Gnome Sweet Gnome II

Working in the yard can be so rewarding! We have finished the bridge and have started working on the goldfish pond. DH talked me into getting a "shell" pond. This is the kind that you can buy from Lowes in the garden section. I had wanted to free form the pond and have it disappear under the decking, but since  I am not allowed to dig holes, I was out voted :(  My digging is kind of hap hazard and it falls under the category of things I have attempted but failed, good for me but not so for hubby. I can dig holes for plants and stuff like that but not ones that require precision. He used a level to make sure that the water level would be "level". This is why I like free form. You dig a hole, round out the bottom of hole with sand, place liner on top of sand, run liner around sides and over top of hole, lay decorative rock around sides of hole and wha-la, you have a nice pond, no levels involved-at least not in my book. But I wasn't the one digging, so shell it is. "It's easier this way," said hard working hubby.  He trucked around 12 wheelbarrows of dirt out of that hole. Well....the shell is in the hole. We will fine tune it and fill it with water this weekend if the weather holds out. Anyway, getting back to my bridge. I call it my Gnome Bridge(and sometimes it is called a Troll Bridge, shhh don't tell the gnomes).  I have my old, weathered, Gnome under the bridge now, keeping guard from the Trolls. Hopefully this weekend I can get some pictures and post them. It is a simple bridge, with a Japanese influence, that is a home to a weathered German Gnome. Speaking of gnomes. I have some gnome sisters to share with you.  I also made them a mushroom house. I was going to make the house out of felt, but alas, I ran out of white felt. Only scraps in my basket. So this mushroom house is made out of scrapbooking paper with felt accents. I think it turned out cute. You could easily make it out of felt too. I had planned on making it 3D, made the same way as my shakers, of course without the shaker and stick. So even though this pattern was originally intended for felt it works perfect for paper. I think that all of my patterns could be made using paper, except maybe the character trinket boxes.

Sister Gnomes

  Little sis comes with the fawn and big sis comes with the rabbit. The fawn and rabbit were made using Elizabeth's (Creative Breathing) easy to follow instructions. 

Little sis is $20 (shipping included in the price), paperclay mushroom included and the fawn is a free gift with her. She does not come with the red stand. The stand is simple to make. Purchase wooden plaque at Hobby Lobby, paint it, and then glue the ribbon on. Add a bow and pearl accent.

Close up of face. She does have a nose and mouth. She is much smaller than normal clothespin dolls. She stands at 3 1/4" tall, not including hat.

Big sis is $25 (includes shipping). She comes with a paperclay mushroom and the sweet little rabbit is a free gift with her. Red stand not included.

The Sister Gnomes were made using my Holly Gnome pattern. The only difference is that I painted their hair on instead of using yarn.

Paper Mushroom House. I used my Cuttlebug to cut the flowers out but you could use buttons or circles cut out of felt. The vine is painted on with felt circle flowers (used my smallest hole punch). Grass is cut out of felt and so is the bluebird.

Add a hand painted welcome sign and slats for the windows.

I used a cereal box to stabilize the house. The stand is also made out of a cereal box. 

(sorry, corners of mushroom top were clipped off, please add them to your pattern)

If you would like to purchase one of the clothespin dolls, just leave a comment and I will get in touch with you and send you my address. Please make sure that your email address is connected to your comment link. I will send you the doll after I receive your check, easy peasy, no credit cards involved! After a week, if the dolls have not sold, I will list them in my Esty store <:)

I hope that you enjoy making some sweet little gnomes and a mushroom house! If you have any questions about the dolls or the house, just ask, I will be happy to explain anything!

Next up: Birthdays!!

Have a wonderful and blessed day,

Holly

Lost: Crafty Little Spark

I am not sure if you have noticed, but I took a short break from blogging. I had lost my crafty little spark. It was gone......gone I am sad to say. I was all crafted out. With April, May and June not really having a "Holiday", I was lost as to what I should do/make. Inspiration nowhere to be found. What to do!?!? I would just have to take a break. Well, my yard really enjoyed this break. It was sadly neglected last summer for it was too hot to do anything outside. Spring is perfect for yard work. DH and I started on a Japanese garden last summer and with HOA approvals taking up to 6 weeks, you have to plan early. I didn't plan early and we probably started in June. It got hot really quick. It is so pleasant now. We worked on the Japanese style bridge this past weekend and hopefully can put a goldfish pond in next weekend. I will take pictures once we have finished the yard. DH was able to rake about 30 bags of leaves last week and Son took them around to the front yard for Yard Waste pickup this morning. I pulled weeds and mulched the flowerbeds. Fresh mulch makes your yard looks so wonderful!

Well, working out in the yard got my crafty back on. I found this little baby bunny in the yard (actually I think it is an adult, but it is so tiny and cute) and boy was she fast! All I could think about was "I'm late, I'm late for a very important date!". She inspired me to make some little characters (sorry....no, not Alice in Wonderland characters-but they are on the craft bucket list). Different from my usual. I can't wait to show you. I am thinking about offering up some for sale because I know that many of you don't hand sew or machine sew. Several of you have emailed me about offering my felties, etc for sale on my blog and suggested that I use the Elizabeth (Creative Breathing) system- you send me an email and let me know which one that you would like, mail me the check and when I receive the check, I mail you the package. Easy. You don't need a paypal account or an Etsy account. I should be finished with new characters in about a week, but hopefully I will blog before that, about something.....like maybe the goldfish pond? Poor hubby was      "stove up" after raking, I can't imagine what he will be like after digging.

Here is a little teaser:

drawing and erasing

sewing and cutting

picking and choosing

mixing and matching

I hope that each and every one of you has a wonderful day and try not to lose that crafty little spark that lives in each and every one of us!

Holly

Nope, Not Suspicious At All!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter. We sure did. Our Easter church service was awesome! This past week we went to Alabama to visit the grandparents. I took a few pictures of some houses and thought that I would share them. Sorry I didn't get more, but DH thought we might look too suspicious taking lots of pictures of beautiful homes. This summer I will have to take more pictures of the beautiful houses and some of their little town. Maybe I can get mom to drive the "suspicious" car. I know that she will stop and let me gawk. She doesn't care about suspicious at all. Right, mom?

Spring has sprung in Alabama.

Such a wonderful house. Love the white with black shutters and brick stairs.

Gingerbread trim <3

Poor, sad house. Would love to buy it and fix it up. DHubby would not be happy. He doesn't like major projects. I call it "historical preservation", he calls it "strike a match time".

Bet it is a little spooky at night, but I still love it!

Abandoned little house out in the country.

Won't be long until only the chimney is standing. Fixed up it would be a sweet weekend get-a-way. DH would agree that it would make a great get-a-way. He would also add run as fast as you can to get a way!

As you can tell, I love old homes and these pictures make my heart sing. Not only do they remind me of my hometown but I am also preserving them in my own way. I hope you enjoyed this little mini tour. Hopefully this summer I can get some more great shots. And can you believe these were all taken from inside a car with the window up and DH going about 20 mph, because we didn't want to look suspicious. Next time I will have to slap a sign on the car that says "Local Newspaper Photography Crew". Nope, not suspicious at all.

Have a wonderful weekend,

Holly