PORCH SITTING TIME

Saying Good-bye to the Flowers

2012-01-18T13:07:00.004-05:00

I am working on transforming my old flowery craft room into my new studio :) The wallpaper was on the walls when we bought the house and I am ready to say good bye to this wallpaper. Here are some pictures of the progress....more pictures to follow when it is all done.

The Before Picture

The After..well not quite the AFTER..still have lots to do..like clean off my work space :)

We used Gilded Linen for the walls and Hunter's White for the trim
(Valspar paint)

~Some new artwork for the walls~

~~Tried to get a picture of the trim and the walls~~

New Year, New Journey

2012-01-14T08:24:00.001-05:00

Shhh..don't tell my customers BUT I want to stay locked in my craft room today, well AFTER I go to the craft store to buy lots of new craft supplies. Last evening, Tim brought home 2 great magazines for me ( I have him well trained!) SOMERSET LIFE and WHERE WOMEN CREATE. Let me tell you I am SO INSPIRED! First I want/need to totally redo my craft room and turn it into a my "studio", studio sounds so much more professional... I keep thinking that one of these years I will grow up and be professional. :) So maybe this will be my year to get more professional :) And I got an idea from a friend, she just redid her studio and she used chalkboard paint on her one wall...I saw that and I am going to DO THAT! I just haven't told Tim yet! But what an awesome idea, I can write some of my orders on the wall and then I am not looking around for my misplaced order book. Plus it looked so cool....thanks to Justina for the inspiration! And I also got a lot of very cool ideas for my new "studio" in WHERE WOMEN CREATE!
Now for my new journey....I follow a lot of blogs and not all of them are PRIM blogs..shocking I know! So while reading some of my favorite ones, I learned about an E-course on creativity and finding your gift. I signed up and my friend, Teryn is joining me on this new adventure! I am so excited about this new journey and I didn't want to take the journey alone...SO I am happy to have Teryn take this e-course with me ..so much better to do this with a friend! We start the journey together next week and we are both so excited!
Stay tuned...I hope to share more of this new journey with all of you and I may even share photos of my new STUDIO! ~

Is it January or Springuary?

2012-01-07T12:46:00.000-05:00

It is January, right? Well, it sure doesn't feel like it...it feels like SPRINGUARY!

Yesterday, I redecorated the porch of the Shop..Stop by and take a look and it you feel like doing some porchsittin' go right ahead...we won't mind..we may even join you!

I took a strand of lights and placed them inside the lantern

Old Windows

2012-01-04T09:31:00.000-05:00

SO now what? I have all these old windows and I need some ideas on what I can do with them. I do have some ideas in my head but I would love to hear what you would do with these. Now I don't want to hear any wise comments like Tim makes...his idea for what to do with them is to throw them away! Not sure why he would say something like that...I wonder if it is because we have a basement filled with more of these...this picture is of the ones that didn't make it to the basement, yet!

~~I have the windows~Now WHAT to do with them~~

Can I have a vacation do over...please?

2012-01-02T09:22:00.002-05:00

UGH...my vacation is almost over and I want a do over. I want another week off...but I do have to admit though that I do miss working in the Brickhouse and seeing and talking with our customers. BUT a do over would be great...I want ONE MORE week to get more things done around the house.

There is one thing that I HAVE to get done this week and that is getting any leftover Christmas things out of the Shop and then trying to fill the Shop back up with other goodies. I hate this time of year...not much happening during the month of Jan...we are in the "in between stage"...in between Christmas and Valentine's Day and Easter. For me it is hard to find goodies to fill the Shop during this time of the year...I would love to fill the Shop right now with Easter goodies but I KNOW...it is TOO SOON...but I can't wait...I love Easter/Spring. Maybe I should spend these cold months of Winter making more of the cement eggs that I made last year for the Shop.

~~Our Brickhouse cement eggs~~

And I am already thinking about making some new Spring/Easter colors for our Brickhouse lights....just writing this is putting me in a SPRING mood. Hopefully I can keep the winter blahs away...I am going to think SPRING and with Spring comes PORCH SITTING weather....ahhhh! Hmmmm?...Maybe instead of a do over, a fast forward to Spring would be perfect right about now!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

2012-01-01T08:01:00.000-05:00

~~ Happy New Year!~~

HOW WE SPENT OUR NEW YEAR'S EVE.....Tim and I had a nice quiet night at home. We had shrimp..lots of shrimp and I even shared some with Tim! I LOVE shrimp! Then I made scallops and risotto and we shared a small bottle of Asti and for dessert we had tiramisu..YUM! Now to tell you what a party couple we are NOT...We were in bed before 11...we never saw the ball, the goat, the pickle, the Lebanon Bologna or whatever else is dropped on New Year's Eve. We were both up before 6 this morning. Tim had to go into work today and I got up to get the pork and saurekraut into the crock pot. Yep we are a party couple!
A New year..can you believe it is 2012? 2012! I love Jan 1st....I look forward to a clean slate..a new year..a new beginning! I remember last year talking about ALL I wanted to do for the new year...I wanted to grow and sell herbs, have a cutting garden and so much more. Well, a lot of what I wanted to do I never got around to doing. This year I still have have lots of things that I want to do, BUT I learned that I got to take baby steps....baby steps...taking a step one at a time. The first baby step I plan on taking is getting more organized! GETTING ORGANIZED is my MAIN goal for 2012. Stay tuned to see how that works for me! :)
Tim and I want to wish all of you a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Happy Anniversary!

2011-12-08T22:23:00.000-05:00

If you follow us on Facebook then you have already been reminded of this. Today, Brickhouse Craft Shop celebrated it's fourth anniversary. That may not seem like a lot of years but Patti and I had no idea what to expect when we opened our little shop 4 years ago. In 4 short years though, we have truly been blessed to be able to do something we absolutely love - and share it with the best crafters and customers we know.

We realize that we have what some may consider some unfair advantages in the world of small business: we own the business, including the building (which is on our property) and most of the crafts - we do have some crafts on consignment - but from the day we opened we committed to not carrying any debt. We have no employees other than Patti and I. We don't pay rent or have a payroll to manage. Yes, our shop is very small but it is a legitimate business that the state of Pennsylvania recognizes and awaits our Sales Tax filing every 3 months. So while I will admit that our situation may be a bit unusual for these reasons, any good business person should be able to develop a business plan that positions them to succeed.

So why then do so many small businesses fail within the first few years? There are a number of reasons but I can tell you one very important reason a business won't succeed or survive is that they lose focus of the heart of the business. It doesn't matter if you offer a product or a service - if you focus on making money rather than making customers - you have lost focus of the single most important piece of your business.

Over the past 4 years and to this day, we continue to grow. We still have new customers visiting us. We still have customers who have been with us from the start. We never stop listening to our customers. Patti and I had a clear vision for what our shop would be about - what it would look like, what we would and would not sell. But we are not afraid to change if we feel it is right for the Brickhouse - and our customers have helped us along the way.

Obviously we know that our crafters are critical to our success as well but we believe they also realize how important the customer is. So today Patti and I want to especially thank all of our customers for making our Fourth Anniversary possible. We know that each day we succeed - it's because of you!

In the Morning Light

2011-11-25T08:16:00.000-05:00

We wanted to share some pictures of the Brickhouse Craft Shop porch in the morning light. The pictures in the previous post were taken last night after we finished decorating. We really like how it looks but at night it looks so cozy. You all should stop by and see it in person and do a little porch sitting.

So cozy!

Yard Sale Find~Glass terrarium that I scored for $10!
We filled it with greens and lights.

stack of old suitcases

old chicken crate with an old rusty trough sitting on top

Christmas Porch

2011-11-24T20:58:00.000-05:00

After we had our Thanksgiving meal, my mom and my two sisters came back to my house. They wanted to help me decorate the porch of the Brickhouse Craft Shop. It was a beautiful day and it was SO MUCH fun having a GIRLS ONLY afternoon. The guys and all the kiddos stayed back at my mom's while we spent the day together. By the time we finished it was dark outside. I took a few pictures tonight and I plan on taking more tomorrow during the day light.....anyhow I am so happy how the porch looks. Now you all have to stop by the Brickhouse Craft Shop and see it for yourself.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

2011-11-24T07:28:00.000-05:00

From the Brickhouse

Happy Thanksgiving from our House to Yours

May the blessings of this Thanksgiving fill your hearts and home

Bittersweet

2011-11-20T12:44:00.000-05:00

Bittersweet in a rusty metal wall pocket

Close up of the rusty metal pocket

I absolutely LOVE Bittersweet. We have a local lady that is making some wreaths for the Shop. She just delivered these beauties! When you drive up to the Shop and you see the one wreath that is hanging on the Shop...well that one is mine!

This one is mine! I couldn't resist, I had to buy it!

Yep I bought it...it looks right at home here at the Shop....BUT the other beauties are looking for a home. Stop by the Brickhouse and see these bittersweet wreaths in person.

Back In The Saddle again....

2011-11-20T10:44:00.000-05:00

I am back in the Blogging Saddle again! This weekend I realized just how much I missed Blogland and all the nice people Tim and I have met. I have a confession....I feel that I may have become a boring blogger...yes me, boring...it has been known to happen. So instead of boring all of you, I took a break from blogging, but I am back and I will try really hard to not bore you to tears.

The Brickhouse Craft Shop is NOT a boring place these days! I don't think that Tim and I realized, when we opened our Shop back in '07, that we would still be going strong and having so much fun. The reason we are having so much fun is all our customers that stop by...they make what we do so much fun!

And the reason we are still going strong is because of our wonderful Crafters/Artists that fill our little Shop with the BEST Handmades ever! Yep I said "ever"! They are the BEST and we love them and their wonderful goodies.
If you are in our neck of the woods we would love to have you stop by and visit us. I promise not to bore you like I just did with this blog post.

Fall vs Winter

2011-11-02T09:04:00.000-04:00

Fall is in the air for this upcoming weekend!

Winter was in the air last weekend.

Part of a tree that fell in our driveway during the snowstorm.

We had a rare October snowstorm and our Craft Show at the Harvest Festival at ARMSTRONG VALLEY WINERY was rescheduled for this upcoming weekend, Nov 5~6. The Weathemen are promising a fabulous Fall weekend...SO we would love if you stop by there this weekend and visit with us and the other vendors that will be selling their wares.

After this weekend, we will be Decking the Brickhouse out in Christmas splendor....make that Prim Christmas splendor!

Wait till you see the perfectly prim Christmas goodies that we will have for you!

Shop Local for your Christmas gifts....and support Made in AMERICA crafts! And starting next week, we will be Open 7 days a week until Christmas Eve!

Now what?

2011-10-22T08:15:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I got me this old cupola and now what can I do with it? Any ideas? I am thinking that the roof is copper....someone decided to paint the roof and I have plans to remove the paint....but no other plans/ideas for it.
I woke up one morning recently and there was a note on my kitchen door, asking me if I was planning on throwing the cupola away and if so the "note writer" wanted it. I wonder what the "note writer's" plans were for it???? :)

Are You Ready?

2011-10-21T07:42:00.001-04:00

Are you ready for Christmas? I AM! I know what you are going to say:" Halloween and Thanksgiving haven't even arrived yet!" I know, I know....but I am SO ready for Christmas! I want to take ALL our wonderful Christmas/Winter goodies that are arriving almost daily here at the Shop and take them out of the boxes and start decorating the Shop! So tell me...are you ready for Christmas?

