OFG Suffers a Huge Loss

Our Old Farmhouse Gathering group has suffered the loss of Linda Foster, moderator of OFG who suddenly passed away on Thanksgiving Day. I am new with the group but in the little time I have been a member Linda showed everyone who she met patience, kindness, leadership but most of all friendship. She was a lovely lady who's beautiful spirit will be missed by the many people who's lives she touched. All the wonderful memories that she created will keep her alive in our hearts. Please keep Linda's family in your thoughts and prayers.

Amish Friendship Bread and Apple Butter

Today, I thought I would share some recipes! With the holidays coming, it's always nice to have wonderful goodies to share with family and friends!

AMISH FRIENDSHIP BREAD

The first recipe, Amish Friendship Bread is a wonderful cinnamon bread that begins as a starter that can be shared with others so they too can make some bread! I love to make this bread and have it as one of the desserts for Thanksgiving, bring to work and share with my coworkers and also to give as gifts at Christmas time!

First you must make the starter. The starter is simply one cup flour, one cup sugar and one cup milk. I store mine in a plastic storage bag on the kitchen counter. I find that is the easiest way to do it. *Do not refrigerate. The bag will fill up with air, simply let it out. Don't panic if your mixture is thickening, bubbling and fermenting, this is supposed to happen!

Day One: Make starter or if you receive some from a friend, do nothing

Day Two: Squeeze the bag

Day Three: Squeeze the bag

Day Four: Squeeze the bag

Day Five: Squeeze the bag

Day Six: Add one cup flour, one cup sugar, one cup milk

Day Seven: Squeeze the bag

Day Eight: Squeeze the bag

Day Nine: Squeeze the bag

Day Ten: Add one cup flour, one cup sugar, one cup and stir.

It is now time to bake and give some starter away as a gift to a few friends! Pour one cup of starter into 3 plastic bags. Give to two friends and keep a bag for yourself if you want to make more bread!

With the batter remaining in the bag, add the following ingredients:

• 1 cup oil


• 1/2 tsp salt


• 1 cup sugar


• 1/2 tsp baking soda


• 1 tsp vanilla


• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder


• 3 large eggs


• 2 tsp cinnamon


• 2 cups flour


• 1/2 cup milk


• 1 large box instant vanilla pudding

Pour into 2 large greased and sugared (cinnamon and sugar) loaf pans. sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on the top. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.

Enjoy!!

Apple Butter

So what do you do when you have a huge bag of apples sitting on your counter? Make apple butter!! I will share my apple butter recipe and it might inspire you to make some to give as a wonderful gift this holiday season! Mine was made using the crockpot which was great because you could leave it on all night to cook without fear of it burning or scorching.

*Using a tart apple, peel, core and quarter your apples. Then finely chop. Fill crock pot to brim with apples. *Place finely chopped apples in crock pot. Add 2 cups apple cider, 3 cups sugar, 3 tsps cinnamon and a pinch of salt. For a variation in taste, use 2 tsps cinnamon and a 1/4 tsp nutmeg or cloves. Cook at high for 3 hours stirring occasionally, then cook for an additional 10-15 hours venting the lid slightly. This will allow the mixture to thicken.

When mixture is thickened and a deep rust color, you will know the apple butter is ready. Prepare canning jars as recommended by manufacturer and jar the apple butter. This is the best way to store the apple butter in my opinion.

I hope that you will get a chance to try out these recipes and maybe even make them as gifts for friends and family.

And the winner is.......

I am back from my mini vacation to Tennessee! It was wonderful...but like any vacation, never long enough! The weather was lovely and cool and a wonderful change to the humidity of Florida. The countryside was breathtaking with the beautiful colors of fall and I was filled with gratitude! I am always thankful for my trips to Tennessee and hope that someday I can call it home!

Speaking of gratitude, I was so grateful and happy to see all the new followers of my blog and all the wonderful comments that were left! Thank you to all that entered the contest, it made choosing just one winner of the ornament contest difficult! But.........here we go.....

The winner of the Ornie Giveaway is............subwife98 Congratulations!!! I hope you enjoy them! Please contact me at dina@thecountryprimitiveshoppe.com with your contact info so I can get your ornies out to you!

Celebrations......

Whew...that is all I can say about the past several weeks! Life has been a whirlwind lately filled with great things and a few not so great but in the end, I find that I always have so much to be grateful for and so much to celebrate!

First, I was accepted to join a very talented group of etsy artisans known as the Old Farmhouse Gathering. I was so happy when I got the email letting me know that I was now part of this talented group! The artisans created vintage, shabby chic, country, and primitive items just to name a few! To find the wonderful offerings from this talented group please type-- ofg team-- into the search bar --titles & tags,descriptions!

Right now, our group's Old Farmhouse Gathering Holiday Celebration is currently underway! When you type ofghc into the search bar, you will be treated to an array of seasonal wonders that can be used for gift giving or winter/holiday decor! You will not be disappointed!

Here are two of the items I have listed in the Old Farmhouse Gathering Holiday Celebration!

