Isn't this pillow wonderful !! It is all hand stitched by Connie Steinbeck.....on an aged gold linen.

I just love it...!!

A PERSONAL INVITATION...

HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE....

(Not quite sure why it is yellow....it was done on orange paper...???)

KINDRED SPIRITS...

Above is a picture of the girls doing our Rock, Paper, Scissors class yesterday. I think everyone had a good time....their witch shoe candy boxes, baskets,tags etc. and even the bags they carry their projects home in were decorated so "Halloweeny" !! If you would like to see more pictures go to our Picture Trail Album of the class.

It is raining here today....started last night ...and very cool...sort of dismal for a Sunday morning - so NO flea market finds for Tony today....(pouting)!

It is less than a week to prepare for our "Witches Nite Out"...which is shaping up to be a really cool event...surprises are in store ...so if you are close - come join us for some good food, good treats and ???????????????????? !!!! October 2nd from 6 pm til' 9 pm - wear your best "witchy" outfit and a token of "Witchery" will be yours! Hand "bob" for an apple to get a discount on all fall and Halloween "treats" - Both stores - The Cinnamon Stick and Homespun Woolens and Yard Goods - will be treating you - no tricks.....hmmmmm well....you best never trust a "witch" !!!! (loud cackling laugh) !!!

...and a sneak peek of our next class....October 17th - "A Witch Mannequin" - what fun !!

MY NOSE IS HAPPY !!

I have just made two Apple Crisps for the ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS class for tomorrow...and the house smells so wonderful. MY NOSE IS HAPPY....(my tummy is not happy about having to wait till tomorrow to eat some)....!!!

What a nice week I am having at the store....seeing friends who have moved away, back home visiting relatives and stopping in to say "Hello" ! It has been busy and that makes my heart sing that customers are starting to relax alittle more about the economy.

I have spent the last couple days making little gifts for all YOU witches who come dressed for our Witches Nite Out next Friday....I sparkle from all the glitter!! I will take lots of pictures for those who are not able to attend our "bewitching" affair!

Yesterday was Blakely's birthday....she is 5 and is very quick to tell you that....isn't she a cutie!!

TAKING A BREATHER....

I have been a busy bee the last couple days and just now finding some time to relax....(for a minute or two anyway) !!! Cup of coffee in hand (my energy pill....caffeine!!) and a chocolate cupcake (more caffeine) - sounds good doesn't it ?????
I have been having fun watching the decorations for the Witches Nite Out come together....it is a "joint" effort between Tony and I - each doing their part and now it seems we are on the last leg. Of course next Friday (we will be closed all day till 6 pm.) will be another story as we keep our fingers crossed ALL decorating plans we made as are as easy as we keep telling ourselves they will be. Now just to get our "witchy" clothes together and do some grocery shopping and some cooking and all will be ready.....we wish everyone could come....you are ALL invited!!!
Today I put the final touches on our ROCK~PAPER~SCISSORS class that will be this Saturday. There is still room if anyone wants to join us....!!!
I use to have this wonderful olde mannequin "Miss Prim" - that I sold to the store next to me....after I sold it I was sad :( ....I use to keep the attic open with "attic goods" in it for sale and she was a display piece. When we decided to use the attic for a workshop and then classes she needed to find a new home....so up she went for sale. (she lives next door so I can visit her whenever I want)..
HOWEVER, a few weeks ago I found another mannequin (dress form) and she will be making her "debut" at the store sometime this week...I will be sure to post a picture of her....(still looking for the "right" hat!)
Break is over ...time to get back to work...!!!

AUTUMN GREETINGS COUNTRY FRIENDS...

WOW!! What a beautiful weekend we had here in Pennsylvania..."perfect"...is the best description! You never know WHO will come shopping when the weather is ..."perfect"....thankfully it brought lots of shoppers anxious to find Halloween goodies! We were VERY happy to oblige!! The next couple days will be busy getting ready for the ROCK-PAPER-SCISSORS class - cleaning the store - restocking the best I can (we got the neatest little witch's shoes in today from Vicki) and then making the decorations (oh-la-la) for the Witches Nite Out !! What fun this is turning out to be!!!!!

