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.

A Day in the Blacksmith Shop.

Dustin recently had a commission for a reclaimed wood and iron-work coat tree. He spent most of a day in the shop with his little helper, Esther. They documented the project with step by step pictures. 

Above, you can see a bit of smoke drifting out of the eaves of the smithy.

Firing up the forge.

These next pictures show the top layer of hooks taking shape. The stock he is using is 1/4 X 3/4 flat bar. Above, he has just flattened the ends of the forged blanks in preparation for rolling them as you see below.

Putting the curve in. The metal is still red-hot.

Now the bottoms of the pieces have been rolled up into hooks.

A few views of the inside of the shop. Esther was having a ball!

Finished except for drilling the screw holes.

On to the small hooks for the lower tier.

These will be driven right into the wood, hence the sharp ends.

Nicely curved.

Finished.

Now Dustin drills the pilot holes in the large hooks. ( P.S. Esther took these photos! :-) )

Daddy and his girl!

The drilling was done with an old fashioned hand drill.

The horses ambled over for a visit so Esther took a quick break to do a little petting. 

...and a little hugging :-) .

After drilling the pilot holes with the hand drill he finishes the holes with the drill press.

 

A view of the drill press.

Here all all the hooks with the reclaimed wood that the body of the coat tree will be made of.

The foot of the stand is designed to be hard to topple over, as the tree was destined to be in a shop holding merchandise. The lady didn't want it falling over on customers!

 

It turned out so pretty! It has a real nice rustic/western vibe. Below are some pictures of the completed project, ready to be delivered to it's new home.

To order similar pieces, call us at 1-870-283-4002 . Thanks for reading! H.M.H. :-)

Fun at the Farmer's Market.

We recently enjoyed setting up at a local farmer's market. Our garden isn't producing enough to sell quite yet, but we brought baked goods and a small selection of wood and metal work. Dustin also demonstrated how he carves wooden spoons all morning.

There were quite a few other vendors selling fresh veggies, herbs, home made soaps, farm fresh eggs and more . A lot of farmers were sold out by 10:30 am .

Janet baked mini loaves of whole wheat bread and oatmeal cookies the night before. Both turned out to be popular items at the market.:-)

Dustin carving with some interested onlookers. People always love to watch him working.

We love how this spoon just looks like it is bursting out of the wood! We actually had people waiting for him to finish this one so they could take it home :-) .

Here is Dustin just finishing putting his sign on the back of the spoon.

And here is little Conagher Quinn! He is a wonderful little boy and he slept most of the morning. We are all enjoying having a little brother in the family. 

Happy big sisters.

We are looking forword to coming back to this one!