Papercutting Classes coming up…

Hi folks! I spent most of the morning getting invitations in the mail for this winter’s papercutting classes! More will go out tomorrow, since I’ve not quite bonded with our new printer yet and the printing process is taking a little longer than I expected. But… just in case I don’t have you on my local mailing list, and you’re able to come for a class…

We’re going to be making a Haus Segen! (That’s Pennsylvania German for “house blessing!”) Class participants can choose from several designs, cut them out using scissors and craft knives, and paint them with watercolor. If you prefer, you can leave them with us to be framed in a handmade grain-painted frame, or take them home to put in your own standard-size frame. Sizes will range from 4″ x 6″ to 8″ x 10″… and you can make more than one if you work quickly!

😀

We had such a great time with the classes last year, and are really looking forward to this year’s projects! See you soon!

Oh! And a proud daughter moment… my Mom & Dad’s house was chosen to be in Judy Condon’s latest book!

Etsy, revisited.

Hello folks! We’ve been working tonight on getting our long-neglected Etsy site up and running again. Hopefully, we’ll be putting some of our picture frames on there, but all we managed tonight was to upload a set of small scherenschnitte… Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme. I added them in the correct order (like the old S & G song) but forgot that they would show up backward, so the song reference lost something in the translation.

On a happy note, we saw PEOPLE in the store today! Mom and I have been getting a little lonely wondering where everyone was hiding, but we had folks in all day today! And they were happy people, which means a lot to two lonely shopkeepers! We had tea and discussed its many virtues with a lovely Scottish lady who was nearly 90 years old. She had played 9 holes of golf before she came to the store today with her two daughters. I hope I’m doing that good at 90! 

Have a good night and God Bless!

It is Edward!

You must say that with an English accent, just like Margaret Dashwood does in Sense & Sensibility, as Edward Ferrars comes trotting down the lane to visit the family. This startled little fellow desperately needed a name, and since Edward Hicks was reported to portray himself as the Lion in his Peaceable Kingdoms, naming him “Edward” seemed appropriate. Personally, to me he is very much like Jane’s Edward… wondering how in the world he got into the mess he was in!

This first Courageous Lion is the prototype… meaning Kate took one look at him and claimed him for her very own. What’s a mother to do? So we’ll have to take orders for him. He seemed a little scrunched up in his frame, so he’ll be just a tad smaller next time around. Also, being the first, he gave me ideas for a second… and here it is…

This guy looks a little less startled, and is very happy in his oddly greenish grained frame. (I found a really neat limey-greeny undercoat that I had to try! Perfect!)

Well, it seems as if the rain might be stopping soon… it’s a good thing, since we have a bunch of crafters on the porch at the store today! And Mr. Rick said something about cooking us lunch out back (sorry, not for the public!), which means an Eastern Shore feast, and I don’t want anything to stand in the way of his crabcakes!

Have a blessed Resurrection Day tomorrow! We’ll be greeting it at sunrise in a historic chapel!

Misc., Etc.

We’re making a valiant attempt at getting back into the groove here at Thistle Dew, but alas, it seems like we’re making rather slow progress! This week has involved quite a bit of papercutting and painting, and I think in a day or two we’ll be able to ship out the long awaited orders! Thanks to everyone who ordered the Patriotic Eagles… especially for your patience! They’re nearly finished!!!

The other day, I captured a picture of one of the spiders that keep invading my art room… this was taken shortly before his demise. He was about 3″ in diameter, and just inches away from the door. Hence, “he needed killin’.” That’s a valid defense around these here parts.

 

Saturday was a very nice day at the store… we had our Fall Folk Artists on the Porch Day, and were blessed with a wonderfully friendly crowd! A few highlights…

My Dad got to spend a few hours demonstrating blacksmithing!

Kate spent the day making things that smelled yummy! (And tasted just as yummy… we got to eat them after the crowd went home!)

Miss Pat was busy making Penny rugs!

Miss Jackie brought some lovely quilts!

Miss Suzy did some painting!

Miss Katie autographed her cookbooks!

And Mr. Pete brought his furniture!

 

Goodness, it’s been a while!

Well, the store’s officially back open, and we were really hustling to get some things finished up before Kate’s special program on Sunday. Monday we all just crashed. Tuesday we perked up a bit, and then Wednesday we were back in business!

I’ve gotten a bit more added to Hudson’s General Store’ website… including some “In the Store” photos, just before the ladies descended upon it! Also slowly adding some links and pictures to the “Needful Stuff” page. It’s looking good, despite our non-professional-web-designer status!

While visiting Williamsburg a while back, I found a great book on the folk art of rural Pennsylvania, and have been looking at these two images from what appears to be redware plates. At first, they sort of reminded me of the old Rueben and Rachel poem…

Rueben, Rueben, I’ve been thinking
What a fine world this would be,
If the men were all transported
Far beyond the northern sea.

Rachel, Rachel, I’ve been thinking
If the men should take that trip,
All the women in Creation
Would surely follow, the next ship.

I can’t translate the German, so I have no idea what that first gal is telling the gentleman, but it sure looks like the poor fellow is getting quite an earful! My favorite is the second image, where he looks sort of like he’s promising her the world, but she’s not quite sure if he’ll keep his word! Upon sketching that one out, the folksong, “Come All Ye Fair and Tender Maidens” kept coming to mind…

Come all ye fair and tender ladies,
Take warning how you court young men,
They’re like a star on a summer’s morning,
They’ll first appear and then they’re gone.

Anyway, after having some fun swirling all these thoughts around in my brain, the second picture has inspired a papercutting, and here is the cut, but not yet painted, version. I’ve got a nice spot for a verse of prose, but haven’t quite settled upon what will end up there…

Any ideas?

