March CupboardScape

Good evening sweet friends.
Thank you all for the sweet comments you left from my last post.
I so enjoy your visits.

This month's CupboardScape is all about the bunny.
The Easter Bunny.

Having grandparents who both owned dairy farms,
our holidays were always spent there.
I have fond memories of each farmhouse.

My dad always had the holidays off from work,
and my mom had an important job as a 
stay at home mom.

During the week at gramma B's
she would make mini donuts.
Made from scratch and fried in oil to a golden brown.
My sister and I loved the job we had.
With paper bags in hand...
full of cinnamon and sugar, and just sugar,
and then another bag full of powdered sugar.
Gramma would fry those mini dounts in batches...
and our job was to shake them in our bags.
We loved it!
We also loved to eat them warm with our fresh milk.

Then on the day before Easter
we would head over to gramma H's farmhouse.
It was about a 20 minute ride depending
on the weather and the dirt roads.
At gramm H's we always dyed our Easter eggs.
Pre Paas dye days, (try to say that 3 times) :-)
gramma used grape juice, raspberries, green apple peels,
chili powder and coffee.
We always did one color at a time.
Gramma would boil each item and then add vinegar.
She would then arm my sister and I with a dye mixture
poured into a small glass.
We used a tablespoon to dip our eggs...
let them sit a bit..take them out to look at the color...
dip back in..and repeat until we had our perfect color.
Once we had all of the colors complete,
then gramma would let us take
 half of the eggs
and create our own colors.

Simple times and simple fun!
Did you have any Easter traditions in your family?

The bunnies in my suitcase are 1940's paper mache ones.
The basket on the left is a funeral basket
in which I placed some faux irises into.

Easter Bunny Blessings To All!
Janice

Rise And Shine

Good evening sweet friends
Hope this post finds you all well.
For those in that Spring Blizzard,
I say a prayer that all are safe and warm.
My mom is getting snow where she lives.
about 6 inches..to the South where we are
it is raining...may have some freezing rain tonight.

This primitive wood riser was one of my
latest purchases at the 
Early Homestead Show that Bob and I vended last Saturday.
I have a bucket list of antiques..and this had been 
on the list for many years.

Risers were the early form of a serving tray.
I purchased the riser the day before the show was to start.
Once back at the hotel we were staying at,
I kept thinking...now that you have this riser,
how are you going to display it?
It took awhile for me to remember I had noticed
this sweet round hooked chair pad at the show. 

The next morning I purchased it as well...so glad it was still there. 
The colors are muted and I love it!
Its the star of the show...see the star pattern?

It fits perfectly on our kitchen settle table don't you think?

The wood tone of the riser almost matches the table.
I added my tin kerosene lamp to the display.

I remember my dad telling me that he did his homework

at the kitchen table with a kerosene lamp.

Although I do not have any kerosene in this one,
I can imagine how my dad must have squinted to read
his books under this light as my gramma H had
a similar riser at her table.
She would only remove it when we played cards.
Unfortunately when my gramma H sold
her farm in 1975, she had a huge auction
and sold all of her furniture.
I wish I had some of it today :-(

One more piece to check this off my bucket list.
Do you have an antique bucket list?

Rise And Shine Blessings To All!
Janice

Fun Was Had By All

Good evening sweet blogging friends.
Well another fine primitive show is on the books.
It was a success for Bob and I,
but I must say the fun was had by all!

It was nice meeting new vendors
and catching up with old ones.

Mandy from Bittersweet Folkart

Janet from Olde Crow Primitives.

Earlene from Primitive Passion Decorating

Lynn from Crow Foot Hollow.
His wife Ruth and I go way back.
Ruth was out shopping when I took pictures

Bobbie from the Evening Stitcher.

Cheryl from Cabin In The woods.
For those who subscribe to a Simple Life magazine,
Cheryl is one of their editors

Ch

One of our tables in our booth.

This cabinet sold.

Another side of one of our tables.

The next pics seem blurry,
however the sun was shining so bright

It gave off a glare.
The glare was so bad,
the last table in our booth the pics 
turned out so foggy, that even I could not tell what they were...
and I was there. LOL Oh well.

I was able to purchase a few goodies
and will show you all at a later date.

