A Fabulous Fall Decor Award.....Thank You!!

Tina over at Old Glory Soldiers has presented me with this Fabulous Fall Decor award- thank you so very much! You should go check out her blog and her awesome handmades on her website, etsy and ebay! I am so honored to accept any kind of award and she is just such a sweetie pie to have thought of me! :0) I think I'm supposed to pass it on, and I usually always do, but I see most of my other blogger friends have already got it. When I get more time hopefully I can go through and see if there's a few that haven't yet.... :0)

Still working on my snowgirl and she's just about done. She is really pretty- and sparkly! :0) I'm gonna have to be a tease and not have a sneakie peek this time cuz I didn't have the time today to take pics and edit them, etc, etc. I am waiting on some glass glitter I ordered to do her shoes and then she's finally finished. Like Santa, I have to list her on ebay this time also to be fair to my ebay groups. Don't worry, I'll post a pic and her link when she's ready.Well, I need to crack the whip on myself and get back to work as domestic engineer.......then I'll put in some overtime on graveyards working on craft show dollies after that...LOL. :0)

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)

Just let me sleep!

I have been working on some dolls for an upcoming craft show for the last month and at some point my burning the candle at both ends is going to catch up with me! I remember those days of sleep deprivation when my kids were each newborn and kept me up at odd hours of the night. I'm having those same groggy days again, but nobody to blame but me! LOL. I take care of the kids during the day, then stay up late to work on dolls after they go to bed. I still try to squeeze some doll time in during naps, but then there's always housework to do, too. LOL. I haven't had anything listed for any of my groups on ebay for over a month now and hope to have this snowgirl and Santa done in the next few days. I promised them I wouldn't post their naked lil bodies on the internet, so they at least let me get a work in progress pic from the neck up. LOL. They're from Tonya's patterns and both coming along well. This is my third snowgirl so far this season and you'll probably notice she isn't wearing her wire smile yet- it will get handstitched on after she's all dressed. After doing my last 5 dolls as painted muslin pieces, it was nice to go back to just plain stained muslin- and lots less work and drying time, I might add! LOL. I sure love his face so far even though he'll get his wool beard felted on later. Well, enough taking a break- I gotta get back to work while the night's still young! :0)

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.

Happy Birthday Sage!

On Monday October 6th, Sage turned 5 years old! I'm sure not ready for her to be 5 yet, either! She is growing up so fast and getting smarter than her mom every day! LOL! We had a nice party for her in the town park and invited all the little girls in her preschool class. We ordered pizza for lunch, then ate the "cake" (if you look close, it is made up of cupcakes all arranged into a crown shape and covered with icing), then opened up presents and let the kids wear themselves out on the playground...and no, I did not make it- I cheated and ordered it from the bakery at Wal-Mart...tee hee! Sorry I only got a pic of the cake. It was very windy and the pizza boxes, tablecloth and napkins, etc kept trying to blow all over so I had to put the camera up.

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!

Americana Wynter Dolly...

~SOLD~

I'm sure glad Tonya at Back Porch Pickins released this pattern- I have really enjoyed working on this snowgal- I couldn't help but do her in Americana- it's one of my favs. She is 21" tall from head to toe, and 24" if you count her crown, too.She has wired arms. Her whimsical smile is actually wire stitched in place. Her flag has wire in the top and bottom-I made it appear to be waving. Lots of handstitching and tinsel trim. Her slippers are sugar coated in ultra fine red glitter- I decided not to glitter her star woolen and the crown- I thought it might be too much. I stitched rusty bells around the hem, on her sleeves and pantalets, too. Even her flag has a few bells. Her garland is metal glittered snowflakes and jingle bells... I made her a hangtag that say "Americana Wynter" with tiny snowflakes stamped on. She did not make it to ebay as she has just been adopted and already on her way to her new home....... :0)

Here she is....

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!)

New dolly....

Well, I don't know what my deal is, but I really had intentions to finish my pumpkin man before this snowgirl but she's been so fun to work on, I just can't put her down! LOL! I'll probably just keep the pumpkin guy for me to put on my front porch chair- I'll share pics when he's done. I bought her pattern from Tonya last week. She's not quite finished of course- I still have to make her crown and do the glitter on her shoes....I think I'll make a garland of some type for her to hold, too. Sorry the pic isn't very good. The light outside wasn't cooperating and she seems so "bright"- which she really isn't- I used plenty of stain on her and her clothing and the flag. I'll post another pic when she's all done- most likely tomorrow sometime. :0)

I've been tagged.....

I've been tagged my my friend Joleen at The Primitive Bucket to tell 6 things about myself and tag 6 others.....

1. I went to college right out of high school and earned a degree as a Veterinary Technician....I loved it, but the pay and benefits were horrible...something they don't tell you in college. Plus, my current "job" as a mom is so much better! LOL

2. I used to rodeo some in High School (goat tying). I did work two jobs at the time, so never got to do them all, plus I worked to pay my own entry fees unlike the other kids whose parents paid for everything.

3. I love to sketch and draw and have been that way since I can remember. My favorite media is pen & ink, I also really like charcoal and pencil. Back in high school I did a lot of artwork (I'll have to post some pics) and I was very close to my art teacher, he was a great mentor. My last year in college he died in a car accident and I took it pretty hard. After that I stopped drawing and such....I've worked on a piece or two in the last 10 years, but I really enjoy making my dolls now and found it is a wonderful creative outlet for me.

4. I hate to cook, but love to bake! Funny, huh? I'm not sure why, but to me the two are like night and day. My favorite thing to bake is pie with crust made from scratch (my grandma's recipe, and its awesome!) I don't make the filling from scratch, I just buy the canned stuff, but would love to learn how!

5. I collect Red Wing Stoneware. Of course Craig will tell you I tend to "collect" more stuff than that, but I do have a soft spot for them. So far I have various sized Red Wing crocks and jugs, one butter churn, and a chicken feeder, but no bowls yet. I mean I do have stoneware bowls and canisters, but they are not actual Red Wing pottery.

6. I am actually very shy, that is at least until you get to know me. I was terribly shy as a kid and have become a little more outgoing as I get older, but am still a wimp about meeting new people! Ok, I admit it! LOL!

So that's pretty much all I am going to blab about me...maybe more later if I happen to get tagged again...LOL. Now, let's see, I have to pick 6 others that have not already received it yet, so here goes....

1. Linda at Meadowbrook Cabin Primitives (Linda is such a great person- she makes some real nice dollies, too! I just love her pilgrim girl she has now, but my fav is probably the doll riding the goose on her blog banner)

2. Sandy at Sam I Am Creations (I just love her...truly one of the nicest people...she made my Halloween banner and Halloween auction template- take a peek at her on ebay or etsy!)

3. Mandie at Life In The Craft Lane With Mandie (She has lots of freebies for your blog and etsy....go check her out....that's where I got my background)

4.Raquel at Kitchen Mysteries (If you're looking for recipes, you need to take a peek at her blog! Her blog is really nice)

5. Linda at Behind My Red Door (She receives a ton of awards and is thinking of a tag free zone, but just want her to know her blog does ROCK and she is not obligated to participate of course)

6. Leslie at My Country Home (She has already received this award, but I just love reading her blog and she deserves it a second time! You should go take a peek if you get a chance.) Of course she doesn't have to take part again unless she really wants to... :0)