Hello holly berries!

I hope you are having a wonderful holiday season.  Mine started off a little rough, but I am on the mend both physically and mentally. 2012 is going to be a great year.  We are going to make it a great year.

 I haven’t started my Christmas shopping yet.  That’s right, I am shopping this year. In years past, I have made most of my gifts, but I have to admit I kind of missed the commercialism of Christmas a bitJ. I miss the sales and the sparkle and the wrapping paper and Christmas music and the traffic and the people.  I know it seems insane.   I think it stems from my dichotic childhood. 

I had one grandmother with a real cut Christmas tree (I still love the smell of cedar more than any scent you can buy), old fashioned ornaments and a big home cooked Christmas breakfast. She i a make do kind of lady who rarely bought anything that wasn’t useful.   It was a cozy Emmitt Otter kind of Christmas with frozen ponds and wood stoves.  I loved it.

My other grandmother had all the sparkle, the latest and greatest.  I think she rarely bought anything that was useful.  She had an artificial tree covered in flashy garland and brightly colored balls.  The whole living room was decorated with nativities and Santas..  She had a giant record player that seemed to play Gene Autry non-stop the whole season.  She even had a candy dish full of ribbon candy…and yes, we had to pry it apart with a knife.

I had the best of both-- a down-home country Christmas and a kitschy, sparkly Christmas.  Fast forward a few years and you have my chaos.  Primarily, my house is decorated in primitive and handmade Christmas items.  I made my own feather tree and decorated it with antique and handmade items.  The first impression would probably be a pioneer/early Victorian Christmas. And I love it.

But in one corner of my house, I cannot get away from that other side of me that likes sparkle.  It takes all the strength I can muster to resist purchasing all that beautiful glittery stuff I see at places like Hobby Lobby. I try to keep it real… as in vintage.  I have a small vintage aluminum tree, vintage shiny brites in those fabulous lime green and orange colors, bubble lights, and even a gaudy eggnog set. I even bought working vintage Christmas lights, but I am afraid to use them as they smell a little strange when I plug them in.   I have dancing Santas and glitter reindeer.  Christmas houses and candle rings.   I like to think of this as my 1950’s space age style Christmas area.  And yes, I even purchased a candy dish which I plan on filling with a lump of ribbon candy.

Right now I try to keep these personalities separate, but I look forward to the day when I can mesh the two.  It won’t make any sense to anyone but me, and those who grew up like I did.  This might also explain why some nights you will find me hammering out my primitive tin lanterns in the garage wearing a big bow in my hair and silver polish on my nails.  I heard you can be useful or ornamental.  I think I want to be both.  Like Rosie the Riveter.  My mom says mine is a life of contradictions.  I have the latest electronics (married a programmer) and earliest tinsmith machines.  I have handmade brooms and a Floormate.  I have bells and whistles and rustic charm.  I guess for me, it’s a not really that hard to reconcile, it’s just home and I love it. 

To all those primitive people with the dancing Santa hiding in your closet, bring him out and proudly display him next to your hand carved nativity… I promise it will be ok. 

My Cherry Dress

This had started out being one of those posts where I recap the year and tell you all the good things and the bad things that happened.  I changed my mind.  No sense living in the past, except to say that I had the best year with my art and I appreciate everyone who supports me. I hope next year is just as good in that aspect of my life. As for the rest of my life? Well….

Marilyn Monroe once said something like “sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together”.  2012 is going to be the year better things fall together.  Here is how it’s going to start: A Cherry Dress.

For small business Saturday, my sister and I went to a local boutique, where I bought a cherry dress. It is a beautiful dress, made in America.  It was so beautiful that my skinny sister bought the same one. J  I have been looking at this dress for a while, but I was afraid to even try it on.  I’m shaped a little odd and most of the clothes do good just to cover most of my parts.  I usually just shop out of necessity.   But this dress?  My sister made me try it on. I had to suck up all my insecurities and self-shame and put on this dress.  And this was after her perfect frame fit perfectly into the same exact dress. It took every ounce of inhibitions I had left to go into that fitting room.   It is totally unlike anything I have worn in years or ever.  It’s a halter dress.  I don’t even have the right kind of unmentionables for this dress.  It doesn’t hide my chest, or my arms or any of the other parts I try to cover with sweaters etc.

