Wacky, Crazy, Zany, Whoa...What a Day

Saying today was a busy one in the shop is like saying Mickey Mouse is moderately popular! I mean wow!



I arrived at the shop 30 minutes prior to opening as usual and started setting up my outdoor displays when an out of state car pulled in. Very nice lady, never been to our shop before just discovered it in passing. I turned on the lights and let her come on in while I sat everything up.



The next thing I know the parking lot is full of cars, the store is full of customers and its not even time to officially open yet! When my sis arrived around 11:00 she had to park in the side parking where the residents in the apts above park!



My breakfast was still sitting on my desk when I closed to leave the shop tonight! Golly what a blessed busy day! Lots of first timers, some repeats, and a bunch of regulars!!!! God is so good!



All the shoppers seemed excited to find I will be open from 11-2 this Sunday during the Putnam County Homecoming celebration!!!! I hope to have some samples available of some of the food items we sell also!



Some of our local artisans stopped by today, Sandra, Tammy and Tony. Two of them dropped off new items, while the third checked to see what we were low on! Its so wonderful to have these talented people creating items for our shop! Our customers love the handcrafted one of a kind items the best of all our merchandise!



We got a shipment of great mini flags, flag stoppers and flag poles in today! Fall, Halloween and other types! Too cute!!!! More shipments are coming in now weekly!!!!

Dont forget that Sunday is also Buffalo High School Basketball Boosters big fundraiser! The golf tournament will be held that day and there is still time to sign up. Just call our shop at 304-586-3311 and ask for Terry and she can set you up!


Prayer List-





Lest we forget...
























Larry Angle Sr, my sister Terrys father in law has blockages in both major arteries going to his brain. One is 70% clogged the other is 90% clogged. This has caused him to have two small strokes recently. He is undergoing tests currently to see what the doctors can do about the blockages. He has never been sick before so this is a shock for the whole family. Please keep them all in your prayers, especially my brother in law, Terrys husband Larry Jr.



Virgie Payne, who owns the produce stand "Paynes Produce" in Winfield has not been feeling too well and is now in Putnam General Hospital for some tests. Please add her to your prayer list, she is 82 years old and has been a resident of Winfield for many years and was a former cook at Winfield High. She is one of the hardest working women anyone could ever know and well loved and respected in the community by all.



Deb Hodges and her son Seth, as the military prepares him to go oversees. Deb is having real trouble knowing he is leaving soon and as a momma this has to be one of the toughest things you could do. Please keep them in your prayers and give her an extra squeeze if you see her.




Take care and stop in soon!!!!

Just A Taste of Some New Unique Items

Please forgive my less than great lighting on some of these pics but I was in a hurry to share some of them with you!

SOLD!!! THANKS!!!


This picture is the top of a coffee table primmed out in house by Terry today! Wont last in the shop long... someone will take it home before the weekend is my guess!















This cute pumpkin stack was painted and decorated in house by Terry and built by Ron from St. Albans.
































This cute cat sampler quilt was created by Kathy from Scott Depot. The matching pillow has already sold before I could even get a picture!



























This painting on a vintage window was done by a Charleston area artisan and it wont be in the shop long!





























This console table just arrived. It was created by a Red House area furniture maker!

The last one he made similar to this only sat in this spot for two days before it was purchased! Dont miss this one!

























This prim stretched pumpkin and two others just arrived in shop from Cross Lanes this afternoon! They wont be here long!

























This red chair was created by an Eleanor area craftswoman, and the white jack o lantern with the witch hat arrived today from Cross Lanes.


SOLD!!! THANKS!!!
















These and many more unique items are waiting for you to discover this week! Please dont wait to long to stop in and see them, they wont be here long!

See you soon!


P. S. SAVE THE DATE- OCTOBER 24- 25 COUNTRY GATHERINGS FALL/WINTER OPEN HOUSE IS COMING!


YOU DONT WANT TO MISS IT!


MORE DETAILS WILL BE FORTHCOMING IN FUTURE BLOGS AND BY EMAIL!


GET ON THE EMAIL LIST BY EMAILING THE SHOP AT countrygatheringsdeb@yahoo.com!

Remodeling Pictures

I promised I would try to show you a few pics of the changes we have finished in the shop this weekend and here goes...

