Welcoming Summer

The unofficial start of summer is here, so I have decided that I must get out of my gardens and back to the creating table.  There are many dolls and ornaments in progress that are calling for my attention!  Here is a look at the spun cotton ornaments that I have added to Old World Primitives Etsy shop since my last blog post… yes, I am already preparing for Halloween!

spun cotton ornament

spun cotton ornament

spun cotton ornament

spun cotton ornament

And this is Laura, my latest primitive cloth doll with a sculpted Paperclay face – she is traveling at the moment, preparing for her feature in a future issue of Prims magazine.  🙂

primitive doll

I have been working ever so slowly on my Izannah Walker doll class, which thankfully has stayed open long enough for slow pokes like me.   This is where I am at with my doll now – her sculpting is done, and I am ready to apply her stockinette next.  I think that perhaps I have been hesitating with moving onto that step for so long now because I’m a bit nervous about messing her up!

izannah walker doll

Chenille Christmas Cat and Dog Ornaments

I added two new sets of chenille ornaments to the Old World Primitives Etsy Shop today, especially for cat and dog lovers (like myself!).

chenille cat ornaments for Christmas or everyday decorating

chenille dog ornaments for Christmas or everyday decorating

They can be used as feather tree ornaments for Christmas or everyday, and would also make nice handmade wedding favors.

While starting to create for Christmas, I am still enjoying counting down to Halloween!  Last weekend I went to a spooktacular Halloween costume party that featured some truly out of this world decorations and interactive displays.  Below are some of the photos that I took during the evening, including pictures of the *least* scary decorations. In one room, the walls reached out and grabbed me… twice!

Halloween party

Halloween party

Halloween party

Halloween party

Halloween party

The Great Jack O’ Lantern Blaze 2009

This past weekend I made my second annual trip out to the Great Jack O’ Lantern Blaze in the Hudson Valley of NY.  It featured a display of over 4,000 individually hand-carved glowing Halloween pumpkins on display in the form of dinosaurs, a UFO surrounded by aliens (my favorite part this year), pirates, a beehive abuzz with bees, sunflowers, and more.  The setting was on the riverside grounds of the historic 18th century Van Cortlandt Manor.  It was a cold but thankfully dry night as we wound our way through the spooky sights and sounds, sipping hot apple cider and munching apple cider donuts from a local orchard. Below are some of my photos from the evening.

The Great Jack O' Lantern Blaze 2009 in Historic Hudson Valley, NY

The Great Jack O' Lantern Blaze 2009 in Historic Hudson Valley, NY

The Great Jack O' Lantern Blaze 2009 in Historic Hudson Valley, NY

The Great Jack O' Lantern Blaze 2009 in Historic Hudson Valley, NY

The Great Jack O' Lantern Blaze 2009 in Historic Hudson Valley, NY

The Great Jack O' Lantern Blaze 2009 in Historic Hudson Valley, NY

The Great Jack O' Lantern Blaze 2009 in Historic Hudson Valley, NY

The Great Jack O' Lantern Blaze 2009 in Historic Hudson Valley, NY

The Great Jack O' Lantern Blaze 2009 in Historic Hudson Valley, NY

The Great Jack O' Lantern Blaze 2009 in Historic Hudson Valley, NY

The Great Jack O' Lantern Blaze 2009 in Historic Hudson Valley, NY

The Great Jack O' Lantern Blaze 2009 in Historic Hudson Valley, NY

The Great Jack O' Lantern Blaze 2009 in Historic Hudson Valley, NY

Primitive Santa Doll + Halloween Fun

Santa Claus is comin’ to town! I just added this new primitive doll to the Old World Primitives Etsy shop – a robed Santa carrying a Christmas stocking. The sweet annie in Santa’s stocking came from Quiet Valley Living Historical Farm in Pennsylvania (I never miss their delightful Harvest Festival).

Santa primitive doll

primitive folk art Santa doll

Santa is SOLD, thank you!

Although I have started making Christmas items already, I am still having fun getting into the Halloween spirit and enjoying the season. Last night I went to the Great Jack-O’-Lantern Blaze in Hudson Valley, NY. It featured over 4,000 individually hand-carved, illuminated pumpkins on display in the form of dinosaurs, pirates, snakes, spiders, mummies, an undersea aquarium, grave angels (my favorite part!) and more. Below are some of the photos that I took at the event that came out well enough to be recognizable (it was dark and spooky! which meant that sadly many of my favorite parts of the display didn’t photograph well).

Great Jack-O'-Lantern Blaze 2008

Great Jack-O'-Lantern Blaze 2008

Great Jack-O'-Lantern Blaze 2008

Great Jack-O'-Lantern Blaze 2008

Great Jack-O'-Lantern Blaze 2008

Great Jack-O'-Lantern Blaze 2008