I want to thank everyone for the comments on our last blog post about the tarts. I was having problems leaving comments so I couldn't respond to each of you but I do thank you all for your comments.

Tim and I want to let you know that on Oct 29 and 30, The Brickhouse along with other vendors/crafters will be taking part in a craft show at the Harvest Festival at the Armstrong Valley Winery in Halifax, PA. The Shop will be closed on those two days but you can find us at the Winery...we would love to have you stop by our booth at the Harvest Festival. We are hoping for a perfect sunny Fall weekend for the event...let's hope Mother Nature comes through....we don't need anymore rain here in Central PA!

Hmmmm....speaking of rain has me thinking about SNOW...I am so ready for the first snowfall! ARE YOU READY!?

Question.....

2011-10-01T03:41:00.001-04:00

Which do you prefer to buy and why: the tarts in the bag or the tarts in the plastic cups?

Sunrise at the Brickhouse

2011-08-31T08:27:00.000-04:00

When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive, to breath, to
think, to enjoy, to love. ~~Marcus Aurelius~~

We had a beautiful sunrise this morning at the Brickhouse. Can you believe today is the last day of August? I don't know about you but I think this Summer went by so fast, which is fine with me...I LOVE FALL! Tim and I hope you enjoy many beautiful sunrises. Have a safe and fun Labor Day weekend.

The Light House

2011-08-30T14:52:00.003-04:00

Maybe we should change the name of our Shop from the Brickhouse to the Lighthouse. We have been busy creating new lights for our customers and I thought today that Lighthouse may be more appropriate. Here are some of our newest Lights.

Autumn Lights.

Our Frost on the Pine lights

Bowlful of bulbs! Our pumpkin bulbs.

See what's new

2011-08-15T14:05:00.000-04:00

We have been stocking the Shop with some new goodies. And in the next couple of weeks we will be displaying all the wonderful Fall Crafts. Some of our friends here at the Shop are busying crafting away on Fall and Christmas..yes I said Christmas...you know it is only 131 Days, 11 hours & 45 minutes...but who's counting? WE ARE!

~~Snowmen are starting to arrive at the Brickhouse~~

We Love the Fall and Christmas Season at the Brickhouse and so do our crafters, they told us that making Fall/Christmas goodies are what they love to make! SO keep checking back to see when new things arrive.

Here are just a few pictures of what is new at the Shop.

~~Such pretty pendants!~~

Stop by and see our lights..handdipped right here at the Brickhouse
You are going to love our new lower prices on our lights!

~Such a sad face..but oh so CUTE~

~~New from Indian Trail Pottery!~~

Introducing......

2011-08-15T06:48:00.000-04:00

We are so happy to introduce you to a new member of the Brickhouse Family.....Nancy Binns and her wonderful wood carvings! Tim and I met Nancy when we did the craft show at the Armstrong Valley Winery. We fell in love with her and her carvings. And we are pleased to announce that the Brickhouse now carries some of Nancy's carvings! Stop by the Shop and see Nancy's Santas and ornaments.....we know you will fall in love with her carvings, too. And you can find Nancy on FaceBook at: Nancy binns-Folk Artist-Woodcarver. We told Nancy that we wanted to brag about her and we asked if she could tell us a little about herself....We are pleased to introduce you to Nancy Binns:

Self taught folk artist, I began carving in 1985 after seeing some carvings by a West Virginia carver, inspired to create and since then have been carving regularly. I enjoy carving Santa's and have found a whole world of collectors with an amazing variety of the big guys.

My carvings are whimsical and have a feeling of humor, probably like me, never too serious and always looking for the brighter side of life.

I have carved thousands of Santa's as well as ornaments of birds and Christmas themed hanging keepsakes. They're all over the world.....standing on shelves and gathered for children to mark occasions.

Each carving is unique and one of a kind, carved by hand over a few days, then painted and signed. With a sharp knife and an idea a character is born to go off in the world, hopefully to create a smile and last a life time.

NANCY BINNS

BORDERLAND WOOD CARVING STUDIO

Welcome Nancy, we are so happy to have you join our family here at the Brickhouse!

Fall Issue of Mercantile Gatherings

2011-08-13T15:01:00.000-04:00

The Fall issue of Mercantile Gatherings just arrived at the Brickhouse! I quickly paged through it...looks like a great issue! Stop by the Brickhouse and pick up a copy!

Issues

2011-08-13T08:30:00.000-04:00

We are having some issues with our Facebook page for the Brickhouse. Hopefully, FB will get the problems fixed and we will be back to posting updates on our Brickhouse page. In the meantime, for our local customers..WE ARE OPEN TODAY 10~5. Stop by the Brickhouse today and visit with us.

Lititz Craft Show 2011

2011-08-09T08:49:00.000-04:00

Anyone going to the LITITZ CRAFT SHOW this Saturday August 13th? If you do, you MUST stop by our friend, Teresa's booth. You can find Teresa and her wonderful "wares" at Broad Street, near the corner of Broad and Main...right near the Bank. Her space number is E 4~5. Here is a Map for the Show. If you don't stop by Teresa's booth you will be sooooo dissapointed...she has the Best Prim Treasures......oh and wait till you see her wooden pieces! When you stop by her booth, tell her Patti and Tim sent you!
Now if you are not planning on going to the Lititz Craft Show you can always visit Teresa at these upcoming Shows here in Central PA:
August 27th, Corn Festival in Shippensburg, PA & October 8th, at the Hartslog Days in Alexandria, PA
If you can't make it to PA, you have to stop by Teresa's BLOG and see all her goodies. She has an Etsy shop...we are sure you will fall in love with her talent....we have and so have our customers here at the Brickhouse.

Teresa if you are reading this, we wish you much success at the Show this weekend....have fun!

So, What's a Good Day at the Brickhouse?

2011-08-04T21:34:00.000-04:00

Hey Folks, it's Tim. I know - it's been a long time since my last posting on this blog. But now I have something worth discussing. Patti and I have been asked this question by more than a few people over the past several years - especially lately with the tough economic times we're all going through. Fellow crafters, shop owners and just curious folks ask us: 'So, what's a Good Day at the Brickhouse?' Well, we've been debating whether we really wanted to share this with everyone and we've finally decided that the time is right and you deserve to know. So here goes, we're opening our books and letting you see just what a Good Day is here at the Brickhouse.

A Good Day at the Brickhouse is...

...When a customer visits us - again! We hope this means that they enjoyed their last experience here - but if they have a question or concern with a past visit or purchase, we're just as glad that they cared enough to come back and let us know so we can make it right.

...When a new customer visits us! There are a few ways this happens, but many times it's because another customer told them how much they liked their visit with us. Some many times we hear, 'my friend told me about you', or 'my sister said I would love this place', or 'my wife said just stop there and buy anything - I like it all!' This makes us feel like we are still doing a good job, that people like us and they are telling their friends.

(On the back of our Sales Receipts that our customers receive with their purchase is an old cliche' that I remember from working in my familys' General Store: 'If we please you, tell your friends. If we don't, tell us.' That saying has been around forever but it's simple and we like it and it reminds us how our best advertising gets done.)

...When a customer shares a laugh - or some tears - with us. Many of our customers feel very comfortable when they visit us and they share many funny stories and good news. They have also shared sad news with us and we let them know that they are not alone during these times. In either case, we often share a handshake, a pat on the back, a hug or a kind word when it is needed.

...When customers that don't know each other start chatting and laughing like they are old friends. You'd be suprised how many times this happens!

...When customers bring 'future shoppers' to the Brickhouse. We've had customers bring their babies along for a visit. We've had customers bring their young children along for a visit. We keep a candy dish on the checkout counter for the young customers - OK - the candy is really for anybody!

...When one of our crafters stops by and customers get to meet them! Here at the Brickhouse, we are all about connections. Connecting the crafters and their crafts with our customers - and when they actually get to meet that is even better!

Looking back, Patti and I can't believe how many Good Days we've had here in the few years we've been open. So maybe some of you are disappointed but we really don't measure a 'Good Day' by the number of dollars made - instead we measure a 'Good Day' by the number of new customers and friends we make.

So, now you know what a 'Good Day' is at the Brickhouse.

Frost on the Pumpkin

2011-08-01T16:12:00.000-04:00

My creative juices are flowing today! I started the day making snowmen and now I am ending the day making lights. Introducing our newest lights..... "FROST ON THE PUMPKIN"

Our Newest Lights: FROST ON THE PUMPKIN

These look nice even when they are not lit..the "frost" makes them sparkle

It was a challenge sprinkling the "frost" on the lights....I am thinking this will be a two person job. I may have to recruit Tim to help me :)

Busy at the Brickhouse

2011-08-01T08:02:00.000-04:00

We are getting ready for our busy season here at the Brickhouse. Here is just a snippet of some of the things we are working on for the Shop.

Surf & Sand

2011-07-28T11:14:00.000-04:00

I was looking for a new color for our Brickhouse lights and I was thinking about the Beach. So this morning I mixed some colors and came up with our new Surf & Sand Lights. What do you think...does it make you dream about being on the beach?

Weed or Flower?

2011-07-20T11:46:00.001-04:00

I absolutely LOVE Queen Anne's Lace. You may think of it as a weed...but for me it is a beautiful flower. I have decided that today is Queen Anne's Lace Day...I hope you find the beauty in this flower as much as I do.

Legend has it that Queen Anne, the wife of King James I, was challenged by her friends to create lace as beautiful as a flower. While making the lace, she pricked her finger, and it’s said that the purple-red flower in the center of Queen Anne’s Lace represents a droplet of her blood.

A weed is but an unloved flower.

~Ella Wheeler Wilcox~

I hope you agree this is a beautiful flower and not a weed!

Cleaning House

2011-07-19T09:19:00.001-04:00

Well, not the whole house, just my craft room. I really should take a picture of how it looks right now but I am not brave enough to show you what it looks like. Just picture this...our house was lifted up and shook around by a giant, and then placed back down. Get the picture? What a mess! Not sure if you are like me, BUT I can't craft/create when my house is a mess....so this week I am cleaning and organizing starting with the craft room. I have 3 different work areas in my craft room: my painting area, the tart making area and the light dipping area; and they all need to be orginized. This is going to take awhile...wish me luck!

Love this! Photo from Pinterest.

All this cleaning and orginizing is cutting into my PINTEREST time! If you aren't familiar with Pinterest you have to check it out. Just be warned...it can be addicting. Now for all of you that are suffering with this heat wave, I linked you to some winter scenes on the pinterest link above! Enjoy and stay cool!

Photo courtesy of Pinterest

Makeover Monday

2011-07-18T08:44:00.000-04:00

Close~up/Before

The Ugly Duckling

The Swan

Close~up/After

The Color I used.

Love this STUFF!

Found a use for it in the Shop

Using it to display our melts.

Birdhouses and Blooms at the Brickhouse

2011-07-13T15:29:00.000-04:00

Come see what is blooming around the Brickhouse.

How we spent our weekend.

2011-07-12T10:29:00.003-04:00

This past weekend we packed up some goodies from the Brickhouse and headed out to a Craft Show at ARMSTRONG VALLEY WINERY.

The Barn/Tasting Room at Armstrong Valley Winery.

A nice place to sit and relax with a glass of wine.

