Monday, December 22, 2008
The Rest of My Merry Decor...
I have my Singer sewing table all decked out, too. Sorry about the tree branches in front of it- the pics of our tree further down will explain it all...LOL. The peg shelf above it I made by myself. I needed a large peg shelf big enough to fill the space on that wall (the shelf is 6 ft long) and it was going to cost me at least $70 to have someone make it for me. I designed it, cut it, painted and distressed it, then waxed it. Considering all the materials, I bet it only cost me $25 to make!
Here's an idea I got from a featured home in Country Sampler last year and it is sooo simple, too. Just take a mini tree, plop it into an old coffee tin (or colander, flour sifter or whatever..), add rusty bells to most of the tips and a rusty star to the top and you have yourself a cute lil tree! I made a fabric candy cane and dusted it with glass glitter and tucked it in, too.
This is my mini kitchen ornie tree...
I've had all these tiny utensil ornies for a few years and thanks to my tree obsession I have a place for them now! I plopped it in a little stoneware bowl and it hangs out on the corner of our table nook. Amazingly (so far...LOL), Chad hasn't stripped all the ornies off and toted them all over the house....This old step-back hutch is still my favorite and very first antique piece of furniture. It was a Christmas/B-Day gift (my b-day is two days after Christmas) from Craig two years ago. I just love it! It even smells old! I think it used to have double doors on the top part where all the china is, but they were long gone when I got it. I tucked a snowman ornie in the gravy boat in the center- my friend Barb made it for an ornie swap we both did last year. This is just a wood dough bowl I filled with wood apples and a twiggy wreath that sits on our table.....
Ok, and finally our tree.... No, it did not look this BIG (or this sparse!) out in the boonies!! LOL. We had to use a ladder and stand on the stairs to decorate it and then we realized we did not have enough ornies! Our fake tree we used for years was only 7 ft and the lack of ornies to put on made our poor tree look even more naked. Well, we didn't have the $$ right before Christmas to run out and buy more ornies and I sure didn't have time to make more, so we "made-did" with what we had. I know he's not the most beautiful, but he is our "little" tree and we love him no matter how he looks! It doesn't help that our little turd of a kitten climbs the tree and knocks ornaments off and rearranges the garland. So thanks to him our tree looks different (and disheveled..) on a daily basis....notice there are no ornies at the very top?? LOL. But I'm sure mine isn't the only cat that climbs the family Christmas tree. Oh well, at least I have a year to make more ornies and garland!
A Birthday Gift Raggedy....
I had made this one for myself a while ago and she sits in an old child's rocker in my front room. She had commented on it once and said she really liked it, so I knew what she would be getting for her birthday back then. LOL. Both our dolls are wearing antique baby dresses (I think they are actually christening gowns) and old leather baby shoes. The gowns I had bought at an antique store and the shoes I always just happen upon at the thrift shop or yard sales. I think I should make a baby doll to for both dolls to hold, but that will have to wait until after Christmas so I can spend time with my family. :0) I am also making a Cars quilt for Chad. I had intended to get it done for Christmas, but I'm not sure that is going to happen. I have never made a quilt before and I have hit a few snags. LOL. There is definitely a difference between sewing dolls and quilting, I'll tell ya that! LOL. With primitives, any boo-boos can easily be fixed or sometimes add to the look, but it's a different story with a quilt- not much room for error. But heck, even if it takes me forever, I think it will turn out nice and it was a labor of love for my little guy. :0) I'm getting ready to take some more pics and will post more later tonight.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Lots and lots to share!
We had an ornie exchange in PLOA and lookie what I got!! They were from Colleen of Colleenscraftshed. The angel ornie on top was for me and she was such a dear to think of my kids and also sent the two snowman "pops" for Sage and Chad! They were so excited to see that they also got something in the box- she also send some little chocolates and that was a big hit, too. Thanks Colleen!
And lookie at my loot from our PFATT ornie swap! We each made four ornies to exchange and that meant we each got four ornies back! Woohoo! Going clockwise from the top: the gingerbread is from Robin of Outside the Box Primitives, the prim hangtag, mini chenille canes and raggedy head ornie are from Arlene- Sweet Things by Arlene, the frog-cicle is from P.K. Gracia of Soft in the Head, and the wool bird and the beautiful cone ornie are from Jo Ellen of Lacey Jane Primitives. The beautiful Santa card in the center reads "PFATT Ornie swap 2008" and was made by Lori of Vintage Palette as a thank you for all of us that participated. We are actually the ones that should be thanking her- she offered to host the swap this year and if it weren't for her, it wouldn't have been possible- thank you Nana for all that you do for us!!
I was also going to share some more Christmas decor pics, but I feel like I have been long winded enough for one post, so maybe I can save those for later. Anyhow, with all that has been going on, we only just decorated our tree the other day and we still have a few things to do to it still.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
A little Holiday decorating to share...