This view is the new placement of the counter you should recognize the Swan Creek candle displaynext to it and this should give you a landmark to get a feel for where the counter is now. Much roomier and no one standing in line gets hit with the front door!






This view of the counter was taken just inside the front doorway. This shows the straight in shot of the new counter location.

This picture is the old location of the counter. It has been wallpapered and reset to double as an area that customers can use when looking at our special order merchandise catalogs and as a display area for furniture.

You can see the front window and the office door in this picture to give you landmarks.

This picture shows the new quilt display rack my hubby and brother in law built for the shop. They made it from an antique porch bannister! It looks great and functions really well! This view is from our basement storage area steps! This area is right across from the greeting card display in the small alcove next to the restroom door.












These are just a few basic pictures to show you some of the changes we have made, but more changes are coming so stay tuned!

Lots more improvements are in the works! We have been watching and listening to the needs of our customers and we are more than happy to accomodate them!

Stop by soon and see how nice the changes are!

Changes...Improvements....Beautification

Today I did some much needed work at the shop with assistance from the Hubs and then later in the afternoon my sis Terry and her hubby came to help also.

We made some very much needed changes that will ease the traffic flow problems that we were experiencing in the entryway in the shop. Before if you remember, when several people were standing at the checkout at the same time they had to angle away from the door so as not to get bumped when someone came into the shop. That problem has now been solved! We have moved the checkout to a much better and roomier place.

Our customers will also have a place to spend time looking at our special order light, curtain, rug and furniture catalogs and swatches now. We have set up a small area in the from room for this purpose too. This will help us all!

We gals hung some wallpaper while the guys built a large quilt display on one wall that they created from an antique porch rail. It makes use of the space really well and all our current quilt supply is showcased there, hand made and factory made as well.

During the early part of the day new friends Emily & Eric from St Albans brought us a truckload of vintage 1940's windows that are awesome! We have several sizes for sale now and we will create some unique items from some of them also I am sure. Thanks to our old friend Kathy for hooking us up with Eric & Emily! Im sure we will see Emily again in the shop soon! She enjoyed her sneak preview first visit!

Tomorrow we have a design consult in Hurricane for a customer then we will return to the shop to make some more changes and give it a good cleaning before the next huge shipment comes in this week!

If I get a chance when we are done tomorrow I will post some sneak preview pics of some of the changes! But you will have to stop by to see the rest yourself!

This coming weekend is the Annual Putnam County Homecoming and we will open the shop a few hours on Sunday in the afternoon for the folks who will be attending the days events at the courthouse. Probably will be open between 11- 2 that day if you want to bring a friend and stop by!

Hope to see you all soon!

Going, Going , Gone or Another Nice Day in the Neighborhood

So you were gonna pop into the shop this weekend... and buy this unique "Vintage" piece of artwork made by one of our local artisans from a vintage shutter and circa 1920 newspaper clippings were you?

Oops Wrong...... it sold today!

Maybe you decided this weekend would be the perfect time for you to take this vintage metal baby bed home with you to love huh?


Nope, wrong again my friend, it sold to a doll collector yesterday!





So you got a quick chance to see this gorgeous hand painted one of a kind chair this week and you said,



"Oh my gosh I have to go to Country Gatherings on Saturday and pick that up before someone else snaps it up,"

..........ahem well it looks like you waited a wee bit to long on it too I'm afraid!

In fact I think I could have sold it 7-9 more times today alone!!!!



These and many other unique items were snapped up this week in the shop! Like I tell all my customers new and old, a lot of our items are one of a kind, either vintage finds or handmade items and they don't stay around long!!!



Please don't make the mistake of waiting to buy that something special that caught your eye the last time you visited the shop or it may be to late! I hate to see the disappointed look on someones face when they come back to pick up that wonderful one of a kind item they saw on their last visit and its gone.



There are also new items arriving every week. Today we brought in a shipment of candles, and potpourri refresher oils and some neat vintage finds and we will be bringing in more tomorrow.



Next week we will be receiving a HUGE load of Fall, Halloween, Thanksgiving and more items......including some shhhhhh....items for THAT HOLIDAY!!!! ;)



We have made lots of new friends this week as well as visited with many of our regular customers/ friends and its been another blessed one! Its sooo nice to meet new customers who say they have been referred by others, as well as visit again with our regulars.



