PHM Update Today

Hello everyone...I am so sorry for disappearing for a bit. Life has been, well, interesting lately to say the least. These storms just seem to keep coming and right now I am dealing with insurance companies and adjusters and contractors...Not my favorite thing. My roof is leaking from the hail damage from the first storm and we have had 2 more hail storms just this past week. At least they weren't as bad, but they have kept me away from all of you and for that, well, I am a little ticked.
I did want to remind you all that the selling group I belong to , Primitive Handmades Mercantile, had its July update this morning and there are some very lovely things available this month...I am so humbled to be included in this great group of primitive artists. Here's a quick peak at what I worked on for this months offering....

Its a 3 legged milking stool that I painted a very primitive mustard, then beat the heck out of it with heavy distressing and then sealed it with a great walnut poly/stain. Then I hooked this 10" circle mat to sit on top. It really came out nice and it has a very old and time worn look to it...as you can tell I am torn between selling and keeping, haha, but alas, it is for sale, so if you're interested head over to PHM by using the button listed on the right side of my blog page and it will take you there. This is kind of a long post, so bear with me...more pics of projects near the end !

I did want to thank all of you who have been praying for my son who is deployed in the middle east right now. We got a letter and a phone call from him just the other day and he seems to be doing very well. Right now , as many of you may know, they are building up our troop levels in the middle east since Iran is threatening to close the Straight of Hurmoz (which would cut off 20% of the worlds oil) and they are going to be joining 20 other nations in the largest joint exercise ever conducted coming up in Septemeber to remove Iranian mines from the sea bed....Its a scarey time for sure as things look pretty dicey over there right now, but I know you guys will continue to pray for their safety. My son is just thankful to be getting a little relief from the heat right now in Kuwait. They just finished up a mission where they were 5 weeks in the Jordanian desert...no showers that whole time. No air conditioning that whole time. MRE's to eat that whole time. Oh and did I mention that it was 120 degrees and they had full military gear on...you know, long sleeves, long pants, heavy combat boots and their packs that weigh over 100 pounds ? Kind of makes me feel pretty lame when I am complaining about how hot it has been here this summer. Even when our troops aren't being shot at, life is hard and the sacrifices they make for us are incredible. If any of you would like to send a card or a package to my son, please email me for his address. The mail is VERY slow there and they literally look forward to mail call every day and they are desperate for anything that reminds them of home and to keep them connected and inspired. Here's a few pictures of my sweet son Kyler over in the hotbed of the middle east...

Gosh I sure do miss him...but I did get to spend an entire week with my older son, Kirk, which was very nice. I was suprised when he said he was coming home for a visit so soon after moving to Virginia, but it didnt take long to figure it out...he started dating a girl before he left and apparently its gotten pretty serious because she's been down to see him once already and he literally spent every waking minute she wasnt working with her while he was home, haha. Well, we finally got to meet her last Friday night when we all went out for dinner. Her name is Nicole and she is a lovely girl who is smart, pretty and has a wonderfully good heart...She has been on several mission trips and most recently she spent a few weeks building homes for displaced victims of the massive storms and then on to feeding the homeless...WOW, does God know how to answer a mothers prayer or what ? I have been praying for the "right" girl to come into his life since he was a baby (the same for all my kiddos) but especially lately I have had more on en emphasis because I was worried about him being sort of lonely...I will continue to pray for this particular relationship cause gosh she is just too sweet for words. Here's a picture of the two of them from last week...

It seems like just yesterday those boys of mine were getting into all kinds of mischief and now , here they are, all grown up ! I couldn't be any prouder of the young men they have become and I am so grateful to God for giving me such sweet blessings (yes, I am crying).

Gosh, sorry to share so much personal information right now. OK...onto other things. I wanted to show you a few of the other things I have been working ...

I finally got around to painting that firkin I got at Goodwill for $2.00 and I also painted this little shelf thingy with  a ton of different mustards and creams over a base of dark brown and then heavily distressed it and then stained/sealed it....I am pretty happy with how both items turned out...oh and thats a candle I redipped to make look primitive...it was a garage sale find in a hideous color but for 25 cents and a little time in my mini crock pot I have a nice addition to my prim collection.

Later today I am working on all those small bottles I got last year...gonna put some vintage labels and stuff on them. I also have these little copper tin molds that I am not sure what to do with....any one have any ideas for me ?

It's a wonder I can find anything in this house right now...between the roof, painting my new work room (paint does NOT dry when its this humid...I am assuming it will eventually) and the many, many boxes filled with stuff in preparation for our semi annual neighborhood yard sale, its hard to even find all the things I want to work on let alone all the stuff I need to move around just to start anything ! Oh well, at least I did gets lots of wool dyed recently and am almost done listing it all...I have a few more mustards, pumpkins and fall colors to get listed, but be sure to let me know if you are in need of anything. I am getting ready to place an order with Dorr Wool since I cant keep up with just found wool...I am happy to try to accomodate your wool needs and have even been trying to list larger pieces for those of you who do penny rugs and the like.

Well, I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I am set to hit 5, yes 5, estate sales tomorrow so who knows, perhaps a little blog garage sale will be happening soon. I am hoping to find a perfect giveaway prize (I know, I know, I keep promising another giveaway but life keeps getting in the way) ! Wish me luck and I will post pics of my finds as soon as I can !

Until next time,
Garce to you,
Margie