Leesport Craftshow

Well it's craft show season again. I did the Leeport Farmers Market Craftshow this past weekend. It's a huge show that is held under 2 covered pavilions and in an open field. When I first started back in 1994, I use to set up in the field. After years of being there I eventually ended up in my current space under the "pole barn" pavilion on the end. I love my new spaces...no worry about bad weather anymore and getting wet.



The early morning didn't hold out too much hope as it was raining when we arrived to set up at 5 am but the weather soon cleared and held out for the day. Lots of customers showed up to make their purchases. I took these pictures on Sunday so my booth looks a little picked over and sparse.

The hired help sure was worn out from the weekend as you can see in this picture. My craftshows are usually a family affair. I've raised my boys on them. My youngest was at his first official craftshow when he was just 6 days old...of course we were just there visiting friends for that one. We did our first one with him when he was a month old and it just happened to be the Thanksgiving show at Leesport. Anyway, I have been doing craftshows fulltime since my middle son Josh, sleeping beauty in the picture, was a toddler.



Raising my boys to help at the shows have made them the people that they have become. They have a good work ethic...it takes hard work to make a living. They have learned great math and money skills...from being able to return the correct change to budgeting their pay, and yes I do pay them to help! They have also had to learn how to interact with people. My boys can talk! LOL!




Anyway, if you are ever in the Reading Pa area when the Leesport Craftshow is going on, stop by and say hi...I'm in space 234, 235 and 236 in the pole barn. The craftshows are held 5 times a year. Usually a weekend or two before Easter is the first one, then the Saturday before Mothers day, the Saturday after July 4th, Columbus Day Weekend and Thanksgiving Weekend. For directions and further info on the show go to www.leesportmarket.com .

We're Off To See The Wizard

If you haven't been able to tell by now, I love making Wizard of Oz signs. This series took a lot of thinking and planning out. Of course once you read them, the darn songs will be stuck in your head...no need for a youtube video this time! LOL

Do you remember in the movie when the Scarecrow sang this song?




Or how about when the Tin Man sang his...



Or my personal favorite...betcha saw this one coming!




Ok, so now that these songs are stuck in your head...the last one is a quote from the Wizard to the Tinman.



Hope you enjoyed these signs as much as I liked making them.

Easter Swap at the Painters Box

I'm just hooked on these large pockets. I love painting them or should I say repainting them. I belong to and host a private painting forum on delphiforums called the Painters Box. We participate in swaps, play bingo and share info and our lives via the internet. They are a great bunch of gals...if you have an interest in painting and would like an invitation to check us out, drop me a email through ebay or etsy.

This swaps theme is Easter/Spring. Our swap is a secret partner swap...my partner may see what she may get as many of the gals post pictures of their creations, but they don't know for sure what they are getting, til the package arrives. A lot of good time ribbing and bickering goes on til the items arrive...all in fun of course.

I also sent along some Easter candy for my swap partner and the only hint I can give is that it's traveling west of me! But all the ladies in the group are west of me, so not much of a hint, huh? LOL

Hey Diddle, Diddle The Cat and The Fiddle

This week I was inspired to make some nursery rhyme signs. When my boys were little I would read to them from Mother Goose. Short little ditties to whet their appetite for reading.

The history of Mother Goose is fascinating. Some people don't believe a "real" person exist yet still others believe that she is buried in a Boston cemetery on Treemont Street. It was thought that she was married to Isaac Goose with whom together they had 16 children. After Issac's death, Elizabeth went to live with her oldest daughter and that's where she would entertain her grandchildren with her little song ditties. Her son in law, who was a publisher, gathered her little jingles together and published them.



Other evidence points to the contrary. That Mother Goose isn't a person but is based on archetypical country woman. That many of the Mother Goose nursery rhymes actually come from many different sources. And while we may know that an actual person doesn't exist we still believe her to be "real". Whether Mother Goose was a real person or not, some of her advise in her nursery rhymes is very practical. A few of her rhymes comes to mind like, One Two Buckle My Shoe, or how about Jack Sprat?



