Kims Prims and Whimsies

Bunnies and Bears

2011-04-04T23:56:00.002-04:00

Time to turn

2011-04-02T23:13:00.002-04:00

so you don't burn!

Paper Flowers for all Occasions

2010-05-29T03:35:00.004-04:00

Supplies: coffee filters, permanent markers, spray bottle of water

(optional coloring techniques can be done with food coloring and water)

color on 3 coffee filters..I used brown and red on these..it's really scribbling..these are REALLY easy..

stack them up, stick your finger in the center of them and twist to make a stem

You can wrap the stem with floral tape

Pull your petals to make it look pretty

Saturate with water...watch the colors bleed into each other...watch...WOW!!!

Do this step over a sink or outside in the grass to allow for the colored drip!! Lay them in the grass or on plastic to dry..don't let any flowers touch each other..I hold them by the stem and spray and let the color drip for just a second or two before laying down to dry..for little kids you can just lay them in the grass and let them spray..

Here is an example using yellow and orange..pretty , huh!!..they would be great for a luau..you can make leis with exotic colors

An alternate method is to just make the coffee filters into flowers and spritz with a food coloring and water mix.

Your twists will stay on their own, so if plan to put them on wire , or string on garlands, there really is no need to even do the floral tape step, your choice

The pink one was colored with 3 drops of red food coloring in a mini mister..this much would color 2..you can lightly mist with the color or make it as heavy as you like. You can follow the pink with another spray of tea or coffee mix..lovely antique roses..be careful of clogging your mini mister..ask me how I know?? which is why I didn't do it again to show you..your choice!! HA!

Wrap wire around the stems and display

The pictures do not do these flowers justice...they are awesome!!! in person..the colors are very realistic..the shades created by the bleeding of colors creates an awesome effect..you HAVE to try it..I bet you have all the stuff already!!! They are cheap to make, quick to put together, and would make a great addition to any occasion..weddings, baby showers,you can make them at the campground, the pool, the kids sleep over craft.. you can string them into garlands...red white and blue flowers for this holiday weekend craft with the kids!!! there is still time to make them..you can add a center, glitter around the edges with glitter glue..your little girls will love garlands of them in their bedrooms..I have a kit ready to take to our beach vacation..I plan to make a whole bunch with all my friends and family and stick them in a sandpail to admire while we are all together..You can still gab while coloring coffee filters!!!

And when you get tired of making flowers ( or the kids do)...you can create butterflies!

Hat Box Makeovers

2010-04-18T01:11:00.004-04:00

I had covered them with fabric years ago, but now it is time to update them again. I wanted to bring a bit of blue into the room, so they were repainted in 2 shades of blue, stenciled with elements from my floor stencils, and briwaxed. Love 'em!!

My Kitchen Window Today

2010-04-18T01:00:00.001-04:00

Little Glitter Houses, part 2

2010-03-28T00:17:00.003-04:00

Little Glitter Putz Houses

Primitive and Rustic Delphi Board Swap

Linny Matson

Judy Reynolds

Michelle McFadden

Kim Lance

You can see the first part of the swap a few posts back. We're hoping to do one more before Christmas rolls around again.

We are sorry we have to pack them away until Christmas!!

Why there's never anywhere to sit!

2010-03-16T01:39:00.002-04:00

WINTER BANNER

2010-02-19T21:01:00.003-05:00

Little Glitter Putz Houses

2010-02-19T00:59:00.002-05:00

These are from a swap I did before Christmas. Pictures are of my cottage and creche. The blue was made by my friend Zoe and the pink was Cathy's creation. Aren't they great!!!

SURPRISE!!!

2010-02-19T00:48:00.002-05:00

I got a SURPRISE in my mailbox!! Presents from my friend Tracey Jeanie from Texas. A BIG PILE of stuff! She knows what I like! LOOk at the handmade goodies she sent me, and lots of other things to play with! Thanks, TJ!

My Valentine Kitchen Window

2010-02-19T00:46:00.000-05:00

My Kitchen Window Today

2009-10-22T23:48:00.006-04:00

and the rest of the Halloween decor, a few in, but most outside..

