Burlap Birds Nest~Tutuorial

I have been searching for instructions on how to make a birds nest for a really long time.  They all looked so pretty.....and complicated.....and messy.  I saw some made of plaster and twigs, peat moss and glue, paper mache and grass, etc.  So, you can imagine how excited I was when I stumbled across this one on pinterest (thanks Angie).  Just burlap and wire.  I went to the website and wasn't thrilled about the tutorial so I decided to try and make one that I could understand better myself.  But, if you rather the one I looked at originally, it's right here.

~What you will need~

3 strips looser thread burlap 1 inch by 36 inches

3 pieces of floral wire 12 inches long

Hot glue

Secure your wire to the ends of the burlap strips.  I tied mine too close to the edge here.  They just ripped out, so I had to put it in further down.

Thread the wire throughout the strips so it is gathered like this.

To make the bottom of the nest, take one of the strips and shove the burlap tight together so it looks like this.  Leave the left over wire hanging out.

Loop the remaining two strips to make a circle and secure.

Take one of the circles and place in on top of the bottom. With the left over wire "sew" it to the bottom.  I did have to end up securing it further with a little hot glue.  Work gently here because the burlap pulls apart very easily.  Leave the left over wire sticking up again.

Repeat with the last burlap strip and secure with hot glue.  Leave the parts that have frayed out to make it look more "nesty".  

Now you are ready to fill it with some eggs.  I didn't want to run to the store to search for small robin eggs so I made my own with this awesome baking soda clay recipe.  

I hope you try this tutorial.  I loved it because it only takes like a half an hour and they are so cute to fill up some small spaces.

Have a wonderful spring day.

Tuesday Display Chain~Sprucing and Springing

It has finally turned to spring like weather here in Idaho.  We spent the weekend with the temps at 70 degrees and it has done the soul some good.  With the warm weather I got in the mood to "spruce up and spring" out the entry way and a few other places in the house.  So, today my display chain is just a few things I have put together to celebrate the turning of the season. 

There is still time to join in on the display chain Misi has going.  Just click here to get started. 

Gable House Musings

~Sweet Prairie Doll holding the wonderful tuck Christine sent me. Some Robin eggs I made hidden inside a measure.  Blackened beeswax bunny.~

~Wonderful winnings from Traci and a burlap birds nest I made.  I also blued up the vase.~

~Stitched egg bowl fillers~

~Hall chair (still with ugly hooks) filled with some spring berries, chocolate bunny, and my tin welcome bunny.~

~You've seen this display before~

~Ditty bag from Linda filled with some purple pretties and another beeswax bunny.~

Thanks for visiting today.  We are spending spring break with my parents this week.  We took the girls on a shopping spree to the mall for some cooler clothing and flip flops and went for Blizzards.  Today we are having a birthday party for "little middle" and heading to the antique shop.  I hope it warms up again so we can go to the park.  It has turned rainy and cold over the last few days.  But, that's spring for you.  Hoping you all have such a wonderful day.

You Give and You Get~Giveaway Winner

Good Saturday Morning Peeps.  Oh, the sun is shining so brightly today.  We did some work on the garden spot last night as a family.  Of course, as any activity goes, there was some major drama.  Between the fire and the mouse hunt I'd say we had a really great time.  I will post more about that later. We have some more important manners to take care of this morning~ the winner of my Easter Giveaway.

 I have to say I was so impressed by how many entered.  I couldn't believe it.  Most of you who entered got two entries for either facebooking it or posting it on your blog.  I had over 100 slips of paper in my bowl.  Wow!!!  

So, of course, like I said, there has to be some drama involved.  No activity in our house can take place without so.  I drew a name and then went over all the entries again just to make sure.  OH, NO!!!!  I was freaking out because I had left someone out.  So, I put their name in and drew again.  Sooooo......we have two winners today.  HOORAY:) 

~Alisha with The Hill Clan~

&

~Amy with Bumble Bee Lane~

 Thanks to all for entering and posting on your blogs and facebook pages.  I really appreciate the support.  And for the two winners I will contact you via e-mail to get your address.

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Now I want to tell you how excited I am for the winnings I received.  Brenda over at The Rusty Thimble was giving away an American Pocket.  I love, love, love her pockets.  I was jumping for joy with this came in the mail.  Thanks again Brenda.  Go check her blog out, she is a fun blogger and makes the most beautiful things.

I just love how well it goes with this part of the kitchen. 

So,  I had a really great time with this giveaway and was happy to win one myself.  

We are going to do some more yard work today.  It's going to be nearly 70 degrees this weekend and now I think spring is officially here in Idaho.  

Have a great weekend.

Tuesday Display Chain~ Lion and Lamb

I logged into my blog this morning and saw that people were doing a display chain and I thought "Ahhh, how did I miss this?"  I was just wondering when Misi with Gable House Musings was going to do another chain.  I am so excited to participate again.  It was so much fun last fall.  It was a good chance to meet new people, get involved, and stretch my creative mind.  So this weeks theme is ~Lion and Lamb~.

