Product Review: Vintage Pin Cushion

I'm always purchasing different items, so I thought it would be a good idea to share my thoughts on my purchases. And what better place to share my opinion than my blog...

For those of you who know me, you know that I love pink and green. I migrate to those colors in many things. I came across this adorable pin cushion from Vintage Craft Emporium.

Package arrived timely in a manila envelope. I was pleasantly surprise when I opened the envelope and the cushion was wrapped in an old vintage patter. There was also an adorable vintage sticker holding it all together. What a great idea!

I think this little pin cushion is totally adorable. It is really well made in a this vintage floral fabric. The bottom is a solid green.

 

I am very happy with my purchase and would purchase from this buyer again.

In His Word Wednesday: Philippians 4:13

Last week I spoke about what it means to be courageous. One of the greatest traits of being courageous is knowing where your strength comes from.

In this day in time, we can't stand ildly by and allow evil to continue. How do we fight this battle? We fight on our knees. Fight all battles on your knees and you will win every time. On the surface, our fight may seem passive, but if we put prayer into practice, it is anything but passive.

When we battle on our knees in prayer, we are submitting to God, saying "I can't but You can." This thought brings me to this weeks verse.

Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

In prayer we will draw near to God, getting to know Him more and seeing His awesome power, experience His love, learn of His wisdom, and grow in our faith. Then a even greater realization will take place; "God does want me to be able to overcome my adversary and to live in victory in Christ Jesus."

Take a few minutes to sit back and listen to this song (I like to turn the volume up).

Easy Delicious Apple Pie

It's almost apple season and everyone needs a delicious apple pie recipe. This is one that will put a smile on your face, and those you make it for, because it is super easy and delicious.

2 prepared deep pastry shells, frozen (leave in freezer till ready to use)
4 large baking apples, cut into chunks (I like granny smith or gala apples)
1/4 cup white sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 T all-purpose flour
3 T butter, divided in half and melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small bowl, sift together sugar, cinnamon, and flour; set aside.

   

 Peel, core, and cut apples into chunks. Place in medium bowl; pour sugar mixture on top and mix with apples.

 Add 1 1/2 T melted butter, mixing well.

Take the pie crust out of the freeze. Run you fingernail or a small knife along the edge of one crust to lift it out of the pan.

In the other pie crest, fill with you apple chunks.

Take the other 1 1/2 T of melted butter and pour onto you apples. Cover the apples with the second pie crust.

Cut some vent holes in the top. Smear some butter on top and sprinkle with cinnamon.

I place on a baking sheet to keep the juices from dripping in my oven. Bake for 35-40 minutes for the perfect apple pie.

Your Precious Pet: Iggy the Chinchilla

Please take pet ownership seriously, and honestly share what you know about your pet. I always say, "if everyone would realize that pets are a real, living, responsibilities and not an item that is owned or disposable, then maybe more animals will have better lives.” 
 
I have a sincere love for animals. I love to learn and talk about them. Since I have come to the end of being able to feature my wonderful pets, I am moving on to featuring your precious pets. So grab yourself a cup of coffee or tea, and maybe a tissue, sit back, get to know and enjoy these wonderful blessings we call pets but are truly a part of our families.

This week I would like you to meet this adorable, 3 year old Chinchilla named Iggy. Brit, Iggy’s owner, has wanted a Chinchilla for a while so her husband agreed to get her one for their anniversary. Wanting to adopt instead of purchase, she searched for a rescue group, and the closest one was 5 hours away. After she fell in love with her adorable Iggy online, the rescue group agreed to drive 4 of the 5 hour to bring Iggy to his new home. Fortunately, another family who lived near Brit also adopted a Chinchilla from the group, making the drive even better.

Iggy’s came to the shelter after his owner dropped him off at a dog and cat shelter with an infected flea bite on his ear. The shelter then found a Chinchilla rescue group who took Iggy to the vet to remove the infection. He now has a hole in his ear from the infection. Brit said, “that dog and cat shelter was only an hour from us (very near where we ended up meeting the chinchilla rescue). So the Chinchilla rescue was nice enough to pick him up from there, take him back to the rescue, and then drive him all the way back for us. He was a lucky little guy -- and well-traveled!”

Iggy is very adorable, patient, quiet, and loves to be petted. They spend a lot of time petting him and then he demands a treat afterwards. Brit says he’s “greedy with the treats” too. He will also snack on your hair if given the chance. Brit’s husband found this out the hard way while on the drive home from picking Iggy up. Iggy likes to grab at the dogs faces and whiskers when they get close to his cage causing the dogs to yelp in terror. I think little Iggy is a bit mischievous. Other than hair, Iggy loves hay rings. He gets excited when he hears the bag opening and then retreats to the corner to gobble down his precious food. Like most Chinchillas, Iggy doesn’t like to be held. But he likes to hop around acting crazy and amusing his owners.

When Brit is not playing with Iggy, she is designing adorable paper goods such as; cards, bookmarks, tags, as well as rubber stamps for her Etsy shop, Calamity Crow Studio. Her mom has had a part in creating the name, wanting something catchy and have “crow” in it. Brit has been making paper goods with her mom since she was a child. Her favorite item to make is anything with watercolors.
Forest Friends Greeting Card

You can follow the Calamity Crow Studio on Facebook at:
Calamity Crow Studio

Other great items at the Calamity Crow Studio:

Precious One Rubber Stamp


Watercolor Bookmark


Halloween Card

Join Dinky's Birthday Club

On October 22, 2001, my precious Dinky poked his adorable little head into the world. I wish I could have been there, but I'm thankful that 6 weeks later he became a part of our family. I had no idea just how he was going to bless my life with lots of laughter and comfort.

Dinky cuddling with daddy on the couch

 

Watching the kids play in the waterfall at Benton Falls.

In honor of Dinky's 10 year birthday this month, we're passing our blessing onto others by creating a birthday club. See entry requirements at KingMtnTreasures-policy.

Dinky says, "Head on over and enter your pet."

Our Camping Trip

Several weeks ago we went camping in the Cherokee National Forest. There are several really great places to camp. We usually go deep into the forest away from everyone, but this time we decided to try this campground on the North River.

The campsite here are very large with plenty of room for the dogs to run around. I wish I had brought our badminton set. This is the second time we have used our new tent. It is nice and roomy. It has a doggie door too, but I don't leave it unzipped because of all the raccoons, skunks, and possums. That wouldn't be a nice surprise to wake up to.

They have a grill but I brought ours which was already clean. I'm grilling some chicken, roasting the corn, and have garlic onions cooking in the pan. Dinner was yummy. There is just something about cooking over an open fire that makes the food take wonderful.

Dinky and Toby taking a rest while I cook dinner.

We went just after public school started back so there wasn't many people in the campground.

Dinky is a little spoiled. He doesn't like to lay in the dirt or grass. Here he is sitting in my chair.

Toby kept trying to wonderful off while I was packing the car up, so I put him in his crate. He looks so cute there pouting.

There are a lot of beautiful places inside the forest. Here is one of our fishing holes. Makes a good swimming hole too.

We Have a Winner!

Thank you to all who enter to win this wonderful cat gift basket. I have been truly blessed reading all your comments of how you named your kitty.

True Random Number GeneratorMin: Max: Result:20Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Congratulations to Erica who said "I follow you on Twitter (@sardinefritters)"

I will be contacting the winner. If the winner does not respond withing 2 days, I will run the random selector for a runner up.