A gift from my daughter

I regret that we did not have a family gathering this year as we had done in the past. My husband has been recuperating from two surgeries and with all the stress we have gone through in the past couple of months dealing with his pain and recuperation, I felt it was best to celebrate quietly at home. I was fortunate to have my youngest daughter pull out all of my Christmas decorations and put up my tree this year. If it wasn't for her my home would not have any Christmas spirit whatsoever. Thank you Jenn for being there for us.

I was so pleased to receive a special gift from my daughter in Michigan. She sent me a pair of handmade primitive mother and daughter Annie dolls that she made especially for me. She designed the dolls herself and included a little pillow stitched with the words "A mother holds her children's hands for a while.....Their hearts forever." I'm so proud of her accomplishments.



I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

I Won a Giveaway!

I'm so excited! I won a giveway from Sandy's The Olde Country Cupboard blog. I love her blog and have purchased many of her "You Are Special" patterns over the past few years. I feel so fortunate to have won her "Trees of the Season". Please check her blog and her pattern line by clicking on the highlighted links above. I'm sure you'll be inspired by her work as much as I am.

Another Christmas Raggedy Annie Completed

It has been a dreary weekend due to a front pushing into southern Florida from the Gulf of Mexico. We've haven't had any rain yet but it has been cloudy all day. This type of weather makes me spend more time in my sewing room working on new dolls. I designed this primitive Raggedy Ann doll myself - no pattern was used on this one. I guess after you have completed enough dolls using other designers patterns, you feel confident enough to create your own. This Christmas doll was just listed on Ebay. I have two other dolls listed that end today.

Cath's Pennies is having a giveaway for this cute handmade wool Christmas candle mat. Visit her blog and sign up to win. She will be drawing the winner on Wednesday, November 18 at 10:00 p.m.

Getting into the Christmas Spirit - SOLD

Yes, I am getting into the spirit of the upcoming season. What is it about the change in seasons that makes you want to be more creative? Maybe it's because I finally get to breathe fresh air. Yes, today I have my windows open and am enjoying the gentle breeze blowing in from the Gulf of Mexico. I live in southwest coast of Florida where we have our air conditioning running from April through November.

Here is the other Christmas Raggedy Annie doll I mentioned yesterday. I completed her and her little snowman this morning. She is already listed on Ebay.

Back in the Doll Making Mood

I just finished another Raggedy Annie doll and listed her on Etsy. She is a primitive Christmas Raggedy Ann with her little Teddy Bear. I made her from a Sweet Meadows Farm pattern and she is cute as a button.

I also started another doll today which will be my own design. Check back tomorrow. Hopefully I'll have it completed and listed on either Ebay or Etsy.

I found the neatest little tool for dollmaking. I've read plenty of patterns that call for stuffing your dolls using a hemostat. Well I finally bought one and what a different it makes when you are trying to stuff those skinny little legs.

Giveaway at Bittersweet Prims

Head on over to Bittersweet Prims for a chance to win the giveaway for this adorable snowman. The giveaway ends November 7.

Back from vacation

It's been awhile since I've posted. I had been busy preparing for my vacation and now that I'm back from my 12 day cruise to Hawaii it's time to get down to business and get crafting. While I was away one of my dolls that was listed on Etsy sold. I feel bad that I was not able to notify the buyer that I would be away for that length of time. I hope she forgives me when she receives her purchase.

The cruise was great. We had been there before by ourselves, but this time we had friends to share the experience with us. We were active every minute touring the islands of Maui, Kauai, Oahu and The Big Island (Hawaii).

The sights were wonderful. If any of you go to Hawaii, a do not miss would be the Napali coast excursion on the island of Kauai. It is spectacular - like heaven on earth! (Click on the photos to enlarge).



This is the view we had from our cabin while docked in Oahu - Diamond Head.



Our Maui tour guide took us on an Ecotour around the island.



Another view of Maui



Hawaii Volcano National Park (The Big Island)



Rainbow Falls (also on the Big Island)

Our Happy 28th Anniversary!

Today my husband and I are celebrating our 28th wedding anniversary. Although we are saving our real celebration for an upcoming Hawaiian cruise, we reminisced about our wedding day after my husband pulled out this old wedding photo. Look what a difference 28 years has made.

Cabinet Makeover

A few posts ago I had shown this picture of an old wooden cabinet that had the hideous bright red calico background inside. It was a $5.00 Goodwill purchase. It took some thought before I decided what to use in the door that probably once held a mirror.

