OFG Celebration & Spring Doll Challenge pic to share

What a lovely morning it is here!

I hope you are enjoying your day so far.  Looks to be another busy one for me.  Hubby and I worked outside all weekend, so I have inside cleaning to do.  Also want to finish up a big creation I have been working on and work on a couple of orders I received over the weekend.

I did want to share two things with you this morning though.

The Old Farmhouse Gathering Etsy team 2013 Spring Celebration has begun!

Head on over to Etsy and type in SFCOFG to find all the wonderful goodies our team members have created especially for this celebration.

Here's a look at my creations-all available in my Etsy shop!

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I also received another Spring Doll Challenge entry.  This time for Lydia, who doesn't have a blog either.

Lydia writes,

" I found your doll challenge, and decided to give it a try. Sorry I didn't sign up, but I wasn't at all sure that I would actually do it. But, what do you know, I ended up with two dolls, Kitty and Arthur.
At first I thought they would be a regency couple, but they had minds of their own, and I really don't know what time period they belong in. My mom says that Arthur looks like a hippie, I'm not sure that I agree... Any way, the reason for Kitty's name is that a friend of mine (who has a daughter my age) has a hello kitty pendant, and she says she likes hello kitty because it has no mouth and can't talk back at her. I decided not to give my dolls mouths either, so Kitty seemed a fitting name. Arthur just sounded nice with Kitty. (To make Arthur more masculine, I widened his body at the waist, made his arms and legs a little longer and thicker, and gave him bigger feet.It wouldn't do for a Cinderella to have feet the same size as the prince!)The pictures make Arthur's hair a little redder than it really is.
     I don't have a blog, but I saw your challenge on a number of other blogs, the first one of which made me come look at your page.
      Thank you for the fun you gave me by giving out this free pattern and challenge."

Great job Lydia!  I'm so glad you joined in the Spring Doll Challenge.  Kitty & Arthur are simply adorable and it sounds like you had a lot of fun creating them!  They certainly make a happy couple! Thank you again for joining in the challenge!

Okay ladies, off to get busy!  Hoping to show you my newest creation soon.  I'm also going to take some pictures of around the house to share with you...I would like your opinion on a door painting project I have in mind too.  Til next time.....have a blessed day!

 

OFG SUMMER CELEBRATION - Coming Soon!

It's almost time for the Old Farmhouse Gathering Etsy team to hold their 

2013 Summer Fun Celebration!

I've been hard at work creating 3 new items for this sale, and they will be ready for purchase in my Etsy shop, as part of the celebration, starting on Monday, May 20!

To view all the items from our talented OFG team, just wait until Monday, then type SFCOFG into your search bar!

Have a great weekend!

Spring Doll Challenge - another pic and reminder

Good morning everyone!

I have one Spring Doll Challenge to show you today.  It is from Tami Cornwell-Martinez.  Tammy is new to blogging and doesn't have a blog yet, but I'm so glad she stopped by and joined in the challenge.

Tammy writes that her doll "is her first attempt at making a fairy.  She was a Trial and Error type of doll, hence her name "Tae".  She came together piece by piece, and I am very pleased with how she turned out.  Thank you so much for this Spring Doll Challenge.  It gave me a chance to just create, and I had a blast doing it!"

I love the dress and the bodice of her doll...very well done.  Once again...so very creative!

Thank you for joining in Tammy!!

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Just a reminder to all those gals who signed up for the challenge...try to finish up your creations and get pictures to me as soon as you can.  I'll keep posting as I receive them.

Have a wonderful day!

More Spring Challenge Dolls to show you!

Good morning gals!

I start out this morning with MY challenge doll.  I had teased you with a couple of sneak peeks last week, so I figured I should unveil her now, as some of you have asked when I will be doing so.

Meet Lady Liberty!

