Farewell to 2010

Time to fit in one last blog post before 2010 is gone.  This year seemed to pass by in a whirlwind – why is it that time seems to keep speeding up more and more with each passing year?

There were so many things that I wanted to post about during the 2010 holiday season, but I just couldn’t seem to find the time.  I definitely have some new year’s resolutions in mind regarding advance planning, time management, organization, and simplifying for 2011.

I have so many new ideas for dolls and ornaments to make that I have been itching to get back to creating again. Most of the 2010 Christmas season was spent filling orders for existing designs, so I am getting started on new creations for each holiday much earlier in 2011!  I am also going to be releasing dolls and ornaments in new techniques and styles – paper dolls and needle felted ornaments.  The first of my new creations for 2011 are pictured below – many more to come soon!

altered paper art doll

Victorian style altered paper art doll

I am also pleased to share that my spun cotton snowgirl ornament was featured on page 21 of the Winter 2010 issue of Celebrate365 magazine.  Pictured below are both the cover of the Winter 2010 issue and the page including my feature (which you can click to enlarge).

Celebrate365 magazine - Winter 2010 issue cover

Celebrate365 magazine - Winter 2010 issue

Holiday Shipping Information

As Christmas draws ever-closer, this post will answer some common customer questions and provide some additional information about my holiday shipping options at Old World Primitives.

ORDERING DEADLINES FOR CHRISTMAS DELIVERY

Deadline for ordering Made to Order items for Christmas delivery:  Dec. 10th.

Deadline for ordering in-stock items being shipped via USPS First Class Mail (my usual shipping method) within the USA for Christmas delivery:  Dec. 19th. If you upgrade to USPS Priority Mail, this deadline is Dec. 20th.  If you upgrade to USPS Express Mail (warning: this is really expensive!), this deadline is Dec. 21st.

Deadline for ordering in-stock items being shipped via USPS First Class Mail International (my usual shipping method) outside the USA for Christmas delivery:  Dec. 10th. If you are in Europe, Canada, the Caribbean or the Middle East, this deadline can be extended to Dec. 13th if you upgrade to USPS Priority Mail International.

WHEN WILL MY ORDER SHIP?

Old World Primitives will continue to ship all orders for in-stock items placed between now and Christmas within one business day of receiving your cleared payment. I will ship every day that the post office is open, including Saturday, right up until Christmas.

SHIPPING A GIFT DIRECTLY TO THE RECIPIENT

If you would like to save some time and money by having me ship a gift directly to the recipient, I am happy to do this for you.  Just let me know in the “Note to Seller” field during the checkout process that your order is a gift, and what you would like your gift note to say.  I will include your note inside your choice of a Christmas card or “Happy Holidays” card at no extra charge.  Your gift will also be nicely wrapped up and shipped inside a box – just like each order that I send out is – so that it will open up just like a present for your gift recipient.

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And just in case you haven’t seen the new chenille bunny rabbit ornaments in the Old World Primitives Etsy shop yet (for those who would like some bunnies that can be displayed on Christmas trees or year-round), I will leave off with a peek at them.

chenille bunny ornaments

New Christmas Ornaments

If you haven’t visited Old World Primitives on either Etsy or ArtFire lately, here is an update to show my newest creations – a set of chenille Old World Santa ornaments in shades of brown and tan, a set of spun glass Christmas ornaments, and a spun cotton cat figure on a candy box.

handmade Christmas ornaments by Old World Primitives

Two Free Giveaways!

Celebrate 365 is doing a giant Farewell to Halloween giveaway this week – including a set of my handmade chenille Halloween ornaments! Enter here by Monday, Nov. 8th:

http://www.celebrate365.com/2010/11/01/farewell-to-halloween-give-away.html

Small Expectations is hosting a giveaway for a free set of my chenille Christmas cat ornaments! Enter here by Friday, Nov. 5th:

http://smallexpectations.blogspot.com/2010/11/giveaway-from-old-world-primitives.html

Happy Halloween!

Hallowe’en Greetings! Our carved pumpkins are all lit up and ready to greet the trick-or-treaters. We have a kitty theme this year – happy cat and scary cat. They decide who gets tricks and who gets treats!

carved Halloween pumpkins

And speaking of treats – I received the most wonderful surprise in the mail today from my bestest customer Sally!

Halloween candy and card

She sent me a beautifully handmade, amazingly detailed Halloween card, which I adore, and an assortment of Halloween chocolates, which I have been munching on all day! (I looooove chocolate!) There were actually a few more little jack-lantern chocolate balls in the bag to the left at first, but I couldn’t resist eating a bunch before I took the photo. 🙂 THANK YOU, Sally! HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Chenille Cat Ornaments

A new set of Christmas kitties are available now from Old World Primitives!   I think they are my favorite set of cat ornaments that I have made yet.

chenille Christmas cat ornaments

I also realized that I never posted the new set of black cats (for Halloween – or any time of year!) here on this blog yet, so they are also pictured below. They have been available in my Etsy shop for a few weeks now.

chenille black cat ornaments

Both sets of ornaments are available at either my:

or my brand new:

Both online storefronts allow you to shop my entire inventory, with the main difference being that my ArtFire shop allows you to buy in larger quantities without requesting a custom listing.  ArtFire also does not require you to register for an account in order to make a purchase.

