Prim Friends Network

2010-10-06T19:29:00.001-07:00

Halloween is almost upon us. I've been sewing like crazy. Will post some pics yesterday.
I hope you will email me some of your crafts. I will post your pics on the blog...send your company name, website, and a couple of pics. I love seeing what everyone is up to!!

Spring Issue of Creative Times Magazine

2010-03-03T10:18:00.000-08:00

Check it out! Creative Times Magazine

A new giveaway!

2010-02-26T20:15:00.000-08:00

Please go visit Firecracker Kid! She has a wonderful giveaway.
There are over 100 entries already, and the drawing isn't until
St. Paddy's Day! Go on....check it out!

Crafter of the Month

2010-02-23T18:32:00.000-08:00

Meet Betsy from American Country.
Here's a nice little story about her.

My husband Tom and I have been "crafting" since 1991. We make handcrafted furniture and shelves. Our pieces are relatively small so that we can easily ship them. Our biggest seller through the years has been our Country Bench, we make them in 4 sizes, 2 finishes and 14 colors. We also sell a lot of shelves. We started out small, doing things for ourselves,family and friends. Then we did craft shows for several years. During this time we were raising kids. We had a blended family of 6 kids. I went to college to get a teaching degree, so we slowed down in the craft business for awhile. Then in 2004 we picked up again, and decided to resume our business online. We opened our website with the help of Donna from Gone Country Crafters. She was wonderful! In 2005 we started advertising in Country Sampler magazine after they approached us. Our bench has been featured on the cover of Country Sampler twice. The last time on the cover of the January 2009 issue. The website has had it's ups and downs as all businesses do, but we have weathered through the lean times. I always dreamed of having my own country store, and I knew I wouldn't be satisfied until I had tried it. So...last spring we opened a small shop in Shipshewanna, IN, a small town about 20 miles from our home. I have visited and shopped in "Shipshe" for over twenty years and I knew it would be the perfect place for "my store" . (Shipshewanna is an Amish community and the town is known for it's flea market and quaint shops. Visitors come from all over the country.) We happened to spy a "FOR RENT" sign on a small building on a weekend visit. We checked it out and before long we had our storefront. You know what they say about Location, Location, Location? Well, it's true! We were in Shipshewanna but it seemed no one knew it! Then after a couple of months, another rental became available on the main street where all the traffic and customers were. Well we had signed a year's lease 2 months earlier, but thought we'd inquire anyway. Long story short, we moved into our new location on July 5, 2009. It's amazing what opportunities and blessings come your way when you leave it up to God and trust in Him to work out all the details! Business improved tremendously and we had a great summer and fall season. We have been closed since Christmas and are excited about the coming season. We will be rearranging our interior and increasing our space. We are located in an old house, 100 years aprox., and will have the entire house now. Tom retired from industry 5 years ago and this is now his fulltime job, I'm still teaching 2nd grade. Our daughters also help out by making things for the store and several of our grandchildren, we have 14, help in the store too! Someday soon I'd like to be able to be a shopkeeper fulltime. Then my dream will be fully realized.
My advice to anyone starting out is simply this--if it is truly what you want to do, you can make it happen if you don't give up on it AND if you ask God to go ahead of you and open the doors for you!

Blessings,
Betsy

Wishing Everyone the Merriest Christmas!

2009-12-24T08:00:00.000-08:00

May God bless you, and yours. This has been a tough year, but with faith we can endure all things. The Lord is with us!

Merry Christmas Bears!

2009-12-21T10:05:00.000-08:00

Waxed dipped teddy bears I made for my daughter's work. Aren't they the cutest? And they smell DO GOOD!

A Gift for you....New issue of Prim Sister's Gazette

2009-12-11T12:44:00.000-08:00

Check it out here! Fun little magazine. FREE patterns, and great recipes.

Happy Fall Y'all. Turkey Day is comin'

2009-11-14T12:15:00.001-08:00

MySpace Comments - Fall and Autumn Layouts - Photobucket

A new website

2009-10-25T16:45:00.000-07:00

please be sure to visit Lindsay's site. Christmas Printer

She's got some really great Christmas tips. We all know that time of year is fast upon us!