Witch Shoe Swap and Apothecary

2009-10-21T00:08:00.006-04:00

The downstairs bath transformed into the Witches' Apothecary in anticipation of our Halloween party!..

Petrified Butterflies and Fur of Werewolf

Moon Dust, Snake Oil, Dehydrated Pumpkins..

Captured Pumpkin!

Vampire Blood, Swamp Fog and Life Renewal Potion

Professor Ravenwing's Dancing Skeletons

These gourds have been out in our shed for about 6 years..the orange one was already painted..I went out and climbed up in the top of the shed , painted them, briwaxed them, and proceeded to drop them and the whole back of the big orange one is cracked!!..YIKES..I won't tell if you won't tell! By the way, if you are trying this and rubbing paint on your gourds, the black one came out EXCELLENT!!! I think it is my favorite color/ look for the gourds to date..very rich..and not necessarily just for Halloween.

EEEEeeeekkkkkkkkkkkk!!!!

Primitive and Rustic Board Shoe swap, Me, Roxana, and Kathy..they came with candy..
Cutest little things, aren't they?..You can get the template here

Halloween Silhouettes

2009-10-19T14:26:00.005-04:00

I got into making these silhouettes a few weeks ago to decorate in the house. LOVE them..I found a few templates here and used a few from Martha Stewart's Halloween templates, as well. We are having a Halloween Party this year, and these framed silhouettes add a great touch to the decor.

I also purchased this skeleton from Martha Stewart's line..on sale at Michaels crafts, and cut out the bats to fill up the window.

And these are a few from a set that I made MANY MANY years ago using a few types of paper. You start with something more transparent and cut the elements out of a more opaque paper. The layering of the papers gives you the design element and looks quite awesome in a window. These were also in a magazine, but it has been way too long for me to remember where I saw it!

Halloween Ornament Swap

2009-10-18T19:15:00.006-04:00

Have you guessed yet??, that Halloween is my favorite!.. One more swap... this is the Halloween ornament swap I have participated in for several years!!! The tree is FULL!! to say the least..Here are the pictures of this years creations before they were on the tree.

WICKED Banner swap

2009-10-18T18:41:00.004-04:00

Another Prim and Rustic board swap

W by me

Ru from NJ
Kathy from OH
Kathi from PA
Kath fron OHTerri from IL

AUTUMN Banner Swap

2009-10-18T18:22:00.004-04:00

This is the Autumn banner swap I did with a group of friends from the Delphi Primitive and Rustic board. This is the third banner this group has participated in. We started with SPRING and decided to stick together for all the seasons. We have WINTER to look forward to in a few months to complete our seasons set.

Joanne from CA
Kim from PA (me)

Janine from WI

Teresa from IL

Tracey/Jeanie from TXDarlene from MI

Checkerboard Tabletop & Checkers

2009-07-22T19:49:00.003-04:00

Making a Suitcase Table

2009-07-21T04:08:00.003-04:00

House Number Sign

2009-07-21T04:05:00.003-04:00

Altered beach bag

2009-07-21T04:02:00.002-04:00

Paper Mother's Day banner

2009-05-04T23:43:00.005-04:00

We're having a Mother's day Picnic! I needed a little decoration and a bit of color. I made the banner rosettes simply from folded fans of tissue paper stapled in the middle , hot glued together, with letters bordered with crepe paper streamers.

I added a small piece of pipe cleaner to the top of each rosette. The day of the picnic I will string pink ribbon and bend the pipe cleaner over it for the letter placement.

The little extras I cut off, teeny little rosettes. I have to think of something to do with them, yet!
I keep thinking I should make more to scatter around....

Pegboard Shelf

2009-04-23T13:57:00.003-04:00

After building the bench shown in the previous post, I still had the footboard left to make something else. The foot board became a shelf for my bedroom with the addition of new wood shelf and brackets and pegs I already had. I use it to display some old teacups and a vintage hat collection.

