....

I have kids at home as you know...but they're older 

so Lina's project is absolutely NOTHING that I need.

BUT, I taught pre-school and I can tell you with certainty that it's 

TOO DARN CUTE FOR WORDS!!

SHUT UP!! If you have a box of crayons 

and just CANNOT think what to do with them

I have two words...

CALL LINA!!!

Last but certainly not least is

My Passion For Decor

Melody did the most wonderful job refinishing this chest...

But the color choice is what grabbed my eye!

What a great shade of BLUE!!

LOVE IT!

She's spot on with the new trend of leaving

some of the wood showing too!

Just gorgeous!

OK...Whew!

I have to rest!

If you were featured make sure you grab a

button from the sidebar!!

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Windowboxes

I have quite a few windowboxes at my house.
Some are "railingboxes" I guess because they aren't on windows but if you ask for railingboxes at the garden shop I'm sure they'd think you were a bit odd.....
We had our house profiled on a blog a few months ago but the windowboxes were just planted so they were kind of measly.
I thought you'd like to see how they filled out.
The front boxes have become really bad with the heat but the boxes in the back of the house that have a bit more shade are really pretty....

These run along the railing and also under the breakfast area.

This is the box under the kitchen window above my sink....
I love looking at this everyday!
I keep them pretty simple with variegated vinca, sedum and impatiens.

The sedum gives me green all year round as long as I remember to put some water on them in the winter!
Also, the sedum is out nice and full early on and stays a nice, rich green all summer.

I love how the vinca hangs down...I just chop it off whenever I want it to branch a bit or it gets too long.That also comes back each year. 
If you have any windowboxes, I don't need to tell you how expensive they can be to fill.
Keeping lots of green plants with just the addition of the impatiens really saves money while still looking pretty!

Even though these boxes are on the back of the house,
 I see them the most because they are in the areas I frequent.

Do you like that curved roof my husband built? 
We copied it from an old house we saw and loved.

Do you like windowboxes? Do you have any?


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