I designed Lady Liberty with, of course, the Americana theme in mind.  I had a picture in my head of what I wanted to do with the doll challenge before I even created the pattern, so I designed the pattern around my idea.  I painted her bodice navy blue, then created a skirt with red and white fabrics.  Before I sewed the back seam of her skirt, I hand stitched "I pledge allegiance to the Flag" on the white sections of her skirt.  Her shawl is made of stained gauze with a prim star button.  Her hair is sheep's wool from a friend's sheep and I made her crown of mustard colored wool felt, which is also stained.   She'll be one of the items I will be listing for sale in my Etsy shop for the OFG 2013 Summer Celebration starting soon.

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I received Vicky's entry yesterday for the challenge, and she too decided to go Halloween with her creation!  Vicky cracked me up with her little story about Mathilda...so read on....

"This is Mathilda. She was named by my 7 year old who thinks she is just 'scumptious' (her words!). Mathilda spends most of her time with her cauldron perfecting her recipes that can change Politicians into Toads and ordinary men into Tom Selleck! I've painted her body green with acrylic paints and striped her legs with purple and orange. She has been lightly sanded for an old/aged look. Her face is hand painted with her hideous nose, warts and all! Her red lips are pursed and ready to spout out her mesmerizing spells should you choose to cross her path. I modified her shoes to look like a Witch's boot. Her hat is hand made from felt with pip berries glued to it. Her hair is dyed gray wool roving. I've used 3 different fabrics for her dress and orange with black polka dots fabric for her pantaloons. She has a ratty old piece of dyed cheesecloth tied around her neck with a rusty pin and jingle bell. Her broom is a cinnamon stick with raffia and sisal.
It is not recommended that you confer with Mathilda, however if you choose to, please do so at your own risk."

Thank you so much Vicky for showing us your wonderful creation!

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That's it for today...I'm off to finish a couple more items for the OFG Celebration.  Hope you enjoyed today's post!  Have a blessed day.

More doll challenge photos, Special Mother's Day gifts

Hope all of you Mothers had a wonderful Mother's Day yesterday!  We had my Mom and Dad, as well as Drew, Maria & sweetie Peter, over for the day.  It was a nice relaxing day.  The weather has turned colder (boo hoo), so we cozied up to a warm fire.  Maria made blueberry crisp for dessert and I made homemade pizzas for dinner.

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I've received a couple more photos from gals who joined in my Spring Doll Challenge!

First off, are the wonderful creations sewn up by my dear friend, Theresa of Dulaney Woods Treasures.

Meet Annie & Clarabelle

Aren't they great?  These cuties are so different from the other creations we've seen so far.  I'm having such fun opening each email and seeing the new submissions come in! 

 I love your witches Theresa!!

Theresa writes that "this is Annie and Clarabelle...I'm sure you might have guessed that I'd do something for Halloween!  It was so much fun to do this challenge.  Thank you so much my friend for sharing your pattern and for hosting such a lovely challenge." 

 Theresa also told me that both her Mom and Sister have taken on the challenge and that she will be submitting pictures of their creations once they are completed!  What a great family project and I'm so glad they all decided to join in the fun!

The next prim pal to send me a picture was sweet Deb from Paxton Valley Folk Art and Deb's submission is so lovely!!!

Deb writes:

"I am calling her Buttercup Betty, she lives in the garden, tending the buttercups and birds and the other flowers.  Her prairie bonnet is framed with buttercup petals, she has flowers on her apron and her shoes and she has a watering can filled with posies and moss so she can spread Spring wherever she goes.  She is cradling and protecting a wee wren in her arms.

Thank you for another fun challenge, I enjoy doing them so much!  I'm entering Betty into a Cloth Doll Artistry challenge that I've entered and will be sure to let them know that Betty is from your wonderful pattern."

