Gladsome Sisters!!! | Raising Jane

Young Cultivators Merit Badge: Make It Fruity, Expert Level

Posted on September 11, 2016 by mbajane

The adorable, always humorous MBA Jane is my way of honoring our Sisterhood Merit Badge program, now with 7,130 dues-paying members who have earned an amazing number of merit badges so far—10,150 total! Take it away, MBA Jane!!! ~MaryJane

Wondering who I am? I’m Merit Badge Awardee Jane (MBA Jane for short). In my former life …

For this week’s Farm Kitchen/Make It Fruity Expert Level Young Cultivator Merit Badge, I made sure I was fully recovered from my blackberry-bush war wounds, and Piper and I set about earning the last and final badge in our pursuit of all things fruity.

First off, I had to bring Pipe down a notch: Turns out, becoming an “expert” in something went straight to her tiara-topped head. She got so big for her britches she nearly didn’t fit in the kitchen. But she came ‘round and her eyes got big when I told her we’d be making fruit leather.

photo by George Wesley via Wikimedia Commons

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Winnie Nielsen says:

September 11, 2016 at 5:20 am

Fruit leathers are so good and a tasty way to eat fruit for the picky fruit eaters. I like some of your interesting combos you mentioned as well. Cucumber mint and Ginger Pear sound delicious and different.

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Cindi says:

September 11, 2016 at 7:46 am

I’ll add to Winnie’s suggestion with Ginger Peach ~ yum!!!!! Oh, and you can also use a food dehydrator, but this idea seems much better to me ~ especially if you have monster size baking sheets. More is better 🙂

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Hear Ye!

Posted on September 4, 2016 by maryjane

Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)

Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)

My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is … Susan Bird Olds!!!

Susan Bird Olds (Bird Brain, #7085) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a Beginner Level Quilting Merit Badge!

“There are thousands of historic and contemporary quilt blocks, and I decided to create one myself. The block I created is called ‘Eggs and Bacon.’

I think it’s a hoot, although the colors belie the theme somewhat.”

Golden_Era_Special

Winnie Nielsen says:

September 4, 2016 at 4:58 am

Susan, this quilt idea turned out so cute. I love your colors and pattern and it has this americana vibe as well as a bright sunny morning. Just precious!!

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Furniture Makeover Merit Badge, Expert Level

Posted on September 4, 2016 by mbajane

Wondering who I am? I’m Merit Badge Awardee Jane (MBA Jane for short). In my former life …

For this week’s Make It Easy/Furniture Makeover Expert Level Merit Badge, I combined my love of daydreaming about furniture upcycling and my love for taking things apart and putting them back together again. And I had just the project in mind …

You see, at one end of my block, there was a yard sale happening.

And at the other end of my block, there was a preschool opening.

You see where I’m going with this?

No?

You obviously don’t waste spend as much time on Pinterest as I do, reimagining my life as a DIY Queen of Recycled and Homemade Furniture.

photo by Jimmyjazz via Wikimedia Commons

Don’t worry about it, chickadees, I’m here to clue you in. My plan was to …

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Winnie Nielsen says:

September 4, 2016 at 5:04 am

I am always in awe at how people can “see” a new life for old tired furniture. Absolutely don’t go into Rehab! The planet needs more people like you to help refurnish homes and save landfills from waste. There is some show on HGTV that I have seen where they take teams, give them $500 to purchase at tag sales and then sell their wares for a $3000 prize. The clever and useful ideas these teams have to transform outdated stuff is incredible. I am so missing that ability to “see” a new plan and use for old stuff.

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Jona says:

September 10, 2016 at 10:02 am

I am a preschool teacher and would love to have a neighbor like you.. I’d like to see the after photo of your fabulous creation or should I say re-creation. Thank you for your ability to bring such joy into the world.

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Hear Ye!

Posted on August 28, 2016 by maryjane

Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)

Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)

My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is … Cyrie Wilson!!!

Cyrie Wilson (Pixiedustdevil, #6941) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning an Intermediate Level Aprons Merit Badge!

“I have made a couple of full aprons for myself already, and didn’t need more, so I made one by request for a neighbor who needed one. I went with her to help her pick fabric. One of her daughters was with us, and she was eyeing some fabric too, so I bought enough to make her and her sister little half aprons.

I measured the kids and their mother and made aprons for them. I used a pattern for the mother’s apron, but I made up a pattern for the kid’s aprons.

They were pleased with the finished aprons.”

