Simply Christmas.

Well, despite the fact that every big box store has been proclaiming that "Christmas is coming!" since a month before Thanksgiving, it always seems to surprise me when it really does get close! Less than a week to go, folks! So far it's been a sweet holiday season here at the homestead, though. We've kept the decorations simple and mostly homemade. I've especially enjoyed using boxwood, cedar and pine from right around the farm, instead of faux garlands.

I made several of these tiny wreaths to hang in the windows.

We cut our own tree from one of the fence rows around here. It was quite the search, and we almost despaired before finding "The one". It really is a nice tree, especially for a cedar since they tend to look kinda "Charlie Brownish", or be overly bushy. Ember thinks she's so big, lifting it up!

We popped a ton of popcorn after we got the tree up, and Esther and mommy went after it! I think it looks so pretty! We have gone minimal with ornaments to let the natural beauty of the tree shine through. If you ever decide to string popcorn, here's a tip: use dental floss instead of thread, it is so much stronger and the popcorn goes on really smooth!

Caught this one of my little squoogie after he crashed for an unexpected morning nap. Awwwww.....

Instead of lots and lots of holiday glitter and glamour we have " thrown around the cozy " with sheepskins, quilts, pillows and fuzzy throws. I wanted the house to scream:"Cocoa, any one?!".

So... the sweetest thing : When your five year old comes up to you with a present she wrapped herself with scraps of wrapping paper she found and she tells you it's for you because she saw you didn't have a present under the tree yet. My heart is melting! She even made a tag with both of our names on it. 

Dustin brought me a lovely bunch of cedar and pine from the woods, and I made this simple garland for the front door. It was so much easier to make than a wreath; I just arranged the boughs how I liked and then tied them together at the top with some wired ribbon left over from last year and added the sleigh bells.

We took our family Christmas photos at a beautiful old church that we spotted on main street earlier this year. I just love these doors!

Finding quality toys that don't break the bank can be so challenging. And that's where thrifting comes in! We scored these Baby tree blocks at a local second hand store, as well as the adorable metal kaleidoscope. The other wooden toys were ordered from GVS, an old fashioned mail order company ( call toll-free 1-800-398-2494 for their catalog). The prices were about half of what I had found for similar pieces from other suppliers. We got the cute little knitted ball from a booth at a primitive Rendezvous.

 Several of my siblings got the kiddos this gorgeous "night before Christmas" book as an early present to enjoy as they anticipate the holiday. Its by Jan Brett, and we just love her work! The artwork is phenomenal! Thanks so much to John,Tom and Caroline!

We also are doing some homemade gifts this year (well, honestly, I don't think there has ever been a year we haven't!!) This little stuffed kitty is my gift to Ember. I had a lot of fun making it and I know she is going to love playing with it. Of all the kids, she loves making up games with her stuffed animals the most. I'm thinking about starting to make these to sell on our etsy shop, what do you think? I'd love some feed back!

We did get some new iron work up on the etsy shop in time for the holiday, isn't this a neat wall rack? These are SO versatile, we have several of them around our house doing different jobs :-) .

Our neighbor cut some mistletoe the other day and kindly left some for us to make use of, um, I mean, find (hehe!) It's right above the front steps, so nobody is really safe. Good thing we all love each other!

Thank you all for following! Wishing you all a Merry, Merry Christmas! May God bless us all in this coming year! Love from all of us at the home made homestead.

Making Hay- The Old Fashioned Way.

Well, well, well...

We still exist and we are still homesteading! The past year has been so busy that I have totally neglected this space. I'm sure our poor blog is feeling lonely! We are coming back into cyberspace with a long anticipated blog on putting up hay with horses. We have made hay twice this summer. The first time Dustin did it completely old school and cut it with a scythe, then piled it by hand before we gathered it on to the hay wagon. These first photos are from that time.

P. S. I sewed the dress Ember is wearing. I was so happy with how it turned out!

Getting the horses harnessed.

Just as a side comment, How cute is this Flag art that Dustin created for the barn? Look closely, its the bare springs from an old mattress!

Cutey!

Horse-ing around with Lincoln. Pun completely intended. :-) 

Baby-wearing sure is handy on a working farm. Sometimes we need all hands on deck even if the littles don't oblige by taking a nice, long nap! Conagher sure  enjoyed hanging with mama!

 Forking it up on the wagon.

The haystack must be Spread and stomped down on the wagon bed as you go. This "ties it together" and keeps it from slipping off.

Higher...

...and higher!

The second time we made hay this year, we were putting up much more. So some of our neighbors kindly came over and cut it with their mowing machine. They also let us borrow their old fashioned hay rake ( we had one of these in TN but were not able to bring it with us when we moved). There are some pictures below of the rake in action. Another one of our neighbors came and helped us load the hay before an on coming shower! Here's a big thank you Jimmy! We could never have done it so fast without you!

Hey there, big boys!

Here is a shot of the field with the mounds of hay (mostly) raked up. Next blog, I want to tell you about our Etsy shop! Yes, you can now buy those pretty things like you see on our pinterest with the click of your mouse or the tap of a finger! Exciting stuff! Until next time!

-Home Made Home.homemadehomeshoppe.etsy.com

Our New Booth in Batesville.

 Our booth space.

We are super excited about Home Made Home's new booth, located on historic main street in Batesville, AR. We are in the downstairs of Old Town Mall, a great antique/ craft store with over one hundred vendors!

There is a lot to see! We've got a great selection of our hand made brooms, aprons, and hand-painted wooden signs, plus lots more!

Like Dustin's hand carved wooden spoons and dough bowls,

All kinds of fun and creative sewing and needle work, all Janet's original designs,

Antique tools and other neat old finds,

Not to mention lots of Dustin's beautiful blacksmith's work.

Our inventory is always changing so stop in and see us often! You never know what we may have brought in!

The whole family had a lot of fun "setting up shop" the girls all got to wear their new matching dresses mama made for them for our day in town.

Ember loves mama's baby!:-)  Speaking of which, our next blog will have photos of the newest little Morgan! Don't miss it!

Super-easy crocheted "elf " hat.

This is an extremely easy version of those sweet little pointy-topped hats you see in cute baby photoshoots all the time. This one was actually for a friend of mine who was about to have a baby, but Ember modeled it for me before I gave it away. She liked it so much I'm going to have to make her another one!

I started this hat with 28 chain stitches. You then build up rows of double or half-treble stitches until you have a square (I did eleven rows). Don't be worried if it starts to curl a little at first, it should flatten out nicely as you go. This hat would fit a one to two year old but just make your starting chain as short or as long as you need to depending on the size you want.

The first half is done. Now, make another identical to it. Be sure to keep your stitch tightness consistent.

Lay the two halves right sides together and sew or crochet two sides as shown creating a 90 degree corner( this is your point ). Turn right side out. Finally, stitch two chain ties to go under the chin each about 8 inches long. Attach to each of the loose corners opposite the point on top. Ta-da! You're done! This hat only took a few hours to make and you could do so many fun color variations. Welcome fall!