Handmade Primitive Dolls and Ornaments
I found a new treasure to take home with me at the 26th annual Antiques in Long Valley show today – an 1890s German putz sheep. He had such a unique face, I couldn’t pass him up. It has more of a chalkware look than the typical composition face look.
I went for a hike in the Great Swamp Wilderness today.
“The hours when the mind is absorbed by beauty are the only hours when we truly live.”
— Richard Jefferies (English nature writer, 1848 – 1887)
Today a new fox spun cotton ornament is coming to life on my work table. She is a custom order. We are picking out clothing and a bundle of dried flowers for her to carry with her on her merry way.
Happy Valentine’s Day! There are just five more weeks of winter left – and the bunnies are multiplying here at Old World Primitives in anticipation of spring. They have a woodland fox friend in springy colors keeping them company too.
Clicking on an image will take you to to page of the Old World Primitives Etsy shop where you may purchase the spun cotton ornament of your choice.
This week I have begun releasing my newest designs for 2012, starting with a collection of spun cotton Valentine ornaments. Each of the ornaments below is a handmade original design by Old World Primitives.
These spun cotton ornaments are dressed in festive shades of pink and red for Valentine’s Day – or any day of the year.
CHRISTMAS ORDERING UPDATE: Chenille ornaments and dolls or spun cotton ornaments listed as “in stock and ready to ship” in the Old World Primitives Etsy shop will ship the same or next business day throughout the entire month of December.
My schedule is now booked solid through Christmas for “Made To Order” spun cotton ornaments and dolls, which are handmade especially for you after your purchase. You may still purchase these items in the Old World Primitives Etsy shop throughout the month of December, but orders received after November 28th will not arrive before Christmas.
If you were hoping to purchase a Made to Order item from my shop as a Christmas gift and were not able to place your order before my deadline, I am offering the option to purchase gift certificates this year. When you click the button above, you may choose the amount that you would like your gift certificate to be, and fill out who it is To and From. You will also have the option to either e-mail the gift certificate directly to your recipient, or to print it and wrap it for Christmas.
This lovely October I have had the pleasure of attending two historic festivals – the annual 1770s Festival at Lord Stirling Park in Basking Ridge, NJ and the annual Quiet Valley Living Historical Farm Harvest Festival.
The 1770s Festival happens each year on the first Sunday in October. I attended this year’s festival on October 2, 2011. The setting for the festival was on the grounds of Lord Stirling’s grand manor house and estate, originally constructed in the 1770s.
We had a long and interesting talk with a member of the Revolutionary War military detachment camp, who taught us all about the weaponry and methods of combat during the Revolutionary War.
Skilled artisan Homer Hansen demonstrated paper cutting techniques to achieve beautiful and intricate silhouette designs.
The Quiet Valley Harvest Festival takes place on Columbus Day weekend each year. The setting is a beautiful historical farm with buildings dating back to the late 1700s – 1800s. There is plenty of yummy food to eat at the festival…
…farm animals in their pastures (like the sheep above), barns (there were 13 three-week-old piglets in the barn with their mother this year), and petting areas…
…and demonstrations of many early American skills and crafts, including spinning, weaving, yarn dyeing, tatting, coopering, quilling, broom making, oak split basketry, outdoor brick bake oven, Dutch oven cooking, butter making, and rope making. I learn something new about these crafts every year.
Time got away from me this busy holiday season, and I never got a chance to post all of my newest designs for fall and Halloween before it was time to start working on orders for them. So now that I have already started working on Christmas versions of the two primitive dolls below, I figured I should finally post their Halloween versions first.
This is a reclining primitive Halloween cat doll, dressed in a black witch hat and a black cheesecloth scarf. Look for her in a Santa hat in my Etsy shop later this week.
And this is primitive Halloween moon wall decoration wearing a black witch hat. I envisioned him as a Halloween man in the moon, but some think he looks like an old crone, which I can see too. S/he will also be in my Etsy shop wearing a Santa hat later this week.
I grew my own organic sweet annie this year to use in crafting my spun cotton and primitive doll creations. Today was harvesting day.
Fresh sweet annie smells so wonderful!
Earlier in the day, a black swallowtail butterfly visited the carrots, dill and parsley in my garden, and laid her eggs in them. Another swallowtail had done the same earlier in the week. I am looking forward to seeing the caterpillars hatch in a few days.
The ornaments pictured above are my newest spun cotton and spun glass designs for the 2011 holiday season. I am now working on another batch of Halloween primitive dolls – a black cat, a witch cat, and a witchy moon. More spun cotton Halloween ornaments will be added next week, and perhaps a Halloween paper doll or two.