Some visitors to the winery relaxing in the shade.

Our "neighbors" Kirsten and Deb selling their wares.

I wonder what they are discussing?

Here's your sign!

Artisans Row!

Tim and I loved this customer..he had us laughing so hard!

Still talking about the candles! :)

What a fun way to spend a weekend. We are looking forward to the next time!

Looks serious!

Snow in July?

2011-07-06T15:20:00.002-04:00

No it didn't snow here at the Brickhouse but we are thinking SNOW. I wanted to share a picture of something we are creating....Cement Snowmen! He is our "prototype". I quickly dressed him up so I could take his picture and share him with you.. his hat is too small and the scarf is just a piece of fabric that I grabbed out of my fabric scrap pile! Think of him as the Before picture...wait till you see the After pictures....LOL. You know me and my lack of patience..I just couldn't wait to show him to you..stay tuned for pictures of the newer better dressed snowmen.

Red White Blue at theBrickhouse

2011-07-02T14:04:00.004-04:00

Happy 4th of July from the Brickhouse Craft Shop.

Take some time to smell the Flowers

2011-06-25T11:46:00.005-04:00

Some pictures of our flowers here at the Brickhouse.

Dream on

2011-06-23T10:24:00.004-04:00

~~ Dreams are like the paints of a great artist. Your dreams are your paints, the world is your canvas. Believing, is the brush that converts your dreams into a masterpiece of reality.~~

I am such a dreamer. I have dreams filled with so many (too many!) ideas of what I want to do with our Shop. But reality has sunk in and I am finding out I can't do everything that I dream of doing. So it is time to regroup and just focus on the things that I can do now and hopefully work some of my ideas/dreams into my crazy busy life. I tend to want to do EVERYTHING but that is not possible. SO I have decided to take baby steps with my ideas and just focus on one or two of my ideas and get those off the ground and then focus on one or two more and so on. There is an old saying "Eyes are bigger than your stomach"....WELL my dreams are bigger than my abilities...so I will keep on dreaming but I will take my dreams one at a time.

One thing that I am focusing more on is our BRICKHOUSE TARTS/MELTS. I look back on when I first started making the tarts...it was a real learning experience on how to get the best scented tarts. According to our loyal customers I am proud to say I think I finally mastered that. Now I am working on creating our own custom blends..what fun! Working on our Brickhouse Tarts will be the dream/idea that I will focus a lot of my time on for our Shop.

My Dream notebook is overflowing with ideas and I will continue to add more dreams to my list in the notebook but just do one dream at a time. As Tim will tell you, patience is not one of my strong points..I want to do everything at once. I may not be able to do that but I will keep on dreaming.......Whatever your dreams are I hope they come true!

Trying to stay cool.

2011-06-12T19:40:00.006-04:00

The heat of summer has me thinking of Winter and Christmas. SO I have been working in the cool of our basement on something really COOL for Winter/Christmas! Stay tuned to see what it is..I think you will like them! I will give you a hint...snowmen! And they are COOL!

Also I am trying my hand at some stitcheries... I am having fun with them!

Sometimes my head gets filled with so many different ideas and I don't know what to start first. Maybe I should have a set schedule...Mondays work in the basement on the Winter crafts, Tuesday make tarts, Wednesday work on the stitcheries....etc. And in between all that I need to do yard work, house work, cook...etc! HELP! I think I need to hire an organization Coach or a housekeeper and a lawn service!

The weather is suppose to be nice this week. I am glad because the heat and humidity we had last week was horrible. I know my energy level will be much higher this week, so hopefully I will get a lot done. I hope you all have a wonderful and productive week.

Happenings at the Brickhouse

2011-06-04T21:19:00.008-04:00

Tim and I promise to start blogging more often. We have been super busy and we miss all our friends in "blogland".

We recently did a craft show at a local winery, Armstrong Valley Winery. It was so much fun and the Winery is beautiful. If you are in the Central Pa area you should really stop by and visit Jake and Dean and sample some of their great wines.

While at the Show we met other vendors and after 2 days of doing the show, Tim and I left with the feeling that we gained a few new friends.

Some of our crafters/friends here at the Brickhouse were also at the craft show. Tarrah from INDIAN TRAIL POTTERY was there with their beautiful pottery.

Teryn and her husband, Tim were there with TERYN'S PHOTOS. Here is a one of Teryn's pictures that we all loving titled "THE DIRTY COW PICTURE! She framed it in an old window. I loved it and so did a lot of people and it found a new home with one lucky couple.

And another crafter at the Brickhouse, Trisha was set up at the show selling her soaps, lotions and potions! :) It was a truly wonderful fun~filled weekend.
I do know if we do more craft shows we will be set up under a tent...we were under a nice shade tree....darn birds...need I say more? :)

Here are some pictures from the show. I wanted to take more but our customers kept me too busy.

These last two pictures were of our set up at the show.
We will be back again for more updates and happenings here at the Brickhouse.

If I had a Hammer

2011-04-30T09:25:00.005-04:00

If I had a Hammer. I'd hammer in the morning. I'd hammer in the evening.

Just a little tease of what I am making for our customers here at the Brickhouse.....can you guess what it is? If you hear loud hammering coming from the wood shop..it will be me busy hammering away! Stay tuned to see the outcome!

Busy as a Bee

2011-04-05T10:32:00.004-04:00

Here is a sneak peek at something new that I am working on for the Brickhouse. After "mastering" the cement eggs, I have been making Bee Skeps. The first one I made was a small one..I now have larger ones "curing".....I can't wait to see them after they are cured. Along with the bee skeps I am making other cement "wares" for the Shop. I will post pictures as I create more of these new things.

Come see what is new

2011-04-03T06:30:00.009-04:00

So glad that you could stop by The Brickhouse. Come on in and see what is new!

This little doll is waiting for her 'new mommy' to come and pick her up. As soon as she arrived at the Shop, we posted her picture on Facebook and we got a phone call that someone wanted to 'adopt' her! So she will be leaving the Brickhouse...but we do have some of her "sisters' here at the Shop waiting to be "adopted" too.

This crow has been "adopted" too...but Lisa the creator of the crow promises to make more. New goodies are arriving daily at the Shop. You better hurry and come and visit us before everything is "adopted"!

More Spring "things"

2011-03-24T16:12:00.004-04:00

New at the Brickhouse....check out how cute these are! They are going fast...I just placed another order for more, so no worries we will have more in the Shop soon!

Make sure you stop by the Brickhouse and see these wonderful Spring "things".

Hopping into the Shop

2011-03-23T15:38:00.004-04:00

Bunnies and touches of Spring are making their way to the Brickhouse. Here are just some of the new goodies that just hopped into the Shop.

Lots more coming soon! The Brickhouse "Elves" are busy crafting wonderful Spring "things" for our customers! We will update our blog and on Facebook when more goodies arrive at the Brickhouse. If you are in the Millersburg, PA area make sure you drop by and visit with us! The Brickhouse Craft Shop supports Made In America...everything that we sell is MADE IN THE USA!

Something NEW!

2011-03-22T12:57:00.004-04:00

I have been "experimenting" with something new and here is the outcome of my first experiment...Cement Eggs! I saw these eggs on two other blogs and thought I would try to make them. So what do you think? They are a bit of work to make but I am having fun..it is fun because I get to play in "mud" and create new things. Right now I have a little bee skep "curing"...can't wait to see how that turns out...then on to making lots more!

Let's Party!

2011-03-20T07:53:00.003-04:00

Spring is Nature's way of saying, "Let's Party!" ~Robin Williams

Happy first day of SPRING! It seems like it has been a LONG Winter and I am so happy that Spring is finally here! I can't wait to get my hands in the dirt and start my Spring gardening. I am going to totally redo the herb garden that is next to the Shop. My goal is to make it a garden where our customers can spend some time either sitting or strolling among the herbs. And I will encouraged them to pick herbs and hopefully get to love herbs as much as I do! I am also hoping to get started on a cutting garden.....so much to do! I have been working on making planters, troughs and bee skeps for the Shop...will debut these new things shortly..so stay tuned! Tim has been busy in the "splinter shanty".....he has been creating some wonderful wooden wares! Poor guy is working hard on the never ending "honey~do" list! Lots happening here at the Brickhouse! Make sure to follow us on Facebook where we give daily updates on the Shop and stop by here again and see what is new at the Shop....even though we are busy working on new things we are planning on celebrating SPRING....and we hope you do the same. LET'S PARTY for Spring has arrived!

My Trip to the Cinnamon Stick

2011-03-01T09:54:00.005-05:00

Sunday was the PERFECT DAY! I spent it with some great friends, Tammy, Donna and Donna's wonderful Husband, George. I can now scratch something off my BUCKET LIST...I FINALLY met Miss Judy of THE CINNAMON STICK. I fell in LOVE with Judy the moment I walked into her Beautiful Shop and she gave me a hug! Judy and I have been cyber friends for a long time, she has helped me by giving me advice and directing me to other contacts for my business and with that a friendship formed...So now I can say that she will always be a special friend to me. I just wished I lived closer to her because I would love to hang with her...I think we may get into a bit of trouble but that would be FUN!

Tammy was kind enough to drive all of us to Hereford and what a fun trip it was! We arrived at The Cinnamon Stick a little early so we headed up the road a bit to a nice antique center. I bought two Ironstone pieces to add to my small collection. AND then we went to Judy's. When I walked in the door I was greeted by Judy with a big hug! Judy's Shop is AWESOME...I spent over 2 hours with her and it wasn't enough time...I didn't want to leave!

I was trying to take pictures of her Shop but my camera decided to act up..I think the Spirits in the Shop did something to the camera. LOL...I love Judy's stories of the Spirits...I do believe that if I were in the Spirit world I would want to live at THE CINNAMON STICK..those lucky Spirits! Judy did some blog posts about the "happenings" in her Shop...make sure you read them or just stop by The Cinnamon Stick and ask Judy to tell you the stories.

Here are pictures...please forgive me for the poor quality of the pictures...You just need to go and visit Judy and see the Shop in person.

Judy has a special touch with how she displays things in her Shop! I just wish I would have been able to take better pictures to show you just how nice everything looked.

Judy showed me her classroom...what a perfect spot for holding classes!

Here is Miss Judy waiting on her customers. She is such a pretty lady who is always smiling! WONDERFUL LADY! OH and you have to see how pretty she makes your purchases look...the bags of goodies that leave her shop are so pretty!

I posted pictures of some of the goodies that I bought..you can check them out on my other BLOG.

You all need to go and visit Judy at The Cinnamon Stick..tell her Patti sent you! I know I WILL be going back again!

Behind the Scenes

2011-02-22T07:04:00.004-05:00

We apologize that is has been awhile since we updated our blog. There is so much going on at The Brickhouse. Everyone is busy behind the "scenes" working and creating new wares for the Shop! Speaking of "new" I am working on a totally new medium(well new to me!) and I am so excited and can't wait to share it with our customers! So stay tuned for the "debut!"

If you are in our neck of the woods we would love to have you visit us and if it is warm enough we can even do some porch sitting!

Show your Love

2011-02-07T09:23:00.005-05:00

The Brickhouse Craft shop has the perfectly Prim Valentine gift for your Sweetheart.

