Luke's New Tent & Give Aways

First: Please check out all the Etsy Mini's on the side bars. I changed them yesterday - they are all new shops and would love it if you checked them out!!

Luke, my oldest, seems to have developed an interest in hiking/camping. Over the summer (thanks to a great summer job), he's managed to acquire some camping gear, and hopes to do some wilderness camping some time. Luke and Logan went out for one night in July, it was +8 in the morning. BRRRRR!!! I think I'll stick with my house or a cabin. LOL
Here are some pictures of Luke's new tent. It doesn't have a floor, rolls up into a tiny package the fits into the bottom of his camping gear backpack. He set it up here last weekend, so he and a buddy could "camp out" one night.

The Tent is bigger than it looks. It's a Sildome, by Integral Designs. Luke bought his at Mountain Equipment Coop. They happen to have one in Winnipeg, where Luke lives. I'm going to have to ask him to bring everything home this weekend and spread out everything in his pack on the floor so you can see what's all in it. Amazing what he's managed to fit into a medium sized backpack.


The winner of the
Home Studio Pendant & Chain is: April!!
Congratulations April!

Here are 3 Give Aways I am hosting right now. Just click on the picture to go to the Give Away.









There are many great Give Aways coming in Sept!! Soap, bag, earrings, cards etc. Hope to see you entering a few of them!!

Jannio Feature

Give Aways!

Click on Picture
to Enter!
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Jannio is a wonderful shop on Etsy. This might be the first shop I'm featuring with hats for adults. I'm not much of a hat person, but some of Janine's are just really cool!! She also cares beautiful scarves and amazing bags! Here is what Janine has to say about herself and her amazing shop!



I decided to call my shop Jannio because I wanted it to be similar to my name Janine.

I started crafting in the Uk where I was born. I started of at Ridge street collage of Art and Design in England. I then specialized in textiles at the Amersham Collage of Art and Design. I left Art collage and started working with ceramics. Working with Gyda Wells in her workshop I learnt the technique of screen printing on ceramic. I am now living in the south west of France.

I craft from home.I have a big workshop in my house.
In this space there is two computers where I work from the other my husband.This way we are working and being together.In the same space is where I make Felt.Our house is very old French barn which we converted into our home.So there is lot's of old beams and stone walls.

After bringing up my children, I started working with my mother in law who taught me the techniques of sculpture and ceramic. As a result I make ceramic objects like birds which I exhibit in France.

My interest in textiles came back to me when a friend taught me the art of felt making. I used this knowledge to turn the felt into usable objects like hat’s, scarf’s and bags.I look at the finished hat then a name just comes to me.

I work with a friend, we inspire each other.
I love making Hat's. I think my Favourite in my shop is Georgy.It took quiet some time to make and I am so happy with how it worked out.

After many years I have finally found what I love doing.Working with wool is like working with paint.There is endless possibilities with felting.Felt is made by a process called wet felting, where the natural wool fiber is stimulated by friction and lubricated by using hot water and steam to create the strongest, smoothest, lightest, most water-resistant natural fabric known.

A "Little" Church on the Prairie

About 1.5 hours east of my place is a small place called St. Elizabeth. There was a town there at one time, but all that's left is a church. The church is one mile off the highway, surrounded by trees, so all you can see from the highway is the steeple.


While Brad was working one week he happened to be close to the Church. While waiting for the backhoe to get to the next place they needed to be, Brad decided to have lunch by the church and take a look around. As luck would have it, the people who look after the church were there that day & he got to talk to them and have a tour of the property and the Church!! A week later we happened to be close enought to make a side trip so I could take some pictures and see it too. The church is always open.

The church was originally a wood structure, but it burned down and in 1951 this church was built to replace it. The whole church is built using cinder blocks. As people's children grew and moved away the membership dwindled to the pointwhere they finally had to close the church.



After being empty for a number of years it was sold to an individual, who lived in it with his dogs. He had cattle on the yard and basically didn't take care of the church or the property. In 1997 Manitoba had a large flood which affected the church & property. The government paid for the flood damage but wanted the person who owned the Church to build a dike around it which would be very costly.



At this time a group of people who grew up going to the Church decided to get together and see if they could purchase the church from the owner. After paying the man $12,000 they owned a Church. Apparently it took weeks of work to find the small cemetary and the yard in the weeks & trees that had taken over. They painted the inside, and the benches donated by a museum (that used to be the living quarters for the Grey Nuns in Winnipeg).





There is a small room off the entrance full of newspaper clippings and history of some of the original members, the fire, and the present church.

Now the Church is used once a year. People from all over who grew up in the area and attended the church show up one Sunday a year for a service, lunch and get together. On the East wall are plaques with the names of people who have donated money to support the church.

It's amazing what some people can do when they put their minds to it, aren't afraid of work, and know the importance of Church, family and history. If you are ever in Manitoba, come for a visit and we'll go to see this amazing Church.

Look What I Found/Did!!

Please check out these give aways!

