Everything AND the kitchen sink...

There is a wonderful restaurant and kitchen supplies store very near us.  It has everything...and I do mean everything one could want for cooking...including the kitchen sink and occasional life sized figures.

I am not sure exactly how this burro fits into the grand scheme of things. I would imagine he would be a wonderful prop in a Mexican restaurant. I wish it could come live at my house, though!

Burros/donkeys often occupy my mind. When I was in Mexico many years ago, burros  wandered about country roads oblivious to cars going by and were just a friendly as can be, much to my delight.

When I was young, my family owned a burro... named Pancho. That is when my life time love of donkeys/burros started.

Recently, I acquired a 

little Steiff ...

And this one was made

 by a gifted artist who combined my love 

of donkeys, 

mushrooms and tea!

These sort of live together 

and keep each other company....

Little Edie has a 4 inch donkey

 made by the late Mary Vlasak 

who knew I loved Eeyore.

 Sometimes...

I even make them myself...

 Draw them...

Sometimes I collect a tiny ones...

and I often photograph them!

 

The world is full of wonderful things...that is for sure.  Donkeys and Belted Galloway cows are among my favorite animals. I recently found out that they are both also bred as miniature livestock...oh, to dream!

Imagine my delight at finding a burro in that kitchen store...as if it were there just for me to find! Serenditpity!

The weekend is around the corner...and hopefully our current heat wave will break today. Happy weekend and...

as always, 

enjoy the day!

Wonderful collections...

Our doll club met on Monday and did a program on dolls of color for Black History month.



The above dolls are from my collection. The Edith Ackley dolls are by Carole Bailey. I made tiny little Precious from an Ackley pattern. The tiniest cloth doll is quite old. There is an adorable Kelly doll in African costume who just makes me smile.

And Addie, with the blue hair bow, is a doll I soft sculpted and painted. Her body was designed and constructed by Ike Putney from the Deare Girl pattern. She is carrying a stuffed Edie doll I made her!




Amazingly, there were no duplicates in such a variety of dolls ranging from valuable bisque dolls to souvenir dolls to humble home made cloth dolls.



Doll collectors like to research their dolls so it was interesting to hear the history and origin of the dolls.


There is even an original Cabbage Patch doll...an American girl doll.


It was also Valentine's Day and our buffet luncheon table was decorated with the most wonderfully attired Evangeline doll. Note that she has a miniature heart box of candy nearby. It was filled with tiny realistic looking candies.


As you can well imagine, we had a very good time...ate too many goodies...and loved the opportunity to share our dolls and friendship. I came home with a very special item I purchased from a club member. But, that is for another post. It needs its own introduction!

As always,

enjoy the day!

It's just the gypsy in my soul...

The Christmas ornament project was a big success at doll club. Everyone went home with a pretty ornament. If you attempt to make an ornament, you can use felt instead of batting, stickers for the faces, any number of other things. My design was just a jumping off point. Let me know if you make any!

Well...this Edith Flack Ackley pattern gypsy doll came home with me from the meeting. I purchased her from a friend who is always on the look out for me. (Thank you, Jane!)

In a decade of collecting and studying EFA pattern dolls, this is the first time I have encountered one with teeth embroidered. And look at that penguin dress! That fabric is wonderful! She has a few flaws...a piece missing from her scarf...but, all in all, I really like her and am am quite happy to have her in my collection. It is the "Mommy made" dolls that I love the most. In fact, it was an EFA pattern gypsy that got me started collecting.

On a different note, I sold a lot of my latest creations so I must start working again. At the moment, I have tendinitis in my wrist so I am going to have to wait a few days before proceeding. Hmmm...I might have to do housework instead. That is not as much fun!

As always,

enjoy the day!

Good morning, Monday...

It's Monday again. Yesterday I bolted out of bed at 5:00 a.m. and awakened my husband... shouting that we had overslept. Sigh. It was Sunday...and not a work day.

How was YOUR weekend? Ours was pretty varied because we attended a soccer game Friday night and a basketball game on Saturday morning. Throw in shopping, visiting, wrapping some packages for mailing, a little decorating, dining in, dining out and poof! The weekend was quickly over. Heavy rain prevented the outdoor picture taking I had planned.