When I put this dress on, I am sure I looked like a one of those commercial wrapped cars, but I felt like Marilyn Monroe (sure shorter and rounder with roots showing,  but still).  I purchased my dress. And I bought it a size smaller than I needed.  Since that day, I have been trying to eat better and exercise because I will fit into that dress. And I will get up the nerve to wear that dress to work and to the grocery store and to vacuum my carpet if I so feel like it.  I am going to buy red heels to wear with that dress. I am going to show my knobby knees and my chunky calves in that dress.  I am going to take a picture of me in that dress and do something I have never done… post it right here on my blog.  And I will tell you something else, I have already picked out another dress. And its even a size smaller than the cherry dress because once I fit into that cherry dress, I am going to start working to fit into my other new dress.

This dress is how I am going to turn my life around in 2012.  I am going to leave my comfort zone to see if things don’t fit a little better out there.  Too many times I opt for the frumpy sweater to hide my insecurities. I think people around me can pick up on that, and then it’s like a feeding frenzy.  And I am not just talking about dresses.  There are people out there who take advantage of the fact that some of us are afraid to leave our comfort zones.  They see it as an opportunity to bully or as a way to make themselves seem bigger than us. Those people are going to have to deal with my red heels and bare arms in 2012.   

I challenge everyone out there to buy a cherry dress and wear it.

Please excuse my mushiness.

What a show we had at War Eagle.   This was my first year to have a booth there.  I was a little nervous, but the people were wonderful.  We were blessed with the best booth buddies in the whole place!  Our customers were amazing.   When you enter a new realm like this, you leave the safety of people who like and compliment your work.  You put your art out there and wait for people to judge.  It feels a little like going to the grocery store naked.   You put your best out there for all to see and hope they enjoy it.   I have to tell you, our customers made me feel great.  The feedback was so positive.  There were so many people saying things like "you know what would be cool?"  I LOVE THAT.  I love the fact that my art made people interactive.  So many times we just observe, but my customers get involved and WANT to become part of the creative process.  These customers alone have reenergized me and are pushing me to do bigger, better and more than I have ever done, and I will not let them down. 

I had been feeling like a fish out of water, having a hard time finding a place for me.   No more.     I cannot think of another place I would want to be.  When the customers are that encouraging, you know you have found your home.   I cannot tell you how much it means to me for everyone to come out and say such great things, with everything going on, I really needed all of you.   The suggestions, the encouragement, and most of all, the smiles, KEEP THEM COMING.

If you get to know craftsmen and artisans, you get to know the reasons they do what they do.  Sure, some try to make money; some try to keep a dying art from becoming extinct; others simply use it as a method of expression. The reason I do what I do is to see you smile.  It is hard to make a living at this, heck, it’s dang near impossible.  I feel better this Monday than if I had made a million dollars just because of the number of smiles and laughs I got. 

Sure, some of my art is a little creepy, and according to one customer a little sad, but it’s relatable.   I don’t strive to make cute art or scary art, I want my faces to be real.  I want people to look at my pumpkin people and understand them.   I think there are people we know who aren’t beautiful by society standards.  They may have wrinkles and hairy moles and sad eyes and large noses, but underneath all of that, they are kind.  Kindness makes them beautiful.  I believe an entire story can be told in a face, and I want my art to tell that story.

I learned a lot this weekend.  I learned about the logistics of a show, I learned about intra-vendor relations, and all of that, but mostly, I learned about me.  I learned that most of the people walking by may not realize that I use antique underwear buttons on my cats, or that my signs are hand painted and not stenciled, or that my brooms are completely handmade down to the handles. But I know these things, and I will not change them.  I will make a promise to my customers, I will never K-Mart myself to attract price conscience people.  I strive to offer you reasonable prices for quality work.  If you buy a sign, you will have a hand-painted sign that took hours to complete.  These signs start as a piece of un-planed local pine that is planed, cut, routered, sanded, painted with 2 layers of paint and 1 layer of wax, sanded again, hand painted, sanded yet again, and polyurethaned .  .  If you get a belsnickle, you will know his feather tree is a hand wrapped goose biot.  I do not mass produce, I will not cut corners, and I will continue to grow as an artist and a person.   I know my customers appreciate the fact that I am not just making things to sell, but I am making things that hold pieces of my heart.  Each item has a story, and if you ask, I will be happy to tell it…if the art doesn’t tell it first.

contraditictions

Where does the time go?  I promise this winter, I will do a better job of keeping this thing up.  But on to what’s happening at the moment.

It’s FALL!  That means there is a show or festival or event EVERY weekend.  I love small town festivals.  There is something so fundamental about them that makes me connect to the people, the crafts, the food.  No matter where I am, when I am at a festival, I feel like I am home.   Which is good.  Most of the time I feel like Gonzo in Muppets from Space.   I never quite fit into my environment. 