Sunday, November 30, 2008
TLOFA angel swap....part II...
It is painted on all four sides......two angels, a prim star and a hangtag. Her detailing is so amazing! You really have to see it in person to appreciate its beauty. It is something I will treasure always and except for when I took the pics, it has its forever home on the shelf in my sitting room..... :0) I just love it!! Thank you Chris!
As I was taking the pics of my new treasure Sage is looking out the window at the neighbor's lilac bush and asks me what the funny round thing is that's stuck in the bushes.....I look out and can't believe it! It's the biggest wasp nest I've ever seen.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
TLOFA angel swap.....
Monday, November 24, 2008
Mmmmmm! Gingerbread cookies.....
I just love these guys- I made some for myself last year and keep a bowlful in my kitchen all year long. I made a dozen of the smaller 6 inch ones and thirteen of the larger 8 inch ones. They are all going to Twelve Days, hopefully I will make some for ebay after Thanksgiving sometime, I have had a few requests for some ornies to list. These have kept me busy since my last post and at the same time I was working on my angel for a swap we are doing in TLOFA and 4 ornies for our ornie swap in PFATT. I will wait until after Thanksgiving to post the pics of the angel because I don't want to spoil the surprise for my recipient. I sure hope she likes her! Well, I gotta get back to working on more dolls. Hope everyone has a wonderful and THANKFUL Thanksgiving! :0)
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Ornies, ornies....and more ornies!
My other setback was that all my late nights finally caught up with me over the weekend and I woke up with a bad cold. It was mostly sinus head cold and for a few days it took the energy right out of me. I am feeling better now, but trying not to push myself too hard yet cuz I still have lots more to do. I still have to finish my stuff for an exchange we are doing in a few of my ebay groups......Well, I gotta get back to work while the night's still young and get supper started. I'll post more hopefully soon! :0)
Sunday, October 26, 2008
A Fabulous Fall Decor Award.....Thank You!!
Thursday, October 23, 2008
A Little Fall Decor & Kris Kringle Doll....
Wanted to share a pic of my front porch in the fall.....can you tell which ones are the real pumpkins? LOL. :0) They're actually all fake. I put my fake ones out early and wait till later to buy the real ones we carve so we can enjoy them longer. I leave my old red wagon out in the spring and summer to hold potted flowers and of course you can see what I like to do with it in the fall. It goes in the garage during Christmas and wintertime and I replace it with an antique wood sled. Of course those pics will come later. :0) The scarecrow dude on the door was made and given to me by my mother in law before my kids were born. My door is metal, so I have to use those clamp magnets to hold him on there and occasionally if the wind blows hard enough, he falls down.
And as you can see, I never did get my pumpkinhead guy done......he would have been in the chair behind the wagon where the biggest pumpkin is. I just got so darn busy, he'll have to wait until after Christmas, so he'll be one of my winter projects.
Speaking of projects.....I did get my Kris Kringle doll all done. He's not quite ready to list on ebay, I'm still trying to think of something for him to hold or tuck under one arm......I'm gonna make him a toy bag for sure and was thinking of doing a little stick horse or something...I dunno...you can almost bet I'll tuck a little flag in there somewhere, too :0)....he could be an Americana Santa...but anyway, thought he turned out really neat- he's my first Santa doll. I bought the wool for his beard and hair from a local gal and it is just awesome to work with, except for the waste from pulling and sorting, but you just about have to deal with that no matter who you buy from. Although I've heard tons of good things about Ann's wool from Crowing About Primitives- she sorts and lays it out ready to use for you. I would like to try some from her, but I have lots of wool I need to use up in my stash first. I needle felted all his beard and mustache, and he has hair all over his head, not just on the sides. Plus his hat is removable. I bet I did more handstitching than machine stitching on his clothing! I did all the faux fur trim on the jacket, pants, hat and boots by hand, plus all the rusty jingle bells. He's scheduled to start on ebay Friday night. Click here to see his auction and more pics of him finished..... Well, gotta go finish up my snowgirl so she can go up for auction, too. :0)
Monday, October 20, 2008
Just let me sleep!
Sunday, October 12, 2008
And we have......SNOW!
Well, the snow started flying Friday morning and hasn't stopped until today. We only got about 5 or 6 inches here, but Casper only 20 miles away got between 6 and 12 inches depending on where you were....of course Casper Mountain got more than town did, but I never heard how much- my guess would be probably 15 to 18 inches or so. My eyeballs needed a break from the sewing machine, so I thought I'd share a pic on my blog. This is our view out of the bay window of our front room. Of course the kids wanted to ham it up! LOL. Cute little stinkers! Since Craig works at a coal mine, we use a coal burning stove for our heating and had it burning for the past couple days. The heat it gives off is so warm and toasty!! This weather makes me more in the mood to sew winter and Christmas dolls.
