My Fresh Eggs sign hanging in my kitchen is still my very favorite.
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I’m in love with vintage wooden signs. The problem is that the ones I’ve seen that I really, really want I can’t afford. There is a very large wooden sign that hangs in a cafe on the square of our little local town and I’ve eyed it for years. One day I thought, “Why can’t I just make one”? So I did. Since then, I’ve made numerous signs, a few for myself and a few for gifts.
is a certified farmgirl at heart. She’s happily married to her beach bum Yankee husband of 20 years. She went from career gal to being a creative homeschooling mom for two of her biggest blessings and hasn’t looked back since. Debbie left her lifelong home in the high desert of Northern Nevada 10 years ago and washed up on the shore of America’s hometown, Plymouth, MA, where she and her family are now firmly planted. They spend part of each summer in a tiny, off–grid beach cottage named “The Sea Horse.”
“I found a piece of my farmgirl heart when I discovered MaryJanesFarm. Suddenly, everything I loved just made more sense! I enjoy unwinding at the beach, writing, gardening, and turning yard-sale furniture into ‘Painted Ladies’ I’m passionate about living a creative life and encouraging others to ‘make each day their masterpiece.’”
is a “MaryJane Farmgirl” who lives in a large metropolitan area. She is a lawyer who has worked in both criminal defense and prosecution. She has been a judge, a business woman and a stay-at-home mom. In addition to her law degree, she has a Masters of Theological Studies.
“Mustering up the courage to do the things you dream about,” she says, “is the essence of being a MaryJane Farmgirl.” Learning to live more organically and closer to nature is Rebekah’s current pursuit. She finds strength and encouragement through MaryJane’s writings, life, and products. And MaryJane’s Farmgirl Connection provides her a wealth of knowledge from true-blue farmgirls.
an old-fashioned farmgirl with a pioneer spirit, lives in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. As a “lifelong learner” in the “Live-Free-or-Die” state, she fiercely values self-reliance, independence, freedom, and fresh mountain air. Married to her childhood sweetheart of 40+ years (a few of them “uphill climbs”), she’s had plenty of time to reinvent herself. From museum curator, restaurant owner, homeschool mom/conference speaker, to post-and-beam house builder and entrepreneur, she’s also a multi-media artist, with an obsession for off-grid living and alternative housing. Cathi owns and operates a 32-room mountain lodge. Her specialty has evolved to include “hermit hospitality” at her rustic cabin in the mountains, where she offers weekend workshops of special interest to women.
“Mountains speak to my soul, and farming is an important part of my heritage. I want to pass on my love of these things to others through my writing. Living in the mountains has its own particular challenges, but I delight in turning them into opportunities from which we can all learn and grow.”
Dori Troutman is the daughter of second generation cattle ranchers in New Mexico. She grew up working and playing on the ranch that her grandparents homesteaded in 1928. That ranch, with the old adobe home, is still in the family today. Dori and her husband always yearned for a ranch of their own. That dream came true when they retired to the beautiful green rolling hills of Tennessee. Truly a cattleman’s paradise!
Dori loves all things farmgirl and actually has known no other life but that. She loves to cook, craft, garden, and help with any and all things on their cattle farm.
describes herself as a goat charmer, chicken whisperer, bee maven, and farmers’ market baker renovating an 1864 farmhouse on an Ohio farm. With a degree in Design, Mary says small-town auctions and country road barn sales "always make my heart skip a beat thinking about what I could create or design out of what I’ve seen.”
Rooted in the countryside, she likes simple things and old ways … gardening, preserving the harvest, cooking, baking, and all things home. While you might find her selling baked goods from the farm’s milkhouse, teaching herself to play the fiddle, or sprucing up a vintage camper named Maizy, you will always find her in an apron!
Mary says, “I’m happiest with the simple country pleasures … an old farmhouse, too many animals, a crackling fire, books to read, and the sound of laughter … these make life just perfect.”
is a budding rural farmgirl living in Palmer, the agricultural seat of Alaska. Alex is a graduate student at Alaska Pacific University pursuing an M.S. in Outdoor and Environmental Education. She lives and works on the university’s 700 acre environmental education center, Spring Creek Farm. When Alex has time outside of school, she loves to rock climb, repurpose found objects, cross-country ski on the hay fields, travel, practice yoga, and cook with new-fangled ingredients.
Alex grew up near the Twin Cities and went to college in Madison, Wisconsin—both places where perfectly painted barns and rolling green farmland are just a short drive away. After college, she taught at a rural middle school in South Korea where she biked past verdant rice paddies and old women selling home-grown produce from sidewalk stoops. She was introduced to MaryJanesFarm after returning, and found in it what she’d been searching for—a group of incredible women living their lives in ways that benefit their families, their communities, and the greater environment. What an amazing group of farmgirls to be a part of!
Suburban Farmgirl Nicole Christensen calls herself a “vintage enthusiast”. Born and raised in Texas, she has lived most of her life in the picturesque New England suburbs of Connecticut, just a stone’s throw from New York State. An Advanced Master Gardener, she has gardened since childhood, in several states and across numerous planting zones. In addition, she teaches knitting classes, loves to preserve, and raises backyard chickens.
