Spring Pips....

We are celebrating this Holy Week with our coming of Spring. The children are all looking foreword to Easter Sunday, for the bunny, yes, but they also have been taught the real reason for Easter. It is perfect timing, as we see God's handiwork everywhere we look. Even though autumn is my most favorite time of the year, I do love Spring~ all the flowers starting to bloom, the birds coming back to sing their sweet songs~ like our little part of the world is awaking from its long winters sleep. One of the things the children do to help the birds coming back to nest, is to give our dog Yetti a nice good comb out.

As you can see, they put is hair up in the trees for the little birds to come get for their nests. Our Easter trees..... He loves to be brushed.

Yetti is SUCH a big sweetie~ he is a Great Pyrenees. He thinks the children & chickens are his flock, and everywhere they go, there is Yetti too. We got him as a pup, right before I had Pip, so they have grown up together

If you stop brushing to early, he will kindly put his paw up on your shoulder until you start up again! Pip dressed the little apple tree she is standing by, and her sister Emma ran around collecting the run away fur balls for the other trees~ she was too fast for me to get a picture of.



We cant celebrate Spring without new baby chicks of coarse! These little ones just hatched from the incubator on the 4th & 5th. We had one broody hen, but she decided after 4 days and nights on her eggs, that she had had enough. The children were amazed when they started to hatch~ they were all glued to the little glass window in the top of it to watch them pip their shells. Its pretty amazing!

eBay SPECIALS, and a new place to find me.....

I have carried over my spring cleaning to eBay~ you can see some super l*o*w* prices here http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/mezpah_W0QQ_nkwZQQ_armrsZ1QQ_fromZQQ_mdoZ

AND!!!!!!! How do you like my new banner above? I made it today for my page on an AWESOME new group site, the Early Works Mercantile . The Grande opening is set for May 1st~ so keep in touch and I will be posting the link. This is a new juried site with emphasis and focus on the 18th & early 19th centuries.....I'm very excited about it!

BOO!
Arent they just the sweetiest lil spookies? Ivy & Truk are in my ETSY store today, if youve got a Halloween low-light ;)

An Etsy Update, and present for Moi !!!!!


I put two adoreable lil pincushion girls on ETSY today~ they're so sweet~ I think I am addicted to them! My last customer had a wonderful idea, and has ordered one to hold her antique lapel pins on her dresser~ I think this is a wonderful idea, and the little space in the base could easily hold your earrings or rings

And....look what my DH bought me for our 17th wedding anniversary coming up in April~ I have always loved birds....not only my turkeys, geese, ducks and chickens, but when I was little my parents gave me a set of black mask lovebirds for my birthday one year. I just fell in love with these little creatures the moment I set my eyes on them
They are budgerigar birds~ or parakeets as so many call them. I believe they are a dilute greywing type~ they are the most beautiful pastel powder blue color. They are just babies, so don't know yet if I have males or females~ but I don't really care. I don't plan on teaching them to talk, just want them to be my buddies, and LOVE to hear them sing. I have named them 'Precious' & 'Peri' (as in an ocean pier, with an i on the end). For now this little cage is their home, but am looking for a neat old looking bigger one on a stand so I can move them around with me~ Aren't I just the luckiest girl!

Somethin' Special in the e mail..........
.....for all of my Dear Ones on the mailing list~ If you don't see it in your inbox, go check your spam folder! Trust me~ you don't want to miss it! (Be sure to add me to your address book, as my mailing list is so huge, I am considered SPAM~ AND....by all means~ if you want to be taken OFF the list~ just drop me a line, and I'll take care if it pronto!)

Hair & Paint

Ok~OK!! I give in~ here is a couple pictures of Marguarite's new hair. It took me about 13 hours total, stitching over 2 days to make her wig. I was afraid that I may run out of hair, but managed well~ I have a wee little hank left to keep for another special dollye, about half the diameter of my pinky finger is all! Marguarite stands 52" tall, and I am making her up like the early Mantua Makers' Models of the 18th century. They would send out a life size 'doll' to their clients, made up in their latest fashions, for them to order clothing from.

I made her body like the early Queen Anne type dolls, but of heavy duck instead of wood. Her lower arms are mache, and I have wrapped her upper arms in linen, just like the olde ones. I just love love love her

I made her necklace from gorgeous antique blue glass beads, white hearts they call them, as the bead starts out as a layer of white, with the clear blue wrapped over it. I also made her a set of matching earrings from smaller ones, and early brass bobbles

Here she is with my Emma, 7, so you can see more plainly her H*U*G*E* dollye self! I cant wait to get to sewing for her, but I have other more pressing things...........like getting rid of this U*G*U*L*Y* wall coming down to my studio..............


I have always adored the early murals and work of Rufus Porter...and stencils of Moses Eaton...so have decided to make a little homage to them in my little corner here. I have the base colors blocked in now and am really enjoying myself. It has been a while since I painted a landscape...too long, and I didn't realize how much I really enjoy painting. This is a much bigger scale than my usual miniatures~ wonder what is up with the scale of all my work getting so much bigger??? Whatever it is, I like it!

I hope you all have a wonderful Spring weekend!

What I been up to..........

I have been so busy! The weather has been so nice and warm, its kicked me into my spring cleaning mode waaaay to early! One morning I decided I didn't like the carpet in our bedroom anymore, so O*U*T* it came. I took everything out~ well except the big bedstead, cause it was just too olde and heavy and didn't wanna move. We now have nice clean tiles on the floor, and everything is so clean and fresh, it has made me start some of my other 'freshening up' projects I have been putting off for way too long. I have finally decided on how I am going to start my mural on the wall going down the stairs to my little studio.......so I spent a few hours filling in a zillion holes (the outer wall is cement, and so 'holy' it looked like a slice of Swiss cheese.) I have my rough sketch done, and think it will look pretty neat once I get it done....certainly better than the plain white wall~ how boring.

I listed this olde hunchy-punchy girl on ETSY today~ I am so excited to offer her~ she really came out n*e*a*t! She is a primitive punkin for Halloween.......but she is in fact TWO dollys in one. Olde Lady Moon on one side, and her younger self on the other. She can be displayed so many different ways~ standing or sitting~ I have wired her arms so they bend in both directions to nicely pose either dolly, and her legs I made to turn both ways too~ hope you'll go check her out and tell me what you think!

I'm also tidying up the gallery a bit, trying to make room for the new display case whenever it comes~ I'm getting so anxious! I have wanted it for so long, and has already been a month since I ordered it.....should be coming in the first week of April, plenty of time for me to scrub the floor and move my people around :)

AND!!! I finally finished Marguarite's wig! It came out sooo precious. I was worried I wouldn't have enough hair and would have to cut me some more...but I had just about the right amount~ with even a little smidgy to spare. She is still in line waiting to be dressed~ when shes presentable, Ill be sure to put a picture of her on here.