 I love Forsythia.  I think it represents a Lion very well.  And the Pussy Willow represents the Lamb.  Together making a beautiful arrangement.  

Or if you prefer this display.  Ha ha,  I am feeling funny this morning.  

"Poor little sheep, I will save you!!!"

Blackened Beeswax Bunnies

Ok, ok, so they're not beeswax.  They are old ugly candles melted down.  After I had such a good time rolling my eggs in wax (why didn't anyone tell me wax was sooo much fun?), I wanted to try some hanging ornies.  Lo and behold, I had a bunny mold. My mother gave it to me like 5 years ago and the wrapper was still on it.  Good thing I never throw anything away.  All the kids in the house were asleep (sick).  So, do you think I took a nap.  I dare not, I crafted.  My DH saw that I was melting down my candles at the stove and asked if he needed to be ready to call the ambulance.  Hum, does that tell you anything about me?  I was pleasantly surprised at the end result for my first try at this.

This is what we woke up to this morning.  It had started to snow yesterday.  Snowflakes as big as cotton balls.   We finally have some buds on the fruit trees.  This is spring in Idaho.  The grass is not green, the buds are just barley showing, and there are no flowers yet.  Give it a couple of more weeks and we will catch up with you all.  

I am not the only one who has weird stuff in the fridge sometimes.  This is what I found between the milk and orange juice yesterday afternoon.  What do you think DH has here?

I hope you are all having a wonderful Sunday.  We are just ending a week long sick fest at our house.  "Oldest" was taken into the Dr. on Tuesday for a fever of 104 and a soar throat. She missed 3 days of school.  "Little Middle" came down with it on Wednesday and  missed 1.5 days of school.   And I just took "Baby" into the doctor today.  She has an ear infection in her right ear.  Poor thing.  She's been sick for 3 days now.  We are all on the mend though.  Hopefully this week will be normal again.  

~Take Care~

~Easter Giveaway~

Have ya'll entered into enough Spring and Easter giveaways yet?  I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon and have one myself.  I was making all these things for my home and duplicated them so I could give em' away.  I love having giveaways.  It's so fun to make things for people and them mail them away to be loved.                 

               

                        

Here she is.  The secret bunny from my previous post.  She is coffee and cinnamon stained and is ready to hop on over to your house. 

These eggs are paper mache and rolled in cinnamon, dipped in butter cream scented wax, and then sprinkled with ground cloves.  The light is not helping but they are a bit darker.....and prettier.  Oh my, they smell sooooooo good.  I got the tutorial from the White Sheep.

And last.....but not least....these prim bowl fillers.
The idea came from Country Primitive Gatherings but the patterns for the stitchery are mine.

So, there you have it.  

It took a lot of hard work and time to produce these things so, I have to make you work to get them:)

~Here's how to enter~

1. Be a follower

2. Make a comment on this post only

3. Share on your blog somewhere via post or sidebar if you have one

(if you facebook this post you will get an extra entry, just let me know in your post you have done so)

~I will draw a winner on March 24th~  

Thanks for entering, this is so much fun for me to do.  

Mom's A Bunny Factory~Spring Blessings

When I started cutting out a couple of chocolate rabbits, I knew "Little Middle" would want one.  So I cut her one too.  Then the "Oldest" thought she would place an order.  When "Baby" saw what was going on she sweetly says "I... want.... a wabbit."  So Mom became a factory this weekend fashioning rabbits.  The girls got to pick out their colors and accessories.  They are now requesting a change of outfits for them.  Hummmmmm.......Factory is closed:)  If anyone want the pattern it's for free right here. Annie's Cupboards

This is my rabbit.  Stained with coffee and cinnamon.  My DH came home and says  "oh, what smells so good"?  I told him "it's coffee and cinnamon rabbit dear".

This is "Little Middle's".  Her name is Charlie.  Her ear in now sporting a flower after seeing the other rabbits wearing one.

This one is "Oldest's".  I was surprised in the end she picked blue.  I think we went through three different styles before settling on this.  Her name is Princess Bunny.  

 This one is "Baby's".  She let me design hers.  The A is for the first letter in her name.  Hers was the last to come off the press so she was happy to be able to finally play with her sisters.  Her name is Wabbit.

This is a picture of the surprise rabbit I will show later on this week:)  Be on the lookout.

On to the next project.  Stuffed~ life sized cats. 

I found a sweet little package in the mail later last week.  I was so excited to see it was from my friend Christine over at Preferably Prim.  How wonderful for her to send Spring blessings to me.  Just look how cute this pillow tuck is.  I am going to display it in my front entry way when I get my Spring arrangement done there:).  Thanks so much Christine.  You are so sweet.  You made my day.

Thanks for the visit today.  I would love for you to let me know you were here:)

How Do You Manage Your Blogging Time?

I have a small addiction~ Blogging:)  I'd much rather do this than say.....the dishes.....the laundry....the vacuuming....oh, any household chore.  I love talking with other people during the day, and reading other's blogs, and making my own posts, and reading e-mails.  I have made so many new friends and I am thrilled!!!  