Bench from an Old Bed

2009-04-23T13:14:00.002-04:00

I found a bed along the side of the road after a flood in our area. I drug it home and it sat outside for a year, until a lot of the paint had peeled off. When it was ready for it's transformation, this is what it became..the headboard became the back of the bench. New wood was used for the bench seat and arm rests. Some paint colors to accentuate the carved spindles and a bit of stenciling, hand painted lettering on the back and it became a useful and attractive item once again.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-06T22:04:00.004-04:00

Winter Makeovers

2009-04-04T00:06:00.005-04:00

This is my old toy chest..it's been many colors over the years..this time, I added feet to raise it up a bit, just a few inches..

Painted with black craft paint, wiped off here and there to let the red show through
and 3 coats of wipe on poly

A new look..and still great storage!

I had a couple pillows I bought a while ago to cover..

Covered with lovely soft black flannel, and several stitched pennies

I liked them so much, I had to make another one!

SPRING Banner Swap

2009-03-27T13:57:00.004-04:00

I recently did a SPRING banner swap with some friends from my Primitive and Rustic forum. We each were assigned a letter and made 6 pennants of that letter. We kept one and sent the other 5 out to each of the players.

This is my 'S"

"P" was made by Darlene

Janine had "R"

Teresa crafted the 'I"

"N" was brought to you by Tracey Jeanie

and Joanne provided us with our "G"

This swap was a lot of fun..one I thoroughly enjoyed, and the end result was very "springy"!! A good time. We are planning more swaps of this nature!

2009-03-17T23:59:00.001-04:00

Pinecone Garlands

2009-01-05T02:32:00.003-05:00

Instead of greens this year, I made the pine cone garlands to hang on the porch. The garlands were made in lengths to hang in each porch section between the posts. The pine cones were simply tied to lengths of red string. This was my favorite feature of our holiday decorating this year, and I wanted to be sure to share them with you.

My Kitchen Window Today

2008-11-09T23:51:00.003-05:00

Many gifts from online friends, most of whom I have met in person!

Garland of Gourds!

2008-10-31T02:11:00.002-04:00

October in the Studio!

2008-10-31T02:06:00.004-04:00

Trick or Treat!

2008-10-31T01:42:00.009-04:00

Potting table

2008-07-16T13:42:00.003-04:00

I made this potting table out of an old door..actually it wasn't that old, but when we rebuilt our house, we were so excited to go and get a door for the bathroom..our first door!!!, we bought the wrong one..LOL..and I had stained it before we realized it, so it sat and sat for a few years, until I used it to make this table. The bottom was an old desk we found roadside. The other pieces, shelf, tabletop, etc. were made from new and old wood we had laying around. It came out really nice! We have it outside on a covered patio area that my dh just finished. I'll have to snap some shots to show you ...KIM

I got an award!

2008-07-14T22:18:00.006-04:00

My very first blog award!

I received this unexpected honor from my friend Teresa , of Aunt Polly's Attic

find her awesome blog at:
http://auntpollysattic.blogspot.com/

Teresa has the most amazing stitching abilities and her ideas appear endless.
Thanks so much Teresa, you're a doll!

Once an award is received, the rules are as follows:

Put the logo on your blog.
Add a link to the person who awarded you.
Nominate at least seven other blogs.
Add links to those blogs on your blog.
Leave a message for your nominee on their blogs.

My nominees are:

Sandra @ http://babycakesallshewrote.blogspot.com/
Whose art doodles amaze me everytime I see a new one. What an amazing talent!

Robin @ http://www.birdinthehandprimitives.blogspot.com/
Robin is another one who draws wonderful doodles, and then turns them into fabric treasures and logo graphics ..be sure to check her out.

Tracey Jeanie @ http://meandgabriel.blogspot.com/
Who is just starting out in the blogging world, and could use some encouragement. T/J can tell the BEST stories in the most humorous ways. Check out her blog and tell her you want to read some more of her hilarious tales.

Deb @ http://pilgrimsandpioneers.blogspot.com/
Deb has been researching her family tree and specializes in stories and tips of day gone by. Always an interesting read.