The Brickhouse not an Ice House

2011-02-02T09:07:00.006-05:00

We survived the major Winter Storm but The Brickhouse is encased in ice....well sort of! There is ice all around us and we decided not to open the Shop today. We hope everyone is staying home and enjoying the beauty of the ice and snow from inside your homes.
I just went outside to feed our fine feathered friends and let me tell you...there is a lot of ice outside but it is beautiful as long as you don't have to drive in it.
Lots of new items are arriving at that Brickhouse! We will be posting on our blog all the new goodies as they arrive here at the Shop. We have posted pictures on our Facebook page of some of the new things, so stop by our Facebook page and check them out OR stop by the Brickhouse this weekend and see everything! But for today we urge everyone to stay home and enjoy a snow day! Here at the Brickhouse we are enjoying our ICE DAY!
Here are a few pictures of our yard today.

Snowy morning at the Brickhouse

2011-01-27T09:44:00.007-05:00

Snowy morning here at the Brickhouse. We hope in your neck of the woods you have sunshine and happiness! Enjoy your day.

Out and About

2011-01-18T06:55:00.014-05:00

Since Tim had off work for the MLK Holiday, we drove to Lebanon to pick up our candle order from PA SOY CANDLES.

Once again, we stayed way too long ( 2 hours!)....sorry Carolyn and Richard but we love chatting with both of you!

After we left the candle shop we had lunch at our favorite place, Haydn Zug's.

Tim and I were so busy talking "shop" that we forgot to take our camera out and take pictures! Our lunch was so good....I do believe that we may have been ooohhing and ahhhhing out loud a few times..the food was THAT GOOD! So we apologize to the other diners but we couldn't help ourselves!

After lunch we went to some wholesale places in Lancaster and picked up new goodies for our Shop.

Many years ago, way before we had our Shop, I "met" a very talented artist online in a message board/forum that I joined.

Her name is Susan Burd and I am a big fan of her...I would love to be able to paint like she does..but since I can't, I am happy to say that The Brickhouse now has her wonderful handpainted wares, with more to come very soon!

We also picked up a few more goodies for the Shop. I love these pillows! And we added some more Vermont Bobbin lights in our Shop.

Tim and I had a great day...the only problem was..it went by too fast! We are looking forward to our next trip out and about.

Some of you may remember that I have been mentioning that I want to try to make a lot more crafts for our Shop.

I started to make our Brickhouse Tarts and I LOVE making those! Tim and I are working on a lot more scents that we hope to carry in the near future and we are working on custom blends, too.

AND I am now making the dipped silicone strands of lights for our Shop. I have set some goals for the new year and one of the goals is to be more active in producing wares for the Shop. We have been asked if we sell online...we sell ONLY at our Shop here in Millersburg. If you see an item that you like and one of our wonderful crafters makes the item, we will direct you to their sites where you can purchase through them. If you see anything that Tim and I make we need to let you all know that at this time we have no plans to sell our wares online. We love meeting our customers here at the Shop, so if you are in the area make sure you stop by.

It is a snowy and icy day here at the Brickhouse so I think I will spend the day making Brickhouse tarts and dipping lights and who knows what else! I hope you all have a nice cozy day and that you stop by the Brickhouse and see all that is new!

Sun is rising on a New Year.

2011-01-11T07:51:00.006-05:00

The sun is rising on a New Year here at the Brickhouse. 2010 was an awesome year and we look forward to seeing what wonderful surprises 2011 holds for us and for our customers.

We need to apologize for not being good bloggers. It has been a busy time here at The Brickhouse. We are working on filling the Shop up with a lot more Handmades. After the whirlwind Christmas time in the Shop, our Shop is looking a bit bare. But no worries, our crafters and Tim and I are working on creating more goodies. Our PA SOY candles will be restocked next week. Tim and I will be taking a road trip to Lebanon to pick up our candle order and I will also be picking up more wax for the Brickhouse Tarts! I will be busy next week making more tarts. Our tarts have become very popular with our customers and that makes me smile because I am having so much fun making them and also coming with with our own custom blends! And now I am trying my hand at making other needfuls for our Shop besides the tarts. Yesterday, I felt like I needed a bit of Spring in the Shop so I made this pot of flowers....this one is already sold....so I will be making more today!

I am also trying my hand at a new craft so you will have to stay tuned to find out what it is!

Tim and I want to thank everyone that follows us on our blog and we promise to be better bloggers. You can follow us on our Facebook page, too.

Please stop by again and do some porch sitting with us.

Tim and Patti

We are blessed!

2010-12-22T18:43:00.002-05:00

We want to take this time to thank everyone that has been a part of The Brickhouse. We never thought when we opened our little Shop 3 years ago that we would still be here. We had an amazing 2010 and we look forward to 2011. Tim and I would like to thank all our wonderful customers. Who would have thought that this job would be so much fun. Never does a day go by that we don't have long conversations in the Shop or so much laughter and sometimes tears are shed with our customers. What a great job we have! We are truly blessed!
Our Shop is still going strong because of our AMAZINGLY TALENTED friends that create such wonderful Handmades for our Shop and for our customers. We are so proud of all of you and we are proud to have a Shop that sells ONLY HANDMADE IN USA Crafts!
And finally we want to thank everyone that reads our blog and follows us on FaceBook. I started this blog a few years ago while healing from knee surgery. Hard to believe that we still have people following our blog..I didn't think you all would find us very interesting! We thank you and we thank you for all the comments. We may not be able to always reply back to all of you but we want to let you know that we so appreciate all your comments.
Tim and I would like to wish all of you a MERRY CHRISTMAS and a BLESSED NEW YEAR!
We will be back in 2011 and we hope you stop by and do some porch sitting with us!

Merry Christmas

2010-12-19T20:53:00.005-05:00

It has been awhile since we have been here to make a blog post. We have an excuse though...we have been so busy here at The Brickhouse Craft Shop. The Shop has been open 7 days a week since Thanksgiving and it has been the best time. Tim and I are having so much fun with our customers and we have met so many new customers. WHAT an experience the last 3 years have been for us here at the Shop! We want to thank everyone that reads our blog and follows us on FaceBook. And we thank our talented crafters because without them we would not still be here doing what we love. A big thank you to our awesome customers here at the Brickhouse...we are the luckiest shop owners..we have the BEST customers! We thank all of you for stopping by to visit us and we thank you for spreading the word about us with your friends, family and co-workers. You guys are the BEST customers ever!

2011 is going to be an exciting year for us here at the Brickhouse. Tim and I have so many plans for some new ideas for our Shop. We promise to be back to blogging after Christmas and we will be sharing with all of you some of the new things that will be coming to the Brickhouse in 2011. So stay tuned!

Merry Christmas from Tim and Patti.

Warm and Cozy

2010-12-07T09:33:00.003-05:00

We have been busy here at the Brickhouse. What a wonderful time of the year...well except for the very windy cold weather we have been experiencing here lately. But it sure doesn't seem to bother our customers...they brave the cold weather and have been dropping by the Shop. These bears here at the Shop have the right idea..they found the perfect spot to sit and be cozy and warm. When you stop by the Shop feel free to make yourself all cozy and warm too..the bears will give up their warm seat for you...just ask..oh and make sure to say Please!

Tim and I hope that you are all taking the time to enjoy this wonderful time of the Year! If you are in our neck of the woods we would love if you stop by and visit with us. We have the fire lit and it is warm and cozy here at The Brickhouse!

At Long Last - Greetings from the Brickhouse!

2010-11-28T20:55:00.009-05:00

Hello Folks, this is Tim. Patti and I are extremely proud to introduce our newest Artist - yes - an Artist. Allow me to explain:

Soon after we opened almost three years ago, our customers began asking us if we had any Greeting Cards. We didn't, but we both agreed that being able to offer hand made greeting cards would be a great addition and complement to our craft items. Patti began searching for crafters who made Greeting Cards. This was a long search and until recently we weren't able to find the right crafter. Several months ago, we had a visitor at the Brickhouse. It turns out that this visitor is someone that Patti and I knew from our High School days. It also turns out that this visitor is a very accomplished artist. A few days later Patti and I were tossing around ideas for new ventures we wanted to try and we kept thinking about those Greeting Cards. We were familiar with some of this artists work and thought it would be a good fit for the Greeting Cards we had in mind. So we approached her about the idea - it turned out that she had been approached before about creating cards with some of her work. Her and her husband have a successful business located in Herndon, Pennsylvania and at the time they were hesitant to take on a Greeting Card venture for a number of reasons. We understood and thought at that point we were going to restart our search. But then, several weeks ago, the artist contacted us and said that she and her husband had worked out some of the details that would allow them to move forward with creating Greeting Cards. We were sent two designs to get started for the Holiday season.

For any of our customers that live - or have lived in our part of Central Pennsylvania, see if you can guess where the subject of these drawings are:

The first one is of a farm located in Klingerstown and the second one is a stone bridge located in Erdman. Now, if you guessed either of these, do you recognize the artist?

This is the work of Deanna Wiseman, who along with her husband Jeff, own Wiseman Graphics. These designs are from a series of Limited Edition Prints that you can see by clicking here WISEMAN . They have been adapted for use and are now available for purchase at the Brickhouse in the form of Greeting Cards. The cards measure 5 1/2 by 4 1/4 inches, include Deanna's signature on the back with a brief description of the design subject. The cards are blank on the inside so that you can write your own message to go along with a unique hand made gift or simply to send someone a special greeting.

We may be featuring more of Deanna's story in an upcoming post, but for now you can learn more about Deanna, Jeff and their business by visiting their website. They are two special people who have great talents and happen to be located in our area. They, along with their Greeting Cards, are a wonderful addition to all the other Brickhouse craft items and Patti and I are excited to be working with both Deanna and Jeff on this new venture. For any of you who have the opportunity, we invite you to visit the Brickhouse to have a look at our new Greeting Cards!

Decking the Porch!

2010-11-22T09:08:00.004-05:00

We are getting ready for Christmas here at The Brickhouse. We are decorating the Porch of the Shop and one of the porches of our home.

This week we are starting our Holiday hours here at the Shop. We will now be open 7 days a week until Christmas. This week we will be closed on Thanksgiving. Our hours for the Christmas season are: Mon~Thurs 10~6, Friday 10~8, Saturday 10~5(or later ) and Sunday 12~5...We hope you stop by and visit with us.

Also, we are collecting toys for the Christmas program at the Upper Dauphin Human Services Center, on Clearfield Street in Elizabethville. Please stop by the Brickhouse and help us fill a big box with toys.

Tim and I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.

Reindeer Poo, Elf Sweat and Wine, oh my!

2010-11-16T07:17:00.013-05:00

The Brickhouse has more Pa Soy candles in stock! And we just got some great smelling ones, including Elf Sweat and Reindeer Poo!

On Monday, Tim and I drove to Lebanon to pick up another order of candles from PA SOY. We always enjoy spending some time talking with Carolyn and Richard. As we were driving up to their place we decided that we would just pick up the candles, talk just a few minutes and then be on our way. WELL..the few minutes turned into an hour....again! We just love those 2 people and we can never just spend a few minutes with them! Carolyn and I discussed tart making and after her lesson on tart making, I am spending today making my tarts NEW AND IMPROVED! I wasn't happy with my tarts and after talking with Carolyn I realized what I was doing wrong...SO today I will be making tarts that hopefully will knock the socks off our customers! Thank you, Carolyn!

