tender arts studio

Banishing the Bland for Only $18

2012-01-29T15:58:00.000-08:00

Ah, apartment kitchens.... could anything be more ugly and bland? Particle board cupboards, aging appliances, almond formica countertops all equal a great big Y...A...W...N. The funny thing is I really love the size and layout of my kitchen. It's not big, but it's Just Right as Goldilocks would say. In our house the kitchen was galley style and it had doorways to other parts of the house on both ends! That was like trying to cook in Grand Central Station! This kitchen is an awesome little destination U-shape and I love cooking in it. But it sure wasn't much to look at! See?

Don't you especially love my vertical blinds? Yech!

(But I do loving having a window over my sink!)

Well, I've been researching online some different ways to spiff them up. In fact, before we moved in I thought I wanted to do the book page treatment to them. But, as I mentioned recently, I am in serious need of some color! So then, I found this lovely post about how this gal added fabric to the wall of her laundry room without using glue. Lightbulb! I found some amazing Kaufman outdoor fabric at Hancock's for only $6 a yard and I thought, hey- even if this project doesn't pan out, I still like this fabric for pillows and tote bags.

I used The Thriftress' recipe for liquid starch and got to work. Ready to see it? (OMG, I love it so much!)

Wait for it.....

Ta-da!

Of course I had to do a little re-accessorizing! I love my pretty new curtains- much better than the ugly blinds! You're getting the worst of my view- when I'm at the sink I can see trees and lawn. But can you see how dark it is? And that's at 1:00 in the afternoon!

So cheerful! And I love having my Old Mill Stream platter over the stove.

Now, I realize this is not to everyone's taste. Truly, it's not my dream kitchen (this one is!). But compared to where it started, I can honestly say it has made me 100% happier to be in the space. And that my friends, is my $18 priceless kitchen makeover!

I'm joining up at the following parties:

http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

http://www.bystephanielynn.com/

I Like This

2012-01-24T09:21:00.000-08:00

Success is not to be pursued;

it is to be attracted to the

person we become.

-Jim Rohn

Happy Happy Joy Joy

2012-01-22T09:04:00.000-08:00

I don't know about anyone else, but I have been craving color lately! I think it's this apartment- it's north facing, it's on the bottom level, and it is surrounded by tall pine trees. It's actually a lovely property, but my place feels like a cave.

When we moved in last April, I was really feeling inspired by a vintage, industrial, rustic feel. I made this pinterest board to collect what I loved. I still love it, but it's very monochromatic and maybe a little "heavy". Then I saw this picture and everything changed!

Yes, it's Jonathan Adler- isn't it gorgeous? So now I've started this pinterest board. Mind you, I haven't done a thing, but change my intention. I actually think that everything in my house will work, but needs to be amped up a little. For one thing, I have to finish slipcovering my couch!

In the spirit of my new happy color excitement, I did paint a sweet little box for Ally, my step granddaughter. She loves orange so I think she'll like this. What do you think?

I love it! I can't wait to get started on my decor!

Projects + a snack

2012-01-21T11:20:00.000-08:00

We could also call this post "I heart Saturdays!"

Word for 2012: Order

2012-01-16T21:28:00.000-08:00

Happy 2012! It seems that all the bloggers have chosen a word for the year. Mine was easy to pick. I knew my "stuff" was disorganized and in need of purging, but the act of moving from a three bedroom house with a shed and two-car garage into a two bedroom apartment highlighted the problem in bold! Since starting my new job in November, my stress level has dropped down into normal levels and I feel like I actually have the time and energy to get it together.

Sunday I got started in my closet and the photo above shows the progress. First of all, I could actually open the door wide enough to even take a picture! Second, what the photo doesn't show you is the giant load I dropped off at Goodwill Sunday afternoon.

The lower photo is my file drawer which had been so stuffed I couldn't fit anything in it. I had receipts and trash going back to 2009! Shredded!

So, in addition to this kind of order, I will also be working on internal order. The kind that will find healthy ways to deal with challenges instead of looking for the nearest drivethru!

In the months following my separation and before my divorce I wrote a post about "The Land of Stability". Folks, I think I've arrived! And I'm ready (at last!) to unpack my bags!

I'm linking to The Lettered Cottage's Word of the Year Party.

Holiday Greetings

2011-12-29T21:59:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays! I hope everyone had a very "Joyeux Noel" indeed. It's been so long since I've posted- I've almost forgotten how. I know I missed all the lovely home tours in Bloglandia, but I still wanted to share some photos of my own little abode. Last year I had too much sparkle in my decor so this year I tried to bring in more natural elements. I'm really happy with how everything turned out! Usually by the 29th, I am itching to pack it all away, but I'm still enjoying everything this year!

I found that gorgeous watercolor above my couch at a thrift store for $8 - with the heavy oak frame! I did paint the frame in a soft "near black". I know it's only going work for one season, but I do think it is lovely.

This year's tree is a little tabletop tree- just right for our small apartment. It was fun to think of ways to give it a more "natural" theme. I treated myself to the twig frame ornaments from This Time Next Tuesday- a very cute shop on Etsy.

Another thing I did this year that I really liked was putting my nativity in the rustic basket and hanging it above my fireplace. I don't have a mantel, but this is a lovely way to showcase the most important element of the season. (Of course, I used a few dabs of hot glue to make sure that the holy family doesn't take any unexpected trips!)

How do you like my banner? I actually made it for Thanksgiving- on the back it says "Give Thanks"! I used the "woody" letters from Pattern Bee. I'm so happy with how it turned out! The pretty swag on top of my china cabinet came from Hobby Lobby. It's the first Hobby Lobby I've ever been in- it's new to my area. I was so excited! I couldn't stop babbling "hobby lobby hobby lobby hobby lobby" as I got closer and closer!

Christmas itself was really nice- I have some things to share from our family get together, but I'll save that for later. I'm still trying to get Christmas cards (er, Christmas Season cards) in the mail!

Best wishes to all for a safe and happy 2012!

I Heart Transferware

2011-09-18T16:41:00.000-07:00

Do you love transferware? I do! Since moving to our apartment, I made the decision to exclusively use my mother's beautiful Johnson Bros. china, Mill Stream. It's a nice big set too and I never seem to tire of it.

I have it in the brown/multi shown here. Sweet, isn't it?

Well, Yvonne at Stone Gable is hosting a wonderful giveaway of transferware by Nancy of Nancy's Daily Dish. Nancy's etsy shop is a treat for the eyes! Follow this link to the rules at Stone Gable to have your own chance to win.

Terrarium Love

2011-08-15T18:46:00.000-07:00

I have been on a major terrarium obsession the last few days! They are so cute! And, really, quite magical. I have all kinds of ideas, but not much in the way of supplies yet. I couldn't help myself from trying my hand at it with what I had in the house. This is the happy result.

I had some live moss from Michael's and this beautiful little compote that my paternal great grandmother painted in 1930. I added some good quality peat moss in the bottom; moss, pebbles and magnolia bud to the top. The poor little magnolia bud was half crushed in a parking lot! I don't expect it to do anything, but I love the little bit of structure it adds.

Such a simple little thing, but I love it! It looks very "Lord of the Rings" to me!

So... Here We Are

2011-06-02T21:39:00.000-07:00

In exactly this place. Which is not quite where I intended to be, but we're okay. Our new apartment is snug and cute. The apartment complex is full of big beautiful pine trees. I call this place our little hobbit home!
How do you like this little chest of drawers? Pretty cute, right? Obviously, I was very inspired by Miss Mustard Seed's bird dresser. And yes, it is painted in the same apple green that I am using for the dining room set, which is coming along slowly, as you can see below. This dresser was my grandparents' and when we were moving it into the apartment I was really questioning my judgement! It was pretty beat up, but it sure is looking sweet now.

This whole experience has been good, I think. While I'm sad to lose my house, the giant burden of trying to keep up with a payment I absolutely couldn't afford combined with the other burden called "upkeep" was really wearing on me. I wish now (because as we all know, hindsight is 20/20) that I had just listed the house for sale back in 2008 when Earl and I split up. But who knows... the house may not have sold even then AND having Kelly and her girls live with us was an experience that benefited all of us. As the immortal Fleetwood Mac said, "Don't you look back."

As we can see, Max and Eric are perfectly fine! Wherever we are together, that is where home is. Which is right here!I am sure having fun with the home projects and I look forward to sharing a lot more as I complete them. The rocker in the corner above is already glossy black now and getting sexier than a rocking chair has a right to be! Wait till you see it!

I'm sharing at (of course!):

Hugs to all!

No Buddy Here

2011-05-30T23:35:00.000-07:00

"You are my dog, you are special.
You are my dog- you are special to me.
There's no one else who is like you, like you, my dog.
You are special."
(to be sung to Mr. Roger's song, "You Are My Friend" This was Buddy's song.)

"Does this shirt make me look fat?"

Six years ago I posted about our good dog, Buddy. This week we made our sad good bye to our dear old love dog. He was already nine when we got him, but we were fortunate to have many happy years with our goodnatured old hound dog.

Easter 2007 (The Easter Buddy)

I can't believe it, but I couldn't find any fetching pictures of Buddy! He was what we called OCFD (Obsessive Compulsive Fetching Disorder) and up until the last year or so we had to spell the word B-A-L-L around him. And when he was feeling very good and happy, he would roll around on his back and we would tease him about being a little baby puppy. We all "spoke" for Buddy and if you are curious about his voice, it was similar to the third Eddy in Ed, Edd and Eddy from Cartoon Network. (My name is Bud!) He could also be very stubborn as anyone who has had a hound dog would recognize.

"Buddy Bandito"

Buddy never minded being a clown and he loved to sing "happy birthday" with us whenever we celebrated. Whenever we would "Caaawww" like a crow, he would bark like crazy. When Kelly and her girls and their little fat lab, Blackie, lived with us, we accused the two dogs of being Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy from Sponge Bob. Buddy was the aging super hero and Blackie would alert him to dangers like the mailman.

Buddy in our new home.

Last month after we moved into our apartment (that's another post), he really began to decline. At 16, he didn't want to move very much and he stopped eating his dog food. I started cooking for him, but after a short while, even that was not appealing to him. He hadn't eaten in a couple of days, but one morning he woke up and got a drink of water and then threw it up. That's when I knew that I had to make the decision. It was either put him down or watch him dehydrate and starve. He was already so skinny that I was almost able to pick him up myself. It was painful, but there is no doubt in my mind that it was the right choice. At the vet's office, after he was picked up and put on the table, he even gave me one last little moochie (kiss) like the ones he would give me after enjoying a surprise treat in his dog dish. I really feel like he was telling me it was okay and he was ready to go.

After having Buddy in our lives for six years, the thing that struck me the most was just his absence. A dog is not like a human- he doesn't go to work or go on vacations. He lives his life in his home. So, for the first time in a long time, there is literally, no Buddy here.

We will miss you, Buddy Good Dog.
1995-2011

Dining Set Progress

2011-04-21T22:51:00.001-07:00

Well, I guess my inner dialogue has worn itself out and we are doing the green! This looks very minty in my fab iPhone photo, but it will be glazed and distressed and will hopefully look more "apple". The tabletop has been stained and protected with wipe-on poly and looks beautiful!

Hopefully, I'll be done soon!

New Project

2011-04-13T08:20:00.001-07:00

What a beauty, right? The manufacture date on the underside is July 1960. The table has drop leaves and came with two extender leaves! Everything is solid wood and it's nice and petite. The entire set was a craigslist bargain for $60!

So far I have sanded and stained the top in a dark walnut and am currently having an inner dialogue about the color I'll use to paint the chairs and table legs. I was seriously considering apple green that I would then glaze and lightly distress, but now I'm leaning toward a cream color.

I've been so inspired lately by Miss Mustard Seed and all of her beautiful furniture. That woman is a home decor guru! I can't wait to try a slipcover with her tutorials. When we first moved into this house, I made a cute red toile slipcover for a loveseat, but her dropcloth covers with the darling pleats are really striking. If you haven't been to her blog, you owe yourself the visit!

I Really Don't Want to Share...

2011-03-26T13:39:00.000-07:00

....but I do want another opportunity to win the most beautiful lamp in the world!Isn't it amazing? This is what the amazing Lindy at Cottage Hill is giving away to celebrate her 100th post! So, I said would tell you about it and now I have, but if you want to remain friends with me you will just back off and let me win it!

Capiche?

Alrighty then!

Fresh "Greens"

2011-03-19T19:14:00.000-07:00

I just discovered a blog full of cute makeovers and ideas. If you haven't already found Diane of In My Own Style, you are in for a treat. Just look at this sweet topiary she made. She gives a really comprehensive tutorial here.

Kinda puts you in the mood for spring, right?

Where the heck have I been?!

2011-03-07T09:07:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know that my last post made it sound like I had a complete handle on my life, but I've learned in life that if I feel on top one minute, the next will find me under a tidal wave!

I don't know- work got crazy and I am still working on ways to manage the stress of that.

On the home front, I've been on a bit of a purge and still have lots more to do. In my twenties I prided myself on not needing a lot of "stuff", but now in my forties, it seems that "stuff" has crept up on me everywhere!

I'm sure I'll be up to blogging again soon. I've certainly been enjoying reading blogs when I have a spare minute. Also, today I plan to work on my Happy Homemaker tags for March. I never posted my February tags because I was late with them and then I wasn't all that happy with them either. I hope inspiration strikes soon for the March tags!

Hugs to all! See you soon.

This is so weird.....

2011-01-19T19:59:00.000-08:00

I'm on Facebook, playing Scrabble, visiting with a friend. I'm all caught up on my blog reading. The laundry is not out of control. The dishwasher is singing it's merry song. Work is not stressing me out. Hmmm......

Definitely weird!

Time to Get Started! Happy Homemaker Tags January

2011-01-09T16:28:00.000-08:00

Hello! I'm so excited to be a part of Bluebird Papercraft's Happy Homemaker Tag Swap! Let me tell you, this is one creative bunch of ladies. I feel very honored to take part. The idea is to pick a theme that expresses "homemaking" to you and then create two identical tags each month. At the end of the year, we will be paired up with one of the other swappers. We'll send one of our sets to our partner and receive a set in return.

Also, we were challenged to make only one supply purchase and make it last for the entire year! I actually had recently purchased a giant super pad of gorgeous paper, so I took ten sheets out and I will use those. Then I treated myself to a couple of CD's of images since that is where I find my stash lacking. (Can't wait to get those!)

My inspiration for my tags are the resourceful women of World War II. I love the "We can do it!" spirit that they brought to the home front, whether it was serving in the Red Cross, working in a factory or tending to home and hearth. Often they were doing all three!

