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COUNTRY PORCH
February 2006 Newsletter
Be My Valentine

Greetings from The Porch!

Up here in the northwest February arrives cold and fickle. It's the month of freeze and thaw, love, valentines, red roses, candy hearts, sweethearts, cabin fever and change.

Where we love is home,
Home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts.

~ Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
Homesick in Heaven


Consider the love of home; about cleaning out those drawers and cabinets, about the energy of change. We can't wait any longer to show you all the NEW patterns . . . they're gorgeous! Think romance, vintage, country, cottage garden, Americana, whimsy, beach house, primitive, cabin and retro. Here at The Country Porch, we've got all the comforts of home.

Have nothing in your homes that you do not know to be useful and believe to be beautiful.
~ William Morris
Father of Arts and Crafts Movement


We invite you to put the kettle on and get cozy because we have many, many NEW patterns and NEW ceramics, country style curtains, shower curtains, tie-up curtain valances and window swag curtains to browse. Look for our New Favorites, Quilt of the Month, Decorating Ideas, Candle Club and Seasonal Recipes. Oh, and don't forget to bookmark so you can find your way back home!

Out of clutter, find simplicity.
~ Albert Einstein

News Break!

We are thrilled to introduce our new affordable Yellow Ware from Park Designs. A staple of the 1800s kitchen, they have become some of the most popular of all collectible kitchen items and as they grow in popularity so does their price.

Made of stoneware, our collection is microwave, dishwasher, oven and freezer safe. Generously shaped and ribbed, it has a food safe crackle finish and is accented with navy and cream banded styles first introduced in the 1840's.

Visit our entire Ceramics Pottery online catalog for more NEW patterns.

Yellow Ware Ceramic Pottery
 

English Garden Kitchen Decorating Theme

English Garden
English Garden is a new Park Designs ORIGINAL DESIGN of profusely blooming cottage roses in shades of salmon and accented with moss entwined on a yellow background.

Water quilted placemats, table runners and baskets have the added detail of pretty scalloped edges, as do the dishtowels, half aprons, tablecloths, shower curtains, swags, valances and tiers. Chair pads are flounced with a ruffled skirt.

For more cottage garden ideas visit our Kitchen Decorating Themes catalog, country style tieback curtains, curtain valances and window swag curtains.

 

Apple Cobbler
Bushels of yummy embroidered apples pair up in Park Designs' homespun plaid of cranberry red, country green and tan with a dab of mustard. This great collection makes decorating easy with its full tabletop collection, window treatments, lampshades and chair pads.

Apple Cobbler ceramics decorated with apples and bordered in basket weave coordinate beautifully with our Red Chicken Wire Collection, red Chamberstick candleholders and Apple antique brass napkin rings.

For more cream of the crop ideas visit our Kitchen Decorating Themes catalog, country style tieback curtains, curtain valances and window swag curtains.

Apple Cobbler Kitchen Decorating Theme
 
Haystack Kitchen Decorating Theme

Haystack
This delightful homespun small plaid from Park Designs is as hard to find as a needle in a haystack! A quiet player in the scheme of things, Haystack packs a design wallop in our favorite country colors of red, bordering on wine, and hues of warm tans.

It's the perfect partner for our NEW whimsical Farm Rooster Ceramic Collection. Now tell us, how happy is that!

Haystack is a mixer, try it with our Red Chicken Wire Collection, Rise 'n Shine Ceramics and Village Bakeware.

Or visit our Kitchen Decorating Themes catalog, country style tieback curtains, curtain valances and window swag curtains for more country ideas.

 

Black Pepper
This bold homespun check from Park Designs and the newest pattern in the Spice Cabinet Collection is peppered with autumn hues of black, cinnamon, cocoa, russet brown and mustard.

Black Pepper mingles beautifully with our black iron home accessories, napkin rings and black Village Bakeware. We think it's also perfect for that little cabin in the woods or 50's rustic look.

For more spicy ideas visit Kitchen Decorating Themes, country style tieback curtains, curtain valances and window swag curtains.

Black Pepper Kitchen Decorating Theme
 
Mustard Seed Kitchen Decorating Theme

Mustard Seed
Our new homespun plaid from Park Designs makes a mighty statement with its dusky country colors of firebrick, sage, tan, cornflower and camel.

Everything you need to decorate your country home or lodge is right here, including our NEW Mustard Seed layered lined valances and shower curtain. It's a good mixer and we love it with Village Ceramics and Bakeware in Olive, Persimmon or Dijon and with our Red Chicken Wire Collection.

For more spicy ideas visit our Spice Cabinet Collection or change scenery with Kitchen Decorating Themes, country style tieback curtains, curtain valances and window swag curtains.

 

Montana
Life looms large and hard-working in Montana, including Park Designs' bold homespun plaid from the High Country Collection. It comes in all the rich colors one would expect at the table of a working ranch . . . fire brick, black, moss and taupe.

