It felt really swell to unload a bunch of furniture at Metal and Crate last week! That means we can move around in our basement garage again without facing an obstacle course! I was pleased how the ancient desk turned out...don't ask me to ever come up with that same color paint again, but i loved it! It's a blue...yet masculine. i especially like it with the stained top! A few other peices... a cedar-lined waterfall wardrobe, a chair, and an old chest of drawers that a friend wanted to get rid of, and i gladly took off of her hands! A bench I had got custom made for our children was not so easy to hand off!! I painted it a lime green...it would look nice in a toyroom or you could use it like we did at your dining room table. it has a little height to it so it brings them closer to the table and we would've had 3 chilluns sitting on it at once during a cetain stage of raising our family. Nostalgic? YES!

Planting, dying and losing...

I teach a young ladies Sunday School class, and last Sunday's lesson was on planting seeds. We all know seeds need to die, then they need moisture and sunshine if they're ever gonna grow and produce lots of fruit.
Jesus died, and brot forth LOTS of fruit because He had eternal life! Now MANY people can have eternal life!!
Jesus has asked US to die..to lose our lives, so we can REALLY LIVE!!! Losing our lives means releasing control of my life  and transferring control over to Jesus!! Lk.17:33 If you cling to your life, you will lose it, and if you let your life go,you will save it. It was Mother's Day morning, and I gave them this simple illustration of Emily getting up early out of her cozy,warm bed to make a coffee cake for me...Bless her heart! In that way, she "lost" her life!
 God has been teaching me about these things, and it's for sure His way of showing me His grace and reminding me of Him!!
Someday i want a sign something like this in my livng room to remind me of this Biblical principal OFTEN!!                                                                                                                

Painting Hobby

This brother hook already was sold at Metal and Crate.

Off to Metal and Crate in the today...

A wedding gift for Daniel n Sarah....Shh .They haven't seen it yet...

 It's Spring and it just feels right to be painting again! 
I was all about planting flowers there for a while, and now its too dreary outside for that. BUT...I AM getting very excited about my green beans sprouting,potatoes poking thro, eating rhubarb crisp, and our very own asparagus! Someone in our family brought home asparagus from Costco cuz he wanted some TONITE, and I had just picked mine off the day before and it was terribly hard to use that instead of my own,but i tried hard to be gracious and grateful!!:) So tonite we ate it side by side to see which was the best! (They were both great, but one did't have ANY chemicals!:) At any rate we're enjoying our fresh garden produce immensely!
It looks like the weather will remain unsettled for a few days,and I'm fine with that! We need the rain, and it will make things grow profusely! In the meantime I'll be painting up a storm as time allows. 
There's a few big items in the garage that have been on hold thro the winter months-mostly auction items,but also our old Hoosier which has BEEN  waiting on a re-do for long enough now. I was especially anxious to get to an ancient looking desk that I bought at the Beiler sale! Its got some damage but it's in progress and looking just swell!! Someone will appreciate it, if they like vintage and masculine! It IS authentically OLD!! I will be posting pics of it SOON... and if there are any interested buyers, I would be happy to sell it to you! I'm again amazed at how paint can transform a ragged old peice with little or no appeal, to something people can appreciate and use in their home!!
I love my painting hobby ...I'm not making a  lot of money..but I sure am having a lot of fun!!

A shower gift for one of my oldest neices whose baby is coming in about 16 days or so...

A reconstructed "clothestree" for our foyer.

It's CREATE time!! I've been feverishly painting signs and furniture...
 gearing up for King's Homestead Christmas Open House on Sat. Dec.5!!
Come for refreshments  and Jane's tasty Chicken corn soup! There will be fresh Christmas wreaths  made on site. Rustic Little Roost will be displaying her signs,and you have all of King's Homestead to shop!
A few of the outdoor stands will be contributing their funds generated, to a local return missionary who is currently fighting cancer.
"Christmas is love in action.Every time we love, every time we give, it's Christmas." -Dale Evans

Having the time of my life...

We had some perfectly warm autumn days recently!! Perfect to paint outside!
I had to MAKE myself get some housecleaning done this week before i allowed myself the joy of painting, and then i had the time of my life doing what I love so much..playing with color, and transforming ugly,blah...into something that  inspires or brings life! These signs and the end table will be hauled off to Metal and Crate this morning, and then I'm off to a weekend in the mountains with our Bible Study group...with lots of relaxation,good food, and good friends!!
My verse for today is- 2 Cor. 5:17
If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things  have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
How do we live a life like that?
From "Utmost for His Highest": Allow nothing of the old life to remain, and have only a simple perfect trust in God!! Hug that thought to your heart today!!
A good weekend to you all!!

Last School Sale

 Every fall (just ask my family) I turn into a crazy woman ..painting every thing my hand can get a hold of! Our annual school fundraiser comes around on Columbus Day weekend which is the busiest tourist weekend of the year! (Altho THIS year the date was changed to about 3 weeks earlier,) so I had to change gears a bit...set my canning and gardening aside and focus my attention on painting and such in early September already! Yes, madness set in, and several of my dear friends, Jody,Gina and Jane tore into it with me. Without them...well ,let's just say...I couldn't have done it without them!! WE had sooo much fun talking and yacking, figuring out what each peice wanted to look like, and did some serious painting inbetween!! This cute little chair was the winner in my book, and Gina gets the credit!! It came with the seat broken and looking pretty sad, but now its lookin right shnazzy,i'd say!! I don't know what its called, maybe akin to a gossip chair...? definitely an old peice!
It's really hard for me to turn down free furniture,especially if I know it has potential with a  little paint and some TLC! Well, the timing was great to have a school patron buying a house with lots of goodies left behind, and she...generous enough to donate it to school, but yeah...first it needed some help! Plus she donated furniture from Farmersville Auction, AND a local business was willing to rid themselves of excess inventory that wasn't in good shape. I wondered if the market would be flooded with all this STUFF! But it sold very well, for the most part, and it was fun to watch on Auction Day after putting all that work into it ,to just sit and watch it go...We did have our best sale ever...thanks to all the people who put their hands to the task ahead of them, and also the buyers who were willing to give top dollar for the sake of the school! And yes...my family has their Mama back!!:)
AND...since our  youngest daughter is in 8th grade, this was our LAST year!!!

Add caption

Wedding gifts

We were invited to a LOT of weddings this year...and it's always an honor! 
One bride gave me a door from the old home place where she grew up.They tore down the old barn, and now she has just a peice of it to take with her! She also gave her favorite scripture verse to personalize it! God Bless- Jansen and Monica!
The other door has a great foundational verse for any home whose goal it is to serve the Lord! God bless- Andrae and Jess!
May God be honored in all these new homes!!