How sweet it is.

So, I finally got around to harvesting the honey from my poor bees that didn't make it through last winter.

Well, in truth, I can't really call it a harvest - because it was the honey left over from my hive of bees that sadly froze to death over the winter.  Being a young hive, my mentor suggested that I leave them plenty to make it through the winter. Well, I did, and they ate a good portion of it - but the brutal winter of 2013-2014 was too much for my little Italians to handle.

I gave the deep supers of honey that were left to my 2 new hives this spring to give them a good start.  The rest - about 10 or so pounds - I put aside (in my dining room for MONTHS) until I was able to find an extractor to borrow or buy cheap.  I was unsuccessful at that - so I ended up shelling out the $500+ for a new one of my own.  It was painful - but this big purchase is going to force me to stick with the bees through good times and bad!  My husband keeps asking why I choose such expensive hobbies (bees, chickens, organic gardening, etc...) and - I don't know... I guess the fun stuff just costs a lot - and besides, if I am lucky, I can make it profitable some day.

I began the harvest by uncapping the frames of honey and then putting four at a time into my extractor.  Then, the fun part was cranking the handle to literally use centripetal force to spin the honey out of the frames. I think I was a bit overzealous - as I got a blister on my hand!

Here is the pure golden wildflower honey being emptied from the extractor into the filter bucket.  The honey is slowly going through a fine mesh filter at the top of the bucket to remove any impurities such as wax or bee parts.  It may not sound very appetizing at this stage - but pure honey is virtually free of bacteria and can last indefinitely.  It also has been used for centuries for it's healing properties.  Sweet, huh?  ;)

After going through the filter, I let the honey sit in this bucket (covered) for a minimum of 24 hours for the air bubbles to settle - so my final product of bottled amber honey is clear and beautiful.

 I purchased 2 cases of 12 bottles (wishful thinking) - and couldn't resist the punchy red caps!  I also filled one lonely glass honey bear - which I recycled from local honey I purchased a while back. (There was no way I could toss that cute little bear in the recycling bin!)

Here's a look at my modest first harvest of honey - coming in at just under 11 pounds.  Unfortunately, it is not enough to sell - just barely enough to share with my family and the rest to our pantry until my (hopefully) first BIG harvest... next year!

By the way, from this harvest, I also was able to obtain some beautiful bees wax.  I'll write a future post on how I rendered the wax and what I plan to do with it.  You'll be learning along with me as it's all new to me.  I am, after all, a "new-bee!" 

What do you think of my pretty labels?  I just love them!

I promised to get you up to date on more of what I've been doing over the past several months and here goes.  As mentioned in my last post, it was a brutal winter here in South Eastern, Pennsylvania.  That gave me a lot of time to spend on Pinterest looking at hundreds of furniture makeovers inspiring me to do some of my own. And do some, I did! 

Here was my first of many projects done at Pear of Hearts Farm.  This was done in February of this year.

It's a solid maple vanity set - complete with a bench seat... I picked it up at a furniture consignment shop about 30 miles away.  It was a splurge for me at $150.  Sorry but I forgot to snap a before picture of the bench. (I'm pretty new to this blogging thing!)  The piece is very sturdy, very heavy, and has pretty lines - I especially love the turned legs.  Although it was probably made in the 1950's, it has a classic style that will go beautifully in my bedroom near my empire chest with similar turnings on the legs.

Like my pink socks?  ;)   Also, please excuse all the junk in the pictures - we had recently moved in!

Because the top of the vanity had a veneered finish which was quite chipped, I sanded it back to the bare wood. 

I just love my orbital sander.  It makes quick work of challenging jobs.





Below shows the entire top sanded down to bare wood.

The wood I found under the veneer was really lovely!  I just used Danish Oil in Cherry to bring out the beautiful grain.  I love the way it warms up the top and it goes well with my other bedroom furniture.












Next came the rest of the piece.  I decided to go with an almost black/midnight blue color that would contrast nicely with the top and with our pine floors.  I made my own version of chalk paint with flat paint from my local big box home store mixed with a little plaster of Paris and a splash of water. It was an "oops" paint that I purchased for a song!  Good thing I love the color.

 Here's the matching bench that I forgot to take a before picture of.  (And there are my washer and dryer waiting to be installed in the new house.  Thankfully they are in now!)

The home made chalk paint was such a thick lovely consistency that I only needed one coat.  Next, I distressed the paint to allow the maple to show through in selective spots and finished the entire vanity, mirror, and bench with 3 coats of wax. I found the knobs on ebay - they are fantastic.

Here is the bench completed with a fun fabric I picked up at my local fabric store.  I wasn't sure about it - but am going to live with it for a bit to see if it grows on me... It is easy enough to change if and when I choose to. Besides, we haven't gotten around to painting the bedroom yet - and I plan to go with a complimentary color.

I wanted to get a good shot of the entire piece but was too embarrassed to show my messy bedroom in the mirror's reflection! I have to learn some photography and/or styling skills to hide that - because I tend to have a lot going on in my home at any given time...


In the end, I am quite happy with the final result.  I feel special every time I sit here to do my hair and make up... which isn't often enough - as I'm a stay at home mom. (Which, by the way, is much harder than my former full time job of nearly 20 years!)