Today’s theme is all about contradictions.  Greenday would call me a “walking contradiction”.  It’s true.  I long for the days of cooking outdoors, making your own goods… I guess a simpler time.  I try to learn as many of the activities as I can because I think we all need to preserve them.  The truth is I have to have a job  to pay for these things.  We no longer live in a society in which bartering is an option.  I don’t have enough land to be self-sufficient, and not matter how much I want to go off the grid, I am tied to it in a love/hate relationship.

Recently, I was told a local magazine was interested in doing an article on me.  I was initially thrilled.  Then I was worried.   Worried that I wouldn’t live up to the expectations.  I do tinkering on tin and I make cornhusk dolls and I study all the crafts of the old days… and I make them too.  I make them in my very modern house.  I have a house that was built in the 90’s.  It is packed full of the latest and greatest of everything, because I married a computer programmer.  I do not have antique furniture because, well basically, I am afraid of it… too many episodes of Haunted Collector.   I learned how to can my own food, but I don’t do it. For one, the weather here zaps every garden I plant, and for two, it’s hard to spend a Saturday canning when I can buy them so cheaply at the store (I know it’s blasphemy, but it’s the truth). 

It’s becoming harder and harder to reconcile the contradictions.  I am a firm believer in buying American Made items.   I make a point of telling the sales people that I only want American items.  I encourage others to do it too, but the truth is, many of our jobs involve importing goods from other countries.   It’s very difficult to make peace with this, but I look at it that if I don’t have my job, I can’t afford the American goods.   Still, I struggle.

My mother pointed out that I use a handmade broom with a sapling handle to sweep my floor before I use my Floor Mate to mop it.  I pointed out that I bought that broom from a broom squire who made it from a tree from his land, and sold it to me using his smart phone and his Square.  It is at least comforting to know that I am not alone.   From the documentary I watched, many Amish are also starting to feel this pinch.  It said that many of them now have phones (outside the house) to take orders for cabinets and such because the economy is eating away at their lifestyle as well. 

So what to do?  I honestly don’t know.   In a way, I kind of think the way we are headed with the importing and the disposable goods are going to lead us back to the way I want to live.  I think in the future, we may not have a choice between canned goods and store-bought goods.   Maybe it’s the ex-girl scout in me, but I want to be prepared.  Plus there is just something wholesome and reassuring in making your own items - In knowing that I am not only using an American-made spoon, but a Teresa-made spoon.  Will the magazine want to write an article on me with all these conflicts?  Who knows?  But I kind of figure most of us are in the same boat.

And the winners?

Heck you all win!  Don't you love give aways where everyone wins?

Wicked Fairie gets the paper cone and witch hat ornies

Mamatkins wins the orange dress hat

Mary Ann gets the Harvest Angel

and Miss Amy gets a previously-unannounced-but-fabulous- non-the- less-prize because nobody walks away empty handed here!

Give Aways! Give Aways! Give Aways!

In honor of the Handmade Art Fair's Autumn Open House, I am offering the following give-aways.  You can get one entry by following my blog, another by leaving a comment, and a third by joining my email list. You will need to tell me in your comment which drawing you would like to enter ..or all 3 if you like.   Drawing will be September 7th, via random number generator.   Please provide your email in the comment if you do not have a blogger account.  Thank you and good luck.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Harvest Angel  

The first item is a cornhusk harvest angel.  She stands about 6 inches tall.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Victorian paper cone and witchy hat ornies

The second prize is this handmade paper cone and 3 little witch hat ornies for your Halloweeen Tree.  Hatstand not included
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Dressy witch hat

Every witch needs a dress hat.  This is a paper mache hat form covered with scrap paper.  It is trimmed with black and white polka dot tulle, an organza ruffle and some candy corn floral picks.  There is a tiny moon charm on the hat band and a Dresden spider on the point.  Hatstand not included.


As always, my goodies are only intended for grown-up kids.  Never give these items to children. 

Here is a War Eagle Peek

 Here is a look at just a few things that have been keeping me busy.  All of these items and a ton of others will be heading to War Eagle Fall Show.  I just need to get busy making some feather branches.  I have many original designs, several ooak pieces, several pieces made from our favorite designers, and even a few published items (oops letting the cat out of the bag).  My lips are sealed...except for the squealing.