How awesome that Deb is entering her doll in the Cloth Doll Artistry challenge!  Hope you win Deb! Your lovely doll is so creative and full of detail - she is truly a work of art!  Buttercup Betty will be available in Deb's Etsy shop next week, as part of our OFG Etsy team 2013 Summer Fun Celebration - stay tuned for more news on that event later this week.  My doll challenge creation will also be included in the OFG Celebration, in addition to two other Summer fun creations I'm working on...oh...and I'll be showing pictures of her tomorrow!

 I just had to show you what Drew and Maria created for me for Mother's Day!

They made these goodies all by themselves - no patterns!  I am just amazed by their creativity.  The care, thought and time that went into my gifts means so much!

The detail that they both put into their projects is amazing.  I wish you could see the cute little crow babies up close...and the little necklace and adorable feet on the crow mama.  Drew's birdhouse is also awesome...now...I have to tell you that Drew hasn't done many woodworking projects yet, but he did an amazing job on the saltbox birdhouse!  He even created a picket fence out of popsicle sticks, painstakingly cutting the little pickets on the top of each one.  Maria helped to paint it.  I plan to mount it on the front porch, to keep it protected from the elements - it is too nice to put out in the weather, but I am sure some birdie would love to make a home in it!

I am so very blessed to have such loving sons and daughter-in-laws!

Thank you so much Drew, Maria and Peter!

Have a great Monday everyone - I'm off to do some laundry and finish up my projects for the OFG Summer Celebration!

An awesome recipe, a thank you and a reminder.

Good morning Prim Gals

It's bright and sunny again today.  We had a little rain yesterday, but could use a lot more.  I'm off to mow yet again, but wanted to share this awesome recipe I tried the other night.  I had to take Jack to dog training class, and knew that the Mister would be hungry when he came home, so I whipped up this recipe for

BBQ ribs in the Crockpot

Yeah...I know...I wondered too if they would be as good as those done on the grill, but Mr. Whimzie and I LOVED them.  They are so easy to make and come out incredibly tender.

I tweaked a couple of the recipes I was looking at and here is my version.

Crock Pot BBQ Ribs

Ingredients

One rack of extra meaty pork ribs

One jar of Sweet Baby Ray's Hickory & Brown Sugar BBQ sauce (or your favorite sauce)

Rub

1/4 c. brown sugar

2 T paprika

1/2 t. ground red pepper (or to taste-we like 'em spicy)

1/2 t garlic powder

1/4 t salt and 1/4 t pepper

1/2 T chili powder

Cut up your rib section into quarters.  You can leave the membrane on the back, as it helps to hold the ribs together during the long cooking process.  Place the ribs sections on a plate or waxed paper.

Mix the rub ingredients all together, then slather the ribs with mixture.  You can do this the night before, wrap them up and refrigerate, but I just did it right before I placed them in the slow cooker.

Place the rib sections so that they lean again the sides of the slow cooker.  Don't just lay them in the bottom on top of each other.

Pour 3/4 of the bottle of BBQ sauce over the ribs, making sure to drizzle as much as possible on the ribs themselves. Reserve the rest for extra dipping sauce at the table.  Set your slow cooker to High and cook for 5 hours or Low for 7 hours.  I used the high temp.

If you are home, baste the ribs occasionally with the BBQ sauce.

Several of the recipes I saw said to take the ribs out and broil them quickly before serving.  Mine looked fantastic as they were, so I did skip this step.  We used the additional sauce for dippin' at the table.

I hope you enjoy these as much as we do.  When I told our son, Scott (an avid griller), about them, he was very, very skeptical that they could turn out so well...I'm going to make them the next time they come over just to prove to him that you can make awesome ribs in a crockpot!  The recipe will also be posted on our food blog, The Crow's Crusty Loaf (see the link on the top left of my blog).

I recently won a giveaway from  Colleen at Needles n Pins Stitcheries.  She made this adorable mug mat!

Thank you so much Colleen!  I love the mat and now use it by my computer to place my mornin' cup of coffee on!

