2016 "PRICELESS"

 HAPPY HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

(BUD the Snow Dude!! is still available. I have not listed him yet but just get a hold of me if interested. He will be listed soon in my etsy shoppe unless he sells first!! Christmas time got in the way!!)

 

We had a quiet night at home. Well the neighbors did light a few fire works! We ate at Arby's for dinner using some cool coupons I had and best part no dishes!! Plus we saved some money. Something I always like to work on. I think I have decided what my word for 2016 is gonna be!! Last night when I watched the ball come down I saw the word "priceless" on a building and it just keeps sticking in my head!! But I have been thinking life is "priceless" people are "priceless" n the gifts God gives us are "priceless" n Love is "priceless".

 

I think like everyone I have been a bit gone from my blogging!! Sometimes the business of life gets in the way n I take the short cuts through social media. I miss the blogs but I also have a problem reading blogs with all the advertisements on them. My computer takes for ever to load up n I get impatient. Ha just realized my time is also "priceless".

 

I have been working on some new things in my etsy shoppe. I started a new section called "JUNQUE YARD RESCUES". Can ya digg it? I just love it and also making the new rescues for it!! Here are just a few. "Peggy" SOLD right away. My dogg "Frankie Ray" is still available.

 

 FRANKIE RAY still available from this link.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/254526539/dog-rescued-from-found-items-rusty?ref=shop_home_feat_1 

Up cycled from an old vintage coat and put onto a old rusty spring. I also added a vintage dog license from Michigan and a piece of real rusty chain link.

 

PEGGY is "SOLD" XOXO
Peggy is made from an old gas can nozzle with other rusty parts and a quilt piece dress. She's really cool.
 

Well just wanted to stop in n say hey!!! I am working on some special orders which is very cool. I love it n keeps me crazy busy but in a good way!!

Hope you are all doing good. Thanks for stopping by!!

XOXO Love Fran.

"PRICELESS"> extremely valuable or important!!!

Well Happy Labor Day Guys!!!

 

Here it is Labor Day already!! Summer is almost gone!! But we still have Indian Summer to look forward to. AND I believe it is gonna be warm for awhile!!

 

This is my new creation!! My "HIPSTER DUDE" that is up cycled onto some pretty jazzy items. I truly had a blast thinkin n makin him up!! I love his bow tie!! It was fun to make!!

Have a groovey day whatever you are doing!!

XOXO Love Fran.

HAPPY SUMMER Y'ALL!!!

Hope everyone is gettin into the groove of Summer Thyme!! The Funky Farmhouse is gettin into the swing of Summer!! Gardens are being planted weeds are being pulled and vacations planned!! Woo Hoo!!

 

Keep on Keepin On!!

XOXO

Love Fran.

How Things are goin around the Homestead!!

WOW summer is flyin by!! I wanted to share a few of my favorite things from around my yard!! Sim painted my clothesline poles for me from a blue to this groovey barn red color~~ Can I say I LOVE it!! Eventually alot of things will be getting re-painted to barn red. I am excited. It's the little things that make me happy!! LOL

 

Back in the spring we bought this double wash stand from a local flea market. The cool story about the flower in it, is that when we had a huge wind storm in our town alot of trees went down and things and flowers were destroyed. I was taking Brooke's boyfriend home and I saw this big pot out in the garbage cuz the pot was cracked. I know the lady probably paid alot for the pot of geraniums and ivy. I separated it and planted it in the tubs. I think it is beautiful and I smile every time I come in the driveway and look at it. A gift from God for sure.

Plus I find some of my coolest things in others trash!! LOL

 

In this tub I just threw in a couple of seed packages of zinnias. Not sure what would happen I am quite pleased that for just pennies I got pretty blooms!!

 These are my flocks in front of my rusty bike. They are always so pretty and look great with my rusty gigs.

 And here are my cool Black Eyed Susan's. My BFF gave me a shovel full one time and Kaitlin just planted them here cuz she got tired of me trying to decide where to put them!! They are so pretty and the funny thing is my friend has none now and I told her I wouldn't give her any back!! LOL She has threatened me to come and get some when I am not home!! 

 This cool rusty wagon is a auction win from the same place as the double washtub stand came from! I just love these cool farm junque together. These are my mark down flowers. Thank God for the rain we have had!!

