A true Blessing...A Southern Blessing

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

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

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

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

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