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Catherine says:

August 28, 2016 at 4:54 am

G’ morning: I made myself a long skirt and then decided to make a matching apron. One of my grands ooohed and ahhed so I made an outfit for her. Have super day.

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Cindi says:

August 28, 2016 at 10:11 am

The grandchild LOVE aprons – even the boys! They are actually requesting them. One day I will get around to making one for myself as well. These are lovely Cyrie. Congrats on your badge 😀

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photo-of-the-day

Posted on August 21, 2016 by maryjane

farm-romance_6362

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Catherine says:

August 21, 2016 at 4:14 am

Who painted this masterpiece??? 🙂 Cat is gorgeous.

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Winnie Nielsen says:

August 21, 2016 at 5:18 am

Tomkins, you handsome boy!! Ohh, those blue eyes of his and friendly meow and twirl of welcome. I love that kitty.

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Donna Lizbeth says:

August 21, 2016 at 7:41 am

Oh, those eyes!! What a handsome kitty, he is. Thanks for sharing hugs ~ Donna =)

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Sally Bush says:

August 21, 2016 at 10:15 am

Beautiful Kitty Cat. Meowwww!

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lisa von saunder says:

August 21, 2016 at 10:49 am

BB King and Earl send kitty kisses to JASPER!

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Cheryl bell says:

August 21, 2016 at 8:49 pm

My Son had a kitty that looked just like this one, he named it whisper.

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Hear Ye!

Posted on August 21, 2016 by maryjane

Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)

Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)

My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is … Stacey Mitchell!!!

Stacey Mitchell (angelnurse, #6969) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a Beginner Level Crochet Merit Badge!

“I had a new granddaughter and I wanted her to have a handmade crochet afghan from her Grammy. I took a crochet class and crocheted a skinny scarf so I could learn to make a afghan for my new granddaughter. It is pink and white and it turned out so precious. I was very happy with the results, and my daughter loved it.”

Winnie Nielsen says:

August 21, 2016 at 5:20 am

Stacey, your new crocheted scarf is lovely! What a fantastic job you did on your first attempt too! Please post the afghan when you get that completed so we can all see what you made. Congratulations!!

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Donna Lizbeth says:

August 21, 2016 at 7:33 am

Oh, Stacey! Your afghan is just beautiful!! And, to take classes to learn to make something special for your granddaughter? That is the most special of all!! She will love and cherish it, I have no doubt. You did a great job!!! Award winning hugs ~ Donna =)

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Hear Ye!

Posted on August 14, 2016 by maryjane

Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)

Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)

My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is … Sarah Hall!!!

Sarah Hall (mrssarahhall, #5223) has received a certificate of achievement in Make it Easy for earning a Beginner, Intermediate, and Expert Level Carp-hen-try Merit Badge!

“I did this badge a bit out of order, but having completed all steps, I am ready to apply for my badge. I have painted the entire interior of our home, aside from one room now, but for the Beginner level, I am submitting my entryway/stairwell project. I painted all of the walls in this area, which was rather challenging with the high ceilings over the incline of the stairs.

I think this came out great! I absolutely love the paint color and gallery walls on either side of the stairway.

Carphentry_Beginner

I earned the Intermediate badge by remodeling my craft room. I painted this room, built and refinished almost all of the furniture in it (just yesterday, I built the center desk with some help from my husband), and created a very functional space to work in.

It love it! I am still working on a few finishing touches, but I am extremely happy with the result. I have been working on this for years, but finally started the full makeover about two weeks ago. I feel proud of all of the hard work that went into this project!

IMG_20160724_091125896_(1)

This was the first “carphentry” badge project I did (my husband and I actually did this together), but it best fits the advanced requirements. We completed our “beachy grilling shack” when we first moved into our house several years back.

I love how this came out. It is a wonderful place to hang out most of the year. We tried to bring the feeling of the islands we visited on our honeymoon to Colorado with this. We often have dinner out on the bar top, and we built “pop ins” which go into the window openings in the winter.”

carphentry_advanced

Winnie Nielsen says:

August 14, 2016 at 5:01 am

Oh my goodness, Sarah, what fantastic work you did for these badge levels!! Congratulations on all of your new spaces. I especially love your craft and sewing room. Wow, what a great job you did on creating storage and work spaces to meet your needs. I bet you enjoy working in there now that everything has a place and you have room to spread out and do your projects.

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Sally Bush says:

August 14, 2016 at 9:53 am

Congrats! It is beautiful, fun and adorable! Great job!

