Wonder

May she always keep the wonderment of Christmas!!

"Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things"..Psalms 72:18

Thanks for stopping by the farmhouse for a visit today. We love having company!

Au revoir,

Size Does Not Matter

It's not the size of the tree or the number of gifts under it that really matters ....

TRUE STORY:

I am the 5th of 9 children. Needless to say, my mother was a real "stay-at-home" mom! My father always worked but was an alcoholic, so many times money was "nil or non". The local "Goodfellows" supplied what Christmas gifts that we received most years. They "magically" appeared on Christmas Eve--yes, Virginia...there is a Santa Claus.  The only Christmas that I have any memory of  as a child growing up was about the time we had a real Charlie Brown Christmas tree.

My younger sister and I were walking back home from visiting a friend when we passed a house that had REAL Christmas tree limbs piled up by the curbside. I assume they had to be trimmed off due to their size because they were fairly large branches. I picked up the biggest one from the bunch and my sister and I carried it home where we put it in a Mason fruit jar and made paper chains and ornaments for decorations. 

I don't remember the gifts that were found under that wonderful little tree that Christmas morning or what we had to eat for Christmas dinner that day or anything else about Christmas that year. I just remember the JOY of finding that tree branch and the beautiful tree that me and my sister decorated that year.

You see, for me Christmas isn't about the presents OR about the tree. It's about the JOY of knowing that God has given ME/US the greatest gift of all time...
 

  our Saviour

God Bless and Joyeux Noel from Campagne Maison

 



2011 Southern Angelic Queen

 Bonjour from Campagne Maison

Emma Sue Wells

2011 Southern Angelic Queen

and  Most Photogenic

She won one trophy, two crowns, two ribbons and a Christmas bear.

Thanks for stopping by the farmhouse for a visit today. We love having company!

Au revoir

How can THIS be?

Bonjour from Campagne Maison

How can THIS be? Our "little man" becomes a TEENAGER today...

6th Birthday

2005 Kindergarten Graduation

First lost tooth

the one that didn't get away!

  

 

as that Little Rascal, Alfalfa

(playtime at Mamaw's)

7th Birthday

8th Birthday

practicing his driving skills!

my little Ringo

#4 Rivercrest Colt

Happy 13th Birthday Kaleb!

December 9, 2011

Thanks for stopping by the farmhouse for a visit today! We love having company.

Au revoir,

One plus One equals One

 Bonjour from Campagne Maison

ONE rusty wrought iron bench/wine rack  +

ONE busted up wooden skid =

ONE new bench (or possible coffee table)

This was a "FREE is BETTER" REpurpose, REfinish, REcycle project. The bench was given to me by my sister and the skid was a roofers discard. I cut the boards at random widths and sealed them with Minwax Wood Finish Special Walnut # 224. I am trying to decide if I want to use it for seating on the deck or take it one step further by sealing off the oxidation on the wrought iron and using it inside as a coffee table. Only time will tell!

I am linking this post up with: http://diyhshp.blogspot.com/

Thanks for stopping by the farmhouse for a visit today.  We love having company!

Au revoir,

Is she CRAZY??

Bonjour from Campagne Maison

A friend of my sister asked her if I'd be interested in having this 1930's era corner cabinet for the farmhouse.

In need of a good cleaning and some fresh white paint but none-the-less I SAW the beauty.

Who could resist the NATURAL cracklin' white and aqua paint?

There was no other way but to paint a fresh coat of the white BUT the aqua remained untouched.

With the addition of four HALF-shelves, I was able to double the storage space. It worked out perfect for the bottle height of all my craft paints!

Lace inserts for the door fronts and shelf edges....

Some stencils and Graphics Fairy decals

How NEAT is this?

Perfect Cabinet for a perfect corner in my perfect little farmhouse!

In a GOOD way, I'd say my sister's friend IS crazy. But I sure love to be on the receiving end when  "one person's trash is another person's treasure".  I also love it when I get to use my 3 R Rules !

Thanks for stopping by the farmhouse for a visit today! We love having company.

Au revoir,

Winner of "Outfit of Choice" The Roarin' 20's

 Bonjour from Campagne Maison

Hello to all my Mamaw's blogging friends! I am Emma Sue Wells and I am 10 months old. I am writing a guest post for my Mamaw today.

A couple of months ago, my Mamaw made me this Roarin' 20's outfit to wear in the "Dazzling Dolls" State Beauty Pageant in Jacksonville, AR.  I wasn't at the farmhouse in TN, so she had my mom take my measurements. This had her a little worried that the outfit may not fit but my mommy only had to make a slight underarm adjustment and it was perfect!

Mamaw even made me a pair of "bloomers" to match my dress (and to cover my diaper). She thinks of everything!

