Primitive Mom of Two

Just wanted to post a quick note about a giveaway I became aware of through a fellow blogger.
The Muddy Moose is having a giveaway of some great great bath boutique basket sets! Hop on over to http://themuddymoose.blogspot.com/2009/02/my-first-ever-monday-giveaway.html?showComment=1235586420000#c3551049344603221971 soon as the giveaway ends Feb 28th.

Well I am tryin out a new theme for tuesdays. Tuesday's Tidbits, finding little things to do with everyday things you find in or around the house. Today's tidbit is on Duct Tape, now we all know it's the fixit go to for just about any house hold, but after doing some research i found the history of Duct Tape to be a bit interesting.



Duct tape got it's name when do-it-yourself repair people found out how well it worked for sealing off ducts in the home. The original name, "Duck Tape", came from WWII in 1942.


When cases of ammunition were ruined by rain and humidity, the U.S. government asked their supplier if they would give them something they could use to protect their provisions. The supplier sent them a green waterproof tape that the army nick named "Duck Tape" because water rolled off of it as easily as water off a duck's back. The military found countless uses for the tape while stationed overseas and new uses mounted once they returned home.
It seems the most popular use for the tape after the war was for sealing ducts in homes which prompted a few changes. The color changed from green to silver and it's name changed from Duck Tape to Duct Tape. Through the decades duct tape has remained popular because it seems there is no a job that duct tape can't handle.
The best use for duct tape I have come across is for getting rid of Plantar Warts. Before going to bed each night simply wrap the tape around your feet making sure all warts are securely covered. They should disappear within 4 to 6 weeks. The reason this procedure works so well is, the duct tape is air tight and it cuts off oxygen to the warts causing them to die.
Other things duct tape is used for are:
Patching water pipes.
Patch a holes in the pool.
Used as weather stripping around doors and windows.
To tape an alligator's mouth closed.
As temporary patch for a car body.
To hold the bumper on a car.
To tape over the mouth of the office gossip.
As a patch for mufflers and tail pipes.
To mend a broken shovel handle.
Use in an emergency to hem pants, a skirt or a dress.
To repair a vacuum cleaner hose.
For book binding.
To repair a car tail light.
To stop a leak in the garden hose.
To repair a tear in a tent.
For a bandage when you don't have a real one handy.
Use as a patch on clothing.
To keep rubber boots from leaking.
Repair holes in inflatable water toys.
To tape an annoying person to the wall.
To remove lint from clothing.
Reupholster furniture.
Wrap Christmas presents... they'll never get them open.
Fly catcher. Just hang from ceiling in the cottage.
Tape warranties to the back or underside of new appliances.
Fix holes in the wings of airplanes.
Replace webbing in lawn chairs.
Use in place of wax for removing unwanted hair.
Patch holes in the toes of ballet shoes.
If you are out riding and your horse's shoe becomes loose, secure it with duct tape until you return home.
To repair dentures.
Use strips of duct tape on the back of jig saw puzzles to keep them from falling apart.
To remove a splinter.
Toilet paper.
Temporary fix for a broken water hose under the hood

I am sure we all use or have used Duct Tape for one thing or another in our lives and will probably use it again. I know it is a staple in our house, we have a roll in the kitchen, one on the back deck and I even think my husband has a roll in the trunk of his car. What have you used it for?

(thanks to Darlen McFarlane's article at http://www.gomestic.com/Do-It-Yourself/35-Great-Uses-for-Duct-Tape-and-Counting.33854 for this information)

Well it's Monday again, oldest goes back to school and hubby goes back to work and the weeks cycle begins again. I love the weekends but always seem to look forward to getting back into the weekly routine once again. We woke up to 25 degree weather and frost on everything, i will be so happy with this cold is gone. Though I know we are no where near as cold as some of the wonderful people in blog land.

I did some more creating this weekend. One thing I made was this cute crochet cuff. It started out as a wristlet that went wrong and I decided to make this cute cuff out of it. It is available in my etsy store. I think i will be making a few more of these this week as they come together rather quickly.

I also got some more done on my afghan, here is an updated picture of my progress. I am really liking how it came out.

