Kitchen Cabinet & Lucas Got His Deer

I found this cabinet at the indoor flea market that I used to rent a booth at & sell primitives. Back in September I saw it for the first time & fell in love with it. The tag on it read not for sale. I visited again in October & the cabinet was still there with the not for sale tag on it. Oh how I wished I could buy it so many times. I decided to refinish the three wood pieces I had in the shop instead. I started to remove the paint & long story short it was just not going to happen. This past week I visited the flea market again. It was now for sale. The price was more than I would pay. After talking to a clerk I went home without it. Oh how I wanted it. After two phone calls to inquire if the vendor would come down in price I was told a percentage off. I went to pick it up Sunday only to be told that the piece had the vendors husbands code on it & she would not give the percentage off. I left disappointed. Well I went back on Monday & asked if I could see the doors that were not on it. Only two of the doors could be found & the vendors wife was called to come look for them. It was worth the wait. After about an hour & her not finding the top doors she offered me a price I could not turn down. So home it came with the boys & I. My canned veggies & dry goods now have a new home where I can see & reach them easily. Just what I wanted.

Lucas only had one day he could hunt but he had a deer early the first day. Back to work & school he went. We enjoyed our first meal from the hunt tonight. Seasoned tenderloin mashed taters with gravy along with sweet peas & baby carrots.

Blessings Til Next Time!
Lara

Made To Order Spice Rack

My spice rack wanted post was answered. It was custom made just to fit the space beside the sink & hold the spice bottles I had. I now have this amazing spice rack hanging in the homestead kitchen holding my spice bottles. My spices are at arms reach now. No more digging in the cupboard or bottles falling out of the cupboard to the counter. Thank you Firecracker Kid Primitives for creating the perfect prim spice rack I envisioned.

Blessings Til Next Time!
Lara

p.s.
Be sure & use the link in my side bar to see the many creations Firecraker Kid Primitives has to offer.

More Snowmen Stitcheries

I stitched two more snowmen & framed them this week. If all goes as planned they will be going to the shop this weekend. I have been a little under the weather lately & lost track of time. I was a little surprised to find that Thanksgiving Day is Thursday. A week ago this past Sunday I woke with pain on all of my right side & a very stiff neck. Walking & driving were not so easy. I had a visit with the chiropractor last Wednesday. Today has been the best I have felt. The stiff neck has gotten better with each passing day. So I stitched while layed up. Sam & I are going out to pick up a turkey this afternoon when he gets home from school. I sure hope it thaws out in time. Then to plan our menu will be the project tonight. Laken has to work for sure. Lucas has not checked his work schedule yet. I guess I will cook & we will eat together when time allows. The hens have layed eleven eggs since they started laying & I will be using some of them for our pumpkin pie. Sam just got off the bus so we must be going.

Blessings Til Next Time!
Lara

All Framed Up

Just a short post tonight to show you the snowman stitchery all framed up. You can see I changed my mind about painting the frame black.

Blessings Til Next Time!
Lara

Finally The First Eggs

Finally I am getting eggs. I have no idea which hen or hens are laying. On Friday I found the first egg. Saturday I found one more. Today I found two. I washed each egg & dated it before placing it in an egg carton. Tucked away safe in the frig waiting to be used soon. I felt like a kid searching for eggs at an Easter egg hunt.

I finished stitching this snowman & coffee stained it last night. I am going to paint a frame & put it in soon.

Have you gotten your latest A Primitive Place & Country Journal Magazine? The kitchen of my dreams is on page 12. The cabinets are just what I would want. There is a beautiful floor cloth on page 17 that I think would go great with the kitchen. This magazine is always full of beautiful homes. I guess I better not mention to many things just in case you have not gotten your issue yet. I would not want to spoil your oh my moment when looking at your issue for the first time.

Blessings Til Next Time!
Lara

Spice Rack Wanted / Plans

This cupboard is a mess I want to take care of it. Hard to find the spice I want when I need it. Bottles fall out when the turntables are turned. I could put my tupperware in this cupboard & be able to reach it without the step ladder.

New spice bottles will not all fit on this shelf I had made years ago.

I purchased sixteen glass spice bottles filled with spice. It was cheaper than purchasing the plastic bottles filled. More spice can be purchased from the company in packages to refill the bottles.


