What a Doll!

Good afternoon, my friends!

This is going to be a long post today--but a special one to me…

Tomorrow is my beautiful Mother’s birthday…wish I could be with you, Mom!  So this is for you…

Earlier this month, I made Mom a little gift that I haven’t shared with you yet (but she has now opened it, so…!)

A wall hanging about her very favorite thing in all the world (besides her family, of course!)…dolls.  She loves them all--but most especially, anything jointed.

Not only does she love them, she makes them…beautifully!  Ever since she was a little girl, she’s been studying, making and loving dolls…

…one of my favorite, which I’ve talked about here before…

(It was a very gloomy day  when I took these photos, so the coloring isn’t quite right…sorry!)

A very special doll in our family…sent to my great-grandmother Anna when she was a little girl by her father, Theodore, who was away for a time in Switzerland on business in the 1890’s…

 

…and another given to my Mother when she was a young girl in the 1940’s…

Muslin and lace…ribbon, pompom trim…vintage mother-of-pearl buttons, bits of pretty vintage fabric…

…and some fabric rosettes colored with Glimmer Mist…everything stitched together crazy quilt style.

Here’s the real doll…my Mom. 

The photo taken earlier this week by my sister-in-law, Karen, who spent an early birthday day with her.  Here she is in a lovely doll shop that just started selling some of her dolls…see them in the upper shelves of the cabinet?

Here are a few of her dolls that I have in my home…

 

A pair of gollywogs…so sweet!

A little bit of the detail Mom puts into each and every doll…

Her hedgehogs…my personal favorites!  All her dolls are made with wool felt, are jointed, and their clothes are all completely handmade.

Beautifully sculpted features…

A couple of brightly clad girls… see the green shoes on the right?  Hand made of felt, as well!

A little close-up of her beautiful ribbon embroidery…

…and beautifully styled hair.

All together now!

A little card I made last night using an adorable new stamp set from Crafty Secrets…”Thinking of You”…perfect for today, I thought…

I love paper piecing and popping things up, as does Mom, so as I did this I had her in mind…

Well, that’s it for today.  Thanks for having a little birthday celebration with me in honor of my wonderful Mother…

Love you, Mom.

Happy Birthday!

Julie

LiveJournal Tags: Crafty Secrets,Birthday,Karen Ostlund Smith,dolls

Halloween Greetings

Good afternoon, my friends!

Just a couple of things to share with you today…I’m at the end of my Halloween creating for this year…can’t believe this is the weekend!

Got to put away my messes for a few days—we’re having a Halloween party for our girls and their friends on Friday night—time for Mom to stop playing in all the glitter!

Here’s a little card I made last night…

A cute little vintage image from Crafty Secrets’ “Halloween” Creative Scraps… “Hallowe’en Greetings”, it says…

Some fun Halloween colors tossed together, a bit of platinum Stickles for sparkle…some pumpkiny orange buttons, lace, rick-rack & pom-pom trim to finish it off…

What is it about rick-rack & pom-pom trim that makes me smile so much?

I don’t know…I just love them!

Next, a little crown for Viv’s Halloween Crown party…

THE last Halloween project on my table…so I used some bits and pieces left over from past projects…

A pumpkin girl from Elizabeth’s Halloween Garland Swap…

…stars from my Halloween chipboard album…

…and lots of lovely images left in my Crafty Secrets’ “Halloween” Creative Scraps…all used up now!

Some tulle sprouting up at the top,

rick-rack on the bottom, some buttons and a bit of platinum Stickles glitz, and that’s it! 

Thanks for the fun, Viv!  Can’t wait to see everyone’s crowns!

And finally…a real scary bit of Halloween past… ready?

This is my brother Steve and I…Halloween night, 1970…just getting ready to head out for a night of Trick or Treating…

Steve is Superman, of course…and me?  I’m a geisha girl…well, obviously! 

A kimono and sash brought back from Japan by my Grandparents (so I felt really authentic!)…and the cherry on top…a long black braid fashioned from black tights with the legs braided together…

Classic.

I hope your Halloween preparations are in full swing…have fun getting ready!

See you soon with something new…

Julie

LiveJournal Tags: Crafty Secrets,Halloween,Halloween Garland Swap,Halloween Crown

Tricks, Treats & Memories…

Good afternoon, my friends!

Another Monday…how’s yours going?  Pretty quiet around here today, so I’ve been finishing my Halloween decorating, getting some baking going for this weekend, and just trying to keep up with everything!

Here’s a fun little card I worked up this morning to get me in the mood for the week ahead…

Some sweet, only slightly spooky images from Crafty Secrets’ “Halloween” Creative Scraps…

…a typewriter key button from Tim Holz…

…crepe paper folded and sprayed with “Pumpkin Pie” Glimmer Mist, a bit of lace and some black & white gingham ribbon, also sprayed with “Pumpkin Pie”…

…then some stitched-up buttons, some fabulous paper from Graphic 45, framing with platinum Stickles, and a tiny bit of Dazzling Dust for sparkle…that’s about it!

Now, on to a bit of Halloween decorating…thought I’d share a little corner with you…

Sorry about the lighting and reflections on the photos today…it just wasn’t working right…but you get the idea!

My third-great-grandmother, Martha Maria Rutishauser from Switzerland, wanted to be included in the Halloween fun…

…as did Pauline and Asahel…

…and sweet little Velda the fairy…

…Fern looks on as the pretty Frozen Charlotte doll holds my great-great grandmother Sarah’s beautiful black fan…

Nobody wants to be left out!

Now, how about a little treat…that’s not sweet this time!

My very favorite homemade white bread recipe…

I’ve been making this quite a bit lately…every few days.  It’s as easy as can be, and oh, so delicious!

Here’s the recipe:

AMISH WHITE BREAD

2 cups warm water (110 degrees F.)

2/3 cup white sugar

1 1/2 Tbsp. active dry yeast (2 packets)

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 cup vegetable oil

6 cups flour

1.  In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar in warm water, and then stir in yeast.  Allow to proof until yeast resembles a creamy foam.

2.  Mix salt and oil into the yeast.  Mix in flour one cup at a time.  Knead dough on a lightly floured surface (I just knead it in the  bowl) until smooth.  Place in a well-oiled bowl, and turn dough to coat.  Cover with a damp cloth.  Allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

3.  Punch dough down.  Knead for a few minutes, and divide in half.  Shape into loaves, and place into two well-oiled 9x5 inch loaf pans.  Allow to rise for 30 minutes, or until dough has risen 1 inch above pans.

4.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

 

I love to keep this on hand for my girls’ school lunch sandwiches each day. 

The first day they brought homemade bread sandwiches, their friends were wondering what they were eating—isn’t that sad?!  Not much homemade bread around these days, I guess!

Easy peasy, and you’ll just feel like Betty Crocker every time!

Now for a little memory…

…my first Halloween as a mommy, with my sweet Chelsea Noel, in 1990.  Please notice my very classy Halloween jewelry…!

Well, that’s it for today…I’ll see you on Wednesday with some more Halloween fun..it’s almost here!

Julie

 

LiveJournal Tags: Crafty Secrets,Halloween,Amish White Bread Recipe,decorating,Chelsea Campbell