Christmas Gift Exchange- Join in!

This years Country Christmas gift exchange is called " The Country Christmas Connection" to sign up visit, Guernsey Dairy Mama's blog. 

 I encourage you to sign up. I have participated in the past in the Christmas in the Country, hosted by Jamie Rhoades (This Uncharted Rhoade), Laurie Link (COUNTRY LINKed), Those ladies are taking a break, not to let us down 2 other great bloggers are coordinating. Jenny from The Magic Farmhouse and Darleen from Guernsey Dairy Mama

Check out past year's post 2015 and 2014  post to get a small idea of what fun gifts you might receive. 

Christmas in the Country Reveal

My #ChristmasintheCountry gift arrived pretty early, I couldn't wait to open it! I had to, I needed my camera with me to "document" the gift, yet still I didn't get a picture of the outside or as I opened it :(

I am thankful that , Jamie Rhoades (This Uncharted Rhoade), Laurie Link (COUNTRY LINKed), Erin Mullins (Diaries from the Dirt Road) and Robyn (Ranch Wife Chronicles) coordinated this fun exchange. 2014 was the second (hopefully annual) exchange, and I'm glad I didn't miss it like the year before. 

Luckily for me one of the hosts, Robyn received my name. I was excited to receive a gift from a blogger I followed and who was from the same state as my Dad.  Besides the reveal, I am also including the contact info where you can get some of these items.  (If you are jealous and want one for yourself.)  I think handmade, local businesses, family owned, etc are important and should be supported!

I love that all of them are one of a kind and handmade!

In my box: 

-decorated Mason Jar (done by Robyn herself)

- Notebook, again one of Robyn's creations. I hope this helps me get organized in 2015, I am always losing the notes I write. Plus this will be a reminder of the exchange and new blogger friend.

-Hand embroidered tea towels. by a neighbor of hers (love, love, love these) I think this is a lost art. These towels are something my family has always had and were the "prized" towels in our kitchen!

-Goat Milk Soap, "a luxury, every women should have"- Robyn

Check this stuff out, here is the contact info that is on the bar. 

-Mixed Media art. Fun and right up my alley

Thanks again to Robyn for the great Christmas gift and to the others who helped coordinate. Can't wait till Christmas in the Country 2015!

County Fair Survival Kit

Fair season is upon us!

My mom stumbled upon these adorable "County Fair Drinking Jar" Mason jars.

 Too cute to just leave at the store so we had to figure out something to do with them. I told her to just buy a "few" and we will figure out something. 

Well this came to me......" County Fair Survival Kit"

 Fairly inexpensive and quick to throw together. I had the basic supplies and just picked up the rest at Dollar Tree or Walmart. 

What supplies I used: 

-Brown Craft Filler

-"4-H" Green Raffia

What is in the kit

-Jolly Ranchers

-Binder Clips

-Chap-Ice Lip Balm

-"4-H" Green Mints

I had more ideas but need to save something for next years kit!

Below is the label I created. 

 I was really please how they turned out (especially in the 10min I took to do it all!) the recipients loved them!

The 3 Cs of Christmas gifts; Country, Classy & Cooking -Part 1

Just take a look at my Christmas gifts and you get a really good sense of the kind of person I am! My family and friends know we well. As I was getting ready to put away all my Christmas gifts I noticed themes and that they truly represent me. A few C's were County/Cows, Classy & Cooking,and you can add in Crafts & Coffee. (I didn't get as much crafty or coffee items as usual)

 I am going to take you on a little tour of my gifts and how they truly represent me! You will probably get to know me a little more.

COUNTRY >>>
-Muck Boots, I have been needing and wanting these for about a year now.
-Work gloves
-Show calf air freshener
-4-H mug
-Western jewelry
-Cruel Girl & Wrangler Rock 47 jeans
-Duck Dynasty playing cards

CLASSY >>>
- Same jeans, but they fall in the category, they are county n' classy on of my favorite themes on this blog
-"Nice" jewelry as in the kind you buy at high end jewelry stores
-Fun jewelry
-Purses & wallets
-Funky shoes from my momma! more about that in Part 2.

COOKING >>>

  This is the BIG haul!

- Deep dish skillet ( it was on my list, they did well!)

-Enamel coated pans (again, what I had been wanting)

-Cookbooks

-Cooking ingredients

-Cooking utensils

Hooded Bath Towels & Tutorial

I was recently invited to a baby shower for TWINS! The mom-to-be is a long time friend, and fellow crafter, so I wanted to make something myself ...Oh wait, whats new :)

I remember how my hooded towel was my favorite so I thought this would be a great gift, and probably useful to have when bathing twins.  Nursery theme is Carebears, so when I found this cute fabric I was pretty happy. 