2008-12-05T14:34:00.000-08:00

Visit Debbie at one of her sites below:

Simple Country Blessings
http://www.simplecountryblessings.com

My Blog:
http://simplecountryblessings.blogspot.com/

Instant Downloads at:
PatternMart
http://www.patternmart.com/patterns/search/section/All/Simple+Country+Blessings/All

Lemon Poppy Seeds
http://www.lemonpoppyseeds.com/shoppes/pssimplecountryblessings/

Etsy:
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5740041

Folk Art Square
http://www.folkartsquare.com/Vendors/sites/SimpleCountryBlessings/

Country Craft Show Online:
http://www.countrycraftshowonline.com/craftbooth492/

CPLG Blog:
http://cplgblog.blogspot.com/

Pattern Patch
http://thepatternpatch.com/

Ebay Search:
CPLG & LPSX & KSGP

Wonders of Whimsy giveaway.

2008-11-19T15:40:00.000-08:00

Go visit Jenny here for a really great giveaway. She's giving away a wonderful Altered Art Kit. Check it out!

Ta Da!!!

2008-11-19T08:45:00.001-08:00

We have a winner! Her name is Debra! Visit her blog here
Congrats Debra! You are gonna LOVE these ornies. I will make sure that Jenn knows your email address. She'll ship them right out to you! :)

Giveaway!

2008-11-18T10:51:00.000-08:00

We're gonna do our drawing at the end of the day TODAY! Last call! Get your name in fast! These ornies are so fabulous, you'll love them!

WOOHOO!

2008-11-13T14:23:00.001-08:00

We just had our 2700th visitor!

Primitive Times Magazine

2008-11-07T15:31:00.000-08:00

Here's the new November edition! Look for our Prim Friends ad! It looks fabulous. Angie did a wonderful job with it.

Info on our new Drawing!

2008-11-07T13:04:00.000-08:00

Aren't these the cutest bowl fillers? They are hand rolled and cut, salt dough ornies, hand dipped in wax. They've been grubbied up for the fabulous prim look that we all love! You will win 2 dozen of these little chunky mini grubby snowmen and snowflakes scented in cinnamon. They will come in cello bags tied with homespun, a rusty bell, and a prim tag:) A $12.00 value. Okay girls! Sign up!!!

New featured crafter.....

2008-11-07T12:09:00.000-08:00

I'd like to introduce you to Jacki Alcorn of Hearthside Collection.

Jacki, can you please give us a short summary of your website?

Hearthside Collection is a great place to find handmade primitive country decor item for your home! Some of our products include primitive stitcheries, stick family samplers, baskets, painted slate shingles, slate snowman ornaments, pip berry garlands and wreaths. I love to create! I have been making and selling things since I was in elementary school. It all started with macrame bracelets. My Dad saw the bracelets and necklaces I was making and suggested that we try to sell them through a little boutique in a nearby town. It worked!! That was just the beginning. Since them I have sold my items through several different avenues--consignment, wholesale, and craft shows. One of my favorite ways to display and sell my crafts has been in our 1890 home. When the Christmas season arrives, we open our home, and with 20-30 other crafters, fill the entire first floor with a wide variety of gifts and crafts for the community to enjoy.

Would you tell us a little bit about yourself?

This had become an adventure that the whole family has a part in. I love teaching my daughters to work with their hands, and so they help me out with the little jobs like painting frames and cutting baskets spokes. Of course, they enjoy the little extra cash! My son helped remove all the slate shingles for the top of a two-story house. My husband like to do manly things like lifting heavy objects and using power tools. Her is very supportive of my business venture. With their help, I have been able to expand my business. I am very grateful that God has given me such a wonderful family. We enjoy life in our small, one stoplight town, northern Indiana town. It has been a great place to raise our four children. We spend lots of time at basketball and soccer games, music programs and plays, church events and with extended family.

What is your favorite product or service you offer and why?

