A Trip To The "The Country Freckles"

Here comes Peter Cotton Tail....except Peter has gone extremely primitive this year. I found this FREE pattern download at sweetpeasprimitives.blogspot.com I did revamp it a little.....I think he turned out really cute. I finished him up today just in time for him to make the trip to the "Country Freckles". Joni really liked him and thinks he will sell good. We will see, I have 5 more ready to finish up.

An update on the Prim Annie doll....SHE SOLD right away...so I will be making more Annies. Joni asked me if I make Andy's, the gal that bought Annie wants an Andy....so I will be making my first Andy next week, wish me luck......I will post pictures of him when I get him done.

Primitive Bunny

He looks so innocent but we all know he would LOVE to get into our gardens and have a party

I Love his whiskers

Mama Kitty and her babies is a new pattern that I tried last week also. It took me awhile to figure out tht finishing details, but I think she turned out o:k. That is always the hardest for me.....the finished touches. They can take as long or longer then the cutting, stuffing and painting.

Here is Mama Kitty....I finished her up and brought her to the Freckle today also. She is a good Mama and LOVES her babies

Her babies are so cute

Everyone's packed and ready to head to The Country Freckles to find new homes


Below are some pictures of the "The Country Freckles" where I have been bringing my primitive creations to sell. The gal that owns the shoppe, her name is Joni, is so nice and we have become friends. I am very thankful to her for letting me bring my things in and also for her positive spirit and great ideas. I enjoy our visits so much, she makes it feel more like home here....it's nice to have a friend in a new town. One of this Monday's (it's her day off) we are going to go have coffee together at a coffee shoppe called "Cravings" here in Rapids, I can't wait.

Here is a picture of the front of Joni's store "The Country Freckles"

One of my dolls displayed in Joni's shoppe

Joni's shoppe is a house that has been turned into an adorable primitive haven. Here is one of the rooms....one of my prairie dress stitch samplers is hanging on the cupboard.

She has some really nice primitive furniture in her shoppe. She buys it from and guy who makes it by hand....I LOVE HANDMADE stuff...it's right up my alley

I LOVE this grouping....I want this grouping someday when we get our own house, I can just see them sitting on the cover porch...but I will have to wait for that because it won't fit in the rental here and we don't have covered porches her either but ....God will provide...I have FAITH

A few more pieces of handmade furniture.....this furniture is AWESOME when you see it in person

Here is another grouping, I love this also......notice the bowl of my extreme primitive black dolls..they are ready for new homes

Another room full of awesome goodies...Joni does such a GREAT job of putting everything together in her shoppe....my pictures do not began to capture her decorating talent

I LOVE the prim prairie bonnets that are hanging...I am going to try to make some of these soon

Here is a view of the the check out counter...notice my primitive bunny perched on top of the cupboard keeping a close eye on everything...carrots are suppose to be good for your eye site so he shouldn't miss a trick.

Well that's about it...I had a wonderful day enjoying and creating my primitives and delivering them to a relaxing and gorgeous shoppe. My wonderful husband is on his way home from work right now and we are going to go out for fish tonight...what a perfect ending to a fun day...spending time with my sweetie.

Have a great weekend and God Bless.....Rhonda

Dolls, Dolls and More Dolls

My First Primitive Annie Doll......what do you think of her :)

I have been busy making dolls lately. There is an adorable primitive shoppe that I found here in Wisconsin Rapids called the "Country Freckles". On one of my visits earlier this Fall I asked Joni, the owner, if she would be interested in taking in on consignment any of my handmade primitives. I showed her a few items I had done up and she loved them and said I could bring anything I would like. It is nice to have a shoppe only a few miles away from my house where I can bring my creations to sell.

I made these black extreme primitive dolls (far left) and was not sure what I thought of them. But to my surprise...they are a big hit. She has sold out of them so I am heading in tomorrow with a fresh supply.

I made my first primitive Annie last week. I was pretty happy with her but her hair is sure bright that's for sure!!!!! I will see how she sells at the shoppe and if she is liked I will make more.

The prairie dolls are selling good too....the customers seem to really like the prairie items right now. I don't blame them, I do too.

I LOVE this little gal, I think she is my favorite!!!!!

All The Gals Ready to Head into the Freckle Tomorrow

I will leave you with this awesome lemon bar recipe

Brent and I were at a gathering around Christmas and someone had brought lemon bars, they were the BEST lemon bars I ever had but didn't know who brought them so I could not get the recipe. But they inspired me find a recipe as close as I could to them. So I searched and searched and made a few flops in the process but finally found a keeper. I have made this recipe twice now and they are delicious!!!!! Here it is:

Bake Sale Lemon Bars

Crust:
1 1/2 cups flour
2/3 cup confectioners sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened

3 eggs

Filling:
1 1/2 cups white sugar
3 Tablespoons flour
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease a 9x13 cake pan

Combine flour, confectioners sugar and butter. Pat dough into the prepared pan.

