handmade Archives - Page 4 of 5 - Primitive Folk Art by Old World Primitives

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!).

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

What Fun at The Witches Ball!

I am back from my first craft show, which was also my first Halloween party for the year, and feeling energized. Halloween is my favorite time of year, and this festival was a great way to get into the holiday spirit! The decorations and Halloween colored lights throughout the streets were amazing, there were plenty of yummy treats to be had (my favorites being the warm and fresh kettle corn and the hot apple cider), and many people went all-out with their costumes. It was so fun to see all of the creative costumes throughout the night from my booth viewpoint. It was also great fun to see and hear people’s reactions to my products and help them with their purchases. Many comments during the night really made me smile. Here are some of the photos that I managed to snap during one of my brief forrays outside of my booth (note to self: bring my tripod next time).

The Witches Ball 2009 in Mount Holly, NJ

The Witches Ball 2009 in Mount Holly, NJ
This was the giant witch that greeted visitors to the Ball.

The Witches Ball 2009 in Mount Holly, NJ
That’s my booth on the right, and to the left was talented painter/sculptor Linda Mehnert. I bought one of her cat sculptures and just adore it!

The Witches Ball 2009 in Mount Holly, NJ
This was the view of the booths to my right from inside my booth.

And just to give you an idea of how amazing the costumes were, here is a photo that I borrowed from The Witches Ball Costume Contest Winners page of their website – this was my favorite costume of the night, which I was lucky enough to get to see up close (the wings were jointed and moved – and the detail in her dress and choker were amazing).

Best Fasntasy Costume at The Witches Ball 2009 - Bride of Death

Primitive Witch Hat Box

Today officially feels like fall here in New Jersey – we had to turn the heat on for the first time since last spring, and the green leaves outside my window are finally starting to get some red and yellow tips.

Yesterday I updated the Old World Primitives Early Work Mercantile shop for our October 1st update with a primitive witch hat box. The witch hat is made of painted, stained muslin adorned with a strip homespun and bit of dried flowers. The box is made of painted, stained paper mache.

primitive witch hat box

Does anyone have their Halloween costume ready yet? I do, since I’ll be wearing mine already next weekend to The Witches Ball. I’m going to wear my very favorite handmade Halloween costume – “Tragic Alice” by Heavy Red. My Mom will be joining me as a fairy!

my Halloween costume

Witch and Angel Ornaments

This week finds me once again busily preparing items for both The Witches Ball on October 10th in Mount Holly, NJ (can’t wait – it looks like it will be such a fun evening!) and the next Early Work Mercantile update on October 1st. The fun weekend excursions of fall have also begun – if the weather cooperates this weekend, I will be taking a trip out to beautiful Lancaster County, PA to do some shopping, get lost in a corn maze, and soak in the beautiful sights in the countryside. I am also looking forward to going to The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze again this year.

I have also managed to squeeze in two new additions to the Old World Primitives Etsy shop. First is a set of 2 vintage style Halloween ornaments made of chenille, crepe paper, and vintage witch faces printed on card stock. The set includes 2 of the wee witch pictured below.

vintage style chenille witch ornaments for Halloween

Second is a set of 3 Victorian angel Christmas ornaments made of chenille and Victorian angel faces printed on card stock. They can be used as feather tree ornaments for Christmas or everyday, and would also make nice handmade wedding favors.

Victorian style angel ornaments

Vintage Style Chenille Christmas Ornaments

Today I am taking a short break from furiously preparing Halloween orders and show inventory to share the newest addition to the Old World Primitives Etsy shop – a new set of 3 vintage style chenille Christmas ornaments.

chenille Christmas folk art ornaments

Each Christmas ornament is made of chenille, Victorian Santa and vintage Christmas images printed on card stock, and a mini frosted Christmas tree. They are the perfect size to use as either feather tree or Christmas tree ornaments. They also make great gifts, and come packaged in a clear cellophane bag tied with a bow.

My Latest Antiquing Finds and a Sneak Peek

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

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.

Primitive Folk Art Witch Mannequin

April 2012 Update: due to the tremendous response that this item has received on Pinterest, I am once more offering this creation for sale in my Etsy shop.

My newest creation this month is a primitive witch mannequin make-do that can function as a spooky pin-keep or a unique addition to your primitive Halloween decor. This piece is 21 1/2″ tall, and was created using a Hudson’s Holidays pattern. I enjoyed getting to use some of the beautiful 19th century reproduction fabrics that I recently purchased to create this witch mannequin.

Crows, Canning, and Collecting Antiques

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

Vintage Style Chenille Halloween Ornaments – and Photos of my Gardens!

I just added a new set of 3 vintage style chenille Halloween ornaments to the Old World Primitives Etsy shop. Each Halloween ornament is handmade of chenille and hand cut vintage Halloween images printed on card stock.

Halloween folk art chenille ornaments

I also added this new set of Halloween ornaments to the Old World Primitives Etsy shop last week.

Halloween folk art chenille ornaments

And now I have some garden photos to share – what a difference our new raised beds with great quality soil have made this year! We are using organic and/or heirloom seeds and seedlings, and absolutely no pesticides or chemicals. No fertilizer has been used yet, but we’ll add some of the organic compost that we are creating in our backyard Earth Machine composter soon.

my garden - July 2009
My orange bell pepper plants are so happy and healthy this year! I can’t wait for them to get ripe.

my garden - July 2009
Does anyone need any jalapeños?? I didn’t realize these plants were going to be so prolific – in a couple more weeks, we’ll be swimming in them!

my garden - July 2009
This row of red and white onions were planted from seedlings, and they are extremely happy. I made the mistake of planting snow peas right next to them and THEN reading that snow peas don’t like to be next to onions, but they are still steadily producing nonetheless.

my garden - July 2009
These are my onions planted from seed, after thinning, with my herbs behind them – dill, basil, parsley, and cilantro. I went a little too crazy with the cilantro.

my garden - July 2009
Grape tomatoes – I picked and ate a few after I took this shot.

my garden - July 2009
The biggest cluster of tomatoes I have ever grown – 9 and counting!

my garden - July 2009

my garden - July 2009
Help, help – the pickle cucumbers are coming! My husband is a pickle fanatic, so we planted 23 pickle cucumber plants this year. The canning might begin this weekend or early next week.