I know blogger is having some trouble and you may not be able to follow my blog at the moment.  You can friend me on facebook until the problem is fixed here.  ALSO  if you plan on visiting War Eagle, sign up for my newsletter... it will worth your time, as in, I will be offering a coupon.  Trust me, I wont spam you, I barely have time to write this :)   

Also, be looking for a fall look taking over the blog..  The Handmade Art Fair is having an Autumn open house August 31.  I will be giving away a cornhusk angel, maybe some ornaments, and who knows what might show up between now and then.

I love HALLOWEEN, so I am building my spooky music playlist and gathering spider webs.  Get ready for some conjuring and good times.

After October, I will be scaling back a bit.   I will only be offering two pieces a month for sale.  I am going to use this time to develop my line of kinfolk in the "Jewel's Porch" collection.   I am going to start working on my lantern patterns and I hope to venture into more full size figures.  I am not pulling my irons out of the fire, I am just putting them into more defined fires. 

Back to School!

I am not a teacher, I don't have kids, but this is one of my favorite times of year.  I know, traffic is terrible for my morning commute, but there are so many other reasons to love back to school.  Besides getting to eat lunch at the more popular hangouts and having a little less hoodlumdom through the week nights, back to school is the harbinger of the most wonderful time of the year.

I have always loved back to school.  It was a fresh start.  New clothes, a new year, new teachers.  It was almost like getting a redo every year of your life. The thing I loved most about it, was that it started (at least in my mind) FALL! 

I am so excited about fall this year I could wet my pants and squeal like girl..Well you get the idea.   I get this way about fall every year now.  Football, caramel apples, that crisp feeling in the air, the smell of dried leaves, Halloween, harvest festivals, swoon.  What isnt to love about this awesome season?  

It wasn't always great for me.   My dad and I, and to some extent my sister, shared a weird wanderlust that time of year.  There seemed to be a struggle between the need to migrate and the need to nest.   It almost seemed primordial.  We felt like we needed to prepare for winter, but we grew restless.   I'm not talking about restless like pack up the truck and move to Beverly, but like 2 hour drives to nowhere.   It was this time of year, I personally felt the need to try to look for houses.  Dad would grow quiet and just drive.   I often wondered if he was a little saddened by the dying of things in the fall.   He is more of a spring person... rebirth and renewal.  Fall is kind of the curtain call of the year.  It's a neon sign flashing the finality of all that is green and lush. 

For me, I feel the need to store and hoard and gather...like a squirrel.  I also feel the need to smoke meat.   Yes I am 10 minutes from 3 grocery stores, but you never know what could happen in the winter.  I find the tales of harvest and preserving and communal preparation so romantic.  I know in reality there isn't much romance in butchering a hog, but still, I think it's the co-dependent independence if that makes sense.  Communities relied on each other, but not on the government or China, or anybody else.  The economy doesnt really matter much when you're self sufficient.  I think I am a terribly old soul stuck in a disposable world.  I have been fortunate to find a clan that kind of feels the way I do and tries to preserve the knowledge of the past.  I think in a former life, I was a granny woman - tough as nails but nurturing, practical but with a weakness for pretty things.  I sometimes picture myself stirring a big pot of something, missing a few teeth, but knowing exactly how to care for my family.  Sometimes, today, I catch myself wondering "what would granny Teresa do".

So my celebration of Fall turned into my twisted version of survivalist reincarnation.  What are ya gonna do?  Get a caramel apple and watch some football, and if you get really into fall, get a kettle and make some apple butter.

Wow

Has it really been a month since my post?  Probably.  There are so many things going on right now.  First of all, The Olde Primitive Peddler updates at midnight tonight.  We are having an autumn open house for the Handmade Art Fair starting on the 31st.  There will be GIVE AWAYS, so be sure to follow the link on my page.  Simply Primitives will update on the 1st of September and it's Halloween season in the art world.   Among these selling sites, you are sure to find that perfect new addition to your decor. 

Here is my philosophy on holiday decor:

I don't know about the rest of you, but being grown up is hard for me.  All the bills, dealing with lousy neighbors, fixing broken appliances etc.  Sometimes being an adult kind of stinks.  I have found a great form of therapy for the otherwise foul state of adulthood is decorating for holidays.   It kind of brings back the magic of childhood.   In fact, my "real job" cubicle is decorated for Halloween...


In this day when the economy is depressing, the national debt is depressing, and hope seems a mere glimmer in the distant future, pull out some pumpkins, eat a little extra candy corn, and say boo and know we will all be okay.

Hide your ill-behaved children, the Belsnickles are coming.

