Begging for Inspiration

Hey Y'all! I need some advice. Over the holidays I saw a Cricut Expressions infomercial and was fascinated. I saw so many wonderful things being done with the Cricut and the ladies in the infomercial made it all looked so easy! I had to have one. We couldn't really afford it, so I mulled it over for about 6 weeks before I took the plunge and bought one for myself. My wonderful hubby said "Go ahead babe, knowing you, you'll make all kinds of neat things with it! It'll be a great investment!" Celene's Treasure Chest, my brick and mortar crafts and antiques shop in rural Illinois was closed for the winter season so I thought it would be a perfect time to play with it and make all sorts of new crafty things. I really saw this little piece of equipment as a real opportunity to come up with some new crafts, stencils for myself to use as well as to sell in the shop, etc and that I would make my money back in no time. I received it in early January. I didn't even open the box til sometime in February, played with it for about 30 minutes, gave up and put it back in the box, where is resides today. Part of my problem is that my craft room is so cluttered that I can't set it up in there and I just haven't gotten around to organizing it. My work shop up at the store is full of sawdust and paint and I don't think it will survive long there. Now if I were really inspired to create with my Cricut I would have organized my craft room, but honestly, I don't know what to do with it! I just look at the box and think, I really have to learn how to use this thing and get creative, then I turn around and pull the door shut behind me so I don't have to look at it. Is there anyone out there with a Cricut Expressions? I need some ideas to get me excited and motivated enough to get over my fear of learning how to use this thing! What do you use you Cricut to make? Please leave a comment and share with me how you use yours. If you send me a photo of some of the finished projects, I'd love to post them here, just email me at celene-@hotmail.com. Come on girls, please inspire me!

Until next time...God Bless,

Free Crafters Online Magazine

Hi everyone! Hope you are enjoying the lovely spring weather. It's finally starting to warm up here in Illinois. Been cold til this week. The weatherman says it's going to be 82 by mid week! Yippee!! I have had enough of being chilled to the bone. Hope it doesn't get too warm to quickly though. Don't want to bypass spring altogether.

Thought I'd tell you about a great crafters online magazine Creative Times Magazine. Check it out. Lots of great ideas of all kinds. Until Next Time...God Bless,

Fall festivals, Free Doll and Wreath patterns

Hi y'all!  I just love the crisp cool autumn mornings, don't you?  I am working hard to get ready for 2 craft fairs this weekend.  Yep, you heard me right.  I'm actually  nuts enough to have a booth at 2 fall festivals this weekend!  Certifiable.  Wood n' Whimsy (Pam and I)  are going to have a booth at the Lebanon Fall Festival on Saturday and Ripson Bridge Festival on Sunday.  Both of these festivals are in south central Illinois about 30-60 minutes drive from St. Louis.  They are both awesome and we look forward to these two craft fairs more than all the rest!  Maybe we'll see you there!  This weekend promises to be sunny and in the low 70's,  so what better weather for taking a drive and enjoying the sites?

I also wanted to tell all you crafters about a great new blog called Prim Friends Network.  It's a great place to list, display your wares and connect with other crafters and potential customers.  Go on by and tell Shari hello and let her know what a great job she's doing with Prim Friends Network.

I came across this cute Little Prim Lady doll at Lillie Mae's Crafts   Go on over there and download this and many more free pattern for yourself!

FREE birdhouse wreath Pattern.

Materials Needed:

Wood Birdhouse
Wreath Mod Podge,
Mat Finish
1/8 yd. Fabric
Assorted Brushes
Curly Raffia (Colors to Co-ordinate with Fabric)
Glue Gun
Barnwood Crackle
Masking Tape
Ceramcoat Paints,
Small Sharp Scissors
Sandpaper
3 1/2 yds. Cording
Wreath Hanger Directions:

1. Sand wreath to take off rough edges, dust off wreath with a large soft brush or tack cloth.

2. Basecoat fence front and edges with 2 coats of burnt umber. Let dry thoroughly.

3. Mask off edges of birdhouses that come in contact with fence areas to prevent barnwood crackle from overlapping onto edges or roofs of birdhouses.

4. Apply one generous coat of barnwood crackle to front and edges of fence, allow to dry according to package directions.

5. Using a flat brush, apply ivory paint to fence portions in vertical strokes. Allow to dry.

6. Remove masking tape and touch up any areas you missed with a small round brush.

7. Paint the roofs and edges of birdhouses using a color thatcoordinates with your fabric. Apply two coats.

8. Use pattern piece to cut out fabric. Make sure you line up the pattern pieces in the same direction for all birdhouse fronts. Transfer the 2 marks onto fabric. Cut small slits into fabric at marks. Place fabric piece over perch on birdhouse. Line up fabric, mark any overhanging edges with a pencil and trim excess

.9. Apply 1 medium coat of mod podge to front of birhouse, place fabric onto front of birdhouse and using a small scrap of cardboard smooth fabric in place. Cut X through center hole, place a smalll amount of mod podge around inside of hole and press in the triangular pieces.

