It's another Beautiful Monday!

I can't believe another week has rolled around. Sorry, I haven't dropped in for a while - we had a wonderful Youthfest last week - so we were gone quite a bit. And this weekend - I'm doing a wedding so I'll be a busy girl this week too.

This is a picture of a March Lilly (or daffodil) that was drooping its lil' head this morning 'cause it was heavy with frost. A very cold night we had - but the sun in shining this morning and it's warming back up. Hard to believe that we are about to close out another month so with that thought ---

"Let us not hurry so in our pace of living that we lose sight of the art of living." - Sir Francis Bacon

These are words I need to take to heart myself!! Wishing you all a wonderful and bright beginning to your week.

Blessings, Cathy

Pansies 4 Sale...

That's right friends, the Pansies are bloomin' and waitin' to find a new home. I wish all of you were close enough so I could share my flowers with you - but I'll keep sharing pretty pictures with you. That way you'll know what's bloomin' at Cobblestone Farms.



We actually had to put up another small greenhouse jus' to tide us over because we are soooooo full - once again, I must have gotten "seed happy" 'cause there are flowers every where. Shaun just looks at me and shakes his head like "What were you thinking?" hehe

Well, they (flowers) are simply a delight to me. Watching them from seed to sale just makes me happy. And the best thing is - they make everybody else happy too. So, I'll keep seedin' and we'll all be dreamin' of the warm days ahead so we can get our hands in the dirt and plant!

Happy Plantin' Friends!
Cathy

Happy Monday!

Wishing you all a beautiful start

to your week!

Blessings,

Cathy

Happy Spring!!

That's right, it's officially here!!



So with this day comes another new beginning. What will you do with your day?

Each day brings with it the miracle of a new beginning. Many of the moments ahead will be marvelously disguised as ordinary days, but each one of us has the chance to make something extraordinary out of them.

- Douglas Pagels

I hope your first day of spring is a BEAUTIFUL ONE!

Blessings, Cathy

Requesting Prayer...

Today... I'm simply asking for your prayers. We all have special people in our lives that struggle with health concerns. Sometimes the diagnosis comes unexpectedly and other times we might anticipate it - but nevertheless, it is overwhelming for that person affected as well as their families.

I'm all about trying to share uplifting stories here. But I've learned through this venture that there are mighty prayer warriors out there - so I'm asking for you to do just that - pray.

Please pray for these very special people in our lives, our dear friends and family- who have all been given sad news this week.

Sweet Lynn
Precious Lil' Jackson
Our friend, Bill
My mom, Brenda

The Gift of Faith Having a Place in Your Life

As a knot appears unexpectedly in a thread, so disappointment blocks the smoothness of life. If a few deft strokes can untangle the skein, life continues evenly. But if it cannot be corrected, then it must be quietly woven into the design. Thus, the finished piece can still be beautiful - even though not as perfect as planned.
-Anonymous

For any weaving that needs to be done, God sends the threads. - Italian proverb

May your day be blessed and remember where there is good health - there is great wealth.

Blessings, Cathy

Thinking outside "The Pot"

O.k., I'm stealing another picture from last year but I thought you all might like this one. I had these old - cute - yellow - rubber boots - but no longer fit for wearing, had a few holes in the soles. So they seemed like the perfect place to plant tulip bulbs!

So here they were in the beginning...



...and when they were all in bloom.



Tomorrow I'll be planting some pansies on our 73 degree day!!! I'll see what I can find different to put them in! I'll keep ya posted.

So as you start your plantin' this year - remember to think "outside the pot".

Happy Plantin' and Happy Mid week!
Cathy

Hello friends...

...hope all of you are well today. I've been pretty under the weather the last couple of days - but I'm hoping the worst is over. Bear with me while I try to get back in the swing of things.

I need your help- the winner of my give-away - Kelly B. - if you are out there - please leave me a comment letting me know you are aware of your winnings. When I tried to leave a comment on your blog it wouldn't let me - and you don't have your e-mail enabled. :( I'm so sorry - I don't know what else to do. Does anyone else have any suggestions?



