Remember When…

… it was normal for children to go outside and play with a stick?

1771 saltbox home

I feel very fortunate to have grown up during those times.

I have been scanning some photos from my parents’ old photo albums of the first house I grew up in – our 1771 farmhouse (that’s me in front of it in the photo above), the barns, and the outhouse. The photos are all that remain to remember them by now, as all of the buildings are now gone. I will share more of them in the coming weeks here.

Celebrate365 Magazine Spring 2011 Issue

I received the Spring 2011 issue of Celebrate365 magazine in the mail this week, and am very pleased to share that two of my spun cotton ornament designs are sharing spots on both the front and back covers along with such talented artists as Debbee Thibault, Lori Rudolph, Nicole Sayre, Sharon Andrews, Vergie Lightfoot and too many more to list! Take a peek at all of the talent that Connie packed onto the covers of this issue below.

Celebrate365 magazine Spring 2011 issue covers

My Victorian Girl spun cotton ornament is in the center right of the front cover, and my spun cotton bunny ornament is in the center right of the back cover (the bunny has a brother available in the Old World Primitives Etsy shop now – along with many other new designs, pictured below).

spun cotton ornaments and primitive wolf doll

Roderick Cattingham Selects His Buttons

Roderick Cattingham is almost ready to meet his public – he just has to select the perfect antique shirt buttons to match his pants first.

primitive folk art cat doll

Mr. Cattingham decides to enlist the help of Frederick Bunworth, who is known for his impeccable taste.  Mr. Bunworth helped pick out an outfit for Horatio Hopkins too, and Horatio has since hopped off to his new home.

primitive cat doll

Roderick will be all dressed and ready to present himself in the Old World Primitives Etsy shop tomorrow.  Two new spun cotton Easter bunny ornaments are looking forward to his arrival.

spun cotton Easter bunny ornament

spun cotton Easter bunny ornament

Of Primitive Rabbits and Springy Things

Meet Frederick Bunworth.

Frederick Bunworth, a handmade primitive folk art rabbit doll

Frederick is my newest design, a primitive folk art rabbit doll. He has a cloth body and a paper + chipboard head and neck. Frederick is demurely awaiting spring.

Frederick Bunworth, a handmade primitive folk art rabbit doll


Frederick Bunworth, a handmade primitive folk art rabbit doll

Frederick has joined the gaggle of spun cotton and chenille ornaments in my Old World Primitives Etsy shop.

spun cotton ornaments on a peg rack

More new designs are in the works this week!

More Spun Cotton and Chenille Ornaments

I am happy to report that nearly a month into 2011, I am sticking with my goal to be more productive this year!  Pictured below are all of the new creations that I have added to my Old World Primitives Etsy shop since my last post.  I am on a roll and I plan to keep going!

original spun cotton ornaments by Stephanie Baker

Spun Cotton Ornaments – Spring 2011

This week I am working on adding new spun cotton ornament designs for spring 2011 to the Old World Primitives Etsy shop.

spun cotton cat and dog ornaments

More to come in the days and weeks ahead.

Farewell to 2010

Time to fit in one last blog post before 2010 is gone.  This year seemed to pass by in a whirlwind – why is it that time seems to keep speeding up more and more with each passing year?

There were so many things that I wanted to post about during the 2010 holiday season, but I just couldn’t seem to find the time.  I definitely have some new year’s resolutions in mind regarding advance planning, time management, organization, and simplifying for 2011.

I have so many new ideas for dolls and ornaments to make that I have been itching to get back to creating again. Most of the 2010 Christmas season was spent filling orders for existing designs, so I am getting started on new creations for each holiday much earlier in 2011!  I am also going to be releasing dolls and ornaments in new techniques and styles – paper dolls and needle felted ornaments.  The first of my new creations for 2011 are pictured below – many more to come soon!

altered paper art doll

Victorian style altered paper art doll

I am also pleased to share that my spun cotton snowgirl ornament was featured on page 21 of the Winter 2010 issue of Celebrate365 magazine.  Pictured below are both the cover of the Winter 2010 issue and the page including my feature (which you can click to enlarge).

Celebrate365 magazine - Winter 2010 issue cover

Celebrate365 magazine - Winter 2010 issue

Holiday Shipping Information

As Christmas draws ever-closer, this post will answer some common customer questions and provide some additional information about my holiday shipping options at Old World Primitives.

ORDERING DEADLINES FOR CHRISTMAS DELIVERY

Deadline for ordering Made to Order items for Christmas delivery:  Dec. 10th.

Deadline for ordering in-stock items being shipped via USPS First Class Mail (my usual shipping method) within the USA for Christmas delivery:  Dec. 19th. If you upgrade to USPS Priority Mail, this deadline is Dec. 20th.  If you upgrade to USPS Express Mail (warning: this is really expensive!), this deadline is Dec. 21st.

Deadline for ordering in-stock items being shipped via USPS First Class Mail International (my usual shipping method) outside the USA for Christmas delivery:  Dec. 10th. If you are in Europe, Canada, the Caribbean or the Middle East, this deadline can be extended to Dec. 13th if you upgrade to USPS Priority Mail International.

WHEN WILL MY ORDER SHIP?

Old World Primitives will continue to ship all orders for in-stock items placed between now and Christmas within one business day of receiving your cleared payment. I will ship every day that the post office is open, including Saturday, right up until Christmas.

SHIPPING A GIFT DIRECTLY TO THE RECIPIENT

If you would like to save some time and money by having me ship a gift directly to the recipient, I am happy to do this for you.  Just let me know in the “Note to Seller” field during the checkout process that your order is a gift, and what you would like your gift note to say.  I will include your note inside your choice of a Christmas card or “Happy Holidays” card at no extra charge.  Your gift will also be nicely wrapped up and shipped inside a box – just like each order that I send out is – so that it will open up just like a present for your gift recipient.

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And just in case you haven’t seen the new chenille bunny rabbit ornaments in the Old World Primitives Etsy shop yet (for those who would like some bunnies that can be displayed on Christmas trees or year-round), I will leave off with a peek at them.

chenille bunny ornaments

New Christmas Ornaments

If you haven’t visited Old World Primitives on either Etsy or ArtFire lately, here is an update to show my newest creations – a set of chenille Old World Santa ornaments in shades of brown and tan, a set of spun glass Christmas ornaments, and a spun cotton cat figure on a candy box.

handmade Christmas ornaments by Old World Primitives

Two Free Giveaways!

Celebrate 365 is doing a giant Farewell to Halloween giveaway this week – including a set of my handmade chenille Halloween ornaments! Enter here by Monday, Nov. 8th:

http://www.celebrate365.com/2010/11/01/farewell-to-halloween-give-away.html

Small Expectations is hosting a giveaway for a free set of my chenille Christmas cat ornaments! Enter here by Friday, Nov. 5th:

http://smallexpectations.blogspot.com/2010/11/giveaway-from-old-world-primitives.html