Back To School Sale!!!!

This weekend only I am having a Back to School sale. I have listed many signs for 1/2 off of their regular price PLUS free shipping! We all need to spoil ourselves a little and here is a great chance to do it and save yourself some money too! To go straight to my Ebay listings, just click on the picture above, this is also one of the signs included in the sale.

I hope that you are all recovering from the sticker shock of back to school shopping, I am getting there! Not much has been happening at Smith Mountain Lake this week, so I don't have too much to write! I hope you all have a great weekend, it looks like my two kitties Sophie and Sunny already have a good start!

Where did I go?????

I know I haven't been posting in quite a while. Too many irons in the fire I suppose. With two children everything has to come to a complete stop sometimes to make sure that everything is taken care of. I am still doing custom ordered signs and also trying to branch out into making more prims. It's been so hard to keep up with everything. The herb garden I wanted to make for myself of course fell to side while I was busy taking care of everyone else. I do have a spearmint plant in there though that a neighbor was nice enough to share with me, it needs a nice pruning to make it bunch out more, but I hope to get to that soon. As far as the nice seeds that my children helped me plant, well, only the basil and oregano survived the heat and lack of water.
The kids started back to school Wednesday, so I am now able to try to get back to my old "work" routine and turn out some signs just in time for the fall and winter seasons, which are always the busiest for me.
I also joined a forum called A Primitive Journey, which is all about primitives, from every aspect. It is a great group of people! They are forming local chapters for meetings and shopping trips. I am the co-director for the Roanoke, Virginia chapter. Our first meeting is tomorrow morning, so I hope to have a picture to post on the forum of our little group. To find your local chapter of A Primitive Journey, go the forum at http://aprimitivejourney.proboards.com/
I changed my logo above! The cabin in the picture is the cabin that my father's mother was born and raised in. It had been in the family for many years until the 1990's. The couple who bought it remodeled it inside, it is soooo gorgeous! They invite the family up when we have family reunions to come and tour the house. I have lots of great pictures from my last visit.
Below is a picture of my new crow ornies that I have been making. They have been selling as fast as I can get them made! I hope that you have a great Friday! Make sure to take time for yourself!

My Project For The Summer of 2010

I have always wanted an herb garden, but like everything else, just haven't had time to even think of where to begin. Since my children are older and are wanting to spend more time outside, I decided that this year I would make an attempt at that herb garden. I thought it might be fun to share my ups and downs as I try to figure out if the green thumb I used to have has turned brown! lol So the picture on the left is how I am starting. I am going to plant these in pots in the next day or two, and the other plants I will probably buy from the greenhouse near by. I have been there already and have seen some herbs I would love to have in my "collection". I am not a big cook around here, but I am hoping that if my herbs do well, it might inspire me to try more of them in my cooking. So buckle up! Here I go!

Good Sunday Morning To All!

Good morning! I just wanted to pop in a leave a quick post before I start a busy day of spring cleaning here at the house. I am so excited that yesterday I found a really nice antique cabinet at a neighbor's yardsale, I am always amazed at all the amazing prims that she always has for sale at really great prices. When i get home I am always cleaning and rearranging for days to find places for it all.

I will be at the Vinton Dogwood Festival next Saturday, I am sharing a booth with Theresa and Kim from Two P's. I have never done this festival so we decided to go in on it together and see how we do, we may rent more than one space next year if we do really well. This is my first festival of the year which always has a little anxiety for me, I know I shouldn't worry because I always sell something!

I hope you all have a great weekend!

New Selling Blog Coming!

I know that my fans on Facebook already know about some issues I have been having with my website, I have appreciated the suggestions that have been offered. When I started my website, it was 4 years (wow, can't believe it's been that long!) and I was so unsure if I should even spend the time on it, who would want to see my signs I thought. You have all proven that it is worth my time! I went on the site to edit for spring and add new items when I began encountering numerous problems with the software. Since it is a free hositng site, they don't really have people who are constantly there to help you. After much debate as to whether to pay for a new host or to keep trying to use other methods of selling, I have decided to try my hand at a selling blog. I already use Ebay, which has brought me some wonderful customers, and I am hoping after I get the selling blog set up to expand and create the Etsy store I have been putting off. I will make sure I let you all know when I get these goals completed. All of you have been a vital part of my success and I am extremely grateful!

A Long Overdue Post & A new giveaway

I so appologize for not having the time I used to have to put more recent posts on my blog. I also need to find the time to update my website, I hope to have that done this week also. I told my husband today that I wished there were more hours in the day and less need to sleep, then I would be able to keep up with everything! The kids are looking forward to spring break next week, and I am enjoying the idea of the weekend with the temps in the 70's to 80's! The picture to the right I took during my daily morning walk the other morning, it had been raining and the moss around here is so green, this looks like a place where you could find a fairy living! lol

I am also announcing a new giveaway to celebrate reaching 750 fans on Facebook, to enter, please click on the picture in the right margin that looks like this one to enter to win all three of these items.

