Spooky Halloween Tree Primitive Doll

Meet my newest original design – a spooky primitive tree doll for Halloween or every day! When I was a little girl, my Mom would put up paper Halloween decorations in the kitchen of our 1771 farmhouse every year. One of them featured a creepy old house with a spooky tree behind it and trick-or-treaters approaching the door. I was so scared of that tree! Memories of that old decoration inspired me to create this doll.

primitive Halloween tree doll

This Halloween tree can be displayed standing propped up as a shelf sitter or as part of a primitive display, or hanging on a wall or door.

primitive Halloween tree

Introducing Old World Primitives Patterns

I am pleased to announce that Old World Primitives is now beginning to offer primitive patterns for sale on Etsy.  My first offering is Harold the primitive folk art cat, who was featured on page 72 of the Winter 2013 issue of Prims magazine.

Harold the primitive cat in Prims magazine

Harold is fun to make, and a recommended project for anyone with basic sewing skills.  You may make him for personal use, or to sell online or craft shows.  The pattern includes both the design template and detailed step-by-step instructions for bringing him to life.   Click here if you are interested in purchasing Harold the primitive cat as an instant digital download, or e-pattern.

I will be adding many more pattern offerings to the Old World Primitives Etsy shop soon, including other designs that you may have seen featured in Prims magazine.

Primitive Halloween Folk Art

Time got away from me this busy holiday season, and I never got a chance to post all of my newest designs for fall and Halloween before it was time to start working on orders for them.  So now that I have already started working on Christmas versions of the two primitive dolls below, I figured I should finally post their Halloween versions first.

primitive cat doll in a witch hat

This is a reclining primitive Halloween cat doll, dressed in a black witch hat and a black cheesecloth scarf.  Look for her in a Santa hat in my Etsy shop later this week.

handmade spooky Halloween moon man in a witch hat

And this is primitive Halloween moon wall decoration wearing a black witch hat. I envisioned him as a Halloween man in the moon, but some think he looks like an old crone, which I can see too. S/he will also be in my Etsy shop wearing a Santa hat later this week.

handmade spooky Halloween moon man

Primitive Cat Dolls

I have been working on a new series of primitive cat dolls this spring.  Here is the herd, so far.

primitive cat doll

primitive cat doll

primitive cat doll

I am having a lot of fun with these cat dolls, so there will be more to come throughout the year – including Halloween cats and Christmas cats.

Time Flies When You’re Going Bonkers

I have been all over the place since my last post… oh gosh, where to start. I’ll start with the embarrassing part first – my husband and I attempted to move for the second time within three years, and our plan flopped once again. We have been trying to move from the suburbs to an older farmhouse in the country… something that I always thought was my dream… to live in a 1700s or 1800s farmhouse decorated like one of the homes I have so often drooled over in Early American Life magazine. But our attempts to move have taught me that this may not be my ultimate dream after all. The country escapes that we found ourselves pursuing were still just a little too “more of the same,” albeit in less developed areas. We don’t have the big bucks required to completely “get away from it all,” and we just couldn’t find anything that was quite enough away.

So now we have a new plan in mind… bear with me here, as this may sound crazy… to save up enough money to REALLY move into the country… or rather, a step closer to the wilderness. We are going to save up, purchase a motor home, sell our current home, and pursue the freedom of living full time on the road, camping at remote, wild and beautiful spots along the way. This is an idea I have been toying with for 6 years now, but I never thought I would be able to make it happen. I felt too entrenched in my current way of life despite how much I wanted to give this a try. But now, if we can save enough to make this plan feasible… there is a new goal in the horizon.

So. I’ve wasted a ton of time this summer house-hunting, packing… and then un-packing (ugh!), but I’ve still managed to get some new dolls and ornaments created, and to do a bunch of gardening and pickling too.

garden

Do you think my tomato plants are happy?? 😀

tomato plants

And now I invite you to meet an extreme primitive doll named Nadine, and a primitive witch make-do named Hexe:

extreme primitive doll

primitive folk art witch make-do

Plus my newest ornaments in spun cotton, spun glass, and chenille:

spun cotton ornament

spun glass ornament

chenille Halloween ornaments

All of the new creations above can be found in my Old World Primitives Etsy shop.

Antiques, Spun Cotton and Izannah

Since our last visit here, I had the pleasure of once again attending the Antiques in Long Valley show in Long Valley, NJ where I scored my beautiful blue antique chimney cabinet last year.   This year the show was just as amazing as the last… there were so many wonderful goodies that I wished I could have brought home with me.  The booth where I bought my cabinet last year was once again filled with wonderful pieces of furniture and many Sold signs.  This year I was on more of a budget than last year, but I did manage to come home with two finds that I am really pleased with – a small and extremely primitive hand forged shovel…

primitive antique shovel

…and an antique German spun cotton ornament to add to my collection.  The technique used to make it is different than I have seen before, so studying it will also assist in my education process as I learn this old technique.

I am continuing to really enjoy where my journey into spun cotton has been taking me.  Below are my newest spun cotton creations that are still available.  I am also archiving my designs on a new spun cotton ornaments page of this blog.  Custom orders for designs you may have missed are always welcome.

spun cotton ornament

spun cotton ornament

spun cotton ornament

And finally, I have some progress on my first Izannah Walker style doll from the workshop that I am taking.  It has been hard to tear myself away from my current obsession with spun cotton to work on her, but I’ve gotten a bit completed!  I have her torso sewn and stuffed, and her head with shoulderplate stuffed and pinned onto the torso.

Izannah Walker Doll Workshop progress

After sewing the shoulderplate in place, I shall begin sculpting her face – I will share how I do with it in an upcoming blog post.

I will end for now with a big thank you to Cathy of the always-inspiring One Pink Goose for presenting me with the Sunshine Award, which is awarded to bloggers whose positivity and creativity inspire others in the blog world. I am honored!

sunshine blog award

Decorating for Christmas… Crafting for Valentine’s Day

December is such a fun and festive month here… I love decorating my primitive twig tree, each year with a few more new ornaments than the last.  I always keep some pine scented candles burning throughout the month to make it smell like we have a real tree.  As I unwrap my winter folk art decorations and place them about the house, each one brings smiles and gets me in the Christmas spirit.  Below are a few peeks at my primitive Christmas decor this year.

primitive Christmas decor

primitive Christmas decor

primitive Christmas decor

I have also been working on some new ornament designs for next year, beginning with Valentine’s Day. I added a new set of vintage style chenille cupid ornaments to my Old World Primitives Etsy shop today. They are ready for the season of love with their Valentine hearts and arrows.

vintage style chenille Valentine's Day ornaments

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
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

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.

Meet Medea, the Primitive Witch

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

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.