Today, there exists a Mother Goose Society for the continuance of the importance of "Mother Goose" in childrens literature. They celebrate by having a Mother Goose day, which is May 1st, and encourage those that participate to partake in activities from, to dress like characters from Mother Goose rhymes, to making of some of her famous recipes, to having a simple songfest.



Nonetheless, whether Mother Goose was an actual figure or not, "her" stories have been read to children for centuries and I'm sure will be read for many more to come.

My Kitchen...Or What Use To Be My Kitchen

It's funny how one little idea turns into a monster, taking on a life of it's own. I told the hubby in January that we needed to replace the kitchen floor. We were and had been developing linoleum potholes quicker than a Baltimore street after the winter thaw! Of course his response at first was...nah!!! Potholes, what potholes? Of course he was just looking at having to miss spending time romancing the couch and new tv.



We discussed a timeline before starting the project. He says 2 weeks..Ok! 2 weeks, was doable. Well he hit the first snag immediately...6 layers of linoleum/underlayment later...Seems the previous owners just laid a new layer over the old layer when they wanted a new floor.

New game plan...remove the floor in a single layer.Had to figure out "how" to do it. Game plan all set. Went to remove the sink base cabinet...new snag. The backsplash was installed over the base and wall cabinets was installed over the backsplash. Got that removed, so now my kitchen is gutted.

Of course, another snag...the floor had to be reinforced from underneath as we were putting down a new tile floor and the subfloor would flex as we walked. So a week of working on that. If you haven't figured out by now, my hubby moves at the pace of a slug...hence his nickname "Sluggo"...at least that's what my girlfriend calls him, thanks Sharon! LOL!





They installed the cement board while I was out treasure hunting. Finally some progress towards the finish line.




Yep, that's Josh laying tiles. He spent his last day of spring break helping his Dad with the floor...he even got up before noon! Oh my!



Hey, look at that...Sluggo is working! LOL!



Floor is almost done. Had to quit for the night as the boys were wearing out!

Of course now with a new floor it has lead me to other kitchen renos....needless to say the hubby is already hiding! LOL! I'll give him a week or two break, then it's building new cabinets and painting! His list just never ends! LOL!

I've posted some pictures of the project to share. I didn't get before pictures...wish I would have but anyway, I have pictures from yesterdays work.

Sunday Flea Market Finds

I was able to get out to the flea markets today, finally after the cold winter months. It turned into a beautiful day but the morning start at 6 am was a little chilly at 22 degrees. BRRRR!

Anyway, I went to one of my favorite fleas and found lots of treasures to paint. I was able to find 3 pairs of baby shoes, 2 sifters, 2 milk bottles, 3 bundt pans, 7 spice tins, 7 silver soup spoons, 2 alumiunum heart shaped pans, a tall wood bowl, a pineapple bowl, a vintage coffee can, a rolling pin, an aluminum coffee pot, a orphan glass cake plate and a 4 sided grater. I can't wait til I can get things washed up, primed and ready to paint. New "junque" always gets my creative spark lit! The best thing is that I only spent around $30 for all my treasures.





I can't wait for warmer spring mornings as more vendors will be set up and of course that means more treasures! So if you are ever in the flea markets in the Mid-Atlantic area, lookout for a frantic woman pulling her granny cart...I may just mow you down to get to that special treasure first!

There's A Mouse In My House

I received my swap today from Teresa of Teresa's Primitive Treasures. We are both members of Old Farmhouse Gathering on etsy. Teresa sent me the most adorable little mouse sitting on a pin cushion. From his whiskers, to his curly tail and tiny legs and arms, the details on him are incredible! I tried to take some pictures to show you.




Teresa also sent a cute wood box with little chicks around the bottom and a sheep with a chicken riding on his back on the top. She also sent a cute prim notepad with a bunny on it.