I am working on coming up with some special days on my blog, stay tuned for how i decide to organize it. I am working on some cool theme ideas and am now in the deciding process.

I am also nearing my 100th post, so look for a giveaway soon in celebration of that wonderful day!

Until next time..keep warm and stay creative!

Do you like cupcakes???

I wanted to wish all my wonderful blogland friends a Happy Valentine's Day. I hope you take that extra time to show the one's you love how you feel and how much you appreciate them today.












My DH has to work today 8 to 8 so we did our Valentine's last night. Now usually my hubby usually has a difficult time buying gifts for me, and this year I told him to make it simple. Here is what i received last night. I have to say I'm impressed, he even did the wrapping himself! I was very happy with what i got. He got me a book that i had been looking at for a while, the newest from J.K. Rowling. (yes I am a Harry fan), a little journal in my favorite color of purple, and of course chocolate, the good kind!
Now I feel bad because I didn't do any special wrappin on his, He got a cute card, a small box of chocolates, and a rain check for a supper and dessert of his choice. The boys got him a card and a bag of peanuts in the shell. (they had ulterior motives for that, they love eating them with daddy)

I also got another great early Valentine's present on Ebay. Yesterday my shop on etsy was Sneak Attacked. Here's a brief description of a Sneak Attack:

Well to continue with my Becoming Healthy theme from yesterday, I got to thinking that Yoga helps us in many ways but many of us don't have a lot of time to excercise, go to the gym, or even stop and do a full workout video. I am one of those people, there are some days that I need something quick to do to keep me in the routine. Plus i wanted something that can help with my arms. I found this great article that shows 4 simple excercises we can all do and that can start showing results in just a couple of weeks. Check it out here. Small steps is the way to go. If you are like me starting a full fledged workout schedule will tank within a week because it's just hard to stick to. But little things we can do in 10 minutes here and there will be more effective.

I have made it through my first day without diet soda. It wasn't too bad, though I do have to say I was craving it about 8pm last night. I have to say the little packets you can get to flavor your water made a big difference. I also made up a pitcher of one of those juice cocktails and used that to add a bit of flavor as well. The kids even liked that!

My next step will be to start a food journal. That will begin next monday. (I am giving myself this weekend of no guilt) I have seen many articles that say those that keep a food journal loose 2 to 3 times more than those that don't. Wish me luck!

Well for the kids that is. Yes I mean those valentine's parties at school. Today is JJ's valentine party at preschool, so the good mommy I am I decided to make up these cute little cups with candy and valentines inside for his class. Of course there are only 5 in his class.

Connor's party is tomorrow. I didn't get as creative with his class valentines as there are 20 kids in his class, but I made up these little bags that include a cute valentine pencil, heart shaped sucker, big candy smarties, valentine and a little temporary tatto.

I had so much fun making these, but am at a total loss as to what to do for my hubby. Aside from wrapping myself in a big pink bow...the man is so hard to buy for. I suppose it will come down to making him a supper of his favorite foods and some sort of decadent dessert.

I hope everyone has a great valentines day! making sure you show the one's you love how much you really do appreciate them.

Good morning all! It's been a couple of days since I have posted. I have been busy creating and workin on a special order I recieved. Yay! I titled today's post Getting Healthy because, well that's my goal this year. One step at a time of course. This week I am going to attempt to kick the diet soda habit. There are so many ways to flavor your water these days that I figured it would be easier. Wish me luck.

Also I realized I need to strengthen my core muscles. After attempting a new yoga pose yesterday that I got from my friend EZ over at http://kissmyasana.blogspot.com, who has inspired me to get in shape, I realized how out of shape I am in. The pose was fairly simple till I had to attempt to come back up using my ab muscles. Whew...let's just say I wasn't completely successful. Practice Practice Practice though and that's what i intend to do. The great thing about Yoga is that you can do a few minutes at different times throughout the day when it's needed or when you have time! Take a look at her blog if you have time as she will be updating it with different simple meditations and poses for us beginners as she goes on.