I think they turned out well, one boy one girl so they are similar but not exact. 

Each set is a hooded bath towel, matching wash cloth, and burp rag. 

I really like the tutorial I found at This & That. Simple with easy to follow instructions. 

Baby Shower Gifts-Changing pad

One of my best friends Abby is expecting a baby October 23rd. I co-hosted a shower with her aunt this past Saturday. I had seen a few changing pad tutorials on Pinterest, was at a baby shower over a month ago and a lady had made on, which everyone commented how handy they were so..... I decided that's what I was going to make her.

First I picked the fabric, paisleys are Abby's favorite and since they didn't find out the gender I needed something neutral.....Turquoise is always a hit with a country gal.

Then I bought a towel (yep that's my secret, not the terry cloth material by the yard.) and the Velcro.

Finally, I combined a few tutorials such as this one and this one.

I am really happy how it turned out.

TA-DA!

 There are 2 pockets at the bottom, one larger to hold wipes and then a small that would fit lotions, creams and other items.

 I had left over fabric so I made a matching burp cloth.

Here are the favors. Shower colors were yellow and green. Those are also the nursery colors.

 Microwave popcorn with a wrap saying " Ready to POP! Thanks for welcoming a baby to the ranch"

Show Calf Onesie

Now that the shower is over I can share the Show Calf Onesie I made for CP's sister!

Upclose of the calf, I thought it needed a touch of something, so I got pink with white polka dots.

 

 

And on the left hip!

 

 

I do customize these for purchase. Email me at laurel.hill@live.com with questions

Farm Baby Lotion~Fun Find

I love themes, I love agriculture....so when I find something that combines the two...I get pretty excited.
 I was shopping in a fun store in Iola, KS called The Classy Attic and stumbled upon this:

How stinkin cute is this?! Farm Baby lotion! The company is Sweet Grass Farm. I think for the next Farm Themed Baby Shower this might be a necessity.

Wedding Blocks-Semi-tutorial

A friend of mine got married this past Saturday, it was beautiful.

As most of my friends know, I love giving handmade gifts, so check out my gift to her.

My mom is in the process of redoing the old farmhouse from 1901.
The spindles for the front porch were too long we we had to cut about 1-2in off the ends. Here are the blocks I was left with:

I then painted 2 of the faces of the block a light cream. One side I painted the letters of the bride and grooms last name:

The other side I did a fun "math problem"(thats an oxymoron)

Thrifty Hospitality

I want to share a picture of my room at the "B&B" I joke, because this is actually the spare room at my good friends parent's house. They always have about 5 different fancy flavored creamers(just for me) and a pot of coffee on all day. See what I mean about a "B&B"?!

When I walked in I thought it looked perfect and I even had a gift basket.This is where the "Thrifty Thursday" comes in. Pam always hits the after Christmas sales and picks up those ready made gift baskets to have on hand. What a great idea! My mom had decided thatshe is going to start doing the same thing.

Many times those sets are under $5 and can also be found after other holidays such as Valentines, Mother's Day, and Easter.

What a thrifty way to make a guest feel welcomed.

Repurposed Gift Tin

We had this old tin in a box to get rid of, I decided to repurpose it for  my best friends birthday. She is the type that likes hand made, one-of-a-kind items. 

BEFORE:

Funny thing is I went to an auction the next day and they had a tin just like this in a box. If I had wanted a matching pair I never would have been able to find another :)

AFTER:

I personalized it with their brand, and since her birthday is the same day as Kansas Day, I thought sunflowers fit perfectly. To top it off,  I filled it with chocolate chip cookies.

How I did it: Washed the tin with soap & water. Let it dry completely. Applied an all-purpouse house paint. Then painted details with acrylic craft paints. Sealed it with 2 coats of clear Krylon spray.

Camera Strap Cover

I found this tutorial at Crafty Texas Chicks and decided to make a few adjustments and cover the strap on my NEW CAMERA!!!!  I used some leftover scraps I had on hand. The purple ruffles didn't turn out like I had hoped, they needed to be narrower and then it would have shown the ruffles better.

I think it will not only keep the strap clean, but will make it easily identifiable.

Thanks Mom, for a great Christmas present.

Salvaged Barn Board Boxes

I wanted to share this wonderful gift that my granparents recieved as a Christmas gift and my mom recieved as a houswarming gift.The boards used in these boxes were off my great-great granparents barn built in the 1800s.The bows are from one of our walnut trees.

ENJOY!

I love that he kept the old nails in the board.