Remember I am not a professional so keep that in mind. What I want in a spice rack is along these lines. Centered at the top I want it to have the round shape with a hole in the center to screw it to my wall like my match holder. Just the backing piece behind the spice bottles I want to be bead board. The lolly pop top of plain wood. The back including the bead board & lolly pop top can not be very thick. A thin back will allow me to still open the cupboard off to the side of the wall where I want to hang the spice rack. So I have sketched a plan showing what I want. Painted in black to match my other pieces I have. The rolling pin bowl keep the bowl rack & the wood sconces that Carol made for me. They are all beautiful pieces & made with the best quality. You can click on the link in my side bar to visit Firecracker Kid Primitives. I fell in love at first sight when I saw the rolling pin spoon spice rack that Carol did for a customer. It is pictured in my side bar to. I do not have quite that much space but still just love it.

Blessings Til Next Time!
Lara

Busy Busy

I have been busy busy cleaning the homestead. Sorting 15 years of stuff. Putting together my bedroom. I cleaned the turtle tank & fish pond. Cleaned the bunny hutch & chicken coop.

I hung the pumpkin I made for the outhouse tool shed. I want to add some darker stain to dull it up. Will do that later. Thought fall was about over with that early snow fall so I hung it up. The snow has melted thankfully. The wood shakes still need put on the roof of the outhouse tool shed. I hope that I can get that done before next snow fall.

I started removing the paint from the cabinet I want to put in the kitchen.

I visited the shop I sell my creations at & the owner paid me for my sales over the fall festival. I decided to go shopping for somethings over the weekend. I drove by my dream house & took a fall season picture. I can only imagine what it will look like for Christmas.

I went on a road trip to purchase a coverlet I have been wanting for a long time. It is a pattern & color that has been discontinued by Family Heirloom Weavers. They only had one left at this shop.

I am so happy with how the beautiful coverlet looks on my bed.

I purchased a shelf with blanket crane from another shop that may be selling my creations soon if all works out. The owner has many wonderful prims inside to offer.

The shelf with blanket crane is hanging above my bed. I need some ideas to go with here. There is not a wall without a door or window in the room I am making into my bedroom. All the other doors are needed & the high headboard would not work in front of the window for me. I want my bed here centered in the room but there is a door to the outside behind it. It was not always there by the homestead owner wanted it there when he put new doors & windows in the house some years ago. For now there is an old ugly window blind & plastic over the door to keep out light & cold air. Any suggestions on what I can do to hide the door & make this wall attractive? I want to keep the shelf above the bed Not see the door & remove the ugly window blind & plastic. I know this is a hard one. I wish I could take the door out but some wishes will NOT come true. Help.

Blessings Til Next Time!
Lara

Sewing Machine Cabinet Email Answer

My sewing machine cabinet I built last year has seen two colors of paint. Gray then black. It has been in the dinning room & living room both & now it is in the room I am making into my bedroom. On top of a pine chest at the end of my bed for now. I am redoing the chest when time allows. Another on going project! I am looking for a desk type table with shelves on top to put all my sewing baskets in to organize a sewing area. My thoughts are to put the sewing machine & the cabinet on the desk table top. Due to the weight of the cabinet & it not being easy for me to lift the cabinet over top the sewing machine my thoughts for the future are to cut a large rectangle out of the back so I can just slide the cabinet out from the sewing machine. When I made it I wanted a full back because it was going to sit in front of the windows. Wanted to hide the sewing machine even from the view from outside the windows looking inside. So all this being said I received an email this week asking about the wood I used. So I thought I would just post the information. Photos follow.

Cabinet Back Showing Hinges. They were used. Taken off Of an old bread box. Attached to the cabinet back & lid.

Cabinet Side Showing Handles. The wood was scrap pieces . Sanded wood glued & screwed fast to the sides from the inside of the cabinet with short wood screws.


Here is a primitive sketch of my plans I used. I added the future back sketch today. I hope by clkicking n this photo you can enlarge it & then copy from your printer.

The easiest way for me to build this was to visit Lowes. The local Lowes has lumber cut in smaller lengths. Much easier for me to haul & less cuts for me to make.

