OFG Fall Celebration Has Begun On Etsy!

If you are looking for great items to fill your home with fall decor, please checkout OFG Fall Celebration! This fall promotion on Etsy will run for a month, and will be showcasing all the fall items created by the artists of the Old Farmhouse Gathering Street Team on Etsy! These gals have incredible talent, and their work is just above fantastic!

I have entered this celebrations with a gourd that I have painted with a favorite fall design by Deb Richey! You can see this item and others by typing in OFG Fall Celebration in your search bar!

I also entered a penny rug ornament hang tag. I have used actual antique buttons for the pennies of the rug.....it is so darn cute! For a hanger I chose to use some grungy cheesecloth for a really primitive flair. This ornament was painted using a Renee Mullin design of a pumpkin and crow with a banner saying "Punkin' Pie.......it could hang from a peg hook, used on a seasonal tree, or even make a cute gift tag for someone special!

Fun Places to Shop for Prims!

If you are like me, I can't get enough of different places to shop for my primitive addiction! Prim Sister Talk Radio has a wonderful site called PrimSistersShoppes. I have a shop listed with these wonderful artists and I just love what they have to offer. You can visit my shop at http://www.primgalsprimitivepalette.com/ while you are there. Right now I am in the process of redoing everything in order to get ready for the holiday season, so bare with me. Hopefully within the next couple weeks or so I will be ready to showcase some new items! In the meantime browse and enjoy!

Featured Artist of the Week-Vickie Briningstool

Hope you enjoy reading about our featured artist this week! Vickie Brinningstool aka Momma B is an incredible artist, and showcases her work in many areas of the Internet. You can find Momma B's shop on Etsy at http://mommabsfrontporch.etsy.com/ ! Hope you enjoy hearing from Vickie and viewing her wonderful art!

Hello Ya'll, I am MommaB ! Thought I would tell you a little about myself. I have been painting now for over 20 yrs and love it..I can"t stop!
I used to be known as Possum Hollow Crafts, for about 5 yrs, but needed a change and new website.
My hubby of 30 yrs does most of cutting, building, all the sanding, staining and also the laundry.,I am not fooling.But no dishes or cooking!! I have 3 grown kids, but no grandkids yet.I put a lot of time into each piece that I do, too much most of time, but I like what I do and hope you will enjoy each piece you purchase for yrs to come.

What I Have Been Working On.......

Good Morning!

Although we are still gardening, weeding, and enjoying family and friend gatherings, this is the time of year we start thinking ahead to fall creations. As I have shared before, I just love painting on soap! Cute little gifts, and so different! Here is one that I just finished and I hope to add several more before the end of the season. Hope you can come back soon to see what else I come up with. You can find this little guy on Ebay and in my Etsy shop.

Wow! What an Honor!

I am just thrilled to have received my first blog award! Thank you Julie from OaklleafHallow! You have just made my day! Please be sure to visit Julie's blog, she is an awesome painter, and has wonderful things to share.

The rules for receiving an award are: (This is all purely optional) 1) Put the logo on your blog. 2) Add a link to the person who gave you the award. 3) Nominate 5 other blogs. 4) Add links to those blogs on yours. 5) Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs.

My Nominations are

1) Hollyberry Corner

2)My Fathers House

3)Raggedy Angel

4)Praire Rose

5)Deb's Country Kitchen


You can find the links to their blogs in my favorites!

Primitive At Heart

Featured Artist-Linda Foster

As promised, I am so proud to announce our first Artist of the Week, Linda Foster, of Prairierose! Linda is not only a talented artisian, she also works tirelessly to head our Etsy Street Team Old Farmhouse Gathering! To view more of Linda's incredible work visit PrairieRose on Etsy soon. Now a little more about Linda.......sit back and enjoy!

I have loved to draw and sew since I was knee high to a grasshopper. My Grandma taught me to sew on her old Treadle machine (which I now own) when I was 8 yrs. old. I have always loved old things as long as I can remember. My "art" has always reflected this. I cherish all things that have been loved and well used through the years. I have been very fortunate to be in the right place at the right time. I have had a series of cards made by Hallmark Cards featuring my handmade bears. I have also had one on the Front cover of Early American Life. Country Living magazine has purchased a set of the bears that have shown up under and around trees almost every Christmas since 1989. I have also has some of my dolls showing up in various articles in Country Decorating. I have also worked the National Gift and Home Wholesale Markets for 12 years ( That was WORK!).Today I work mainly with "Trash to Treasure" pieces, and do a lot of furniture and trunk restoration. I have always had a brick and mortar shop until a couple of years ago. I decided to close it and try on line selling, in hopes it would give me more time to spend with my Grandchildren (10), and to paint, and create. It has been a new learning experience for me, and has been very rewarding in many ways. I joined Etsy for the same reasons and time as everyone else. I really felt like a grain of sand in a big sea of shops. I had the thought of starting a sellers group --the Old Farmhouse Gathering, in hopes of "gathering" other like artists and being able to help one another find our way. It has been a bit more work and time consuming that I thought it would be, but it has been extremely rewarding at the same time. I have met some fantastic ladies and made some wonderful friendships that wouldn't have happened if not for this group. For that I will always be forever thankful. I am so proud of what this group has accomplished, and I am just blown away by the Art that is produced by the members. I am so fortunate to be surrounded by so many lovely, caring, and talented Ladies. I Thank each and every one for making OFG what it is--the Best Prim Team on Etsy! I am truly Blessed! Linda Foster ~~ PrairieRose