After we left Pa Soy, we headed south on 72. While sitting at a red light in East Petersburg, I looked to the right and there was a restaurant that we have heard about, just didn't realize where it was...well lo and behold right there it was.

It was a bit early for lunch so we continued on our way to Lancaster. We were heading to some wholesale places to pick up a few things for the Shop. Let me tell you if the amount of shoppers at the wholesale places is any indication that this is going to be a great year for retailers, we will have a lot of happy Shop owners! The places we went to were packed with Shop owners buying LOTS of goodes for their Shops.

After we finished shopping we headed back north to Haydn Zug's.

It was a beautiful old restaurant and we loved it and we will be back...next time for dinner! Here is Tim checking out the extensive menu and wine list.

We enjoyed a nice bottle of wine with our meal. I had the French Onion soup, one of the best I ever had! Tim had the creamy leek and potato soup. He did let me have a taste of it and it was good! Then we both had a salad. And then dessert! Here are a few pictures of our lunch. I loved the pewter dishes. Check out the little pewter holding the butter. I just loved how they have the tables decorated.

Our desserts! Tim had his favorite dessert, Banana's Foster. I had one of my favorites, Creme Brulee with raspberry sauce...so good!

The walls in the dining room were old bricks. It was so cozy and nice!

Tim checking out the artwork.

We had a great day...we loved seeing our friends, Carolyn and Richard at PA Soy, we had fun shopping and we had a nice lunch. But the best part was spending time with Tim..it was a great day!

Brickhouse Melts

2010-11-04T18:31:00.005-04:00

I have been busy making new Tarts/Melts for our customers here at the Brickhouse Craft Shop. It is so much fun experimenting with new scent combinations When Tim and I talked about me making the tarts/melts for our Shop, I told him I would just stick with about 12 fragrances for our tarts and then offer a Scent of the month. If the scent of the month was a big hit we would then add it to our line of tarts. Well, we haven't started the Scent of the Month yet but I can tell you that I am not able to just keep only 12 fragrances here in the Shop! It is so hard not to have so many different fragrances available for our customers..sorry Tim! It is an addicting craft...I want to try so many scents! Tim and I hope you can stop by The Brickhouse and check out our new tarts.

Last of my flowers from the garden.

2010-10-29T13:11:00.005-04:00

Feeling kind of sad today and COLD. Sad because I have to put my gardens to rest for the winter months. But I will use the long cold winter months to plan some new flower beds and other gardening projects that I have running through my head. There is a freeze warning for our area tonight, so I gathered up some remaining blooms and herbs from my gardens and made up a little arrangement. I tell you my fingers are smelling so good from the Sage, Lemon Balm, Lavender and all the other flowers and herbs that I cut today for my arrangement. I feel like going outside and roll in the herbs like a cat does in a bed of catnip...ahhhh the fragrance is so nice..but it is a bit too cold to do that plus I may look like a crazy woman and scare away our customers! I hope you all have a wonderfully cozy weekend.

Autumn at the Brickhouse

2010-10-28T12:56:00.012-04:00

What a beautiful day we are having here at our home! I took a stroll around the yard today and wanted to share some of these pictures with all of you. I think you will agree that it is a great day to do some Porch Sittin'. Enjoy the pictures......

Poinsettias

2010-10-22T12:15:00.004-04:00

You have to see these Poinsettias! We just love them here at The Brickhouse and so do our customers. These were handmade by Peggy Corrigan.....thank you Peggy for making our Shop a little Merrier!

Starting to look like Christmas....

2010-10-21T14:58:00.007-04:00

It is starting to look like Christmas here at The Brickhouse Craft Shop. We had customers asking us when we were putting out our Christmas/Winter things....well we have started to do just that! Here is a mini tour of our Shop of some of the Christmas/Winter crafts that we have on hand. We are anxiously awaiting more to arrive within the next couple of weeks..can't wait! Before we go on our tour I would like to ask all of you to send Get Well Wishes to our good friend and our wonderful crafter here at the Shop...Beryl...she has been very sick but she is on the mend...if you all could stop by her BLOG and leave her a message, her email is on her blog. I am sure she would love to hear from you. She is such a great friend and I am SO happy that she is ok..she had me so worried. Beryl, if you are reading this, don't do that to me again, I was so worried about you!

Ok...now on with the pictures....

Come see what is new!

2010-10-14T10:28:00.008-04:00

It is cold rainy day here in Millersburg, PA. We lit the fire in the Shop, so if you are in the area today, stop by and have a seat by the fire and we can chat.

Here are a few new goodies that we have here at the Shop. We have a new crafter that is now making our silicone dipped lights.

I know there are a lot of people that dip these lights but Tonya has a very unique technique for her lights. It is hard to get good pictures of the lights so you have to stop by and see them for yourself. You will love them! And Tim and I love Tonya...she is the nicest person! We were honored to meet her last Sunday when she stopped by the Brickhouse to deliver our lights. Please stop by and see these lights!

And here is what I am now making for the Brickhouse..........

I love making these but I am finding it hard to not buy every fragrance oil that I see or maybe I should say SMELL! I will be spending today making and packaging more tarts.

Stop by and see what else we have that is new in the Shop. I am starting to put some of the Christmas/Winter handmades in the Shop. SO stay tuned, I will be back on the blog to show you the wonderful Handmades that we are getting in the Shop. Tim and I have the best crafters/friends that make the most amazing Handmades. We think if you stop by the Shop you will agree with us!

Mercantile Gatherings

2010-09-25T10:17:00.005-04:00

The Holiday issue of Mercantile Gatherings has arrived here at the Brickhouse Craft Shop.

Our customers love this magazine and so do I. If you are interested in subscribing here is a link: http://www.mercantilegatherings.com/

I am back.

2010-09-23T14:56:00.009-04:00

It feels like forever since I have been here. I apologize for not updating our blog the past couple of weeks. The end of summer is always a busy time here at the Brickhouse. We have the Shop full of lots of Fall/Halloween goodies.

Tim and I are busy getting things ready for the upcoming Holidays, especially Christmas. We are working behind the scenes building up our inventory. And our crafting friends are busy as Santa's Elves making wonderful goodies for the Shop.

We just picked up another order of candles and they are flying off the shelves. We picked them up on Tuesday and on Wednesday when we opened we sold 9 in less than an hour. AND then today every customers that came in the Shop bought a candle or two! I am thinking we may need to place another candle order very soon! For Christmas we will have ELF SWEAT candles! Yes, ELF SWEAT...let me tell you..it smells wonderful..so don't let the name fool you. My friend Tarrah and I both smelled this candle on Tuesday when I picked up the candles and we LOVED it! So along with the Reindeer Poo

that was a big hit last Christmas season we are going to add some Elf Sweat!

We still are making lots of birdhouses for our customers. And we are looking forward to next Spring when we will a lot more birdhouses and other wooden crafts available here at the Brickhouse.

It is nice to be back here on the blog. I promise to be back more often to keep you up to date with what is happening here at The Brickhouse. And if you want more frequent updates make sure to check us out on Facebook. Also, if you are in our neck of the woods we would love if you stopped by The Brickhouse!

Just arrived!

2010-08-25T12:42:00.005-04:00

We just got in some new Handmades from our friend, HEATHER
I had to place another order with Heather today, because we already have sold a few of her wonderful goodies! Tim and I look forward to seeing what she is working on next for our customers. Thanks Heather for sharing your talent with us here at The Brickhouse Craft Shop.

Fall has arrived at the Brickhouse

2010-08-21T15:05:00.004-04:00

Today we finally got around to putting out some of our Fall goodies. Some of these things are already flying out the door today! You all need to stop by The Brickhouse Craft Shop and get a piece of Fall. The wonderful goodies are all HANDMADE IN THE USA!

Coming Soon!

2010-08-20T07:49:00.003-04:00

We are working on new crafts and also new ideas for The Brickhouse Craft Shop. Tim and I are so excited for the ideas that we are working on! And we are excited because we have some new friends joining our family of crafters here at the Shop. I was told that some of the new goodies are on their way to our Shop and I can't wait to see everything! I worked on finishing up some special orders yesterday and today I hope to start working on new things for the Shop. Tim and I feel like Santa's elves..busy busy busy! This is the time of year when my housework suffers and my cooking suffers. Well, really what I should say is...... Tim suffers! I have paint and craft supplies spread throughout rooms in the house. Thank God that Tim is a very understanding husband! Here are a few signs I finished yesterday. I wish the camera would show the true colors but you can stop by The Brickhouse and see them for yourself!

We hope you all have a wonderful weekend and if you are in the area please stop by and visit with us.

Pumpkins!

2010-08-14T10:27:00.003-04:00

I have been painting signs and birdhouses for a long time and I was feeling the urge to do something a little different. So this week, I decided to put away my wood crafts for the week and do these pumpkins.

We are getting so excited about the rest of the year here at The Brickhouse. Fall and Winter time at the shop is one of our favorite times of the year for Tim and me. If you are in the neighborhood please stop by and say hi.

I think today I will pick up my paint brushes and get to work on signs and birdhouses. But I will be back to trying my hand at other creations for the Shop.

MORE INFO ON LITITZ CRAFT SHOW

2010-08-12T09:11:00.003-04:00

A little more info on my earlier post regarding my friend Teresa and the Lititz Craft Show. She will be at:
SPACE #E4 and E5 which is on Main Street close to where Broad St. connects. Right in front of the Susquehanna Bank.
Make sure you stop by to see her but you might have to fight the large crowd that will be forming at her booth..LOL. So get there early to see her handmades....you will love what she makes!

Craft Show in Lititz, PA

2010-08-12T07:06:00.007-04:00

This Saturday, August 14th the great town of LITITZ, PA is having their annual Craft Show. From what I hear this is one of the best craft shows in the area. I won't be able to go because I will be working in The Brickhouse Craft Shop. TERESA will be at the Show selling her wonderful handmades, so you need to stop by her booth and say hi and see all her awesome crafts. Tell her Patti sent you! Teresa has been a big part of The Brickhouse Craft Shop since we first opened our Shop back in '07. She is so talented but even more she is one of the nicest person you'll ever meet! So stop by Teresa's booth and see for yourself. I am sorry that I don't know exactly where she will be set up but I believe she said she will be set up near a Bank Building. I will try to update this posting if I can get more info on where Teresa will be set up. It is suppose to be a nice day on Saturday here is PA...SO it will be the PERFECT day to visit Lititz. Make sure to wear good walking shoes and take a truck or u-haul with you to take home all your goodies! And If you are in the Millersburg area and not able to make it to Lititz you can stop by the Brickhouse Craft Shop and see Teresa's handmades along with the handmades of our other wonderful Crafters.

End of the Road

2010-08-08T18:34:00.010-04:00

I need to finish our story of the road trip we took to pick up our candle order at PA Soy in Lebanon. After we had our lunch we did a little tour of Scheafferstown. We found this Church and we loved the history of the Church. It was a beautiful Church. I love the stone work and the windows.

Across the street from the Franklin House Tavern was an antique store. Unfortunately, it was closed, I did peak in the windows and I so want to come back when they are open.

This was a sign on the building.

While on our walking tour we saw this unique house..yes it is a house not a barn!

It was so neat...I just wish I would have been able to get pictures of the front of the house. It was hard to get good pictures since the front of the house was really in the back of the house! And they had neighbors and we really didn't want to go on private property to get pictures. These are pictures from the main street..this house was so unique..Oh to be able to see the inside!