Married over thirty years to her Danish-born sweetheart, Nicole has worked in various fields, been a world-traveler, an entrepreneur and a homemaker, but considers being mom to her now-adult daughter her greatest accomplishment. Loving all things creative, Nicole considers her life’s motto to be “Bloom where you are planted”.
I LOVE this! Hopefully I will make the time to make one or two for myself!
Ann,
Please do make a sign or two! I know the tutorial looked hard but seriously they are so easy!
Send me a picture!
– Dori –
Dori!!! This is fabulous!!! Thank you, kindly!! I’m gonna make me a sign! I’m with you…red speaks to me. Your open air shed is adorable. I hope you do post again on how you spruce it up. Thanks again.
Jodie,
I can’t wait for you to make your own! And send me a picture please!
– Dori –
enjoyed the tutorial on sign painting! I may have to give this a try now.
Denise,
Please do!!! And don’t forget to send me a picture!
– Dori –
Love your signs!!! great tips too and such a beautiful setting to display them. And, to me, your hands are superb, showing love and caring – like most all farmgirls we all have a few wrinkles. God bless.
Dear Joan,
Thank you. I looked at those pictures and thought, “when did my hands start looking like my mother’s”? And then I realized I AM my mother! Both redheads, both Ranchgirls, both hard working outdoor women. And plus I love my mother’s hands! 🙂
Thanks for writing!
– Dori –
Good morning!
Thanks for the sign tutorial…I have always wanted to try a quilt for the side of our garage…I may just attempt it now. 🙂 I have heard and seen so much about Annie Sloan paint and wax. I really should try it. Honestly, I don’t really enjoy painting…but I don’t enjoy the prices on already made things either…so I need to just DO IT!!! 🙂
(I just read about the virtuous woman again this morning…it speaks a lot about her hands. The thought I got from reading it again was this; to be busy in a good way, is gain.)
Have a great weekend!
Colleen
Hello Colleen,
I researched SO many different quilt patterns and found one I loved and was all set to make it for the side of our house. And somehow I just never could manage to get it to come out the way I wanted. Here in Tennessee there are wooden quilts on barns all over the place and you can actually register yours in a map with the name of the pattern etc. They even have guidelines on the correct wood to use, size, etc. Anyway, someday maybe I’ll give it a try again. If you make one, send me pictures please!
– Dori –
Hi love your signs. I also like signs and am always look for new sayings to put on my signs. Thanks for all the helpful hints! Thanks for sharing. Ellen
Ellen,
Do you make signs? I’d love to hear if you have any better ways of doing things. I’m definitely learning.
Thanks for writing. (And email me some pictures of yours.)
– Dori –
Hi Dori,
I can not believe just how much alike we are. You know in the past I have told you now much I like your kitchen. For years I have been collecting red and white things to put in my white kitchen. Right down to having an old fashioned red and white step-stool just like yours. I have also been planning on putting the darker brown floor in there.
The house I moved into when I married had a lot of yellow-gold colored wood paneling in it. Every room. The kitchen has darker wood in it. I am so glad I will be moveing to my own place where I will do the walls white in the kitchen and red accents.
I am a redhead also. It use to be bright cooper color now it is getting the color of yours. My hands use to be like yours now they are crepe, wrinkle, and covered with freckles. They also have a few age spots. Testament to being an outside women.
Lots of hugs to you,
Love the flowers,
Kay
Hi Kay,
I didn’t know you were a red-head too! That is so awesome!
Our hands certainly do tell how we spend our days don’t they? Mine have NOT been pampered. 🙁
I bet you are getting excited to be back in a house and get things just how you like them. How are things going for you these days?
I love my little red step stool. It is the place where anyone that visits my kitchen sits! Regardless of age, they sit there and visit while I cook. I love it.
Hugs,
– Dori –
What a great tutorial and a terrific idea.
We have a Farm Girl group here and I’m going to propose this as a project.
I don’t live on a farm (more’s the pity!!) but both sets of grandparents did and I had a taste of that wonderful life as I was growing up. I sure never got home sick for the city when I was on the farm!!
Hmmmmm, I think I could make little signs for our little city yard and dress the place up. : )
These signs sure do bring back memories of my times on the farm.
Thanks so much for sharing.
Pat,
This would be a great project to do with others!
Oh you could make some fun signs for your city yard! Send pictures! 🙂
– Dori –
Nice signs. Great job and lesson
Susana,
Thank you! Hope you’re doing well.
– Dori –
I’m managing one day at a time, and feel the loneliness , especially around meal times and the things we used to do together. I pray a lot too, because I have to do a lot of things alone, thise things my better half did. Even the dog feels depressed. But I find I love the quietness, but not all the time because even that becomes fearful. But listening to music brings me down. Even the good songs. Its quite eery. But staying busy and eating out help a lot. But sleep is elusive. Prayer seems to be the only thing consistent in my life lately.