I hope that I am able to make another post in a day or two, but if not, I hope that all of you have a great Easter holiday!

Hurry Please Spring Swap

I have never done a swap before but I have had other friends who have done them and really enjoyed it. Since this is my first, I wanted to make it simple, so here are the rules:

1- Send 1-2 items to the person you are assigned to that will help them get in the spirit to welcome Spring (even if it looks like you live in the arctic tundra outside! Lol)

2-The 1-2 items should be able to fit into an envelope no larger than 8 ½” x 11”

3-It is preferred that at least one of the items be handmade (whether by you or someone else) but it isn’t mandatory.

4-Sign up for the swap will take place from February 15, 2009 until Monday February 22, 2009. To sign up, visit The Country Shed’s Facebook page and sign up under the post asking for you to sign up for the swap

5-I will assign partners on Wednesday February 24, I will send an email to all participants with the information of who they need to send their envelope to

6- Mailing the envelope should take place between February 24 and Monday, March 1, 2009. If for some reason you are unable to get your envelope mailed, please email me and let me know.

7-When you receive your package, please log onto The Country Shed’s Facebook page and post that you got your envelope so that I can make sure everyone receives one.

I am hoping that this will be a lot of fun and an opportunity to make new Facebook friends…..Have fun!

Life in the Snow Lane

This is the view from my backyard after the first big snow we had this winter (hence the beautiful blue sky and sun shining on the mountians! Lol) These are the Peaks of Otter in Bedford, which are part of the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains where I live here in Virginia. We are again being snowed in. I don't remember when my kids last went to school! I have lived here my whole life and don't remember having so much bad weather at once. It is beautiful to look at, but awful to get out in. I remember as a kid I could stay out in the snow for hours, now as an adult, I dread the thought of drudging out to feed the animals daily and walk my big baby T-Bone (he doesn't care what the weather is, he wants his one mile walk! lol)

I thought with Christmas long gone that things would slow down here at The Country Shed, but amazingly special orders have been coming in weekly. I guess that everyone here is doing the same as me, with being stuck inside the only thing you can do is clean and rearrange things just to break up the pace of staring at the same walls all the time! I have been busy painting the inside of my home. I have finished the laundry room and kitchen and have now moved on to my former diningroom. I don't know what to call it as there is no dining room table, it's just a room to hold all my "pretties" that have been passed down to me by my family and my growing collections of primitives and some vintage items. I will try to post pics as I am finished!

Happy Sunday!

Here are some signs I worked on yesterday, I am in such a creative mood! I am hoping that this is a sign that I will be this creative all year! The only problem is that the points box on my well is acting up and it seems like every morning since this lovely cold snap has started, I haven't had any water (grrr.....I can't do any painting without water!) So tonight, I need to remember to save myself some water to have tomorrow morning! :) Ahhh..the joys of living in the country with a 50+ year old house and well, but I wouldn't trade it for anything! LOL! My 5 year old son had his first sleepover at a friend's house last night, I am so amazed, he made it through the night! But he called me at ten after 8 this morning to come pick him up! It seems like such a milestone for me, my children are growing so fast! I hope you are all having a peaceful Sunday as this one is starting out for me! Happy New Year to you all!

A New Year, A New Giveaway!

Yes! Another giveaway! I just noticed the other day that I reached over 500 fans on Facebook, so to celebrate, I am doing a giveaway on Facebook. You will have to go to my fan page on Facebook to enter this giveaway though. http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/pages/Hardy-Virginia/The-Country-Shed/138802456688?ref=ts

Welll.....

LOL! This was one of my candelabras from last year, I had originally put the bubble lights in it just to see if they worked, but just left them in there, I was having too much fun.

I am disappointed in myself this year. Usually, I put the Christmas tree up the day after Thanksgiving and have the house all decorated really nice, but for the last two years, I haven't done as much. Last year, my husband decided he wanted a real tree for once and so I waited for him to go with me to get one. We thought we could just go up the mountain on my granny's place and find a nice tree....well, that didn't work out too well, we ended up snagging one (a white pine) at the nice little country store down the road on the way home! lol We got the tree inside and in the stand and then we cut the wrapping off....WHOOSH! the tree took up half of our dining room, it was so hilarious! But the kids and I had fun decorating it. This year I have gotten worse! I didn't put the tree up until last week (yes, I bought another live one on my own this time) and it still isn't finished, I haven't finished going through all the decorations, but I think I am finished, because I have waited so late this year, What is the point when I have to put it all back in the box a week or so later? So I decided that since I know I can go get a tree on my own and put it in the stand on my own, I will be going out to buy a tree the day after Thanksgiving.