One goal I have is to help those who have a vision for something in their home, but can't create it themselves. Quite a few of my items can be customized and I've enjoyed special orders. I like providing something unique for my customers. An example of this is with our Stick Family Samplers. A customer contacted me an idea and wanted to know if I could make something for her. It was not something I was familiar with, but I loved the idea. With the help of a pencil and paper, a digital camera and back and forth emails we were able to provide what she wanted, and add a very personal, one-of-a-kind product to our Collection.

Jacki's contact info is:

http://www.hearthsidecollection.net

New Drawing!

2008-11-07T12:07:00.000-08:00

Our next drawing will be held on November 15th. We have a set of salt dough bowl fillers by Jenn! I will have pics and details coming soon.

I forgot!!!!

2008-11-01T10:22:00.000-07:00

With all the crazy Halloween stuff, I forgot to draw our name for the drawing!!! DUH....

The winner is.....Dawn from Piece and Love Yay!!! I will pass your info on to Emmy and she'll get with you. You have won a really nice candle--bet it smells wonderful!

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T10:36:00.001-07:00

Our drawing will be today...a bit later. I want everyone that wants a chance to have one!

This Week's Featured Crafter

2008-10-28T16:23:00.000-07:00

I'd like to introduce you to Karen...she lives in the southeast part of Wisconsin with her husband Doug, They have three married sons, 5 grandchildren, and 2 furry little kitties; Lola and Baby.

She has enjoyed doing Penny Rugs for her own pleasure for the past several
years, and wanted to share her fun with others...after giving away many of her hand crafts. She started selling consignment, then progressed selling to retail stores. Side by sied with her husband, they do home shows and craft shows as well with much success, and now their new venture, their Web Store.

All of their products are made from 'felted' wool felt and backed with the same fabric or homespun. Double facing allows the table runners, mats and wall hangings to lay flat. The designs are exclusively KAREN'S and HAND STITCHED by her as well.
She also designs, draws, and handpaints grungy hang tags.

Karen's designs consist of sheep, willow trees, houses, crows, pineapples, stars, flowers, beehives & bees. For Christmas she has feather trees, gingerbread people, snowmen just to name a few. She also takes special requests.

Besides her Penny Rugs, Karen has added many Primitive - Country Decorative Items to her website, most of them hand made right here in the USA by some wonderfully talented artists, to help you decorate your Primitive home or ‘not so Prim home’

Visit Karen today...she'll have the coffee on! :)

Karen Martinsen
KM Primitives

Visit her website:
http://www.kmprimitives.com

Come join her Top Site:
http://kmprimitivestop100sites.gotop100.com/

Here's her Blog:
http://mycolonialhome.blogspot.com/

Drawing

2008-10-28T10:43:00.000-07:00

Our Halloween drawing is coming up fast! Make sure you have added a comment so you can join in! I will be drawing on October 31st. Celene has very graciously donated her beautiful jewelry. Take a look for yourself. She has some very nice things!

Primitive Times Magazine Ad

2008-10-24T10:56:00.000-07:00

Okay! Our very first Co-op ad for Prim Friends Network has been sent to the publisher! We had eight companies participate

Becky from Country Keepsakes Retail
Country Keepsakes Wholesale

Karen from KM Primitives

Kathy from Kittredge Mercantile
Primtive Handmade Directory

Shari K. from Cranapple Christmas

Shari F. from Homespun and Primitives

Rochelle from Cinna-Minnies

Thank you Ladies! You rock! If you like this...we can do it again in December.

I can't wait to see how the ad looks and what results we get! November is usually a very big issue for Prim Times. Keep your eye out for the link here in this blog in November

New Drawing!

2008-10-18T15:24:00.000-07:00

Our October 31st Drawing is from Emmy Early Thyme Primitives

This would be a wonderful fall accent for your home. Leave a comment to sign up!

Double Scented Grubby Electric Candle in Cinnamon Vanilla & Pumpkin Crunch Cake. Poured using her special beeswax blend. Comes with 6’ cord with on/off switch. Comes tied with homespun fabric.