No sillies I don't sell eggs!! Why? becuz I am zoned NOT to have chickens or else I would!! But Sim got this sign for me!! I LOVE it!! And that is a pretty good price for eggs!! My niece is raising chickens and she gives us eggs! Which is pretty cool!!

Our little homestead is startin to look like a little farm. It takes time and money that's for sure. This summer we have been able to pick up a some things to make our homestead look more farm-ey. Sim took me on alittle getaway. We just got back from THE THUMB OF MICHIGAN going on the Antique and Yard Sale Trail around the thumb of Michigan. I got some cool finds for my creations. The blanket on my clothesline I got for making piggs!! I am still workin on the Pigg Bride doll. Kaitlin has settled into her apartment and I am adjusting. It helped to get away and free my mind. 

XOXO Love Fran.

Been workin down on the "PIGG FARM"!!

 

My new project has been my "PIGG PEN" and boy do I love how she turned out! Her make do is a rusty rake that measures 7" across and she sits 10" high. I used a lot of my things I love on this one. Her dress is a piece of grubby cutter quilt.

 

 

I gave her a rusty washer necklace and added one of my lil chicks I upcycle from an old blanket onto her rake with moss and two little tomatoes. I think she is so funky farmhouse and it was kinda hard deciding to sell her! But she is for sale and I have already started another one!! LOL The next one will be on a hoe. They will all be different that is for sure!!

We had a break in the weather!! THANK GOD!! I feel I can get something done! My disease has been kickin my butt with the heat. I went to the doc today and guess what more medicine!! What cha gonna do!! Keep on sewing and making things is my best bet!! LOL Thanks for stopping by!!

XOXO Love ya Fran.

Been makin Thumbprints in The Thumb of Michigan!!

 

WOW!! has it been a long time since I last posted!! But I have been  kinda busy I guess!! LOL We went on our annual vacation Sim and I take every year in June to The Thumb of Michigan. I look so forward to this cuz it is just Sim and I. This cool rusty wrecker is in a little town called Snover, Michigan. The guy who owns it is gonna re-do it and it was his Dads and his Dad used it all the time. It is in my favorite color!! RUST!!!

 

 

We had a very frugal vacation and I tell you what I loved it!! One of my favorite things we did was to pack sack lunches and take our bikes and head to a couple of little PO-dunk towns. We rode our bikes through the towns and then went to the railroad beds!! To look for my favorite thing!! Rusty items!! Here are a couple of pics and if you look real close at the last one you can see a deer!! That deer watched us for the longest time!! LOL They are so curious!

 

We saw a lot of deer!! We would go out around dusk and look for them!! Here is another one that just stared at us for the longest time!! Which was kinda great for me cuz I was designing a deer head and was trying to figure the placement of their ears out!! LOL I had bought an old corduroy coat at a garage sale and decided to make some deer and use stuff I found in the woods. It took me all week to get it right!! LOL

 



 

Here is a sneak peek at my deer head!! It is smaller than it looks!! I took that deer with me on a few rides LOL to look at deer!! I was calling him "John Deer"!! I've got him all grubbied up now and will be making his deer camp for him and selling him. It was a lot of fun to make him.

 

 

AND then the very next day after we got back we had a very weird storm with winds that were 70 miles an hour and guess what our power was out for two days!! Oh boy always something!! LOL This is a tree that had a rope swing that Kaitlin use to swing on!! My hometown lost so many trees it will never look the same!! The good news is no one got hurt!!

 

But it is good to be back to somewhat normal now!! Trying to catch up on things!! I have missed everyone as my computer was messing up too!! It seems like this summer is already flying by!! June is almost over!! Can ya believe it!! Next week is the 4th of July!! I haven't even decorated for it. Hope everyone is doing good and it feels so good to be back.

XOXO Love ya Fran.



Frannie's New Up cycled "PIG" Gig

 

Check out my new groovey PIG!!!

 

 

I sewed this pig by hand and grubbied it up real good. It is my own design.

 

 

 

I found this rusty spring from an old mattress out in the pit up in the city. I also went on some other walks mainly up in town and found these other rusty items. I put Spanish moss in it and made a grubby tag that says "Pig Pen". I put a clothes pin on it for notes.

 

 

This is one of my favorite parts. I had this old bottle and Sim helped me put rusty wire on it to hang on the spring and then I added some dried flowers and weeds and a feather.

 

This is the back and I made a curly tail on it. I think it turned out pretty cute!!