Last year I made an Edith Ackley pattern Santa and and angel. They have decided to become annual holiday fixtures and have taken a prominent place for the holidays as greeters. They are the first thing one sees when coming through the front door. The little gnome behind them is vintage. He is wired for posing and the happiest little guy. They are greeting you this morning.

Happy Monday...


...enjoy the day!

Some doll stuff...

On Monday I went to doll club and you can see the dolls I took to show. The one below I bought at doll club from a member. She is a sweet Edith Flack Ackley doll.

The program was on Teddy Bears and this big boy came home with me. He was made by a talented bear artist, Lynne Pierce. Yesterday I bought him a shirt at the dollar store. He seems to fit into size twelve months. How did he come home with me? When I picked him up he hugged me and Lynne gave him to me.

As you can see, he is already into mischief.

He hasn't told me his name yet but I think he will be a handful!

After a stormy weekend , we have a return to beautiful weather. It was a pleasure to open the windows again and turn off the furnace. We ordered some new windows months ago for the upstairs bathroom. They took months to get here and we are hoping we can get them in while it is still warm. There are always things to do before winter.

As always,

Enjoy the day!

It's a boy!

The other day I mentioned that I had another doll cut out and ready to stuff. He is another tiny one, smaller than usual. As I was working on the doll, it "told me" that it wanted to be a boy doll. He didn't really tell me, but doll personalities usually emerge as they are being created and worked on.

So, meet Timothy who is little under 4 inches tall. Like any little guy, he wanted to play, so here he is showing the girls how to work a marionette. The girls gave him a present: a little wagon with a frog in it and some toys they thought boys would like to play with.

Some incredible humidity had the nerve to move in a ruin our nice cool summer. But everyone I have spoken with recently agrees that this is the MOST beautiful summer in decades. Gardens are thriving despite the lack of sun and I have seen breathtaking flora everywhere.

Can it possibly be Friday? The week went by in a flash. I worked on some art projects this past week as well as the little dolls and will share them next week. We are probably going to take a few days to ramble around the back roads of New England but I will be checking in.

Enjoy the day....
and
have a wonderful weekend!

How many dolls....

fit on a saucer? Those dolls on the saucer are all made by me....and there was room left over.

Overnight, the formatting for composing on the blog has changed dramatically. I suspect that it will take a me a while to figure it out...so bear with me!

The humidity has moved in and it is quite uncomfortable. I think many parts of the country have had this weather already.

Enjoy the day...

happy weekend!

Small variations on the usual themes....

After completing the little doll last week, I decided to make another.

I used a pattern that I assumed was the pattern I normally use. As I was turning it, I thought, "hmm....this seems a little difficult to turn compared to the last one I made."

I continued onward, stuffed the doll , and was just about to embroider the face when it dawned on me something was just not quite right.

Don't ask me why I didn't notice it sooner, but the doll is only 3 1/2 inches instead of 4 inches tall.

I will finish her but I am not sure she will have leather shoes. Half an inch might not seem like that much but in a doll this size, it is a considerable change. (Edie might get a little sister out of this.) But, I must tell you, I made one even smaller a few years ago and have not seen it since I made it. There are doll goblins around here, I am sure. Dolls disappear and reappear on regular basis in unexpected places.

And that sums up the way the week is going so far: small variations on the usual themes.

Enjoy the day..

and any variations of it!

Dollz.....

A new little doll

who fits in a ladle


and became a paper doll

This new little doll is for a friend. But, before she leaves the roost, I photographed her to make a paper doll for another friend for our weekly swap. It felt good to make a cloth doll again. It has been a few months since I worked on one. I wish that I could take better photos of glitter. She is a glittery gal and catches a lot of light. She is 4 inches tall and made from the same sized pattern as Edie, my travel doll.

The weekend is just around the corner. It's been raining off and on all week and the colors outdoors are just beautiful. It's as green as emeralds and I think there will be a lot of lawn mowing this weekend. Everything is growing like crazy! Not exactly sure what our plans are as of yet but I know wherever we go, it will beautiful.

Enjoy your day..

and have a wonderful

and safe weekend!

Edith Ackley Baby pattern holiday dolls

decorated birdhouses

a doll repair

bottle cap pin cushions
(original design by Very Big Jen)

This and that...

This is what I have been working on lately. As always, I am trying my best to keep up with the mundane stuff like housework and laundry.

I made the Edith Ackley pattern doll as a Santa. Then decided I needed an angel.