Here is the "BEFORE" photo:



Here is the "AFTER" photo:




I spray painted the cabinet in a flat black, then sanded it up a bit to add some age. Then I applied some walnut gel stain. I replaced the red fabric backing with a primitive dark sage green and rust colored calico print. On the front door I embroidered a stitchery of a primitive crow holding a pip berry branch onto a piece of muslin. I coffee stained the piece, then applied it to the inside of the door frame.

I think it turned out great.

I'll be working on some more GW purchases that need transformations as well.

My favorite little "Lady Bug" Annie doll just sold today on ebay. There are still two more Annies from the same design listed. Check out my these listings by clicking the ebay link on the right sidebar.

My Latest Creations

I've had computer issues this past week. I was so upset when my computer would not boot up the other day. I tried all afternoon Sunday trying to get it working. Tried loading the recovery disk and nothing would work. I took it to the computer repair store and they were going to charge me $149 just to run a diagnostic test on it to see if if the hard drive could be restored, with no guarantee that it would fix the problem. I said never mind. I bought a new PC instead. I lost all of my pictures and files that had not been backed up. Let that be a lesson to make sure I periodically make back-up cd's of all of my files..........just in case it should happen again. I don't know what caused the problem, but I have been having problems every time I use Facebook and think that maybe the computer had a virus that attacked the hard drive. I'll never know for sure.

Since I've not had access to a computer for a few days, I had plenty of time for crafting. I've been making these Raggedy Annie dolls from a pattern by Cat and the Fiddle Designs. After I made the first one (Lady Bug Collector), I couldn't resist making more. Their faces are adorable. I have these three cuties listed on ebay.





I've also been working on the cabinet that I showed in my previous post. It's almost done and will show the finished results soon.

Sewing and Thrifting

With autumn right around the corner, I've started working on more primitive raggedy Annie dolls. If you read the latest edition of Create and Decorate, you probably saw the pattern from Cindy Markovcy (homespunfromtheheart.com). I couldn't resist making this sweet doll from her pattern that is featured in the magazine. Shown here is my version of her Harvest Doll pattern. I embroidered "Harvest Thyme" on her little apron. I hope to have her listed on ebay this weekend.

I went to four different thrift stores today looking for items that I could make over. Although I didn't have much luck, I did pick up this ugly little wall cabinet. What is with the red fabric background? Talk about hideous! Anyway I am trying to decide what to use in the door. I think it probably had a glass window at one time. I was thinking of painting a primitive saltbox scene, but it has an odd size opening (8.5 X 12 inches). I don't think I would find a canvas board in that size. I could also do a primitive stitchery. I even thought of using a punched tin. Does anyone have a suggestion?

Halloween Annie just listed on eBay - SOLD

In my last post I showed this primitive Halloween witch Annie doll that I was preparing to sell on eBay. I made some modifications on her and she is finally listed and ready for bidding on eBay. She has the sweetest expression on her face and her little black kitty is adorable. SOLD

Autumn is quickly approaching

Fall has always been my favorite time of the year. I don't get to enjoy it like I used to. We have lived in Florida for the past 14 years and we don't get the cool, clean air like we did up north. We go from hot summers to warm winter days. What happened to autumn? The only time you see any leaves drop in Florida is in March , then a week later they've been replaced with new growth. I guess in order to enjoy the fall season in the future I will have to go back to old New England where I was born and raised. When I think of fall in New England, I think of apple picking and taking day trips to the White Mountains of New Hampshire to take in all of the beautiful fall foliage, and hiking in the woods. With the way I'm rambling, can you tell I've had enough of this summer heat already?


I have finally started working on my primitive Annie dolls again in preparation for the holidays. I know I'm getting a late start. I've seen so many handmade creations for Halloween and Christmas from other crafters already but with sales being so sluggish on eBay, I've cut back on my own creativity.

Last year I purchased this pattern for a Witch Annie doll from Cat and the Fiddle Designs. I started putting it together yesterday and finished it up this afternoon. I will be listing it on eBay soon.



I have so many patterns and ideas I want to work on........but I'd better go finish my laundry first.

Vacationing in Michigan

We just returned home to Florida from our weeklong vacation visiting my daughter and her family in Michigan. While we were there we visited The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. While most of the museum displays are related to transportation, such as antique planes, trains and automobiles, there are many displays depicting culture and life in the early days. They had many displays of primitive kitchens. I wish I had a few of these items - like the trencher bowl, shaker boxes and firkins shown in the photos below.





While we were walking around looking at the old carriages, I stopped to read the sign in front of one which caught my eye. It mentioned that the carriage came from Portsmouth, New Hampshire. My ancestors originally came from that area in New Hampshire. I think I must have squealed in amazement as I read that this carriage shown below was donated by my grandfather's aunt Josephine Prescott to The Henry Ford Museum. That would make her my great, great aunt. The sign mentions that it was originally owned by her great uncle, which would make him my great, great, great, great uncle?