Don't you LOVE our scarecrow on the outhouse door....!! He was made by Janet Burzenski, a well known folkartist from Massachusetts. Janet use to visit our store when we were in Morgantown, PA and had made a scarecrow like this for the Bed & Breakfast they use to stay at....I coveted it!! One year the B & B had ordered another one and she called and asked if I would like to have one too....WELL HECK YES!! He started out with a black burlap dress - after spending the last 14 years each fall, outside in the weather (and although alittle faded) he is holding up just perfectly. I lost contact with Janet when we moved to Hereford but do know that she licensed Primitives by Kathy and others to sell her folkart. Maybe one day she will happen upon my little store or blog and recognize this sweet fellow!!! (he has gourds in his pocket now and sometimes I find a surprise there...must be from Alexandria Puddlewick)

SOMETIMES...

"The little witch grew out of her training shoes and look who moved in!!"

Every once in awhile I get an idea and it happens....these shoes are made of plaster and were pink....flea market find - (3 in. long) after some paint and tiny stitching these little critters have a new home - now don't you want to give them a new home with you !!!!!

HOW A NECESSITY TURNED INTO $$$'s....

I usually burn candles in the store....sweet smelling advertising is how I look at it! Well....last Wednesday knowing that there would be lots of people looking at all our goodies for sale. I didn't want to put the candle in the usual place for fear it would get knocked over or someone might get burned. Soooooo....I put the votive pot in an old jar that Tony had wired to hang on our hooks for the Witches Nite Out....and hung it from the beams on the ceiling right beside the counter. The jar looked empty and I just happened to have a sack full of creepy crawly thing-a-ma-jigs nearby - so I filled the jar under the votive pot. It brought many comments and customers kept wanting to purchase one for their homes.....so finally today I filled some jars with creepy crawly things, corncobs and a few other yucky critters! That is the explanation of the pictures above !!!!

And this is "Corncob" our resident scarecrow....he is such a happy fellow and welcomes everyone to the store...be sure to say hello when you stop in!!!

PLAY DAY TODAY...

Not that I don't have a million-scillion-biwillion things to do....but instead, I took the day with my sweetie and we had a fun day shopping. Of course when we shop it is usually for business, but today it was "funny business" as we were shopping for "witchy clothes" and decorations for our Witches Nite Out !! SUCCESS!! Somehow I have to find more hours in the day to do all the things I want to do.

Sharon came over tonight and we went thru recipes for some "devilish" good treats - where do they come up with all these cool ideas for "ghoulish" foods!! Some are down right disgusting (but fun!)

If you go on any of the Halloween blogs you can find the bestest ideas -(sigh) if that was the only thing I had to do -(sigh) !! Did you know I LOVE HALLOWEEN !!!

NO REST FOR THE WEARY...

...and I must say that is a GOOD feeling. After getting "thru" summer it is nice to be busy in the store. Although I do feel some pressure right now to replace items that were sold out...(doesn't that sound good....SOLD OUT !) We have had two very beautiful days in a row and I have been playing "catch-up" today....you know...grocery shopping, hair cut, and the laundry....(how do two people make so many dirty clothes??) Adding new names to our store email list and composing a new email - paying bills - and of course visiting some of my favorite blogs, were all on the agenda today!

I finally found "dresses" for my Gourd Lady Witches - will take pictures on Wednesday and show you them all dressed up! Still rounding up goodies for our Witches Nite Out...oh you must come if you can...!!

I took some pictures of Halloween for sale at the store today and will post them as soon as I can on our Picture Trail...Dianne brought us new items on Sunday and so did Brenda....and Barbara said she would "stitch" a few more goodies for us.....I LOVE THIS TIME OF YEAR!!