This is the one side of the barn house.

Another unique old house.

After we left Schaefferstown, we stopped at a GOOD'S store. It was a Mennonite store and while there we saw a lot of Amish families shopping.

Check out the fabric. This store was an experience..they had everything you could imagine. I hope to come back again to do some more shopping.

Thank you for taking the road trip with us. We are now busy working on new things for our Shop and I know our crafters are busy too. So make sure you stop by the Brickhouse Craft Shop and see what is new. We love meeting and talking with everyone who comes through our doors. Please come back again and do some porch sitting with us.

More of our Road Trip

2010-08-02T08:10:00.027-04:00

After we left Richard and Carolyn's, we arrived in Schaefferstown and stopped by Franklin House for lunch.

This is the outside of the tavern, it is one big building!

The balcony was open and since it was such a nice day we decided to have our lunch outside on the balcony.

We started our meal with hummus. It was so good and looked so nice in the wine glass. We get this appetizer everytime we visit here.

And a nice bottle of white wine!

Tim had a bruschetta steak salad and I had a crab cake salad.

As you can see, Tim didn't like his salad!

I don't think he could have got that plate any cleaner!

Since Tim cleaned his plate he was allowed dessert! He had a apple crumble warm from the oven with a dollop of vanilla ice cream!

And I had carrot cake which was really good.

While we were eating on the balcony we saw an Amish buggy pull into an area near the parking lot.

No sooner had the buggy arrived so did an Amish man on a scooter.

A young boy and girl jumped out of the buggy and ran to greet the man. We figured the man was their Father and they were meeting him during his lunch break from his job. It was so nice how the kids ran to meet him!

After our lunch we took a little stroll through town. Here is a picture of an old fire escape on the side of the museum building.

Notice the weights. If someone was using the fire escape when they would step on part of the fire escape the weights would drop and slowly lower the walkway down to the ground. After being fascinated by that :) we cross the street to the Gemberling-Rex House (c.1758). The color of this house is unusual and all the times that Tim and I were in Schaefferstown, we never walked across the street to check it out. But we decided to this time. It wasn't open but when they are open they offer tours. It once was a tavern. The next time we are in the area I hope they are open so we can check out the inside. We did look through the windows and it was so neat inside.

We walked around to the back of the tavern and were greeted by the tour guide of the grounds! He was so handsome and had the bluest eyes. I was feeling myself falling in love with him and was trying to think of some way to tell Tim that I wanted to bring him home with me.

The backyard was so neat and the out buildings were fascinating.

So after our tour of the backyard and the out buildings, I bid a farewell to the blue-eyed stranger.

There were two more buildings in town that we took pictures of but I will finish this story another time. So make sure you stop by and sit on our porch and hear the rest of the story of our day trip in Schaefferstown.

Road Trip

2010-07-27T08:38:00.013-04:00

After enduring HOT and HUMID weather for the past week or so, we were treated to an absolutely picture perfect day on Monday. Tim and I headed out for a road trip. But first things first. Our first stop was STARBUCKS!

We headed out on Route 322...what a day for a drive in the beautiful Countryside of Central Pa!

Our mission was to pick up another candle order from our friends, Richard and Carolyn at PA Soy Candles in Lebanon, PA. We arrived at their farm. The building next to the barn is the candle shop...I just love walking through the door and seeing our friends.

We always look forward to seeing them and chatting with them. When we get there we seem to stay way too long, but we enjoy talking with them. This time we got to meet Cora Lee, who helps out in the candle shop. She was so nice and we look forward to seeing her again. She has a friend that lives in our town and Cora Lee promised us that she will stop by The Brickhouse when she visits her friend.

This is an area of PA Soy's candle shop that makes Tim nervous!

It is the area where I go and sniff candles. Tim gets nervous because I always leave this area with more candles to add to our original order! All the candles smell SO GOOD! I can't help it....the candles are awesome. But this time I was able to control myself and we stuck to the original order. But I did leave with a list, a long list of the candles that I want for our next order!

When we left Richard and Carolyn's we headed north on scenic Route 419. What a nice drive through the country.

We ended up at one of our favorite places to eat when we pick up our candles, The Franklin House in Schaefferstown.

I don't want to make this post too long, SO you need to stop by again to read more about our day trip. After our lunch we did a little walking tour around Schaefferstown and I will share pictures with you in our next blog post. Thanks for stopping by our blog and if you are in the area, please stop by The Brickhouse and smell the new candles!

Heat Wave

2010-07-24T14:55:00.003-04:00

Enjoying the heat wave! If not enjoy the pictures!

There doesn't that feel better?

Enough Already.......

2010-07-14T17:14:00.006-04:00

Enough of Summer, bring on Autumn! Right after Christmas I am always anxious for summer to arrive but right now I am SO ready for Fall to arrive. It is my favorite Season and I cann0t wait for the first day of Fall. A big box of the Fall Season arrived today at The Brickhouse and it has made me so excited for Summer to be over so I can put these new items in the Shop. Peggy is a new Crafter/friend here at The Brickhouse. We were told by our friends/Crafters, April and Tony that we had to check out Peggy's wares. Well, April and Tony have never let us down and we are blown away by Peggy's talent. I am sure you all may have heard me let out a shout of joy when I opened the box that was delivered today from Miss Peggy! I so want to put these Fall goodies in the Shop for our customers to see them...but it is a little too early for that. So we will have to wait, but I can tease our customers by showing the pictures of these wonderful goodies. My pictures do not do these justice, you have to stop by the Brickhouse and see them in person.

We finally got some much needed rain here in Millersburg. I think I can see my flowers smiling. For one thing, they are standing up straighter, no more drooping from the heat and drought. Along with rain we have had some "cooler" days. Not sweater weather cooler, but at least it hasn't been 100 degrees. A local Amish family decided to take their "convertible' out for a trip to the local store. I had to take a picture of them from my window as they were driving by our home. Howie also had to go to the door and bark a greeting to them as they passed!

With the cooler temps I was able to paint and stain signs for the Shop. My side-kick, Howie was supervising me!

Please stop by again and do a little porch sitting with us here at The Brickhouse.

Praying for Rain

2010-07-09T08:27:00.002-04:00

See the tire swing behind my blooming Bee Balm? When we bought our home 6 years ago the previous owners asked us if we were going to keep the tire swing. We said yes we would. I loved the tire swing. No, I never did swing in it but I really wanted to. Our nieces and nephews and other young kids when visiting us would spend a lot of time swinging away. Tim and I noticed a few months ago that the branch that the swing was hanging from, was not looking too healthy. We had to tell the young ones that they were not allowed to swing on the tire anymore. It broke their hearts and it broke ours, too.

On Father's Day we woke up to this. The branch broke overnight. We are thankful that no one was hurt. We saved the tire and we plan to find a healthy tree branch and put the swing back up!

Look how nice my Bee Balm is looking..well I should say, WAS LOOKING.

This is how they look now. We have been having very hot weather here in Central Pa and very very little rain. We have well water and I have been trying to water the flowers but I get worried using our water to try to keep my plants alive. It breaks my heart to see them like this. I pray we get rain soon..Lots of RAIN! We need days of a good soaking rain.

This is our lawn. It is a crunchy, brown, horrible mess.

The field behind our yard is a field of soybeans. And beyond that field is a field of corn. They say that the corn should be "knee high by July". It may be knee high but it is looking bad. As much as I am upset with our flowers and grass dying at least we don't depend on those for our living. I feel so bad for the farmers. I pray that we get rain, soon. I will never complain about a rainy day every again!

On another note, Tim and I would like to thank all of you who have commented on the loss of our Dexter Dog. Your words of comfort have meant a lot to us and we thank all of you. We are missing Dex but we know he is running around in Heaven right now and all his pain is gone. It also helps to have Howie Dog with us. He is our crazy dog and when we feel like crying he makes us laugh. Again, a big thank you to all of you for being our friends.

I will end this post with pictures of my flowers before the drought and heat wave..sigh....

R.I.P Dexter Dog

2010-07-06T17:28:00.008-04:00

DEXTER

Nov 1996~July 2010

Our buddy, Dexter left us on Monday, July 5th. He was an old dog and we knew that someday we would have to face not having Dex with us. But we just weren't ready for it to be this soon.

Dex thought he was a lap dog. Tim had just sat down and Dex crawled up on his lap! (pardon the messy room..we had just taken up the carpet so we could refinish the floor)

Dex loved the snow. We remember when we moved from Texas to New York and Dex first experienced snow! It was so funny to see him walk in snow for the first time.
Even as an old dog this past Winter, Dex still loved walking in the snow.

Up until a few months ago, Dexter loved to run out to get the newspaper and bring it in the house..He was a true Retriever!

Paper boy Dexter!

Dexter and his best pal, Tim.

We Loved you Dex. You were the best puppy. The memories we have of you make us smile even though we want to cry. See you again, Buddy!

Selling 'the Experience' - Part 2.

2010-07-03T22:36:00.008-04:00

Hello folks - it's Tim - I know - it's been a LONG time since I last wrote a post for our Blog.

After I did the post called Selling 'the Experience', I happened to do a little searching on the net to see if I could find any other stories about Selling the experience. I found one that caught my attention and it got me thinking a little more about how Patti and I 'sell' the Brickhouse 'experience'.

I found the article in Businessweek.com and it is called 'How to Sell More Than a Product', written by Carmine Gallo. In the article Carmine writes: 'Ask yourself, what does my brand stand for? Try to answer it in one sentence without using the name of the product your company sells.' He sited examples from Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz (who Gallo credits with posing this question in an earlier conversation), entrepreneur Richard Branson and Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh.

Now I will admit that Brickhouse Craft Shop is a very small business, but I will tell you that I know what our brand stands for and I can sum it up with one word:

Connections.

Yes, the product we sell is crafts. But that's not really what we're 'about'. We don't focus on selling crafts. For some of you, that may seem strange.

What we're about is Connections. Even before we opened Brickhouse Craft Shop, Patti began connecting with crafters from across the USA. And since opening in December 2007 we have been 'connecting' in many ways.

We've connected crafters with other crafters, we've connected crafters with our customers, we've even connected customers with customers. And Patti and I have connected with old classmates and even relatives we haven't seen for years.

But what we are about - and what we enjoy the most, is connecting with our customers. Whether they live in the area or are out and about for a day trip, we love to chat with them. We have shared many stories and laughs. We've shared in personal joys - and sorrows. And we have a space on the wall behind our counter where we're accumulating cards and letters from customers. Our customers really are like family and we look forward to their visits.

So while we hope our customers like our crafts, we also hope they enjoy their shopping experience.

Porch Tails

2010-06-20T11:43:00.012-04:00

Yes, I did mean to write Porch Tails...not tales! The Brickhouse Craft Shop now has a greeter...please meet Howie, the Brickhouse Greeter.

On a side note, you may notice the hair loss on Howie's belly in this picture. Howie was very sick this past Winter and he lost his hair on his belly...but it is finally growing back and he is feeling better.

