Early Work Mercantile

Here's what's new on EWM!  One lonley little panda is waiting for a new home.

Happy New Year!

Catherine

New listings on Etsy

I have listed another set of snowman ornaments and a snowman clothespin doll, cupboard hanger on Etsy.  They are all done in brown tones so you can use them all winter long!

Happy Holidays!
Catherine

Early Work Mercantile

I added somethings to my Early Work Mercantile page. I forgot how busy this month can be! I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season!

Tuesday Display Chain #9

What a great idea this week, your favorite or cherished bonnet or hat!  To most lovers of primitive, bonnets are like potato chips, you can't eat collect just one!  I find it hard to pick a favorite, so I will have to post a few and note their various attributes.

Homespun bonnets were worn everyday and suffered a lot of wear.  This bonnet tells a tale of much use.  The maker of this bonnet added ruffles which were probably fashionable at the time but left the selvedge edges exposed to save time in hemming.

This bonnet is plain and simple.  There are no ruffles, just a deep quilted brim.

The bonnet on the right and the apron on the left are made of the same checked homespun fabric.  I purchased them separately but I like to think they were once a set! 

This bonnet is made of blue calico.  It is in excellent shape and appears to have been worn very little.  The brim is lined with double pink calico, possibly to add a favorable pink cast to an otherwise sallow complexion. 

As much as I love bonnets, I prefer a more modern style of hat for everyday wear!

Be sure to check out Misi's blog 1890gablehousemusings to see more great posts!

Tuesday Display Chain "Peek-A-Boo!"

Misi of 1890 Gable House Musings is on vacation this week and has asked Robyn (AKA-Primlish) to pick this week's theme. This week it's all about hiding modern conveniences. My first picture is of my stove board. I found it at an antique show for $20.00.

The next pictures show creative ways to hide electric cords and outlets.  There's nothing like a nice electric cord to ruin an otherwise perfect display! In the kitchen, I hide my cords with a couple of graters. The graters have a round front to allow the cords and plugs room to hide behind.

This last example is a lantern that hangs from a peg rack in the dining room. I used a large bowl and cutting board to hide the cord. 

 I hope you enjoyed today's post! Please be sure to visit Robyn's blog and check out the other great ideas!

My New - Old Shelf

Here are some pictures of the new shelf that my son Sam made for me. It was definitely a family project. After Sam sanded it, it was my turn!  First, I painted the shelf with olde ivory paint. After it was dry, I rubbed it with beeswax anywhere I wanted it to show wear, especially the edges. Next, I painted it black all over and let it dry again. Now for the fun part! I used a heat gun to melt the wax and quickly rubbed it off with a lint free rag.  (Not the scrapbooking kind of heat gun, that would take too long!)  It takes a while to do but it is so much easier and less messy than sanding!



Mr. M added the hooks and hung the shelf!  I loved the shelf I had here before but it just wasn't functioning well for the space.  This new shelf gives me more room for decorating on top and a place to hang coats in the winter.  Not that I'm talking the old shelf down.....It could hold a lot of keys!

Don't feel bad for the old girl, she has a place reserved out in the cabin.

( The lantern lights hanging on the shelf are by Chris Mathis of Walnutridge Primitives

The milliner's head is by Norma Schneeman of Schneeman Folk Art  The black gloves left there by one of my sons?......Priceless! )

Tuesday Display Chain

The theme of today's "Tuesday Display Chain" hosted by Misi of Gable House Musings, is "Make-Do."

There is a saying: "Use it up....wear it it out...make it do or do without."

In modern times we often have the advantage of buying something we need to accomplish a specific task.

In times past people didn't have a store around the corner or perhaps the money to buy new things.
People would re-use, repurpose and mend the things they had.

My first two pictures are of a true make-do.

An apple butter paddle repurposed as a scrubber to clean the kettle.

 

I made this seed bag in true make-do fashion. Repurposed from a timeworn quilt, it is made from antique calico.

The patch was copied from an old feedbag and the drawstring is a piece of cotton cording.

 

I found this box at my favorite antique mall. I didn't have a specific idea what I would use it for but I had never seen one like it before!

 I finally decided that it would make a fine towel holder in my kitchen.

 

Next, we have a wonderful make-do pincushion made by my dear friend Teresa of
 Aunt Polly's Attic.

The make-do is attached to a wooden base and stuffed with scraps. I added my collection of antique picture pins.

The last two pictures are make-do quilt racks that I made using apple butter paddles and old wooden tools.

I wanted something unique to hold my quilts and coverlets. The instant I saw the wooden tools, I knew I had found my brackets!

I hope you enjoyed today's theme!  Check out all the fantastic displays at:
 Gable House Musings.

Halloween Shadow Box

Here is a picture of my old window shadow box revamped for Halloween.

I kept some elements of the original display and added to them. I added witches hats and shawls to my Art Fabric Mills dolls and a black cheese cloth drape and candle to my silhouettes.

A midnight ride anyone?

As you might have noticed in my post with the feet picture, I have been working on a project for the last month.  I know....it's been slow going and you may have thought I would never finish!  Here's she is! (finally) LOL  The first picture was taken at dusk since that's when you would naturally find her outside waiting for her potential customers.

Signs of Autumn on the porch

This is my first attempt at Autumn decorating on the front porch of the cabin.  It is quite sparse so far but I'm sure I'll add things here and there.  I still have to stain the window trim before the cold settles in.  I made the pumpkin doll a few years ago from a "Ragged Edge" pattern by Tonya Leslie.  The pumpkins sign was made and gifted to me by my good friend Chris of Walnutridge Primitives.

A great interpretation

http://myoldcrowprimitives.blogspot.com/

Here is an interpretation of my curious crow pattern made by Mona of My Old Crow Primitives.  She did a fantastic job and added her own touches!  Her photo is styled so beautifully!  Thanks for the photo Mona!

Dry Sinks

Here is a picture of the dry sink in the dining room.  I bought this a few years ago at Spring Run Farm, a really nice antique/primitives store in Lowell Indiana.  It has it's original paint which appears to be a pale grey or really dirty white.  I love it as a decorative piece but not so much as a functional one!  I lived with it in my kitchen for a while but found I needed some flat, washable surface to work on!  I used a porcelain topped table for a while and that worked fine but didn't give me the storage that I needed so I decided to use my porcelain topped cabinet in it's place.

 Here is a miniature dry sink that I made to look like the big one.

Antiques & Primitives

I love decorating with antiques and primitives. Our house is in the process of being overhauled. We have taken out suspended ceilings and added pine board ceiling with faux beams. The kitchen was stuck in the 80's with it's oak trimmed, laminate cabinets and vinyl floors. My husband likes to say it went from the 1980's to the 1880's! At least it didn't cost thousands of dollars for cabinets and granite counter tops. My big splurge in the kitchen was the drainboard sink. I have it skirted for now but am waiting for a cabinet to go under it.......Husband can you hear me or are you still ice fishing....Oh yeah....You're just sharpening your auger for optimum hole drilling.