I know for sure I will be making a lot more of these! My favorite part is finding the rusty gigs for it. I have always found things and made things out of them. One of the things I had the hardest thing with this pig was pricing it. I put a lot of work and thought into it. I sold this one before it was even finished. I have some more of the springs but each one will be different as I will be finding different kinds of rusty things. I may not be able to live on a farm but I can certainly make things that go on a farm!! LOL Pigs being my favorite!!

XOXO Love ya

Fran.

 



 

 

 







HOW YOU DOIN?

MAXI (neighbor cat): How you doin?

Goat: Hey I'm doin!! I like it here!!

 

This is our new goat!! since we are NOT zoned for us to have any farm animals we decided to trick them! Ha we got a (metal) goat!! I can't get milk or  soap from him but he is very well behaved!! and I love him! I still gotta give him a name. That is my neighbors cat but I gave her the name Maxi. My neighbor has so many cats he doesn't name them and they LOVE to come over to our house cuz we feed the birds!! Oh how I love nature!! LOL 

 

 

Can ya Digg how beautiful my lilacs are!! I think this is the prettiest I seen it in many years!! It smells so awesome!! On Saturday we opened all the windows on that side of the house so we could smell it!! I would get out of my car and you could smell it!! Oh for the beauty of the earth!!

 

Some more of my groovey "Fran's Junque". My sheep has sold. And this is my new raggedy face doll on a make do rusty screw and insulator. Oh I  LOVE makin these!! I am updating her a bit with a bow in her hair and one of my new rusty top flowers then I'll throw her into the shoppe. Sim and I have been takin little walks and gathering more rusty junque for me to create with!!

 

 



Here is one of my altered art swap goodies I made. This is a Mad Hatter hat and is only about 3 inches high. This what I gathered from my walk in the woods with Sim. I LOVE watchin "Duck Dynasty"!! I put a tag on it sayin it. I wanted to keep this one so bad!! But I have enough to make myself one. We had to make three of them.

 

 

 This one is up cycled from my coffee sleeve from my trip to the mall with my friend.

 



This one is a spin off of "Minnie Pearl"!! remember her and Hee Haw!!! I LOVED that show!! I up cycled the butterfly part from my birthday card. Added a tag with her pic on it and of course I had to have a price tag so I typed one out on my old vintage typewriter and added faux silk flowers!

 

 

Here is a tag I also made for my altered art swap I am in. I Love how the flowers turned out I up cycled them from bottle tops I found in the parking lot of the store. That is a dried black eyed susan from my garden. The theme was flowers.

 

Oh I tell you I LOVE being an up cycling, recycling, repurposing artist so much!! I believe I have finally found my calling as being a creating person!! I have been thanking God for the gift and for showing me ways I can use my gift.

 I am off to create, catch up on things, and clean the house.

Have a great day!!!

Peace out!!

XOXO

Love Fran.

 

 

 

My Secret Garden!!!!

HELLO BEAUTIFUL!!!

 

 My Clearance Violets from the Grocery Store!!!

 

 

We have been working in the yard and gardens!! 

 

Sim and I finally started working  in the yard!! We cleaned up the porch and I now have a place I am calling my secret garden. I can't wait til flowers are all around me. Every year I have a theme for my yard and this year it is "Americana/Farm House". I put this old quilt on my chair today and got a pillow and my laptop and came out here!! This is where I am blogging from!! I'm thinkin o-no cuz I am gonna be out here a lot and havin coffee in the mornings here too!! But Thank You God!!!

 

 

 Another view of the porch!!

 

 

 This is the view of our wooden fence. I cleaned out the lilies and we added some farm goodies. I put my Mom's rabbit over there too.

 

 

I Love this corner of the wooden fence. One of Sim's "Junque Rustic Birdhouses" and our little rusty kids!! Who mind us very well and love to go fishin!! that is Kaitlin's herb garden she had as a little girl. Now I guess it's mine!!!

We have been so super busy I am exhausted!!

 

 

 I have also made these awesome fun paper dresses for a swap I was in over at my group!! My partner is from Australia and I knew I wanted to make her a dress with her homeland on it. I had an old world atlas from the 1940's. The dress in the middle I made like  a Girl Scout dress and even used my old troop numbers. And the music dress is from an old Hymnal from 1924. I LOVED making these and I used jute and little clothes pins that I coffee dyed to hang them on!!! I had so much fun doing these!! Right now I am working on Mad Hatters oh my gosh they are so darn cute!!
 