Steph @ http://sunshinenravioli.blogspot.com/
Steph is a painter who continues to reinvent herself at every turn and always finds a way to express herself within her combined medium creations.

Kris @ http://krislhurst.blogspot.com/
This Altered Paper work is outstandingly clever and original. I never tire of looking at Kris's new creations.

Debrina @ http://whimsicalworldoffairies.blogspot.com/
I have only recently, within the past week, found Debrina's site and am astounded by the creativity that oozes from her eclectic creations. The best of the best IMHO!

Dylan and Jo @ http://www.thecartbeforethehorse.blogspot.com/
The combined creations of these two artists have been a favorite of mine for quite some time. I admire their talents from afar. I never fail to check their new creations each Sunday night on ebay. Quality and imagination like no other.

All of these nominees are incredibly gifted, whether it be their artistic creations, their storytelling skills or their willingness to share bits and pieces of themselves through their blogs. Be sure to visit each and every one, and tell them what a great job they are doing.
Those of you with similar interests and talents will find inspiration in each and every post.
I know I do!...KIM

Loads of Gourds

2008-07-14T13:40:00.004-04:00

I was able to get some dirty gourds when I as in Lancaster. I just love gourds, the shape and the feel, and they way they look when they are painted. They so make me think of fall, my favorite season! I cleaned and bleached my mini gourds, and wiped some acrylic paint on them with an old sock. Not much paint, just a rub with a dab or so, and maybe a little water if needed, for a translucent color glaze. Then some brown Briwax , for a nice sheen. The wax enhances the lovely fall prim colors. Aren't they gorgeous?..

Wire Chair Makeover

2008-07-08T14:03:00.003-04:00

My mom and I found this chair last year. For some reason, the shape of it reminds me of a tiara.

Here it is sprayed antique white, with a tapestry fabric for the seat, and some crystal beading added for a little bling. I will put this upstairs in my bedroom and will sit in it when applying my makeup.

Does my butt look big in the tiara chair?...LOL...KIM

May Day Swap

2008-06-27T04:26:00.004-04:00

My bag of goodies from The May Day Swap we had in Lancaster. Debbie from ME made all the prim goodies, and her dil did the tag.

Hens and Chicks

2008-06-27T04:22:00.003-04:00

Look how sweet!

Saturday In Lancaster

2008-06-19T01:14:00.009-04:00

On Saturday, we shopped!!! No surprise there!!! We met at Plain and Fancy Farm for dinner. Oh, it was yummy!!! We were hungry, too, we had shopped!!! ALLLL day!!!

Here we are, waiting for the Maine Girls.

And here's the Maine Girls..They were a hoot and a half!! We had a WICKED good time with them..

One of our games was Red Pursuit..we had to find a red item while on our travels.
This is what I got from Janine. I love it..I stood in the Village Pottery in Intercourse and loooked at these redware ornaments for quite a while , but didn't buy one!! How did she know!!

Our group project that night was this frame project with our group photo printed in sepia. We painted canvas, applied a dictionary page with the word FUN included on it, pics of old fashioned girls just like us!!!..some glue, modge podge, letters, and distress inks...and this is what we came up with..NEAT!! isn't it. This project was hosted by our Marge, Joanne Greene in her real life..she couldn't have picked a better project.

And here are all of Teresa's projects, a showcase of our nightly craft sessions.

We had the best time at our gathering..we were sad to see it end. Most of the girls were leaving the next day, with a few of us left to shop for another day! We can't wait to do it again..we are hoping for 2010! If you ever get a chance to go to a Gathering, take that chance..you will make wonderful memories and friendships....KIM

Friday In Lancaster

2008-06-17T01:03:00.014-04:00

Friday was our group shopping outing to Hummelstown Olde Factory!! three floors of lovely wonderful things to see and touch and buy!!! The Olde Factory is a MUST for every gathering, and a great way to plan to meet up with the local ladies.
After several hours of perusing the antiques and collectibles we made our way to the car and started to leave, when we noticed a store we hadn't seen before connected to the Olde Factory building, and it looked like a SCRAPBOOKING STORE!!!! we re-parked the car!!!, and headed in..What a great place! Fancy That is scrapbooker and paper lovers dream!..We got to do a project!!! we stamped and rubbed and used a binding machine..some really cool metallic sprays..here's my project..