Another busy week!! I can hardly wait for summer holidays to be over, school to begin and life to get back to a "normal" routine. Where did the "holiday" part of summer holidays go?

~On Monday Luke and I made 17 quart jars of Relish. I made 17 jars the week before, but gave 5 to a friend. Might make one more batch of relish yet, will have to see how energetic I get next week.


~If you need a good laugh - You really need to read this post on Eluna Jewelry .

~Here is a wonderful blog!! Kathy has lots give aways, a give away linky, and will help with organizing the buttons on your blogs. (she organized the ones at the bottom of my give away blog). She also posts tools and tips for bloggers. I go here often!!




~I have a poll on my Give Away Blog. Just wondering if entering give aways is easier with an Entry Form? What do I do if the vote it tied? Where can I find an easy to use entry form?

~This has to be one of the wettest summers I can remember. Every time I mow the lawn there are more and more mushrooms in my grass!!



~While blog hopping yesterday I can across a blog I'd been to before. Quilts Galore and More is a great blog. There is a link to Debbie's shop and all kinds of cool stuff. She has posted a link to a tutorial on making "Friendship Bags" - they are the cutest thing! The tutorial can be found at P.S. I Quilt - another awesome blog with lots of tutorials and wonderful links!!
Check out the "Friendship Bags", they would make a great swap!!

~Finally found a field of Sunflowers! Brad stood on the toolbox on the back of the truck to get this picture. They are really slow in blooming this year and there just aren't a lot of fields around.



~I found this great blog: Ceramic and Sculpture Artwork by Kathleen McGiveron. Kathleen had 100 postcards made and is offering to send one close to the holidays to whomever emails her with an address. This is a wonderful idea!! Does anyone know where I can get 100 postcards printed? Anyone else want to join in the fun?

~I'm hoping that Brad has time to help me today with tomorrows post. He found the cutest church in the middle of no where, took me there so I could take pictures. But Brad actually got to talk to the people who take care of it, so he has more info on the church than I do. Please come back tomorrow - hopefully it's posted!

Sisty Uglers Give Away

And the Winner is:


Congratulations
lezanac!!
The Sisty Uglers is an amazing shop run by Marthe and Kristen who live in Utah. They have wonderful little girl clothes, purses, quilts and more. They update their BLOG on a regular basis with new items, and what's happening in their lives. Before we get to the Give Away - why don't we learn a little more about Sisty Uglers!



Our shop name comes from when we were growing up. There are three sisters in our family. All growing up each of us declared ourself to be the sisty most beautifulest... naturally that meant that the other two would be the sisty uglers. And so today we still have yet to decide who would the sisty most beautifulest and so we named our shop The Sisty Uglers.
We grew up in a home where creating was always encouraged. We grew up cooking, sewing, painting, planting a garden, crochetting, playing music and just playing.

We do our crafting surrounded by our children. Just as our parents helped us to love creating, we hope to help our children learn to love it as well. Most of our sewing actually happens near the kitchen, which I believe to be the heart of the home.

I would say that we are inspired by color, things we see, ideas that come into our heads. I know my family is a great inspiration.
We both have a day job. Infact we both have a 24 hr a day job. It's called being a mom. I know of no other job as rewarding or inspiring, or exhausting as being a mother. I have 4 children, 3 boys and 1 girl. Kristen has 3 children, all girls.

I love the Halloween quilt, Trick or Treat Street Quilt. I just love the fabric and I love how it all came together.


NOW FOR THE GIVE AWAY!


Marthe and Kristen have made this lovely Dress/Apron Doll set as the Give Away Prize. A little girl would love this - the colors are just wonderful!!

This cute apron and dress set is made is fit an 18 in doll. This includes American Girl dolls and other similar sized dolls or animals.
It is made from soft cotton fabrics, and cotton thread. It's made for play and any little girl would love to have this for her doll.
The fabric is prewashed, so there will be no shrinking when washed. Please note that doll clothes should be washed by hand a layed flat to dry. All edges are finished so the outfit will last for many years to come.




Here are the Rules to enter the Give Away.
Please leave a SEPARATE comment for each Entry!

* For the first entry - Go to: The Sisty Uglers
Pick your favorite item and come back here with the link.
* 1 extra entry - blog about the give away, and leave a link.
* 1 extra entry - grab my button on the sidebar and add it to your blog, let me know
* 1 extra entry - twitter about this contest with a link, let me know where
You can twitter this:

@audreyscrafts Win a Beautiful Doll Dress and Apron
http://audreyscountrycrafts.blogspot.com/2009/08/sisty-unglers-give-away.html

* 1 extra entry for every time you do this - twitter about your favorite item in the shop, leave me a link
*1 extra entry for each of my other give aways you enter - just comment telling me which one you entered.
* 5 extra entries - purchase something from the shop - leave me a comment telling me what you purchased and a link to the invoice.

The draw will take place on: Sept. 15 at 6AM
Good Luck Everyone!!