We will also have a wonderful gift basket filled with goodies made by the Old Farmhouse Gathering members! Details will follow soon....but just in case here is the link for our blog: http://www.oldfarmhousegathering.blogspot.com/

So now on to more news, the not so good news! lol My youngest daughter and son-in-law were here from Italy where they are stationed! We were having such a great visit and had lots of plans for outings, when my oldest fell down the stairs and broker her leg! She is doing much better now and I appreciate all the well wishes I received for her speedy recovery! Through it all, we did have a great visit and Tiffany and Josh are now back home in Italy!

Since life should be filled with celebrations, I am going to celebrate my love of crafting and giving by having a giveaway! In order to win some of my favorite Holiday Ornies, sign up to follow my blog, or leave a comment and you will be entered! Winner will be announced on November 10th when I get back from Tennessee...that is another thing to celebrate!!

Fall and Holiday Crafting

Wow...it's been a while since I last posted, sometimes life gets so busy and before you know it time has flown by! Speaking of flying by, the holidays are almost here and crafters have been busy working on Fall, Halloween, Winter and Christmas designs for craft shows, festivals, websites and auction sites! I was planning on the Country Folk Art Show in Tampa in September, but was disappointed to see that the show was cancelled! I am not even sure why....it is one of my favorite shows of the entire year and this was my first time planning on showing instead of buying!


Since fall is right around the corner, I started working on some scarecrows! Here they are waiting for their finishing touches!

This has been one of my best sellers and now I have given him a new look and I love it! Here is the finished scarecrow nodder with his new look!

Another item I created for the fall season this year is my Midnight Ride fixens, 2 generous cups of orange putka pods, 3 dough witches hats and 2 brooms which have been scented with Witches Brew a spicy and sweet treat for Halloween.

And of course we can't forget that Christmas and Winter are right around the corner.....one of my best sellers for the winter season is my snowman lamp. I will be posting more Christmas and Winter items soon.

Stay tuned for the Grand Opening of The Country Primitive Shoppe website it will surely be a fun time!

Vacation Ramblings...

I just got back from a wonderful vacation in Tennessee! What a beautiful state! I have been traveling there for the last several years. Why Tennessee you may ask? Well, I am originally from up North and living in Florida is definitely not the same! My favorite time of year is fall and I love the changing seasons. There isn't much change in Florida! Our change in season consists of warm to HOT. Though I must admit that when I am watching TV in the winter and there is one snowstorm after the other across the country, I am secretly glad I am here! :) Anyway, I was missing Fall, the chill in the air, pumpkins and gourds and of course the beautiful leaves and did some online searches and found a Pumpkin Festival in Franklin, Tennessee that looked fun, so I convinced my best friend Debbie to go check it out with me! There has been no turning back! We decided to go this April to see what Spring in Tennessee is like. While it is not as gorgeous as the breathtaking colors of fall, there are still many wonderful sights to behold.

While visiting the Franklin area, I searched for Country and Primitive shoppes in the area. I found a shoppe that is a must visit when you are there, Sugar Ridge Creations! The shoppe is nestled in the woods on a lovely country road not far from Spring Hill. Not only are the items in the shoppe great but the owner, Mary is friendly and welcoming and when you step into her shoppe you feel like you have been friends forever!

When we pulled up to her shoppe, we were greeted by some brand new baby bunnies that tentatively watched us as we got out of the car and quickly scurried under her porch....how fitting!

There is never a visit to her shoppe with out an awesome purchase! I bought a fabric primitive pear to place in some nook and cranny in my home. She is having a Plant Swap this weekend and plans to have more events throughout the year! Make it a point to visit Mary and her shoppe, you will not be disappointed!

You can check her blog out at: http://sugarridgecreations.com/blog/

*****PLANT SWAP RAIN DATE MAY 23rd*****

I have to say, I left my heart in Tennessee. Each and every time I visit, it feels like I am coming home and when I leave, I leave a piece of my soul. Someday I will get back each and every piece of me because I will be calling it my home.....

My Shoppe

The Country Primitive Shoppe

I have a small shoppe in a local flea market called...The Country Primitive Shoppe, of course!

I love my shoppe, it has given me endless hours of happiness! When I decided to open the shoppe, I wanted it to feel warm and welcoming and completely different than anyone else's booth!
I painted the walls a sagey green color and my husband installed dark wood plank flooring! He also designed my doors to look like barn doors, which I painted red of course!

For my display, I bought folding tables from my local Wallyworld and covered them with beige sheets. I purchased wooden boxes in various sizes that I stained a dark walnut to go with the floors! I have to give you the link for the wood boxes in case you need them for craft shows! The company I purchased them from, is a family owned businees that has fantastic items, great prices and super quick shipping! I highly recommend them!

Check them out at www.woodthings.com

As you can see, I have all kinds of great primitive goodies! I carry candles, tarts, potpourris, fixens, tart burners, candle holders, handmade dolls, lamps, dip mixes, handcrafted soaps and home decor items! All in one shoppe!

You will find these goodies and more on my website, which will be opening soon!