Nature's Paint Pot

Good Heavens! Can you believe it is nye end of March already? Almanac says Spring is upon us, but with our huge snow yesterday, I had my doubts.....at least until I went out to feed and gather the eggs this morning! Just Look at all the beautiful colors! Who needs to buy egg colors at the store, when Nature has provided us such pretties. We have too many girls to count around here....always plenty of eggs! Our Rhode Island Reds & Plymouth Rock's lay the brown ones~ dark & light, and some with speckles....The Arricaunas lay the pretty light blue ones, the 2 bright white ones are duck, and the wee little army green ones are pheasant eggs

Here is an Arricauna egg & one of the pheasant eggs~ see how small they are~ so cute!

My little girl just started laying this past week~ she will be a year old in June~ we dont eat the pheasant we keep, just like having them around, they are sooo beautiful, and greet me with a loud screech when I go out in the mornings

Here are some of the duck eggs~ they are so heavy and big. You can tell a duck egg just by holding it in your hand~ the shell is so soft~ smooth as a baby's bottom! The egg on the right is from a white Peking, and on the left is from a Mallard..you can certainly tell the domesticated egg form the wild one. Duck eggs are used just like chicken eggs, but in particular, they are Heavenly for baking~ you wont make any better cakes and cookies than if you use duck eggs. mmmmmmmmmm

I love eggs~ and every now and again I will find a treasure after a wind storm~ blown out of a tree~ like this little wee weensie thing I found last year~ well, no I didn't find it! My son Josh was out and about and found it in the field~ came running in with 2 of them. I have no idea what bird they come from, but aren't they just precious? shown here with a brown chicken egg and green pheasant egg. I think they all together make the perfect basket of Easter eggs, don't you?

Thrilling News~!!

I am so honored to announce that I have been included in the premier issue of the new Stampington Publication, Prims. It is jam packed full of lovely dollys and art, it must definitely not be missed(and not just cause Im in there either!) I am so happy so many of my friends are there too~ Stampington has done a wondrous job and every ones art looks just D-E-V-I-N-E!

I got my issue in the post this last weekend, and it is one I will read again and again~ there are stories, recipes (the kind all us artists love to try~ like how to make things rusty and such), poetry, tips, and and and and!!! And look what is directly at the top of the cover, the title of my little piece~ five whole pages~ what a dream!

The Olde Towne Road is the main thoroughfare in my alter world, where I often make my days with my dollys. They all live there~ it is a happy and magical place that I really enjoyed sharing. Of all the beautiful places on Earth, my windy little dirt country road, flanked with green fields and wildflowr's on both sides, is my favoritest place of all....

Now don't forget about the "Prims Mystery Giveaway"! All you need do, is use your imagination and tell me WHO played an evil trick on one of my dollys, and WHAT that evil trick was! Its not hard, really!! Send me your guess on this post, or the original one~ and on April 15th Pip will draw out a winner from all the correct entries, and I will make them their own special pin dolly~ Good Luck!

Shhhhhh...Q-U-I-E-T..........

Have you ever wondered where those little balls of fluff come from that seem to 'grow' under your bed? You can sweep and sweep and sweep...and 2 minutes later, there is a little tumbleweed of fluff...merrily rolling around under there....
Sometimes there is just one, often, tho, there is a whole 'herd' of them...I guess that's why some folks call them 'ghost herds'...cause they don't know what they are or where they come from....or where they are on their way to, rolling about like tumbleweeds on the floor.
Now other folks, those who are a little more imaginative, call them 'dust bunnies'. They don't look like a bunny?....but they are dusty! Interesting.....

Can you keep a secret? I had never actually seen one before, but as I was sitting in my rocking chair the other day, quilting on my Baltimore, I kept hearing a little ruckus coming from my bedroom. Just a little soft ruckus...perhaps scurrying of little feet, and some faint giggles? But as soon as I stopped rocking, all was silent. I'm not getting around very well these days, so instead of getting up to go investigate, I just sat, still in my chair, all the while having my eyes fixed upon the reflection in the glass of my bedroom door.....minutes ticked away into nearly an hour, and that's when it happened. The little ruckus started up, and before I knew it, here came a ball of fluff, and trailing directly behind.. was the elusive Dust Bunny Ammericannus! She had a wee little stick, and was quickly batting & rolling her little ball of fluff out, down and around my bedpost...then came another, and another! Why~ they were having a race! It was the most amazing thing, I must say~and I rose from my chair as quickly as I could, but when I got to the bed, just the fluffs were left....and 8 weensie little wee twigs.

It was very perplexing~ I looked everywhere I could think of, but no bunnies, Just fluff. As I came back to sit down, a heard a little giggle, and snapped this picture for you! Seems, the D.B. Ammericannus is quite inquisitive, and they like to roll their little balls of fluff under everything~ even dollys little cradle. Can you see her there???? See her little perky ears sticking up behind there???

Turns out, they also have a sweet tooth, with a distinct weakness for chocolates. When I went to grab for my camera, a knocked a little chocolate egg off the table, and swoop, before I could bend over to pick it up, off it with with a little dust bunny madly rolling it over under my bookcase. Perhaps they are attracted to the shiny foil wrapper? It wasn't long, and I had all 8 of them out rolling chocolates around on my floor~ what a sight!