Stay in rhythm with the natural landscape and our natural iron candle home accessories, iron napkin rings or Village Bakeware in olive or black.

For more big sky ideas visit Kitchen Decorating Themes, country style tieback curtains, curtain valances and window swag curtains.

Montana Kitchen Decorating Theme
 

Valentine Quilt
 

Ava
Sweetly innocent. A gentle wash of garden hues in shades of cranberry, pink and sage compliment the soft 100% cottons chosen for this collection. A gently scalloped border of cabbage roses frames petite rosebuds and country ticking with their companions of homespun plaids, stripes and checks.

Complete your cocoon with oodles of comfort with matching throw and pillow shams from Victorian Heart and call it a day!

For more nesting material visit Victorian Heart and C & F Enterprises.

Ava Quilt
 

Meanwhile back at The Porch, the winter thaw persists and we continue to be busy. However, we're never TOO busy to bake up a batch of cookies, wrap them in a country dishtowel and knock on our neighbor's backdoor.

Valentine Sugar Cookies

1 ½ c powdered sugar 1 c butter, softened
1 egg 1 t vanilla
½ t almond extract 2 ½ c flour
1 t baking soda 1 t baking powder

Mix powdered sugar, butter, egg, vanilla and almond extract. Mix in flour, baking soda and baking powder. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Divide dough in half. Roll each half ¼ inch thick on floured surface. Cut with heart cookie cutter and place on greased cookie sheet. Bake 7 to 8 minutes, until edges are barely brown.

Creamy Frosting
Beat one cup powdered sugar, ½ t vanilla and 1 to 2 T half and half until smooth and of spreading consistency. Add food coloring. Decorate!

Hint: If making cookies with very little ones, save yourself some grief and make dough ahead of time and frost with pre-made frosting. Enjoy.

The torch of love is lit in the kitchen.
~ French Proverb

 

Warren Kimble Cookie Cutter
Two Vermont artists, Ann Clark and Warren Kimble have teamed up to create some yummy art that will warm the heart! Collectible includes an oversized 'Heart 'n Home' Tin Cookie Cutter and a Warren Kimble greeting card with cookie recipe, packaged together in a clear gift box. Collect all nine!

Warren Kimble Heart 'n Home Cookie Cutter
 

Valentine Cake Candles

We're all starved for color and aroma during this time of muddy boots and shivering weather, cabin fever and icy roads. So, let's see, what are our Valentine choices . . . how about yummy Coconut Layer, Apple Cinnamon, Tart Cherry Cake, Vanilla Pound Cake, Raspberry Cake or Cinnamon Orange. Yep, we like 'em all. Did you know our cake candles burn 90-92 hours?

A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.
~ James Keller

 

NEW! Decorating Ideas from The Country Porch

Hand Embroidered Retro Dishtowels

Make this simple retro kitchen bag using our darling Retro hand embroidered dishtowels from Park Designs! Use for storing plastic bags or collecting kitchen laundry. So easy and useful!

You'll need:
One Retro hand-embroidered dishtowel and one Retro Stripe dishtowel
Light cord or rag strip (approximately 2 yards or 72")
Large safety pin
Matching thread

Directions:
Making sure your dishtowels are reasonably the same size, cut off the seam allowances on the long sides and one short side of each towel. To square them up, stack one towel on top of the other and re-cut making sure both towels end up the same size. Hint: One short side of each dishtowel will remain hemmed and uncut.

Lay one dishtowel down right-side up then lay the other dishtowel on top wrong-side up. Be sure both dishtowels are lined up. Using straight pins, pin the two dishtowels together on ONE side and stitch right sides together using ¼" seam allowance (no sewing machine? then hand stitch with running stitches). Press seams open.

Lay out flat with wrong sides of dishtowels up, turn hemmed uncut top down 2" and stitch along the bottom edge to form a casing. Now with right sides together, stitch the other seam up to the casing. DO NOT stitch casing shut. Cut cord or rag strip approximately 75" long, fold in half and knot the two open ends. Attach a safety pin through the knot and push through casing holding the other end. When the cord is through, knot all the ends together forming a continuous circle. Whah la! Done!

It's a great gift idea. Your friends will think you got it at an antique store!

 

It was so good to visit with you and we thank you for your business! Our creative energy is in overdrive and we're all on a mission . . . to bring you the very BEST of everything that we and the shop have to offer.

New and exciting patterns are arriving daily, so visit often, anytime. We're always OPEN on-line. Or call us at our toll free number @ 1-866-664-9182 and chat; we'd love to hear how you transformed your home with decorating themes from The Country Porch!

From our house to yours,

A longing fulfilled is sweet to the soul.
~ Book of Proverbs 13:19

If you know someone who may also be interested in reading our newsletter, please feel free to forward them a copy! You can subscribe/unsubscribe to our newsletter via our website anytime.

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Copyright © 2006 The Country Porch, LLC