Bake for 20 minutes or until slightly golden. While crust is baking, whisk together eggs, white sugar, flour and lemon juice until frothy. Pour the lemon mixture over the pre-cooked crust.

Return to the oven for an additional 20-25 minutes or until light golden brown. Dust with confectioners sugar and ENJOY!!!!!

Hope everyone is staying warm.....it won't be long and summer will be here....think positive!!!

Love you all and God Bless....Rhonda

Alyssa Is Home From Spain And She Had A GREAT Time

My Daughter, Alyssa Rhonda Kronlund, is HOME FROM SPAIN!!!! Thank you Jesus for a safe trip, it is so good to have her home safe and sound!!!! She had so much fun and seen so many beautiful sites. I have looked at her pictures and it is truly amazing the beauty in that country. I am sure the pictures do not do it justice though. Maybe someday I will go there with her and see the sites for myself.....we'll see, I will have to gear up for that one. I am a home body and LOVE being home!!!!!!!

Alyssa in Spain pondering "life is a open road"...where should I go next :)

Alyssa in Spain

I LOVE this picture!!!!! Alyssa was in a shop in Spain that was full of mirrors. She took this picture of her reflection in one of the mirrors and highlighted the orange colors in the shop. She is such a good photographer with so many great ideas.....I wish I had her talent in that area!!!!! Great job Alyssa...mom's proud of you!!!!!

My Mom and My Grandpa Betz

I went home to Spooner on Monday for a couple of days this week. My grandpa Betz, who is 95 years old, was very sick with phenomena and was very close to death for a about a week. My mom even flew home from Arizona to over see his care while he was in the hospital. He is doing much better now and it is hard to believe that he was half dead a week ago. His bout with phenomena seems to have taken a toll on his short term memory though. He is having a hard time remembering who visited him and even who they are at times. It is sad to see....all I can say is....it is tough to get old. So we need to enjoy every day we have while we can!!!!!

Me and Grandpa Betz

My Mom, Grandpa Betz, and his nephew Elmer

On a finally note. As I was coming home the other night...I snapped a picture of this BEAUTIFUL sun set!!!!! God is truly the artist of ALL artists!!!!!! We humans think we have all the answers and all the talent. But all we have to do is to open our eyes and look around and it doesn't take very long and we can see.....GOD IS GOD and we are NOT.

Whatch Workin On Wednesday

A Tote full of Progress

I did the usual house work first thing this morning....laundry, dishes, vacuum, all the regular stuff. It is very hard for me to create when I have house work to do....I feel so unorganized and confused. Doing my daily chores clears my mind and helps me to stay focused. Anyway, after doing all that it was time to head to my work room to finished up some of my projects I have been working on all week.

I have been working on prairie dolls lately, they are so fun and so prim!!!! This little gal is my favorite, she turned out so cute. I used a vintage embroidered linen for her apron and a man's shirt I got at the thrift store for her dress.

These little Valentine letters are my newest adventure, the pattern is from Aunt Manny's Creations. I started these this afternoon and finished them up tonight. They were kind of a struggle though. The letters are made out of a muslin fabric and the pattern calls for iron on transfer paper to be used for putting the address, stamps and kiss on the letter. You print the image on the transfer paper and then iron the image onto your fabric......well, it just didn't work worth-a-hoot. The image kept peeling up and looking half on half off.....so I ended up hand writing the To: and From: address. I finally got the stamps and kiss to look o:k...so for my first few tries making these letters, it went o:k but I think I can improve on the process.

I am going to make a trip to town and stop at the rubber stamping store and see if I can find some rubber stamps to use instead. I think that would work much better, so we'll see.

That's pretty much it for today

We are suppose to be getting some very cold weather tonight...21 below zero with wind chills of 30-35 below. They have already canceled school for tomorrow so you know we are gearing up for a dandy when they cancel school the night before. I am so thankful for my nice warm bed on nights like these. God is soooooooooooo Good!!!!

Hope everyone had a BLESSED and productive day.

God Bless and always remember "JESUS LOVES YOU".....Rhonda

Thinking About Going To School

I have been pondering this idea for awhile now......maybe I should go to school for cosmetology. Seeing that I had to quit my job(which I did LOVE) in Spooner when we moved to Wisconsin Rapids I am now a stay at home wife with many things to do around the house to keep me busy. I LOVE working on my primitives and having time to do so but I find myself missing work. I know you're thinking...WHY????? and so am I.

