Fresh on eBay!

New on eBay! Ends tomorrow! http://www.ebay.com/usr/heathersketter 

Ohhhh, Yeah!

    

     I don't do the Black Friday thing. Crowds, early hours, big screen tv's... Not my thing. Okay, so I should clarify. There is one Black Friday tradition I do each year. I roll out of bed around a little after 6 am (my normal everyday wake-up time), dress warmly, brew coffee, and drive 10 minutes to one of my favorite prim shops, Cocalico Creek Country Store.  The first 25 people get a $10 "gift card", and then early morning deals of 40% off one Christmas item and 15% off a regular item.  That is enough bait for me to roll out of bed and stand in line in the freezing cold.  

     Last year, I went wicked early, manned with coffee, my iPod with a season of NCIS, and LOTS of layers.  I got there at 6:15 am. Needless to say, I was the second person in line. And my backside froze from sitting on their curb.  A little over zealous. This year, I got there around 6:40 am (I panicked a little and thought I might be too late) and was still within the first 25. 

     I spent about an hour in the shop. You see, I am one of those shoppers who picks up things that catch my eye with reckless abandon. Then, the math area of my brain kicks in.  I start playing the barter game.  You know, "If I put this back, then I get these two things I like more.  But wait, do I really like those two things? Wait, what's that over THERE?! Squirrel." An hour later of walking around the store and putting 100 miles on my Uggs, and this is what I walked out with...

Primitive flocked tree... $60... 40% off... About $40! Love!

You know primitive people are a funny bunch. Brownish snow on a tree? Awesome.  Brownish REAL snow? Ew.

A year ago, they bought the antique store next door including her stock. They have marked down her antiques to 1/4 of what she was selling them for.  I have been cleaning out that inventory for them little by little over this year.  I got the chenille,little fleece dress, and four red woven napkins for the $10 store credit and 15% off of the chenille.  It is a rather big piece.... Mmmmmm...

A gathering of bird's nests for under $5.

     So, I feel like my cold nose and burnt tongue (drank my coffee a little too soon!) were well worth it.  I will show you how I use my goodies soon.  Right now, breakfast of leftover turkey and potato filling and pie.  I am not kidding. And a nap.  Yup.  

Happy Thanksgiving and warm blessings to you, dear friends! 

The Marm

Stewart Bartholemeu and Nicholas...

     Stewart Bartholomew  the Mouse... Such a biggish name for a smallish mouse.  But his biggish name was fitting for the biggish adventures that he has had during his life.  

     By far, his biggest adventure came when he fell into the pocket of a kindly man who had a greying beard and a laugh that came from down deep within him. His laugh was not biggish at all.  It was HUGE! It filled a room so much that it spilled right out of doors and windows.  

     Everyone knew who and when this compassionate man went a visitin' (Stewart had a smallish bit of an accent). Stewart learned much from this man, Nicholas. He learned of compassion, and that one of the best earthly gifts you can get is one when you give of yourself to others. Nicholas visited and chatted.  He brought gifts and gave hugs. He listened to people bare their hearts, and he wiped their tears. He talked of God's love and prayed for and with them. 

     Stewart tried to put into practice all that he heard and learned. Each morning, he would climb into Nicholas's coat pocket.  When Nicholas was visitin', so did Stewart. He crawled in and around houses, checking on the needs of all of the little critters in that home. He made sure they were warm and fed, just like Nicholas did with his friends. 

     Stewart stored up so many stories during his time with Nicholas. So many stories that they would certainly fill up a largish book. But the message in each was the same. Serve The Lord with gladness by serving His people and showing compassion. Stewart stored up that very large message in his very tiny heart in his very small furry body for all the days of his life. 

     Stewart measures 5 inches tall compared to his largish friend. Nicholas is 25 inches tall. He has a string for hanging about, but he is quite fine with sitting as well.  Stewart can leave Nicholas's pocket, so you are free to let him roam and stuff other things in Nick's coat pocket. He is made from heavy canvas that has been stained and sanded (along with my fingers). His coat is vintage woven wool. His hat and underclothes are a vintage feedsack. He has some vintage buttons here and there. He has rusty shoe buckles for eye lids. 

     Kindly asking $60 plus shipping (paypal only)  for Stewart and Nicholas. Original piece by The Country Schoolmarm. Please feel free to email me at thecountryschoolmarm@gmail.com for more details.

