Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale!!

Free shipping in my shop on all greeting cards, and German Star ornaments, from today, until Sunday!! Go visit now for best selection!!

**Keri**

Church Pew Signs...

Hello out there! Considering the weather up here has been so terrible, you would think that I would still have plenty of computer time, but alas, I have been very busy despite the unusually cool temps and MAJOR rain!
Camp starts two weeks from tomorrow, and the grounds needs a bit of sprucing up, so I am painting cottages! Weather permitting, of course. We decided to take the day off today, it is kind of rainy this morning, and the housework has severely suffered in our absence. So this is giving me the chance to catch up on not only chores, but computer time and other odds and ends.
Last week, I did complete two new church pew signs. I posted about these recently, and have a couple up in my Etsy store. These were custom pieces-specially requested with these specific verses. The photos aren't great, but I was in a tear, and the lighting wasn't great..but you get the idea...




So that is what we have been up to! I am still struggling with lack of employment--like so many others right now. Cody is healing well from his recent oral surgery, and Peter is back to work, so we are very fortunate right now.
Thanks for visiting!
**Keri**

Father's Day Re-cap

Good morning! I thought I would share a few photos from Sunday morning, of Peter and Cody. Cody got Peter these really cool placemats made out of photographs. If you are interested, visit www.TreasureMats.com to check them out. The gal lives a couple towns over and runs a small copy store. She perfected how to make these durable, and they retain their color beautifully! Check em out! Anyway, as you can see, we now have hunting photos on our kitchen table...(eyes wide in slight terror!!)


Here is a close up on my boys--Cody is looking more and more like his father (if that is possible) every day. He is getting so tall, and his face is changing so much! He is now on summer vacation officially--so he is a happy camper up in his bed right now!!

I have been keeping a few cards in a cute enamel dish, at my dear friend's beauty shop, for sale. I have sold quite a few cards so far, and these are a few of the graduation ones I made. The traffic that goes through her shop is amazing! These fit into a business envelope!

I have also been adding more cards to my etsy shop. www.KeriLouNewYork.etsy.com I had my 7th sale last week, and currently have over 40 items in my shop. I got some exciting new last night-one of my items was included in a treasury, and made the front page on etsy!! I am tweaking the store constantly, so be sure to check back for new items often!
Have a great day!
**Keri**

My Latest Creation...

So, I mentioned last week on my Etsy post, that I had some new creations in this crazy maze I call my brain...Geri from Saddlepotatoes had given me a suggestion for some barn signs, and I decided to run with it, and see what I could come up with...and anyone that knows me, knows that once I get a picture of something in my head, I am not satisfied until I get it created!!
So, I just happened to have some old boards laying around--okay, so Daddy just sent them home with Peter and I a couple weeks ago, and as soon as Geri suggested barn signs, these boards had a purpose! The board for the initial one I made, came from a 100+ year old church pew. Re-purposed? Re-cycled? YUP! And what has more character than an old piece of wood--who knows what kind of stories it could tell..It even has remnants of an old square nail in it! The back is covered in brown paint, but the front is the original wood (underside of the seat) and it was barely touched before I painted it. Just a VERY light sanding...I painted, sanded lightly again, and sprayed it with matte sealer. The wire hanger I added is old rusty wire, to add a bit more character! Everything in my house is pretty much mismatched, antique, or just plain old, so this would fit in well! I think I will make one for myself, and make some for the Etsy store, with several different sayings on them...What do YOU think??

Have a great night!

**Keri**

Friday Greetings!!

Can you believe it has been more than a week? I tried to update all day yesterday, but blogger was not cooperating with me! Things around here have been pretty crazy these past couple of weeks. School is wrapping up for Cody, and he will be a freshman in the fall! Hard to believe! My daycare kids will be with their teacher/moms all summer, but I picked up a new daycare job that will start next week, so I will be as busy as ever! It is such a huge blessing, and relief to have employment through the summer, though!

I added a new header to my etsy store. It is not the permanent one, but better than the one I have, so let's just call it the "interim" header. I have added some of my paper star ornaments to my store, as you can see below. I will be added three dozen more, hopefully, today! Depends on the kids..You know how that goes. I also have another idea floating around in my head, thanks to Geri from the SaddlePotatoes blog (linked on right). I have some reclaimed church pew wood, and grainery wood, that I am going to put to good use, and paint up to put in my shop. Stay tuned to see the first creation! And thanks, G, for the inspiration!

Peter and Cody have been fishing every available minute they have...Now I need to figure out how to cook the stuff..not that I will eat it, but they will! Here they are with one of their most recent catches:

Cody's cousin miss Bea came for a visit last week, and she LOVES to smile for the camera, just about as much as she loves cousin Cody! Aren't they cute?


And last but not least, I bet *YOU * have never seen a killer cucumber before! Cody grew this cuke plant in tech class at school. The tech part was how they actually grew it-is some kind of water bottle apparatus with vermiculite and miracle grow. Pretty cool, actually. We transplanted it, and it was in the kitchen window, waiting for the last threatening frost to pass, when Peter came in one day and said---someone is choking your President...I was like..."WHAT??" He said it three times, when I finally came over to see what the heck he was talking about....apparently the cucumber doesn't feel very patriotic, cause he wrapped his killer tendril right around Uncle Sam's neck!! When Code came home that day and I pointed it out, he couldn't stop laughing...I asked him what kind of seeds they raise at that school of his! Uncle Sam was rescued, and will live to see another Independence Day!

That is it from here, have a great weekend everyone!!

**Keri**

Etsy!!

