We are so blessed!

There haven't been many blog posts lately or new products at Hearthside Collection as we were preparing for a very special event in our family. Our son's wedding was this weekend! What a beautiful day for a great couple!

Both Kyle and Aubrey played soccer all during school and in college as did their bridesmaids and groomsmen. They added a unique twist to their wedding by having the entire bridal party wear soccer slides with their tuxes and dresses. The guys, instead of wearing a corsage, were given a patch of their favorite soccer team to pin on the lapel of their jacket. Their special time to see each other prior to pictures - was on the soccer field. At the reception, when the maid of honor and best man offered a toast in their honor, we filled our glasses with Gatorade! It was a very fun day.

They both have a great testimony and desire to honor God in their marriage. We are so blessed to have a new daughter in the family. We just love her and are so excited to watch them grow together in this next step of life.

These are our 3 daughters. They had fun showing off their soccer slides!

Here is a picture of the wedding sampler I made for them as a shower gift. If you have wedding coming up and would like to give the bride and groom something personalized, visit Hearthside Collection and check out our wedding samplers page.

Our guest room - "Sleep and Shop"

We love to have overnight guests! We often have special speakers at church or missionary families who come in for the weekend to share their stories with us.

Over the years, we have opened our home to many weekend guests. It has been a very valuable experience for our family. Our kids have grown up knowing our home could be open for those who have a need. While opening our home as a " bed and breakfast" we have been blessed by the relationships we have formed over the years. Several years ago we hosted a family that had four children very close to the ages of our kids. Our youngest ones were just a few months old. Our kids all played so well together and the babies provided a constant source of entertainment. When it was time to get the kids all ready for bed and cozy for the night, the husbands also went upstairs to change. Tina and I had a good laugh as the men came down looking like twins, both of them in their gray sweats and white t-shirts! We found we had A LOT in common with each other.

Sometimes housing whole families takes some creativity- swapping beds here and shoving people there. With two of our kids grown and (mostly) moved out of the house, having guests is a bit easier than it used to be. I recently repainted my oldest daughters old room and turned it into a guest room / display area for my primitive samplers and baskets etc. that we have for sale at Hearthside Collection.


Along with an additional guest room, we needed a nice area to display some of our products. We occasionally have local customers stop by because they need a quick gift or want to spruce up a corner of their house for a special occasion. We, however, won't be held responsible for any guests who come to visit and might be tempted to shop in their sleep! :)

Thanks for visiting our blog!
Jacki

Garage sale finds... and new fabric

I love finding treasures at garage sales! I recently picked up several cute containers that are just waiting to be filled. We like to use pip berries, leaves and rusty stars as some of our fillers.

There are town wide garage sales this weekend in the area I grew up. 116 homes are having a sale! I would love to make a day of it and see what lovely finds are available. I was able to go last year and it was fun seeing familiar faces and catching up on the latest news with old friends.

Last week I went to one of my favorite fabric shops in South Bend, Erica's, and picked up some great new fabric. I'm thinking of making little pillows...maybe with something stitched on the front.

I just love these colors. They go great with my dining room! I'll just add a few pictures to show you. We definitely went bold when we chose the dark blue/gray for the walls. The day I painted it, one of my daughters came home and said. "It looks like this is the color this room would have been when it was first built." It is a very comfy - cozy color and we enjoy sharing our lives around the dinner table. Our home was built in 1891 and has a lot of character. I have often thought it would be so neat if the walls could talk and tell us stories of other families who have made memories here through the years.

New primitive country products at Hearthside Collection!

Custom samplers are one of our specialties I often have customers contact us about a special saying they would like made into a sampler. In the last couple of weeks, I've made these two custom primitive samplers as a special order.

Nicole asked me to make this sampler for her. It has special meaning to her as her and her Dad have been saying this prayer together almost nightly for the last 26 years. She wanted to be able to hang it in her bedroom.


This sampler was a request from a Judy who wanted to give a heartfelt gift to a teacher who was leaving her school.

Here is another primitive sampler I made a few months ago for a gal that wanted this saying made into a sampler and framed to give to a special friend. We used a background fabric to match her friend's country decor.

Just this week I added a new category to make it easier to find primitive centerpieces on our site. I love to take antique or unique containers and fill them with pip berries, leaves and rusty stars for a great tabletop, or hutch display.


Anita contacted me this week about filling one of her Mom's old granite pans. She loves our centerpieces and wants a special one made with something that belonged to her Mother.

If you want a custom sampler or primitive centerpiece we would love to help you create something unique. We look forward to helping you treasure special memories in your primitive country decorating.

June giveaway and monthly specials

Another month has arrived and with it comes new specials at Hearthside Collection! During the month of June we are offering FREE SHIPPING on all orders over $100.00!! This would be a great time to stock on some of your favorite gifts.

We are also giving you a FREE JAR CANDLE when you order two jar candles! When you check out, include which free candle you want in the comments section.



Our giveaway for the month is this hand painted slate shingle that says "SIMPLIFY". If you are like me, you could use a reminder to simplify life a bit sometimes.



If you would like to enter the drawing for June's giveaway, leave me a comment on this post or use the contact us page at Hearthside Collection, our primitive country store.

Congratulations to Judy from Indiana for winning the 5x7 sampler for the May giveaway!!