If you are ever in the Detroit area, be sure to visit The Henry Ford Museum. It actually takes at least two days to see the whole thing.

We had a wonderful time with the grandchildren. It had been two years since we last saw them. We spent time with them visiting various parks in the Detroit area along the shores of Lake Erie. The kids flew their kites, we all walked the hiking trails and viewed nature exhibits. The kids were thrilled because they got to swim in the pool at our hotel.



We loved every minute we spent with them and will miss them all until they come to Florida for a visit next spring.

Disney Monorail Accident

It was very disturbing to hear about the Monorail crash that happened today at Magic Kingdom. I live three hours away from Disney so we visit very often. We had taken our youngest grandson there in 2007 for his first visit to see Mickey Mouse. One of the highlights was to ride in the front of the monorail with the driver. I think it meant more to the adults than it did to him.



Approaching the Contemporary Resort



Aiden reading his Monorail Co-Pilot's License



This accident will probably put an end to the thrill of Disney visitors riding up front anymore. Before my daughter moved to Michigan, they had taken my granddaughter Nicole and she was lucky to have the chance to ride up front. While my other grandson Andrew has not been there yet, he will hopefully have the chance when he visits there next year. We're looking forward to our family reunion at Disney World in 2010.

I hope everyone had a happy and safe 4th of July holiday.

Now it's time to get back to my primitive projects. I'm working on a wall hanging for the living room. Still have plans to make the bowl rack but that will probably have to wait until after my vacation in Michigan.

Welcome Sign

My day started with the intention of making a bowl rack using Char's tutorial until I realized I didn't have all the wood I needed. Instead I pulled out a piece of board and my new stencil and made this new WELCOME TO OUR OLDE FARMSTEAD sign. I loved the sign Lisa made and being a crafter myself I decided to make my own. I love the results. Here it is hanging on my kitchen wall. The year 1996 signifies the year we built our house.



Now I'm off to do some errands, and of course I'll stop by Home Depot and pick up some more wood so I can get started on the bowl rack.

Sunday's WWW.....(Working With Wood)

This morning I decided to use up a piece of board that I had left over from another project and turn it into a peg board for my bathroom. The board is painted black, sanded, and then stained. I added five square nails to it, making it handy for hanging either prims or a bathrobe.

Here is the before and after photo of a two-drawer wall cabinet that I refinished today. I bought it at Goodwill for $4.99 which is more than I would normally spend on a thrift shop makeover project, but I couldn't pass it up. I sanded, painted and primmed it up with a dark walnut stain. I think it will look nice just sitting on the back of the toilet. It matches the peg board shown above and it's drawers can be used for storage of cosmetics or other toiletry items.


BEFORE




AFTER

Whatcha Working on Wednesday

It's late in the evening but I wanted to share a photo of the locker hooked rug that I just finished. It measures 33 X 23 inches. It really does look primitive and was so easy to make. I had it completed in about a week while I watched TV at night. I will be starting another one soon. It's fun to do and a great way to use up your old scraps of fabric.

Dolls, Quilts and Rugs

This weekend has been very productive. I finished up a few projects that were in the works. Check out my selling blog to see my newest listings for my "Liberty" doll and Shaker Box quilted wallhanging.






I also want to share my newest project. Have you ever wondered what to do with your old fabric stash that you've been collecting for years? You thought you would make a quilt with some of it but never got around to it. You collected fabrics for doll making but always seemed to purchase new fabrics instead to make your dolls. Well that is what I do. My craft room is overrun with plastic tubs full of cotton prints. What to do? Well when I was at Joann's last week I saw "Locker Hooking Rug" supplies on the display shelf. It says to use 1" strips of fabric. That looked like a good way to use up my stash, so I bought the mesh backing, the locker hook, and the string. I found how-to instructions online explaining every step so I started with just a simple rug. There is no pattern to it. I just used up scraps and go around the perimeter, working my way toward the middle. It looks very country/primitive and would make an excellent bath mat or scatter rug. This photo shows how much I have completed. It's almost finished. I can't believe how fast it works up.



The next rug I make will have a design to it - maybe a sheep, or quilt block squares. The possibilities are endless. You could even use counted cross stitch patterns for your designs also.

MY NEW SELLING BLOG IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS

Please feel free to stop by and visit my new selling blog at Wildberry Primitives Mercantile. Click on the title above or on the link to the upper right column to go to my new site. I just listed my first handmade towel rack for sale. More handmade items will be added soon. Please check back often.