Just in time for Halloween

My new primitive e pattern is now for sale with the printable book cover, bottle label and small Witchy Woman sign included. Quick and easy Witch Hat and Spell bag to make from black wool felt.

Printing on fabric- a better way

I have been printing on muslin or osnaburg for my crafting projects for years. I  have been ironing the fabric to freezer paper, then printing with fair amount of success. Sometimes the paper would jam which was a pain and it ruined the fabric. Sometimes I could not get the printer to "grab" the paper into the feed.

I saw a new idea on Pinterest and decided to give it a try. This is not for laser printers. I have an Epson that uses "Dura Bright" ink.

Spray a light coat of adhesive spray to a sheet of plain card stock.

By hand smooth out the fabric onto the card stock, trim off any stray threads that may fall off in the printer.
Place in the manual feed tray of your printer and print as normal.

Pull the fabric off the paper and much to my surprise the paper was still fairly tacky. I was able to attach another piece of fabric and print again four more times without having to spray adhesive again.

The card stock is stiffer and feeds thru my printer so much easier than the freezer wrap. It's nice that the paper is the correct size and I do not have to bother cutting up freezer paper and getting out the iron.

You can get that spray at most craft stores, it's about $8.00 so be sure to use a coupon!

Make your own Bakers Twine quick and easy

I just found this today and had to share this post on making your own bakers twine. It's quick and easy and very inexpensive.  Visit here  http://thefrugalcrafter.wordpress.com/2011/04/19/make-your-own-bakers-twine/#

Ball Mason Jars 100 years of American Heritage

These are the new reproduction anniversary Ball Perfect Mason Jars. 1913 - 1915 100 years of American Heritage. Made in the U.S.A. embossed on the back of the jar.
For one year, Ball jars will be manufacturing the collector pints. Sometime in 2014 they will release a American Heritage Quart jar for one year only.
Made in America, these jars are beautiful for floral arrangements and mason jar crafts. I have a Pinterest board  full of ideas here: http://pinterest.com/RaggedyRee/mason-jar-decor/

I was only able to 12 of the first edition pints, released March 13, 2013 ( 3/13/13 ). I am keeping six and have put six up for sale in my Etsy shop MasonJarDecor.

Here is a photo of the new pint jar beside a vintage jar so you can see the color difference. I just love canning jars old and new.

The Easter Peeps

Look what came in the mail for me ......

 Easter treats from The Krazy Kraft Lady my friend Nee Nee. Too cute  words....thank you so much! Just what I need to cheer me up.

Cinnamon Friendship Bread

It has been way too long since I have posted on here. The summer turned into fall with the blink of an eye.
Fall to Christmas is always a non-stop busy season. Between my work at In Grandma's Attic and the Christmas rush with my Etsy shop somehow it is already 2013. Yikes.

Here is a recipe given to me a few years ago by a good friend. It's perfect for baking and sharing on these cold winter days

Cinnamon Friendship Bread

1 tbsp. yeast
1/4 cup warm water
2 cups milk
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
5 cups flour, divided
1 tbsp. salt

 Dissolve 1 tbsp yeast in 1/4 cup warm water in mixing bowl.
Heat 2 cups of milk til very warm ( not boiling). Stir in 1 egg, 1/4 c sugar and 1/4 cup butter. Cool 2 minutes and add to the bowl with the yeast mixture.
Add 3 cups of the flour and beat on high until the mixture collects on the beaters, not the bowl.
Switch to dough hook, add 2 cups more flour and 1 Tbsp salt.
Knead until smooth. Less flour is better than too much. The dough should be quite sticky.
Place the dough into a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap.
Let rise until doubled.
Divide dough to three 8 by 12 inch rectangles.Spread each with 2 TBS butter and 1/4 cup cinnamon sugar. Roll up lengthwise and place seam side down o a very lightly greased baking sheet. Make shallow slashes in the top to give them crusty tops if you desire.
Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes.

Maple Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
3 tbsp cream
1 tsp Maple extract ( substitute any flavor you desire )

24th Strasburg Country Craft Show

 Strasburg Jaycee Park Miller Street, Strasburg, PA.

Rt. 741 aprox 3/4 mile west of the main square.

Starting this Thursday Oct. 4th at 2 p.m. at the Jaycee Park in Strasburg, Pennsylvania for the 24th year will be yet another great selection of Country Primitive Crafts.
There will be Food items, Fall Holiday Decorations, Handmade Jewelry, Signs, Yard Ornaments, Painted Folk Art, Santas, Snowmen, Christmas Decorations, Old Collectibles, Bird Feeders, Handmade Dolls, Soaps, Lotions, Candles, Ornaments Wreaths and much, much more. This has been one of the best indoor craft shows that I have attended in the past five or so years.
There is no admission charge and parking is free. The Pavillion is behind the big barn in the  Strasburg Jaycee Park.

Thurs. Oct. 4, 2012    2 p.m.- 8 p.m.

Fri. Oct. 5, 2012    9 a.m.- 8 p.m.

Saturday Oct. 6, 2012 9 a.m.-

4 p.m.