Thanks again Teresa and be sure to stop by and check out what other goodies Teresa has in her etsy shoppe by clicking the link above.

We Wish To Welcome You To Munchkinland

As a young girl I would watch The Wizard of Oz when the tv networks would show it annually. The Wizard of Oz was shown as an annual tradition from 1959 to 1991, making it one of the most famous films ever. The movie was based on the book "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" by Frank Baum which was written in 1900 as a children's novel. The novel has been translated into over 40 languages. Some countries have adapted to a version that was more suitable to their religion and beliefs. The movie was made in 1939 with Judy Garland in the lead role as Dorothy, Frank Morgan as the Wizard, Ray Bolger as the Scarecrow, Bert Lahr as the Cowardly Lion, Jack Haley as the Tinman and Margaret Hamilton as The Wicked Witch of the East/West and Elmira Gulch. Somewhere Over The Rainbow is one of the most all time favorite songs. Frank Baum went on to write 13 more books in the Oz series.


This week I made 4 new signs...one of which I can't get out of my head after watching a youtube video. Here's the link so you can share my pain.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_CAs3q7G48
Hope you enjoy the link! You can find the listings within the next couple of days in my etsy shoppe. www.icehousecrafts.etsy.com

True Character Sign

Isn't this a great sign? I just love it's meaning. It's hard as parents to raise your children up right but I always remind them of this saying when they want to take an easy road...Sometimes the road less traveled is the better choice.

Cute Annie Giveaway

Check out this cute Annie. She is being given away on www.yellowsweetpotato.blogspot.com . Isn't she the cutest. Be sure to stop by her blog to sign up for the giveaway...

Mmmmmm.....Banana Bread!

I baked 2 loaves of banana bread last night....got to take a picture of the smaller one that was left this morning and decided to share my family recipe here. I remember the first time I made it for my family...I got ewww! what's that? Needless to say, they don't comment anymore as they are too busy stuffing their mouth full! This batch was sooo good! Moist and yummy! So if you have some extra over ripe bananas, you might want to give this recipe a try.

Banana Bread

2 1/2C flour 1 tsp baking powder
1/4lb butter 1 tsp baking soda
2 eggs 1 tsp vanilla
2 ripe bananas 1/2C sour cream
1 1/2C sugar

Cream butter. Add eggs, vanilla and sugar. Beat well. In a seperate bowl mix sour cream and bananas. Add flour mixture and sour cream alternating between the two. Pour into greased and floured loaf pans. Bake 15 min. @ 450 degrees, then 30 min @350 degrees.

Spring Is In The Air

It's a gorgeous day in Baltimore today almost 70 degrees. Who would have ever thought that just 5 days ago we were in the middle of a snowstorm. The snow is all gone...melted away and hopefully we won't see any more of the white stuff til next winter. The crocus have popped up through the ground and are blooming. I decided to take a picture to share the first signs of spring. This is the time of the year where I really get to itching to work in my flower beds and get them ready for the periennials to bloom and the annuals that I plant.

I have my work cut out for me this year though. We had a huge tree removed from the front yard and have decided to put a new large flower bed under the other existing tree in out there since grass won't grow there anyway. I'll take some before and after pictures as the work progresses.

Don't forget to set your clock forward tonight!

Easter Celebration at OFG

The etsy group that I belong to is also having an Easter celebration running concurrently with the Spring Celebration. I was able to paint 2 additional pieces to enter into that celebration. Be sure to stop by etsy and check out all that the OFG group has to offer. Just type OFGSC into your search box or click on the link button that I have added below to take you to the celebration item pages. Enjoy!

Winter In March!

We had our first significant snow here in Baltimore yesterday. We woke up to 2 inches on the ground. It had stopped snowing for a few hours but then started again later piling up to 6 inches total. Took a few pictures to share as this will probably be the biggest snowfall for us this year. I can smell spring right around the corner.