Taking Chance...a true life story

If anyone has HBO, be sure you don't miss the premiere of this movie tomorrow night, February 21st. It is the touching true life story about Marine officer Lt. Col. Mike Strobl (played by Kevin Bacon) who volunteered to escort the body of a fallen fellow marine, Lance Cpl. Chance Phelps back home to Dubois, WY and that emotional journey across the U.S. many seldom see or even know about. (Be sure to have your tissues handy....my dad and stepmom were able to be at the premiere a few days ago in Dubois and he said there wasn't a dry eye in the place....including theirs..) No, this is not a political war movie, but rather one that reminds us of what is still good in America and the ultimate respect that is bestowed upon the remains of a fallen Marine.
And yes, this post is especially close to mine and my family's heart because my stepmother and Chance's mother, Gretchen are longtime friends. After Chance's death, she started the Chance Phelps Foundation to raise money for extra gear for those serving in Iraq and charities associated with those currently serving or have served in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Please stop by and read Chance's story and see the wonderful things the Foundation has done for so many in his memory....no matter what your opinion is about the war in Iraq, let us not forget the ultimate sacrifices Chance and many other military men and women have made to ensure the freedoms that you and I enjoy today.

Click here if you'd like to see more clips and behind the scenes trailers on the movie.

Singing the Pink Eye Blues...

Yup. I woke up yesterday morning to a lovely case of pink eye in not only one, but both my eyes! Oh man! I know exactly who I got it from, too- Craig! He got it almost two weeks ago from an outbreak at work- the weird thing was that if I was going to get it- why am I getting it now? After two weeks I thought the rest of us were in the clear. At that time I had washed all the bedding, went through cleaning and disinfecting everything, bought hand sanitizer for practically every room in the house and disinfecting wipes, etc. Guess you can never be too careful- I have heard pink eye is highly contagious and now I know that's for sure! LOL. I am using the Gentamicin drops they gave Craig and my peepers are feeling better- after 5 days I should be all clear- in the meantime I am being extremely careful not to get my face too close to the kiddos and my hands are so dry from all the washing. Then yesterday the preschool called and said Sage got sick at school and I had to go get her- I tell ya, just one of those days! LOL.

Also, an update on the CPSIA thing- it appears that they may be suspending the lead testing craziness until next February- they have granted a one-year stay, so at least we can all breathe a little easier and have some time to let all of this sink in and think about what 2010 may bring. Hopefully in the meantime they will realize the lead testing idea wasn't the best solution. Hey, we can hope, right? :0)

Attention ALL Dollmakers!!! You need to read this!!

This has been the hot topic of discussion lately....I know there are a lot of us that make dolls and such out there. I am not sure how many of us know about this totally ridiculous law that has been passed and supposed to go into effect on Feb. 10th. It is called the CPSIA Law- which mandates lead testing on any product that may be intended to be used for a child under the age of 12- which could cost thousands of dollars for each item- and that is no joke! I found some info and links that may be useful from the Junction Journal's blog. Go take a look!!
We all know the dolls we make are to be used as fine adult collectibles and we even state that they are not children's toys- HOWEVER- this may be a very gray area- if we label it as a doll- they may still consider it a "toy" or be interpreted by a consumer as such. Girls, we all need to be aware and become familiar with this. Good grief! I am definitely writing my congressman about this! Do they have any idea how ridiculous this is? Think about how many small businesses and WAHM's are going to be put out of business or the SAHM's that make dolls to help out with the monthly bills? Or how about the little old ladies that crochet the baby blankets and booties at the local craft shows? Or how it will affect our already fragile economy? Here is a site suggesting that impact. I really wonder if they think about the bigger picture before they start passing these stupid laws??......thanks for letting me vent!!

Americana Spring Doll...

Just got this gal all finished up yesterday, but won't be listing her quite yet. I made her using a pattern from Two Dancing Crows. I am hoping to get another doll done or something else to list for each of my three groups. Seems like I haven't had anything on ebay forever....I looked and its been since like November...eek! LOL. I really wanted to do something for Valentines Day, but with my local orders here time has run out now- so I will probably make some St. Patty's Day stuff or Easter stuff....so anyhoo, back to this gal! She is somewhat of a make-do--She is free standing and secured to a distressed wood candlestick and stands 16 inches. She has a full head of wool hair and as you can see, she is finished all the way around, which would make her perfect as a centerpiece or whatever. Her skinny arms are wired so she can pose and hold onto things. Like I said, I'm not sure when I'll be listing her, but I will surely post here when I do. :0).

A few dolls to share......and a few awards!

I know, I know! It's been a few weeks since my last post, but honestly I have been working my little fingers to the bone in the craft room. I have a few dollies all finished for a local gal and I wanted to share. My camera was giving me problems, but now its working again- thank goodness! I think its days are numbered and its trying to tell me that I need to hurry up and find a replacement and quick, LOL. This first doll is from a You Are Special pattern. Love the big head and squinty eyes! This washday Mammy doll turned out so great, I think. She is so much neater in person. She is from a Be Fruitful Kreations pattern. She is pretty small (15 inches..), but has tons of details on her. I needle sculpted her nose and lips, fingers, toes and even her washboard. I penciled on her eyes, toenails and fingernails with artists pencil. She has a wee bit of sheeps wool felted in place with a headwrap updo. Her arms are even button jointed so they will move up and down. I was really happy how her skin color turned out- a beautiful golden brown.

Linda over at Meadowbrook Cabin Primitives gave me two awards and I promised her I would put them on my blog in my next post.

'This blog invests and believes in the PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships. These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers' aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes for self-aggrandizement! Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers!'

