FREE Blog Background And Take A Walk With Us

Designs on My Mind

I'm currently doing a blog design/set up for my friend Susie, and we haven't quite found the right background yet. We will. That said, I have blog backgrounds on the brain, and now you can have it on your blog.  Ribbon Weave is a free blog background you can use for your blog.  Very pretty combination of pinks ribbons and woven turquoise shades. I tried it on the Muse and it looked nifty. I'm sure it will look lovely on your blog too.



Just right click and save to your computer and upload in Blogger (or whatever blog platform you're on). Via blogger, go to template design, choose background, and upload image. It's best used centered, but you can try it anyway you like. Thanks for being here.

Another Beautiful Day: Take a Walk With Us

The hound and I were off the field last night. He was being a bit cheeky.... running away from me, not listening (selective hearing)......you know the gig if you have a dog. Despite his antics, it was a lovely walk.

Sun shining bright, greener than green grass. Dew droplets shinging in the light. Milkweed that looked like slivers of glass.  Butterfly perfectly posing.

I hope you had as nice an end to your day yesterday.

Sunset Meadows

I turned around in the field, and the sun was glinting off one of the barn windows. Doesn't it look like it's on the barn? Love it. 

The sun saying goodbye.

I do hope you have a wonderful Tuesday.  Mine is chock full. My desk is a mess and my list is long including marketing for 3D clients and shipping a pretty Shakespeare Country plate out.  What do you have on the books today?

A big shout out to everyone who has been so great in leaving the most thoughtful and kind comments. It really makes my day.

Ciao for now.



As Promised....Another FREE Printable. Hello Bloggers!

Disorganization Bug Got Your Blog Down?

Rid yourself of that pest with a simple blog planner I've designed for you. Actually, I designed for myself because I needed it (really, I did), and thought you might too.

This is a weekly blog planner designed for 8.5x11 sheet of paper that will fit nicely into a 3 ring binder. I'm BIG on 3 ring binders.....I've got at least one for each client (beyond our etsy shop- Bates Mercantile Co. - I've owned my own advertising, marketing and pr business for 17+ years).  Binders help me...........you guessed it, stay organized. Well, relatively organized.

The free printable planner has a place for the week's date, your daily post ideas and notes, any guest posts you're doing on other blogs, guest posts you're hosting and a spot for next weeks ideas.  As you can see, I'm already using mine.

If you're a blogger, trust me........you need this. Just click the image and save to your computer or copy and paste into a document. Print, punch holes, fill out and blog away!  In case you hadn't noticed, I also started to organize the free printables available on Mercantile Muse on their own dedicated page so they're easy to find. 

Click away.

If you like our free printables and the rest of the blog, why not follow us? You can do so via google, or you can subscribe via email and receive Mercantile Muse in your inbox, or you can get the Muse via feed......all three options are in the column to the right.  I'd really appreciate it if you'd tell your friends about Mercantile Muse too.

A Shout Out To Some Fellow Bloggers

First, Courtney Jo at TheEverythingAboutSoap blog. Let me first say, Courtney Jo blogs about much more than the gorgeous soaps she makes. Secondly, take a look at these pecan turtles she made and blogged about yesterday. See what I mean? More than soap. These turtles are looking like some good eatin'. Plus, Courtney Jo blogs, makes natural soaps and cooks turtles all while corralling twins. Yeehaw cowgirl!

copyright theeverythingsoapblog

While you're checking out her turtle recipe, take a look at today's post. It's got a GIGANTIC list of giveaways!! Fun, fun, fun.

Secondly, ByTheBookPaper's Kristen has been nice enough to interview me for an upcoming feature.  When the date is set, I'll give you a heads up. You might find out something about me that you didn't already know. Today, for you tea lovers, Kristen has featured a great how too for a traveling tea wallet for your tea bags. Being the tea drinker I am, I love this idea - perfect for my suitcase! Of course, I need a new sewing machine to get that project done though. Never the less. If you have a sewing machine and like tea, head on over to the tutorial.

Next, another big THANKS to Jaime at Crafty, Scrappy, Happy for featuring my chair makeover on her blog this week and also a giveaway of one of my printables. I received so much wonderful feedback on our shop.

Yesterday Jaime hosted another blogger, Lucy from Craftberry Bush, and her tutorial was AWESOME and I have to share.  Love the hot look of antlers but can't afford them? Well, check these out!

copyright craftberrybush

Lucy's tutorial on Crafty, Scrappy, Happy rocks. You just won't believe it.

If you visit any of these blogs, please tell them I sent you!