I bet this smells yummy :)

Featured Crafter--Celene's Treasure Chest

2008-10-18T09:32:00.000-07:00

Celene's Treasure Chest is a country store featuring primitive and rustic country crafts, handmade candles and soaps, vintage and antique items and needful things. Celene started her online store as an extension of her "brick and mortar" store in Coffeen, Illinois. Celene and her crafting partner Pam call themselves Wood n' Whimsy. They make and sell their Wood n' Whimsy products at the Treasure Chest in Coffeen as well as online at Celene's Treasure Chest. Their crafting started a few year ago out of boredom in the slow cold winter months in the backroom of the little country store and has since become a labor of love all year long.

Celene has recently started a new venture called Unique Boutique Jewelry where she sells beautifully handcrafted and vintage jewelry at affordable prices. She offers free shipping on every item in the store anywhere in the USA.

Celene's Treasure Chest Where you'll find Rustic Country and Primitive Crafts and Needful Things

Unique Boutique Jewelry Beautifully handcrafted jewelry at an affordable price!

Primitive Promotions A FREE Crafters Marketing and Promotions Website

Celene's Treasure Chest Blog A Primitive Country Store Blog
Wood n' Whimsy A crafters resource blog with lots of FREE craft patterns, recipes and crafting ideas

Kitty Kat Makedo

2008-10-17T11:38:00.000-07:00

Made by Jennifer of Wonders of Whimsy. He needs a new home for the Halloween and Fall season! Go see Jennifer and make arrangements for adoption!

Kitty is 10 inches tall. He is made of osnaburgh that Jennifer has stuffed and hand sculpted paper clay on top. He has been painted with acrylic paint and attached to an old fashioned bobbin. His collar and hat are made of festive cotton fabric and trimmed with old fashioned garland.The bottom has a wooden piece on the bottom, which is painted as well, for stability.

$29.99

http://wondersofwhimsy.blogspot.com/

http://jenny-artbyjenny.blogspot.com/

Primitive Times Magazine Ad

2008-10-17T10:52:00.000-07:00

I purchased a full page in the next issue of Prim Times Mag. I am offering any of my PFN friends space on my page. We will promote each others business and the Prim Friends Network. Each "vendor" will have at least ONE nice sized pic, a description of her business, and the contact info. We have 6 signed up now. The cost of this is $5 for each site you list. As we get more people signed up, the less it will cost. I would like two more, if I can get them! That would make the ad $3.75 each. Pass the word, let your readers and craft friends know.

Drawing....

2008-10-17T10:49:00.000-07:00

I have not heard from Leigh Stonehouse. As you recall...she won our drawing on the 15th. I am going to give her a day or two more, and then we will have a redraw. Ladies, keep your fingers crossed. You have one more chance to win those beautiful apples from Mandy!

WE HAVE A WINNER!

2008-10-15T10:15:00.000-07:00

I printed off ALL the names under each post and cut them up! THEN....I mixed them all up real good (boy! THAT's really nice grammar!) and pulled one out of the pile.

The winner of our Apples from Aunt Manny is: Leigh Stonehouse. I have left her a post on her blog. If she does not come forward in 48 hours. I will draw again. :)
Congratulations Leigh! This is a very nice little "blessing" from Aunt Manny! To tell you the truth...I'm jealous!

EDITED OCTOBER 20, 2008: LEIGH CAME THRU! SHE CLAIMED HER PRIZE, SO THERE WILL NOT BE ANOTHER DRAWING.

Primitive Times Magazine

2008-10-08T14:42:00.001-07:00

Be sure to download the October issue! It's full of great craft ideas and guess what!? Your's truly--Cranapple Christmas--has a full page ad and is the featured crafter for October!!

Okay...I've been toying around with buying ad space in the magazine for the Prim Friends Network. There would have to be a charge to add your name and button, but it would be nominal...probably around $5-$10, even less depending on how many we get to sign up. We can get a full page for around $30 right now. She's having a sale. So if we get 30 people...that would be $1 each. 10 would be $3 each, etc. I am going to reserve one for us. If you want space for the November magazine....let me know in the comments section. If we don't get at least 10 to sign up, I will use half the page for Prim Friends and the other half for Cranapple Christmas.

My! My!

