we've been practicing

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Wordless Wednesday

Lemon Laundry

As part of our weekly experiment on TOUGH TIMES radio show...we selected a household tip from lovetostamp:

add lemons to the rinse cycle of a white load to freshen laundry

I was anxious to try this technique, and took to slicing and juicing some lemons. I liked to remove the seeds and use the pulp and skin of one lemon per load.




When I added the lemon remanats to the rinse, I noticed the effect of the lemon right away. After the spin cycle my washing machine was immediately fresh and smelled nice.


I decided to hang the towels on a rack to dry in the sun...and the lemons really did the trick! I can tell you that one little lemon freshened the load did it's job, for sure!



The towels didn't require and fabric softener or dryer sheets---saving me $$. And the results were amazing. I actually tried similar lemon amounts with different kinds of laundry and found towels and socks benefited the most from the power of the lemon.



Special thanks ro lovetostamp for the tip. And thanks for listening to TOUGH TIMES on Blockhead Radio!


wildwood and skyline

The Donation Quilt

Pieceful Afternoon is offering "Grandmother's Flower Garden" quilt as a prize in a fund raising effort for relief of medical bills

Here's a chance to help an artisan's family and win a beautiful handmade quilt in the process. JoAnn, of Pieceful Afternoon, is trying to raise the $25,000 copay that is required for her husband Don's open heart surgery.

To raise the money that is needed for the surgery, JoAnn is actually holding a raffle which gives everyone out there the opportunity to win a gorgeous quilt.

Please kindly take a look at the many ways to enter for a chance to win...and to support this lovely family

Pieceful Afternoon Blog

High School Mythical 1910

What was life like 100 years ago?

I found this interesting photo on Shorpy:

Washington, D.C., circa 1910. "National School of Fine & Applied Arts." An interesting group of young thespians. Harris & Ewing

Shorpy is an online archive of thousands of high-resolution photos from the 1850s to 1950s. Our namesake, Shorpy Higginbotham, was a teenage coal miner who lived 100 years ago.

Wordless Wednesday

move it

I've been very busy lately with getting our new home setup; wanted to share some photos I took during our move. Due to some violent weather, it actually took 3 days of moving to get all of our belongings.

We were joined by my parents, who were very productive with unpacking. And now that they've returned home, I sure miss 'em! We took one day to go antique shopping and explore some of the shops in Nolensville Historic District.

All told, the move was pretty smooth:)

Mellow Tones

Ease into the conventional side of handmade gifts....

Visit Mellow Tones: Handmade Shopping Guide

Join us for Tough Times

Tuesday morning 11:30 EST on Blockhead Radio

Kick off our new show that focuses on Thrifty Tips for frugal living! 101 helpful household tips to save you money.... like: instead of tossing all those little bits of leftover chicken or meat, save them to use for homemade soup or stew:)

I'll be giving loads of encouragement for frugal living; and we'd love to hear some of your best tips, too! Tune in, chat, or call. TOUGH TIMES on Tuesday mornings with WILDWOOD

Hoppy Easter

Congratulations to TIEN : the winner in our jellybean contest! Your guess of 940 was closest to the actual number without going over.... there were exactly 1011 jellybeans in the jar.

We hope you enjoy your new crocheted Bowtie Bunny. Big Thanks to everyone who entered and have a wonderful Easter Day!

Cottontail Rabbit handpainted rock $38

Brandished wildwood

Finally got some photos of my new 'wildwood' office. The wood paneled walls, ceiling and trim don't have any stain or finish...they're burned! The original owner used torches and brandished the surface enough to seal it. I was very excited about this feature of the room, and wanted to share it with you.

Burned wood paneling

EOW sign

desk

guest corner

I'll also be posting progress in my new stonewall workshop.

wordless wednesday

Take a Guess Giveaway

How many jelly beans are in this jar?

Take a guess...and you could win a handmade bunny!

Bowtie Benny the Bunny

from Cogan's Creations

Here's a hint: it's a 3lb. pickle jar

Enter your guess as a comment

and be sure to leave a way to contact you;



one entry per person

US residents only, please






We'll announce the winner on April 12th EASTER

and who ever comes closest to the number without going over will WIN




Check out more of the amazing sellers from Old World Shoppes

(a special group of traditional crafters on Etsy)

The Nesting Instinct

I'm now a resident of Nolensville, Tennessee (pop. 3000) Est. 1797

and I'm working hard to get settled into the new digs. My new workshop is coming together, and I've updated all my online shops:

ETSY
ARTFIRE
HANDMADE FUzION
MADEITMYSELF

I've got pics of the move and more details about the tiny farming community known as N-town that I'll be sharing right here on the blog.