This past week Howie seems to be my shadow, wherever I go so goes Howie, and this includes out to the Shop to meet our customers. Yesterday, we had some new customers stop by the Shop. We met some new friends, Emie and Dan and their 4 year old little boy, Jack, when they stopped by the Shop on Saturday. Well, Jack and Howie hit it off right away. I did not have my camera with me but wow what a picture it would have been to share with you. I was talking with Em and I looked over and saw Jack sitting on the floor right next to Howie. Jack was talking to Howie and Howie just laid there listening. Em had her camera and she was able to take some pictures and she plans on sending me the pictures. It was so nice to meet this family and we look forward to Em, Dan and Jack coming back to visit us again. I know Howie is, too.

While I was in the Shop yesterday, my sister, Darla called to tell me that she would be stopping by and she had something for me! Darla works for a local Auctioneer and she is always on the look-out for things for me. Well, she surprised me yesterday with these oil lamps!

I love oil lamps and she remember that and decide to buy these for me. And she didn't break the bank to buy them either....she paid a total of $5 for these lamps! That is a $1 a piece! I was one happy girl. Thanks so much Darla!

After we closed the Shop yesterday, Tim and I did some porch sitting. Howie joined us on the porch. He was tired from his first full day as a greeter! I went into the house to get some wine for Tim and I to enjoy on the porch. When I walked out the kitchen door and headed towards the porch of the Shop, this is what I saw....

Howie decided the he was going to sit on the glider next to Tim..what a dog!

Notice the smile on Howie's face...he thinks because he is so handsome he can get away with things like this!

The butterflies and hummingbirds were entertaining us as we sat on the porch. It was not easy to get a good picture of the Hummingbirds....if you look close you can see the bird feasting on the Bee Balm.

Not sure what type of butterfly this is but the colors are so pretty.

Tim and I and Howie, too would love to have you join us on the porch for some porch sitting.

Howie may even let you sit on the glider next to him!

Fun, Food and Friends

2010-06-19T08:05:00.010-04:00

This past Thursday was one of the nicest days we had here in Central Pa, no humidity, no clouds and no rain. But that isn't what made my day so nice. It was having three of my good friends visit with me. TERESA and MICHELE were the first to arrive. Teresa came with more wonderful goodies that she made for The Brickhouse Craft Shop. And Michele gave me a little bowl filler that she made. Tim and I hope to have some of Michele's creations in our Shop in the very near future. Our customers are going to love what she makes! And then TARRAH arrived. Tarrah hurt her neck and she was in some pain. I really felt bad for her but I think she soon forgot about her pain in the neck!

I think the laughter that we all shared helped her forget her neck pain and also the hot sugar that was dropped on her bare foot took her mind off her neck pain.....poor Tarrah!

Teresa gave us all a lesson on making prim sugar pantry cakes. You can email me for the recipe for these or check out Teresa's blog. She has a link to it in her comments section on her blog post.

It was so much fun especially the stirring of the sugar...right Tarrah? Poor Tarrah with her sore neck stirring away and no one offering to help her....it was so funny.

Speaking of funny...Teresa stressing over the lunch that I prepared. I didn't know it but Teresa does not like tuna and I made stuffed pasta shells with tuna. I never gave it a thought that someone wouldn't like tuna...sorry Teresa. AND then she got worried when she saw my "lumpy" dressing. She was thinking it was bleu cheese dressing which she doesn't like. Well, she soon realized that it wasn't bleu cheese and she told me she liked the lunch. Boy did we laugh at that and again we laughed at poor Tarrah when she almost broke her tooth, but that's another story! Oh what fun!

Some people have been asking for the recipe for the tuna stuffed shells...well I am going to be changing the name of my recipe to Teresa's Tuna Shells with NOT bleu cheese dressing!

For the recipe... Click on this RECIPE

It really was a fun day. We laughed and just hung out and relaxed. I am looking forward to the next time we all get together.

You will want to win this!

2010-06-18T11:38:00.004-04:00

My good friend, Beryl, is having an awesome give away on her blog....make sure you stop by and visit Beryl..tell her Patti sent you! I already feel like a winner just for knowing Beryl and for having her goodies in our Shop...She truly is a BLESSING..A SOUTHERN BLESSING!

Housekeeper and Gardener needed

2010-06-11T13:50:00.011-04:00

It is a busy time here at The Brickhouse and our home. Tim and I have been busy making signs and birdhouses for our customers. And I am afraid to admit this but my housework has suffered. Poor Tim...well at least I have been keeping up with my cooking! But my housework, that's another story. I am thinking I need to hire a housekeeper! This is what the kitchen table looks like today. When the Shop is open I am usually in the kitchen painting signs and birdhouses.

Our Dining room floor......what a mess...but it is fun making things for our customers.

This is our dining room table today. My plan today is to get all of these signs painted and then stain. Yep, that is my plan!

My gardening has suffered, too. Now I really love to garden, but again to find the time to do it....I try to coax our customers to help me with the weeding but so far no takers! Instead of coaxing maybe I should bribe them! I just had one of our favorite customers stop by...she wanted some of my plants. I told her she could have all the weeds that she could carry....would you believe she didn't want any? I did give her a box full of plants from my garden but it didn't include any weeds! Here are some pictures from around our house and the Brickhouse....please ignore the weeds!

See the little bee on the coneflower....looks like he is enjoy a nice lunch of some sweet nectar!

Our Bee Balm is starting to bloom.

Mr Bunny standing guard over the garden.

This is my herb garden right outside of our kitchen and next to our Shop. Next year I hope to have this looking better. I am planning on re-doing this garden. If I can make some time to do it!

I just had lunch and I need to do a little commercial here. It seems lately that a lot of people have been raving about how much they like Greek Yogurt. I am not much of a yogurt person, unless it is frozen yogurt. Well, I thought I would try the Greek Yogurt and let me tell you...I LOVE IT! It is so good, I had it with some fresh blueberries for lunch today. I can now say that I love yogurt! And no I am not getting paid for this commercial endorsement!

It feels good to eat healthier and now I think I will have a little dessert........

While eating my "healthy" lunch I heard the clop clop clop of horses going by the house. I grabbed my camera and took this picture of an Amish Buggy going by our home...the picture was taken from our kitchen looking down the hall and through our front door. I love living in the country..the sights and sounds are so nice. Seeing the Amish and their slower pace in which they go about their days makes me wish for days like that.

May we all take time to enjoy a slower pace in our lives.

Too Much Porch Sittin' and ....

2010-06-05T13:08:00.008-04:00

Not enough Blogging! Just wanted to pop in and say hi and that we are still around but just not here on our Blog...sorry! Summer time is busy time here at the Brickhouse. I wish we had more time to do some Porch sitting.... Between yard work and house work we are also working on orders for our customers. Our birdhouses and signs are popular and it seems we can never get ahead. As soon as we do, we get more orders....but we are not complaining. I wish I could clone Tim so I could have him home all day cutting wood for me! I think we are both looking forward to when he is retired and we can do this full-time.

We are in the midst of a heat wave here in Pa...it has been so hot and muggy lately. For all of you who are dealing with this heatwave, I leave you with this picture......

I Did It!

2010-05-19T13:36:00.005-04:00

After weeks or more like months of researching I finally did it! I made wax melts for the Shop.

Yesterday I finally got up enough nerve to pour my first batch and I am so happy with how they turned out. The scent for this first batch is Birthday Cake and it smells so yummy.

I was told that I should let the melts cure for a few days but I couldn't wait so this morning I put one in the tart burner and my house smells so good. I also have one melting in a tart burner in the Shop. I just had a customer stop by and she said she smelled something yummy on the porch of the Shop. The scent worked its way out to the porch so not only does the Shop smell good so does the porch! I gave my customer a melt to take home with her to test burn for me. I need a few more testers, so if you stop by The Brickhouse I will give you a sample to take home and test burn. I am so excited and can't wait till this evening to make some more! Right now I am busy painting signs for our customers.

I hope you all are having a good week. I have a request if the sun is shining in your neck of the woods could you please send some my way? I am looking forward to some sunny warm weather.

SURPRISE!

2010-05-08T12:59:00.006-04:00

This morning Tim stopped by BOB AND TARRAH'S to pick up some new pottery for The Brickhouse. Tarrah told me that there was a surprise in with the pottery.....WELL...let me tell you, Tim and I were really surprised! Tim came home with the pottery and I was in the Shop with some customers. Tim and I started to unpack the pottery and we both, I think, made a little bit of a scene. We both were so shocked and wonderfully surprised by what we saw. Bob made Tim and I a little crock with our Shop name on it. We LOVE it. It was the best surprise! It is so perfect and we will treasure it. Thank you Bob and Tarrah. You guys are the best. Here it is:

A true Blessing...A Southern Blessing

2010-04-27T15:02:00.010-04:00

When I post pictures of the great crafts that our Friends of The Brickhouse make for our customers, I get emails asking if I sell online.We only sell through our Craft Shop here in Millersburg, PA. So if you are in the Millersburg area please stop by and visit with us. If you see something on the blog that you like and you can't make it to our Shop just drop me an email and I will give you the contact info for where you can buy directly through the Crafter.

One of our great Crafters has her very own blog. Beryl, who has been a blessing to Tim and I and to all our customers here at The Brickhouse, has a blog, Southern Blessings.

CLICK HERE to visit Beryl's blog and give her a great big welcome to blogland greeting!

Tim and I are so happy that she is a part of our family here at The Brickhouse. Beryl is truly a blessing to us..a true Southern Blessing!

~Patti~~

Shop Talk

2010-04-21T17:53:00.019-04:00

Today Tarrah and I went to Gettysburg for the Heritage Markets Cash and Carry Wholesale Show. What fun we had! If I would have had more Cash then I would have had more to Carry out of the Show! I did find some really nice things for the Shop. I met some really nice people while waiting in line before the doors open. AND then I got to meet my good friend April, from Country Home Accents. I have talked with April many times on the phone but never had the privilege of meeting her..well today I did..what a nice person and her hubby isn't bad either, I just love her and her hubby, Tony!

April and Tony have been making awesome items for our Shop since we opened. And we love them!

While at the Show Tarrah and I met up with TERESA. I just love spending time with Teresa....she is one of the nicest persons you could ever meet and she is so talented. Teresa makes a lot of items for our Shop. The mice at the top of this post were made by Teresa. Aren't they cute? I love them and so do our customers! She has been with us from the start and she is never allowed to retired , and that goes for April and Tony, too! Then we met up with my friends Ree and Linda...what a nice day. The only thing wrong with the day was that it went too fast and we didn't have enough time to hang out with everyone. We all were too busy shopping!

One more highlight of my day was meeting SUSAN BURD. I felt like I was meeting a celebrity!

Susan was so nice and I love her talent. If only I could paint like she does.
Here are a few pictures of some of the goodies that I picked up today at the Show. The pictures aren't the best..sorry. I need to take everything out to the Shop and rearrange things. I should have waited to take the pictures then but I was too excited to show you some of the things I bought.

I love this black sheep...made by Country Home Accents! Great job April and Tony.

Old Treasures

2010-04-19T07:22:00.009-04:00

Good Monday Morning! I hope you all had a nice weekend. Tim and I had guests for Dinner on Sunday. Tim's mom is having a Birthday today so yesterday we invited her to our house for a Birthday meal. Tim's Aunt Marge and Uncle Marty also joined us for dinner. They drove in from Ohio to spend some time with Tim's mom. Aunt Marge brought some family treasures that she thought I would like. LIKE? I LOVE them! I was shocked but so happy that she wanted me to have these things that have been in her family for many years. The quilt square is very very old. Aunt Marge told us that Tim's Great-Great-Great Grandmother made the quilt and that it dates back to the 1800's. We think it fits perfectly in our home. Our home was built in 1860, so to think that around that time this quilt was made...wow!