2008-10-07T11:40:00.000-07:00

Our readership has jumped this week! Thank you so much! I'm hoping you all are enjoying the blog and doing a little shopping!

Our contest has well over 50 entries as of today! That's pretty cool! The drawing will be held on October 15th! There are so many of you wanting those great apples from Mandy!

Drawing

2008-10-04T13:37:00.000-07:00

Don't forget to scroll down a few posts to our drawing post. Make a comment and be entered :)

Featured Crafter--Rusty Bucket Prims

2008-10-04T12:05:00.000-07:00

Regina was born and raised on farm in Chilhowie, Virginia. She currently lives in the Great Appalachian Mountains of VA in a town called Saltville! She's the mother of one grown daughter, Morgan! I love going to craft shows, antiquing, second hand shops, flea markets and yard sales "anywhere I can find junk, I love my junk!". She also enjoys music, swimming, and most of all crafting anything primitive. I've been crafting most all my life! My mother taught me how to crochet when I was 12 years old and I've been crafting since then! I was hooked from that first day she showed me how to make a granny square! I'm always looking for new things to make!

What or who influences you?
My family mostly, I remember my grandmother making lye soap outside over an open fire! My mother always working on quilts and sewing clothes for our family! I want the younger generation to see how our grandparents and great grandparents lived. I am so happy to see more and more people wanting to learn about our heritage! Everything I make is handmade or hand painted! My older brother Mike has a lot of influence on me, Mike and his wife Dicy have a leather shop and make some of the most beautiful saddles and accessories for horses, he sells on eBay and at his home, he's a wonderful craftsman !

What is your favorite item's to craft?
I love to make olde time lye soaps! I cook my own lard outside in a big wash tub for my soap making! I use my grandmother's recipe for all my lye soaps! I also enjoy working with wood, painting, sewing, anything primitive!

How long have you had your online store?
Rusty Bucket Prims has been open for just a few months! I have really enjoyed having my own website!

How did you come up with the name Rusty Bucket Prims?
I thought a long time on what to name my website, one day I had planted a lot of flowers in some old rusty buckets & enamel pans, I have them sitting everywhere! I had company that day and everyone started calling me the rusty bucket lady! LOL

What do you sell in your online store?
You just never know what I might have listed! I love the unusual and unique!
Old 'n worn country primitives, Folk art, one-of-a-kind items, lye soaps, doll dresses, doll bonnets, stacking/nesting boxes, rusty pins & nails, rag rugs, prim dish rags, grubby dolls, fabric cover boxes & books, decorative painting, seed bags, rusty wire candle holders, grubby candles, old weathered tobacco stick peg racks !

What is your best seller/s?
My biggest sellers are my doll dresses, lye soaps, my rusty pins and nails!

Do you sell wholesale items?
I do sell some wholesale like my lye soaps and rusty pins and nails!

What types of advertising do you like to use to promote your store?
I like to do banner exchanges, plug boards, networking, top sites, and I hand out business cards as much as possible.

With the way the economy is right now, have sales dropped or remained the same for Rusty Bucket Prims?
My sales have picked up in the past month or so. I hear more and more people have started shopping on line so they don't spend on gas! In my case I guess it's been good so far because my sales have been doing better!

What other venues do you use to sell your crafts/wares?
I sell on eBay, Etsy, webshots, and I do a couple of craft shows a year!

Regina's Ebay store: http://stores.ebay.com/The-Country-Crock?refid=store

Regina's Etsy store: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5593215

Do you have any advice for crafters who are thinking about opening an online store?
It's a great opportunity to get your wares out and meet a lot of super people!
You can visit Regina at Rusty Bucket Prims

My Website; http://www.rustybucketprims.com
My eBay; http://tinyurl.com/2d2zx5
My Etsy; http://thecountrycrock.etsy.com
My Web Shots; http://tinyurl.com/6ps649
My Top Site; http://www.ultimatetopsites.com/general/rustybucketprims/
Trina Clark; http://tinyurl.com/6pzt7p

Another Great Giveaway

2008-10-03T13:29:00.001-07:00

Celene is one of our Prim Friends and I would like to invite you to visit her blog for details on her giveaway. I entered this morning...you can to there now: Wood n Whimsy

WOOHOO!!!

