A Primitive Doll Named Emily

Posted on November 24, 2009 by Primitive Folk Art by Old World Primitives

I have managed to complete one of the work in progress dolls that I posted about last week, and get her added to my Old World Primitives Etsy shop yesterday. Her name is Emily, and she decided that she wanted to wear an outfit with a bit of a festive feel to it for the holidays. Here she is below, after her paint had dried, but before she was antiqued, getting ready to get dressed. Her skirt is made from reproduction mid 1800s fabric. primitive folk art cloth and clay doll

Here is Emily all completed, demurely posing for her photo.

primitive folk art cloth and clay doll

Her friends will be joining her soon… but for now it’s back to work on completing a few more orders first for me. Have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

New Kitties and Works in Progress

Posted on November 15, 2009 by Primitive Folk Art by Old World Primitives

I added a new set of kitty themed chenille ornaments to my Old World Primitives Etsy shop this past week – a set of 3 calico cats with paper Victorian scrap faces. I have some hanging from the feather tree on my mantel and looking quite festive.

Vintage Style Chenille Christmas Ornaments

This holiday season has been keeping me quite busy with wholesale orders, but I am determined to complete some new dolls that I have been working on by the end of the coming week. Below is a peek at them as works in progress, sitting behind and beneath a small sea of Christmas ornaments that I will be packing up tonight.

primitive dolls as works in progress

I hope to be showing these dolls completed very soon.

Meet Medea, the Primitive Witch

Posted on August 31, 2009 by Primitive Folk Art by Old World Primitives

I just updated the Old World Primitives Early Work Mercantile shop for our September 1st update… and as promised, I am now sharing the full view of the scary witch that I previewed here last week. She is my Early Work Mercantile offering this month.

primitive folk art witch make-do

SOLD, thank you!

This primitive witch make-do primitive is 21″ tall, and was created using a Kentucky Primitives pattern. Her name is Medea, and she would make a spooky addition to your primitive Halloween decor!

Also, my final upcoming vacation notice for the year – I will be on vacation September 4th – 12th. All orders received by 2:00pm EST on Thursday, September 3rd will ship before my vacation begins. All orders received between September 4th – 12th will ship on Monday, September 14th.

My Latest Antiquing Finds and a Sneak Peek

Posted on August 26, 2009 by Primitive Folk Art by Old World Primitives

Since my return from Canada I have been busily preparing Halloween dolls and ornaments for my first foray into the craft show world, coming up in October. So I have many new creations in the works, but most will be held aside for the show for now. I do have some wonderful new antique show and shop finds to share though – some will become part of my show display. I found all of these pieces up in Canada. I would have brought back even more items, but my parents beat me to a few of them… when we go antiquing together, we always seem to go after the same items!

antique show and shop finds

I would also like to share a sneak peek of my September 1st offering for Early Work Mercantile – she is a very primitive and scary witch.

Early Work Mercantile September sneak peek

Check back next week to see more of her! I will try to squeeze in some new Etsy offerings soon too.

It’s Not Easy Being Green

Posted on August 6, 2009 by Primitive Folk Art by Old World Primitives

The canning continues in my backyard garden center… and despite the copious amounts of pickles that my cucumber plants have been producing, my husband has decided that he hath not enough cucumbers for his brine. He has therefore been attending our local farmer’s market each weekend to buy up all of the small cucumbers for sale there so that we can pickle them, too.

Behold the gallon jar.

gallon jar of cucumbers in brine

I would also like to introduce my newest primitive folk art creation – a Halloween frog witch doll, created using a fun Soft in the Head “Frogette” design. She is ready to cast spells and enchant hearts. Available in the Old World Primitives Etsy Shop now.

primitive folk art frogette doll

SOLD, thank you!

And finally, an upcoming vacation notice – I will be on vacation August 8th – 15th. All orders received by 2:00pm EST on Friday, August 7th will ship before my vacation begins. All orders received between August 8th – 15th will ship on Monday, August 17th.

Crows, Canning, and Collecting Antiques

Posted on July 20, 2009 by Primitive Folk Art by Old World Primitives

After a weekend spent getting most of the windows in our home replaced (and moving everything in each room out of the way… and then back into place again… and then cleaning up the mess), I finally had time to get a new primitive crow doll that I finished making last week listed on Etsy today. She is 19″ tall including her witch hat, and was handmade by me using a Veena’s Mercantile pattern.