Whew.  It’s been a while.   I hate neglecting anything for this long, but ‘tis the season.  These times remind me of this one time in Kindergarten when I got on the merry-go-round.  My “friends” were pushing me so fast.  I kept begging them to slow down.  My head was spinning, my vision was blurred… then I puked.  And they stopped the ride.

Well, life is kind of like an out of control merry-go-round.  It’s not necessarily a bad thing.  There are lots of great things happening.  I belong to two great selling groups and the Handmade Art Fair.   I found out I am getting published this fall.  I am getting ready for War Eagle.  These are all great things, but they and the magazine deadlines keep coming at me like night bugs on a country road.  It gets hard to keep my balls in the air.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the challenge, but sometimes, just when you have all the balls in the air, life throws in a chainsaw to juggle too. 

All this to say, I must try harder to stay organized.  Art is hard.  Maybe harder for our generation.  We have to run the websites, take the pictures, do the graphics, order the supplies, ship the orders, network, comment on every blog we read, join online discussion groups, take classes, give classes..and sometimes when all is quiet, we still have to make art…There is also sleep, family time, and probably our real jobs unless we are one of the few that can pay our bills with this hobbit… my coined word for habit/hobby. 

Enough whining.  Lets get into what’s coming up.  First of all, Halloween.  And yes, my cubicle at work is starting to show signs of this super fun holiday.  My kitchen is brimming with ghosts and black cats and witches brooms.  I am hoping to start on a very difficult and very special corn husk doll soon.   But what I have been working on every waking, non-real-working moment are belsnickles.  

I love belsnickles.  I love Krampus.   I love anything that scares the bejesus out of children in a holiday that is usually pretty mild and enjoyable.  So be looking for belsnickles on my blog, at War Eagle,  on the selling sites and on my etsy page…. I will have enough belsnickles to beat most of the ill-behaved children in your lives.  Keep your eyes peeled and your badly behaved children hidden. 

Check it out

This is the grand opening month of The Olde Primitive Peddler.  Some very talented ladies and gentlemen got together and set up a site to offer primitives and folk art..and somehow Enduring Traditions got in too.   I think it was pity.  Anyway, go check it out and buy something from us... any of us... all of us.  Enduring Traditions at The Olde Primitive Peddler

.

The Winner of The Mad Hatter's Hat is.....

Lindsey from Two Crazy Crafters.   YEAHHH.  Thanks to the Divine Miss V for hosting such a fun event.   This was my first year and everyone made me feel so welcome.  Thanks to all.  I would love to come back next year if you will all have me!!!

Welcome to the Tea Party!

KEEP READING FOR A GIVE-AWAY!!!!!

This July 1st, I will have the following items for sale on Simply Primitives.  If you see something you like, just visit my artist page and email me.  This Tea Party allowed me to venture into the girly-girl side of art and I had a blast.

The first item is the Lobster Quadrille hat Box.  Each item is hand sculpted and placed on a paper box.  The sand is from my personal collection from Waikiki  Beach.  It will sell for $20.00 plus shipping.

Next we have a sweet treat... Cupcake checkers.  YUM.  The board is distressed and all the squares are hand painted..no stencils.   The cupcakes are hand sculpted from polymer clay and come in a matching distressed wooden box.  The price is $45.00 plus shipping.

Finally, We have Alice.  She is my first seated corn husk doll.  Isn't she sweet, dreaming under a tree?  Her price will be $25.00 plus travel fare.

OK NOW FOR THE FUN PART!!!!!

Today's give-away is a mad hatter hat.  This hat is made from paper clay, is around 4 inches tall and and is trimmed with a hat pin from Angelica Franssen's etsy shop. How cute is that teapot???  All you have to do to enter is leave a comment below.  I want to know who's your favorite character from Alice In Wonderland.  You only have until 11:59 pm Saturday the 25th to enter, so don't be late for your very important date.  I will draw a name First Thing SUNDAY morning.  I will announce the winner Sunday by noon CST.  If you don't want to leave your email, just check back then and if you see your name, please contact me.  

“Here lies Teresa and Turtle Pete”

The official first day of summer is approaching, but ask anybody here in Arkansas and they will tell you we have been in summer for the past few weeks.  Mid to high 90’s EVERYDAY.   Summer always makes me a little sad.   I spend most of this season inside my head in a Country Time Lemonade commercial.   For those of you who think that was just Hollywood, well it’s not.  

My childhood summers were filled with ponds, gardens, frogs, poly pool, popsicles, and yes, Country Time Lemonade.   I couldn’t tell you what was on TV because I didn’t care.  I had several jars for fireflies stored at each of my regular stomping grounds (grandparents).   I had a vast collection of cicada shells which Pop and I proudly displayed in my Grandmother’s living room. 