2008-10-03T11:19:00.000-07:00

I woke up to 17 comments on the blog this morning! Thank you ladies for getting the word out about the drawing! I wish you ALL could win!!!! We have a drawing every month, so don't forget us! And remember....October will have TWO drawings. November is shaping up about the same....

I love all you out there reading my blogs. I just want to give back to the Prim community. Remember, if you have a blog and want to be listed, it's free. If you have a business, I have several options for you--all FREE!

Newfound blog that I love....

2008-10-02T13:25:00.000-07:00

Picket's Place....
I've been on her blog before, but she has really updated it, and it looks great. Women like her are trying to keep the "country" ways alive. She has some great recipes and family moments on her blog. Take a peek...

New Drawing....

2008-10-01T11:35:00.000-07:00

I have a surprise for all of you! We will be having not one, but TWO, count 'em TWO drawings in October! The first one will be held on October 15th and the second one on Halloween--the 31st!

First up on the agenda is Aunt Manny's Creations. She has very sweetly donated a set of her wonderful apples that are dipped in her own apple cinnamon scented wax. These babies retail for $25, but you can get yours here for FREE--IF you win our drawing. You can't win if you don't play. Leave a comment on any post or email me directly at: Cranapple Place

...and the Winner is!

2008-10-01T11:30:00.000-07:00

The winner of our September drawing is Kathy Rhoades from Smithfield, NC! Woohoo! Kathy has won a sweet set of Gingers from Cranapple Christmas. Kathy, I hope you enjoy! They smell so sweet!

Featured Crafter--Aunt Manny's Creations

2008-09-27T11:52:00.000-07:00

Aunt Manny is a 32 year old WAHM with two daughters ages 11 and 16. She has been crafting ever since she was a young'un. She says she can remember selling her wares around age 12 or 13. She was born and raised in Iowa, and started her business, Aunt Mannys Creations, in 2000. Originally, She did some crafting, but her main products were candles and the like. Since she missed sewing and crafting in general, She got further involved in it and it pretty much took over. She recently added a candle line back to her business, but crafting and sewing is truly her calling!

She enjoys networking with crafters all over the world and welcomes anyone to exchange links!

She will also be the donor of our October drawing...a set of 6 of her Cinnamon Apple Ornies! More details on that after October 1.

You can find Aunt Manny here: Blog
Website, Ebay, Etsy, and PatternMart

New Items Posted For Sale

2008-09-27T11:47:00.001-07:00

We have some nice new items from Celene's Treasure Chest, Kittredge Mercantile, KKL Primitives, Aunt Manny's Creations, and Cranapple Christmas. Please do yourself a favor and check out their websites or blogs. Fabulous crafts, Fabulous women.

Featured Crafter--Long Cane Primitives

2008-09-20T14:02:00.000-07:00

Terri was born and raised in the country right outside Opelika, AL. She formed Long Cane Primitives in 2000. Her hope is to provide the strongest scent throwing soaps and realistic looking bakery style candles, by using the finest soap bases, wax blends, fragrance oils, and wicks available. She's even ventured off into selling her own hand sewn prims, recipes, and patterns, but handcrafting candles and soaps is her first love.

Every offering is handmade, designed, and created by Terri out of her own home, just as they were in simpler times gone by...one at a time, with lots of love and attention to detail.

Terri is a very simple person, and her faith in God is the driving force in her life. She loves her family, friends, home, work, and her critters! Please stop by her site. I am sure that you will find a prim to call your very own :)

Long Cane Primitives

Just a Reminder....

2008-09-16T15:58:00.000-07:00

If you have a button or link on this blog, you need to make sure the Prim Friends Network button is on your site. You may copy the one off the sidebar and link it to:
http://primfriendsnetwork.blogspot.com

All this is free to you, but we need to make sure the "network" part doesn't get left out! LOL!!!

