Miniature Feed Sacks Tutorial

The only things worth doing are the things we do for others. ~Alice

I absolutely love sharing my miniature creations with you!  Any time I have an idea and begin a miniature project I am thinking about sharing with you.  I know there are really fancy minis out there and artist that are much better at it than me!  But I'm simple and was taught at an extremely early age to use what I've got to create.  I am so happy that you take your time to visit and learn and I truly hope that you have tried and made some of my creations that I share.  Thank you for being here!!!  If you have made anything from my blog please take a picture and share it on Instagram with the hashtag #peppysis.  And if you want to be friends on Insta my handle is hulseyshideout.  Or click HERE

And now... on to my feed sack tutorial!  

This is another project that was so easy that I just wanted to keep going and make more and more of!

If you saw my Miniature Paper Rugs tutorial (found HERE), these are made in much the same fashion.  AND I have done some of the work for you already by creatin a printable for you XO!  I will say right now that I do not own the images on the printable.  I simply found pictures of feed sacks on Pinterest and Yahoo images and put them together.

Here they are!

Begin by copying and pasting the following picture onto your PC and printing it.  Or you can do your own search for whatever kind of feed sacks you need.  All of these are chicken feed sacks.

After you print out the sheet be sure and spray the images with a clear coat.  If you don't the glue will fade out the pictures and make the colors run.  Next, cut out each feed sack leaving about a quarter of an inch border around the image.

Just like making the rugs, wad and flatten your paper several times as shown in the next few pics.

When they are as soft as you like, fold the edges in and made a fold down the middle of the picture (between the front and back of the feed sack).  Leave the top unfolded for now.  Glue the sides and bottom together only on the folds.

And you have a sack that is open at the top.

Next, take your finger and fold in the top that will be glued together after you fill it.

 I use The filler sand below that I purchased at Hobby Lobby.  I use it to fill pillows and all sorts of things.  For the feed sacks you can use whatever you've got... sand, dry dirt.. whatever!

Use a small funnel to insert the sand into your feed sack and then glue the top folds together. 

TaaDaa!  A feed sack.

To finish them up you can dry brush a little brown paint on the edges and some over the outside for dimension.

You can also leave one open on the top and make a tiny scoop.  Just use glue with the filler sand so it doesn't spill out. 

For the tiny scoop I used the same method as my vintage paint brushes but added a cut piece of paper straw and painted it.

So if you need a sweet feed sack you can make some today!  

Please share with me if you do.  I'd love to see them!!

XOXO

And here's me and a very sleepy Rue

Awww!

In Memory

Bless. I am saddened to report that our dear sweet Cotton Bottom is no longer with us.  Apparently, and it doesn't surprise me with snow on the ground for a week now, that something, a possum I expect, was pretty hungry last night and found it's way to our girl.  Cotton was the only chicken we have had for over a year now and was one of the finest layers I have ever met.  Not to mention one who laid the biggest eggs I'd ever seen.  Although I admit I don't get attached in my heart to our strictly outdoor animals around here simply because they are more vulnerable to hungry wildlife when we aren't looking.  It's just part of having them and I have to understand that.  I am sad but more in a smile way for the way she was and her personality than a sad and crying way.  When you have farm animals it just is that way.  I enjoyed taking care of her and getting to know her as our lone chicken for so long.  However, this does open up the possibility of getting a larger flock.  I didn't want to introduce new chickens and was protective of her because when you mix new chickens in with existing chickens they can tend to bully especially if they are already familiar with each other and I liked her and respected her enough to not want to expose her to that.

She actually spent the night in the shop two of the coldest nights and days this past week with the warmth of the heater and Miss Kitty's company and she had her usual appetite back from where she had molted during January.  We have been blessed with a couple of really sweet chickens during the last several years of raising hens and she was for sure a sweet soul.  I would carry her around and she would talk to me in her own way.  She loved bathing in the loose garden soil and when we'd take a walk along side the shop lifting rocks and looking for worms.  Ok.. now I'm getting emotional... a little.  Enough said.  Cotton Bottom will for sure be missed.