On another note, I received my room spray I won in Vintage Palette's giveaway- it is so rich and wonderful!! The scent is called HOMESTEAD and I sprayed it a few times in the house and Sage kept asking me what I was baking! It'll be perfect to scent my dolls and tissue paper when I send them. I'm gonna visit her ebay store and get more of a few different scents. Well, I suppose I should get back to work, enough playtime! LOL.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Happy Birthday Sage!
Sorry I haven't posted for a little while- I'm literally up to my ears in doll bodies! LOL! It's not a bad thing, but I'm starting to feel a little overwhelmed. I have the Twelve Days of Christmas to do dolls for and have two plastic tubs full of about 20 naked doll bodies staring at me....their arms and legs are in another tub. I did manage to get them all stained, now just need to sew them to the bodies then move on to the clothing and hair, etc. Even though I'm only doing 3 or maybe 4 of the same style or pattern, I've found that it is easier to make big groups of dolls in stages rather than one at a time. I'm also trying to make the majority of the body parts now while I still have nice enough weather to use my clothesline for the staining and drying......but I better get a move on because tomorrow night sometime we are supposed to get that four letter word that starts with "S". I was talking about snow, what were you thinking? LOL. Ugghh....snow already?? I would like to enjoy fall a little more before the flakes start to fall...... Plus, I'm working on a santa to list on Ebay. My pumpkinman is on the back burner for now.....maybe I'll get him done in time for next fall...LOL. I have been trying to stay away from my computer, otherwise I wouldn't get much crafting done!
And also a brand new Menards just opened in Casper and we took advantage of their grand opening sale and bought new wood flooring (@ $.58/ sq. ft.) for our sitting room, hallway and both sets of stairs, so we've been working on getting everything ready for that, too. Sometimes I wish I could duplicate myself....I better be careful what I wish for! LOL!
Monday, September 29, 2008
Americana Wynter Dolly...
I won a blog giveaway!! Yipee!!
I can't believe it! I was one of the LUCKY winners in the blog giveaway that Lori had on her blog-Vintage Palette! I won the yummy room spray and just can't wait to get it- I'm such a sucker for the smelly goods! LOL. Hope she doesn't mind that I snagged the pic to show off! BTW, you should definitely check out her ebay store-Village Gift Shoppe- (CLICK HERE)- she has lots of vintage style tinsel garland, room spray, bottlebrush trees, and bottlebrush garland, etc. Lots of prim goodies! (Not to mention Joyce's fab dolls!)
Sunday, September 28, 2008
New dolly....
Friday, September 26, 2008
I've been tagged.....
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Busy, Busy, Busy...
We also had a bit of weird weather- about 2/3 of the way through the float a storm came through and and the wind kicked up and we got wet and chilly! It was a fun experience and I did learn a lot more than I thought I already knew. I couldn't have thought of a better time to spend with my dad than fishing, something we both love. It was such a special day! Thank you dad! Love you!Then yesterday, my husband and I took the four wheelers and went to his antelope (for those that aren't familiar, their proper name is Pronghorn) area. We have tons of antelope in Wyoming- you can hardly go a day without seeing one somewhere. I bet we saw about 200 of those buggers, but they were very spooky! This area has been open for hunting for a week now and if they spotted us at all, they were gone! And they are FAST and can run like the wind for miles and miles without stopping. ( I got this pic from the internet, I wasn't fast enough and nowhere near close enough to get a pic of the ones from yesterday..LOL)Yesterday was more of a scouting trip just to see what was there, and today he was joining two other friends to do more serious hunting. They are going to have to be pretty sneaky, though. Those antelope rely on their eyesight and speed.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Patriot's Day....Remembering 9/11.....We will never forget....
I wanted to share this email I got from a friend today (thanks Lisa!)...
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
100th post giveaway...
My friend Lori Davis is having a 100th post giveaway on her blog- Vintage Palette Art..... CLICK HERE to go visit! She has wonderful first and second prize handmade hangtags and a third prize yummy room spray! I shouldn't be sending anyone over cuz I want to win! Tee Hee! ;0)
Monday, September 8, 2008
Custom order dolls...
I got a call from a local customer last week for a few dollies, so I thought I'd share a pic of them after I was finished. They are still one of my fav styles of dolly to make even though I tend to make more whimsical ones now with eyelids and such, but it's still nice to make a raggedy type once in a while. I just love Maureen's (Sweet Meadows Farm) patterns!
Sunday, September 7, 2008
All Finished....
Yesterday was my husbands birthday and we make a last minute decision as a birthday gift to drive to UW in Laramie and watch the Wyoming Cowboys football game. We played Air Force and got our butts kicked, but it was still fun to go. Especially for the kids- Sage was all decked out in her cheerleader oufit and Chad had a Cowboys jersey- they were so cute and I forgot to take a pic, of course. It was a long day and we were sure pooped when we got home.