We shopped, too!!! here's my stash ...that rub on roller is the coolest!!!..The next day was National Scrapbooking Day, and Tracey Jeanie went back and did a bunch of little projects. The place looks like a whole lot of fun, and I hope to go back. The girls gave me thank you gift certificates for Hummelstown Olde Factory and Fancy That!! for organizing our Gathering. That was soooo nice!!.I was really surprised! So I KNOW I'll be going back one of these days..I may just don one of the fuschia boas they have there while I shop!..highly recommended, and the girls in the shop were great! They even have facilities to to host a scrapbooking weekend!

That night our hotel activities included a soldering demo with Tracey Jeanie, but ..lo and behold...Terri was able to come on the trip at the last minute, ..and because she's gotten soooooo good at this soldering stuff... we were all able to collage a charm of our own and use the soldering tools. It was a late night that night!! but a whole lot of fun and we all loved our charms..

Remember I said Terri was sooo good at this...She made each of us a Friendship Necklace..that's it on the left....the one on the right is the one I got to make myself...well, with a little help!! Terri was soldering on jump rings for us until 12:30 AM

This is the back of Terri's Friendship Charm Gift

Teresa's Charms

We made sure we were well prepared for the project, even if we were a little nervous, as Grace demonstrates!!!

Terry demonstrating

Tracey Jeanie answering questions

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

2008-06-15T00:40:00.002-04:00

Thursday in Lancaster

2008-06-14T13:00:00.010-04:00

On Thursday we got up bright and early!!..LOL...Don't believe that, Joanne and I don't get up bright and early for anything if at all possible..but we were able to hit some shops in the Village of Intercourse before our scheduled tea at Ye Olde English Shoppe. Tea was lovely, and something else we can highly recommend. Most of us had the specials of quiche and salads, with a variety of desserts so we could taste a few different ones. The lemon curd was to die for!! IMHO..
At tea, we were able to meet up with one of our favorite people, Susan Burd, of Country Crocks By Susan.
Susan is a masterful painter who creates and paints original designs. She brought each of us a printed card of her latest designs. What a lovely gift! Thanks, Susan.
( Susan is the lovely lady in the white jacket)

We continued our day with more shopping, and Tracey Jeanie, Joanne and I had some fun running the outskirts of Lancaster County in search of items on our scavenger hunt list! Guess who won the scavenger hunt???
Back at the hotel in the evening we had a punch needle class given by Teresa of Aunt Polly's Attic. Teresa was a great teacher , and we were lucky enough to be able to purchase and work on her original My House design. Thanks a bunch, Teresa.

Wednesday in Lancaster

2008-06-08T02:01:00.037-04:00

Wednesday was arrival day for most of us. We had chosen The Country Inn and Suites for our hosting hotel. It was lovely, wonderful amenities and we even had a meeting room for our nightly craft sessions. Highly recommended!! At check in we each received a Welcome Bag with our itinerary, games, Passport to Prim, treats and snacks.

This is the lovely floral arrangement I found in my room upon arrival. It was given to me by Grace from Pa. Grace had purchased a candle in a can at Family Creations in Intercourse, and she kept the can for me to give me the flowers. Was that not the PERFECT gift! Grace is a dear friend and we couldn't have planned this wonderful gathering without her.

Our Passport to Prim was a combined effort of our Texas friend Tracey Jeanie and Annette from Huckleberry Arts. We tied these to our purses so we would be able to find the others in our group. Didn't they do a great job?

The cover for our itinerary and Welcome bag was created by Joanne Greene of Ca. Most of us call her Marge, as that is part of her screen name.. gets a bit confusing at times with real names and screen names!