So, how do you do it?  How does everyone manage to keep up on all the blogs they follow, respond to those that comment on their posts, and create such wonderful posts themselves?  How do you balance your days and weeks full of life and blogging?  How do you keep your blog alive?  I am finding as my blogging circle widens, it's getting harder to manage my blogging time.  

I would love to know each of your methods for this madness. 

My Grandfather's clock that sat by his bed for years

Hall Chair~Blue Jars~Bad Kitty

My intent was to get to the antique store this weekend to look at some crocks.  We did get to look, but I didn't see much there.  They had sold the one's I was previous looking at.  Bummer;(  I was so excited that my husband was enjoying himself.  It's fun to see him liking and agreeing with this whole primitive thing.  We didn't get a crock but he found this neat hall chair.  I think the hooks are ugly so I am going to the hardware store to buy some different ones.  I love the stripes in the wood and the designs on the bottom front.  The seat lifts up to a huge box underneath and I am going to store my seasonal things for the front entry way in there.  That's where the chair is.  Right in the front entry way.  We'll see what visitors think of that:)  Anyway, I want to redo some things in the entrance for spring so I will show you the whole ensemble later.

I've seen many people coloring their glass lately so I decided to try my own.  It was a very fast project and that is the kind I like!!  I was however, disappointed that the examples I have been looking at came out clear and mine turned out opaque. I think it's because I used white glue.  I wonder if I had used decoupage if they would have been transparent.  I tried brushing it on to the outside of one bottle and then the inside of another.  I like it with the color on the outside best.  The color is very pretty though, especially next to the brown grungy candles.
1tsp. glue
1.5 tsp. water
1-2 drops blue coloring
Mix it all and brush a very light coat evenly onto jars.  Avoid pooling the glue.  As the jar dries, the brush lines will disappear.  

I finally got my wall box put up in the upstairs family room.  I had to rearrange some things in order to make it all look right.  I think I will pick up some silk flowers today at the store to put in the box.

Look where I found Kitty the other day.  I think that is so funny:)

We let her out yesterday (she is still an indoor cat).  As I followed her around the yard, she got spooked and took off like a bullet and skitted up our neighbors fence and into their backyard.  Oh, man.  She has done this once before.  I went to our neighbors to see if I could get in their yard to get her.  They peeked through the blinds, but no one home could speak English so they never answered the door.  We had to break into their back yard through their side gate which was jimmy rigged and guarded with wood and things.  She got a time out when she got home:{

I hope everyone has a good Monday.  I have to say it is one of the busiest days of the week for me.  I get to clean up the "Monday Mess"  which is left over from the weekend.  Then I get to go to the grocery store and stock up for the week.  Thanks for the visit:)

PBS~American Experience~The Amish

Photo Courtesy~PBS

 I love to watch PBS and have been waiting for weeks to see this program aired. Finally, last Tuesday I got to watch it.  I have been fascinated with the Amish religion and way of life since I was a young girl.  I know that for most of you, you can understand why.  It was tastefully put together and very informative. It is quite lengthy, but you can sit down and watch it in segments over the Internet. Just follow this link if you are interested.  It will take you right to the program.
   American Experience "The Amish"
And while you are watching, you can eat these!!!
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To Die For Peanut Butter Treats
I have been looking for so long for the perfect recipe for these.  We had them in our school lunches as a kid and I would try to get as many people as I could to give me theirs.  The consistency and taste is very similar to Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.  Plus, they are so easy to make.

1 c. Butter
1 c. Creamy Peanut Butter
2 c. Graham Cracker Crumbs, very finely crushed
2 c. Powdered Sugar

11/2 c. Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
4 TBS. Powdered Sugar

Melt your butter and 1 c. peanut butter in microwave.  Stir together and add your graham cracker crumbs and powdered sugar.  (If the mixture is still to wet to press into pan add more graham cracker crumbs until the consistency is right).  Press into an ungreased 9"x 13" pan.
Melt chocolate and peanut butter in microwave.  Spread over the peanut butter mixture.  Chill for 1 hour.
Store in the fridge.
*Try not to eat the whole pan in one night~it will be hard not too*

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The other morning there was an exceptional amount of giggling and laughter coming from the kitchen.  I came in to find all three girls squished together on a stool taking funny photos of themselves with the computer.  We have a program that will have the computer take a photo and then distort it in all sorts of funny ways.  This is a "comic book" photo of all of us.  

We spent way too much time laughing and playing that morning that we were nearly late for school:)

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.  We are having a "StayCation" this weekend. We are going out to dinner and then we have rented a Jacuzzi Suite in a hotel in our town for tonight. The kids love to have the continental breakfasts and then we are going shopping afterwards.  It saves a bunch of money not to travel and the kids still get to have as much fun.  Hopefully my husband and I can slip away for an hour or so to go to the antique store.  I want to go look at some crocks:)