Some cool finds and a few makeovers....

Well, what do you know- two posts in a month. LOL....I'm feeling ambitious this week, what can I say?

I always love visiting other blogs and seeing what everyone is up to- especially the thrift shop/yard sale show-and-tell everyone shares. I had to giggle when I was visiting Char's blog today and she said she would rather have $50 to spend at the thrift shop than $100 at the mall- wow she really hit the nail on the head there- I couldn't have said it better! So with that being said, I wanted to share a few things I found today...Keep in mind that my thrift shops around here aren't what I really consider "thrifty" most of the time- they usually overprice stuff and I don't ever seem to find the neat prim stuff the other girls back East can. But today's T2T shopping I felt so lucky! First of all, the coffee table was only $5- solid wood and sturdy! It will be getting a makeover very soon. The dark spot underneath and to the left of the stool looks like someone had set something hot there and it scorched the wood pretty bad. The little milking stool was $1- the legs are a tad wobbly, but nothing a nail gun won't fix. It's not like I will actually be using it- after its makeover it will probably become a prop for my pictures or something I'm sure. The frame was only 20 cents. I'll either antique it more to tone down the blue color or paint it another color....we'll see.....the shutters were freebies and I'll tell you more about those in a minute....
This lamp was another exciting find, but I must tell you it wasn't a thrift shop find. It was actually a brand new candlestick lamp I found at Wal-Mart for $5. Its original color was bright white, but now it sports an Old Parchment (Delta-Ceramcoat) topcoat with a coat of black peeking out underneath where I distressed it. And yep, I did rub antiquing glaze over it and sprayed with a matte sealer. My flash makes it a lot brighter, but in person it is the most beautiful, warm light mustard color. We really needed new bedside lamps for our bedroom (I bought two and they both look identical so I'm only showing one) and I wasn't about to pay $100+ per lamp for something I could do myself. I ended up finding the shades at Piper Classics- even though they cost more than the actual lamps did ($20), I still saved money anyway.
Now about those "shutters". LOL. Can you believe they are not actually window shutters at all? A few years ago Sage moved from upstairs into the spare room in the basement and last year we remodeled her room- these were the bifold doors from her closet that we replaced. There were actually four, but I only wanted three- Craig helped me cut them in half and hinge them together to form a screen. They were bare, stained wood so all I had to do was paint and distress, antique and voila! I actually made it for a backdrop to take pics of my dolls or whatever else I'm selling. For years I was using the old weathered fence between our and our neighbor's house and it was so boring- plus if the weather wasn't cooperative I had to take pics inside and they didn't turn out as good. Now I can take "pretty" pics inside and out! Hee hee!

And here is my wagon with my petunias inside. That poor little wagon! I've had it for a few years now and came close to painting it is original red, but decided not to-I didn't want it to look brand new. So I left the faded red and using some white exterior latex paint by hand, I freshened the faded white lettering and symbol on the side. I really love it and those petunias are the kind that trail/vine, so later this summer they'll cascade down. We still need to get some mulch down in the flowerbed and yes, our deck need to be restained, doesn't it? LOL.This was another makeover I did last year. It's actually an old piece of reclaimed cedar siding. I bought it from a shoppe in town a few years ago and it originally said "Wash Room" on it. I lived with it for a year, but I never really liked it too much. I had been wanting to have something with the family name on it to hang by the front door and this old piece of wood was perfect for it. I painted black over the original cream color. I used some tin stars from another sign I have for templates and the lettering I did myself. I thought it turned out neat and wanted to share.... On another note, I apologize some of my pics aren't clickable for a full size viewand I don't know why that is....or how I can make them all clickable- if anyone knows why or if its something I'm doing wrong, please let me know! I am working on another doll, but it probably won't be listed on ebay.... Ebay sure isn't what it used to be- you used to be able to find ANYTHING on ebay and I have noticed it isn't the same anymore. A lot of sellers don't have anything listed and I know a lot have gone to Etsy and have had better luck. I've only bought things on Etsy and haven't tried it as a selling venue yet. Neither of my ebay dolls sold and I haven't decided if I should offer them here or take them to the shoppe in town. If I put them on my blog, the shipping is free (in the US only). Hopefully I'll be back in a few days with my next doll.....

Until next time! :0) -Jody

Denver Zoo/Aquarium pics and a few dolls to share...

We had such a blast on our trip to Denver. I had never been to a Zoo before and I had as much fun as the kids did. LOL. Here we are in front of the carousel at the zoo...Sage was being moody and wouldn't turn around for the pic.

This is one of my fav pics- I got "flashed" by this not so very shy octopus. LOL. I love my camera! I thought it took some great pics- especially considering most pics were taken through glass.Craig's sister Heidi and the kids posing on the Hippos.

I thought this lizard was neat sunbathing on his branch....

I love how vibrantly colored poison arrow frogs are....

These jellyfish were neat, too........Chad thought the penguins were cool- and they're his favorite animal anyway. And Sage was just totally enthralled with the lions....