Meet Molly - she was a very good girl while her MOM shopped....she also

kept some little ones occupied while their Moms shopped...you can't help but love this little Yorkie all 1 1/2 pounds of her!

RAIN RAIN RAIN RAIN RAIN RAIN RAIN....

Squish -Squash....boy am I looking forward to some sunshine tomorrow.....!! There are hay bales on the back porch of the store.....and the wet shoes bring all the little pieces of hay inside - and the "fallen" leaves from the olde walnut tree too! I tried my best to keep up with the mess but soon after lunch I just gave up! Tomorrow is another day!

One more day of the first week of "fall treasures"....it has been nice to have nice steady days again. Hoping for more next week. (and the next and the next.....)

Tony worked with me today and we had some time to talk about our plans for the "Witches Nite Out"....it is going to be really cool - I am hoping we can get a good turn out and keep this going every year. The first one is always the hardest....but I am pretty good at planning and getting things ready way ahead of time. We are going to transform the outside of the store and are closing the store that Friday until we have our "party" at 6 pm. I get giddy and excited when I have lots of ideas to work on....we are making this a "Customer Appreciation" happening too.

Our first class of the season is pictured above...ROCK~~PAPER~~SCISSORS - you can check out our picture trail album for more pictures and info. We have lots of fun in our classes, so if you live close enough - come have some fun with Sharon and I on Saturday, September 26th!

FALL IS IN THE AIR...

Some of our treasures....it is hard to get good pictures in our store...(hmmmm maybe it is me!)

It has been very cool here in my little part of Pennsylvania - really quite fall like - creating the perfect atmosphere for our Harvest Thyme Open House ! Everything went quite well and I was able to find enough stock to fill in the "holes" and make the store look quite good again for today. Bats seem to be a very BIG deal this year - along with owls and MICE !! Glittery pumpkins and stars, mercury glass pumpkins and crows...and FINALLY the altered art/mixed media creations are getting noticed. I am truly blessed to have such great artists providing unique items for our store....they (everyone of them) worked up to Monday and Tuesday in order to give us as much as they could....which of course meant I was pricing and displaying very early Wednesday morning !! ALL WORTH IT !!! Today, as expected, was quieter but I am gearing up for a BIG weekend! (fingers crossed)!!!

WITCH IN TRAINING DRESS...

Open House was a great success.....a very busy day shared with old and new friends...!!! IT WAS FUN!! I will share pics on our Picture Trail later....I took lots...Everything went perfect !!!....but right now I am off to fluff up the store...it is a "happy" mess !!! I LOVE THIS BUSINESS !!!

THE COUNTDOWN...

I AM REALLY WORKING HARD.....WHEW !!!!!

OUR OPEN HOUSE INVITE...

"TRICK OR TREAT"

September 6, 2009

Hi Country Friends,
The "stage" is set for THE CINNAMON STICK'S HARVEST THYME open house beginning ~~~~~
Wednesday, September 9th
10 am till 8 pm
Cornstalks and pumpkins are decorating the porches~~"Cornball" ~~(our resident scarecrow) is at his post to "WELCOME" everyone~~ the "witches" have arrived and so has Alexandria Puddlewick. (you never know where she might show up)..I AM SO EXCITED !!!!!!
Beautiful garlands, candle rings and sprigs are available for your fall decorating....Halloween cats, owls, witches and pumpkins are "pushing and shoving" each other trying to be in the best display ( I keep hearing little voices saying..."pick me - pick me"!! Boy do I have my hands full....oh my!!
Beautiful wool pillows with handstitched pumpkins, many different ornaments for your Halloween trees, the best folkart treasures and delicious fall candle scents will make our HARVEST THYME OPEN HOUSE the best open house ever!
This is just the beginning of the lovely Autumn season ~~ we plan to keep the store stocked with plenty of fall and Halloween treasures. Sharon and I are working on some really fun "Halloween" classes and will let you know about them soon!
Be sure to pick up a flyer for our big Halloween Party...."THE WITCHES NIGHT OUT"... October 2nd, 6 pm to 9 pm - more info coming on this first ever event!
HAPPY AUTUMN,
Your Country Friends,
Judy and Tony

I suppose I should explain about Alexandria Puddlewick...you can go to our Cinnamon Thymes album on our Picture Trail... Judy

I WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE YOU TO....

