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!)

Well, it seems as if I started this blog and then went MIA... It's true, I began with all of the best intentions and then the move, the winter, and most of all - the overwhelming options of what to do next pretty much took me for a loop.

We made the move in late January - just in time for the coldest, snowiest winter to hit.  And it hit us hard - and won in a knockout.  There is a small farm nearby that I drive by often that at one point put up a white flag with a sign reading, "Okay winter, we give up. You win!"  That was wonderfully funny - and TRUE!

But now, here we are and it is officially summer. So, where have I been, and what have I been up to?  Well, lots of different things.  Because my husband is a workaholic and we are in the process of renovating our old house to get ready for tenants - not too much has happened here at our new farm.  We have been toying with lots of different ideas of what to grow here - and yes, there will definitely be some pears - but we ran out of time to truly start farming properly this year - so we are allowing a local dairy farmer to grow feed corn on our property.  He and his brother are wonderfully kind and friendly - and have proved to be a great resource for our many questions. My husband and I decided that it would be wisest to gather as much information and educate ourselves as much as possible before investing in a crop (or crops) to grow on our new little kingdom.

So far this year I have gotten 15 new chicks, started 2 new beehives and we have started to build a new big and beautiful chicken coop and run.  Besides that, we have been doing major repairs on our roof - and did I mention that my husband is typically away all week for his business?  Needless to say, things are progressing slowly (but surely).

That has left me alone with my 3 year old a lot - and I have to admit that while he is the BEST thing that has ever happened to me and I love him more than words can say, he can certainly exhaust this 40-something mommy!

In my first blog, I showed you a table I rejuvenated - and since then I have done LOTS of other pieces.  Some for my home and some for my new endeavor - a booth at a local shop called The Morgantown Market - located in Morgantown, PA - please check out (and LIKE) their Facebook page! HERE My spaces is just a 5'x8' area that I have filled with "a mishmash of homegrown, handmade, vintage, and rejuvenated items to bring life and love to your home."  It's kept me quite busy shopping, creating, rejuvenating old pieces, and keeping all of the stock inventory records.

Please forgive me for my period of being MIA... I have lots of things to share coming up - so stay posted!

Hi there, I'm new here.  This is my new blog "Pear of Hearts Farm." I chose the name based on my hopes for our new home/property in Northern Chester County.  Currently, I live in a circa 1820 farmhouse with just under 1/2 acre.  In about 5 weeks, we will settle on our new home - only 5 miles away, but with 12 acres of possibilities just waiting for our imagination and hard work to make it ours. 

I'll be sad to leave my little farm house - it's quirky and cute and has served me well over the past 16 years - hosting so many happy and sad times that have shaped me into the person I am.  The small yard has provided us with lots of  fresh organic produce as well as eggs from our hens.  This year, I entered into the world of bee keeping with 2 hives buzzing away.  With the very real threat of CCD (Colony Collapse Disorder), I remain hopeful my new girls will make it through the winter and provide me with lots of honey next summer.

Come with me on my journey into the life of a farm girl.  We'll start small - but explore all the possibilities our new property will allow us to attempt... I'm thinking a small orchard (pears & apples?), possibly a flower farm (sunflowers and dahlias are my favorite!), more bees, more chickens and who knows what else! I'll also be busy in my craft room (a very big perk of the larger home) creating all kinds of treasures.  

In the meantime, I'll share my latest project - a table (with a "free" sign) that I rescued from the side of the road about a month ago.  It was a lot of work, but didn't feel like it because it was so fun and rewarding.  Take a look:

This table has had a hard life - clearly being used as a work surface for painting and other jobs. It was VERY heavy and literally fit into the back of my SUV with mere inches to spare...

Using my trusty orbital sander and a little elbow grease, I sanded off the old finish to find a beautiful cherry wood table underneath.  The more I uncovered, the more excited I became at the beauty she would become once again.

After sanding off all of the old finish I could without taking away the beautiful patina, I used 3 layers of Danish Oil; the first 2 in cherry, and the last in natural - as I didn't want the top to be too red.  I wanted the legs to have a bit of contrast, so after the first layer of Danish Oil, I dry brushed a combination of black and tan paints.  After the final coat of Danish Oil, I waited 24 hours and finished the top with a clear paste wax.  Since I wanted a bit more color on the legs and bottom, I added raw umber artists oil paint to the wax.  I am so thrilled with the results. This process took about 4 to 5 days total. (Please ignore the junk on my dining room floor!)

This was my first project using Danish Oil and paste wax and the finish is GREAT! So far, any drips or spills bead up like drops of water on a freshly waxed car.  The cherry wood is hard and durable to begin with - but the Danish Oil makes it even more so.  I'm not afraid to let my (almost) 3 year old son eat here - but I do try to get him to use a place mat... "try" being the key word!