The birdhouses have multiplied so quickly that I didn't keep up with photos. Have made at least a dozen more since I took this photo. I am selling them at Christmas boutique trunk shows around here. They seem to be getting more lavish all the time. I have recently started making them decorated for Christmas.

See a little lady card behind the St. Anthony card? That is a card by Christine LeFever. She is featured in a magazine with these cards and you can read about it here. My friend gave me the St. Anthony card recently. It is from Italy and beautifully printed with gold embossing on it.

Of course, I am working on Christmas cards, holiday ATC cards which I include in my Christmas cards, Mrs. Staggs' sketchbook assignments, and other surprise stuff I cannot show here because my family checks this blog from time to time!

Johnny Appleseed was an apple head doll whose head had deteriorated leaving only his hat! A fellow doll club member needed someone to replace the head with a cloth head. After making and adding the head, I repaired the doll and added some props. He is kind of cute!

The bottle cap pin cushions are very popular on the Internet. They were originally designed by Big Jen. They are featured in a really nice book as well as a super fun tutorial. I notice that people who sell these on line don't always give credit where it is due.

What have you been up to? Anybody out there making hand made gifts this year? Considering the economy, I think hand made is a better idea than ever. But, in actuality, I have always made gifts by hand. It is a family tradition. Families who lived through the Great Depression passed this down through generations and it is not a new concept in my neck of the woods. Yankee thriftiness is alive and well in New England!

Many thanks to the readers who comment in my blog and to those who send me nice e-mails about my blog. I suppose I should comment within the comments area, but I always forget. I really love hearing from people.

Enjoy your day!

A bright new day....

Feeling sleepy here after staying up way to late. It is a really beautiful morning here and I am feeling extremely hopeful today.

Over the weekend, I went to a doll show and picked up two cloth dolls. One of them I haven't photographed yet, but the other is a cute little EFA pattern doll. She is a vintage doll with very nicely made shoes.

I seem to find at least one at every doll show. Unlike the Internet and eBay, they are not expensive at shows. There must have been tens of thousands of these dolls made from the 1930's until present. Many little girls must have played with them when times were simpler. Edith Flack Ackley designed a cute little doll with lots of appeal.....a happy doll for sure.

Have a spectacular day today!

Weekend finds...

How was your weekend? Despite some heavy humidity at times, we made it to a few auctions and a very large flea market. I came home with some treasures that were all very inexpensive.



I can never leave behind a cheap Edith Flack Ackley pattern doll. This Dutch girl is crudely made but a good example of the doll maker's creativity. Her bonnet is so sweet. The doll maker never turned up her toes to make feet or added shoes.

The little Asian mother and child is composition and cloth and probably not very old. I just thought they were sweet and so charming. The mother is 8 inches tall.

These tiny ones are all 4 inches. They all came from the same estate in one auction lot. The corn husk doll has a precious inked face. The little Russian and Greek souvenir dolls are full of personality.


Hank, whose photo is located in the right side bar of this blog, is at the vet today having his teeth cleaned. I know in advance that he will have extractions. He is one of those Yorkies with bad dental genetics...much like his owner. I worry about him being under anesthesia. He weighs three pounds and 7 ounces and these small guys are tricky to medicate.

I am still walking around with three temporary crowns in my mouth awaiting the rest of the work this week. We are drowning in dental bills. Sigh.

Thunderstorms are upon us so we will be shutting down here soon.

Enjoy the day!

I am "spring purging." This is what I call it. This is when to get some boxes and start sorting what goes to the Goodwill, what goes to an auction, what goes to a book dealer and what goes to the garbage can. As I was working, I was near this group of dolls.


The two larger Edith Ackley pattern dolls are by the talented Carole Bailey. The smaller ones were made by me. My goal is to get these dolls and other dolls into book shelves. DH is installing glass doors on some of the shelves. He built the original books shelves which are ceiling to floor.

This meant I had to divest myself of two whole shelves of books and other things on the shelves. This also meant moving books into other rooms and purging other shelves to do that.

I notice on the organization shows on TV, they call it "editing." I call it purging.

Editing is just a euphemism for getting rid of stuff one way or the other. I have to admit I used their system of getting boxes out to sort. Very effective! One thing leads to another. It is like opening a can of worms when one purges. I keep finding more "projects" and stuff. It is an endless loop.

Enjoy your day....and if you purge, happy purging!