Over-run With Prettiness

What are we up to?  Well; life, church, basketball, ballet, homeschool, birthdays, and oh yes--
preparing for Pat's...Again Open House on the 29th--which, more importantly is Lance's b-day.
Boxes are starting to overtake the property.  Here are some pictures of fun things.

This is only partial.  I could show more but I won't.
Get the idea?  We're  busy!!

T-14 Days and Counting (Until Open House)

Only two weeks and we'll be having fun at our Open House.  I want to give sneak previews as
we get closer.

So many of our shoppers and friends love Gooseberry
Patch cookbooks and our Park Linens.  The dishcloth
and dishtowel sets on top are called "Countryside" and
are perfect for everyday.  The lower sets are our holiday
linens and they are called "Gift Wrap".  The set is one
dishcloth and one dishtowel and are $7.50 a set.

We have punched metal tart burners that have a bulb that
shines through the punches and also ceramic burners that
appeal to many of our younger, more modern homemakers.
The punched tin are $21.25 and include the bulb.
The ceramic are $17.50.  They have a light on the
side to indicate they are on.  That too cute sign is $16.25.
Remember delivery is free in NWA and shipping is
reasonable elsewhere. 
Two weeks!!  Get excited!!

Creamy Ham & Potato Soup - Free Recipe of the Week - Gooseberry Patch

Creamy Ham & Potato Soup - Free Recipe of the Week - Gooseberry Patch


I love cookbooks. I love, love Gooseberry Patch cookbooks. We will
feature 3 Christmas cookbooks at the Open House and just because
it is still October, we'll have a new autumn cookbook so you can cook
up some warm fall yumminess. Enjoy the recipe above. Hope you
can come to the Open House. Happy cooking!!!

Black Stack Boxes

I love stack boxes.  Not only are they decorative but they are functional.  That's my kind
of item--pretty and with a purpose.

I always stacked them on top of each other but when we
featured them in Country Sampler they displayed them
like this......

Love them this way, too.  These are $29.75 and
remember we deliver free in NWA and these are
pretty easy to ship anywhere else.  Thanks for looking!!
If you missed the pumpkin tutorial check it out below.

Martha Stewart Would Be So Proud (until she looked closer)

I spotted the cutest pumpkin idea on the cover of Country Living. Their method was
kind of complicated and involved (at least more than I wanted to do), so I gave it
some thought and improvised.  It really wasn't that hard and I was pleased with it
when all was said and done. I wanted to share the how-to with you if it's something
you think you might like.


This was my inspiration.  It probably caught
my eye because I like all things toile.  They
suggested copying a favorite wallpaper onto
cardstock, painting your pumpkin the background
color and cutting out the print. 



Not ashamed to admit my love of simplifying, I thought
maybe I could just find a cardstock scrapbook print I
liked and use it.  I cut the 12x12 sheets into 3 inch strips.

My youngest daughter helped me, by the way, and
we had  fun time doing this.  We put Mod Podge (my
new best friend :)) on with a sponge brush then placed
the strips of paper on.  We smoothed it with our fingers
as best we could but let's face it, you're not going to
smooth cardstock over a pumpkin perfectly but a friend
had a great perspective on this--she said the wrinkles
added character :).

With this size of pumpkin it took us about 12 strips.  As
we put it on we would put on more Mod Podge around the
edges to get as good a seal as possible.  And we kept
on having a good time.

Finished!! 
We applied about three coats of MP all over
when we finished.  The next morning I sprayed it
with a matte finish I had--it came in a spray can
just like spray paint.  I was really pleased with
out efforts.  And I have enjoyed having it to look at
and decorate with.

As I stated, I thought Martha Stewart would be so
proud--until she looked at the bottom of the
pumpkin.  It's not so pretty.  I learned not to sit
something on paper until the glue is dry.  Somehow
I think I missed that lesson in first grade.  But that's
why you turn and display your creation and show
off the best side.  Thanks for taking the time to read
this.  Hopefully I explained it in a way that you could
at least get an idea of how to do it.  It was one of
those great projects that you can actually tweak
yourself and it probably works better that way.
Happy Pumpkin Decorating!!

Fall Prettiness

I wanted to show you two fall picks that Pat's...Again has.  They
are 16" long and so pretty.  Fall fruit, leaves, and flowers make
them gorgeous and you'll never be disappointed in the quality of
the florals from 'Raz'.  You can use them by themselves or put
in an arrangement is sure to make it 'pop'.  As I said, they are 16"
long and $11.75.  I will have some at the Open House but I
won't have a lot of fall so if you'd like one, call me now and I'll get
it to you in NWA or I can send them elsewhere.  They shouldn't
be too costly to ship.  The pumpkin in the picture has a story
all it's own and I'll be doing a tutorial on how to make it later
this week when my camera and computer start talking to
each other again :).  Thanks for looking and check back
later this week--it's a really fun project (and easy, too).

Who doesn't love fall?

Aren't these pretty?

Pre-Order Your Trees Starting Today

Wow--the holidays are going to be here soon.  We are taking pre-orders
for these cute trees.  I will have a lot of them at our Open House on
October 29 but they go fast.  Several years ago, the first year we sold
them, one of our expert decorator employees took a look at them and
said, "You didn't order enough, you'll need more."  I thought maybe I
had ordered too many.  She was right--I re-ordered twice that season
and went on to feature them the next two years in Country Sampler--
they even made the cover!!  We have shipped them all across the
continental US.  You'll love decorating with them.  Many ladies have
told me they leave them up through Janurary.  Leave a comment to pre-order. Delivery
is free in NWA and shipping is reasonable elsewhere.  $28.50 per
set.  The largest tree is 24", medium is 19", and small one is 14".

. 

Forgot to mention--I saw these a couple of years ago on Shannon's blog.  They
looked so pretty on her dining table.  Those trees are everywhere!!  Don't miss
the opportunity to get yours.