This is a picture of me doing "The Charleston" while I was waiting for my turn to go upon stage.

I know my Mamaw can't wait to see me in my outfit! 

Thank you Mamaw! I won "Outfit of Choice" and  have another crown to show you when you come back to visit!

 Hugs and kisses, Emma....

Thanks for stopping by the farmhouse for a visit today. We love having company!

Au Revoir,

In the beginning, there was none

 Bonjour from Campagne Maison

Space for this Powder room was stolen from a bedroom. Bunk beds magically turn the remaining footage into a sleeping "nook".

This small but much needed RE-model gave me the opportunity to accessorize the room with a few of my favorite things--Paris posters,

.....Moulin Rouge Opera advertisements....

a two dollar shelf and a fifty cent wooden letter decoupaged with French music paper..

 a little rhinestone bling...

a ten dollar chandy and lots of red French poppies...

....my collection of enameled tins sit atop another two dollar shelf

and a couple of ninety-nine cent brass door knobs painted with Rustoleum Hammered steel paint

In keeping with my 3 R rules, costs of this RE model were kept to a bare minimum by shopping at SAM's  (Sweetwater Area Ministries) a local thrift store. This helps put money back into the community by supporting local church ministries as well as keeping good things out of a landfill! 

Paint colors: Walls-Linden by Eddie Bauer Home and trim and doors-Country White by ColorPlace

Thanks for stopping by the farmhouse for a visit today! We love having company.

Au revoir,

Peace, Love and Haiven's 12th

Bonjour from Campagne Maison

One of the things that we did on our recent trip back to AR was to help Haiven celebrate her 12th birthday. She is my "hippie" ANYTHING WITH A PEACE SIGN  loving grandchild.



P-E-A-C-E



12 Candles



Making a wish!



 How did this happen....nails that match the icing colors on the birthday cake (and this was coincidental)

Haiven celebrated her party at the home of her other grandparents in Wilson, AR. They were gracious to allow us to co-spoil her the remainder of the time we were there.

 Thanks Gary and June!! 

Thanks for stopping by the farmhouse for a visit today! We love having company.

Au revoir,

Campagne Maison Peanut Brittle

Bonjour from Campagne Maison

One of my favorite things about Fall is the cool weather that creates the perfect environment for making candy, one of which is Peanut Brittle. I actually have better results with Peanut Brittle than I do fudge and divinity, so I really enjoy making it (as well as eating it). As soon as the peanuts start showing up in grocery stores, I grab them up and start shelling them in preparation for cooking day.

CAMPAGNE MAISON PEANUT BRITTLE

2 Tbsp real BUTTER

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup white Karo syrup

1 cup raw peanuts

1 tsp baking soda

Combine the 1st four ingredients in an iron skillet. (Actually I use my Presto cooker pan). Cook on medium high heat until you can hear the peanuts pop AND the syrup begins to turn a wonderful caramel color. Remove from heat and stir in the baking soda. The mixture will start to foam and increase in volume. Stir quickly and pour immediately onto a LIGHTLY buttered or Pam sprayed cookie sheet.

Gently rotate and tap the cookie sheet against the counter top to spread the hot brittle around and into shape. Cool completely. Break into bite size pieces and enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by the farmhouse for a visit today. We love having company!

Au revoir,

Don't Mess with my Tutu

Bonjour from Campagne Maison

It started out with a SIMPLE boring routine shopping trip to Walmart. But, as fate would have it, I found the cutest pumpkin onesie--perfect for Emma's first Halloween--while perusing the infant section. However, my creative itch kicked in and I HAD TO scratch it! It needed to be "kicked up a notch" with the addition of a black tutu.

As luck was in my corner that day, our local Walmart has started putting back FABRIC in their store and had a pretty decent selection of tulle. (WHY THE HECK did they take FABRICS out of Walmart in the 1st place??? ) In this area of East TN, the closest JoAnn's and Hobby Lobby are a 45 minute drive from the farmhouse.

After a quick Google search, I found this very informative video tutorial for making tutus from Jill at

http://www.oursevendwarfs.com/2011/07/my-first-tutu-tutorial.html.

Instead of using the suggested pre-cut spooled lengths--mainly because the only color available was white--I purchased yardage and cut my own strips. Knowing that it wasn't going to be a daunting project--NO SEWING--I picked out several colors so I could mix/match basic ones to accent alot of different colored onesies.

On my next SIMPLE boring routine shopping trip to Walmart, you can bet I will be choosing another colorful stash of tulle, as no well dressed young lady ever has "too many" tutus!

Thanks for stopping by the farmhouse for a visit today! We love having company.

Au Revoir,