Finally! I am back! Merry Christmas to you!

I am so sorry to everyone for taking so long to get back on here. I promise, I didn't forget you, I had to have some work done on my home which took all of my free time, which I did not expect in the least! I did select a winner for the Harvest Giveaway, it is Cat Nap Inn Primitives! I am sending her an extra sign for winter since it has taken me so long to get the drawing done. We are snowed in here at Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia. We had 16 inches I believe (well, it was enough for me to get my 4 wheel drive 4-wheeler stuck yesterday!) on Friday and Saturday, and with the temps. staying in the 30's all week, it will stay around at least long enough to make it seem more like Christmas! I want to thank you all for the great business you have given me this year, and look forward to serving you more in 2010, without you, my business would not be possible! I hope that you and your families have a wonderful Christmas and an awesome New Year!

Another Learning Experience!

Well, this weekend was my second show of the year and it went very well, actually much better than I expected! This is only my second show since I have started to try to do them more than I have in the past so I am learning new things with each show I have and will be doing! I am always amazed at how I can have an item that I have had for quite a while and take it to a show and it sells right away. Each show is so different! The shoppers' tastes are never the same, and I enjoy the thrill of wondering what will be the hot item this time! :) I am going to do the Holiday Craft & Gift Show December 5, at Franklin County High School in Rocky Mount, so mark your calendars!

Happy Saturday to all!

I hope everyone is having a great weekend so far! It is nice here today, even though it is overcast with a little rain here and there, it is warm, but not too warm and I am loving it!

I am thinking of my dad today on what would have been his 70th birthday today. This is a picture of him napping on the porch of his favorite place to be, our hunting cabin down in Big Island, Virginia. A true rustic paradise for him! No electricity or running water and two wood stoves. I got to go on one of their overnight hunting trips one time when I was about 11 or so, since I was the only girl, I got elected to cook on the woodstove in the kitchen (big beautiful antique black cookstove! ), let's just say, my dad ended up with an iron skillet size pancake because I couldn't stand being in front of that hot woodstove any longer and thought it was a great idea to just dump the rest of the batter in the pan (lol!). Now as an adult, I appreciate it so much more for what it is! It inspires me in a lot of decorating of my home here. My dad, brother and my dad's friends had lots of great memories of their trips to the cabin. My husband is now carrying on the tradition with his buddies and this time of year I am now hearing about their trips up there and how much fun they are having!

Another Sign Has Been Added to the Giveaway!

I have added a Simple Blessigs sign to the Harvest Giveaway, for details on how to enter, please read the post below this one!

I now have personalized ornies to offer for the Holidays! I am working on new designs, but these are two that I have been using in the past and will still offer this year, they make great gifts. I have done them for each student in my daughter's class, they love stuff with their names on it! I have also done them for a veteran's home that my church visits often. They were a big hit with the veterans and I had a lot of fun making them and thinking of each one I was making an ornament for. Each ornie is $1.99. Large orders of 25 or more are $1.25.

Harvest Giveaway

Here is my last giveaway of the Fall Season!


In this giveaway, I have a Sunflower Seed Co. Sign, Love chunky ornie, and small Enjoy Life sign.

There are many ways to put entries in this drawing, you get one entry for leaving a comment on this blog (please make sure to leave an email address for me to contact you if you win!), two entries if you sign up to follow this blog, two entries if you go to http://www.thecountryshed.com/ and register as a new member. If you purchase something from the site, you will also get three entries for each item you purchase (custom orders included!). If you have a blog and post my giveaway there, you also get three entries, just please make sure to let me know you posted so that I can make sure to put your entries in. Giveaway ends November 12, and the drawing will be on November 13. There are so many ways to win! Don't forget to share this with a friend!

A new week!

This week, I will be announcing the new Thanksgiving Giveaway! I am also looking for other bloggers who would like to link pages. Please feel free to email me. I would love to link to your site!

The weather is getting cooler here quickly. I actually caught myself today thinking ahead to Christmas! I am already taking orders for Christmas, if you are interested in a special sign to give a loved one as a Christmas gift, please email me, I would love to help you.

Here is a picture I took in Sept. when my brother and I were out with our children in the mountain as the weather was just starting to get cooler. My children couldn't resist one last walk in the creek before it got too cold!

Welcome to the New Country Shed Blog!

Due to constant technical issues with my website, I chose to move my blog here! In an effort to serve you better. I am still new at blogging, but hope that I will be able to find something interesting to bring to my readers! Keep checking in to see what's new!