I hope to celebrate the way that these women used their resources to maximum effect. I know that I don't always use my resources as well as I would like, so I hope this will inspire me to do better. The ladies of the Greatest Generation are my heroes!

Since January is a time of new starts, and particularly our tag swap, this little cuckoo will be my sounding alarm. I also love the reference to the "little birdie" since it's a cheerful little bluebird behind this swap AND this is an image that she has graciously shared on flickr.

I cut the top of the tag to echo the rooftop of the little cuckoo's home. Because my printer insists on printing everything too dark, I cut out a circle of creamy ledger-type paper with pinking shears to set behind the clock and set it apart from the background paper. I also put a square of foam core under the clock to give more dimension. The writing on top is original to the image. The writing in the oval on the bottom, I added. I also added a pretty little gem to the center of the pendulum.

I do love my tags. I know I still have a lot to learn and it will be fun to see how I improve as the year progresses, but for now, I am satisfied!

(Blogger keeps turning the image above on it's side! Why is it doing that?)

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T16:16:00.000-08:00

It's rainy and drab here, but oh so very, very cozy inside! I have stew simmering on the stove and I'm peeling some granny smith apples for Swedish apple pie. Yummy!

I thought it would be fun to see what dollies came from Tender Arts Studio this year. I started by finishing Meg March (above). What a pretty girl she is!

Then sister Amy followed Meg to her new home in New York.
Rosalie the gypsy was completed during the summer. She went to her new home during the Christmas season.
Joy, who I adore, is still with me. I think I will re-list her. She is the size of a bleuette, but is made of cloth.
Baby Alice did get finished, finally, but she needs to get listed. She gave me a lot of trouble!
Miss Raggedy Lu and Miss Raggedy Lilac were made as gifts from a pattern by Raggedy Old Annies. I felted real wool locks to their sweet little heads. They were a very fun project.

On the work table currently are three little character dolls (plus their own tiny dolls!) from this beloved series of books. So, I guess I better get busy!

Happy new year, friends! Wishing you all the best in 2011!

Disco Rainbow Reindeer All Across The Sky!

2010-12-16T22:55:00.000-08:00

How do you like our herd? Eric wanted to give little treats to his friends at school tomorrow. At first we were just adding ribbon to these little darlings and then I remembered the old reindeer craft. It seemed appropriate that since these were pretty fancy candy canes they needed equally fancy antlers. Then we ran out of googly eyes and substituted these wonderful faceted bead. Too cute!
And while Eric and I were busy with the glue guns and Max was doing what he does best, Bob found a perfect opportunity for some lap time!

He sure looks cozy, doesn't he?

We're expecting a doozy of a storm the next few days! Yikes! Lets all just stay as cozy and dry as we can, shall we? Hope you all are getting time to enjoy the small things right now. Hugs to all!

I'm a Happy Homemaker!

2010-12-02T08:04:00.000-08:00

Happy Homemaker Tag Along by Bluebird Papercrafts!

Oh boy! I am so excited to get to join in on this awesome little craftalong! Elizabeth is so talented and I'm hoping to learn alot as the year-long swap progresses. The fun thing about this project is that you make only two tags at a time, but you do it once a month. That should help me stay connected to my lovely glues and glitters!

Of course, this is all for 2011. For now it's still 2010 and I need to get my rear in gear! Lots of decorating and shopping still in my future. I'm looking forward to a productive weekend. I've been so tired lately, hopefully I don't sleep right through it like this guy!

Give Thanks

2010-11-25T07:35:00.000-08:00

This is Emily. She is a sweet doll I made a few years ago- she looks like a Thanksgiving kind of dolls, doesn't she?

Well, the turkey is in the oven and I'm about to stuff the crock pot, but I did want to share about this terrific little giveaway at Saltbox Treasures. Julie has put together the most adorable set of vintage, white Christmas goodies. You should see it for yourself! Just beautiful little treats for the home for Christmas. Here's my favorite bit, a darling little bird all decked out in song!

I wish a happy, content, delicious Thanksgiving to you and yours!

2010-11-18T17:09:00.001-08:00

Monday, day four, continues.....
(what a long week!)

My First Attempt at Etsy Showcase

2010-11-07T07:24:00.000-08:00

I'm in a Showcase! It's my first time at it, and I wanted to feature my little orange and brown baby outfit, but the clothing and children showcases were full up. So then I tried the toys showcase thinking it would include that set, but no. Even though Patches the Pup is with the dress and I used "toys" as one of the tags, it is only featuring Rosalie the little gypsy and the baby spotted owls.

I've never had experience with this so there is a bit of a learning curve going on! I'm still excited though and I hope that someone will wander by!

I love switching the clocks back in Fall! Isn't it great? A whole extra hour! I'm working on a set of three Kate Greenaway inspired dollies, each of whom has a little dolly of her own! I feel like Mrs. Claus in her own little workshop this morning, sipping my coffee with peppermint creamer and stitching away!

Pssst...wanna see something cute?

2010-11-06T22:11:00.000-07:00

The amazing Amy from Inspire Co. made a Christmas ezine! Go see it for yourself!

Congratulations, Amy, on an truly inspirational undertaking.

Casey Jones Jr.

2010-11-03T18:00:00.000-07:00

One of the things I love about my job is that I have young co-workers with young children- it gives me opportunities to make things for children that I know. Little Jacob is obsessed with trains as are many three year old boys. I had this awesome ticking stripe in my stash and drafted my own overalls pattern so he could be an engineer for Halloween.
They were a challenge, but in the end I'm really happy with how they turned out. I even included an old pocket watch with the overalls. Mom and Dad bought his kerchief and his engineer hat. What do you think? Did he love it? I think that smile tells the whole story!

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T08:27:00.000-07:00

Be sure to keep the lanterns lit!

Didn't October fly by? I would like a repeat- it was a great month. I got down to Pleasanton to visit with dear friends Sandra and Monica. Had a great time at their antique fair, attended a gem fair, ate monkey brains and stopped in at my favorite store in the whole world, American Harvest.

Mr. Max turned 14! I told him yesterday that he really needs to stop growing because soon he will be bigger than the house and that will just be awkward!

I had my birthday too! Good heavens- 47! I wished for at least 47 more. Eric said I ruined my chances by telling, but I don't think so. I'm too excited to see what's around the next corner!

I've been stitching up a storm, but no photos yet. The sun comes out Monday through Friday and hides on the weekend when I have time to take some shots! Isn't that always the way?

Anyway, hope you all have a frightfully good (and safe) Halloween tonight!

1970's Flashback!

2010-10-03T17:43:00.001-07:00

patches.6
Originally uploaded by Tender Arts

I can't stop making baby outfits! I found a yard of beautiful uncut orangey gingham at Goodwill recently. It was the perfect opportunity to make a vintage pattern (Simplicity 8495) that I picked up a couple of weeks earlier on Labor Day.

I'm so happy with the way it turned out! So sweet!

I think I'm even more excited by Patches the little puppy I made. I've been shopping locally looking for brown gingham and having no luck. I searched it on ebay and the first thing that came up was this groovy patchwork print. Perfect!

The weirdest part was as I was finishing up this little pup I had a REAL 70's flashback! In 1972 we moved into a new house and I had an awesome bedroom with my own walk-in closet! My white Faux Provincial canopy bed got a new blue gingham bedspread and canopy, my window was dressed in ruffly white criss cross priscilla curtains and cute accessories sewn in this exact patchwork print in red, white and blue! How crazy is that? My mother who did NOT sew, actually hand stitched a little ruffled table topper and chair cushion for the seating area in front of my window.

Anyway, the set is listed in my shop and I hope this little puppy and outfit get half the love I had for that bedroom!

And now for something completely different...

2010-09-19T17:58:00.000-07:00

If it hasn't been apparent from my etsy items, I've been obsessed with babies lately! I'm not sure if it's a symptom of menopause or what, but I just go gaga over baby stuff! All the darling boutique clothing items on etsy have been giving me fits so badly that this weekend I knew that I had to sew something baby or go crazy! That's how I get- it's like a crazy itch that I have to scratch. All that to say....ta da!

I went to Hancock Fabrics Friday after work just to get a cardboard cutting board (remember those?) and of course, I just had to check out the sales and wouldn't you know it, McCall's entire stock was .89 each! Four patterns later, I had to see what fabrics might be on sale and I found this yummy peachy/cantaloupe polar fleece for only $1.97 a yard! Then, I found these amazing prints called Wild N Wooly and fell in love. Don't you love when everything comes together? The outfit is from McCall's M4280 and the owl is all my own design. Can I just tell you how much I love her? She is a big baby owl. Speaking of things coming together- the felt that I used for her features were already in my stash! They were a stack of wool felts that I bought at Hancock's a good 4 or 5 years ago. In fact, they are what I used for my Folkbirds. The pattern said this is for an 18-24 month old, but it looks big enough to fit a 3 year old. When I figure out who it will fit I'll list it in the shop.

Anywhooo, this has been what I call a fun weekend. I'm no different than I was when I was 8 years old- perfectly happy to be busily tucked away in my room making stuff and listening to the radio! Good times!

I'm joining up at My Cottage Charm:

Goodwill Hunting

2010-09-06T17:22:00.000-07:00

I love holidays at Goodwill! 50% off everything! I got a ton of cute clothes for work and lots of shirts and shorts for Max, but that's not as exciting as the crafting goodness. These darling patterns for babies and girls were only .25 each!

I got this entire box full of tiny Christmas goodies for only $2! I can't wait to make little worlds and ornaments and ....other stuff that I will think of later!

I think I'm most excited about this dollhouse furniture kit. $1.50! It's so sweet and naive looking. I'm going to paint the pieces white and add little Norwegian-looking motifs to them.

The only obstacle is....
I've got to clear a little space in my work area! Nothing like new inspiration to get me to clean up my act.

*sigh* Can we have Labor Day again tomorrow?

Something Lovely

2010-09-04T09:33:00.001-07:00

Last week when I made this tag, I was fully intending to list it in my etsy shop, but something about the daisy and the glitter and the rick-rack made me fall in love with it! So now it hangs on my antique iron head board and when I walk into my room, it makes me happy! What is making you happy on a September Saturday?

I'm linking up on A Little Lovely for the Saturday Soiree. Hop over and see what others are sharing!

Baby Love, All Pink and Blue

2010-08-29T15:15:00.000-07:00

After Manuela offered this book as a giveaway, I had to order it for myself. So many fun techniques to learn! I had a lot of fun creating this sweet keepsake box which is offered in my shop.

I am showing off at Under The Table and Dreaming's Sunday Showcase party!

Cottage Inspiration - Words to Live By

2010-08-29T12:41:00.000-07:00

"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead. His eyes are closed."
-Albert Einstein

These are the magical gardens at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Dear friend Sandra treated me to a get away weekend here over Mother's Day. Pretty spectacular, eh? The top photo is actually from the hotel lobby! It's all handmade glass. Absolutely stunning!

Cottage Inspiration...Words to Live By

2010-08-21T22:55:00.000-07:00

Success is not a place at which one arrives, but rather the spirit with which one undertakes and continues the journey.

-Alex Noble

The boys and I took our last outing of the summer. We spent an awesome day hiking around Empire Mine in Nevada County. Monday brings the first day of school. A new school for both of them and new challenges for us all. It made today extra sweet- I think we all share a bit of anxiety about the coming school year, but that anxiety will, I hope, keep us focused on making it a great year!

Mining trash! It's okay- Mother Nature is slowly reclaiming all of it.

Handsomest miners ever

God is bigger than all of our worries!

So precious, these boys of mine

Onward and upward, Pilgrims!

Thanks again, Tracey, for letting us join you on Notes From A Cottage Industry.

Dang! That was some good oatmeal!

2010-08-19T07:20:00.000-07:00

I would show you a picture of the oatmeal, but I ate it too fast! We love oatmeal around here and we're always looking for new ways to enjoy it. I think I've got a winning combination here and since school is starting soon, maybe some of you will try this with your ducklings.

Here's how you do it:

1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1 cup water
1 T. peanut butter
1 ripe banana

Put the first three ingredients in a microwave safe bowl (peanut butter doesn't have to "combine"- it will melt and get stirred later) and cook on high for 2 minutes, 30 seconds. Mash the banana into the oatmeal and cook for 30 more seconds. Give everything a good stir, add milk and enjoy!

Seriously- creamy, dreamy, peanut buttery delicious!

Best. Thrift. Find. Ever.

2010-08-16T23:09:00.000-07:00

Seriously? A giant roll of toilet paper? C'mon, Bettsi! Really! It's not toilet paper- it's muslin and it's wonderful! This was one of those "bin" items bagged in plastic that only the truly devoted will bother looking through. Yup, that would be me! Care to see what I did with it?

I inaugurated my vintage ruffling attachment and went to work on it. I tore a very, very long length into two more narrow strips so I could get that cool frayed edge.

Ta - Da! Love it!
It's tiny and ruffly and so very sweet!
It's even more cute now because I've sewn a vintage glass button to the center.

Inspired by this post at Ticking and Toile, I tried my hand at image transfers too- mostly so I could add a ruffle! I don't have Shellagh's knack for it, but I do love that darling ruffle!

Here is a gratuitous shot of the back of the pillow- I thought my faux buttonholes were pretty clever!

Anyway, whatever the original purpose of the roll of muslin, I am thrilled! And all for $1.15!

I am joining up with Rhoda at Southern Hospitality today to share this thrifting treasure. Head over there for yourself to see the other great finds!

I'm also sharing on Coastal Charm- she's got another great link party going on!

Okay, ONE more party for this post! I joined up with the amazing Kim at Cheap Chic Home for Fabric Fun Thursday. You gotta see what these clever ladies can do with fabric!

Cottage Inspiration - Words to Live By

2010-08-15T20:00:00.000-07:00

"Today is done. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one!"
-Dr. Suess

Thank you, Tracey, for letting me share in the fun!

Tale of a Teapot

2010-08-12T13:21:00.000-07:00

I'm hooking up to My Cottage Charm's "Treasures and Trinkets" today! She recently picked up a beautiful Haviland teapot at a garage sale which reminded me of one of my favorite teapots. That lemon beauty there, hiding behind Francis, was picked up for just a few dollars at Goodwill shortly after Earl and I split. I loved it because it was the perfect accompaniment to my "make lemonade" attitude that I was cultivating in myself.

Sadly, I didn't have it for long. It met every teapot's worse fear...my son, Max! That's alright- I kept the pieces and plan to use them for a mosaic that is "brewing" on the back burner!