This next week all of our customers should see some more surprises in the store in the way of some structural and display changes too! We will be working on some traffic flow problems, setting up an area for you to be able to look at catalogs and place special orders and addressing a crowded entry way as well! I think you too will appreciate the changes!



Stop in the shop soon to say hello or pick up that wonderful item that's just perfect to complete your home! Dont wait!!!!

Sneak Previews

Isn't this rustic piece gorgeous??? Its been handcrafted to resemble an antique icebox....and its just wonderful!

Its exterior was made from wood recycled from an old standing barn...the interior is all finished wood that prevents your items stored inside from splinters or snags!
SOLD!!!! THANKS!!!
Just another beautiful example of some of the unique one of a kind items from local artisans that you can find in our shop....do you wanna see more????

OK.....keep reading!!!!









This beautiful set of two chairs and round table shown here is currently in the shop. It was handcrafted locally and painted, primmed and stained in the shop.
ONLY ONE CHAIR LEFT THE REST SOLD!!!
It was created by a local artisan and modeled after pieces seen on a recent trip to Amish country in Ohio. Don't miss these! This set wont last long! The hand rubbed finish Terry put on it is to die for! The table top has a Country Gatherings exclusive design and its truly one of a kind!

Our current blog is being interrupted by breaking news...............................................

Oh my goodness... it looks as though....it might be... yes I believe it has....oh my goodness...we've melted her!!!!!!

Lions and tigers and bears ...oh my!!!!!!

Wonder which witch...if any...we have melted.....hmmmmmm looks very suspicious....one might have to stop in the shop to see if a witch has come up missing....maybe reported missing my the Missing Witches Bureau??? ehhhh heee hee heee

What else could you possibly see if we stopped in the shop you might ask ???? Hmm well ...sorry not this lovely primitive blanket chest shown below... this beautiful one of a kind piece was handcrafted and painted by Terry this past week and sold before the paint even dried!!!! Sorry you missed this lovely chest! It was gorgeous! Everyone who had a chance to see it loved it!

This ghoulish trio has popped into the shop lately and they just cant wait to slip home with someone to help stir up a wonderfully unique Halloween......

Some of their friends have already slipped off to join familys of their own.......

muahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

The shop has been very busy, lots of Fall goodies, more antiques, new one of a kind items arriving daily! New in store made items! New consigners!!!

One new consigner is Kathy Beer of Kathy's Kreations. Kathy's work was formerly showcased in Sunbeam House in Barboursville, and also in Timeless Treasures formerly located in St Albans.

Her work is well known locally and all hand sewn, every stitch a labor of love! We are thrilled to have her with us!

Stop in soon to see the pieces she brought us today! With her quality and pricing her items are guaranteed to move fast!

Prayer list-

Julies sister Amy had a heart attack and a stroke this past week and she needs our prayers. She has a 6 yr old son so please pray that Mama returns to her old self soon!

Also continue to pray for Deb Hodges dad Bud. Bud is awaiting further work on an aneurysm.

Please continue to keep Linda Scantlins family in your prayers after her passing. They need your support!

Keep popping into the shop there's always something new to see! We are planning all kinds of new things for you to enjoy! We will even be making some major changes inside the store this next week so keep popping in!!!!!

Bye for now!

Blessings Blessings and More Blessings

Holy Cow! When I opened my email this evening I found an email from Hattie at Hatties Workshop! Here's what it said...

"Congratulations you have won our Aug. Drawing!!
Dena from Piney Woods Primitives will be in contact with
You soon! Thank you and God Bless, Brenda/Hattie"
www.hattiesworkshop.com
www.hatties-u-design-it-com
www.countryprimitivemarketplace.com
www.primsisterstalkradio.com
www.primsistershoppe.com
www.theprimpattern.com
www.oldcrowsauction.com

Wow Wow Wow! I love their website and I entered their drawing on a whim never dreamed I would win something! Cant wait to see what I have won! I will keep you all posted!
Meanwhile check out their websites above for some neat stuff!

Stop in the shop soon! Its jampacked full of neat goodies, I betcha you cant just look and not take something home with you!!!!! Betcha!!!

See ya soon!