SOLD, thank you!

The canning of all those pickles in my last post has also begun! I’m boiling the salt water for jar number 3 already, which I will add to a jar stuffed with pickle cucumbers, fresh dill from our garden, garlic, and horseradish root to make Polish style cucumbers in brine.

canning cucumbers in brine

Once the lid is sealed, we ferment them for 1-2 weeks, and then open and eat! We’re already eating jar #1 – delicious! (Or shall I say, bickering over who gets to eat the last pickle from the jar… after which my husband drinks all of the brine.)

And finally, I went antiquing last Thursday at the Chester Antique Mall, and have some photos of my finds to share. I set out wanting to find a piece that could function as an end table for next to our living room couch, and that is exactly what I came home with. I also found a fabulous lopsided, slotted iron spoon to add to my collection.

antique pine trunk

primitive antique spoon collection

Halloween Goodies & Kutztown Folk Festival

Posted on June 30, 2009 by Primitive Folk Art by Old World Primitives

Can you believe it’s just about July already? This year has just been flying by. I have been busy working on new creations lately, and just finished updating my Early Work Mercantile Shop for our July 1st update. My offering this month is a primitive witch make-do, which I created using a Kentucky Primitives pattern.

SOLD, thank you!

I also added a new set of 3 vintage style chenille Halloween ornaments to the Old World Primitives Etsy Shop, and will be adding a bunch more Halloween ornaments (both chenille and cloth) soon too.

On Sunday I also had the pleasure of attending the Kutztown Folk Festival in Kutztown, PA for the first time and I enjoyed it so much, I can’t wait to go back again next year! The festival included over 200 crafters both selling and demonstrating their crafts, and the quality was just amazing. There were SO many things that I wanted to buy! It was hard to stick to my budget and leave with just a few small goodies, but it was really fun and inspiring to see so many high quality crafts. There was also a quilt barn filled with over 2,500 handmade quilts, many of which I wished I could bring home with me too. We also sampled lots of yummy food and drink including the homemade fudge that I am snacking on right now, looked at the many exhibits, listened to some live folk music, and watched a thatched roofing demonstration. A few of the pictures that I took at the festival are below.

Kutztown Folk Festival

And finally, a big thank you to everyone who voted for my extreme primitive black cat doll in the Etsy Americana Decor Voter Poll! She was featured in a Storque post announcing the voter favorites and is now included in the Americana Folk Gift Guide.

Primitive Folk Art Ghost Doll

Posted on June 24, 2009 by Primitive Folk Art by Old World Primitives

Just listed on Etsy – a spooky new primitive folk art ghost doll, ready to haunt a house near you.

SOLD, thank you!

She is made of lightly stained muslin and cheesecloth, measures 22″ high, and was created using a Kentucky Primitives design. Float over to Etsy for more photos and a full description.

Etsy Americana Decor Voter Poll

Posted on June 23, 2009 by Primitive Folk Art by Old World Primitives

My latest extreme primitive folk art black cat doll has been included in a new Etsy contest asking “Which item would give your home that old-time Americana feel?” I am happy and honored to be included – thank you Noelle of Xenotees for the nomination!

If you would like to vote for my cat doll, the link to the voting page is here:
http://www.etsy.com/voter_list.php?ref=voter&room_id=56

extreme primitive black cat doll

Rebecca – An Early Style Primitive Folk Art Doll

Posted on May 24, 2009 by Primitive Folk Art by Old World Primitives

Today I have decided to pull myself away from my gardens long enough to introduce Rebecca, the newest addition to my Old World Primitives Etsy shop. She is an OOAK cloth doll with a face sculpted from Paperclay. She is entirely hand painted, antiqued, and sealed. Rebecca’s early style outfit was inspired by my fascination with the Amish of Lancaster, PA and their old-fashioned way of life.

primitive folk art doll

And now it’s back out to the gardens for me. This year my husband and I created two raised beds in our backyard, inspired by the great success our friends Dawn and Bill have had with them (and how delicious everything they grow tastes – we just got our first sample of the season at another amazing BBQ in their back yard last night). With some advice from a recent article in Early American Life, we now also have raised beds of our own – filled with 4 varieties of heirloom tomatoes, pickle cucumbers, orange bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, red and white onions, snow peas, strawberries, dill, parsley, garlic chives, basil, and cilantro. Many more veggies will be added in the late summer for a fall crop.