So, I'm asking you all kindly if you will try and post a comment to her - she's a new blogger so I'm sure she'd appreciate the company!!! Please help me contact sweet Kelly B. at The cottage around the Corner. Thanks so much for all your help - let's try and make her day!

You all have a beautiful start to your week - we are gonna hit 70 here tomorrow - can't wait!!!

Many blessings,
Cathy

And the Winner of....

...a lil' basket full of handmade Easter ornaments is...



...Casen shows us the basket...

...he reaches for a random number...

...and here it is... Post number 75!!! Well that looks to be - Kelly B. of "A Cottage Around The Corner". Congratulations Kelly. I believe she is a new blogger so what better way for us to welcome her in!!!!

I can't even begin to thank you all enough for all of the kind heartfelt comments. Several of you have left questions and I will visit your blogs and answer them as soon as possible. I so appreciate you stopping by and we'll do this give away thing again - sometime real soon.

May your weekend be happy and blessed!
Be sure and Create Something!

Cathy

Hippity - Hoppity - Easter's on its Way...

...so let's get busy making some Easter salt dough ornaments. And the best part, be a sweet chick and leave me a comment to win your very own lil' Easter basket full of ornaments. I'll have my son draw a number out on Friday and which ever post the number matches will be the winner. I'm soooo excited... I love to be the Easter bunny!

Let's hop to it...

2 c. all purpose flour
1 c. salt
1 c. warm water

Mix salt and flour - add water and knead.



Lightly spray your cookie sheets (you can see mine are well-used) and begin to shape the dough with your hands into whatever you desire. Like I always tell ya, of course you can use cookie cutters - I jus' happen to like more of the rustic look. It's very imperfect - LIKE ME!

Rabbits...


Carrots...Use a toothpick to make indentions.

Hatching Chicks and eggs.



Insert wire into all ornaments before baking at 325 degrees for about an hour. You will have to adjust that time according to how large or small you make your pieces.



Let cool and base coat whatever colors you desire.



Add detail with polka dots, stripes, words, facial features and the list goes on and on. Jus' have fun with it. Remember, they don't have to be perfect - jus' let them take on their own unique personality.



A basket full of my lil' creations after glazing and clear coating.
The glaze I use is a burnt umber(comes in a lil' paint bottle) - watered down - applied with a brush and then immediately wiped off. You can add as many layers of glaze as you'd like to reach your desired affect. Then I simply clear coat mine with "clear" spray paint - it's much quicker than varnishing each one.




Here is a close-up of the chicks. That was a new one this year for me after a sweet customer of mine recommended I make a "hatching chick". Thanks for the idea - I love it.

Here are two more new ideas I had - a bird nest (which I jus' love by the way) and a sweet lil' Easter basket. I wasn't for sure how these would turn out but I was really happy with them - I only have one of each so guess what - they are going in the lucky posters basket.

Polka dot Easter eggs...

Remember how I made those Valentine Heart necklaces out of dough for my lil' boys Kindergarten class - well, these are jus' lil' eggs that I put a small looped wire in before baking and now you have a fun lil' Easter necklace. Jus' add pretty ribbons and they are great for school, Sunday school class, or jus' something fun for a friend or yourself!

You could also make small crosses as a necklace - that would be the most appropriate pendant of all.

All lined up and ready to find a new home.

Well, I had hoped to take these pictures outside on the trees today in the beautiful sunshine but honestly, I jus' got them finished before dark. So I had promised you ornaments Monday and I got them on jus' in the nick of time - sorry! Hope you enjoy them - have fun with your family creating your own - it's jus' a simple lil' project you could do for nearly every holiday or celebration.

Be sure to sign up for a chance to win and for my local friends - come by the shop and guess the number of jelly beans in the jar for a chance to win your own special Easter surprise.

I hope your week is beautiful and blessed. It's a true joy to share with you and my days are made so much brighter by your very kind words.

Happy Creating!
Cathy

A Sneak Peek Into Next Week...