I was the constant, if only temporary, care giver for any turtle that happened to cross my path.   To this day, I still love turtles and will stop traffic to rescue one.  If you see me running down the highway, you best be looking for a turtle…. or a turkey, but that’s another story.   My mother says she will have to write on my tombstone that I died trying to save a turtle.  I figure there are far worse things to die doing.  Besides, it has to help you out with the “Big Guy”.   

Sometimes people question the sanity behind my quest for a hand-crank ice cream freezer.  To me, it represents a time when people were willing to work for a little reward.   I think the fall of the hand crank ice cream freezer symbolizes the passing of a bygone era when things weren’t quite as easy, but it didn’t stop people from doing them.  I try to hold on to such things because they are important.  I think too many times today we would just skip the ice cream because it’s too much work. 

To sum up my ramblings, let’s turn off the TV, get off the computer, put down the Purell, pick up a turtle, lose the shoes, and start to work cranking that ice cream.  If you find a cicada shell, pick it up, put it in your living room (please make sure its empty).   It’s summer.   I hope you all have a Country Time Lemonade one.   

Join the Tea Party

Join a ton of artists, whimsicals, and wonderful people June 25th for the Tea Pary.   Check us out for all your tea party needs, crazy characters etc.  Because while we are all entirely bonkers here, " I'll tell you a secret, all the best people are".

Frederick

I just couldn’t wait to share my latest piece.   His name is Frederick.  He is an ice elf.  The heat here has been tough, so I figured we could use a little help.   Apparently our seasons here in Arkansas are changing.   I have taken the liberty to rename them.  We now have “freeze your bejesus off” (formerly Winter), “Tornado” (used to be Spring) and “hot as heck” (you guessed it, Summer).  If you notice, I did not rename Fall.  It’s gone…it is just the last week of “hot as heck” and the first week of “freeze your bejesus off”.  No transition.  Anyway, Hopefully we will see more of Frederick in the future, but for now, I fear he will be going into his summer hibernation until around December.      

And the winner is..........

Denise.    She was one of our email subscribers.... Thanks to everybody who signed up to win Alice.   For those of you who left comments about vacation, I LOVED to read your stories.   Look for more give-aways in the future.   Thanks for your support.

GIVE-AWAY!!!!!!

In appreciation of my first sale on Simply Primitives, I am offering a give-away.  Meet Alice.  And no, she is not named after the dreadful child who plays croquet with flamingos.   She is named for a friend of mine who has a special fondness toward these well-poised birds.  Alice comes on a painted papier mache box.  She is made from paperclay and sports pink feathers.   Due to her extremely delicate nature, (she is balancing on 1 leg after all), she is not intended for children…. Or croquet. 

I am practically out of vacation at my “real” job, so I am going to live vicariously through you.   All you have to do to enter for your chance to will Alice is to leave a comment describing your favorite vacation activity or destination.   Maybe you travel, maybe you like to spend your time off in your garden…maybe, if you are like me, you spend your vacation waiting for various “service” people to show up during a predetermined yet undisclosed window of time.  Whatever you do on your time off, let me know.  

If you don’t know how to leave a comment, do not fear… You can email me your comment and I will post it for you.   Also…. If you sign up for my e-newsletter, you will get a second entry.   We will draw a name on the 6^th of June and announce the winner.  You can enter your email in the comment and I will contact you… or if you are the mysterious type who prefers nobody knows how to contact them ( I totally understand),  I will post the winner's name and if that name belongs to you, you can email me back and claim your prize.   

Houston, we’re losing power…

Well, the past couple of days have left me in a very dark place…literally.  With all the storms, we have been losing power on a fairly regular basis.  Though I looked a little pieced together today for work, I did manage to make it in.   I also managed to get my first set of offerings in to Simply Primitives… That’s right, I am going to be selling on Simply Primitives the first of each month.   I have included a teaser for the time being.

Please be sure the check out the rest of my stuff as well as the great artists I will be selling along side.  Here’s the link…

1st of the month artisans

Also, I have joined a mail server so be sure to sign up for all the latest happenings via newsletter.