Two Tickets to Paradise!

2010-08-10T06:39:00.000-07:00

Okay, not really! These beautiful pics were actually taken at my job. There is a gorgeous pool too.

What do you say? You want to come with me to work today? We can talk dolls and crafts and pretty cottage-y things. I would sure like that better than actually working!

I guess if I have to go, this is a pretty nice place, huh? And today is our monthly employee potluck lunch, so that really does make the day go nicely. The theme this month is Southwestern so I'm bring this slaw. I've never made it before (yikes!), so cross your fingers for me!

And when I get home, maybe I'll work on getting Baby Alice here finished up. She's been giving me fits though! She might not make it into the shop- just can't get happy with her.

Happy Tuesday, Friends! Hope you find a little paradise wherever you are!

Joy and Rosalie

2010-08-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

Meet the two new girls from Tender Arts!

Joy is a scrappy, happy little patriot in her own little stand made just for her. She's got her own Ol' Glory to wave too. I made her from Judi Ward's free bleuettte manikin pattern. I just love her sweet little shape! She's in the shop right now waiting for her new forever home.

The next girl is the lovely and mysterious Gypsy, Rosalie. Isn't she a beauty? She is from the Old Fashioned Doll from "Dolls to Make for Fun and Profit". She was really fun to make- I embroidered the little curls on her forhead. Her blouse is a vintage hanky and the jumbo rick rack on her skirt is vintage too. She is so happy to be listed at last- she's been waiting since before my vacation to Tennessee!

Cottage Inspiration...Words to Live By

2010-08-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

O thou who has given us so much, mercifully grant us one more thing,

a grateful heart.

-George Herbert

Big Girl's Doll House

2010-08-08T07:15:00.000-07:00

I have been having so much fun with my house lately! Two years ago I bought this amazing old table at Goodwill. It languished in my garage for a long time. When Kelly and her girls moved in with the boys and me, we converted what used to be the dining room into a room for her girls. We tried to make do with a small table in our not-eat-in kitchen, but there has been no way for both of our families to sit down and eat a meal at a table. I never would have believed it, but my living room is bigger than I thought! We scooched (precised decor term!) the sofa and love seat down to the end of the room and created a dining area where my big armoire used to be. I lost an entry area, but it was a more than fair trade off in my opinion!

I painted the table and last week scored these two amazing benches for only $20! I heart craigslist! I also re-covered two lampshades so now even the lamps feel pretty. I added pretty cameos to them for a little extra bling- how cute, huh? I would show you the other side of the room, but I'm not madly in love with my big, overstuffed Lane couches. They're fine with the dogs and teens, but someday I'll have something cuter!

I'm so happy with the room though- there is nothing like a table to invite people in for chatting. Kelly and I used to do a lot of "kaffee klatching" standing up in the kitchen, but now we've got a real sit down place and the kids are loving it too!

Thank you to Cindy, for letting me share this on her awesome blog, My Romantic Home!

Here She Is and There She Goes!

2010-04-25T19:04:00.001-07:00

Amy March 2010
Originally uploaded by Tender Arts

It's official! Amy is off to join her sisters in New York. I'm really pleased with how pretty she turned out. There are more photos at my flickr.

In Which We Dress The Old Fashioned Doll

2010-04-22T20:51:00.000-07:00

It's been a very long time since I posted on this blog! However, it seemed like the right place for a dolly tutorial. This lovely lady-in-the-making is going to be Amy March. She will be the fourth March sister from "Little Women". With any luck, she will be joining her sisters who all live together in New York with Madeline who bought them.

Here she is in her petticoat and pantelets.

Sister Jo March, 2008

Sister Beth March 2008

Meg March, finished 2010

Like her sisters, she is made from the pattern in Edith Flack Ackley's book, "Dolls to Make for Fun and Profit" beginning on page 47. I have heard from other dollmakers that they have found the directions for dressing this doll to be rather confusing, so I thought I would share my steps as I move along in dressing Amy.

Here are pages 58 and 59 in the book showing the "waist" (bodice) and puff sleeve for the doll's outfit.

I am not covering the directions for the skirt because it is very easy and straightforward. I used my sewing machine for hemming and adding the rickrack. My one tip for this step is to invest in doll needles. Do you see that wicked long needle in the photo? It's great for attaching the skirt to the doll because you can sew right through the doll. This way the skirt doesn't have the opportunity to slip and slide while you are sewing it to her. As you can see, I have my pieces cut out and ready.

We start with the waist. I've sewn the darts and the bottom edge in the photo above sits on the dolls waistline. The slashes go around the dolls arms. I think that will make more sense as we move along!

Here, I've folded the bottom of the waist, centered on the doll's waistline and pinned it in place.

Now I am wrapping the rest of the wais to the back. As you can see, there is quite a bit of overlap. Fold in along one edge and pin everything in place.

In this photo I have pinned the doll's arms to her head (!) to keep them out of the way as I blind stitch the waist to the skirt. I find it easier to have her head towards me as I stitch the pieces together.

Here's a close up of the stitchin' action! Tiny little stitch in the bodice, tiny little stitch in the skirt and work your way around to the back.

When you get to the back, slip your index finger under the back seam. You do not want to sew the bodice to the back of your doll because you need the "wiggle room" later when you are creating the neckline.

And this is what you get! Kind of a strapless dress at this point with an extra long bodice! Now we'll get our sleeves ready.

First we sew up the sleeve seam. The we put a running stitch along the flatter edge of the sleeve. Do you see the sleeve on the left above? And can you see that the right edge is a little less curved than the left edge? That right edge is where you will put the running stitch. Do knot your thread before you get started!

I think this is one part where the picture can explain it better than my words! Essentially you are sewing the gathered bottom of the sleeve to the dolly's arm. In the view above, the right side of the dress fabric is facing 'in' to the doll arm.

Then you flip the sleeve up so it is now "right side out".

Here are both sleeves, gathered and attached to the doll along the bottom edge of the sleeve. As you can see, I've started gathering the top edge of the sleeve.

And then...sew the sleeve to the doll. Try to do this fairly high up on the shoulder, because we are about to shape the top of the bodice and you don't want your gathers and raw edges to show.

Here she is- ready for the last bit of dress shaping.

See what I've done? I have folded in the raw edges on the bodice top and sides and pinned it to the doll. I always do the back of the dress first.

Here again, it is just a matter of blind stitching directly to the doll.

Now, do the same with the front of the bodice, creating a nice smooth dress front.

And finally, some trimmings! That's my favorite part of being a dollmaker! I love finding old ribbons and rickrack. The pretty white bow trim I found at an antique mart. I just love the girlish touch it provides for Amy. I think it looks like something she would have done herself! And do you see that blue leather glove remnant? That will be her shoes, but that is for another day!

One more little note about dressing the Edith Flack Ackley dolls- we modern dollmakers are quite accustomed to quilters cottons. They're bright and colorful and usually the prints are small scaled. But...they are not always the best choice for these dolls. I forgot that and the dress above is made with quilters cotton. It looks nice in the photos, but in real life it is pretty stiff and thick for the application. I actually enjoy using vintage fabrics if I can get them. They are thinner and softer and drape much more nicely. I just couldn't resist that beautiful blue!

I hope you liked this and found it helpful. If you did, you are welcome to link to the tutorial! I would love to hear your comments!

2008-07-17T09:42:00.000-07:00

Friends,

There have been big changes in my life. These changes are outward manifestations of changes that started in my heart more than a year ago. Tender Arts has been a part of my life since 2005 and I have loved my time here, but my focus has changed. This has been a place for me to share my dolls and crafts with you. Now my entire life is being crafted anew and I hope you will share in the process with me. I hope you will join me at Lemonade!

2008-06-18T08:17:00.000-07:00

Hey Girlies! Just popping in to say that I'm going to be taking a little blogging break. I'm pretty busy at the moment and rather than push myself any harder, I think I will step away for a bit. Don't worry- I'll be back!

Big hugs to all!

Celebrating all the Fabulous Girls!

2008-06-04T10:52:00.000-07:00

First, there is this one: Miss Carmen is an official high school graduate now! Wowie! Look out World, here comes trouble! (yes, my hair is flying down 15th Street! Windstorm 2008 visited Sacramento last night!)

Second, there is Amy! This little darling is the second in my four part series, the Seasonal Birthday Princesses. If you recall, Amelia (below) was the first one. She represented Spring. Amy, with her tanned skin and sunny yellow gingham is the epitome of Summer. I love her yellow rose crown- Carmen said it's her favorite crown that I've made! Anywhooo, sweet Amy, the Summertime Birthday Princess is available now in my shop.

Third, the adorable Blondie from Vintage Primitives is hosting lots of fun giveaways in honor of her Blogiversary! Follow the link below to get in on the lovely goodies!

Hugs to all!

Thank you, Sweet Amanda!

2008-06-03T09:28:00.000-07:00

Remember "Pay It Forward"? I had so much fun making my little goodies. All but two of my six recipients will have received their item, and I will be mailing the last two today. But look what Amanda sent to me! I commented on her Pay It Forward post originally and then forgot all about it! I was so flabbergasted when all this beauty came in the mail for me! All the tiny pretties were packed in this amazing antique beaded purse. Isn't it the ultimate in sweet shabby chic? I love it so much!

And there are so many goodies that came with it! I have always wanted one of these ballerina cake toppers and now I have two! And those vintage wooden spools? That's seam binding wrapped around them! I love the way Amanda sealed them off with the tiny circles of art- so adorable. All the bits and bobs are amazing and I had no idea I would receive anything so fabulous! Thank you, thank you! Amanda, you brighten the blog world!

Playing House

2008-05-24T10:09:00.000-07:00

I've been having so much fun lately with my house! I love decorating and I love my home, but since having to work full-time, I haven't given my home nearly as much affection as I used to. Plus, I am easily discouraged by the messes!

But I did pick up a few pretties recently and I completed a little project, so I wanted to show everything to you.

I picked up this cute little piano bench from the curb during community clean-up a few years ago. It was stained and very beat up. The upholstery was typical "hurculon" abstract gold and brown ugly. It's been out in my shed waiting and waiting! Well, a couple of weeks ago I was at Salvation Army and fell in love with this old metal file box. So vintage! It's dark olive drab on the outside and the inside is this pretty forties Nile Green. I just happened to have that color in my craft paints. I had barely enough to paint the piano bench. Then I reupholstered the top with this fabulous vintage barkcloth that I bought on ebay for ten buckaroos! I know! It was seven uncut yards! It's not the typical cabbage roses that everyone wants, but it is in the palette I love and already have in the living room. I plan on making some throw pillows with it too. Anyway, pretty cute, huh?Plus, I wanted to show you my cute little Seth Thomas alarm clock I bought at Goodwill. I love it! I've always loved mantel clocks, but I don't have a mantel. This is perfectly sized for my end table. (The butler is waving hello, don't you know?)I have a lot of other fun ideas for the living room- I just hope I can get to them all! This room has been challenging for me ever since we bought the new furniture and re-painted a couple of years ago. It's a big change for me to be so muted in my palette. I love cottage and I usually associate that with color combos like yellow and blue or pink and green or even kitschy turquoise and red. I think I'm really beginning to see how to make these colors work with a cottage eclectic style. Speaking of cottage eclectic, check this out:

It's rainy here today so you can't see how golden this really is. So pretty! Another ebay find. It's from the twenties and I love it so much! I was so lucky to already have a pillow form that fit perfectly. My children have been severely threatened if they even think about abusing this pillow!

So, I guess that's it. I will leave with one more pic. This is the owl that my father carved along with this ceramic Mission Carmel that I begged from my talented high school art teacher so long ago (thanks, Mr. Leenarts!) and Pointy Kitty. This is on top of my bookcase and it makes me smile when I look at it. I hope I will have more photos for you when the room is done.

(Doggone rain! Can't get a good shot!)

Hugs to all!

This might be useful to you...

2008-05-22T16:53:00.000-07:00

Hi Girlies!
I wasn't going to mention that I have a new blog because it is about personal finance and frankly, I didn't think any of you would find it interesting!

But today I was trying to figure out why it's so hard for me to juggle everything. Why can't I get out of debt? Why can't I lose weight? Why can't I be more organized? Well, the result of my ponderings is a long blog post and I feel like it might be helpful to my crafty sisters. If you are so inclined, check it out and let me know what you think.

My Real Life (...or, what I do in between crafts!)

2008-05-13T13:03:00.000-07:00

This sassy looking girl was going to her prom! This, unfortunately, was the best picture I could get! She went to the prom with two of her friends mostly because they wanted to go and they wanted her with them. She did not want a standard prom dress, but I think she looks very cute in this cherry print dress that I made for her graduation. I think it's the first time she's in a dress in a loooong time! She is definitely growing up! Since prom, she has also worn the dress to our annual May Birthday celebration at her auntie and uncle's house. Everyone was so impressed! They are all used to seeing her in grungy jeans and her grafitti-covered army jacket!

She even surprised me on Sunday when she dressed for our picnic in a little sleeveless tee and shorts! What a beauty my baby Carmen is.

Almost eighteen years ago she made a mommy out of me! I remember going to Mother's Day brunch when I was fully pregnant with her and I felt so proud to be one of the "mommies" along with Grandma, Aunt Denah and Mom. This year, we packed up a picnic and went to Crosswoods Park. Pretty standard looking park, right? There's the library on the left, the playground, the tennis court and just out of sight on the right hand side is the Community Center.

But when you turn around, this is the view:

And this is what you see when you look up:This is a gorgeous little corner of Citrus Heights. Arcade Creek runs right through here and the place is full of beautiful old river oaks. I used to bring the children here all the time when they were little.
Eric and I made these amazing sandwiches. Here's the recipe, if you would like to try it. Please note- the bug is one of the guests, not one of the ingredients!

Handsome husband contemplates nature:

Eric poses handsomely, while his best friend Cody watches for seagulls. (LOL- no! There was a lot of grape tossing going on!)

That is my granddaughter Nicole there with Carmen. The two of them are best, best, best friends. Always have been.

Good dog Buddy. After being insanely fetch-obsessed, he finally got worn out and took a rest!

It was a GREAT Mother's Day. Most years I try not to have any expectations and then I sit around and secretly wait (hope) to be feted. This year, I took the bull by the horns and planned a day that I knew I would enjoy and then I made it happen! Everyone had to do what I said and it was great. I hope all the mommies out there had a lovely day!

Now....in crafting news...this is what I have been obsessed with for the last two days:

It's a little Hitty doll! I am making it out of Aves Apoxie Sculpt. I roughly shaped it and then when it dried, I started carving. I am loving her so far! I will post updates as I progress.