January is nearly over…

Can you believe it?! We take January and February “off” at the store. It’s usually a working vacation, and ends up being busier than we expect. We do a lot of work in the shop we can’t do normally… deep cleaning, washing of curtains, organizing, and putting away and pulling out merchandise. (Which is a big deal when it’s a major seasonal switcheroo. We close at the end of summer for a couple of weeks too. Folks think we’re nuts, but it’s a much needed respite!) This time Dad has repainted the entire downstairs in the store… a very soft herby sort of green. In January and February, we also squeeze in all those little trips and activities that are difficult to fit in at other times. And we catch up at home on projects and organizing.And we re-think our lives a bit.

Earlier today I read a post about re-thinking our lives on Lesley’s blog. Actually it was several posts and a link to her “January Tidings.” And now January is gone, and February is knocking at the door, but it’s welcome to come in… but I hope it brings some snow as a hostess gift.

Kate and I were absolutely amazed at the response to the Bloggy Giveaway! What fun! Only a few more days and then we get to pick a winner! Thank you all for your participation and fun responses.

I’m adding a few more mini’s to my Farmgirl Etsy site. It takes me a while to upload things, so I’m adding as I get a few free minutes here and there, so check back because there will be more later today, and perhaps tomorrow. Hubby also pointed out that my link was bad for the Farmgirls on Etsy blog, so there it is in case you’re inclined to visit!

And let’s see… Miss Jane, if you’re out there, please tell Mr. Joe his mirror is nearly finished. It’s in the varnishing stages, and we’re taking extra special care with it! I think it’s going to turn out lovely!

And what else… Oh yes! I caught a mouse this morning. It gave me quite a scare at 5 a.m. the other day. Popped out from nowhere just as I was about to start the coffee. And when I went looking I found evidence of where the little bugger had been exploring. My guess is that the pantry upheaval caused him to look elsewhere for nourishment. He’s been eluding Oreo for several days now, although she’s kept a vigilant watch upon the crack between the fridge and cabinets. However, a hunk of Kate’s bread smeared with peanut butter stuck onto a mouse trap did the trick. Who could resist homemade bread? Now mind you, it’s not that I don’t like mice… I’ve rescued my fair share of them from kitties that I know. However, I do not like them in my kitchen, especially since one took up residence in the insulation of my oven a few years ago. That was not good, and upon discovery of where the stench was coming from, the oven went directly outside and we went directly to Lowe’s to purchase a new one. And right now, we can’t afford a new oven, so it was me or the mouse. And now I’m going to reload my weapon (hubby dear loves that wordage), in case the little creature has any relatives.

And finally… a surprise! The store is going to have a website and blog! There’s not much there at present, but it’s part of our family’s re-thinking process, and is a “next step” for Hudson’s General Store! We’re not actually planning on internet sales, but hoping to use it for information and a way to keep in touch with our customers. It looks a lot like my blog right now… because WordPress only has one or two “old-fashioned looking” templates. One of my next ventures is into the world of CSS so I can figure out how to revise the backgrounds a bit. Stay tuned, though, because we’re about to really get busy over there!

Kim

P.S. February Journaling Activities coming tomorrow! I didn’t forget!:-)

We framed, we sang, we overed…

Shew! What a crazy past few days! We spent the majority of last week preparing for the Thanksgiving Weekend/Christmas Open House at the store, and cut, painted, and framed like mad. The weekend turned out to be very busy… lots of people bustling about in the store, but still with a very festive mood. Hudson’s isn’t your typical Black Friday push and shove atmosphere. Kate and Sara sang their little hearts out, and I even got to join them ocassionally! They took quite a few orders for their Christmas CD, and it is “on the presses” as of today! If anyone is interested in purchasing one, just e-mail me… they are $10 each, plus shipping.

We finally got the “Peace” cutting finished… I was really happy with the way it turned out…

And I’m adding some Christmas pictures to the gallery, so check them out!

All in all, we overed the weekend pretty well. “Overed” by the way, is a Sussex County term meaning you got through something with no major problems. We over a lot of things here.

Today involved quite a few errands, and one very sad task. We had to put down Nannie, the last of the goats that Nana Anne gave the girls. Caprine arthritis ran in their family, and each one slowly was affected by it. She began showing signs of being paralyzed yesterday, and today she couldn’t move at all. We still have one goat left… little April, who was given to us by another person and who also is our alarm clock. (There is no such thing as sleeping in with April around! She makes up for her small size with her not-so-small voice!) She doesn’t seem to be too upset or lonely so far. Perhaps the chickens will be enough company for her.

😦

Okay, the day is still young, and I have plenty to do, so off I go!

Heavy Frost?

It’s looking like winter weather at the store… at least on my shoes! Jo & Kate will understand this post best. Every year, at this time, my shoes, often my very favorite ones, have a heavy coating of frost. It’s a little difficult to see, but for all it’s worth…

We like things glitzy at the store. That usually involves me, a can of spray adhesive, and lots of glitter, mica, and this very fine opalescent powdery fairy dusty sort of stuff. My shoes often get in the line of fire. We like to call this potent mixture “Hudson Dust.” And, I’m pretty sure, that if Mom & I were ever x-rayed this time of year, they’d probably put us into some sort of nuclear decontamination chamber, because I think on film we would sparkle. The floor, upstairs and down, has a permanent coating of this frost-like substance, our lunch is often a little glitzy, and even poor little Jack was sparkling within a day of his entrance into this world!

Oh well, we love it, and our motto is “Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!”

Hey, ski resorts can make the fake stuff when there’s a shortage of the real stuff, so why not us!