I used this picture in the calendar I made for my family this year and it brought home a ribbon in the county fair in 2014.

Shaun recently let her out to roam for a couple of hours only to find that he couldn't find her when it was time to put her up.  Oddly enough he could find Kate either.  Turns out they were both taking a nap in Kate's dog house.  How sweet.

Around Here

Around Here... it's been cold... icy... and snowy... finally!  Not the cold.. I could do without that.  But if it's gonna be cold it might as well snow.  It's Wednesday and I finally have kids arriving at the day care.  I was honestly ready to come back to work after five days off.  Here's a few pics from around here.


This is chicken salad.  Not like the chicken salad that goes on croissants.  This salad is for the chicken!  Since she has finished molting and is looking a lot healthier her appetite has become a lot healthier too.  This sis really mainly scraps of lettuce, spinach and wheat grass with chopped tomato, blueberries, kidney beans and torn whole grain bread ends.  She's been gobbling it up!  Today I included brown rice for her.  Shaun said "all this needs is a little salad dressing."

I was getting all set up to read in front of our warm gas logs that ran for a whole minute before cutting off.  My awesome brother-in-law came over and fixed them for us.  A broken source of alternate heat is not good is the electricity goes off.

Believe me... as pitiful as she looks she did this to herself.  Her whole back is covered in ice and snow from tossing toys around and diving for them.  I think her hair under her chin looks like a catfish.  She had a thawing out in the warm shop before coming back in the house.

I bit of snow falling.  Not as much as they were predicting but enough to play in.

Play hardly ever ceases with this girl.

Put cruising around.

Looking for a barn for my fair picture this year.  I think this is a good one.  For sure a unique one.

On The Menu

I've heard that an open bottle of wine doesn't have a very long shelf life.  Especially when you over indulged with the first bottle and thought a second bottle would be a good idea.  Turns out the next day... it wasn't such a good idea.  I keep mine corked and in the fridge and usually don't finish a bottle in a glass but prefer to use wine in recipes.  I will never get tired of the way cooking with wine makes my house smell.  Lucky for me The Pioneer Woman just happened to post a recipe on facebook from 2009 for short ribs that uses two cups of dry red wine.  Bingo!  A use for the rest that second bottle cause I shore ain't gonna touch it otherwise for a while!  I seriously just spelled the same way that I talk.  I love it! Here's a pic and a link to her recipe and a few more.  The chicken with tomatoes and garlic is absolutely one of my favorite recipes to make.  I have thighs in the fridge right now for this very reason.

Braised Short Ribs

Photo and recipe credit: ThePioneerWoman.com      

and my favorite.

Chicken with Tomatoes and Garlic

Photo and recipe credit: ThePioneerWoman.com      

Burgundy Mushrooms

Photo and recipe credit: ThePioneerWoman.com      

And here's a fantastic recipe using white wine that I've made a bunch.

Lemon Chicken Cutlets

Photo and recipe credit: marthastewart.com                        

And now a few of my own.

Rabbit in Mustard Sauce

Venison Minute Steaks

A Quick Marinade

weekend shots

What a busy weekend it twas!  Yard sailing Friday morning before picking Katie bug up at the vet from being spade, working outside at home, library, grocery, then topping it off with a birthday party for my Mom and sister Tracy... who have the same birth date.  Beautiful weather... funny how the cold isn't bothering me anymore.  Mainly because I know it's not staying.  I love it!

Yard sale quilt.  I like the red bandana parts.  $3

New to me wagon.  I already used it trimming my rose bushes.

Kate and her cone.  She was NOT happy about it.  We took it off Saturday afternoon and she didn't bother her stitches once.

I was redoing decor on the porch, went in and through the basement to bring up a coffee table and couldn't find Cotton.  I walked around the house and looked everywhere but inside the house.  Then here she came out the front door.  Guess that's what I get for leaving it open listening to Bill Monroe.

Shaun, making a heavy duty bumper for his work truck.... pretty slick.

My kitchen window hangings

Good pic of my boy.

Silly chicken... she pooped right there on her way out.

Birthday girls!

We got my Mom tickets to Wicked!