I have some little goodies to share with the first commenters on my last post. I will be contacting some of you for addresses in the next few days. I'm so excited to show you what I made!

Speaking of mail love, Lisa apparently has still not received my box. I sent it Parcel Post on May 2nd! Do you think I should contact the post office? I didn't insure it or track it. I'm so freaking out about it. Why oh Why didn't I order tracking? Cross your fingers for me, Friends!

SALE! and Pay It Forward

2008-05-09T09:09:00.000-07:00

ConvenZioNE, here I come! I just learned this week about this wonderful altered art convention/workshop/party coming in August. I am so excited about this for two BIG reasons! First- it's in Pleasanton where Sandra, my best-est friend in the world lives and

Second- my darling new friend, Lisa Kettell, is one of the instructors!

Is that serendipitous or what? Sandra, who has loved me since I was nine, invited me to join her this coming weekend in Las Vegas for our annual Mother's Day fun, but I had to decline for financial reasons. I'm super stoked to think we can spend a weekend together in August! Get our girl time in!

Lisa, who I know that I talk about all the time lately, lives in New Jersey so this is an incredible opportunity to meet her that will probably never happen again!

So.....it's "Pleasanton or Bust" for me! I decided to mark down the pretties in my shop to help fund the trip. Everything has been marked down a little more than 30%. A little angel recently gifted some cash to me so that's my "seed" money. Now let's see if I can sell some inventory to help the cause a bit!

If you feel inclined to share the news of the sale, I would appreciate it very much! Or, if you feel inclined to shop, I would appreciate it very, very much! Thank you, sweet friends!

ALSO...

In appreciation of the angel I mentioned above AND dear Amanda who recently gifted me as part of her "Pay It Forward", I would now like to do the same! This is how it works: as a love token for my sweet friends, the first six commenters on this post will receive a little something from me in the mail. Make sure that your comment includes some way for me to respond to you so I can get your mailing address. There's nothing required from you, but if you are inclined, you can pay forward a little kindness to three peeps in your life! You don't have to have a blog to be included. You can pay it forward "blog free"! I am choosing to gift six people instead of three because I have been twice blessed this week. So, please, let me send a little mail love your way. Remember, it's grooooovy!

Swappy Updates!

2008-05-07T15:34:00.000-07:00

Hello sweet friends! A while back I posted about my swap fever and I've been asked how I am coming along on them. Well...I must say, I am doing better on my swaps then I am at my 5K training! Hmm.....let's just not talk too much about that, 'kay? Will probably NOT be running it. You know, what would you rather do? Glue pretty bits and bobs and play with glitter OR would you like a nice set of shin splits with a side order of muscle ache? Yeah, me too!

ANYWAY!

Let's back to the fun stuff, shall we? You saw the beautiful box that Lisa sent me. Here is what I sent (slightly late) to Lisa:

I made the crown with pipe cleaners and cardboard! On top of the crown is a flat glass marble set into a bottle cap topped with a cross from a necklace. Adding the glitter was the best part! This is real silver glitter and it will tarnish with time which I think sets the mood so well. The box itself is a black velvet candy box that I've been saving forever. I added the little legs to it.

What I was trying to do with this box is to show the two sides of Marie Antoinette. This outside represents her public side. Rather a caged dove, wasn't she? Not highly independent or intelligent, she was quite tame, but she did become everyone's favorite scapegoat. The paper ruffle around the edges of the lid is to represent all the words written about Marie both during her life and posthumously. The tag under the crown says "Marie Antoinette, Reine de la France".

And this is the inside of the box. Inside the lid (on the left) I used this beautiful LeBrun portrait of Marie's two oldest children. So sweet! In the box itself I glued in little vignettes that I felt spoke to Marie's private side. I wasn't able to do everything that I wanted to do- in part because I ran out of time and money! I hope you can see the little labels I made that describe what I imagine she was like.

Then I put it in a box with some of the goodies for my other swaps I'm enrolled in. Nice little transition, eh? First there is the Princess and the Pea Hat (Lisa is my partner for that too!): I really love how this turned out! I used irridescent glass glitter on the flower petals and then I made a twining pea vine from silver wire that wraps around the hat. Strung in various locations on the pea vine are Austrian crystal beads that give off an opalescent shimmer. I like to imagine that the Prince commissioned this lovely hat for his oh-so-sensitive Princess as a wedding gift!Here's a close up of one of the flowers. The gorgeous paper that I used for this hat and that I used to line the Marie box all came from Dollar Tree! I think each pack has six beautiful 12" x 12" pieces of coordinating paper in it. I get so much use out these papers and I never feel guilty cutting into them! Oh, and the green beads on the edge of the hat? An eyeglass lanyard from Dollar Tree! I think of Dollar Tree as my "secret weapon"!

Also into the box went my Mermaid Pageant ATC's. Lisa is the coordinator for this event and she is going to distribute two cards to each participant. I can't wait to see what I get! It's been fun to experiment with different collage techniques and images. Also, I don't remember if I shared my watercolor/colored pencil mermaids that I made in March. You can see them at my flickr photostream.

Whew! One more! I may have shown this before. This is the fairy dotee doll that I made for Amanda. She has rose petal wings and a cashmere body! I got a lovely, lovely dotee all the way from Australia! She came yesterday and when she is rested up a bit from her long voyage, I will take some pics.

So, what's left? The dollhouse book collaborative, the fairytale princess necklace and the Birds of a Feather book collaborative. And I just signed up for a tiny swap trading little felty charms! What can I say? It's so fun! Plus, I've been trading my ATC's at flickr and I have acquired some beauties from other artists and I love them so much! Mail love, my friends! It's groooooovy!

Hugs to all!

Fabulous Marie Antoinette Box from Lisa Kettell

2008-05-02T16:10:00.001-07:00

Fabulous Marie Antoinette Box from Lisa Kettell
Originally uploaded by Tender Arts

Now do you see why I love swapping? I mean, LOOK AT THIS! I cannot even believe how much I love this pretty Queen. So many yummy layers of papers and trim and fabulous-ness. But you know what I love the most? The little pearl earrings she is wearing! I know, how weird, but they are SO cute!

Inside was more decadent gorgeous MA goodies. You can take a peek at my flickr page if you'd like to see it all. All I can say is, WOW! did I ever get spoiled! Thank you so much, Lisa!

For me?

2008-04-22T12:12:00.000-07:00

How sweet!

I feel very honored to have been awarded the "Arte Y Pico" award by the fabulous Lisa Kettell! The "Arte y Pico" award was created/made to be given out to bloggers who inspire others with their creative energy and their works, whether it be writing, artwork or more. When one receives this award it is considered a "special honor". Once you receive this award, you are to pass it on to at least 5 others. For more info on this wonderful award pleases visit: http://www.arteypico.blogspot.com/. So, wow!

There are so many women whose blogs inspire me! Some I have awarded before, so I think I will try to pick five other bloggers. I hope you will visit each of them- they bring so much light into the blogging world!

First, there is Cheryl from Confections. I have never heard this girl grumble about anything! She is so upbeat and just a joy to visit. She very kindly featured Amelia on her blog yesterday, which I thought was so sweet! Cheryl is a talented needlewoman and crafter who makes it a point to highlight the work of others on her blog and that is why I am thrilled to give her this award.

Secondly, sweet Sherrie from Symple Tymes. I first met Sherrie in 2003 on the Yahoo group, Vintage Cloth Dollmaking. At that time she was hosting a patriotic doll challenge- it was one of my first challenges and she was (is!) the kindest, most gracious lady. Not only that, but she has been all over the crafting web. If you want to know what is going on in cloth doll world, Sherrie should be your first stop!

Third, dear Amanda at Violaceous. I know this makes me sound so old, but I really love visiting her blog and reading about her everyday adventures with her cute one-year-old, Lucy. Reminds me of when I was a young mommy, working my way through all the "firsts" with my babies. She has a lovely way of writing that makes you feel at home. Plus, you need to get over there and see her awesome Lucky Inspiration Jars! Too cute!

Fourth, a new friend! Michelle at Rose Garden Romantic. Michelle is originally from Sacramento, a fellow California sister, who is putting down new roots in Texas. She is a very talented collage artist and just plain nice too!

Fifth, Becky from Auntie Bunny's Blog. I think we met on flickr and Edith Flack Ackley dolls simultaneously. She is an incredibly talented artist. Like me, she does a bit of everything, but I think she does it better! I hope you will go to her blog- she made a beautiful EFA doll named Beth that you just have to see!

Sixth, (I know, but I want to do SIX!) another friend from Edith Flack Ackley dolls, Tracey at Giggle Face Studios. Tracey is a very Talented needlewoman with a fine sense of whimsy. She is a delight to visit.

Ladies, you are all outstanding and inspiring artists! I am honored to know you!

Let's flock together!

2008-04-16T13:13:00.000-07:00

You know, like "Birds of a Feather"! One of the swaps that I am most excited about right now is on The Faerie Zine. It is a collaborative book and the name of the swap is Birds of a Feather. Here's the idea: Sixteen artists will each create sixteen identical 5"x 5" book pages. Then, the artists will send their pages and $10 to Lisa Kettell, moderator of The Faerie Zine. She will collate the pages, create front and back covers and bind the books and then mail them to the collaborating artists. How cool is that?

You know, when I do make money in my etsy shop, I usually spend the money on boring things like groceries. I rarely get to buy any of the wonderful things I see other artists offering. By participating in swaps, I am getting the opportunity to own original art by some of my favorite artists! Doesn't that sound great? Won't you join us? There is still room in the swap for four more people. The Faerie Zine is a private group, but I will happily send you an invite. You can take a peek around and see if you might like to join the swap. Just indicate your interest in a comment and I will get back to you with an invitation.

Please come and play with us!

P.S. To get you started, here is a free image from the The Collage Pool. Nice, eh?

The artist is not a special kind of person, but each person is a special kind of artist.

2008-04-11T11:12:00.000-07:00

(Photo by my young friend, Rachel Bale-great perspective, eh?)

The quote above is by Kelee Katillac, the author of House of Belief. It's a great book, by the way. Anyhow, I have this quote taped over my desk to remind me that my work is fine. To remind me to stop censoring myself. To remind me that I have something to offer- that we all do. Like many of you, I was encouraged to develop certain talents over others. My mother was very concerned that Art could never be a proper vocation and that I would be wise to become a secretary. And here I am. In an office all day and sneaking in my creative work on my free time.

If you have ever felt that your creativity was "wrong" or not valuable or not worthy of spending time on, I hope you will follow this link to the blog Bella Dia. Her post is better than mine and the video she shares is better than both of our posts. It is a twenty minute video, but so worth watching. Really, really wonderful stuff. Especially as it pertains to our children. Nurturing creativity is ALWAYS a good idea!

Waving Hi!

2008-04-08T13:16:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had a nice weekend. Ours was pretty quiet, but we did have a super nice visit with my brother, Jonathan and my sister-in-law, Deb, when they had dinner with us Sunday night. We had not gotten together in so long! It was great to catch up. They are talking about getting a pair of doggies! Maybe a pair of Bassett Hounds!!! My favorites!

Isn't this cute? I was organizing my pics on flickr and was so happy to see these again.

This is Happy Clowners! I made him in 2005 from Edith Flack Ackley's 1929 book, "Marionettes". Isn't he the cutest thing? But we don't have him any more. I sold him not long after I made him and my Eric has not stopped talking about him since. It's funny because when I made Happy, Eric was concerned about having a creepy clown in the house. I tried very hard to make sure that Happy would be cute and not creepy and I guess I succeeded! Anyway, I am hoping that this coming weekend, I can make another. And this time, I am NOT going to put him up for sale!

Hugs to all!

Hamburger Pie, Me Oh My!

2008-04-02T12:36:00.000-07:00

Do you know Hamburger Pie? It is good old fashioned comfort food is what it is. I hadn't made it in ages and so I was pretty excited last night when I thought of it. Then, when it came out of the oven looking this delicious, I had to snap it's picture. It's really one of those kind of bizarre fifties recipes, really, but it's so satisfying. Mine is made with lean ground turkey, browned. Add a can of tomato soup, a little water, a drained can of shorty green beans and top with cooked mashed potatoes (instant, of course!). Then sprinkle with whatever cheese you have, mine happened to be parmesan this time, but usually it's cheddar and bake uncovered for 25 minutes in a 350° oven. Voila! Yummy housewifey goodness!

And in "On My Desk Wednesday" action, I have this little cutie heading to her new home:

So, that is one swap out of the way! I won't say anymore about this little dotee fairy, because I want Amanda to discover her for herself. Amanda, look under the pink shreds too, okay? She is coming to you via First Class so you should have her in few days.

Hugs to all!

Amelia and Swap Fever

2008-03-31T14:13:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday, Friends! Amelia is in the shop and is really looking forward to finding a home. I had a terrible time photographing her yesterday. I tried to do it outside, but the shadows were so harsh! We ended up indoors with her back to the window. I think the resulting photos turned out beautifully! The color looks so soft and perfect for her.

I seem to have fallen under a mysterious spell or contracted some kind of horrendous malady! I can't stop signing up for swaps! Have I finished my first two- the card swap and the fairy dotee swap? No! But that didn't stop me from signing up for

A Marie Antoinette box swap
A Mermaid Seaside Pageant ATC swap
A Princess, Pea & Tea Hat Swap
A Fairytale Necklace Swap AND
A Doll House Collaborative Book Swap!!!!

I'm blaming it all on my new friends over at The Faerie Zine. The moderator, Lisa Kettell is so energetic and full of such fun ideas, I can't resist! I mean, really! Don't those sound fun? The Marie Antoinette swap is actually hosted by a fellow blogger, but the rest are all from The Faerie Zine. But now, I must stop and focus on actually completing my swaps. I'm afraid of losing track! I've put all the swaps on my calendar and I am devoting a page of my notebook to each swap for noting ideas, etc.

Good weekend. Quiet, but that's okay. I do wish I'd had a little more energy, but sometimes you just gotta slow down a bit, ya know?

Shop Update-Sneak Peak!

2008-03-28T08:26:00.000-07:00

Amelia,

the Springtime Birthday Girl

In true Pygmalion fashion, I am in love with my creation! I couldn't wait to show her off a little bit, but she's not quite finished. I have a few details to add over the weekend including a Birthday Crown! (Oh my gosh, I'm so excited about the crown!) Anyway, I will be listing her at 9 a.m (west coast time) Monday. She is from the Edith Flack Ackley pattern, "To Greet A Little Girl" which was published as a mail order pattern in the 1940's. I love thinking of all the mommies and grandmothers sewing this doll for a little girl's special gift. She is a bigger doll than I usually make- almost eighteen inches. All of her clothing has fasteners so she can be undressed and re-dressed which I think makes her extra special. I know she is going to make someone very happy!

