Time Flies When You’re Going Bonkers

I have been all over the place since my last post… oh gosh, where to start. I’ll start with the embarrassing part first – my husband and I attempted to move for the second time within three years, and our plan flopped once again. We have been trying to move from the suburbs to an older farmhouse in the country… something that I always thought was my dream… to live in a 1700s or 1800s farmhouse decorated like one of the homes I have so often drooled over in Early American Life magazine. But our attempts to move have taught me that this may not be my ultimate dream after all. The country escapes that we found ourselves pursuing were still just a little too “more of the same,” albeit in less developed areas. We don’t have the big bucks required to completely “get away from it all,” and we just couldn’t find anything that was quite enough away.

So now we have a new plan in mind… bear with me here, as this may sound crazy… to save up enough money to REALLY move into the country… or rather, a step closer to the wilderness. We are going to save up, purchase a motor home, sell our current home, and pursue the freedom of living full time on the road, camping at remote, wild and beautiful spots along the way. This is an idea I have been toying with for 6 years now, but I never thought I would be able to make it happen. I felt too entrenched in my current way of life despite how much I wanted to give this a try. But now, if we can save enough to make this plan feasible… there is a new goal in the horizon.

So. I’ve wasted a ton of time this summer house-hunting, packing… and then un-packing (ugh!), but I’ve still managed to get some new dolls and ornaments created, and to do a bunch of gardening and pickling too.

garden

Do you think my tomato plants are happy?? 😀

tomato plants

And now I invite you to meet an extreme primitive doll named Nadine, and a primitive witch make-do named Hexe:

extreme primitive doll

primitive folk art witch make-do

Plus my newest ornaments in spun cotton, spun glass, and chenille:

spun cotton ornament

spun glass ornament

chenille Halloween ornaments

All of the new creations above can be found in my Old World Primitives Etsy shop.

Welcoming Summer

The unofficial start of summer is here, so I have decided that I must get out of my gardens and back to the creating table.  There are many dolls and ornaments in progress that are calling for my attention!  Here is a look at the spun cotton ornaments that I have added to Old World Primitives Etsy shop since my last blog post… yes, I am already preparing for Halloween!

spun cotton ornament

spun cotton ornament

spun cotton ornament

spun cotton ornament

And this is Laura, my latest primitive cloth doll with a sculpted Paperclay face – she is traveling at the moment, preparing for her feature in a future issue of Prims magazine.  🙂

primitive doll

I have been working ever so slowly on my Izannah Walker doll class, which thankfully has stayed open long enough for slow pokes like me.   This is where I am at with my doll now – her sculpting is done, and I am ready to apply her stockinette next.  I think that perhaps I have been hesitating with moving onto that step for so long now because I’m a bit nervous about messing her up!

izannah walker doll

Published in Prims Magazine

I have been eagerly anticipating the arrival of the newest Stampington & Company publication, Prims Magazine, in my mailbox for some time now – so I am very excited that it’s here! As I tore the box open and began thumbing through the pages, I found myself impressed not only with the quality of the magazine and photographs (nothing less than what you’ve come to expect from Stampington if you are already familiar with their publications), but completely wowed by the quality of the artwork inside. I feel truly humbled to be included in the premier issue amongst so many artists that I have admired for a long time now.

Pictured below is the magazine cover and a peek at the two page article that my doll Rebecca is featured in.

Prims magazine feature - The Life of Cloth and Clay

Since my last post, I have also added a bunch of new goodies to my Old World Primitives Etsy shop, including spun cotton ornaments, a set of 3 patriotic 4th of July chenille ornaments, and two primitive black Halloween cat dolls (yes… I am starting to think Halloween already!).

Old World Primitives Etsy Shop new items

Antiques, Spun Cotton and Izannah

Since our last visit here, I had the pleasure of once again attending the Antiques in Long Valley show in Long Valley, NJ where I scored my beautiful blue antique chimney cabinet last year.   This year the show was just as amazing as the last… there were so many wonderful goodies that I wished I could have brought home with me.  The booth where I bought my cabinet last year was once again filled with wonderful pieces of furniture and many Sold signs.  This year I was on more of a budget than last year, but I did manage to come home with two finds that I am really pleased with – a small and extremely primitive hand forged shovel…

primitive antique shovel

…and an antique German spun cotton ornament to add to my collection.  The technique used to make it is different than I have seen before, so studying it will also assist in my education process as I learn this old technique.

I am continuing to really enjoy where my journey into spun cotton has been taking me.  Below are my newest spun cotton creations that are still available.  I am also archiving my designs on a new spun cotton ornaments page of this blog.  Custom orders for designs you may have missed are always welcome.

spun cotton ornament

spun cotton ornament

spun cotton ornament

And finally, I have some progress on my first Izannah Walker style doll from the workshop that I am taking.  It has been hard to tear myself away from my current obsession with spun cotton to work on her, but I’ve gotten a bit completed!  I have her torso sewn and stuffed, and her head with shoulderplate stuffed and pinned onto the torso.

Izannah Walker Doll Workshop progress

After sewing the shoulderplate in place, I shall begin sculpting her face – I will share how I do with it in an upcoming blog post.