Dinner that night was at Miller's Smorgasboard. We learn something new at every gathering. This time we learned not to plan a group dinner for arrival day!!! Many had not yet arrived, still we look happy here at dinner, and know that when we get back to the hotel, most of the other girls will have arrived, and then it's time to get down to crafting.

Along with our tag exchange that evening, we had a surprise project with the buttons we had everyone bring. We made fairy buttons using images from Lisa's Altered Art.

We had previously done a tag swap at our 2006 gathering, and continued this tradition in 2008. The girls are all very clever and creative, and it is a nice memento to take home as each tag includes the name and contact information for each of our participants making it easy to stay in touch, as well as owning a small piece of handcrafted art. I LOVE my tag rings. I keep them hanging in my craft studio and I hope it is a tradition we will continue to keep as more gatherings are planned in the future.

Well, there you have it! Day 1 of our Lancaster Gathering. We were so tired every night, but in a wonderful way. It is so much fun to be able to craft and spend time with these creative girls. Stay tuned for more about our gathering as I proceed to Day 2. I think I am finally getting the hang of blogging, and am not deleting half the pics and text every time I try to make a post!!!..KIM

A Gathering of Friends

2008-06-06T14:19:00.003-04:00

In early May I attended a Gathering of Friends in Lancaster, Pa. I have KNOWN these girls for several years. We belong to an online Delphi forum called Primitive and Rustic. We have chatted, exchanged ideas, swapped and kept each other company, even in the wee hours of the morning, which is something you can do when you have internet access 24/7!Somebody is always up! My friends came from all over the country. These girls and many others like them meet up online every chance we get. They are an incredibly talented bunch of artists, crafters, decorators, and primitive power shoppers! Every so often a group is able to plan to get together and actually meet up! It is the coolest thing in the world to be able to see and hear the girls in person. The mingling of accents is amazing, as is the feeling of being best friends even if it is the first time we have seen each other in person. I'll tell you, the accents play in your head. Once you are back home again, and chatting online or in posts on the forum, you can actually hear their voices in your mind.
This picture was taken at a group outing to The Hummelstown Olde Factory, in Hummelstown, Pa. I would like to introduce you to the girls and tell you where they hail from, starting from the back left:
Jennifer CA
Ruthie MI
Susan MN
Linda, PA
Hummelstown shop lady
Connie PA
Hummelstown Shop lady
Debbie MN
Grace PA
Karen MN
Joanne CA
2nd row:
Terri Pa
Teresa IL
Linda FL
Terri IL
Janine WI
1st row:
Sandy NY
Tracey Jeanie TX
ME! Kim from PA.
If you ever get the opportunity to meet up with your online friends, I highly recommend you jump at the chance and do everything in your power to be able to attend a gathering with them. You won't be sorry, it is an event of your life you won't soon forget, worth every penny spent, and I should mention, addicting, because you will want to do it again and again! I know I do!

Was Easter too early this year?

2008-04-12T02:46:00.003-04:00

I thought so!! It didn't feel like spring, yet, not even a little bit. Sooo, I was just too lazy to go into the attic for Easter decorations...instead,I picked a few things from my craft room, and made a??? CARROT BUSH!!!..everyone thought it was pretty neat. I used a wood pedestal I had laying around, and wound garlands of pip-like seed berries around and around. then just added all the carrots. After Easter, the carrots were removed, and little flowers added. I think it needs more, so I'll see what I can come up with to add to it. I found a very tiny bird nest a few days ago, and already have that added. I'll try to get a pic of it tomorrow to show you.

Welcome Home Tree

2008-04-12T02:42:00.003-04:00

This is a wire tree, with pip berry garland wound through. I have lights on this one, and small houses and a welcome garland I purchased several years ago. At the base is a set of handpainted little shaker box houses. CUTE!

Trees for all seasons?

2008-04-12T02:32:00.004-04:00

Like many of my online crafty girls, I have several trees set up in my home at any given time. This one is in my kitchen, featuring a variety of folk birds from a swap I did last year on the Primitive and Rustic forum. Those girls are great swappers, and very talented.