I baked a whole bone in ham in Sunday.  Slow cooked ham is always good, with any side dish you add to it , in my opinion.

Problem is, there is always lots of left over ham.  I freeze some of the slices for sandwiches later on, and it also gives me plenty of extra meat to make my homemade ham salad for quick lunches, and snacks.

Here is the easy recipe.  I have been making it this way for 5 years, and my family loves it.  Hope you give it a try.

It has a smoky flavor, with tang from the pickles, and a little sweetness to finish.

Chop the meat with a knife into small pieces.  (I remove most of the fat, and the skin from the baked ham.) You will need about 2 Cups chopped.

 Chop about 1 Cup hamburger dill slices finely, and add to the meat.

Add 1/8 tsp. liquid smoke, 1/4 tsp of the pickle juice from the jar, 1 Heaping TB Hellman's Mayonnaise, and 1 Heaping TB Miracle Whip Salad Dressing.  You can't see the liquid smoke, or pickle juice; but it is in here.

Mix to coat the meat, and pickles with the dressing using a fork.  If it seems a little dry, you can add a few more drops of the pickle juice.

Hope your family likes this as well as mine does.  It gets eaten pretty quickly.

Original Artist Cashmere Rabbit

I so admire my fellow Etsy artist stuffed teddy bear makers.  I could look at their beautiful creations for hours, and hours.

They bring back a flood of memories for me of past well loved bears,bunnies, and a very special monkey that I have to this day, and mind you; childhood has been a long time ago.

I am inspired to try my hand at making a jointed bunny myself, he will be my character, as most of my dolls are.

I found these great glass eyes and cotter pin joints from another online Etsy seller, and I have the perfect old Georgio Armante designer coat of 100% cashmere wool to make his body from! I scored the jacket (with a bonus all silk lining) from Goodwill last year, and it has been awaiting transformation.

So, here is the beginning of my train conductor rabbit assembly.  Still lots to do, but he is super soft, and I like the way his hat came out.  I think I will make more plush teddy bear style dolls.  Maybe the next will be a mohair one.

Summer Flag Dessert

 I wanted to contribute a dessert pizza to the meal today.  Wanted to, that was; until I had an epic fail.

Finished Dessert

I haven't made one in a long time (in fact my husband can't ever remember having one, it's been that long).

I forgot that cookie dough enlarges and flattens as it bakes.  OOPS.

The sugar cookie dough I rolled flat for the crust baked past the edges of my baking stone, and flowed over to the oven bottom.

I tried (without success ) to transfer it to a larger pizza pan, upside down; with my husband's help.  I put in back in the oven, but it cracked, and fell apart.

Now what to do with these ingredients?

purchased roll of sugar cookie dough
2 bricks cream cheese
1 cup powered sugar
2 TB vanilla, divided
1/2 pint blueberries- washed
1 pint strawberries- washed and stems removed

Fresh Berries

Lay dough out of refrigerator and allow to warm slightly.  Roll out onto a cookie sheet, leaving at least 3" on the outside edges.

Bake according to directions.

Bake until crumbly, but not too dry, and browning is not necessary. 

When cool, crumble the cookie into a mixing bowl.

With a fork, mash one of the blocks of cream cheese into the mixture, and stir in 1 TB vanilla, until well blended, but still has large crumb pieces remaining.  Add the mixture to a 9" x 9 " square baking dish.

Cookie Cream Cheese Layer

I halved the strawberries, and added the blueberries to the left top corner, and the strawberries in lines all across the pan on top of the cookie mixture.

Berry Layer

    

You could stop here, and serve with whipped cream.  Just omit the powdered sugar, and additional vanilla and cream cheese, but I always go all in.  I made an icing from the remaining cheese, sugar, and other TB vanilla.  I whipped it up with a fork, so you do not even have to get the mixer out.