I will end for now with a big thank you to Cathy of the always-inspiring One Pink Goose for presenting me with the Sunshine Award, which is awarded to bloggers whose positivity and creativity inspire others in the blog world. I am honored!

sunshine blog award

A New Primitive Doll Emerges

I have found my way back into doll land this week and I am pleased to introduce my newest creation, a new primitive doll named Leticia. She is a good witch made of cloth with a sculpted Paperclay face. She is entirely hand painted and antiqued. Her skirt is made of lightly stained olive calico fabric with a tan flannel waistband. She wears a matching tan flannel witch hat and has two tiny black seed bead buttons on her hand painted shirt. She is available in my Old World Primitives Etsy shop now.

primitive folk art cloth and clay doll

I have also been making some new spun cotton ornaments since my last post… more will be on the way soon, too. Below are my newest designs – the two cat ornaments are available, and the angel ornament is sold.

antique style spun cotton ornament

spun cotton cat ornament

spun cotton ornament

And now I am off to work on balancing the time I spend making dolls and ornaments more equitably… and to get working on my Izannah Walker workshop doll!  I have my enormous booklet of instructions all printed out, and, brushing off any feelings of intimidation, I am going to get started on my doll today.  I will try not to let all of the ideas that I have for new creations distract me too much (paper dolls will be in the works soon…).

Spun Cotton Ornaments and a Cozy Kitty

Due to wonderfully encouraging customer response, I have been busily working on more spun cotton ornaments since my last post (as my doll parts still sit patiently waiting).  Below are pictures of my latest spun cotton creations – all except the bunny holding the Easter basket sold before I got the chance to post them here (some traveling as far as South Korea… that was exciting!). If you see one that you like but missed, custom order inquiries are welcome.

spun cotton ornament

spun cotton ornament

spun cotton ornament

spun cotton ornament

I had fun doing some shopping on Etsy last week as well.  My little Trooper has been happily snuggled up in a cozy new cat bed that I bought for him from mimi0201.

Trooper in his cat bed

Trooper is the baby of the family, and he likes to have his very own bed in each room of the house. Until last week, the living room was the final room he was missing a bed in… and I knew that he needed one there when my husband set his empty backpack down on the rug, and Trooper snuggled up on it like it was a bed. He seems very pleased with the switch to his cushy, fleecy new spot.

And speaking of needing… or shall I say kneading… I also picked up this adorable card from Pet Scribbles for my hubby for Valentine’s Day. I absolutely love it, and her customer service was amazing!

Pet Scribbles handmade greeting card

New Ornament Designs Abound

It’s unexpected sometimes where a creative journey will lead you.  I think this as I look over at two unfinished dolls that are still waiting patiently to be painted and clothed.  It seems that ornaments completely took over my time during the holidays… when I was originally thinking I’d be making a lot of dolls… and that I am just now thinking about getting back to my doll making again.  I have taken a few baby steps getting back into it by beginning my Izannah Walker doll workshop… well, okay.  I’ve cut out the pattern pieces and traced them onto my fabric.  🙂  I hope to get a bit more done this weekend, and perhaps paint and clothe one of those patient dollies sitting on my work table.

But for now, I have bunches of new ornaments to share.  Chenille dog ornaments for small dog lovers with a pug, a terrier, and a little mutt in the set; two sets of chenille St. Patrick’s Day ornaments, and another new spun cotton ornament.  I have yet another mostly-finished spun cotton Easter rabbit ornament that I will also be offering for sale soon.  All of the ornaments below are available now in the Old World Primitives Etsy Shop.

spun cotton bunny ornament

vintage style chenille St. Patrick's Day ornaments

vintage style chenille St. Patrick's Day ornaments

vintage style chenille dog ornaments - the set includes a pug dog and a terrier

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays

Wishing you and yours a happy and safe holiday season!  I am excited that we should have a white Christmas this year – the foot of snow that fell here last weekend hasn’t done too much melting yet.

On to my exciting news that I have to share – I am honored to have one of my chenille angel ornaments featured on the cover of the Winter 2009 issue of Celebrate 365 magazine.   I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of my copy of the magazine to get a peek at what is inside as well.  A picture of the cover is below.

Celebrate 365 magazine - Winter 2009

I also have two new sets of two Valentine’s Day ornaments to share.  Both sets are available now in my Old World Primitives Etsy shop. These little Victorian ladies are made of chenille with crepe paper skirts.

Victorian style Valentine's Day ornaments

Victorian style Valentine's Day ornaments

A Primitive Doll Named Emily

I have managed to complete one of the work in progress dolls that I posted about last week, and get her added to my Old World Primitives Etsy shop yesterday.  Her name is Emily, and she decided that she wanted to wear an outfit with a bit of a festive feel to it for the holidays.  Here she is below, after her paint had dried, but before she was antiqued, getting ready to get dressed.  Her skirt is made from reproduction mid 1800s fabric.primitive folk art cloth and clay doll

Here is Emily all completed, demurely posing for her photo.

primitive folk art cloth and clay doll

Her friends will be joining her soon… but for now it’s back to work on completing a few more orders first for me.   Have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

New Kitties and Works in Progress

I added a new set of kitty themed chenille ornaments to my Old World Primitives Etsy shop this past week – a set of 3 calico cats with paper Victorian scrap faces.  I have some hanging from the feather tree on my mantel and looking quite festive.

Vintage Style Chenille Christmas Ornaments

This holiday season has been keeping me quite busy with wholesale orders, but I am determined to complete some new dolls that I have been working on by the end of the coming week.  Below is a peek at them as works in progress, sitting behind and beneath a small sea of Christmas ornaments that I will be packing up tonight.

primitive dolls as works in progress

I hope to be showing these dolls completed very soon.