A Frayed Knot Newsletter

What do you get when you have four sisters raised on a homestead in Alaska who were encouraged to be innovative and independent? Not only one business, but seven! In addition to being partners in Brainstorms Extraordinaire and its subsidiaries Brainstorms Publishing and the Homestead Store, the women each have their own business, full time jobs, children, grandchildren...and a few other interests. Brainstorms Extraordinaire grew from a desire to use their combined life experiences to help others start a business or promote an idea. Out of this enterprise, came the writing and publishing of Book One of THE CHILDREN OF GLACIER POINT, taken from diaries and journals their parents kept. This was followed up by THE HOMESTEAD STORE, where they offer many items reminiscent of frontier homesteader's lives. "The Homestead Store offers an array of nostalgic gifts for children and adults, plus books that allow you to relive the real life experiences of a homestead wife in Alaska. "Kid Kits range from a simple button toy to quilt squares and fishing kits, each with directions, a story and usable note card. We currently offer 8 different sets of note cards, many with pictures from our childhood on the homestead.
Accessories for the home and kitchen, suitable for gifts or yourself, are added as they are developed. Bag Ladies, micro mitts, pillows, pot holders, memory bears, the list keeps growing! Many of the sewn items are 'made to order' to fit your color scheme or personality." So there you have it: three of us live in Oregon, one in Idaho. We have an annual business meeting/retreat with our Mom every October. Between us we have a multitude of experiences, including running our own tourist business as children, owning and editing a weekly newspaper, office management and bookkeeping, running a successful ranch, truck farming and more.
My part? I am the managing partner [eldest bossy sister]. When we meet, whether in person or online, we ALL contribute through brainstorming and helping develop each others ideas as well as plans for BE [Brainstorms Extraordinaire LLC, our partnership company]. I maintain the website, which includes portions for each of us, and the business files [invoicing, shipping etc].
Most of the in stock items live at my house - special orders might come from any of our four locations, depending on the sister who makes the item, or has the time to do if it is something we all make. I do a lot, but not all, of the computer printing of note cards and brochures. Primitive frames are, so far, done at my house. Last fall I added some new tools to my mini-workshop, and a large supply of recycled boards. Additionally I have my memory teddy bear business, Bellybutton Bears, which is growing. We all market individually as well as through our parent company.
Why do we do this? Ain't got no sense, no sense atal....... No kidding,
some days we feel that way, but seems like we just keep coming up with
ideas. Developing the ideas is the part that really gives us the high, even more than making or doing whatever we came up with.

The Homestead Store and More........
For a little bit of Alaska and a lot of the Northwest, drop by for a
visit!
http://www.homesteadline.com

A Frayed Knot’s loose ends…

With Summer winding down and Fall just around the corner, A Frayed Knot will be trying some new looks out. A bit of updating for the front pages and some better pictures are in the works. Keep in mind that Christmas is just around the corner. There are lots of great items at A Frayed Knot for that special friend or a little something for the boss. Remember, we can charge to you and drop ship it to another address. We did manage to sneak in some cute little Tater sacks which are located in the Home Décor department. These are the cutest little things. Also, later this month we will be putting together some items to be sold as a group. That’s about all the chatter for now. Little hint: rumors of new items for next month include: Little geckos, fish, and chickens to hang on walls or refrigerators. We are going to add at least 10 new different items for the month of October.

LAS

Paper Dipped Baskets by Zenda Weaver,

Sunflowers and Snowflakes.com

I love the look of these baskets. And they are so easy to make. You don’t need special equipment or tools. Any bucket or deep bowl will do. I use the large margarine tubs to mix my pulp slurry. The easiest form to make your basket with is the plastic baskets that strawberries and other fresh fruits come in. Other items you will need are facial and/or bathroom tissue. And that’s it.

To get started, fill your bucket or bowl three fourths full of water, and then start tearing the tissue into small pieces and drop in the water. I normally use a small box of facial tissue or one double roll of bathroom tissue to start. Let this mixture sit for a half hour to let the tissue dissolve in the water. You may need to add more water to the slurry.

Now simply dip your basket into the slurry, covering the basket with the paper pulp. Let completely dry, then dip again. You can dip the basket repeatedly until you have the coverage you want. Let dry completely in-between dipping.

Now for the fun part – intertwine ribbon in between the ribbing of the basket, brush with glue and add glitter, or make some simple papier-mâché balls to sit in the basket. You can also paint with thinned acrylic paints to add color to the pulp. These baskets are great for potpourri or used as to hold small bottles of perfume.

For larger vessels, form chicken wire into a bowl or basket, then proceed as per the directions. These vessels make wonderful fruit baskets or unusual gift baskets for the holidays.

If you have some pulp left over, drain off and squeeze out as much water as possible, until you can form the pulp into a ball. Place in a zip-lock bag and place in the freezer. Thaw in the refrigerator when ready to use.

Zenda ‘s homepage may be found at the following address: http://www.sunflowersandsnowflakes.com/