***********************************************
Audrey's Country Crafts is in no way responsible for the mailing of the prize. After the name is drawn I will contact that person. They have 3 days to respond before another name will be picked! The name and address will be forwarded.
Thank-you for entering!!

The Princess Next Door Aug 26

Give Away!

Click on Picture
to Enter!
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Princess Next Door has been on Etsy since November 2007. What a wonderful shop!! Tina uses bright colors and wonderful shapes to make her items. Here is what she says about her shop.


My name is Tina and I live in Athens, Greece. I liked making things with my hands since I was a child. I tried jewelry making occasionally in the past, but since little after my first son was born, 4 years ago, I do it on a permanent base, and it seems I will go on for a long time.

Until a couple of months ago my husband and I owned a shop and I worked there. But we decided to close it and now I m thinking about the next step. In the meantime I have enough work to do taking care of my two little boys.

I enjoy very much making my papier mache jewelry, the idea of taking a humble material like paper and glue and make something beautiful is very appealing to me. I called my Etsy shop “the princess next door” having in mind every day girls who, although they can’t afford much for jewelry, they want to stand out, by wearing something special,different and not mass produced.

Jewelry making is not the only craft I enjoy. I love making things myself to decorate my home. Which reminds me that right now there are many half –finished projects which I have started and left aside because a new idea occurred to me, and which I must put in order soon. I d love to learn new techniques in jewelry making but also try a list of other crafts: sewing, crocheting, knitting, felting, name any craft and I’ll say “oh, I want to try this!”

I also have a BLOG which is in a “vacation mode” right now, but I plan to get back to it after summer.

My Blog won an Award!

Give Away!

Click on Pictures
to Enter!
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This wonderful award was given to my by Nina at Nina's Custom Designs for Children. Nina has a wonderful blog where she shows off some of her creations, features other shops and tells about her life. She also has an amazing new shop on Etsy - Nina's Custom Designs. She has the cutest little girls dresses!
Now I need to tell you three things about myself and pass the award on to 3 other blogs! Because I'm running out of things to tell everyone about my self, and because I love to cook - I'm going to share 3 of my favorite recipes with you (just click on the title to get to the recipe).

1)Crepes with Cream Cheese Filling and Homemade Strawberry/Rhubarb Sauce (I only make this a few times a year, have to get up early because it's a bit of work) :



2)Corn Chowder (we probably have this almost once a month in the winter. Really great for lunch with a grilled cheese sandwich on those -40 degree days) :


3)Farmer Sausage Quiche (I made this for the first time about one month ago. I'm the only one that likes it so far) :


Now - 3 blogs to pass it on too.
*Insanity Bliss
*Chat Bug Karen at Winding Threads
*Beads and Bobs

Please check out these amazing blogs - and Nina's blog and shop too please!

Definitions Feature Aug 31

Give Away!

Click on Pictures
to Enter!
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Definitions is an amazing clothing store on Etsy. Karla has had her shop since January, so it's quite new! Ah - to be 20 something and slim again!! There are quite a few items in the shop that I love!! Here is what Karla says about herself and her amazing shop.


I wanted to think of a name that really mattered to me and what I'm doing with design. My daughters and I had a little session where we threw different names out there and definitions stuck....it is the word that immediately made me think of defining stylish garments and what a woman wears really does help define who she is. I started sewing when my daughter was 4 years old, I made her Easter dress that was my first creation and it was beautiful she is now 24 years old so I have been doing this for about 20 years. My mother taught me how to sew, a friend taught me how to create and alter patterns and the design portion is totally a gift from God. One day I would like to make purses. I get inspiration from any and everywhere beautiful, nature is biggest inspiration...I get a lot of ideas from the setup of nature...trees and bark, ocean, sand, grass, flowers...

I sew/design my studio at home. It looks like a tailors shop complete with fabric, notions, machines and dress forms. I would love to add an embroidery machine!

I was born and raised in Inkster, Michigan. I am currently an Executive Assistant and have been doing this for the past 17 years. I really enjoy making the turtleneck; it is my favorite clothing piece… classic.

Right now I currently do not have a blog, but I do have a twitter account www.twitter.com/_definitions

New Blogs/Sites I've Found

Do you sell on the internet? Need a wonderful affordable place to advertise your shop/store? Here it is:




Do you love to read but can't afford to buy all those books? Here is a site I just found out about where you can swap your old read books for something new!
Book Mooch.

I love looking at all the different tutorials on the net. This blog updates with new ones on a very regular basis. It's one of the "must read" blogs on my list:




Burnt Mill is having a give away on their blog! I have some soap samples from this shop - I LOVE THEM!! Their soap is really nice, lasts a long time (even the 1 oz. sample sizes) and it looks amazing!They are giving away 3 bars of soap - and you can pick the scent!!




I love this blog!! Henrietta has give aways, fun posts, recipes (you can never have to many!) and updates almost daily!



Another blog I love to read. Kim makes me laugh with each post she writes!!




Do you have favorite blogs? I would love to know which ones you love to read, always looking for new ones.