Finally, I wanted to remind everyone who joined the Spring Doll Challenge, that your pictures are due to me by next Monday night.  If you aren't quite finished, please don't give up, as I will be happy to post about your creation once you have completed it.  I would like to make a collage of pictures, which is why I set the deadline, but I'm so thrilled to see all the creativity that I want to show everyone's creations, whenever they are done.  You can view the pictures I have received so far on the tab at the top of my blog.

Have a blessed weekend!

 

Another Challenge doll and baby Allison's baptism

Good morning Prim Folk!

Glad you stopped by today.

Kelly from Scarecrow Cabin finished her sweet doll for my Spring Doll Challenge...and once again..this doll is so different from the others submitted so far!  Kelly decided to make her doll pattern into a bunny!  Here is Betsy Bunny - all set to celebrate summer!

Kelly writes...."

Thank you for hosting the Spring Doll Challenge. It's been several years since I made a doll.

I had so many ideas for my doll but decided to go with something to represent the upcoming summer holidays.

Here is Betsy Bunny. She is wearing a blue star dress with a red apron and is proudly waving the American flag.

 

Thank you Kelly for joining in the fun!

 

 

Our granddaughter, Allison was baptized this past Sunday, so we all made the trip over Sunday morning for the happy event.  It was a lovely day spent with family and friends!

May God bless Allison!

Proud Mommy Stephanie - Mr. Whimzies' Mom made the christening gown.

Scott, Steph & Allison (and Drew too - lol)

We also took the opportunity of finally remembering to get some pictures of 4 generations....

Peter wishing his great-Pop Pop a Happy Birthday last week

Allison and my Mom

And finally...I will leave you with some pictures of the Spring displays around our area.

This old bucket was given to me by Scott & Steph on Sunday.  They searched for an old rusty bucket and filled it with flowers for me for Mother's Day - I ADORE IT!  

 

 

 

Have a beautiful day everyone!

"This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad!"

Another Spring Doll Challenge creation

Wow, how the time flies!  It is nearly the deadline for my 

Spring Doll Challenge!  If you are a little behind, please continue to work on your doll, and I will post about it when you are done!  

Here's a cute Patriotic doll created by

Allison of Sew Many Girls.

 Allison says: " I love patriotic/Americana so I have her in red, white and blue. I don't have a name for her. She is working on her stitching."

It is always amazing to me how creative you gals are.  This doll is adorable with her stitched hair and little stitchery in her hand!

Thank you again Allison for joining in the fun!

I have a big picture post planned for tomorrow with pictures of our weekend and our own little Allison's baptism!  Have a great day everyone!  Blessings

Another Spring Doll Challenge creation to show you!

Happy Friday everyone!

I received an email from Linda at Lutka and Co...she had joined in the Spring Doll challenge that I have going on now...and look what she created!

Here is the story behind Linda's doll...in her words:

" I took your pattern and reduced it to half the original size (I like smaller dolls).  She stands approximately 10" tall. I decided to make her into a fairy.  She wears a pink and yellow petal skirt with a yellow felt tunic, pink shoes, and petaled acorn cap. Her hair is made of wool roving.  I inserted pipe cleaners in her arms and legs, which made stuffing easier since she is so small, and it had the added benefit of making her pose-able.  The only deviation from your pattern is on her feet.  Since I reduced the size, I was unable to turn the foot part of the pattern after sewing.  As for her facial features, I went with an Edith Flack Ackley style.  She came out looking a bit serious, but I think she's still cute ;). "

Linda also told me that at the beginning of the year, she challenged herself to create a doll each month...what fun!

Thank you for your submission Linda - She's a beautiful doll!   You were so creative and I love the ideas you came up with!  Didn't she do a great job gals??

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

God bless.

Spring Doll Challenge!

There's still time to participate in my Spring Doll Challenge.....just click on the link on my sidebar to find out more!  In the meantime, tomorrow I will be posting a picture from one of the gals who joined in the fun. 

 Here's another sneak peek at mine...

I'm headed outside to work in the yard - it's a LOVELY day!