On My Desk Wednesday

2008-03-26T10:59:00.001-07:00

Well, this is a bit of a cheat because I took this photo last night. But she was there again when I left for work this morning! Tiny Little has a serious HP obsession. I need to find the cover for that thing and put it back!

The other thing on my desk is this:

I'm working on a new look for the blog and the etsy shop. Since I seem to be so pink and blue crazy lately, I'm going with that. I drew these letters by hand, using my old Letraset catalog from my college days. It is such a good resource to have. I think there will be some shadowing added for depth. And, really, it should have some glitter somewhere. Then I need to collect some other little elements and have Carmen help me with scanning and other digital stuff. I'm excited!

I have some other WIP's too:

A new EFA doll. She is a cutie-patootie! If you remember Joanne, this doll is the same pattern, but she is a little blonde girl wearing pink calico. I'm really excited to get her finished and listed in the shop this week.
Blank birthday cards for this swap.
A fairy dotee doll for this sweet girl.
Mommy's composition baby. I really want to get her done so she can come out and play! (I had to look up my original post about this doll so I could create a link. It's funny to reread things you wrote two years ago! I said I thought a cabinet full of dolls was creepy! LOL! Now my doll cabinet is one of my favorite things! I think it's all in what you do with it. My cabinet is more of a "life" assemblage- full of special things and memories rather than just a cabinet full of dolls. But it's still pretty funny!)

So, that's what is on the work table at the moment. Isn't it grand to have projects?

Monday, Monday

2008-03-24T06:10:00.000-07:00

Well, I don't know how remarkable my pretty Easter room really is, but I was very pleased with it. Probably because it is the first time it has been clutter free since Christmas! I think one of the things that really tickled me was the fact that I used many of the sheets I picked up on my lucky thrift excursion last year. Even the "new" curtains are thrifted sheets! See the artwork hanging on the curtain below? That is an unfinished piece that Selah is working on. So pretty!

Anyway, now that the holiday is over, It will probably be a while before I see these surfaces again! Sometimes I think about how nice it will be to have a dedicated craft room, but most of the time I like sharing this space. I think I might get lonely shut up in a separate room.

Easter was lovely. Everything except the potato salad turned out great. I enjoyed seeing my stepfather and our friend, John, joined us too so it was really "just right". I actually had enough energy to do the dishes last night! How nice to have everything taken care of as we start the work week.

Now I need to start thinking about the next crafts! I have the urge to glitter AND sew!

Hugs to all!

We're ready

2008-03-22T21:16:00.000-07:00

for the Easter Bunny here in the doll cabinet! Here are some pretty decoupage eggs. I bought some beautiful German scrap from fellow Cottage Street Team member, Popalicious Too. She has really lovely things at great prices.

And Wendy has a basket of blue eggs, but she needs to be more careful!

This little gal doesn't have much, but she does have some cute bunny ears!

These are my faux sugar eggs. They turned out pretty cute, but I also learned a lot too! Next year I will be much better at it.

Tomorrow, my stepfather will be joining us for dinner. Also, I have plans to wake up extra early to attend the sunrise service. I can't wait! I've been very busy making the house clean and nice and when the sun comes up tomorrow, I will take some photos of the "Easter Room" to show you how pretty everything turned out.

Have a Blessed Easter, Friends!

Hello Friends!

2008-03-20T10:33:00.000-07:00

You will never guess what I've been doing with my evenings lately! Running! Okay, well, running may be an exaggeration. It's really more of a slow, shuffling jog! But I really, really like it. In fact, I've signed up for my first 5K. It's called the No Excuses 5K. How's that for a perfect name? anyway it's on Memorial Day and I've added a ticker to my sidebar over there. I'm so excited!

Not a lot of crafting lately, but I am signed up for a couple of swaps over at swap-bot. In fact, I received my first items already! I'm in a blank birthday card swap and my receiver is a different person than my giver. I got the most beautiful cards from Amanda at Violaceous. I wish I could show them to you, but I have to wrest my camera away from the teenagers! Ironically, in my second swap, a fairy dotee doll swap, Amanda is my receiver! She is such a sweetheart and so talented! Today, she and her husband are celebrating their little girl's first birthday. It just seems like yesterday that I was celebrating Carmen's first and now we are preparing for her 18th. Man, that was fast!

Sadly (for me), Carmen has decided that she would rather go on her senior trip than to have a big party. *sigh* I'll just have to save all my notes and sketches and use them in a few years for her 21st!

That's about it for me right now. Oh- except that I've lost 10 pounds! Woohoooo! And this time they are staying off! My attitude about my diet has had a complete turnaround. I have no doubt now that I will reach my goals.

I'll try to pop back in for another hello before Easter- I have some cute little things to show you!

Hugs to all!

I Heart Weekends

2008-03-09T19:44:00.000-07:00

My "Queen of the Nest" crown is complete and I love it!

I also whipped up a bit of assemblage art. This is the Rose Queen and she is for sale in my shop.

It's been a totally Crafty-licious weekend! And I got a fair amount of housework and laundry done too!

To top it all off, Sherrie of Symple Tymes, gave me this very sweet "You Make My Day" award! How nice is that? There are lots of blogs that make my day, but I'm supposed to hold it to ten. So, in no particular order here are some of my favorite girls:

Blondie of Vintage Primitives
Martha of Jellies Jams
Eileen of new blog Eileen's Attic
Jennie of Falling Down the Rabbit Hole
The other Jenny at Everyday is a Holiday
Of course Dannielle at Princess Nimble Thimble!
The brave and beautiful Deena at Can I Be Pretty In Pink?
Judy at Fabric Arts and Crafts
Amanda at Zhinkadinkadoo
Daughter Carmen at iCreate

I hope you will enjoy their blogs as much as I do!

My First Dotee Doll

2008-03-04T12:55:00.001-08:00

CUTE!!!

See what happens when I get a little "me" time!?! As a dollmaker, of course I've been aware of art dolls. In fact I've even made a couple, here and here. But there's something different about Dotee Dolls. They are so fun and sweet. Sometimes "Art" intimidates me, but nothing about this project is intimidating- just fun! The lovely Australian woman, Dot, who created these dolls, wrote up a very nice tutorial here.

For the body of my dolly, which is only 3", I sewed up the two long sides of a rectangle and then closed one end with a running stitch, stuffed it, then closed up the other end in the same way. The whole project from start to finish took maybe an hour and a half, tops. It's the beading that takes the time and that is where it can be as simple or fancy as you like. If you search dotee dolls on flickr you will see lots of darling examples. And I know I don't have to remind you that these make wonderful Comfort Dolls.

If you have made one, or decide to make one, won't you post the link in the comments section? I'm having such a good time enjoying them. Each one is different and delightful!

Ahhh, Mental Health Break!

2008-03-04T09:01:00.000-08:00

Hello Friends!

I took this morning off of work since my weekend was full of teenage girls! My newest daughter, Selah, celebrated her 18th birthday this weekend with a slumber party. Selah is staying with us for a while as she finishes high school and gets herself established. She is a joy to me- she crafts! Anyway, her actual birthday was yesterday and one of her gifts was this message board I made for her:

I know, the photo is horrible, but I think you can see how it's made. Two baking sheets, decoupaged paper squares, ribbon "frames" and a full set of marble magnet. I made a lot more than I needed, but it was so fun! I used pages from a "Children's Best Loved Literature" book that I bought at the last library sale. It had already been abused so I didn't feel to bad about what I was doing! Here's a close up of the magnets:In other crafting news- We've been making crowns around here! So fun! This first one is for one of my step granddaughters. She's a big Hannah Montana fan, so I made her a Super Star crown:

I think it's very joyful! Last night, Selah and I worked on some new crowns while Carmen helped us with the 1,001 decisions that go into this process! You might be surprised to learn that crown making is kind of hard! One center motif? Along this edge? Or this? Stones or shells? Which glitter? And so on! Anyway, Selah whipped out this amazing Mermaid Crown:

And I got started on what I am calling my May Queen Crown:

I am really loving it so far! The bluebirds were from a piece of scrapbooking paper. They actually are standing away from the crown because I used little pieces of foamcore between them and the crown. Then I added some irridescent glitter to outline the bluebirds. The actuall crown part is covered with some beautiful pink kimono fabric printed with blossoms. I have a lot more to do with it, but I think it's pretty sweet!

Speaking of crowns and blossoms, Molly (thanks for all the name help), the Blossom Queen is now listed for sale in my etsy shop. I have been feeling guilty for letting the shop sit empty, but this morning I said "Hey! I'm pretty darn busy with life and work. I do my best, but it's hardly worth beating myself up for!" And then I felt better!

Okay, so that's it for now! See, I have been busy! Hope the rest of you are having fun too!

One more thing! Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday Dear Sandra, Happy Birthday to you! I love you my dear friend- I hope you have a wonderful day!

This is cool!

2008-02-26T12:51:00.000-08:00

So, I have a DIY planner that I've been using on and off for the last fifteen years and I was looking for some address/telephone pages for it since the ones I have are pretty ratty. My planner is 5-1/2" x 8-1/2" and it is designed after Deniece Schofield's that she outlined in her book, "Confessions of an Organized Homemaker". It's an awesome book, by the way. The planner alone makes it a totally worthwhile read. Anyway...I didn't find address pages, but I did find this incredible site- http://www.pocketmod.com/:

You can design and print your own little pocket planner! So cute!There are lots of pages to pick from, including a customized image page, as you can see. Best of all, I can actually carry this in my darling little clutch purse!And that is what I am excited about today. I have been so busy this month and I have a lot to show, but right now I am at the office enjoying my lunch hour! This weekend I will try to get some photos of what I have been up to lately.

Hugs to all!

Edited to say: There is a great site that has everything I need for the big planner. DIYplanner.com is an awesome resource- check it out if you're not familiar with it.

Hi Friends!

2008-02-07T15:36:00.000-08:00

I didn't mean to be away so long. A bit of wheel spinning going on around here. Weird how that happens. We'll just be zooming along feeling productive and happy and then it feels like we've hit an oil slick or something.

I don't think I mentioned the Tree That Landed On Our Van. The day of the big storm last month found us driving down the street and getting nailed by a grumpy old tree. Happily, Earl and I are fine, but the van had over $8,000 damage! Thank goodness for insurance! Of course, the $500 deductible hurt a bit and it seems to have triggered a little landslide of unexpected expenses. Do you know the feeling? So...I've been focusing (okay, hyper-focusing) on the budget lately. It is a good and neccessary thing to do, but not neccesarily a "fun" thing.

I apologize for being MIA and I promise to get back to more regular posting. I've also been very neglectful of my favorite blogs, but I'm going to try to catch up this weekend.

Thank you to everyone who offered a name for my dolly. She is now officially "Millie Blossom". You couldn't see in the photos, but her dress is covered with pretty apple blossoms. I wish I had been with it enough to list her for Valentine's Day, but I wasn't so I didn't! That's okay- I'm sure the right home is out there waiting for her.

My little girl, Carmen (who I am sure I just gave birth to last week!), is turning eighteen in May AND graduating high school!!! I'm so excited about throwing a party for her! It will be an Old Fashioned Picnic and Ice Cream Social. I plan to have plenty of activities for all ages. I'm picturing Pink, Aqua, Black, White with a few Marachino Cherries thrown in for pop! As usual, I will be on a tight budget, so if you have some ideas for decor and favors, etc., I welcome them! The apron pics might give you an idea of the Aunt Bea/Mayberry kind of feel I am going for.

Oh Joy! Feeling Inspired again!

2008-01-28T21:16:00.001-08:00

Well, I'm all better and as you can see, I've been pretty busy! This weekend Earl and I moved some furniture around and now the Crafting Center is all contained in my giant armoire:
I love it! I've come to learn that the kids really do appreciate this too- now when they have a school project or a birthday card need, they just help themselves. So, even though the Christmas crafting did not live up to my expectations, this has been a great addition to our home. And it looks so much tidier in this cabinet than on the open shelves.

First, a clock from the thrift store that has been turned into a "seamstress" clock with the addition of some vintage sewing notions.This is an AOL free CD box that I've re-covered. Pretty slick, eh? Carmen and I are working on a birthday gift for my little step granddaughter who just turned 15 and loves everything black and white checkered. Carmen is working on some Kindgom Hearts artwork that we will place in the box, pop up style.And while in this paper mood, I made this tiny (3"x3") accordian type book following this great tutorial. I bpught all these cute papers and stickers from the Dollar Tree eons ago and it makes me so happy to see it all put together. I still don't have a baby, but do you think a nice grandma might buy this as a little brag book if I put it in Etsy?

Lastly, here is a cute nameless girl. She is made for the very young girls and I want to list her for a bargain price at Etsy, but she must have a name! Will you help me name her? She is about 18" and she is made of knit fabric and is very huggable and nice.

Whew- I love gettin' busy! Hope you are all enjoying yourselves too!

Yuck!

2008-01-20T09:11:00.000-08:00

I've been sick. Still have a fair amount of goo in my lungs. Wednesday was the last day I was really up and about. I had to take Carmen to the doctor twice because the first time she was in the new doctor kind of pooh-poohed her wheezing. I knew I should have pressed for a breathing treatment. Four hours later, Carmen called me from home and said her breathing was much worse so I rushed her back in where she had TWO breathing treatments and was put on a course of prednisone. Sometimes Mother really does know best.

And that was the last productive thing I was able to do. It hit me Thursday like a tidal wave and I've been in bed ever since. To call it a cold seems like such an understatement. It's got to be a flu. Anyway, whatever it was, it's just about over now. My house is a disaster. *sigh*

Hope all of you are having a better weekend than this!

I Heart Etsy!

2008-01-11T15:51:00.000-08:00

I mean, really! Who doesn't? There is so much gorgeous handmade beauty over there! San, you should check out Right Turn Artwerks, she has some really beautiful lampwork beads that you would enjoy looking at. And Deb, this seller, Paperiaarre is in Finland making some amazing journals and jewelry using old black and white botanical illustrations. Josephine, Puppets 'n' Dolls is a place you will love for their old-fashioned appeal and their meticulous workmanship. Joseph Blake is an incredibly talented artist selling prints of his beautiful watercolors. Maisy Brown Repro Retro fabulous fashions make me wish I could be half as cool as she is! I shouldn't even show you Margaret's adorable doll shop, because you might not come back to Tender Arts! And lastly, one of my very favorite shops and a very nice seller besides is LuLus Sparkles- I have one of her decadent necklaces and everytime I wear it I feel amazing. So who do you love on Etsy? I'd love to check them out for myself. Put the name of your favorite shop in the comments and let's shop together!