At the aquarium they had some mantarays in a big pool and you could feed them minnows by hand- it was really neat. They would stick their heads out of the water and suck the minnow right out of your hand with their mouths- it felt really weird.....you have to feed them at the shallow end of the pool though- a lady that worked there said in the deeper end they have actually flung themselves out of the water and onto the floor because they get so excited for food. There were these little exotic birds at the zoo that drank nectar with their tongues. You could buy a little cup of nectar and get to feed them by hand....Sage thought that was so cool. I would share more, but I ended up taking over 400 pics that weekend, but thought this was enough for one post. LOL.

Well, nobody croak or anything, but I actually got my other doll done and both are listed on ebay now. You can take a peek at them *HERE* to see more pics and close-ups.

I used a pattern from Two Dancing Crows for the black Americana doll and patterns from Crabby Gabby for the Lady Liberty and Stitchin' Sew Prim for the torch and crown design. I thought they both turned out neat and just in time for the Fourth. Or if you're like me, leave it out all year.....everyday is Americana at my house. LOL. We have been doing a bit of landscaping in our front yard and I made a planter out of an old Radio Flyer wagon- I'll share in my next post since there were plenty of pics this time. Who knows, I may have another doll done by then. Until next time...... :0) -Jody

What I've been up to lately....

Maybe it would be easier to say what HAVEN"T I been up to lately. LOL. Sage stayed home from school on Wednesday with a tummy ache, and that night I noticed her eyes looked a little red, but she said they felt fine. Last week I already had an appt set up Thursday morning for the pains in her leg (which turned out to be just a bad case of growing pains- thank goodness nothing serious), he thought it (the eyes) was allergy related because at the time she had also been getting itchy little welts on her skin which went away with Benadryl. I took her to school on Friday and thank goodness her teacher told me while Sage had been gone from school quite a few other kids had pink eye. So I called the Dr and he went ahead and called in some eye drops. At the store Chad kept telling me his tummy hurt. When we got home, I was taking him out of his carseat and he got sick all over himself, the carseat and me. He feels a little better now, but we're laying pretty low this weekend. If he isn't better by Monday, we're going back to the Doctor's, or sooner if he starts running a fever.......Well, for the last week -up until a few days ago anyway- I have been up to my neck in naked- and mostly headless- doll bodies and parts as you can see a few in the works. A few in the pic are already done and going to a local prim shoppe in town. Right now I'm actually working on 4 more dolls- 3 are surprise gifts for someone (I can't say who because they might read my blog and I don't want to spoil it) and the 4th is another dolly for ebay.
You might remember this one I finished a while back- in January I think, but then it seemed like we had all sorts of stuff going on and I never got to list her on ebay since then. Well, I'm ready to list her, but I need to swap her "Americana Spring" tag out and make another that says "Americana Summer". I'm gonna wait until the other doll is done, too before she goes on ebay, but sorry no sneaky peeks of the new one. Hee hee! :0)

A few weeks ago, we needed to get away for a few days, so we took the kids and went on a spur of the moment type of trip to visit Craig's sister, Heidi in Denver. We had such a blast! We took the kids to the Denver Zoo and the Downtown Aquarium which was just as much fun for me as it was for the kids cuz I had never ever been to a zoo before, either. I ended up taking like 400+ pictures, so I need to get them loaded and edited on the computer before I can share a few with all of you! :0) I did get to meet Kathy of Kittredge Mercantile and see her shop in person as she is just outside of Denver. All I can say is WOW! Tons and tons of eye candy! Every room in her shop is filled to the brim with her wonderful handmades, antiques and vintage finds and collectibles as well as one room dedicated to reproduction iron pieces. Kathy is a hoot! I could have spent hours in there just to see everything and I did leave with a few little things, although I could have left with tons more if we weren't all crammed in Heide's little car. :0) Hee hee! I got the crow make-do, and old quilt pillow with a heart and a little quilt pinkeep.That crow make-do is BIG! I just love him! I put him on the shelf on that big wall in the front room and he is perfect there! I was sad I didn't get to meet Joleen on the way down- she was visiting her sister that weekend, but it was my fault- I didn't give her much notice because it was a last minute decision trip. Sorry Joleen! We'll be down again soon! :0)

I did promise a pic of our finished bathroom, so here it is. We went from pretty much gutting it like this:

and thisto this!It turned out so great! Well, it still has a few things missing- the piece of oak trim above the wainscoting by the toilet and a bit of wainscoting right next to the vanity there, but its minor and we'll get to it on Craig's next days off. The original vanity was really long with double sinks, which for us was a huge waste of counter space- so we opted for a shorter one which we bought unfinished,then stained and finished ourselves and cut the countertop longer to allow for a laundry hamper to be concealed behind the homespun curtain. And here is the view from the doorway in. That is actually an antique china cabinet of my moms which I am keeping for her- she's going though a really miserable divorce with the possibility of moving again and right now she doesn't have room for it at her place. So instead of putting it in storage, I'm using it to store our bathtowels. It's empty right now cuz we just moved it in here yesterday. The wall on that side is bare, I was waiting to decorate the walls until I got the cabinet in there. Hope you like our bathroom! Well, I should go and get some stuff done. I'll try to post some of our Denver pics this week sometime. :0)

Springtime remodeling pics...

