Hello Everyone!  It has been a busy month or so for us, I can’t believe I haven’t been able to find time to work in my gardens.  I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying all the flowers that are in bloom. 

My sister, Connie, and I were recently at the National Halloween Convention.  Since she and I both have stores on-line, we decided to pack up some of our items and put together a booth at the show.  Wow….. we had no clue what we were getting into!  Our first suprise was seeing how much stuff we actually have, we couldn’t get it all in the van!   After sorting through everything and leaving a lot of items behind, we finally got on the road about six hours later, we got to our hotel around 1:00am.  After a few hours of sleep, it was time to head to unload and set up.  Wow again!  Who know it could take so long to unpack and decorate a small booth?  We had feather trees, ornaments, jewelry and some other items.  There was a nice selection of both John Wind and Art by Amy, in addition to some of our own designs.  I could go on, but I think you get the idea.  It was a great experience, and I know we learned a lot about how to make things easier for us for the next time.  It was also great to meet everyone from Spookytime Jingles. 

For those of you who have not experienced “Art by Amy”, I found this video, Amy talks about her jewelry, that will give you a little insight to the artist and her art.  Make sure to check it out!

John Wind Pearl Enhancers

I am currently working on getting the John Wind Signature Collection added to the store.  There are a lot of wonderful pieces, so it’s going to take me some time to get them all listed, so check back often!  I simply LOVE this line, so elegant and vintage.  Some items remind me of jewelry my Grandmothers wore and I always admired.  I’m sure that this collection will bring back fond memories for you, too! 

Besides working on getting this collection listed, I have also been working on making jewelry and feather trees to sell at the National Halloween Convention the end of April.  You know, it’s going to be near where John Wind makes all of his wonderful jewelry!  Along with everything else, I have to find time to work on taxes (yuck)!

For everyone who have been following the adventures of my husband, he has finished his medicine and will be going to the doctor on Wednesday.  Hopefully, the MRI on his head he had last week will be clear.  If it is, then we should be able to put this behind up and he can get back to work.  I will have to work with him until he gets back into shape, but after that, I will be able to get back to my “routine”.

Hope everyone is doing well!

Benita

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Hmmm,

I think it’s a little late for the song “Let it Snow”, but you can’t tell it by looking  outside!  The trees are so beautiful, but I hope they can hold up to the weight of all of that wet snow.  My poor dogs can’t decide if they really want to go out!  I sure am glad that it’s the weekend and we don’t need to venture out (I did that yesterday after it started).

     So, my sister and I were talking the other day about Easter and how we always had an Easter Egg Tree up.  This tree was made by finding a nice branch and painting it white.  It was then secured into a clay pot with easter grass around the base of the “tree”.  We decorated it with eggs that we drained and then decorated.  This was a long, but fun process leaving us with many memories of our childhood.  I’m not sure what happened to that tree or the “ornaments”.  Connie suggested that we could make an updated version by using a white Feather Tree and decorating it with Patricia Breen Chrysalis Egg Ornaments!  You know, my sister has some good ideas sometimes!! 

     With the help of Connie and Leslie Kirk, I now have my new products listed!  I have more items to list from Art by Amy as soon as I get the photos edited.  These are non-Halloween designs, so you will have a nice selection to choose from.  I was hoping to get these items listed this weekend after Connie taught me how do edit a little better…… then the snow hit.  Oh well!

I am SO exited!  My ornaments from Christina’s World arrived yesterday.  I just finished taking the picture of them and will get them listed as soon as I can.  I almost have my jewelry ready to list, Connie is helping me with that since I’m a little stretched for time.  My husband has been in the hospital since Monday, and they think he will have to be there another week!  In the mean time, I have been driving his FedEx route (until I found someone else to drive), taking care of his business, trying to get the end of year taxes, spending a lot of time at the hospital and trying to get my new items listed.  Oh yeah, one of our cats knocked over a glass of water and it got my laptop wet.  I didn’t realize it until I grabbed my computer to take to the hospital with me, and by then, it had already messed up my keyboard!  I can use the touchpad and do some things on it, but I’m going to have to take it in to get repaired.  Luckily, my husband has a net-book that I’m using…. I just have to get my files transferred over.  Ugh!!!  Thanks to everyone for thier prayers and “get well” wished for my husband.  Hopefully things will get back to normal soon.

24" Halloween Feather Tree

Willow Springs Family Farm is pleased to be represented in the Halloween issue of Celebrate365. That’s our hand made German style feather tree on the page that introduces Halloween folk art. Of course, the fact that Connie Porcher, the publisher, is my sister doesn’t hurt!

You can purchase a single copy of Celebrate365’s Halloween issue by clicking here!

Being raised on a farm makes me want to support others who were raised with “country” values.  Mom & Dad, both children of the Great Depression, raised us to work hard and appreciate home-made things.  That’s one of the reasons that on the Willow Springs web site, I hope to carry things that aren’t from “big business”.  Hey, it’s tough to make a living these days!  My husband and I operate four FedEx Home Delivery routes in the Dayton, Ohio area.  We know hard work!

Folk Artist Lori Rudolph is one of those fellow “hard workers!”  She produces a fabulous line of vintage-style die cut ornaments that are perfect for my feather trees.  We proudly offer these hand-made ornaments in the Willow Springs store.

Here are some of Retro Rudolph’s Halloween ornaments that we carry.  And, remember – it’s never too late or too early to decorate for Halloween!

Benita