Miss Doris is on her way to Vancouver! Thank you, Beata of the lovely Rose Hip for your purchase. I think your daughter will love her.

Dear Melanie of Jelly Bean Angel, I'm having trouble viewing your blog. It says I'm not invited. (*sniff, sniff*) If it's a mistake will you please email me?

Photos: Puppets 'n' Dolls, Joseph Blake, LuLu Sparkles

Introducing Miss Doris Daisy

2008-01-09T09:14:00.001-08:00

Isn't she a fabulous way to begin a new year? I think so! I had two intentions while making her. First, to chase away the gray winter blahs with something sunshine-y. And second, to put this song, which gets stuck in my head all the time, into doll form.

I love Doris Day and I adore this happy little tune! Doris is in my shop right now, if you'd like to see more photos of her.

Edited to say: Ironically, I came from work and my little daughter, Carmen, said she had added the video to her blog! She hadn't even looked at mine. I guess I "infected" her with that little tune!

Oh Hi!

2008-01-03T13:07:00.000-08:00

Hi little blog! Hi! I'm so glad you are still here! Whew! That was weird. I was reading Posie Gets Cozy and I was suddenly afraid that my blog wasn't here anymore. So weird.

Anyway, obviously my blog is still here, but my friends and readers might not be! I'm not sure why it's been so long since my last post. I just got so busy with Christmas. I was sewing little Folkbirds right up to Christmas Eve and then I was still not done. But I haven't even wanted to finish them! I think it all boils down to a bad case of burn out. I sometimes feel like I am too easily overwhelmed. That may be true, but I'm not sure what I need to do about it. I do try to eat right. I do exercise and take my vitamins. I do try to maintain a healthy perspective, but sometimes I just feel unable to keep up with it all.

We had a good Christmas and a good New Years. I love hosting the Open House on Christmas. It seemed like our friends and family must have worked out their schedules in advance- I was so amazed at how well-timed all the visits were! New Years was a fun night spent at home with my beautiful step-daughter, Heather, and her children. It was very "kid-centric"- sloppy joes, seasoned fries and a build-your-own sundae bar!

What are you all thinking about for the new year? Any resolutions to share? I really want to work at consistency and routine-building for the coming year. I am also re-committing to my weight loss goals. After deciding to pursue my dollmaking business back in September, I really slacked off on the diet. Once again, it's about finding that balance. I have been thinking a lot about my priorities and how to make my life a reflection of those priorities.

Top: Folkbirds gathering in the Christmas Tree Middle: Miss Doris Daisy in the works Bottom: seen while on a hike this past weekend. Mother Nature has a beautiful sense of composition sometimes.

I Have Something For You!

2007-12-13T09:20:00.000-08:00

Say hello to Folkbird! She is for you! She is a very sweet and humble bird inspired by our new canary. Don't worry- I know Folkbird doesn't look like a canary! I was actually trying to re-create a bird that I used to make all the time with saltdough. Carmen always loved them, but none have survived the years. As you can see, this one has become an ornament, but they would make nice pincushions too. Actually, I could never stick pins in her, but you can if you don't tell me about it!

Here is a front view of Folkbird. Not really sure why she looks so yellow in this shot.
On one side I tried to embroider the year. The felt I used is extremely thick and fuzzy so it was very challenging to get those little tiny numbers! If you use regular acrylic or wool craft felt, it should be easy-peasy. I had so much fun making her that now I am making a blue Folkbird. That's the other thing I like about this pattern- it's small so it goes together pretty fast. You can have lots of fun doing different combinations of colors and design motifs. I've included the heart and leaf motif on the pattern, but consider it just a guide. You are free to use birds from this pattern for gifts and for sale, but the pattern is for giving only-it should never be for sale. I'm not putting any limitations on her, but I would LOVE to see photos if you decide to make one.

Happy Holidays, dear friends. I am wishing you all much joy of the season! Thank you for being a part of my crafty dollmaking life!

Clicking the image above will take you to a .pdf for you to print.

I Can Has Canary?

2007-12-12T08:53:00.000-08:00

This is what I woke up to this morning. Can you see Francis? He's dark gray and he is right in front of the tree. They were so intent on the bird that they didn't even follow me to the garage for the morning Meow Mix scoop. The sweet canary is an early gift from my young friend, Selah. She is actually Carmen's friend, but she has become part of the family. I fell in love with her canary this summer and due to a change in livng circumstances, Selah had to give him away. When she saw that I would have happily taken him, she got him back and gave him to me! Yay! I love the sound of his beautiful song.

I'm sure the kitty boys will eventually figure out that the bird is not coming out of this particular "tree." Sorry, boys!

(Does everyone already know this site? Great for a daily "pick-me-up.") Edited: I uploaded my pic there. Feel free to vote for it if you feel so inclined....

That was fun! Let's do it again next year!

2007-12-11T14:37:00.000-08:00

Those are the best events, aren't they? The ones you want to repeat? That's the consensus over Edith Flack Ackley Dolls about the "Dollies for St. Jude" event. Thank you to all who bid. I truly feel that there were some gorgeous dolls and I KNOW that some good was done. Thank you, especially, Mimi! I'm happy to know that Joanne is going to such a good home. Can she hang out with you in your garrett studio and watch the magic occasionally?

Speaking of magic, I was in need of a little this afternoon, so I got out my poor, neglected comfort doll who has been languishing in my little sewing satchel. She was almost completed so it was really a pleasure to see the final elements fall into place. I've been so busy lately and I have not been true to my Handmade Pledge, sadly. It felt really nice to sit and sew quietly. Even though this doll has a mission in life, the creation of her was all in my hands. The only caveat to the Comfort Dolls is that they need to be under six inches. Other than that, anything goes. Everything about her, from her shape to her embroidery to her ribbon embellishments, is pure freehanded Bettsi. That's a big change for me and it feels good. It's good to be reminded sometimes that good things can happen when we "let go" a little bit. I was trying to emphasize contrasting textures because these dolls are for holding and I think a lot of texture is comforting.

So, she is off to Pat in Indiana to distribute to the next women's shelter. I hope all of you are finding magic and comfort where you can and not feeling too much holiday stress!

It's On!

2007-12-07T06:29:00.000-08:00

The auctions have started! There are still some members who will be listing later this morning. The image above will take you to the listing page, but you can also type

"Dollies for St. Jude"

into your Ebay search window. Such cute dollies, oh my! And the best part is that the bidding is starting super low! Only three days, Friends. Go take a look!

Check this out!

2007-12-04T10:56:00.000-08:00

Bye-bye Suzy! Wave bye-bye! Wow, that was fast! Suzy found a home very quickly. Thanks, Helene- it's nice people like you that make dollmaking so gratifying.

This is just a quick note to share a couple of great sites I found today.
www.businesscardland.com and
www.invitationland.com

They have fabulous templates that you can use to create business cards and invitations. Super easy to use and all FREE! I had a lot of fun playing there- I think you will too.

One New Dolly

2007-12-03T08:48:00.000-08:00

Whew, Tender Arts has one dolly to offer on Etsy! I was getting worried about having anything to sell this month! It took me all week to make this doll's dress and shoes. That's how it goes, I guess. The clothes always require more handstitching so it just takes longer.

I really like this little girl. I wanted to make a toddler doll. I used the Baby pattern from "Dolls to Make for Fun and Profit". Her dress is very short and she wears little anklet socks. I love that her pigtails are short- she looks almost just like the little girl I saw at the mall who was not afraid of Santa! I named her Suzy and you can probably tell that she is pretty mischievous.
She is about twelve inches tall. All of her clothes are removeable, which I think makes her a fun doll for a child. I made her doll stand too. I would like to make a stand for every doll I make. I went to Michael's to buy doll stands, but they were $2 each and ugly! Instead I bought a bag of wooden dowels, a hand drill and a variety of wood bases. This one is a heart shaped box. Pretty cute, huh? The doll is attached to the stand with a length of ribbon tied under her dress around the top of the dowel.

And for fun, here is a gratuitous cat photo. I can't help it! She lives on my work table and she's so pretty I cannot resist photographing her!

We had a busy weekend. Car repairs, Christmas shopping, dollmaking, grocery shopping and decorating the house inside and out! Sometimes it's very nice to get to the office on Monday morning!

Hugs to all!

Little Tiny Elven Flower Pots

2007-11-28T18:30:00.000-08:00

I was so inspired by Bella Dia's beautiful button bouquets, I rounded up my little elves last night and we tried our hand at our own. Sorry for yet another awful photo. It's just so dang dark around here!

Carmen and I added little wire spirals to ours. Nice for holding a photo or a placecard. I still need to add some fabric to the empty spools. My favorite is the itty bitty yellow spool. Also, we didn't have wooden spools which is what Cassi used. Also, I didn't have floral tape and stupid Walmart was out so I bought a roll of green crepe paper which I ended up liking better. The color is a brighter green so it has a more cute cottage-y look.

The sad part is that my little elves are not as eager as they used to be for crafting with Mom. Carmen was gracious, Max was fairly willing, but easily distracted and Eric pretty much had to be bribed with chocolate. *sigh* Well, that's the way of it, I suppose. I sure am going to enjoy having grandchildren!

Crafts, Cats, Dolls- Life is Good!

2007-11-27T08:36:00.000-08:00

Since I've been a very bad blog poster lately, I will give you this as an apology:

moar funny pictures

Doesn't that more than make up for my absence? I am one busy lady! On the 19th I had a great day in Pleasanton with my best friend, Sandra. We went to a craft show at her local fairgrounds. Lots of glittery goodness! I fell in love with this awesome tree! Pink AND glittery! Awesome! After the craft fair, Sandra wooped me at Scrabble and I cried all the way back to Sacramento.

We had a great Thanksgiving at my brother and sister-in-law's. I spent the day cleaning my work area at home and then we left and ate turkey and all the yummy extras and then on Friday...I opened up my one-woman doll factory! By Sunday night this is what I had accomplished:
(Not a very good pic- sorry about that- they are much cuter in real life!) So now I am working on getting everyone dressed so I can put them in my shop. I will post here when that time comes- hopefully very, very soon!

In other news, the wonderful Yahoo group, Edith Flack Ackley Dolls, that I've been a part of for five years, is hosting an Ebay auction! It is called "Dollies for St. Jude" and it will be three days only. December 7th, 8th and 9th. If you type in "Dollies for St. Jude" in the Ebay search window on the 7th, it should take you to all the dolls listed. We are all super excited about this and there are some awfully cute Edith Flack Ackley dolls being created just for this special event. 100% of the proceeds will go to St. Jude Research Hospital. I am working on getting a button made for my sidebar that will have the info. (Edited: The image below is click-able. It will take you to the group's home page. Big thanks to Josephine, group moderator, for all the help!) This is what my friend, Margaret made. Cute, huh? Like I said, I'm busy! But loving it!

I am wishing all of you good busy-ness too! Hugs to all!

Let the Elven Fun Begin!

2007-11-14T13:21:00.000-08:00

I had such fun Saturday! I gathered up everything "crafty" that I could think of in the house and then I organized it all and created a "Christmas Crafting Center" in our dining room. A basket full of embellishments...
...tools and a fun Christmas Tree project. I'm sure you know the one- straight pins and a variety of sequins. Eventually the whole tree will be covered. This is a fun activity to do when you don't have any ideas! It sort of "primes the pump"...

...table and shelving unit ready for Elven action...

...supplies and books to inspire...

...even shelf labels to help little Elves stay organized!

I found more inspiration online. Diane at CraftyPod posted this wonderful tutorial that I think my kids will enjoy doing. Plus I have lots of craft book with good ideas. One other thing that I added was a large container full of cardboard pieces, gift boxes, tins and empty cardboard tubes. These are all things that can be transformed into gifts with some elven imagination.

I really love that my kids are old enough now that they don't require so much adult supervision that I have to keep this stuff locked up! There has already been some activity too!

In other news, I am missing my little Max. He is on his Sixth Grade camping trip. He will be back Friday and then I can start breathing again!

Farewell, Miss Emily

2007-11-09T16:22:00.000-08:00

Gosh, I'm really going to miss her. I don't know if it was the dress fabric in those yummy fall colors or her pretty hair style made of mohair, but I was getting really attached to Emily. She's excited though. She is on her way to Iowa where she will be a gift for my customer's granddaughter! Emily hoped that she might get a girl, but she was still pretty amazed when she got the news!

Shipping cloth dolls is always a little funny. I mean, it's not breakable so not much is required in the way of packaging. Most of the time, I just wrap it in tissue, drop it in a box and send it on it's way. But that never seemed "special" enough and that's why I tried my hand at box making for Daisy and Rose. The problem with that is the time involved! Plus, it's not impervious to damage by the mail service (Sorry Dannielle!). I think I have found the perfect solution! Check this out:

It's just a piece of cardboard with scrapbooking paper glued to it! Then I cut two slits where I ran a ribbon to tie around Emily's waist which will hold her in place. It's 12" x 12" which was a little short, but that's the size of the paper and it fit in sideways nice and snug so it won't rattle. Since this is my first, I learned a lot, of course. First- go to Dollar Tree and stock up on lots of scrapbooking paper! This is a darling paper, but maybe not the best choice for Emily. It will be good to have a selection on hand. Second- get double stick tape to avoid glue hassles. Third-stock up on floral ribbon. It's cheaper and perfect for this application.

Anyway, I'm really happy with this solution, but after she was gone, I wished I had glued a landscape picture of Iowa on the inside of Emily's box. That would have been nice for her to look at, don't you think? (I'm fine, really!)

My Girl Josephine

2007-11-05T16:02:00.000-08:00

Some people have a gift for encouragement. My friend Josephine is like that. I think we met on the Vintage Cloth Dollmaking group on Yahoo. And then we both showed up at the Edith Flack Ackley group. Despite health problems and family problems, she has always made time to be one of my best cheerleaders. If you've been a reader here for a while, I am sure you have seen her sweet comments. We also email each other often and now we are co-moderators on the EFA group. Anyway, she really surprised me last week with an envelope full of goodies. Just look at all this!

The craft books are great! Lots of groovy fun there to inspire me. I really love the angora one from the fifties. Do you see the fabrics? Feedsacks! I really love this one below. It's a gorgeous print and it's a nice big piece. I think I know what I'll be using it for too, but that's for the next post!