Featured Crafter--Kittredge Mercantile

2008-09-13T11:17:00.001-07:00

I would like to introduce you to Kittredge Mercantile. When she says she'll paint a flag on anything....believe me, she will! Her art is fabulous. Be sure to visit her site: Kittredge Mercantile and her blog: Kittredge Blog

I sell a combination of old, new and handmade. A general line of antiques, repurposed items, street finds and one of a kind. Specializing in primitive handmades. I love Americana! I'll paint a flag on anyhting from baseballs to babyshoes. I have been making primitives of some sort for more than twenty years. I also have a brick and mortar shop by the same name Kittredge Mercantile located in beautiful Kittredge, Colorado. Do come by!

September Issue Now Out!

2008-09-13T09:08:00.001-07:00

View here:

Primitive Times Magazine

Featured Crafter--Cinna Minnies

2008-09-09T09:56:00.000-07:00

The beginning of my business is the result of me falling in love with a man . . .

A gingerbread man that is . . . at a Relief Society Homemaking meeting. One of the craft projects involved decorating some little gingerbread men that were made from cinnamon. That little guy made my heart race and set my mind into a creative frenzy! I thought about it, and the very next day I phoned my friend, Carol, to ask for the recipe she used to make these gingerbread men. She shared it, and I was off!

Twenty-two years later I'm still in love with that little gingerbread man, and still in a creative frenzy working up new ways to design dolls, ornaments and home decor items made from the cinnamon clay that I worked so hard to develop from that initial recipe. I found that original cinnamon dough was too primitive in nature to work well for permanent ornamentation -- it crumbled, cracked and curled up when dry. So I did a little kitchen experimentation with various ingredients until I came up with my own secret recipe for a cinnamon clay that would roll out smoothly, mold well, would dry hard and smooth in texture and appearance, and wouldn't crack or curl up. It took several months of experimenting, but I finally accomplished my task and now had a very pliable, highly-scented cinnamon clay to bring all of my creations to life, and last for years!

When my friends and family saw my gingerbread men, their positive reactions spurred me on to continue to create other characters. That led me to teach myself how to make cutters for all of the designs that were running around in my brain! Soon I was creating bunnies, cows, pigs, geese, dolls, and ornaments of all kinds! People seemed to be impressed and a friend said she would gladly take them to a craft show she was doing and see if people would buy them. I couldn't wait for her to come home after the show, so I went to it myself to see what kind of reaction my little cinnamon ornaments would get. Well, almost every one of them sold! I was so thrilled -- I was absolutely hooked on these now, and continued to send items to all shows that she attended. After almost selling out at each of the three craft shows, I decided to visit some craft shops to see if they'd buy them wholesale and sell them through their shops. To my great surprise and delight, they did!

I kept working on this little hobby of mine, and the next year, I participated in my first craft show in our small town of Owosso Michigan, and made $300. I loved the wonderful responses from people who bought my cinnamon items. They made people smile and they loved the cinnamon smell. From that point on I decided that I wanted to see if I could build a business, and that was the beginning of Cinna-Minnies™ Solid Cinnamon Collectibles .

That summer, fate stepped in and our daughter Christy entered into a local beauty pageant. During intermission I got up to get a drink of punch and slipped on a wet spot on the floor, injuring my right arm. My first thoughts the next day were "what will happen to my business, and how will I ever get ready for my next craft show?" It was only a month away. I took my concerns to my family, and true to their supportive, loving nature, they decided they should all participate and learn the various tasks that would contribute to making Cinna-Minnies™. My only job was to teach each one of them what to do while my arm healed. Everyone learned to do several different tasks and discovered and developed talents as they helped produce Cinna-Minnies™. John took over the cinnamon clay management, and has perfected the rolling and cutting out of the dolls, and ornaments to near perfection. The girls learned to dress the dolls, make bows, sew, paint, and make miniature clay accessories, which added greatly to the charm of the finished dolls.

Time marches on . . . our children have grown-up, gotten married and some have children of their own now. So these days, John and I work as a team to produce Cinna-Minnies™, with periodic outside help from dear friends as needed. We each operate within the realm of our talents, which compliment one another well. In August of 2001 we launched our company web site and have been busy ever since filling orders. I have purposely kept my business small so that I can maintain the quality of our Cinna-Minnies™ Collectibles. Part of the charm and attraction to our customers is the fact that all of our dolls, ornaments and home decor items are handmade by a real Mom and Pop operation . . . truly a dying breed these day.