Icing

I added the icing to a zip sandwich bag, a couple of tablespoons at a time, and sealed the top.  Cut a small snip in one corner, and use it like a piping bag to add some sweetness to the top layer.  I dotted on the "stars", and squeezed the stripes in a line on top of the berries.

Refrigerate at least 30 minutes before cutting into squares, and spooning out.

Let me know if you like this one.  When life give you lemons.....

Patriotic Primitive Crow Pattern

I love the 4th of July!  School is out, my garden is in full swing, and there are celebrations everywhere in the rural towns surrounding mine! Designing a primitive doll for the July 4th season is always fun.

This is my newest design for a crow doll, Sam (for uncle Sam, of course).  He will have cousins coming soon, Toby (short for October), and Santa.

I posted my sketch a couple weeks ago on my Facebook, and my friend Charlotte Fletcher @ Roma Land Woodcrafts asked if she could paint the design!  I was so pleased, and of course I said YES. She is a great folk art tole painter, and I was honored that the design caught her eye.

Love the way she translated it into a painting, as she did him justice.  She painted him as a gift for a friend.

                                                              PATRIOTIC CROW

Sam turned out pretty as a picture, and here he is ready for my Etsy Shop.

If you would like a digital download of thisPAINTING PATTERN, only, it is available for 6.00. 

Happy Summer!  Hope your picnics,celebrations, and parades are all memorable, too.

MY ETSY STORY AND TIPS

Uncle Sam Bunny

                                                                                                                                

A little about my ETSY adventure!
I am a former brick and mortar retail store owner.
I taught tole painting classes, and sold cookie cutter primitive items purchased from wholesale companies, with some of my hand made items mixed in. I noticed a trend with my items out selling the made in China; but business in my small town of Georgetown, OH was sporadic.I needed to reach out to find more customers.

Monkey Doll

I gravitated over the years from tole and decorative painting to designing and making primitive dolls. I sold my unique patterns to DIY sewers, and knew the finished dolls would be marketable, as well.

I operated my business, from accounting to marketing and everyday operations for 12 years, and closed in 2013 to concentrate solely on ETSY. I launched www.etsy.com/shop/CottonPickingFolkArt a year prior in 21012, and made the decision to sell exclusively on ETSY in mid year.

Etsy is a community of artisans unlike any other, in that they are willing to help other like minded seller, and I loved that from the start.

The biggest tips I would offer fellow Etsy sellers would be:
Good photography plays a huge role in selling your designs, and pricing is sometimes to most difficult for me still. Making a fair profit for the amount of labor you put in is sometimes difficult to measure. I am constantly trying to improve in these areas.

 I would tell new sellers on ETSY most of all the be patient the first 3 to 6 months, it takes time to establish networks, and social media contacts. So never stop trying!

I am also a member of many groups on Etsy, including Handmadeology.  I have found their marketing tips invaluable.

Artist Stuffed Teddy Bunny Rabbit Train Conductor

MR MOODY, the Conductor
(He gets his name from the name of the passenger on the old ticket he is holding)

Original Artist Jointed Rabbit

I have long been a fan of original art stuffed animals.  There are many wonderful artisans among my fellow Etsy seller that have amazing talents!

I think, for me , it is the fond memories of playtime they evoke when I look at them.  Mine were never as fancy, though.
I do still have a favorite monkey plush doll from the 1960's as a reminder of my childhood, and his stretched yellow suspenders that no longer fit are a testament to my love for him.

I am making this original artist rabbit with those care free memories in tow.  I like to give all my primitive dolls character, and this one will be no exception.
In a historical style, I am using German glass eyes for the first time, and a 5 way jointed body design. Wish me luck!

I have some 100% cashmere that has been crying out to become transformed for quite some time, and it will make a super soft finished rabbit.

Here is my rabbit beginning to take shape.  I like the way his conductor hat turned out, to this point
Stay tuned for the finished Spring Express conductor bunny! I am so excited to get him finished.