I Am Thrilled to Announce............

I am very excited about a new feature that is going to debut starting July 20th here at Primgal's!

Every Sunday, I will be featuring a new primitive artist from the Old Farmhouse Gathering Street Team! There will be short bio of each artist, along with their shop name and link, along with a couple photos that will showcase their incredible talent. Each artist will be on this blog from Sunday through Saturday, with a new artist coming in the following Sunday. So please be sure to check back often to see who is represented from week to week.

I sure hope everyone has a chance to drop in and take a peek at the wonderful selection of prim, cottage, and countrystyle artistry that this team provides.

Summer is Moving too Fast!

Heaven's I can't believe it has taken me so long to get back here. It seems the older I get the faster the days are flying by....and I thought with age you would have more time to stop and smell the roses....:)
Actually, I suppose you do, because I think as you age, you also realize just what priorities deserve your time and which can casually fall by the wayside. The "Don't Sweat The Small Stuff" really does begin to come into play, at least in my life, and I hope yours. So next time life gets a little crazy, stop, and smell the roses, or just take a moment and go visit nature. There is nothing like coming back in touch with God's creations to bring everything back into perspective. Treat yourself today, take some time for you.....I just did. Here are a couple updated photos of my garden. Each day it changes and brings me such incredible joy. Be sure to stop back sometime soon, as my phlox are loaded with buds, and I hope to have more pictures to share. Have a very blessed day!

OFG Summer Challenge Has Arrived!

Just a reminder that the OFG Street Team on Etsy launched its Patriotic Challenge today! If you love Americana decorating, or just love to decorate for the upcoming Fourth of July holiday, this is one showcase that you cannot miss! What incredible talent!

Here is a link to one of several treasuries that were snagged for this promotion. This is just a sampling of what can be found. If you would like to see even more items, just type OFG Challenge in the search bar on Etsy.....it will bring all of the listing up for your viewing pleasure.

OFG Patriotic Summer Challenge

Here is a photo of my conttribution to the challenge......Hope you enjoy!

Aren't these Beautiful?

I am so blessed, to be able to start my day, in a calm and serene setting. From early May until the chilly winds of October, I start my day in my little spot of beauty....my garden. With coffee in hand, I head out to see what little gift nature has given me today, and I am never disappointed. Most of my garden is perennial, so there is always something new to see with each given day. I wanted to share what I received this morning..aren't they breathtaking?

It's Getting Close!

Be sure to mark your calendars for the next upcoming Old Farmhouse Gathering Patriotic Challenge! Our group of very talented artisians, have been busy putting together a wonderful tribute. We will launch our new Etsy street team challenge on June 25, so be sure to come over and see what we have to offer. So many wonderful patriotic items have been created just for you! Look forward to seeing you!

Time is Flying By!!

I thought I was doing well with getting things ready for summer, but boy here we are in June, and still I have so many things to do. Usually by this time, my garden is complete, but this year as so many of you, we have battled the most unusual weather, and it has been almost too wet to plant on most days. So for now, I still have annuals to plant which I am hoping to get in this weekend, just those bright spots of color in an othewise green and peaceful shade garden. My friend Sandy and I are off to the greenhouse today to see what new and different things we can find, and as always, I will come home with way too many things. I am on the lookout today for some lupines, hollyhocks, morning glories, and miniature roses. Although the garden is primarily shade, I do have one area that does get a good bit of sun, so I have taken advantage of that and developed a cottage style garden in that area. It has been trial and error with this garden, as gardening in the shade can offer quite the challenge.

On my to do list for this weekend is repainting a garden bench that was made for me by a dear friend. I purchased a new sign to hang from the back of the bench and I can't wait to see how it all looks together. This bench sits in the first section of my garden, and I just love it! So be sure to check back later on to see how everything turns out! I will be taking many photos as the summer goes on to share with you how my garden evolves over the summer months.

Wow! Just wanted to let you all know that OFG, my Etsy street team, is going to have another great challenge coming up shortly. The challenge this time will be "Patriotic" just in time to kick off the Fourth of July holiday.