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Catherine says:

August 15, 2016 at 1:05 pm

The family that hammers together; stays together. You & your husband nailed it!!!!! Congrats

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Young Cultivators Merit Badge: Know Your Food, Beginner Level

Posted on August 14, 2016 by mbajane

The adorable, always humorous MBA Jane is my way of honoring our Sisterhood Merit Badge program, now with 7,050 dues-paying members who have earned an amazing number of merit badges so far—10,044 total! Take it away, MBA Jane!!! ~MaryJane

Wondering who I am? I’m Merit Badge Awardee Jane (MBA Jane for short). In my former life…

For this week’s Farm Kitchen/Know Your Food Beginner Level Young Cultivator Merit Badge, I snagged Nora. No, literally. I snagged her as she wandered by on her way to the mini-mart, munching on a bag of High Fructose Corn Syrup Coco Frosted Sugar Bombs. She looked a little dazed and confused, but I attributed that to the sugar coma I just woke her up from.

“Hey, Nora!” said I, proudly showing off the biggest watermelon in my patch.

Her eyes lit up with something that resembled a sign of life. “Cool. I like watermelon. Watermelon fruit snacks, watermelon Jell-o, watermelon gum, watermelon Kool-Aid, watermelon Jolly Ranchers, watermel …“

“And, watermelon, right?”

Photo by Steve Evans via Wikimedia Commons

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Winnie Nielsen says:

August 14, 2016 at 5:08 am

I can’t figure out why kids love the artificial melon flavors in candy. They are so gross to me! Give me real fruit any day. Real fruits offer such an array of flavors and colors to appeal to many who are willing to give them a try. The snack Carrie made last May for your Young Cultivators meeting was especially creative. She had cored circular apple slices topped with peanut butter and blueberries. They were so inviting looking and the girls seemed quite happy to munch them down without question. Yum!

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Hear Ye!

Posted on August 7, 2016 by maryjane

Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)

Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)

My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is … Cyrie Wilson!!!

Cyrie Wilson (Pixiedustdevil , #6941) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a Beginner Level Aprons Merit Badge!

Continue reading →

Winnie Nielsen says:

August 7, 2016 at 5:23 am

Cyrie, your apron turned out just darling! What a splendid sewing job you did. I Love how you used different colors and the lace to make it fun, flirty, and Farmgirl perfect!

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Cindi says:

August 7, 2016 at 6:47 pm

That is so cute!! You are brave to dive in like that without a pattern ~ elevated to hero status in my book to have ripped it all out and started over again!

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Young Cultivators Merit Badge: Outpost/Rocks and Minerals, Beginner Level

Posted on August 7, 2016 by mbajane

Wondering who I am? I’m Merit Badge Awardee Jane (MBA Jane for short). In my former life…

For this week’s Outpost/Rocks and Minerals Beginner Level Merit Badge, I needed to learn the difference between rocks and minerals.

Mineral collection, Nature History Museum, Vienna. Photo by Dr. Bernd Gross via Wikimedia Commons.

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Winnie Nielsen says:

August 7, 2016 at 5:29 am

Rocks and minerals have always been interesting to me. Whenever I pick up a stone or see a big bolder, I immediately want to know the geological history of how it came to be. The stories of our planet are wrapped up in these interesting bits and pieces of time. One of the activities I love to do when I visit a national park, is read the marquis throughout the areas about how the space developed over time. Rocks and minerals are what we have left that testify to great fires, ice ages, raging waters, and shifting tectonic plates. These are the stories of us and I love to read and explore them.

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Karlyne says:

August 11, 2016 at 12:18 pm

Dumb as a box of rocks has always seemed wrong to me… I love rocks! And minerals…

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LISA VONSAUNDER- seed woman says:

August 12, 2016 at 6:53 am

I was a rockhound from my earliest days. I used to have quite a collection for a kid, and my parents were always horrified I’d spend my allowance buying minerals. I liked geodes the best , where the crystals are in the inside. I still have a few on display right in my living room now. My birthstone is amethyst and I have a big slab of them . And then there is the ” ARKANSAS DIAMOND”- my prized possession of my childhood. My grandmother collected big quartz crystals there in AK, and gave me one and I thought it was a real diamond!

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- Karlyne says:
  
  August 12, 2016 at 7:21 am
  
  Kids have such a fascination for rocks! My grandkidlets love to head to our local junk store, The Bottomless Pit, where the owners give them great deals on rocks and tell them the history of them, too. It’s seriously sweet!
  
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