Sunset Meadows

Hey, did you notice........not a lot of sunset meadows pics this week? Been kind of rainy and gray.  Hopefully that won't last too long. Here's one from the files, just because I can.

This was from March, so as you can see........our sunset here are brilliant all year.

S.H.I.T.!!!! As Gar says. So Happens It's Thursday! Enjoy every minute of it.

Ciao for now~

Another FREE Printable & A Bear

Paying It Forward

I'm a big proponent of paying it forward, spreading good karma and the like. I also think it's important to say thank you. So, in keeping with that I'd like to say thank you for being here and thank you for following.

I've designed a lovely set of gift cards just for you!  They are based on my chinese lantern design, that was waiting to be turned into something special. Gift tags are it!

There are three different tag designs, and two different sizes......regular and mini.

So if you'd like to print these gift tags, just click on the image below and save to your computer or copy and paste into a file.  They've been designed to be used on an 8.5x11 sheet of paper.

You could even print them on a full label sheet and stick them on a present. Whatever you like my dear followers. It's all up to you! Please note: I am happy to provide these freebies to you, but for your personal use only. Thank you.

And, since I don't seem to have the capability to offer it to you as a pdf via the blog (still looking into that- if anyone has tips, I am all ears) , I'd be more than happy to provide it to you that way if you send me an email.

Lions, and tigers, and bears, oh my.

OK, no lions or tigers. Just a bear. One bear.

Yesterday, even though it was Labor Day here in the States, I really wanted some 'creative' time. Which to me, isn't work. It's a happy place. So create I did. I showed you my You Are Here printable design yesterday (now available at Bates Mercantile Co.).  Today, introducing my latest printable wall art design......'Hey. Today is going to be a great day.'

That bear just makes me happy.

The best part is, I designed this illustration with a picture I'd seen of a real bear in mind, and the bear was sitting just like that. Too funny.

I hope you enjoyed the weekend in your corner of the world. Our weekend was full and lots of fun.

And 'hey. today is going to be a great day.' wherever you are, and here in Stratham. 

Free & Cheesey

Friday Freebies

Since it's Friday, which means of course that there is good reason to celebrate, I thought I'd give you lovely followers a 'Friday Freebie'.  OK, two Friday Freebies. 

These two designs were made for 4"x2" labels, but you can do whatever you'd like with them.

I've already used the pink one, as you can see, on my Bates Mercantile Co. file. And the label even matches my toes. Sweet!

Just click right on the label designs below to save the image to your computer. 

How cute would this be to label things in a little girl's room?

And I think this gray one would look super in a pantry. 

But they're yours to do as you wish. Just a little thanks for being here.


A Day Without Cheese.........You're kidding, right?

Monday morning, after we'd been away for three days, I went to get milk for my tea only to find it was a little sour smelling.  Bummer. Wait, not a bummer. I remembered that I had read this recipe for making cheese from sour milk on LeVoyageCreatif.

Straight from Marie's typing hands to my mouth. Gar and I declare it good stuff. I thank her for sharing this recipe on her blog.

How to make the cheese:

Ingredients

Sour milk or kefir

Herbs

Salt

Pepper

Garlic

How to:

Pour the amount of kefir or milk in a pot and heat it up slowly.

You don’t need to stir.

(Marie is right, you really don't need to stir. It just does it's own thing.)

When it boils ever so slightly let it simmer till the cheese curds has separated from the milk water.

When the cheese curds are all gathered at the top of the milk water, pour the content over a sifter and let the curds lump up while draining the milk water.

(See how the curds all gathered and left the milk water at the bottom of the pot?

Cool, right?)

(Sorry this is blurry, I was interrupted by a lost doggie. I found his owner and walked him back home, but in the flurry of excitement, missed getting a decent picture)

When left with only cheese curds pour it over in a bowl and mix it with whatever spices or herbs you like.

(I used oregano, chives, thyme and lemon balm from the garden, and of course some sea salt and crushed pepper for good measure.)

Mix well and store with a lid in the fridge.

How's this for my first try? Looking and tasting mighty fine if I do say so myself. Thanks again to Marie for the recipe. Check out the little crock/bowl Marge also scored at the yard sale.....cute and perfect for my first batch of homemade cheese.

The cheese is fairly mild. Marie says after a few days it takes on a more mature flavor. Ready to have some for our usual Friday Night Appetizer Fest.

I hope you have a great weekend where you are. Got any plans? Tonight we're thinking campfire out back in the fire pit, and tomorrow we're gonna dance the night away at our friend Pearl's 50th birthday pah-TEE. Whoop Whoop!! I do LOVE to dance!