Ms. Kit and Ms. Kat

They are patiently waiting to make their "debut" at THE CINNAMON STICK'S HARVEST THYME OPEN HOUSE - Wednesday the 9th....woohoo!! They are camping out in the basement of the store - everytime I go down there they just keep purring and purring knowing soon they will find a nice home to live in! These gals were made by Barb Young of Turkey Hollow American Folkart - there is so much detail on them I wish you could see! Well you can see - just come to our open house!! (okay...I was playing with my price tags today and if you look close you will see the little "mouse" punch out....oh so sweet!!)

It was such a beautiful fall day....I can only hope it continues to be this nice. I am making many messes in the store as I try to get everything ready. The excitement is growing ....

THANK YOU EVERYONE -

Little bat ornies....for sale September 9th

I decided to email the gal whose pattern it was and ask her how the heck she did it!! Her advice was once I made one I would understand how to score it.....well.......so much for that. However...good olde hubby said "why not score thru the pattern"... (just like your advice Lisa) ( I own Martha Stewart's bone folder - well two of them...) ...so at the store today I took a few minutes....(hour) and made the project....AND IT WORKED.....needs some tweaking and I can't show you until it is finished. It is going to be part of a class Sharon and I are getting together called "ROCK - PAPER - SCISSORS" (the rock being glitter) !!! (glitter seems to be a "magic" word) !!!

Have you seen Martha Stewart's Halloween stuff??? Oh my I was dancing with glee when I saw everything in AC Moore and Michael's Craft stores! ( picture little kid in a candy store).. If you shop at our store you know how I love to play with my price tags - just wait till you see the new punches...whohoo!!! I need a bigger pocketbook to own all the wonderful goodies Martha has for Halloween. (yes I use my coupons) !!!
I also love ribbon - and the ribbon for fall and Halloween is just so much fun this year! I am already using the black and orange (and I have black plastic bags too)....this is my time of year to play!! Unfortunately plastic bags are a necessary evil so I try to find ones that customers will reuse for each season - and the black ones are cool and you never know what you might find sprinkled in them !!

MY DILEMMA...

I am trying to print out a pattern on black cardstock that has fold lines that you need to see....now here comes the bugger.....I would be pleased "pink" if I could find black cardstock that was white on one side......BUT I CAN'T....MAYBE...this is where I can use your help....anyone?
Laurel....thanks for your suggestion - makes sense to me but won't work with this project....Dame Penniwig...you always have a solution - can you help me with paper???
The sun is shining - it is a cool morning, and I have lots of energy to get the 101 things I need to get done today...

THANK YOU - HOMESPUN HEART PRIMITIVES!

You can't even imagine how hard I tried to print on black today....LOL!! Should have asked for help sooner.....You are a great friend to help me!!! Judy


Question: How Can I Print the Color White?
Answer: The short answer is that in most cases, you can't print white ink. Most inks used in offset printing are translucent therefore a translucent white ink would not cover a dark color. There is an opaque white ink that could be used but it often requires multiple applications to cover sufficiently and can bump up the cost of a project far too much for the majority of customers. Additionally in order to insure the cleanest white possible requires considerable time on the part of the printshop spent cleaning the printing press to remove all traces of other ink colors that would muddy the white ink. In some applications opaque white ink is typically used as an undercoating before applying other inks on top. However, there are alternatives to offset printing inks and methods that use no ink at all.

I NEED HELP.....COMPUTER WIZARDS ....HELP!

All day I have been trying to print on BLACK cardstock....can you???? And HOW ???? I have print shop where I can change the "object" color but it doesn't work or more likely....I am NOT doing something right....can anyone help???? Desperate - and computer illiterate...!!