We have since become great friends, the 'Dust Bunnies' & I, and I would love to introduce them to you tomorrow, March 14th, on the TDIPT & EW Mercantiles~ I hope you will stop in!

Diamond K Folk Art Referral Rewards Program


Earn a 10% coupon towards a future purchase when a friend you refer makes a Diamond K Folk Art purchase, and mentions YOU by name when they make their purchase. For instance, if they buy a dolly for 200.00, you will have 20.00 in Referral Rewards Program coupons...you can save them up and use them when you want, on anything that is regular price~ including special orders! I will email the intended when they have a new coupon, and YES~ if you have 100.00 in coupons, and you want to buy a 100.00 something, thats right~ you get it for ZERO dollars! I have but 2 RULES: coupons CANNOT be used for shipping, and 2, the item must be REGULAR price(NOT on sale). I am really excited about this program, and I hope you all will be too~ some of you have a tally already, which is what gave me the idea. It means so much to me that you are happy with your purchase, and would recommend me to a friend~ its my way of saying T*H*A*N*K*Y*O*U*~ cause I really mean it~ it means alot to me!

2010 Museum Fundraiser & Giveaway Time!!


Yes~ time has come for the annual Lady's Repository Museum Fundraiser Giveaway! (Not to be confused with the 'Prims' Mystery Giveaway as posted earlier). Last year was a hard year for so many financially~ I have high hopes that this year will pick up for everyone, as giving often goes by the wayside when we are in a pinch. My list is heavy for this year, many of the archival boxes for the flat fold textiles are in need of replacement, I need UV filters & bulbs, and want a new light meter desperately! It is my job to safely care for and store all the objects there, so that they may last for future generations to study & enjoy, and friends, it is expensive! I humbly ask for any donation that you manage~ you may think change in the pocket isnt worth much, but collectively, it makes a huge difference! I have added the ol' thermometer to the sidebar, so you can follow the progress, and once we hit 5,000.00, Pip will draw out a winner! Instead of a ready made dollye this year, I will make the winner a special one of a kind dolly just for them~ a special way to show my Sincerest Gratitude for all the kind support. For each 25.00 donation, your name will be entered into the drawing one time~ just click the donate button~ its just that easy! You can also enter buy making any purchase at my online websites, ETSY & eBay~ every 25.00 of a Diamond K Folk Art purchase will earn you one entry(so 100.00 would earn you 4 entries)~ there is no limit to the amount of times you may enter. If you have any questions, please dont hesitate to ask~ just shoot me an email, or comment on this post and Ill get right back to you! GOOD LUCK!

What a Wicked Girl............."AKA~Prims Mystery Giveaway"

So as I was saying, I am in utter disbelief, that someone from my own hands has done me so wrongly....well, not only myself, but a dear dear girl that is in herself so innocent a creature....so undeserving of the end to which she was the object......but what can anyone do when they are dealt so many lemons at once, than to make a marvelous pitcher of lemonade, and then to drink it all down with a party....so we have decided to make our own little party of all this rubbish....Mifs XXXXX and I, and to the winner, I will make up a special little pin dolly~ just for them~ with their choice of style and hair and dress~ much fun to be had for sure! So what must a person do to participate in our little party? See page 32 in the upcoming premier issue of "Prims" by Stampington & Co.~ you will find us there, and then comment HERE on this post, two things~ WHAT you think the horrid dastible trick was that was played....and WHO played it! I have comments on moderate, so you will not see them until I post the correct answer on April 15th~ all of those who get it right, will go into a little basket, and Pip will draw out a winner! Sound like fun? I think it does!

As for the mischievous one who has been so horribly naughty.... I am still setting her punishment. Rest assured, it will be swift and sure, and most definitely something she will loathe to endure

As for me, the taxes are finished, a few more deadlines have been met, and so shortly I will be posting about the Fundraiser Giveaway for this year... setting the thermometer in the sidebar, adding info about the new Referral Rewards Program, and getting back into the groove of things~ I hope! I am quilting about 6-8 hours a day on the Baltimore now, hoping to meet my deadline for that, and in between, feeding this little guy his bottle 4 times a day! He lost his mamma at just 2 weeks, and is so hungry and FRISKY all the time~ a little Simmental bull that husband hopes to keep for breeding~ we shall see. One thing is for certain, I was not keen on having to bottle feed him from the start, but his big ol brown eyes and those loooong wispy eyelashes tend to grow on a person! Spring is definitely on its way~ I see it coming and cant wait for this snow to end!

Sabotage....
Deceit.......
Trickery..................
And just plain wickedness!!!!

I am so shocked that I have been the end to such dealings, I have been in denial that what has happened is true, but alas, it is. What can a person do, than to blame oneself, for there are things I could have done, and should have done, to secure the dignity of all involved. To be sure, it will NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN. I have not yet decided what punishment the perpetrator should endure....that will come to me when the time is right, until then, I will leave you pondering my predicament....stay tuned, as I am determined to have some fun with it~