I don't know how many of you are familiar with ETSY, but it is a great place to visit! It is an online website, that hosts thousands of crafters, and their stores! To be sold in an etsy shop, it has to be handmade, or vintage. I started a store up in January, and have had 5 sales already! I have been very busy adding new items to my shop lately, so I thought i would share a collage I recently made with some of my work on it! Not all of these items are currently in the shop, a couple of them are custom pieces that I have done in the past, but it shows my style, and what I can paint! I am hoping too add greeting cards to the mix very soon, just waiting for the copyright stamp for the backs. If you would like to visit my shop, you can click on the link in the sidebar, or {{CLICK HERE}}

I made up this collage for a flyer I recently made, to hang in my friend Judy's beauty shop, along with some business cards. I am trying really hard to get the word out, and promote this store, so if anyone has any tips, hints, or advice, I would appreciate it! Please feel free to add me to your blog's sidebar, if that is something that you want to do. For those of you that already have, thank you so much! (You know who you are!!)

I have added a few Americana pieces in the past week, and am now working on some other goodies that will be up soon! Check back weekly, for new items!

Thanks for all the support-

**Keri**

Birthday Card

Good Thursday morning! I cannot *BELIEVE* it is Thursday already! It has been a very busy week, and it has just flown by! Sick daycare kids, running around for appointments and groceries, and helping out in the neighbor's sugarbush has tired me out!! I am still upright and going, though, so I guess all the walking I have been doing has conditioned me a little bit!
A dear friend of mine had a birthday last Friday, and I made this card for her. I hope she liked it!



Here is what I used:
Serene Spring retired hostess set from SU! (colored in with chalks)
SU! Bashful Blue, SU! Buckaroo Blue, and GP White Cardstock
Patterned blue hydrangea paper-unknown
Cuttlebug embossing folder-swiss dots
White sheer offray ribbon
SU! Basic Gray Inkpad
Nesties scalloped and regular circles

**Just a note to let you all know that I stocked the Country Life Store with a couple of new items, and I now am accepting Paypal Payments!**
** I also want to apologize as my blog visits have been NONE as of late. I plan on getting caught up and stopping by your blogs very soon!**
Have a Blessed Thursday!
**Keri**

My Favorite Things, Part 2!

In honor of a couple of new items in my ETSY STORE, I thought I would share another one of my favorite things, and give something away!! I added two sets of scrapbook embellishments to my shop this morning, and I hope you go check them out! I do want to add that I hope to have paypal up and running by the weekend! Here is a sneak peek:


Today's favorite thing is what I used to make my latest Etsy Item. Cuttlekids dies! Although made to work in the Cuttlekids Machine, they also work in the Cuttlebug machine, and the animal ones are SO CUTE!! They are so cute to use on cards, scrapbook pages, bookmarks, etc. The one I have to give away today, in honor of Favorite Things Day, is Xavier the Monkey. If you are interested in taking Xavier in, to your home, check out the give away instructions below the pic!

If you want to be entered in a drawing for this set of Cuttlekids dies, which will work in the Cuttlebug-leave a post, and tell me in that post, the name that my family uses for my dear Grandmother, who is now in the nursing home. She is doing well, by the way--readers inquire about her often-despite 3 quarantines at the nursing home this winter, she has evaded sickness so far!!
I will take comments until Saturday night, and post the winner on Sunday, March 8th.
Have a great day!
**Keri**

New Items in THE COUNTRY LIFE Shop

I have added some new items in my Etsy Shop. Click HERE to check them out! Any feedback would be appreciated. I did have my first sale! Hooray!
I will be adding more in the weeks to come. Keep checking back!
**Keri**

New Items in the Country Life Shop!

I added some new items to the Country Life Shop. Click on the link box in the right column to see what is new!
Have a great night!
Keri

Thank You Cards

Something look different?? Yup, I changed my scheme again! Let's just say it reflects the stark nature of my surroundings and my attitude until Spring arrives! Temperatures are dipping lower and lower and my feet and hands keep getting colder and colder!
After another week of potty training 2 toddlers, I am ready for the weekend again!

You may have noticed the new item in my sidebar. After pondering the idea, I did go ahead and open an Etsy Shop! If you click on the box to the left, it will bring you to the shop. There are only 2 items right now, but I have more ready to go up. I just need to take the time to do it. The variety of what will be in my shop will vary, honestly, depending on my creative mood. The cost of posting the items is so little, that it isn't going to hurt if items sit there. As is says on the store's page, if there is something specific that you want, or even if you have seen something that I have done on here that you would be interested in, feel free to contact me. I will be adding more paper crafts, and some painted items in the future!
This is the thank you note I made right after Christmas, for Cody to send to everyone who gave him gifts over the Holidays. I try to always make a point to have him write them out and thank each person. Good thing to learn while they are young!
For this card, I used pre-made, textured, pre-folded cards from Joann's SE line. I cut them shorter to make them square. They come in packs of 10, with the envelopes. They match the Lavender Lace color from SU! perfectly!
I stamped the base of the card with SU! Print Pattern BG stamp, and Lavender Lace Ink.
I used my new Nesties and cut out some scalloped and regular circles using K&Co cream colored metallic paper for the large scalloped one, then Mellow Moss, then Very Vanilla for the smallest circle.
For the stamps, I used Blossoms Abound, a retired set from SU!.
I stamped the blossoms with Lavender Lace Ink, Mellow Moss Ink, and Always Artichoke Ink. (I stamped off with the LL Ink)
The sentiment is from a SU! hostess set, Best Yet.
Very simple, easy to make several of (I made 10!) and lovely. Especially when you are stuck in the dead of winter, and flowers seem SO FAR AWAY!!
Thanks for visiting!
Let me know what you think of the new scheme!
Have a great weekend,
**Keri**