Geez..it has already been a month since my last post. Well, so much for my best laid plans! LOL! Well, this post should be good and lengthy with lots of pics to share, so hopefully that will make up for it. Tee Hee! It seems I have been busier than ever since mid- Feb, though- and not craft related, darn it! We moved into our house 4 years ago this spring and the main bathroom and our front living room have been an ongoing remodeling project ever since- it was either lack of time, money, or the combination of both that kept us from getting more done on it. So Craig took some extra vacation time off work and we decided to use our tax return money and worked our tails off and it finally turned out so great! Lots of color! But I can't tell you how much fun it is trying to paint and stain and do all this with a 5 yr old and 2yr old trying to "help" and getting into everything! LOL! (I couldn't figure out how to make each pic "clickable" so you could see it bigger- only the first and last in this post will do that for some reason-if anyone knows how to change that-let me know!)Here are a few "before" pics of the front living room:
We took out all the baseboard heaters (there were originally five just in this room alone, can you believe it!) and replaced them with an energy efficient one with a fan under the bay window........about the area above the fireplace- there used to be a fake roof thingie that came down from the ceiling and jutted out from the wall- it even had rough wood shingles on it- yuck!

I never took any pics of it, but there used to be a wood burning stove insert with harvest gold tile that was falling off in pieces and a ledge that jutted out from the wall to sit on. Our house was built in 1980, so I'm sure it was all original to the house- as was the lovely popcorn texture on the ceilings which went bye-bye, too. We just opened up the whole area and put a coal stove in- which heats our house SO much better! There used to be 2 matching wood shelves on both sides which were nailed to the wall.....and now some "after" pics:
I am thrilled how it came out! The walls are a lot darker and look more textured in person- the camera flash tends to brighten everything. I did a basecoat of pale cream and then did a tea stain glaze wash over the top- I wanted kind of a light venetian plaster texture look and thought I did pretty good for my first time! Thanks so much to my new blogging friend Stacey, for all her help when I was getting started last month! Your help and emails were tremendously appreciated!
The big Americana doll hanging from the old ladder was one I made last year from a Crabby Gabby pattern- she didn't sell on eBay and I kept her for me- she's my very favorite doll I got to keep!
She sure is a big doll and this was the best place to display her I think. The other big doll on the pie safe is my second fav- another pattern of Heidi's (Crabby Gabby) .....she was another that didn't find a home on eBay and after the longest time, I finally found a place big enough to display her. The quilt bear in the chair and the one on the bench in the bay window I bought from Kathy at Kittredge Mercantile- she also painted the old scale on the pie safe and the tool carrier on the stove- which is not being used at the moment, so don't worry! LOL.
I guess I can't really say the job in this room is 100% finished, though- more like 99.9%..tee hee...we ran out of chair rail trim above the wainscoting and had to get more, so there is a tiny piece missing between the two windows in the pics- we just keep forgetting it. LOL.
I found an awesome early stencil design (thank you so much for your info Linda!) and stenciled with a dark khaki all around above the chair rail. I love it! We also replaced the sconces on both sides of the opening between the front room and dining room with candelabra fixtures that were approved for up to 60 watts. They look so much better than the original fixtures!
Hmmm...Not sure if I like the barn star on the big wall above the shelf....it looks too empty- I'm looking for a pretty antique quilt to hang but haven't found one that "speaks" to me yet. When I was posting this pic I just realized I had some miscellaneous stuff/junk on the bench of my little childs desk- oopsie! LOL. Too late to retake the pic today- I'll replace it later.
We are just finishing the bathroom still, so no peeks at it yet-hopefully I'll have pics to share in my next post. The entryway area is not quite finished yet- here is a "before" pic:
And an "in between" pic:Not really much different except the trim is off the doorway and I just started painting the walls a bit....I promise some pics when it is done....that'll be good for my next post...

I had meant to share this little punchneedle before, but the camera I had before would not have taken as good of a pic. (Another tax return goodie-I finally got my new camera! A Canon Rebel XSi- I LOVE it!!) I bought the pattern last spring from Country Stitches and started on it and got busy doing other things- I finally got it done this fall and I really love it! It was my very first punchneedle and I was surprised how easy and fun it actually was- really easy to do in the living room watching TV with the family. It's a lot like rug hooking from what I've heard and I would just love to give rug hooking a try-like I need more hobbies! LOL! Speaking of getting things done, I need to get off this computer! I just barely got to step foot in my craft room again and I have some local orders for some dolls I need to finish up- plus I'm helping my mom out again with some tough personal stuff going on again in her world so I should get going and get some stuff done. :0)

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.