Early Homestead Show Blessings To All!
Janice

Two Is Company

Good afternoon sweet friends.
I have been a little MIA..
trying to price goodies we will be taking to our
first prim show of the year.
Holly, Michigan is the place this Saturday.
Bob and I stashed a few new items just for this show.
Come on down if you can.
Karl Richter Campus
920 Baird Street, Holly MI
Hours: 10 to 3
Great vendors ~ Great friends!

Since two has always been company,
here are a few of my duos.

Teddies enjoying each others company.

Perched in a splint basket on top of a blue tick pillow and quilt.

Buttocks basket with a blue coverlet piece.

Burlap hooked rug and trencher with 2 bowls.

One red and one a la natural.

Blue calico dress and blue bonnet.

Do you have any duos that are your favorites?

What are you doing on this Sunday afternoon...
the first day of daylight savings.
I am watching some old movies...
and hooking a rug.
Yes, I finally bought me a hook, some linen
and wool and managed to figure it out.
With a bit of help with some friends who explained how to do it.
Will show my progress in the weeks ahead.

Two Is Company Blessings To All!
Janice

New Finds Or Impulse Shopping

Good evening sweet friends...
well my prayers came true.
We had a 67 degree day today.
WOOHOO!!!
Now if it would only stay.
It was nice driving home along the river 
with the radio turned up and the window rolled down.
Bob and I even grabbed a burger at one of our
favorite places along the lake..
which is not far from our river.
We got there as the sun was going down,
and it was a spectaculat sunset!

Have you ever heard of the old adage ~
putting the cart before the horse?
A few weeks back I spent some money thinking -
actually hoping that we would not owe the tax man this year.
NOT, NADA, NOPE
We have to pay Uncle Sam again.

Since I already spent some money ahead of time,
glad I spent the money before knowing..
cause I might not have....
then again sometimes you just cannot pass up things. LOL

Like this stoneware cake crock.

Could you see yourself baking a cake in this beauty!

I also bought this latest wax sealer on the right.
Love the squiggly line in the middle.
Early stoneware is so awesome because the potters
had free rein on creating their designs..
with no two alike.

Then I went shopping back in my own store,
and brought this early apothecary back we were selling.
Apothecarys were used as spice racks, to hold plant extracts
for various home remedies and even used
to hold cocaine and morphine which were
 medicine (drugs) at that time.
 Each little compartment
would hold a different item.
Not sure if I want to leave this in the kitchen 
or put in the bedroom once my son moves out
and put my floss in the cubbies.

Have you ever bought an antique as an impulse buy?
I usually know what I want to purchase when shopping..
but sometimes items just call out to me.

Impulse Buying Blessings To All
Janice

Compote Transformation

Good morning friends!
It is a snowy one here in Michigan.
I don't want to whine...
but lately it snows, gets warm,
gets cold again...repeat.

Today I would like to show you what
our colonial forefathers would have used to hold their fruit.

This is an 18th century treen pedestal compote.
Now it currently holds my iron bunny for the Spring season.

This 1700's wood piece is in it original black paint
with a little bit of wear at the base.

Inside it is black as well.
In good shape for being over 300 years old.
Cannot say that items which are made now
will last that long.

Close up of my bunny on a bed of flax.
Now I guess I have to start another collection
of stone fruit...of which I have sold many pieces now.

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!
Can you send the warm weather that will stay please..
pretty please?

Compote Blessings To All!
Janice

Crock Heaven

Good evening sweet friends.
Well not sure what the weather is at your home,
but March sure came in like a lion here in Michigan.
Which is great news as it will go out like a lamb...
fingers crossed.

I have always loved crocks.
The striped one in front is called a wax sealer.
These were used for canning before glass jars.
The lip at the top was where the wax would be poured
to seal in the contents until used.

The white crock on the child's chair
is a whiskey jug with a bail handle.

My crown lidded crock.
Once crocks became manufactured,
each crock company featured their own stamps.
I have seen many crocks stamps...
Indian Head, Red Wing, Hexagon Star, MN Western,
Birch Leaf, Shield, Numbers and an Anchor to name quite a few.

Salt glaze and white butter churn crocks.

Small crock and stoneware bowls in various colors.

A few more displayed on our bucket bench.
This bucket bench came from one of the last farmhouses
in Allen Park, Michigan.
Original blue color with the wood coming through.

I hope you all enjoyed a little bit of my crock heaven.
I so enjoy showing you pics of my home.
I just wish I could send you all home with cookies,
or brownies and a beverage of your choice afterwards.

Heavenly Crock Blessings To All!
Janice