10. Cut six 3/4” x 3” pieces of fabric. Fold in half lengthwise, tack in place with a few drops of hot glue. Insert fabric pieces intobirdholes, adjust so they are even with front of birdhouse. Tack in place with hot glue.

11. Cut a length of cording long enough to fit around outside edge of birdhouse. Starting at the peak of birdhouse, attach cording with hot glue,following the edge of birdhouse.Repeat for all houses.

12. Using curly raffia, tie a simple bow and attach to bottom of wreath with hot glue. Attach wreath hanger on back of wreath if desired.

Please let me know in a comment what type of craft patterns, recipes and resource info you would like me to post about.  I'd also love to hear from you if you have a free pattern or craft you would like to share with us so plese  Email me and I'll post about it with a link to your site.  Do you have marketing ideas or advice?  We want to know!  

Til next time.....God Bless,

Celene

Salt Dough Pumkins

The air is getting crisp at night and fall is in the air. Here is a cute salt dough pumpkin recipe from AllFreeCrafts.com. Hope you enjoy trying your hand at making punkins. This would be a good one to do with the kids. Please share some photos of the process and the end results with us!

Til next time.....God Bless,

Celene

How to Make Salt Dough Pumpkins

Mix up an easy batch of salt dough and make yourself a patch of bright, sparkling pumpkins for Halloween. It's important to note that this recipe for salt dough makes a lot of projects. If you only plan on making a few, cut the recipe into fourths or in half.

Salt Dough Pumpkin Patch by Amanda FormaroSalt dough is a great medium for fun and creative crafting. Take this sparkly pumpkin patch for instance! Salt dough recipes aren't just for kids. Make these fun and festive pumpkins this Fall for your holiday decorating.

You will need:

1 cup salt

2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup water

orange acrylic paint

paintbrush

Gold glitter

paint

2 green toothpicks, broken or cut in half

What you do: Preheat oven to 250 F. Mix together, salt, flour, and water until a dough is formed. Knead the dough on a floured surface until the mixture is elastic and smooth. If dough is too sticky, sprinkle with flour, continue to do so until stickiness is gone. BE CAREFUL. Do not add too much flour, this will dry out the dough and will cause it to crack before you get a chance to bake it. THIS DOUGH IS NOT EDIBLE, though it won't hurt you or your kids, it just won't taste very good!Roll dough in your hands to form different sized balls. Line them up on a cookie sheet, touching each other so that they will be one piece after baking. Use a toothpick to draw lines on the pumpkins. Insert toothpick halves, point size down, into the top center of the pumpkin to create the stem. Be sure to do this step BEFORE baking. Bake for approximately 2 - 2.5 hours. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. For best results, allow to cool and dry overnight, or for at least 4 hours.Paint pumpkins with two coats of orange paint, allowing to dry in between coats. When dry, paint with a coat of gold glitter paint or glitter glue. Let dry.

About the Author:Amanda Formaro is the entrepreneurial mother of four children. She is also the Chief Editor and Craft Expert of FamilyCorner.com Magazine.

Hang tag Heaven

Hi y'all! I just finished the cutest hang tags and I had to show them off. Pam and I, as many of you know, call our prim craft making venture Wood n' Whimsy. We sell them at my website, my little country store in Coffeen, Illinois called Celene's Treasure Chest and local craft fairs. We have focused on primitive crafts made of reclaimed wood, but I'm coming down with a case of creative cramps. Yep, it's that time! Time to branch out it other directions. I feel the need to try other crafts as well. We will still continue to do the woodcrafts, but we are doing some different things too, hence the new hang tags. Take a look and let me know that you think!

Well? Til next time...God Bless,

Celene

By the, way I used free graphics, but can't remember where I got them. If anyone knows, could you let me know so I can give them credit. Thanks!

Bloggy Giveaway Winners

Hey ya'll! Here are the winners of the Bloggy Giveaways

on Wood n' Whimsy:

Marie at A Little Bit of Country won the cute heart bowl fillers.

Linda at Linda's Kitchen won the barn star ornie.

Here are the winner's of the Bloggy Giveaways on my other

blog Celene's Treasure Chest:

Katy at The Country Blossom won the 14K Rose Gold Filled Chain

Mommiof4 at Tadpole Lane won the primitive americana sign.

I'm having trouble reaching the winners by email. When I click on the email button in your profiles, I get an error message from my email provider. Please contact me at celene-@hotmail.com with your addresses so I can send you your goodies!

Thanks to everyone who entered. Please add me to your favorites or your blogroll as I will be doing giveaways regularly on my blog.