I am planning on getting a new frame made for the quilt. I am thinking an old wood frame.

Aunt Marge also gave me these old containers. They were in the family store, Masser's Store. In the 1800's Tim's Great-Grandfather, S.R. Masser bought the store. I think it is so amazing that she was able to save a lot of the old things from the store and then to pass them on to me. Thank you Aunt Marge, I will treasure these gifts.

I placed the containers above a cabinet in our kitchen. Do you see them up there?

Here is a close-up.
This is a metal container that once held coconut. The label isn't in the best shape but it is still wonderful.
This box is so neat! It is made of paper/cardboard and has a metal handle. I love it!

Bird Update: It looks like the Bluebird family has won the brawl. These pictures were taken this morning. I think the sparrows have decided to look for another house. This makes me happy, now we get to enjoy watching the bluebirds and we are anxious to see the new additions to their family.

I hope you all have a great week.

~~Patti~~

Brickhouse Bird Brawl

2010-04-15T11:53:00.012-04:00

Since my last post things have changed here at The Brickhouse. It looks like we are going to be looking for a new home. Things have been crazy and I am tired of all the ruckus. Something has to be done because the noise from all the fights is getting to me......Bird fights that is...what did you think I was talking about? No, us humans are living in harmony but not the birds......we need to find another home for the birds so the Sparrows and the Bluebirds can live in harmony and stop fighting over the one birdhouse. A couple of weeks ago Mr and Mrs Bluebird moved into a birdhouse on our side porch.

Well, the Sparrow family decided to try to evict the Bluebirds.

I think it is time for Tim to build another birdhouse and hopefully the sparrows will move into the new one and leave the bluebirds alone.

I hope they can work it out. I love having the bluebirds so close.
It is a beautiful day here in Central Pa today. Everything is in bloom and growing like crazy, including the weeds! I am thinking of having some sort of special event here at The Brickhouse and I am thinking it may include weeding. Do you think I can get our customers to help me weed? Maybe I can entice my customers to help with the weeding by offering them something free...hmmm? We could have the 1st annual Brickhouse Weeding Party....I like that!

Next Wednesday The Brickhouse will be closed. I am going to Gettysburg to the Wholesale Show with Tarrah. We will be meeting up with Teresa, Linda and maybe Michelle. It is going to be a fun day and I hope to get a lot of new goodies for the Shop. And I just got an email from Beryl and she sent out a big box of new things for the Shop...can't wait to see what she made.

Tim and I have been trying real hard to keep birdhouses in stock for our customers but as soon as we make one we sell it...it is crazy, a good crazy! Hopefully, this weekend we can get some made and ready for our customers. And I want some for myself! If only I could clone Tim and have him home all day making birdhouses! Here are two birdhouses that we made last summer....We are making more of these. I love the Church!

Yesterday, a Sales Rep came into the Shop and I told him unless he was selling Made in USA only that I wasn't interested. I told him that we have a MADE in USA ONLY Shop and he looked at me like I had two heads. I am sure that we are unique or maybe I should say "strange" to other people but when we opened our Shop we made the commitment to sell only Handmades and we will not compromise. Mr Sales Rep told me that there is no way we will survive by doing this! WOW...anyhow we are proud of our little Shop and we are So Very Proud of our crafters that make all the wonderful Handmades and we are planning on staying in business for many years. And we thank all of our customers who support us and encourage us with our commitment to selling only Handmades.

Well, I started this post talking about the ruckus among the birds and I will end this post with these beautiful pictures of a butterfly that I spotted this morning.

I hope you all have a great weekend. And stop by the Brickhouse and pick out a FREE WEED..we have plenty to go around!

~~Patti~~

Bird~Chirping Weather

2010-04-06T08:13:00.010-04:00

Can you hear the birds? What a wonderful sound! Our resident birds are busy preparing their nests for their little ones that will soon be making their entrance into the world.

Last year we had a pair of Bluebirds that were trying to take over a Sparrow family's nest. Well this year the Bluebirds found their own home, right on our side porch. There was once a door here but the previous owners closed the door and had these shelves made. I had a birdhouse that Tim made sitting on the one shelf and the Bluebirds decided to move in and they have been busy flying in and out of the birdhouse. I am surprised that they have made their home so close to us...but I am not complaining because it is so nice to be able to be so close to watch them.

Mr Bluebird checking out his new home.

Mrs Bluebird making sure she likes her new home!

Two years ago I bought these two pottery bird houses and this is the first year that we had birds move into them. The new residents in the pottery bird house are sparrows. I was hoping to get some wrens but so far I don't see or hear any near by. Last year we had some wrens find a home in on of our birdhouses but they haven't returned this year. I hope they come back!

We asked Bob the Potter to make some of these bird bottle houses for our customers at The Brickhouse and he did! Stop by the Shop and see Bob's pottery! You will love them!

Yesterday, Tim and I drove to Lebanon to pick up our candle order from PA SOY. It was so nice seeing Richard and Carolyn again. And I enjoyed smelling all the new scents! Carolyn was trying out some new scents and she gave us two new scents to test burn for her. So when you stop by the Shop this week you will be able to smell the new scents because we will be testing them in the Shop. Today after I mow the lawn I will be in the Shop unpacking the candles and also moving the Easter items out of the Shop and change some things around. I need to get together with my Crafters and get some new goodies in the Shop. Tim and I have been busy making birdhouses and signs. Tim is also working on some new things and I will be showing you some pictures this week. I love what he is making and I sure hope he makes some for me!

I better get outside and start mowing the grass...the first cut of the year! How I love this weather! I hope you all get a chance to enjoy it today. And remember to stop by The Brickhouse and smell the candles and watch the birds!

~~Patti

Footprints in our Hearts

2010-03-29T08:47:00.009-04:00

Many people will walk in and out of your life,

but only true friends will leave footprints

in your heart.

~~~Eleanor Roosevelt~~

Saturday at The Brickhouse was a special day for Tim and I. We realized why we love having our little Craft Shop...it is all about the people we have met in the past 3 years....special people who have become our friends and the way they have made us better people. Tim and I have wonderful customers and a lot of them are like family to us. On Saturday 5 Special friends surprised us with gifts.

The first gift we received on Saturday was this:

I love these eggs...!!!!

This gift was made by Tammy. I had no idea what we did to deserve this amazing gift from Tammy, but we love it. Tammy is a a truly talented lady. She makes the best prim goodies and I am always oohing and aahing over her creations. I am trying to talk her in to selling her wares in our Shop, I know our customers would love her goodies as much as I do. I had the chance to meet Tammy's mother and she is a beautiful lady just like Tammy. And then there is Tammy's daughter who is so nice and she is like our "adopted" daughter. Lauren is proud of her mom, Tammy, and she always tells me what her mom is creating and if I am lucky, Lauren will bring the goodies into the Shop to show me what her mom made for her. Tammy, THANK you for the Easter Gift! You have left your footprint in our hearts.

So I told you that there were 5 Special people that surprised Tim and I on Saturday...here are the other special people.

Let me introduce these special ladies. Starting on the left meet Miss Alaina, next is Miss Brianna, in the middle is Miss Stephanie and then there is Miss Destiny.

I love these young ladies! If I were to have daughters, I would want them to be just like these young ladies. They are the nicest, most well~mannered and God~loving people you could ever meet. We have known them for a few years now. I remember the very first time that they stopped by the Shop and they always amaze me. They are always thinking about other people and they love buying gifts for their family members. I have never heard them argue and they treat each other with so much respect. Their parents did an amazing job raising their girls!

On Saturday evening after we closed the Shop, Tim and I were sitting in the Shop relaxing and talking. A car pulls up to the Shop and in walks my favorite girls with big smiles on their faces. They presented Tim and I with a HOMEMADE CARROT CAKE and A BEAUTIFUL HAND PAINTED sign.

We didn't know what we did to deserve such a wonderful gift...It sure left BIG footprints in our heart..lots of footprints! The cake was one of the best carrot cakes we have ever had and the sign was perfect! Alaina was the baker, she made the yummy cake. Thank you Alaina it was SO GOOD! The frosting and the sprinkles were so pretty and we were told that Destiny was in charge of decorating the cake....Destiny you did a great job..the cake was so pretty....just like you..Thank you Destiny. The sign was designed and painting by the artist of the family, Stephanie. Stephanie is going to be a famous artist someday...I know it! Thank you so much Stephanie for the pretty sign...you're very special! And last but not least is Brianna....she just got her driver's license and she was the chauffeur...she did a great job delivering the cake....the cake arrived all in one piece! LOL...Brianna you are a wonderful young lady...I love your smile.... thank you for the hugs that you gave to Tim and I. That meant a lot to us!

I am not sure what we did to deserve the gifts from all of these special people but we treasure them and treasure the friendship. Tammy, Brianna, Alaina, Stephanie and Destiny THANK you all for your friendship and your gifts. You put smiles on our faces and footprints in our hearts!

For all our readers of our blog, may you all go out this week and leave footprints in another person's heart.

~~Patti~~

PORCH SITTING TIME

~~Saying Good-bye to the Flowers~~

~~New Year, New Journey~~

~~Is it January or Springuary?~~

~~Old Windows~~

Can I have a vacation do over...please?

~~HAPPY NEW YEAR~~

Happy Anniversary!

In the Morning Light

Christmas Porch

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Bittersweet

Back In The Saddle again....

Fall vs Winter

Now what?

Are You Ready?

Question.....

Sunrise at the Brickhouse

The Light House

See what's new

Introducing......

Fall Issue of Mercantile Gatherings

Issues

Lititz Craft Show 2011

So, What's a Good Day at the Brickhouse?

Frost on the Pumpkin

Busy at the Brickhouse

Surf & Sand

Weed or Flower?

Cleaning House

Makeover Monday

Birdhouses and Blooms at the Brickhouse

How we spent our weekend.

Snow in July?

Red White Blue at theBrickhouse

Take some time to smell the Flowers

Dream on

Trying to stay cool.

Happenings at the Brickhouse

If I had a Hammer

Busy as a Bee

Come see what is new

More Spring "things"

Hopping into the Shop

Something NEW!

Let's Party!

My Trip to the Cinnamon Stick

Behind the Scenes

Show your Love

The Brickhouse not an Ice House

Snowy morning at the Brickhouse

Out and About

Sun is rising on a New Year.

We are blessed!

Merry Christmas

Warm and Cozy

At Long Last - Greetings from the Brickhouse!

Decking the Porch!

Reindeer Poo, Elf Sweat and Wine, oh my!

Brickhouse Melts

Last of my flowers from the garden.

Autumn at the Brickhouse

Poinsettias

Starting to look like Christmas....

Come see what is new!

Mercantile Gatherings

I am back.

Just arrived!

Fall has arrived at the Brickhouse

Coming Soon!

Pumpkins!

MORE INFO ON LITITZ CRAFT SHOW

Craft Show in Lititz, PA

End of the Road

More of our Road Trip

Road Trip

Heat Wave

Enough Already.......

Praying for Rain

R.I.P Dexter Dog

Saying Good-bye to the Flowers

New Year, New Journey

Is it January or Springuary?

Old Windows

HAPPY NEW YEAR