A couple of my favorite poses are Warrior Pose as well as Tree Pose and finally Sun Salutation. Now this last one is a little more difficult, and I am still working on it, but I like the fluidity of the movement. So far those are the ones I have learned and aspire to learn more and do them better.

I wish everyone a good day and happy crafting. Keep the comments coming, I absolutely love reading them. i will try to catch up on everyone's posts today as well.

Yes that's right. I found a Tupperware Giveaway. Head on over to WillowLakeScents here:http://willowlakescents.blogspot.com/2009/02/tupperware-review-giveaway.html and enter. Who doesn't love Tupperware? A great way to organize your Kitchen. I still have the Spaghetti Dispenser that my mom had when I was growing up! Yep it's on my counter with spaghetti in it at this moment!

Just a few more hours to sign up for my giveaway. Comments will be closed at 10pm central time tonight so if you haven't signed up yet, click the picture on the right hand side and leave me a comment! Drawing will be done tomorrow morning. :)

As promised here is an update on my projects today. I am almost finished with my afghan, one more skein and i think it will be just right for a lap cover up. Here is the progress so far.

I also received a pattern for a newsboy cap in my email today from an Etsy friend. Thanks Macri! Here is how my first attempt worked up. Now it calls for 100% cotton yarn...of which I had none so I used acrylic...so I am sure it will work up differently with the correct yarn (cause it's not as thick) but this gives you the idea. Now I do have to admit the visor part gave me a heck of a time, but i am sure with practice i'll get better. Here are just a couple of pics, the last one showing I am really not a hat person...lol

Just a reminder there are only two days left for my giveaway. comments will be closed Sunday night and I will draw a winner on Monday. Click the button on the right to take you to the post. Good Luck to all.



Plus while perusing through blogland I have found a few more giveaways.

http://rainbowswirlz.blogspot.com/ is featuring a great etsy shop and the shop has been nice enough to donate one of her custom designed hand bags to give away. Contest ends on the 11th so sign up quick!

And Zen Cupcake is giving away a cute pair of cupcake earrings that will be packaged in the box you see and sent in the quilted bag pictured. How cute!! Just click the pic and it will take you to the post to sign up on.

Ryan over at I'm just a Guy Who Quilts is having this great prim giveaway as well! You can click the picture and it's the Feb 1st post. I have the perfect place for all of these great items so good luck to me :)

Also check out Audrey's Country Crafts, she has done a lot of research and found quite a few more giveaways out there in blogland. Hop on over and find something you love and enter. Her button is on my sidebar.

I will update my projects later today when I get pictures done. :)

As I was searching for a blanket last night to curl up with in the cold I opened my trunk and found this. My great grandma Brownie made it for my high school graduation. Sadly she is no longer with us, but I hope that she is looking down on me as I attempt to learn to quilt myself.

Her name was actually Fern Brown, but as the story goes when I was little and mom asked me who she was I said..."Grandma Brownie" and it stuck! She had me bring her some of my mom's clothes I wanted incorporated into it. The rest of the squares would be made up of scraps from her own clothes. I remember picking out a dress I loved from my mom's closet and it turned into many squares like this one.

And if I remember correctly I also took a plaid shirt that mom no longer wore and it became squares like this.

Now I was given this quilt many years ago and it has held up through many moves, to college, back home, back to college, and back home again. From apartment to apartment, city to city and it has weathered the storm wonderfully. Out of all my quilts and blankets it is still my most favorite to curl up with and talk about keeping you warm! So many memories are in this quilt. I look at it and remember going to Grandma Brownies house with my two cousins to learn how to bake a pie from scratch. Learning from both Grandma Brownie and my Grandma Jackie (my dad's mom and her mom) Playing Kings on the Corner on the card table in the middle of the living room. Family get togethers when my cousins and I hid out in her spare bedroom and gossiped all day long. And her famous banana bread that she made my dad and his brothers and sister for christmas every year! It makes me all warm and fuzzy inside remembering those times. Both Grandma Brownie and Grandma Jackie are greatly missed!

I just wanted to share a bit with everyone today as I was feeling a bit nostalgic after pulling this out last night :)