Til Next time... God Bless,

Celene

Prim Homespun Heart Bowl Fillers Giveaway

Hi friends! Todays great giveaway at Wood n' Whimsy are these 4 adorable prim homespun heart bowl fillers. They are so cute with their sentimental sayings, gingham and wooden buttons. Follow the rules on the sidebar to enter. Make sure you tell me your favorite item on Celene's Treasure Chest website by commenting to this post. Be sure you check out Celene's Treasure Chest blog for more great giveaways including a 14K Rose Gold Chain! Good Luck and God Bless,

Celene

Monday's Bloggy Giveaway

I just love Bloggy Giveaway Carnival! I will be posting new giveaways all week so keep checking back for more freebies. Don't forget to stop by my sister blog Celene's Treasure Chest Blog. I'm doing seperate giveaways there all week, too. The rules are on the sidebar on the left. Make sure you comment back to this post to enter and follow the simple rules.

Here's today's giveaway!

Today's giveaway is a tin barn star ornie decorated with homespun and pip berries with a jute hanger made by yep, you guessed it...Wood n' Whimsy. We sell our wares in my little country store in rural Illinois and my online website at Celene's Treasure Chest. Don't forget to go there to choose your favorite item and comment on this post to enter to win this cute little ornie. Check back daily for new giveaways.

Good luck and God Bless,
Celene

It's Flea Market Friday over at Celene's Treasure Chest

I hope you'll take a look at my other blog where we're celebrating Flea Market Friday. We make primitive hand-did purties of all kinds, vintage and antique goodies and handcrafted candles and jewelry. Come on by for a visit, we'd love to have you! Also bookmark this blog for next week's Bloggy Giveaway Carnival. I will be giving away several things next week on both this blog and Celene's Treasure Chest Blog, so you don't want to miss out! Don't forget to check out my website Celene's Treasure Chest. Thanks for stopping by, please leave a comment and visit my other blog to check out the goodies.

Until next time...God Bless,

Celene

Hey ya'll! I unwittingly opened a Bed & Breakfast a few weeks ago when I hung this wreath on my front door. I noticed some activity around the door about a week later and upon investigation I discovered a charming couple of little wrens have built a nest in my wreath! If you look closely you can see it. I've named them Ozzie and Harriet. I now enjoy their singing every day, how sweet the sound. This does not come without a price, however. I also endure their scolding when we use the door or are on the front porch. I'm trying to limit the activity in this area to accommodate them, but it is my front door. We have no eggs as of yet, they seem to be taking their time making sure everything is just right before they settle in. I'll let you know how our new little family progresses.

I finally got my Celene's Treasure Chest blog up and running. You can see the kinds of things we have to offer and a little about the crafters hand-did purties at my lil' country store in rural Illinois. Pam and I have been busy with Wood n' Whimsy, too. Here are a couple of the things we have made lately. Til next time, God Bless.

Celene

We found an old kitchen chair in the junk and made a cute and welcoming porch or garden sitter. I love the country blue. If you look closely you can see the daisies painted on the chair back

One of my favorites is this potting bench.

Primitive Wood Crafts by Wood n' Whimsy

Hi ya'll! Here are some of our hand-did primitives. I'd like your heartfelt opinion, so please let me know what you think.

This goose is made from old barn wood that is 100 years old and them some!

Neat spoon shelf. Shelf brackets are made with antique silver spoons. Wood is reclaimed from early 1900's.

This Americana wall hanging can be used as a coat or towel hook or just as a hangin' purty. This is made from old reclaimed 1800's wood and an antique door knob.

All of these items are for sale. Please contact me for more information. mailto:celene-@hotmail.com

For more Prims and Crafts visit my other blog.

It's A Brand New Blog!

Hello to all my friends from my Celene's Treasure Chest blog. Welcome to my new friends who are joining me for the first time. Wood n' Whimsy is my new blog about the primitive wood crafts my friend Pam and I make in our workshop in the back of my "brick and mortar" Gifts, Crafts and Antiques Shop in rural Illinois called Celene's Treasure Chest. We call our wood crafts Wood n' Whimsy by Pam and Celene. Hence the blog name. I plan on posting about many things on this blog such as; Wood n' Whimsy crafts, life in rural Illinois, family, friends, inspirational subjects and whatever else strikes my fancy. I also intend to have contests and give aways often, so please add me to your favorites, your blog roll, or feed and check back on a regular basis! If you add me to your blog roll, please let me know so I can do the same for you.

I am also revamping my other blog to reflect more of the crafts and antiques featured in the Celene's Treasure Chest (physical shop). I will be telling you about some of the crafters and their hand made wares, as well as some of the antiques in my shop. I'm really looking forward to showcasing them. As I am building both blogs at once it may be a couple of days before I am completely up and running so please bear with me. I'm looking forward to hearing from all of you. God Bless, Celene