Such amazing colors!

But my favorite goodies are the glass buttons and hankies. They look amazing! Here's the crazy part- Josephine bought the buttons at one antique fair and the hankies at another and it wasn't till she was at home and just happened to see them together that she realized what a great match they were. So beautiful!

Well, something about the fine weave of the hankerchiefs and the beautiful glass buttons made me think of Bluette. Now, if you are not familiar with Bleuette, here is a great article that explains them. I have lost cloth doll friends to Bleuette so I think a warning is in order. These are adorable dolls who beg to be dressed. If this is an area of weakness for you, you might not want to investigate any further!

One friend who is all about cloth dolls, but has room in her heart for others is Judi Ward. Judi can recreate any doll in cloth. She has created a pattern to make jointed cloth Bleuettes, which is an amazing feat, but she also made this pattern that I am crazy about:

This is her Bleuette Manikin pattern and it's free! What a darling little doll! Oh lordy! There are two options for the hands- I love the full finger hand and look at those knees! She is only about eleven inches tall like the original Bleuettes which I think is amazing.

Even more amazing is the fact that someone has gone through all the trouble of scanning hundreds of the original Bleuette sewing patterns and making them available for free. The site is The Bleu Door and it is a wealth of Bleuette information.

I am not going to join the Bleu cult, but I am going to make this manikin. Mainly because I can see it needs a perfect little outfit made from those hankies and buttons. My goal at this point is to shoot for Valentines's Day cuz I'm plenty busy right now! A sweet Valentine just for me!

Thank you so much, Josephine! I love all of it, but I think you can see which items have me totally enchanted!

A-Haunting We Did Go!

2007-11-02T14:15:00.000-07:00

In my neighborhood, we never outgrow Halloween!

Hope you all had spooktacular fun!

Make a Wish!

2007-10-29T09:11:00.000-07:00

I did! Friday was my birthday! My sweet brother and sister-in-law invited us over for enchiladas and Chocolate Rasberry Truffle Cheesecake! Oh yeah! And then I got a wish come true:That's my kids- no doubt about it! It's been years and years since I had a portrait done. Deb and Jon took them to The Picture People when we went camping. Is there any way to truly express how much this thrills me? Man, I love this photo. It's here at work with me, reminding me of what I am working for.

The rest of my weekend was spent playing house! I really did spend most of the weekend just re-furbishing my china cabinet. It was so fun! Fresh paint, new knobs and a complete revamp of the contents- all set against the backdrop of my mom's wedding china.
Here is my favorite part. It was Jenny B. Harris and her Alphabet Banner that inspired everything! I love these letters so much! The whole cabinet became a personal statement about the things and people that give me joy. Don't Wendy and Cissette look adorable?

The cabinet top, previously known as "The No No Shelf" where we put confiscated balls covered with dog slobber, is now home to many of my old friends. Lots of them were made by me, but some were made by others or were purchased. A lot of these were in rubbermaid storage containers in the shed! That's just not right!

Dear dollies from swaps I did.

Mom's wedding veil from 1959. The beads are Austrian crystal and the framework is covered with cream colored velvet. So sweet!

Chubby cheek me way back when:

My earliest character doll, Melissa, rescued from storage!

So many of the things in this case were all over the house, dear to me, but lacking impact. Having them all assembled together just makes it so special. I realized that I could go crazy decorating this cabinet because there is nothing that could mess it up. It's not a table top that can get cluttered with GameBoys and remote controls and discarded dishes. It's a self contained unit and it's covered with glass! Also, it's in the kitchen where I am so often. Now I have something to enjoy while I'm stirring the risotto.

This china head doll is a repro I assembled and dressed for my mom back in the eighties, but she bought the kit in the seventies from HER mother when Grandma worked at Liberty House. The little compote under glass was handpainted by my great grandmother on my dad's side in the 1920's. Almost every item in the cabinet has a history that means something to me.

And finally, a sweet old doll head that looked much too serious for a cabinet named Joy. I made her pretty party hat to complete my "Ode to Joy". (This freaks out Earl so much that he can't even look at it! Ha!)

The other thing I did this weekend was to finish this very nice Edith Flack Ackley doll. This is Emily and she is available in my shop.

If all birthdays were like this one, they might have a better reputation!

Uh oh, Yoda! There's a new kitty in the house!

2007-10-24T15:43:00.000-07:00

Yoda is the worst behaved cat in our cattery. He picks on all the other cats and is just plain obnoxious. He's definitely the "baby" of the bunch. But now there is a new kitty in town and Yoda better watch out!

Thank you to Hillary of Wee Wonderfuls for designing such a cute pattern and then making it available for free! If you haven't looked at the Flickr pool yet, it makes a great slide show. Enjoy!

Take Joy.

2007-10-18T10:30:00.000-07:00

Huh? How could it be a week since my last post? It feels like it was just yesterday. Geez Louise. Time really does accelerate as you get older…

Anyhoooo, Earl and I went camping last weekend. All alone. As in “no bickering children”! We really lucked out too because it just so happened that we were there for the last night of camping for the season. We were at Ice House Reservoir which wasn’t as cold as it sounds plus we slept in the van so we were plenty cozy. We ate like royalty (steak and crab legs!) around the campfire and we went fishing on Sunday morning where I am very sorry to say that I caused the death of a beautiful little rainbow trout. No more fishing for me, thank you very much. Poor little guy was enjoying the beautiful morning just like us, but he had to pay for it with his life. Other than that, the trip was lovely. My brother and sister-in-law were super nice and made pancakes for the kids and took them to a really cool pumpkin patch where they fired pumpkin cannons, so I don’t think the kids missed us too much!
Now I can show you the pillow I made for Deborah, my sister-in-law. I know it looks like a doll quilt, but it’s really a sham style pillow cover. I embroidered the little birds and the word “happy”. I love these colors together! It is all hand quilted. I was so happy with how well it turned out. It was a bit of a combination gift. Deb’s birthday is the same day as their wedding anniversary and this year it was also the same day as Jonathan’s graduation from Heald! They hosted a great barbeque a couple weeks ago and, inspired by Holly’s beautiful work, I decided to make a crown for my brother. He just graduated with A.S. in Accounting AND he is a coin collector so the money theme was tailor made. I also made the little velvet presentation pillow because it made the perfect vehicle for delivery! Now, shop wise, I haven’t accomplished much. I sold my second-to-last item and now all I have is the Scrappy Charm Pillow which, may I say, is quite adorable! Dolly Dingle is almost complete and I have another EFA in the works, but just not enough hours in the day!

You know what I’ve started thinking about? Christmas! If you’ve been a reader for a while, you may remember that I was pretty disappointed in the quality of last Christmas and resolved to do better this year. I did have a list started of different crafts for different recipients, but I think I’m going to simplify a bit. If you are related to me, you can expect either gingerbread cookies (Yum! I make really good ones!) or a Pointy Kitty. I made my first Pointy Kitty last night and boy, did she turn out CUTE! What an adorable pattern. In a way I am so bummed that I can’t sell Pointy Kitties, but in another way it’s really cool to be a recipient of one. It means you’re getting something that cannot be bought! Sorry that I don’t have a photo. I will post her in the next few days. Unlike the Wees I made for all the kids back in 2004, these Kitties will all be different and I do fully intend to get the whole family involved in making them.

Of course, the whole handmade Christmas is fraught with irony. Last year I wasn’t trying to launch a business, but I struggled to find the time create some kind of meaningful holiday for my family. This year I have more on my plate than ever, but I am unwilling to give up my plans. Of course, I was depressed last year so that explains a lot, I think. Both in the poor quality of last year’s Christmas and in my determination to do better this year. Here’s the thing, though, that just blows me away: in the past, I did “stuff” like holidays and birthday parties because I felt I HAD to and of course, I didn’t really enjoy it all that much. It was all just stress to me and that’s because of my depression, although I didn’t realize it at the time. Sometimes, I would just “opt out” of those activities, but that was really unsatisfying too. Now, I want to do these activities because I want to enjoy the occasion. Yes, it usually means some work, but that’s okay. Especially because I am doing it for my enjoyment and the enjoyment of people I care about and not out of a sense of obligation. By the way, I picked up sparking apple cider and cake and ice cream last week after my last post. After dinner, I set out pretty dessert plates and we toasted my customers and the future of Tender Arts. It felt really, really good.

And so, I will keep working on stocking the shop and I will start working on Christmas gifts and I’m going to like it and be thankful for liking it and if I stop liking it, I will stop doing it. So there. I think my new motto is “I want it all and I’m unwilling to sacrifice anything to get it!”

I will try to post tomorrow about Thirty Days to a Better Shop which I am still working on.

Hugs to all, dear friends from the spooky home of Tender Arts!

Good Day Today

2007-10-11T16:29:00.000-07:00

Okay, since I am behind on Christina’s Thirty Days to a Better Shop project, I’m cramming things in to catch up!

Day Two: The assignment was to analyze and change our Store Announcement. Here is my old announcement-

Welcome Friends! Thanks for dropping by. My work is inspired by design motifs of the 1920's, 30's and 40's- especially the look and feel of children's literature. I make dolls and all manner of soft goods- pillows, purses, pincushions, soft toys and more. My creations are usually made from vintage patterns and I use a lot of vintage and reproduction fabrics. Come by and visit my blog at www.tenderarts.blogspot.com. I hope you like what you find!

And here is my new one:

Welcome Friends! Happy Autumn!

Looking for Cute? Vintage? Cheerful? I’ve got you covered! My work is often inspired by children’s books of the 20’s, 30’s, and 40’s. Check in with me for dolls and all manner of soft goods for you, your baby and your home sweet home.

Come by and visit my blog too- http://www.tenderarts.blogspot.com/

It’s not a huge change, but I like it. What I love about this series is that we are scrutinizing everything and really thinking about how it all fits together.

Day Three: Store Sections. I think in the future I will need sections to categorize all my inventory, but right now I have only a tiny handful of product. Sections would look a little pretentious, I think!

Day Four: Our assignment was to analyze and change our Profile. My profile was horrible as you can see:

I am a compulsive maker of things. I like old things and I like dolls.

I really struggled with this which is why the first one was so bad! The new version is kinda silly, but hopefully it’s a little fun too.

Aw, shucks! You’re lookin’ at me!
It is not easy to describe yourself. How’s this:

MWF, 44, seeks commercial relationship with attractive buyer.
Me:
Hates idle hands; loves dogs, children and cozy evenings at home. Only feels normal with a sewing needle in hand.
You:
Discerning and tasteful with an appreciation for the finer things in life. Loves to support the arts. Hates mass production and shoddy workmanship.

If you are interested in a connection, just click “Add To Cart” anywhere on this page!

Day Five: Let’s look at our banner.
I didn’t change my banner because I love it so. Amanda G. said she found it difficult to read and I totally see where she is coming from, but it’s so pretty! Also, my mini-me-only-better, Carmen, made it for me! Having said that, I do think I will change it frequently because I plan on having a different “theme” every month or so. I sure wish I were clever at web graphics because the opportunities for cuteness are so appealing! Also, I believe that Mo Jackson is still working on some things for me. (Wooee! Talk about cute!)

And that’s what I’ve accomplished towards bettering my shop. I am enjoying this process very much. But you know what is even more fun? Yup! Actually selling stuff! I am so proud and pleased to announce that my very first Etsy customer is none other than Hillary “wee wonderful” Lang herself! She who has been my inspiration from the moment I discovered her blog, the first craft blog I had ever seen, back in December 2004. I am incredibly honored to know that my humble little Linnea is a Christmas gift for the beautiful and wise Phoebe. Wow.

But that is not all- oh no, that is not all. Because Maggie is also off to a new home! I can still remember the first time I “met” Amanda B. from Zhinkadinkadoo. She commented on this post about how her son loves capes, but she worried about strangling. I wrote back to tell her that dressmaker snaps are wonderful for capes because they open with the slightest pressure. We’ve been friends ever since! In fact I was her first customer when she opened her Etsy shop and she surprised me with a fabulous new friend.

So, yeah, this is a good day. I feel a little flummoxed by it. Yesterday I broke Earl’s nice LCD monitor by laying the headphones too close to it. I guess the magnets in the headphones are bad- I didn’t know. There is a little fried looking “hole” in the monitor now. I’ve also been sick this week with a sore throat and aches and pains and missed my brother’s graduation (that really sucked). Plus, we have dental bills to worry over and credit card debt and I was feeling this morning like I couldn’t catch a break. I’m sure not feeling that way now! I want to savor this moment and really remember it. It always seems like it’s so easy to remember what misery feels like, but not always so with joy. I have champagne at home. Maybe tonight we’ll open it and make a toast to Tender Arts.

Hugs to all!

Help for Etsyans

2007-10-10T12:51:00.000-07:00

I've been spending some time getting to know Etsy. It's not easy to know Etsy. It's awfully big! One of the things I've been doing is visiting other shops and "heart"-ing all my favorites. Well, today I discovered that I had been "heart"-ed by someone new to me. That was a lovely surprise! But even lovelier was clicking over to her shop, The Singing Bird, where the cuteness slayed me! Becky is a very talented lady. I'm so excited because I commissioned a piece from her. Soon I will have my very own needle-felted Bluebird of Happiness.

This sweet bird, Wee Miss Sunshine, is only two inches tall! So darling!

After introducing myself and asking for a bluebird, I asked Becky if she had any Etsy tips for me. She gave me some great help and she directed me to this blog where Christina is doing "30 Days to a Better Shop". Perfect! I'm a little late joining, but I plan on catching up. I thought you all might enjoy this process too, so I'll be blogging my progress and maybe you will join in if you have a shop. What a fun way to learn together!

So, Day One (which was 10 days ago!) our assignment was to define our goals for our shops. Here is the exact assignment:

Today’s assignment is to set goals both monthly and long term for your shop and business. I know… easy, right? Ha! Not! Okay, let's try this...

For October-

Finish and list Rooster Pillow

Finish and list Dolly Dingle

List Amish Puzzle Ball

Start creating November's inventory

(theme: Harvest Kitchen)

Decide upon December's theme

Continue to "heart" favorites and meet other Etsyans

Finish designing business cards

Follow along on 30 Days to a Better Shop

Live within my means (hardest thing on the list!)

For Long Term-

stop doing everyone else's laundry

stop cooking dinner every night- work on delegating out

make Tender Arts my day job!

Whew, that looks pretty daunting! I hope this doesn't overwhelm me! Anyone else want to join in? Leave a comment so I can check in with you.

Hugs to all!