Thank Goodness for Fall Weather

I am so happy that the heat has been turned down. I love the cooler nights and clear warm days of fall.
The orchard is a bustle of activity harvesting all the apples and pears. The fields are full of ripe tomatoes, corn and pumpkins. Life is good....

If you live in the area of Lancaster, on Saturday September 29th there will be a giant yard sale on the property of "In Grandma's Attic" Kinzers, PA. The local Amish will be there with baked goods and produce maybe even with Chicken Dinners ( we are not sure about the Chicken dinners yet).

My friend Kathy of Kathy's Kollectables will be bringing a trailer loaded with her auction finds for sale.

Hopefully Daryl and Carly from Carly's Cottage will be able to make the trip with their handmade primitive furniture. 
There will be vendors selling misc yard sale items, antiques and crafts. Hope to see you there.
Here are some of the yard stakes I have up at the shop to sell.

A quick trip to Lancaster

The Kinzers, Gap and Intercourse areas of Lancaster county are one of my favorite areas to visit.

Since it is prime time for tourist who come to see the Amish Farms and the outlet malls I try to stay on the Lancaster back roads. I have my favorite "secret shortcut road".

 I stopped for a few quick pictures. They are not the best but I thought you may enjoy some of my sights.

These miniature horses were so cute, only about three feet tall!

 

 This barn they have the sides open to help cure the tobacco.

 Tobacco in the fields.

 Next stop was at In Grandma's Attic to leave off some fall merchandise for the shop. 

Easy and Fun Halloween Decorating Projects

This is a very easy crafty project that makes up into a cute Halloween decoration.

A few years ago I started gathering used books that had black covers to recycle.

I wanted to make a"Old Salem School" themed Witches Spelling Books.

After designing the new cover for my books, I printed off copies and glued them onto the book covers.

Tied them closed with a piece of cheesecloth or homespun.

If you like a more primitive look you can rub a bit of ground cinnamon to the book and cheesecloth tie.

 Next came Old Salem Apothecary Spell bottles

I frequented flea markets and yard sales purchasing old and unique looking bottles. Glue sticks work well to adhere paper labels to the bottles if you do not have label paper to print on.
A few labels and homespun ties, very easy.

If you do not want to design your own labels I do sell the files for you to print and make your own books and spell bottles at home. You can purchase them here. 

Home Grown Tomatoes in a Pie

All winter long I dream of my treasured Home Grown Tomatoes. I love toasted bread with butter, salt and tomatoes. Pasta with fresh chopped tomatoes, black olives and feta cheese. I just Love tomatoes!

Last year my friend Patti, shared one of her family favorite recipes. I had never heard of....

 Tomato Pie

Patti's Tomato Pie

4-6 medium size Italian plum tomatoes

1 9' pie shell unbaked

1/2 cup chopped sauteed onions

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2 tablespoons chopped fresh Basil

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup grated Mozzarella cheese

 Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Stir together mayonnaise and cheeses. Thinly cut eight tomato slices for topping and set aside. Dice remaining tomatoes, removing the seeds, then place tomatoes in the pie crust. Layer salt, basil, and the sauteed onions. Next spread out cheese mixture onto the onions, then place the reserved tomato slices on top. Bake 30-40 mins until golden brown. Let stand for 20 mins before serving.

Forth of July at Raggedy Ree's Homestead

 Hope that you all enjoyed your July 4th with friends and family. Due to Will's work schedule we had to stay home this year. 
 The weather was pretty darn hot. We decided that it was time to get rid of the Barn Swallows that have been nesting under the roof of our wrap around porch. 
 Now they had made a couple of nests unnoticed by me and had babies in them a while back. Oh how sweet right? ( Not when you see the mess that gets dropped out from under the nests! )
 After the little ones have learned to fly, they decided to hang around leaving their little presents all over the porch. With all the barns and sheds in the area my porch is not going to be the Adams County Barn Swallow  Rescue Habitat.
 So down came the nests, we scrubbed the pillars, siding and trim. What a hard workout that was in the heat, I did not mind having a little playful fun with the ice cold well water coming out of the hose.

Other than that, I just worked on some of my mason jar crafting. I just finished up a dozen solar jar lights to put in my Etsy shop this morning. I have over 100 of those old blue quart canning jars that I want to sell. Need to get some more ideas on how to reuse them.

New Blog and Celebration Sale

Well here I am starting a blog of my own.


As some of you may know me from the shop in Lancaster, PA., "In Grandm'a Attic", some will know me from The "Lancaster Wholesalers", others perhaps from some of the Primitive Forums. I have met so many nice people and a few very dear friends over the years between the internet and gift industry wholesale venues.

As a combination of trying to get some followers to this new blog and as an introduction to my Etsy shop, I would like to announce that I am having a 20% off everything Christmas In July sale. There's lots of antique, vintage and craft supplies and a few of my new ready to frame print line. I will be adding new things to the shop daily so please stop by. The sale will run to July 20 th. 

http://www.etsy.com/shop/RaggedyRee