My own little sweatshop

Ahhh, success.  It is such a great feeling when something you love catches the interest of a young person.   It’s a small hope your craft will live on.  I have been doing historical craft lectures to second graders for years, but this was the first time I focused on dolls.. and the first time I attempted to make them with the class.   22 kids, a teacher, and a classroom helper, and I sat out on a doll making journey.  The kids were great.  They hung on every word. It was a daunting task and one I wasn’t sure we could handle.  But we cranked out 22 wagon train dolls and 22 corn husk dolls complete with hats and paper flowers.  You should have seen the look on their faces when I told them I was going to put their dolls on Ebay.  Then we learned what a sweatshop was. J   I was pleased to learn that some of them even had plans of entering their dolls in the county fair – another endangered tradition (and somewhat self- inflicted, but I will blog about that another time).  Anyway, I think we all did an awesome job and it was refreshing to visit with kids who were so interactive and responsive. 

Bag full of Heads

When you make dolls and other things, you get into the habit of carrying around parts.   I keep heads with me to match fabric to eyes, or hands with me to get the right proportions for accessories or beads.  Today when I was reaching into my bag to get some Coke money for the vending machine, I pulled out 1 quarter and 4 different heads.. Ooops, that’s where they went.  Well, now I have plans for my weekend.  Poor Phil regularly has dinner surrounded by what may look like a less gory CSI episode.  Hands, legs, feet… everywhere.  At first he was a little unhappy about sharing his place at the table with random ears, but I think he has gotten used to the idea.. or at least tolerant.  He has stopped asking what I am baking because, I think, he wants to avoid the disappointment of having the answer be little people parts..   He used to always hope for cinnamon rolls… a dream crushed one Saturday in the fall when I was in heavy Nativity scene mode… I was aging with cinnamon and he came running into the kitchen asking if I was making cinnamon rolls, I said, “No, Jesus”.      At that point, I think he realized the over wasn’t for food anymore. 

It's been a while, Betsy.

When I started this blog, I promised myself I wouldn't be one of those lack-lustre bloggers.   Well, reality has a way of getting in the way.  Apparently May 13th is a magical deadline date in the cosmos... Whew.. made them all, let just see if they pan out.  I am hoping to finish several new pieces next week.. PLUS

I am hosting a pioneer craft day at Watson Primary Mrs. Sloan's Class next Friday.   We will be discussing period crafts and lifestyle.  Just take a look at my coffee table and you will see one of the reasons I have been neglecting my blog... that's right 24 corn husk torsos.  One of the class projects.  But since there is a limited time frame in which to work, I went ahead and started them so we would have more time to decorate them :)  Fun. 

Hopefully i will be posting new work on the blog and etsy soon

Get yourself a wooden bucket and USE it

We just spent a wonderful week in Mountain View Arkansas taking a tinsmithing class at the folk center.  Our teacher was Robert Stone.   He was awesome.  It was a crazy week.   We got up at 5:30 every morning and drove to the center.  We arrived at 9 and worked till 6 with an hour for lunch.   Then we drove back to my folks’ house where we were staying.  We were exhausted by the end, but it was all worth it.   Then you get to come home to our home.  Home to  bills, the job, the planning commission, and all the new ordinances the city council has imposed upon us since we left.  When you spend a week in a place where creativity and artisanship is appreciated and encouraged and embraced, its hard to come back to Fort Smith… the opposite.   I had written an entire blog about that, but I deleted it… I would rather focus on the positive and save my rant for the next politician that stops by my house.

Back to my happy place.   Tinsmithing is truly a dying art.   The machinery we worked on was from the mid 1800’s.   You can sometimes find modern equipment, but it doesn’t quite perform the same job.  I also learned that the first tinsmith shop in America was started by two Irish brothers in 1740.  We made sconces and cups and cookie cutters and all sorts of things.   It was great to use the hand-crank machinery and think about all the people who used it over the years before me.  Anyone who knows me, knows I am a hand-crank addict.  

My mother asked me an interesting question.   Do you think we have it better now or did we have it better then?  Not living in that other time, I can only assume.   MY answer?  Then.  This is why.  I truly appreciate craftsmanship.   Back then, you had one of something and you made it last.  You appreciated the effort it took to make it because you often had to trade something hard-earned for it.  I really admired the coopers buckets and it got me to thinking.  Today, if I want a bucket, I run to the Home Depot and I buy a bucket.  I buy a cheap, plastic disposable bucket.  Made in God only knows where.  I use it and I set it outside and eventually it finds its way to the landfill.  Now back then, I buy a wooden coopered bucket.  That is the bucket and it will have to last.   There would have been no running back to the store for another bucket.   Point being, you HAD to appreciate things more. 