That’s a wonderful tutorial! I’m always seeing signs and rustic pictures that I would love to have, but they are expensive. Even when they are affordable, well, I want more than one you know! Oh, but I can do that, I tell myself – it’s simple. Ha. Not a clue where to start. Now you’ve done it… created a sign fanatic. I love it!
Cindi,
I hope you’ll try making some signs and I really hope you’ll email me some pictures! 🙂
Happy sign making!
– Dori –
Thank you so much. You did a great job! I cant wait to try it. this may be the project to get our Vermont Farm girls together.
Noreen
Noreen,
It would be a great Farmgirl project! Please be sure to share pictures if you do!
– Dori –
Love. Love. LOVE your signs… I’m crazy for red too..I’m making a sign for my booth at the farmers market and your tutorial is just what I needed!
Thanks for sharing it! Big hugs! Deb ( Beach Farmgirl)
Hi Deb,
Red just screams country farmgirl don’t you think?! 🙂
Did you make your farmers market sign? I’m so excited to see pictures of your booth set up. I know it will be amazing!
– Dori –
Dori, thanks so much for the tutorial on sign making. I cant wait to get started on one. Your signs all look Great! Be Blessed Neta
Vivian,
I hope you’ll try one! And let me know!
– Dori –
I love your post. I too make my own signs. I did an Eggs one to make my hen house a bit more like Debs. I did a New England sign, Potting Shed and a few more. I use very similar process as yours. I use the dritz carbon paper too. I loved seeing your sign. The Farm Fresh is one I love as I do your cart. Happy gardening!
Hi Donna,
I spent a little time perusing your blog after Deb wrote about you! I did notice your Eggs sign and I wondered if you had made it.
I enjoyed your blog!
– Dori –
OH MY GOODNESS DORI! I think we are twins separated at birth! Another something we have in common. Gosh if we were neighbors we’d get in so much fun trouble together! I ADORE signs. I love them all – old, new, wood, metal. My dad made me a couple back years ago when he could still do things like that, out of wood. He made the sign to the ranch that hangs over the gate in Texas. My friends know how much I love signs, too. Just this afternoon, a dear friend gave me a new one for my kitchen for watching her chickens while she was on vacation. It’s metal with a little chick on it in red and yellow. BUT I HAVE NEVER MADE ONE! You are an inspiration! Awesome post. And I love your farm. It’s beautiful. Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole (Suburban Farmgirl)
Hi Nicole!!!!
We do tend to think alike, I totally agree with that! 🙂
When I read your post last time on you Dad making the Coca Cola signs I meant to ask you if you have one? They would be worth a mint now for sure. And a really special memoir to own one!
There have been times in my life when I’ve had so many signs around my husband has said, NO MORE!!! So I’ve tried to only keep the ones that really are special to me. I’m going to get started on attempting the barn wooden quilt sign again. I just wasn’t happy with the direction it was going before. I think I’m more confident now. The trouble is that they are huge. Like 8 feet x 8 feet. It’s a lot of work.
Please make a sign!!!! 🙂
– Dori –
Wow, Dori, thanks for this great tutorial for sign making! Like you, I love all of those old vintage signs but they do cost so much money. Now with your great How-To guide, I could try my hand at making a few myself. I love your Farm Fresh roadside stand and now new work station. They both look so perfect on your beautiful farm!
Hi Winnie!
Those vintage signs just speak to us don’t they? 🙂
Please try making one! And let me know!
– Dori –
Love this! Can’t wait to try it out! 🙂
Hi Corri,
Please let me know if you try it – and send a picture! 🙂
– Dori –
Oh yes! I’ve been making signs for awhile now. If you get in a pinch and your printer is out of ink (or a cheapo like me!) you can very gently trace your letters on paper from your computer screen, I stress very gently! I also have decoupaged great scrapbooking paper on wood then transferred my letters as you’ve shown. HOWEVER I use regular carbon paper and would have a hard time seeing dark on dark BUT NOW you have me needing to go get dressmakers copy paper because of the lighter transfer lines!!!! Thank you, thank you!!!!!
Hi Trish,
I also used regular carbon paper and had a terrible time seeing it. Then I heard you could rub chalk on the back of the letters, then trace that. I tried that also but my lines were not very clear. The dressmakers paper seems to work the best for me. Plus you can use it over and over again!
I would love to see some of your signs! Email me some pictures of your favorites!
– Dori –
I like signs too. I get reclaimed wood from neighbors and recycle. So much fun!
Nancy,
Reclaimed wood is the very best. I made a Farmers Market sign recently on reclaimed wood, using a template that I bought from Funky Junk Interiors. The template was expense but WOW did it make a fun sign. And looked really awesome on reclaimed wood. I’d love to see pictures of the signs you make.
– Dori –
I have always wanted to try making some signs.
I love it!!
Thank you for sharing the tutorial 🙂
Hi Sandra,
I hope you will try one! And please let me know how it goes!
– Dori –