Thank you to one and all for supporting us and blessing our lives with your kindness and friendship.

Scent-cerely,

Rochelle and John

Mention that you read my Featured Crafter article at Prim Friends Network & receive 1Free Bottle of Cinnamon Oil with your order.www.cinna-minnies.com

The Candle Buzz Marketplace

2008-09-06T16:38:00.000-07:00

The Candle Buzz Country Marketplace...

Where the buzz is all about YOU!

GRAND OPENING SPECIAL!

The Buzz is offering you One Month Free advertising on the new Marketplace.

Just email them at: info@thecandlebuzz.com to get you ad going.

There is a limited number of Feature Shoppe and In The Spotlight Ads available. They will be first come...first serve. But, the banner categories are unlimited.

There is no obligation after your first free month to continue advertising with them. They will automatically send you an invoice for the ad and you can accept or decline.

They are looking forward to serving you and getting the BUZZ out the new Marketplace! They do require a reciprocal link be placed on your home page while advertising with them.

Check them out, you'll love it!

This Week's Featured Crafter

2008-09-04T09:27:00.000-07:00

Denise ( Neenee) Bailey was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA. She's the mother of 3 grown daughters and has 3 grandchildren ages 8, 5 and 20 months. Denise has always had an interest in art and crafts and it's only been the past four years that she's been selling her products. All items are 100% handcrafted by Denise in her smoke free and pet free home. Denise started out by participating in local area craft shows, but found there was not a lot of demand for primitive crafts in Pittsburgh, so went online in the hopes of attracting primitive lovers everywhere. She opened an eBay store and did fairly well. From there opened an EzShoppe called KKL Primitives. KKL stands for KrazyKraftLady as that is what her daughters refer to her as. Krazy Kraft Lady Primitives didn't sound very professional so she used the initials instead. Denise uses plugboards, networking, banner exchanges, topsites, and her craft blogs to promote her website. You can visit her blogs at:

http://thekrazykraftlady.blogspot.com
http://kklprimitives.blogspot.com,
http://primpatternsnhandmades.blogspot.com

Mention that you read her Featured Crafter article at Prim Friends Network & receive 10% off your total purchases ( does not include shipping).

Welcome to Prim Friends Network!

2008-08-22T20:33:00.000-07:00

This will be a place for prim, whimsical, and shabby chic crafters to network and promote their business, website, or blog! The best part is that it is all FREE!

Here are the rules:
Send a 125x125 button banner to me at cranappleplace@yahoo.com
This banner will be posted on our sidebar and linked to your site.

Featured Crafter: We will feature one crafter each week. To participate email your Company/Personal Bio to cranappleplace@yahoo.com, along with 2 photos of your craft. First come first served! Hopefully we will have enough entries to place you in a queue--so we don't have to scramble each week for an entry! LOL!!

Monthly Contest: Each month we will have a drawing/giveaway. This will be sponsored by Prim Network Members. If you have something you would like to donate for the month of September...just drop me a note at cranappleplace@yahoo.com The drawings will be on the last day of each month. I will also need you to send me a button or product picture...you will be featured on the sidebar for the entire month.

Plugboard: Plug your business here! 88x31 plugs only.

Crafts for Sale: You have the option to post a picture and contact info for products you have for sale. Limit of 3 per person.

In exchange for all this....you will be required to set up a Prim Network Friends Link on your Blog or Website. This can be text only, or you can be as elaborate as you would like with pictures, banners, etc. The only requirement is that you do it! This is a Network and it doesn't work if it's members don't "Network"!

I don't know about you, but I'm tired of paying $10-15 per month just for the privilege of my banner sitting on someone else's site. I own one of the "pay to advertise" sites, but my rates are very low. My goal is to just pay for the site each month! I DO NOT begrudge these people for making money...that's the name of the game, but you can only spend so much money each month. Why not assist your fellow crafter with some FREEBIES! Let's work together to promote crafting AND your business!