Quiet Valley Harvest Festival

Last Sunday I had the pleasure of attending the 36th Annual Quiet Valley Living Historical Farm Harvest Festival. This is an event I try never to miss. There are so many delicious goodies to eat and drink there – all grown and prepared right on the farm. The weather was beautiful and the setting looked pretty with the fall colors starting to turn.

Quiet Valley Harvest Festival

Quiet Valley Harvest Festival

They also sell the most wonderful-smelling bunches of sweet annie and arrangements of dried flowers. I bought two bunches this year. I also picked up some bottled bee pollen, as I have been reading lately that it is one of the most nutritious foods on earth. I am trying it sprinkled into my breakfast cereal in the morning. I couldn’t resist starting my Christmas shopping early either when I found a beautifully hand crafted item that I know my husband will love finding under the tree… but shhh, I’ve already said too much!

I learned so many interesting things from the demonstrators, too – which is the part I look forward to most each year. This year I learned about herbs, woodworking, different styles of lace making, life during the Civil War (I learn something new from the Civil War reenactors each year), cheese making, and natural yarn dyeing the old fashioned way – just to name a few!

Quiet Valley Harvest Festival

Quiet Valley Harvest Festival

Quiet Valley Harvest Festival

Quiet Valley Harvest Festival

The Witches Ball 2010 in Mount Holly, NJ

This past weekend I had the pleasure of attending The Witches Ball in Mount Holly, NJ for the second year in a row with my husband Max.  This event is now one of our much-anticipated Halloween traditions!  The caliber of costumes that folks come out in rival what I have seen in Salem, MA or the NYC Halloween Parade.  This year we brought a couple of cameras and a tripod, and were able to capture some fun – and scary!, be forewarned – photos of the event.

Moan-a, the giant witch
Moan-a, the giant witch, welcoming us to the Ball.
The Witches Ball 2010 - Mount Holly, NJ
This sign was greeting us near the start of the Ball.
The Witches Ball judging booth
The judge's stand at the costume contest. (Click to enlarge.)
The Witches Ball - Spirit of Christmas shop in Mount Holly, NJ
View of the Witches Ball crowd. The building in the background is a delightful Christmas ornament shop called Spirit of Christmas. Max and I bought several ornaments there. The proprietress was very nice, and told us the building was built in 1775. It was so charming! (Click to enlarge.)
The Witches Ball - historical costume
A favorite historical costume. (Click to enlarge.)
The Witches Ball - Best Witch costume winner
Winner of Best Witch Costume - Linda Chamberlain of Mount Holly, NJ.
The Witches Ball - scary costume
This was my favorite costume of the night. He had two strings of skulls hanging down his back, too.
Creep Show Zombie
The Best Over All costume contest winner - Brett Walker of Gloucester City, NJ - Creep Show Zombie.
Creep Show Zombie and devil friend
Creep Show Zombie and devlish friend.
giant devil costume
Scary giant devil costume with Mona in the background.
The Witches Ball - devil costume
Spooky photo of the giant devil costume. (Click to enlarge.)
Terri Lindahl-Castro of T.L.C. Interiors
This is Terri Lindahl-Castro sitting outside her shop, T.L.C. Interiors. She had the coolest interior design shop I have ever been in. Her sense of style is amazing! She also designed many of the props at the Ball.
The Great Pumpkin
I'm The Great Pumpkin. Don't think I'm not!

Revisiting Home

Yesterday I spent the afternoon finding inspiration in the peace and quiet of The Great Swamp in Basking Ridge, NJ.  My husband took the two photos below during our visit.

Sunset at The Great Swamp

Sunset at The Great Swamp

On the way there, I finally got the courage to visit the town I grew up in again. I had not been there in 25 years, because I knew that what I remembered would be gone. I visited the spot I once called home, but my old 1771 saltbox home with its two barns, outhouse, and many gardens was no longer there. The modern world has replaced everything with modern things, and two new houses now stand on the property that I once spent my days playing on. It was a strange experience to not be able to see anything familiar at a site I once knew so well any more, save for a few trees, but it was nice to visit my old town again. I miss living there.

Prudence, a New Primitive Doll

Prudence is the newest primitive doll in the Old World Primitives Etsy shop this week.  She is a one-of-a-kind doll that I fully hand painted and dressed in a 19th century style dress that I made with tan calico fabric and antique lace trim. Her body is made of stuffed muslin, and her head is sculpted from Paperclay.

primitive doll

primitive folk art cloth and clay doll

I thought you might also enjoy a peek at what she looked like as a work in progress.

primitive doll work in progress