What is a challenge? Well, all the members of OldFarmHouseGathering are challenged to create a piece with the topic of patriotism. There will be many talented, and artistic designs for you to view on Etsy during this promotion. As the time draws closer I will post a link for you to view them on Etsy.

We did a Mother's Love challenge in May, and it was so much fun. The creations that came from that challenge were amazing and resulted in many sales for the team. Also during this promotion if you visit the OldFarmhouseGathering blog you will have a chance to vote on your favorite patriotic creation.

I believe that all artisians create from their hearts, and just as the Mother's Day Challenge brought emotions to the surface, I am sure this challenge will tug at a few hearts also. The pieces that were created for the Mother Love challege were just so full of love, treasured memories, and each piece held a story in the heart of the artist/crafter. All of the gals and gent do an awesome job on these.......I just can't wait to see what they come up with this time. So stay tuned, and I will be writing more on the topic as we go along......for now, though, I need to decide on my entry, so I am off to do a little painting........have a wonderful weekend!...Toodles

I wanted to share with you another of my sampler paintings. I love the way this one turned out! I hit a few tag sales here in Sandwich, and found this wonderful frame! It was perfect for this design. I brought it home, sanded, painted, and sanded again and now it looks to have been around for years. You can see other painted samplers in my Etsy shop

It has been a few days now since I have been able to get back in and say hello. Life just tends to get in the way of that somedays. It started as a rather dreary morning here but we are seeing some sunshine as the day prgresses, and maybe we can dry out a bit from all the rain we have had the past couple days. My garden is loving it though......hope to add some pictures soon.

Also I wanted to mention that if you love decorating in the primitive or country style, this Ebay Top 100 Primitive list is just full of wonderful artisians. If you have a brief moment today, check us out, and of course I would love your vote. To vote all you need to do is click the banner name of the shop you are interested in.

I have a rather busy day today as I am trying to get so many things done at once. I am headed out to the garden here in a few minutes to try and stay ahead of the weeds, and then it will be back in the house for more painting time. I have discovered that I really like to paint on canvas, so I have been working on a few primitive samplers. Many years ago, I used to do allot of cross stitch, but I just never seem to find the time to do that any longer, so I thought I would stitch my samplers in paint!

I am hoping to do a series of samplers for all four seasons, and of course for the Christmas season. I will be sure to post pictures as soon as they are finished. Well I have to go for now, the weeds are calling my name, and always I wish you all a very blessed day! Be back soon.......toodles.

Check These Out!

I have had the best time playing with new ideas for my spring line of soaps. I was really going after a very prim effect, so this is what I came up with. I applied crackle to each one, let the black show through, and then antiqued, shaded, and washed, until they were very old in appearance. I really like the way they turned out. I have a crow, sunflower, pipberries, rusty tin star, black star and pips, and a willow tree. These soaps make the cutest little tuck in gifts to add to gift baskets, or I have had many customers purchase these as house warming gifts....just that little something. I am hoping to add to this selection with a line for fall, halloween, Christmas, and winter, so be sure to stop back by and see what new designs I have added in a few weeks........hope you enjoyed browsing!

New Soaps!

Good Morning! I hope that everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend! Today, it is rather chilly again, so I am going to use the day to get back to painting. On of my favorite things to paint on are soaps. I have several ideas running around in my head today, so I want to get them down in paint before I forget....LOL. As with most of my art, all of my soaps of late are painted with the primitive or cottage style home in mind. These little soaps make wonderful gifts for co-workers or just those hard to buy for people that have everything. They also make wonderful stocking stuffers around the holidays. Be sure to stop back by, and see my new additions. It won't be long and I will start my holiday soaps too, so there will be lots of new pics to view. Have a blessed day........God Bless.

Oh my, I have found muscles that I never knew I had! After the long winter's nap, my body was not ready for gardening.....:) It was a beautiful day, so I headed to the greenhouse to get my endless supply of annual color, and made it back in record time to get these beauties in the ground. I look forward to this trip every year, and the minute that calendar page turns to May, I count the hours. There is just nothing more rewarding to me then to add beauty with flowers. I know my neighbors just giggle as every year they see the truck come in just loaded down with every kind of blossom available. Some people love clothes, I love flowers. It is heaven on earth to go out in the morning with that first cup of coffee, turn on the fountain, and listen to the morning sounds of nature, and just reflect. It is my favorite part of the day.

I truly believe in simplicity. It is reflected in my home, my garden, my art, and in my lifestyle. I love to repurpose old things, the wonderful aroma of a scented candle, and music that is soothing to the soul. I believe in the neccesity for quiet time, just those few precious moments of the day that are yours, and yours alone. So grab a few moments each day, your spirit will thank you, and so will your family.