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.

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.

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.

primitive folk art witch make-do pin keep

primitive folk art witch mannequin

Halloween Goodies & Kutztown Folk Festival

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.

primitive folk art witch make-do

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.

vintage style chenille Halloween ornaments

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

Kutztown Folk Festival

Kutztown Folk Festival

Kutztown Folk Festival

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.

WSOAPP Shoppe January Update

Happy New Year to all! My New Year’s Resolution for 2009 is to manage my time better and be more productive… so far, so good. Have you made any resolutions for this year?

I just finished filling the Old World Primitives WSOAPP Shoppe with some new goodies for our January 7th update. The first item that I added is a primitive heart make-do. It is wrapped with painted and stained cheesecloth that I have filled with stained vintage and Valentine images plus a sprig of sweet annie. A stained white dove also flies over the heart. The cheesecloth is secured by a rusty safety pin and some stained vintage lace ric-rac tied in a bow.

primitive Valentine heart make-do

primitive Valentine heart make-do

SOLD, thank you! 

My second new item is a primitive doll called Sweet Annie Love Letters. She and the heart make-do were both created using Veena’s Mercantile patterns. Sweet Annie will fit in nicely with either Valentine’s Day or everyday decor. For more information about Sweet Annie Love Letters and the heart make-do above, pay them a visit in the Old World Primitives WSOAPP Shoppe.

primitive Valentine's Day folk art doll

primitive Valentine's Day folk art doll

primitive Valentine's Day folk art doll

I am also delighted and honored to be the first WSOAPP Featured Artist this month!