I think that is what this disposable society is missing.   I figure in a hundred years or so, there will be no trace of this generation, other than the damage to the environment.   When people go to an antique store in the future, what will they find?   McDonald’s Collector glasses from China?  Will there even be an antique store?  Will we have anything worth preserving?  This is what I am going to do about it.   I am going to buy myself a wooden bucket and I am going to USE it.  I am going to make my own cookie cutters.  I am going to learn to be completely self sufficient from the “made in China” stores and I am going to teach others to do the same.  The thought of not needing a Wal-Mart is enticing isn’t it?   I am in the process of removing mass produced items from my house (unless they are American made).  I would rather have one wooden bucket than 5 plastic ones sitting in my back yard.  We need to get rid of our excess and go back to appreciating smaller quantities. 

Now I will get off my soap box.  And while I’m off, I might learn to make some soap J

zombies and snowman and lawn work, oh my

This weekend was hectic.  Time changes, oil changes, lawn work (much overdue) and then the fun.   This is a special potion I created in honor of my sister.   This poor girl keeps having traumas, but keeps coming right back… but I figured she could use a little extra help. I got the label at  Halloween 365.

Phil also turned this weekend…after building me a great new basket shelf… He informed me he had to drill like 130 holes or something.  That means I owe him one.  This is his wooden snowman and it appears that it has stolen a scarf from my basket…  I think it turned out great. 

Magic Happens

Gladys is trying to get her enchantment degree at the local magic school/beauty college. Poor little Gladys doesn’t always get her spells right. She tries hard, but usually finds herself in a bit of a pickle.. or sometimes she finds herself as a pickle. Seems like she is always getting her words messed up. Hope she knows the reversal spell.

I will keep it in my heart all the year through

The best part of art is getting to live in your favorite moments and holidays all the time.   Many of my pieces are inspired by my childhood.   I was lucky to have great family and teachers who encouraged creativity and experimentation.   I grew up in a house with Grimms and Potter (Beatrix, not Harry).   I had barefoot summers with homemade ice cream and gardens and fruit jars of fireflies and farm animals and fishing and all the perfect elements in a Country Time Lemonade Commercial.   The best part of my home studio is that I can keep these things around me all the time.   I can create Halloween in March and Christmas in April and I can go back to those barefoot summers on a tire swing (coming soon) anytime I want.   I have 35 years of inspiration to fall back on.  Years of great summers, wonderful tales, and a ton of experiences few get these days.   My goal is to share with you the feelings of these experiences and the images I would have in my head as my mother read those scary stories about getting lost in the woods and eating a house.   This should give you a glimpse into what is on the horizon.   Be on the lookout for a trip back to simpler times, bare feet and lots off good feelings… but be mindful of the darker things that lurk in the shadows… Always keep in mind that an evil child-eating witch could be on the other side of that gingerbread door.

Phil is making wooden ornaments!

If you like homespun Christmas's and remembrances to simpler times, you will love these ornaments.  Each one is hand turned and oiled to let the natural wood grain come out.  Be on the lookout for these at War Eagle,   they will be hiding out among my Belsnickles.  Each one will be different, so you will want to take home several

Hard at work

When some things in life don't work out, it allows us the time, ambition, motivation and grit to try something else.   It allows us to define our own identities.  For the first time in a long time, I have a goal and a drive and a true sense of what I want and who I want to be.  Sometimes the people who try to hold us down give us the greatest boosts.  I am completely focused on this coming year.  We have a few shows booked, and I am working on putting my stuff out there publicly.  We are defining our image and finding our voices.   This is a great time and I am having a blast.   I will be posting as many projects as I can as fast as I can... They will more than likely be from my iphone as my wonderful husband is the photographer, but I can't get him out of his workshop (formerly my car's house) long enough to snap any of his great looking professional photos.

Busy Busy

Hi folks.  We have been busy here.   I will post a few photos to prove it.   I recently ordered the Gertie tutorial from Nancy Malay... the awesome artist known for her Victorian bunnies and snow people.   Here is the finished image... I shared it with Nancy and she is going to post it on her blog.  I will link to it once she does!!!

Welcome

We would like to welcome you to our blog.   We are currently working on our website.  Until we get that up, we are using our blog and our etsy site.   I like to say we are where whimsy meets tradition.  I would be the whimsy, my husband, Phil, is the tradition.   Here we take pride in making things by hand.  We learn as much as we can about as many things as possible.  If you think about it, I believe our ancestors would have had to have a wide range of knowledge to survive.   We will be adding purchasables very soon.  We are also very excited to announce we will be attending the War Eagle Craft Fair this year.   Stop in and say howdy.