Thank you for stopping by!

Love and hugs,

Heather

Dolls, A "Dusting", and Dogs

     First, if you haven't seen this awesome challenge put out by Barb Moore, the author of Purely Primitive Dolls and owner of The Primitive Oswald,  please go look and check out the work of so many talented ladies. The challenge is over now, but the site is now a selling blog for extreme prim dolls called "Purely Primitive Dolls".  It is a method for again, artists to sell their handmade art.  

     Supporting small businesses is so important, and I know you know, as many of you are friends with these artists or you are an artist as well (so skip to the snow and dogs below. You live this speech). Many people rely on this income to support themselves in some way in this economy. It also brings great joy for each artist to be able to create and pass on a bit of themselves to you! A legacy of sorts.  I am so blessed to have had the opportunity the participate in the Purely Primitive Doll Challenge.  I learned sooooooo much through Barb's book, which I highly recommend.  And, I have met many talented artists and new friends. So, please, take a look. And, this Christmas, consider buying something handmade as a gift for someone to pass along a legacy of love that has been poured into the creation by the hands that made it!

I am now leaving my soapbox (hopefully without tripping.  It's me, though.  It is quite probable... Ow! Yup. There it is.). I return you to your cup of coffee and regular blog reading.  Thank you for your time!

Dolls created by (left to right): The Primitive Oswald, Primitives by Old Lady Morgan, The Country Schoolmarm

The regularly scheduled programs: "First Snow Comes to Pennsylvania" and "The Dogs Who Wanted to Know Too Much". Enjoy!

"Bailey and Charlie" episode 32 - "Neighborhood Watch-For Whom the Dogs Bark?"

"Keep your yap shut until I tell you to open it, Chuck!"

"She wears me out. "

"Why is Jack the Sniffer being walked by his person at this hour? I don't like it. "

"What'd I tell you???" "I was sayin hey to Jack"

That's not Jack... (Cue dramatic music)

Have a wonderful weekend!

Love and Hugs!

The Marm

Faithfulness

Lamentations 3: 21-24

"But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: 

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 

 "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him." "

Blessings and Love,

The Marm

Ravenwood Whimzies Winter Pinkeep Swap

     I love a good pinkeep swap (Let's be real here.  How could it possibly be not good. It's pinkeeps. It's a swap. Enough said.) And Wendy from Ravenwood Whimzies  has fabulous ones. First of all, you have to understand, I have a bit of a pinkeep obsession.  Just a wee one.  Okay.  A big one.  Happy? So, I am on a pinkeep swap like bees on honey. Alright, so, enough about me. 

     My swap partner was Vicky from Paintspots and Splinters   She is a very creative and talented artisan, as you will see below.  She also has other adorable items in her Etsy shop . I'll tell you, these exchanges are dewdrops of God's mercy. The package came on such a dreary, tiring day. What a joy to open.  Look at how I was spoiled!

Oooohhhh! USPS package!

Beautiful penmanship! I sure do love good penmanship! You'd think I was a teacher!

Yummy!

Awww! An apple for the teacher! Perfect for my fall apple decor!

A snow angel! Love his sweet face!

Candy canes! I put those right into one of my crocks!

Now! The main attraction! Is she not wonderful!? I love that her wee bag is the pinkeep. I love the needle and thread and how it connects to the spool. So many precious details. She is perfect for my mouse collection in my old fashioned pantry. My other mice welcomed her with open arms. They were needing some mending done!

She fits in perfectly!

     I enjoy creating pinkeeps for these swaps. It is an encouragement to me to keep creating and not let my creativity be squelched by busyness at work. I so appreciate the opportunity to meet so many talented ladies through these swaps. Thank you, Wendy, for organizing this swap.  Most of all, thank you, Vicky, for the time and love you put into your pinkeep. I will cherish it, and I will always have fond memories of you each Christmas when I see her cute little nose!

Love and Blessings to you all!

The Marm

Fall Vignettes...

"Indescribable"

By

Chris Tomlin"

From the highest of heights to the depths of the sea

Creation's revealing Your majesty

From the colors of fall to the fragrance of spring

Every creature unique in the song that it sings

All exclaiming

Indescribable, uncontainable,

You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.