Anyway, I started cutting Brent's hair when we moved here because with working 12 hour days, he does not have the time or energy to go somewhere and get a hair cut. And with moving to a new town, it's hard to know where to go anyway. So I have been his hair dresser for about 4 months now.

I find myself monitoring his hair growth like a hawk and when it gets a little long I say...."time for your home cut" that's what I call the hair cuts I give him...."home cuts". I get out the clippers I bought and start in.....I LOVE TO CUT HIS HAIR....it's so fun. I used to cut my girl friends hair when we were in high school, didn't know what the heck I was doing, but they always came back to me for a trim so I guess they liked it. I cut my daughters hair now and then when they were little and they seemed fine with it.

When I was a senior, I was planning on going to beauty school right out of high school but.....I got married and had a baby instead so that ended that.

I was doing some research to see where the nearest colleges were in this area and found out that there is a cosmetology school about 6 miles from where we live. I called to talk to someone about the class and they sent me some information in the mail. I am going to make an appointment to talk further with them and if everything goes well, I am going to sign up for this coming Fall. I am excited and scared all at the same time. I just keep telling myself.......you are never too old to start a new adventure. Besides it would be a great way for me to met people and make some new friends. So that is my thoughts for today....God willing....I will put the thought into action.

God Bless.....Rhonda

Happy Birthday MOM and Whatch Workin On Wednesday

Today is my beautiful Mom's 70th birthday....Happy Birthday Mom, you are the BEST MOM EVER

A blast from the past pic.......My Mom and her band "The New Edition" This picture was taken in the early 80's at the Spooner Rodeo in Spooner, Wisconsin.

I can't believe my Mom is 70. When we were little she would always say....."I'm 29 and holding" and I believed her...LOL..awhhhh youth

My mom loves music....it is her gift. She can play the fiddle, the guitar, the bass guitar and she sings like an angle. In the late 70's and early 80's her band, "The New Edition", was the Rodeo Band for our Rodeo in Spooner, Wisconsin. Because it is an outdoor arena and if the wind was just right, you could hear her singing all over Spooner....I was so proud of her!!!! Her band also played every Saturday night back then at Pair O' Lakes lodge...... people LOVED to dance to her music and visit with her on her breaks. She was the bell of the ball.

My Mom, this summer, playing at a pie social in town...She is still beautiful. She fell off a ladder this summer and hurt her knee real bad and had to be in a knee brace and even had surgery on her knee late Fall.........but it didn't stop her from playing, you know what they say............The show must go on

My mom and her band..the guys on each side of her are the original members of "The New Edition". They are also in the "blast from the past" picture above..they still all look GREAT!!!!

As the years have gone by, they now play for for retirements parties, birthday parties, pie socials, community functions, and New Years Eve parties. They also love to go to the nursing homes and play for the residence...the residence LOVE my Mom.

No matter where my Mom goes, she always finds some one to play music with. She is the type of person that when you met her she is an instant friend. She will tell you her whole life story and talk your ear off you and then some. She is one in a million....full of life and laughter. To me, she will ALWAYS BE 29 and holding and that's the way I like it...... Happy Birthday MOM.....I LOVE YOU MOM!!!!!!!

Whatch Workin On Wednesday

The first thing I did this morning before I did anything was take the Christmas tree and decorations down. What a good feeling that was!!!!! Then it was off to my work room to finish up some of my creations I have been working on.

I finished this stitch picture sampler the other day but had to include it in my pictures today. I LOVE this saying!!!! because it is soooooooo true!!!!!

A variety of dolls I have been working on...they are all work in progress

prairie dress stitchery sampler I finished up today. It says..."EVERY TIME A CHILD IS BORN SO IS A GRANDMA

This stump doll is my newest creation. I made this pattern up and was surprised it turned out. Sometimes what I in vision in my head doesn't always come out in my hands. I was pleased with this guy though....he's so ugly he's cute

I put the final touches on this small pioneer dress today and...I LOVE IT!!!! After I coffee stained the dress, I let it dry real wrinkled up and it looks so old and prim. For some reason, lately I can't get enough of the prairie era.

I then listed these items on ebay, ran to the grocery store, dropped my car off for some warranty work that needs to be done. Came home and made supper...rubbed my husbands aching back and neck, (he had a hard day) and now I am off to bed....so, all in all I had a very busy but productive day.

Hope you all enjoyed your Wednesday....God Bless....Rhonda