4 - 16" X 48" X 1" Pine Boards 2 Cut 25"Long 1 Cut into 2 10" Long Pieces
1 Cut 27" Long & Cut 13" Wide for lid over hang
3 - 3 1/2 X 48 X 1/4" Pine Boards Cut 24" long
Centered & Glued with wood glue to the cabinet front
6 - Unfinished Pine Cabinet Knobs I drilled holes through the fake draws attached
the knobs & the screws that came with them. Screw
screw heads inside the cabinet.
1 - Chest Hinge Size depending on how deep you make the thread storage area
Mine is 3 1/2" deep. I used a thin piece of scrap craft board & fastened it
with 6 metal L shaped brackets that screwed into the cabinet sides from the inside to the thread storage area floor under side.
12 - Wood screws 1 1/4" long I drilled the holes with a smaller dill
bit then used a larger drill bit to countersink the holes so the screw heads
would be inside the wood. I filled the holes in with wood putty & sanded the
areas before painting.
Sanded the whole cabinet painted & sanded areas to remove paint then used walnut stain & rubbed off until I got the look I wanted.

Please remember I am a do it yourself crafter so this is not a professional providing this information. I would advise measuring the sewing machine you will be storing underneath the cabinet before building for sure. I allowed for extra room just in case I would some day have a bigger sewing machine. The inside is smaller than the outside.

I hope this has answered the email I received. Good luck. I would love to hear from you & see your cabinet when you have completed it.

Blessings Til Next Time!
Lara

Do It Yourself & A Little Help

The kitchen sink faucet & drains have leaked for a long time. It just got way to bad. Buckets under the sink. Dish towels behind the faucet. Water running across the counter & down the dishwasher on to the floor. Well you get the gist of it. The homestead owner (my husband agreed to repairs). Off to Lowes for a faucet. After many years of just a plain dull faucet I wanted a pretty new faucet. After all I spend so much time in the kitchen. Thinking I may need a very small T.V. in the kitchen too. Seems I hardly leave the kitchen. LOL! I decided to be a do it yourself plumber & start tearing it apart. I cleaned & cleaned too. After five hours I then checked the fittings on the new faucet water lines. Oh no not the same size as the water line connectors under the sink. Well I knew I would need help. From a past bathroom toilet water line cutting to install a shut off valve that would not seal the water had to be shut off til a plumber could get to the homestead. That took days. That was not a happy time. So I saved the homestead owner alot of labor billing since I already tackled some of the job.






I could not wait any longer. I took the faucet out of the box & held it in place to take a photo so I could see just what it would look like. A plumber must be called for a little help. New drain kits & shut off valves to be installed. Some new pipe & the water lines cut. No loss of water for days to come. Now I will have to cook since there is water in the kitchen.

I am so excited about the new faucet. My only corn flower of the season bloomed the day of the snowstorm I cut it while frozen. When thawed out it is still going strong. Makes me smile.

The sinks look sparkling new.

After my two day do it yourself plumber adventure I was ready to turn out the lights & head off to dream land. As I pass through the kitchen to the bedroom I will take one more look at my pretty faucet & I go to bed happy. But I still have some thoughts to improve the ugliness under the sink. Those flowers must go & the cabinet floor needs spruced up. My ideas never end. I hope the homestead owner will agree to this little extra expence. My fingers are crossed.

Blessings Til Next Time!
Lara

Our First Snow Fall

Warm & cozy inside the homestead looking out the windows our first snow fall October 30th has arrived this winter season quite early. Twenty years ago it snowed the third weekend of October. The earliest I remember.

The fall flag dose not match the winter wonder land of the gardens.

All fish are accounted for. They must be oh so cold. The pumps & fountain were removed just in time. The pumpkins peeking from under the snow.

No swinging for a frozen butt would be gotten.

For sure there will be no picnic anytime soon. To thinks just last Thursday evening Sam trimmed around the rock beds & mowed this lawn. No longer a lush bright green lawn but snow covered powder white.

Oh boy these chickens do not like the snow. Slow to come out & scratch. Grace & Ruth never did come out of the house. They waited for the food tray to be filled & the water to be changed. Festus & all the girls retreated to the house to eat & stay in for the rest of the day.

Old cheerios are the special treat today for the ducks.

Sam's little dog loves the snow. When not on his leash he runs through the snow like a wild dog racing. He is not loose often for he dose not like the neighbor lady so it is best to keep a good eye on him.

A few of the homestead kitties eating some scattered treats before being put in their outside house & being fed until evenings run time about the homestead grounds. If the others come soon they will miss the special treats. There are five total. I lost my special little kitty Timmy a short time back. Timmy Benny's twin brother was involved in a auto accident. Very sad day that was. Benny gets extra attention since he no longer has Timmy to play & frolic his days away with.

Blessings Til Next Time!
Lara