Repurposed Pot Holders-Tutorial

We had some pot holders laying around that had stains, tears, and major signs of wear so I decided to jazz them up a bit.
Here are the new and improved pot holders:

First I decided what design I wanted on the front.
I free-handed that on the wrong side of the denim (old pair of Wranglers)

Cut out design and pin to the fabric of your choice for the top

I chose to stitch them in turquoise. Some of the others were in pink, I love brown with those colors.

I stiched around the edge on some and then in a star pattern on others.

Then I layed the old pot holder onto the wrong side of the top and stiched along the edges leaving a 1/4 in or so.

Finally, I layded the finished top onto the wrong side of the backing( I used denim again) and sewed around the entire holder.The first round served as a guide to put the back on. The second round closed the old worn out pot holder in so it can't be seen.

Last thing to do, is throw it through the washer & dryer so they fray, trim them up and they are good to go!

Thrifty Shopping-Online

Ok, I'm not sure I can totally justify this as Thrifty, but it's my blog and I can do what I want....right?

I ran onto a blog called Pretty Things. Lori over there is hosting a Virtual Craft Fair.....GENIUS! Not only is she promoting artists, but they are having give-aways. So hop on over there and do a little browsing or even shopping.

Holiday Bazaar

Come Shop

1st Annual Flint Hills Holiday Bazaar

Today, Nov 19 9am-2pm

1440 Pearl, Junction City, KS

Santa will be there noon-2pm

Wedding Present Tutorial

I wanted to share a wedding present I made for a friend. (Casie, realize the cost of this gift is in no way a reflection of how much you mean to me!)

I'm not to good at slowing down and taking step by step pictures AND I think most of you are smart enough to follow.

I first started with an old picture I got in a $1 pile at an auction. So... the cost of this was probably 2cents.

I painted over the picture in tan. Paint cost= free.


Then I took an old certificate frame that had the glass broken out. I believe this was $1 at the Dollar Tree.

I took the cardboard back out as well as the staples to hold the glass in place.

Next I bought a paper mache "N" for their last name- Cost $2.50 at Hobby Lobby.
Painted it Chrome-Paint=free

Then rubbed brown craft paint on the "N" to look worn. Paint= 25cents

Finally, I stacked it all, glued with hot glue and painted their name and date.

Ta-Da!

Where are you?

That's probably the question you have been asking, I haven't blogged in 2 weeks, except for those I had automatically posted.  No I didn't take a vacation to Europe ( I wish), I didn't meet the man of my dreams and run off (again I wish), I have just been doing the usual; crafting, on the road, going to conferences, wedding showers, and getting ready for the American Agri-Women National convention we are hosting in Wichita, plus much more. .......

I'm going to have alot of new posts with lots of info on a variety of topics, but mostly AGRICULTURE!

Lets start with the Pumpkin Patch, a large craft fair that is held in Manhattan. It was a 2 day event and we did really well. 2Chick Couture's schedule is full for craft fairs and shows until February.

We will be at the following:

Nov 9-12 American Agri-Women Convention-Wichita, KS
Nov 12-Buttons & Bows-Manhattan, KS
Nov 26-Homemade for the Holidays-Manhattan, KS
Dec 3-Christcringle- Ft.Riley, KS
Dec 10-The Magic of Christmas -Riley, KS

One of the items I made that really went well were the feedsack tote bags.
I have a variety of designs, horses, cattle, chickens, all purpose stock feed,....

Here are pictures of a bunch of the sacks after I have washed them and then hung them on the line to dry.

If your looking for Christmas presents, myself and 2Chick Couture are here to help!

Farm Theme Baby Shower

I hosted, along with another gal a Farm Themed Baby Shower. This was for a good friend of mine from college. Anna, is a country girl and so a farm theme was a given. Anna and her husband decided not to find out the sex of the baby so they decorated the nursery in primary colors. I really enjoyed hosting this shower, and  think it turned out pretty well.

Guest Book

Gift Table

The Food Table

Food:

Pretzels=Straw

Green Grapes=Cactus Buds

Corn Nuts=Chicken Feed

Animal Crackers=FARM animal crackers

Relish Tray=Veggie Patch

Water=Watering Hole

Combos=Hay Bales

We had Cowtail candy & jolly ranchers too

For the centerpieces. I took a mason jar wrapped a bandanna around it and tied it with a stripe of denim. My good friend Abby cut wildflowers on her way to the shower for me!

Couture Koozies

I wanted to share a recent order that we (2Chick Couture) had. The order was for one of my good friends from college, that is getting married.  We had a BBQ 2 weeks ago and she wanted each bridesmaid and groomsman to have a gift.....so here you have it.

To see more detailed and upclose pictures go to my business blog (www.2chickcouture.blogspot.com)