Well, I'm jus' givin' you a lil' look into what I will be doing over the weekend. Yes, it's salt dough time again. These are some pics from last year - but this year I'm gonna be adding some carrots and lil' yellow chicks (if I can get them to shape up right that is). And I also think I'll go a lil' non-traditional and maybe do some bright colored eggs - like red and bright yellow, turquoise blue and hot pink - what do you think?



A simple Easter tree...
-branches from a tree - spray painted a pretty color
-old coffee can painted to your liking
-some sand
and you are good to go.



And when I show you my simple "how-to" with the ornaments - I'll let you join in the fun because I'm gonna give a bag full away.

So be sure and hop back in on Monday! (hopefully - it's gonna be 70 this weekend - so it'll be hard for me to stay in and work!!)

Thank you all so much for all the kind comments this week - I've had lots of fun sharing with you! Now, be gettin' your Easter tree ready because somebody is gonna win a lil' basket full of goodies!

See Ya Monday!
Cathy

Givin' Mom the credit for this One!

Well, I wanted to really brighten up the greenhouse this year - something besides the pretty flowers. I had been pondering ordering flags to hang from the support bars - yet, I wanted to make something at the same time. Fact is - right now, time is short - I'm always planting!! But my sweet and imaginative mother came up with the idea - something cute, inexpensive and easy to make. She says "What about a vinyl tablecloth - it's water repellent, it won't ravel, and they are really cheap." Immediately, I thought "she's right" - that would work perfectly.

So off to the store I went and here's what I did...

I found the perfect tablecloth - POLKA DOTTED - imagine that. Only $4.00!!



It was a rectangle - I simply cut in half making two complete flags. I decided that I wanted to write "Welcome" on it.



I sewed the front and back together leaving space open at each end near the top for the dowel rod.



And ta-da - here it is. I think it looks like a "happy" banner and I love it. It only took about an hour to make two. So with the rods and ribbon I had about 4.50 in each one total cost. Of course, I already had the paint on hand.



Here is the other one blowing in the breeze. Now I need to find another table cloth (they only had 1) so I can make another set near the back - maybe with a pot of geraniums painted on them.



There are lots of things you could use this same idea for. Maybe you were having a shower for someone - you could paint a pink or blue one with the babies name on it welcoming everyone to the event. Maybe for a barbecue - do a red and white check with something festive on it. Maybe make one with a Monogram on it. Of course you can always buy flags - I actually have always carried them in my shop. But this is a really inexpensive alternative and jus' imagine the ways you could personalize it for a special day.

So thanks Mom - your idea was right on! Love ya bushels!

Happy Creating Friends,
Cathy

Oops, don't forget - If you were going to leave it outside - you would need to seal it so that the paint would not come off.

Had a problem.... Here's my Solution!

Hi my friends!! Hope all is well with you today. The first thing I wanted to do was to say THANK YOU - so very much for all my birthday wishes!! I had such a wonderful weekend with family and friends - they were so good to me - as always. Maybe I'll share a picture with you all a lil' later of all the INCREDIBLE GIFTS I received.

O.K., so it was Sunday afternoon and I was on a mission. After fumbling through my jewelry drawer that morning getting ready for church - runnin' late as usual - I decided something jus' had to be done with my PITIFUL excuse for a jewelry drawer. So - here's what I decided to do so I could find earrings that matched!!

We've all seen cute takes on earring holders, earring trees, - but here is my earring screen.

I had these old sliding screen inserts from old windows...



Here are some scrap pieces of material I had...

I painted a couple of the frames to match the material. I left one distressed white - for me - to match my distressed self - haha. Simply use a staple gun to attach the material in back folding down the raw edges.

O.k. I know it's terribly sad looking - but this is jus' a lil' peek into the tangled mess.

And here it is - hung up with my necklaces in my "junk room" which is better described as my "crafting, ironing, getting ready, dump all the laundry in" room.

Yes, I know, I like big earrings.

I think this one is my favorite. It looks like a lil' piece of art. I added some ribbon and this one is going to the shop.

Jus' a lil' something fun that I thought I'd share with you today.

Have a wonderful day!
Blessings,
Cathy