I am also working on more of my "Rusty Junque". I have to share this with you. Saturday afternoon Sim and I were in the backyard. Kaitlin came home and came to see us. She sat down and looked over at us and said "Oh my gosh are you guys really trading rusty stuff"? LOL Sim had his bucket out and I had my container and we were trading back n forth!! She told my Mother in Law that she thought she was gonna have to call Nick and Ryan her stepbrothers and tell them that we had gone crazy for sure!! Aw good times!! After I thought about it it is kinda funny!!!
XOXO Love ya
Fran.

 



My Rusty Muse!! and a special birthday!!!

 

This is my new cool little sign I made for my Rusty Junque Creations!! It is made from a pop top I found in the parking lot at the grocery store. And then I typed with my old vintage typewriter "FRAN'S JUNQUE" I have it sitting in a litte rusty spring I found. 

 I had been thinking for quite awhile that I wanted to make things from my rusty little finds. So I just went for it!!!

 

 

And this is what I came up with!! It is small and is on 2 inch wooden spool. The sheep is up cycled from an old coat and I used a rusty car part and rusty larger washer. I grubbied it up real good and dryed it in the sun!! This turned out so awesome and I LOVED it!! It SOLD in like 15 minutes after I put it on my facebook page!! Woo Hoo!! It lives in Virginia now!! I have another one almost ready to be finished!! And I am diggin it!! I am designing more too. I always see things in the junque I pick up. It feels real good to know that other people love what I make also. I guess I am officially an up cycled artist now!! LOL

 

 

On Friday we went down and celebrated Caylee's 3rd birthday!! She is so cute. We got her gardening stuff so she can be like Papa Sim and Grannie Frannie. We found a Little Princess greenhouse that was so cool. And got her some gloves and things to go with it.

 



 

I LOVE this picture of Caylee and her Daddy. Ryan and Christine got her a bike. Daddy is telling her how to ride it!! Precious moments!! That is her Mommy's legs in the pic!! I just captured this moment and I was so glad I did. She is  such a blessing!!

I am just working around the house and enjoying the sunshine and nice weather. To soon to go outside to work. But in a week or so I will feel more like it. I always have a lot of things I can work on inside!! LOL I want to make more things with my rusty goodies. I have been waiting along time to get my mojo going on it. And now it is here!! LOL I want to be able to go find more rusty goodies too. That part is a lot of fun!! Hope you are all doing great!!

Peace Out Love ya

XOXO Fran.

I canned tomatoes today!! SAY WHAT!!

 

 I made some tomatoes that I upcycled from an old 80's like sweat shirt. I put one into blue pint size canning jars with a little bit of moss in the bottom of the jars. I tied twine around the jars and added grubby tags. One says "Maters 1876" and the other one says "Maters 1878". These jars are alittle bit worn n chipped but perfect for these kind of tomatoes that won't spoil!! They both have the old zinc lids. I love how these turned out!! I'll be puttin these in my etsy shoppe.

 

See my cute little pig on the rusty spring!! After I get done fixin her up she'll be headed for the shoppe too!! I designed her and grubbied her up real good!! I wanted her to look like she's been playin in the mud out in the pasture and boy does she!! And she smells good too!! I kinda feel like I have been working on the farm around here. I also have another sheep ready for her prim bath!!

 

 

 

I also whipped up this sweet pen/pencil holder for myself for in my gettin clean n organized craft/studio/office/computer room. I have been working on cleaning it for about a week now. I have been watchin alot of DVDs I haven't seen in awhile and just doing it. This pen/pencil holder I whipped up from an old door knob. The bird was my Mom's and I had the pencil and added the tag that I made along time ago. I also used a real bird feather and pinecone. Funny thing this door knob was given to Sim Saturday night from a friend for his bird houses he makes. Sim doesn't know yet that I snuck into the box of goodies and got it!! OOPS!! But I LOVE it sitting on my desk.

 

I believe I have SPRING FEVER!! LOL The sun was shining here in Michigan today and I had a smile on my face all day!! And I just heard it is suppose to be close to 50 on Friday and the sun is gonna shine for the next few days!! WOO HOO this gal is gettin her MoJo back and lovin it!! I can not wait til I get my studio done!! I have so many things I want to make!! And before I know it I can go outside and play!! Hope you all had a sun shiny kinda day too!!

Peace out!! Love ya XOXO Fran.