Maggie, the little witch who wanted to be a princess

2007-10-08T09:42:00.000-07:00

Say hello to Maggie! She's a mischevous little thing, but still very sweet. As you can see, Maggie is a witch. But for Halloween she wanted to be a princess! Well, you know, I'm pretty indulgent with my dollies so together, Maggie and I created an ethereal princess costume.

I had a 1950's chiffon scarf in my stash just waiting for it's opportunity. But first I created a base garment of ivory satin. Then I made the overlay in the chiffon. Maggie says it is the prettiest blue ever created and I think I have to agree! After her gown was done, Maggie said her witch's hat didn't look right with it so what could we do, but doll up her hat as well? Blue satin ribbon to the rescue!

Now, Maggie may look like an EFA doll, but actually she is my own creation. I knew I wanted her to be about 9" tall, but I wanted her to be a little hefty and I also wanted her arms to be more flexible than most EFA's. So I drafted a body that looks similar to EFA doll, but actually isn't. Also, her arms are seperate and sewn to the body later unlike EFA's which are true pancake dolls.

Another thing that is different about Maggie is that she is a painted doll. I wanted to give her more detail than usual, so I painted her hands and face with craft paint. I painted her features and then to give them more definition, I outlined them with a fine tip permanent marker. Then I gave everything a semi-gloss clear coat to seal it. I love her little face!

Then, since her head was painted, sewing her hair on became almost impossible so I decided to glue it instead. I new her hat would be glued on, so I wasn't to worried about detailed hair styling. I do love her long braids- they remind me of Pippi Longstockings!

I knew when I started this doll that I would be trying my hand at a custom doll stand, but I had no idea it would become so elaborate! My plan was to insert a dowel into a weighted base, attach a tie to the top of the dowel and then tie it around the doll's waist, under her skirt. But while I was working out the position of the dowel, I realized that I could create another accessory for Maggie! So I angled the dowel and then created a layer of paper mache on top of the box to create a "well" for Maggie's feet- you can see it in the photos. Then I turned the bottom of the dowel into a witch's broom and the top of the dowel became her magic wand. There is a wire loop on the dowel and Maggie's hand slips into that and after a little balancing, it supports her pretty well. Cute, huh? I really loved the way it turned out and I'm already hatching up new ideas for dolls with stands.

The hardest part of the whole process was coming up with a price. I think she may actually be a bit under priced. Well, of course she is if one were to add up all the time spent on her, but using that as a basis for price never works for the things I make! So, anyway, she is at Etsy and she is a bargain at only $40. I hope she finds a home quickly- how sad is a Halloween doll without a home on Halloween? Edited later: I raised her price to $60.00. Maybe she won't sell, but I just cannot justify selling her for any less.

I will be listing more items in the next few days so keep checking back!

Welcome October!

2007-10-03T15:48:00.001-07:00

Welcome to my favorite month of the year! What's not to love? Here's a random list of all the good things about October in general and this October specifically:

Fall leaves

Crisp, cool weather

Ghoulies and Goblins (BOO!)

Candy

Max's 11th birthday

Sister-in-law Deborah's birthday

My birthday!

Candy

Columbus Day (why not?)

Candy

My brother Jonathan's graduation!

Deb and Jon's wedding anniversary

Candy

I do love this month! I am looking forward to a month of fun balanced with work. That's my main "theme" right now-

balance

I want Tender Arts to be successful, but I don't want to wear myself out and I especially don't want to cut myself off from all the things I love about my life. Especially those babies that aren't so baby-ish anymore! So, I am still stitchin', but I am doing it when my other loves and responsibilities allow it. I do have a bunch of cute stuff to photograph and list so keep your eyes on my etsy shop. By Sunday I will have new merchandise, including Dolly Dingle and hopefully a little Halloween doll! I don't want to give too much away, but her name is Princess Witch Megan if that gives you any ideas!

In the Ghoulies and Goblins department, I brought Witchy-Poo out to grace my work area. She is ALWAYS ready for Halloween! Anyway, our newest rescued cat, Mandy (named for the mean little girl from The Grim Adventure of Billy & Mandy-a cartoon I hate, BTW) has decided that she loves Witchy-Poo! How cute is this?

Poor little Mandy isn't really as mean as the cartoon protagonist. She's deaf and not very social, but she is slowly becoming more trusting of us. She loves to watch Carmen and I wash dishes! Look at those blue eyes! She is so pretty and soft and we all wish we could pet her more than she allows. Maybe someday... In the meantime, I guess it's Witchy-Poo who will get all the affection!

Comfort Dolls

2007-09-27T15:52:00.000-07:00

Do you remember when I got Hitty? It was January of this year and it was right before I hit bottom, so to speak, emotionally and took some time away from the blog and started getting help for my depression. I'm really attached to this sweet little doll. You know, she is only 6" tall and she has her own little drawstring bag so she can travel with me anywhere. For a while there she was my comfort doll. I loved to hold her tight and trace her outlines with my fingers. I needed comfort and she was very good at giving it.

Can you remember that comfort that came from a doll? It may have been years since you have experienced it, but it is very real.

Pat Winter, a visionary, has had this wonderful idea to put Comfort Dolls into the hands of women who desperately need comfort- women escaping domestic violence. I do hope you will visit her blog and learn more about this wonderful mission. I can't wait to get to started!

Mathilda Whipple, circa 2003

2007-09-26T21:14:00.001-07:00

Mo asked me if I had any Halloween dolls. I do have one in the works, but her question reminded me of my first Mathilda Whipple doll. This is an Annie Beez Folkart pattern. It's the first thing I ever sold on ebay and it was a thrill to sell it to my dear friend, Fran Banas, proprietor of Cloth Doll Supply. What a cutie, huh? Annie designs wonderful dollies.

Mo Jackson is my Fairy Godmother!

2007-09-24T18:49:00.000-07:00

Do you know Mo? Hers are the graphics that make Inspire Company so fabulous. I contacted her last night about the difficulties I was having with my website. Between my conversations with her and my own internal reality check, I've decided to cancel the Homestead website and sell on etsy for now. (Linnea is there if you are interested.)

The best part of all of this is that she is helping me! She has some ideas to improve the look of my little old blog here and I am so excited! Don't be surprised if you click on over here one day soon and find one sweet lookin' blog! Here is Mo's shop and here is her blog. You are going to love her doo dads!

Lovely Weekend and Dolly Dingle

2007-09-23T12:16:00.000-07:00

One nice benefit of Earl's broken foot is that the weekends are nice and quiet- just the way I like them! Hmmmm.....maybe he should always have a broken foot....LOL! I just shared that with him and he didn't think it was very funny at all! Seriously, though, it has been so nice to focus on dollies and handcrafts. Good for my soul.

Speaking of Earl's foot, his cast comes off on Thursday! Depending on how the x-rays look, he might be put into a walking cast which will be so much nicer for him than the dead weight cast he has now. I can't see why he doesn't love it- it's so cheerful and colorful, wouldn't you say?
(Ugh, don't look at the disgusting, always messy blue carpet!)

Last night I made one of my favorite dinners: corn chowder and fresh biscuits. Yes, it's pretty heavy on the carbs, but when I'm ambitious I also make a green salad. The weather was so dreary yesterday, this soup was the perfect cozy meal.

I don't think I posted about the Peddlar's Fair that Carmen and I went to last week. It was in old Folsom and it was all vintage goods and antiques with a tiny smidgeon of handcrafts. Carmen, my tea drinker, was excited to find Red Rose animals offered. One booth that I was excited about was all vintage purses. Every decade from the last century was represented right up to the 1980's. Remember long handled Liz Claiborne purses? When I worked at Weinstock's they were the must-have purse after Dooney & Burke. Anyway, it was a treat for the eyes! Then, this week, I was lucky enought to find this blog throught Sweetheartville for more purse love!

But, I digress. What I wanted to say about the Peddlar's Fair is that I bought this very cute Dolly Dingle paper doll sheet. And it's the real deal too! From a 1930 edition of the Pictorial Review. I have always loved the embroidered pancake dolls of the twenties and once I got this paper doll, I couldn't put it off any longer! I have this great 1915 doll pattern that was a gift from Mary Colgan of the Vintage Cloth Dollmaking Yahoo Group. I modified it a little bit and this is where I am at so far:

I must admit, I am in love! It's so fun to make something different than another EFA and I am so digging the vintage vibe. Wait till you see the fabric I have for her dress! Oh, and I will be embroidering her little combination suit too. I am coloring my little Dolly Dingle with PrismaColor Pencils which is also what I use for cheek color on my EFA's. You absolutely must see this darling site, Dollkind, which is a celebration of 20th century dolls. I found this very cute tutorial there which is getting more of my gears spinning!

This weekend is exactly why I want Tender Arts to become a full-time endeavor for me. This is how I want to spend my days, not answering phones and typing legal descriptions. I'm getting too old to be doing things I don't love. I am not content to wait for retirement. Having said all that, I am scaling back my plans for the business for now. I think I will have to go with just the web launch for the moment. Hopefully, that will net enough money to afford some time off from my day job so that I can increase my inventory enough to actually do a live show. I can't work full-time and build enough inventory to do a show. *sigh* I'm just one little old set of hands.

Speaking of the web site....that's another hurdle! Building a web store is harder than I thought! I went with Homestead and I don't think they are the problem- I think it's me! I want a custom looking site and I don't have the money to pay for a web designer and I don't have the time to teach myself. If any of my readers have experience with this kind of thing AND like the stuff I make, maybe we could work a trade. To give you an idea of what I want, Inspire Company is one of my very favorite web stores. If you think you can help me out, leave me a comment or email me at bettsi_mccombATyahooDOTcom.

Anyway, if you've made it this far, gentle reader, I hope you are having a lovely weekend also! Hugs to all!

Meet Linnea!

2007-09-22T12:01:00.001-07:00

As you can see, she is a little Scandinavian miss. Her hair is braided with festive red ribbons and crossed over on the top of her head. She wears a sweet black calico strewn with gay little flowers. (Yes, I know I said "gay", but honestly, how sad that we've lost the original meaning of the word. It is the most appropriate word for the fabric.) Her shoes are black leather and have fabric ties around her graceful ankles. Her chemise, showing at the neckline and puffed sleeves is a vintage organdy. Even her petticoat is ready for a celebration, festooned as it is with a wide, embellished lace accented with red thread.

I did something a little different with Linnea, I made her body from a peach colored woven cotton, but made a head and chestplate from my beloved cotton knit. My supply is getting smaller and smaller and I don't think I'll be able to find more of it, so I've come up with this way of making it last. I like it for the head best because of the stretch. The head ends up with a very nice shape, don't you think? Now, it is an unusual thing to do, so I am willing to listen to opinions about this. What do you think? Is it too weird to have the head and body made from different fabrics? I think the final effect is fine, but I may be too close to her. I think she's beautiful!

Also, a reminder- today is the last day of Ava Grace's auction. I am happy to say that Dot has a bid of $40. That represents a night at a Motel 6 for Ava's parents. You see, when Ava needs surgery, the family has to travel out of town. Unfortunately, this particular hospital is located in a city with no Ronald McDonald house, so lodgings are paid for out of pocket. Both parents have jobs and they both take unpaid leave to take Ava to these surgeries. Then there is the at-home care required for little Ava. Insurance only pays so much, so this auction is going to help this family a lot. Here's one of the coolest things about this auction- Ava's parents do not have the internet, so imagine how surprised they're going to be when the Humble Arts ladies tell them how much was raised! Anyway, bidding ends tonight at 6 p.m. Pacific time. Happy bidding and good luck!

Hugs to all!

Making Little Doll Shoes

2007-09-21T10:14:00.000-07:00

So, EFA dolls get handmade shoes made of fine leather. I must be truthful and say that it is probably my least favorite part of making these sweet dolls. Now, having said that, I must also say that an EFA is not an EFA until she has her shoes. If you are at all interested in making Edith Flack Ackley dolls, I have some tips for you!

Start searching out those odd lot bins at your local thrift store. You are looking for leather gloves that don't look too worn out. You will be happiest when you find a single because, trust me, it's very painful to cut into a pair of beautiful gloves! If it's a single, it won't matter anyway!
You will notice in the first photo below that this leather is natural colored on the inside and only dyed on the outside. You can find gloves that are dyed straight through and those will be the ones you want because you get a nicer finish on the edges of the shoes. However, since this is not a perfect world (darn!), you will take what you can get!
Use a regular sewing needle. In fact, the finer, the better. The finer the needle, the easier it will pull through the leather. Also, use a single strand of regular sewing thread. This is hard enough work already without trying to keep a doubled length of thread under control.
Start in the center front of the shoe, burying your knot on the inside. When you get to the back of the shoe, tie off and start a new thread in the center front. You can see in the photos that I've finished with one side and I am now working the second side. IMPORTANT: Remember, you are sewing for a doll, not a human! I used to make lots of stitches before realizing that, hey, no one is going to be actually wearing these shoes! Duh! Talk about a free-ing realization!

Last, but definitely not least, get yourself a nice leather thimble! You can see mine in the second photo. I think it's from Clover, but someday I would like to try Princess Nimble-Thimble's thimble which is actually called the nimble thimble and looks very comfortable! I use mine a lot, but especially when I am sewing these little shoes. First, it allows you to push the needle through and second, it helps you get a good grip when pulling the needle. I wear mine on my right index finger, but I have in the past worn it on the second finger to give me more dexterity from the index finger.

Okay, so there you go- everything you wanted to know about sewing EFA shoes! Actually, I might be missing something so if there is anything else you want to know, leave your questions in the comments and I will edit this post to address it.

Have a good weekend everyone! I'll be working on Linnea who is looking forward to having her shoes! I just finished a darling item that I wish I could show, but it's for an October birthday girl who checks in here occasionally! I will say this- I have caught the doll quilt bug! I resisted as long as I could, but now that I've done one, I'm hooked and want to make more, more, more!

Hugs to all!

Remember Ava Grace

2007-09-16T20:10:00.000-07:00

The bidding started today over at the Ava Grace auction site. There are a lot of wonderful, beautiful pieces and it looks like some of them are going for a song! I have to admit, I couldn't resist bidding on a couple of items myself!

Just remember, this isn't ebay...it's a silent auction created by some very hardworking and loving souls (Hi Blondie!). When you click on the BID button, an email form will open- each piece has its own email address. Put your bid in the subject line and be sure that your return address is displayed in the email. The site will be updated by hand so you probably won't see your bid reflected right away. Like any good silent auction, you won't know if you won until after the auction. Don't miss out on this opportunity to own a gorgeous piece of original folk art and help a family at the same time!