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

Hey There!

Hey! Thanks for stopping by today. I have been very busy this past week and a half. I made some Tooth Keepsake Clothespin Dolls for D#2's Preschool Bake/Craft Sale. It is tomorrow and the weather forecast looks terrible. 20 mph and up winds, lots of rain and thunderstorms, all of this before 2pm. I am not sure what they are going to do if that rain moves in. The whole town is involved with the yard sale. D#2's preschool is located in a tiny little town right in the middle of our big town. Just think of it like a little circle inside of a big circle, that's exactly what it is like. Son's Boy Scouts are also involve, but the leader just called and the Scouts are canceling theirs. They have it at another leader's house in this tiny little town. I will take pictures of this amazing little town and blog about it this summer. It is so adorable. The houses are amazing.

Above: I wanted to use a color other than pink, which I love or red, I also love. I thought that the colors on the fabric for the dress was so cute. I incorporated yellows and oranges onto the box. There is also red and aqua on her dress. Again I hand painted little teeth onto the top of the box.

Above: Little boy with red felt shirt and blue jean shorts.

Above: Bright colors, hand painted box and of course the doll is hand painted, also. The little tooth card comes with the doll. I wanted something that looked like a little book that a child might read. I think that it might be a little big.

Above: Sweet cat, Smokey, keeps me company while I work in my studio. He loves to knock over my paint brush water, chew on the brushes, eat my thread and drop things on the floor. But, he is a sweetie.

Above: Don't you just love this fabric. It is Bliss by Bonnie and Camile. I think that it is so fun! I am not sure what I am going to make, but it will have to be amazing, because this fabric is so cute!

Above: This fabric is for a secret project that I will share with everyone at the end of May.

Above: more secret project material.

Above: Fat quarters.

Have a wonderful rest of the day. Gotta go now and make a birthday card for my neighbor who is turning 80! Her party is in a couple of hours. She looks amazing and is still going full speed. I pray that I am like that when I am her age.

Holly

Tangled and No Comb Around

Here's what I am working on tonight. D#2 has a birthday party to go to tomorrow and I like to think outside the box for a gift. I know most children have too many toys. I thought that a lap blanket would be so fun! D#2 picket out the Tangled blanket, from the movie and I monogramed the birthday girl's name on it with my sewing machine. We also picked out a small Tangled doll and princess flashlight. Of course I waited until the last minute to start it, but now it is finished. We will make the card tomorrow.

Above: Machine working like crazy.

Above: here is what the blanket looks like.

Above: finished product

Above: another clothespin keepsake doll. Her head is a little wonky (needs gluing) and a few other finishing touches to complete her.

Above: another tooth keepsake doll. I love the way her little box turned out. And I love these colors.

Above: this doll is on a square box. I really like how the box looks.

Thanks for looking and have a nice weekend, filled with crafty stuff,

Holly

Wood, Paint and Fabric

Today I am going to share a custom order that I finished. These two "tooth keepsake dolls" are for sisters. The requested color was light purple. It has been a while since I have made any clothespin dolls. I had forgotten how much fun they are to make. I am now working on four more.

Above: First you start with some plain wooden: knobs, old fashion clothespins and stands and some naked teeth.

Above: Add a little paint and fabric and then ta-da.....

Above:...you get this!

Above: Don't they look like sisters? I hope the real sisters like them. They will now have somewhere to keep their lost tooth until the Tooth Fairy comes.

Hope everyone has an awesome day! My fingers are just itchin' to get out in the dirt and plant my garden, but I must wait a few more weeks. We are still having lows in the 30s.

Keep those fingers busy,

Holly

School Days, Golden Rule Days

My grandfather use to sing that song to us every time we would go and visit him during the summer. I couldn't stand for him to sing it, because that song was just a reminder that our time with them would be coming to an end soon and we would be traveling back home to start another year of school. The next mouse that I wanted to make was a little girl mouse going to school all dressed in her school uniform. Her head is needle felted from 100% wool fiber. Her arms, legs and body are made from wrapped wire.
Her skirt is black and white checked cotton fabric. Her blouse has a collar but it is hard to see. The little jacket is made out of 100% wool fabric with tiny pearl beads as buttons. She is wearing a headband/bow on her head. Her head is smaller than my normal mice. I am going to make her some books before I list her on Etsy. I thought that 2 tiny books would look so cute. Maybe an apple in her hand for the teacher?

 Above: On the right is Patrick Gnome, see how big his head is. On the left is....not sure what her name is yet, but for now I will call her little school girl. I made her jacket from some 100% wool fabric. This fabric made for a very realistic looking jacket. I really like how it turned out. You can't see the little felt collar that I made for her, but it is there. She is wearing little Mary Jane's on her feet with white stockings.

Above: clothes need straighting up, I had just finished her headband so I had messed her up a little.

Above: side view

Above: These are two commissioned tooth keeper dolls. They are for sisters. Their dresses will be a lavender check. I can't wait to finish them-the whole process of making these dolls is so much fun! I love designing them and seeing the finished product.

Have an AWESOME weekend and remember to keep those crafty fingers busy!

Holly

Very Busy Day, Indeed....

Had a very busy day today. Finished three new clothespin dolls for Etsy: Miss Sweet Shop, Miss Librarian, Miss Thimble. They were all so much fun to make. This weekend will be a little busy. D#1 is going to a semi-formal dance tomorrow night. I have been given the job of finding a mask for this dance. It is a masquerade ball. She wants peacock feathers--Hobby Lobby here I come. She did find a dress, but no shoes, stockings, purse, coat, etc >:p I am not sure what I am going to do with her. Oh well......guess we can always improvise. Still haven't finished my sister's gift yet. It is not really hard, just repetative. Must finish and send to her. Sorry Elizabeth.

Anyway here's some pictures of the dolls. You can also hop on over to my Etsy and check them out.

Above: Miss Librarian with her glasses and woolen skirt.

Above: She has two books at her feet and one in her hand.

Above: Her traditional bun and polymer clay buttons.

Above: side view

Above: Library date stamper made out of polymer clay.

Above: Love that background paper

Above: this paper is cute too.

Above: Miss Thimble

Above: Here is her rotary cutter and tomato pincushion at her feet.

Above: She is mending a blanket that has a hole in it. That is a real needle in her left hand and a real metal thimble on her head.

Above: Miss Sweet Shop.

Above: She has made 4 strawberry glazed donuts-her favorite.

Above: hand made donuts and tray.

Above: More cute paper, almost all of the paper that I use in my pictures is from Cosmo Cricket. They have a great website and blog.

Thanks for stopping by today and visiting,

keep those hands busy and stay crafty,

Holly