I am supposed to pass this award on to eight fellow bloggers, but so many have either already received this award or wish to be an award free blog. So what I will do is offer this award to anyone on my blog list and please feel free to snag it. She also gave me this award, too! Thank you very much Linda! :0) Now, for this award I am supposed to list a few addictions I have......let's see here....

#1- My family. They rank #1! I don't know what I would do without them around me! :0)

#2- Stoneware. I love everything stoneware! Crocks, jugs, jars, bowls- you name it! Of course you can tell from my earlier posts that I collect Red Wing....I guess I could say I am addicted to all primitive antiques, but stoneware is my fav to collect.

#3- Fabric. Yes, I admit it! I have a fabric problem! LOL! It's beginning to take over the craft room! Yikes!

#4- Thrift Shops. I am a thrift store junkie through and through! Of course I can't pass up a yard sale or antique shop either!

#5- Pepsi. Yes, I am a Pepsi-holic! Call me crazy!

#6- Trident Chewing gum. I love chewing gum- but it has to be sugar free. I know, I'm weird!

Ok, I am supposed to pass this along to other bloggers, but again, with so many already getting this award and those that have gone award free, I will leave it open for anyone wanting to play. Again Linda, thank you so much for thinking of me! Girls, you should really go have a peek at Linda's blog. She makes the neatest dollies and things! She also has some goodies on Ebay, WSOAPP and Simply Primitives.

Where the heck does the time go?

Boy, ever since my last post I feel like I have been in a whirlwind! My last post was before Christmas and here it is the end of the first week in January! Life is finally slowing down a little and Sage is now back in preschool so it's back to reality again! LOL. It's been a while since my last post because my mother has been going through some really tough times since right before Christmas and I have been trying to help her out- its a brand spanking new year and she can start over fresh. I turned the big 3-0 on the 27th, then realized two days ago that my drivers license expired on my birthday and I had been driving around for ten days with no idea! I was lucky I didn't get caught! I have also taken advantage of the break in doll making and such to reorganize and clean the craft room a little- and boy did it need that! LOL. I had taken a few special orders before Christmas and need to get working on those before the time gets away from me again. I also want to list some dolls on ebay- I haven't done anything there for quite a while. I did have a doll or two leftover from the 12 Days of Christmas shoppe and had thought about offering them for an after Christmas discount here. Let me know if anyone is interested- I can email pics or just post them here.

The Rest of My Merry Decor...

I just love snowmen! They used to be the only Christmas decor I put out, but as time goes by I add more Santa's, candy canes, gingerbread and greenery...it seems like this year I am totally nuts about trees of all sizes! I dare not count how may little trees I have tucked here and there! This is my favorite "end table" of course because it is one of my Red Wing crocks. Craig made the wood top for me and it serves double duty as storage for extra throw blankets and stuff...I made the lamp using a giant reproduction mason jar and a lamp adapter kit.
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....

This was the doll I made for my mother in law, Debbie for her birthday. She is from a Sweet Meadows Farm pattern. Deb's birthday is actually tomorrow, but we all threw her a surprise birthday party this last Saturday when she least expected it. She really liked her dolly and that made me so happy!

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.

Lots and lots to share!

First off, I owe a long overdue thank you to Pea for this lovely award. I have only just recently 'met' Pea and she is truly one of the nicest and friendliest people one can meet! Be sure to check out her blog! She awarded me last week and I had intended to post earlier in the week and, well, as you can see life happened and here I am on Friday already! LOL. Boy, it has been one busy week for us. We left over the weekend and got our (enormous) Christmas tree, then Sage came down sick again on Tuesday and missed some preschool this week. She was pretty wiped out and I was ready to take her to the ped's today, but she is acting a whole lot better, so now we are on the mend and hopefully Chad doesn't catch any of it....boy, when she coughed, she sounded like a barking seal which made me think of croup. (Been there, done that with Chad as an infant) When Craig's sister was little she would get sick and have the same cough. They kept diagnosing it as croup, but later found out she actually had asthma, so that is always in the back of our minds. Luckily (knock on wood) Sage has never had any breathing problems, thus far....
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.

A little Holiday decorating to share...

Well, I finally got to start putting some of my Christmas decor out the other day! Yipee! I usually do it the weekend after Thanksgiving, but we were getting ready to replace our carpet with laminate in the front room and we had to take everything out of the room to get the job done, so it was easier just to wait. Plus, we had to wait until Craig had a regularly scheduled weekend off to do it. I also wanted to share the pics of the new flooring. This is the view from the top of the stairs looking down...

You'll have to excuse the hole in the drywall above the fireplace (the dark area in front of the coffee table in case it's hard to make out in the pic)- when we moved in a few years ago, there was a fake roof with wood shingles built into the wall above a fireplace insert- last year we replaced the fireplace with our coal stove and next week that bare spot will have a nice new piece of drywall over it. I was worried about the flooring at first because it looked pretty light in the package, but now that its in, I love it! I think it's perfect! I still have a few more Christmas things to put out and since we are cutting our own tree, we are waiting until this weekend to get one so it doesn't dry out too much before Christmas.

That's also the reason why we put the flooring in now because I've vacuumed pine needles out of my carpet before and it sucks! LOL. Especially when they get stuck between the carpet and the baseboard trim. Speaking of baseboard trim, as you can see we are waiting on that until after Christmas. The reason being that I am going to do a faux finish on the upper half of the walls (yes, I'm crazy because we have vaulted ceilings and it will probably be a major pain in the #@!, but I think I will really like it when it's done) and wainscoting on the bottom, so it will be a lot easier to do the trim after all that is done.

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Well, thats pretty much what I've been up to lately. I have a few dolls I'm working on for 12 Days this week and will try to share pics of them if I get a chance before we leave this weekend. I'll hopefully also have more pics to share after our tree is up. Until next time.... :0)