You are amazing God

All powerful, untameable,

Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim

You are amazing God

Who has told every lightning bolt where it should go

Or seen heavenly storehouses laden with snow

Who imagined the sun and gives source to its light

Yet conceals it to bring us the coolness of night

None can fathom

Indescribable, uncontainable,

You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name

You are amazing God

All powerful, untameable,

Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim

You are amazing God

You are amazing God

Indescribable, uncontainable,

You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.

You are amazing God

All powerful, untameable,

Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim

You are amazing God

Indescribable, uncontainable,

You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.

You are amazing God

Incomparable, unchangeable

You see the depths of my heart and You love me the same

You are amazing God!

Blessings, 

Heather

Giveaways and Getting Caught Up!

     Hello, Friends! I hope this finds you all well. This is my first "Lazy Saturday" in a long while, so I thought I would get caught up. My husband uses my laptop, so I am doing this on my ipad. The Blogger app isn't my favorite, but howdy!

     Gee, what a busy year! We are only 2 months into school, but whew! What a whirlwind! I have been terrible over the last year keeping up with my blog! I had such good intentions, but the summer was a hectic one. I had to move my class again, which some of you already know. Thinking about that kind of sucked up my inspiration. I am trying to take pictures when the room doesn't look like a tornado went through it! So, you may never see any. Lol! I do have some random pictures of my classroom!

     Okay, well this is my desk. And coffee. And a cupcake. But listen to this! Someone dropped off fancy-smancy cupcakes from New York City (this sounds like the beginning of one of those Old El Paso salsa commercials, I know!). Now, I cannot pass up a good, homemade cupcake. Sorry. Just can't. When I have a good cupcake, a cup of coffee, and sit at my desk, well, it's like an old Calgon commercial. Oh, and no kids in the room. Okay (So side note... This why I haven't been blogging. All I have to share is about a cupcake!) so this cupcake was a a vanilla cupcake with a bit of caramel inside and brown sugar and slightly salted icing. Oh. My. I think just reveling in that was half of my planning period. It was bliss until the stack of spelling tests caught my eye. Yup. It was like the scene in Somewhere in Time when Christopher Reeves's character sees the penny. If you haven't seen the movie, well, you should. 

So, anywhoo... Hmm, let's see.

Oh, we've had a lot of praying mantises around the outside of my classroom. The kids have become obsessed with learning about them. They named them all. I love it. We even saw a female eat the male. Well, that was an interesting Q&A session afterward. Also awkward when you have named them. 

Speaking of naming critters... Yeah, this is Walter. I may have named him. 

Here are some glimpses of my desk...

I will show more of my desk later. The cool thing is... it's in my closet. It will make sense when you see my new room! 

I have listed some things on eBay and Etsy. Right now, eBay seems to be working the best for me. I just want to get rid of things, ya know. I got a couple of cute things, so something has to go. I have been really trying to balance one thing comes in, two things go out. It is freeing to just give things to friends or sell them on eBay. 

I  got this prim hutch top which is a make-do of old chocolate crates. I traded a friend of mine for it. He has a booth at an antique flea market. I love it. Topped with a sign from Sara Cocarus at Salmon Falls Prims, it holds my old tins well. I got the tins for a dollar here and there at my flea market.  I love the mice made by different friends of ours. You'd have mice in an old pantry, right?

So, with those additions, things had to go. I got rid of a lot of my old "Made in China" fall decor or any items that weren't made by our friends. I told my husband how it is a greater comfort to look and see something that I know the name of the person who made it.

Giveaways!

Check out all of the giveaways from our friends!

http://cynzplace.blogspot.com/2014/09/fall-giveaway-on-my-blog.html

Valley Primitive Stitches is also having one!

http://valleyprimitivestitches.blogspot.com

And Brenda at The Rusty Thimble! 

I am sure if you click on one link, you will see others as well! 

Coming up soon are reveals for Wendy of Ravenwood Whimzies Winter Pinkeep Swap, and a doll I am trying to create for a challenge put out by Barb Moore, the author of Purely Primitive Dolls. This challenge is on Facebook. Her book is a very good one in giving ideas and techniques for making extreme primitive dolls from start to finish. You may also know her as "The Primitive Oswald". She is very encouraging and gives great insight for your creating journey. Take a look at her Facebook page for this challenge! https://www.facebook.com/groups/Primdollchallenge.

     Well, whew! I guess I had more than I thought I had to say. God has been good in his protection and love. I love you all and am praying for you! Thank you for stopping by! 

Love,

The Marm